Peg teepee

I’ve not quilted in a while and I really didn’t need a new peg bag but when I saw someone else’s version. Of this I had to have one. It’s called a Quip by little patch pockets. I had just the bundle of fat quarters to use for it to. It can use squares, scraps or even just one fabric. 

I have to admit I really got confused at one stage and had to read the instructions 20 times as couldn’t figure out at which part to cut the fabric using the pattern/template. Anyone else do this? Read something wrong and then can’t read it correctly? Which was exactly what I did. Not the patterns fault it was mine! Got there in the end though. Took me a couple if evenings to make. Then, a 2 day gap. The last stage said to hand stitch the binding in place so I put it to one side as I hate hand sewing. 

Finally got around to the hand stitching and didn’t take me long at all in the end. I think it looks amazing. It’s not the sort of thing you make more than one of for yourself really which made it an expensive pattern for a one male use. However, now I’ve made one I know what to do and I might make a few more for friends etc and experiment with the look and quilting of it if I do. 

Bias binding and myself do not have a good history but this one distant fight me at all.  Maybe because I made it myself? Who knows. I’m counting if as a pleasant win and know I’ll be smiling every time I use this peg teepee as my daughter named it when I shared a photo when I started sewing this. 

Rainbow craft

Lockdown has been going ok here. Granddaughters have been here for 3 weeks and are keeping me busy and amused and hopefully I’m doing the same for them too. Recently I decided I needed a better rainbow in our window to show our support for the NHS and key workers etc. I had the girls help me find a stick on a dog walk. Also, they helped make pom-poms. They were a little confused at first wondering why we needed a stick but when the word craft was used they were all in with my plan. 

My Glue gun made an appearance  but not until we had unwound, measured, cut and attached rainbow colours of yarn to our stick by tying them on with a loop method. We then took our pile of pom-poms and glued them onto the stick and each other to give a cloud appearance. 


I was pretty impressed at how it all came out. All with yarn I had sitting around and a stick. The girls helped even the ends off so I’m leaving it slightly ragged. The hanger is just one strand of each yarn braided and tied onto the stick. It all hangs proudly in my front window now. 

The girls took the off cuts and continued cutting them to make rainbow ‘cakes and cookies’ imagination is a wonderful thing. Amazing how a few small bits can keep them amused for a long time :-) 

I’m so glad this pair have the craft bug like me. It’s fun to have partners in craft and fun. 

This wasn’t the stick we used obviously. However, it was the one the found and carried home for me to practice using my new woodworking tools on. How lucky am I? 

Discovering old gems choc cherry cake

Now and again I write things down then promptly lose them. Or I don’t add titles on so have no idea what I’m looking at in my own shorthand. I made this recipe about 15 years ago and we loved it. Then lost it. Earlier today I found it. 

Chocolate and cherry cake, with a chocolate ganache style topping. I have to add this isn’t a die hard baking recipe it’s a more throw things together style of cooking. Not my usual style but somethings are good enough to let my standards slide a little. 

I started with a rummage in my cupboards and realised that I did have everything I actually needed. The stars aligned for me today! 

1 tin of cherry pie filling

1 pack of chocolate sponge mix ( but confused why I had this but hey ho)

And 2 eggs

Decant into a mixing bowl and attack it with a wooden spoon until mixed with no dry mix left showing 

I lined a large round tin with parchment/baking paper and added the mix. Baked for 35 minutes in a moderate oven until a toothpick came out of the centre clean. 

The topping was made from 1 cup of sugar. 5 tablespoons of butter, 1/3 cup of milk. These are heated in a pan and stirred until all melted then taken off the heat and 200g of choc chips or chopped chocolate are added and stirred in until glossy and well combined. Pour over cake while it’s still warm. 

You could of course wait for it to cool thoroughly and add store bought frosting or leave it plain. 

Meanwhile mine is cooling and we will try it later tonight to see this is a good as we remember when I scribbled the recipe down from a friend telling it to me years ago. 

Crocheting in the new year

Last night was a quiet one for me. Just me the tv and an idea for crochet. Earwarmers for the granddaughters with the yarn leftover from one of their hugs I made them. Such a simple rectangle sewn up to create the twist at the top. 

I think from their faces and his long they wore them indoors they adored them  

Keeping up with my bad photos reputation here’s the first one I made and laid flat.

New year's resolutions are not being made this year. Apart from putting less pressure on myself and try to live a simpler life. Let's see how far this works for.