Bridesmaids made

Hello there, hello then,

Here i am!

I decided to come back - after SUCH a long break from my blog. The last couple of months were quite busy with bridesmaid's dressmaking - too much doing and not enough writing! I feel like this is rather a massive leap since my last post - so much missed. But Jess' wedding was a spectacular event, and the dresses were such a triumph - i was so proud to have been given such a role in the celebrations.

I was a bit silly not to take any photos of them myself, but the pro wedding pictures are back, and here we all are captured beautifully (i like this picutre!):

And doesn't Jess look a beautiful bride!

This was a dressmaking feat and a half for me, but i am so pleased i was able to do it. I was quite nervous the night before the wedding - the responsibility of the task hit me! But once we were all dressed i was much better. And with the stoles and gloves i think the effect was wonderful.

And there will some more exciting projects coming up for me, but for now i am enjoying the completion of this grand project, and a small time of rest for me and my sewing machine (but not for long!)

Happy new year, and nice to see you again. And see you soon (it's a resolution)

Lots of love,
Emilia. x

Birthday makes and birthday bakes

This weekend was full of birthday fun and I did lots of making and baking for the special occasions. This is a very nice thing about being on holiday - plenty of time for making and baking.

a nice feature of the socks is that they stand up alone.

Here are the socks I knitted for my mum. I used some rowan pure wool 4 ply in 'antique' and this pattern from the guardian. They were a real delight to knit, although perhaps could have been a little longer at the ankle. It's not often I knit socks though and these were definitely the best pair yet. I would like some for myself before the summer is out.

award winning!

On sunday we went for a garden party in honour of Mum's birthday and also because it had been mine and my sister's birthdays in July too. Mum's garden won first place in the Burgess Hill in Bloom competition (garden design category) so it was a treat to sit there in the sun. I am so pleased for Mum that she won and proud of her too. Gardens take a lot of work i think.

Mum had asked me to make a cake for the occasion as there were lots of people there and it is nice to help. I decided a good summer treat would be the apple and raspberry cake i made a few weeks ago.

two cakes are better than one (on the left is apple and raspberry cake and on the right Beth's birthday sponge)

Here is it on the left. And here on the right you can also see a birthday cake for my friend Beth. On saturday night we had a good old knees up for that event, and this sponge had come out really very nicely indeed. The recipe for this one is:

8oz butter/margerine, 8oz caster sugar, 9oz self raising flour, 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons of very hot water (added only once the other things are mixed together well). 

It makes a very lovely light sponge.

Also for Beth's birthday I knitted a red tea cosy just like ours. I have been really impressed with this little make as really does keep the pot hot. I even used the pattern I had written there so was pleased to have written it down to know what I did. I did make a couple of modifications though like having fewer stitches and making the ruffle in garter stitch. Beth likes tea and has a nice teapot so I thought this would be a good gift.

It's nice to be able to make nice things for presents. I am pleased with this time well spent.

And now it's time for a holiday!! 

Yours birthdaily,

Emilia. xxxx

Birthday Cakes!

Today it is my birthday! and so what better occasion for eating loads of cake (also it is Rich's birthday tomorrow so it really is necessary to do some baking and icing)

I have had this cupcake stand since christmas but not yet used it. It was good to save it for this time though - what joyful celebratory treats to behold!

I made three whole batches so have a good variety - lemon, chocolate chip and marshmallow and almond cakes. we ate all the spares yesterday just to be sure they were good enough. they were.

Also i got myself some little plates for the day - the perfect size for a little cake! (and my mum says they are very old so perhaps much birthday cake has been enjoyed from these ones)

And if all this wasn't enough, a small cake from cake master mummy - orange and poppy seed!

I have been treated this morning with breakfast and presents and lunch and tea, and now off for some music for the afternoon. What a very lovely day for me.

Yours, a year older now,
Wise old Baker. xxx

European Song

Last Saturday night was the big fun Eurovision song contest (i like that event!)

