Gadget Pouch for Upper Arm with Dog Bag Pocket

These warm days have presented me with a problem, now while they are lovely and I'm not knocking them  I do usually have to wear either jeans, a jacket or both when out walking in this country.  So this usually means I always have somewhere for dog bags and my mp3 if I take it.

Summer dresses however do not have the necessary pockets so I have been finding that I sometimes have to take a bag, a bag with three dogs in tow is not very practical, I just feel too overloaded so tonight before we went out I quickly stitched this little pouch to go on my arm.

I know you can buy them but it is just a pocket with a strap after all so I just recycled a bit of denim and it was ready in about fifteen minutes.

It is nothing fancy but it serves the purpose and I can fit the dog bags in the front and tuck the excess wire down the side of the gadget.  A couple of bits of Velcro to make it stay put and it didn't fall off so success.

The good thing about making it myself is that it is exactly the right size for my mp3 (creative Zen x-fi, I have had it about five years, amazing sound) just fold and place on where you need to stitch.

There we have have it, I didn't set out to make anything today but things you need in a hurry are always the most satisfying however rough around the edges, if it does the job that's what matters.

Charity Shop Finds and Cruelty Free Hair Care

I have had quite an absence here again with the main reason  being I haven't really had any new makes to share. There have been a few new recipes tried out but in the teatime rush they have been whipped up and consumed before any snaps have been taken and before you know it,  it's a new day!

So now the summer is here I hope to be a bit more organised and not leave so long between posts. On the topic of being organised I began to declutter yesterday, I have taken two large bags full of clothes to the charity shop and there is still more to follow.  I bought the two items I am about to share with you a few weeks ago but even then I had in the back of my mind that quite a few things needed to go.

I don't like waste so I always try to get a lot of wear out of my items or modify them but there does come a time when some things are no longer looking their best or you just shove them to the back of the wardrobe all the time.  When this happens as it did to me, a big sort out is in order.

Quite a few of the items came from the charity shop to begin with or were handmade, there was a time when I couldn't let handmade stuff go but I had to get over this or have no hanging room.

Here are the two dresses I picked up for £4 a piece...

I like this as I have another floral one and they do not require an iron.

Now this one will need tweaking as you can see how it hangs on my mannequin, the sides need taking in, shoulders taking up and some adjustment under arm but then it will be fabulous.

So really when I keep finding super items like these I don't have much of a need to make anything just resize. This is something I have been doing for a few people recently and in particular with maxi dresses I don't where all the giants are that these things are supposed to fit!

Moving on, I have been doing a lot of research this week on trying to find a hair colour that has not been tested on animals.  You would think that would be fairly straight forward but it appears that unless you want to dye your hair violet, electric blue or green there is not a lot to go on as all articles direct you to these sorts of items.  That is great if that is what you are after but I just wanted a blonde shade.  I did find some good reports about Naturtint (available from Holland and Barrett) but then I read as many bad reviews and that put me off.

Well after seeing a comment that Boots do a lot of cruelty free as do Superdrug I had an aha moment as I already use the naturals make up from Boots and I knew that was ok and the body lotion from superdrug.  So I went off in person to see what I could find.

Here is what I came back with...

I will let you know how I get on with the colour, it is £3 pound cheaper than my usual as well and it may not lift as well and I will do a patch skin test first.  I also found Daniel Field are cruelty free and have really good reviews but you cannot lighten only add colour with those, worth remembering or one to try when I have more grey. The superdrug shampoo I bought is half price at the moment also.

It was a whirlwind visit to Meadowhall to get these items as I can't spend too long in there, back now so I really should do some more sorting. Now I saw a little video by Marie Kondo who said if I don't feel joy when I hold an item it has to go!  Well I don't know about that, because some days we would be throwing the whole contents of our wardrobe out wouldn't we?  I have not read her book has anyone else? I would love to hear your thoughts on it.   I am certainly trying to make more of a conscious effort to control the contents of the house, items just seem to breed don't they?

