So quick it's Scary!

I'm doing two jobs at the moment - working notice for the old one, and also the new one in the cookshop, so I haven't much time for sewing which could turn into a problem because it's my neice's birthday on Sunday and so far, I have only managed to stitch one seam on her new dress - the shoulder seam which is all of 2 inches long ... I'm sure I'll get round to it, but in the meantime, also on my backlog list was this mousemat project promised to Mr MK a few weeks ago and inspired by a plain round mousemat which I picked up for 34p at Ikea - wish i'd got some more now! So here's what I did with it, it's as easy as 1,2,3 ...

Materials:

Plain mousemat with fabric topping (ie: not plastic or rubber)
Some Bondaweb (double sided interfacing)
Fabric of your choice
Tailors Chalk

1. Cut Bondaweb a little larger than your mousemat, and iron on to the top of the mousemat, using a cool iron. You might want to test a scrap peice of bondaweb on a scrap peice of fabric to see how low the iron can be to make the bonding melt. The overhang can be cut off later. Leave to one side to cool before peeling off the backing paper.

2. Meanwhile, cut your peice of fabric using the mousemat as a template, and tailors chalk. If the design needs to be centered, you will be able to adjust accordingly. Cut your fabric out - it doesn't matter if it's a little too big for your mousemat, but you don't want it to be too small!

3. Peel the paper off the bondaweb, place your fabric over the top making sure it's exactly where you want it to be, then iron on. Trim the edges with some sharp scisors when done, and hey presto! a funky personalised mousemat! I sprayed mine with silicone spray for glide factor, but I don't think this is essential.

Should've Gone to Specsavers

I am going out tonight and I will mostly be wearing these ..... not JUST these of course .. but they are an essential part of my attire as they are safety glasses. I wonder if Italian safety glasses would be more stylish? Certainly these are big enough, but really not very classy ...

Here is a clue as to what I'll be doing ... These stained glass windows are in the Keble College Chapel (Oxford) ... I wanted to show you nicer ones, but couldn't find a picture on the web. I took lots myself but I don't have them anymore ... they are still at Keble ...

... which happens to be where I used to work ... no, not the Chapel, the College. I'm not going to church tonight (besides, i would scorch my hand on the doorknobs), and I'm not going to Keble, but I AM going to learn how to make stained glass windows!

Fat Quarter Friday - Toe Separators

The other week, when the sun was shining and it was quite warm I decided, upon getting my sandals out of winter storage, that my toe-nails were not fit for public consumption and needed a severe revamp. Rather than use kitchen towel or loo roll scrunched into a sausage to separate my toes when painting them, I thought it might be quite nice to make a fabric pair. So after some days of musing I came up with these which are much prettier than tissue and much more comfortable than the type you can buy which look a bit like neon foam knuckledusters. I also think that if you put them together with some other girly bits and bobs, they might make a jolly nice present, so I am going to be doing just that!

You can find an easy print PDF file for this tutorial here .

What you need for one pair (a fat quarter will do several pairs) is:

2 pieces of fabric 3 inches x 12 inches
2 pieces of fairly lofty wadding 2 inches x 10 inches
(use what you have - you are aiming for a softish "sausage" about 1cm in diameter)


Iron down a 1cm hem on each side of the strips - don't worry about the ends.

Place your wadding along the centre of the fabric strip, and bring each side together, folding the wadding in half, and pinning securely so that you end up with a softish sausage about 1cm wide.

Sew a seam to hold this sausage in place securely - i used my zipper foot for this. You want an evenly shaped sausage, but dont' worry if the edges aren't tidy.

Now you have a secure sausage, you can choose a nice ornamental satin stitch to finish with. You might want to mark the finished length of each sausage with pins before you sew the next bit. Mine are 11 inches.

The sausage isn't very thick or firm, so your machine foot will be able to rest on it while you sew your nice edging. I used a scalloped edge which I tapered off at a diagonal at each end of the sausage.

