Christmas all over again

For christmas last year I recieved a David Austin bare root rose called 'Young Lycidias' from my mum. Now the bush is finally in bloom and I have to say both the flowers and the scent are divine. A wonderful christmas present in June!

Simple tastes

I can't remember the last time I made a victoria sponge. Usually it ends up being fairy cakes and biscuits that I bake with the boy, but for some reason the other weekend I couldn't get the idea of making one of these out of my head. Luckily I had a friend coming over for Sunday lunch to give me the excuse to make one. I'd forgotten just how quick and easy they are to make (though it's a lot quicker if you actually have two sandwich tins unlike me). It's a basic recepie that you can find in pretty much every cook book with a baking section, but I'll repeat it here anyway:

Victoria Sponge

225g butter, very soft
225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
225g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (if using a food processer)
3-4 tablespoons milk

2 x 20 cm sandwich tins, buttered and floured (this was where I fell down and had to bake 1/2 mixture twice, as for some strange I only have one sandwich tin - go figure)

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C, gas mark 4.

If using the food processor, put everything bar the milk in and whiz until it makes up smooth batter. Then add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse until the batter has a soft dropping consistency.

If not using a food processer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time and beat them in. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and fold in gently with a metal spoon.

Spread the mixture between the two sandwich tins and bake for about 25 minutes. The cake is done when it has a springy texture when pushed (gently) at the top and it has come away from the edges. Turn the cake out onto a cake rack to cool.

When the cake has completely cooled, spread with the jam of your choice, add some berries (in my case strawberries) then spread on some whipped cream and sandwich the two layers together. Finish off by sprinkling caster sugar over the top of the cake.

Best scoffed quickly - the cream won't keep very long.

Welcome to the Jungle

Well, more of a wood really, but my 3 year old decided that it was a jungle - just with ducks and ponies rather than monkies and tigers! The woods in question are Burnham Beeches not far from us. I don't know why, but in the 8 years that we've been living in this area this is the first time we've actually gone for a walk there. We've definately been missing out as the photos show. It is a lovely place for a leisurely weekend stroll with the kids.

First Bloom

After loosing my two pear trees to the builders last year I was keen to replace them with another fruit tree once we replanted the garden. As we only have a small patch we went for an apple on dwarfing root stock so it wouldn't overwhelm the garden like the pears did. I was delighted to see the first blossom arrive on the tree a few weeks ago. I'm hoping for a decent crop of apples come the autumn - there was only one on the tree last year but it was a very tasty one!

Rather them than me

Rather them than me
Originally uploaded by Cloth cat

The Royal Windsor Wheel has returned to Alexander Park earlier this year. Normally it doesn't appear until the school summer holidays, but this year it was up in time for Easter. Whilst walking through the park into town I caught sight of a couple of the engineers doing safety checks on the spokes - not a job I would fancy, but good to know it's being done. If you're planning a trip to Windsor any time I can reccomend the wheel as a great way to get a good view of the surrounding area.

Pram Quilt

Pram Quilt
Originally uploaded by Cloth cat

Making some progress on the quilt now. Have used a 'cheat' technique for the heart appliques which involves sewing two hearts right sides together then putting a slit in the backing one to turn it inside out, rather than having to carefully tuck the fabric under as you sew. The technique is described in the book 'Sew Pretty Homestyle' by Tonne Finnanger. Also in the book is the template for the rose embroidery. The book has some lovely ideas in it. Not sure how many of the actual projects I would ever do, but a lot of them have good ideas or templates such as the rose one which you can incorporate into your own work.

Pram Quilt

I don't know what the difference is between girls and boys, but for some reason I've been a lot more inclined to make things for my new baby girl than I am for my son - a chance to use all the pretty fabrics out there I guess and also I'm a lot more into sewing now than I was three years ago when my son was born.

Having seen the most gorgeous quilted foot muff in Mamma's & Pappas on a shopping trip about a month ago I decided that I'd have a go at making a pram quilt in a similar style. This is my first ever quilt, so it's probably a good idea to be starting small. So far I've managed to mess up slightly on the cutting out, but I'm just telling myself that it adds to the 'homespun' feel (ahem). Besides I didn't fancy wasting all that fabric. Here's the progress so far (note slightly wonky cutting out at the top end - oops):



I suspect I will end up making two of these - this first one will be a practise run and will be handy as a spare when the other one is in the wash. The two patterned fabrics are Cath Kidston from John Lewis and the plain fabrics are from a new find (well new to me) Lady Sew and Sew in Marlow - what with that and the Pin Cushion new Dedworth shop just opened round the corner from me I am now well sorted for local sewing suppliers!