Rich (a bit of Armenia) and I (United Kingdom) went to Haywards Heath (twinned with Bondues - France and Traunstein - Germany) to see Robyn (United Kingdom) and Dorin (Romania) I decided to make and take an apple strudel (Austria) and some wheat beer (Germany) and Dorin had made us a risotto (Italy).

Wunderbar!

In honour of the event, i decided that my mixtape this month would have a taste of europe about it.

 Et voila!

Sehr gut,

zdob si zdub,

Emilka Backerberg. xx

Holiday, celebrate

Now i have arrived at the start of my easter holiday! this is good news for me. I am looking forward to a week of finishing my knitting (nearly there!); working on my dressmaking project; finally sewing together my quilt triangles; as well as some walks and some sleeping and eating some chocolate (soon).

Many reasons for joy!

I have been trying to catch up a little on my sampler recently, as it seems to have been cast aside for a while. Last week i started stitching some trees.

I am still hoping for christmas completion, although it is beginning to look a little unrealistic. Perhaps when I have some other projects out of the way. I think more focus is needed!

Yours free as a bird,

Emilia. xxx

Pattern Junkie

I am very pleased with myself after this weekend as have finally sorted through the bags of knitting patterns my Nanny handed down to me at christmas. There were so many gems, but a lot of nonsense too and it definitely wasn't reasonable to keep the whole lot. So instead i decided to make a knitting pattern file of all the best, and let the rest be gone.

Along the way I did run into a few little amusements i wanted to share (you might be able to enlarge them if you click there)

 I like how these patterns are adressed to the woman: "for yourself, choose this smart jacket in two tone tweed wool; for a boy friend, brother or husband, a sturdy pullover"

 I like the idea of matching aran patterns for good companions. just the thing for hiking scootering or watching sports.

there are a lot of funny expressions on the faces of the child models

 

This is a comfy sock! Splendid.

eighties does vintage

i like this man posing with a cigarette. i came across a lot of men with pipes too.

for the youth of 1958

this one came from a booklet called 'family knits in royal style' this is the prince andrew style jumper - described as: "double breasted jacket; smart for all young Britons under five" 

I like the rabbit.

is it a jumper? is it a scarf? no, it's called a vestee (and i want one!)

the belted sweater look - this is a man by the way

a white crochet bikini + bathing = bad news

There were too many to put here but if you like them, you should see the Pattern Junkie blog - it is full of vintage pattern gems and rather entertaining to boot.

And here is my bulging knitting pattern file! More knitting than i can ever hope to do in a lifetime i expect. a few great projects in there though.

sorted!

I will have to share the beauties with you soon too.

Yours a fan of knitwear past,

Emilia. xx

The Black Swan

This week has been very ballet themed for me.

Last night i had a cinematic experience and a half when we went to see The Black Swan. It was fairly intense to say the least and I found it very sad and also very scary and walked away quite shaken. But I am pleased I saw it and think it's good to have a shock sometimes. It was nothing a good pasta dinner and a bottle of beer couldn't shake away. And despite the darkness of the film, it was grand to have a glimpse of some ballet dancing- it is an amazing discipline.

At the moment I am involved with Sussex Youth Ballet Company (SYBC), helping to make some costumes for their forthcoming show. My task is shirts and waistcoats for the Ballerinos. There are just two of them and they need two sets of costumes each, so it is not too much work, but it is enough to be keeping me busy for the next few weeks. I have made good progress on the first set of outfits, black velvet waistcoats and burgundy shirts. The girls are wearing black tights with burgundy tutus and perhaps I will be allowed to trim those with gold too.

work in progress -much to do

The other set of costumes are lighter and brighter and more fantastical so I am looking forward to getting started with those. I am finding costume making quite a lot of fun as there is a bit less pressure for perfection than with clothes, and much more room for flamboyance. And it is going to be so exciting to see my creations on the stage.

a little tribute to the black swan i made

Ton, pas da deux,

Emilie. x

Happy Halloween!

unfortunately i missed Deb and Rosie's pumpkin carving party (self inflicted ills) but they created some amaaaaaaaaazing laterns. My carving attempt hasn't really advanced much since last year, but this year i did put the scoopings to good use with some pumpkin and nutmeg soup. That warmed my heart.