Holidays and Charity Shop Finds

It's been a while I know but I have been so busy!  No new makes to share as there is nothing I am really inspired to put the time into at the moment with other things going on.
We had a week  away at Whitby for half term but that was cut short due to the horrendous weather, when we left Sheffield I swear the sun was shining and, despite the forecast I had hopes it would not be a total washout.  I was wrong, as we got closer the sky got blacker and it didn't really stop raining until Thursday evening when we came back.  The worst of it was the wind which was so icy I pretty much lived in a hoody with a coat over the top.

Now as we live in England of course we are used to this kind of thing on holiday, the problem is as we have three dogs we can't even go off and do indoor types of things because we can't take the dogs in and for some ridiculous reason you are not allowed to leave your dogs in your own caravan.  I don't understand this as on a cool day with a window ajar they would just settle down and go to sleep!

So all we could do was walk around in the cold and wet or sit in the caravan. We did manage to travel over and see my sister in law at Bridlington which was good and she allows dogs!

Here is the scene from Whitby Abbey which is beautiful but it really was cold.

Before we left we also had a bit of a drama with the caravan and the motor mover battery went flat, it rolled on our drive and scraped underneath.  My husband now needs to repair this, after looking around for a 'new to us' caravan we have decided we will make the repairs then sell it but not replace.

After eight years of caravan holidays it is a little sad but with my boys being older now they do not really want to be cramped if we are confined due to bad weather. We are restricted as to how often we can use it as I follow term times but my husband has to book his holidays way in advance and we are still met with restrictions as to which ones will take three dogs so enough!

After doing a bit of research we have found some delightful cottages in England that accept three dogs and while we still will not leave them unattended, at least I won't have to pop on a coat and waterproof shoes to go for a visit to the toilet/shower block.  There also won't be the ongoing costs of insuring and maintaining a caravan that is not used so often.

Now don't get me wrong I still think caravan holidays are incredibly cost effective for families, our first was only £900 we did it up ourselves and had lots of cheap, fun holidays in it.  My children were younger then and I have to say camp sites have become more expensive especially if you take pets.  One that I looked at wanted an additional £7 per night per dog! Why for goodness sake? They stay in the caravan with us or are on a lead as we leave the site. Plain ridiculous, so for a weeks holiday that is an extra £147 (for our three dogs) on top of pitch, awning and extra  people (your pitch cost only covers you for two adults) all that so your dogs can sleep in your property while it is parked in a field.

I know I am starting to rant so I will stop. Of course it was good to get away and be together it just felt like the end of an era for now at least.  I think if you are retired and you can take off for a trip when the forecast is good then that is just great.

So in addition to the holiday I have been working on a short course on Future learn, introduction to Italian.  It runs for 6 weeks and I am on week 4,   I am really enjoying it and had there been an internet connection at the site I could have got a bit done there, but there wasn't.

We had a walk to the local charity shops today, a glance on the rails didn't reveal anything suitable to wear or use for fabric but I did get a number of good books, a couple for my son and the rest for me.

The Hundred year old man who climbed out of a window,  I have to say I have had before from the library and I didn't get far with, but everyone has told me it is really good so for 79p I thought I would maybe give it another go.

The bottom three look a bit different so I thought I would try them, I do find I want to read something of a different genre sometimes but don't know where to start.

I read this last week...

This was really good, if you enjoyed 'Outliers' or 'Blink' and have an interest in motivation and what drives people this is worth a look.

Pyjamas from a Duvet Set (Re-fashion)

Well I kept on staring at the duvet set that I bought from the charity shop and it was telling me it should be pyjama bottoms. Other ideas were passing through my mind but this one was recurring so I got on and made them.  They were complete in under an hour and I am sure they will be really comfy to sit around in the evening.  I am not a fan of nightwear but it is good to wear around the house when you come home and just want to be comfortable.  I usually change out of work clothes into jeans when I get in to walk the dogs but late evening these will be ideal.

I had to put them on to get a clear daytime shot.

Obviously I won't be wearing them outside with shoes normally! I am only on the back garden here.

So that can be my 'me made May' for today, I have been having a look and the only rules I can see is that you wear something handmade by yourself every day.  I have been doing that but forgetting to photograph and post, so that is today sorted.

We have had a lovely lunch I made the curried aubergine slices from the Prashad at Home cook book I got from the library, meat eaters had chicken and a taste of the veggie food. We also had chickpea burgers that I made and froze the other day, a home made slaw of all kinds of veg whizzed through the food processor (a present from my husband on Friday) potatoes and chutney.  Desert is the berry vegan cheese cake I made last week and froze, off to eat that now!

