Easter Bunnies

Well a slightly different workshop was taken by me last night in the form of 35 Girl Guides creating Easter Bunny cake pops. Last month I had a go at piggy cake pops for No1 Ds cake bake night at Guides, in a usually busy week there was no chance of her baking something, so I produced the pops and they were a hit. The result was a request to do it with the Guides and it went very well.

Mr H had his bandage changed midweek... which gave us an opportunity to inspect the fine stitchery

now... not that I am overly critical... however, come on... could have been finely decorative. Anyway, the horse tablets are knocking him out and in his week off he is participating in many a nap. Also, we have had some proper sunshine happening and he is of the dark haired, olive complexion variety, so five minutes of sun for him is a fortnights holiday for others. So basically he looks like he's been flipping well away. Jealousy yes.

The end of the road in some ways...

Before I explain my "end of the road" here is another Sour Dough loaf in it's cotton bed...

It was very tasty thank you.

End of the road... my sewing club ended last friday, with each child producing a large doorstop size chicken and a smaller version in which was left a strategic hole for to push a Cadbury's creme egg into... which created great hilarity. 

I also ended my time as YQ workshops taking person whilst attending the Guilds AGM in Dundee last weekend. It was quite a bit of fun really. Driving up after school, tea out, finding our hotel... breakfast out, lunch out, tea out again, and some sewing in between!!

Unfortunately when we came home, we discovered Mr H had sliced a tendon in his finger whilst cleaning my greenhouse. He had visited casualty and been told to return Sunday AM early, to have an op to repair the damage.

So now we have a poorly Mr H, with a rather large bandage on the middle finger of his right hand. The girls are quite amused by the fact that in effect it his sweary finger and is permanently swearing!! 

So once the calm returned I got a telephone call from a friend who hand kindly collected our competition entries from Dundee as we were not able to stay to see the winners announced or collect our entries.

Not only had she collected our entries BUT also...

No2 D had only flipping well won her category in the AGM comp and got a golden trophy!! Talk about elated. She was beside herself. Not too impressed by the Quilting dvd which demonstrates quilting techniques and pattern planning - bit dry for under 12s (who picked it a s a prize!? - there was a fab stall selling paints and stamps)

No1 D also got a surprise, coming in 2nd place in her category. SO she was pleased with that.. obviously some green eyed glances at the sparkling golden chalice!!

And tonight was my last evening class for a few weeks due to the Easter Break. I do LOVE my job, but it is lovely, particularly because our weather has been so good, to spend the evening at home, eat with the children, not have to rush everyone...

so a few tasty treats were made

Dough bore

Sorry but I'm going to become a dough bore....
my Sour Dough was FAN...BLOODY... TASTIC....
It's true what they say, Patience is a Virtue. It was very difficult but I waited VERY patiently and it worked.
So... (like baby snaps)... here is the sponge, early days...

And this is at the toddler stage, first rise...

And then I forgot to take a pic of it lying in it's floury muslin cloth, 2nd rise (teenage years) Oops. I don't have a proving basket that can give you lovely ridges up the side of the loaf, so improvised with a large Sophie Conran bowl I have...

Then, full blown adult hood ready for slaughter (grim I know)...

Talk about chuffed. The one thing I need to work out is timings. I was baking it at midnight :-/

And whilst this was slowly developing I got some borders on two quilt tops that have been lying way too long as UFOs.

Haven't photographed the other one.

Chicken and Sour Dough.

Well I am about to come to the end of my penultimate term doing my little sewing club at the primary school. I have taken the decision that once my No2 D finishes up in June and gets ready to move to the high school I will hang up the scissors, so to speak. In actual fact I think that would be impossible for me on a permanent  basis, but it's someone else's turn. This term we have been whizzing along with chicks -

the other mum helper came up with the brilliant idea of weighting these chicks to use them as doorstops... wish that had come to me earlier, for that is what we would have done!! They are now trying to get a smaller chick done, which has a hole fit for a creme egg - two weeks to go.

