Bits and Bobs

I have been doing some de-cluttering and tidying up around the house recently.  You know the type I mean, properly going through boxes and all the bits and bobs that I keep hold of because I'm a hoarder. Whilst doing this I found one of the little monster packages I talked about here.  It had been hanging around for a while and the playdough was no longer usable, but you can see the little kits we created and all the bits and bobs that were inside it.

I also found some things that the kids and I had used the marbling technique I talked about here and here.  I love that they didn't always marble their items, sometimes they just created the colours on the top of the water and dipped their item in.  It gives a totally different design.  

We plan to make some necklaces out of the washers.  I do think that this would make an awesome craft for a party, I'll just have to see if I can fit it into the party idea we come up with this year.

The pegs were going to be Christmas presents (may still use this idea at some point) with magnets on the back so they could be attached to fridges to hold lists/letter/important info.

We also moved a whole load of CDs which were on display into boxes and put something much prettier on display instead.  This wasn't even my idea, but my Husband's.  I love it, the kids call it the "wall of wool" which makes it sound so much more impressive.  Isn't it pretty?!

And yes, in case you're wondering I did keep all the above bits and bobs, though the crafty bits were returned to the crafty drawers we have, the marbled items are still awaiting somewhere to live.  Sigh.  Never mind if I'm depressed about my lack of de-cluttering skills I can always look at my wall of wool...

Zombie Brains Revamped!

I made Jamie Oliver's Zombie Brains a while ago, and although it wasn't very popular I was keen to try and give it another go.  In our house we have agreed that we should try everything ten times before we decide whether we like it or not.  There is a scientific study out there somewhere which suggests that we can't actually know until we've done that.

Anyway, although I wanted to try celeriac again, and I thought the kids and my Husband should, I thought I'd need a revamp to make them interested.  

We all like curry, so it seemed sensible to mix the two.  I make my own curry pastes as a base for the curries we eat and this is another Jamie Oliver recipe, well loosely at least, I think I added some cashew nuts to the Jalfrezi paste for this one.  I love these curry pastes so much and this has encourage me to cook so much more curry than I would have done using jars from the shops.

I started by roasting the celeriac - the smell of this roasting is lovely, and it is so easy to cut once it is roasted.

Then I fried the paste and onions and added a tin of tomatoes and a good splodge of mango chutney.  I think the sweetness this provides is one of the reasons that my kids love curry.  We tried a lentil curry at a farmers market once, and they really enjoyed it despite never eating any of my previous efforts, and that one tasted sweet.  Since then I've always added a little chutney (or if I'm out of that cranberry sauce, or jam) and they have always eaten it.  I love the slight sweetness it provides too.  

Once the curry  had been simmering for a while I added half a roasted celeriac and a tin of chickpeas along with a little cream and then it was ready to serve.

The kids did eat it, though they pointed out they prefer it with other vegetables (I normally use whatever veg is unused at the bottom of the fridge, or a couple of tins of chickpeas or a cup of lentils).  I didn't tell them it had celeriac in it, but they both twigged very quickly.  I preferred  Zombie Brains this way,  and so did my Husband.  Still a few more times to taste celeriac before the kids can decide for sure whether or not they like it!  

Crochet Lamb Chocolate Egg Cover

I said I would provide the pattern for the Crochet Lamb Chocolate Egg cover in this picture.

I personally like the lamb best, but the Husband thinks he looks like a Zombie Lamb.  Hmm, maybe I should have used beads for his eyes, or possibly embroidery thread as opposed to acrylic yarn.  I couldn't be bothered to go find some when I was creating him though.  My own fault. 

I used a 2.5mm hook with normal DK acrylic wool for this project.  The pattern is my own.  The terms are American terms

Body (Make one)

Row 1:              Magic Circle to begin and chain 1, then 5 single crochet into the circle. (5 st)

Row 2:              2 single crochet into each stitch (10st)

Row 3:             *2 single crochet into next stitch and 1 single crochet into the next stitch* - repeat until end (15st)

Row 4 - 13:       Single crochet around (15st)

Row 14:            *Single crcohet in next stitch, single crochet two together in next stitch* - repeat until end (10 st) Fasten off and weave tails in.

