Wide angle apples

My birthday present was delivered early today. Whee! No, it's not four apples, it's a new camera lens. (Four apples - that would be a crap birthday present! Unless, of course, you really liked apples.) I've been lusting over this for about two years now, and finally saved up enough, so as you can imagine I was one happy camper when it arrived.

Speaking of which, I've never understood the term 'happy camper'. I'm usually cold when I camp, which does not make me happy at all. And I usually only camp when Galumph takes us on a bushwalk, and because he's so worried about the weight we have to carry I'm usually not allowed to carry any knitting or books, which means that after we have finally set up the tent I'm cold and bored. Nah, me and the camping are not amigos.

Er, enough blathering. I'm off to take some pics!

Pattern Review: Shirtdress #35 from Ottobre Design Magazine 4/2010

What do we have here? We've got pockets with pleating and binding. There's more pleats at the back, and flapped patch pockets. We have sleeve button tabs, a stand up collar, back shoulder darts and a whole lotta topstitching. Put it all together and whaddya got? One finished shirtdress - hooray!
This would have to be one of the more involved things I have made to date. None of it was hard per se, but there sure was a lot going on. Don't tell anybody, but I totally screwed up the button band placket. Silly me slashed my placket opening to make a square, rather than a triangle. D'oh - next time, read the instructions before you let the scissors anywhere near the fabric, Jorthy! I did manage to salvage it, but trust me - it was a close run thing, and there may have been swearing. Just a teensy bit, but it was definitely there. Ahem!

The tencel denim, which I bought when I was still at Tessuti, is so soft and lovely, but slippery as heck, so if you were new to sewing and wanted to make this, I would stick to a well behaved cotton instead. The tencel also creases before you can say "boo!", but it's so deliciously velvety on the skin that I will forgive it anything.

Erm, what else? I quite enjoyed doing all the bits and bobs on this garment, especially the pleats. I'm such a sucker for pleats - they are so easy to do, but look so impressive! I am also quite partial to the pocket edge binding. It's all those extra details that make a home-sewn piece look more professional, in my opinion.

I'm very very happy with the sizing of this - I sometimes find that the Ottobre patterns can err a bit on the side of larger rather than smaller, but this fits the Tyger like a dream. The only thing I would do differently is to use a finer fusing for the button band, as I feel mine looks a bit thick, but that's probably me just being nitpicky, and has nothing to do with that pattern at all.

All in all, it's a terrific, well drafted pattern - another winner from Ottobre. Just don't expect to get it finished in a flash - especially if you are sewing to a deadline, as there is a lot of work in this one. Still, I did manage to get it to the birthday girl only one day late, so that's not too bad!

Project Details
Pattern: Shirtdress #35 from Ottobre Design Magazine 4/2010, size 128
Fabric: 1.5m tencel denim from Tessuti Fabrics (purchased a year and a half ago)
Notions: 13 buttons

Make a wish...

...if it's for more crafting supplies, dear Tyger, I will be totally down with that!

Eight

I swear it was only yesterday that you came into our world, but the calendar tells me that I'm wrong, for today you are eight. And without becoming too goopily sentimental about it all, these eight years have been the best - the very best - of my life.

There are so many things I love about you: The way you ask every weekend if you can go swimming. The ways your eyes crinkle up when you laugh. Your boundless creativity (as evidenced by the thread, wool, cut up paper, glue, sequins etc that follows you around the house). How you never complain about walking in the rain. The enthusiasm you show every single type of food ever presented to you. The grin that lights up your face when you thwack the ball at tennis. How Pride and Prejudice is your viewing of choice. How you still sing yourself to sleep with steam-of-consciousness operas that you compose nightly. How any form of slapstick provokes you to laugh uproariously, like a crazy old man. The care you show if anybody falls, or cries, or heck, even sneezes.

Ruh-roh - somebody sound the goop alarm. I'm hopelessly melting into a great big puddle of goop just thinking about how terrific you are, and how lucky I am to call myself your mother. Happy birthday, dearest darlingest Tyger. xo xo xo

Sewing interventions

"What am I doing?" cried Jorth, feeling annoyed with herself and her lack of time management. "What was I thinking? There are pleats, and sleeve tabs, and pocket bias bindings, and button bands - how on earth did I think I would be able to snap my fingers and get this whipped up in no time?"

