Monthly Menu Plan - February/March

I am so glad that it is beginning to cool down around these parts. Hot weather knocks me for a six, and I don't even want to think about food, and am happy to just eat the same salad day after day - anything, as long as I don't have to turn on the oven!

So bring on the cooler weather, I say, and I'll bring my cooking mojo back! Starting, naturally, with this meal plan.

Week One
Monday - Cucumber and lettuce vichyssoise (from River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
Tuesday - Sausages with potato salad and coleslaw at the park
Wednesday - Roasted pumpkin soup with garlic bread
Thursday - Macaroni and cheese with rocket salad
Friday - Chard and new potato curry on brown rice (from River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
Saturday - Attending a wedding, so no cooking for me!
Sunday - Tofu burgers


Week Two
Monday - Frittata with summer vegetables and garden salad (from River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
Tuesday - Summer soup au pistou
Wednesday - North African squash stew (from River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
Thursday - Lamb and burghul pilaf
Friday - Bruschetta with asparagus, French beans and feta, plus a tomato salad
Saturday - Asparagus and zucchini green curry
Sunday - Roast chicken


Week Three
Monday - Chicken pasta with rocket
Tuesday - Tomato, thyme and feta tart with a gardens salad (River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
Wednesday - Smoked trout baguettes with chilled pea soup
Thursday - Lemon pepper pilaf
Friday - Ravioli with tomato and basil sauce
Saturday - Hamburgers with apple coleslaw
Sunday - Home made tacos with roasted vegetables and spicy tomato sauce


Week Four
Monday - Jambalaya
Tuesday - Rocket pesto pasta with roast pumpkin, cherry tomatoes and feta
Wednesday - Cauliflower curry with quinoa
Thursday - Jacket potatoes topped with fresh vegetables and roasted tomato sauce
Friday - Home made pizza (mushroom + cheese, plus roasted veg)

New yarn!

Oh my goodness! I seriously think that this might be one of the most exciting days of my life, for the yarn for one of my designs is now in my hot little hands!

I'd chat more, peoples, but I've got swatching to do with this pure unadulterated lusciousness!

Kimono Jacket

What's there not to like about a baby knit, eh? They are pretty quick to knit up, look super cute and are a great way to teach yourself some new skills without having a major yarn investment involved. Likey like!

I only wish that I was a better knitter when Tyger was born. She would have looked pretty darn sweet in a ballerina wrap top like this! I am loving that moss stitch border. If only it wasn't going to be 40 C tomorrow, I would sit and moss stitch all the day long.

Project Details
Pattern: Kimono Jacket from Noro Collection #1 by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: 4 balls Filatura Di Crosa Zara in yellow
Needles: 3.25mm and 4mm

Find it on Ravelry here.

A big yellow hug

I have been working like fury on launching my own range of knitting patterns later this year, and while I await delivery of the first batch of yarn destined to be knit up for pattern #1 (exciting!) I'm taking the time to finish up all the half-finished knitting projects lying around.

That included this soft and cuddly hot water bottle cover. I have wanted to make this ever since I saw it in Rowan Knitting Magazine #28 over 10 years ago, and finally got around to knitting one up. Once it was all finished, and we gave it a trial run, Tyger took hold of it and exclaimed that it was like "having a big yellow hug!"

Well, who can say no to a big yellow hug? Not me!

Speaking of all things huggable and knitting, if you fancy a big yellow hug of your very own but lack the knitting skills, come along to one of the hand knitting classes I teach at Handmaker's Factory. Next one is Feb 15th. I'll have you knitting like a pro in no time!

Project Details
Pattern: Hottie by Kim Hargreaves, from Rowan Knitting Magazine #28
Yarn: 2 balls Rowan Kid Classic
Needles: 4mm and 5mm

Ravelried here.

The Cats Pyjamas

Galumph is a man who really likes lounging around on lazy weekend afternoons, totally comfortably in his pyjamas. He would also, given the choice, have a fat purring cat nearby but alas! allergies have put the kibosh on the cat dream.

So Tyger and I put our heads together when making his Christmas present this year. He might not be able to have a cat, but there's nothing stopping us from making him some cat pyjamas!

