tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15200420836919253012024-03-05T11:58:18.221-08:00Stella's BlogStellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-74218897064012846752013-07-30T15:02:00.000-07:002013-07-30T15:02:57.158-07:00It'll Soon Be ChristmasI was very fortunate to be given a charm square pack at the weekend so I decided to make a table runner with it. I found some very clear instructions by the lady from the Missouri Star Quilt Company on You Tube and set to work.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZHTV2En0scJsol5ItSfCBkydMkQnON9P4gl-ksZVi6u-C_7MC_5rNwpKAXbwA1E4m2-6Bw3PZGNwkllRj50fbrNjUOaEHzOmc4TL7iA7eAZ0jESL-DEk17UMWz8WKjyIglCgDM7T__EA/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZHTV2En0scJsol5ItSfCBkydMkQnON9P4gl-ksZVi6u-C_7MC_5rNwpKAXbwA1E4m2-6Bw3PZGNwkllRj50fbrNjUOaEHzOmc4TL7iA7eAZ0jESL-DEk17UMWz8WKjyIglCgDM7T__EA/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I began by laying the squares out rearranging them until I was happy with the placement.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedj2z6JVxoxoLNAO8l-OK_jmp1j4wE_kUsRU8m154-U947nSZAj5NpHs3Ia232UpWmCYh0aT3ii0uJcb8BMTIbFq5Z0F8e1VPq_yueXmzZ8gXTIVnFUgUSAtbNbm7L11THNYSW5NQXZU/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedj2z6JVxoxoLNAO8l-OK_jmp1j4wE_kUsRU8m154-U947nSZAj5NpHs3Ia232UpWmCYh0aT3ii0uJcb8BMTIbFq5Z0F8e1VPq_yueXmzZ8gXTIVnFUgUSAtbNbm7L11THNYSW5NQXZU/s320/002.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Then I stitched them together in rows and pressed them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkoX6f1TMmce5lD-OjHQYuyNNxUXRJ4l0e9nT5LHxwm8vYHIhJuZv3_K-8MuiQBWWK32xGqLtZOakeRU-vs3TckZpHnWPPI6bAV3P20bCHTQGytJo8UuwRUfc_zFWSm_rHmiLpsPEHHA/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkoX6f1TMmce5lD-OjHQYuyNNxUXRJ4l0e9nT5LHxwm8vYHIhJuZv3_K-8MuiQBWWK32xGqLtZOakeRU-vs3TckZpHnWPPI6bAV3P20bCHTQGytJo8UuwRUfc_zFWSm_rHmiLpsPEHHA/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I stitched the rows together to make the zigzag runner.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLkrXYpWMRsGsZavlBWAbS4o16YuvU78vgdjoAm9TbZcfCJyp7PsgOGjIk7q60FGEne7Bc75OHQALmKqOxLv52j9xktL4w6utZfWJfLv_LsktwYpkrYZ_FD52KV7MD_r3QuatJJLWeAY/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLkrXYpWMRsGsZavlBWAbS4o16YuvU78vgdjoAm9TbZcfCJyp7PsgOGjIk7q60FGEne7Bc75OHQALmKqOxLv52j9xktL4w6utZfWJfLv_LsktwYpkrYZ_FD52KV7MD_r3QuatJJLWeAY/s320/006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Then I cut some wadding and sheeting fabric for the backing and layered them up. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTs_lRYbVq7czlxuIWkuUe-rCLIOHxiXURF-TKpyJQgr6c4SmylpoS_cu57ZFzbnroJ9PDVoUpMxuM7b1nfnKYaclRMg1i3BML23-aFOzNUxH8a7OiKp_37-VCZhdJQcIsku6GxRpk82s/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTs_lRYbVq7czlxuIWkuUe-rCLIOHxiXURF-TKpyJQgr6c4SmylpoS_cu57ZFzbnroJ9PDVoUpMxuM7b1nfnKYaclRMg1i3BML23-aFOzNUxH8a7OiKp_37-VCZhdJQcIsku6GxRpk82s/s320/008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I sewed around the outside of the runner, leaving a gap for turning, then trimmed the excess wadding and backing fabric and clipped the corners to make it easier to turn right side out.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVi5f1kJBWsZdRDxG69JK3OIT85JLTt9tT5tM1sWRHb1iSeUwhgIq7fah1ZpKZ6WnWbPDOlDvU9cHYzMZSwq0hbdDxaRVI_IszcBI5t214Fit60yTeYTycxEIgmcj-fIM-lcbnUN2FPhw/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVi5f1kJBWsZdRDxG69JK3OIT85JLTt9tT5tM1sWRHb1iSeUwhgIq7fah1ZpKZ6WnWbPDOlDvU9cHYzMZSwq0hbdDxaRVI_IszcBI5t214Fit60yTeYTycxEIgmcj-fIM-lcbnUN2FPhw/s320/011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazM2MIOuUDxrAJ1NnpUI6tS66Wuy6M3tosOwUJfaEUv1Smy_6IiyABaKQSRs1LGsZ9doLxE-sJLx3HNkm3cw2V04UYEotiL1LCfCt12iP3ttOgSYqOPORQ8LLHJr4zygc8sTQJIphyphenhyphen7s/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazM2MIOuUDxrAJ1NnpUI6tS66Wuy6M3tosOwUJfaEUv1Smy_6IiyABaKQSRs1LGsZ9doLxE-sJLx3HNkm3cw2V04UYEotiL1LCfCt12iP3ttOgSYqOPORQ8LLHJr4zygc8sTQJIphyphenhyphen7s/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZb7VQGh1LkBF6yV4mhygWcfI9Nlh0CCsAcMmd5HamLYeZY8l0JY5-fXBJVR11yrkn51cDGq9Zk6c_gJF85BSGC5mGPoxNG2sccgin581lyKsxLvucpgW578Y2fPonCDJIZIphJ7PnHE/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZb7VQGh1LkBF6yV4mhygWcfI9Nlh0CCsAcMmd5HamLYeZY8l0JY5-fXBJVR11yrkn51cDGq9Zk6c_gJF85BSGC5mGPoxNG2sccgin581lyKsxLvucpgW578Y2fPonCDJIZIphJ7PnHE/s320/013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwrJT7AG4f76UgUCqN1Opdci9fH3nTuZeCPF5seyCcQ9ZMAT5bJKxTWepvFAI3ENSD8W9dFZ-2FrKN_gTS5gRRFGe-15hd1KLTTgVWgRYnFbmH_aV_IUzktZG-KsNzIC_JkLjDad5mOew/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwrJT7AG4f76UgUCqN1Opdci9fH3nTuZeCPF5seyCcQ9ZMAT5bJKxTWepvFAI3ENSD8W9dFZ-2FrKN_gTS5gRRFGe-15hd1KLTTgVWgRYnFbmH_aV_IUzktZG-KsNzIC_JkLjDad5mOew/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6g9H3Ir66Jyk0Xkr5ULQQ-tWQQhqxlC06NIiuqiQ7VNoE054irewfgBmQ9qxKqsuPd1wNGqih0l5eA7fsP9YK9Sp3UUAEEJwmBUPLVKP8VTA1PTPsQdTmqxuM3g3dFFkQXbmA_8gIuk/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6g9H3Ir66Jyk0Xkr5ULQQ-tWQQhqxlC06NIiuqiQ7VNoE054irewfgBmQ9qxKqsuPd1wNGqih0l5eA7fsP9YK9Sp3UUAEEJwmBUPLVKP8VTA1PTPsQdTmqxuM3g3dFFkQXbmA_8gIuk/s320/015.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
I turned the quilt the right way out then topstitched all around the outside to make a decorative edging and secure the seams and opening.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVUfXLcQvuiNdzvls1mmP2IBNp-Te3z0wPsnAKnUV-mKrJnj6wrhf7KTHjJJr1BbFnDxZJtm23JdpvOK16deGN3fFNjgDblIh1dGlXv8GeFHLd66nvxy2esXZzSR5xdDp6t3xYr-vFck/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVUfXLcQvuiNdzvls1mmP2IBNp-Te3z0wPsnAKnUV-mKrJnj6wrhf7KTHjJJr1BbFnDxZJtm23JdpvOK16deGN3fFNjgDblIh1dGlXv8GeFHLd66nvxy2esXZzSR5xdDp6t3xYr-vFck/s320/016.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CyIt_AcIHvsZGc-otba7aEIP92lbpf_do8mhxBd5Js7XIaQXTreXj_G6_zsjQggfZiwmJeJ7isO-SR7xCWcT2dB3ykkxrnfeZppuXyqli1bVdO557tiYkrOJVHEx2wx7UNuNxS_X6N8/s1600/018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CyIt_AcIHvsZGc-otba7aEIP92lbpf_do8mhxBd5Js7XIaQXTreXj_G6_zsjQggfZiwmJeJ7isO-SR7xCWcT2dB3ykkxrnfeZppuXyqli1bVdO557tiYkrOJVHEx2wx7UNuNxS_X6N8/s320/018.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Finally I stitched in the ditch to secure all the layers.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gqEWVRgRiPuYZpCBJPwHvAtVO2TH5SNmMvliMXIrpnBxsdnhkbDSi-Rr7rsbYoRTTR93NO6qvlPc-Nz46aDjI4_60pTZEqFuMXsE3uHVdlP_fUpUiQy08m61_rPYt3ZOCnoAGa2w_GM/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gqEWVRgRiPuYZpCBJPwHvAtVO2TH5SNmMvliMXIrpnBxsdnhkbDSi-Rr7rsbYoRTTR93NO6qvlPc-Nz46aDjI4_60pTZEqFuMXsE3uHVdlP_fUpUiQy08m61_rPYt3ZOCnoAGa2w_GM/s320/020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
The finished table runner, completed in a couple of days. I think it looks fantastic (it's a bit too long to photograph in one go).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjis1BNrWaN35WoIUUPHDND_8mgMAr1XTphPgxLYscaqsIutZoJ5DV7zER3Eg0aKdtoHPwXi91Ui86Q3sdNfUesCvsfHGNN9cSL9WAIA4jFWEQKUN0Zef20nsmSh_PknwBcKakcFtLcFNw/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjis1BNrWaN35WoIUUPHDND_8mgMAr1XTphPgxLYscaqsIutZoJ5DV7zER3Eg0aKdtoHPwXi91Ui86Q3sdNfUesCvsfHGNN9cSL9WAIA4jFWEQKUN0Zef20nsmSh_PknwBcKakcFtLcFNw/s320/024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gbeoD61ZaMcznKWuOKC_kIgHBs4gBEIKDVifRAHheRaQu-JtYhGAsz1pA4EXI6BZp1S4QTBtVo73L28wYLm52wAcKmUNSndNHmDj68RggmmRUZk8Q7-Bzj5n-tWx9XL8mKawgfzpLEY/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnNwmaJ3oXq1KNJhXa33ZSsRrNLLtwbuy0ab94M985P5caD5fjB4hw4yKCXG3Qw2FEk1_PZlBYQ2dfJLzpCE05FnxY-25_iyqFdJi89N67_4VxdNYcIq3iTeUWV4HOGHgiHEB8h6de4w/s1600/026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnNwmaJ3oXq1KNJhXa33ZSsRrNLLtwbuy0ab94M985P5caD5fjB4hw4yKCXG3Qw2FEk1_PZlBYQ2dfJLzpCE05FnxY-25_iyqFdJi89N67_4VxdNYcIq3iTeUWV4HOGHgiHEB8h6de4w/s320/026.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gbeoD61ZaMcznKWuOKC_kIgHBs4gBEIKDVifRAHheRaQu-JtYhGAsz1pA4EXI6BZp1S4QTBtVo73L28wYLm52wAcKmUNSndNHmDj68RggmmRUZk8Q7-Bzj5n-tWx9XL8mKawgfzpLEY/s1600/025.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gbeoD61ZaMcznKWuOKC_kIgHBs4gBEIKDVifRAHheRaQu-JtYhGAsz1pA4EXI6BZp1S4QTBtVo73L28wYLm52wAcKmUNSndNHmDj68RggmmRUZk8Q7-Bzj5n-tWx9XL8mKawgfzpLEY/s320/025.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Thank you Dawn for the beautiful gift! </div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-56479249370783631922013-07-28T10:48:00.000-07:002013-07-28T10:48:01.043-07:00Oh - It's Green!Today has been a little traumatic but some very good friends have seen me through. HUGE THANKS go to Sylvia, Sheila and Dawn for their massive contribution to my sanity and their help in reminding me of the colour of the carpet in my craft room. Love you!Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-43832713082472989822013-07-18T07:46:00.003-07:002013-07-18T07:48:39.448-07:00TEA COSY UPDATEThis is my other half modelling my recently made tea cosy. Why do men feel compelled to put everything on their head?!!!!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hFhK_qRQ6V6gbPta8X7cmDh28t_f6SP7qvyLqP8m4kirEe9r1sRkppxsvzRd4OOyji1DPYg7rk8_pmdfXbSsvR7ZkcKuUmrgNuHCx-Gefm1bqcG80XFdSeHrS_U0Vp83BeltUxqTYIs/s1600/510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hFhK_qRQ6V6gbPta8X7cmDh28t_f6SP7qvyLqP8m4kirEe9r1sRkppxsvzRd4OOyji1DPYg7rk8_pmdfXbSsvR7ZkcKuUmrgNuHCx-Gefm1bqcG80XFdSeHrS_U0Vp83BeltUxqTYIs/s320/510.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3MwJwy0ZfTZbVhryHTTLGjR09OfsaY8TOGSil9Hb6hwM5b3k4qu8xLtnkYNC_kMmcl-dv9liat3RM9Jlosj-XOpp2ZJUFmtAXvO613MOuS_IbzrQMSDXnS-Vy_WOHPcPUkmpS42tCQQ/s1600/512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm3MwJwy0ZfTZbVhryHTTLGjR09OfsaY8TOGSil9Hb6hwM5b3k4qu8xLtnkYNC_kMmcl-dv9liat3RM9Jlosj-XOpp2ZJUFmtAXvO613MOuS_IbzrQMSDXnS-Vy_WOHPcPUkmpS42tCQQ/s320/512.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Shortly before the modelling took place he was challenged by someone who shall remain nameless to see how many Maltesers he could fit in his mouth in one go. This was rather foolish as anyone who can remember the marshmallow incident would attest!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwtjkIr2hvDtDBj4UOa0GtWD_oyUfuIszMqIUf3r1p83uazpNsHkAw128jrgeV17WfPQQj0_5bxz9F1bTXH912k0Xl-NGJBVl41_fze3h5qAX1y5Ue558veJGGqwg8GM4TN-7stWmj0w/s1600/502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwtjkIr2hvDtDBj4UOa0GtWD_oyUfuIszMqIUf3r1p83uazpNsHkAw128jrgeV17WfPQQj0_5bxz9F1bTXH912k0Xl-NGJBVl41_fze3h5qAX1y5Ue558veJGGqwg8GM4TN-7stWmj0w/s320/502.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0NrRa0Kk_JU9suvdzXWzSeCSbTOOxiNF6vt_TFMhG8Wf6HG7c6jMremxHqvRBhG0UkxBM_Q_syfZmjL7Gz99oGfQ1J3sStDhUSjKQeTyoeGDrNyd2Soy_LVHVyPrpKdOmMjDS2NpYdw/s1600/504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0NrRa0Kk_JU9suvdzXWzSeCSbTOOxiNF6vt_TFMhG8Wf6HG7c6jMremxHqvRBhG0UkxBM_Q_syfZmjL7Gz99oGfQ1J3sStDhUSjKQeTyoeGDrNyd2Soy_LVHVyPrpKdOmMjDS2NpYdw/s320/504.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKhDZivXNPL7xziJhBNk-FCu2GktwiwMjgHuAWozxLRqDyVEYIgumM2gKLKOyHRi2iOYhi-p6KFOOKrL2D8I3fE5vr9ALr28AzQgkzMBh4LzQ-Z0t5sr_on1DD6vXhwL5zXu4PhlORPA/s1600/506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKhDZivXNPL7xziJhBNk-FCu2GktwiwMjgHuAWozxLRqDyVEYIgumM2gKLKOyHRi2iOYhi-p6KFOOKrL2D8I3fE5vr9ALr28AzQgkzMBh4LzQ-Z0t5sr_on1DD6vXhwL5zXu4PhlORPA/s320/506.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuqb0O2S7o0_4sWPZ3XUjX7xqnUj8lNBALgjvJj5Su85pJTmzR7weaj3v3cSNY_vMMpMqPH4lrUxqQWwI_mm001buKs3HkmRZ-i56ZLJ83qLBo_y0y7H-gVwR58RjNIxubQ5sCI7rIU4/s1600/508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuqb0O2S7o0_4sWPZ3XUjX7xqnUj8lNBALgjvJj5Su85pJTmzR7weaj3v3cSNY_vMMpMqPH4lrUxqQWwI_mm001buKs3HkmRZ-i56ZLJ83qLBo_y0y7H-gVwR58RjNIxubQ5sCI7rIU4/s320/508.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Sadly this was at the end of the evening when a significant proportion of the Maltesers had already been consumed. Surprisingly no alcohol was involved!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
How many? Just 18 on this occasion.<br />
<br />