Her breathing became quicker, and shallower as the mental pressure built up. Just as the first hyperventilation dots began to appear in front of her eyes, Jorth realised that she needed a sewing intervention. Taking a few deep breathes, she glanced around the room, realised that she was by herself, and decided that in emergencies, a self-administered intervention was better than none. She took herself over to the mirror, and said "C'mon Jorth. You can do this! Just take your time, because you know when you rush you always totally screw things up. It won't be the end of the world if you don't get it finished in time for the Tyger's eight birthday - what matters is that you took the time to make it for her in the first place. So settle down, sit down, and get some sewing done, because before you know it she won't want you sew things for her anymore."

Having given herself a metaphorical slap across the cheek, Jorth pinned the bodice front to Sabrina the dummy, and began to work on the pockets of the skirt, all the while wondering how 8 years could have possibly flown by so fast. Whilst Jorth was thus occupied, Sabrina took the opportunity to get a little sentimental. "So!", she thought, "she's making the Tyger a shirt dress for her birthday. My goodness - I've never had anything made for the little girl pinned onto me before." Sabrina glanced down at the bodice, and in a tone of shock said "My dear! She's not a little girl anymore. She's very much grown up - look how tall she's gotten. Oh my... how so very quickly it goes."

Sabrina felt the cruel stab of nostalgia dig deep. It only seemed like yesterday that the tousled hair toddler had used to hide behind her in games of hide and seek, but now she was almost 8 years old. The days that had been filled with such giggle-filled games were now replaced with school days, and the whole house sat lonely and quiet until she came bursting into the door again in the afternoon. Feeling the first pricks of tears, Sabrina pulled herself up with a start. "Now, Sabrina, my girl, you too have to pull yourself together. Children grow up, and it's not your job to become maudlin over that fact. She's growing into a fine young woman, and you should be happy that her clothes are now also being pinned on you. Besides, crying will do no good to your movable parts - they're rusty enough as is! So stand up straight, and be glad that the Tyger still wants her Mum to make clothes for her."

Unaware of what the other was doing, both Jorth and Sabrina let out very small, slightly sad sighs for the days that had gone and would never return. Then both concentrated on the tasks at hand - Jorth on making the shirt dress for a daughter who made her prouder with every passing day, and Sabrina  on standing straight and proud with a bodice pinned to her that had been made with love.

Chocolate and beetroot cake

It's kinda hard to believe that these...



...have ended up in this:



But it's true! I'd like to shake the hand of the culinary genius who first thought of pairing these two together, because they are magnificent! I'm really hoping that there is some left over after knitting club tonight, so I can have some for breakfast. Oops! Did I say breakfast? I meant morning tea. Really.


(shyeah right!)


Recipe here.

Quick! Make a shirt for the birthday girl!

What with all the baby knitting, bike trips, article submissions, piano practice, meetings, cake baking and the never-ending piles of laundry, I kinda forgot that it was the Tyger's birthday in little over a week. Gulp!

Actually, let me clarify - I hadn't forgotten forgotten per se. After all, her presents have already been bought and safely stashed away in the cupboard, but what I did forget was my tradition of making her a special gift from my own hands. It wasn't until she turned to me the other day, and politely inquired if I'd created something for her birthday that the alarm bells finally went off. I patted her gently on the head, assured her that it was all in hand, and then excused myself to race into the bedroom, her parting line of "Cos it wouldn't be a birthday without something made by Mum!" ringing in my ears.

Boy, does that kid know how to lay it on with a trowel! In the privacy of my bedroom I flung open the doors of my sewing bureau/stash cupboard and sat there, rocking on my heels and gazing in desperation at the fabric. The fabric, darn it, chose to remain silent, offering me no hope at all. But then I remembered a purchase of yesteryear. Praying that it was still in there somewhere, and that I hadn't just imagined it, I began to scrabble about in the fabric like some sort of desperate textile junkie looking for a fix. Finally I found it - 1.5m of lovely soft tencel denim. Phew! Combine that tencel with the above Ottobre Design Magazine 4/2010 shirt pattern plus a few hours of my time, and we'll have one home made gift whipped up in no time! Well, hopefully by her birthday, at least. I sense some late night sewing coming on...