Another make-y thing I'm chuffed to bits with (I hope) is my Sour Dough starter. I have been making bread now for some time. I have always had an intense dislike for plastic bag bread (that my children adore). So much so that after reading an article in a national newspaper, I was inclined to write. The result being a photographer being sent to take pictures of me (!) For publishing my letter...
Husband was greatly embarrased as newspapers is his "field" and he knew the photographer. It was very amusing... I digress...
Now the children are getting fed up with the same bread and so I, after reading and watching various methods, have gone for it and have a gorgeous jar of SD starter. Last night the sponge was made before bed.

My dough is now sitting rising - I hope -and unlike ordinary bread it will take a little longer to rise, but it smells amazing! Please let it work. 

Oh how I love to sit and sew... Doo Dah (to be sung to the tune of Camptown Races)

I managed to finish my Guild hanging and get it posted on Thursday afternoon so I was able to breath a slight easing of relief. I managed a 20 minute nap before leaving for my evening class. I get to Thursdays, about 4 pm and truly think going out is not on the highest of the list of things I want to do. If I were to write a list at 4 pm on a Thursday, probably nap, tea and warm bath would be high up there.
Anyway, there's always that Friday morning feeling.... I was oozing lovely warm, staying at home feelings. So what did I do?

Only went and made what has to be the BEST chocolate cake that there is. I know that sounds a big shout but honestly... try it. It's got sour cream in it and more in the icing. We've actually been fans of sour cream in icing for a while here, but when Nigella does it, you think - maybe we are not that daft!

Mr H did the running about on saturday, which was great, I couldn't face town and bumping into people. Amazing that when we were in New york, I didn't bump into one single person once, yet in Glasgow you can be black and blue after an hour. UNLESS - I have been mastering my new technique for walking on a busy pavement and not being bumped into. It basically involves looking left or right, which ever you prefer. The point being, if the oncoming pedestrians think you are not paying attention THEY will move to avoid you. Try it, it works 99% of the time.

So instead I put together my Japanese kit from EuroJapanLinks . I don't want a cushion though so it's a hanging, or it will be once it is finished.

March as they say...

In with a lion, out with a lamb... Oh O!! mild.... or

A dry March and a wet May? Fill barns with corn and hay.
As it rains in March so it rains in June.
March winds and April showers? Bring forth May flowers.

Who writes this stuff? Anyway, It is mild. I had a bit of a panic thing go off on Monday, as I mentally listed things coming up, things needing doing. What;s the best way to sort this out? Make a list, and fill out the calendar and then start at No1.
That sounds obvious but sometimes, when you are tied in a mental knot you forget.
P.S 24 hrs in a day, and some of that is needed for Peace of Mind time.

Part of the panic was/is, the weekends fill up and suddenly it's Monday again. I normally have a selfish day on  Monday. Bake and sew, no classes, homework with children, soaky bath time and slippers and supper.
Anyhowz.. I got my dates mixed up too, the AGM in Dundee is having a competition and I thought D-day was the 16th when if fact it was the 2nd (yesterday). So there was stitching at midnight, squeezing in moments which has added to my flippin love for my B.E.D...

So back to the anyhowz... I got it posted yesterday afternoon and post office lady thought it might get to it's destination by today. So fingers crossed. It actually hangs better that it looks here, at the point the pic was taken the sleeve at the back was pinned on. I did do a bit more stitching around the thistles.

I also took the childers to the Ingilston Quilt Show in Edinburgh. We left in a leisurely fashion and were there to the end when it was lovely and quiet. Mr H had left our tea in the oven for our return and I sat and gazed at my wares...

This pick excludes the metreage that is waiting to be sliced for borders on a couple of quilts. Maybe tomorrow, If Mr H does the saturday running about.

In chatting to a husband of a stall owner, I was asked... "so do you have a lot of this sort of thing for patchwork?" as he waved his hand across the fabric neatly folded on his table...

" Oh.. I fumbled .. that is like asking a person how much money in the bank they have, I couldn't possibly admit... " 

Truly!! I was fumblingly mumbling and embarrassed to be asked.  Too much to hide you might think.