RosMadeMe

Making a Spectacle - Glasses Case Tutorial

2012-03-04T17:01:00.000Z

I found some fabulous bias binding in my local shop and just had to have it... floral bias binding is the future! Then what could I make from it... well, the answer was in my handbag, my reading glasses case was looking a little the worse for wear, also it was black and I could never find it in the bottom of my handbag to say nothing of the suitcase which held my sunglasses which was almost as big as my handbag... so I was off an running. What I need is a simple quilted speccy case!

You will need
2 pieces of cotton fabric
1 piece of wadding
Sewing cotton
Pins
Cutting mat, Rotary wheel and Ruler or Dress making scissors
Sewing machine
Iron and Ironing board
Small drinking glass
Scraps of contrasting fabric if you decide to applique

Iron your fabric and cut out two pieces of fabric 8"x 8" If you have larger sunglasses or are making the case for Dame Edna then you will need to increase the size a little. Cut out your piece of wadding about 1/2" wider all round

Now make a sandwich of your fabric, wadding and fabric and pin it together. Take your top fabric and mark it lightly every inch along the side, as we are going to become expert straight line sewers on this project as we quilt it together with our machines.

To make our diamond pattern sew all the lines in one direction, then turn it and sew across in the opposite direction to create the pattern above.

Trim off all the excess fabric... the square will shrink with quilting and I trimmed it to a 7" x 7" square.

Pin your bias binding across one edge of the square and sew it into place, if you are feeling a little nervous tack it into place using a a contrasting cotton so that it is easy to remove when you have finished.

Fold the square of fabric in half with the bound edge at the top, take your glass, place it in the bottom open corner and trace around it with a water soluble pen and cut around this to give you a gently curving edge.

At this point I thought it looked bland, so out came my pastry cutters and I found a suitable cutter to create a little bit of applique.

Sew the patch into place.

Fold the fabric together, match up the edges and sew a fine seam of about1/4" from the base up to the bias binding at the top. Now, you may find that your machine baulks at the amount of fabric you are trying to push through it, so just increase your stitch length as this will make it easier for the machine.

Take your bias binding and fold about 1/2" under to create a neat end, you may find it easier to iron the bias binding in half before you tack it into place. When you come the rounded corner, because this is bias binding it will ease around the curve leaving a really smooth finish. As you get to the end cut half an inch more than you need and tuck it under just as you did at the beginning. You really do need to tack this bias binding into place, I do this because I know no matter how well I pin it together, it will slip, it's the law!

Sew in your loose ends, I usually over-sew the ends to make it look really neat... however you guessed it, I still thought it needed more, so I found a heart shaped button to sew onto the case (next time I will do this before I sew it up!). The great thing is that I can find this in the stygian gloom that is the bottom of my hand bag and better still, because it is cotton it is easy to wash.

Now everyone over to Wendy's Handmade Monday as I reckon there will be great ideas for things to make and buy for UK Mother's Day.

And in a couple of weeks I will show you how to make your own bias binding.

World Book Day - 1 March 2012

2012-03-01T21:14:00.000Z

I love reading as you have probably gathered, last year I told you how I have never lived more than 10 minutes away from a library... lucky me!

So on World Book Day I am going to make a little change to the blog, up to now I have done the occasional book review but I am now going to make this a regular feature of the blog, hopefully once a month,I will post it on the main blog and leave it up on the renamed RosReadMe page.

Right let's get started, I am going to review two books tonight, Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Knitting Rules A good 30 years separate the publication of these books but when you read the eloquent prose in both, you could not get a strand of two ply or lace weight between them.

Starting with EZ, you need to know that she was originally English married a German and went to live in the US, but even more exciting was the knitting equivalent of ambidextrous, knitting in both the English and Continental style. I was a little nervous about reading a book that was 35 years old and had a pattern for every month of the year, I just knew it would be twee, technical and a bit nerdy, how wrong could I be? Yes, this is a book for grown up knitters, it is witty and accessible. There is no side to EZ, she explains why you need to knit a swatch (I knew she was looking at me when she did that) and then explains how to adapt her patterns.

She is an architectural knitter who understands the nature of wool and how to work with it. The pictures in the book were taken by her husband and just do not do justice to her work... her collection of mittens are fabulous, but better still is her advice is to give three in case a child loses one which would sound bizarre until you read her technique for constructing a mitten which works on either hand.

One of her funniest pieces is the description of accompanying her husband to a local snow jumping meet... I defy you not to snicker! I think if she had been around today she would have a blog to die for and would probably rival the writer of my other book. I really urge you to get this book from your library because yes, you really can read a pattern book for laugh.

Now over to Stephanie, otherwise known to blog reader as The Yarn Harlot which is an incredibly successful site, with readership numbers I can only dream about. Knitting Rules is a great dipping book, you don't need to sit and plough through the whole book but can skip in and out as you see fit. Stephanie is a real enabler... anyone who tells a new knitter, well you can knit and purl, now you can do anything - is a star in my eyes.

I love the way each chapter contains her ten reasons why... one of my real faves is her reasons for knitting socks... some of you will already be aware of a problem which affects many knitters, OSS (One Sock Syndrome) when seeing as you have made one sock, there really is no reason to push the boat our by making another. Her take on this is "Having to do the second one is good for the soul and reinforces determination and stick-to-itiveness. (Naturally if you do not possess these qualities to begin with, this could be a downer...)" I also learnt a number of totally useless facts like, a person's foot size is 15% of their height, now tell me you knew that before, just think how this will ease you life when creating surprise socks!

The story of her first sweater make, had me in tears of laughter as she struggled to ignore how it developed when she mucked up sizing, guage, wool and needles... basically anything that could go wrong did but she manfully finished and wrapped the gift for her beau. Did he dance round the room with delight up its receipt, place it in a picture frame to preserve it, dash home to his mother to show her how lucky he was to be dating this paragon of knitting virtue... no reader, he dumped her several days later.

The best thing about the book is that I learnt without realising that I was doing it, no it is not a stitch dictionary or a knitter's bible but it is a good read which leaves you better placed to knit a better project and to do it with a smile.

As they have been known to say in the Stock Exchange... "Buy, Buy, Buy!

Read it... and weep :(

2012-02-28T20:26:00.000Z

Over recent months I have been looking through craft books for inspirations or in the vain thought that maybe I could do it better. Usually I try to get them from the library so that I can see whether it is worth investing my hard earned pennies in a copy for me or if it is never going to cross my threshold ever again.

However in recent months I have been getting rather peeved, this weekend my sister gave me a book. It was beautifully done, smelling of that lovely uncut pages, filled with glorious images of vintage close ups of wooden cotton reels and fabric you dream about finding and to cap it all it had a ribbon to use as a book mark… I was in seventh heaven until I made the cardinal error of reading it!

Now I am not an expert but I do have a pretty good knowledge of a number of crafts – knitting, sewing crochet, quilting, papercrafts – but this woman could not be bothered with such things. The comment about covering a jar of shop bought jam with a remnant of fabric and claiming you have made it... priceless. I could not believe it, this is a craft book, supposedly sharing with me the secrets of amazing gifts from vintage sources. However my current favourite was the idea of displaying plates by means of gluing ribbon onto the back of your most cherished bone china and then pinning the ribbon to the wall… the pics looked gorgeous, but then I got to thinking how long would the glue be able to cope with the stresses of gravity?

Were we back in the days of the Araldite man being lifted into the air by a chopper when he was stuck onto a billboard? He did not fall off, I think due in no small part to the copious amounts of glue that was used! In the States they stuck cars to billboards, I wonder how long they would last on the US highways today?

So I then posted about this to one of my fave forums, UK Craft Forum, and someone mentioned another issue. In TV, it is known as reversioning, when you take a pre-existing programme, repackage it and release it under a new name… and yep, this has spread to books too. Not only do we get the variety with new covers and titles, but we also get the sliced and diced versions… a few projects from one publication, others from another publication and so on. It is so frustrating when you think you are getting a lovely new book from a tried and trusted author and all you get is a rehash… and I do like hash (note to self… this should be an item for Foodie Friday).

So here is my plea to publishers, don’t do it, we don’t like and we will stop buying it, SO THERE!

Chilli'd Out - Friday food... on a Saturday Morning!

2012-02-25T09:04:00.002Z

Not sure about you but for me this is the time of the year for comfort food, big steaming bowls of it. Either something that I can make ahead of time or that will cook slowly and that is also what my mum would describe as "cheap and wholesome" and let's be honest, chilli ticks all those boxes. But best of all is a meal which tastes even better the next day... I was talking to a friend (OK, it was the lovely Miss Weston of the hat and scarf ensemble) about her fave meal of the year and for her it is Christmas leftovers... bubble and squeak, cold turkey, ham etc. Well I have to tell you now, next day chilli is simply the best, especially when it is made in one pot... and the tastiest!

So let's get started, you will need the following for 2 - 3 people:

1llb (500g ) minced beef
1 small finely chopped onion
1/2 sliced green pepper
8 - 10 oz (300g) sliced Closed Cup Mushrooms (cos I like em!)
12oz (350g) can of tomatoes
1 tblspn of tomato puree
1 tspn of sugar
12oz (350g) can of kidney beans
1/2 pt of beef stock (yep, an Oxo cube)
1/2 tspn of chilli powder
1/2 tspn of cumin
Salt and Pepper

I like to make this in a pot which can start on the top of the stove and move to the oven, so get a pot with a lid or a frying pan and a casserole dish ready.

Put the mince into your pot over a medium heat and cook until browned, now add in your onion, peppers and mushrooms stirring regularly for about 5 mins (or until the veggies are soft but not browned. Drain off the excess fat... no matter how expensive, organic or refined your mince is, there will be quite a lot of fat.

Add the tomatoes and drained kidney beans and stir them in. Now we are going to be quite miserly, crumble the Oxo cube into the tin that contained your tomatoes, add the cumin and chilli powder, use the boliing water to float your tomato paste off the spoon as you pour it into the tin. Stir the paste up in the tin and add to the pot on your stove. Bring it up to the boil and stir thoroughly, then pop it into you stove (this shows you that I am really old!) at Gas Mark 4, 180C or 350F for a good hour... longer is better, I usually give mine a couple of hours, stir it occasionally and if you think it is getting too dry add more water.