When your satin stitched edge is in place, you can cut off the surplus fabric and the toe separators are ready to use!

So to give yourself a good toe polish which will last a month, follow the steps below - trust me, I'm a beautician:


1. First of all, keep all toe nail beauty tools separate from your finger nail tools - particularly nail files. Otherwise you risk spreading fungal diseases.

2. Clean all old nail polish off the nail plate with nail polish remover.
3. Trim the nails by cutting with a nail trimmer (pictured), straight accross. Do not shape them.
4. File the toenails, straight across to remove any snags. You can round off sharp corners but leave them as straight as possible.
5. Push cuticles down gently with an orange stick (this is easier after a bath/foot soak)
6. Buff the nail plate very lightly and gently with a buffer - paying particular attention to the base of the nail plate - this will slough off all that annoying skin which sticks to the nail and give the polish a good key. This and step 8 is the secret to long lasting polish.
7. Now insert your toe separators as in the picture.
8. Go over the nail plate again with nail polish remover to remove surplus dust and grease - when the nail is ready it will squeak - like when you know your hair is clean.
9. Prime the nails with a base coat, follow with 2 coats of your colour, then a top coat. Let each coat dry before applying the next.
10. Put your feet up for at least 15 mins, then wear flip flops or bare feet for as long as possible afterwards in order to ensure a hard finish. I always do mine in the evening before relaxing and before bath and bed time.

Getting in a Froth

Did you know that Starbucks has in the past published a little booklet to explain how to order one of their coffees? I have read that book and still i am none the wiser - not that i get my coffee from there anyway, but why do they have to make it so complicated? One thing I do know now however, is the difference between a Cappuccino and a Latte: A cappuccino is made of coffee, a tiny bit of milk and a lot of froth, the other is made of coffee, a lot of milk and a small amount of froth. I really never knew that ..

I will be explaining all of this and other exciting things on the new Eynsham Emporium Cookshop blog (!) which my new boss has asked me to create just as soon as she talks to her Webmaster!! Isn't that exciting!? I have already been wondering around the shop thinking "that'd make a good photo" and "what to write about that" ..

In the meantime though, I have promised Marmadaisy that I will do the Fat Quarter Friday Tutorial for her this week, so I better get on with it! Here is advance notice of the materials to be used:

some of a fat quarter
a small amount of wadding
nail varnish

Here is the News

First of all a weather report... today it is mostly warm and sunny! Yes, we have Mr BlueSky back - but not sure how long for. He tends to change his mind quite often, but along with the sudden burst of green from the hedgerows, he is here for now. So I'm happy. Well ... I would be if it wasn't for the 3 HUGE queen hornets who flew in through the open doors and have now taken up residence in my sewing room. It's catch 22, either I shut the door so no more get in, or I keep it open so those already in there can leave. This obviously leaves me open to further hospitality abuse by queen hornets and queen wasps looking for a place to stay.


I had time to make some cakes which were much more successful than my last batch! The reason I had time is because of "internet trouble". If like me, you have 2 computers, a wireless connection and a router, I have only this to say on the matter: If your modem looks fully operational but wont connect to the internet (ie: the lights are on but noone's home) and your PC flashes up warning messages including the words "DCHP" "IP address" or "conflict" not necessarily in the same sentence - don't even ask me to explain - do yourself a favour and get rid of the router - it's broken. Don't spend 2 days tearing your hair out, wildly clicking your mouse over a meaningless screen (network connections), whilst simultaneously beating your forehead on the desk in between hand wringing and shouting at anyone or everyone that tries to help. Do not call your ISP "help" line. Mine is New Delhi and is about as much help as a chocolate teapot (on second thoughts chocolate in any form would have been quite helpful). I spent £5.00 for 5 minutes for them to tell me that my PC was at fault. Now don't listen to that advice either. There is no need to accuse your poor PC of allsorts of henious crimes, not least being old, broken and all used up .. it's not it's fault. It's the router. Just get a new one and harmony and balance will soon be restored. Then you can make a nice cup of tea for yourself, and settle down with your cakes, and your blogline backlog.

