A Little Giveaway...

I realised this morning, that very soon I will be reaching the 200 post-mark. Let's celebrate with a giveaway!

It's a giveaway of things I love, that I want to share with you...

YARN
VINTAGE PILLOWCASES
FABRIC PIECES
OPPY FINDS
CHOCOLATE
APRON
BUTTONS!

You will be considered entered if you comment on this post. Easy. Just to amuse me, in the style of Julia Zemira on Rockwiz, tell me either the first album you bought, or the first concert you went to!

Yours cannot be more embarrassing than mine. Trust me. Although the first album I bought with my own money was Rickie Lee Jones, a cassette from Brashs, which I am quite happy with, the concert some years later, was NOT Uncanny X-Men at the Nunawading Skate Ranch, as I like to think, but Bros (this is a youtube link I didn't want to embed!). At the Tennis Centre. There, I said it. Too awful.

I am happy to post to warmer areas, so this is not limited to Aussie readers!

Just wanting to share some lovelies. This will be drawn once we have moved house, so you have a week to rummage through the old brain and make me laugh or kow-tow in awe of your brilliant taste!

J

Cup Cake Day

This is a little Community Service Announcement...

Monday 18th August 2008 is Cup Cake Day for the RSPCA.

The RSPCA relies heavily on contributions from the community, as government funding is minimal. In the ACT alone (Australian Capital Territory), over 7,000 domestic animals a year require care, protection, and/or shelter.

Recipes are up to you, unless you want to make them for the dogs to eat in which case this is the recommended pupcake recipe.

This is a great fundraiser, and a lovely activity to do with the kiddies! Decorate cakes to make them look like your favourite animals - like this... or this... or roar!

I think this should appeal to the competitive and the laid-back alike. It also screams out as a great bloggy activity - post your pics!

j

Tour de France - c'est fini!

I did it. It's wonky, it's dodgy, it looks little like the pic, but it's done. Miss 2 declares "No, no like it" and refuses to wear it. Shocking photo - but it's the best of 14!

Piggle complete, a project finished! (a novelty for me), house almost packed, mood calm.

There's snow on the hills, ice on the car, and all's well.

How are you?

Back soon, with news of a little giveaway...

J

Time Out

After yet another round of illness in the Button Household, I have made a decision to rest hobbies for a while. I seem to hide within my craft and procrastinate by reading posts etc. This means the greatest user of my "spare" time - this blog - is having a holiday.

Until health stabilises and I get some kind of control over such areas of my life, I have taken this decision. (Sounds rather dramatic doesn't it!?)

I hope it won't take long!!

I have been referred to Fly Lady - seems others can tell I am in a mess!!

x

TdF KAL Food challenge

Bonjour, c'est moi. I am entering the Food section of the next challenge. May I introduce the Tarte Flambe, or Alsatian Onion Tart.


This savory tart (also called flammeküeche) is traditionally made by Alsatian bakers on the bottom of their bread ovens. As the bacon fat drips onto the oven floor, it catches fire — hence the name — producing a deep, smoky flavor. You can approximate the flavor by using a fine-quality, smoked bacon.

Alsatian food is really interesting because it shows both strong French and German influences. Whilst the Alsace is Germanic in its language and many customs, it has belonged to France since the 15th century. Some of hubby and my favorite foods are Alsatian in origin, Munster cheese (served with little seeds), pate de foie-gras and my staple - Riesling wine.

The Alsace was a region visited by hubby and I on the honeymoon a decade ago! The Alsace is the most eastern region in France. It hovers near the border of Germany, and its history is rich with battles for territory between the countries. The Alsace is bordered by the Lorraine Region, the Vosges region, as well as France-Comte. The villages of the Alsace are filled with timbered buildings straight out of fairy tales. The food is robust, the wine is tart and the beer flows.

The Tarte Flambe is a super-thin, super-crispy, richly-flavoured meal. A modern recipe for this tart appears below, courtesy of Margarita's International Recipes.

Flammekueche

Ingredients

1 box of puff pastry

Frommage Blanc (see below)

Olive oil

1/4 lb. bacon

1 small yellow or white onion, thinly sliced.

