Icing on the cake

Our Belle's activity last night was cup cake decorating and what fun we had! I am simply astounded by the many gadgets and gizmos that are available it feels like child's play! 

It was lovely to have an excuse to bake cup cakes, I miss my children being young as we often baked cakes together. These came out quite well although their peaks might just have to be cut off. 

Oh my, this takes me back to my days of making birthday cakes for my children, I once made a lot of Pokemon creatures for my son's tenth birthday. 

I was not sure about the colours that were available from the store so I chose smaller quantities and then mixed in my own colour. It was supposed to be vintage - so I chose pale green, pale blue and pink. It was such great fun and I had not even arrived at the meeting! 

I can also give you a little glimpse of my vintage china I picked up at a local sale this weekend. This is a little corner of a beautiful art Deco plate. 

I could not resist the beautiful design - it reminds me of the embroidery patterns that were abundant in the 1930's - and I like to dream about having a cottage garden one day! 

I had such fun making the circle of little flowers - less is more is not a philosophy I ascribe to more of the 'how can I fill the space with as much as possible' 

The pink icing was used with a stencil rolling pin - I love the raised daisy design.  

The green and white Gerbera  was a mould I have had for a long time but I had not really played with it much. It is so effective - I like the combination of the white and green. 

The blue plate is a small cake plate my son gave me for mothers day years ago. 

The quilted design was from a press, it was amazingly easy! 

I had the little button makers - I cannot resist adding a sewing theme to my baking! 

The lady running the event had some gorgeous little cutters, these little hearts are tiny! 

The butterfly moulds were also easy to use, and I lightly dusted this one with edible glitter to highlight the delicate design. 

I found this sandwich plate in a vintage shop recently, it matches my rosebud tea set!

Someone's birthday is coming up soon, just the perfect excuse for more fun.

Can't let all that effort go to waste! 

Truly scrumptious adventure

I went up to the Cotswolds for Easter, it gave me an opportunity to spend a little time on the garden, plant a few seeds but it was also a time for relaxation and rest. It has been a busy four months, there have been so many problems at work that had to be resolved, requiring persistent effort. Not only that there are times when I feel that my life is not my own and work seems to spill over. Going up to the cottage then, is a break away, there are no work messages bleeping at me, I find I can get away from everyone and simply relax - it is blissful and I find myself wondering why I don't do it more often. 

We spent a lovely Saturday wandering around Alcester, a pretty little town in Warwickshire (Shakespeare country!). We saw a whole gaggle of town criers as they were holding the National Town Crier championships! it was a sight to behold - the gentlemen in their red coats, tricorn hats and some of them had wigs - they looked as if they had just stepped out of the 17th Century. 

Just round the corner opposite the church we found this little gem - its called Truly scrumptious and I loved it so much I thought I would take some pictures to share with you. 

The counter looked really appetising with the pretty cakes in their glass domes.

Just to the left was a lovely snug area, all the books on the bookshelf are tea related, either fictional books set in tea shops or cake designs and such. 

This pretty little cake was sitting in an alcove. 

We were led to a charming tea room - pretty tablecloths and vintage china was laid out and there was lovely vintage music playing softly. We took a seat right by the window and had a view of the pretty garden - there were tables outside but it was a little chilly for that in April. 

Cakes abounded in lots of nooks and crannies - alongside quotations in pastel frames - all tea related. 

We opted for traditional English afternoon tea - not only enough to satisfy our hunger but we took a few cakes home as well. The scones were divine Mr D eats his in Cornwellian tradition, jam first and then cream, but I like the Devonian - cream first then jam. 

It is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area, or if you are getting married they do fabulous cakes

just follow this link

Cloth Kits Sewing Bee

  

One of the wonderful things about living in West Sussex is that there are four marvellous fabric shops in Chichester, one of which is Clothkits. The brand started in the late sixties was hugely popular with printed fabric patterns for children and adults alike - it was bought by a large company in the eighties and remained dormant for 17 years until Kay Mawer rescued it and opened the ClothKits shop in Chichester. It is absolutely wonderful, old patterns that brought back nostalgic memories of childhood sewing, combine with a beautiful vibrant collection of patterns that have brought the brand on trend for the current wave of stitchers. 

So when this invitation from Cloth Kits arrived in my mailbox I could not resist 

Become a SEWING BEE!    

Professional Finishing Techniques for Dressmaking

Can you already sew?Join Maria Pulley and learn some top tips for turning your sewing into something to be proud of!

This hands on one day workshop will equip you with a bundle of professional techniques in dressmaking. 

The course tutor Maria Pulley was an inspiration as soon as she stepped into the spacious workroom - she was wearing a wool dress of her own design that was beautiful and fitted her  like a glove. 

Maria began the course by asking us about our sewing skills and what we wanted out of the course - she was willing to adapt the course structure to meet our needs.  We were quite a range of skills from beginner to more experienced, yet everyone was thrilled to be learning - and the work room was a buzz of enthusiasm. 