Head (Make one)

Chain 5, 3 single crochet into 2nd stitch from hook.  Continue with 1 single crochet in each chain to end of the chain stitches.  In last chain complete 5 single crochet.  You want to keep going around the other side of the chain and single crochet into each back loop of the chains.  When you get to the last stitch (the one you have already put 3 single crochet into) complete 2 more single crochet into the same stitch.  Close with a slip stitch. Chain 1, then single crochet all around.  Close with slip stitch and fasten off.

Or you could simply use a scrap of black felt and cut into an oval shape.

Ears (make two)

Chain 3,  3 single crochet into 2nd stitch from hook. 

5 Single Crochet into next stitch

This takes you back around to the first stitch complete 2 more single crochet in that stitch, slip stitch together and fasten off.

As with the head, you could use a couple of smaller scraps of black felt,also cut into ovals.

Finishing Off

Make two French knots/use pale beads for the lamb's eyes and sew on a mouth to the head section.

Sew the head onto the body and then sew the ears on either side of the head.

That's it.  You're finished.

Anthropologie Inspired Hat

I have seen a number of patterns inspired by a beautiful hat sold by Anthropologie (not available any more, if the link I followed was correct), but none of them quite matched up to the parts I really loved about this hat. Here is a picture of the original hat:

It has taken a while, but I have come up with a couple of versions of this hat, including the parts of the hat I love best.  I'm writing this in US terms as I know a friend who prefers US terms wants to use it.

I particularly liked the cluster stitch that I think is included on the original hat and wanted to include that.  I personally think that making a cluster stitch is easier than actually explaining how to make it, but I'm going to try!  

There are probably a couple of more tricky stitches involved in the creation of this hat, I'll try and describe them below.  I know there are probably better explanations out there, and I'd imagine video tutorials if you get stuck, or feel free to write a comment and I'll try and explain it better!

Cluster Stitch Explanation:

Start with Yarn Over hook (YO)

Hook into space/stitch (in this pattern it will always be into a space)

YO hook

Pull your yarn through 2 loops

Repeat the above two more times

Then yarn through the remaining loops

Hopefully that makes sense!  I checked one of my books and it says: "A cluster is made exactly like a decrease except that the stitches are all worked in a single stitch or space before being gathered together at the top."  That probably makes more sense, although I tend to fudge my decreasing if I can't be bothered to check the actual method each time!

Front Post Double (FPDC)

With this stitch the only real difference is that instead of working into a stitch or a space you work around the "post" created by the stitch from the previous row.  

Start with YO hook on one side of the stitch;

Put your hook through the hole from the back to the front of the work ;

Then on the other side of the stitch push your hook back the other way from the front of your work to the back;

YO hook;

Pull your yarn through the first 2 loops on the hook

Then pull your yarn through the last 2 loops on the hook.

This should create a ridge effect on the hat.  To create the ribbed look you also need a Back Post Double stitch.  Which is created in the same way as the Front Post Double Stitch, but you need to do insert your hook around the "post" of the stitch from the previous row in the opposite way.

Back Post Double 

Start with YO hook on one side of the stitch;

Put your hook through the hole from the front to the back of the work ;

Then on the other side of the stitch push your hook back the other way from the back of your work to the front;

YO hook;

Pull your yarn through the first 2 loops on the hook

Then pull your yarn through the last 2 loops on the hook.

Crab Stitch

You create this by working the wrong way - so instead of going from right to left along the crochet row you move towards the right.  It feels weird to begin with, but once you get the hang of it, it is fine.  I like the way it finishes off a crochet piece.

This time the ridge is on the inside of the hat.  Thinking about it, maybe I do these the wrong way round!  I guess it doesn't matter so long as you are happy that you have the ridge in the place you want it for finishing the hat off.  I tend to crochet so that the I'm looking at the inside of the hat.

Couple of other things to mention.  I used a 5mm hook and just some normal DK yarn.  At the beginning of each Cluster Stitch Round you should slip stitch into the space, chain 2 and start the cluster stitch sequence.

