where i work wednesday

i am a person who right now is lucky enough to craft all day every day, that is one of the bonuses of having major surgery a few months ago. probably the only bonus mind you. and i thought i would share with you a sneak peek of my craft room. i still have a long way to go with decorating & storage solutions but as soon as the weather is glorious i can open the windows & start painting!. that maybe quite a few weeks away though as we had snowfall last night & we are expecting a storm come the weekend. anyway, here is a little look at my desk which is directly under the window.



i try to keep my actual work surface as clear as possible as i find if my desk is clear i want to be in here more & doing what i like to do best - sewing!. i can't sew anywhere else, i am not one of those (lucky) people who are comfortable on the sofa in front of the tv sewing. if i did that my fingers would be riddled with pinpricks.

where do you craft?.

i have a vision

well, it's more of a lifelong ambition & that is to have a garden that produces herbs, food & very pretty flowers. now that i have all of this outdoor space i have been planning where i am going to plant various things & what i actually want to grow. it has been years since i have had a garden & every time the weather gets above freezing i have been ridding the various plots of earth around the house from unwanted plants/shrubs/weeds in preparation for the time when i can plant seedlings & seeds. i have been trying to source as many heirloom seeds as possible & found a lovely etsy shop which i ordered from. the seeds arrived very quickly & came in very precious little envelopes with handwritten planting instructions. i don't know about you but i love the personal touch when i order something from etsy. i am sad to say that i am finding etsy a little depressing now. i purchased a few things over the holidays & really did not feel i got that personal touch that i yearn for when buying handmade. anyway, enough rambling, back to the garden!. here is 'plot one', situated directly under the craft room window & the front of the den. this will be home to the herbs. i want to grow everything from chives to lovage & pretty much anything i can will to grow for me!.



the first batch of seeds i ordered were actually not herbs ( apart from the chives ) but they are for 'plot 2' which is under the lounge window & 'plot 3' which is the side of the house. the seeds were purchased from http://www.etsy.com/shop/myvictorygarden and i highly recommend this seller!.




so that only leaves me with one more thing. a question. what are you excited about growing this year?

ruby & lula and my disappearing days.

my husband has been away on business so i have been busying myself in the craft room. it's amazing how one can forget to do simple yet important things like eat dinner when left home alone with a huge pile of vintage fabric!. for the past few days i have been sewing so much that i start to get thirsty, look out of the window & realise it is dark outside!. anyway, enough of my rambling - meet ruby & lula.



ruby is a very talented banjo player & an avid chicken fancier. lula ran away to become a juggler in a circus troupe.

tomorrow the husband arrives home so i will be putting down my needle & thread to spend some quality time with him. i will hopefully manage to squeeze in a trip to the goodwill at some point. i really need to update the shop soon too. i am planning a new venture so it's going to take many cups of tea & a lot of concentration.....maybe it's something i will leave until monday unless i get a large amount of inspiration before then.....or if we get our promised snowfall that will render me stuck home!.

saturdays finds

ever since moving out of the big city & into the sleepy wilds, the charity shops have turned into the best places in the world. finding a bargain in the city never happened but now i squeal like a child every saturday morning knowing i am bound to find something fabulous for not much money at all!. last week it was the plank table which is featured in the photograph - yesterdays finds are sitting on it. this week somebody who had a penchant for pink kitchen things had cleared out their unwanted wee things & for that i thank you!. i was not leaving the shop without the large printed framed 'immaculate heart of mary' much to my husbands upset as he does not like it at all. i also found a 1909 copy of 'cranford' with beautiful illustration plates for 49 cents. i love old book smell & this is like having a mini bottle of it to inhale whenever i want!. all in all a good little trip to the goodwill!.




quite a lot of running around was done yesterday but i guess it's all part of having a new house. it is supposed to rain today but that is a good thing as i have three dolls that need limbs & clothing. i'm off to do some sewing!.

a new year & a new direction

well hello there 2010!. i can already feel the magic that is going to happen this year. i am going to be using this is my main blog from now on, so please check back here for all the updates i will be making to my shop!. i am in love with making dolls right now. there will be many more & a shop update very soon but until then i here is.........i have no name for her yet!.

broccoflower & cauliflower soup

i love to make soup. normally sunday is soup day but i was so tired yesterday i decided to do the heavenly task today instead. it was going to be a basic roasted cauliflower soup because our local supermarket had two heads of cauliflower for $2 this weekend but i was in trader joe's earlier & simply could not resist the bright green broccoflower they had. so, this weeks soup is roasted broccoflower & cauliflower.

this is a really simple soup. not only is it cheap to make but it is also vegan & delicious.





ingredients

1 head of cauliflower
1 head of broccoflower
6 garlic cloves
2 shallots
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups of vegetable stock or fake chicken stock
1 cup water
1 small bunch of fresh thyme
2 cups of soy milk
salt and pepper (to taste)


preheat your oven to 400 degrees. chop the broccoflower & cauliflower into small florets. slice the shallots & peel the garlic cloves. put in a large roasting dish & add the olive oil. if you would like to skip the olive oil add 4 tablespoons of vegetable stock instead.







i cook this for 35 to 40 minutes, turning every 10 minutes to prevent burning. a nice bit of heavy browning is nice but cauliflower stuck to your tray is not good, so keep turning during this cooking process.

pour the water & the vegetable stock into a large pot. add the roasted vegetables but remove the thyme bunch. bring to a boil then partially cover & simmer on low for 30 minutes until the vegetables are very soft. i let this mixture cool uncovered for around 15 minutes then in a blender puree the mixture in batches until smooth. return the pot & stir in 2 cups of soy milk, or less depending on how you like the consistency of your soup. heat on low until nice & hot then add salt & pepper to taste.

this soup is filling & so perfect for cold days.....like the one we are experiencing right now in the city!. this soup can be frozen but it is better if you refrigerate & use within 3 days.

baron

meet baron the bat boy. i made a few of these last fall & decided to create another one today. i think he is rather special & his wing span is much larger than the last battys i made.




i have already listed him in the shop. i am busy today!.