The classroom environment was perfect: large, bright and cheery, each student (8 of us in all) had a machine to ourselves the aspects of the machine were explained to us so that we all felt confident. The large cutting out table gave another working area where Maria explained the techniques together with a huge box of material scraps for us to practise on. Instruction sheets for each technique that were very clear in by the end of the afternoon each student had completed samples to go with each hand out. 

Closed seam - overlocked edge

Understitched facing on curved edge - the understitching does really make a huge different to the finish 

Two curved edges - this technique is very useful for princess seams in particular

Open seam with top stitching along both sides

Piped seam these were beautiful and easy to accomplish

closed seam with top stitching - topstitching looks lovely but precision is key

French seam - right and wrong side  these are useful in lingerie or sheer fabrics, or if you want to encase raw edges. They are a wonderful finish which makes a dress superior to off the peg garments. 

Welt pocket / buttonhole - I have wanted to learn this technique for a long time, I simply adore the effect and it makes a button hole a feature. 

I would recommend the classes,  they are superb value, the class size was just right together with a  constant supply of hot drinks kept us refreshed. I can't wait to enrol for another course. Maria was a very talented seamstress and teacher. I have been sewing now for over 20 years, but I learned so much, Maria made sure everyone went home confident and enthusiastic. 

London Weekend

My darling Mr D is a very talented man he knows exactly how to take a girl on an adventure! I saw a few pictures of the V&A a friend of mine had posted - which made me all dreamy - how lovely it would be to see the costume museum -   it had been closed when I went to the V&A last year. 

No sooner said than done, I was rattling off to the big smoke the following Friday - the clackity clack, closing the miles while I sunk back in my seat reading relishing the enforced relaxation - driving and traffic queues a distant memory. 

It is so romantic to meet your beloved at a train station - catching sight of him waiting at the gate my heart skipped a beat, I felt we were starring in our own 40's film. He took my bags and led me out of the station and round the corner to a lovely pink pub called the Biosdale that has a reputation for a combination of extensive range of whiskies, cigars and live jazz. Luckily the cigars were being smoked up on the roof terrace -  the jazz band was lovely. We drunk champagne, eating cheese on toast with truffle mayonnaise enjoying the vibrant atmosphere as the mellifluous sax rose and fell. All around were celebrations of the Scottish traditions tartans and a lovely portrait of Robbie Burns. 

Mr D's talent for spotting perfection continued our boutique hotel, the Thompson Belgraves was very warm and welcoming, the room was splendid and joy of joys a nice deep bath! The staff had just the right mix of friendliness and professionalism I particularly liked the way we were always warmly welcomed when we came back from our shopping jaunts. 

Saturday afternoon, Mr D surprised me with a lovely afternoon tea at Aspley's restaurant in the Lanseborough hotel. I am a dovotee of of tea, crisp linen, bone china and cake! This hotel had a tea sommelier -  with a whole menu dedicated to many varieties of teas -  first blush assam is my favourite, and Mr D had a Ceylon with rose which came in silver tea pots and was poured for us! We had a very wide selection of savouries and sweets, I never thought I could be all 'caked out' reluctant to miss the taste of the raspberry mousse we just could not find room for we took them home in a lovely little box. 

We  headed for the Hakkasan in Soho late into the evening, their cocktails were delicious as was the food. I had not tried soft shell crab before - I really enjoyed it despite it having a resemblance to a large deep fried spider! Once again the buzzing atmosphere was splendid, the cosiness of our table was enhanced by the delightful screens -our hunger sated we headed to Ronnie Scott's Jazz club.

Oh how divine! the club had a nostalgic atmosphere, with pictures adorning the walls of famous names who had played there. The venue offered an intimacy with the band - low ceilings the stage - all around were such lovely little glowing lamps - if I could have changed one thing it would have been a small dance floor - but then I am more of a dancer than a musician. 

We spent a lovely few hours on Sunday enjoying the costume museum, there were some beautiful outfits and work from famous names.  What struck me most is that fashions seemed to be all about enhancing a woman's feminine shape, either through cut, to accentuate the curve of her hips, to to drape in such a way as to highlight various aspects of her body. Victorians seemed to focus on the waists, while the Regency period highlighted the bust, with classical lines that hid the shape of the body below the bust line. When I reached the later examples, I saw the fifties dresses emphasising the waist but the sixties seemed to focus more on showing leg, which was completely new. Looking at the clothing after the eighties we appear to have lost any emphasis on enhancement  and the fashion seems to be an androgynous mix of jeans, tee-shirts that distort the body rather than flatter. I found myself agreeing with one of the quotations in the fashion book I read in the bookshop - 'we seem to have forgotten how to dress' 

What is fantastic about the current trend for vintage is that women can choose to express themselves through clothing - re-claiming any era of the last century and make it their own: be it the forties with their victory rolls and neat tailoring or the tight waisted big net petticoats of the fifties. Women are no longer slaves to fashion instead they have a choice to return to an age when women were dressed up, stockings, make up, hair do's that make the most of their femininity. 