Hat Pattern

Magic Circle and chain 2

Round 1: 1 cluster stitch (CL ST) + 1 chain(CH) - repeat  x 6 slip stitch (Sl ST) to finish 

Round 2: *1 CL ST + 1CH, 1 CL ST + 1CH* into each space between the previous rounds clusters SL ST

Round 3: *1 CL ST + 1CH, 1 CL ST + 1CH into next space, 1 CL ST +1CH into next space* repeat all around and SL ST 

Round 4: *1 CL ST + 1CH, 1 CL ST + 1CH into next space, 1 CL ST +1CH into next 2 space* repeat all around and SL ST 

Round 5: *1 CL ST + 1CH, 1 CL ST + 1CH into next space, 1 CL ST +1CH into next 3 space* repeat all around and SL ST 

Round 6: *1 CL ST + 1CH, 1 CL ST + 1CH into next space, 1 CL ST +1CH into next 4 space* repeat all around and SL ST 

Round 7 - Round 12: *1 CL ST +1CH* in each  space and SL ST at end of round

Round 13: 1 Half Double Crochet (HDC) in each stitch all around, SL ST at end of round

Round 14 - Round 17: Chain 2 FPDC all around and SL ST at end of round

Round 18: *3 HDC in one stitch, SL ST in next 2 stitches* all around.  If not quite a repeat I squeezed in 1 extra by only SL ST in one before the last 3HDC.

Alternative Finish to the hat - the ribbed look, you complete the hat as above until Row 14

Round 14 - Round 17: Chain 2,  *FPDC in next stitch, BPDC in next stitch*  SL ST at end of round

Round 18: Crab stitch around and then SL ST to finish.

I used a couple of flower patterns for these the first one is one I've already described here.  The second one is a fab pattern from here.  I love it and I once spent a week just making them as I was having so much fun!

I hope you enjoy making this pattern, if it doesn't make sense please let me know, although I know I can create a hat using this pattern I'm hoping other people will be able to as well!

Brownies

Woo Hoo, I've made it to a year of blogging.  I told the Husband that I would get bored way before a year came round.  So my anniversary post is going to be a brownie recipe.

Mmmm, lovely brownies. I do love them, and this is an easy recipe to remember and to make.  I love that you can mix it all in one pan ready for baking. The less washing up the better in my books. Again I think I originally found this recipe on the Money Saving Expert forums, but I haven't written down where I found it, so honestly it could be from anywhere.  I have a big folder filled with scraps of paper/envelopes/important letters from the kids school with my scribbles on them.  Mainly I just write down the ingredients and hope that I remember the method when I next come to them...

Probably why my cooking can be hit or miss.  I don't even bother getting the folder out to make these brownies anymore, I have memorised the recipe and even when I forget things (like baking powder) they tend to turn out ok!

Chocolate Brownie Recipe:

100g Chocolate

70g Butter

170g sugar

2 eggs

tsp vanilla

70g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Melt the chocolate and the butter together in a pan.

Once melted add the sugar (pretend you can't see the amount of that going in).

Let it cool a little and add the vanilla and the eggs.  You just don't want the eggs to cook on the top of it, it only need a couple of mins.

Then add the flour and the baking powder (they rise better when it is included!)

You can then choose whether to put them in a small tin and have big chunky thick brownies or spread out more thinly in a larger tin.  I normally go with the larger tin because then you can get more brownies from your mix.

I bake them in an A4-is sized tin at 160 degrees for about 15-20 mins.  You have to wait for it to crack on top.  Too little time and you'll end up with a fudge-y mess. Too much time and you'll end up with something that is more biscuit like, which I find disappointing.  I like fudgier brownies.

I've played with these to add different flavours too.
Chocolate Orange - add some zest and some orange flavouring in place of the vanilla.  

Chocolate Chilli - I added some chilli puree in place of the vanilla, though I'm sure it would work with finely chopped chilli too (only a little)
Chocolate Marmite - I added a teaspoon of marmite to the mix.  Not my favourite, although I do love marmite, so personally wouldn't recommend.
Chocolate Almond - replace the vanilla extract with almond extract.  Yummy marzipan flavour, disliked by the Husband and my son - such a shame...

I think coffee would work really well with them as well - if anyone else in the family would eat them I would try adding 2 teaspoons of instant coffee with the melted mixture.  Mmm, mocha brownies.  Likewise I think mint brownies would work really well if you replaced the vanilla with peppermint essence.

Enjoy!

Creating for Christmas

It is about this time of year I start panicking about what handmade creations I can make for Christmas this year.  I was looking back at things I've done in the past.