Cornmeal

1 egg

1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/3 cup Grated gruyere cheese

For the Fromage Blanc:

3/4 cup ricotta chese

3 tbsp. plain yogurt

pinch of salt.

Instructions

Make the Fromage Blanc by blending the ricotta cheese, the yogurt and the salt for 30 seconds in a blender. Put into a covered bowl and chill for at least 12 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Dust a pizza stone or a heavy baking sheet with the cornmeal.

Whisk together the Fromage Blanc, egg and 1 tablespoon of flour.

Fry bacon in olive oil until done. Remove bacon from pan, cool a little bit, and break into small pieces. Add onion slices to remaining oil and fry until soft.

Lay the puff pastry on pizza stone or baking sheet. Spread Fromage Blanc mixture to within a 3/4 inch from the edge. Top with onion slices, bacon pieces and grated cheese. Brush the edge of the dough with water.

Bake in 425 degree oven until golden brown (15 to 20 minutes). Serve hot.

Ms Curly makes me twirly and whirly!

Ms Curlypops recently had a naming competition, in which Miss 2 was awarded a consolation prize! To our extreme delight, a parcel came today from Curly land, containing THREE packages!

Both the kids pounced on their beautifully made, fully lined drawstring bags, ("awesome - dinosaurs and on the in as well!" exclaimed the boy child). Upon discovering they contained chocolates ("even better" said Master 6).


Miss 2 has placed hers in her handbag collection, and keeps looking inside and giggling!

I was so touched that both kids had received something! Thank you!

Then I opened mine. THE most beautiful, fully reversible apron (why don't you have an etsy store Cam?!)


Everything from the fabrics, the binding, the stitching, and the chocolate in the pocket! (Maybe it's a chocket?!) It's just beautiful, and screams ME!

Thanks! Our first pressie from the blogging fairies!! Must enter more competitions!!

j

This is... what makes me happy...

Kids and bubbles.

Simple pleasures.

(Yes, she's trying to eat it...!)

j

What do do on a rainy day!?

Miss 2 had her first party invitation for a party on the weekend. It was all hers, and she walked around with it saying 'party', 'cake', 'dress', balloons', to anyone who would listen.

We were leaving at 10.15am Sunday morning, so at 9.30am I remembered that a present had not been made, and we were kind of running out of time! With the Janome dangerously noisy, we called Consumption Rebellion for instructions on making crayon blocks.

I come from a long background of hoarding-types. As a result, I still have MY Crayola crayon stubs from the 70s and 80s, which are tricky to hold but still have "utility" thus are kept. Hmmm, 20 year-old crayon pieces... No wonder I have a lot of 'stuff'!

So, step one, was to break up bits of peeled crayon.


Miss 2 became bored after about 40 seconds, and went off to deconstruct the pantry...


Where she found a box of chocolates...

Step 2 is to fill (we did about a third full) a silicone muffin tray with stumps of varying colours for a rainbow effect...

Then we baked them in the oven at 150 degrees celcius for 15 mins, or until melted. A waxy layer is visible, but under this is the crayon mix.

When they are turned out, they look great.

Just don't be too forceful pushing them out, or the bottom left one will be your result. We love them! Great for little fingers.

Consumption Rebellion also tells me that these older crayons are not fire retardant so can be made into candles as well! Another project for another day.

So we popped the tray of liquid wax into the freezer while we got ready for the party... Of course in our haste we left it there...

Miss 2 has enjoyed them this morning though!!

j

When the going gets tough...

I just cast on another project...

At the moment, these are the knitting WsIP (or WIPs):


I am knitting to procrastinate. Again. I am wondering how to quilt the kids' quilts which have been sitting in a pile. Do I stuff it all under the machine? Do I need a special foot for the Janome? Do I pay someone to do it? You'd think that working in a quilting shop I'd know all this.....

Also wanting to whip up some bibs for babies. One of the Sister-In-Laws has a new nephew who has been very sick. I thought that bibs for he and his 'big' brother might be nice... Just have to do them. Fabric all ready to roll.

