A little toy making

I have spent my afternoon relaxing whilst sewing furiously. Lets just say, the two don't really go hand in hand!  But I must say I am very happy to have yet another UFP which has been bugging me, finished and out of the way.

Meet Mr Lion.  He is made from a large yellow checked remnant of fabric, and his tail is a gold cord that has been kicking around in with my ribbons for forever.  The same goes for the eyes (they were originally from my mothers sewing box.)  Mr Lion has been looking very sad for the past few months, as I hadn't gotten around to sewing on his hair or face (much like Aslan from, The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, after he has his mane cruelly shaved off.) Now much happier and very much more lion like, with a big bushy beard!

This is Miss Elephant, which I completed a while ago.  Miss Elephant is made from an old pair of grey cord trousers, a fancy print mans shirt, a piece of denim cord, hand crochet flowers in denim blue acrylic yarn and small and very old lace flower decorations, which have both been sewn onto felt and then blanket stitched onto the elephant.  I hope Mr Lion and Miss Elephant can be good friends and won't argue.

This is the pattern book I was working from for both toys.  It was published back in 1976, just look at those fabrics!  My mother originally made us the lion, pig, elephant and frog from this book, when we were very small.  I like that it still has the price sticker attached; 95p from Woolworths!

Runner Bean Chutney

When I'm not making something nice to look at, I'm usually making something nice to eat! 

 

Just opened another new jar of chutney today.  I'm certainly getting through all my jams and pickles, especially as I have given about half away to family and friends as presents.  But I did make quite a lot towards the end of summer.  You could say I went into pickling overdrive!  So what is left should hopefully see me through til the new growing season.  Now despite what it says on the jar, this chutney is NOT spicy.  It was spicy when tasted it before potting, but the spice has totally mellowed out on maturing.  In fact my daughter can't get enough of this one, and she is only a toddler.

This is my own recipe for Runner Bean Chutney and is for quite a large batch.  I was using up a glut of beans and marrows from our allotment, but please feel free to experiment with your own fruit and veg combinations.  Its best to use up what you've got laying around, in my experience chances are it will come out tasting nice!

Runner Bean Chutney:

Ingredients:

900g marrow
800g runner beans
4 large onions (400g approx)
600ml vinegar
450g sugar
2 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Method:

1.  Peel tough skin from marrow and dice.  String and chop beans.  Peel and slice onions finely (the more finely chopped the vegetables are at this stage, the better spreading consistency the chutney will have).

2.  Put all ingredients into a large stainless steel saucepan and bring to the boil slowly.  Stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

3.  Simmer gently for 1 1/2-2 hours, stirring regularly to prevent chutney from catching on the bottom of the pan.

4. The chutney is ready when the mixture is nice and thick and a wooden spoon drawn across the base of the pan leaves a trail.

5. Ladle into warm sterilised jars and seal whilst hot.

6. Store in a cool dark place. Chutneys can taste harsh if they are eaten straight away. Leaving it to mature for 1-2 months will allow the flavours to mature and develop.

 

Most of all this process is not hard or scary.  The only important parts are that the jars are clean and well sterillised and the chutney is hot when potting up.  Also that the level of sugar and vinegar is sufficient for successful preserving.  If storred correctly, this chutney should easily keep for a year. Don't be afraid to experiment, and be prepared to throw all your windows open, happy preserving!
 

Some thrify finds

  

At the weekend I went to the visiting antiques fair at the Royal Norfolk Show Ground.  They are few and far between in this area, so I was quite excited to have a bit of a rummage around!  I stumbled upon a shoe box of twisted up cottons and picked out a few threads and a roll of white bias tape.  I probably would have picked up some more cottons while I was there, but everything was so tangled in the box and it was so cold I had lost the feeling in my hands and feet!

  

 

I also found another stall which had suitcases bursting open with antique lace clothes, handkerchiefs and fabric items.  I picked up lots of doilies, three rolls of lace trims and lots of other lovely bits and pieces.

  

 

 I think some of the pieces of lace are handmade and really quite old.  They must have taken a long time to make originally and a heck of a lot of patience!

 

 

 These ones are extra delicate!

 

 

 

This one was a little bit different.  Its an oval in sheer material with little flowers on, edged in lace.  I expect its more modern than a lot of the other ones, but it stood out to me. I thought it was quite twee and imagined it was originally sat on a dressing table, as its a bit bedroom looking.

