November draws to a close

..and with it, the end of Nablopomo and the pressure to post every day.

I can't say I will miss it, as it has been quite a struggle. I've managed to put something up every day, but sometimes I've cheated by posting something the day before and setting it up to publish on the right day, and other times the quality of the post has been rather lacking. Although I'll let you be the judge of that, naturally!

But on the other hand, I've enjoyed the pressure - it has given me the impetus to write about some things I might have let slip by, and also made me think more about the blog and try to keep my readers interested.

I've been chuffed by the number of comments I've had over this period - regular posting clearly keeps you coming back - and want to single out Pixlkitten (another Nablopomo-er) and Colleen for their sterling support and comments over this time.

I'm also delighted to be able to introduce you to a new blogger who has taken the plunge in earnest this month. Leez and I have known each other for many years through work, but also share a love of crafting. She freely admits that knitting is not her forte, but wanted to have a craft that she could do in front of the tele, and recently resurrected her needlepoint skills with very colourful and impressive results. You can read more about it on her blog - please do pop over there and give her some support!

As for me, the extremely wet weekend we endured was just the stimulus I needed to spur me on with my weaving efforts. Unfortunately the gloominess was not conducive to photography so I can't yet show you the completed sampler which I started earlier in the year and which had been gathering dust ever since.

I pulled a whole lot of odds and ends out of my stash and set about trying different combinations of yarn and weaving patterns and ended up with a rather colourful sampler which I believe will prove very instructive for future projects. I tried thick, thin, textured, coloured, hairy, smooth varieties of yarn in different weaves, some with quite startling and unexpected results.

Now I have a couple of ideas for future projects, the confidence and enthusiasm that I need to pursue them, and a few hours more practice that has improved my technique. I can't wait for the christmas break...!

Norwegian star earflap hat

The hat has finally been presented to its recipient - only to come back home again with me for a little alteration. That's the problem with making something as a gift, although I had the measurements I couldn't try it on for the full effect until it was finished. It ended up being a bit too pointy so I'm adjusting the rate of decrease on the crown.

I used the Norwegian star earflap hat pattern by the awesome Tienneknits with a bit of adaptation (the pompom was a must, the ties were unwanted). It was simple enough to use, and I made it in Rowan cashsoft 4ply, which I used double.

I knitted the hat first, then picked up stitches and knitted the earflaps from the top down, reversing the instructions and decreasing rather than increasing.

It was very well received!

Salter add and weigh scale

I love this weighing scale, it is such a perfect example of a well-designed, functional and yet beautiful item, that I thought I would share it with you.

I bought it a couple of years ago on a whim - I didn't need any scales but I saw it in the shop and fell in love with it.

It's made by Salter, it's their 'add and weigh' scale and has clearly been designed by someone who understands how good design can make the cooking process so much easier. Not to mention minimising the amount of washing-up, which is always a good thing in my book.



It looks great - stainless steel jug and a matt black and steel base. Not only that, it stores in the absolute minimum of space by turning the jug upside down and placing it over the base. The only thing that would make it smaller would be if it were telescopic.

Secondly, it's very, very functional. The reason it's called 'add and weigh' is that you can effectively 'zero' the measurement and then add the next ingredient. But unlike electronic scales which need batteries, this is a purely mechanical scale and very simple - something which I think it hugely under-appreciated in these days of electronic everything.

The base is made of two parts - the inner part contains the weighing equipment and the needle. Over this, the matt black cover is loose, and contains a window with the dial printed on it, with both imperial and metric units. To zero the scale, you simple turn the black cover so that the zero of the dial is over the needle.

Not only can you zero it and then add more ingredients, you can also weigh directly into any measuring bowl or pan, saving having to wash up the jug. This means you are not limited as to what volume of ingredient you can weigh by the size of the jug.

The jug itself is handy, the handle and lip making it easier to move ingredients from the scale to the pan or bowl.

Inside the jug are scales for imperial and metric liquid measurements, 'cups' and so on. All this for £20 and no batteries required. What's not to like?

I do also own an electronic scale for when I need to weigh small things very accurately. (I'm talking about wool and fibre, not illegal substances!) But every time I get my Salter scale out to do some baking, my inner design geek gives a little coo!

Granny's fruit cake

The granny referred to in the title is actually an amalgamation of both my grannies, only one of whom is still alive (and still baking cakes, in her nineties! Forget supernanny, she is supergranny!)

It was supergranny whom I learned the recipe from - she always has a tin of fruit cake, jam sponge cake or homemade Eccles cakes to hand when I visit. So I always thought of it as her recipe and only found out recently that the recipe was originally passed from my mum's mum, to my mum, and then on to supergranny.

The great things about this cake are:

- easy to make and only uses one pan and a cake tin
- very, very moist and very, very tasty
- lasts weeks (if you can stop yourself eating it!)
- NO CANDIED PEEL!