All ready to go, and the Janome starts clunking. Really noisily. Can't be good, and annoying since it had a service last month...

So instead, off I trotted to my first session of Canberra Stitch and Bitch. I joined the group when we came to Canberra nearly 3 years ago, and have been too shy to turn up. I loved it! What a lovely bunch of talented women. I met kraftykuka, jejeune, quiltingmick, Bells, caffeine fairy, and others, and it was great. I was too nervous to knit anything though really, as I am slow and clunky, and cannot talk and knit!! I have so much on the go though, where to begin?!

Great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Thanks ladies!

j

What do you get...

What do you get when these:


meet this

???

Wait and see!


j

Oh What a Night!

Oh what a night...

Remember that song? It was like an anthem my final year in high school, as we danced at the nightclubs that probably don't exist anymore!

Anyway, last night, hubby and I were thinking of it as we mopped up after every person in the house.

First, I forgot I was running the bath... In a mad frenzy of packing, bagging stuff for the salvos, and keeping an eye on the kids, I forgot that the bath can only hold so much water. Always a great trick just before one moves house, to get a bloody huge amount of water on and under the carpet.

Nice.

We fell into bed, only to be woken at midnight by Miss 2, who had vomited her body weight, rolled in it, and rubbed her hair through it.

Nice.

We ran the bath and washed her down, through screams and crying, and cuddles, Hubby said to me: 'don't forget to turn the bath off!' This made me laugh luckily, and the song was sung. Always works when both parents have bits of dinner on them...

Nice.

Miss 2 and her daddy spent the night cuddled together, whilst Master 6 came in with me. 4am and it was his turn. Poor kid. Miserable and cuddled up to me, we tried to sleep.

That actually was rather nice!

So this morning, baskets of towels and bedding in hand, hubby has gone to the laundromat to dry things (it only rains in Canberra when my kids have vomited overnight...)

Nice.

So today, with one huddled up watching ABCKids, I will uncover the sewing machine and try and relax, try not to pack too many boxes, and try not to turn the bath on...

j

Forever Young

I have realised that Asperger's Syndrome does not need to be a negative thing.
I have learned that my son has so many shining qualities, that Asperger's does not need to define him.
I have learned that he can make me cry with joy just when he smiles at me.
I am so lucky to have a beautiful, intelligent, vibrant, loving little man.

I must remember that he needs to be affirmed daily and that he is a gift. He teaches us patience, tolerance, and respect.

Sunny Boys Rock!

Sunny boys - remember the freebies inside?!

The brilliant Michelle at quilting mick, has created a stunning project holder for those bitten by the crochet bug, named after these Australian beauties! Mine is reserved for car craft, and I am thinking embroidery threads, crochet, all kinds of loveliness.

Quickly though - they're a limited run! Etsy store, buttontreelane here.

Thanks Michelle! Canberra crafters rock!


j

Boo hiss

All my ducks were lining up beautifully until this:

Yes, a spanner in the works. Real Estate Agents.

We have to move out of our house. Soon. Unexpectedly. Bloody, bloody, buggery, bollocks.

j

Cooking for the crowd

Yesterday was the weekly market at The Old Bus Depot in Kingston, here in Canberra.

We went specifically to get some magnificent Fairtrade coffee from Wagonga Coffee, but to get to the coffee stall, we first had to walk past strawberries, jams, breads, and all manner of great produce...

This 'Cranky Pants' Quince jelly was $7 a jar but so, so good. In fact we are all besotted. 24 hours after its purchase, there's only half a jar left! No website, but highly recommended if you ever spy it.

So when we got home, I was motivated to cook for the hungry hoardes.

A vege soup with both lentils and chickpeas for substance, and a little moroccan spice for tang. Magnificent with wood-fired bread from the market.


Also a pasta sauce, with onion, garlic, bacon, tomato, spinach, and some herbs. Best. Ever. Pasta.


After a yummy dinner, I settled down to knit, and planned some aprons for a friend's daughters.

A great Sunday. What did you do?

j

Juddie from Flightless Boyds chose the topic for this week's This is.... Thanks Angela for hosting!

This is... what gives me goosebumps....

