Supper Club

I've been meaning to post about this for ages !! A few weeks ago my lovely friend Sarah Browne hosted a pop up Supper Club with Odhran Crowe in her Cookery School in Roscommon.

What a night! 

At 5.30pm on a glorious sunny Sunday evening we arrived at Sarah's kitchen where we were escorted to a gazebo in the organic gardens situated right outside her front door.

Here we were waited on with homeade elderflower cordial and sloe gin and the most mouth watering canapes, shots of courgette soup and fresh oysters! 

The best thing about the supper club is you never know who you are going to meet.  Of course, this can be a good or bad experience (I'm thinking of kicks offs in Come Dine with Me) but this, I'm happy to say was nothing but good. 
 
After pre-dinner drinks and canapes with the sun shining down on us we were escorted into a candle lit dining room and there the feast began.

A seven course banquet was bestowed upon us .....

Aperetif & Canapes

Wild Venison Plate: Cured & Seared Carpaccio, rye croutons, baby salad

Beetroot ravioli

Squid: chilli, garlic, lime

 

Gooseberry & Elderflower Sorbet

Pan-fried Hake

Braised shin grass-fed beef, Sicilian style sauce, marrow doughnut

 

Pernod Ice-cream with Summer Berries

You can't really tell from this pic but they were toffee cherries - DIVINE!! I was lucky enough to make them with Sarah - that's another blog post though. 

Chocolate Plate

Needless to say there were lots of empty plates!!

To find out when the next supper club is you best get over to Sarah's blog or follow her on facebook. Hurry, get your name on the list, the spaces go very quickly!!

A use for everything ...

I started to knit this bag last year with odd balls of wool I had been given, actually I think it was the year before !!

It was just one (of many) things unfinished that I put in a 'to do' pile and that pile got moved from room to room, cupboard to cupboard etc etc until this week!

I finally sewed it all up and after quite a while laying out fabrics and choosing a lining I eventually made a decision.  None of the above, of course!

And after adding straps (a belt off an old skirt) I thought it needed one more thing ... a spotty bow of course!

And finally here's what I ended up with ....

Not bad considering the wool was given to me, the lining was out of an old skirt and the polka dot material was leftover from something else :O)

There's a use for everything (says the girl with the cottage that is overflowing with stuff!)

Only 150 days to go ...

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Not long to go !!

You all know how much I love Christmas :O)

According to the Christmas clock there are

only 150 days to go

yipeeeeeeeeee!!

I know some of you hate it but I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

I'm sitting at the kitchen table flicking through old Christmassy mags with my sketch book and pencils. To say I'm brimming over with ideas is an understatement. 

Ho Ho Ho gotta go :O)

Anyone else started on their christmas makes?

Scrumdiddlyumpscious

Looking for ways to incorprate 1 of your 5 a day fruit and veg options?

Look no further!

Grab yourself :-

rich tea biscuits

bananas

toffee sauce/creme de leche

Creme fraiche/ice cream/whipped cream or even custard!

Chocolate

Spoon the toffee sauce onto the biscuits

Slice bananas on top of that

Dollop on creamy topping of your choice

Finish with grated chocolate. 
If you have any, and are partial to nuts,

I highly recommend chopped walnuts or hazlenuts.
MMMMMmmmmmmm :O)

I know I know ... you're sitting there thinking she means digestive biscuits surely!  Trust me the rich tea are better.  I only discovered this last week when I had unexpected guests and was scrambling through my cupboards looking for digestives only to find what I thought were digestives were actually rich tea.  Don't you hate it when that happens!

OK I digress.

Let me know how you get on.

They are seriously scrumdiddlyumpscious!

Recycled Sewing

One of the things I love about being able to sew is that everything has potential. 

This proves a problem when I'm shopping though as I can visualise making all sorts out of everything and anything. 

However sometimes I do actually get round to making these things (and sometimes not, hence the enormous pile of fabric in my cupboard but that's a whole other post!).

This was one of those times.

I bought this 'fabric' in the form of a duvet in a charity shop. 

I loved the rose print.

I've already made a couple of bags from it and this week I made an apron for a friend of mine. 

For the ties on I used bits of ribbon - you can just about see the pink organza in this pic.    I love how it came out as I didn't have a pattern! 

Hope you're all having a good weekend!

Anyone else doing some recycled sewing??

Another Knitting World Record

Not content with one knitting world record, I'm going for another!

You can join in too.

Just click here for the details and pattern.

Womans Weekly are celebrating their centenary this year and as part of the celebrations they are attempting to set the world record for the longest line of knitted bunting and are looking for people to take part.

Click here for further details and a pdf pattern for the bunting to download.  It's super easy and quick to knit up and the perfect stash buster !

All bunting must be sent in by 19th Septemner 2011.  Me and my knitting group, The Cast Offs, have already started on ours :O)

Keeeeeeep stitching !!!

Daylight Lamp - I love you! (review)

(daylight lamp is in the corner, you'd hardly notice it )

The following is a review of the Daylight Company's floor standing lamp. Full details of the lamp can bee seen here on their website.  The following is my own personal review.