<br />Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-83019704548775298972013-07-06T07:37:00.000-07:002013-07-06T07:37:08.299-07:00ClosureRecently I've entered a phase of finishing off various projects. Some of them have been projects by themselves, others have followed on from other, yet to be completed, projects ... here are some of them.<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="color: blue;">TEA COSY</span></u></b><br />
We are in the process of installing a new kitchen so I thought it would be fun to make some bunting to decorate it. I cut all the pennants out for the bunting and stitched them up but I have yet to finish this particular project - I don't think there's too much of a rush, the kitchen has been a while in the making and there's no sign of completion in the immediate future - but having cut the pennants I had a heap of fabric offcuts, the bits between the pennants. What to do with them? The fabric was far too good to waste but wasn't very big pieces. I mused this conundrum over a cuppa one day and hit on the idea of making myself a tea cosy. A quick search online lead me to a couple of blogs where people had made their own, unfortunately I can't remember where I found them. I liked the shape of one cosy but loved the design of another so I amalgamated to two and hey presto, my tea cosy was born. First of all I cut tiny squares from my remnants and stitched them together as a patchwork then oversewed the seams with one of the fancy stitches from my machine.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-drdLulLnfM14BmeiGsPsT2wOmlHtYH47XCbn2r-L18E1msI2yDavfkvSr-mLXDQXI0p1MjO7Mxxx0gCdXh1wHpWgGXB8gO9KZcj8H9B2RRr_l4em1_n6TNJxlDMARBn2ydQxhyWWVw/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-drdLulLnfM14BmeiGsPsT2wOmlHtYH47XCbn2r-L18E1msI2yDavfkvSr-mLXDQXI0p1MjO7Mxxx0gCdXh1wHpWgGXB8gO9KZcj8H9B2RRr_l4em1_n6TNJxlDMARBn2ydQxhyWWVw/s400/008.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I ironed Bondaweb onto some small pieces of fabric and marked a circle on one of the pieces to make the body of my appliqued tea pot then cut a handle and spout. Once ironed on to the main piece of fabric I quilted steam coming out of the spout. For this I had to drop the feed dogs on my machine and stitch freehand which was a little big scary and involved quite a lot of unpicking - I must practise more as it's fun to do but requires more skill than I currently have.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oGL8o_9fikqF7o3x_7l4iL_-PFsQ7GDBCuHnXBtwbl_au1EO6B1ws3fUHOQv0QBnVwg_sRQOw7NSHgDF9bkmbEnIgBKoOKjocM67kSWZrQnoslaSNdEjfor4HNTZbA3-OktgrEgh4S4/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oGL8o_9fikqF7o3x_7l4iL_-PFsQ7GDBCuHnXBtwbl_au1EO6B1ws3fUHOQv0QBnVwg_sRQOw7NSHgDF9bkmbEnIgBKoOKjocM67kSWZrQnoslaSNdEjfor4HNTZbA3-OktgrEgh4S4/s320/005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The design I liked also featured a motto stitched on a panel at the bottom so I found some offcuts of calico and some space-dyed thread and having marked them in fade-out pen I set to work embroidering the words.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2qaAnEQSqNCuM70vAuw_i_3y1OhzVy2-ZbJzNIWx4AyS0g4Y7pg3SDpu5iNE1oGHeOk6KS_OPpHZ4PVez15U0A28WO6npCIRhqkLej_N6SAlfdj1g1Yyhsx9GrFNiruLlvXyEWiNfrM/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2qaAnEQSqNCuM70vAuw_i_3y1OhzVy2-ZbJzNIWx4AyS0g4Y7pg3SDpu5iNE1oGHeOk6KS_OPpHZ4PVez15U0A28WO6npCIRhqkLej_N6SAlfdj1g1Yyhsx9GrFNiruLlvXyEWiNfrM/s400/007.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
A further search online found a YouTube video which demonstrated an easy way to line a tea cosy then I added a bit of binding to complete the cosy. I found a ribbon off a box of chocolates we'd treated ourselves to while we were on holiday earlier in the year and stitched this in place which holds the lining in place too but I felt I also needed something to go on the other side. Inspiration struck when I remembered the Kanzashi gadgets I bought recently. I used them to make a fabric flower using the tiniest of the remaining offcuts and added a button from my stash.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPp5PVeOIK-iBNVZJoxZGvGZ9MVV0arvgRn_JiJ9KqfkytP7eHSNgB04HCd6_PZWUoggnPZafjmBLQYPNEA5LUErooS3myUkuEOEx2eJLuWBhLKd98kxoZCZsAb92FQ5BujWhvdvZogU/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPp5PVeOIK-iBNVZJoxZGvGZ9MVV0arvgRn_JiJ9KqfkytP7eHSNgB04HCd6_PZWUoggnPZafjmBLQYPNEA5LUErooS3myUkuEOEx2eJLuWBhLKd98kxoZCZsAb92FQ5BujWhvdvZogU/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I am very pleased to have made good use of fabric that would otherwise have been thrown away. All I need now is to have the kitchen completed and to have some friends drop round for a brew.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="color: blue;">BAG</span></u></b><br />
The second project I have finished in the last couple of weeks is my second patchwork bag. Once again the fabric is all leftover from other projects (in this case I'm using up my friend Sylvia's leftovers <a href="http://sylvias-ramblings.blogspot.co.uk/">http://sylvias-ramblings.blogspot.co.uk/</a>) other than the fabric for the straps and binding and the lining fabric which was in my stash although I have no idea where it came from. I think it's another very stylish bag and it has already been used to transport a quilt-in-making (more about that very soon!)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqxTesNYOW-_pNBNTaEIhGlM82xby4xtR7tySZC1rASvZ_gpykrqMafW5ESgVQxDz3UhfvsML0lxN5ra7jB2kN86Ufw7XZHS-YKlFr8BpO4S8fhOUNPWDWtPtO7ejZSl2Pn6vI7W3O4E/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqxTesNYOW-_pNBNTaEIhGlM82xby4xtR7tySZC1rASvZ_gpykrqMafW5ESgVQxDz3UhfvsML0lxN5ra7jB2kN86Ufw7XZHS-YKlFr8BpO4S8fhOUNPWDWtPtO7ejZSl2Pn6vI7W3O4E/s320/016.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iIhtdYkpPE7RIwkcBj-q0miaU2zlDsBQnSCJJezSzbAnXCuCTWWMzpIQpJ_92sRfYWpkw0X8tSCIDPFMfgk8agd7zBPARHuqeN4OF0_aVk-909lc403oK3SLm4t8mGEABlOoeaNl-po/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iIhtdYkpPE7RIwkcBj-q0miaU2zlDsBQnSCJJezSzbAnXCuCTWWMzpIQpJ_92sRfYWpkw0X8tSCIDPFMfgk8agd7zBPARHuqeN4OF0_aVk-909lc403oK3SLm4t8mGEABlOoeaNl-po/s320/017.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_1367316911"></span><span id="goog_1367316912"></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWECpkpAgAFz7cwEQzK2wxxj2epkYf84b5PJfeFb0eI1vPpvJw21FZZ8gNvc2b9kuK0-Wjb4tOZlBD3CU1HZlgKsGGwbRHpoipqypXozyPaJ8lg1-iJqIv4Ng4VkZ7Nw6Ry3v7cstcXY/s1600/018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWECpkpAgAFz7cwEQzK2wxxj2epkYf84b5PJfeFb0eI1vPpvJw21FZZ8gNvc2b9kuK0-Wjb4tOZlBD3CU1HZlgKsGGwbRHpoipqypXozyPaJ8lg1-iJqIv4Ng4VkZ7Nw6Ry3v7cstcXY/s320/018.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="color: blue;">OWL</span></u></b><br />
The final project for now is a rather quirky owl. He seems to be a bit of a Marmite figure, some people love him, others dislike him with a passion! I think he's oddly appealing. He's made up from a kit I bought last year when I was on holiday in Oxfordshire. I went to Village Fabrics in Wallingford and picked up several of the kits and projects they were selling (see earlier blog entries featuring a quilt and some chickens!).<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOqQRnKjDr5ce0OZaHoIK4zGwXDgMZP4aQXw8MhPT_9ncHlhTqP6gmESffM7sYK7fr6sJKMbo7giPguBRax_fJv1BN2oDTyZJu1moZn6yaZwiwmCmhf8wZ-9qDqESsVKFrFE4JCSH45E/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOqQRnKjDr5ce0OZaHoIK4zGwXDgMZP4aQXw8MhPT_9ncHlhTqP6gmESffM7sYK7fr6sJKMbo7giPguBRax_fJv1BN2oDTyZJu1moZn6yaZwiwmCmhf8wZ-9qDqESsVKFrFE4JCSH45E/s320/024.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I think that's all I have to tell you about for now but I'll be back again presently with some more of my projects. I hope you've enjoyed reading this and I'd really appreciate any comments you'd care to make.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-1066325849735223672013-05-21T08:12:00.000-07:002013-05-21T08:12:47.730-07:00A Grand Day OutYesterday my friend Janet and I celebrated our unbirthdays. Our actual birthdays are a week apart in October but what with one thing and another we never seem to find the time to celebrate our birthdays then so we always have a day out some other time.<br />
<br />
We set off to London on the train and it wasn't long before we arrived at our first destination, North Greenwich. The station is right next to the O2 Arena, formerly known as the Dome. We'd not seen the O2 landside before, our previous trips having been made on the Thames Clipper boats. We stopped for a coffee then made our way to the Emirates Air Line, the new cable car which crosses the Thames nearby. Remarkably short of customers for such a new attraction we were able to board a car straight away and were whisked skywards with none of the jolting and lurching I remember of cable cars in the past. We had a super view over London although it could have been much better if it hadn't been so cloudy. We could see the Olympic stadium and it's weird knotted-helter-skelter sculpture thing, the Thames barrier, Canary Wharf, City Airport and lots of other landmarks. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modalpages/23863.aspx<br />
<br />
After our trip on the cable car we decided to board the train once again and go to the Westfield shopping centre at Stratford. After we'd crossed under the Thames on the Jubilee line we changed to the Docklands Light Railway at Canary Wharf. This route took us alongside the Olympic park so we were able to see many of the venues. We exited Stratford station and managed to miss Westfield entirely (we may have been chatting!) and crossed the road to the Stratford shopping centre. This incorporated a vibrant market (what were all those strange fruits and vegetables and what do you do with them?) and lots of what I'd consider "useful" shops. I managed to get some dishes I'd been looking for for months while I was there so as it turned out it was a handy detour. When we left the Stratford shops and crossed over the road again Westfield was directly in front of us, we couldn't miss it this time! We managed to find a Pizza Express (it took a bit of finding, the shopping centre is vast and not terribly well signed) for some lunch and I picked up some gorgeous fabric in John Lewis' sale but other than that we didn't do any shopping. Although they had an impressive selection of shops there there wasn't anything that really appealed to Janet and I, there were lots of frou-frou shops with jewellery, expensive underwear or baseball caps (who knew they could be so pricey?!!!).<br />
<br />
Shopped out, Janet said she'd like to visit Chinatown so we boarded the train once more and headed into town. We'd intended to stop at Charing Cross on the way to visit a little ice cream shop I knew at the back of St. Martin in the Fields but when we arrived there it had closed down. We felt a little bereft as ice cream is a now traditional part of our day out. We set off on foot towards Chinatown and reached Charing Cross Road where we spied an Italian Cafe with a freezer full of gelati of all flavours. What was going to be a cone with one scoop grew a little as we struggled to make our choices (see below!)! Replete we finally made our way along the road to Chinatown where Janet began her quest for a dragon mask or other dragony item. We asked in several Chinese supermarkets but noone had any. Finally we spotted some paper dragons in the last supermarket and asked if they were available to buy. Sadly they weren't, I was quite tempted by them myself as they were so pretty. We decided it was time to call it a day and headed for the nearest station so we could get home before rush hour began. We turned a corner and there, right in front of us was a shop with all manner of Chinese trinkets; tea pots, lanterns, costumes, you name it they had it and Janet was able to find what she was looking for so our trek wasn't in vain after all.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvoJnIvcj2FmIbDtFjhTiutmEFdId6vqsNwtQZEpn2IjaV1OK3nXZgjI-ZfEC0VIjLMiChDCZmb9U-TB2WHELjuVY7vZguvIpc5KyDhm2Mjb5XICicFS57BszL7yMH9ooXSiH6weEZpU/s1600/IMG_20130520_151559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvoJnIvcj2FmIbDtFjhTiutmEFdId6vqsNwtQZEpn2IjaV1OK3nXZgjI-ZfEC0VIjLMiChDCZmb9U-TB2WHELjuVY7vZguvIpc5KyDhm2Mjb5XICicFS57BszL7yMH9ooXSiH6weEZpU/s320/IMG_20130520_151559.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWT0EYdI10KYFbNVnsP9Ik-pcx-PRpyNwW-T1_nEwa_kt5lJJBd-5olw1juztwRCfLHQQWu25-vsvinxec38ptWQbJf5eJ0TYXVrkyTaCZzwKisDzDAcnULg5eY4LNdzd_DVHi2nyP0rk/s1600/IMG_20130520_151615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWT0EYdI10KYFbNVnsP9Ik-pcx-PRpyNwW-T1_nEwa_kt5lJJBd-5olw1juztwRCfLHQQWu25-vsvinxec38ptWQbJf5eJ0TYXVrkyTaCZzwKisDzDAcnULg5eY4LNdzd_DVHi2nyP0rk/s320/IMG_20130520_151615.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-30022846249507261512013-05-03T13:05:00.001-07:002013-05-03T13:05:43.537-07:00HOLIDAY BAGFor Christmas I was given a lovely Jelly Roll and matching Charm Squares. The Jelly Roll is currently partially made up into a quilt (more on that some other time) but I couldn't decide what to do with the Charm Squares until I was browsing Amazon one day and came across a pattern for a bag. Of course this meant buying the book the pattern was contained in but you can never have too many books! <span id="btAsinTitle">Love... Quilting: 18 Simple Step-by-step Projects to Sew by </span><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Marion%20Patterson&search-alias=books-uk&sort=relevancerank">Marion
