Whatever happened to "spare time"?

Time?  Can someone tell me how it manages to tick by so quickly?

I have lists of things to do, and rough ideas of how long it should take, but it never works out like that - the time just zooms on by and before I know it, time has run out and the jobs list, as ever, is un-ticked.

For example, working on new class lists for the month ahead, this can take ALL DAY.  By the time I have thought up what classes to offer, to checking the dates are free at the venue, then doing fliers and updating the website.  I can start at 9am, and finish at 6pm with a panic that nothing else got done that day!

Then there are commissions - un-timeable things.  But often comes with a feeling of guilt that you are playing with crafts rather than cleaning dog snot off the living room windows.

Squeeze into the mix actually going out to work - ok, so I don't do many hours, but it's still hours out of my ever shrinking days.

The rapidly growing grass and the ever sprouting dandelions are just left to wildly mature as time will just not let me take care of them.

Just one jarful of extra time would help me out immensely - so if anyone has any to spare, please pass it my way  :)

 

Abakhan in Preston

I had heard about Abakhan, in Preston, when my daughter called in there once and phoned me with a verbal list of what goodies they had on offer.  Ever since then I have wanted to go visit.  So, on a weekend break we found ourselves in that area so a trip to stroke some fabric was necessary.

Situated on Corporation Street in Preston, it was easy enough to find with the Sat Nav - and good parking right outside.  There is even a Staples next door which you can send the partners off to when they start huffing and puffing about how much you are putting in your basket  ;)

Most of the fabrics are folded into metal shelving, with a price per kilo noted on the front.  So, this was a bit confusing at first, I mean.... just how much fabric do you get to a kilo one wonders.

I took a bit off to the till and got it weighed - that didn't help as I didn't know how big it was.  But after asking the assistant it turned out it was around £3.50- £4.00 a meter for craft cottons, so that was a good price.

Then I saw a sign that you didn't have to take the whole piece either, as long as you left a meter you could have some measured off.

So I took 6 chosen fabrics and took a meter of most, but 70cms of a couple (as that then left a meter for them) and it came to just over £20.00 for the 6 pieces.

The photo below was just one of many....... this was just the purple shades!

The range of fleece was fabulous, I couldn't stop stroking it, so soft and fluffy!  And patterns in every theme you could possibly think off.

Of course, there was loads of other fabrics too - upholstery, tulle, satin, lace, the list is endless.

Then upstairs is haberdashery and yarn.  The yarns were not so keenly priced, unless you were buying bargain bulk bags. I did have to buy a ball of Sirdar Snowflake in Pink as Hobbycraft don't sell that colour, but nearly fainted at the £5.50 price tag when it is just £2.40 in HC!



Still, I bought some King Cole Opium yarn - not sure what I will do with it yet, but it was rather lovely.

And I got some quilting templates - including a puff ball one, so look out for the attempts of me making one of those.

So, if you fancy a visit, here is the website - http://www.abakhan.co.uk/ - click on stores as there are others beside the Preston one.  Do let me know what you think  :)

Crochet Along - Afghan Blanket - Square 6

If you would like to know what this Crochet Along is about, then please click on INTRO to read all about it  :)

Welcome to Square 6.

You can find previous squares by clicking on the links:
Square 1
Square 2
Square 3
Square 4
Square 5

I am using Hayfield Bonus Aran yarn with a 4.5mm hook.  Gauge is not important, although all of the squares do need to be the same size.    Check they are square by folding your work into a triangle and seeing if the edges meet.  The pattern is written in UK crochet terms.

• Chain 23, not too tight.

• Now you are going to work into the 3rd chain from your hook  (do not count the loop on your hook as a chain, work where the scissor point shows)

• Work a Treble into this stitch  (Yarn round hook, through the stitch, pull yarn back through  (3 loops on hook) yarn around, pull through two stitches (2 loops on hook) yarn around, pull through 2 stitches  (1 loop on hook)

• Now work into the next stitch as shown by the scissor point and work a DC into this stitch (Put hook through the stitch, pull yarn back through  (2 loops on hook) yarn around hook, pull through two stitches  (1 loop on hook)

• ***In the next stitch work a TR, and in the next a DC - continue from *** right across the chain, you will end on a TR in the last stitch.