Using an ancient Simplicity pattern that I will probably be using when I'm 98 to make myself some jimmyjams, I set Tyger loose with the good scissors and the pins, and lo and behold she pretty much made the pjs all by herself! I helped out with some topstitching and inserting the elastic, but apart from that they are almost 100% child labour. Er, that's a good thing in this instance, right?

Tyger was chuffed with her efforts, and as you can from the pictures the pyjamas have slotted in nicely to the Sunday afternoon lounging sessions.

Project Details
Pattern: Simplicity 5338 (out of print)
Fabric: Japanese cotton/polyester cat print from GJ's Discount Fabrics
Notions: Elastic for waistband

Edda - cable knit cardigan

Do you know, I have only just realised this very minute that despite the fact that Edda has been finished for two months that I haven't blogged about it at all? Shame on me!

I actually purchased the yarn to make this up about 3 years ago, and when I found it in my stash around September last year I decided it was exactly the kind of knit I felt like doing. It would be fairly quick, had some cables and the yarn was a merino/silk/cashmere blend. What more could a girl ask for? Plus, since the yarn had been languishing in my stash, it almost felt like I was getting a cardigan for free!

This was a pretty fun knit. It had enough going on to make it interesting, without being overwhelming. I did have one hiccup halfway through, when I realised that I had twisted one of my cables the wrong way, but I just grit my teeth, frogged, and started over again.

I'm quite liking how it turned out. It's perfect for wearing over a summer dress to protect you from the harsh UV rays, but airy enough to not feel hot. Plus it goes with all the red and pink in my wardrobe. Winner!

Project Details
Pattern: Edda, from Whisper by Kim Hargreaves
Yarn: 6 balls of Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran in shade 0167
Needles: 4mm, 4.5mm, cable needle

Green drop stitch scarf

Since it's so hot that there's nothing to do but stay hunkered down inside with the blinds drawn, one may as well get some knitting projects/gifts finished!

 

Project Details
Pattern: Drop Stitch Scarf from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2012 (I made another version last year)
Yarn: Two hanks of Shibui Cima (70% superbaby alpaca, 30% fine merino wool) in lime, purchased from Woolarium.
Needles: 3.25mm

Apart from a baby cardigan that is also languishing in the 'to be finished' pile, that's it for knitted gifts from me this year. I've got too much pattern drafting and test knitting to do, so I shall have to be strong and stop offering to knit things for other people. That's easier said than done for me, as I have a tendency to always offer, especially if somebody is having a bub. But I must be strong, like a focussed knitting Jedi, whose mission is to provide awesome patterns to the world!!!

Good grief, I think I've been stuck inside too long. Knitting Jedi indeed. It's the heat... it's melting my brain!

Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

What's better than sitting down to a big fat slice of cheesecake? Slurping it up as an ice cream instead! I'm not even an ice cream kinda girl, but this is so darn good I'm going to have to padlock the freezer to stop myself guzzling it up in one go.

Best of all, this was so incredibly simple to make that I can see it becoming summer's default dessert. Instead of making a custard from scratch, and then freezing it, à la traditional ice cream, this was just mixed together in the mix master. No oven involved! Which, frankly, is a blessing for a week that is forecast to contain 3 days over 40 C. If anybody wants me, I'll be slumped next to the freezer, wondering out aloud if it's time for ice cream yet. Probably joined by Tyger and Galumph, if last night's devouring of this ice cream was any indication of appreciation.

Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

250g Philadelphia cheese, softened
1/2 cup raw caster sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, partially thawed.

1 - Place the cream cheese in the large bowl of a mix master along with the sugar, and beat together until smooth.

2 - Add the milk and cream, and mix until combined, with no lumps remaining.

3 - Churn the mixture in an ice cream machine, following the manufacturers instructions. With 5 minutes of churning remaining, add the raspberries through the slot.

4 - Pour into a container, and freeze until required. To serve, take out 5 minutes beforehand to thaw.

All white, all night

The Tyger has been asking me for quite some time to make her a nightie, and has been very particular about the details. It had to be white. Preferable old-fashioned ("Like something Lizzie or Jane would wear!"), and if could incorporate some lace or embroidery, then so much the better.

