By Alice | Published:
November 1, 2010
The last two I did are now gone so I fancied doing another one, this time I carved a fish into the pumpkin.
I got the idea to do a fish from this fan.
Here it is lit up.
The view from the window in the morning, the leaves are amazing at the moment.
Cats really know how to relax don’t they!
Some friends came around on Saturday which gives a good reason to bake. The Moomin cutters I got in Japan. The hippo I found at a charity sale, I think it might have once been part of a Zoo set.
The recipe I tried out was Nigel Slater’s Brown Sugar Spice Biscuits, the recipe is at the end of this article. I like my gingerbread a little more fiery so I would increase the amount of ginger next time and perhaps roll them thinner. The cardamom in his recipe is a nice touch though.
I like a weekend that has room for these sort of random things alongside all the bustle :)
By Alice | Published:
October 27, 2010
Back in the spring I bought this bike basket and after good use all summer I thought I would cheer it up a bit for the winter. I have quite a lot of ribbon gathered from gifts, parcels, and bought here and there. For this I chose a few that looked very cheerful and wrapped them really tightly around the handle starting at one end and working over towards the other. I stitched each change of ribbon to the previous one so it’s like one long continuous ribbon. If my hot glue gun had been working I might have glued it too but as it wasn’t I didn’t. It wasn’t important in any case as it feels very secure. The idea came to me when part of the wicker handle unraveled and I tied it together with a really bright pink ribbon. This ribbon wrapping idea could be applied to other things couldn’t it, chair legs, banisters, or even a bike frame.
I have this general plan to think up things that will cheer up winter. Winter is my favourite season but sometimes leaving home in dark and getting back in dark can be gloomy. Active steps to make winter cheerful are needed. This is my first step.
Also posted in Cycling, Other, Sewing |
By Alice | Published:
October 13, 2010
Pumpkin season! Usually I just do a traditional gap-toothed face but this time I fancied doing something different. I made these by the method where you don’t actually make a hole right through but instead chip off the skin so that the light shines through a small remaining layer of the white flesh. So what you do is 1. cut a hole in the top, 2. scrape out the flesh, 3. draw the design with a pen or knife, 4. carve off the outer skin in the shape of your design.
I did the whale first and then as it was much easier than I thought it would be I decided to do a ship too. Why I did a whale and a ship I don’t know, maybe I was influenced by the trails on the BBC for an upcoming serialisation of Moby Dick.
It took me only about 20 minutes per pumpkin. Really the only tricky thing is not taking too much flesh out out of the middle. If you take out too much it is easier to accidentally pierce through when taking off the skin.
These were the tools I used (we like red things), I had a bit of a search around the house to see what tools I already had that I could use. The ones I found were: a lino cut tool to carve out the pattern, a knife to cut the hole in the top, and an ice cream scoop to scrape out the flesh.
It was fun to do, next time I’d love to take on something even more detailed. It’s pretty cosy to sit around in the orange light of pumpkins :)
Also posted in Decorations |
By Alice | Published:
September 15, 2010
I made a pouch for my make-up brushes when I go away. I have a black fake leather one I got free from M.A.C. but it’s really not my style. I think it’s nice when away if your things are cheerful are a reminder of things at home. I used the last bit of the liberty fabric left from these cushions. The inner blue is actually from an old set of pajamas, the ties are from an old apron.
A tag for my new hand luggage size suitcase, the suitcase is a bit serious-looking for me so I wanted something that was a bit more personal and handmade to attach to it. The apron I mentioned above is embroidered in the sashiko style, I used a piece of that for the back, and I embroidered my initials on an old piece of linen sheet. The ties are also pieces of the ties of the apron, I saved the ties as they are a bit worn looking in a nice way.
By Alice | Published:
August 17, 2010
1. Alien life form?
2. Lunchtime walk.
3. Looking up, looks like an Italian church maybe?
4. Was having a clear out and found this old scrap book from my teens, I don’t think my tastes have changed very much :) On the left I still like the curtain made from tea towels, the mixed chairs, and the old table. On the right I still like the fire, the long table, and the bamboo outside.
