Some weekend thrifty (and not so thrifty) finds

Ooopsie.  My financial belt is supposed to be undergoing some serious tightening this month while I try and pay off some of the debt I amassed doing The Kitchen.  As such I was intending to spend as little as possible this weekend.  I needed to pick up one ball of yarn for my current crochet project (and I was very proud of myself to buy just that one ball) and treated myself to some much needed Saturday tea and cake.  My spending was supposed to end there.  Instead I had decided to take myself on a slight detour on my way into town which took my past a charity shop I had not visited for sometime.  I could not resist this Pure Wool vintage Marks & Spencers (St. Michaels) jacket for £5.50. 

I wanted it instantly but being both vintage and a Size 10, I really didn't think I would fit into it but gave it a go but to my surprise and even though I was wearing a thick woolly jumper I was able to do it up comfortably which made it even more appealing.  It's a bit short in the arms but I do have unusually long arms so that's something I've had to learn to accept when buying jackets. 

This particular detour also happened to take me past a newly discovered antiques shop.  I'm sure it's been there decades but it's not on my usual path so I only went in for the first time over Christmas.  I saw these wooden animal napkin rings on a stand during that visit but somehow resisted them as I thought maybe the £8 price tag was a bit too much and so walked away.  Since then I have thought about them on several occasions and wished I'd bought them so I had to go and see if they were still there.  To my joy they were so they are now safely in my possession. 

I hadn't properly seen what particular animals they all were but they seemed to be woodland-type creatures.  That was until I got them home and studied them.  They are: a rooster, a bunny, a hedgehog, a bird, an owl and a whale.  I have no idea why there's a whale thrown in there.  If anyone can clarify the link between these six lifeforms please let me know. 

Unfortuantely from the point of view of my purse, sat happily right in front of the napkin rings in the display cabinet was this shiny owl brooch.  When the shopkeeper was unlocking the cabinet for me I could not stop the words "I'll take that as well" falling out of my mouth.  So for £6 he is now happily pinned to my new jacket. 

So my purse is once again a little lighter than I had hoped but I'm very happy with my three new purchases.  Hope you did some good thrifting this weekend. 

Aaaand Relax..

Ahhhh it's nice to get my feet up on a Friday evening.  I've had my first five-day week since before Christmas owing to having lots of lovely days off for all sorts of fun as well as not so lovely days off for mundane things like waiting for deliveries and it has all been a bit of a shock to the system.  I've also been busy every night this week so far so I am very relieved to finally have an evening to myself to do as I please. 

Having not had much crafting time lately, I've really been looking forward to having some down time to get on with my current project.  Ooh how I've missed being surrounded by colourful yarn and crochet hooks. Here's a sneaky look at what I've been hooking up this week:

As well as some dedicated crochet time I've also been looking forward to sitting down with my craft books and getting some inspiration for future projects. So very shortly I intend to be in my joggers and slippers on my sofa with a cup of tea  glass of wine  bottle of wine (purely to help the creative inspiration flow you understand) and my crafty books all around me.  (Of course leaving a space for Mitten to sit next to me as is where she can normally be found.) 

 

With my new kitchen all inviting and ready to use it's high time I had a flick through my recipe books to decide on some new tasty meals to try out too, although I may not get around to that until tomorrow now.  Oh such a pity, I'll have to find myself some me time tomorrow too...

Pure bliss.  I've been looking forward to this moment all day so it simply wont wait any longer.  If you need me I'll be somewhere under a book and/or ball of yarn on my sofa.  Have a happy weekend.  

Mitten's Kitchen is Completed

Phewwww.  It's been a busy three months and taken a fair amount of blood, sweat and tears but the Mitten & Makings Kitchen is finally finished.  I really thought I'd never get to this point and I still can't quite believe it's all done.  

I've chiselled out two layers of tiles and scraped off three layers of wallpaper, I've plastered, skimmed and sanded.  I've measured and measured over and over to make sure my design would fit and to make sure I'd ordered the correct amount of flooring.  I've constructed fourteen (yes, 14!!!) IKEA flat pack units.  I've waited in for two IKEA orders, one flooring order and had numerous trips to B&Q and Thorns.  I've entrusted my home in the hands of builders I'd never used before (who fortunately turned out to be brilliant) and have roped in assistance from my nearest and dearest, including my Dad who has very kindly taken many trips to the rubbish tip to dispose of the old kitchen for me as I don't have a car.  Thanks to my own hard work, of which I must say I'm pretty proud, and the help of others I've managed to do it all on a pretty tight budget which has made the end result all the more satisfying.  I've learned lots of new DIY skills along the way and am generally feeling pretty chuffed with myself.  So here it is:

My bambootiful floor :)

The last picture if of my new favourite tea tray which was a birthday present following this post.  It's just as pretty in real life as I had hoped.  I kept it safely out of the way while all the work was going on and am very happy to have it out and in use now.  

I'm really rather in love with my kitchen and can't believe it's actually mine. Now we've just got to see if I actually dare do any cooking for fear of messing up my new favourite room....

Offcut Wall Art

I hate waste.  I hate waste so much that when I've crocheted or knitted something I cannot bear to put the offcuts from sewn-in ends in the rubbish.  As such over the past year I have accumulated a fair amount of yarn ends which have been accumutaing in a Roses tin. 

I had no idea what I was going to do with them all until a Light Bulb Moment last week when I decided to turn them into a piece of wall art with the help from canvas board I had that I hadn't known what to do with. 

I must say the photos do not do the colours justice owing to the lack of daylight there's been today but the bright colours are definitely bringing some brightness into my home in gloomy January.  And please ignore the unfinished paint on the wall.  I am only about two weeks away from my Kitchen Completion target date so hopefully all will be finished very soon. 

