Monday 26 March 2012

Merrel the Merritt 158

Meet Merrel the Merritt 158 Italian Sewing machine.  Took a little bit of faffing but now she works fine I just dont have the right thread as all I have is very weak ones.  Anyway SHE works!!!  She came from my mother in-law who used it about 20 years ago to make curtains or something and she gave it to me.  Thankyouuuu!  Notice how healthy I am with my pinapple and orange juice (and a sneaky copy of the latest Mollie makes too).

Spiced Butternut Squash Muffins


Yesterday I scrubbed my kitchen and organised it.  I meant to take photos but I completely forgot.  Had all the cupboards out and cleaned them all.  And then I realised I had some Juvela  Harvest White Flour Mix and I haven’t tried any of the trial products they’ve sent me other than the fibre penne which is really nice.  So cake?  What’s in the fridge?  Butternut Squash.  So Butternut Squash spiced buns.  And they’ve turned out really nice!  I think next time I would do it the same way as my old pumpkin cake recipe with some honey in it, rather than following one online and substituting the flour.  Still yummy though.

Spiced Butternut Squash Muffins
225g (8 oz) peeled, seeded and diced butternut squash 
200g (7 oz) plain flour
1 dessertspoon baking powder 
200g (4 oz) caster sugar 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 
175ml (6 fl oz) semi skimmed milk 
1 egg, beaten 
1 tablespoon olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas mark 6. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin or line with paper muffin cases.
2.  In a medium saucepan with enough water to cover, boil squash 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, drain, and purée in a food processor.
3.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and spices.
4.  In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix together milk, egg and oil. Stir in squash. Fold the squash mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened.
5.  Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling cups about 3/4 full. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a cocktail stick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from muffin tin and cool on a wire rack.

Blaze Farm

Got the photos now so I can spread the love.  A while ago I bought a Remington type writer from Ebay and it was a pick up from a farm in Macclesfield.  And it turned out it was a very famous icecream farm called Blaze farm.  So heres some pictures from that day out!  It was a gorgeous if ever so slightly nippy that day.  They even had a petting zoo with the most beautiful cat sleeping in the hay for the newly born calves.

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Lilblueboo's Sock Bunnies


 Oh dear.  I think I've fallen in love with these bunnies.  I have eczema on my legs so I dont wear my long socks anymore and it would be a perfect excuse to upcycle them!

Friday 9 March 2012

Hall Spring Clean

Moving onto my hall way now.  You may wonder why there is an old tattered box on the top shelf.  That is one of the many places where the cat likes to sleep.

Before




After


Bathroom Spring Clean

I haven’t had a camera cable for a while but even though I've had a slight UTI I've tried to start to organize my flat.  It’s small and cosy and I think its time that I organize and decorate even though it’s only a rental.  I actually remembered to take a before and after shot I've done my bathroom and my hall.  Bathroom first.  It’s kind of hard to clean when you constantly have a cat under your feet.  Basically I've binned all the empty and things that I haven’t used for ages.  I put a first aid kit together too.  The towels on the shelf have inadvertently made a new cat bed.  She’ll sit there after baths and showers and fall asleep in the warmth.

Before


After



 

Vinyl Record Dish

I've always wanted to do this!  I've been collecting vinyl records to make boxes with. And I thought why not I've seen it done and it’s pretty cool. So I did.  Here’s a wikiHow on how to make one!  I used a star shaped bowl to mould it.  Kitty thought it was tasty.


Crocheted Bracelets



I don’t usually wear things on my wrist as on one arm I have bad eczema and on the other I have a full forearm tattoo I don’t like having covered up as it has emotional significance.  Anyway I have some old metal and wooden bracelets, which I just got bored of and I saw this tutorial.  I decided to do it and it’s so easy I've started crocheting around absolutely everything.  Someone even asked if I could do it to one of those plastic charity ones.  Turns out I can.  I'm planning on doing around the poles of the shelving in the front room.  These ones that I've made cover my eczema and I don’t scratch it.  So good.

Charlotte Tyrannosaurus Rex


Charlotte Tyrannosaurus Rex.  For some bizarre reason this came out like a 3rd of the size of the actual pattern from this book (that I will try and review soon).  I named it after a friend who likes to put his middle name as Tyrannosauruss on facebook.

E and D's presents


Meet my Mister Zebra and Missus Sea Horse.  A present each for my niece and nephew in Australia.  Made ages~ ago and I haven’t posted them yet (oops) I’ll try to do it this weekend when I send off my eBay items.


Mister Zebra for D.


 Missus Seahorse for E.