And now for the headlines ...

I have got a new job, in a COOKSHOP!!! I decided after 5 weeks of the "old" job, that office work is really not for me anymore - particularly when i'm the only member of staff in a north facing converted garage in somebody's home with nobody to talk to save the phone.

My brand new shiny job is actually looking after the coffee shop in said cookshop. Here is a picture:


On saturday mornings, the local organic farm come to sell veg outside on the patio.



Today was my first proper day. It took me back more than 20 years in more ways than one, not least because the owner said that my hairstyle in plaits makes me look 14. When I was really 14, I was the Saturday girl at "Jays Cafe" in the town of New Milton, Hampshire, serving frothy coffee and bacon rolls to people sitting on orange plastic chairs at formica tables. Now it's Cappucino's and stuffed focaccia's with French bistro furniture and a themed play area for the children.

I was looking on the internet for pictures of the cookshop, and came across all sorts of local blogs, including this one, which I particularly liked. Not many words, but lots of beautiful pictures of my village.

Thank you to all of you who have already sent me good luck wishes!

OK... Now i'm going to do a census on the hornet population in the other room. If I'm not here tomorrow, you'll know what happened. I was outnumbered!

Warming Signs

Brrr... it's the middle of April and still so cold! This time last year, we were basking in sunshine, picknicking in Christchurch Meadow ... no jumpers, no coats ..

Feeding the swans, and geese ..


And the ducks ..

A typical Sunday afternoon in Oxford, the boats were bobbing, the students were rowing, the swans were hissing, the ducks were mating and the sun was shining ....

Not this year, oh no. The pictures above were taken on 9 April 2007.

Today, on 18 April 2008 the sky is grey, the wind is fierce, the air is bitterly cold and the sun has gone on holiday ...


I spent some time wondering who I should write a complaint letter to, and then thinking about getting my thermals out in order to venture into the garden to find some warming signs that spring (ha ha) or even summer (rofl), is really on the way. Well in the end I did neither so my photographic expedition in flip flops and jogging pants was quick and painful but heart warming if not skin warming because luckily, nature never lets me down and here is what I found ....

FIGS!!! Hurrah, I love figs, they are my very favourite, especially when freshly picked. I never buy them, they are just too expensive.

Lily of the Valley ... more and more each year ... Mmmmm..


Winter Jasmin - quite apt


Sunflower shoots !! I'm growing LOTS and LOTS


Runner bean sprouts, just a few in the garden otherwise they take over the world ...

Brasicas - never enough especially after the pigeons, caterpillars, mice, rabbits etc., have had their fill. My crop last year was wiped out entirely by caterpillars. The pigeons were quite naffed off about that too ... grrr...

Sweetcorn, particularly nice raw and goes well with avocado in salads. I missed it when I didn't grow some ...


My first strawberry flower! These are alpine strawberries which I grew from seed last year..

With such a profusion of yellowy and summery things sprouting in my garden, like a perennial sundance, I hope they go some way to encouraging him to put his hat back on and return with Mr Blue Sky. Otherwise I might have to go on holiday too!

In a Nutshell

A Soap Nut Shell that is ...

I quite enjoyed trying to take "artistic" photo's of these little babies. They are Soapnuts. They grow on trees in India. They wash things because they contain natural soap - saponin! They don't pollute the water table or the ocean, and they are COOOL! You can wash dishes, hair, clothes, and windows with them! Admitedly, I haven't tried them on my son's grass stained, muddy skateboarding clothes, but I have tried them on bedclothes, and my own clothes - which are mostly black and so benefit from the lack of brighteners, whiteners or bleaches found in conventional soap powder. They are also particularly good for when you pre-shrink your fabric. I got mine online from a nice lady who will send you a sample for 75p. They come in a nice cotton drawstring bag, with a small cotton drawstring bag for the washing machine. However, I find this doesn't work brilliantly - they fall out - so I make a little pouch from light canvas scraps sew it all up and use that - a bit like a teabag.