Last year the ladies got wristlets made with either this  pattern. Though sadly I didn't manage to get photos of many of them in the rush to get everything wrapped. This pattern was fab and easy to follow. I did manage to get a couple of pictures:

 

The previous year I made slippers for all the ladies and girls and actually my little boy.  The ones for the ladies and girls had flowers or hearts on them and the one for my boy looked like paws.  Again if I'm making something for a present Christmas or otherwise I tend to leave it till the last minute and not have any pictures.  I love this pattern.  I did modify it a little because I thought they would fall off to easily if I didn't.    So at R6 I did two extra rows  all around.  For the children's slippers I started with a chain of 8 and at R7 I only did 16hdc instead of 19hdc.  I hope that makes sense, because I've not written anything more on my notes!

I did take a couple of pictures on my mobile, so excuse the worse than normal quality of the photos!

Though they look pretty and they are comfy and warm they can be lethal on a wood/laminate surface as you basically end up sliding everywhere.  On the pair I made for myself I added a few dots of hot glue to see if that helped, without making them less comfy.  I'm pleased to say it did.

I dug out the kids slippers, and took a picture of them - these have been well used since I've made them.  The reason I've only taken a picture of one slipper for each child has nothing to do with the fact that I can't find the matching pair of either, nope, nothing at all!

Adding the claws was suprisingly easy, I simply used some yarn to sew the shape that I wanted and filled it in with the yarn.  It was probably quicker than making the flowers I had done for the rest of the slippers.

Later I made some for me too and managed to get a better picture of them.

Through the original panic, and search around Pinterest I've come up with an idea for presents this year and made a start on making them.  This year I've even taken some pictures of the presents before I wrap them!

Advent Books

A couple of years ago I saw something on Pinterest that I thought would be a lovely idea for advent - wrapping up a book for each day of advent.  I wanted it to be themed so I looked through our books and found all the Christmas books, all the books with any snow included and then all the books with a vague mention of winter and managed to scrape together 24 books to use for advent.

Since then I've collected enough Christmas books, so now they are all about Christmas, most from charity shops and ex-library books, but some new ones in there too.  I think that this is possibly one of my favourite parts of Christmas now - plus the kids get to unwrap a load of presents before the day and they think that is great.  They do have favourites, obviously not the same favourites - that would make life way too easy.  I also have some favourites that they really dislike, but that is tough because I will  continue to read them Threadbear until they are much, much older (left home maybe?!).

Here is our list of books (although we do have a few more these are the ones that I tend to use):

Mr Christmas

The Last Straw: Fredrick H. Thury, Vlasta Van Kampen

The Nutcracker

The Little Reindeer:Michael Foreman

The Usborne Book of Christmas Stories

A Christmas Wish- Enid Blyton

The Jolly Christmas Postman

The Snowman

Harry And The Dinosaurs Make A Christmas Wish

One Snowy Night: M. Christina Butler, Tina MacNaughton

Lettice - A Christmas Wish: Mandy Stanley

Fairies' Christmas Party (Blyton pocket library): Enid Blyton, Alison Winfield:

A Christmas Carol  - we don't have this one, but something similar, I don't read the original to them

Mimi Mouse's Christmas (Bear Hugs): Martin Waddell, Leo Hartas

Christmas is Coming: Ailie Busby

Christmas with Morris and Boris

Mrs Christmas

A Star So Bright: A Christmas Tale: M.Christina Butler, Caroline Pedler

The Night Before Christmas

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Dr Seuss)

Threadbear: Mick Inkpen

Mog's Christmas: Judith Kerr

My Naughty Little Sister Collection: Dorothy Edwards, Shirley Hughes - The Naughtiest Story of All, Grandpa's Holly and Bonfire Pudding, My Naughty Little Sister Goes to the Pantomime

Stick Man:Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler

I wrap them up and number them.  I'm careful with the numbering, to make sure that we will have time to read them on that evening.  Even so, it is inevitable that at some point we end up opening 2 books on one day.  I was worried that the kids would be upset that there was only 1 book to open each night and two of them, but right from the beginning they seem to have understood and taken turns. 

A friend of mine borrowed a load of Christmas books from the library and wrapped those, which I think is genius because then you don't need to store them all year!