It will make your house smell of your childhood and coming home from school with a delicious home cookeded meal waiting for you. Although most people like to serve it with rice, I love it spooned into a bowl and served with a freshly baked baguette which you can dunk into the chilli. Now if you can wait, it is even tastier left overnight and reheated... Winter bliss!

And to do you food prep, what better to listen to than , Stevie Ray Vaughan and Chitlins con Carne.

Midweek Mini-Tute - Mini Bunting

2012-02-22T14:51:00.002Z

I don't know about you but I love little things, and I recently was looking at my scrap bag, alright I admit it, I was looking at just one of my scrap bags that I could see and realised that not even Poppy Treffry could use all of this in a month of Sundays.

So I sat looking at my sad living room and decided that what my shelves needed was some down and dirty mini-bunting to cheer them up.

You will need:

A bag of scraps, at least 2.5"in length... although 5" will be better

Rotary cutter, pinking wheel, cutting mat and ruler or pinking shears

Cotton

Pins

5/8" Bias binding - 54" long or bunting tape

Iron and ironing board

Tape Measure

We are going to cut triangles which are 2" across the base and 2.5" to the apex... but to make it even easier, take a piece of fabric which is 5" in length and fold it in half so it is now 2.5" long and press it.

Starting on your cutting mat with one end your ruler at zero, place the other end at a diagonal to 1", using the pinking blade cut across and then cut on the opposite diagonal down to the 2" mark, repeat the 2" triangles. We are making a yard of bunting, with 9" ties, we will be using 18 flags with 5/8" between them, so you need to decide whether you want multicoloured, or tastefully matched... Obviously I have gone with the tasteful version... Ahem *raises eyebrow*

Now here is where we get down and dirty :) As we have used a pinking wheel we are going to sew on the outside because the pinked edge means it will not fray, sew up the sides (with the reverse sides facing each other) but not the base using just 1/4" seam allowance, you might find it easier to keep the edge of your foot by the edge of your fabric as a guide.

Take your bias binding or tape and fold it in half, and press it firmly. Now tuck your mini flag in the fold of the bias binding and pin it into place, measure along 5/8" and pin in the next flag (the end of most tape measures is actually 5/8" so you could use that at a guide), continue to do this until you have used up your flags.

Then sew the tape together either using a straight stitch or using a contrasting thread with an embroidery stitch.

And there you have it... mid-week mini-bunting... I think I might even make some for Easter to complement my Easter Tree.

And I am afraid I am cheating a little this week, but I had rather a busy weekend, so this is also my submission for Handmade Monday (hangs head in shame)... but I promise to do better next week... honest!

Zip it, flower! A recycling tutorial

2012-02-19T16:14:00.002Z

My mother could mend anything and if she could not mend it, then it was saved just in case, which would explain why, when she was knocked off her bike in her 70s and had stitches, she was able to find a sterile stitch cutter in her sideboard so I could take her stitches out.

Now you will remember that the quality and capacity of her button jars were legend along with her useful bits of twine collection, however I am wishing that I had kept a hold of her zapped out zip collection because that is just what you are going to need to today to create these edgy, flower corsages or hair barrettes.

You will need:

A zip, of between 18 - 24" long depending on how big you want the flower to be

Needle and Thread

Scissors... not your good dressmaking scissors
Glue gun

Brooch backing
Felt
Buttons (optional)
Matches or a lighter
Shot glass
Cardboard

Take your zip and cut the bottom of it off, this may be quite difficult if you use a heavy duty zip but I really like to use these as the flower looks really edgy. Then using your matches, flame the end of your zips to ensure that they will not unravel, a gentle burning will seal them shut.

Take one side of your zip and fold it to make petals as is shown in the picture.

Now there are two ways to sew this together with a double thread, you can make all five petals together and hold it in place with a couple of pins... but remember you will be sewing through 10 layers, which is possible although you should know that I managed to stab myself with the needle, so be careful. (I wonder if this counts as an industrial injury?)

However with the next layer, as the petals will be shorter and therefore there will be more layers so catch each pattern individually. There are a number of ways that you can finish your flower...

With my larger heavy duty zip, I left a couple of inches over at the end and rolled it up like a rose, and oversewed the edges and then sewed it through to the base.

For the lighter zip, I went through my buttons and beads and sewed them into the centre of the flower.

Cut out two circle of felt using the top of the glass and then one circle from the cardboard using the base of the glass which will be smaller. Sew the larger flower into the centre of one of the felt circles.

Heat up your glue gun and dob your glue on the centre of your big set of petals, then place the smaller set of petals into the middle... then hold it in place of if you are doing several use a clothes peg to hold it together.

Glue one of the felt circles to the base of the flower, then smear a little glue onto the cardboard and place it on the middle of the felt disc which has the flower attached to it.

Sew the brooch pin onto the remaining felt circle. Place this disc on top of the other disc attached to the flower, now you could just glue it but we are going to do a superb finish by using a small blanket stitch to sew around the edge... just like the one we learnt back in January.

Now find a garment that is lovely enough to attach your fabulous flower corsage and then whilst you are thinking about that, off you go an look at the crafting loveliness that is Handmade Monday.

And while I think about it, let's all send get well soon wishes to Little Harriet who usually contributes to Handmade Monday and is in hospital utilising some heavy duty antibiotics to tame her CF... mind you, I think she may have taken her fabulous crochet in with her, so I am expecting great things from her in the weeks to come. :)

Friday Night Fish Pie - Foodie Friday

2012-02-17T14:16:00.001Z

My mother and the Catholic Church in concert tried to make me loathe fish but they failed miserably! As a child, we always had fish on Fridays... usually cod and tolerated because of my mum's marvellous chips fried in home-made dripping. However, worse than this was the invalid's food... a piece of fish poached/drowned in milk with any semblence of flavour removed. This pie is the total antithesis of this, it's tasty and filling, and should feed four hungry adults.

Below is a pic of my local wet fish shop, taken this this morning, all I can say is Mattacks for marvellous fish!

You will need:

1lb (500g) A fish mix (use your local fishmonger if you are lucky enough to have one and he will make up a mix for you), containing some of the following: cod, salmon, hake, monkfish and if you want a smoky flavour a small proportion of smoked haddock
4 oz (120 g) Cooked Prawns
A small onion
6 Closed Cup Mushrooms
1 Hard boiled egg
1/2 pt of Milk
2oz (50g)Plain Flour
2oz (50g) Butter
Parsley ( l like to use curly as it has a stronger flavour)
A knob of butter or oil to
4 good size Potatoes
4 Spring onions

Cook your potatoes, I popped my egg in with the potatoes and whipped it out after 10 mins, remember to dunk it immediately into cold water so you do not get the nasty black ring around the yolk. Then mash them up, adding a slurp of milk and butter. Chop up a couple of spring onions and add them to the potatoes and set aside.

Melt a knob of butter in your frying pan and add the finely chopped onion, you do not want the onion to go brown but just to become translucent, then add your sliced mushrooms and cook these through. Pop these into a dish on the side.

Now put your fish mix (which will be in bite sized chunks) into the pan so that it is just one layer and cover it with milk (don't worry we are not going down the invalid route), cover the pan and let it simmer really gently for 3 - 4 minutes until the fish is cooked through.

Whilst this is happening, make your roux by melting an ounce of butter in a saucepan and adding plain flour and a pinch of salt, mix the two together until it resembles ear wax and then cook it on the hob for a minute to make sure the flour is cooked, set it aside.

With a slotted spoon remove the fish mix from the milk... if you spot bones, now is the time to go after them and remove them and put the fish into your bowl with the onions and mushrooms. Chop up your hard boiled egg and add it to the fish mix. Mix gently and place into your pint sized, put your cooked prawns on top of the mix or you can use smaller dishes to create individual pies and freeze any extra.

Decant the liquid left in the pan into a jug, and add it slowly to the roux you have just made, to thicken it bring it up to the boil and add the chopped parsley, stir it in gently and then taste it, if you need to adjust the seasoning.

Pour the sauce over your fish mixture. Then cover it with your mash... now some of you will be artistic and pipe out the potato but I am a demon with the dinner fork and have gone for the rustic look.

If you are going to eat this immediately you will need to put it into a pre-heated oven at 180', 350 F or Gas mark 4 for 12 - 15 mins or, if like me you have made it in the morning to be eaten for supper it will need to cook it for 30 mins at the same temperature.

And here is something to listen to whilst you are cooking your fish pie, the legendary Louis Jordan with "Saturday Night Fish Fry."

Oh Knickers! - The Knicker Bag Tutorial

2012-02-12T15:42:00.001Z

Yes, you read it right, this is the knicker bag tutorial and is I think the very first bag I ever made way back in the early 70s when the craze for them hit the Convent. It was such a great bag for carrying books and files to school, although I never quite managed to get the Peak Freens biscuit tin in there for Domestic Science!

As you can imagine the design is based on an outsize pair of knickers, with the gusset becoming the handle and the waist being sewn across to create the base of the bag... now before you think I have lost the plot I can tell you that no lingerie will be harmed in the making of this bag, so let's get started.

You will need:

A heavy cotton for the outside (32" wide by 28" long)

A lighter lining fabric ((32" wide by 28" long)

Cotton

Pins, needle, tape measure, cotton and scissors or rotary cutter, ruler and mat

Water soluble Pen

(Greaseproof paper)

Side plate

Iron and ironing board

Sewing machine

Iron your fabric, then fold it in half verically (you need to fold your pattern vertically as if you do this horizontally you will end up with one side of your fabric headed in the wrong direction!). Measure up 14" and draw a line across with your pen creating an oblong 16" wide by 14" long. Make mark 2" in on both sides on your square, then move to the top of the fabric and mark it at 5 1/2" and mark again at 5" from that spot. Draw a line 7" down from the top, the place your side plate against the end of your 7" line and against the spot 2" in and draw around the plate to create a quarter circle curve.