Banana Loaf (GF Vegan), Charity Shop Fabric and Books

I'm sure there are many things I have missed out on posting about these last couple of weeks.  I keep finding myself thinking oh I forgot to take a picture of that and so on.  The reason I feel this is happening is not that there isn't anything going on, but rather I have been trying to fit too much in.  Then on the occasions that I do have time planned to post and catch up something unexpected happens like a visitor unannounced.

So for the last few weeks I have been writing down  what I intend to get done as I find for me this works, if it has to be crossed off then I will do it.  I printed off some free weekly planner sheets and wrote down things I would be disappointed if I did not do.  This has worked but time being what it is, I was overly optimistic as to how much you can fit in at the end of a working day therefore there hasn't been much time left.

So as well as trying new recipes I had wrote down guitar every day, Spanish, Dutch, dog walk (which can be 45-60 minutes) reading (fiction &non fiction) and TV usually after 9.30.  Well when you consider we don't usually finish our meal until about 6.45 that is a lot to cram in. Reading I fit in anywhere and bit before bed, any sewing is often done at the end of the week.

I have decided to give myself a break, I will still make the lists but maybe alternate the days for some things. I also have beginners Italian starting next Monday with Future Learn so I need space for that!

Anyway here is a little catch up, after the cheese cake went down well last week I made a GF vegan banana chocolate loaf from the book  Vegan and Gluten-Free Baking, that I shared a few weeks ago.  This one is fabulous again!  If you have not got this book you have to try and get a copy everything just comes out wonderful.  I have only one, dark, evening photo as it came out of the oven so here it is...

It was just so tasty and a good size, we were all taking it to school and work until Wednesday and I was coming home and having a bit more as it is so good when there is food for me to have with a cuppa.
I have taken a picture of the recipe, I only used two bananas in mine and it was enough.

Yesterday I had all sorts planned for my day then my mum turned up just before lunch and stayed all afternoon so that changed things a bit.  I was going to visit at that end of the day and we had agreed on that but she decided to change her mind. I had only just got back form the shops so she nearly had a wasted trip!  Anyway we had a walk down to the charity shop and she got a Regata fleece which she was very pleased with and I spotted this lovely single duvet set for the fabric.  If I had a guest room or girls it would definitely be going on a bed but I don't, so fabric it is.

You can't see the colours clearly in this picture but it is really nice, a sort of duck egg shade.  I had wanted something for backing for when I start a quilt so I think the stripy part will be that, the front however could be anything, a skirt, pyjama bottoms, I'm not sure I will have to ponder it a bit.  My husband said 'you are not using it for clothing though are you?  Well I don't see why not it would just be a hard repeat match up with the pattern being on a large scale.  I might also add the duvet cover with a pillow slip was £3! Such a good buy.

I picked up a couple more books from the library, one that I ordered on crochet and the other is one I just spotted on Indian cooking.

I have already planned to make the curried aubergine slices to have with lunch tomorrow form the Prashad at Home book and Ruby and Custard's Crochet has been flicked through lots already (I picked them up yesterday). Both are full of lots of inspiration and I took a few pictures from the crochet book.

I know it's not the time of year but I will be making this at some point.

Again not the time of year but this dove is so cute.

Now I don't have any little princesses but if I did I would be making these tiaras.

There are so many lovely ideas in this book it may have to go on my list of ones I love, so will buy at a later date when I see it at a good price. Have a lovely weekend.

Vegan Berry Cheese Cake

Well it looks like summer has arrived and I have made the most of it by sitting outside, and generally making sure I don't miss any because who knows? It is England it may be snowing next week.  I'm going to appear really old now but getting all the washing dry, how good is that after months of hanging things indoors.

I saw this recipe for a vegan berry cheesecake here at Pure Ella I've looked at it a couple of times and thought I'd have a go while the weather is so good (it is a cold pudding after all).
The only thing I changed was I put banana in with the strawberry mix and left out the raspberries as I wanted to save them for another day.

