Rigid Heddle Loom

 

 

My New Baby

 

 

I am going to bore you all now with tales of my new baby ... an Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom. Yesterday it arrived and although it quite categorically states "ready to weave within a few minutes" I spent at least three hours yesterday assembling it and warping it up - and it still is not complete. Take a look ...

This is the tiny box it arrived in (it is the 80cm size). I was expecting so much more.


All the way from New Zealand

 

This is the point when I needed Mr Whizz Kid who is great at anything requiring a hammer ... and yes it really did need candle wax.

Finally it is ready to begin the warping stage. I checked out many YouTube videos, which were a little confusing and after three attempts got the hang of it and continued to progress.

At this point I am fully ready to cut the thread from the post and wind the thread onto the loom. I definitely needed help at this point and eventually almost three hours later I am ready to proceed to the next step. Who said this was simple?

          

You Tube is definitely not the best teacher in the world! More pics when I have finally mastered the next threading stage ... watch this space.

If there is anyone 'out there' willing to teach me then I am an avid student.

Yay!

I am so excited.

Japanese Trip

A Geisha Welcome

 

 

JAPAN IN ALL ITS GLORY

 

 

As part of my recuperation I have recently taken a trip to Japan. A few mysterious days there, (I say mysterious as it was totally weird), were a real experience (never to be repeated). Here are a few photos to whet the appetite.

View From Hotel in Tokyo

The Twenty Second Floor
(With a glass outdoor elevator!)

A Temple In Kyoto



 

Welcome To The Royakan

  

We travelled around Tokyo taking in all the tourist sights and staying in high rise hotels, took the bullet train to Kyoto and then stayed in a royakan, which is a typical Japanese home/hotel complete with wooden baths, paper walls and futons. It was just a little westernised, but not totally to my taste. The food and green tea in particular were fairly odd, all looking very attractive but tasting unusual. There were beautiful geishas everywhere.

 

In the exclusive Japanese Royokan in Kyoto we sat at the Chef's Table for a Speciality Meal. It all looked so very beautiful but was a complete mystery to us all ... nine courses and not a thing I recognised!

I should love to say that I really enjoyed the holiday - but I would be lying. I loved the fact that all the Japanese are so very polite, that the country is totally clean, that the food is fresh, but truly hated the high rise life style, the fresh but totally unrecognizable food, the noise and bustle and the weird and wonderful ways I encountered. I was also rubbish with chopsticks and truly hated green tea and sake. I also really missed a good old fashioned English cup of tea!

The Chef - Japan's Answer To Jamie Oliver

Breakfast - The Only Meal I Ever Really Enjoyed

Japan Here I Come Again - Maybe Not!

 

Sensory Bands

Dementia Muffs
Sensory Bands

Have you heard about twiddle muffs or sensory bands - a basic muff for dementia patients that uses left over wool, buttons and ribbons and keeps anxious hands busy? Apparently these basic muffs are helpful to dementia patients as they gave them something to fiddle with while their hands are encased inside the muff making them look more serene.

http://icenipost.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Sensory-band-pattern.pdf
http://www.warringtonandhaltonhospitals.nhs.uk/_store/documents/twiddlemuffsknittingpattern.pdf


The muffs should be very busy with lots of loose ends, buttons, ribbons and other attachments and are a simple way of using left over wools and ribbons and odd buttons and bows.

I have been making some myself - no knitting expertise needed - just a love of colour and lots of odds and ends. This was my very first attempt ...

A second in progress on circular needles

I used buttons, bows, sari silks and multi odds and ends of wool and just knitted a long tube and turned it in on itself as a lining - the inside is just as busy! The pattern above is so easy and can be make on circular needles or just the plain old stick variety - both so simple. Send to one of the above hospitals.

Do give it a try.

(We all know someone who is just a little demented!)

Superb Cheese Souffle

Cheese Soufflé

Today I made ...

Well risen soufflé

Perfect lunch

Today I have made a lovely soufflé for lunch with friends - and believe me it was totally easy. This is the recipe I used ...

Easy Classic Cheese Soufflé

Ingredients:
50 g butter
25 g breadcrumbs
50 g flour
1 tsp mustard
300 ml milk
4 eggs
100 g grated cheese

Method:
Heat oven to 200 centigrade
Put baking sheet in the oven
Butter soufflé dish
Sprinkle interior with breadcrumbs
Prepare a collar to stand 3 inches above the dish sides
Make a white sauce with the butter, flour and mustard and cook gently
Stir in the milk and bring to the boil
Mix thoroughly and then stand to cool
When cool add the egg yolks
Whist the whites and fold into the mixture gently
Cook in oven for 25 - 30 minutes

Yummy!

