It's Me, Sarah

Stripey Heaven!

Yay! I have finally finished the Granny Stripe blanket that I started in February.  To be honest I didn't expect to finish it so soon, I thought it would be a much longer ongoing project!

I love it's random stripey, colourful, under-co-ordinated goodness.

The pattern was, of course, from the lovely Attic 24 blog and I bought the yarn pack for the blanket from Mason's Needlecraft.

Lucy at Attic 24 made her blanket 60 stripes long.  Mine is a bit bigger as I wanted it to be 'at least' square so I have done 84 stripes (2 rows each) to get a larger blanket. It's perfect, I love it.  It has a nice weight to it and is so cosy!

All those colour changes resulted in a lot of ends to sew in and I thought I was going to go mad doing it but watching the beginning of '24' series  3 helped me get through that and then it was time for the edging.

I have never made a blanket before so I wasn't really sure where to start but after reading Attic 24 and browsing the web I decided to first do a round of treble clusters in green followed by a row of double crochet (single crochet if you are using US terms).  I finished the blanket with a simple picot edge, I didn't want anything too fancy as the kids are going to be dragging this around the house and using it to snuggle on the sofa (there will be fights over it!).  I got the picot edging pattern from a tutorial on the Knot Garden blog and it was so simple.

Amy has already claimed this blanket as her own but she doesn't call it a blanket she calls it 'the colour'!  She isn't wrong there.

She was very sleepy after her bath last night.

Next would like to make a granny square blanket, I just need to choose some yarn for that.

 

Barcelona Skirt Take 2 - The Layered version

Actually, it should be Barcelona skirt take 1 because I made this cord layered Barcelona skirt before I made the Alexander Henry Tattoo Rose fabric one but I just didn't blog it!

I had the pattern for this skirt quite a while ago and I saw a friend (Fiona Beckman) make it out of cord and I just had to try it. I love it in the cord, it is perfect to wear with boots and tights and now that I have washed and worn mine quite a lot the cord is beginning to fray to give that Glasto chic look (very topical eh?).

Fiona had also added a ruffle and some flowers to the bottom of her skirt which I loved so I had to embellish mine as well.  I chose to make layered flowers with a button in the centre.  For the scrapbookers out there do you recognise the buttons?  They are Jenni Bowlin Studios Vintage Buttons - they were perfect for this skirt!

I want to make another cord one, I love it!  I am also on the look out for more gorgeous cotton fabric to make another cotton one. I love these skirts, they are so easy to make and they are the perfect shape for me.

The kids have gone to the China Fleet Club with Mark to have a swim so I have got an hours peace which is lovely.  Later I am going to make Jamie Oliver's delicious chicken pie (without the mushrooms - I am allergic) accompanied by some fresh courgettes which the lovely man from the allotments behind my house (I don't even know his name!) left in my garden for me this morning :)

I think we may be having a bit of an X-Men marathon this afternoon whilst I crack on with a bit of crochet because I am getting on really well with my granny stripe blanket.  I think it is time to sew in all the ends and begin to crochet the edge - Whoop!

Have a lovely Sunday.

Sarah Speed Scraps - A Grand Day Out

I haven't really done anything crafty for a couple of weeks!  Sometimes it just goes like that doesn't it?  I have just had a lot going on at home dealing with the kids (Drs appointments and so on!).

Today I thought I would give myself an hour in the morning to do something and I created a layout.  I really enjoyed it, I may do some crochet tonight if my bad wrist will let me.

Sometimes you just have to take time out for yourself :)

Here is a video:

 

Supplies

•    Paper: My Minds Eye & Cosmo Cricket
•    My Little Shoebox:  Alpha
•    Papermania: Raffia
•    K & Co: Ephemera  Butterfly
•    Maya Road: Corrugated Trees & Kraft Envelope
•    Basic Grey: Office Tab
•    Lace Tape from Ebay
•    Ranger: Studio Paint (white)
•    Tim Holtz: Tiny Paperclip
•    Tattered Angels: Glimmer Mist (Riptide)
•    Stampin’ Up: Heart Punch
•    Clearsnap: Smooch Accent Ink
•    Tombow: Aqua Glue
•    Scotch: ATG Tape Gun

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Egg Sandwich Love

When I mention the following and find that people do not use their Breville sandwich toaster to make egg sandwiches I am shocked!  Don't you know what you are missing?

To put right this affront to the lovely egg sandwich I am making them public so that those of you who haven't tried this delicacy can give it a go.  It was my Mum that did this as I was growing up and I have to say that my children (and me!) love it as much as I did then.

I am sure a lot of poeple do this but if you don't, just try it!

All you need to do is the following:

• Put the sandwich maker on to warm up (please note:  it must be a sandwich toaster that seals the edges such as the Breville)
• Take Your pieces of bread and spread one side of each piece with butter - thinly
• Place a piece of bread into the toaster butter side down (ie touching the hot plate)
• Take a spoon and press the bread into the triangular cavities of the toaster to make little dishes or hollows

For the next part you have to be quick to prevent the egg running out (because those hollows you made don't really stay down but they do help)

• Crack an egg into the bread using the edge of the egg shell break the yolk in half and get half of it in each half of the sandwich
• Add a little salt and lots of pepper (if you like pepper as much as me)
• Put your other piece of bread on top (butter side up) and close your machine.  The butter makes the outside lovely and crispy
• Cook the sandwich for about 3-4 minutes (or longer if you want a harder yolk). 

The egg expands to fill the sandwich and, believe me, they taste delicious hot or cold.  They will be very hot at first so I cut them in half for the kids to cool them down.  My children love to dip them in red sauce :)

Enjoy!

Geek Girl Card

Here is the card I made for my friend Jo for her birthday last month.  I love the stamp by Kenny K, so much fun to colour in, I used Copic markers for this one.

And, of course, I decorated the inside :)

Jo liked it, that's the main thing :)