If you do not feel confident doing this directly onto your fabric, then use greaseproof paper to draw your template on. Now cut out along these lines - DO NOT DISCARD THE CENTRE SECTION - we are going to use that to create your pocket in the bag. On the bag, cut along the folded edge.

Using your top fabric as the template, place it on your lining fabric and cut around it.

Now sew down the side, across the bottom, and up the other side using a 5/8" seam allowance. Press the sides seam open so that they lie flat. You need to create a right angle (the corner of a square and get the seam to bisect it at 45', which will be slap bang in the middle).

Measure an inch from the corner on each side and sew across which creates a triangle and cut just above your seam allowance.

This will create the base of your bag so that it will sit nicely when you put it on the floor. Finally sew the handle together at the top and turn the bag the right sides out.

Using the centre section, measure 7" down from the top and cut straight across, you should have a piece of fabric measuring 10" x 7".

Press a seam all round of 5/8"... now we are going to mitre the corners, this is really easy to do if you follow the pics below.

First fold a triangle across the lowest point of your square.

Now, fold one seam across to bisect the triangle and repeat it with the other seam and look at the lovely sharp point corner you get, pin them both down.

Now run a seam across the top of the pocket.

Pin the pocket in 3" on both sides and 4" up from the bottom of the fabric. Sew around the pocket. Then divide the pocket up (I use my mobile phone so that I have a place for it) and sew another seam up the pocket. Now sew up the lining just as you did with the outer fabric.

Leaving your lining inside out but turn your outer fabric so that it is the right way. I now want you to turn the raw edges under 5/8"... you will notice that on the curves this is really difficult, which means we will need to ease the fabric by cutting triangular notches, just short of the fold, makes the fabric much easier to manipulate, doesn't it?

Now match up the seams at the top and at the side and pin the lining to the outside of your bag, using your machine top stitch it 1/4" from the edge, I find it best to use the edge of my foot as a guide.

Finally if you feel that the lining is a little bit loose, catch it with a little stitch on the corners at the base.

Now off to Wendy's Homemade Monday for the first in Year Two's offerings!

And finally this week's tute is dedicated to Marion's ageing crafting hippies in their home down in Wales, let's hope they shake their Zimmers to the infamous Big Panty Woman posted below:

Bet it made you smile :)

Sometimes Lemons are the Bestest Fruits - Lemon Curd for Weekend Brekkie or High Tea

2012-02-10T18:11:00.000Z

Before we start you need to know some things about my family. My mother was a marvellous plain cook, she could make proper pastry... you need to have seen her making puff or flaky pastry at 10.00pm on Christmas Eve in the days before frozen pastry, or pursing her lips at at a recalcitrant steak and kidney pudding that was refusing to leave its bowl. However, her major forte was the jam making BUT this was done on an industrial scale... for weeks, nay months we would collect the jam jars and she would smuggle extra bags of sugar used to convert Summer fruits into Autumn and Winter jewels into the larder.

We are moving towards the Spring... so what better to make for Breakfast or High Tea on Sunday than some really special Lemon Curd and just enough to fill a couple of jars rather than trying to set up as alternate to the Tiptree Jam makers?

You will need:
2 lemons - unwaxed
2oz / 50g Unsalted butter
4oz / 110g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs and an egg yolk (use the left over egg white for meringues)

Equipment:
Weighing scales
Lemon Juicer
Grater
Tea strainer
Bowl
Wooden spoon
Jug
Small saucepan
Fork or whisk
Kilner jars or other jam jars... but have a small Colman's Mustard jar on stand by

Turn on your oven to gas mark 4, 180'C or 350F, wash your jars and pop them into the oven for at least 15 mins to sterilise them unless you enjoy scooping through nasty looking blue mould and spending some time courtesy of your local hospital.

Beat your eggs together, and then strain them through your tea strainer, yes, I know this sounds odd but you want to to get rid of the squirly white bit called the Chalazae (bet you want me on your pub quiz team now) and putting the beaten eggs through a tea strainer is the most efficient way of doing this. Put the eggs on the side and now start in earnest.

Grate both your lemons and squeeze the juice from them into a jug.

In your pan melt the butter gently, then add in the sugar and stir it in.

Now gently stir in the lemon juice and zest of the lemon, smells great doesn't it? Now add the eggs and stir them in... make sure that the heat is really low as you do not want to end up with lemon flavoured scrambled eggs

Over a low heat and using your wooden spoon keep stirring it... don't be tempted to wander off, keep stirring and you will feel it start to thicken. You may also notice that the mixture is getting shiny, this is the oils from the lemon zest releasing themselves into your mix as it warms up. You think it will never thicken but stick with it and do not be tempted to turn it up... it will start to thicken, and what you want it to do is coat the back of spoon and not move... bit like a teenager who will not be moved from a sofa.

Pour it into your jars and leave it to cool. This is where that little Coleman's Jar comes into its own for leftovers/tester pot. Do not be tempted to put the lid on when the jar just feels warm because this will just allow condensation to form, which will create another mould related to the blue stuff mentioned above.

When it is cold, seal the jars, label it up with the variety, the date and your name. Then pop it into the fridge and see if it will last the weekend! The curd should last a couple of weeks.

You can make a lime curd, using four limes and more sugar (taste it to make sure) but same amount of eggs and butter. Only warning is that it is not a pretty colour, a bit khaki if I am honest, so consider cheating with a touch of food colouring!

I doubled up the mix as I have a couple of friends, who have asked for a jar which will be doled out tomorrow.

And just to help you stir your mix, here are Peter, Paul and Mary singing Lemon Tree.

Winter Wonderland

2012-02-08T13:26:00.002Z

Can you believe it? I am looking out of the window and it is only trying to snow again, so I wondered if I put up my pictures from my jaunt out in the snow on Sunday if that would make it stop as we have had our share for the Winter?

First you have to actually get out of the house... I loved the way that the snow had filled in the spaces in my gate. When I was little I really wanted a gate, our house did not have one, then I moved to London and lived in flats so it was not until I turned 40 that I had my very own gate. And the reason why I wanted a gate was a children's TV show called Sarah and Hoppity and she swung on the gate... the first night I spent in my new house I crept out surreptitiously that evening and swung on my very own gate... it was worth the wait, I promise you!

If you walk round the corner, you see the view that makes me smile every day, across the graveyard, you can see the estuary and in the distance the coast of Kent.

As you can see it is not just children who get excited, I spotted these three twentysomethings headed down to the cliffs to try out their brand spanking new sledge... not for them the tin tea trays of my youth... bet they never had a go cart made from the wheels of a Silver Cross pram teamed with a real tea chest!

This is one of my favourite trees in Leigh, it is a Monkey Puzzle tree, it look beautiful in the Summer but oh my, doesn't it look makestic covered in the snow?

I wish that you could hear how quiet the snow made the world seem here on Sunday, even the church bells at St Clement's which were pealing seem really muffled.

And finally, here is the view down Church Hill, I love the way the snow has caught on the balconies, it looks fantastic a night when the Victorian lamps are lit. And best of all is the mix of Victorian houses, juxtaposed against the the Essex clapboard houses... when I grow up I think I would like to live down there:)

Love to Cook - Rumer's Cookery Book Tutorial

2012-02-05T18:46:00.001Z

I have a friend called Rumer, she likes to cook, mind you she also likes to knit, sew and play on her DS, which is not a bad thing considering her mum runs our local yarn shop. When I saw her today, she said she wanted to make lemon drizzle cake and then we started talking about her granny's amazing chicken soup and I thought now is the time for her to start collecting her family recipes in her own cook book which is why we are going to make her very own book to gather up the recipes. I wonder if like me and my mum you have recipes books filled with hand written little scraps of paper with your beloved family recipes, if you do then this is the perfect project for you start on.

Let's gather up all the bits and pieces that you will need:

Two contrasting fabrics
Wadding
Book
Ribbon
Buttons
Cotton, pins, thread, tape measure and scissors or rotary cutter, ruler and mat
Iron and ironing board
Chop stick
Box of matches

First measure your book from the top of the cover to the bottom of the cover and add 1 1/4" + 1" - write it down, now measure from the front edge, over the spine and across the back to the other side, whilst the book is closed add 6" + 1 1/4" and write it down. Now press your fabric before cutting them out to the size that you have written down and make sure you have the fabric running the right way... remember to check twice and cut once.

Now pin the wadding to your top fabric, find the centre point on your fabric at the top and pin a piece of ribbon to the fabric (it should be the length of the cover plus an inch and a half) and if your ribbon has a pattern put it right sides together when you pin it in. So that that you don't do something really stupid, pin the loose end of the ribbon up so you don't catch it when you are sewing the cover up and sew the front fabric and wadding together using a 1/4" seam.

Now we are going to decorate your front cover. I have decided on a heart design picked out in buttons because Rumer loves to cook, so I will be tracing around a heart-shaped biscuit cutter. Your design will need to be at least 5" in from the right hand side and 2" above the bottom seam (I left it a little tight on mine... *sniffs* I believed my eye and not the tape measure!)

You might want to use fabric paints to stencil on a design and stitch around it, or do some applique. You can work the design within the following dimensions to fit it on the front of your cover.

Now pin your backing fabric to the wadding , pin it all round, leaving a 3" gap on one of the sides and sew them together using a 5/8" seam allowance. Now cut across the corners to give you sharp pointy corners.

Turn the cover inside out and press the fabric together, tuck in the 3" seam and press it closed. Now sew the down each side with a running stitch.

Place the book in the centre of your square, now fold the sides in so that they tuck snugly around the book. Do not assume it will fit, you need to check. Pin the folded fabric in place.

Cut two pieces of ribbon to act as your ties for the book cover, place it in the middle of the side seam with the right side facing the fabric. To ensure that the ends of the ribbon do not fray, light a match and gently flame the ends which will melt the ribbon. Now using either a running stitch or an embroidery stitch, sew all the way around the rectangle you have created.

When you put the cover on your book, fold the cover back to slip the cover on... a bit like when you get small children to stick their arms back to get them into their coats.

Propped up with an avocado... well it is a cook book!

