Rock & Thread

A 70th birthday wouldn’t be complete without a little handmade goodness. For the geologist in your life, a rock and a bad pun are all you need for some fun gifting.

A needle and some bright threads, a bit of tracing and gluing, and there you have it: a ‘Geology Rocks’ box. And what else to fill it with than rocks? Tom used small brushes and acrylic paints for a geological pebble-map of the Isle of Wight.

For a week our table was covered in projects: paints, pebbles, thread and fabric. Rainy spring days are made for a spot of crafting and Radio 4.

Having given a few homemade gifts recently, I’m not sure what will be my next project. Maybe a spot of selfish knitting is in order!

A Bonnie Blanket

Honestly, it’s ridiculous how quickly time passes. It’s particularly noticeable when you give a new baby gift only to realise that said baby is now four months old (happy unbirthday Little O!) But I still have the quilts made for me when I was born, so I figure they don’t have an expiry date.

I didn’t intend for this gift to be quite so late. But even the simplest of patterns takes time, what with the cutting, the stitching, the big procrastinating pause in the middle of the project where you try all the fabrics in different orders to get just the right blend; and then the basting, the quilting, and the inevitable sewing of the finger and breaking of the needle. But- ta da! I finished!

I did the final hand stitching in Wales, sitting under the eaves of our tiny cottage. Whilst I did this pleasingly slow and quiet task, I thought of the lasting love in quilts. On our journey up, we stopped in for the night to visit friends. The quilt I made their baby girl is now tucked up with the dolls six years on, ready for tea parties and den-building. The quilt my Grama gave me when I set off to London many moons ago still sits on my desk chair, the bright red fabrics softening with age (and the occasional machine wash!)

This quilt was inspired by Red Pepper, whose tips on binding were also really useful. The design started from the ‘perfect size’ jotted on paper, with strips of bright jelly colour added. Inspired by this ever-exuberant lady I ‘eyeballed’ the quilting; the very wonky quilted lines just prove it’s homemade. After all, I could never abandon my slightly haphazard approach to sewing.

This little project has got me itching to stitch and I’m excited to hear this dressmaker speak at Blogtacular (only three weeks away guys- get get your tickets!)

A Good Bake

Some cookbooks look so promising: gold covers, artsy fonts, and quirky ingredients. But then when it comes to the recipes they just don’t quite do it. They’re either too fussy, too complicated or quite simply don’t work. The pretty gold cover gathers dust and glares at you from the kitchen shelf.

Other cookbooks magically swing in to heavy rotation the moment they arrive; filled with recipes you can rely on, photos that are always tempting, and instructions that are genuinely helpful. Chococo is just such a book. It had its first outing for Alec’s birthday cake and has rarely been off the kitchen counter since.

Chococo is close to my heart since the days we started visiting their tiny sunny cafe in Swanage. I love supporting small local businesses, and it’s been fun to see how this one has thrived.

In this month of no easy sugar I’ve been baking a lot more. So far we’ve had the a double batch of chocolate cookies, the gooiest brownies and chocolate fruity flapjacks, all from this one recipe book.

And if you’re thinking this is rather a lot of chocolate for one month I will point out to you that I have had exactly no M&Ms this month, and also had banana cake and apple crumble. I know- positively healthy right?

Digging the Earth

So much blue sky! And this sunshine is my kick up the arse to do a bit of gardening. I’m lured by bright instant-colour pots of flowers and their right-now, ‘have your cake and eat it’ satisfaction. But the real early-spring magic is in the packed-up promise of an envelope of seeds.

I always forget the digging and preparation that the soil needs. It’s a satisfying rhythm, and I like wrestling with the weeds to get down to that rich loamy sow-me-quick soil. I mingle wild flower mixes, cosmos and short sunflowers in to some seed compost and throw it over the earth before patting down with a gentle toe.

I never know what will poke through this soil. To thrive in this garden you have to be a hardy plant who doesn’t mind some neglect. But that unknown is a good few weeks away. For know I’m happy sitting in the last light, with a cup of tea and some freshly tilled earth at my side, patted down with the expectant promise of some seedlings soon.

Belated Blueberries

Pancake Day waited until Sunday this year. We made up for the delay with a double helping of blueberry pancakes, with the obligatory maple syrup, crispy bacon, and strong coffee. As a kid I often used to give up chocolate for this early spring gap between pancake-flipping and egg-hunting.

This weekend of sunshine has filled me with optimistic resolutions and a desire to be lounging amongst daffodils eating homemade victoria sponge , rather than haring down the motorway and stuffing a twix bar in my mouth.

So I’m swearing off sugar. Not the kind found in delicious homemade cake (because one should never quit something so decidedly good for the soul) just the crappy convenient stuff. So, with the krispy kremes and jaffa cakes cut out of my day I expect I’ll be baking a lot more this month. I’m already on my second batch of cookies in the last 24hrs..