Happy halloween!

Yours ghoulishly,
Small faced pumpkin. xx

x Cross and Dot .

This weekend has started to feel very autumnal, with a very chilly night or two recently and so I am accepting it is time to start to fully embrace the autumn in all it's golden leafed glory.

Last night i had my second pattern cutting class, and really we really got down to business drafting our first basic skirt pattern. I am proud of my efforts, and have almost finished producing my first skirt pattern.

First we used our measurements from last week and some paper called cross and dot paper (so called because of some very helpfully placed crosses and dots) and some instructions from Julia, our teacher, and drafted the shapes which make a skirt.

my draft pattern, ready for tracing and adding the seam allowances

My homework this week is to trace off my shapes and add the seam allowances and other information to make a finished pattern ready to use to make a calico toile in next week's next class.

It was really fun to be drawing and to be able to ask if i got stuck with something and to work with other people in my class. And the most pleasing part was to start to see the shape become something like a pattern. That was really exciting for me.

My homework now is to trace off and add the seam allowances and other information to make a pattern which can be used to make my calico toile in next week's next class. I think that is going to be a nice evening.

After we have made our basic pattern and adjusted it to a perfect fit, we will learn how to incorporate more features and create something that we have designed from our own imaginations. I have therefore been letting mine run riot so i can take full advantage of that. I think i have a good idea of what i will want to do now, although do change my mind a lot. I want to do everything!

 

i am keeping a scrapbook to hold my ideas

When i did french classes it really felt like hard work, but this is learning that is fun! There is a girl in my class who wants to work in the fashion industry. i can understand that as i think to be a professional pattern cutter would really be a satisfying occupation.

yours learnedly,

Emilia. x

Flora

July has been the most fun of times. there were birthdays and a festival and a holiday for me. This means not so much time for making things, but there was one small triumph in this grand month.... i learned to crochet flowers and made this delightful garland for Latitude Festival...

All of the patterns came from the book i bought a while ago called 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet, by Lesley Stanfield. It is a really great book and has so many flowers as well as a few fruits and vegetables. 

I have not done much crochet before and the small bits i have done have never had me hooked (haha) However, the flowers were more successful than the knitted ones and although knitting is the one and only when it comes to cardigans, i have recognised a place for crochet in the small projects. It is very satisfying, and great to pass the time while the football was on.

Here is the final line up...

clockwise from the green ends the flowers are Helenium, Hellebore, Peony, Auricula, Field Poppy, Mecanopsis, four Borages, Apple Blossom, Buttercup, Daisy and Forget-me-not.

This has also improved my awareness of flower names. they are a nice thing to learn. Yumi as well has been making some beauties and sported a garland of Hellebores at my birthday picnic.

Here i am at Latitude in the woods. Viva la garland!

Yours florally,

Botany. xxx

ps. here are some pictures from the Krakow Botanical Gardens which we visited on our holiday. That was a lovely place for a sunny day. i enjoyed taking pictures of the flowers. especially roses.

Birthday Cakes

This weekend was the birthdays weekend. one was mine, and one was for Rich. This meant there was a lot of cake. this was no bad thing.

The first cake was the one my mum made for me. it was a small cherry cake. this is my favourite type of cake. She used to send it to me through the post when i was at university. not anymore though - so it was a really grand treat for my birthday. i'm not sharing.