Patterson, </a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_2?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Sally%20Ablett&search-alias=books-uk&sort=relevancerank">Sally
Ablett and </a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_3?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Sue%20Warren&search-alias=books-uk&sort=relevancerank">Sue
Warren</a> <br />
<br />
On Monday I set to work making my bag. I found some cotton ticking in my box of random fabrics and had just enough for the project. Little did I know at the time that I was sickening with 'flu. I thought it was just an inconvenient sniffle but as it turned out it knocked me for six and I remained in bed all day Tuesday and Wednesday and half of Thursday too. When I finally felt able to resurface I continued with the bag-making and finished it off today. I'm really rather pleased with it although it will be interesting to see if it can actually hold any weight!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWNhRxUITL6MgXSuAuZ8OyYUc9x4Hhl-szUFwp5Yy7tFUcBc2Es91Fak04MNDicD6A3IHXtuQB-bmzrh_gcZOTlaK37D67LO5JIFB1viuSpwzCC8VBuLJ3WY6qtG_G77m5kUthrGJLAM/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWNhRxUITL6MgXSuAuZ8OyYUc9x4Hhl-szUFwp5Yy7tFUcBc2Es91Fak04MNDicD6A3IHXtuQB-bmzrh_gcZOTlaK37D67LO5JIFB1viuSpwzCC8VBuLJ3WY6qtG_G77m5kUthrGJLAM/s400/001.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
The front of the bag with it's co-ordinating button concealing the magnetic clasp underneath.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh561Akx5SFTpXmzqrewRXloRPQltiWSL3LRg0qnpTpojdML6NmV_bh1OVQiKAt957OTqxQCG6HSuUcc2efY36vcMKj2K4r9Ki_JEyyYUYHL1EmJ2Ji4xC05ZRTizrIz4jdBtmDU1MTdFo/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh561Akx5SFTpXmzqrewRXloRPQltiWSL3LRg0qnpTpojdML6NmV_bh1OVQiKAt957OTqxQCG6HSuUcc2efY36vcMKj2K4r9Ki_JEyyYUYHL1EmJ2Ji4xC05ZRTizrIz4jdBtmDU1MTdFo/s320/003.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
The back of the bag.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbvaHkyX0PsMZeahOehb_3otHNIRCHOvZpX5qFnpIiIyTSFKN9VG0oGAVcjwrbPHRgA0msk4cFZQ32uLRl_bysbH2H_6tl_6MomhntYieqbCqMK_IRpnKNQCSnAKj81YxaUCWFPADSPQ/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbvaHkyX0PsMZeahOehb_3otHNIRCHOvZpX5qFnpIiIyTSFKN9VG0oGAVcjwrbPHRgA0msk4cFZQ32uLRl_bysbH2H_6tl_6MomhntYieqbCqMK_IRpnKNQCSnAKj81YxaUCWFPADSPQ/s320/005.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
A bright and cheery fabric for the lining!<br />
<br />Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-80065564989965260792013-02-06T09:39:00.000-08:002013-02-06T09:39:49.665-08:00School PudsToday I was feeling a little nostalgic so I decided to see if I could find a recipe for a school pudding that was a favourite of mine many, many years ago - Chocolate Concrete. It turns out there are only 4 ingredients required; plain flour, granulated sugar, butter and cocoa and it's ever so easy to make. Simply put all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, melt the butter and combine. No wonder it was a regular on the menu at my primary school. I can't imagine why I haven't made it before.<br />
<br />
Begin by gathering all the ingredients ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLb_dwZKQ63Wz0WCpCusoskYZQqqlVBKS1Hrym_a90DoJ9k6AMeQE7dIdBCZQIvVU5ir14qy87wCoFTAGE8e4V9J8N0KUtyfIUmvp7iSfn7AoLygYn_nFjMA9sNr7c8Qgt_lI65BgkV4/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLb_dwZKQ63Wz0WCpCusoskYZQqqlVBKS1Hrym_a90DoJ9k6AMeQE7dIdBCZQIvVU5ir14qy87wCoFTAGE8e4V9J8N0KUtyfIUmvp7iSfn7AoLygYn_nFjMA9sNr7c8Qgt_lI65BgkV4/s320/004.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Melt the butter either in a pan or microwave ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6zZz3JiUnCFp-PdTRjeJmREMYljJOizKFnuFORLJsZ1WE22hus9KCmk52s8ABehyTatV2RBY5g0L341dvI2J4M7xjWsrxMzhnL4fPIA3Ffd2wNaoSZJlE3mbR9tPi_Vak9b61M6Po54/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6zZz3JiUnCFp-PdTRjeJmREMYljJOizKFnuFORLJsZ1WE22hus9KCmk52s8ABehyTatV2RBY5g0L341dvI2J4M7xjWsrxMzhnL4fPIA3Ffd2wNaoSZJlE3mbR9tPi_Vak9b61M6Po54/s320/005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Measure out all the dry ingredients and combine in a bowl ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjaSieXMKyVqp4IBXoiY_eprY-KiJ3chB6CQG0kZVWGnW2suzNd23AwDV-Ry08hWD41LitBtViy0kOePRDXbQCLwAwUT4bAMVnr251ny4gZrvUQBFkp9H2MH6BEMz463zYuW3_NrRchs0/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjaSieXMKyVqp4IBXoiY_eprY-KiJ3chB6CQG0kZVWGnW2suzNd23AwDV-Ry08hWD41LitBtViy0kOePRDXbQCLwAwUT4bAMVnr251ny4gZrvUQBFkp9H2MH6BEMz463zYuW3_NrRchs0/s320/006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Line a baking tin in readyness ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksh_rDf56INMhDiSZZqG1YRpM4uaNAhnIWqikRZbFBMw86eqe05bLo2T-so2YqRRQKFE08rru0B0orz0_SbPbmPGV7khCek7CscgoiGdXiuoapYCxdp_YpQLw49Da80HtNAtc2ejoaB4/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksh_rDf56INMhDiSZZqG1YRpM4uaNAhnIWqikRZbFBMw86eqe05bLo2T-so2YqRRQKFE08rru0B0orz0_SbPbmPGV7khCek7CscgoiGdXiuoapYCxdp_YpQLw49Da80HtNAtc2ejoaB4/s320/007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Combine the melted butter and the rest of the ingredients. You can either do this with a spoon or if you don't mind getting messy use your hands ... Tip the mixture into the baking tin, use the back of a spoon to pack it down and place in an oven ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD45r6s4yoCrIL3N-6WNNL6rryhsmyOfPFIOq9mC4G-Q_7mgjLpEa-LQHXE_Xjh-o0sKvX6jkCVXTfZfpwRCR5OJ3etQzw4pkKBW5es_xAJH179vwRJsQImykSc9SmMgFEdfucTSfTxls/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD45r6s4yoCrIL3N-6WNNL6rryhsmyOfPFIOq9mC4G-Q_7mgjLpEa-LQHXE_Xjh-o0sKvX6jkCVXTfZfpwRCR5OJ3etQzw4pkKBW5es_xAJH179vwRJsQImykSc9SmMgFEdfucTSfTxls/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5NUbL_RGCTZ5_xvd84T9RJILFiHgnDPIUPriFFp5jZyHOckKS_YJy92MJdDrKmpAphYcLS_RvDsV6fSYgdTVA6IiVxi7l6ohBvGGHz8bgf1dlFKWNg1Jhxqjo7_AD3mFxcBvp4I-k5I/s1600/018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5NUbL_RGCTZ5_xvd84T9RJILFiHgnDPIUPriFFp5jZyHOckKS_YJy92MJdDrKmpAphYcLS_RvDsV6fSYgdTVA6IiVxi7l6ohBvGGHz8bgf1dlFKWNg1Jhxqjo7_AD3mFxcBvp4I-k5I/s320/018.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
When the concrete has cooked take it out of the oven, sprinkle it with sugar, cut it into portions and leave in tin to cool a little. By the time you've made yourself a cup of tea the concrete will be just right to eat.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPc1d8UL6FTr9MycXGGgaI44X4SF5Td-GSdNN8TPBCKA_3Dv9CMXvwvzpP6Y_DwJfy4TPDv3708ybQIPjKrM0iV7lGjFqfn5Z2xRh4fefa8QPuKhyphenhyphenZTZZBqoE7GSVEQy4k-lgdB_AWgOM/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPc1d8UL6FTr9MycXGGgaI44X4SF5Td-GSdNN8TPBCKA_3Dv9CMXvwvzpP6Y_DwJfy4TPDv3708ybQIPjKrM0iV7lGjFqfn5Z2xRh4fefa8QPuKhyphenhyphenZTZZBqoE7GSVEQy4k-lgdB_AWgOM/s320/019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5nhYQUFnw6HB0unO-9Y7aUE3TbdWn8HZOg48UqeXexCatOkG6OMtMJdGImUK6qY-R48JneYxi2qCHOhaIQysrrqVowLO_g_Kh_bmffPui3AsUvCGs0KXsJ7pLuK3JeuV8rRl0Mear-Y/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5nhYQUFnw6HB0unO-9Y7aUE3TbdWn8HZOg48UqeXexCatOkG6OMtMJdGImUK6qY-R48JneYxi2qCHOhaIQysrrqVowLO_g_Kh_bmffPui3AsUvCGs0KXsJ7pLuK3JeuV8rRl0Mear-Y/s320/020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXuSbGvg9Q2Ej9BIkW78GAWhm4f-1jQ6_DlWLFDQn0ZfhyIwv8EiyQCpC0vGLlWGTuB-Lfh4NIUJCddO91OHgKaZt1w7pu91Pt1JmBPETafGKU8zVZ0z1xG3cNTovJvk8dS1lcBiZ1Kos/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXuSbGvg9Q2Ej9BIkW78GAWhm4f-1jQ6_DlWLFDQn0ZfhyIwv8EiyQCpC0vGLlWGTuB-Lfh4NIUJCddO91OHgKaZt1w7pu91Pt1JmBPETafGKU8zVZ0z1xG3cNTovJvk8dS1lcBiZ1Kos/s320/021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
To be truly authentic the concrete should be served as an island in the middle of a lake of pink custard with a thick skin on top in a chipped green china bowl. It will come as no surprise that I scarcely have any unfilled teeth and need to lose weight. My school has an awful lot to answer for!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-29511926281606110182013-01-23T06:52:00.001-08:002013-01-23T06:52:51.227-08:00The Life Of Py(rex)!Last weekend my husband finally installed my new double oven. Construction of the new kitchen has been a lengthy and trying affair to say the least and although I have been warned that it will need to be disconnected again soon in order to wire in the hob I was so pleased to finally be able to see the oven without it being shrouded in packing. There it sat in it's housing, all shiny and gleaming! After a long day working on the kitchen on Sunday we "christened" the oven by cooking pizzas for dinner. Yesterday I used the oven for a second time to make bread rolls and the top oven came in very useful for proving the dough, particularly as it is so cold at the moment and the dough stubbornly refused to rise at room temperature. The top oven is a novel feature for me not having had one before. It was while I was cooking dinner yesterday evening that disaster struck! I was warming a tinfull of spaghetti in a Pyrex jug and reached into the oven to check how it was coming along. I picked up the jug by it's handle and suddenly with a loud ping sound the jug exploded into several shards of glass and spaghetti sauce spattered my lovely new oven burning on instantly and dribbled down the new cupboard door. It couldn't have happened a week ago when we were using the old oven! Anyway, as the Pyrex jug was a wedding present I guess I can conclude that the life of Pyrex is a maximum of 32 years. Just to finish this little tale I had to abandon the spaghetti/glass confection and resorted to heating a second tin in a bowl in the microwave. No problem, you may say! Oh no, my husband had got there first. He'd heated a frozen curry shortly before the Pyrex incident. The curry had heated up then gone off like a volcano in the microwave. The whole inside of the microwave was spattered with curry, so much so that it is a wonder there was anything left for him to eat, and he'd left it like that without even attempting to clean up. Result: I spent half the evening cleaning burnt-on goo off appliances. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for tonight's meal - wish me luck!Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-16213691335066902372013-01-08T08:16:00.001-08:002013-01-08T08:16:29.791-08:00Scrapology: New Year Candy<a href="http://scrapology-adventuresinscrapbooking.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-year-candy.html?spref=bl">Scrapology: New Year Candy</a>: We thought it was time to share a box of blog candy. As the weather outside is cold and miserable we thought we would select some warm colou...Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-31984421374778576342012-12-24T16:25:00.001-08:002012-12-24T16:25:26.530-08:00Merry Christmas!Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas.Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-82903694895054287132012-12-22T03:54:00.001-08:002012-12-22T03:54:57.132-08:00Mum's Christmas PresentWell, here it is! All finished except for one last seam and my name and the date.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53ATnhryCB_x-v_xl89D6hwSixoGQ2tKfC_lWdwrVQvMzg9gwvpW-5KGllj2yugAmvzCvp0T_RvQ6Ff9Ol1EFWyy8EY7K92IJ1jT2v2uG_DNPBVD_CVeyOGwPD1hWu0edvnT51DVRvDg/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53ATnhryCB_x-v_xl89D6hwSixoGQ2tKfC_lWdwrVQvMzg9gwvpW-5KGllj2yugAmvzCvp0T_RvQ6Ff9Ol1EFWyy8EY7K92IJ1jT2v2uG_DNPBVD_CVeyOGwPD1hWu0edvnT51DVRvDg/s400/001.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-80423800670614860232012-11-13T08:53:00.003-08:002012-11-13T08:53:39.099-08:00Micromys Minutus <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FID4hoZFsk_9x_3rPhhoc_jyxOwtdsZCVXzdZdt8Qyhg-vCknGABswfn_-EgEHUdI4atE8PgydZUcB4AfMAZVisCt66kUT4EqBCyctWWVBDH_wO51G78ayJYn9Q82TheA6N3gMsLvyI/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FID4hoZFsk_9x_3rPhhoc_jyxOwtdsZCVXzdZdt8Qyhg-vCknGABswfn_-EgEHUdI4atE8PgydZUcB4AfMAZVisCt66kUT4EqBCyctWWVBDH_wO51G78ayJYn9Q82TheA6N3gMsLvyI/s640/015.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Today I received what is probably the last birthday present I shall get this year. My friend Julia recently attended a straw plaiting course at Acton Scott Historic Working Farm in Shropshire. As a beginner Julia learned how to make a 7 strand plait for hat making and although Julia didn't make these Harvest mice herself the plait she learnt is the same as is used for the bodies of the mice.<br />
Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-75538948276614050002012-10-16T07:21:00.001-07:002012-10-16T07:21:41.567-07:00The Things We Do For LoveIt's our wedding anniversary tomorrow so in honour of the occasion and because I'm always being moaned at for making cakes for other people and none for Rob I have made Chocolate Brownies. This has meant the ultimate sacrifice has had to be made - I've had to use the only bar of dark chocolate in the larder (stocked purely for medicinal purposes of course). I shall have to hope for a bountiful chocolate harvest at the weekend to make up for it.<br />
<br />
The brownies are made from a Lakeland recipe no longer extant on their website meaning that I had to go searching through the pile of printed out recipes in the kitchen, peeling the pages apart from where they'd been spattered with ingredients from long-ago-consumed offerings (there is a chocolate brownie recipe on there but it's not this one).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKGAdE_FdgwieoW7omKFe9LB66Syo5wnLm-bTldJwGQ7TOeKFUD7lra1exaNy0TGbx4nAWS0tbW0_c84vVGCU8MqgQH7hIkPNRQHLm_1rh5wXV7AMuPRmLzHChFtU7UTOB3UvG8q20Mg/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKGAdE_FdgwieoW7omKFe9LB66Syo5wnLm-bTldJwGQ7TOeKFUD7lra1exaNy0TGbx4nAWS0tbW0_c84vVGCU8MqgQH7hIkPNRQHLm_1rh5wXV7AMuPRmLzHChFtU7UTOB3UvG8q20Mg/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
If you want to make some too the ingredients you'll need are:-<br />
<br />
225g soft margarine<br />
110g dark chocolate<br />
400g caster sugar<br />
2tsp vanilla extract<br />
4 beaten eggs<br />
100g walnut pieces<br />
170g plain flour<br />
pinch of salt<br />
1/2tsp baking powder<br />
<br />
Melt the margarine and chocolate together. It's best to do this in a large Pyrex bowl in the microwave. Once the chocolate has melted add the sugar and mix well then add the vanilla extract, eggs and walnut pieces. Measure out the flour, salt and baking powder and fold them into the chocolate mixture. If you can resist the urge to eat the raw mixture, pour it into a lightly greased brownie tin and bake at 160C for 50 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the brownies, the top should have just a slight crust while the underneath remains soft. If you can bear not to scoff them straight from the oven, leave the brownies to cool in the baking tin. The recipe says the mixture makes 36 brownies but here in the real world mine are divided into 12 because there's just no point in making them any smaller for Rob.<br />
<br />
The first time I cooked this recipe I'd run out of table salt and used sea salt from the grinder instead. The salt sank to the bottom of the cake mix making an interesting contrast between salty base and gooey chocolatey cake.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY52-1snr_SxcWMsu2t-sF9GJWXmb87i13S_9ns6WXm79VzBtwYyAVuMX_Gq8KzPUNaqdi7Lz4LgigRSTtLxzpPpbFDpiOhJTS_JzwneRIx4P_cm7txk-tK6uvMRs4N8hrvfhwksPHX_c/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY52-1snr_SxcWMsu2t-sF9GJWXmb87i13S_9ns6WXm79VzBtwYyAVuMX_Gq8KzPUNaqdi7Lz4LgigRSTtLxzpPpbFDpiOhJTS_JzwneRIx4P_cm7txk-tK6uvMRs4N8hrvfhwksPHX_c/s320/005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-89373734952070215732012-10-03T14:27:00.001-07:002012-10-03T14:27:50.726-07:00Nobody Here But Us Chickens!Today I have been to my friend Sylvia's house. She has helped me to cut fabric to make patchwork chickens. It's easiest if you cut all the pieces you need before you start to sew the chicken so you don't have to keep stopping and starting. Here's how I made them ...<br />
<br />
To start with here are all the bits of fabric cut up ready.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2GvAsLLMQQoQx3JSx5VZFK_f98jXrFMWqiFrEHs4UCP_1Fag9AwD9ywT2eQLku4G43s2CBd0dNz0NUKmWwIaqeDIvKQLEhtI5PBIgU9EEoYivksMbyjzW3Y_P6sMbZ8GD4txPU7u6FI/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2GvAsLLMQQoQx3JSx5VZFK_f98jXrFMWqiFrEHs4UCP_1Fag9AwD9ywT2eQLku4G43s2CBd0dNz0NUKmWwIaqeDIvKQLEhtI5PBIgU9EEoYivksMbyjzW3Y_P6sMbZ8GD4txPU7u6FI/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Each chicken takes a surprising number of pieces!<br />
<br />
Begin by sewing two tiny squares right sides together ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-uB6Rt3onfOftHk1VNpc7e3OpjX_bmbk56RufueB892A2KFO06yeJTfnYWSkyXoekmWge8Ld5MBZgCwxpfNtis9KEXlv4PeUV1KdRVAPIp3gQeRdjTEAeeket2G67uvsYqSMaVavSm0/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-uB6Rt3onfOftHk1VNpc7e3OpjX_bmbk56RufueB892A2KFO06yeJTfnYWSkyXoekmWge8Ld5MBZgCwxpfNtis9KEXlv4PeUV1KdRVAPIp3gQeRdjTEAeeket2G67uvsYqSMaVavSm0/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
... once you've sewn the seam you need to press it open to reduce bulk as you sew the next pieces.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbpYzSHQehe-3VwiziwnwbACH3DC0GAmT-uf6pyuGYj2Y1bqrMD6nBsxCFzUML7DCTmqmZOgOR57UdKmgYuTYl2jTH5q5sEi5MWs7xtieKhSfBlcOm27-dSbfr0WH5vwjnRPdHGZHGMM/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbpYzSHQehe-3VwiziwnwbACH3DC0GAmT-uf6pyuGYj2Y1bqrMD6nBsxCFzUML7DCTmqmZOgOR57UdKmgYuTYl2jTH5q5sEi5MWs7xtieKhSfBlcOm27-dSbfr0WH5vwjnRPdHGZHGMM/s320/007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrFmShNqihzmebICVvi6LS88iR4zEQAS9Ry1MqWhj-4EwUZXCcZD6l13CWxeZXUdJwnjeuNmiuhDg8jGu3P9eyoX4FHwiC9pyfHdxtxznsCaAX6MeOmakTzbXqW1yfVEWLwJojs9OJBL0/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrFmShNqihzmebICVvi6LS88iR4zEQAS9Ry1MqWhj-4EwUZXCcZD6l13CWxeZXUdJwnjeuNmiuhDg8jGu3P9eyoX4FHwiC9pyfHdxtxznsCaAX6MeOmakTzbXqW1yfVEWLwJojs9OJBL0/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCA2c6URHlFTmDz1u_Ju1m00Th0PtTF5Sp5UDd1s9VAuLAF1fSxpILeFdUIZQxfMHJLggeYDzTzDbAGo1zubkddK9X4U0QqgZopJfHEj2_mnyC_x4-030ttaARhmsOs9qMl6Mq6KiwDvc/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCA2c6URHlFTmDz1u_Ju1m00Th0PtTF5Sp5UDd1s9VAuLAF1fSxpILeFdUIZQxfMHJLggeYDzTzDbAGo1zubkddK9X4U0QqgZopJfHEj2_mnyC_x4-030ttaARhmsOs9qMl6Mq6KiwDvc/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Continue sewing pieces on until you have used up half of the pieces. Once you have completed one side you need to repeat this process until you have two mirror-image squares, one for each side of the chicken.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQzHnHPi4VTJ0f-5-5kRk3w71l1GS1PxwGQU8aPrc3fNQlwL1uezHMNHfDhhdnp3HSJmkFVux8w3oAYju43Dh1_q5pjOmJJLyhzPnT3jIX8QKMwsYj-1yLX8InAFj4p5bCwOG9XTVM94/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQzHnHPi4VTJ0f-5-5kRk3w71l1GS1PxwGQU8aPrc3fNQlwL1uezHMNHfDhhdnp3HSJmkFVux8w3oAYju43Dh1_q5pjOmJJLyhzPnT3jIX8QKMwsYj-1yLX8InAFj4p5bCwOG9XTVM94/s320/016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Next you need to prepare the chicken's tail by cutting the large square across the diagonal and sewing the two short sides together before turning them right sides out. Then cut a comb and a beak from felt.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzatr-8OJEW8l6f0Gmy8Uoripy41Ig9gRbL4PaTnuRkZQBORW-ydPusBGVH-EZvmylhSN0jjBT08SFYXzkj9m7-A-3jPy1zRNwRX5MmD8jUm8rg6kPOwHx_yJ9cDefzBTADUEzLd_k_g/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzatr-8OJEW8l6f0Gmy8Uoripy41Ig9gRbL4PaTnuRkZQBORW-ydPusBGVH-EZvmylhSN0jjBT08SFYXzkj9m7-A-3jPy1zRNwRX5MmD8jUm8rg6kPOwHx_yJ9cDefzBTADUEzLd_k_g/s320/019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now you need to pin the two sides of the chicken together ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaql0XZIsCZkL1FY1if3wpcyoQV5HHm-ff0__WMc2Le2H-_-2zkgQcOz7ZKqDCdyKVmgwZ1dTZfvggkUtNMp_4PR3-OkhSdHNIVlIz6sNUoZgf8BIRu22RW3Ug-ulbwaZ0BJk_ekf7mg0/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaql0XZIsCZkL1FY1if3wpcyoQV5HHm-ff0__WMc2Le2H-_-2zkgQcOz7ZKqDCdyKVmgwZ1dTZfvggkUtNMp_4PR3-OkhSdHNIVlIz6sNUoZgf8BIRu22RW3Ug-ulbwaZ0BJk_ekf7mg0/s320/021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1d5UmMaguaN1njVhEhQ1asUtEBsOHrIcXVJKc7AO042m1AYgP2KRJl2GCPp_aXlaX94gdeOltowa83ApMCpyGOqJBP3MdZmfFpe7XDkpxFwPuhZFQLrQTPwBtH45DlGrFqIQ85x93rdc/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1d5UmMaguaN1njVhEhQ1asUtEBsOHrIcXVJKc7AO042m1AYgP2KRJl2GCPp_aXlaX94gdeOltowa83ApMCpyGOqJBP3MdZmfFpe7XDkpxFwPuhZFQLrQTPwBtH45DlGrFqIQ85x93rdc/s320/023.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
... you need to fit the two squares together accurately and insert the comb and the beak. Sew along the top edge and down the side so that the beak and comb are secured then sew along the bottom edge but leave a gap between the two red pins so that you can turn the chicken right side out. Don't sew along the 4th side at this stage.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vVSukScZOHuXwLKSxSwv8cWPj2HvQG2razh-aALcxLGy1EgNuoRHyOtaKnrl6g7gvBFfYzhelE8Fn2TKiEfRcbapZ7GuyjrWr97u8Y-9AkHxk0s8tG1nnJj2y-564DGWPuq-nnpQpO0/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vVSukScZOHuXwLKSxSwv8cWPj2HvQG2razh-aALcxLGy1EgNuoRHyOtaKnrl6g7gvBFfYzhelE8Fn2TKiEfRcbapZ7GuyjrWr97u8Y-9AkHxk0s8tG1nnJj2y-564DGWPuq-nnpQpO0/s320/025.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJglJYyrHp_fIXOucoK_GcN40S0og75T7QHlRztoP7c6VOpwfdIEuruk8n0FnHog8W1x_9Va5QcCZVy-hxKwwiK7gdV43vRIYs11JYcu_kQnroc9zEIQ3e0aGFqGe4gL-EhMQ9HZbs_YY/s1600/028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJglJYyrHp_fIXOucoK_GcN40S0og75T7QHlRztoP7c6VOpwfdIEuruk8n0FnHog8W1x_9Va5QcCZVy-hxKwwiK7gdV43vRIYs11JYcu_kQnroc9zEIQ3e0aGFqGe4gL-EhMQ9HZbs_YY/s320/028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The next stage is to stitch along the 4th side but in order to do this you need to open up the fabric and line the two "side" seams up so that they are in the middle. You then need to find the centre of the long side of the triangular tail piece, insert this into the seam and stitch into place. Your chicken will now look a bit like a humbug! Once all this is done you need to turn the chicken right side out through the gap you left in the 3rd side and press. Stitch some tiny buttons or beads on for the eyes then fill the chicken with lentils, dried peas or lavender and finally stitch the gap up by hand to keep the filling in.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_K24cG125AAzRX-mLsgozFCBVY9jSLi7_9BXV1eO1nJtm-JrN4woorffKh1g-EQzWWE8IG54l4XYYleebppDGJvsPYBUSaAbTt-nAj0UDWteK7e_4qM44haNIIGP1J2aP2bAtkmh94E/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_K24cG125AAzRX-mLsgozFCBVY9jSLi7_9BXV1eO1nJtm-JrN4woorffKh1g-EQzWWE8IG54l4XYYleebppDGJvsPYBUSaAbTt-nAj0UDWteK7e_4qM44haNIIGP1J2aP2bAtkmh94E/s320/030.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Ta da - chicken!!!