Oh, and if I could get that whipped up before a big sleepover party scheduled for (gulp!) tomorrow that would be just terrific!

So today was spent fabric shopping, quickly fabric washing (thank goodness for supersunny days), fabric cutting, fabric overlocking, and finally some fabric sewing. I think Miss Elizabeth Bennet herself would be very well pleased indeed with the results. I myself am very pleased with our fabric find. The cotton features embroidered flowers plus a gorgeous long lace edging, and was an absolute bargain at only $5.95 a metre!

Since we were going for a slight old-style look, we decided to have some fun with the camera, and do some spooky shots. Check out Tyger doing her very best ghost catwalking!

Project Details
Pattern - Pattern #12 from Ottobre Design Magazine 2/2005 (same pattern used for this dress)
Fabric - 2m of cotton with embroidery and lace edging from Rathdowne Fabrics
Notions - Elastic for sleeve edges and neckline

Wrist warmers

What do you get when you combine some spare green yarn, a pair of 4.5mm needles, a very determined young lady and copious school holiday free time? A pair of wrist warmers, solely designed and knit by Tyger herself!

I used to laugh when she told me that when she grew up she'd like to own a yarn store. I'm laughing no more, and beginning to scope out capital investors!

Monthly menu plan - December/January + shortbread!

Monthly menu for you, and some shortbread for my dad, who is coming to visit. Yay!

Week 1
Monday - Apricot chicken with sweet potato
Tuesday - New Year's Eve. We had roasted pumpkin and carrot soup with yoghurt, roast chicken, heirloom tomato salad, asparagus + pea + snowpea + lemony feta salad, potato salad, and finished with lemon curd cheesecake. Burp!
Wednesday - Feta, vegetable and rice bake
Thursday - Frittata with peas, mint and ricotta, plus green salad
Friday - Paneer with peas and beans, on brown rice
Saturday - Cauliflower felafels with carrot yoghurt salad
Sunday - Beef and bean mix on homemade masa harina burritos with cheesy chilli and lime corn cobs

Week 2
Monday - Thai green chicken curry on brown basmati rice
Tuesday - Chana dhal with chickpea flour pancakes, and mango lassi
Wednesday - Indian pilaf with eggs
Thursday - Tofu and vegetable rice paper rolls, with coconut sago pudding with passionfruit
Friday - Baked maple glazed salmon with wilted spinach
Saturday - Spring minestrone with brown rice
Sunday - Roasted sumac pumpkin and feta soft homemade tacos

Week 3
Monday - Lentil tabouleh with haloumi
Tuesday - Asparagus risotto with garden salad
Wednesday - Spicy potato cakes with tomato and bocconcini salad
Thursday - Butter chicken rice pie
Friday - Miso glazed fish with sesame brown rice salad

Resolutions

Hello friends! Here we are on the other side of the great Christmas/New Year divide, and I for one am feeling fine! I have so many amazing things that I want to achieve in 2014, so I thought that I would post them here, not only so I can refer back to them when they are not so fresh in my mind, but also so I can give myself a quick, swift kick up the ass if I'm not getting them done! So without any further fanfare, here are the things I want to do in twenty-fourteen:

- Read more books. I finished the year on a reading high, having thoroughly enjoyed The Rosie Project, Oil and Honey, Miss Hargreaves and The Two Mrs Abbots. If you've read something fabulous lately, I'd love to hear your recommendations!

- Make a cherry pie. I even bought myself a cherry stoner in the sales. That's a job for next week, I reckon!

- Eat more grains. We've figured out that the Galumph is mildly gluten-intolerant. He can handle a wee bit of gluten (like in his porridge oats) but not much, so we have made a deal: generally no gluten at home, except for the odd homemade baked treat or pasta dish. Having trialled this over the last couple of weeks, it's gone well, so I'm excited to be incorporating more gluten-free grains into our lives. We've been having the most marvellous blueberry quinoa porridge as a change in the mornings - loving the long, slow energy from that tasty dish!

- Eat more fruit. I know, I know - I say this one every year, but I've made a huge effort to eat my two pieces every day of late, and I am feeling so good for it. More fruit!

