Yarn Snobbery

I have a confession to make - when it comes to wool, I am an unashamed snob. I love natural fibres and get far tooooo excited about them. I've been known to buy yarn purely on the basis of its content and feel, and for many years I have frowned on synthetic fibres. Just before I had baby boy, I took a jaunt to my not-so-local woolshop in Port Talbot. It's a fantastic, albeit unconventional shop, located above a film rental shop on the Sandfields estate, with literally floor to ceiling shelves of wool. They stock everything from the well known brands to the more 'boutique' type yarns - from cheap colourful acrylic to high end designer yarns - something for every taste and pocket. On a whim, I decided to try some of their acrylic yarn for a stripey crochet blanket at the bargain price of £1.70 for a 100g ball. Initially I was unconvinced - I didn't like the squeekyness of the yarn against my designer crochet hook, nor did I like the stitch definition. However, with a larger metal crochet hook and slightly looser tension I am liking the overall effect. The blanket it still in a slow experimental stage so I will reserve full judgement until completion. For now, and for me, I will consider it an education!

So much to write about, so little time!

I am quite behind on the blogging front - I've lots of things to share but haven't had much time to sit down and blog. We've largely been busy with preparations for my father-in-law's 60th birthday which happened yesterday. It involved a two and a half hour drive with two small children but was rewarded by a lovely birthday lunch and family time. The two older cousins got to play together while the two youngest cousins were introduced to everyone.

I made some cupcakes for the occasion. For most of the week I was lacking somewhat in decorative inspiration. I had pretty much decided to go with a golf theme - my father-in-law being an avid golfer - but by friday evening it was apparent I haden't really thought through the timescale and what I needed to accomplish! Instead I settled for a simpler option and made some double vanilla cupcakes - vanilla sponge with vanilla buttercream.

For a more 'manly' cupcake, if there is such a thing, I went for a coffee coloured scheme. the cupcake cases were brown with cream polka dots, while the buttercream was coloured a 'cafe au lait' type colour. Buttercream was swirled on the top with a large, fat piping nozzle and decorated with white chocolate stars and a dusting of cocoa. In honour of the birthday boy himself, my father-in-law had his own personal cupcake adorned with a large gold '60'!

Tuesday Morning Elevenses

I love Tuesday mornings. My friend Cath, who lives around the corner and is like a sister to me, and I share the school runs between us during the week. Tuesday is Cath's day off from work so I am responsible for walking the children to school. I am quite a morning person (if I'm not tooooo tired!) and I like to be up and about and organized,so Tuesday mornings are great for me. We are out of the door by 8.30 a.m and enjoy a brisk walk to school. This morning, the early spring sunshine meant it was just glorious. After dropping off I can stop at the shops or post office to run errands and still be home by 9.30 - plenty of time to get a few jobs done before Noah needs a feed.

Mid-morning I stop for a cup of tea and elevenses - a tradition that goes back to my childhood - my father, who worked from home would always stop working mid-morning for a drink and a snack. This morning's offering was crumpets, in the absence of teacakes which is the ultimate choice for me! During elevenses I will generally amend my eternal 'to do' list or do some menu palnning for the rest of the week but today has found me indulging in some magazine reading!

'Vignette' is a new Australian magazine by designer Leanne Beasley. Published quarterly, it is full of sewing, crafting and homemaking inspiration. I had completely forgotten it was in the post so it was a lovely surprise this morning. I am very taken with the hexagon quilt in this issue and I am tempted to start my own using up the fabric scraps I seam to be hoarding. It seems quite a portable project as the hexagons are hand sewn and formed using english paper piecing. It could be a wonderful heirloom project...

Blueberry Pancakes

What better way to start the weekend than with some lovely blueberry pancakes. I am not convinced that this was my best batch given that Noah started crying in the background half way through making them! They were very tasty though and Sophia and I managed to save some for a very tired Andy post night shift.

Check out my Cath Kidston clad arm mixing the batter - the dressing gown was a Christmas gift from my parents!

The recipe for the batter is as follows:

125g plain flour
300 ml milk ( I used full fat this morning)
1 egg
handful of blueberries.

I add the batter to a warmed blini pan and throw in the blueberries - it's important to ensure you put in enough batter to anchor the blueberries otherwise they stick up and burn on flipping the pancake over!

Background Note

Two posts in one day - what was that I wrote about taking time out to sit and relax?!
You may have noticed I've been playing around with my blog backround over the last week or so. I decided it needed a bit of brightening up so I've been experimenting with the design template. Initially I settled on a blue floral design I liked but decided the design was too big and drew the eye away from the actual blog! I much prefer the background design I've now applied - I love the mixture of colours which I think are more in keeping with my personality. I hope to do a bit more work on my blog layout and design over the next few weeks, possibly adding a few more features - I am not the most computer literate of people so this may take some time. I am determined that my blog looks as good as my husband's new blog about his love of fishing - the content doesn't inspire me particularly but I must confess that it looks great!

Simple Pleasures

I am by nature a control freak, a very obsessive one at that, and at the moment my ordered, organized life has been turned upside down by the arrival of Baby Noah. The strange thing is I am loving the chaotic existence I currently lead! There is something strangely liberating about having to let somethings take a back seat while I tend to the needs of a very dependant tiny lovely little person. The most enjoyable thing for me is the enforced sitting down that comes with feeding time - I usually go whizzing from one thing to the next during the day, unable to sit still.

Afternoon feeding times over the course of this week has seen books opened, plentiful cups of tea, the (etarnal)'Giant Rainbow Granny Square' enter its final repeat and new issues of favourite magazines read - simple pleasures. The current issue of 'Country Homes & Interiors' has the most gorgeous and inspiring decorating Easter ideas aswell as divine springtime baking and recipes. Lots of thing to do for when I'm not sitting down!

Glorious Weekend!

With a gorgeous 2 week and a bit baby, a nearly six year old and a very busy doctor husband I am not having much crafting time at the moment! My sewing machine is going to be slightly under used for a good few weeks yet. I am having some crochet time though as I've discovered it works very well with breastfeeding! The Giant Rainbow Granny Square is in it's final stages so I hope it will be done this week as I want to get onto the next project!

Despite being very busy and ever so slightly(!) sleep deprived my mind is working overtime with project ideas for the spring and Easter in particular. The middle of the night feedings are providing ample time for planning and researching such activities. This weekend we've enjoyed some glorious weather - beautiful early spring sunshine - which always makes me want to get out, get organised and get crafting!

Some pics of my Glorious Weekend:

coffee and cake

glorious view

glorious sky

and Cwmdonkin Park in the afternoon sun.