Wedding gift - my first commission!

One of my friends recently went to a festival themed wedding, and asked me to help her create a homemade gift as the bride and groom did not want traditional presents.

We decided we couldn't go wrong with something boozey so I made raspberry gin (for the flavour, versatility and gorgeous deep pink colour). I think it went pretty well!

All you need to do is find a pretty (clean) bottle and put around 150g raspberries and 1 tbsp sugar in the bottom. Fill it up to near the top with gin and leave to infuse for a month or so. Invert the bottle to mix it every few days (later on in the infusion time this doesn't matter so much) and add a bit more sugar if you want it sweeter. If you are intending to mix it will prosecco, tonic or lemonade I would recommend leaving it tart...

I tied a gift tag with cocktail recipe suggestions around the stem of the bottle and tied it with a ribbon and added a homemade card (see previous post!) to complete the gift. 

Sewing projects for beginners

I am qualified to write this blog post as I am very much a beginner sewer!
I have done some hand sewing in the past (mostly mending, sewing on buttons etc) but this weekend I got to grips with a mini sewing machine and really enjoyed it. I bought some pretty patterned fabric from Birmingham's RAG market (£2 a meter!) and had a go at some bunting and homemade cards. I was amazed by how quick it is to make projects compared to knitting, but then, they were very simple projects.

Homemade fabric cards

Kitchen bunting

Simple bunting

The first project I tried was simple bunting. You can incorporate a lot more sewing into bunting but as it was my first go I thought I would keep it simple. I won't include instructions for setting up a sewing machine here as it should be included in the manual. I would recommend doing a few practice runs on some scrap fabric or thick paper first though!

You need:

Pinking shears (scissors that cut the fabric in a zigzag so it doesn't fray)

1/4 meter fabric in 2 or more patterns / colours

2 meters bias binding in a pretty colour

Sewing machine threaded up with colour of your choice (contrasting with fabric could be nice or if you want to hide uneven stitches choose the same colour for now!)

My friend gave me her mini sewing machine after upgrading to a proper one. Using the mini was no problem for these projects and she said it cost about £30 so definitely worth it so far!

Instructions

1. Cut out fabric triangles, about 4 inches long. Make sure they look the same. Cut out enough to fill your 2m bais binding with a good length left over at each end for tying (I did 8). 
2. Fold your bias binding with an edge of the triangle trapped between and as far in as it will go, so the finished bunting will have triangles hanging straight all to the same length
3. Use your sewing machine (I used straight stitch as my mini one only does that!) to sew all along the length of the bias binding, trapping the fabric triangles in as you go. Voila!

Finished bunting

Handmade cards

For these cards I cut out little bits of fabric and used the sewing machine to stitch them onto plain cards, much like in my other homemade cards posts. I think these are my favourite though and by far the quickest to make. I'll be looking through Pinterest for some more inspiration for my next batch!

Little heart with balloon string

Bird - two different types of fabric

My bunting in miniture!

Letter card for my friend Isobel

Homemade cards

My friend and I felt the need for a relaxing evening in with tea yesterday so I cooked and she brought round some blank cards and coloured cardboard and we had a great time seeing what we could do.

What you will need

Glue

Scissors

Letter stamps and ink

Coloured card

Blank cards and envelopes

What you might need

Knitting stuff

Wool

Ribbons

Buttons

Marker pen

You can buy all this stuff online cheaply but in terms of what you stick on the cards, I would encourage you to keep a 'bits and bobs' box with crafts things for occasions like this. 

Making the cards

We got quite a lot of inspiration from 'Pinterest' but also just had a go at things to see how they turned out with mixed results.... Generally we found that simple was effective!

Simple red card cut out and letter stamps....

Triangular coloured card bunting, wool and letter stamps

Thick ribbon, card heart shape and letter stamps

Knitted strawberries, ribbon and letter stamps

Coloured card shapes and letter stamps

 As you can see, we made a lot of use of simple card shapes. I really like sewing cute knitted shapes on too, previously I have done a little knitted mug ('You're my cup of tea!') and my friend received a card with a little knitted house on the front when we moved in together. I'm definitely going to try ore of those in future.

Friends, expect a homemade card soon!

Hand knitted socks

When I told a friend that I started hand knitting socks, they said 'how pointless when you can buy 5 pairs for a pound'. I think that they were missing the point. There is little more luxurious than slipping on a pair of soft, lovingly hand knitted socks. The ones I have made have mostly been quite chunky bed / slipper socks. This makes them a bit more different from bought socks, and also means they are quicker and less fiddly to knit!

I have gifted two pairs to friends so far, perhaps they were just being kind but they seemed chuffed...

Chunky hand knitted bed socks

For your first pair, I would recommend using a 'super chunky' double knit yarn. I used a soft blend of acrylic and wool, so that they would feel luxurious but be machine washable. You'll need about 150g, depending on the size. I have UK women's size 7 feet but the pattern is easily adjusted.