 Those are cranberries you can see in the base, my base mix was not very well ground up as I don't have a food processor but I am going to look out for one as I make so many things that require one now.  It didn't take away from the taste though and as a bonus it is completely healthy as everything in it is natural.

The rest of the family had real cream on it completely missing the point of it being vegan!  I had soya cream on mine.  There are six portions left in the freezer for another day, you just take it out and let it defrost in the fridge for 30 minutes. Thank you Pure Ella.

Lots of things starting to come to life in the garden which is nice so just some of the pots that will need filling. Hopefully it will be fine again next week so we can do that, here are a few plants that are currently adding a bit of colour.

I love these little flowers, the colours are so bright.

This has been coming back for years but is now quite large and faded, also as you can see the slugs keep having a go at it.

This is the same age but looking healthier.

I have had a few alterations to do today as well, there are still more to do this week for my husband, son and friend so no new makes in that area to show at the moment.

This Week

Just had a lovely long weekend despite the rubbish weather and I have resolved to always feel this gratitude whatever the weather is doing, I admit to being a bit of a summer girl and living in England this can result in disappointment.
Today I had a really good long walk in the pouring rain, and the trick is loud rock music and a good coat. Although when I got home my raincoat had let water through but never mind I just got changed.

Books this week, I have finished The Girl Who Fell from the  Sky, I started it a few weeks ago but as usual I have had a few on the go along side it, philosophy and crafts and stuff. I also read As A Man Thinketh  which came yesterday and I read this morning but it was short but amazing!  The third book I read was The Story this is a Christian book and worth reading if you are interested in this area/faith.

I really must try and read my books as I acquire them but I always tend to dip in and out of them. I've always been that way since I was a child, I always have a few on the go.

I have just added Semper app Semper to my tablet to help with learning Spanish vocab it is quite good as it gives you a little quiz every time you switch it on.

Currently listening to  'Away from The Sun, Three Doors Down', I've had this a month or so but just really getting into it now.  Also listening to lots of Snow Patrol today just enjoying them again right now.

Another thing this week is check lists, I fall in and out of doing these but I'm currently in favour of them as you sometimes feel you haven't accomplished much when really you have done an awful lot.  So as well as keeping you on track they also provide a bit of evidence just for you that no you haven't wasted your day, you achieved rather a lot and be proud!  So yes, ticking things off right now.

 Right off to watch Game of Thrones.

Sunrise Makeup Bag

I have got to the end of the month and realised that I have not done a patchwork project for this month.  I saved lots of ideas most of them really need to be incorporated into a quilt to get the full effect and I am not wanting to get into that at the moment it feels like more of an autumn project.  I am still hoping that the weather will turn warmer soon ( I live in hope!) rather than snow, so the plan is I won't be needing quilts just yet. 

One idea that I liked was that of a sunrise design so rather than put it on a cushion again I thought it could go on a makeup bag with a wrist strap.

I used a decorative stitch to give the impression of rays coming off it, I had also thought about some beading but that can always come later, lining wipe-able for any makeup spillage.

It is only a small project this time but I had such a run of furniture and dress making on my last break from work that I haven't really got around to anything bigger on this front. I will have to choose something exciting for May.

Another picture inside, with the fading light I couldn't decide which was best.

I picked up some books from the library today that I had on order, a few of them on crochet as I need to get back to a bit of that as well before I forget how to do it.

Those Russian dolls are so cute I must give those a try, I also like some of the chunky baskets from the book bottom right.

The materials used in the makeup bag above were all recycled and leftover pieces, nothing new was bought.  The zip had been unpicked and saved in the past, looking back over a lot of the things I make a lot of the same designs on fabric come up again and again.  I don't like to waste any of it, I was joking with my husband that he should tell a colleague of his who I made a vintage dress for that the scraps of cherry fabric were being used again.  I made a dress for someone in that print eighteen months ago and there are still little bits left.

If anyone has any ideas for the really tiny bits I would love to hear about them.

Vegan Chocolate Cake (Wheat Free)

I ordered a new cook book this week, I mainly get them from the library but this one looked so good that I knew I would want to keep this one, plus it was just £5 with free delivery.  It came yesterday and I had a good drool looking through it.  So I decided the first thing I would make would be the chocolate cake as I knew everyone would eat that. I already made the carrot cake from the vegan website last week but forgot to photograph and post

The organic cacao powder was expensive but well worth it, it tastes amazing in the cake and when you open the packet it smells wonderful.  I followed the instructions precisely today and the cake came out brilliant I'm sure I will be making a lot from this book.  It is quite a size too, I suppose I didn't expect it to rise without the eggs but it just shows there are ways around these things.