• CH 2 and turn.  (This CH2 counts as a DC)
• Now working into the 1st stitch, where the scissor point shows...

• Work a TR.  Into the next stitch you need to work a DC..... into the next a TR... and the next a DC..... and so on, alternating TR's and DC's.

• Every row will end with a TR and every row will start with a CH2 followed by a TR.

Take a look at your stitches, you will see that from the row below each alternate one (the previous TR's) sits slightly higher than the DC's.  For this pattern you will be working TR's into the previous row's DC's and DC's into the previous row's TR's.   Alternating the stitches will give you a nice textured effect.  

Try to learn to recognise your stitches rather than counting, as this will make the job much easier  :)

• Continue with the pattern until the square is square!   You can count rows if you wish (approx 20 rows), but I find this tedious and keep loosing count anyway. :)

Make another 11 of these squares - 12 in total.

This is how your week six squares will work within the final make-up.

I will be back next week with Square number 7.

It's all a big secret....

I have been quiet on the blogging front this week, have you noticed?  The reason is I have been making some bits and bobs for Hobbycraft HQ that I can't show anyone just yet.

But..... I can show you the gorgeous fabrics I have been working with  :)

And this one has got to be my favourite.... love elephants and love purple.

But all projects are in the post now, tutorials written, photos edited, now I can get back on with my massive "work in progress" pile  ;)

The H2only Challenge

My daughter, Shona, and myself are setting ourselves up to take the H2only challenge to raise money for the RNLI.

For ten days  (2-12 June 2015) we will endeavour to only drink water - so, no juice (I can do that), fizzy pop (I can do that), wine (em.... I think I can do that) and tea (I am really not sure about this one!!)

The wine, although I love it, will be a small sacrifice - one I have made a few times before, and one I am not hugely worried about. I know I can do that for a good cause.

The tea though, the tea is another matter completely.

How do you like your tea Sooz?   Every hour, on the hour.  Black, two bags.  Ok.... sometimes green, but mainly black.  Oh no, I have the sweats already thinking about it.  No tea??  What am I doing??

So, if you are close to me, live with me, work with me, converse with me online, then be prepared for some very grumpy behaviour as I go through my tea withdrawals.  (I wonder if sucking on a dry tea bag counts as cheating?)

In the meantime, if you would like to sponsor me - just the price of a cup of coffee would be most appreciated and it all adds up, then you can find my JustGiving page here....

https://www.justgiving.com/Soozintheshed

The last challenge I did was "Live Below The Line" where I raised, with the help of good friends, a total of £144.00.

If you would like to read my blog posts and recipes from that challenge then you can find them HERE.

I will blog my journey, although it's pretty difficult to find decent recipes using water alone, but I will let you know how easy/difficult it is going  ;)

Now, I am just off for a nice strong brew - got to get them in before I don't get a choice  ;)

Pickled Cucumber Recipe

When going for an Afternoon Tea at The Butterfly & The Pig in Glasgow a few months ago, we were served a gorgeous marinated/pickled cucumber dish on the side of the sandwiches.

Since then I have been craving it!!  I did ask for the recipe at the time, but it is a closely guarded secret  ;)   So, I had to make my own, based on what flavours I could taste at the time.

Here is my version of pickled cucumber.

What you need:

• Half a Cucumber
• White Wine Vinegar
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Rock Salt
• White Sugar

What you do:

• Thinly slice the cucumber and lay it out on a plate.  Sprinkle it with Rock Salt and leave it for a while to draw out the juices.  Pat with kitchen roll or a clean tea-towel.  Shake off the salt and pop it in a dish.

• Then add a teaspoon of white sugar.

• Next a tablespoon of white wine vinegar and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.