You'll need:

• 150g double knit yarn
• Four double pointed needles: the biggest  could get were 6mm, this worked fine
• Yarn needle

Instructions

This project needs a few more techniques than was covered in previous blog posts, with knitting in the round and heel and toe shaping. I was quite worried about this but managed to complete  my first pair (above) without any help from my aunt or grandmother so it wasn't that hard!

Step 1

Step 3 - first stitch in the round

1. Cast on 20 stitches across 3 of the 4 double pointed needles (dpn). This is probably the most difficult part and take care than stitches don't slip off one needle which you're working on the next. Split stitched roughly evenly between the needles 1, 2 and 3. 
2. Make sure the 'bobbley' bit of the stitches are face up, and that the yarn isn't twisted between the needles. 
3. Continue to knit in the round. This means use the fourth needle to continue your knitting by transferring stitches from needle one onto it, through knitting. When you finish the row this will liberate needle one, which you can then use to continue knitting the next row on needle two and so on. The first row is quite tricky, but this is by far the hardest part. You don't need to alternate between purl and knit when you are knitting in the round, which means that once you get going it is quite relaxing! 



Step 3 - after first two rows in the round

4. When you have knitted about 4 inches of circular knit, increase by two stitches. Do this by starting to knit the stitch as you would usually, but once you have wrapped the yarn and put the needle to the front, before you slip the stitch off the needle, reinsert the needle into the back of the stitch and wrap the yarn again. This will create two stitches out of one and is called 'knitting into the front and back of the stitch'. Do this twice, 10 stitches apart. 
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Step 4 - knitting into back of stitch (1) 

   
   

   

   Final stage of step 4

   

   Step 4 - knitting into back of stitch (2)
5. Now it's time to turn the heel. You now have 22 stitches, transfer 11 so they are on one needle. Knit across 10 stitches, one before the end of the row. 

   

   Step 5

   
   

   

   Step 6 (a)

   
   

   

   Step 6 (b)

   
   

   

   Step 6 (c)

6. Bring yarn forward between needles, slip last stitch to right needle (a), bring yarn to rear of work (b), slip titch back to left needle (c). There is now a wrap around the base of the stitch. 
7. Turn the work and purl in the other direction until there is one stitch remaining. Take yarn backwards between needles, slip last stitch to right needle, bring yarn to front, slip stitch back to left needle. Turn work. 
8. Knit until one stitch before the 'wrapped' stitch. Repeat step 6. Continue until you have three wrapped stitches on each end. 

   

   Step 9 (a)

   
   
   
   

   

   Step 9 (b)

   
   

   

   Step 9 (c)

9. Now you need to re-knit your wrapped stitches. Knit to the first wrapped stitch (a) and slip that stitch onto the right needle, using the left needle, pick up the wrap (b) and place the slipped stitch back to the left needle. Knit the stitch and the wrapped stitch together, through the back loop (c). Bring yarn forward, slip last stitch to right needle, bring yarn back to rear of work, slip stitch back to left needle. Turn work. Repeat on the purl side.
10. Repeat step 9, transferring two wraps when there are two wrapped stitches until all wraps have been knitted together. 

    

    The heel is finished

11. Continue knitting the sock in the round until the sock measures 4cm less than the length of the foot.
12. Knit the toe in the same way as the heel, making sure that your 11 stitches are on the upper side of the sock so the seam is less visible when you finish. 
13. When the toe is finished, slip stitches from the other two needles onto one so there are 11 on each. Knit together with kitchener stitch.

You may have some little holes around joins but just sew them up with your yarn. Now, repeat the whole pattern for the other sock!

Variations

You can use this basic pattern to make different socks. For the cream pair I used very chunky wool so only cast on 18 stitches. The rest of the pattern was the same. 

For the grey pair, I used 3mm dp needles as the yarn was finer. I cast on 32 stitches and increased by 6 instead of two for the foot. I also did some ribbing at the top. This is achieved by alternating two purl stitches with two knit stitches and looks nice as well as creating stretch around the ankle. 

 Good luck! Next I'm going to try cable knit socks and jumpers!

Helen x

The ultimate homemade luxury: homemade florentines

In my view these jewelled beauties are the ultimate homemade luxuries. They are really quite simple to make but look impressive and are delicious with coffee or as an after dinner treat. I made a box this year for my grandparents.

Fruit and nut mixture for the florentines

Ingredients

Chopped blanched almonds and glace cherries

I don't usually like baking things which have lots of ingredients, but most of these things you will already have in the cupboard, and for the fruit and nuts you can mix and match with what you already have. Particularly around Christmas, you will probably find that you have lots of these things already. 