I didn't do the icing as I always feel it can be a bit much, too sweet and just extra expense.  Also some types of frosting mean that the cake has to be consumed straight away, this is no good if there are only a few of you or you want it to last.

This is the book, it is a joy to look at as there is a full colour photograph for every recipe.

Pecan and Pear Vegan Upside Down Cake

I made this yummy pudding last Sunday and it has taken me until now to get around to sharing it.  As of last Friday I became vegan and I have taken the 30 day pledge here.  I had a couple of gluten free

cookery books from the library and I have marked all the pages of things I want to make however I am now adapting some of them to be vegan.

I was already part the way there being vegetarian and intolerant to milk but I could eat some cheese, now I have switched the cheese to a vegan alternative and cut out the eggs.  Any advice or recipes/recommendations of products greatly appreciated.

Here is the finished desert...

I know, I should have centred the plate a bit better! It really was a last minute photo though as I was just about to cut into it.

It is so nice with soya cream on and full of healthy ingredients so no guilt eating pudding at all.

The original recipe was from 'Deliciously Wheat, Gluten and Dairy Free'  so the only things I had to change for this recipe were substituting two tbsp.'s of chia seeds mixed in water instead of egg and also I used Argave nectar (only a small amount) instead of the quantity of sugar stated as I thought it would be too sweet.  Other than that I followed the recipe just scaling it down a bit.

Here the two books I got from the library...

I have not included the recipe as it isn't mine  but the book (on the left) is well worth a look, order form the library.  I have marked a couple of recipes in the Phil Vickery book as well but I preferred the other one.

I have made a few other things this week mostly made on the spot and without time to photograph.  One thing I really enjoyed was fried Kale with garlic mushrooms, spring onions, peppers and fried tofu.  I ate that for tea with older son, then cold the next day in a salad.  Oh dear stomach upset for two days!  I have not really had much tofu in the past but I really think it was that, that upset me.  All other ingredients I eat regularly so that is a shame.
There is still more to try so I will be cooking more new things but giving the tofu a miss.

I finished a couple of books 'Brain Hacks' was a really good one and I made myself a little list as I went along and also ' The Wisdom of Groundhog Day' by Paul Hannam was really good. There are lots of ideas to bring you back to the present, stop chasing future happiness and be happy now, very true.

Butternut Squash and Sugar Snap Korma, Cheap Gluten Free Curry Night

If I have a choice about what kind of food to eat when we go out it has to be curry. I have to say it has to be one of my favourite meals, so tonight I  thought I would make one. Despite the fact that my older son and fellow vegetarian had gone out and my husband and younger son wanted a beef casserole.

On days like this I generally make sure I am making enough so I can save some, I usually freeze a couple of portions and then I have a freezer meal another day for the vegetarians. 

I started off the casserole and then went out with the dogs then I started the curry when I got back.  To go with my curry today I made some sweet potato fries so I also put these in a bowl of water once chopped so they could soak for  forty five minutes.  ( This gets some starch out apparently)

So in my pan here is half a  yellow pepper, one small red onion, 100g sugar snap peas chopped, two cloves of garlic and about a third of a medium butternut squash.  So I fry these for about five minutes gently in   olive oil and add a few tbsp. water and let it simmer for about another seven to soften the squash.

I then make a space in the middle add a tiny bit more oil and one tbsp. of cumin, one tsp of turmeric and one tsp of coriander (fresh is better at the end but I didn't have any). When the spices have fried a little pour in 200ml of coconut milk and 100g of cashew nuts crushed to a powder ( or very small bits).

Now I don't own anything to grind the cashew nuts so I put them in a bag and bash them with a rolling pin (very therapeutic!)  it doesn't get every last bit but it's good enough.

As well as being good for you they thicken up the curry.