The cake from my mum

But i do believe cake is a good food to share and I was so lucky to also have another cake made for me from my good friend Eleanor. Very good friend indeed. This is the cake - it said on it EMILY HELLO. i liked that finishing touch. it was exciting because the cake meant everyone sang to me. i forgot what that felt like from last year.

the cake that eleanor made 

This was a sponge sandwich with raisins in the sponge and honey in the sandwich. it was such a delicious combination. also there were chocolate fingers around the edge - it looked so wonderful. She is a clever one that eleanor. Also in the background you can see the jam sandwich biscuits Debbie and Yumi made. they said they were too buttery, but i thought they were just grand! i liked all the baked goods. i hear there may be more of these for Latitude.

For Rich's birthday i made a marzipan ring cake. it was from the nigella lawson how to be a domestic goddess book. i like to be a good woman so that was a good place for me to find a recipe. this was called Easy Almond Cake, and looked quite sophisticated so i thought it was a winner - recently i have got myself into trouble with too much icing and sweets.

the cake from me to Rich (recycled candles!)

This was unlike most cakes as was very moist. the recipe is quite light on the dry ingredients. it was an all round success, except maybe i baked it a little too long so it was a bit dark in colour (the top was golden, but this became the bottom!) that didn't affect the taste though, and it looked a delight once dusted (coated) in icing sugar. i filled the ring with strawberries which was a perfect accompaniment.

This is the recipe for that cake... i would recommend it.

Ingredients:

250g Butter (unsalted)

250g Marzipan

150g Caster Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Almond Essence

1/4 teaspoon of either Vanilla or Orange extract (Nigella says the zest of an orange, but this worked out nicely with the orange extract from a little bottle)

6 large eggs

150g Self raising flour

Method:

preheat your oven to 170 degrees.

First you will need to cream together the butter, marzipan and sugar until it is blended and smooth. this took me a lot of effort so is probably better if you have a machine to do it, but if you don't - have faith - it gets there in the end. And I had a few lumps of marzipan at the end, but it didn't matter in the end.

next add the almond essence and either vanilla or orange extract. (i used orange - you could tell in the finished cake and i think it was a good choice for a summer one) then stir in the eggs and flour. (do not worry that there doesn't seem to be much flour - i was worried i had written the recipe down wrong but it all worked out deliciously)

grease up a ring tin (they are quite expensive, but i think it was a good investment and it makes small fat wedges when you cut it - if you don't have one though, maybe a loaf tin would be a good alternative - and if you don't have one of those, maybe it doesn't matter all so much) and pour in the mixture.

Bake in the oven for 50 minutes, checking it from 40 (mine was probably done then but i left it for full time after some under baked mishaps in the past) let it cool for a bit in the tin before turning out. because of the butter to flour ration though, this slipped out no trouble.

then i just decorated with a dusting of icing sugar and filled the ring with fruit. you could try other alternatives - maybe some sugared almonds. nigella recommends apple sauce.

All in all this cake was very grand. i will definitely give it 10/10 because i liked the taste and the way it looked. I would give the other cakes here mentioned 10/10 as well. This was the grandest cake weekend ever!

That just reminded me - i have the leftover marzipan in the cupboard - ready for a sweet treat!

Yours older and fatter,
Emilia

here is the official nigella recipe online in case i have missed some important information:
http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=230

Stitch Yourself - Little One's adventures

Last night was the Stitch Yourself night at the museum. There was an update from Stitch London earlier in the week and  it was so great to see what was going on behind the scenes. There were so many little people! I looked hard for Little One so i could know that she had arrived safely, but i couldn't see her yet. i was encouraged that the faces were all friendly though.

Last night was the night of the event. I wasn't able to go there but  i was eager to see what was going on  and was lucky that I was able to follow the evening on the Stitch London Twitter page.

There were lots of pictures there. Here is the exhibition all set up. It looks so grand!

They said there were over 250 little people there. i saw a naked one.

It was fun to look through the gallery, and i was really happy when i was able to see Emilia there. She looks like she is having a wonderful adventure...

On the train with her identity tag and new friends.

can you spot her hanging out with all the friends. that's good she is fitting in.

I am so pleased she is safe and having a good time.

Big Emilia. xx