Now tie the ribbon together and pass it on to someone to fill the book with their own secrets. You could change the topic of the book to be a gardening book, a journal, a design inspiration book or just as something gorgeous to give to your loved one to be filled with dreams.

I am not sure if you have noticed but there are loads of amazing entries on Handmade Monday and I think that this week will be really special as it is week 52... I have not managed to do everyone but the one person who has is the wonderful Wendy who hosts this great crafting blog party. So let's hear it for Wendy... Hip, hip... Hurrah!

And finally just to show that I am not a lazy bones, here's a pic I shot while out before 9.00am this morning, our local church St Clement's in Leigh-on-sea, just before the bells started to peal.

To Everything There Is A Season

2012-02-03T20:56:00.001Z

Today was a really sad day for me, I went to the funeral of one of my oldest friends, he was a consultant anaesthetist and I have known him for over 30 years. He was a wicked friend... I am sure that he chose the music for the funeral as it started at the Crem with Bach's Air on a G string. I am secretly hoping that someone hid a pack of Hamlet cigars under the Fedora hat on his coffin.

Here is part of a letter I wrote to his daughter:

I first met him properly at The London Hospital, initially working behind a number of bars for the weekly Wednesday night grope fests known as College Hall discos when your dad would amaze people with the number of plastic beer glasses he could collect, creating Whitechapel’s very own leaning towers of plastic. However, his greatest feat at that time was managing The Hostel Bar. This illegal unlicensed bar ran in the Medical Students Hostel for twelve days over Christmas (to cover the Christmas review) and culminating in a last night on News Year’s Eve - the bar opened at 8.00 pm and closed at 8.00 am – Clint was the first person to ever run the bar at a profit which he claimed was solely due to his superior culinary skills with the cheese and ham toastie, served from 5.00 am, it was a masterpiece of taste.

When he left the London and I went off to UCH, I did not see him for many years until 1989, when I bumped into him in the Thomas Neale with Ian, we started to chat and when the pub closed, Ian promised he could get us all into The Feathers (another London Hospital establishment, infamous for the Feathers twitch when everyone’s head swivelled at 10.00pm to see which nurses had walked into the bar) but the bar was shut so everyone piled back to my flat and left at 4.00am.

About a week later there was a knock at my door and there stood Clint, “I couldn’t remember which no. was yours, but I remembered your name and checked the electoral role... got any coffee going?” And thus began the second phase of your friendship and one of the happiest times of my life. Clint lived with PJ in a block of flats just across from mine, and when he was studying for his final attempt at his Final Fellowship in Anaesthetics, I used to get calls, “I see the lights have just gone on in your flat, so I know you are in, got any gin?” or “I need a bit of your anatomy, can I borrow your foot, arm or neck?” And over he would come, drink a G&T, drink even more coffee, sit and smoke on the balcony and we would both set the world to rights whilst watching the East End sky line.

His estimation went up immensely when one of the locals had a heart attack and was rushed into Newham Hospital, or ‘Nam as he referred to it. Peter was indeed a walking heart attack, smoking, drinking and eating, he was lying on a trolley when Clint approached him, “I know you, you’re Clint... so you really are a proper doctor, I thought you were just one of the boys!” At which point he arrested but several weeks later he was back in the pub buying a pint for Clint.

I can remember a Sunday morning when you fell over and were taken to hospital... Clint was beside himself, “I don’t know what to do, I usually fix people... not sure I can do being a dad on the sideline.” The one thing that I know is that he could never be a dad on the sidelines because he loved you so much and was inordinately proud of you. I remember him ringing me up when you got your A level results, chuffed to be bits that you had got into Uni. In fact when he came out to dinner with my sister and her husband, they reckon that he glowed when he spoke about you.

He was one of my oldest friends, I realise I have known him over 30 years, he was there to find out which surgeon had the best results with hip replacements when my mum had hers done, he was deemed to have a lovely bedside manner by my neighbour who he anaesthetised and he would even answer the phone to me at an ungodly hour and offered to come over when another friend had an asthma attack and would not go to hospital. He was also the best kind of friend who did not need constant cultivation, it could be left a few weeks or months and still when the phone rang it would be as though we had only seen each other yesterday.

The last time we went out together, we went to the Jazz Club at the Mayflower and he was pretty poorly then. For some reason there were very few people there and at the end just the two of us, so Digby Fairweather played his last number “for just you two kids!” Hmmm... in your 50s that is kinda flattering I think.

As we walked very slowly back to my house, we discussed the fact that in all the time I have known Clint, we never kissed hello or goodbye... frankly, he was my mate and more like a brother which always confused people as they tended to assume that we were more than that. When the taxi came to take him home, he kissed me goodbye and then said, with a glint in his eye, “Well that another good story ruined!”

I shall miss him dearly, the man who introduced me to Bombay Sapphire Gin, the joys of Ry Cooder, the thought that yes, dressing up is for grown ups, the wicked glint when playing cribbage, he proclaimed “And one his knob!”, one of the few people I know who could leapfrog a post box and one of the brightest, wittiest friends I shall ever have.

So can you now, pour yourselves a G&T and as you listen to the Byrds, please raise your glasses to my friend Dr Clinton Buckoke, doctor, bon viveur and wit. God bless!

I spy with my little i... this week's i-pad cover tutorial

2012-01-29T10:17:00.000Z

I would really like an ipad, but unfortunately due to the redundancy last year, it is not going to happen for a while yet, but it does not stop me from being ready with a cover for it when I get it. So this week we are going to make an ipad cover, a Kindle cover or even work in miniature for an i-phone (measurements for these are at the end of the tutorial) and we are going to use fabric from Moda's 30s playtime collection which is just yummy.

Model i-pad is lent by Miss Weston 's technical consultancy :)

So let's get cracking, irons and ironing boards at the ready and off we go, you will need:
An outer fabric, an inner fabric and wadding measuring 24" (L) x 13" (W)
Sewing machine
Thread
Pins
Scissors and tape measure or rotary cutting wheel, mat and ruler
Iron and Ironing board
Button (decorative or self covering)
Chopstick
Snap Fasteners (Big ones!) or Velcro
Water Soluble Pen
Decorative buttons or fabric scraps

First iron your fabrics and cut out identical pieces from the inner and outer fabric and from the wadding.

We are going to quilt the wadding (you will probably have some left over from the tea cosy or needle roll), if you are lucky enough to have a machine like mine you may have some quilting stitches on your machine... I used a Serpentine stitch which gave me the curvy stitch. Another option is straight lines, using a water soluble pen place a dot every two inches around the edge draw a diamond pattern linking these dots and sew along the lines.

Do this with just the outer fabric and the wadding, the polka dot fabric really helped me as I used the dots as a guide for my Serpentine stitch.

Now once you have quilted your fabric, it will shrink, the more you quilt, the more it shrinks in size, so check that you still have enough fabric to play with, in case you need to adjust your seam allowance.

As usual we are using 5/8" seam allowance, pin the outer fabric to the inner fabric and sew them together. Then trim down your inner fabric to match the outer fabric, it will be about a 1/4".

Fold the quilted section over and measure 9" from this seam and lightly press it. At this point you might decide to applique a design onto the cover, or sew a pattern in buttons, if you choose to do this do it on the front fabric between the fold you have just pressed and the seam. I suggest that it looks better on right hand side facing you, in fact I am sure that I read it in a survey in a magazine at the hairdressers, so it must be true!

Now you are going to read this through thoroughly and then do it... cos if you are like me, you will run off on your own and get it wrong. As my mother would say, "I had a little girl/boy like you before, so I know that I am right!"

Sew up both sides of the quilted section up to the seam between the inner and outer fabrics, ignore the flap.

Measure 9" from seam on the inner fabric, sew up just one side to the seam. Then on the other side, sew up two inches, leave an opening of four inches and then sew up to the seam.

You should now have two pieces of fabric flapping in the breeze, this is good, pin them together, find the centre point and mark it 5/8" in. Mark a spot an inch above the seam (marked as A and B on the pic) on each side, draw a line from seam on the left hand side to the first point then a diagonal across to the centre point, another diagonal to the point on the right hand side and then onto the seam.

Sew along the line, the trim the excess fabric and cut the corners to remove the bulk of the fabric for when we turn this. Your cover will now look like a Y shape.

Using the four inch hole, start pulling the fabric through the hole. On the seam of the inner fabric, where the hole is, fold it through and iron it into place, sew a seam as close to the edge of the fabric as you can. Tuck the inner into the outer sleeve and iron into place

Slip your ipad into place and let it drop to the bottom of your cover, this push the lining into place.

It is now decision time, how do you want to fasten your cover... this cover is a girly cover but you have a couple of other options, eg a buttonhole in the triangular flap and a large attractive button. Or maybe you and your machine do not do buttonholes, you can ~~cheat~~ use another method, sew the button onto the top of the flap and put velcro on the inside of the flap and on the front of your cover. I went with using the Days of Wine and Roses flower and sewing that onto the front flap and then sewed a large snap fastener onto the case to close it.

Now if you want to make it for a Kindle you will need a piece of fabric 19" (L) x 7.5" (W)
when you fold it will be 7.75". The formula I am using is 2.5 x L +1.5 (seam allowance) x W +1.5 (seam allowance) +.5 (quilting shrinkage).

And for a phone 14" (L) x 5" (W), when you fold it you will need it to be 4.75" from the seam

Finally, this is my notebook and my sketches so that you can see how my addled brain works out how to make these patterns up... usually I do this at my local coffee shop or at three in the morning in my bed but I reckon I forget to update the book at that time!

Right, you know what comes next, hop on over to Wendy's fabulous Handmade Monday to see what the gang have been up to this week.

PS - The good news is that this cover has already been snaffled up by a chum who fell in love with it when she saw it :)

The 1930s are just bang up to date!

2012-01-27T18:48:00.000Z

I did something bad today... you know how it is... I wanted to walk past, but I just couldn't help it... I went into Belle Fabrics (aka to us oldies as Richardsons) in Leigh-on-sea, just to see if they had something that I might be able to use for this weekend's tutorial. What a mistake, they had just had a delivery of Moda Fabrics... I mean, how was I to know but by then I was in and there was no escape.