You know how I hate candied peel. Or you should know by now, unless this is your first visit to my blog! This fruit cake contains sultanas and raisins. That's all in the way of fruit. You can put other fruits in if you like, sometimes I chop a few dried apricots or dates in if they need using up, but it's fab with just the two.

So, here's what you do.


Get a largish pan, and put the following into it:

60z (150g) margarine or butter
1.25 cup raisins
1.25 cup sultanas
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1tsp bicarb of soda

Don't worry if you haven't got a set of proper cup measures. I just use a smallish cup and make sure I use it the same one throughout.

Put it on the hob, heat until all the margarine has melted, then simmer for 20 minutes. The fruit will be lovely and plump by now. Leave it to cool for a while.



Turn the oven on to gas mark 2 (this is low, 150 C or 300 F).


Line your cake tin with greaseproof paper. My cake tin is approx 8 inch diameter and has a removable base, it's perfect for this cake. I line it with paper that I cut off a roll - a circle for the base and two strips for the outside. This is the most tedious bit of the whole recipe but you can even bypass this bit by buying cake tin liners from Lakeland. Good if you do a lot of baking but I think they are quite pricey myself.

A tip from supergranny is to put a few licks of grease on the tin too - it keeps your lining in the right place, which is vital if you have cut the paper off a roll.



When the boiled fruit has cooled a bit, mix in:

2 eggs
2 cups of self-raising flour



Stir a bit till it's relatively smooth, don't worry too much about the consistency. The worst that will happen is you might get a tiny burst of white flour in your slice of cake, quite pretty really.

Scrape it all into the tin, place on the 4th shelf down, and bake for 1.5 - 1.75 hours.

Check it's done by sticking a skewer or knitting needle into the middle, and make sure it comes out clean.

Cool the cake on a rack, remove the paper before storing.


It will keep for a good few weeks, but you can also freeze the cake (or a section of it) if you don't want to eat it all at once.

Early christmas

Last Thursday I passed a place in Strood, Kent, where real Christmas trees were on sale.

Today at work I got my first Christmas card.

Is this a record?

Spreading myself too thinly?

I've been wondering more and more of late, just where my spare time goes to. So I started adding up in my head all my extra-curricular activities, hobbies, commitments and locations of friends and relatives. Soon all became clear - here's a taster.

Close family in Derbyshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Austria (although the latter is currently in Japan!). Just visiting all the rellys can take some months.

Close friends in London & surrounds, Somerset, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, West Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire.

Gardener for the Curse's mum.

Friend to elderly neighbour.

Trustee of pension fund at work.

First aider at work.

Leader of weekend conservation tasks for BTCV

Membership of various committees and groups for Lewisham Homes (our freeholder)

Pilates (once a week)
Swimming (at least once a week)
Deep tissue massage (once a month)

Knitter/spinner/trainee weaver

Pickle-maker and cake baker

Author of two blogs (updated fairly regularly)

Usually the only person in our block of maisonettes who chases up poor caretaking, grass that needs cutting, bins that haven't been emptied, etc etc

Did I mention that somehow I also manage to work four days a week and keep a relationship going? Perhaps it's as well that the Curse is so preoccupied with football, keeps him busy when I'm at one or other of my tasks!

Now I need a sit down.

Crafty shopping

It's time to hang on to your wallet in London as the crafty/design christmas fairs pile up one after the other over the next couple of weeks.

I'm hoping to sample at least one of the various events; top of the list will probably be the Cockpit Arts open studios at Deptford, which is on 4-6 December. I regularly visit the studios and never get tired of seeing the beautiful textiles, jewellery, ceramics and other items on sale and meeting the talented folks responsible for making them. Cockpit Arts has two sites - one in Deptford and one in Holborn, and they both provide studios and support for 'designer makers'. In a nutshell that's effectively artists/designers who have channelled their skills into a craft of some sort, and found a way to make a living out of their creativity. It's not just a building with studios to rent - they also offer workshops to teach business skills and professional development to their designers, to give them the skills to make a success of their talents. Other support such as organising and promoting the open studios event and other workshops, and maintaining a directory of designers/keeping the website active and relevant, are also vital to help these designers establish themselves and develop their skills further. I rather like the mission statement of this place, that's one of the reasons I keep going back. Several of the studios house weavers, it's fun to see the huge floor looms and dream over what I might one day produce on a smaller scale....

Oh and they sell some lovely stuff too - the only problem being that I usually end up buying things for myself rather than trying to focus on christmas shopping!

Another event grabbing my attention is the Hidden Arts Christmas Design Fair, which I have never been to before - it's a bit further afield but could be worth a look. It's on this weekend 27-29 November in Brick Lane, east London. Good place for a curry while you're down there!

Alternatively I might pop up to trendy Clerkenwell for Craft Central this weekend. Tsk, so many shopping opps, so little time!