- Sayonara booze. Remember a couple of years ago I decided that coffee and I were no longer friends, and I kicked it to the curb? Well, it seems alcohol and I have had a similar falling out. I feel so sluggish and crap the day after even one glass, so I'm going to make 2014 alcohol free as I just don't think it agrees with me anymore. I'm going to miss it, but I have a feeling that better energy levels and awesome sleep will more than make up for it.

- Bring back the plastic free. Unfortunately plastic has slowly but surely crept back into our lives since we went plastic free for a month in 2007 (can you believe I've been blogging that long? Cripes!), so I am going to try and eliminate as much plastic from our day-to-day lives as I can throughout 2014. In a similar vein, I'm also going to try and reduce the amount of waste we create in general, such as food waste.

- Blog more. Cos it's fun around here!

- Be a lean, mean, budget queen. I want to use what I have rather than fork out for something new, and if I do have to buy something I'd like it to be recycled and/or ethically made.

- Get out those vintage patterns. I think 2014 should be the year of sewing vintage! Each month I'd like to sew or knit a vintage pattern, and bring a little old school elegance into my life. Should we do a vintage-a-long? That could be wicked fun!

- Do more bike rides. Preferably whilst wearing a vintage dress. Cos that's how I wanna roll! (Get it? Roll? My word, I'm even funnier this year than last!)

- Launch my knitting pattern collection. Wrists, I'm warning you now: I'm going to be doing a LOT of knitting in preparation for my launch later this year. But any wrist ache will totally be worth it. I am SO SUPER EXCITED about this!

Wow. I sure have a busy year lined up! I hope that 2014 brings you much happiness and joy, and if you are in need of a daft joke, don't forget to stop by here!

Pattern Review: Vogue 8766 aka The Sparkly Christmas Dress

My favourite dark pink colour? Check. Lots of sparkle? Check. Crooked hair do? Check. Supercute, glam yet oddly comfortable? Check checkity check! Folks, we've got a winning Christmas dress here!

I quite enjoyed making this dress, in a nerdy oh-look-how-I'm-sewing-this-part kind of way. I mean, underlining! That was awesome fun, yet so easy. I can't believe how easy it was - you just pop the pieces of fabric on top of each other, sew around the edges to create one single piece, then continue sewing the dress together as per usual. Looks so impressive, but was easy as pie. I'm an underlining fan now, guys!

The dress was made with a sheer sparkly Marc Jacobs lurex blend fabric, which I placed on top of a dark fuchsia medium weight silk. The dress is then fully lined, with boning in the bodice. I'm LOVING the Marc Jacobs sparkle - I feel like I have designer threads at a home made price. Yippee!

The only thing I would change is how the lining is constructed. Instead of doing the bodice lining separately, then attaching the lining and skirt together (which made putting in the zip a bit messy) I would have sewn the lining fully together, then attached it, doing a sly hand tack along the bodice/skirt seam to attach the lining to the dress. But that's just me.

I also put in an invisible zipper, rather than a dress zipper, as I think they look only about one billion times better. The hem was also lengthened, as the original dress came in pretty darn short. Surely the good folk over at Vogue Patterns know it's either bosoms or legs, not both? I've already had one pink slut sack disaster this year. I sure didn't need another!

One thing to keep in mind is that this dress does require a LOT of hand stitching. The hem is hand stitched, as is the bodice and skirt lining along the zip line, and then the bodice lining is hand stitched to the skirt. So even thought this dress was easy to put together, it was also quite time consuming. Not a dress to make in a hurry.

All in all, very pleased how this one turned out. I think I might need to restitch my hem lining, as it sits a bit funny when on (looks perfect on the hanger, though - always the way!), but apart from that it's ready to roll on Christmas Day. It was a fun dress to make - so fun that I might have treated myself to some green lace to make another one. Hey, gotta make sure there's one fabric-based present under the tree!

Speaking of all things yuletide, I'd like to wish all my readers a brilliant, happy and safe holiday/Christmas season. Thanks for reading and for not groaning too loudly at all my daft jokes, and I'll catch you all in 2014!