Moda have just released a new range called 30s Playtime which is based on the floral and chintzy ranges of the 1930s and have been designed by Chloe's Closet for Moda.
Now this is just a taster of a Jelly Roll pack, usually a selection of fabrics 2 1/2" x 44/45" and taken from the same range.

I was really taken by:

But then I spotted:

And then:

And one of these literally made it to the cut for the Sunday's tutorial... we will be making a cover for your ipad... or Kindle... or you can scale it down for your phone.

Now oddly enough I also got an email from MoDA (the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture) and they have published a fabulous book to coincide with their travelling exhibition on the work of the Silver Studios and even better it is reduced in their January sale.

The book was written when Keren Protheroe was researching the work of the women designers who worked at the Silver Studios... elements of their art remains and sometimes, you do not even know who they were but what they have created is still used by people like M&S designers to influence their fabrics today.

Imagine being told that you can only use so many colours to create a design and yet create the illusion that you have used a full palette. They even have letters between the studios and the designers discussing their work and pay!

So, if you see that the travelling exhibition is coming to a spot near you, gussie up your skirts and get there as fast you can, it is small but I promise you that it is really worthwhile.

PS I have no links to Moda or MoDA, I just like em and know you will, too!

Weston Woollies - A cabled hat and scarf pattern

2012-01-23T12:30:00.002Z

This is a hat and scarf created as a Christmas gift for my friend Miss Weston, hence the name, Weston Woollies, she is very much a hat, scarf and mittens girl in the Winter.

You will need six balls to make the scarf (4 and three quarters) and hat (1 and a quarter) of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino or equivalent, a pair of 3.25 needles for the scarf, a set of 3.25 DPNs and a medium size cable needle

Terms and abbreviations can be found at the bottom of the post and although this not a difficult set to knit, you will need to be able to read a pattern and be more than a beginning knitter. When knitting the scarf and coming to the end of your ball of yarn, always start a new ball at the beginning of the row so that you can sew the ends in neatly... although this is obviously going to be impossible with our hat in the round!

Let's get started...

The Hat

Cast on 129 stitches, with 32 stitches on each needle and 33 on the final needle, remember to make sure when you join your work together that the stitches are not twisted. If you leave a long tail as you cast on, it serves as a marker for where you have started your work.
Row 1 - Bring the final stitch on needle 4 over to needle 1 and knit them together as this gives you a lovely neat edge, now K1, then [P2, K2] until the final two stitches and P2.

Row 2 - K2, P2 until the end of the row.

Continue to work in Double Rib until you have worked 10 rows in total

Row 11 - K2, [P12, K4,] seven times, P12, K2
Row 12 - T3L, P10, T3R, eight times
Row 13 - P1, [K2, P10, K2, P2] seven times P10, K2, P1
Row 14 - P1, [T3L P8, T3R, P2] seven times T3L, P8, T3R P1
Row 15 - P2 [K2, P8, K2, P4] seven times, K2, P8, K2, P2
Row 16 - P2 [T3L, P6, T3R, P4] seven times T3L, P6, T3R, P2
Row 17 - P3 [K2, P6, K2, P6] seven times K2, P6, K2, P3
Row 18 - P3 [T3L, P4, T3R, P6] seven times T3L, P4, T3R, P3
Row 19 - P4 [K2 P4, K2, P8] seven times K2, P4, K2, P4
Row 20 - P4 [ T3L, P2, T3R, P8] seven times T3L, P2,  T3R, P4
Row 21 - P5 [K2, P2, K2, P10] seven times K2, P2, K2, P5
Row 22 - P5 [T3L, T3R, P10] seven times T3L, T3R, P5
Row 23 - MB, P5 [K4, P6 MB, P5] seven times, K4, P6

Row 24 - P5, [T3R, T3L, P10 ] even times T3R, T3L P5
Row 25 - P5, [K2, P2, K2, P10] seven times, K2, P2, K2, P5
Row 26 - P4, [T3R, P2, T3L, P8] Seven times, T3R, P4, T3L P4
Row 27 - P4 [K2, P4, K2, P8] seven times, K2, P4, K2, P4
Row 28 - P3, [T3R, P4, T3L P6] seven times T3R, P6, T3L P3
Row 29 - P3, [K2, P6, K2, P6] seven times K2, P6, K2, P3
Row 30 - P2, [T3R, P6, T3L P4] seven times T3R, P6, T3L P2
Row 31 - P2, [K2, P8, K2, P2] seven times K2, P8, K2, P2
Row 32 - P1, [T3R, P8, T3L P2] seven times T3L P8, T3L P1
Row 33 - P1 [K2 P10, K2, P2] seven times K2, P10, K2, P1
Row 34 - [T3R, P10,T3L] eight times
Row 35 - [K2, P6, MB, P5, K2] eight times

Row 36 - T3L, P10, T3R, eight times
Row 37 - P1, [K2, P10, K2, P2] seven times P10, K2, P1
Row 38 - P1, [T3L P8, T3R, P2] seven times T3L, P8, T3R P1
Row 39 - P2 [K2, P8, K2, P4] seven times, K2, P8, K2, P2
Row 40 - P2 [T3L, P6, T3R, P4] seven times T3L, P6, T3R, P2
Row 41 - P3 [K2, P6, K2, P6] seven times K2, P6, K2, P3
Row 42 - P3 [T3L, P4, T3R, P6] seven times T3L, P4, T3R, P3
Row 43 - P4 [K2 P4, K2, P8] seven times K2, P4, K2, P4
Row 44 - P4 [ T3L, P2, T3R, P8] seven times T3L, P2,  T3R, P4
Row 45 - P5 [K2, P2, K2, P10] seven times K2, P2, K2, P5
Row 46 - P5 [T3L, T3R, P10] seven times T3L, T3R, P5
Row 47 - MB, P5 [K4, P6 MB, P5] seven times, K4, P6

Shape crown
Row 48 - K14, K2 tog, to the end of the row (120 stitches)
Row 49/50 - K 2 rows
Row 51 - K10, K2 tog to the end of the row (110 stitches)
K1 row
K9, K2 tog to the end of the row (100 stitches)
K1 row
K8, K2 tog to the end of the row (90 stitches)
K1 row
K7, K2 tog to the end of the row (80 stitches)
K1 row
K6, K2 tog to the end of the row (70 stitches)
K1 row
K5, K2 tog to the end of the row (60 stitches)
K1 row
K4, K2 tog to the end of the row (50 stitches)
K1 row
K3, K2 tog to the end of the row (40 stitches)
K1 row
K2,  K2 tog to the end of the row (30 stitches)
K1 row
K1, K2 tog to the end of the row (20 stitches)
K1 row
K2 tog to the end of the row (10 stitches)
K2 tog to the end of the row (5 stitches)

Cut your wool and thread it through the remaining five stitches to gather them up, sew the loose tail securely inside your hat and sew in the other tail into the rib.

If you want to make a longer hat repeat rows 24 to 35.

The Scarf

The scarf is worked in Irish moss/seed stitch, cable and diamond cable with bobbles worked over a 12 row repeat. The first four stitches form the Irish moss, the next eight are the cable worked over eight stitches with a one stitch trench on each side and for the centre panel it is two diamond cables using two stitches worked over 28 stitches (utilising the purl trench from the cable) and the bobbles, which you will be so miffed with by the time you have finished!

Cast on 52 stitches
Row 1 - K2, P2 repeat to the end of the row
Row 2 - K2, P2 repeat to the end of the row
Work in this double rib for another 8 rows - 10 rows in total.

Row 11 - K1, P1, K1, P1, P1, C3F, P6, K4, P10, K4, P6, C3B, P1, K1. P1, K1, P1
Row 12 - K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P6, K6, P4, K10, P4, K6, P6, K1, K1, P1, K1, P1
These two rows will set the pattern for you

Row 13 - P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P5, T3R and T3L, P8, T3R and T3L, P5, K6, P1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 14 - P1, K1, P1, K1, K1, P6, K5, P2, K2, P2, K8, P2, K2, P2, K5, P6, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 15 - K1, P1, K1, P1, P1, K6, P4,T3R, P2, T3L, P6, T3R, P2, T3L, P4, K6, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1

Row 16 - K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P6, K4, P2, K4, P2, K6, P2, K4, P2, K4, P6, K1, K1, P1, K1, P1

Row 17 - P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P3, T3R, P4, T3L, P4, T3R, P4, T3L, P3, K6, P1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 18 - P1, K1, P1, K1, K1, P6, K3, P2, K6, P2, K4, P2, K6, P2, K3, P6, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 19 - K1, P1, K1, P1, P1, K6, P2, T3R, P6, T3L, P2, T3R, P6, T3L, P2, K6, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1

Row 20 - K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P6, K2, P2, K8, P2, K2, P2, K8, P2, K2, P6, K1, K1, P1, K1, P1

Row 21 - P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, C3F, P1, T3R, P4, MB, P3 T3L, T3R, P4, MB, P3 T3L,P1, C3B, P1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 22 - P1, K1, P1, K1, K1, P6, K1, P2, K10, P4, K10, P2, K1, P6, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 23 - K1, P1, K1, P1, P1, K6, P1, T3L, P8, T3R, T3L, P8, T3R, P1, K6, P1, K1. P1, K1, P1

Row 24 - K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P6, K2, P2, K8, P2, K2, P2, K8, P2, K2, P6, K1, K1, P1, K1, P1

Row 25 - P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P2, T3L, P6, T3R, P2, T3L, P6, T3R, P2, K6, P1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 26 - P1, K1, P1, K1, K1, P6, K3, P2, K6, P2, K4, P2, K6, P2, K3, P6, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 27 - K1, P1, K1, P1, P1, K6, P3, T3L, P4, T3R, P4, T3L, P4, T3R, P3, K6, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1

Row 28 - K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P6, K4, P2, K4, P2, K6, P2, K4, P2, K4, P6 K1, K1, P1, K1, P1

Row 29 - P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K6, P4, T3L, P2, T3R, P6, T3L, P2, T3R, P4, k6, P1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 30 - P1, K1, P1, K1, K1, P6, K5, P2, K2, P2, K8, P2, K2, P2, K5, P6, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Row 31 - K1, P1, K1, P1, P1, C3F, P5, T3L,T3R, P4, MB, P3, T3L, T3R, P5, C3B, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1

Row 32 - K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P6, K6, P4, K10, P4, K6, P6, K1, K1, P1, K1, P1

Rows to 13 to 32 form your pattern, repeat until the scarf is the length you require.