 

Once I had been round the fair, I doubled back on myself and went back to the stalls outside for a second look.  I felt that a lot of the indoor stalls were a little over priced for my liking, no matter how warm it was!  I was on a bargain hunt, not specifically looking for pricey antiques.  I found a large crochet blanket in brights and pastel squares, with a zig-zag edging.  But after giving the blanket a bit of a sniff, I put it back as it smelled a little too funky for my liking.  It was also sat on an old pram with visible mildew marks.  I do like thrifty finds, but I definitely do not like wifty finds!  There is also nothing worse than washing and rewashing second hand things, to find that you just can't shift the smell.

 

I headed back to the stall with the antique clothes and fabrics for another look around.  I found this huge crochet blanket in white cotton.  Its a large double bed throw and is edged with a zig-zag pattern.  After lots of umming and ahhing with the stall holder I bought what I consider to be a bit of a bargain, given how many zillions of hours it must have taken!

  

 

It is a little bit thread bare in places and will take a lot of TLC to fix up, but I think its lovely.  It reminds me of a huge papercut, and looks so beautiful held up to the light.

  

 

This is some of the damage on the blanket.  I am hoping I can restore it sympathetically with some plain cotton thread.  I can see places where someone has tried to fix it before with the wrong nylon thread and it sticks out like a sore thumb to me.  Hopefully I can do a better job, and if not I might be able patch it with something new.  Maybe I could cover the damage with material backing and some crochet flowers... hmmm.

 

 

Wonderful crochet windows :o)

 

Crochet Marathon!

 

 

Very happy this morning as I finished piecing together my granny square afghan just before bed last night.  So am finally getting to enjoy the fruits of my labour!

 

 

And indulging in a little light cushion rearranging ;)

 

The finished blanket measures 112cm x 194cm, so is pretty large and is approximately 160+ hours work. I probably could have got away with it being a fair bit smaller, as half the blanket hangs down the back of the sofa and can't be seen.  I do however like a blanket to be practical as well as pretty.  And there is nothing worse than chucking a lovely handmade throw over yourself for a nice nap, to find you can feel a draft.  And no matter how much you wiggle and jiggle about, and manouvre the blanket over yourself, you just can't get comfy cos your bum is hanging out the side of it!

 

 

I am also feeling a little smug because there was very little wastage of yarn.  I normally make a project and  end up with lots of little odds and ends in all sorts of colours, and have no idea what to do with them!  But with this blanket, I used up all the leftover pieces of wool to join the squares together.  I even unpicked a couple of squares over towards the end, to finish of the very last parts, rather than start a new ball !

 

 

A lot of work, but wirth it all in the end.  I hope you enjoy my pictures!

 

 

 

Inspirational Windowsill

Before I begin, please excuse the lack lustre garden, we've not long moved in and well, winter is a little uninspiring in itself isn't it?

 

 

 

 

As I did the washing up this morning, standing at a rather mucky looking sink, with a windowsill full of clutter, wishing for more clement weather, I decided I should really unpack a few bits and pieces. We moved house three few weeks ago and I am living partially still in boxes.  Well saying that, living quite comfortably from all the things I've unpacked, but lacking all my nick-knacks.  I will probably rearrange everything again... and again, but for now I am happy, as I feel a little inner calm returning after all the chaos.  I must admit, I did miss my all my stuff when it was packed away. 



Lets start at the beginning!

So this is it, I am stepping out into the wide world of blogging. I must admit I feel a little nervous at the thought of just anyone stumbling across my ramblings, but if I forever hide back in the burrow from which I came, this will never happen. So hey ho, be positive, here goes nothing!



 

Touche Crochet

I am currently working on a crochet granny square afghan in olive, mustard, purple, maroon, cream and peach. Yes, I know what you're thinking (what an odd combination), but I was given a lot of free yarns and actually it is coming out rather well.

 

 

I am at that tedious and fiddly stage of joining all the squares. But I am remembering to sew all the ends in as I go, so I don't have even more of a headache once I get to the end. Also, I thought it may do my hand some good to mix it up between single crochet and a little light sewing.

 

 

 

This is how I keep all my squares in order when assembling a blanket.  Once I've laid out my design on the dining room floor, I stack up all my rows and keep my squares from getting muddled again by using nappy sacks and numbered post-it notes (very glamorous!) I then make sure they are kept safe and away from mischievous little hands. I like to use my wicker picnic basket for storage as it has a buckle fastening that my daughter hasn't worked out how to undo yet!

 

I've got another three rows to attach to the blanket (vertical stripes) and then work all the long horizontal rows. Not decided yet whether to crochet around the outside. Think I will wait and see how it looks once I'm finished.

 

 

 

This is the sofa the blanket is destined for. Think it will tie in well with all my cushions.