Sunday 29 April 2012

All-sorts and an Apology

Hello Lovelies,
here I go with a rather odd mixture of a post. I'm starting with a crochet ta-dah but this one also comes with added guilt....I promised you lovelies a tutorial to go with this ta-dah but after uploading tons of pics and gradually adding written instructions something went wrong with the post and it would not save due to "form errors".
I lost the whole darn thing ...arggggh!! I'm afraid I just cannot face re doing it at the moment, it had taken me ages and was nearly finished...I felt like crying when it disappeared !! Instead I will endevour to do a written pattern soon , I hope you lovelies understand.

I thought you would like to see my "Sail Away" crochet decoration any way, so here we are

Ta-dah.........



I LOVE the way it looks so at home with all my previous makes and my Mums colourful painting. It's a favourite corner of my home this area above the tumble dryer :0)


This simple  decoration with it's cute little boats , a shiney sun at the top and a fishy at the bottom really makes me smile when I enter the room.......


I love how the sun turned out , with its spikey rays . Cute buttons in the centre add interest ........




Next subject....baking......

The wet ,cold weather is still with us at the moment and yesterday seemed like a good day to spend some time in a warm kitchen.As does today !
I've had some sad looking,dried up raisins in my cupboard for a while now and on Friday I had a brain wave about what to do with them....make a tea loaf. You need to soak the fruit overnight in tea so that remedies the  dryness . Here are my gathered ingredients , including raisins which have already been soaked and plumped up beautifully.........


I followed this simple recipe , I love this sort of baking....not too many ingredients and a simple technique...bung everything in a bowl and mix :0) My version  was very economical with just raisins, i used ordinary tea too. Next time I might use a mixture of dried fruit like apricots, dates and cranberries.Chopped nuts would also be good I think.

Sadly I'm not an enthusiastic cook but there is something about baking that I love ...probably that it is not a daily task but an optional activity....and I do love having nice baking paraphanalia. My latest modest purchase is this blue melamine bowl, it's the perfect size for loads of uses and I just love the colour ( mine came from T.K. Maxx )......


Once I put my cake in the oven , I had to leave the warm kitchen to the younger generation , who equally seem to enjoy the baking experience :0) these were decorated without any input from me..........

The slightly odd looking butterfly cakes on the right have lemon curd in them ....very nice !!

Here's how my tea loaf turned out....it's yummy , there is no fat in the recipie but I'm sure it would taste great spread with butter :0).......
do you like my cute owl tea towel, it's flown half way around the world and is from the very talented  Claire

Lastly a bit of running for those of you who are interested. I was surprised and delighted with all your fabulous encouraging comments on my last running post.
This week I have been running in the rain , it's been hard to avoid ! but actually I really don't mind it . Once you get warmed up it's quite refreshing especially when the weather is mild. I just have to psych myself up to get out there to begin with.........


O.K. I don't actually go out in a downpour but light rain is not a problem .This picture was taken a couple of months ago and I remember being really elated at the end of this run ,I'd much rather run in the cold than heat...makes me feel ill.

As I've said before I'm not a fast runner , but distance running  is not a sprint, it's about pacing yourself and slowly building up your fitness so you can cover greater distances without feeling shattered.
This running thing is certainly addictive once you see some progress in your ability :0)

I've recently found some excellent advice for those who want to start running here. There are lots of links to follow on this page and I need to heed some of this wisdom myself :0)
And do check with your G.P. before starting any running programme.

I wish there were more running blogs I found interesting . I've been insipred to add a bit of running to my craft blog by the lovely Fleur, who combines the two very successfully I feel.
Here's hoping there will be no rainy pictures in my next post :0)
Jacquie x

48 comments:

  1. Oh, don't you just hate it when the things you up-load don't save?? I soooooo understand!!! And I love the look of the teacake. I have a recipe for a date loaf that comes from my Grandmother - it doesn't have eggs - perfect for the school lunchbox! Good luck with the tutorial.

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  2. That is so awful that you lost all your tutorial work - very frustrating and annoying for you. Your sailboat crochet is just so lovely! Maggie xx

    http://prettyflowersinthewindow.blogspot.co.uk/

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  3. I love your little boats :) Look forward to a pattern when blogger allows as I think even I might be able to make them :)

    Tea-loaf sounds an excellent idea - something different to my normal banana loeaves - shall hunt out a receipe.

    Just waiting for rain to ease here as we're planning a walk - all part of my muscles strengthening and getting fit routine - which is actually working!! My clothes are looser ;)

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  4. Your sail away mobile really brightened up my day Jacquie, love your beautiful sunshine! Tea loaf top favourite bake in our house, have you tried it toasted with a bit of butter, delicious!

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  5. I love your "sail away crochet". With this cute little hearts on it. I think something selfmade in a room makes the room a little bit warmer. I hope you know what I mean.

    A great sunday for you.

