sunsine, lollipops...

There's been only snippets and fragnents of craft time lately, some of which has been used for unravelling. But some was used to make this baby quilt. It began as a wish to try some improvisational piecing, and ended with something I hadn't planned but quite like. Its not perfect - I learned I need to baste better next time. But its fun and full of sunshine. I hope the intended baby gets good use from it.

Babies

They are everywhere. Everyone seems to be having them. Which is fine by me - I like mine very much, and can see no harm in there being more of these charming things around. And, I get to indulge in some baby-related sewing that really, I have no other excuse to do. How many baby quilts does my not-really-a-baby-anymore need? None. Should I really be getting on with quilting B's big-boy quilt? Sure. But in the meantime, I'm plotting and scheming some scrappy improv quilts. Here's the start of one. Its turning out ok.

B is concerned that some of the monkeys can't see. I don't think the baby will notice. I have some leave coming up with nothing scheduled to do (luxury!!) so I'm planning on getting some more of this done in March - at least before the baby I hope to give it to grows up.


These are peanut butter choc-chip cookies. They are totally delicious. Or should I say, were totally delicious. Recipe is from Brown Eyed Baker - totally recommended.

refurbished garden

So on the weekend, we replaced the straw bales around our straw-bale raised garden bed. I have to say, for something that we planned very poorly and did no research into, this has worked really well! We still have almost no weeds in the bed, its reasonably easy to keep slugs under control with nematodes, and our plan to just replace the straw bales when they got saggy worked like a charm. This picture has the new bales on the left compared with the old ones on the right. They are from the same farm, so they are made by the same baler and should be the same size - gives you an idea of the amount of compression/decomposition that occurred in a year.

When we finished, it looked as good as new! There was no collapse of the dirt when we removed the old bales, and the new ones slotted in easily. And now we have five bales worth of partially rotted straw to mulch the rest of the garden with - very handy in this drought we're in! Now I just want to plant away - its very hard to restrain myself - I have to keep reminding myself that its only February still (just for today though), and there is plenty more opportunity for frost. It just feels so much like spring out there :)

knits!

So, inspired by made by rae (hope that link works!) I've ventured into sewing with knits. I made this envelope T for F using the pattern in Growing Up Sew Liberated, from fabric bought from Ray Stitch some time ago. All I can remember is its an organic jersey. And I think it turned out ok...it fits Right Now, so I better get it on him asap.
I'm having some computer problems so its mobile-only blogging at present, so sorry about the picture quality.



ETA: right - hopefully those links are fixed now!

vintage for boys

My attempts to marry a love of vintage style and quality with boy-friendly decor: B's new vintage Horrocks' Thomas curtains. I do believe they've never been used and the trains are slightly creepy in their expressions but we all love them.

little knits

While I'm not really blogging, I am knitting. And thanks to recent talking to's I've had from myself, I've ended up with two projects on the go, both for the boys. The first is an Elisaac (you should really check it out, its a great little jumper with a cool construction). My gauge is off but I really love these yarns (both together and seperately). So I am re-knitting this after I knit an entire one already and tried to fool it into being the right size by putting it in B's jumper drawer. Maybe proximity would help....but no. Still wide enough for a six year old and long enough for a 3 year old. But after frogging and reknitting the body I lost heart at the sleeves. Enter a new jumper, this time for F. I don't like the colours but I love the yarn (Rowan purelife wool dk), and the pattern ( Drops) is cute. So now two bodies and no sleeves...
Oh, the talking to was about knitting for fun, which is why I cast on a second jumper rather than muddle on with something I was sick of knitting. Unusual for me. But now I think it would be more fun to have new jumperd for my boys, so sleeves it is.

cold

Life seems to be increasingly busy, for all the best reasons. But this means that there is always a choice being made - if I choose to spend my time on this, then I dont get to do that. If I want this, I have to forgoe that. Obviously this is always the case, its just more obvious to me now when the choices are so often between things that I value equally. But in the end theres no choice, really. A walk in the cold winter sunshine with all my boys always wins (even over knitting).

winter walks

mobile blogging. How very 2012 ( or maybe 2011 and I'm late to the party). Out walking without kids but with new gloves.

