Funny Little Biscuits

I came across this old recipe in a local Lakeland Recipe book and thought I'd give it a try.  It didn't turn out as expected, but still, the taste was good.  The instructions suggested that when all the ingredients were mixed together, the dough should be rolled out and a biscuit cutter used.  However, there was no way that rolling could be achieved - only spoonfuls could be made, so, they're all funny blob shapes!

Here is the recipe, just in case you want to give it a try:

Windermere Spice Biscuits
4oz marg or butter
4oz sugar
1 egg
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon mixed spice
6oz plain flour

Set oven to 180C or Gas 4.
Beat butter and sugar together in bowl until fluffy.
Add beaten egg, salt, mixed spice and sieve in the flour.
Place spoonsful on greased baking sheet and bake for about 20 mins.
Cool on a wire rack
Makes approx 30.

Cutlery Roll

I saw this idea in a library book ages ago but I can't remember which one.  Anyway, it's basically a tool roll but for knives, forks and spoons.  It's made from a Tea Towel and it's so quick and easy as there's no cutting or finishing off raw edges.
All that you need to do is to lay the cloth out flat, then fold up the bottom along the long edge so that it will just cover the handles of the cutlery.  Next, lay out the cutlery along the cloth and pin the fabric into evenly spaced pockets accordingly.  Stitch these pockets through both thicknesses of fabric, then when you put the cutlery back in to the pockets the top section will fold over to cover them so that the whole thing can be rolled up and fastened with a ribbon or string.

It's great because the dirty cutlery can be put back in after the picnic and when you return home the cloth can just be thrown into the washing machine (remove cutlery first of course!). 
Perfect for days out in the sun!

A Little Celebration

It was our 28th Wedding Anniversary yesterday, so to celebrate I cut these beautiful scented roses from the garden and placed them in the kitchen.  Their scent is so strong that I smell them every time I walk through. Not sure if James appreciates them like I do though!

Next I made some Banana and Pumpkin seed muffins - I usually make soft bananas into loaf cakes but came across this Australian recipe and thought I'd give it a go.

And to finish with on this hot summer day I made some lemonade. So easy, you just squeeze the juice from 2 lemons, then put that aside.  Put the cut lemons into a jug with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 pint of boiled water.  Leave to cool, stirring occasionally, then when cold add the lemon juice, pour through a sieve and drink!

What a lovely day.

Whitby Camping Trip

I was just looking through some photos and realised that I hadn't shown you our recent little holiday.  It was a couple of weeks ago, the weather was brilliant and there was a slot of 4 days when we didn't really have any plans - so camping was the obvious choice.

This was the wonderful view of the sunset over Whitby when we had just finished pitching our tent.

Here are Imogen, Lorna and me having just climbed the 200 steps up to Whitby Abbey.  For those of you who don't know, Whitby is supposed to be where Dracula's ship landed when he came to our shores!! (I really wasn't worried, honestly)

An evening stroll through the village where we were camping - I think it looks rather French.

On our way back home we drove through the Yorkshire Dales and stopped here for our picnic and a spot of paddling.  It's a little place called Keld, in Swaledale, absolutely beautiful.
So a lovely short holiday was enjoyed by all.  It was particular nice because it was where we used to go when the girls were small, so lots of happy memories as well.

What a Beautiful Day

 

A perfect day was had by all yesterday!  Here's my husband, daughters and boyfriends just enjoying our picnic after paddling in the beck, having just had a very pleasant walk near Buckden in the Yorkshire Dales.  It's about an hour and a half drive from where we live now, but it's familiar territory from where James and I grew up.  It's where we often went with friends in our Minis in the early 1980's when we had just passed our driving tests.  Gosh, that seems a long time ago!

 

Then, later on we drove on to Grassington (another small Dales village) where they were holding a Festival.  We'd bought tickets to see the Levellers - my favourite band.  They were absolutely brilliant!!!  We were standing right at the very, very front and had the perfect view.  I can't begin to explain how amazing it was.  Take a look at them here.
I'm completely exhausted now, we didn't stop dancing and singing the whole time.  I hope I'm not getting too old for this lark! 

Long Time, No See

First of all I must apologise for my lack of posting these last few weeks.  However, I've been very busy setting up my new venture, which is a new online shop on Etsy called Hedgerow Bags.  It specialises in bags and purses made from waxed canvas.
It involved a lot of research into new fabrics and fastenings.  A lot of ordering and experimenting with the new materials to get the look I was after. A lot of sewing (of course), and then photography - which I still need to polish up on.
Here are a few items to show you, but please do take a look at the shop.

I'm still busy adding more items and trying out ideas but I'm hoping it's worth it.  Thank you for looking and if you do like the new shop please tell your friends to have a look.  See you soon.

Brown Suede

I just found another fabulous bargain in the charity shop; this extra long brown suede skirt. Don't worry - I'm not going to wear it!
It has been made from lots of pieces sewn together, quite large pieces, perfect for cutting up.  I decided that it would be an autumn project but I couldn't resist taking it apart there and then.

I've ended up with some good sized rectangles that will pair up perfectly with some of the tweed fabrics that I already have left over from making shoulder bags last winter.  I think some purses and pencil cases will be just right.  Plus there's a large amount of satin lining which I can re-use and also a good zip - all that for the knock down price of £2.50
I'm looking forward to next autumn already!!!