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRcvsJsgwbIqo96dydsE6DgqHbLL6jdD2OwRijyd7W9M8KQXeV_Ow3ru-lYCxI0jMhJ1tbgBc0RYALIknstt2SjLVlCazeHXn-Ff4A-alEKD3XQtzG7mHREFB__H74KBxf_NEQpeuNAQ/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRcvsJsgwbIqo96dydsE6DgqHbLL6jdD2OwRijyd7W9M8KQXeV_Ow3ru-lYCxI0jMhJ1tbgBc0RYALIknstt2SjLVlCazeHXn-Ff4A-alEKD3XQtzG7mHREFB__H74KBxf_NEQpeuNAQ/s320/032.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So far I've made a small chicken and a large one but I've got lots of pieces cut ready for a middle size one too!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsGQrhFH_Q841B5DDOX0vHUO8eD40wB2XlrD3Q81OYk9qDeYi8i_SgKyfnsvZVM4e93EIobTBa0YHYlR-fBNNSXDgJZ-N8uYZ0cv3pio5exWKRbM-W3neDrPyErHlvpxb4KON7L6DCIc/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsGQrhFH_Q841B5DDOX0vHUO8eD40wB2XlrD3Q81OYk9qDeYi8i_SgKyfnsvZVM4e93EIobTBa0YHYlR-fBNNSXDgJZ-N8uYZ0cv3pio5exWKRbM-W3neDrPyErHlvpxb4KON7L6DCIc/s640/035.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-85843213013333238302012-09-29T05:06:00.000-07:002012-09-29T05:06:00.777-07:00Using Up Scraps!As a crafter I hate to throw anything away and usually end up saving even the tiniest scrap of fabric or card or whatever in the fervent belief that it will be just the ideal thing to complete a future project. I also have friends who share this philosophy. We keep (or give away to the like-minded!) mountains of what other people would consider to be rubbish! Consequently a few months ago I was given some scraps of fabric. My friend Dawn had made some bunting and these were the bits left over. Common sense would have dictated that they went in the bin but I looked at them and an idea started to come together in my head. These scraps would be perfect to use in crazy patchwork. I dragged out my fairly ancient and frankly rather unloved sewing machine and set to work. Now, over the years I have had a difficult relationship with my sewing machine. I dream up wonderful ideas of the things I could make, my sewing machine throws a wobbly, spewing out yards of knotted thread rather than the perfect stitches other people seem to achieve with their machines and I get cross, put the machine away and give up. Despite having to do lots of unpicking and resewing, the crazy patchwork gradually came together although my machine let me down on so many occasions. After listening to yet another tirade of swear words and sewing machine related abuse my husband finally took pity on me and we went shopping for a new machine. Rob was keen that I have a machine that would allow me to do the things I wanted to be able to do but he also had a budget in mind. We set off to see what Sewfine in Watford had to offer. I took my patchwork along with me along with another project I'd been working on and showed the sales lady what I wanted to be able to do and she pointed me in the direction of a Janone machine which she said would be perfect for me. She spent ages with me going through all the features, the whole experience was revelatory. I never knew such machines existed. The only snag was that I knew it far exceeded the price Rob had set. With a heavy heart I left the shop muttering that I would have to think hard about it and would get back to them with my decision. When I got home I did some research on the internet looking into other machines and seeing if I could find my dream machine at a better price to no avail. It was all very depressing. Rob and I chatted about the situation and he said I could phone Sewfine up and order the dream machine if I really wanted it. Well, since then I have had an epiphany as far as machine sewing is concerned. I love it! I never thought it could be such fun. I completed the crazy patchwork and decorated all the seams using one of the many new fancy stitches at my fingertips then I made it into a cushion front and found some pink fabric to match in my stash for the back of the cushion cover. Although I must admit I was very tempted to keep the cushion myself I decided to give the cushion to Dawn a few weeks ago and I believe she now has it in her bedroom along with the bunting.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTyYSYO-MbUzDjDUI50tmbyxyoAXfvcLBdJGRO3-HC8h0PMYajcHqV45c5U1FnMP0T5t25FAy_ldxA4sQxG-_BCMXK7F4cvaBTcB3_PoX4zThRZfMLKtRmiu5WLlYlshCN-TPDVz-n90/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTyYSYO-MbUzDjDUI50tmbyxyoAXfvcLBdJGRO3-HC8h0PMYajcHqV45c5U1FnMP0T5t25FAy_ldxA4sQxG-_BCMXK7F4cvaBTcB3_PoX4zThRZfMLKtRmiu5WLlYlshCN-TPDVz-n90/s640/005.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cushion front made from crazy patchwork using scraps.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaegalOeshUDDoIK4PC2cO9eNFEh3Z303TCHSijaZSYyPax2gAMkJlrf17LInVkVoVXYqVfL_LlgVYQJ87gphrHSkK1RnGHucAA2BErDbrk2v4mbYN58p8fkIgbhRoFv9bx1Byksu51zk/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaegalOeshUDDoIK4PC2cO9eNFEh3Z303TCHSijaZSYyPax2gAMkJlrf17LInVkVoVXYqVfL_LlgVYQJ87gphrHSkK1RnGHucAA2BErDbrk2v4mbYN58p8fkIgbhRoFv9bx1Byksu51zk/s400/004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back of the cushion.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-28611454342215713002012-07-24T00:44:00.000-07:002012-07-24T00:44:13.188-07:00ParkingWe spotted these signs during our stay at the hotel over the weekend. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as the first one is concerned .....<span id="goog_332652746"></span><span id="goog_332652747"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltlYzwiASlGtOXh1TcrlVIW87FPxHIP81_ZasQZcrkSPZaFTK9kkHVQXIB1vJakTIkRJrHL-uy6q2kXW12Dei-7NJbsb51AYrUX7w_Xfo_AGxVXQBZwX_6JDGsMF_oh4roShm8H-7hHI/s1600/068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltlYzwiASlGtOXh1TcrlVIW87FPxHIP81_ZasQZcrkSPZaFTK9kkHVQXIB1vJakTIkRJrHL-uy6q2kXW12Dei-7NJbsb51AYrUX7w_Xfo_AGxVXQBZwX_6JDGsMF_oh4roShm8H-7hHI/s320/068.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
..... but it's not every day that you see one of these ..... !<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjALQmhjSjQPUbqtJ4gbrJHI7s_AO_sxE9sK9SMrdeMfJYpzXHwEuWoY92Qq2e6CdOvOfyhyLWCWZ_O2XGGkWQhBpOR_7XRSz-s1ZUVpCC9pkgAJ-9qdo0Vo4d4lQlSfyA15QVlZp01gQ/s1600/069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjALQmhjSjQPUbqtJ4gbrJHI7s_AO_sxE9sK9SMrdeMfJYpzXHwEuWoY92Qq2e6CdOvOfyhyLWCWZ_O2XGGkWQhBpOR_7XRSz-s1ZUVpCC9pkgAJ-9qdo0Vo4d4lQlSfyA15QVlZp01gQ/s320/069.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-68750717726488008212012-07-23T13:07:00.000-07:002012-07-24T00:51:21.264-07:00A Very Special Weekend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlos4qYC5dTzCfZ5OX2jQHROOLeoSfZrgVEVy5TKbETpqJSpUOQ6nHy5bL0-iNVdqkRocKIzOQ3M_34r88OyMMjRuPXevVTCmWlsbQZ2cUDEGauYMcE3cy4z_TFuYNPJx3JeH9OKxDX4/s1600/058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Over the very dim and dingy Easter weekend while Rob, my husband, was fiddling around with work stuff I started to browse various pages on Facebook. One of these was Lakeland <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/lakeland.co.uk">http://www.facebook.com/#!/lakeland.co.uk</a> who, I noticed, were running a competition. Being rather bored I thought I'd find out a bit more. You had to find lots of special eggs that Lakeland had hidden and each egg had it's own unique code. I gradually found more and more eggs and entered the codes in the box on the website as I found them. By the end of the weekend I'd found quite a few. The deadline for the end of the competition started to loom and I found I was missing only two or three codes so I put in a bit more concerted effort and managed to find them all. I filled in the final codes, clicked enter and settled back thinking I might be lucky enough to win a recipe book or something. What happened next was a bit of a shock! I received an e-mail late on the following Friday afternoon telling me that I'd won - no, not the cake book - the 1st prize. This was a luxurious weekend in a very posh hotel in Yorkshire. Thinking we would have to get there under our own steam (who reads the fine detail?, you never expect to win anyway!) I gingerly broke the news to Rob that he'd have to drive us up to Yorkshire. As it turned out our travel was also included so we arranged a date with Coralie from Lakeland and she made all the arrangements for us and sent us our train tickets.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIlgOv-G_CW0Cbgpf2fpizb_GGNt_8V8Ur1wpnT6IzLHBk9ywM0Y6_-0GUnZPPPQIe5Hu_DZ1Chs4ahgU3oIzDj4Ogf81P_hxxFHgjhEE5qCh_AkIE_kUlJrqacwRlt5fUopRnlEc35g/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Last Friday morning we set off on our big adventure to the Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel <a href="http://www.thedevonshirearms.co.uk/">http://www.thedevonshirearms.co.uk/</a>. We got a taxi to Watford Junction station.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIlgOv-G_CW0Cbgpf2fpizb_GGNt_8V8Ur1wpnT6IzLHBk9ywM0Y6_-0GUnZPPPQIe5Hu_DZ1Chs4ahgU3oIzDj4Ogf81P_hxxFHgjhEE5qCh_AkIE_kUlJrqacwRlt5fUopRnlEc35g/s1600/024.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIlgOv-G_CW0Cbgpf2fpizb_GGNt_8V8Ur1wpnT6IzLHBk9ywM0Y6_-0GUnZPPPQIe5Hu_DZ1Chs4ahgU3oIzDj4Ogf81P_hxxFHgjhEE5qCh_AkIE_kUlJrqacwRlt5fUopRnlEc35g/s200/024.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watford Junction Station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
When we got there we found our train was slightly delayed due to a signalling failure. We needed to go to Euston then transfer to Kings Cross but we had plenty of time to do this so we weren't too bothered about the delay. Shortly after an announcement came over the tannoy - due to a vehicle hitting a bridge near Watford station they would be holding all the trains until they'd assessed the damage. This caused a bit of mild panic as our minutes drained away but it wasn't too long before we were on our way so it couldn't have been too serious. It wasn't long till we were slowing into Euston station.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoap2etkco-pmU-94Zl2vsQDqbBIUmNYSPrXrbhyW4yqM-BYxi4pT9VDUjqyb8RZUSwqZPm8dfcflIvLXg8MOazLKPzQu0ADeP_3FXAF_NxOFzwUWLROPmZDV-aFLLwCwALZRQnkL2ec/s1600/027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoap2etkco-pmU-94Zl2vsQDqbBIUmNYSPrXrbhyW4yqM-BYxi4pT9VDUjqyb8RZUSwqZPm8dfcflIvLXg8MOazLKPzQu0ADeP_3FXAF_NxOFzwUWLROPmZDV-aFLLwCwALZRQnkL2ec/s200/027.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Euston Station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We decided to walk between Euston and Kings Cross as we still had enough time and we thought it would be good to stretch our legs before the journey north. We reached Kings Cross with 5 minutes to spare, located our train, bundled our luggage into the rack and settled into our seats.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij73mdfTMaNcr9BJNuoHl9ICDl92wNimdcng2lkn8MKlgh0ClHOHobQCRQZFP3TqB76R_tj36J0E1VKn8jxcruH9MOdGKEQjv7K4YNLkcmSkZ9ufGO1pAVm8R40WkRVWWf21XBSh4jzBk/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij73mdfTMaNcr9BJNuoHl9ICDl92wNimdcng2lkn8MKlgh0ClHOHobQCRQZFP3TqB76R_tj36J0E1VKn8jxcruH9MOdGKEQjv7K4YNLkcmSkZ9ufGO1pAVm8R40WkRVWWf21XBSh4jzBk/s200/030.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob on the train to Leeds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdemIWUV_VPR2vK_jNr7sj_PV6ES1uPfTLMaD0RyO7KorL29NBRPCVWS6muTfKd6v7TyXsHXwM99PIF_tXC1Nv96-DhX_0KaDMu_t4ZABMol4Aze1oGXP_12qx-Q1zKeSYyEMiCf9MK8/s1600/033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdemIWUV_VPR2vK_jNr7sj_PV6ES1uPfTLMaD0RyO7KorL29NBRPCVWS6muTfKd6v7TyXsHXwM99PIF_tXC1Nv96-DhX_0KaDMu_t4ZABMol4Aze1oGXP_12qx-Q1zKeSYyEMiCf9MK8/s200/033.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on the train to Leeds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The weather was overcast but fine as we left London but as we travelled northwards it began to deteriorate and by Grantham there was heavy rain. As we raced through Lincolnshire and into Nottinghamshire the rain persisted and at one point we were actually in cloud. As we cleared the cloud the weather dried up again but there was still a bank of cloud in the distance and we were amazed to see a tornado spiralling down from it!<br />
<br />