Knitting. Lots and lots of knitting.

Shhh! Don't tell anybody, especially not Bob the Bobbinator or Jean-Luc, Master of Macramé, but all knitting on the green dress has been suspended. It's not my fault - people keep having babies, and requesting totally gorgeous duffle jackets for them. What's a girl to do - I can't let dem babies get cold now, can I?

The pattern I'm using is the Debbie Bliss Duffle Coat. How cute is that thing? Just as well it's adorable enough to make your ovaries squeal and demand another baby, because all that boring garter stitch is killing me. I'm on my second coat, and boy oh boy, if I never do garter stitch again then I'll not regret it.

Right, must go. Time waits for no man, and baby's growth waits for no handknits. So I'd best get cracking! Oh, and apologies for not blogging earlier this week - we went for one of our mammoth bike rides, and I came home with a cold, so I blobbed instead of blogged. With knitting in hand, bien sûr!

Coconut and passionfruit cake

Jorth, Galumph and Tyger were doing the last minute checks on their bikes before heading off on a ride.
"Tyres pumped up?" asked Galumph.
"Check!" answered Jorth.
"Chain cleaned and oiled?"
"Check!"
"Rims polished and shiny?"
"Er..." said Jorth, quickly bending to do a quick spit'n'wipe. "Check!"
"Cake baked?"
"CHECK!" said Jorth and Tyger, grinning with anticipation at the thought of the coconutty and passionfruit goodness that was to come once a few k's had been put under their belts.



























Recipe here.

Spiced cauliflower and potato soup

"So let me get this straight", said the cauliflower to the potato. "You're telling me that when Jorth sticks the immersion blender into this pot we are currently bobbing around in, and blends us to bits, that it won't hurt a bit. Correct?"
"Correct!", confirmed the potato. "There was this cute little russet I was in the sack with..."

"You dirty spud, you!" interjected the cauliflower.

"The POTATO SACK!" sighed the potato, wondering why he, of all the potatoes, had to get stuck with this smart alec cauli. Pretending he hadn't be interuppted he said "And by the way, I'm not dirty - just unwashed. There's a difference. Anyway, this hot potato told me it happens all the time when handsome vegetables such as us are made into soup. So don't sweat it!"

"I don't have time to sweat it!", said the cauliflower eyeing the top of the pot nervously, "for here it comes!"

The immersion blender came, it saw, it blitzed. Afterwards the cauliflower, as it happily mingled and merged with the potato said "Oooh! Just like being in a spa, really. A hot'n'spicy spa. Hey, your little russet would like, wouldn't she?!"

The potato groaned, and thought to himself, "Of all the saucepans in all the kitchens in all the world..."


Spiced cauliflower and potato soup

1 onion, finely chopped
1 small head of cauliflower, leaves removed and flesh cut into segments
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
4 cups vegetable stock or water
cracked pepper and parsley leaves for garnish

1 - Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large saucepan, and saute the onion until golden and tender. Add the cumin, coriander and chilli and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.

2 - Add the cauliflower and potato, and stir to coat with onion and spice mix. Add the stock/water and bring to the boil.

3 - Once boiling, turn heat down and cover pan. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the potato is tender. Leave to cool.

4 - Once cooled, use either an immersion blender or a regular blender to blend the soup until smooth. Pour back into pan (if using the regular blender) and reheat until hot. Serve topped with a good grind of freshly cracked pepper and parsley leaves.

Grace Kelly: Style Icon: Bendigo Art Gallery

Yesterday we took ourselves to Bendigo on the train, leaving Melbourne far, far behind. Good thing, too, as the weather in Melbourne yesterday was atrocious! But what was calling us to visit Bendigo, I hear you asking? Why, the Grace Kelly: Style Icon exhibition, of course! Oh, and the chance to sit quietly for a couple of hours and do some knitting (ahem).




Sigh. It was so very, very lovely. I could have stood and gazed at her dresses all day. She had a keen sense of personal style, and knew exactly what suited her.

