George the Elephant

Meet George! I made him today, from a pair of old shorts and some lovely orangey material I got from The Lanes on Monday. He's supposed to be a king, but I thought the crown would be too dangerous, so made him rather dapper with a bow tie instead...

Auntie Anne's Baby Knitwear

We got a parcel from AA last week (it was feared to have gone missing)with the knitwear she's made "with love in every stitch". It's for age 3-6-9 months, so will be in perfect time for our winter months...which also coincide with AA's visit at Chinese New Year...

The jacket is fab, with a little vest underneath, some bootees and some mitts. Lovely!

Baby Chin Cloths

I seem to be making nothing but baby stuff at the moment...here are some chin cloths / spit cloths in a cute Japanese style. They're from a book I got a few weeks ago in Bangkok - will put the name up when I have it to hand!

These are in toweling, so should be able to deal with the HK heat...and the baby's dribble...

Baby Changing Mats

We made a couple of changing mats, to take with us on days out (when the baby's here!). This was a joint effort, with my helper doing much of the cutting and me doing the sewing. I had to make two as the bias binding on first one was imperfect on two of the corners!

Naan bread

We've made these a few times now, and they are always fab. We have the naan with Burmese chicken and spinach...

Naan

Ingredients

500g strong white flour
2 teaspoons cater sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons black mustard or onion seeds
3 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander leaves
1 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
2 tablespoons butter, melted
150ml natural yohgurt
150 ml milk
3 tablespoons water


To make with breadmaker

1. Into tin, put the milk, yoghurt, cold water, melted butter. Spoon in flour then salt, sugar, seeds, corainder leaves. Make a dip in the centre and sprinkle in yeast.

2. Set to dough or basic dough.

3. At end of proramme, tip dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead well. Cut into 6 pieces, then roll out into an oval slightly larger than your hand.

4. Put the breads onto some oiled clingfilm and cover loosely with more oiled clingfilm. Leave to proove in a warm place for 20 mins.

5. Heat a heavy frying pan. Spray/wipe with oil. add naan and cook for 5 mins, turning once, until brownded and cooked through.

[From 'The Bread Book' by Sara Lewis]

Soft toy dog

It is my nephew's 1st birthday coming up, so I decided to make him a toy.









I found inspiration here:

http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/2006/05/softie_scotty_d.html


I spent Saturday making the smaller light blue prototype (you might recognise the material).

It was tricky though and was too small for a one-year-old, so I made a new bigger pattern. This was trickier, as I had to sew on the collar before assembling the pieces, and I forgot to add ribbon to the neck insert. The eyes are glued and then sewn (I must get a thimble)for safety. I think I need to refine my technique, so will keep trying...

Baby play cube

As I have a few old work shirts to use up (!), I thought I'd have a go at sewing a cube. I crocheted one for my sister's baby and she tells me he loves playing with it, so I thought I'd make another. The corners were a bit tricky - more practice needed. The red star looks vaguely communist...

Baby bib #2

I made another baby bib yesterday, using my new bias binding skills! Unfortunately, I hadn't got quite enough binding, so the end of a tie is messy. I wish I had taken the time to add another length of binding as I had a spare piece! Never mind, it is prototype number 2. I'll be more careful with the next one...

Baby bib

I have a load of old work shirts, which so far have been turned into hot pads for the kitchen, cushions for the dogs and now...baby bibs. I've used a pattern from a book (they do up with velcro at the back) but am not sure the size is right (even though they're from a patttern...will have to wait until September to find out!). This 1st one is pretty traditional, I think. The next ones will feature little appliqued neck-ties or bow ties, I think. They are made from work shirts, after all...

It was my 1st time attaching bias binding on such a tight curve and I couldn't do it properly! Also, when I attached binding in the past, I machine stitched one side and sewed the other side by hand. This time, to save time, I machine stitched both sides simulataneously. Since then, I have found a fab sewing blog in which the blogger gives some hints for making and using binding, so next time I will fold the binding over leaving one side slightly longer and make sure that is on the underside when I sew (to make sure the stitches go through it).

Thanks, Hongkongshopper!

http://hongkongshopper.blogspot.com/2008/12/oven-mitts-tutorial.html

Crocheted baby hat

I found the pattern for this hat in a book from the library (which I didn't make note of so cannot cite). The top bit is made from 3 little twirly curls that took forever to work out. In the book it looked like a Dr Seuss hat (in fact it might have been called that). My version doesn't look quite the same...I think I counted some of the stitches incorrectly!

Crocheted baby blanket

One of my projects over the winter was crocheting a whole load of granny squares to put together into a blanket. The first square took ages as the flower is made from popcorn stitches (which I'd never done before and took ages to work out). I'm not sure whether to sew a cotton backing onto it to help it keep its shape...

