Introduction

I hope you'll join me in creating memories and sharing the passion of experimentation.

Anything goes, but food, sewing, hosting and DIY are my favourites, what are yours?

Monday 22 April 2013

Pinny of the Month

You couldn't get much more elegant or stylish with this long-length pinny from Posh Paraphernalia

Posh Pinny


The 'Posh Pinny' is a timeless classic and will look great on anyone. They do several styles of print, but I think the plain blue stripe with just a hint of red looks beautifully sophisticated!

Posh Paraphernalia started as 'Posh Pinnies' but they soon realised they could make many things just as beautiful as pinnies; tea cosies, tea towels, oven gloves and more. The choice isn't huge but they've chosen a lovely collection of things. They also do half-pinnies which I think are really nice in the flower print :)

The idea behind Posh Paraphernalia is to make everyone feel glamorous, even when they're doing the washing up. Too right, who wouldn't want to feel glamourous when they're doing the washing-up!

So try adding some glamour to your day-to-day life :) I certainly will be. Oh, and don't forget to check out their blog.

Saturday 20 April 2013

Adapted Wartime Dress


A few months ago I was on the hunt for a dress that was suitable for work, but wasn't black or made out of really thick material. The shops didn't delivery quite what I had in mind so I decided to take this pattern and turn it from a semi-casual jersey dress to something a little bit smarter. 



















I always make it difficult for myself (unintentionally); this pattern is designed for jersey, but I wanted a more fitted finish, so I used a non-stretch fabric. Because the pattern is made to be slightly more casual and less fitted, I had to make three fundamental changes:

1) I added a zip underneath my left arm, so that I could actually get in and out of the dress

2) I had to take some of the material out of the front bodice panel; I made it a little shorter from top to bottom. If I was making this pattern out of jersey (like I was supposed to) this extra fabric would have draped over nicely and made it very flattering. However, because I was making it out of a slightly stiffer fabric, that extra bit of fabric would have poofed out and looked pretty weird.

3) I also took some material out of the front skirt so that the gathers weren't there. I just took in the side seams at the top, which maybe isn't the most professional way of doing it, but it seemed to work out just fine for me :)

I chose to use a medium weight polycotton, somewhat similar to a tea towel... you laugh, it has been commented on. My only trouble with using this type of fabric was that it frayed constantly and I don't have an overlocker at the moment (it's on my list), so I had to do some careful zigzag stitching along the edges in places.

TIP: Although I used a non-stretch fabric, I did choose one with a little 'give' - I'd suggest this to get the best results.

Don't be scared to experiment!


And i'd love to see your creations, so please do share them!

Monday 1 April 2013

Buttered Carrots

What do you think of when you think about adding veg to your meal? Boiled greens and carrots?...That would be most people's answer. No more!

I don't know about you, but personally I find boiled vegetables vastly over-rated; whilst perfectly acceptable, it often simply serves a '5-a-day' purpose. Because of this we don't always get our much needed vitamins because we find eating veg quite tasteless and boring. Boiling veg is also not a great way of getting our vitamins because most of the goodness ends up in the discarded water.

This is where the wonder of buttered carrots comes in - seriously, I could eat them all day and as a consequence, I eat much more veg that I would do otherwise.

Method
Now, I can hear you saying 'but butter is really bad for you'. In large quantities, yes, but all I use is teaspoon's worth per 2 carrots.

1) Chop your carrots into chunks - I like to julienne them
2) Place them in a small saucepan (which you have a tight fitting lid for)
3) Add a teaspoon of butter
4) Add a teaspoon of water
5) Place the lid onto the saucepan. Make sure to leave your leave your lid on; this stops the butter and water evaporating
6) Gently heat for 7-8minutes, shaking the pan occasionally
And you're done

Using this method you eat up all the vitamins that would have otherwise been discarded, and more importantly, you'll love every mouthful

Variations
Add a little honey to make them sweet
Add a tiny amount of Marmite - this doesn't actually make them taste Marmitey, just gives a bit of saltiness and coming from a marmite hater, tastes pretty good actually!
Add a little soy sauce if your having a chinese dish
Add a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar if you want a richer taste

You can cook most vegetables using this method and everyone will ask you how on earth you made them taste so nice! It makes even courgettes taste good ;)

Have you got any other ways of eating your 5-a-day?