My favourite part of the exhibition were the photos showing her meeting Prince Rainier for the first time whilst on a film promotional tour of Monaco. Upon opening her suitcase that morning, she was dismayed to discover that all of her dresses bar one were crumpled, and that there was no time for the hotel to press them before she met the Prince. So she put on the uncrumpled frock, met the Prince and lo! fell in love and sealed her destiny of become a glamorous, much beloved princess. I know you're wondering who made the dress. Why, it was a McCalls dress that she had modelled for the spring/summer catalogue! That fact made my seamstress' heart fill with joy!


I think I need a version of that dress in my wardrobe, stat.

Grace Kelly: Style Icon is on at the Bendigo Art Gallery until 17th June, 2012. Bookings are absolutely essential.

Pattern Review: McCall's 5975: Purple Ponte Knit Dress

Jorth was walking past City Square, feeling rather resplendent in her new purple dress, when she spied the ragged gathering of people venting their feelings upon their soapboxes, with a surrounding crowd of sewing folk eager to hear what they had to say. Suddenly struck by an idea, she approached the man protesting against the Difficulties Of Threading Overlockers and shyly asked him if she might borrow his megaphone for a moment. He assented, and stepped nimbly off his box so that Jorth could have her say. Clearing her throat nervously, she gazed at the crowd before saying "Excuse me ladies and gentlemen. I'd just like to announce that I have my sewing mojo back!"The crowd cheered. One jolly soul even waved a measuring tape in her direction. Grinning back at them all Jorth handed back the megaphone and went merrily on her way, soon nothing but a flash of purple on the busy city street.

Project Details
Pattern: McCall's 5975, view D (minus fabric belt), size 8
Fabric: 1.6m purple ponte knit from Tessuti Fabrics (bought quite a long time ago, so I don't know if it's still available)
Notions: Knit interfacing

I LOVE LOVE BLOODY LOVE this dress! It was super easy to put together, and is a nice slim fit. It was meant to have a zipper inserted in the back, but I just thought to myself "Pffft! It's a knit dress. Who needs a zip!"

I know, I know - such reckless thinking has led me into trouble before, but there's a part of my sewing soul that's too rebellious to squash. Anyway, my ponte was lovely and stretchy, so no zip required. Yay!

This is a terrific little pattern. There's a choice of 4 different necklines, plus the options of sleeves or no sleeves. Unfortunately, it's been discontinued (boo! why do they always get rid of the great wardrobe building patterns? why???) but you can still purchase it from the McCall's website in the Out Of Print section, so if it takes your fancy, hop to it and grab one why you still can!

Will I make this again? You betcha! It's such an easy dress to wear - just pair with your favourite statement necklace and a belt, and you are good to go! Admittedly I am going through a major dress phase this winter - my poor jeans are beginning to feel lonely due to lack of wear - but you really can't beat a fab bright dress in winter time.

The finishing ticklish touches

"By thimble and thread" gasped the sleeve between fits of uncontrollable giggling, unaware that Jorth couldn't hear her, "please make this devilish tickling stop!"

"Stop? STOP?" bellowed Sabrina the dressmaker's dummy from the bedroom. "You daft violet fool of a thing! She's handstitching your hems so that you'll be finished and worn in no time, and you want her to stop?"

"!!!" thought the sleeve, before once more bursting into peals of laughter as Jorth carefully stitched the double-folded hem, tugging at the stitches occasionally to make sure that the sewing had enough stretch in it, unaware of the pleasurable torture she was inflicting upon her poor dress.

Where my sewing bloggers at?

The Commander-in-Chief strode into the operations room, and starting barking orders. "I want to know where those sewing bloggers are at, STAT!"

"Who would you like, sir?" gasped the nervous surveillance officer.

"Damn good question!", said the Commander, who was awfully good at giving commands without putting too much thought behind them. Stroking his chin, he said "Let me see... we know Nikkishell is doing fine, having just made that mini New York cape... Julia Bobbin has just finished off that terrific Bedazzled dress, so we don't need to check up on her... Oonaballoona is dazzling them as always with her fabulous creations...JORTH! Give me Jorth! Let's see if she's bounced back from that pink coat disaster yet."

The now heavily perspiring surveillance officer fiddled with some controls at his computer. Suddenly the 68 inch screen in front of him lit up, showing a macro view of Jorth hard at work at her sewing machine. The Commander came up closer to have a better look, and the surveillance officer, suddenly aware of how close a proximity he was to greatness squeaked "It's the hidden video camera in her sewing machine that's broadcasting this for us, sir. If you just let me zoom in a bit further, we might be able to see what she's working on."