    Love
    Lisa

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  6. what a lovely crochet project - it goes just perfectly! {& i love a tea loaf, especially a slice toasted & then covered with butter!}
    kellyx

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  7. I loved your running tips, but have faced the truth after many, many attempts that it is not for me. But BICYCLES are......I like though, that we have the exact same sneakers...
    Your little boats are delightful and would look great on a baby blanket as well as on the wall and finally,
    Just home from a huge frugal shop and on the list today are my AMAZING muffins, which I am going to try with zucchini. You have been very inspirational today!!!

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  8. I love your boats Jacquie. You're right, they're so cheerful. Poobags to Blogger though after losing your tutorial.

    Sadly I'm no baker, more of a savoury girl, so am sitting here with my pad and pen looking for inspiring meal ideas.

    Fingers crossed for some sunshine ... please!

    Hx

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  9. Blogger has been playing up something chronic recently, I took nearly three hours to upload photos last night - and my first attempt crashed never to be seen again!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Good to hear you have still been out running even in this somewhat inclement weather - Im seriously thinking of doing a little bit of jogging (no sniggering over there please!!!) and have a little programme in mind where I start off walking for 3 minutes, jogging for 2 and repeating up to four times each session (and walking for the rest of the way) and building up very very gradually from there. My weight loss efforts are going well - Ive lost the best part of 3 stone over the last year - but slowing down so I think I need to do something to kick start it again. I dont have too much to lose now, but the last bit is always the hardest to get rid of!

    Hope you have a great sunday, inspite of the rain!

    Helenxx

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  10. Oh no!! Bloody blogger! I literally would have been in tears if that had happened to me... though I've started copying and pasting each post into a word document before I press publish in case the worst happens and it disappears, it is the most frustrating thing ever especially if it is a long and complicated post! I love your saily boats though - how cute they are! I'm, actually making lots of little hexagons at the moment following your mini hexagon tutorial. They look fab, and really easy to do, though I have added an extra round to mine to make them slightly bigger! Planning on making a cushion with them :) Enjoy the rest of the weekend, hope it's not too soggy!! Jenny x

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  11. Aaaaargghh is all I can say to Blogger.I can't even load photos!I love your blog and your tutorials,always so clear.

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  12. you saved me from burning my muffins! I made muffins and took them out after 15 mins only to discover that they needed another 5 mins or so... I came in the lounge with a brew, started reading your post... got to the baking section and thought "oh heck" and dashed into the kitchen to save the muffins. So thank you... love the wall hanging and I too love to run in the rain. It's very peaceful and often I don't have my ipod on as it is lovely to just hear the rain and nature. x

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  13. Jacquie your little fleet of boats looks so Summery and fresh........the corner of your conservatory is very cheery with all it's crochet goodness and your mums painting..

    Shame about losing your tutorial, all that time and effort....

    Running in light rain must be quite nice actually, being out in the elements 'n all instead of looking at the weather through a pane of glass... I can imagine putting your joggers on being the hardest part.....

    Love the blue melamine bowl, gorgeous colour and the 'bung it in a bowl and mix' method of baking is my favourite too...

    Thanks for the shout out, hope you had a great weekend,

    Claire x

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  14. Sorry about the Blogger problems.....drives me up the wall. The thought of running does not appeal to me but I did get to the gym this morning. You keep going!!!!

    Luv Jane XX

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  15. i cant wait for the written instructions it just looks amazing!!! but what really got my eye is your mums painting...looks so beautiful and i love the colours!!!!

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  16. Your decoration makes me happy, too!!!
    xxxx Alessandra

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  17. Oh you poor thing! i can imagine all the effort you put into the tutorial and to have it lost must have been an awful feeling! Anyway, you don't need to apologise! I love the boats. You're right, they are very cheerful! The tea loaf looks delicious as well!

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  18. Oh no! I was soooo looking forward to making some of those lovely, lovely little boats.
    But I can wait - they are definitely worth waiting for....

    Lady jane

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  19. Your little boats and sun are really lovely. They would look perfect in my caravan by the sea. Blogger has been driving me nuts too lately. Its been choosing to fiddle automatically with my html so that it no longer works and changes it it EVERY TIME I go into the editor aaahh. Well done with the running. Lets hope for a little drying out this week. Lily. xxx

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  20. I love your little boats... the pattern is definitely worth waiting for :)

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  21. Love the boats, they do look right at home. The teabread looks yummy too. I have two banana chocolate loaves in the oven right now so there's a lovely baking smell wafting around the house - it was like having smellavision with your blog!

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  22. A lovely inviting little corner.
    Thanks for the recipe, will definately be trying that.

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  23. It's infuriating when you type it all up and have it all as you want it - then it won't save! Grrr! I got to the stage where I tend to highlight it all and press ctrl+c before I click to publish. Then at least I can copy it onto a Word doc if the blog's not playing ball and try again later.

    I love your little boats! Your conservatory wall looks so bright and cheery. It's a perfect antidote to today's foul weather.

