Flibbertygibbet

The times - are they a changin'?

I may have implied in my last post that I was about to fall off the earth for a month.  Not so.  It's just that there wasn't much I wanted to blog about.

Then lots of pressies arrived in the post.

This was the surprise from the lovely Julie, which I showed you all wrapped up.... my very own Little Knitted Cupcake!  You won't be surprised to hear that the workmanship is just perfect.  Adorable.  As some of you probably know, I have a thing for cupcakes, like a lot of us do.  Knitted, sewn, and also...

in pincushion form!

From the lovely Tamy, along with lots of other goodness in my first swap package from Round 3, and Julie also donated yarn for the newbie knitters at the Picknit tomorrow (surely extremely good learner-knitting mojo must come from yarn used for Little Cotton Rabbits?)  Tamy sent beautiful bright fabrics and also something that will come in handy for tomorrow - will put pics on the Flickr group.

This is a belated birthday present from an old friend who I saw last week.  I have been thinking "I must get a milk jug" and then put it out of my mind along with notions like "I must change over to my summer wardrobe', 'My life would enriched by matching napkins", "Making a souffle sounds like fun" and so on.

But it's perfect. 

I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on Helene's blog: a copy of Marie Claire Idees.  Yes, I know you can allegedly buy it here, but I've never actually had my hands on a copy before.  Dangerous stuff. I could convince myself that I'm buying it just to improve my French.  Pas une mauvais idee... (zut, je dois plus practiquer - ou bien apprendre encore?) and Helene sent the most marvellous package of goodies along with it - thank you so much!

I went down to Cockpit Arts today to see Ruth - lots of lovely things on show from her.  I spent a while talking to Lissie Baldwin, who is just moving out of one of the studios there, and I completely fell in love with one of her Dolly's Dollar Pin-Up works.   Lisa Marklew's ceramics are utterly whimsical and covetable.  They can both go on the 'When I Become A Patron Of The Arts' list.

I've been thinking far too much recently - mainly because tomorrow would have been my second wedding anniversary, had we lasted that long.  I got copies of the decree nisi from the solicitor on Friday and being reminded of it again, in black and white, 'adultery with unnamed woman', 'irretrievably broken down', still hurts.  Horribly.  Actually it never goes away.  The corresponding drain on confidence which ensues - which is a lasting legacy for many women, I believe - that comes back to hit you in the teeth over and over. I actually got to the point recently where I started to think that maybe it's time to hang up the towel and move home.  Like, HOME home.  Ireland. Jesus Christ almighty.

Live in the country, like this lovely pillow from MCI. 

My mother,  bless her heart said something along the lines of 'sure, come home if you want, I just think you'd be mental to do it.'  She is almost certainly right.   I am getting the fear about buying 'my' lovely little flat but Mum tells me that it will all work out ok, so I choose to believe her.

So tomorrow I'll be in Regent's Park with a six foot knitted sheep, rather than a six foot husband.  I won't be swapping cotton gifts, I'll be knitting with it.   Swapping wedding cake for cupcakes.  Better get baking.

Great goods come in small parcels

Over the past couple of days, many beeyoutiful things have been delivered to me. I've already told you about some of them.  Dolly the dressform arrived.  I've called her Dolly because she sort of is one, plus bizarrely I've taken to saying hello to her everytime I see her, she was quickly constructed and is now taking pride of place in the bedroom. (Best light in the whole house)  I love a company that thinks to actually supply the phillips screwdriver that's required for assembly in the box with her.  That's the sort of service I'm looking for.  Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to use to pad her out to my dimensions - hips and shoulders are ok but the middle - well it just doesn't expand enough!  It's a very peculiar thing to do actually, as you turn her little dials to imitate your own shape and then look, with your head tilted slight to one side and say 'Really??....bugger.'

Yesterday it was a delicious envelope of booty from the lovely Helene - postcards from La Droguerie which is on the list of must-visit places for the next time I go back to Paris. 

Helene's blog has a great tutorial for a little crocheted basket - dear god, this April crochet workshop simply can't come quickly enough! My lovely grandmother sent me some money for my birthday and it's being spend on some more Rowan DK for the blanket that I will be crocheting.  The only dilemma now, as Helen pointed out, is blanket vs granny squares. That's a conundrum for another day.  I've fancied making a pinboard like the one Ali made for ages - and these postcards need a home so I better get on to it!

Helene also mentioned the intrinsic confusion that comes from trying to interpret US measurements - just exactly what is a cup of butter? I did find some sort of conversion, and used my lovely Nigella measuring cups and  spoons to make these:

which are a monster version of AfricanKelli's Chocolate Banana Oat Cookies for Saturday. Not to self - if recipe says it makes three dozen, you probably shouldn't be dropping them out with a tablespoon.    I also tried to get more oats but couldn't (was wondering about using my posh muesli but then thought maybe not - btw their fruity porridge is amazing.  This is coming from a woman who doesn't like porridge) so thought I'd have to make do with what I had, about 2 cups.  And also missed the bit in the recipe about needing to add in a couple of extra cups of oats in addition to the main list of ingredients/or premix.  I added the closest thing I had, which was... chopped apricots.  They came out pretty well!  I may have to ask my neighbour to hold on to them until tomorrow.