After whizzing through the countryside for a few hours we made our way more slowly through the built up areas of Doncaster and Wakefield and finally into Leeds where we needed to change onto a local train. With a quick change of platform we were on the Ilkley train for the final leg of our journey. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmslkEahF9wy-42WXm_2Z_emNeXo4du5IaNO_xrQfeInTuCBxy5sXF8AVh2uCfT5Uy8l0Kz1JXjjgWbDwyHBSyZGDocn6y-Ovj1VkZilo8YBBYjYSpeXnyfukWwzdpFZXJmNmgO0Rg0AE/s1600/034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmslkEahF9wy-42WXm_2Z_emNeXo4du5IaNO_xrQfeInTuCBxy5sXF8AVh2uCfT5Uy8l0Kz1JXjjgWbDwyHBSyZGDocn6y-Ovj1VkZilo8YBBYjYSpeXnyfukWwzdpFZXJmNmgO0Rg0AE/s200/034.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leeds Station from the Ilkley train</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9wcoXrEApNDJ2916OlNeDKRaQpTw3nPOYfeWVo8yWlCqBn3XPo8OpoIbHqFqT5dH_-PKH15kYbnPwaqcKvFtph6Lv5qhicZKbBFsKmcQQKlRxEKhpU6omcLYK2nZ68_uPPkMphttTk4/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9wcoXrEApNDJ2916OlNeDKRaQpTw3nPOYfeWVo8yWlCqBn3XPo8OpoIbHqFqT5dH_-PKH15kYbnPwaqcKvFtph6Lv5qhicZKbBFsKmcQQKlRxEKhpU6omcLYK2nZ68_uPPkMphttTk4/s200/035.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the Ilkley train</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
From Leeds we were on the Wharfedale line which took us through some beautiful countryside past rugged hillsides, a canal, a wide fastmoving river, the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey and the villages between Leeds and Ilkley. The hotel sent a car to pick us up from Ilkley station<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbrcWdhAu8lqnJ6sQIRt-itzHWCho7rzXuinNdLHyNXZgDGlxTziZQrEzkbWpO_2_lqLHn9y4Pb2-OjX501gK-9K4yTJ4op_N5yVs2NmOAvf8BjXOsgR_clhH3NdaUezUCx0JmXVntG7w/s1600/038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbrcWdhAu8lqnJ6sQIRt-itzHWCho7rzXuinNdLHyNXZgDGlxTziZQrEzkbWpO_2_lqLHn9y4Pb2-OjX501gK-9K4yTJ4op_N5yVs2NmOAvf8BjXOsgR_clhH3NdaUezUCx0JmXVntG7w/s200/038.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ilkley Station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
and we were whisked swiftly through yet more beautiful scenery to our destination.<br />
<br />
When we arrived at the hotel we were checked in quickly and shown to our room, the Crace, one of the Old House rooms which overlooked the Italian garden below and had views over the hills. A bottle of champagne was on ice for us but we decided to leave it for a while in favour of a cup of tea!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiQ8Zt-FphrCwU3DeKdXGdFLaNOVtWroYtq9Ms4gMqTh5jpxhhtQmhKm8RP-h2oQ-P-l9oQkyp4GH1cW_QDc_zxiWZaas51TAKDZ4xDNZjdvh7GNzRjVGsZysLVnEuzQbU3XrKO4mEhM/s1600/062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiQ8Zt-FphrCwU3DeKdXGdFLaNOVtWroYtq9Ms4gMqTh5jpxhhtQmhKm8RP-h2oQ-P-l9oQkyp4GH1cW_QDc_zxiWZaas51TAKDZ4xDNZjdvh7GNzRjVGsZysLVnEuzQbU3XrKO4mEhM/s200/062.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crace room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiqi5lLqStynTGD_HAF37XuoEzfaNzCsqtbbd0sjM7ryns0KEuIN6Wk3ks-kElVOTgxs3hx9FaxmVW2b3MzSCEpcxj9hBxkfpkLaiu4N9WpkK3EXUftHQpbbY9o1cwNpGr9qv8PNFu6w/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiqi5lLqStynTGD_HAF37XuoEzfaNzCsqtbbd0sjM7ryns0KEuIN6Wk3ks-kElVOTgxs3hx9FaxmVW2b3MzSCEpcxj9hBxkfpkLaiu4N9WpkK3EXUftHQpbbY9o1cwNpGr9qv8PNFu6w/s200/039.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our bed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRsE4lXMniG3lh6UccyGzUxzY7eh4edG4bGxZaFXNsMPsxKLxkF944K0rFKMEfn8wCRuMHbBLZIZsJlcEpU73QWpHp-0Wbq0116vAr4kzDYpi3-ZGaBhsbU8K55AwMLJSiLNuc_sFLZw/s1600/042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRsE4lXMniG3lh6UccyGzUxzY7eh4edG4bGxZaFXNsMPsxKLxkF944K0rFKMEfn8wCRuMHbBLZIZsJlcEpU73QWpHp-0Wbq0116vAr4kzDYpi3-ZGaBhsbU8K55AwMLJSiLNuc_sFLZw/s200/042.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Refreshments</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuZvtEuRnCZorDFF6tYrysG-wYosIC5Jlv311JEUM0tpfF_cUH21jrA0BvESJKyWPC8q9leQGzQJ29KnPyJteV_4fCV_Y7swftPXtOTgpDHse83kKpPndirT4AJpcWjWNGYtkxvp0LEY/s1600/043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuZvtEuRnCZorDFF6tYrysG-wYosIC5Jlv311JEUM0tpfF_cUH21jrA0BvESJKyWPC8q9leQGzQJ29KnPyJteV_4fCV_Y7swftPXtOTgpDHse83kKpPndirT4AJpcWjWNGYtkxvp0LEY/s200/043.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Champagne on ice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PMa12mY_0kN_d6e8ej_Fa1toiMDPArbqxmRq8BxtaxJ02QxsHCPCmRG_eT5q4L6PAe3XXh7xSTKSaf9efChLni8VM4grrv7IZscfRchL5es4mqYa9enk4S2h6BgqK7mN3zetRBmWXV4/s1600/045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PMa12mY_0kN_d6e8ej_Fa1toiMDPArbqxmRq8BxtaxJ02QxsHCPCmRG_eT5q4L6PAe3XXh7xSTKSaf9efChLni8VM4grrv7IZscfRchL5es4mqYa9enk4S2h6BgqK7mN3zetRBmWXV4/s200/045.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Italian garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8YlO2I-PK4glOM1Hc2Asg_dt4frurRTLTa-r01XrD54BXb9_AiMBRo2rLq3fUKFOfrrhMN9G_kLR_9Vr_0aHb0xVO3BJ_T70qBVivBKfRyEYElDDNGSy_YcjjWlTl_5gS1UScuxuBNmI/s1600/049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8YlO2I-PK4glOM1Hc2Asg_dt4frurRTLTa-r01XrD54BXb9_AiMBRo2rLq3fUKFOfrrhMN9G_kLR_9Vr_0aHb0xVO3BJ_T70qBVivBKfRyEYElDDNGSy_YcjjWlTl_5gS1UScuxuBNmI/s200/049.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from our window</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Once we'd had time to gather ourselves and do a bit of unpacking we wandered downstairs to the lounge for another cup of tea and a delicious cake to nibble on before heading outside for a quick walk to get our bearings and a bit of air before returning to our room for a glass of champagne. At the alloted time we found our way to the Brasserie restaurant for a very enjoyable meal. Rob chose the chicken liver parfait, pear and orange chutney and melba toast for his started then followed with beer battered haddock, crushed garden peas, fat chips and tartare sauce while I began with mozzarella, fig and avocado salad with red pesto dressing which was delicious. As the only vegetarian main on the menu was a curry which is not to my liking the chef very kindly prepared me an omelette instead which I had with saute potatoes, a mixed salad and seasonal vegetables. We both finished our meals with the white and dark chocolate parfait and hazelnut ice cream which was so yummy. Feeling replete we made our way back to our room and had some more champagne before settling down for a good nights sleep (once I'd managed to clamber into bed - it was rather high up!).<br />
<br />
We woke refreshed on Saturday morning and trotted downstairs for breakfast. An amazing array of foods were available; cereals and toast, pastries, a superb yoghurt concoction which was glorious, English breakfast, kippers and so on ..... With just enough time to allow our food to settle a little we headed over the road to the Devonshire Health Barn <a href="http://www.devonshirehealthbarn.co.uk/">http://www.devonshirehealthbarn.co.uk/</a> for our treatments. We had both selected massages which were so relaxing, something we would never normally do. Feeling well chilled the rest of the day was our own to explore the area. We walked the short distance to Bolton Abbey <a href="http://www.boltonabbey.com/">http://www.boltonabbey.com/</a> in glorious sunshine and spent some time amongst the ruins of the once splendid monastery having watched people having fun crossing the river by stepping stones along the way. We were unable to go into the church as there was a wedding taking place but that was a spectacle in itself as we saw the guests and the bride arriving. We walked up the hill to the tearooms before retracing our steps back to the hotel. During our walk we were thrilled to see the ethereal remains of the monks ridge and furrow ploughing in the fields and we spotted several waterbirds that we did not recognise so we looked them up on the hotel's computer when we got back. They were oystercatchers, goosanders and gadwall. We don't get them round our way or if we do I've never seen them!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFOithUi9Zj0xXxbpTLf2ZTQi2h1m1E5fkoQbQIEZjX8pbsH-SfdtTj_T24cFNOuyUvaFTfwu1tcemNZ68bmFjkyXA3UYXjUQFXlj9oWx0xWOzShWwhUqYh3OVzMK-BhgZM0JKFEVYJPM/s1600/2012-07-21+14.09.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFOithUi9Zj0xXxbpTLf2ZTQi2h1m1E5fkoQbQIEZjX8pbsH-SfdtTj_T24cFNOuyUvaFTfwu1tcemNZ68bmFjkyXA3UYXjUQFXlj9oWx0xWOzShWwhUqYh3OVzMK-BhgZM0JKFEVYJPM/s200/2012-07-21+14.09.01.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stepping stones across the river</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rXS9QezNKARGFiuNoUuJWKxfi9jXCMn98FMcfEeMx9vvXTdKSzZlWLeiHxgdf_CpfbFA5Gm_dDaOcDrWMVtMBy0N9a9VvHAiNQlqO26oRFMF2IJcQ0rzM7fWG3I2Qz_ocqSZpB_sme0/s1600/2012-07-21+13.49.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rXS9QezNKARGFiuNoUuJWKxfi9jXCMn98FMcfEeMx9vvXTdKSzZlWLeiHxgdf_CpfbFA5Gm_dDaOcDrWMVtMBy0N9a9VvHAiNQlqO26oRFMF2IJcQ0rzM7fWG3I2Qz_ocqSZpB_sme0/s200/2012-07-21+13.49.49.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bolton Abbey</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHY20enTe4sMPaPEZlxV2_ZtgOuiGWRTIN3HaliMZY5O4bdM-1P1TIBmdohYufQeZbtUnHdzsi2MC8cq6G90nASIllHeNVlrza0-4g9f6indKHhHu_qcV7tPQ4Sk0YGm4Ruv9vVxF8bk/s1600/2012-07-21+13.46.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHY20enTe4sMPaPEZlxV2_ZtgOuiGWRTIN3HaliMZY5O4bdM-1P1TIBmdohYufQeZbtUnHdzsi2MC8cq6G90nASIllHeNVlrza0-4g9f6indKHhHu_qcV7tPQ4Sk0YGm4Ruv9vVxF8bk/s200/2012-07-21+13.46.41.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interesting geology</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXWUDsz4nMCgUXzL2b4eTvxGty6zbeEjLZPPx69fg_4Msn6Xf99IyPcC7JWYLUcCd7P5HYVcnwuQ8fbT01t4Tm4mAmz5Sqe-ZMAkRoBTol2sOgg4HAU1gJu4PtLKLni1niv8DAeRiKCY/s1600/2012-07-21+13.51.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXWUDsz4nMCgUXzL2b4eTvxGty6zbeEjLZPPx69fg_4Msn6Xf99IyPcC7JWYLUcCd7P5HYVcnwuQ8fbT01t4Tm4mAmz5Sqe-ZMAkRoBTol2sOgg4HAU1gJu4PtLKLni1niv8DAeRiKCY/s200/2012-07-21+13.51.25.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More interesting geology</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
On Saturday evening we had a table booked in the Burlington Restaurant. Rob was having the Tasting Menu and I was going to have the Vegetarian Tasting Menu. At 7.30 we went to the cocktail lounge and began our evening with very tasty virgin mojitos, lots of lovely fresh lime, mint leaves and fizzy soda water. Shortly after our canapes arrived, for Rob a small fishcake and for me a goats cheese foam of some sort. A little while later we were invited to our table to begin our meal with grapefruit and basil mojito. There then followed 7 courses each (see website for details), all beautifully presented but on the whole generally rather disappointing I'm sorry to say. Although the menu was changed only this weekend I found it to be a rather autumnal selection and I had expected more use of fresh summer seasonal vegetables. Most courses seemed to consist of some kind of mushroom, often made into foams and/or some kind of cheese made into ice creams. Now I have to confess I'm not at all fond of mushrooms or cheese, especially goats cheese, so it was never going to be easy but the meal began with goats cheese, then more goats cheese with the gazpacho then mushrooms and more cheese with the asparagus. The cauliflower mercifully was served without retort to either cheese or mushroom but I shall return to that in a moment. The next course, Heritage tomatoes were served with Tovey cannelloni. What that actually is is a mystery but it tasted like mushroom! The main course was a triumph of mushroom risotto served with parmesan ice cream which sadly I found I couldn't eat at all, it was just too much mushroom and cheese! Returning to the asparagus and cauliflower courses briefly, sadly they had been cooked with way too much salt and bordered on inedible which was a great pity. They were only saved by copious quantities of chilled water. The same could not be said of the tomatoes which would have benefitted from a little sprinkling of salt to bring out their flavour. The final two courses brought the meal back on track with a very enjoyable predessert of gin and tonic jellied and frothed and lovely followed by the desserts, mine a chocolate galette and Rob's a tonka bean yogurt with fruits. I don't want to give the impression that the meal was a total disaster, as I said earlier, it was never going to be easy given that I am a fussy vegetarian, but I did feel the chef could have been a little more imaginative and made use of the array of vegetables available at this time of year instead of the repetitive cheese/mushroom theme. <br />