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  24. So glad to have found your blog- I love gardening, running, and am learning a little about crocheting- still very much a beginner.
    Looking forward to checking back in. :)

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  25. I do love a bit of tea bread. I am a fair weather runner, I'm afraid, partly due to lack of decent wet weather running gear. I did feel sorry for the people running the Manchester marathon this morning - it was lashing down with rain and blowing a gale! We were going to see the finish line as it was only about 10 minutes walk away but the weather put us off, so I bet there weren't many spectators cheering the runners on either. xx

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  26. LOVE the boats, Jacqui - they're gorgeous. I have favourite spots in my house too - little islands of pretty in amongst a sea of childrens' stuff!
    I'm completely fed up of the wet too - maybe this rubbish spring means we'll have a proper summer this year...(fingers crossed!)
    Emily x

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  27. The boats look so bright and cheerful. especially with the sun and little fishy.

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  28. I love those little sail boats!!!! Too cute!!

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  29. Love love love your little boats and sunshine decoration - it's beautiful :-)

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  30. The sailboats are gorgeous!!!Thanks for the running links. Just what I needed. I did the couch 2 5k program last year, and this year have been really struggling with my running, especially given that I've moved from NZ to PNG and am now running in tropical daytime heat, instead of cold and snowy Dunedin :)

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  31. Hi Jacquie,

    Just catching up on this weekend's posts and got a lovely surprise .. thanks for mentioning my blog .. that's so kind.

    I love the crochet boats, they look so beautiful on your wall.

    Hope you had a lovely weekend, and that the sun is now shining in your part of the world .... we actually have sun and blue sky here in Cheshire this morning!

    Fleur xx

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  32. I love your 'Sail Away' boats, they bring some much wanted sunshine after all the wet weather we have been having. I can't wait for the tutorial.

    Thanks for the inspiration
    Jan

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  33. Love the sail boats! Please post a tutorial or printed pattern soon. Thanks, K

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  34. Mmmmmmn, that's a nice looking loaf! I like Kristin Armstrong's Mile Markes as a running blog: http://milemarkers.runnersworld.com/

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  35. I love the boats and your Mum's painting is beautiful! I'll be trying the tea loaf too, thank you.

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  36. That's a bummer about losing all your information! The boats are sure adorable! Your bread looks yummy too!

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  37. I thought it was my problem with blogger at the moment. It's reassuring in a way to know it not just me!
    The cake looks scrummy - the fruit it so evenly dispersed! I've saved the recipe to give it go - it looks so straightforward.
    I'm glad you're enjoying the running. I started jogging late in life but didn't really get the chance to start enjoying it due to a health condition.
    Keep it up!
    Teresa x

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  38. Hi Jacquie, just stopping by to say how delightful your blog is. Thanks so much for sharing. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day. Hugs, Chris
    http://chelencarter-retiredandlovingit.blogspot.ca/

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  39. Hello Jacquie,I've nominated your great blog for an award~The sunshine Award,I fully understand if you want to keep your blog award free though?lots of love~juliexoxoxo

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  40. I’ve been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award and I am now supposed to pass it on the fifteen other people. Well fifteen is more than I can manage, I think, but I want to pass it on to you because I think your blog is great! You can see your entry here: http://rainbowjunkiecorner.wordpress.com/2012/05/05/versatile-blogger-award/

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  41. Jacquie....am uploading pics of blossom. Have this bizarre uncanny feeling that you might also be thinking/experiencing blossom......
    hhhhhhh am slo on about my fourth/fifth glass of wine, so maybe thats the answrr ;O)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    xxloooking forward to meeting you next weekend, soooooooooooooo excited!
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  42. New follower! Amazing crochet and delicious cakes! I've always tried to crochet but gave up soon after-

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  43. SIN COMENTARIOS ME ENCANTA!!!!!UN BESAZO

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  44. Love your sail away boats, I do hope you manage a tutorial, I would love to make some to cheer up my room. :)

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  45. The Sail Away decoration is so nice!
    Thank you for the recipe and the running advices

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  46. Hello, just found you via attic 24. Your crochet and baking look amazing. I love your sailing boats. I'm a 'runner' also, and after just reading about you going out running in the rain I'm motivated to pop out for a little jog myself (it's snowing ever so lightly here in the french alps!).
    This is the first running/crochet blog I have come across - lots more of both please!!

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  47. Hello Jacquie, I always enjoy popping in to see your crochet projects and would love to make those little boats for my grandson! You mentioned that you had done a tutorial and then lost it. Poor you. Did you re-do the tutorial and maybe I missed it? I just love your little sailboat hanging with the golden sun at the top and little fish at the bottom.
    I'm wondering if you will even see this comment, as it's on an older posting, unless you are notified when there are new comments.
    I can't see a contact address on your blog, otherwise I would write to you there!
    Your sweet little hanging reminds me of the children's song: "Dance to your daddy, my little laddie, dance to your daddy, my little man. You shall have a fishy in a little dishy, etc..."
    Thank you for guiding me to your tutorial if you have done one. I would be very grateful! I can always be contacted on my gmail address on Reflections and Nature. Sandra

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  48. I LOVE your sailboats! My boys love boat because their Dad is a sailor and I can't wait for your tutorial! They would just adore having this hanging in their rooms. It's such a shame when computers don't work the way we hope and it spoils such a wonderful thing. I hope you will still post. :)

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