Little mince pie cakes

Dr Green raved about a mince pie he'd eaten, a couple of weeks ago, which had a cakey sponge top. I've trawled the internet and found a wonderful blog "The Goddess's Kitchen" where there is a recipe. Am going to give this a whirl.

Here's a link to the blog and instructions. Enjoy x

Much making

My making mojo is back with a vengeance!

Over the past couple of weeks I have finished knitting three more Pete the Reindeers - that's Christmas gifts done for Claire, Lorraine, Lynda, Sarah and Claire L. Have crocheted yet another granny square blanket that I don't need or have a home for but it is my favourite so far.

Am also cracking on with a fair bit of stock making for the Christmas season. There appears to be an owl theme going on here - owl cushions, owl pencil rolls and owl aprons. And, many, many more projects are underway.

Tomorrow takes me (and my lovely knitting ladies) to London for the Knit and Stitch Fair at the Alexander Palace.  Time to stock up on haberdashery and lots of gorgeous fabrics and yarn.  This is my fifth year at the Ally Pally and it never disappoints. Will post pictures of my stash soonish.

Little Cotton Rabbits

I've been a fan and a follower of the Little Cotton Rabbits blog for some time now. This lady makes the most gorgeous knitted rabbits with pretty little outfits and has recently added a few other animals - foxes, elephants to her shop.

Do take a look:

http://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/my_weblog/

One day very soon I shall treat myself to one of her super cute rabbits.

More cake!

We had our obligatory school holiday bake sale last week - this time raising money for Help for Heroes.

Mimi made monster cupcakes, fairy cakes, an apple and cinamon tray bake, a chocolate smartie cake and a chocolate fridge cake. I helped out with some chocolate kisses, a victoria sponge and some dog biscuits. Well, we have to say a very big thank you to our lovely neighbours, family and friends who gave generously. We managed to raise over £80 for our chosen charity!

Here's some photos of our wares:

Pete the Reindeer!

Some of my knit and natter friends made this reindeer a couple of years ago and I was, as Mad Jen would say, "well jell". It's taken a couple of years for me to pluck up the courage to try this pattern and thank goodness I did 'cause he's gorgeous.

This is the first of my handmade Christmas gifts and Pete will be going to live with my very good friend Claire. I'm a couple of rows into reindeer number 2 as I type (another gift) and then I'll defo make one for us to keep.

If anyone's interested in making their own Pete, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pete-the-reindeer

Doggy biscuits

All ready to go into the oven.... dog biscuits for our Mabel.

From a great book Doggie Biscuits - Healthy Homemade Treats - Seasoned with Affection. There's some really unusual recipes in here but, most importantly, a bit of info about the stuff your dog should and should not be eating. Had no idea that dogs cannot eat garlic or onion, which I'm sure many owners scrape off their dinner plates into the dog bowl.

Well, just for a taster, here's the recipe for the tuna and oat 'bone' biscuits:

1 can tuna
4 tbsp olive oil
1 egg
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
9 oz cornflour
5 oz rolled oats
2 oz plain flour

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Drain the tuna in a sieve, then puree it with the oil and the egg in a blender. Mix the puree with the other ingredients to make a dough. Add a touch of water if it is too dry.

Roll out the dough to about 1 cm thick and cut it into shapes with your cookie cutter. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Store in a biscuit tin.

The cookies will keep for about 2 weeks if they last that long!

Another Saturday, another fair

Another Dotty Sparkle vintage and craft market... this time at Thorpe Hall school's 'summer' fete.

Around 40 stallholders gathered in the most glamorous marque - think I'd like one of these permanently erected in my garden as 'the party tent'.  As usual, met some lovely people, ate too much flap jack, drunk    tea from pretty vintage china and had a very boozy glass of Pimms. Oh, and yep, managed to sell quite a bit of stuff too - well Dr Green did as he's much better at the selling bit than me (I get embarrassed).

Here's a photo of Mimi and our stall. And, here's another photo of our purchase - Vintage Dolly Cut Outs - from a fellow stallholder (at £2.50 they are a bargain!).

Right, going to take a break for a bit now. Any sewing will be purely for my own benefit. I have my sewing room to decorate and some good friends' birthdays coming up. Also am working on a patchwork 'nautical' themed picnic blanket to take down to Devon. Cannot wait!

Olympic Torch comes to L-o-S

It was a rotten wet, wet, wet day in L-o-s but that didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits as we cheered on the Olympic torch from our al fesco table at Affinity. Complete with BBQ,  'caberet' singer and much flag waving, it was the perfect way to mark this memorable occasion. Brought a little tear to my eye.

Not sure what my boy thought of it all. But glad he was there so that we could share it together. 

More Village Green

Here's a photo of our stall at the hugely successful Village Green. Still can't believe how well we did that day. Thank you to all my lovely friends who popped by to say hello, bought goodies and provided a much needed glass of wine or two. 

I've also posted a photo of the cushion of the moment. Just LOVE this fabric.

Va Va Village Green

Had a ball at the Village Green on Saturday. The sun came out and the foot flow was huge! Shared a stall with our good mate Kevin who sells housey things made out of car parts and metal objects. We were lucky enough to get a great spot in the vintage area opposite the yummy Bird Wood cafe and the ever-so-popular tea dance floor. "That don't impress me much..." good job we like a bit of Shania! Delighted to sell most of my stock!!!! In particular the cushions went down a storm. Right, onwards and upwards.. we have Thorpe Hall fair this coming Saturday so better get that sewing machine warmed up.