We walked along knightsbridge to Harrods for afternoon tea, the dining room was lovely and our table overlooked the street below. We ate macaroons and supped Darjeeling from the pretty duck egg china, watching the world rush by - bliss. 

It was a fantastic weekend - I came home inspired and a very happy girl - thank you Mr D you are a fantabulous man. 

Shhh.. a pool of one's own!

Beautiful isn't it? There is nothing quite like having a swimming pool all to yourself! No it isn't mine, I swim at the local hotel - I plan the visit to co-incide with their dining times so I get this all to myself! 

It is the next best thing to having your own pool and it is cheaper than paying to go to the local amenity pool! 

Paolozzi

Saturday we visited the Pallant House Gallery which was exhibiting works by Eduardo Paolozzi, it is well worth a visit. Paolozzi created a beautiful mural for the Tottenham Court Road Underground station. His work seems to be mainly influenced by the space era of the 1950's with mechanical shapes and collages of 1950's American advertising. Like many artists his work is not limited to just painting, textiles, and Wedgwood plates, film as well as sculpture. He experimented with wax casting, creating heads out of cast metal it was interesting to see the process unfold.

The poster prints are a riot of colour and mechanical shapes, that I found it a little busy there was so much to attract the eye, but it reflects the colour explosion of the 1950's so well - this was a time when vibrancy was an reaction to the deprivations of war time Britain.

The mechanical drawings and prints remind me of the Steam punk imagery that is a subculture of today, where steam and monster structures combine with robotic implants on humans. These have been recurring themes throughout the ages, right back to the luddites who saw machines replacing jobs.

It reminded me of a period of drawing I did a few years ago, when I discovered some old engineering stencils - I loved the technical aspect of drawing and used them to create an imaginary machine of my own. Sadly the original is lost, but this is a photocopy - the tones have been lost from the original pencil but it gives a flavour.

My two favourite objects from the exhibition was a gold porcelain piece - it had been cast from impressions and then made from porcelain which was then covered in gold. I think the structure would make the light reflections absolutely beautiful.

I really liked the gold version of the Wedgewood Plate, mostly because I can follow the pattern and texture more easily than the colourful version. 

The combination of blue tones and pattern is gorgeous, and very inspirational.  Well worth a visit if you can it is running until the 13th October 2013. 

A little indulgence

It has been a busy month one way or another, it is the run up to my daughter's wedding and we all went out on Saturday night dressed as fairies!

I am still amazed that my little girl is all grown up, having a home of her own and getting married! It is as if all those years bringing up my two children have passed in a blur.

After the frivolity of the hen night, it was wonderful to be whisked away to the cosy indulgence of the Baliffscourt hotel, for a little spa break, by my lovely new man S.

Looking like a manor house that goes back centuries, it is surprising to discover it was actually built in the 1920's using old re-claimed stone. It is a delightful place, full of quiet nooks and crannies, you never feel the proximity of other guests, it seems that you have the place to yourself.

Our room was beautifully decorated comfortable and cosy, we found the secret underground passageway to the main house a delight!.  The staff are very friendly and attentive to every need the food was exquisite, perfectly prepared and delicious. The grounds are beautifully kept, tennis courts and croquet as well as a lovely walk down to the beach - dogs are welcome.

The spa itself is heavenly, set apart in a lovely large barn, with swimming pool, sauna, steam room and hot tubs. There is a lounge area to get free tea and coffee and the treatments are a wonderful pampering experience, being massaged on a waterbed was incredibly relaxing. After just a couple of days I felt like I had been on holiday for a week.

Transitions Bread

I have been making bread for a while now, but I needed a little bit of hands on expertise which might give me the confidence to bake great bread, efforts up to now have been 'all right'. 

A great friend told me about Transitions Chichester which was set up a few years ago, it is a scheme where people share their skills to help one another, so you can offer your time which can be simple tasks such as babysitting to gardening and baking. 

So I was up bright and early Saturday morning, armed with pinny, a large mason cash bowl and a jug for Julia's bread making course held in her own kitchen. There were four of us in all and Julia quickly put us at ease - (once a teacher always a teacher!). Together we all made loaves with Julia's gentle guidance. I ended the morning not just with a loaf, but enthusiasm and new friends. 

The transitions scheme has its own currency, the chi, which Julia earned by hosting the course, chi's can be then exchanged for help or learning new skills. I think it is a great idea and one that had me wondering what I can offer. The great thing about sharing a skill with someone, is that you can gleefully delight in their success knowing that you were a tiny seed in their creativity. 

And here.. at last (third time lucky!) is a seeded loaf, made with honey not sugar! I am so proud! 

While out walking with the dog, I came across this lovely clump of snowdrops nestling among the shade, such a beautiful sight that I could not help but share with you. Sunday was a gloriously sunny day, A and I walked the dog along the sandy beach and I really appreciate how lucky I am to be so close to the sea, with a lovely man and the dog teaches me to enjoy each moment, as he chases his frisbee enthusiastically his face in a wide grin!