50g butter

125ml double cream

125g sugar

150g candied fruit (a mix of glace cherries and citrus peel is nice, but I threw in some dried cranberries into this mix as I had some in the cupboard. If you like ginger you could add some finely chopped stem ginger)

200g toasted nuts (this could be just flaked almonds, but you can use chopped blanched almonds, pecans, hazlenuts)

50g plain flour

250g chocolate (I usually use about 50% cocoa solids, but see below)

Toasted flaked almonds and hazlenuts

Method

1. First prepare your fruit and nuts. If you are using whole hazlenuts or almonds that still have their skins on, you will first need to remove the skins. For the almonds, blanch them in boiling water, leave them in their for 5 minutes and then they should pop out of their skins. For the hazlenuts, roast them and then rub them vigorously  in a tea towel to remove the skins.

2. If you are using glace cherries, wash off the syrup with hot water and then cut them into quarters. Chop any other fruit or nuts into equivalent size pieces but don't worry too much about this - it creates a nice texture if the bits are different shapes and sizes. 

3. Next heat the butter, sugar and cream until it is homogenous and liquid. 

Step 4

 4. Then stir in the flour and fruit and nuts.

 5. Spoon a full teaspoon of the mixture onto a baking sheet covered with greeseproof paper and press it down slightly into a circle

 6. Fill the sheet with these circles, leaving a good space between them

Step 4

Step 6

 7. Bake the biscuits at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes until they start to turn golden. This will happen quite quickly so keep an eye on them!

Step 7 - baked florentines

 8. Take the baking paper off the trays and lie it flat so that the biscuits set flat. They will be quite flexible still at this stage so be careful.

Step 9

9. Melt the chocolate in a glass or ceramic bowl over a pan of water, or microwave it carefully. You can use one type of chocolate or use a mixture of dark, milk and white chocolate if you want a selection of florentines. I tend to mix dark and milk chocolate together to make one sort of florentine that is slightly bitter but not too dark.

10. When they are cool (about an hour later) turn the biscuits the other way up on a tray or plate and cover them in chocolate.

Step 10

 Package your florentines in a box lined with aluminium foil with a layer of foil in between layers if you are doubling up. Tie the box with a pretty ribbon if you are giving the florentines away.

Finished box of 18 florentines, with 10 left over for eating!

Red onion marmalade and berry jam with liquorice

Finished jars, packaged for Christmas

It's my favourite time of year for making homemade things, with Christmas coming up and cosy evenings in being just what the doctor ordered!

I made this red onion marmalade last year and it was delicious, I kept a jar back to eat this year and after keeping it is even better!
The jam was inspired by jam I had at The Modern Pantry in London. I couldn't find a recipe for it but I gave it a go with nice results. I would never eat liquorice flavoured sweets but a hint of it in jam is quite delicious!

Red Onion Marmalade

Ingredients

1.25kg red onions

3 tbsp salt

1kg sugar

500ml apple or cider vinegar

1.5tsps cloves tied in muslin

Method

First chop your onions into fine rings, this is quite important as it will have a big impact on the texture of your marmalade.

Add all the ingredients to a large pan and cook on a low boil for a long time (depending on the heat about an hour and a half) until the onions are translucent, the marmalade is thick and reaches setting point. Don't be tempted to cook it until it is totally stiff, there may be quite a lot of caramel coloured juice still when it reaches setting point. 

If you don't have muslin it is not essential but you will have whole cloves in your preserve. That doesn't really bother me but it would probably be better to use muslin which you can then remove before you decant into jars. 

This preserve is a bit more effort than usual because of all the chopping but I promise it is delicious and improves with keeping. Try it with meat, cheese or on pizza!

Berry and liquorice jam

I had in mind to try this jam after having it on toast at the Modern Pantry in Clerkenwell in London. I didn't find liquorice until this weekend though so when I did I wanted to try it straight away!

It's not really the season for jam making in that there isn't so much fruit around but I had some frozen mixed fruit in the freezer along with some blackberries I picked in August so I used that. 

Liquorice root from the rag market in Birmingham.
Can also be used to make tea!

Ingredients

2 teaspoons chopped liquorice

300g berries

300g sugar

Juice of half a lemon

Makes one large jar (I was doing a test batch!)

Method

Infuse your liquorice root for around 10 minutes in 30ml boiling water until it makes a very strong tea.

Defrost your fruit (in the microwave if you have one) and then add the sugar, lemon juice and liquorice tea. Boil until it reaches setting point (see previous post on strawberry and rhubarb jam). It may take a little longer than usual to set due to the extra liquid added.

Pour into hot jars when still hot, place a wax disc on top and screw the lid on tightly.

 I found that this combination of fruit made a very dark purple jam and I didn't have any problems with scum on the top - perfect!

Perfect jam for tea and toast!

  Packaging

 As usual I have tried to make my jars look pretty for presents. This time I used translucent gold paper and wool or twine, with some brown paper labels. I tried out my new alphabet stamps on the onion marmalade label which I think looks nice (obsessed with stamps now).