Daylight lamp I love you

You make things crystal clear

You simply are the best thing

I have received this year (um besides my ducks!)

Before you came along

I used an ordinary light

But no matter what bulb I used

It was never really right

The bulb would get all hot

especially near my face

And I after working for a while

I would get an awful headache

But then along you came

On your super duper wheels

With your not so hot light

You’re the lamp of my dreams

You’re easy to move around

You’re also clean and white

You fit perfectly in my cottage

And make it easy to craft at night

I can’t believe I’ve lasted

for this long without you

you really are the best thing ever

oh how I do love you :O)

Ok, ok, you're thinking this is way too good a review.  But I'm being honest.  And just to prove that I'll give you some bad bits, which took me a while to think of ...

The magnifying glass can cause a glare in certain positions.  However it's also on a flexible arm so you can move it about. 

I find if you keep it more vertical it's clearer and there's no glare. 

Personally I would prefer a foot switch i.e a switch on the base to turn on and off.  However the switch at the top of the lamp itself is very handy.  You can just about see it (sorry) in the pic below, it's the red button to the right of the light. 

The cable is a little short but then I do live in a converted cottage and I have about two plugs in each room unlike modern buildings.

A replacement bulb is 22.99 which is a little pricey.  However I'm hoping I won't have to be forking out for one for a little while yet.

Now back to the good bits!

It really couldn't be easier to put together. 

When I opened the box I initially thought "eughh, I might do this later" but I'm glad I didn't leave it.  It's all wired up and you just screw it into the base and that's it!  It even comes with a plug! 

The base is on wheels which are weighted down which makes it

super easy to move around.

This is perfect for me as I tend to craft all around the house.  I  knit at the sofa, sew and make cards in the kitchen and do all my cutting and hand sewing in the spare room.   

The top of the light stand is also flexible. Again this is perfect for me as I'm sitting quite low down on the sofa so I can bend it downwards (see the top pic) or when I'm sitting at my sewing machine I have it behind or beside me extended.

Here's a little comparison shot in my sewing room.  I took these pics late at  at night with no other lights on, just the lamps.

The top pic is with the daylight lamp and the bottom pic is with a normal lamp.  I can honestly say there is a HUGE difference.  I could never go back to using a normal lamp now.  Feel free to email me if you want to ask me anything about it michelle(at)michellemadethis(dot)com.

Not only that but ...

The bulbs are energy efficient. 

and

The light doesn't flicker.

So there you go.  If you want more details on this lamp, or other daylight lamps check out their website here.

Has anyone else got anything new lately that they now can't live without??

Tea Cosy is complete!

The tea cosy is complete! Well almost. I'm not too keen on the rose on top. I'm making some little flowers instead.


I'm super happy with it considering it's my first chart design (aside from lettering).

 

I've been bursting with ideas and sketching like crazy in kids sum copy books. You know the ones all done out like graph paper with lots of squares. They are perfect for drawing out designs. I've also been doing some in excel, which to be honest is much much quicker!


I've got to tweak this pattern slightly as there are a few things I don't like i.e. the handle of the cup.  I think I'll just stitch that on after and the bottom band I think I'll make that thicker.  I'm also trying to do a scalloped edge ... trying!  As soon as I'm happy with it I'll be offering a free copy to a luck blog reader before putting it up on etsy for sale. I've also designed one with a cupcake and am currently working on a duck and chicken motif. 

 

What do you think?  Any suggestions?

I'm not even a tea drinker but I do find that when friends come round the tea goes cold and I end up throwing it away.  I'll have to design one next for my cafetiere!

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend x

Thrifty gardening

Like many of us I'm watching the pennies not only with shopping and crafting but in the garden too.

As you seen in my last post I've been using alternative pots for some of my plants and I found some more today.

I found this kettle out in the yard and thought "I have something that will look perfect in that" and ta dah!  I think it works.

The polka dot cushion in the background was made from a pair of pyjamas I bought in Penneys :O) (details on how I made it here) and the magazine on the chair is Prudence, an Irish magazine for 'prudent' readers.  Full of lots of articles about being prudent and savvy shopping.  It's bi-monthly and a real good read at a real good price.

Then I found an old cattle feeder (which I'm hoping my Dad hasn't noticed is missing!) and thought it would look great out the front of the cottage.

So I filled it with lobelia, geraniums and some of my stock, dahlia and cornflower seedlings.  It may not look so good now but in a few days I know it will be blooming.

I've got a few other items lined up which I'll share with you later. 

What thrifty things have you been doing in the garden?  I've invested in some root powder and am taking lots of clippings too.  Some successful, some not so much.

Happy gardening!

Alternative pots

These boots were made for walking

and that's just what they did

but after all the walking

they just started to give!

I filled them up with soil

and some pretty plants too

I think they're just lovely

How about you?

No guessing what I've been at today? 

I have the dirty finger nails to prove it. 

Apparently if you dig your nails into a bar of soap 'before' you start gardening it keeps them clean.  (Note to self, buy a bar of soap!) 

What's your plans for the weekend? 

Whatever it is have a good one :O)