<br />
Our meal was accompanied by an amazing selection of wines, individually chosen to go with each course. The sommelier was very knowledgeable and had gone for a variety of unusual wines along with the more familiar prosecco, gewurtztraminer and cotes du rhone. He, along with all the waiting staff, indeed, all the hotel staff, were so friendly and worked tirelessly over such long hours to make our stay enjoyable and relaxing.<br />
<br />
After our meal we went back to our rooms for another restful nights sleep then had a late breakfast on Sunday morning before doing our packing. The breakfast room was full of bleary eyed people from the wedding party the evening before! We vacated our room and left our baggage in reception and went for a last walk in the sunshine by the river to the Abbey then had a short wait at the hotel until it was time to be driven back to the station. We retraced our steps back through Ilkley, Leeds, Kings Cross, Euston and back to Watford Junction, arriving home just before 7.30 in the evening.<br />
<br />
This was truly a once in a lifetime experience and we are both extremely grateful to Lakeland and everyone at the Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa for such a wonderfully relaxing break. Thank you to everybody for our weekend to remember.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRS3zRff3ZV6Mcx83_nnRDcGXM6E5BB2Wnpen3TcSJIyv5HOKc9Bc3Slu9cvnmigoAU2-napZ7jOTLNYamQku3-2FMuTG0SYkaz-bfqTQQkMyJbsbKFXWry94zfkULcyPhqYY882eE1Rc/s1600/2012-07-21+14.29.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRS3zRff3ZV6Mcx83_nnRDcGXM6E5BB2Wnpen3TcSJIyv5HOKc9Bc3Slu9cvnmigoAU2-napZ7jOTLNYamQku3-2FMuTG0SYkaz-bfqTQQkMyJbsbKFXWry94zfkULcyPhqYY882eE1Rc/s320/2012-07-21+14.29.16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEMdZKBEz1_nMKBu-P82rSwDdqYwzwJMBWd-1HwCKStIrkyBipKYjC-IJP9p66l32S8d_RykinhJrR_Zc_qDheTI3yerCTsEMSHWdRQ2rSy7FnTvAi3nZhLluet08L8zSCuQzAWHi2lNY/s1600/2012-07-21+13.57.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEMdZKBEz1_nMKBu-P82rSwDdqYwzwJMBWd-1HwCKStIrkyBipKYjC-IJP9p66l32S8d_RykinhJrR_Zc_qDheTI3yerCTsEMSHWdRQ2rSy7FnTvAi3nZhLluet08L8zSCuQzAWHi2lNY/s200/2012-07-21+13.57.31.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkTeODgTEgeoIK3YG3M3rRujr3i2vFRTwvou9YaSgKbIDU-AAqmc5HnbVfviJ2g9ffbqisD4jECMcQ0flbaZf4DFRjzKG6n3BtPw4-MVbktZ2CuyYVXwsEAIYE9ZhQSzdLs5QbFGbHyk/s1600/2012-07-21+13.56.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkTeODgTEgeoIK3YG3M3rRujr3i2vFRTwvou9YaSgKbIDU-AAqmc5HnbVfviJ2g9ffbqisD4jECMcQ0flbaZf4DFRjzKG6n3BtPw4-MVbktZ2CuyYVXwsEAIYE9ZhQSzdLs5QbFGbHyk/s200/2012-07-21+13.56.44.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="140" id="il_fi" src="http://www.westmidlandbirdclub.com/images/gallery/NuttallS/Gadwall200403t.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="186" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gadwall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="183" id="il_fi" src="http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af154/tonyurquhart/climate/oystercatcher_png.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oystercatcher</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="133" id="il_fi" src="http://www.isaimages.com/galleries/B_Rutland_Water/photos/Goosander-6615.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goosander</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-39471925451184231912012-04-15T15:54:00.000-07:002012-04-15T15:54:13.629-07:00Heritage SamplerMyself and several friends have been helping Dacorum Heritage Trust with a project over the last few years. The Trust have a number of samplers in their collection and they were not being stored as well as they could have been. They asked us to mount some of the samplers so they could be put on display or used as part of their education programme but the two oldest samplers were too fragile to take out and about. The Trust managed to secure funding to have them professionally conserved and mounted in order to keep them safe for the future but to enable them to still be useful for educational purposes they asked us to make copies of the samplers. This involved us in many hours of carefully counting stitches working both from the original sampler and from photographs. We had to make educated guesses of what should have been there when stitches were missing too. Today I have stitched the last sampler on to it's board and placed it in it's box ready to go into the Museum Store. If you want to view either the original sampler(s) or the replicas please get in touch with the Curator http://www.dacorumheritage.org.uk/ . <br />
<br />
This is how to mount an embroidery. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirg2mkJIJOuRGkQBtR9Xw8h-CVx5BXG9DJlSeBnfODsqlt0iki1l8e8DS2Dz682P8WQITyptr2tWzDOhDKuGKdcgLu-p6gBQEFtSd7bCFkmi56iA9lBIX6_xExShlsokm1RhgGvp_2ai0/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirg2mkJIJOuRGkQBtR9Xw8h-CVx5BXG9DJlSeBnfODsqlt0iki1l8e8DS2Dz682P8WQITyptr2tWzDOhDKuGKdcgLu-p6gBQEFtSd7bCFkmi56iA9lBIX6_xExShlsokm1RhgGvp_2ai0/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First the board needs to be prepared ready for the sampler. Measure a piece of acid free mount board and cut to size. Cover the board with cotton batting and pin in place stretching slightly to smooth out the creases.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdg5LHkVOnR6GJcwwh3NjSdfQVdmnbHTnh6_So-G7DL7VqOgxOPGKWux00HjOCAGhfXSeFM3tsb5WiD41U5Lr_-u-sqH4vZud1cGdjL5Go8zptZEDEPkJxWGywbPOQSSYFM-lwfdKj0k/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdg5LHkVOnR6GJcwwh3NjSdfQVdmnbHTnh6_So-G7DL7VqOgxOPGKWux00HjOCAGhfXSeFM3tsb5WiD41U5Lr_-u-sqH4vZud1cGdjL5Go8zptZEDEPkJxWGywbPOQSSYFM-lwfdKj0k/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
At this stage it doesn't look too promising but never fear, it will all work out ok in the end. When you are happy that you have placed the batting correctly begin to sew across the back using long lengths of thread so that the opposite ends are strung together and the batting is under tension. Once this is done sew the mitres to neaten them. (see two photo's below)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdClXF_sJ7oz6DNeAPzOC3RIoQF2h5Vsbo7hy0cFborGsZakuRL2A0CUJtPsSI10nsk_TQSAbyjh2BBccSXpw7LXTCsUg91QgJ4LYKTumE63JBAZlIrDw1j5rA1cu5-sMhCTapKxRv6c/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdClXF_sJ7oz6DNeAPzOC3RIoQF2h5Vsbo7hy0cFborGsZakuRL2A0CUJtPsSI10nsk_TQSAbyjh2BBccSXpw7LXTCsUg91QgJ4LYKTumE63JBAZlIrDw1j5rA1cu5-sMhCTapKxRv6c/s320/007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRnxjEj0EpZsGjDHAwyIFxGkv8b8TkHVNBY6nrHjLp_F1inrsk9JZ-KL3oW1t771sGBa-Pk2q_jnd9bO7YHw7inaZGv-23rZ_NuOS2T8Vhp-Qq9KMftsRcOkWqG4bc3mteAh8O2mWWBM/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRnxjEj0EpZsGjDHAwyIFxGkv8b8TkHVNBY6nrHjLp_F1inrsk9JZ-KL3oW1t771sGBa-Pk2q_jnd9bO7YHw7inaZGv-23rZ_NuOS2T8Vhp-Qq9KMftsRcOkWqG4bc3mteAh8O2mWWBM/s320/009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Hwf5Y9IsVW8ez7A7zOoqWjdrl_cgJto9HebF6K5xoGMzaFm4CRyqgbIM0GBgwy79v5CH9nQGuxq1XEpGCPvMeeF40VbIu4yxy1-5Gk8886DhwWhamcx0JxEcYPOCR94rz_qMvH6hqsQ/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Hwf5Y9IsVW8ez7A7zOoqWjdrl_cgJto9HebF6K5xoGMzaFm4CRyqgbIM0GBgwy79v5CH9nQGuxq1XEpGCPvMeeF40VbIu4yxy1-5Gk8886DhwWhamcx0JxEcYPOCR94rz_qMvH6hqsQ/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Once you have done all this foundation work it's time to repeat the process with the sampler. Make sure the sampler is clean (if necessary wash it in a weak solution of soap flakes and rinse well) and dry (leave to dry on a clean towel on a flat surface, try not to iron the item unless absolutely necessary). Begin pinning the sampler onto the batting covered board. Work from the centre of each side. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisesKf5_H1BGiqs7kfPv17KmyS-_bkN64Bs00-m4KSNto7GIa5qRLMMc_FoPCtuxaBuTcySzPqINQyStA7a2XdK48A0wNaSy2agSpZEk0Cw1yGM5EQCjaB_HYlhqfX4uWV8TTN6vPBHlI/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisesKf5_H1BGiqs7kfPv17KmyS-_bkN64Bs00-m4KSNto7GIa5qRLMMc_FoPCtuxaBuTcySzPqINQyStA7a2XdK48A0wNaSy2agSpZEk0Cw1yGM5EQCjaB_HYlhqfX4uWV8TTN6vPBHlI/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When all the pinning is done turn the sampler over to check that it is centred and that you are happy with the result then begin stringing across the back as before.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmNdEM2AK9lOOBLyE6VG0UO5Atx59FbIvjG13yhQvtyPeQ0-q6RefeDwexYL8lO0VOS2jtHhfC0n_P5qvvo3zjDOhlrMRXRFH3_gM9WDs0Ehys_WzmayCk6Dvp6t7Mc24qGilkrRVzdI/s1600/018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmNdEM2AK9lOOBLyE6VG0UO5Atx59FbIvjG13yhQvtyPeQ0-q6RefeDwexYL8lO0VOS2jtHhfC0n_P5qvvo3zjDOhlrMRXRFH3_gM9WDs0Ehys_WzmayCk6Dvp6t7Mc24qGilkrRVzdI/s320/018.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_g_pbrBZOVQl2ZCavF2mpqq6ZDGbFIdcPTauLNH01JmJzwFuy1B3N5B3Vp-x1SxztbsIyT2cPAjrelNAKlA9KHTNC39RL57_gFvRO0Ib2gVw609tHl_ubyAz-ZhtXItTcJ-WQIRAb6j8/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_g_pbrBZOVQl2ZCavF2mpqq6ZDGbFIdcPTauLNH01JmJzwFuy1B3N5B3Vp-x1SxztbsIyT2cPAjrelNAKlA9KHTNC39RL57_gFvRO0Ib2gVw609tHl_ubyAz-ZhtXItTcJ-WQIRAb6j8/s320/021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsCZKysnQVFfd0rrfr-GIJUVW-LVT7bmeWgmcHfxLmblAlnW5uo_mIJ8EDGF1cf_IlzWv3EHofG0KklIiNIXMciWEK-n8FIUrRMIq1DWe-wNu6H10uuVriJ3jNZTXAFt3kLlzdc8eeo8/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsCZKysnQVFfd0rrfr-GIJUVW-LVT7bmeWgmcHfxLmblAlnW5uo_mIJ8EDGF1cf_IlzWv3EHofG0KklIiNIXMciWEK-n8FIUrRMIq1DWe-wNu6H10uuVriJ3jNZTXAFt3kLlzdc8eeo8/s320/023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The Trust want to be able to take this sampler into schools as an aid to their Victorian education scheme so I shall back it with a piece of calico so that the stringing doesn't catch on things. I shall also attach some tape to make it easy to get the sampler out of it's storage box.Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-56173604293432406522012-04-04T12:19:00.000-07:002012-04-04T12:19:03.894-07:00Shaun The Sheep?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YmmxcokPWITf43WFDCWGVQCjhBAVI7abZVA2QkNxLtOtSCqMYmYXITJDQot1XMnWGCUsDXKCYq-DYZjwh7ZjmaxYhe-SQvg9HV1MaJ7CoJ_ek8ogVWJHCzo1AUpsGiYVmRWS-roaAhs/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YmmxcokPWITf43WFDCWGVQCjhBAVI7abZVA2QkNxLtOtSCqMYmYXITJDQot1XMnWGCUsDXKCYq-DYZjwh7ZjmaxYhe-SQvg9HV1MaJ7CoJ_ek8ogVWJHCzo1AUpsGiYVmRWS-roaAhs/s320/009.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJuwspgZsa8U_H6w7LA9aK1hm2Dm0G8nc6FNZIx_mKequdjS_5ySuCQhsPZ6UcIWpuVG3P6q4cB3bKkBL-5reX9Yh3AODpcx7yhNuKylKgl9MtpryFlCIFs91GZZkpt1sBPPLEsXOroU/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJuwspgZsa8U_H6w7LA9aK1hm2Dm0G8nc6FNZIx_mKequdjS_5ySuCQhsPZ6UcIWpuVG3P6q4cB3bKkBL-5reX9Yh3AODpcx7yhNuKylKgl9MtpryFlCIFs91GZZkpt1sBPPLEsXOroU/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Sorry, folks. Another cake decorating session this evening courtesy of the Food Group's Easter tea party tomorrow afternoon. Given that the theme is Easter I thought I would make some spring lambs using a recipe from the Dr. Oetker website as inspiration. I found it very difficult to cover the cakes completely in buttercream as it really didn't want to stick to the sponge and when it came to piping the "wool" I couldn't get the buttercream to stay soft enough because the weather has turned a bit chilly so it's quite cold in my kitchen. Despite these little challenges I'm quite pleased with the end result - fingers crossed they survive till the party.Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-47942289971757287572012-04-01T14:43:00.000-07:002012-10-15T09:00:03.900-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_nFjvcQNfa5h7JOZfY6nB9zr88ectf12-I5AYw34ECA0DWdmR9Vw5QkwQWOduhLWczwgTa7C9LXP1CPj0zi4iApdR47bpmfNjsDZbV_az9M7PhEDpfUpiuacBz60WIpeBWIx5xKnSBM/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