Vicki's top

My very creative friend Vicki has made me my 1st maternity top! It's long enough to cover what needs to be covered and will look fab with so many different things. She adapted it from a picture of a top in a magazine. The top part is crocheted and the bottom part is knitted. When you look at the photos, you'll agree I'm very lucky to have Vicki as a friend!

You can see more of Vicki's handiwork on her blog:

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/lkyvic

Brussels sprout leaves

My brussels sprout plants are now about a foot tall. Unfortunately, with the humid, rainy season just around the corner, hopes for any actual brussels are fading fast. So, I am turning my attention to the leaves. I have done a little searching and found out that brussels sprout leaves are:

1. For most of the parameters measured, the quality of leaves was better than that of sprouts and could be reccommended as a substitute for kale (V.R. Markovic, and LJ.O. Vracar Applicability of Brussels Sprouts Leaves for Human Nutrition), cited on http://www.sweetandsourspectator.org/archives/2007/11/brussels_sprout_1.html

2.They are "full of flavour, quite sweet and full of vitamins and iron. The sprout is truly a remarkable vegetable to have in the garden" (Jason clegg, online comment)

3. They can be sliced and lightly steamed.

4. They can be sliced and put in a pan with garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes and braised for 15 mins. (http://www.sweetandsourspectator.org/archives/2007/11/brussels_sprout_1.html)

And on this site, there is a recipe: http://culiblog.org/2006/01/brussels-pearls-neither-bitter-nor-farty/

Brussels Sprouts Leaves Raw and Not Raw

fresh brussels sprouts leaves

dressing
sesame oil
rice wine vinegar
soy sauce
fresh ginger
chopped fine fresh garlic
chopped fine wasabe (or mustard)

Stack a bunch of brussels sprouts leaves on a cutting board. Roll them up lengthwise so that the ‘cigar’ is easy to grip. Cut into very fine shreds (chiffonade).

Make the dressing as you would a vinaigrette… in an old jam jar. Add enough ginger, garlic and wasabe so that when you give it a good shakin’, the dressing becomes creamy.

Raw version: Toss the thin shreds of brussel sprout leaf into a goodly amount of dressing and let it sit at least an hour.

Cooked version: Pour a few glugs of olive oil into a hot skillet and toss in the shredded leaves. With some chopsticks whisk and toss the leaves a few times through the sizzling skillet and pour a few glugs of the dressing on top. Swish it all around a few more times and then tip out the lot into an awaiting bowl. Done in less than a minute.

And with all that talk of Chinese ingredients and chopsticks, it's almost as if it is an old Chinese speciality, perfect for Hong Kong...will try them soon.

Coat for a small dog

I made a coat for Bob, our little lady Schnauzer, at the weekend. The outside is denim, scrounged from an old pair of jeans and the inside is a thin suedey type of material. The belt is made by adapting the waistband from the jeans. Unfortunately, I made it by eye, not by measuring and making up a pattern (I was short on time), so it could be improved a little! OK for a prototype though...

Yule Log

I made Yule Log for the first time in years and years this Christmas and realised I'd forgotten how much trouble it is to make! Much of Christmas Eve morning was spent in its making...but the sponge was so light and the taste so chocolatey, it was worth it.

Thanks to madre for the little decorations on top!

Recipe from BBC food

Ingredients

30g/1oz plain flour

30g /1oz cocoa powder

1/2 tsp of salt

3 large eggs, separated

¼ tsp of cream of tartar

110g/4oz caster sugar

2 drops almond essence

For the buttercream filling:

100g /3½ oz butter

150g/5oz icing sugar

55g/2oz cocoa powder

a splash of brandy or rum

icing sugar for sifting on top as snow

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350 Gas 4. Grease a 23 cm x 33 cm Swiss roll tin and line with baking parchment.

2.To make the sponge: sift the flour, cocoa and salt together and set aside. Sprinkle a large piece of greaseproof paper with caster sugar and set aside.

3. Put the egg whites in a clean bowl and whisk until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and whisk until stiff. Gradually add half the sugar until the mixture forms soft peaks.

4. Place other half of sugar in a bowl and the egg yolks and whisk until pale and thick. Add the almond essence.

5. Using a large metal spoon stir in the reserved flour and cocoa mixture. Finally, lightly fold in the egg whites until well blended - take care not to beat the air out of the mixture.

6. Spoon the mixture into the Swiss roll tin and level the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until sponge-like to the touch.

7. Turn the sponge onto the greaseproof paper dusted with caster sugar. Peel away the baking parchment and roll the sponge with the greaseproof paper inside. Wrap in a tea towel and leave to cool.

For the Buttercream:

1. Beat the butter in a mixing bowl until smooth and then gradually beat in the icing sugar and cocoa powder. Add the brandy and mix well.

2. Once the sponge has cooled unroll it carefully and spread it with half the filling and roll it up again - without the greaseproof paper this time.

3. Spread the rest of the filling over the cake to cover it. Score it with a fork to resemble a log and dust with cocoa powder. Decorate with a sprig of holly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/yulelog_2809.shtml