For the sweet potato fries I soaked them  first for forty five minutes, cut all the same  size so they will  cook at the same rate, blot on kitchen paper and add a small amount of oil to baking tray then space them out evenly.  Don't add salty seasoning as I read it creates steam and they go soggy, I added some herbs.

Then cook a  in hot oven for forty minutes checking and turning regularly.

Once you add the coconut milk and nuts it only takes a few more minutes, there is about three portions here but I suppose it depends on your portion sizes.

So I really enjoyed my meal, it is healthy, inexpensive per portion and ticks all the boxes for wheat free, dairy free, vegan etc.  Plus that is a meal sorted for another day, it also goes really nice in a regular baked potato,I've done that before when I have only had a small amount left to freeze.

That is a large portion there, I feel a bit full now.  Just a couple of my fries caught on the edges but these were the crispiest I have made so I would say the soaking works.  Sweet potatoes are really great, very healthy so I must eat more. They have a low glycemic index and lots of vitamin A. Although I really should add that by baking the sweet potato you increase the GI, but who wants to boil everything? They are still very nutritious as fries.

Writing Bureau Makeover

Yesterday I managed to finish painting my second piece of furniture which is a writing bureau.  I didn't go in the shop with the intention of buying this but when I saw it I just loved it, I did need something for the corner of my dining room with storage and this was perfect.

I chose a pale grey for this which is called light rain, it is very light and I was expecting a darker shade based on the sample piece in the shop.  The next shade up in this paint was too dark though and I didn't want it looking drab.

So as you can see a very pale colour, my walls are a soft white but the bureau is not very different from them.

I had thought about painting the inside but decided against that as I intend this will get a lot of use I think the finish that is already on will probably be more durable.  I gave it a good clean and added a bit of paper but not on all of the desk as it has a leather inset which you can't quite see in the photo.

While the colour is not quite what I imagined I am happy with it, it was quite battered before I sanded and painted it so now it does look like new on the outside at least.  I intend to keep a lot of my craft stuff in here as it has nice deep drawers and there is a bag of crochet hooks and wool on the floor beside it in the picture that will be going in the bottom drawer!

Here is the before picture, it was a lovely colour wood but in such a state it couldn't have been left as it was.

There were notches in the top that had to be filled and chips and dints everywhere.

I was going to spray the handles silver, but as the colour is so pale I am leaving them black as they stand out well on the new colour.  I am happy that this is another piece of furniture that has been saved and we didn't go and buy new.  My only worry is that as more people do this the second hand shops are starting to put up the prices which may mean that some people think what is the point when you can buy new cheaper.   In a lot of cases yes you can but it is mass produced, often poor quality and the furniture which is already out there is being discarded.   I hope the trend to upcycle continues, it is sad to think of all those items that are going to waste.

The two pieces of furniture I painted over the last two days both came from St Lukes Hospice Shop I also got the lamp which is on top of the bureau, so the purchases also contributed to charity.

Retro Cupboard Makeover

A few weeks ago I bought a couple of items of furniture from the charity shop  with the intention of painting them.  The first is a set of drawers which was intended for my sons bedroom but as he didn't love it as much as I did we did a swap and he had the drawers from our hallway and I decided to keep this new (new to me) set.  I keep a large chest of drawers in the hallway for shoe storage, lined with paper it is a great way to keep them all out of sight and off the floor.

I looked at lots of images of different items of furniture painted in  bright colours but after much thought I decided on a mint green for these drawers but only the frame was to be painted as the drawer fronts are such a lovely colour and go well with the green they will be left.

I love the shape of these and the little legs...

Strange light in my hallway does not give good pictures.

I like the brown with the green but I have found the varnished fronts mark really easily, I may have to coat with more varnish or if they start to get scuffed they may have to be painted to match the rest at a later date.

Temporary cut fabric for candle will be hemmed later.

It was nice to begin with I thought but I think it looks a bit more up to date now it is painted.  The colour I used is called cut grass, I don't know why it is nothing like the shade of cut grass.  It is also one coat paint but I still gave it two one never looks right to me.

Here it was to begin with...

 Right now that one is finished I am in the middle of the next piece which is a writing bureau for my dining room, I am painting that one a pale grey.  Both pieces of furniture were sanded first then given two coats of primer and then two coats of paint.  I will hopefully share the bureau tomorrow if it is finished.