I can barely look at the photo without wincing. Yuk.

Goosebumps aplenty here! To read about why we get goosebumps, click this link here!

j

NEW etsy store for you!

No, it is not mine, although I am getting closer to thinking it would be a good idea...

My lovely friend in South Australia has a lovely friend called Tas, who has an etsy shop, little boozle. Super-cute, check it out!

Tas has (like many of us), a fine collection of vintage and new fabrics, trims, buttons, etc, and as a mum of 3 she knows what works on little peeps.

j

Vive le tour!

I am on a roll after a couple of days where I have had a sprint at the lace. Kids have been exhausted at the end of the day (school hols do that to them - running, literally, all day - it's wonderful.)

So I have done the first section of lace before the holes for the pigtails to stick through. There are definitely mistakes in there, but not sure where. At one point I had one stitch too few and now they are all back. Anyway, I am really happy with it!


It looks pretty wonky on the cast-on edge - I have that problem a bit where it's not as neat as I expect. I cast on too loosely possibly. Those rib stitches also look uneven - something to work on - even tension.

I will do this hat again in mauve after the race just to ensure that I get it right. I have 3 nieces who may all need one!!

Anyway, I am in bed when the race is on SBS here, however watch what I can. I LOVE the scenery, it's magical.

J

Owl

Powerful Owl. As seen in Canberra and borrowed from the local abc radio website just for my Brown Owl pals!

Procrastinating lady on the Tour De France

Do you know the song that goes: 'Sophisticated lady...' made popular on the 'Come in Spinner' soundtrack? (I like the Ella Fitzgerald version, but I digress..)

My hubby likes to sing it to me with 'procrastinating lady...' as the words. He has witnessed my stellar ability to procrastinate for 14 years, and counting.

(See my Mixwit addition)

Last night in a moment of the above, I thought I'd get my Quickstitch wrist band done for the KAL. Super quick and easy, using stashed yarn. It was rather fun doing something silly like that! Anything to avoid Something Hard That Requires Concentration (my KAL project)...

Anyway, thanks to help from Bells who referred me to knittinghelp.com and to Madalyn who described an ssk perfectly to me, I am off and racing again on the lace pattern.

Since the race started on Sunday, I have already started another scarf (one can never have too many!) and my meterage for the World's Longest Scarf (Ravelry link). I think that if I get this green jersey it will be a miracle! Can King of the Mountain defer?

Anyway, one of the challenges by the organisers of the KAL is to link your project to France. Let me explain... National Lampoon's European Vacation makes me laugh. It shouldn't, it's a dreadful film. I just like the idea of the family winning Pig in a Poke (pig, piggle, very long bow...)
and having a painfully bad holiday. My experiences of France have been so different to this stereotypical view of the country!

I can link ANYTHING to France. Like in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where the father can link any word to the original Greek etymology... (see how I digress, I cannot keep to the topic, let along one pattern!!)

So. Hubby and I spent a chunk of our honeymoon in France. I visited France in '96 doing my backpacking thing. "Forget Paris" and "French Kiss" are two of our favourite dvds to relax to. My French is poor and often confused for an Eastern European dialect. I love the IDEA of French food, but in reality balk at too much garlic.

I love France, the country, the people, the design, and try to keep travel memories alive by comparing things of the now to things there. I can therefore say that the piggle, for Miss 2, can be linked to France because SHE IS the embodiment of the cheeky Madeline in the books...
She says NON clearly and passionately. Her favourite colours are red, white and blue. She is oneday going to climb the Eiffel Tower and declare it a view worth the queue. She will marvel at the Musee d'orsay, the Musee d'orangerie, the cost of a baguette, have her portrait drawn in Montmarte, wonder why she never listened in French class when she needs to find the post office. She will go hungry so that she can buy a little black dress on the Champs Elysse, walk everywhere in lieu of the Metro, send her mother a postcard from Monet's Garden, sit for 3 hours in front of her favourite Van Gogh, talk to the gargoyles on Notre Dame. All of these things I wish for her in every stitch, and more. The piggle will always be as frustrating as asking for directions in Giverny, explaining that the flight was delayed 'a cause du broillard' (because of fog - spelling unknown!!), and as memorable as the dollhouse furniture in a hidden arcade in Paris.