Meringues and Mayonnaise

Today was a very sad day in the MarmaladeKiss household ... for it was this afternoon, that I discovered, that Fanny, one of my chickens, has departed this mortal coop and pecked her way up to the great chicken run in the sky .. yes ... when I went to feed and gossip with my lovely ladies, as I walked to the back of the garden, wondering why Floozie appeared to be somewhat disturbed and more erratic than usual, I discovered Fannie's body. She is now buried under the soon to be sweet pea pyramid and I now dedicate this post to her with a foolproof recipie for home-made mayonnaise, which, despite appearing to be a bit of a faff, isn't, and takes all of 10 minutes to make once the ingredients and equipment are assembled. I have also, in her memory, added a link to Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's "Chicken Out" campaign which I am a very strong supporter of.

OK so what you need is this:


Apparatus:

2 x 1pt measuring jug (one suitable for electric mixing)
1 x medicine cup (the type you get with medised or calpol as pictured)
1 x plastic sauce bottle
1 x electric whisk (not pictured)

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk
1 tsp dijon mustard
10-15ml white wine vinegar
30-40 ml water
1/4 tsp salt
Black pepper (freshly milled as Delia would say)
1/2 pint sunflower oil
1/4 pint olive oil

Now my grandfather used to swear that if there was a menstruating woman about (ie: in the kitchen), it was impossible to get the mayonnaise to set. I have found this to be untrue myself, HOWEVER, I have to report, that if i'm ovulating when I make mayonnaise, it hurts "down there" ... interesting, and i'm not sure what the connection is, but I guess it's something to do with eggs ...

So what you do is this:

Measure out your ingredients so they are ready and at hand: Half pint sunflower oil in the plastic sauce bottle, quarter pint olive oil in 1 x measuring jug, 15 ml vinegar in the medicine cup (or other receptacle) salt to hand, and egg yolk, mustard and pepper in the other 1pt jug.

With your electric hand whisker in one hand, whisk the egg yolk, mustard and pepper .... with the other hand, drip oil from the sauce bottle into the egg, drop by drop ... very slowly .. drop by drop until you have used about a third of the oil. By this time your egg yolk should appear thick(er), and you can add the oil in small squirts - I aim for the whiskers because the quicker the oil blends into the mixture, the better ... By the time you have added two thirds of the oil, you should have a fairly gelatinous mix (if you do not, refer to note below*), and you can now add the vinegar (while whisking), which helps the mustard to emulsify the mixture. At this stage it is also ok to add the salt. It is VERY RARE that your mixture will flop after this stage as it is now an emulsion. Once the vinegar is added, put your 30ml water in the cup you were using for the vinegar, and continue whisking, adding a squirt of oil every now and then - or a continuous dribble, until all of it is used. Still whisking, add some of the water and then continue dribbling with the olive oil, adding water when you think the mixture is too thick. What you are aiming for is a mixture like the mayo you would buy in the shop, not too thick and not too runny - able to stand up on it's own. The water not only thins the gelatanous nature of egg yolk mixed with oil, but it mellows the taste and adds air so that your mayo is very light. This is mine when I finished whisking:


And with added celery stick .. slurp ...


You will find that once you have got the hang of home made mayo, and when you have discovered your how to exactly tailor it to your taste by adding more or less mustard, vinegar, water, or oil, the commercial versions will seem more and more inferior. I personally can't stomach them anymore. Now you can use this basic mayo to make other delicious dips... garlic mayo, marie rose sauce (add ketchup) etc.,


In the very rare case of disaster your egg may not thicken, or it may thicken and then flop. There is no known reason for this, it is Not Your Fault. If either of these things happen, don't despair. Just put the failed mixture into your sauce bottle with the rest of the oil, wash and dry your jug and start again with another egg yolk. The key to my fool proof method is in the tightness of the space between the sides of the jug and the beaters, so flopping shouldn't happen.