If you want to turn some of these:

Into something like I've made, you will need:

Lots of yarn offcuts in lots of different colours

PVA glue 

Water 

A small bowl 

Pre-stretched canvas 

(And be prepared to get your hands messy.) 

Lay down a ground sheet / newspaper to protect the surface you're working on.  In a small bowl mix one part PVA glue with one part water. Dunk strands of yarn into the diluted PVA and squeeze off the excess.  Lay onto your canvas in a design of your choice.  I actually went for horizontal stripes but when hanging the canvas I decided I preferred them vertically.  Allow to dry in a warmish place for 24 hours and hang in your chosen position to bring some colour into your home.

Knitting for Good Causes - Part 1

Over the past couple of weeks I've had a couple of projects on the go which involve Knitting for Good Causes.  I have far too much yarn in my stash and this has proven to be a good way of using it up.  Also, I have decided to frog my attempt at a patchwork blanket I started last year (see THIS post).  It just wasn't turning out how I had imagined and I had gone off my colour choices so the yarn and squares I had so far made were left hidden in a bag under the bed in the spare room.  Out of sight out of mind.  Having made the decision to abandon the project altogether I thought I ought to do something useful with the stash of yarn I had purchased for the blanket to stop me from feeling guilty about having bought it, and what better way to use it than to create something for folks in need.  Here are my first creations:

Knitted Syringe Driver Bags 

These bags were designed by a friend and retired colleague who now volunteers on the Oncology Ward at the hosptial I work in.  They are for use by patients receiving chemotherapy to enable them to transport their syringes whilst receiving IV meds so they don't have to be bed-bound.  As such they are designed to be a good size to carry two syringe drivers and have a comfortable shoulder strap of a good length.  They need to be quite tightly knitted so as not to stretch out of shape when in use so they are made using two strands of double knit yarn and 5 mm needles.  The bag is made of one piece measuring 30 cm x 22 cm (approximately 48 stitches knitted until the piece measures 22 cm) which is folded in half and sewn along the bottom and edge.  The strap is 5 cm wide (8 stitches) knitted to measure approximately 68 cm and then sewn onto the bag. In the one on the left I have used one strand of cream yarn and one strand of a burgundy coloured yarn at the same time to give the two tone effect.  In the one on the right I work using two stands of the same colour at once, changing to a different colour every five rows.  I really like the thick/thin striped effect created and plan to use this again in future projects. 

They're so easy to make and are highly valued by the patients who use them.  Perfect for keeping idle hands busy while watching a film as they don't require much concentration.

Vegan Sticky Orange Cake

Dairy free, egg free and delicious.  I made this recipe myself using components from several recipes I found online.  It's light and moist with a sticky orange topping.  

You will need:

1 1/2 cups of plain flour 

1 cup sugar 

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt 

Juice and rind of 1 orange 

Orange juice to make up to one cup total orange juice

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp white wine vinegar or cider vinegar 

3 tbsp marmalade (I perfer fine cut) 

2 tbsp rum (I used Mitten's Spiced Rum), triple sec or water

To Make:

Grease, flour and line a cake tin.  I used a deep 7" loose-bottomed tin.

Put sugar, salt, bicarb and baking powder into a large bowl.  Sift in the flour and set aside. 

Put the oil, vinegar and orange rind into a separate bowl.  Put the juice of the orange into your measuring cup and top up with orange juice (I used regular OJ from concentrate) to make one full cup of OJ in total.  Add the juice to the other wet ingredients. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix to a smooth cake batter.  

Bake at 180C for 35 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Turn out onto a cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes.  

Put the marmalade and the rum (or triple sec or water) into a small saucepan and bring to the boil.  Simmer for a couple of minutes stirring continuously.  Allow to cool for a couple of minutes and then spoon onto the top of the cake.  

Enjoy as it is with a cup of tea or warm with custard as a pudding. 

Bert the Crochet Armadillo

This is a crochet character I made for my Armadillo-loving friend and writer Hannah of Nutty Knittings.  I got the pattern from the October edition of Crochet World magazine - I saw it in there and had to make it for her.  Apparently she has named him Bert and they are getting on well together :)  

Amigurumi Treat-Filled Snowman

I created these little men as Christmas gifts, hence why I've had to wait until after the big day to share it with you.  Look under his hat to discover he's a hollow fellow filled with chocolate truffles (I must confess not homemade on this occasion - must try harder next year).  But he could also easily be stuffed to make a soft toy, or even weighted at the bottom then stuffed to make a festive door stop. 

The pattern on my patterns page as usual.  You've now got plenty of time to get cracking and have some ready for next Christmas!

Mitten's Spiced Rum

This is so easy and makes a great gift for a rum-loving friend (or of course for oneself).  It's much cheaper than buying Sailor Jerry's or Captain Morgan's Spiced rum and is just as good or even better.

You will need (to make 1 bottle):

750 ml bottle of rum of your choice.  I used Lidl rum (?James Cook) which is actually very nice rum and is reasonably gentle on the purse.  

A 3 inch piece of orange peel

A 1 inch piece of ginger 

1/2 a vanilla pod 

1/2 a cinnamon sitck 

3 Allspice berries 

5 black pepper corns

3 cloves 

1 star anise

A decorative bottle (mine were recycled Lorina pink lemonade bottles, sold at Waitrose)

Labels

To Make

Pour the rum into the bottle.  Add all other ingredients.  The orange peel will need to be folded up to fit in but it will unfold once inside.  The piece of ginger will also need to be cut into smaller pieces as necessary to fit through the bottle neck, as will the star anise. 

Decorate your bottle as desired by adding your own labels.  

To achieve a good flavour leave to infuse for about a month before using.  Serve on the rocks, with your favourite mixer or add to cocktails.