Party bags

I've been kept pretty busy over the past few nights sewing up these party bags for the pirate party Povey is sharing with his best friend.

Papaya lives pirates as much as Povey, but I know not all girls feel the same, so I made sure there were some Dora pirate bags too! All the rest of the fabric came from my own stash I've been collecting since Povey the pirate was born!










Today I'm at Povey's best mate's house so that his mum and I can paint up the decorations for the day. Should be fun ;-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Upper Manor Rd,Witley,United Kingdom

iPhone Photos

Thought I should probably put this in my craft diary as it's kind of arty being about photos. I've had my iPhone a few months now and have tried a few different photo apps that I thought I'd share.

First up is some alternative cameras. The camera that comes with the phone isn't bad but it has very limited abilities and no zoom. Here are some daffodils in my kitchen on this lovely sunny March day using just the standard camera.

The camera I mainly use is one I downloaded called Gorillacam. It's by the same people who make the handy "Gorillapod" tripods that you can use anywhere. The main advantages I've found with it are the zoom (although it tends to be grainy), clearer photos and the extra features such as being able to take many photos on quick succession... Very handy with small children! For a simple comparison here I just took one photo of the same daffodils.





The other two camera apps I use are ways of getting different styles of photo rather tha improving normal photos. This first is ShakeItPhoto, a gimmicky camera that gives you the experience of taking a polaroid. It slides down in the same way and you shake if to speed up the development... Although of course that's technically inaccuarate as everyone knows shaking a real Polaroid doesn't develop any quicker when you shake it.... But anyway ;-) The quality of the photos you get are very polaroid-like too. Here are those daffodils again.



Another I like is Hipstamatic. This lovely little app looks like an old fashioned camera and produces photos like the ones from your childhood complete with over-saturation and dodgy flash! This is my favourite in terms of the look of the photos but they are a bit huge as you'll see! The daffodils don't really show it to it's best advantage but you get the idea.




Finally here is Lego Camera. I originally got this app for the kids but find myself using it just as much! Not too effective on the daffodils here so I've also put in a photo of Papaya as it's most effective on faces.











Now I've shown you my camera apps I wanted to put a bit about photo editing apps. I've only tried two so far. Here's a very quick edit on Photogene with the original photo first. It's me on a very cold snowy day last month.









Photogene has some fun little features like speech bubbles etc. as well as being able to change colours/saturation, but I'm preferring Photoshop for mobiles. Here are a few of the extra effects PS Mobile offers.











What neither of them do is the things I'd really like photo editing software for, like being able to change the background and erase spots, marks etc.

That's definitely enough photos of me for this blog! I hate photos of myself and rarely take them so it's unlikely you'll see me again ;-)

As I said I've only had the phone a few months so haven't tried everything. I'd love to know what photo apps you would recommend! Any suggestions?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Meadow View,Whitehill,United Kingdom

Fire fire

Here's a present for my friend's little boy who is obsessed with Fireman Sam. I used some Lego blocks and fabric paint to print up a special t-shirt....

...and then sewed up one of Samantha Yoon's railway design fire stations into a bag to store it (and all his toy fire engines!) in, using fine cord lining fabric rather than stuffing it.








I added a strap to it later (that I never managed to get a photo of) to make it a proper bag.

I was pretty pleased with how it all turned out, especially the t-shirt, I will definitely be doing some more Lego printing! It was a bit nerve-wracking as I didn't do a practise run first but it turned out okay in the end :-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Heathcote Rd,Whitehill,United Kingdom

Very Handy Tomato Sauce

This is one of my staples. I make a big pot of this every month or so and freeze it into bags of little cubes to use when needed. It's super versatile; it can be passata for pizza, a base for soup, a replacement for ketchup with chips or even just the tomatoey element to any recipe you can think of. It's most perfect as a last minute pasta sauce, if I'm in a rush and haven't planned tea I just boil pasta and add a few cubes of this sauce plus whatever other extra veg/meat I have in the house. It's very easy and obvious to make but I'll hazard a recipe anyway.....

Handy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients








1 onion

3 cloves garlic

5 carrots

1 pint vegetable stock ( either homemade or I sometimes use the Marigold low salt one)

1/2 cup red lentils

2 tins tomatoes (or fresh if you're lucky to have them)

Tomato purée... A good squirt!

Plus whatever extra veg you have in the house! Today's sauce had an aubergine, some courgettes, and red and green peppers.

Instructions
1. Finely chop all the vegetables including the onion and garlic. If using peppers I roast them first and remove the skin (putting them in a plastic bag straight out the oven and then removing once cool makes the skins easier to peel off) before slicing them up.

2. Warm a teaspoon of olive oil in a large pan and add the onion and garlic. Fry gently until softened.

3. Add the carrots (and any other root vegetables) and fry gently for another 5 mins.






4. Add the other vegetables and fry for 5 mins more.








5. Now add the stock and lentils and bring to the boil.

6. Reduce the heat and add the tomatoes and tomato purée.

7. Now simmer until all the veg and lentils are soft.

8. Liquidise the whole lot. I use a hand blender in the pot as my kids love veg and don't mind the odd lump, but if your kids are fussy and you're trying to disguise the veg then do it in a stand up blender.








