MOLLIE

My Monday project for Kirsty was to make her a Mollie Dollie from the latest issue of Mollie Makes.  It looked pretty easy and I had all the fabric and notions to put her together so thought it would be a walk in the park.  Not quite - it is actually really fiddly and when you have a 3 year old asking every 5 minutes if Mollie is ready yet it makes for a long morning.  Anyway - I persevered and happily handed her over to Kirsty who announced that I was just the best Mum.  What more can you ask for. 

For the love of wood

For so many years now I have wanted to learn the craft of woodworking but have just never seemed to have the time to get round to it.  I love wood - the feel of it, the look of it, even the smell of it.  Each piece of wood is so unique and you almost get the feeling it could tell a few stories if it could talk.  A couple of weeks ago I found a tutorial on  countrygirlhome.blogspot.co.uk for a beautiful but very rustic sofa table.  I knew straightaway that this had to be my first project.  We live in an old Victorian house and all our radiators are the genuine deal - big, bulky, cast iron and gun metal grey.  I appreciate their authenticity but they are not pretty to look at and we have a big one right in our entrance.  There is just not a lot I could do to disguise it until country girl home came to my rescue.  I came up with the plan to make my table to fit over the radiator  and while you would still see the radiator underneath it, it would allow me to add some interest to the hallway.  I mentioned in passing to my husband that I was going to make a table and he looked at me strangely but knows better than to say too much.  He watched with mounting doubt as I arrived home with my pieces of wood, screws, brackets, varnish etc.  My 5 year old son, however was over the moon - his Mum was really a builder!!  Hubby went off on a business trip for the week and I set to work - not really thinking through how I was going to manage on my own.  I spent a lot of time sanding each piece down using my mini sander - not too difficult yet.  The time came to start putting the pieces together and I discovered there is a certain knack to using an electric drill/screwdriver.  The main one being that there is a reverse button for taking screws out which I almost always seemed to have the wrong way round.  The first couple of pieces went together and then it got more difficult to hold each piece square and drill at the same time so I had to wait for my 5 year old assistant to come home from school to help hold the pieces.  We got the base finished and the first coat of walnut varnish on for hubby's arrival home. " That looks nice", he said "are you going to put a top on it"?  No comment!!  I bought a beautiful piece of wood for the top, fixed it on, finished off with the walnut stain and ta da .... my first woodwork project.  I have no doubt that a purist would look at the table and find many, many faults but for me it is the feeling of achievement that makes it all worthwhile - and it is straight, square and strong and very, very rustic. 

                                                                         

Now you know why I had to do something!!

Enjoying our little bit of summer

After weeks and weeks of rain we have had some long overdue sunshine this weekend and how we have all enjoyed it.  The kids have played contentedly outside, hubby has been happy because the barbecue has been put to good use and I have spent a good few hours in the garden.  Absolutely lovely!!
As a treat to myself for all the back breaking weeding and broken nails I made some lovely fresh scones.  This is my Mum's recipe, although I have changed it slightly to suit what was in my cupboard.  You can't get much more summery that a cup of tea, a scone with strawberry jam and slathered with our famously good clotted cream.

Here is the recipe for Super Quick Scones

Shortbread Hearts

These shortbread biscuits are lovely and buttery and for an added bit of luxury you could dip them in some melted chocolate.

Gypsy Creams

These are lovely crisp, oaty biscuits ideal for dunking in a cup of tea. Great with or without the butter icing and the kids love them,

Just one of those weeks

Kindle cover

You know those days when you wake up in the morning and things just don't go right - well I have had a few of them this week.  Last Sunday started off well - I even got to do some sewing.  I decided to make a cover for my Kindle and chose an embroidery design from embroidables.com.  I liked the design because I thought it was quite funny although not altogether true as my hubby does do more than his fair share around the house.  I used a piece of felt which is thick enough to offer some protection and doesn't require any finishing off.  On the back I inserted a magnetic fastener to keep the Kindle from falling out.  Easy!!  Later that evening I was doing my usual surfing on the Internet and next thing my computer was going crazy - yup - I somehow managed to end up with a Trojan Virus.
The next few days were spent trying to get things back to normal without losing too much data.  Thankfully the important things like family photos were all backed up so not too much damage.  I have now made a vow to myself to backup every week because there really is no second chance with these viruses - they are horrible!!  Anyway - after a long week my hubby and I decided to go for a nice breakfast after dropping the kids off to school.  Sitting, waiting for our meal I glanced out the window and watched as a large delivery van reversed into the front of my car.  The damage is not too bad but I guess most of next week will be spent trying to sort out the insurance claim for something that was not even my fault.  I could think of a hundred better things I would rather be doing.  Oh well - let's hope the sun shines next week.

Homemade Sausage Rolls

One of my earliest childhood memories with regard to food is my Mum's homemade sausage rolls.  They are perfect for lunch or just as a snack.  It is probably the recipe that I am most often asked for and yet there really is no recipe.  When I tell people that it is just puff pastry and sausage meat they still insist on a recipe.  So - here is a step by step guide to making delicious sausage rolls