"Zoom away, my lad" said the Commander, slapping the surveillance officer jovially on the shoulder. Gentle though that slap may have been, it still caused the weedy officer to almost fall out of his chair. Recovering himself, he quickly zoomed in, and then announced breathily "It looks like she's working on McCalls 5975. In fact, she's ready to attach the skirt to the bodice. She'll have finished that dress in no time!"

"Jolly good!", said the Commander, and decided that since all was going well in the world of sewing blogs he might as well take the rest of the afternoon off to work on his golf swing.

Rhubarb and Yoghurt Cake for Knitting Club

Recipe for a fine winters evening:

Ingredients:

One brand new knitting club, having their inaugural meeting
A good dose of fine yarn and bamboo needles
Freshly baked Rhubarb and Yoghurt Cake, served with lashings of cream

A sprinkling of gossip and a measure of friendly banter
Tea and wine, and plenty of good cheer

Method:

Mix together well, and then consider it a job well done. Mind that the wine doesn't cause any dropped stitches!

Pattern Review: New Look 6006: Hot Pink Coat

It really did seem like it was meant to be. I'd been eyeing off this hot pink wool coating fabric at Rathdowne Fabrics for months now, and finally got back to the shop with the hope of getting some in my hot little hands. But alas! Just as is always the way when you have left buying the fabric until too late, the pink was nowhere to be seen.

Morosely I cruised the aisles of the store, half-heartedly patting the other fabrics when I heard a squeal from my aunt who was rummaging around the remnant bin at the back of the store. She had found the very last piece of the pink fabric for me. It was coming in at a scant 1.6m, which was a bit smaller a length than I wanted, but we both decided that I'd be able to squeeze the shorter coat out of the length.

Happily I trotted over to the counter, where the woman proceeded to charge me $22.50 for it. "Er, I'm pretty sure the tag said $36", I said (I'm nothing if not honest.) "Don't sweat it, dahl!", she replied. "My mistake, your piece of good luck!"

So there I was, the proud owner of the pink fabric, and I'd paid far less for it than I'd anticipated. I was thrilled, especially since the original price came in at $45 a metre. With visions of pink coats dancing in my head, I got swiftly to work.

Ahhh, it seemed to be going so well. The pattern was easy to follow, the fabric was a dream to sew with, and it came together fairly quickly. It all appeared to be smooth sailing, until after I'd put the lining in. I don't know what the heck went wrong, but that lining was just too darn small. I double-checked my pattern, but it didn't appear that I'd done anything wrong, but when the lining was in the coat it made the back outside of the coat buckle up in the most atrocious manner. I consulted with my aunt, who is quite a sewing gun, and she recalled reading in a BurdaStyle magazine years ago that if the lining is of a tighter weave than the outside fabric, then the aforementioned bunching may occur, as both fabrics cannot find a happy medium in which to relax with each other. For that reason the magazine recommended actually cutting a longer hem on the lining, so you could take it up afterwards if need be on the inside of the garment, without resorting to any drastic measures.

As you may have read, drastic measures were what I took, as I had no intention of unpicking the whole coat, and buying new lining fabric since my lining was obviously too small. Instead I slashed open the lining from the side seam to side seam in the back of the garment so the lining could relax and the garment would hang properly. Once I was satisfied with that fit, I created a patch which I inserted into the lining slash, and carefully hand stitched the original lining onto the patch. It's not pretty, but it did the job. It was, however, rather disappointing to have to make such an alteration.

Other issues I have with this coat: It's nowhere near as fitted as I'd like it to be. I'd made the size 8, but I really needed to grade it down to about a 4 to get the snug, fitted look I prefer in a coat. Also the arms are way too wide and long. And the pockets are far too big - they actually hang down right onto the hem of the coat.

So all in all, you could say I'm not exactly thrilled with how this coat turned out. However, in my opinion, coats are like jeans - you can spend years looking for the perfect one, so I shouldn't have been surprised that this one didn't turn out to my expectations on the first go. By rights I really should have made a muslin, and tweaked away until I was satisfied, but like a fool I rushed right in.

