This week...

I've been finishing off some knitting... socks for Stewart who had requested something a bit brighter than usual. Bright enough? (I would like to point out he is modelling his own socks and they are not my hairy legs.)

A pair of wrist warmers for me... started before Christmas but abandoned when I lost the pattern. I found it again this week so finished them off. Knitted in a lovely Rowan Tweed.

I've also received some rather super goodies this week. From Michaela this lovely book on tassel making - just because she thought I would find it useful! I'm sure I will as I feel an overwhelming desire to make some very big and beautiful tassels! Thank you Michaela!

From Julia some fabulous pages from old bibles. I've plans to stitch on them so watch this space. Thank you Julia!

And from Silverpebble a prize in her giveaway. A gorgeous vintage tin filled with wonderful beads and jewellery making supplies. I'll show more when I've done something with the contents! Thank you Emma!

In with the beads were these brilliant wooden scrabble letters with magnets, which are now adorning my fridge. You wouldn't score much in a game of scrabble with my name would you?

I also got another magnet, this time from Jodie. This was very exciting because it now means I'm a member of Team Selvedge which sounds very important!

So that's this week... next week I'm having a little blogging break for half term. Not going anywhere but just need to finish off a lot of things and feel I need a concentrated effort without blogging distractions. Have a happy week... and Happy Valentine's Day!

Stella

Meet Stella. Stella is just one small prize among many wonderful items being raffled by Trashy to help raise money to help the victims of the Australian Bush Fires.

For a chance to win a prize all you have to do is the following:

1. Click on the link to the Australian Red Cross
2. Donate some money (minimum donation is 5 Australian dollars which is about the price of half a bottle of wine)
3. Go to Trashy and tell her how much you have donated.
4. She will then give you one ticket for every dollar you donated, which will then go into the raffle to be drawn next week.

Every little helps!

Hello Dolly!

I'm very excited because in four weeks time I will be in Jersey for a week, teaching and exhibiting. I was asked if part of the exhibition could be devoted to dolls, which is wonderful except I make relatively few dolls and most of those I have made live elsewhere! Granny Annie still lives with us.


And so does Fenella de Vil, close relative of the more famous Cruella.


I am managing to borrow back Marquesa who was commissioned for a 60th birthday present.



And the recently made Mr Nellybigbelly.

However, four dolls hardly make an exhibition and so this weekend I thought I ought to remedy the situation. This is a doll I started about 18 months ago (some of you may even remember seeing her) but I was having lots of problems with the skin fabric fraying and splitting and she was without limbs.

So I started again with the arms and legs and at last she is finished.

"Aisha", African Queen

I think I would like to add a lot more beads and possibly a headdress of some description.

But for now she is complete, as I've one or two more to finish off.

I couldn't write a post today without mentioning the dreadful fires in Australia. I was aghast watching the news last night, especially to think some may have been started deliberately. Much has already been written on blogs today and I have little more to add other than to send my most heartfelt wishes out to friends, blogging or otherwise who have been effected. And if you want to help pop over to Jodie or Trashy who have links to the appropriate websites

Cupcakes and More Snow

A week or so ago I had a very special outing. Special because the venue was a tiny shop in Hertfordshire, Jolie, which is a treasure trove of gorgeous yarns and beautiful things. But most of all, special because it involved meeting with some lovely blogging friends, Val and Tiny Small whom I've known for quite a while now and Julie who I met for the first time. I've long admired Julie's knitted creations and first discovered her when I was looking for a pattern for a knitted cupcake. So imagine my delight when Julie gave me this beautiful little cake.

Feeling inspired and armed with Julie's pattern and yarn purchased at Jolie I knitted up my own version, which unfortunately is nowhere as neat and beautiful as Julie's, but is in fact rather squishy and shapeless!

Especially when you compare the two together. Something is not quite right with my decreasing and I've managed to get the wrong side of the cake case facing out! But I will try again.

Meanwhile I can enjoy these cupcake cards which I also bought at Jolie.

And one or two real cupcakes which are not quite so calorie free as the knitted versions but tasted rather good and disappeared very quickly.

The novelty of a week of snow still hasn't worn off around here... these strange prints are the result of nineteen year old son being in too much of a hurry to don footwear when rushing out to ambush sixteen year old son with snowballs! Crazy!

And on our Rec someone had made this fabulous snowman sitting on a bench.

I would have shown you a full length picture but some clever clogs had added a rather rude, anatomically correct, appendage which I wasn't sure was suitable for blog publication! Did make me laugh though.

He is rather slendid!

A Constant Delight

Despite the snow I've been back to work this week so I thought I would show you some of the beautiful things my students have been making. The class that have been stitching on metals mostly decided they would like to make bookmarks rather than cuffs, with fabulous results and this is just a selection of the finished items.

And Ann used her stitched metal to decorate the front of this gorgeous velevet evening bag.

In my City and Guilds class, the students have been finishing off design work on texture and have presented their finished pieces in different ways. Gill (aka Vintage rock chick) put hers into a book

Janet presented hers on a board.

Another board from Linda C. but very different from the previous one.

And yet another completely different board from Linda W

They have also finished off some stitch samples to show manipulation of fabric - a framed panel from Angela.

A fabulous bag with panels of manipulated fabrics from Gill

A zigzag book of manipulated fabrics from Janet

A panel of manipulated textures from Linda C.

And a beautiful cushion from Linda W.

This is what I love most about teaching - the wonderful variation that comes from the same class and the same basic instruction. It constantly delights me. Well done ladies!

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!

****

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!