My Latest Projects and Yummy Cake

I have been inspired yet again by my lovely Cath Kidston book 'Stitch' there are just so many projects that I would love to do.

To make a change from my usual crochet I thought that I may tart up an old khaki coloured bag that I have and make some of the little embroidered badges that just leaped out of the page at me! There are 3 in total and I have already embroidered two of them, I hadn't got the exact colours that Cath suggests but from my stash of embroidery silks, I picked what I think is quite a good match, so I just have the Stanley Dog badge to do

And so on to the next Cath Kidston project, which is a gorgeous Union Jack purse, I started this and it is coming on so quickly, I can hardly believe it, well in fact I can, my finger and thumb are feeling rather bruised from pulling tapestry wool through my canvas, my eyes have gone squiffy from counting little squares and after a couple of glasses of wine last night I had to give it a rest.

My dread is actually when I have finished it, as I then have to line it, back it and put in a zip, a zip!!! I will have no idea where to start with this! and as I have only just learnt how to thread a sewing machine, the may prove difficult, in fact I have a very, very basic machine just to do seams with but it is proving to be my nemesis!

I have also finished the last few stitches on my Electric Flower cushion and this now needs a back and piping! OHHH heck, I just hope that my machine skills won't let down all the hard work I have put into the tapestries!

I have a beautiful pink wool cardigan that no longer fits me and I have thought of cutting this up to back the flower cushion, but I am still undecided as to what I should pipe it in, Bibelot have some lovely little bobble edging but I'm not sure.

When I was browsing around Sainsburys the other day I saw some fabulous tea towels they are in a lovely thick cotton and my first thought was that I could use them as pillow shams and crochet on to one end some fancy type of edging,I have never done this before, but I am sure with a quick scoot around Google I will find a tutorial somewhere. 

Looking at them again, I think that the middle blue one would be great cut up and used as a back for my little union jack purse!!!???

In between all of this crafting I have been doing, there was a call from the boys "We have no cake!!" So if cake was asked for, cake will be provided!

 

I decided to do a Chocca Mocca Caramel cake that I had seen in one of my 'Good Food' magazines, the recipe can be found here it is really yummy, the receipt says caramel bars, so my interpretation of this is a good old Mars Bar, they also said put on some little chocolate eggs which I didn't have so I replaced it with little fudge pieces and here it is in all its glory tadah!!

I would love to learn how to cook little colourful macaroons, I have looked at how to do it and it looks really time consuming, but plan to make some in the very near future. For now I have done something that I never really do, I bought cake just to satisfy my craving don't they just look scrummy sitting there in the box, I may just keep them at the back of the fridge as my own little secret stash away from little ones fingers!

Bye bye for now

Claire xx