Timely

Well, with one thing or another, I missed posting for a whole month there. Turns out that working a busy job, having a family, a few hobbies, remnants of a social life and the odd holiday takes up pretty much all my time. Oh, and sleeping. Or not sleeping, as the case may be. Anyway, I'm still here, I have many, many blog posts in my head, and intentions of sometime maybe actually posting them. In the meantime, there are new cyclamen in my house, which can only be good. 

Blackcurrant cordial

I like cordial, but not really the bought kind. And I like making stuff, but really I have enough jam already. So I decided to make some blackcurrant cordial. Last year I made elderberry cordial, and it worked fine - I'm still drinking it! So I decided to wing it with the blackcurrants and did this:
Brought my blackcurrants to the boil with a dash of water, then simmered for a few minutes until they all burst. Then I pushed this through a sieve (you could drain them in a muslin), and measured this in a jug. I then added as much water again, and half as much sugar, brought this to the boil for a few minutes, then put into sterile bottles and kept this in the fridge. I'm sure it wouldn't last for ever, but it lasted at least 5 weeks until I had drunk it all! I'd definately do this again with other fruits - raspberries, elderberries, maybe blueberries too.

Redressing the gender imbalance

 A few weekends ago, we went and collected three new additions to our brood...

Meet Bat (a Nera), Butter (an Oxford Brown) and Mrs Bogey (an Oxford Blue). This is what happend when you let your two year old name your chooks. It took me a full week to realise we had named one of them Butter Chicken.
They are quite lovely, and very messy. They let B pat them, eat everything that comes their way, and dig up all my plants. They also poo everywhere, and escape from every attempt to pen them in to one corner of the garden. They give us three lovely little eggs every day.

Big boy quilt

 Over the past few weeks, I have managed to turn this:

into this:

 A new quilt top for my big boy, who is soon to progress to a big boy bed and clearly needed a quilt for it.

Fabric is Wee Woodland by Keiki (Moda fabrics), from Fabricworm. I used this zigzag quilt tutorial as a guide. Its flannel, so its a lovely big warm thing. The plan now is to store it away until I hit the Festival of Quilts, where I can hopefully find some good backing fabric, then turn it into a useable quilt over winter. It turned out a little Christmas-ey, but otherwise I think its ok, and B likes it (for the moment), which is really the main thing.

Summer vest

 

 So it turns out that in England, you need a summer vest for your baby. Who would have thought? Luckily, I had planned ahead by cleverly knitting almost all of a vest in early spring. Hmmm. Why did I knit almost all of a vest? Because I ran out of yarn. It was a gallant effort to use up some of my larger scraps of yarn, but on this occasion, I juuuust underestimated. So the top sixth of the back is a slightly different shade of yellow. And then once I finished the actual vest, I couldn't face doing the bands. Because I didn't like the different shade of yellow, and it was all a bit blah. Then the warm weather stopped, and he really needed a vest. And it became very evident that if I didn't finish it now, he would be way too big for it. So I grabbed the nearest yarn - my first attempt at handdyeing yarn - and knit it on. Yep, its DK and the vest is sport weight. But you know what? It doesn't matter. It fits (for another week maybe!), it is warm, it stays on, and the yellow is so gorgeous and soft that I pat him even more than usual.

Yay for finally finishing things, even in a really mediocre way!

Little Green Courgette...

