Hi

Year of 2015

WHAT A YEAR 2015

Where do I start, At the beginning of the year we were getting ready for the birth of our first grandchild which she was due Easter weekend, the plan was that I would take a week off after she was born just to help. The week before she arrived I ended up with emergency surgery for my Appendix . The day I got out of hospital my daughter went into labour and Addison Rose arrived Friday 03/4/2015 and what a beautiful little girl and a very proud grandma i am.  It was a very trying day standing all day and I must admit was not good for me. However I am tough and I managed.

Following that at the end of April my son decided that he would try and chop off two of his fingers on his right hand, so that was drop everything and rush to Hospital. It was a good outcome , he was flown to another hospital to get emergency surgery and they re attached both of them back on. However this will be a long recovery for him and will need alot of treatment to get full movement . So his career has been put on hold. I think a butcher actually needs his fingers to grip the knife. 

Then in May I had a Big party to organised for my Husband 50th Birthday. In that month My Dad was diagnose with Bowel Cancer and he would need surgery to remove the tumor in June  . Well I managed to get the Party sorted and what a great night that was . Lots of long term friends arrived that we hadn't seen for so long and it was a trip down memory land . 

June came and the day before the big day for my dad , he got himself stressed and he had a stroke. So they had to delay the surgery for a few days until he was stable. He had the surgery and was in hospital for 9 weeks. He has now got to have chemo for 6 months. He has just had his 73rd birthday and is doing well.

There was so many other things that needed making and doing before the year is up,  I had orders to make and cakes to make, then one more horrible thing happened . My cat got hit by a car and we had to make that decision which completely upset me but had to be done.

So as you can see I have been busy with family and i have also been busy making things. I have had excitements , Sadness , stress, happiness all in one year  .

Here a a few things I have made in 2015. 

My 2015.

Coastal

The Coastal Blanket created by attic24.typepad.com.

I was wanting to do something for my dad to keep him warm after he came out of hospital from surgery and this blanket caught my eye. With dad been a old sailor boy this blanket was the one for him. I have not done a ripple blanket before so this was a changeling for me. 

I order the yarn from the Wool warehouse in the UK and this arrived around 10 day later pack of 15 shades and instruction. I got started as soon as possible and the day he went into surgery it was completed. 

Bara Brith Cake

Bara Brith Cake 

357g mixed dried fruit

75g brown sugar

300ml strong hot tea ( I used 100mls of sherry and 200mls of tea)

250g self-raising flour

1 egg , beaten

Soak the dried fruit in the tea for as long as you like minimum overnight . Add egg, brown sugar and flour (flour add spoon at a time) while beating so its smooth as can be. 

Cook in large loaf tin at 150c for about 1 1/2 hour. until the skewer comes out clean.

TEA- I used Earl Grey tea but you can use any type . English breakfast or chai tea. 

Have also added nuts,  My favorite is Walnuts.

This cake is not sweet at all. with the 75g of brown sugar and the sugar from the fruit. I Love this cake with a cup of coffee after dinner . Its also lovely with a spread of butter. 

My Husband  came home with the recipe from work as one of his work mates made this and he loved this cake. He made the first one and got me hooked. So I thought I would share this cake recipe with you all. 

Mr & Mrs Bunny

MR & MRS 

I really enjoy working on these bunnies. They were easy to do and all done in SC and in rounds. The fun part was making them up once all the pieces were finished. 

At first when I started making them I didn't think they were right . The head looked too big with the body, the legs didn't look right as I thought they were too long and their arms too short. But once I started stitching them all together they started to look right. 

I love making toys and these are one my favorites . I did the scarves just in sc but with the girl one I added tassels .

 You can  choose any sort of fabric's which you add in the ears , hands and feet  and you can use your imagination . Bow ties, ribbons and buttons, However I always keep in mind about the chocking hazard. I used felt and hand stitched these on.

I used the safety eyes, and nose, just for the extra safety.

The pattern I found on Pinterst, Amigurumi pattern by lilleliis. I didn't do the full pattern as I only wanted to do a plan one and excluded some of the steps . 

cushions delight

It's been awhile since I've been on my blog. I am a hermit in the winter just like bears are, but I can say I didn't stop making anything. I have to always  keep my hands busy.  So this is what I have done.

These two are my favorite ones . So I am making a throw to be at the end of my couch . 

I love trying new stitches and patterns and the thing about cushion covers are, that they are quick to make and you feel that you have created something great and fast too. Somethings when you crochet things you can get bored especially when they start to take to long to make. Wow how great do these look . Very happy with these and they look great on my couch. 

These cushions have made my lounge look great . The great thing about making these is what ever colour combination you choose they will make your room look good. 

White chocolate 21st cake

Well I couldn't believe I made this . I have to keep looking at this photo to remind me that yes girl you did this be proud and own it. 

I have to admit It took me all day to complete this with a few swear word and very sore feet. 

The cake itself is a devil chocolate cake  with a Raspberry and white chocolate ganache filling 

The outside icing is just a white chocolate ganache . I melted white chocolate and place this on baking sheets and spread this out . Just before it was hard I measured and cut each slice the same for the sides of the cake. I then filled in each top of the cake with red and brown M&M's  .

To stick the slices of white chocolate The leftover ganache I spread on each slice. I used fancy ribbons and lace butterflies to decorate . 

I have never taken classes for cake decorating but I must have learnt something from my mother. I don't think i could do this as a job . But if any of my friends or family ask I might be persuaded with a lot of greasing.