Knit until your work measures approx 70" End on either Row 22 or Row 32 - do not make a bobble on Row 21 or 31 - then work 10 rows of double rib with which you started the scarf.

Cast off and sew in your loose ends.

Abbreviations

K = Knit

P = Purl

C3F - Slip next three stitches onto the cable needle and place at the front of work, knit three stitches, then knit the three stitches from your cable needle

C3B - Slip next three stitches onto the cable needle and place at the back of work, knit three stitches, then knit the three stitches from your cable needle

T3L - Slip next two stitches onto your cable needle and place at front of work, purl 1 then knit two stitches from your cable needle

T3R - Slip one stitch onto cable needle, place at back of your work, knit next two stitches then purl the stitch from your cable needle

MB - Make bobble - Make five stitches in one stitch as follows (knit the stitch in the front loop and knit in the back of the loop without slipping it from the left needle, repeat this and the knit in the front loop again. Turn the work and purl across the five stitches, turn again, knit the five stitches, turn again, purl across the five stitches. With right side facing, pull second, third, fourth and fifth stitch over the first stitch. Slip bobble stitch onto right hand needle.

And finally, it is week 50 for Handmade Monday, so take a look at what everyone has been doing this week.

Entre Chien et Loop... a Woolshop at Dusk

2012-01-19T16:57:00.000Z

OK, I know that it should read entre chien et loup* but yesterday at dusk I went to visit The Loop Woolshop in Camden Passage. If you have ever read any knitting magazines, you may recognise their very distinctive branding:

I had read a few reviews about the shop but frankly I thought that it would not live up to the publicity... how wrong could I be.

So, the shop is over two floors in a small establishment in buzzy Camden Passage (actually all the shops are small along there as they are turn of the 18th century buildings). You push open a small door an enter a strip wood floor emporium. I resisted the temptation to run headlong towards the first wall of wool that I saw and plunge my hands into it, it was full of fantastically dyed sock yarns which each seemed to have my name on it. Then on the opposite wall, something that I have not seen since childhood, row upon row of darning yarn in all the colours of the rainbow and many in between.

It was so nice that the girls behind the desk immediately greeted me and asked if I had been there before and if they could help me. On learning it was my first visit, they explained were things were in the shop and encouraged me to have a good look round. Well, I did not need the encouragement and dashed up upstairs... it was even better than downstairs.

In the corner was a fantastic collection of knitting, crochet, felt and other woolly books... I tried not to dribble but it was difficult. There were the usual suspects but some great imports from the US which proved to be very tempting, even better was the comfy sofa next to the bookcase to browse through the patterns. What particularly impressed me was one lady could not find the exact pattern that she wanted, they suggested looking on Ravelry!

On a large table in the centre were more yarns and books. Then scattered about the room were some fabulous chunky yarns over-flowing from old crates. The variety of yarns was phenomonal, yes there were some really expensive yarns, handspuns, cashmeres, alpacas, from it seemed each and every continent (longingly remembers the South American yarns) but they were very special. To be honest they were appropriately priced and frankly this is not an ordinary yarn shop but an extraordinary one!

Now, it seems that I may be working just round the corner so I checked out their knit and natter sessions and it seems that I could go to the sessions on Thursday evenings, which would replace my Thursday mornings at my beloved Roses and Rue.

I would most definitely recommend a visit, with a full purse because you really will want to buy and what is more it will be a fantastic experience from walking in until the girls wish you a fond farewell. Like Arnie... I'll be back :)

*entre chien et loup is a french term for the dusk and roughly translated means between the dog and the wolf.

Thou Art Everyday My Valentine - A Valentine Gift Tutorial

2012-01-15T15:14:00.000Z

I thought that this week we could make a rather lovely Valentine's gift that would not break the bank (it cost me less than £7 or just over $10!) but would show that you cared... so here is a simple but effective picture based on the perennial theme of St Valentine's Day.

You will need:
A decoupage box (you can get these in IKEA or Wilkinsons)
A sheet of background paper
Contrasting paper(s)
Heart shaped stamp
Glue gun or PVA glue or Double sided sticky foam
Ruler
Scalpel or pair of sharp paper scissors (Do not let me catch you using your fabric scissors for this as you will blunt them quicker than you can say Jack Robinson...)
A cable needle or metal knitting needle or something else pointy but not sharp
Craft mat

Take the back off your decoupage box and trace around it to form your background. Cut out the square and glue it lightly to the background square.

Now decide on your design, I am going to try two, one in the shape of a heart and the other as a simple square pattern. Use the cover sheet that is in your frame box to create a frame for you to work within.

Using your punch cut out your hearts and place them on the backing paper to see if it works.

Turn on your glue gun. Take each heart, place the ruler down the centre of the heart and run the cable needle along the edge as we want the heart to fold up. You may find it a good idea to put a small pencil dot on the backing paper so that you can see exactly where you will finally place your heart. Now run a small amount of glue along the fold and press firmly in place, continue doing this until you build up your design.

As the hearts that I was using are quite petite, I whipped out my eyebrow tweezers to help place them at the appropriate point.

And for the harmonious square of hearts, use a small square of double sided sticky back foam to stick them to your backing paper.

Let your work dry and then place it back in the decoupage frame.

I also thought of doing a heart made from the pages of the map book we used to create the bows at Christmas which we found in the Charity shop... and I thought you could call it, "A map of my heart", or you could use pages from an old book and say "You read my heart like a book..."

My friend Sally made a beautiful picture for her daughter using butterflies for Christmas... I really think that this is a very versatile and flexible technique, in fact my mind is spinning and I can see that we could even use the folded hearts as petals in a bunch of flowers...

Finally, you can also paint the decoupage box frames to fit in with your room colour scheme.

Now go take a look at 1st Unique's Handmade Monday, can you believe that Wendy has been doing this for almost a year? This is week 49, where has the time gone?

Now, I going to give you a quick preview of next week's tutorial... it is a pattern for a hat and matching scarf, as you can see I have almost finished the scarf but I need to crack on with it, so I thought if I told you that I was posting it, I would have to finish it!

BTW... there might be mittens a little later, once I have worked out the pattern... it may be some little time...

I ♥ embroidery - Back to Basics

2012-01-08T15:27:00.000Z

For this week's tutorial we are going to make a heart... which I am using as a pin cushion but you can use it as a Valentine's gift, you can add lavender to its stuffing and pop it into a drawer or even add a loop and hang it up as a decoration. We are also going to do some basic embroidery stitches which we will be using on other items throughout the year. We are not going to end up stitching a cope for the Archbishop of Canterbury but we are going to learn some useful stitches that will see you through some of the things we will be making this year.

If this is the first time you have ever embroidered, have a practice of the stitches on leftover felt scraps before you do it on the actual heart. Remember nobody dies because you do not get it right first time but your friends will be impressed because embroidery is not passed on like it used to be. I learnt at home and at my primary school, I still remember a little blue book from Anchor... The Little Book of Anchor Embroidery Stitches... I could not wait to try out and master new stitches. In fact when my mother died I found some of my original binca mats which I embroidered for my my mum when I was six, how I wish I still had that book.

You will need:
9x9" square of felt
A skein of embroidery thread
An embroidery needle with a nice big eye and a very sharp point
A small amount of wadding
A water soluble pen
A glass, ruler, paper and pencil
Pins and scissors
Daylight

The robin tin was my mum's silks tin and I can remember when it actually contained Peek Frean biscuits over 45 years ago!

First create your heart shape, if you have a collection of sewing books, check the back and see it you have a motif for a heart and use that... otherwise we will create our own. If like me, you hand/eye coordination goes to pot when it encounters pen and paper and you cannot draw it free hand try this method

Take a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle and another across the middle, pop your glass so that the you draw a semi circle, with one side touching the line down the middle and repeat on the other side. I used a glass with a 3" diameter, I then marked 3.5" below the centre line and drew a line from the semi circles to create the heart design, you can make it longer or shorter to vary the look of your heart.

Cut out your pattern and pin it to the felt, cut around two hearts - remember felt does not have a warp or weft (the grain and direction of fabric) so it does not matter where you place the heart on your felt - set them aside.

Now think about the pattern you want to create... we will be using six stitches, not as scary as it sounds as two are variations on a theme.

Running stitch - this is where all sewing begins
Pekinese stitch - a woven stitch, worked through running stitches for decorative purposes
Chain stitch - super for writing words
Lazy Daisy or Detached chain - used for working flower petals and leaves
French knots - a raised stitch often used to create the centre of flowers and to give depth to your work
Blanket stitch - to join the pieces together

Mark up your design onto your heart with the water soluble pen.

Now, take your skein of embroidery thread and cut off about 18" which is about the same as you pinching the thread between you thumb and fore finger and letting it drop to your elbow and cutting it there. Longer thread will create a problem as it will knot and tangle as you are working and I will not be responsible for you swearing when you are meant to be having fun! You will see that embroidery thread has six strands, you only want to use three, so take three in one hand and three in the other and pull them apart, like the tractors on Levi jeans. Thread up your needle and you are ready to start.

Try to work in natural light, best of all is to be in front of a window so you can get a good look at what you are doing.

Don't put a knot in your thread, whenever you are embroidering you do not sew in or sew off unless you can tuc the thread behind other stitches and we will start with a simple running stitch. Leave a tail of about 1/2" on the back of your work then look at the diagrams below:

Come up to the front from A and then back through the felt at B, if you are happy with the size of your stitch come back up the same length away to the front at C. Continue like this all the way around the heart to make a border.

Using our chain stitch we are going to write a message, as this is a pin cushion and I am going to pop it onto my Pinterest boards, I am writing Pin It!