So Mootthings asked if I had any courgette recipes (its getting to glut time here in the UK). And why yes, of course. Whilst they are called zucchini where I'm from, they still proliferate in great numbers in the garden.
Currently, I love them done Italian-style, like this: Slice your courgettes into 1cm wide circles/slices. Cook a little garlic in a decent amount of olive oil in a pan. Add the courgettes and some assorted italian-style herbs (dried or fresh, although I think dry oregano is the bees for this recipe). Let them brown just slightly then put the lid on and cook for around 10 minutes or so, until they start to look softened in the centres. Shake them around a bit while they are cooking. Then to finish them off, make a little space in the centre of a pan and fry an anchovy until it is soft and melty, stir it in and then squeeze over some lemon juice. Its yummy as a side, I serve it with Gnocchi alla Romana. I have a feeling the recipe originally came from Jamie Oliver. Its great for using up respectable amounts of courgette/zucchini.
Or you can go a little crazy and try zucchini bread. This is delicious (although it is moist and won't keep for ever if the weather is hot).
Beat 3 eggs until foamy, blend in 1 cup of oil, 1.5 cup sugar, 2 cup grated zucchini, and some vanilla essence. Sift 3 cup SR flour & a little salt into the mix and stir. Add 1 cup chopped walnuts, put into 2 prepared tins (I tend to use loaf tins) and cook in a mod oven for around an hour. You can halve this ok, either using 2 small eggs or 1 large one, and it is still ok. I expect the cake would freeze fine too, so you could make two and have one for later (if there is room in your freezer, I'm not the kind of person who has room in their freezer for a cake).
I also saw this recipe for courgette risotto (which surely should be zucchini risotto?) by Angela Hartnett in the guardian, and intend to have a go shortly - I'll let you know how it goes (or you could let me know if you get round to it sooner).
And if you want more inspiration, have a look here. Yummy ideas...

(PS, sorry about the tacky title, but it brings to my mind such wonderful images of Prince as allotmenteer that I couldn't help myself. Of course, stranger things have happened...)

Loving it...

This week I have been loving...
...broad bean and pea dip (I know! Broad beans - how I dislike thee)
...Louise cake made with damson jam (I know, mum, its really called raspberry shortcake, but I think Louise cake is prettier).
...Oxford Kitchen Yarns beautiful floor quilt
...starting new projects
...foxy fabric
...Felix's meta pinterest board
...feet

Hope you all had a great weekend

Climbing the walls

 When we moved into our place a year ago (!), we spent considerable amounts of resources (temporal and financial) acquiring furniture that we actually liked, would remain functional after more than 6 months and look the part in this 1930's semi. We largely solved that problem. However, the blank walls were crying out for some decoration, and turns out that frames are about as expensive as furniture. So I bought a two lovely pieces of screenprinting from Helen Rawlinson on Etsy. She has lovely stuff, and works out of London. The pieces turned up so quickly, and I got some canvases and glued them on. The ABC one didn't fit a standard canvas size, so I sewed a little linen bias binding on two edges, which looks ok I think. So now the big boy's room is a bit brighter...

 and our room is a little less empty looking.

I also decided we needed a new duvet cover. I had a lovely piece of blue and white fabric in my stash, enormous and bought for a song second-hand a few years ago. But it wasn't quite enough, so I found a lovely piece of 'very vintage' Irish linen online.

 I know, it just looks like a sheet in this picture. Trust me, it is gorgeous. Cool, smooth, clearly used as it is lovely and soft. It has a hand stitched seam up the centre that is done with the most minute stitches, and the hems are so beautifully sewn, all by hand. Someone spent a lot of time on this piece of fabric. It also had a weavers mark on it:

One day I'll remember to take a picture of the finished duvet cover, but I managed to keep the centre seam and some of the hems. It had a few tiny pieces of wear, but these were easy enough to fix. I also have enough left to make some cushion/pillow covers (one day!). I love having this treasured old piece as my treasured new thing.

summer meals

So with the veg box and the veg garden both providing us with assorted delicious things, we occasionally end up with significant amounts of veg. For example, spinach/chard/cavalo nero/leafy greens. I have always loved the idea of spinach & feta pie/tart, but I am the first to admit that they can be bland, mushy old things. So I started on a quest to make my perfect S&F tart. It took several goes, but I think I'm nearly there. And, surprise!, S likes it too. So here it is - my Spinach & Feta tart recipe. Well, its not really a recipe, more like broad guidelines. See what you think.

