Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

Kelly

Thinking cap on!

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I’ve been inspired by Nic to stop making excuses as to why not and just enter the Melbourne Show Craft   
Competition.  This morning I’ve been giving it some serious thought and started sketching.
I’ve always wanted to enter something like this but never really had the time (or maybe the confidence?)
So, at this stage I’m planning on entering a doll and a baby’s toy. I’ll keep you updated on my progress, methinks this will be fun!
The boy is going to enter the junior cookery section so our surname will be apparent in a few different sections. For those of you who know my surname you realise it is very easily recognizable and often the source of stranger’s amusement. I’m not giving it away here, but think famous 17th century apparent lady’s man and your’e on the right track. 

Who says direct marketing doesn’t work?

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I had already decided not to go to the Craft & Quilt Fair – that is until this colourful little piece of promotional material turned up in my mailbox. My resolve weakened, then gave way completely as I leafed through the pages and saw what and who will be there. By the end of the brochure I felt it would be a crime against craftiness to not attend!
In other news, I have one newly arrived nephew with another shortly making his way into the world, so some very warm and fleecy baby blankets were in order. Thanks to Spotlight’s stocktake sale they were very economical to make too!
And Mim made her way out from under her blanket (see previous post) to celebrate her 3rd birthday. It was also my husband’s birthday so we had a lovely small party for them both.

Nori rolls

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Nori rolls (also known as California rolls) are so easy and healthy to make. Not to mention – totally delicious! My husband made these ones this morning. The filling can be as basic or extravagant as you want, we went for basic today.
You will need:
Seaweed sheets
Japanese rice (sushi rice)
Sushi vinegar
These are all available at Asian (particularly Japanese) food stores. Follow the instructions for cooking the rice, we use our rice cooker which does a perfect job.
thin strips of carrot, cucumber, other crunchy vegetable
avocado
toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Benito flakes (optional)

You simply lay out your seaweed sheets, lay on a thick line of your rice with the vinegar and sesame seeds mixed in, lay your filling ingredients on top of the rice and roll tightly. Brush a little water along the end of the sheet to make it stick.

Refrigerate until soft. Eat and enjoy! My children love these. You can dip the ends in soy sauce if you like.

If you’re unsure about the rolling technique I’m sure Youtube would have a bunch of videos. Some people use bamboo rolling mats, but we don’t find it necessary.

Easy fix for old pants

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How many times do you find the elastic gone in a pair of pants or skirt that are otherwise fine? I saw these cute stripey knit pants at the op shop for a few dollars but the elastic around the waist was useless.
I had a length of fold over elastic (FOE) in my stash and thought of a quick way to fix the pants. I unpicked the old elastic band (admittedly this took a while but I knew it would be neater than just cutting it off). Then I simply stitched on the FOE (I had measured it around my daughter’s waist to get the right size first) with a zig zag stitch while stretching it as much as possible.
Have you ever used FOE? I know some of the Crafty Mamas use it for neck binding on t – shirts and tops but of course it’s main use is nappy making. Nappy supplies stores stock it.
The odd things our children do! This is how I found my almost 3 year old girl the other day, sitting perfectly still. Can’t say I blame her, it gets pretty rowdy here!

Hooray – a bit of sewing!

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Life is so very busy these days I barely get to blog, let alone sew.
So much to do, so little time.
I did manage to make a top for Mim who turns 3 next week. I had the butterfly and chandeliers fabric saved for something “nice”. The pattern is from the book “Making Children’s Clothes” by Emma Hardy – a really cute little book full of simple kid’s patterns.
This top is actually a pajama top in the book, but I thought the style could suit day wear as well, I love the crossover style. 
Not sure what happened with the sizing – I made size 4 but it’s going to be way too big on her.
I added a little suffolk puff with a button on the front.
If you haven’t seen me at your blog for a while please accept my apologies, I try to catch up here and there and comment when I can.

Chocolate Cake

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With the plethora of chocolate cake recipes out there one may be forgiven for assuming that all chocolate cakes are created equal. However, like any dish there are so many variables to the end result. I must admit  my Grandmother’s recipe, although quick and easy fell very short of delicious. So today I’ve tried a new recipe, and it’s pretty good. Moist, flavoursome and makes a big family cake. So here’s the recipe:
125 grams butter
2 cups plain flour 
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1.5 cups milk
2 tablespoons golden syrup
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 teaspoons baking soda (bicarb)
Prepare a large cake tin (I used my fruit cake tin) with baking paper and oil or butter.
Melt butter and syrup. In a bowl sift flour, cocoa and baking powder.
Add the sugar and eggs, then vanilla, milk and baking soda, beat for 1 – 2 minutes.
Mix in the butter and syrup liquid, beat for less than 1 minute. Pour into tin, bake in a moderate oven for 35 – 40 minutes.
*Note – I ended up cooking mine for longer than stated as it was still gooey in the middle, so keep checking it with a skewer. I also covered the top of the cake with baking paper after the first 20 minutes of cooking to prevent burning or overcooking.

Baby’s first waldorf softie

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Well, she isn’t such a baby anymore, her first birthday is next month! Although she won’t be playing with dolls for a little while yet I think it  is a beautiful first birthday gift.
I made this 12 inch doll’s body from soft flannel. I tried out a new hair technique and am very satisfied with the results, it’s very secure and lifelike with no long strands for busy little fingers to pull out. I can also add a pony tail later if it’s wanted.
Bub’s initial is embroidered so there can be no question of ownership (she does have two sisters after all!)

Bread sticks

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In my quest for perfect bread recipes I’ve made a lot of duds. You know the type – dull, dry altogether unappealing?

I’ve been meaning to try the recipe for “Sabrina’s Breadsticks” ever since I was fortunate enough to be given someone’s “spare copy” of Stephanie Alexander’s “The Cook’s Companion” (spare copy – can  you imagine?!!)
Anyhow, the long proving times had put me off up until today when I decided to give it a go. These breadsticks used to be served in Stephanie’s restaurant.

The result was 2 beautiful breadsticks that rival anything I’ve bought from an Italian bakery. A truly marvellous taste, a crust with crunch, yet not too hard and a moist, flavoursome interior. 
Although it requires a fair time investment the recipe is quite effortless and very enjoyable to make. 
The children pounce on one stick as soon as it was cool enough and ate the pieces smeared with a little melty butter.
I will absolutely be making this again and again and again…..

UFO or PFP?

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The former being Unfinished Object and the latter being Partly Finished Project. I think I like PFP – it’s a little more positive, more like a WIP (Work in Progress) and less like a FTF (Failure to Finish).

Whatever you choose to label it, I have 13 of them! Now, I know I’m not alone on this, and probably like me you avoid the fact that you have so many projects on the go at one time. It’s your little secret, am I right?

As finances are a bit tight at the moment and I can’t indulge in new materials I’m finding it a perfect time to finish off a few of those projects that had just been “put aside later” AKA “I’ve lost motivation and can’t be bothered”.

Here are a few things I’m working on:

Baby gowns and blankets for the Bonnie Babes Foundation. Some finished, many unfinished!

A cute waldorf softie doll (needs hair)

Embroidering vintage pieces (pure joy!)

Baby Mary Janes (need snaps).
So, how about you share your little secret? How many PFP’s do you currently have?