You know how in the Harry Potter books our three intrepid heroes need to tap the Marauder's Map with their wands and announce "Mischief Managed!" in order to make the map look like a blank piece of parchment again? I feel like banging my head against my ill-fitting coat and declaring "Lesson Learnt! Make a bloody muslin!" Oh well, we live to learn again.

Project Details
Pattern: New Look 6006, View C (shorter style)
Fabric: 1.6m hot pink wool coating from Rathdowne Fabrics, 1.6m stretch satin for lining from GJ's Discount Fabrics.
Notions: 1m jacket fusing, 4 buttons from Duttons For Buttons, Harrogate, England.

Verdict: I don't mind this coat (after all, it IS hot pink!) but with the fit issues it'll never be my number one. Sorry coat!

Ratatouille Stew with Poached Egg

"Farewell, dearest summer!" cried Jorth, as she simultaneously clutched the last of summer's produce to her chest and also tried to batten down the hatches for the coming wintry storm. "I shall miss your fresh tomatoes, your basil picked at whim, your ripe glossy eggplants and your never-ending supply of cheap as chips zucchini."

"But...", she continued, as she dumped the vegetables onto her cutting board and began to rummage in her cupboard for her favourite saucepan, "all good things must come to an end. We'll celebrate together tonight with a fine garlicky ratatouille stew, mopping up every last delicious drop with fresh crusty bread and maybe a little zinfandel to really make an evening of it."

"Let's just not get drunk and end the evening slumped on the table bawling out "We'll Meet Again" like we did last year", suggested Galumph.

"Oh yeah!", said Jorth, blushing as red as the last of the summer's tomatoes. "I'd conveniently forgotten all about that!"***

Ratatouille Stew with Poached Egg

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1 eggplant, cut into fat dice
1 red capsicum, cut into chunks
1 zucchini, diced thickly
3 cloves of garlic, minced
800g can crushed tomatoes
1 egg per person
2 tsp white vinegar
fresh basil leaves and cracked pepper to serve

1 - Place the eggplant pieces into a colander, and sprinkle liberally with salt. Leave for half an hour so the salt can draw any bitterness out, then wipe the salt off.

2 - Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan and add the red onion. Cook for a minute or until starting to soften, then add the other vegetables. Saute gently for 5 - 7 minutes, until all the vegetables are beginning to soften, then add the tomatoes, garlic and 1/2 cup of water.

3 - Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, or until the stew has thickened and all vegetables are beautifully soft. Stir in 10 torn up basil leaves, then take off the heat. Plate up when your egg is almost ready.

4 - Do eggs one at a time. Bring a half-filled saucepan of water plus the vinegar to the boil, then turn the heat down so that it is just simmering. Crack your egg into a shallow small bowl, then use a wooden spoon to swirl the water in the saucepan so that a vortex is created. Quickly slide your egg into the vortex, and cook for 3 minutes for a soft yolk or 4 minutes for a firmer yolk.

5 - Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove your egg from the saucepan, making sure all water is drained off. Carefully place on top of the ratatouille, and top with cracked pepper and fresh basil. Cook the other eggs in the same manner.

Serves 4


***Didn't actually happen. But you just never know what the last of the season's basil can do to a girl...

Pink Coat Operation

It was a good thing that Jorth was carrying her, for the pink coat was feeling a little weak and light-headed after her ordeal. Jorth carefully arranged her on Sabrina the dressmakers dummy, and then left the room quietly.

As soon as the door had shut, all her fellow garment friends began to call out to her, wanting to know how it all went.

"Well", said the pink coat, "at first I was horrified. When she said she was going to slash my lining, I really did think that was it for me. But then she laid me down on the table, and cut the lining open so deftly that I barely felt a thing!"

There was a collective intake of breath at the coat's bravery. One impressed little sock called out "Was the cut deep?"

"Oh yes!" answered the pink coat, beginning to enjoy herself. "It went from side seam to side seam. You could see right inside me!"

Plunk! went a bracelet in the jewellery box. The other bangles helped her back up, and tittered amongst themselves that she had never been good around garment medical stories.

