A Snowy Day

Like most of the rest of the country, we've had snow.


Not as much as some places but enough for the schools to be closed.

Enough for the dog to be so excited he pranced around like a puppy.

Enough that we could build a snowman.

And enough so that, like Kipper...

we could make "snow angels" on the ground...

And forget that we're supposed to be grown up!

I like snowy days!

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And for Pipany and anyone else who might like to try them... the recipe for my ginger muffins:

9 oz plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons dried ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 oz soft brown sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons black treacle

3 fl oz vegetable oil

6 fl oz milk

4 pieces stem ginger, finely chopped

Heat oven to 200 deg C. Prepare a muffin tin with 12 muffin cases. In a large bowl sift together all the dry ingredients. In another bowl beat together all the wet ingredients, including the stem ginger. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Spoon into the muffin cases and bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

4 -5 heaped tablespoons icing sugar

zest and juice of 1 lime

Mix the sugar with the lime zest and enough of the juice to make a runny icing. Spoon over the top of the muffins while still slightly warm. Eat and enjoy!

Three Things

1. Sunday Lunch

Carrot and Coriander Soup (homemade) with Irish Soda bread (bought) followed by Ginger and Lime Muffins (homemade). A warming lunch for a freezing day!

2. Something Cheerful

Some sunshine in the form of "Peaches and Cream" primroses because I'm in denial about the snow which has started to fall heavily outside!

3. Overdue Thanks

To Kitty and Indigo Blue, some overdue thanks for this Blogging Friends Award, which they both gave me a few weeks ago. I'm sure there are rules which I've long since forgotten but as you will know, I don't do rules so I'm just going to say thank you very much. Thank you all too for the lovely comments left on my last post - it created quite a response!

Going Grey

After yesterday's colourful post some thoughts on lack of colour...

I've always had very dark hair... even as a newborn.

Then in my late twenties the first couple of white hairs appeared and I immediately resorted to a bottle of hair dye. I continued to dye my own hair, keeping it dark, for the next ten years or so. But soon the roots began to show more and the colour didn't look right and so I started to have it coloured at the hairdressers. I went a few shades lighter and had blonde highlights added which tackled the problem of the roots but as the years passed it looked less and less good. The blonde began to look like I was trying too hard and in the winter it started to look decidedly straw like! Also, I was having to have it done more often to keep the roots under control. Unhappy with the way it looked, this autumn I went for a radical change and went coppery red. I thought I was happy until I came home and read a newspaper article that referred to my new shade as "menopausal red"! That was the last straw... at the next appointment my hairdresser was instructed to "Cut it... as short as possible and no colour!"

That was a couple of months and three cuts ago and there still traces of the copper on the ends.

But mostly it's all gone... and for the first time in several years I feel really comfortable with my hair colour.

My hair feels healthier and suits my skin.

It feels like one of the most liberating decisions I've made in a long time!

And think of all that money saved that can be spent on colourful fabric and yarn!

Resistance Was Futile

There is a lot of rather gorgeous colourful crochet going on in blogland. It has been spotted here, here, here and most of all here in Attic24. Who wouldn't be tempted by those glorious colours? But no, I'm still only half way through my ripple blanket and it would be silly to start another one... wouldn't it?

But the hexagons are so intriguing and it wouldn't hurt just to learn how to make one... would it?

But having made one, I needed to make another to find out how to join them together which saves all that boring bit of sewing them together... necessary don't you think?

And then while I was out shopping for something totally unrelated I happened, quite accidently you understand, to buy this yarn.

And before I knew it... another blanket started. And it's even more addictive than the ripples. There's always the tempation to add just one more hexagon... and another... and another...

I knew you would understand!

It might have been bigger, but like Lesley I grew a little too confident and cast aside the instructions (which you can find here) which resulted in several "not quite right" hexagons. I tried to ignore them but the slightly obsessive side of me couldn't let it go and so they were unravelled and started again.

With all this colour I couldn't resist a colourful lunch today... just about my favourite soup... Ginger and orange with lentils.

I think we all need more colour by the end of January - that's my excuse anyway!

Can't think of a Title!

What a fun day we had yesterday at Art and Stitch. I got to sit and play at my sewing machine all day, talk to lots of people and meet some blogging friends... which can't be bad for a day's work. This is me with Angela, photo courtesy of Julie!

I did lots of demonstrating (and drinking tea and talking!) so now as well as there being a turquoise brooch there is also...

A red brooch with a flower...

A purple (yes... it is purple) brooch with a flower...

And a red brooch with a heart. So the winner of my heavy metal giveaway can choose their prize and pick the brooch they like best.

Which leads me nicely to ... the winner... Toffeeapple. If you email me with your address and tell me which brooch you would prefer I'll get it in the post this week.

A quick change of subject... many of you will already know that tonight is Burns' night. Not any old Burns' night but the 250th anniversay of the birth of Robert Burns. So yesterday my dear Scottish husband came home with this... a haggis.

Now call me fussy... but to someone who hasn't eaten meat in over 15 years the idea of minced up lamb's lungs, heart and liver, mixed with spices and oatmeal all wrapped up in a sheep's stomach isn't all that appealing! But I was a dutiful wife and I cooked the said beast and even bashed some neeps to go with it!

There are some compensations to it being Burns' night though!

New Zealand

Before Christmas I was commissioned to make two landscape style pictures that could hang together, inspired by New Zealand... interesting as I've never been there. I decided to start with the beautiful colours found in paua shells.

Then with a little bit of internet research (this is when I decide perhaps I do love computers) I started to play with some ideas.

And this has resulted in the following two stitched landscapes. (Although the photographs are not entirely true to the colours.)

These will be on their way to New Zealand in February as a wedding present for a couple I have never met. I quite like the idea of them being on a wall on the other side of the world. I just hope the recipients like them!

Heavy metal Giveaway!

There were a couple of questions after my last post, about stitching on metal, which I thought I would answer here (probably about as close to a tutorial as I'm ever likely to come!) Stitching on metal is pretty much the same as stitching on fabric, as long it is soft and pliable enough for a needle to pass through. You can buy special packs of metal shim which come in in different types such as copper, brass and pewter but to start with you can just as easily use an empty tomato puree tube - preferably washed! Although the tubes are coated aluminium the inside is brass coloured.


I use a no. 90/14 universal needle and although you can use a smaller needle it is more likely to break. You can use any thread - for the cuff I used a metallic thread but here I am using rayon. The most important thing is to use a fairly thick backing fabric - such as pelmet vilene or felt. This is important because as the needle pierces the metal it leaves sharp edges which would shred the thread and possibly scratch your machine, but by backing it with a thick fabric the sharp edges become embedded in the fabric.

The machine is then set up for free machining - feed dogs lowered, embroidery foot on and top tension slightly reduced.. and away you go and start stitching your design.

Finish off with some beads, satin stitch it onto a firm backing, add a brooch back... and there it is... tomato puree jewellery!

In class on Tuesday, the ladies started some samples of stitching on metal but will be finishing them next week so you'll have to wait to see the results but I can show you what they finished from the week before which was stitching with foils with excellent results.

I will be demonstrating these techniques among many others this Saturday at a special open day at "Art and Stitch" which is Angela's needlework and craft shop in Peterborough. If you are in the area please come and say hello. And talking of Angela, look at the lovely things I won in her giveaway... this fabulous Oliver Twist inspiration pack...

And chocolate!

Thank you Angela.

On the subject of giveaways... I totally missed my 250th blog post so instead I'll have a 253rd blog post giveaway. If you would like to win the little turquoise tomato puree brooch... leave me a comment by Sunday evening and I'll pick out a name.