My Week

It has been a typical spring week, one day a taste of summer and the next a reminder of winter.  One thing I love about spring is the elderflower trees in blossom.  Elderflower cordial making is the top of list.  I love it with its musky flavour.  I have never made elderberry cordial, I mean to but the birds get the berries before I do.  May be I will have to camp beside the tree!

This week I have been busy with the blanket for my niece it has to be finished before Thursday!!!  I am busy sewing it up, hopefully tomorrow I can start on the border.  However I have done some other crochet to lighten the load.  One was a little cowl, as it still can be cold in the early morning when I leave the house and I wanted something to keep my neck warm.

I used V stitch it was super quick to do an hour or so.  I have worn it most mornings, and soon as it is warm enough I slip it off and put it in my bag.

Pretty colours!

I have also done some work on my Painted Rose cushion and it is now ready to sew to the back

I am using the curtain material leftover from when I made new ones earlier in the year.  I just love this pattern from Cherry Heart.  I cant wait to get started on the blanket.  But it will have to wait as I have other projects that require my attention.

For a change I decided to try my hand at making embroidered brooches.  I had seen some on Pinterest and thought they would make great gifts.

So here is my first attempt.

Think I will keep this one for myself as it has a few errors in it!  But I love it anyway.

So that has been my week, I will leave you with my recipe for Elderberry cordial.

Elderflower Cordial

Ingredients

25 - 30 elderflower heads

1.7litres/3 pints boiling water

900g/2lb caster sugar

50g/2oz citric acid

3 lemons, sliced

Preparation method

Gently rinse over the elderflowers to remove any dirt or little creatures.

Pour the boiling water over the sugar in a very large mixing bowl. Stir well and leave to cool.

Add the citric acid, the orange and lemon slices, and then the flowers.

Leave in a cool place for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

Strain through some muslin and transfer to sterilised bottles.

Thanks for visiting and have a great week.

A Girl Needs a Bit of Bling!

It has been a bitty itty kind of week.  Lots of fiddly things, finishing off projects and playing with some yummy blingy wool. 

This is what my work table aka dining table has looked like this week.

It started with my dear sister, she is coming for a visit next month, and as she lives in WA she will notice the cold, so I decided to crochet her a warm scarf and hand warmers.  This is how our telephone conversation went:

Me: Do you want me to crochet you a scarf?

Sis: Crochet?

Me: Yeah I have taken up crochet; I am a bit obsessed with it!

Sis: Oh ……… What do you make?

Me: All sorts, blankets, doilies, bags toys anything!

Sis: Oh…..

Me: Well do you want a scarf?

Sis: Ohaayyy…

Me:  What colour?

Sis: Khaki.

Me:  Oh….

I knew what she was thinking, granny blankets in awful colours and beige doilies, our adored great aunts adorned their house with such things.

So up town I go and look for some khaki wool, I didn't have any in my stash, now I know why.  I hate it with a passion.  I have been struggling with this scarf for weeks; normally I can whistle one up in a day or two.  So back to the wool shop to see if I can find something more to my liking that will fit with khaki.  The shop owner said she can’t work with pink, and one of the ladies in her knitting group can work with green, she cuts out any green in the variegated sock wool she uses! 

Is there a colour you can’t work with?

The answer to my problem some soft white wool with matching white wool with sequins! See above

I did the hand warmers first and they are lovely, the sequins don’t itch or scratch at all!

I had some of the sequin wool left so decided to make a classy brooch to show my dear sister that crochet is not just for batty old aunts, but can be sophisticated as well!

I think I am going to make quite a few of these brooches for my Christmas craft fair table at the end of the year.

I still had a bit of the wool left so I decided to use it in the dress of the bear I have had on the go for a while.

The pink wool also has some sparkle.  While I was at it I decided to crochet her a poncho and a few accessories.

At the moment I am trying to decide whether she needs an ankle adornment  or some pink tulle under her skirt to balance the top, maybe both after all she is going out on the town!!

I so loved working with the sequin wool, I just might buy some for me….a vest a clutch bag ummm….. 

YES, a girl does need some sparkle in her life!

Thanks for visiting and may you have a wonderful week.