With the egg white(s,) you can make meringues, use 2 oz sugar for every egg white. Whisk the egg white until it forms firm peaks - if you hold the bowl upside down, the egg whites should stay put. Add the sugar bit by bit until the mixture is smooth, firm and glossy. Spoon onto a baking sheet, bake in a very low oven (no more than 100c) for one hour, then turn the oven off, and leave the meringues in over night to dry out. You should end up with meringues that are crisp and meltinthemouth on the outside, and chewy on the inside. I like to serve these with whipped cream to which I have added 1 tbs icing sugar and a few drops of rosewater. I do not make these very often for obvious reasons.

A Daily Marathon

A good part of this weekend was spent wandering around The Shop which has Everything You Ever Needed, and More (Ikea), searching for .... a table, a kitchen cupboard, a plant, a light fitting, fabric, biscuits ... everything EXCEPT a lovely large cupboard to store all my sewing stuff in ... something like this ..

I didn't know it until I saw it ... but when I did, I fell in love, and I remembered all the bad things in my crafting life ...

The sideboard which does not contain my lovely Denby crockery (residing in the loft), because it's too busy looking after my "work in progress" and other bits and bobs ..

The drawer in the sideboard containing corset bones, handbag handles, purse frames, scissors, a candle (?) ...


The basket under the coffee table, occupied by more "work in progress" ....


The cupboard in the spare room with only the bottom shelf allocated for fabric storage ....



The spare bed, hosting the "overflow" and "works complete"...


Another cupboard, another shelf ....


Sometimes sewing was undertaken only after an completing an assualt course ... up and down the stairs, this room and that room ... Not to mention that the dining room was completely out of action until ...


There were lots of ...


more of these .... Yes also from THAT shop (they are DELICIOUS)


and lots of consternation ... but it was all worth it in the end ... Because now, I have THIS ...


All my sewing stuff in one place and no other shopping required ... until next time ofcourse..

27 Dresses (or more)

As my little girl dress pattern is multi size, from age 3 to age 8, I can't very well cut out an age 6 portion as otherwise, I will have to wait until Tuala, Lily, Indi, and Connie are all 6, and that may perturb them somewhat when they see the glorious creation that will be Niamh's birthday dress. Niamh will then lose out on 2 further years of couture, and the next oldest, Lily, is still only 4, which means i'll have to wait at least 2 years before making the next! As you can see there are at least 9 different combinations to try from this one Project Runway Pattern. Times that by the number of girls I have, and then by the number of years that I can make dresses for them, and that's a lorra lorra dresses (luckily they are not all related!).

So I figured I have to make a Master Copy then trace each pattern as each occasion arises.

I had a "jumbo" sized roll of wrapping paper left over from Christmas which I thought would be idea to glue all the pattern pieces onto. I used re-positionable spray mount to glue the ironed pieces to the paper. Very messy but worth it for the nice (dry) finish and it makes for easy smoothing of any little air bubbles and creases.

I then cut out each piece leaving quite a wide border. The border is for taping the pieces to the table so that they don't move about when I'm trying to trace them, and so that I don't have to tape the pattern itself. I used a sheet of white tissue paper - the crinkly sounding kind - to lay over the original pattern peices and also secured that to the table with tape (leave enough space around the tissue paper for unanticipated snags and rips). When all nicely and smoothly secured to the table you can trace your pattern with a black felt tip, not forgetting the marks and instructions and ofcourse the size. This is age 6. So now I have one complete age 6 dress pattern.

I can see I'm going to have to use the next piece of tracing paper to draft up plans for a large workroom to store all these patterns in!!