What was I thinking?! When I saw a picture of a Union Jack battenburg cake I was thinking “I can make that”. So I did. Ok, so it doesn’t quite look like the one in the photograph but at least I tried. The sponge cake turned out rather greener than the blue I hoped for and it was quite tricky to slice the cake diagonally! It’s a time consuming project as you need to leave the cake to chill in the fridge through various stages of construction. It’s sandwiched together with layers of buttercream and strawberry jam and wrapped in…
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At the weekend we headed to the South Bank for VintageĀ @Southbank. We were lucky enough to go last year when it was at Goodwood and knew to head straight for the Vintage High Street and Vintage Marketplace. There were lots of goodies to look at, from clothes to accessories to furniture. I visited the Cath Kidston pop up shop and bought a new fabric patch to add to Edward’s badge blanket. The displays were lovely as usual. I always enjoy looking round a Cath Kidston shop and I spotted some children’s bags made from beautiful vintage style animal fabric…
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I was recently asked if I would like to try some DYLON fabric dyes and I umm-ed and ahh-ed for a few minutes, quickly racking my brain just how I could use them. I soon remembered that I had always wanted to dye a woollen blanket so purchased a beautiful vintage cream blanket with a Snugdown label (which shows it was produced by the Co-operative Wholesale Society). How to use fabric dye on wool You will need a wool blanket and some Dylon fabric dye (for hand use rather than machine) The blanket I bought was huge so I cut…
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Edward is used to boats as we often travel by car ferry or catamaran to visit family on the Isle of Wight. Last week we managed a couple of trips by boat which Edward loved. He really enjoyed holding on to the side of the boat and looking over the side. He’s always loved water play and our weekly swim sessions so this was a great crafty project for us. Looking around the house we had limited supplies so I thought we would make a cork sail boat, reminiscent of the boat in which Julia sails to the island. Sadly…
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I signed up to the Summer 2011 Handmade Gift Exchange and exchanged a couple of emails with my partner who seems to have similar interests to me. I’ve been meaning to make something from Scandinavian Stitches for a while, the book is full of amazing projects, and I put my own spin on the birds mini art quilt. I got to use my favourite bondaweb for the bird applique (which I finally feel I’ve mastered) although missed out the quilting as I didn’t want to ruin the quilt top! I also got to try some freehand machine stitching on my…
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My latest favourite craft is cross stitch. I’ve been working my way through my copy of Cath Kidston Stitch which is full of projects which can be made using needlepoint or cross stitch. This pattern turned our bigger than it was supposed to but I’m enjoying the challenge of trying something new. It’s a great excuse to visit more craft shops too! Linking up with Handmade Thursday
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I have a favourite shop in Totnes, Devon, which is stuffed full of vintage treasures. On our last visit I picked up a lovely vintage Star Yachts boat. Only the wooden hull remained, the sails, wooden masts and fittings were gone. Vintage wooden boat Star Yachts was founded just after the First World War by Franz Marie Denye, a Belgian refugee who had fled Belgium at the beginning of the war. Originally a builder of full size ships, he decided that models would provide a livelihood for him and his family. The works site was compulsorily purchased to clear the…
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I had a whopping 107 entries to my Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway. I loved reading everyone’s comments on what they would make with the Royal Wedding fabric and I am pleased to announce the winner is Sallie. Congrats, Sallie! Is it too early to be thinking about Christmas? One of my favourite sewing books is Fa La La Felt and I can’t resist working my way through all the projects. I’ve made a lot of the patterns from it but these little felt gingerbread people really took my fancy! They were quick to make although I need to perfect the…
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Look away if you’re on a diet because I made something really naughty! Chocolate cupcakes from one of my favourite recipe books, the hummingbird bakery cookbook. I can confirm they taste absolutely divine but are probably not good for your waistline š I’m linking up with Handmade Thursday. Why don’t you go and see what everyone else has been up to.
