Last night at K&N there was a lot of interest in making Elderflower cordial but some concern over where to get Citric Acid. I have now put in the shop some 2oz packets of Citric acid (35p) if you want to have a go at making this very summery drink.
June 2010
30/06/2010
Sock it to them!
When I was away recently visiting my dad who is in his 90's I took it upon myself to change his bedding. Underneath his pillow I found various hankies, a very heavy torch, a map, some fisherman friends and a pen knife! All very useful stuff (though quite why you might need half of them beats me), for a man sleeping alone. However, nestled in amongst this 'manly' collection, was, what I later discovered was Mr Button. Mr Button was a sock creature. Pale blue with arms & legs and 2 huge button eyes. On further enquiry I discovered Mr Button had been made by my nephew Hamish, now 10, when my mum had died almost 3 years ago, to keep Granddad company. What touched me was that not only was this a lovely gesture but one that had obviously been really appreciated. Dad is not the soppy kind, he will cope admirably with whatever life throws at him, which can actually make it difficult to 'touch' him and where my sister and I may have struggled to let dad know we are concerned for him, Mr Button had indeed hit the button.
So, that got me thinking about sock creatures and wondering what there was in the way of books out there for ideas. I can tell you there are quite a few, of varying degrees of interest and enthusiasm. The one that struck a cord with me was this one
The main draw for me was the opening paragraph which reads: Forgive me if I stare at your ankles. forgive me if I hand you a business card and ask you to give me your socks'. Author and avid sock creature creator John Murphy has not only a talent for turning socks into amazing creatures, but also a very warm style of writing. With clear instructions and useful tips throughout he makes you want to go and pluck some socks off the washing line and start straight away.
Each creature comes with it's own personal introduction, warning you of any strange traits!
Lots of helpful tips & hints are scattered throughout the book.
A great book for a wet afternoon's crafting, but definitely too good to wait for rain, so perfect for making sat in the garden with a Pimms!
Perhaps you know someone who'd appreciate a 'Mr Button'.
28/06/2010
A True Taste of Summer
A a hay fever sufferer I can honestly say that the months of May & June have been a bit of a struggle. But there is an annual up side. Every year we become hunter gatherers and collect Elderflower heads to make our own cordial. It is dead easy & delicious. So if you've never tried it before here is my Jamie Oliver style slap dash recipe - guaranteed to have you wanting more.
I should point out that I made double the quantity I am giving you because we have a lot of thirsty teenagers passing through! but the quantity I have given you will make approx 2 litres.
Send out a willing child to collect 15 large Elderflower heads.
In a large pan dissolve 3lbs granulated sugar in 3 pints of water over a medium heat.
Let the liquid cool & add 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar & 2 oz Citric acid (available from chemists) Stir to dissolve.
Cut up 2 lemons (I made double this quantity so that's why I've 4!)
Put unwashed flowers and lemons into large clean bowl or bucket
Pour the sugar/water syrup over them. Cover loosely and leave for 24 hours.
Remove the flower heads & lemons (I used mine for pancakes which had a lovely elderflower & lemon taste).
Strain the liquid through a jelly bag or piece of muslin (a pair of tights at a push) into a large jug.
Bottle and enjoy! Keep refrigerated.
Incidentally the rather lovely bottle contained Samford Courteney Cider, which we can also recommend!
Con -fusing?
Whilst the class were busy making their dragonflies on Saturday Nikki introduced me to a very natty little device.
The Microwave Glass Fusing Kiln.
This little kiln can fuse small amounts of glass in minutes. I made 2 small piles of blue glass with a hint of pink, and popped it all in the microwave for 5 minutes. When removed the kiln is red hot, and needs to be left for half an hour, then you can take a peep.
Inside, instead of the piles of tiny glass pieces were 2, almost the same, beautiful glass nuggets. When you put the glass in you have little idea of how it will fuse, which is all part of the excitement. I was however very pleased with my results and they were pretty close to how I had imagined.
We washed the nuggets, which removed the white powder and voila................
A pair of (slightly out of focus!) earrings.
What fun! I think I might have to invest in one of these little kilns. Nothing confusing here at all, very straight forward and exciting.
27/06/2010
Art of Glass
Yesterday we held a Stained Glass workshop as part of our monthly programme and local lady Nikki Coombs came to show us how it was done.
Glass was selected form a range of suitable colours from which to create Dragonflies. It was then cut - a scary moment!, ground and welded by each of the group.
The level of concentration and lack of chatter had never been seen before!
Using the grinder to smooth the edges
Smoothing down the solder strips.
Seeing it all come together with the soldering iron.
Another one laid out and ready for soldering
Ta dah! Olive was the first to finish her Dragonfly.
And slowly they all started to emerge
Until we had a tree full of them.
How lovely do they look?
24/06/2010
Keep it simple
A new craft book arrived this week and I love it.
Author Kelly Doust is a long time collector and recycler with some lovely ideas. What I like most about this book is it's simplicity. It's a big chunky book of over 250 pages with a wipe cleanable cover and clear fuss free instructions for all the ideas. The projects are very do-able with minimum preparation. The book is divided into seasons offering inspiration to suit the weather and the mood - woolly project for winter, fun and pretty ones for summer.
Coloured bubbles in our house this evening, my choice & I can't wait - just need to find the children!
Lots of lovely things to make and keep or gift.
23/06/2010
Early days
The blankets for our blanket challenge are being designed and created as I type.
Last night at K&N there was much cooing over shades and designs and a fair bit of deliberation too regarding which colours to choose.
I did take a lot of photo's - but sadly they have disappeared into thin air! and I have only a couple to show you. I will take more as the blankets progress.
Anyone else want to make one???
For some design is half the fun.
And it pays off too.
For others, speed is all important!
21/06/2010
I'm back!
I was lucky enough to escape for a few days and go back home to visit family this weekend. The weather was fabulous and I got no crocheting done. It was lovely to see everyone again and my sister and I did a few of the walks we used to do when we were little, reminiscing about everything from holidays to wasp stings!
So why not join me for Knit & Natter tomorrow night 7.30pm and tell me what you've been up to?
18/06/2010
17/06/2010
Make a rainbow
Just feast your eyes on all these yummy colours.
Which ones 'speak' to you?
Can you not wait to get your hands on them?
Check in tomorrow to see how I can help!
Two Angels
An inspirational gift & craft shop in a pretty market town.
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