The pink coat continued on. "You should see how many stitches she put in me! I'll admit, I did feel a little bit queer as she was applying the patch to the cut, and then stitching me up, but after she quickly pressed me to make my lining sit nice and flat I felt as good as new. I'm like the bionic coat!"

"So brave!" said Sabrina, impressed for once. "Not many clothes could handle a textile operation like that. Still, it did need to be done. That too-small lining was making you sit so crookedly at the back, and no garment wants to go out looking like that. Now that the alteration has been a success, does that mean that you're now officially finished?"

"Uh huh!" said the coat happily. "All I need now is my photo shoot on Jorth herself, and I'll be able to join you all in the wardrobe."

"Hooray!" cheered the other garments, except for one miffed half-finished purple dress, who grumbled quietly to herself "Huh. Hope that Jorth gets around to finishing me next!"

The 2012 Crafting Olympics - Part 6

Where were we? That's right: Jean-Luc, evil man, had gotten created evidence of Jorth breaking the rules of the Dress Marathon event. He was going to use this to blackmail both Jorth and Bob - Jorth would be disqualified from her Olympic event and Bob would have to quit his beloved radio show, confessing his sins and being scorned by the entire crafting community. It's trying times here folks, so make yourself a coffee (or perhaps a stiff drink if you are of a nervous disposition) and settle down to find out what happens next in the 2012 Crafting Olympics story...

When Bob had rung Jorth, and told her that she needed to meet with him in his office immediately, Jorth immediately dropped what she was doing, and headed into the radio station where he had his small pokey office. Without knocking she opened the door, and came across Bob and one of the Crafting Olympic Inspectors, both looking grave. Jorth looked at Bob. Bob looked at Jorth. The inspector gazed at them both, and was a smidge startled when both Bob and Jorth both threw their arms in the air and shouted "Wooooohooooooo!"

After enveloping Jorth in a quick bear hug, Bob exclaimed with glee "We've got him! We totally got that little piece of macraméd work! I knew he was up to something sneaky and dirty! Tell you what, Jorthy my girl, you were brave putting that bugging device on him like you did, but it's done the trick, and now we've both got him on tape, organising for you to be framed so he could blackmail us. He'll never wriggle free now!"

Jorth sank into the easy chair with a look of relief on her face, as the Inspector scribbled notes onto his notepad. Grinning up at Bob, she said "Urgh! I've done some unpleasant things in my time, but cuddling up to him to attach the bug to one of his macramé beads was seriously in the top 5. All I could feel was his dangly bits pressing into me as he squeezed me in tight. Gross!"
Bob looked alarmed at this piece of news. "His dangly bits? He got that close? That's disgusting!"

Jorth looked at Bob in confusion. "Er, yeah, the dangly bits from that stupid macramé belt he always wears." Looking up at Bob with comprehension dawning on her face, she said "What dangly bits exactly were you referring to, Bob?"

Bob shifted his feet, and began to mutter in an embarrassed fashion, but thankfully the Inspector came to his rescue. Tapping his notepad, he said "So, let me get this straight: Jean-Luc has attempted to show that Jorth was beginning a new project - which we all know is against the rules - by hiring a hack to send her yarn sale emails, and then getting the aforementioned hack to take pictures of her in the act. He was then going to use this evidence to force Bob to admit that Jorth was hopeless on air and had no chance of winning gold, and then renounce his job at the radio station, resulting in Jean-Luc having the program all to himself. If that didn't work, he was going to spill a secret about Bob, which would force Bob's hand and make him resign. Is that correct?"

Both Jorth and Bob nodded their heads emphatically.

"And you have the evidence...?" asked the Inspector.

"Sure do!", said Bob. "Jorth placed a bug on JL, which recorded his dealings with the hacker, where he organised for the hacker to send her yarn sale emails and to take pictures of her buying the yarn. This nifty little device," he said patting a machine on the table, "was able to receive the transmission from the bug on Jean-Luc. Then, when he came to blackmail me, I used the device to record our conversation, all of which is contained on the tape I have given you."

"Very good!", said the Inspector. "I shall, of course, need to listen to the tape, but I trust that all is in order. You are both free to continue on as you are, and I shall have a little chat with our friend Jean-Luc."