• Into the bowl it goes.  Now let it soak those juices right in, give it a stir now and again.  The longer you leave it the more soggy and tasty the cucumber becomes.  You can even jar it up and keep it in the fridge for a few days.

• Serve   :)

Purple fluffy, bobbly Snood

Infinite scarves a great don't you think?  No chance of them moving around and slipping off your neck unnoticed, and they keep you cosy warm too!

A ball of cosy, fluffy, knittedness.

This one was simply garter stitch, on big needles, to create a nice holey effect.  The blobs of purple fluff within the yarn add to the cosy look.

It's such a great way to use up an odd ball of stash as you don't need quite as much as you would when making a full length scarf.  (and you don't need a pattern either, just cast on and go......)

Pine Nut, Spinach & Feta Cheese Pasta

I LOVE pasta, it has to be one of my favourite things, and when I featured this on my Facebook page as part of #ShareYourTeaTuesday, I promised I would post the recipe.

So, you will need:

• Pasta of your choice  (we have wholewheat twists)
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Feta Cheese
• Bag of Baby Spinach
• Pine Nuts
• Olive Oil
• Dried Basil

What you do:

• First of all cook your pasta, and when it is just a few minutes off being done, continue with the next step.......

• Heat up a bit of Olive Oil in a non-stick frying pan, pop in some dried basil and chuck in the tomatoes, swishing them about to let them cook.

• Toss in some pine nuts and toast them quickly in the oil with the tomatoes.

• Next pop in a huge pile of baby spinach - this stuff wilts down to nothing, so be generous.

• See? Wilted  :)

• Chop up the feta cheese into small, dice size cubes.

• Then at the last minute chuck them in the pan and stir.  Don't put them in too early, you don't want them to melt, just to heat through slightly.

• Finally mix it all together with your pasta and serve.  (Careful eating those tomatoes though, they hold their heat for ages - trust me, I know these things!!)

Enjoy!

Crochet Along - Afghan Blanket - Square 5

DIf you would like to know what this Crochet Along is about, then please click on INTRO to read all about it  :)

Welcome to Square 5.

You can find previous squares by clicking on the links:
Square 1
Square 2
Square 3
Square 4

I am using Hayfield Bonus Aran yarn with a 4.5mm hook.  Gauge is not important, although all of the squares do need to be the same size.    Check they are square by folding your work into a triangle and seeing if the edges meet.  The pattern is written in UK crochet terms.

• Chain 25, not too tight.

• Now you are going to work into the 4th chain from your hook  (do not count the loop on your hook as a chain, work where the scissor point shows)

• Work a Treble into this stitch  (Yarn round hook, through the stitch, pull yarn back through  (3 loops on hook) yarn around, pull through two stitches (2 loops on hook) yarn around, pull through 2 stitches  (1 loop on hook)

• Now work FIVE more Trebles into the SAME stitch.

• ***Skip TWO stitches and SS into the next, where the scissor point shows.

• Skip TWO stitches and into the next work SIX Trebles.

• Repeat from *** - you should end with a SS into the last stitch.

• Turn and CH 6.

• Into the top of the fan from the row below, you want to make a SS right in the centre, having three Trebles on each side, as shown by the scissor point in the photo.

• CH 6 and SS into the top of the next fan, as before.




Repeat all the way across until you reach the last fan.  SS into the last fan then CH3.

• Now work a TR into the first TR of that last fan, as shown by the scissor point.

• Turn.  Work 6 Trebles into the SS on top of the fan from the previous row, as shown by the scissor point.

• SS into the chain space from the previous row.

• Then work 6 Trebled into the top of the next fan.

• Repeat all the way along until you come to the last chain space. You need to SS into the 3rd chain of this chain as shown by the scissors.

• These are the two rows that form the pattern.

• Repeat the two rows until you have 7 rows of fans, then end on a chain and SS row to finish off.

Make another 11 of these squares - 12 in total.

This is how your week five squares will work within the final make-up.

I will be back next week with Square number 6.