1. Leaves: you need a lot of leaves. As much as you can get your hands on really. The best tarts come from a blend of chard and spinach, I think, but you can really use almost anything. Baby spinach leaves from the supermarket will do, but they are the least tasty (maybe better for those spinach-shy folks). Anyway, chop some shallots, fry them off gently, add some garlic if you like, then put your leaves in, turn the heat right down and put the lid on. Turn them over a few times, until they wilt down. I usually add them in a few goes, to fit them into the frypan. It is essential that you squeeze your spinach out as much as possible before you put it in the pie - you want as little liquid in the pie as possible.

2. White sauce: You need a small amount of white sauce, made to be quite thick (butter, flour, milk). You can put cheese in if you like, or some mustard, or something else, or nothing.

3. Feta: the better your feta, the better your tart. Have a taste of it before you finish the filling as it seems to vary a lot in saltiness and you might need to adjust your seasoning.

4. Flavours: Here you can be flexible, but I think it really needs the following - herbs (ideally fresh dill and parsley), a little grated lemon zest, and pine nuts. You could also add almost any 'soft' herb, really - basil, oregano, new thyme leaves, chives, and things like capers and olives are also good.

So mix all your components together, except the pine nuts if you're using them.

roll out some pastry. I used to make my own, but actually \I prefer shop puff pastry for this. Half a block is fine. Roll it into a square. Put your filling in the middle, in a sort of flat lump. Sprinkle over your pine nuts. In the picture above I just folded the two edges over, but it works better if you pull the four sides up, with corners out, then fold the corners in. This makes it almost sealed, but not quite. Juices stay in, but it allows some evaporation without the filling getting too dry. Sesame seeds on top is nice too.

So thats it. Nice with a little pinot grigio.

If you are a 'nap cooker' like me (as in, while the kids are having a nap you get most of your dinner cooked so that at 5pm witching hour you can focus on children not sustaining injuries, rather than the evening meal), then this is great - just make as much or as little of it up until you roll out the pastry, then finish it off and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes when you have a few seconds.

ongoing

While we were on holiday, the garden kept growing. And blooming. Turns out those scrappy old leaves I'd been wondering about, dotted around the garden, were irises. Out of focus irises, but still pretty :) And the roses are turning out to be pleasantly old fashioned and wonderfully smelly.

This is my favourite view from inside at the moment. The pot is fresias, but I think the leaves are rather lovely. Outside is the mock orange, which is carpeting the grass in white. Its all very crisp and springy.

More holidays

 After our week in Cornwall, we all headed off to Lucca, in Tuscany, for a week. Lucca is a walled medieval city, and the walls are incredibly thick and fortified. You can walk or cycle around the top of the wall around the entire city (4km). Or you can take a horse and carriage. And stop the bicycle-gelati guy for a gelati on the way.

 The Guinigi tower is a bit of an icon of Italy, and it is a spectacular view. The trees that grow on the top are really quite large.

 

 The garden at Palazzo Pfanner. We really enjoyed both the garden and the palazzo, well worth the visit.

This walled garden was just around the corner from our apartment. It was lovely and private, with its windows looking out to the street. From the street, it just looked like any other building.
Lucca was a fabulous place to spend a week. Our apartment was expansive and lovely, there were playgrounds nearby, the kids had a great time and were fussed over everywhere, the food was spectacular (as always). I learned more about the intricacies of ordering coffee by visiting the local cafe every day, and indulged in a holiday favourite of cakes for breakfast. When can I go again?!

On holiday

We've been on holiday. The first week was spent at Tintagel, exploring some of the nearby Cornish villages.

Highlights for adults - seafood, local pubs, coast walks.

Highlights for kids - tractors towing boats, crab pots and dragon poo (don't ask).

Visually, the place was inspiring: herringbone stone walls, tapestried wildflower cliffs, monochrome quilted beaches.