This evening I've been on another wonderful cupcake decorating course at Stanley's Store in Bovingdon. I must just say a big thank you to Sarah for her endless patience and wealth of experience and all the equipment she put at my disposal. Here are a couple of photo's of tonight's creations.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPbxWfcy6lG6CbcGYrAIBwUICgCwIYU1gyJXjEaPcAJfSj0b6LUZ2ZgkVhlhNyVHd_8vpeHACJ4ARAiXUomeGtLxWL9ebLor-c2MJx_DsyGXy7DWlMxhS2neOLmAz3dBf3A3EG1chE2o/s1600/003.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPbxWfcy6lG6CbcGYrAIBwUICgCwIYU1gyJXjEaPcAJfSj0b6LUZ2ZgkVhlhNyVHd_8vpeHACJ4ARAiXUomeGtLxWL9ebLor-c2MJx_DsyGXy7DWlMxhS2neOLmAz3dBf3A3EG1chE2o/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We used a "grass" nozzle to pipe blue buttercream to make the hair of the Cookie Monster then simply rolled white icing and black icing to make the eyes. Finally we gave him a mini cookie for him to munch on. For the rose we coloured a small amount of fondant icing and made a rose by making a sausage shape for the centre then made small petals by squashing little balls of icing in a polythene bag. A quick blast of lustre spray gives it a bit of a twinkle.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPbxWfcy6lG6CbcGYrAIBwUICgCwIYU1gyJXjEaPcAJfSj0b6LUZ2ZgkVhlhNyVHd_8vpeHACJ4ARAiXUomeGtLxWL9ebLor-c2MJx_DsyGXy7DWlMxhS2neOLmAz3dBf3A3EG1chE2o/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_nFjvcQNfa5h7JOZfY6nB9zr88ectf12-I5AYw34ECA0DWdmR9Vw5QkwQWOduhLWczwgTa7C9LXP1CPj0zi4iApdR47bpmfNjsDZbV_az9M7PhEDpfUpiuacBz60WIpeBWIx5xKnSBM/s1600/008.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_nFjvcQNfa5h7JOZfY6nB9zr88ectf12-I5AYw34ECA0DWdmR9Vw5QkwQWOduhLWczwgTa7C9LXP1CPj0zi4iApdR47bpmfNjsDZbV_az9M7PhEDpfUpiuacBz60WIpeBWIx5xKnSBM/s320/008.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For the roses we coloured some icing then used a silicone mould to make the shape. We dusted the mould with some cornflour or icing sugar then pushed the icing into it. We eased the rose out of the mould, trimmed it down and added a bit of sparkle with some iridescent edible glitter. The daisies were simply made using a three part daisy cutter and a tiny blob of yellow icing for the centre followed by a bit of lustre spray to finish them off. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-51652967444514939882012-02-27T09:54:00.004-08:002012-02-27T09:54:46.978-08:00Froggy Bloggy<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBoDPZ47P0VEMzH_ot3kGryl4nJD1hAjs_8TmhIagB7FtBEGHUXdHC7SCornLamU5rVeGTrHwmZym9foQHuUX-UnNVkWn2JvauvCpC4RR4wklRE5GsprUDjg0hnWpVV44Gk2LaJnGUd8A/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBoDPZ47P0VEMzH_ot3kGryl4nJD1hAjs_8TmhIagB7FtBEGHUXdHC7SCornLamU5rVeGTrHwmZym9foQHuUX-UnNVkWn2JvauvCpC4RR4wklRE5GsprUDjg0hnWpVV44Gk2LaJnGUd8A/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Food Group I belong to has a theme of Cupcakes this week so I've done some preparation and a bit of a practise</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3IPAcHTCwkM4hrUSjwYflY6kizuKuZqLdRD76UXnjToqUnNGkCmcmH3oMglMko5AYtOTVznUie38Ky3_uV3LDR6or0ovQLW2KVS4t0RQ8OuDFZKaIKUmSJVtoUEb4dvZHyPhlYq9E54/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3IPAcHTCwkM4hrUSjwYflY6kizuKuZqLdRD76UXnjToqUnNGkCmcmH3oMglMko5AYtOTVznUie38Ky3_uV3LDR6or0ovQLW2KVS4t0RQ8OuDFZKaIKUmSJVtoUEb4dvZHyPhlYq9E54/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I began by making a basic sponge mix</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbWWu_801hIOO4z65Hk2kaJfHXBguoxpNOBbx9W9Mg2RCdHZXaRSZhfKhgFjAlN6XAWrrtPKfB5swaPr6d1uhlpaXQUTsYh4rdbSL99DttGK-5b9TETDQcuK7-8IfiueKoSiR4_gXal4/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbWWu_801hIOO4z65Hk2kaJfHXBguoxpNOBbx9W9Mg2RCdHZXaRSZhfKhgFjAlN6XAWrrtPKfB5swaPr6d1uhlpaXQUTsYh4rdbSL99DttGK-5b9TETDQcuK7-8IfiueKoSiR4_gXal4/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cakes went in the oven. I made a cuppa while they baked!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolLwknbtg0nTJVVx4OcHRACHZnjT5X_hIXgDi_5VuM_a72DnEqGCPgaMOdRxXZNMS1o2RjWC_kduVPRfW2NUV2IDXMInvmTw2jIkrFRYz3WIntTCNvraRrYhMy1Mjc0P8_iWEnyN-lxU/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolLwknbtg0nTJVVx4OcHRACHZnjT5X_hIXgDi_5VuM_a72DnEqGCPgaMOdRxXZNMS1o2RjWC_kduVPRfW2NUV2IDXMInvmTw2jIkrFRYz3WIntTCNvraRrYhMy1Mjc0P8_iWEnyN-lxU/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rising nicely</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6kZLrzYkHGJn-xaBeJ-n7_LwbA_1WFx_xb7bIDQshcUmGxc8BmfhwTA-B372Bjz0MbMQNXd2k2feASy03wSja5Rm49B9US-ufhto56zOIu5-c0e6W_rCBhOXd65JJFlaC9p4HtNJv1Q/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6kZLrzYkHGJn-xaBeJ-n7_LwbA_1WFx_xb7bIDQshcUmGxc8BmfhwTA-B372Bjz0MbMQNXd2k2feASy03wSja5Rm49B9US-ufhto56zOIu5-c0e6W_rCBhOXd65JJFlaC9p4HtNJv1Q/s320/005.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready for the freezer!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCELq68lMDJO1s1-9-9ecX0aQL5rOnNVRTa4gWZBkVuo2eTodt_jIAkOPNk1yrWuGU2OEhlzBD67P6NQAzTtyXLkBR6LCvrnNhWLSz0zwtApM-dJSIaNPbALR6oUYtdK_sEeDJsj46XIg/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCELq68lMDJO1s1-9-9ecX0aQL5rOnNVRTa4gWZBkVuo2eTodt_jIAkOPNk1yrWuGU2OEhlzBD67P6NQAzTtyXLkBR6LCvrnNhWLSz0zwtApM-dJSIaNPbALR6oUYtdK_sEeDJsj46XIg/s320/007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now to practise the design. I iced the cakes with some blue runny icing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHyNKZauPhdTBWlHVBXp_Nqw7ADd5HyLRLzE5HPkySuNJz2eQgKvTRh8LGNcFWR-PKG14BpTg70bzXyXuvsgy17GkSJFgTFIi6BfkPPxXCXh-ApORJZngaojRNBpcV9O68Bqo_yC93sw/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHyNKZauPhdTBWlHVBXp_Nqw7ADd5HyLRLzE5HPkySuNJz2eQgKvTRh8LGNcFWR-PKG14BpTg70bzXyXuvsgy17GkSJFgTFIi6BfkPPxXCXh-ApORJZngaojRNBpcV9O68Bqo_yC93sw/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coloured some fondant icing and cut shapes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEO02mixyWnla6-ow5RErcFUj_wQw64la7vWwrHsE07vZ7yV9yfDX7wfRITdKKHn6AUJy_E_q19kLKqUztLJFuCWz_1Xo0773XEqs6I4A56HZxaDe-0WV1QIL7CmgrRO-w9M3klG1qFUc/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEO02mixyWnla6-ow5RErcFUj_wQw64la7vWwrHsE07vZ7yV9yfDX7wfRITdKKHn6AUJy_E_q19kLKqUztLJFuCWz_1Xo0773XEqs6I4A56HZxaDe-0WV1QIL7CmgrRO-w9M3klG1qFUc/s320/012.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coloured some more fondant icing and moulded it into frogs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytwJTupKctVLi-iHWiE5adB1RMl1d6RHxrr9VxjEz0kilRAu7S-nayiarfM9S0tWgfQi4Lbi-pFkzkTjuONTeY0msZnI0s9MxJcX7_-CEGprk1xSE-yHqnsWy67ovQeoZjo0H2onK6go/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytwJTupKctVLi-iHWiE5adB1RMl1d6RHxrr9VxjEz0kilRAu7S-nayiarfM9S0tWgfQi4Lbi-pFkzkTjuONTeY0msZnI0s9MxJcX7_-CEGprk1xSE-yHqnsWy67ovQeoZjo0H2onK6go/s320/013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My work is done</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtB7fPPTpaFThz9LiuMFgmkFEjU42gE_wbKeCM-IBrRGBePG9ARPVOHdB-sCLZooPONVRvA_c1htK6florGmFycHY4pDMjn_Abgp3qoqg17eakGU1JAfVRHbl8C493IpZh3HbVoYuY9g/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtB7fPPTpaFThz9LiuMFgmkFEjU42gE_wbKeCM-IBrRGBePG9ARPVOHdB-sCLZooPONVRvA_c1htK6florGmFycHY4pDMjn_Abgp3qoqg17eakGU1JAfVRHbl8C493IpZh3HbVoYuY9g/s320/016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> They look good enough to eat!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-27006409966121260662012-02-22T05:58:00.000-08:002012-02-22T05:58:13.809-08:00Christmas Cake 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmJ-HgZDWwCDcFSfg6wfQI_TpppWKCD218HgAOYcan3LP2Wct0v-hwLVLyLaqYiE_0S0LXFfZ6w-MXrnl0Jkl_REuf8JtKjuO0o3aajJxUkDO0KiOX7G3O7Dk-Z-CIpzTp9vORJ3KpFk/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmJ-HgZDWwCDcFSfg6wfQI_TpppWKCD218HgAOYcan3LP2Wct0v-hwLVLyLaqYiE_0S0LXFfZ6w-MXrnl0Jkl_REuf8JtKjuO0o3aajJxUkDO0KiOX7G3O7Dk-Z-CIpzTp9vORJ3KpFk/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
This is the Christmas cake I made at the end of last year. It looks a very sorry sight now - just a couple of slices left and a scattering of crumbs on the cake board.Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-62029898021707081402012-02-21T11:00:00.000-08:002012-02-21T11:00:00.186-08:00Welcome To My BlogWelcome to my blog. I shall post my thoughts, ramblings, photo's and anything else I can think of on here randomly. Who knows what will appear?!!!Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com0Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, UK51.6458299 -0.45202351.6261239 -0.4923635 51.6655359 -0.4116825tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-56172787888558717102012-02-21T10:58:00.000-08:002012-02-21T10:58:25.418-08:00Cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA7LHgGUO2dARoobkVZNZzrxPEEDLfLTUYyU-0XNAVUxMYjnl-KRS9yrcGWCnLV90W8oqRRygNY-7iN43lmS7URtPyWChW2AXNgpA-ZThQS_5wdvdJVY_klPCTjAh4N_MFRsuMIYX-R8g/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA7LHgGUO2dARoobkVZNZzrxPEEDLfLTUYyU-0XNAVUxMYjnl-KRS9yrcGWCnLV90W8oqRRygNY-7iN43lmS7URtPyWChW2AXNgpA-ZThQS_5wdvdJVY_klPCTjAh4N_MFRsuMIYX-R8g/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAs2A9q9LcTYTnbkSw89nNzuzUrfiNYgknebxOYMUmPZWh957YxqVEoK1_d3wxdaiOzLaMecC-VyohOOS04h9hcGMkUobSzDqpUqNNT80tPettotqGivZTmAonzs-qJo1QULthWc-M4A/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAs2A9q9LcTYTnbkSw89nNzuzUrfiNYgknebxOYMUmPZWh957YxqVEoK1_d3wxdaiOzLaMecC-VyohOOS04h9hcGMkUobSzDqpUqNNT80tPettotqGivZTmAonzs-qJo1QULthWc-M4A/s320/016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbevvZrr70pzckcWxMihTSEfzWeV8APuZE1FOmZglrMB8Oj2owdX5HofYmU9PV0zLwS7eLYtWxHWA-s7F-C0a2KCDMjJvO6h2DP9dyRlQ7JNwrQXQRDBAdEItD_PFsUilmYOgc883lno/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbevvZrr70pzckcWxMihTSEfzWeV8APuZE1FOmZglrMB8Oj2owdX5HofYmU9PV0zLwS7eLYtWxHWA-s7F-C0a2KCDMjJvO6h2DP9dyRlQ7JNwrQXQRDBAdEItD_PFsUilmYOgc883lno/s320/019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9uAnMnUd4ySlQdQHL-28mTbxrC1XdeEHHhgoU7ira9LfuVbwJJUPIXdJZgiJYO-yWiYS4sb0XiRfpuzVfkx1duRXgl6JyVwfj8VTNtSsrtGhfnwnvmJDO7wY7vXjaNHzr3UX6Br_Nlak/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9uAnMnUd4ySlQdQHL-28mTbxrC1XdeEHHhgoU7ira9LfuVbwJJUPIXdJZgiJYO-yWiYS4sb0XiRfpuzVfkx1duRXgl6JyVwfj8VTNtSsrtGhfnwnvmJDO7wY7vXjaNHzr3UX6Br_Nlak/s320/022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqEqveAdqf3XcapsqkBUEcQ1YGE-AdXhbTXHAc0r86lqWKTuRF3hDSFOb2VHNsPLDY75PYRy1fYY4-RF_d3AQ6BpGnMNraqUsC6pYj0GS8OkQSytLiKNwONkp17FaPBeJM_Wa5Yr46JU/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqEqveAdqf3XcapsqkBUEcQ1YGE-AdXhbTXHAc0r86lqWKTuRF3hDSFOb2VHNsPLDY75PYRy1fYY4-RF_d3AQ6BpGnMNraqUsC6pYj0GS8OkQSytLiKNwONkp17FaPBeJM_Wa5Yr46JU/s320/024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I made these cupcakes at Stanley's Store, Bovingdon <a href="http://www.stanleysstore.co.uk/">www.stanleysstore.co.uk/</a> on Sunday afternoon. What a little treasure trove this shop is!Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1520042083691925301.post-51522463608626273492012-02-21T10:47:00.000-08:002012-02-21T10:47:56.552-08:00Is This The Way To Amaryllis?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinAZnBPXkd1Vrz0GFjo_xryhlznPDaQ4U9v2cqnTcpGPnI6PGJyjLJ-hP8rq0WRuaKYcCwqtBcoLx5wRrtjf0fAfaUaFFli5Lvs3RC2furHX24VZjy3dJI1N7tcEj8140N40hJTTfgVfE/s320/031.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spectacular Amaryllis I was given. So far it has 3 flowers out and another 4 buds still to bloom.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxcct9L4VZ0fKh8t3nANx67PtUi6chvrAE_zBAdu9thy-_B4yrmiK4LqpReaQgfNf6yu8bgXSoOVTROVpIM_KnH4HqN2eSMN9t8yeNeZZ_vc73Y0wNKMljRSrg7Yp1gDZeIN0zVtr_hQk/s1600/026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxcct9L4VZ0fKh8t3nANx67PtUi6chvrAE_zBAdu9thy-_B4yrmiK4LqpReaQgfNf6yu8bgXSoOVTROVpIM_KnH4HqN2eSMN9t8yeNeZZ_vc73Y0wNKMljRSrg7Yp1gDZeIN0zVtr_hQk/s320/026.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080722150130026395noreply@blogger.com0