Festive Friday is back!

Pickle-Lily is making our big Christmas cake with the guides this year, but we also make mini cakes at home, which make lovely gifts.

Mini Christmas cake

So now is the time to bake your fruit cakes. This mix makes five mini cakes.
For the mixture you need
100g butter
100g of soft brown sugar
340g of mixed fruit
130g plain flour
1 tsp mixed spice
2 eggs

Cream the butter and sugar together and then beat in the eggs.
Fold in the flour and mixed spices.
Stir in the fruit.
Now the clever part! For the tins I use small baked bean tins - you'll need the sort with ring tabs. Give them a good wash after you've eaten the contents, and then using a tin opener, carefully open the the bottom of the tin. Let the bottom you've just cut drop through to the top. The cut edge will rest nicely on the small lip left by the ring pull lid, and voila you have a mini loose base tin. Be careful as the base is sharp!

Mini loose base tin for free!

I then lined it with a double layer of greaseproof or baking paper (no need to grease!) and filled my tins with the mixture.

5 little Christmas cakes

Bake them in the oven at 120 C fan / Gas 1 for about 2 hours - this timing really depends on your oven, and you may need to cover the tops with some foil or baking paper to stop them from burning.

allow them to cool on a cooling rack

When they have cooled, wrap them in greaseproof and then foil. I did mine individually and store in a cake tin. You can feed them if you want to.
A simple way to marzipan and ice to follow!

P.S. I was going to do a separate post for Handmade Monday, but as usual I ran out of time! Why not go and visit everyone elses blogs and see what they've been up to?

Bobbles and Bunting

Girly bunting

During half term Pickle-Lily and I went to  Millie Moon's in Frome to have a girls day out learning to make bunting with the fabulous Jane from Dufflebobble.

Listening carefully

We had a lovely day together and between us made some 'girly ' bunting for P to put up in her room and I made some Christmas bunting to decorate my home with. The biggest problem we had was choosing which fabrics to use, as we could choose anything we wanted! Needless to say we came home with a bag full of fat quarters of fabulous fabric to use! Jane was an excellent teacher, very patient and clear with her instructions, as well as useful tips and ideas.
The next day we both made some more bunting - some Halloween for me, and P made some Christmas bunting to sell with her cushions!

Our lovely bunting!

Of course while in Frome  we had to visit Marmalade Yarns and like all the ladies I saw in Millie Moon, came out with a colourful bag full of pom-pom yarn called Jester. It is a great novelty yarn that comes in some really zingy colours, I brought a festive red and used it to knit myself a fab tea-cosy. I thought I'd share the pattern with you if you would like it?

Jester yarn

This week is back to a more 'normal' routine for me, apart from all the housework I have waiting to do! But I am planning a Festive Friday for tomorrow - so watch this blog!

Screme - It's a ghost!

BOO!

For Halloween a quick and easy knit! A Screme Egg Ghost - and ... pause for effect ....
It glows in the dark! 
Taking a photo was tricky, and it doesn't show you how brilliant (if I say so myself) it is. Pickle-Lily and I had great fun trying to take photo's in the cloakroom, trying all the different settings on the camera.

It really does glow!

To make the ghost, you need
4mm knitting needles
white double knit yarn
2 googly eyes
and DMC Glow in the dark embroidery silk No E940

Using the white yarn and the embroidery thread together cast on 25 stitches.

Knit the two 'yarns' together, counting each one as a stitch

Garter stitch 15 rows and then cast off. I had to use just the white yarn to cast off with. This is your body. Fold in half length ways and seam the two long sides.
For the arms, using just the white yarn cast on 8 stitches, knit 1 row and then cast off.
Over sew the two long sides together.

Leave a long tail to sew with

Then sew to either side of the ghost and then add two eyes. Pop a screme egg inside, as the yarn is very thick it will support your ghost nicely.
To make your ghost glow, stand him under a light for a while, the longer he stays, the longer he'll glow.
I'm joining in with Handmade Monday as it's half term - yippee - so I can visit all the lovely blogs on there.

Happy Halloween!

Little Robin Red Vest

One of our favourite Christmas stories is a lovely picture book by Jan Fearnley called Little Robin Red Vest, and a few years ago I made a story sack about it and collected a few robins!

This inspired me to create a little robin decoration and pin badge for Pickle-Lily to make to give to her friends and sell at the Christmas fairs she comes to with me.

Cut two brown felt circles - whatever size you like, and a red felt circle. We used sparkly red felt on ours. Cut the red circle in half and sew it onto a brown circle across the diameter.

Then sew a yellow felt diamond shape on for a beak.
Add two eyes. This one used 4mm black beads - these are shiny but fiddly. P used two black brads - very easy.

We pinned a loop of ribbon and cut two sail like shapes from the brown felt for wings.
Finally the robin was sewn together with a little stuffing inside, the stitches holding the wings and ribbon in place. I used blanket stitch, P did simple running stitch.
For badges we left out the ribbon and sewed a brooch pin to the other brown circle before the robin was sewn together.

Little Robin Red Vests

I am very happy to be able link in with Wendy and Handmade Monday this week and am looking forward to visiting all the other blogs on there. It will be like visiting old friends.

Christmas Owls

I have managed to fit in a little sewing and knitting over the past few weeks, so I thought I would share...

Christmas owls

These are my favourites - so far - this year, Christmas owl decorations. I have loads more ideas in my head but just not enough hours in the day! A quick post today, just to let you know I'm in the land of the living! Perhaps that's the answer, little and often, to blogging at the moment?
Jo x

The right decision

Pickle-Lily and I went to Exeter this morning, to the Creative Craft show. To be honest I'd ummed and ahhed over whether I could 'afford' the time, but I am so glad I went!

Crafty Ribbons

Crafty Ribbons and buttons

I'd been wandering around - well actually P had devised a route - looking at all the ribbons, and had decided I'd much rather wait until I got home and then would order them from my favourite suppliers. When P pointed out that I didn't need to, as they had a stall there! It was heaven - we bought lots, chatted to the very friendly Ali and Tony - who are even nicer in real-life, if possible, than they come over in their blog, and also ordered ribbon that they had sold out off on the stand, with free p&p! It was lovely to see the quality and colours for real, and to pick and choose. So next year I'll be there on opening day so I can see all the stock! By the way Crafty Ribbons have not had anything to do with my glowing recommendations!

 Sorry about the pictures but I had to use my phone camera, and I don't know how to use the flash!

Ribbon Heaven

The other thing that really made my day was when P spotted a whole stand where people were sitting knitting my knitted paper chains!
A while ago you may remember me blogging about how the WI were using the pattern for the world record for the largest number of people knitting together at the Royal Albert Hall. The pattern is now being used in the Crafts Council Craft Club campaign.
I was even credited on the publicity board - fame at last! That has really made my day!

Lots of knitted paper chains

If you look very carefully you should see my name!

From little acorns ....

Autumn table

It has been a busy week at school again, so busy I didn't even make it to the W.I. on Tuesday, too many books to mark. But as you can see I did find a use for all the leaves I'd knitted a while ago, as a sort of test drive for another project.


Here's one I grew earlier!

 I



We've been thinking about autumn and collected acorns to plant. It does work!
I planted this one last year. The secret is to - test your acorns! Seriously! Put them in some water and if they sink to the bottom, plant them now, and if they float put them out for the squirrels as they won't grow.

Another use for my little milk bottle