In other baking news, I made the old reliable:

Nigella's Dense Damp Chocolate Loaf Cake.  The recipe is below - though paraphrased for quick typing, and minus her wonderful prose - and can I just say that the quantities below are supposed to fill a 2lb loaf tin but in fact, as you can see, they pretty much fill two.  So what I usually do is make one giant 'mushroom cloud' cake where it spills over the edge, and put a baking sheet underneath as she suggests.  So you get a cake plus a free muffin which you eat - cook's privilege.  If you use two tins, then just serve your guests thicker slabs of the not-so-tall cake. It's definitely better after a couple of days, like gingerbread. Or warm each slice in the microwave and serve with a ball of vanilla ice cream.

Today brought more good things from the postman - from Jennifer!  Funky emerald rick rack for my apron, and some delightful ribbons, in 'an ode to spring'.  I know exactly what I'm going to do with them all, too! Plus a beautiful handmade card and even with the perfect stamps - thank you so much.  I've been so utterly spoiled by all you bloggy friends this week - constantly touched by all of you.

Dense Damp Chocolate Loaf Cake
225g soft unsalted butter
375g dark musovado sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g best dark chocolate, melted
200g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
250ml boiling water
[23 x 13 x 7 cm loaf tin] - a 2lb tin basically

Preheat oven to 190c/gas mark 5
Put a baking sheet underneath in case of drips (always happens with this cake) and line the tin.  John Lewis does parchment liners.
1.  Cream the butter and sugar
2.  Add eggs and vanilla, beating in well.
3.  Fold in the melted, slightly cooled chocolate, blend but don't overbeat.
4. Add the bicarb to the flour, then add the flour mix spoon by spoon alternately with the boiling water. The batter will be really runny.
5.  Pour into the lined tin, bake for 30 mins.
6. Turn the oven down to 170c/gas mark 3 and cook for about another 15 mins.  The cake will still be a bit squidgy inside so an inserted cake-tester or skewer won't come out clean.
7.  Put loaf tin on a wire rack and let it cool completely before turning out.

It will sink in the middle, and it improves over a couple of days

Jade made me cry

There's only one thing that's better than hearing the thdumpth of a package falling through the letterbox and landing squarely on the doormat.
That's when you come home to find a red-and-white notice from the postman to say 'There's something that wouldn't fit in your letterbox tantalisingly awaiting you at the magickal portal that is your local Sorting Office'.

It wouldn't fit in your letterbox because it's so chockfull of beautiful stuff!

This is what first confronted me.  And then, a bit like the old joke of:

~ How did you find the steak, sir?
~ I lifted a chip and there it was.

Look! There's more! Sandwiched in the middle of it all.

The card and 'very special extra package in the groovy paper'...

So to set the story, the lovely Jade emailed me a while ago - we've been having a delightful conversation by cross-commenting on each other's blogs and emailing for a while now - hers is My Art is My Outlet which is a repository of beautiful crafts, newsy observations and original artworks from this very talented lady. We'd worked out that we have birthdays very close to each other, and she told me that she wanted to send me an 'appreciation gift' which would also fortuitiously arrive as a birthday gift.  My normal Irish inclination was - well, I'm reminded of a seminar I went to while I was in college in Dublin, as a pre-cursor to taking off to America for the summer on a J1 visa (which entitles you to work anywhere in the US). The counsellor ran through the normal Irish procedure for accepting or refusing an offer:

American host:  Would you like to come to a barbeque at our house/ trip to the mountains/the Grand Canyon this weekend?
Typical Irish Person: Ah sure no.

At this point the American host wonders what they said that was so heinous and wanders away.  You see, in Ireland the exchange would go something like this:

Person 1:        Would you like to come to the pub/ the pub/the Aran Islands this weekend?
Typical Irish Person:    Ah sure no.
Person 1:        Ah no, go on, sure, come on-
Typical Irish Person:    Ah no, sure you're grand now, no.
Person 1        No seriously, come on
Typical Irish Person:     Ok then, great, I'd love to!

So in contrast to my habitual 'ah no' I said 'oh yes please!' to Jade (and also to the lovely Anna and Jennifer on the rick rack front) and how lucky am I?

I was so overwhelmed by all the beautiful things Jade put together:

A TON of fabric, which, according to the note, "is vintage 1980s originally from Mum's stash - entirely "mined' by me'
I can picture Jade at the cotton face, toiling away, to bring these diamonds to the surface. 

This was in the pink package.  Seriously, will you just *look * *at* *this*?!  My camera - a bad craftswoman always blames her tools rather than her lack of photographic ability - can't capture its full complexity, but it's a beautiful log cabin zippered purse in my most favourite colour, pink, and it's so meticulously crafted.

Here's a shot of the ticking-type fabric on the back,

also showing the most fabulous birdie woodcut magnet,  the 'very special extra package in the groovy paper'.- this is something that will be secreted away for my new house (me and XH have agreed the settlement - I need to get a job and get out of here but moving out will be moving on - though that doesn't mean it's not scary*) and having beautiful things like this to display will be the icing on the cake for my new house/life/future.  Me and the cats, obviously.

And there was a magazine too!  With advice and hints on interiors which will soon be needed too, methinks.  Jade's card said that she hoped she'd find me in good spirits - and  as a result of this I was.  Knitting tonight with lovely folk also raised the spirits, as will the joint birthday party this weekend.  Thank you Jennifer for 'making' me arrange it.

Jade, thank you so, so much.  I am so touched by your generosity. And yes, it made me cry a little.  Good crying though!

* Between 'Miss Match' and that silly cow Gabi on Desperate Housewives on about being thirty-one and divorced - I'm terminally depressed.