Project Details
Pattern: Vogue 8766, view A
Fabric: 1.2m sheer Marc Jacobs lurex blend fabric, 1.2m medium weight silk for underlining, 1.3m rayon for lining
Notions: 35cm invisible zipper, covered boning for bodice, hook and eye

Sabrina and The Sparkle Dress vs The Christmas Tree

"Aha!", cried Sabrina the formidable dressmaker's dummy as she stood before the Christmas tree in the Great Sparkle-Off of 2013. "Suck it, O Tannenbaum! The dress wins! It doesn't even need my brilliant personality to win hands down!"

Sparkly Christmas dress sneak peek

Jorth stood before the Christmas tree and made a momentous decision. Why, after all, should all things glittery and tinselly be confined to a mere plastic flora replica? Christmas shimmer and shine should be available for one and all, she thought. And since she had a certain, sparkly Marc Jacobs fabric on hand, and also was in possession of Vogue 8766, she could see no good reason why she, too, shouldn't be adorned with a bit of Christmas splendour.

Decision made, Jorth armed herself with a pair of sunglasses and got cutting. And underlining. Underlining - how fancy pants!

Rum Balls

Christmas just ain't Christmas without some chocolaty, coconutty rum ball goodness! I am not ashamed to admit that I love eating these little fellas. I loved eating my Nanna's version as a kid, I love eating my sister's version as a teenager, and I love seeing the Tyger happily scoff the ones I make.

Although they are called rum balls, they contain no rum at all, making them fine for both kids and bigger kids who like to keep their livers intact. They are also a cinch to make, which is brilliant for this time of year when you need to make lots of food for teacher gifts/Christmas stalls at school/work colleagues etc.

Rum Balls

1 packet Arnott's Marie biscuits, crushed
395g tin of condensed milk
1/4 cup Dutch cocoa
1 cup desiccated coconut, plus extra to roll in

Mix all ingredient well in a large mixing bowl. Wet your hands, then roll into small balls. Toss in the coconut, the refrigerate until ready to serve.

See? Told you they were easy. And at this time of the year, I am all about the easy! If it involves piping intricate icing designs onto perfectly baked biscuits, you can look elsewhere. I get so hot and flustered trying to do stuff like that, which means I get crabby, which means that my Christmas spirit flies out the window quicker than you can say "Grinch!"  But rum balls? Now those I can do!

Surprise Christmas Dress

Shhh! Don't tell Tyger, but I've been busy beavering away all week, making her a surprise dress for Christmas!

I actually had no intention of making her a dress, but then I found myself in the fabric store, needing to buy some thread and a zip. One thing lead to another, and before you knew it I was on the footpath outside the store, clutching my thread, the zip... and fabric and pattern for this project, plus a dream of Christmas spent in home made dresses. You go in for a zip, and come out with a big hole in your bank balance. Tell me I'm not the only one these things happen to!

Anyway, to the dress. It's pretty cute, eh? It's Simplicity 2265. I still need to make a rose to attach to the mid bodice section, but apart from that it's pretty much done.

Once the rose is attached, I'll wrap it up and pop it under the tree, and Tyger can unwrap it on Christmas Eve. Fingers crossed I get my own dress done, so we can both look stylish at Christmas Eve mass!

Annamaria Tunic from Ottobre Design

I like to be organised. I'm a list kinda girl. If I have a 'to do' list, then I'm happy. So every summer I sit down with Tyger and make a list of things we need to sew for her. We then happily trot off to the fabric store, make our purchases, dutifully wash our fabric and then get sewing.

Except for when we don't. (Sew, that is. We always manage to get to the fabric store!) And the poor old fabric sits there, project pushed aside in lieu of life in general. Often the poor thing will sit on top of the sewing bureau, as a guilty reminder that I really need to sew it up soon, but before long the guilt inevitably gets to me, and I shove it in the actual bureau itself. Out of sight, out of mind and one less thing to feel behind on.

Thankfully fabric doesn't go off. And the Tyger didn't grow too tall, so I was able to rescue this fabric from the stash, where it had languished for a whole year, and make this tunic up for her. Phew. Better late than never, eh?