"Just one question, Inspector", said Jorth, somewhat nervously. "Am I truly clear to keep competing in the Crafting Olympics? You see, I only swatched for a new project in the shop, because I knew that Jean-Luc had sent that Hansel fellow to take pictures, and I wanted to make it look as realistic as possible. But swatching isn't against the rules, is it? Please tell me I can still compete. I mean, I want more than anything to see Jean-Luc be brought to task, but I would also still like to compete and get that Dress Marathon gold medal."

The Inspector graced her with a smile that he usually reserved for only the best crafting athletes. Pulling the latest edition of the rule book from his pocket, he riffled through the pages until he found the one he want. Clearing his throat with an impressive, if somewhat phlegmy, noise he read "According to Section 12, Subsection 8, Rule No. 4b, a Dress Marathon entrant may swatch only for a new project whilst competing in the above event." Looking at Jorth, he said "Can you prove to me that you have swatched, and swatched only?"

Jorth beamed with relief. "Sure can!" she said, fishing the knitting shop bag out of her backpack. Within was contained the receipt, showing that she purchased 6 balls of yarn. 5 of these were still intact, except for one, which had be used to create a very little swatch, still attached to the needles.

The Inspector glanced over it, and then said "Everything seems to be in order. You are free to compete!"

"Phew!" said Jorth, sinking deep down into the easy chair. The Inspector smiled at her, and began to gather up his things. As he put on his hat, he said "Well, Miss Jorth, Bob, with that I shall take my leave."

"Halt!" said Bob rather hoarsely. "I... I have something I want to confess to. I know what I am about to say may shock you - heck, you may even scorn me for life, but it's been hanging over me like the bloody Devil himself, and it's time to be rid of it. I want to tell you the secret I've been keeping all these years, that Jean-Luc was trying to expose. I'd rather tell you myself that let that weasel have the pleasure, and to be frank, I'm sick of living a lie. I know that this may spell the end of my textile career, but I'll never be free until the truth has been told."

Jorth and the Inspector stood in silence, both nervously awaiting what Bob may have to say. Finally the Inspector found his voice. "Shall I take a seat? Will this take long?"

Bob rubbed his hands fretfully together. "Yes, you'd best. Like unravelling a piece of poorly made lace, this may take some time."


Whooooooaaaa! What could it be that Bob feels the need to confess to? Will Jorth remain his friend? Will the Inspector still feel easy about attending Bob's monthly poker games once Bob has revealed all? And who dares create poorly made lace? Stay tuned for the latest in the twisting saga of the 2012 Crafting Olympics!

Enjoyed this? Why not revisit the rest?

The 2012 Crafting Olympics - Part 1

The 2012 Crafting Olympics - Part 2

The 2012 Crafting Olympics - Part 3

The 2012 Crafting Olympics - Part 4

The 2012 Crafting Olympics - Part 5

Ginger Citrus Salad

My dad has a sliding scale he uses in order to determine how ill somebody is. Off-colour means that you're not quite yourself. Pasty usually means that not only have you turned a delicate shade of green but that you need to be tucked up into bed pronto, preferably with a bucket at arms reach. Crook indicates that you truly are sick, and somebody should call you an ambulance forthwith. Heheh, I love my Dad!

I have been feeling a little off-colour myself this week. Not sick, exactly, but not well either. I couldn't quite figure out what was wrong with me - all I knew was that my body was craving something, but I couldn't nut out what it was. Then my glance fell upon our fruit bowl. Suddenly it all came to me: I needed grapefruit! And ginger! And oranges! And boy oh boy, I needed them now!

10 minutes and some deft knife work later, I had a ginger citrus salad before me. Reader, I am ashamed to say that as soon as I had finished snapping these pics, I wolfed it down in the most unladylike manner possible. But it was good, so good - exactly what I needed. In the Dad Sliding Scale, I am back on top with all pistons firing. Phew!


Ginger Citrus Salad

1 ruby grapefruit
1 orange
small knob of ginger
1/4 teaspoon raw caster sugar (or to taste)

1 - Using a sharp knife, remove the peel from the grapefruit and orange, then cut the fruit into slices. Place into a bowl.

2 - Remove the skin from the ginger, and grate a 1cm piece on top of the fruit. Toss to combine so the ginger mingles in nicely with the fruit juices.

3 - Scatter the sugar on top, then munch away.