Moving tales - chapter 2 'living in a box'

A quick update in the current situation. Stuff, stuff and more stuff!

Moving tales- chapter 1: rainbow legs

So we are packing to move...Isn't it amazing what you find out about yourself when you really start going through all your stuff, take here for example, a rather extensive and colorful collection of tights. Should I be proud? Worried? Ashamed? I'm not sure, but one thing's for certain; I shouldn't really buy any more tights this winter....although I do seem to be lacking a plain black pair.

Preserving Autumn

I'm almost at the bottom of the big pile of apples picked a couple of weeks ago. I'm going to make a list of the top things to do with apples so that those of you with similar problems ( that is an apple excess, if it can be called a problem) can find comfort knowing that there is a way to use up every last apple. So this week's project was apple and cranberry chutney one of Nigella Lawson's Christmas recipes. It was my first ever chutney and it was surprisingly easy to make! Here are the results:

Catch of the day

Yes, that age old question: How do you like your mackerel? In tomato sauce? Smoked and chucked in a kedgeree? Or peppered and made into a pâté?Well, I like to eat mine in a pâté smothered on toast to eat ( recipe below). But to look at, I mean just for appreciating their aesthetic qualities, I like them made of random second hand fabrics. And after some successful fishing trips ( not of mine I might add) I was inspired to make my own delicious looking mackerel. Here they are in their little school of six.

Smoked peppered mackerel pâté:
1 peppered mackerel fillet without skin
Half tub of cream cheese
Good squeeze of lemon juice

Mix well together with fork until smoothish. Toast some bread and smother it with the mackerel mixture. Ta da! Lunch is served!

A Teapot Tale

So I´m sitting at home on a Saturday evening (hey that´s life when you´re a mum) and am going through Finn (the Norwegian Craigs List/Ebay I guess) looking for stuff (don´t ask what! I´ve just really got my eye on some very expensive cutlery. This is how domesticated I´ve become...) and I come across my lovely little teapot. Yeah you remember! This one. Well it turns out that it was designed by a Finnish designer called Kaj Franck, one of the leading Finnish designers of his day ( that is the 60s and 70s). He worked many years for the Finnish company Arabia. You can find out more about him here. And it turns out that my little kettle seems to be worth three times as much as what I payed for it. Ok so no fortune made but maybe a bit of pocket money ( enough to 'treat myself to a Mars bar' as my nan would have said). Not bad, say I! So I´m off to drink a cuppa to celebrate!

Apple magic

It's Autumn and I've literally got a sack of hand picked apples to use up.  Sunday I produced apple and cheese scones courtesy of Smitten Kitchen and yesterday I conjured up some toffee apple muffins. But what to bake next? Any ideas? Some chutney is definitely on the cards. Let's see what apple magic happens over the weekend!

From this ...

to this...

Autumn hut holiday

This past week we've been away to Nordfjord staying in a little hut by the fjord. This gave me a chance to finally finish knitting a baby blanket I started many months ago when I was still pregnant. The finished product complimented autumn perfectly.

Elephants On Parade

It's amazing what you could get for 25p back in the day. One thing was this set of patterns complete with a rather 70s looking elephant.

I bought this in a charity shop about a year ago for about 50 pence (inflation!) and finally got around to creating my own little 70s elephant ( who has now been named David).

It was a gift for a little baby girl and comes complete with retro fabric ears, plaited tail, granny doily back deco and mellowy yellowy button eyes.

Well it took me a while to complete this one ( a few months seen as i had wee Florence in the meanwhile) and every time I began on the sewing machine to get him finished it got me thinking about these other psychedelic elephants:


Now that I'm elephanted out I think that the next project should be the sausage dog which could double up as a rather chic draft excluder!

Enjoy what's left of Monday!

Retro Finds

I found this rather funky and kettle on recent ramblings around the town. Funky? yes! But useful? No! In fact I have absolutely no use for this what so ever. I was thinking of finding some sort of super tool to cut out the bottom and make a lamp shade. Any ideas?

Well if it doesn't make it as a lamp I've used it for inspiration for some flower power stamp making to create some funky (and sweet) fabric.

Which will soon become a little make-up bag complete with retro red zip.

I'll let you know how it ends up. Bye for now and enjoy your Thursday!

Pink Moon

So then there was the moon party held by our lovely house owners, complete with music by Robert (guitar) and my better half Heine (accordion) and a moon (cheese) cake made by me!

Weekend Activities

Well the weekend has been and gone but there was much preparation for the last one because we were invited to a MOON party! We were nominated to make some hats...

Which all started like this....

This for me is a terrible task to get sad it's both creative and pointless, meaning I'll spend too much time making funky hats from paper cups. So naturally the first hat ( being a moon themed party) was an alien:

This was then followed by the constellation of Virgo ( my sign! Yey!) and Laika in full flight:

Here's the whole group including the moon itself! The production of at least 3 hours work which I could have used on something like paperwork or yoga.

Say it with flowers

After the birth of my daughter Florence there was much up and downing as far as emotions and physical well being goes. There were some fantastic people around though who offered endless help and advice. This was one gift I made to say thank-you. Like the old ad says, ' say it with flowers', so I made a felt flower broach/hair thingy. I hope she likes it.

Thank you!

Once upon a time...

"I feel so sad and unloved"

...there was a 

chair which needed some t.l.c. It was found in 

the back of a car on the way to the chair orphanage. 

That made the chair sad.

"You shall go to the ball!"

What this chair didn't know was that this it wasn't any old chair, it was in fact a story telling chair! and with ribbon, fabric and a few staples: ugly duckling to swan....

The chair was used forever more and lived happily ever after.

The End.

Long holiday update.

It's been ages! I know...but so much going on.

Firstly, the finished bunting. All went to plan and now to make some for me!

    

 Now all nicely packaged off and sent to the future owner. A little girl who's already 1 and a half!

Since all this there has been a trip to South Africa for Christmas....

 And news of a baby (yey!) and a new project: The Chair (More to come on both of them)

Bunting and autumnal organising

I found an old school Tupperware box in a charity shop and decided to use it to organise all the stuff I have, (by colour, naturally). It seems to be an over elaborate lunch box with several compartments, something that would have made lunchtime very exciting. Wagon wheel in one bit, space raiders hidden in the botttom, yum!

good job too as I'm making some bunting (hoorah!) for a baby called Mirren. It'll be her naming day soon, and this is gonna make sure she doesn't forget who she is, hee hee!

I've cut out the letters and sewn the parts...now just to sew it together and send it to the proud parents.