I'm taking part in International Womens Day on Sunday 6th March. Ok, so IWD is 8th March, but the weekend before is just perfect for lots of girlies (and blokies) to be together to do lots of lovely things, buy lots of lovely crafts and eat copious amounts of ice-cream.
I'm popping off to the Assembly Rooms in Newcastle Upon Tyne with my Booteelicious stall to (hopefully) beat the recession and help individuals choose and buy some gorgeous baby shoes for their loved ones.
The Assembly Rooms is the most wonderful Georgian building where the wealthier members of society would go to assemble nearly 200 years ago. They would dance, listen to music, play cards and enjoy "refreshments." Sounds very civilised and lovely... now, the Rooms are used for conferences and weddings and for recession busters and their craft stalls!
I think it could be fun!
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Oh what gorgeous yarn...
I made quite a few pairs of fingerless gloves for my friends and relations for last Christmas. I started knitting in the summer, just to make sure I had enough time to get them all finished. I did and they loved them, but what I loved the most was being able to give my loved ones, something that I had made, specifically with them in mind.
Last summer, I bought some gorgeous pure new wool when I was over in Seattle to see gorgeous one. I bought purples, blues and greys and used them to make stripy mittens and fingerless gloves.
When I got home, I bought some fantastic cashmere and silk yarn from the fabulous Woolaballoo for the bargain price of £2.50 per ball. Fabulous, marvellous and heavenly to knit with. My sister Rie was particularly taken with a pair of gloves I had made for her daughter and wanted me to make a pair for her also.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find the colour of yarn that she wanted and then yesterday, on a detour trip to Hobbycraft, I found just what I was looking for. Palette collection "Vintage" in the most gorgeous "crushed grape." And the price for 50g... £1.99... I bought three balls. I can always make more baby shoes with whatever is left over! It is a 70% wool and 30% soybean mix and it's fabulous to knit with.
It makes a change having the temperature in double figures!
The past couple of months here in Old Blighty have been cold. Very cold. As they sometimes say, "unseasonably cold." We've been down to -18 degrees celsius and that is cold enough for me.
We've had weeks of interrupted school due to snow days and the complete, total and utter inability to get out of side roads to get on our way.
Now however, the weather is warmer... well 12 degrees celsius and that is quite a lovely temperature in comparison. As I sit making my way through my yarn stash, thinking about what to knit next (my cable cardigan, that's what!)I took the opportunity to have a look back at some pictures of snow days. Made me feel all cosy and warm inside.
We've had weeks of interrupted school due to snow days and the complete, total and utter inability to get out of side roads to get on our way.
Now however, the weather is warmer... well 12 degrees celsius and that is quite a lovely temperature in comparison. As I sit making my way through my yarn stash, thinking about what to knit next (my cable cardigan, that's what!)I took the opportunity to have a look back at some pictures of snow days. Made me feel all cosy and warm inside.
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Raspberry yoghurt muffins
Now, I buy yoghurt because,
a) it's healthy
b) some of it's probiotic which usually means... it's possibly healthy
c) I 'will' myself to eat it because it's full of calcium and protein and stuff which
makes it... healthy?
And then there's the one little fact that I really can't get away from... I don't like the taste....
I have tried so many yoghurts and yes, some are OK; I can tolerate them, but they're usually the ones loaded with raspberries and Jersey double cream, which is kinda defeating my one main purpose of eating them... yoghurt has ceased to be healthy...
And then of course, you realise that there are about 5 teaspoons of sugar in every pot of yoghurt so the health issue appears to have gone AWOL and out of the window.
Which leads me beautifully onto a solution which prevents me from wasting pots of yoghurt and turning said, "pretending to be healthy" product into a "really not even remotely healthy" product... but which tastes pretty darn good!
I present you with... "Raspberry yoghurt muffins." Here goes....
100g / 1/2 cup of each of the following:
self raising flour, caster sugar, butter or margarine
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 eggs, beaten up a bit
1 tub of raspberry yoghurt (I chose an own brand variety with raspberries in the bottom of the pot.
1: Light the oven to 190 degrees celsius or equivalents and place 12 muffin cases in
a deep muffin tin
2: Put all of the ingredients, except the yoghurt into a bowl and, using an electric
mixer, whisk together until fluffy and combined (about 2 minutes)
3: GENTLY stir in the yoghurt so the mix is streaky. Don't overmix
4: Spoon into the muffin cases and bake for about 15 minutes at the top of the oven
or until golden brown
Mix together 6 tablespoons icing sugar and a little lemon juice. Add enough warm water to make a smooth, runny icing. Spoon over the cakes when they are just warm.
Trust me, they don't look too great but they taste amazing! That's why you're not getting a picture!!!
a) it's healthy
b) some of it's probiotic which usually means... it's possibly healthy
c) I 'will' myself to eat it because it's full of calcium and protein and stuff which
makes it... healthy?
And then there's the one little fact that I really can't get away from... I don't like the taste....
I have tried so many yoghurts and yes, some are OK; I can tolerate them, but they're usually the ones loaded with raspberries and Jersey double cream, which is kinda defeating my one main purpose of eating them... yoghurt has ceased to be healthy...
And then of course, you realise that there are about 5 teaspoons of sugar in every pot of yoghurt so the health issue appears to have gone AWOL and out of the window.
Which leads me beautifully onto a solution which prevents me from wasting pots of yoghurt and turning said, "pretending to be healthy" product into a "really not even remotely healthy" product... but which tastes pretty darn good!
I present you with... "Raspberry yoghurt muffins." Here goes....
100g / 1/2 cup of each of the following:
self raising flour, caster sugar, butter or margarine
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 eggs, beaten up a bit
1 tub of raspberry yoghurt (I chose an own brand variety with raspberries in the bottom of the pot.
1: Light the oven to 190 degrees celsius or equivalents and place 12 muffin cases in
a deep muffin tin
2: Put all of the ingredients, except the yoghurt into a bowl and, using an electric
mixer, whisk together until fluffy and combined (about 2 minutes)
3: GENTLY stir in the yoghurt so the mix is streaky. Don't overmix
4: Spoon into the muffin cases and bake for about 15 minutes at the top of the oven
or until golden brown
Mix together 6 tablespoons icing sugar and a little lemon juice. Add enough warm water to make a smooth, runny icing. Spoon over the cakes when they are just warm.
Trust me, they don't look too great but they taste amazing! That's why you're not getting a picture!!!
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