Coolio 'London' cushions

Had a rather enjoyable trip to London last weekend to pick up some super duper fabrics at Fabrics Galore in Clapham. So many lovely fabrics in store I went into a bit of a panic. However, managed to pull myself together to buy some of this gawjus London fabric. Trimmed with a bit of piping, I think these extra large cushions are a bit special. Will be adding these to my stock for the Village Green next weekend! Lovely jubbly.

'LOLOS' Dress A Girl Around the World

A big shout out to the the ladies of Leigh on sea (LOLOS)!!! I do love an acronym..we could even be LILOS - ladies in Leigh on sea but that may have other connotations.

Anyhow, didn't we have a lovely day today making little frocks for Dress a Girl Around the World. This must be THE perfect way to spend a wet/windy/chilly/grey day in Leigh on sea. And much cake eating, tea drinking and chatting was done too. Even Mr Grey got a mention... and I concur, Colin Firth is much too 'nice' to play that role.

A big thank you to the dress makers - Claire B, Claire L, Lorraine, Sarah, Nicola, Kirsty and Vicky - for getting involved. Spread the word ladies.

How to make a pillowcase dress

Hello, I've written some (hopefully) simple instructions for making the Dress a Girl Around the World pillowcase dress. Thanks very much everyone for getting involved and hope you enjoy doing a bit of sewing. I would love to see photos of any extra dresses you make.

Here goes:

1. Cut along the top of the pillowcase (where it is sewn together). This will be the top of the dress.
2. Measure the J-shaped armholes using the template (see link to website for templates below). Draw around template and cut armhole shape.
3. Cut dress to length (see chart below), allowing an extra 2 cms for hem. Iron over 1 cm hem, then another 1 cm hem to tuck in raw edges. Sew this hem in place.
4. Make casing at the top of the dress: Turn cut edge at top under 1 cm and iron. Now turn over another 3 cm and iron. Sew close to the edge.
5. Cut 2 pieces of elastic (see chart for length). Attach a safety pin to one end of elastic and thread through casing. Pin both ends of elastic in place and sew across each end of elastic and casing (do this a few times to secure it).
6. Cut bias-binding to length x 2 (see attached for length). Needs to be long enough for armholes and ties on the shoulders.
7. Fold bias binding in half lengthways - iron. Pin the bias-binding to both armhole edges, centring it lengthwise so there are equal amounts on each end for shoulder ties.
8. Sew the tape around armholes, starting at the end of the binding. Tuck in raw edges at the ends of the tape.
9. Tie your ties and dress is finished!

Chart for sizes (in cms)

Size (age)      Finished length         Folded width      Bias-binding length       Elastic length

Baby                     36-40                         40                           76                                 15

1-2                        44-48                         43                           89                                 15

3-4                        51-56                         45                           91                                 18

5-6                        59-64                         50                           91                                 18

7-8                        67-72                         55                           91                                 18

9-10                      74-77                         58                           91-100                          20

11                          79-84                         58                          101                                20

12-14                     87-89                        58                           101                               20

see 'sewdelightful.blogspot.co.uk' for more information and photos.

Happy sewing.

xx

Click here for templates for armholes

Chocolate Fridge Cake for Friday

Looking forward to getting everyone together on Friday to Dress a Girl Around the World...making chocolate fridge cake as I blog, sample dress made with help from Mimi....

Build your own pizza oven

What more can I say but 'want one'. Wonder if Dr Green is up for the challenge?!

Here's a link to the instructions: http://flossieteacakes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/how-to-build-your-own-pizza-oven.html. Hint, hint hubby x

Dress a girl around the world

This is a fantastic effort which I'm keen to get involved in. I'm hoping to hold a couple of sewing sessions at my house for friends (including tea and cake of course).


Hope we can get a stash of lovely dresses together to send out to these gorgeous children.


Here's a link with more detail:


http://sewscrumptious.blogspot.co.uk/p/pillowcase-dress-info.html

And whilst I'm on the subject of cake

Lordy me... look at this supercute cake topper. Wish my Mimi was still a little dot.

Cherry bakewell cake

I am more than a bit obsessed with cake at the moment - being on a diet and all - and this is one of my current faves.  I've posted the recipe on here and think my little sis in particular should give it a go.

Enjoy x

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/9074/cherry-bakewell-cake

Dotty Sparkle's Farmers Market

I thought I'd have a go at selling my wares a bit further afield so ventured off to Dotty Sparkle's Farmers Market in Thorpe Bay on Sunday.

It was a small affair with around 15 stalls - a mix of craft and foods - in the most gorgeous little church hall. Dotty (Caroline) did a fabulous job decorating the hall and the tea room in pretty vintage bits.  A lovely atmosphere and backdrop to the proceedings.

So, we had a dry run with the stall on Saturday to see if we could get it to look less of a jumble. Claire's parents very kindly lent me their bespoke shelving (they have antique stalls) to give our stall some height and interest. I was absolutely delighted with the result.

Well, the day turned out to be profitable and, most importantly, we had great support from lots of our Leigh friends who popped by. The kids had a great time setting up the stall, mooching around the hall and serving too.

Am chuffed to bits with a new idea of mine - small mice (in vintage dresses!!) in beds - which sold extremely well. I shall make lots of these for next time as I love fiddling around with the different fabrics and buttons for their garments.

Anyhow, off to get the kids to school. Got a bench cushion to make for my friends AC and John today and a tutorial to write for tomorrow's sewing lesson.

Ta ta for now.