Vive la tour!

Saved by the Bell!

Just going through the motions of shutting down the computer, and saw a lovely email from Bells who has offered me a personal tutorial on the lace pattern that has my knickers in a knot.

Knitters are indeed warm and wonderful people.

I may just get that Green Jersey after all!! However in retrospect I should have gone for the Polka Dot King of the Mountain!

This is... my most treasured childhood possession

Teacups in Treetops came up with this week's theme, and I love it. I seem to have become a little too lax regarding this meme, and so am making today's a priority.

Hildur was a gift from an old family friend who was I think the Managing Director of Toltoys (Aust), a toy company of the 1970s and 1980s. He showered us with toys when we visited him at his office in Little Collins Street in Town.

(We would train in, or tram on the old W-class, have a morning chocolate milkshake at the Myer cafe (underground - do you remember??), and get a rissole sandwich from the Coles Cafe. We would go to the office above a bank, and press 10th floor in the lift (it had a really distinct smell). Anyway...

She WAS white, fluffy, and adorable. (She's a rabbit!).

30-odd years later, she is grey, worn, bald in patches, and floppy, but for some reason she still lives with me.

The Great Cast ON (or over-ambitious project whinge 1)...

So I have been in bed since Friday morning when a revolting virus came to meet me. My immune system is totally gone to shit and I am totally sick of being sick! This time hubby has it also, and we are relying on the magnificent friends we have here to juggle the kids. The closest family are 700km away, so friends ARE family here.

As a result, no fabric sale for me! I was even meant to work there yesterday, but barely shifted from bed.

What I DID manage though, was to cast on for the Tour de France Knit Along (KAL), and miracle of miracles, I managed 6 rounds of rib in the round!! Yay me!!


So I then stopped as I had reached the hard bit. I am trying to decipher the abbreviations from knitty.com and transfer them to the needles.


I am lost when it comes to the lace pattern:
Lace rib (work in the round over a multiple of 5 sts):
Round 1: [p2, k2tog, yo, k1] to end
Rounds 2 & 4: [p2, k3] to end
Round 3: [p2, k1, yo, ssk] to end
Repeat rounds 1-4 for lace rib.

OK, sounds easy? ssk*?? wha'? Slip them where? yo what? Hurting my head... Too. Ambitious. Need. Mum!!

Trying REALLY hard not to toss it aside and do something tried and true...

*(SSK slip 2 stitches as if to knit, then knit those 2 stitches together).

Fabric Sale!

For any Canberrans out there, Addicted to Fabric are having a huge three day sale starting Friday for Bag Ladies, and on Saturday and Sunday for the general public.

25% off all patchwork and dress fabrics, including all recent releases,
50% off all McCalls, Burda, New Look and Simplicity patterns
$8/metre lots of patchwork fabrics
And MORE.

25 Dundas Court
Phillip ACT 2606

9am-4pm Saturday

10am-3pm Sunday

Be there!!!

Three days until cast on!!!

The Tour de France Knit Along begins on July 5th, and I am excited!! I am still not 100% settled on what I will be knitting..... The piggle from knitty.com is still up there, but also my infamous sock project. I really need to finish A sock!!!! I have a mental block that it's All Too Hard...

The piggle it may be. Miss 2 WILL look mighty cute in it...


Any Canberran knitters taking part that want to cast on together?

As I have chosen to go for the Green Jersey, I have a race to cast on and off between July 5th and twenty-somethingth when it ends. I also have to try something new. I am quite bad at trying new things, and like the comfort of tried and true techniques...

Knitting in the round. New.
Lace pattern. New.
Completing something that gets hard. New!!!

My team is Quickstep, and there are 11 of us. Lots of new blogs to explore like this, and this, and this!

And not so new blogs I already love like this, and this, and this!

Lots of new people, many countries, lots of FUN!

(I really have to try and refrain from using the exclamation mark... I think I over-do it. Often.. Sorry!!)

j

;-P