(Although note to self, Jorthy: maybe stop being so darn ambitious with your sewing goals, hmm?)

So here we have the finally finished Annamaria Tunic. You know things are a hit when they refuse to take them off after the photo session, and then try and wear them to school the next day, even when the forecast is for rain with possible hail. Jeepers - if I had have known it was going to be this well loved, I would have made it up sooner!

Hee hee - like mother, like daughter. She sure likes those pockets!

Project Details
Pattern - Annamaria Tunic from Ottobre Design Magazine 3/2009
Fabric - Assorted quilting cottons
Notions - Interfacing and 30cm invisible zipper

Pink Knitting Disaster Mark II

Thanks folks for all the love on my Roses dress. I am so happy with how it turned out. Unlike my Principesa dress. I had knitted all the way up to the neckline shaping, and had completed the right straps when I decided to try it on.

Disaster! It was too short, too tight, and so wrong on so many levels. ARRRRGGGGHHHH! All those hours of knitting, and I had something I wouldn't even leave my house dressed in, for fear that some sleazebag would sidle up to me and enquire as to my hourly rate. It was meant to be elegant and sassy like everybody else's are, but instead I had knitted myself a slut sack. Gah!

So what was an 80% finished dress is now this:

Yup, I frogged the whole darn thing. I am not having luck with this yarn at all, and have lost all love for the project. Thankfully there are always new projects to cheer myself up with:

A sweet baby ballerina style wrap from the Noro Collection by Debbie Bliss, which I've had on my bookshelf since I started knitting, and a 90s Vogue dress in a mustardy yellow. Tempting as the jacket is, I might leave that part of the pattern well enough alone.

As for the pink yarn, I think a summer cardigan for Tyger could be the thing. Seriously, pink yarn - I've got a three-strikes-and-you're-out policy around these parts, so this is your final chance to behave!

Pattern Review: Retro Butterick 6582 (The Roses Dress)

I have had the most astoundingly good time of late, and every time I take out the memories of it all, I feel so lucky and blessed to have such amazing people in my life.

It all started two weeks ago, when I had the best coffee date ever with the fabulous Julia Bobbin and a very special lady who we both have since admitted we have major crushes on, the brilliantly clever and talented Kristiann from Victory Patterns. The time flew as we sat and nattered with Kris and her partner Simon - as we left there were multiple hugs and cuddles all around, and many promises to meet up again as soon as geography allows us. Seriously, it was AWESOME!

But then lightning struck twice, in a totally good way when last weekend I got to have another coffee date with the inspiring and wonderful Carolyn, who was in town. It was such a pleasure to meet somebody whose blog I have admired and loved for a long time, and she is even more lovely in person than you can imagine. Now I have two girl crushes!

And just to make things a trifecta of fabulousness, I attended the very special and heart-warming wedding of Lara from Ink & Spindle to her husband Dave. I have been to a few weddings in my time, but this one will forever stand out for it's true and pure love. I got a wee bit teary during the ceremony because it was such an honour to watch the blossoming of love between two pretty brilliant people.

Well! When you are lucky enough to be invited to such a brilliant wedding, you've gotta make sure you have a good frock to wear! I had planned to wear my pink knitted dress, but time was against me, so I decided to go with Butterick 6582, aka the Roses Dress. And I am glad I did - with a petticoat borrowed from Miss Bobbin and my hair done nice, I felt perfectly glamorously attired!

This was a fun and easy dress to make. The bodice has facings, rather than bodice lining, but it wasn't too hard at all to put in. With 8 darts around the bodice, you are guaranteed a pretty nice fit, and I love the super full skirt!

The only change I made was to use an invisible zipper, rather than a dress one, which wasn't exactly a monumental alteration. I quite like the crossed over bodice - good for us girls with not much going on in the bust department! And this dress is so comfortable to wear than I am seriously thinking of making another, with the straight skirt.

Yup, very happy with this one. I think I can chalk it up on the winner's board!

Project Details
Pattern - Butterick 6582 (Retro Butterick)
Fabric - 2.2m stretch cotton sateen from Rathdowne Fabrics and Remnants
Notions - 45cm invisible zipper, interfacing for bodice facings