Come up from the back of your work at point A, form a little loop, then go from the front of your work through to the back as close to point A as you can so that A and B are next to each other. Without letting the loop tighten, come back to the front at point C, this will catch the loop to form your first chain, now go back through to the back as close to point C as you can and come up at point C, repeat this for your chain. Then the next spot to come back up at is Point D.Chain stitch is very versatile and will accommodate curves which is why it is so good for embroidering letters.

As you have mastered Chain stitch, Lazy Daisy or Detached Chain will be a doddle. Come up from the back of your work at point A, form a little loop, then go from the front of your work through to the back at point B as close to point A as you can. Without letting the loop tighten, come back to the front at point C, catching the loop, take your thread over the loop and sew through to the back as close to Point C as you can.

From Point C, go back to Point A at the centre and move your work around a little to create your next petal in the same way. Remember most flowers have an odd number of petals.

Next is the French knot, which is what is know as a raised stitch as it sits well above the fabric to give it texture. You will probably notice that the centre of your flower looks a little bit messy so we will use the knot to hide this.

Come up at Point A, holding your silk firmly, wind it twice around your needle and push your needle back through the fabric at Point A as you can. Pull the silk through the twists which will form your knot, you may need to manipulate them into place as you do this, they will then create a knot in the centre of your flower. French knots are also great at creating eyes on faces.

I thought that the running stitch looked a little plain, so we are going to do a simple weaving stitch, akin to Pekinese stitch. Bring your silk up from the back of the work, under a stitch, now weave the stitch under each bar and when you run out of thread make sure you take it back to the reverse side under a stitch on the surface and bring your next piece of silk up from under the same stitch.

If you want to hang it up, place a length of ribbon folded in half and pin in between the curve of the heart, sew it in place with a couple of stitches.

We are now going to work Blanket stitch, which is used to hem fabrics or applique and even button hole fabrics as it is applied directly to raw edges. Starting inside your heart front and about 3/8" from the raw edge, bring your silk through to the front, holding the two pieces of felt together and place your needle at the back of your front embroidered piece come up at point A and bring the thread over to the back of your plain backing fabric and bring it through both pieces to join them together, do this twice for the start of your work, now slip your needle under the stitch so it is on the right of your work.

Continue in this to create your blanket stitch seam.

Work around the heart with blanket stitch leaving a gap of 3", use this gap to stuff your heart, pin the gap together and finish off with blanket stitch. If you are hanging your heart, then sew a little bow to hide the stitches you used to hold the ribbon in place.

Now go hang it up. or start using your pin cushion and go take a look at the very first Handmade Monday of 2012

Finally, if you wash any piece of work with embroidery, always wash it by hand and when you iron it do so from the back of your work so that your embroidery stands proud of your fabric.

Health Warning - Just to let you know, if you click through to Pinterest, I am not responsible for the way that time seems to disappear as you look at everyone's pin boards!

Sewing fills my days, not to mention the living room, bedroom and cupboards!

2012-01-02T16:17:00.002Z

I like the Antiques Roadshow and often watch in the vain hope that some item in my house which I consider to be tat (a UK expression for rubbish) will turn out to be worth a fortune and set me up for life. One of the things that I find particularly fascinating is old sewing boxes, especially when they contain things that we no longer use, like button hooks and darning mushrooms.

So I wondered what might happen if someone from my family took my current sewing box in to be looked at by Hilary Kay's grand-daughter.

"Ooh how exciting, this looks like an old plastic mechanic's box from Woolworths but we know it contains something rather different.

Indeed it does... it's your maiden great aunt and spinster of this parish's, sewing box, isn't it?

Well let's open it... on the top you will see a number of interesting items:

Seven tape measures... she liked to be sure that she measured correctly (hmmm... doesn't always work though, especially if you read my last blog)
two rather gruesome looking mattress needles... now when was the last time you sewed up a mattress, I expect she used them for blowing eggs or making felt ball bracelets
a stitch ripper, curiously unused... I expect she preferred to use small sharp scissors
a button hole foot - how sad it is not still with the sewing machine
thimbles - unused too, I understand she could never find one small enough to use successfully, look you can see the padding she stuffed inside it to try to make it fit
a pair of tweezers - for removing stubborn tailor's marking
a mini pompom maker... seriously I wonder why she did not use cardboard like normal people?

Now let's go to the next level, this is bound to be very telling about her. Oh my goodness, what have we here, let's tip it out so we can get a good look?

Scissors - several types, dress making shears for cutting out fabric and never to be used on paper on pain of death, pinking shears for that zig zag finish and to stop fabric from fraying and a selection of small sharp scissors for embroidery, including a pair for cutting threads in Hardanger or drawn thread work
pins - now we have several different types again, shorter pins with glass heads for everyday sewing, longer pins with decorative heads for quilting and look in an old tobacco tin the Dorcas pins which are purely functional. (Do you know why they are called Dorcas pins, they are named after a dressmaker in the Acts of the Apostles and this is the first time I have used my Religious Knowledge O level since I passed it nearly 40 years ago!)
needles - heavens this woman was prepared to sew anything! We have everyday needles for sewing up a hem and re-attaching a button, small fine needles with tiny eyes to quilt with and look at these fine needles with larger eyes, these are for embroidery. Now look in her needle case, there are a selection of crewel needles with large eyes and a blunt point, used to work a cruder form of embroidery or canvas work and also used to sew up knitting. And then we have some more unusual needles, look at this one with the triangular point, this is a leather needle which pierces the fabric and look as these others, about half the size of a mattress needle but equally nasty looking, it is a dolls needles, used to go through soft toys and for tying quilts.
pencils - she must have used these to mark her fabric, one is a pen which marks and then disappears and the other is pencil used to place a permanent pattern onto fabric for embroidery
fastenings - obviously this woman would have had a separate button jar but she does have a selection poppers and, hooks and eyes and some self covering buttons
a chopstick - now that is odd but I guess she would use that for ensuring she got good pointy corners in her cushions and bunting
look at these rotary cutters and wheels - look how she has ensured that they are safely stored - she has plain blades for cutting through multiple layers of fabric when quilting, pinking wheels for a decorative finish and look she has small wheels for intricate work
finally there are lots of other little odds and sods from bias binding to brooch backs and hand cream to name labels.

I know that you are going to ask me to value this box... well I am going to be honest with you, it is irreplaceable, the owner would never be able to replicate its contents and I would not be surprised, if this was the object she might grab should her house catch fire!"

So now you know what is in my sewing kit... what is missing from mine that you have in your box? And where do you keep your sewing accoutrements?

And just for fun, how do you fancy making an Etui Box for Mothers Day? The good news is that there is no sewing, just loads of glue!

PS - I admit, there is even more tat that I found in there but was too embarrassed to show you... but I did find my missing ball of hairy twine!

Roll on 2012 - The first tutorial of 2012

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

Well, Happy New Year everyone! Just wanted to welcome all the new readers and to thank my old readers for coming back, what kept you all... we have loads to make this year, so let's get started.

Right, ladies and gentlemen, here is the first tutorial of 2012 and this is a purely selfish one with a practical purpose. You may have noticed that last year I discovered that I had been lied to, sock knitting is not difficult, you do not need lots of little markers and actually although I say so myself, I make a jolly good fist of it but it has created a problem, where do I store all the DPNs (double pointed needles... the ones I like to use on the train to get a double seat as they look quite scary) and my circular needles? Now if the thought of making a needle storage roll is making you yawn, then remember that it can also be used to store make up/paint brushes, crochet hooks and coloured pencils for children and yes, Marion - we are starting on the contents of your Summer fete stall right here.

You will need:
Two lots of fabric, I am using ticking and cotton - 13" x 11" for the main and 7" x 11" for the contrast
Wadding (if you are making a pencil roll you can leave this out but I want to protect my needles)
Cotton
Scissors
Tape measure or rule
Pins
Contrasting tape
Sewing machine
Iron and Ironing Board (well we are using fabric, so you knew it was coming)
Chopstick (pointy variety)

Firstly iron your fabric, as I am using a cotton ticking I will be cutting it out with pinking shears as you will remember that ticking is in training for the Olympic 100m and will start to run even before the starter fires his gun, you need two pieces 13" height x 11" width and a piece of wadding cut to the same dimensions. If you are working with longer needles or shorter pencils adjust the height accordingly.

Now take your contrasting well behaved cotton and cut out a piece 7" height x 11" width.

Fold over the top of your fabric using your 5/8" seam allowance, iron it firmly... now you can either do a simple running stitch or you can use an embroidery stitch to lift the fabric, if like me you are using a plain contrast. Obviously it would not work with a floral pattern as the stitches would get lost.

Now place your ticking face up (right side up) and place the contrast fabric on top, right side up and pin the contrasting fabric in place along the lower edge.

Taking out your tape measure or rule, mark an inch away from your 5/8" seam allowance with a pin or a fabric marking pen at the top and the bottom, repeat this every inch until you come to the right hand edge. Now if you are confident, go ahead and sew a straight line down as this will make the casement for your items to sit in.

If you are still taming your sewing machine then we will baste or tack the fabrics together. Using a contrasting cotton, double it and tie a large knot in the end and sew a line of running stitches from the top to the bottom, do not sew the end in when you finish but leave a tail of a couple of inches - these stitches do not have to be small or elegant; tacking/basting usually uses a longer running stitch they are used to hold fabrics together until you machine them in place. When you have sewn everything in place, go to the knot end of your tacking and pull gently and this will remove the tacking, sometimes it does get caught up with your stitching so just tug gently until it comes out.

For my circular needles I am going to add a little more security - circular needles would have been put in Colditz Castle in WWII as they are great escapologists - so taking the tape, place it 2" above the top seam and catch it every inch, running in line with the seams you have just created, as we are going to use these loops to wrap our circs around whilst they are resting.

Now pin the wadding to the back of this piece and sew it in place with a 1/2" seam allowance. Now with right sides facing each other, pin the fabric together. Starting at the top six inches from the right hand side sew a 5/8" seam all the way around but stop four inches short of where you started.