9. Freeze using ice cube trays. Once frozen transfer the cubes into a freezer bag or Tupperware for convenience.









Lovely stuff! Papaya and Povey are about to have some on pasta with added herbs, red wine and chorizo.... Yum yum!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Heathcote Rd,Whitehill,United Kingdom

Elf-work

Lots of "Elf-work" for me over the last couple of weeks. Santa has kept me busy most evenings sewing things up for the stockings. Papaya and Povey don't read this blog so I can show you a glimpse of what I made for them; the Comedian will have to wait ;)

First is a rag doll each. Clothkits (again) with two outfits each including one for Povey's doll that matches his dungarees :)






Povey also gets a train track play rug/blanket with squidgy cushion houses that velcro to it.




Other than that there is of course the various gift bags to complete my whole year of not using wrapping paper.


That's all I can show you without giving too much away! I'll be back in the New Year to show you the rest once the surprise is past.

Merry Xmas everyone!!!

Back in the saddle

Last night I finally found the box with the sewing machine in! Hurrah!

After the kids went to bed at 8.00pm I wasted no time in finding the huge pile of sewing I need to get done before Xmas and setting to work. First up I did all the little bits of mending and darning that were needed on various items of clothing.

Then I started up on some new stuff. I sewed 12 napkins (old BA first class ones... don't ask) together to make a tablecloth to match the 8 remaining ones. It's pretty rough and ready as I just zigzagged them all together but will be fine as an under tablecloth. I actually dyed these napkins from dark blue to black, but they look blue again in these photos! Weird, they are definitely black in real life. Difficult to take photos of a dark tablecloth really.






Next up were two little Clothkits items I've had waiting. These are the final little bits of sewing I need to get done before I can start the sewing I'm doing to help Santa ;)

The first is a simple doorstop for our bedroom. Our old house had doors that just wedged in place but in this nice brand new house the doors swing freely. It was a very easy pattern to sew together and I'm hoping to copy the design top make doorstops for other rooms too. It is filled with some black-eyed beans that the previous residents here left behind.




The last bit of sewing I managed last night before my eyes started going funny was a little Clothkits skirt for Papaya. A Jane Foster design again, I just love her stuff! I'd fill our whole house and wardrobes with them if could. This is called an "Easy Peasy Skirt" and it really is. I did take the slightly more difficult option though of a drawstring waist for my snake-hipped girl.



Here's the girl herself modelling it she says it's very comfy and was particularly enamoured by the flowers on the bottom!




Note the further pile of boxes to be unpacked in the background... maybe the phone is in there?! I have no photo editing software on this computer yet so photos are having to go up as is.

It was wonderful to finally get some sewing under my belt. Felt like I was back in the saddle with it all. Such a relief as well to finally make a dent in the huge pile that has been building up!

Lemon Risotto

I know you can't believe it... a post on this blog!

Big shock huh after nearly four months! Sorry for the hiatus, it was all due to moving house, and losing the camera, and then just life taking over! I was preparing dinner tonight though and suddenly felt inspired to put the recipe up on here. It's another of our regular favourites and to be honest I'm surprised it's not on here already as it is the Comedian's most frequent request. Don't panic too much about the time involved in cooking risotto. Yes you do have to keep checking it and stirring it, but I've found I've got quite good at adding a ladle-full of stock and then running and doing a quick job or check on the kids before getting back to stir and add another ladle-full. It doesn't necessarily mean standing and stirring non-stop for an hour! Here's my recipe.....


Lemon Risotto



Ingredients
1 Red onion
1 Shallot
2 or 3 garlic cloves
Tablespoon olive oil
Knob of butter
250g Risotto rice
1 Litre Chicken stock
1/2 glass white wine
Juice of two lemons
Lemon rind (I've put this separately as you don't really want the rind of both lemons! Just some)
1 Egg yolk
Parmesan cheese
Black pepper

Instructions

1. Grate the red onion, shallot and garlic. This will kill your eyes by the way, but is definitely worth it to produce a smooth and creamy risotto without big hard lumps of onion.



2. Put two large pans onto the hob; in one heat the chicken stock, in the other melt the butter and olive oil together and add the grated oniony mixture. Cook until softened.

3. Add the risotto rice and stir until coated with the oniony oily mixture.

4. Now comes the important part. Take a ladle-full of the stock and add it to the risotto pan, stir until it has absorbed. Repeat this process until the risotto is creamy but not too soft and puddingy. This may take 20 minutes or may take an hour. You may not use all the stock or you may use it all and need to top up with boiling water. It seems to be different every time I make it. About halfway through I substitute one of the ladles of stock for half a glass of white wine... just because I reckon all food tastes better with alcohol in it ;) Don't worry the alcohol cooks away, it just gives a lovely flavour.

5. At this point you have your basic risotto and can remove from the heat to add whatever flavour you fancy. For the lemon risotto I mix together the lemon juice, lemon rind, egg yolk, a generous helping of parmesan cheese and black pepper, and stir the whole lot in. Today I also added some peas and some leftover chicken I got off the bones before I turned them into the stock. You can add anything though, mushrooms also work well, or bacon.

6. Serve with a green salad on the side and lots more parmesan on top.



Risotto is such lovely comforting food, perfect for this chilly, rainy weather. The Comedian is rather addicted to the lemon version, but maybe over this season I can get him to let me branch out a little.

There we are, I've broken the blogging break. We're about to hit the season of Yuletide sewing so hopefully I'll be on here much more over the next month... once I work out which box the sewing machine is in!



I'd better run as Friday night is date night, so I've just run away from the table above, abandoning my husband, to quickly post this. By the way; the Midwinter Graphic ceramics above were discovered by my mum and I in a charity shop in Guildford. Just £15 for 16 plates, two casserole dishes and a sauce jug... bargain!