Learning To Weave

Tiny enchanting studio in Founders Park

Beginning Weaving

 

 

On a recent holiday in December I visited a wonderful weaving studio, (Twill Hand Weaving Studio), and over a period of two days learned a very little about weaving. The studio was in Founders Park, Nelson, NZ South Island and was an enchanting old fashioned studio full of looms and materials and an excellent weaving teacher.

 

 

 

Full of wonderful materials and samples

 

Looms of all shapes and sizes

 

Beautiful hand made samples

 

 

Even more looms

 

Space for a cup of tea

 

 

And more looms

 

Looms as far as the eye can see

 

 

 

And a really large loom with a room all to itself

 

 

I found the whole experience really exciting and came away feeling that I needed to learn more about this wonderful craft. My first attempts were to weave a simple sample on a loom already warped and ready for use. This sample can be seen below. I concentrated on colours I love - mainly pinks and blues and each of the squares were in different styles and stitches - a real example of what can be done in a very short time.

 

 

 

 

Beginning weaving

 

Feeling the blues

 

Messy back

 

In the pink

 

My first zig zag

 

 

As you can see I am a true beginner but so wanting to learn. I found three weaving classes in my neighbourhood and was keen to join one but all three have since been dropped due to lack of interest. Very disappointing. Consequently I have spent many happy hours on You Tube learning the basics and now intend to buy a small loom of my own to continue alone with this wonderful craft. Any help or advice would be gratefully received.
 

 

Is there anyone out there, (near London/Surrey borders), who would be willing to teach me?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Homemade Lampshades

Elegant Lamps

I just love these lamp bases - a lovely present from Mr Whizz Kid for my birthday. They are antique French brass and very beautiful and we needed equally beautiful shades to go with them.

I ordered some beautiful fabrics from Laura Gunn, (my favourite fabric designer), from the USA and when it arrived tried to make my very first lampshade ever. With the help of hubby - definitely needs two hands - these were the perfect shades to go into our sitting room. With a little left over fabric I made a small cushion cover to go onto an occasional chair in the room.

These are the finished products of which I am so proud.

Ta Dah!

I used a kit from Needcraft and this lovely fabric - all three by the designer Laura Gunn from the Michael Miller Fabric Collection.

 

 

 

Beaded Stripe

Day Lilies

Wing song

 

 

 

Thanks for looking 

 

 

 

Back To My Happy Place

 

 

 

For All My Family, Friends, Bloggers,

 (And Just The Curious) ...

I Am Back In My Happy Place!

UPDATE: Sadly, my cancer returned and after more major surgery, and months and years of treatment and recuperation, (I have now had cancer four times in four years and have just finished another course of radiotherapy and am feeling fairly well),  I am now back to continue my passion for sewing, knitting, crochet, cooking and travelling, ... and life in general ... and following all the lovely craft blogs out there - I so missed you all.

I intend to "live a little before I die a lot!"

I am back to sewing and knitting, travelling and gardening and have taken a particular interest in cooking. I was not great at cooking cakes in the past as I cook in an Aga, which is generally too hot for cakes. Recently I bought an electric table top cooker just for cakes and it has been a revelation! I have taken plenty of photo's and will bore you all with them over the next few weeks   ...   here are a few to start me off gently ...





My garden is blooming.



The herbs are stunning. 



The flowers cheer me.

Today I am making a cake - a Magic Custard Cake - it is an easy recipe and has such an unusual taste and is so very delicious. Do try it. It is perfect as a pudding with fruit and lovely on its own with a cup of tea and it keeps well in the fridge.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter

2 cups (480ml) milk

4 eggs, separated

4 drops white vinegar

1 1/4 cups (150g) icing sugar

1 tablespoon (15ml) water

1 cup (115g) self raising flour

1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract

extra icing sugar for dusting

 

Method:

 

Preheat the oven to 325 f/165 c Lightly butter or grease a 8"x8" baking dish.

Melt the butter and set aside to slightly cool. Warm the milk to lukewarm and set aside.

Whip the egg whites and vinegar to stiff peaks. Set aside.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until light. Mix in the melted butter and the tablespoon of water for about two minutes or until evenly mixed.

Mix in the flour until evenly mixed. Slowly beat in the milk and vanilla extract until everything is well mixed. It should now look like a fairly thick batter.

Fold in the egg whites, half at a time.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the top is golden. Allow cake to completely cool before cutting and then dust with icing sugar.

This is the cake directly from the oven before sprinkling with icing sugar. It shrinks a little as it cools.

Ta Dah!

PS. Thanks for sticking around!