Cut across each corner and trim the excess seam, now turn your roll inside out and poke the corners with your chopstick and tease the corners out to make a good point.

Iron the roll flat and tuck in the open seam and pin it shut. Finally, cut about of tape and fold it in half lengthwise, with the outside of your roll in front of you, on either the left or right hand side pin the tape half way down. Now using your sewing machine foot, so that the thin side of your foot sits on the edge, sew around the roll again... use either a running stitch or show off again with an embroidery stitch.

Now fill it with your needles, brushes or pencils... and wonder why on earth you stored your needles in an old chocolate box, large glass vase or tool box?

And now it is confession time, remember how I tell you when measuring, to measure twice and cut once... well here is the proof that it is good to take your own advice.

Yes, I managed to cut it a good inch short and did not notice until I went to piece it together... I do hope that this is not a portent of things to come...

What RosMadeMe does next?

2011-12-26T12:56:00.000Z

I have been sitting here this morning planning what to do with the blog moving forward into 2012 and thinking about how much I have enjoyed writing the tutorials especially leading up to Christmas.

So I have decided to continue to do tutorials every week during the next year for all the major holidays and special occasions which happen in the UK, the US and Canada and all points East and West. My plan is to start posting up these up from about a month before the big occasion in order that you get enough time to complete them.

I am going to fill the gaps between the big occasions with a back to basics series. You will know by now that I was lucky enough to be taught how to knit, sew and embroider by my mum and my primary school but I realise that not everyone was that lucky so we will do a bit of a crash course to make sure that you will be able to make the things that I come up with for the tutorials.

I am hoping to cover embroidery, knitting, crochet, sewing, quilting, a touch of origami and other papercrafts... but despite the picture above we will not be tackling taxidermy this year!

If you have a topic or a project that you would like covered next year, pop it into comments and I will try to schedule it in.

Now back to your Christmas leftovers everyone :)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2011-12-24T12:21:00.003Z

I can only imagine how many of you are currently feeling like this... still with presents to wrap and the turkey to contend with... So I just wanted to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and hope that you all get even more than your hearts desire.

I also wanted to thank you all for reading the blog, I get so excited when I see that I have readers all over the world and hope that wherever you live you have a happy, safe and most of all a peaceful Christmas.

And here is one of the first carols I remember learning back in the time when I got to play second shepherd, sans tea towel and dressing gown way back in 1963... Emmylou Harris singing, Away in a Manger

Talk to you all again soon :)

Kamikaze Christmas Tree

2011-12-19T12:40:00.002Z

I don't know about you but my Christmas decorations carry so many memories of my life and I love opening up the bags and boxes each year and remembering where I got them and why.

Now to be really honest, if I used more than 50% of my decs on the tree you would not be able to see a single branch, yet every year I buy one little something to put on there. However this year I was not going to buy a tree as I still have not found a permanent job and I was going into mega economy mode. So you can only imagine how thrilled I was when a friend asked me to stay in on Friday morning and arrived with a Christmas Tree in the back of her Mini. However what she did not tell me was that the tree was suicidal, it leapt off the table twice before I realised that it did not have a root ball... Deborah came round with another stand... we set to work with secateurs and a bread knife... who needs a man, eh?

I got it decorated again and it made another break for it, so I jammed it in with my embroidery thread tin... I am a resourceful woman... it is now held in there with a brick but I have had words with the tree and it knows that if it makes another break for it, it becomes another part of the Christmas tradition - The Yule Log!

I was going to make do with my little tree which I bought back in the 1980s when I had my flat in London... I still have all the decorations and even the angel with the bendy wings. When I started to buy real trees, I used to bring this tree to work and share out the choc decorations after Christmas... except for the year of the IBM mice. I got a phone call from the office to tell me that whilst we had been off over the hols, mice had hit the Exec Office at IBM and had climbed up the tree to nibble into the chocs... and no, they were the four legged rather than two legged variety!

This little group are rather special, the tree on the left came from an Italian cookery holiday in Limone on the Lakes and the tree on the left was a prezzie from sister when she took my aunt to Venice. And I made the fairy in the middle the Christmas my mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer, it is thanks to her that I knit and sew... not a bad legacy to inherit.

I always smile when I see these Russian Matryoshka dolls which were brought back from a Moscow market when my friend Lisa was helping to set up the KPMG offices in Moscow... not only did she do that but she also organised her wedding from there. It was one of the best celebrations I have ever been to, best of all was her present to her husband Liam - it was a tandem - he always complained that he had to wait for her when they went cycling together... she thought this was the most elegant solution :)

These are my oldest decs, they are older than me and when I was little they meant that Christmas was really coming.

Now if you look down at the bottom of the fireplace, you might recognise my Christmas Salt Dough Sheep, which I made 15 years ago... who says salt dough doesn't last?

Finally, no crafter's tree is complete without the tools of her trade and here is a cotton reel angel, my needles and wool and sitting in the background is another ancient salt dough parcel.

Now off you go to look at Wendy's Handmade Monday and see what everyone else has been up to in the week before Christmas.

Not Tea Again, Surely - Christmas Tutorial no 16

2011-12-15T15:16:00.000Z

I really cannot believe this but yes, this is another tutorial to do with tea! This is something that you can get the children to do for grandparents and aunts and uncles... it is a real Blue Peter coverall! And no it is not the infamous Advent Crown, complete with candles, coathangers and tinsel... the Fire Prevention Officer's nightmare. We are going to paint up a Christmas morning tea set:

You will need:
Small plain teapot, milk jug, cup and saucer or mugs (I picked up mine at the local factory shop for £7.50)
China Paints - I use Pebeo as I have always been pleased with the results
Paint brushes, sponges (use non-scratch dish sponges) and stiff card
Old plate to act as your palette

Wash your china to ensure that all the sticky labels and grease are removed, dry them thoroughly.

Decide on your design - you can sketch it out on your crockery with Chinagraph pencil if you want to use it as an outline. Some ideas that you might like to use are snowmen, angels, bells, candles.... I was going to use mittens, scarves and bobble hats so the set can be used throughout the Winter and not just at Christmas but frankly they looked like Rorschach blots when I painted them. If you want to change the colour of your china, take a small amount of sponge, dip it into the paint and stipple it all over the china, give it five minutes to dry and then you can start to paint on your design. If like me you cannot paint well enough to forge a Constable, then cheat... think Emma Bridgewater and use a stencil and sponge dipped in paint, you can hold it in place with small scraps of sellotape... stars, hearts and polka dots will work really well. Another idea I had was to find black china and paint snowmen as even I can paint circles...

Paint on your design, the paints are usually tacky dry after a few minutes, if you make a mistake, wipe it off with a wet tissue and start over. Don't forget to get the children to sign it on the bottom, if only to help out the experts on the Antiques Roadshow of the future!

The china will need to fully dry for 24 hours. Your next step is to bake the china for 35 minutes at 150°C (300°F or Gas Mark 2) in your oven... now come on you have seen my baking sheets, did you really think I would show you the inside of my oven? Dream on, readers.

The great thing is that your work is now dishwasher proof and going to be used very regularly by proud grandparents.

I want to say a very big thank you to Judy Balchin who nearly 15 years ago did a workshop on china painting and I have never forgotten what fun she made that day!

Confession time - I had this tutorial written on Sunday... but it just wasn't up to snuff, you see I cannot paint or draw and my efforts looked simply awful and then it came to me to use a stencil and sponge to cover up for my deficiencies. So if anyone wants a real challenge, teach me to paint or draw something that is recognisable next year... go on, I dare you!

Cheap, cheery and chic - Christmas Tutorial 15

2011-12-04T19:43:00.001Z

Right, I am not going to tell you how tough life is at the moment, so let's look at some ways to save a little bit of money over the Christmas holiday, which means this week we will make gift bows, candle holders and place settings.

Firstly the gift bows, you will need:
An old map book (charity shops are brill for these) or magazines - or double sided paper
A stapler
Glue
Scissors
Paperclip

Cut out 9 strips 3/4" wide and 11" long (about the length of a magazine page), then cut an inch off three of the strips and two inches off another three strips.

Fold the strips into a figure of eight and staple them together.

Lay the strips on top of each other and pop a tiny bit of glue in the centre of the strips.

Now repeat this for the next two groups of paper, leaving one of the small pieces aside.

With your left over small piece make a loop, trimming off the excess and glue it together holding it in place with a paper clip.

Pop the final loop into the centre with a dab of glue and there you have a cheap and cheerful bow, this looks brilliant if you wrap your gift in either newspaper or brown paper. If anyone challenges you either raise your eyes and mutter global warming or ask them if they do not understand irony and look disappointed!

Now, onto the candle holders, I first used these for my first Christmas dinner in my house and over 10 years later I still use them! You will need:
Empty jam jars
Shoe whitening
Stencils or pastry cutters and cardboard

Wash the jars, dry them and put the lids somewhere safe.

Use the shoe whitener pad to create decorations, just using it on its own without stencils and the circles will make a flower. Or if you are getting small children to do this when they are on hols, just dobbing the foam top of the whitener over the glass will look like snow. If you do not have any Christmassy stencils then use your pastry cutters to create some by tracing them onto the card and cutting them out. Pop the stencil against the glass and dob the whitener onto the jam jars.

I put these all over my dining room to light it for Christmas Day, they look lovely with the tea light candle behind them and the great thing is that you can wash them after and use them for jam. The other good thing is that the candles are really safe in the jars especially if you have ever suffered from a tea light flaring up, but do remember to always snuff out candles if you leave a room.

And finally, an idea that I had for place mats, which I will be making for myself later and will post pics... using mirror tiles (I found these at Wilkinsons for £4.95 for four) make sure that the edges are rounded/bevelled as I do not want to be sitting with you in Casualty on Christmas Day. Cut out four small squares in felt and glue them onto the corners so that the tiles do not scratch your table. Stencil or paint a decoration in acrylic/poster paints around the edge or in just one corner. Now as we are being very thrifty, you will be able to wipe the paintwork clean and recycle them for Easter, Thanksgiving, birthdays and other special occasions.

Now off you go and take a look at Handmade Monday to see how all the other crafters are preparing for Christmas.