Sunday 29 June 2014

Coffee and a Catch Up ~ June 2014

Come in, come in. Your timing is perfect. I have an unexpected hour or two to myself, while The Mechanic is visiting his parents with the children. I’m taking advantage of it to get back to my dress, at long last. A bit of hand stitching and an episode of Mad Men on a Sunday afternoon. Bliss.

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Do you sew? Perhaps you were put off by Domestic Science (I’m probably showing my age by calling them that!) lessons at school, like me, or did you have a positive experience? Maybe there was somebody in your family who encouraged you or whose example you followed. My Gran was a talented seamstress, which meant my Mum didn’t ever need to sew herself. Gran made me some beautiful dresses when I was a little girl. I must dig out one of the little outfits I made for my girl, to show you another day.

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Can I offer you a slice of fridge cake with your cuppa? I’ve been meaning to try Mel’s recipe for ages. When I was sorting out the larder cupboard during the week, I found a box of Maltesers, which had been languishing there since Christmas. Luckily I had everything else needed on hand and I could whip up a batch. Melt, stir and pop in the fridge to set. Super simple. Leave it there as long as you can bear! I left the topping off as we’re not fans of white chocolate around here.

Would you like to see what we made in class last week? I was really happy with how my first attempt at a ‘flip’ card turned out. There are lots of special dies available now, that cut and score in one go, but they are quite expensive and I’m not sure how often I would make this style of card. There’s usually an alternative way to do it. Not quite as straight forward of course, but not that tricky either.

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We’ve got a busy week coming up, with my girl starting her work experience and having her bi-annual appointment with the consultant. Two classes in two different towns for me and a follow up appointment for my Mum. My boy has begun phase two of his A Level studies, now that the Year 12 exams are over, and needs to narrow down his choices for further study so that we can visit some universities. A few more weeks of school left for us. How about you? The summer holidays can’t come soon enough for me.

I’m linking up with Abi’s little tea party today and looking forward to catching up with everyone else. I’ve visited a few of you already as you’ve popped up in Feedly. That seems to be behaving itself again at the moment. Are you a fan or do you prefer Bloglovin’? I couldn’t get on with it myself and find Feedly much more user friendly.

12 comments:

Jane said...

I'm planning on making maltesers cake this week for family so would love to try yours and I'm afraid I'm hopeless at dressmaking but admire those who can do it x

scrappyjacky said...

I've made malteser cake....and it's delicious.

Alison said...

Another fan of malteser cake here!'''hope your girl gets on well with her work experience and her appointment...your mum too!
Alison xx

Abi said...

Thank you for the heads up on the recipe. I will have to give it a try! I can't wait to see your finished dress. I am working on some more quilting things at the moment but would love to have a go at making a a maxi skirt this summer. What Uni's is your oldest taking a look out? I'm always happy to chat about Durham and I have close links to Leicester, Warwick and Bristol too!
Thank you for stopping to have tea with me again today.

Sian said...

I'll be thinking about you next week with that hospital appointment in the offing..

I'd love to chat about sewing with you..I only know one other friend IRL who sews. Her dad was a sewing machine repair man in one of the shirt factories here and we are always wishing he was still around to help us out! I'm looking forward to seeing the finished dress

My not so simple life said...

I want cake now, hope your week goes well love.

Miriam said...

I can't wait to see you in that dress. I do so love the fabric. I have sewn since I was a little girl, making clothes for my dolls, then for myself and then of course for my 'baby'. Sewing is my first love or would that be fabric...Of course they go hand in hand but I can't pass by a fabric shop without going in...
Hope the hospital appointment is OK for you. My mum used to make fridge cake, nice memories.

Lisa-Jane said...

Maltesers??? Languishing??!! That would NEVER happen in our house. Lots of other treats yes but Maltesers last about 5 seconds!

Maria Ontiveros said...

What Lisa-Jane said!
Rinda

alexa said...

Here is another who is wondering how on earth you managed not to eat the Maltesers for so long! That's a very pretty fabric and I am looking forward to seeing the finished item. Yes, I remember Domestic Science too - I think my crowning achievement was a blue gingham apron. Hoping for good things for your young ones - a tricky time of year, isn't it. Sending warmest good wishes and it was lovely to pop in :).

Susanne said...

The card is lovely. I never did the domestic sciences in high school, opted for the secretarial tract instead.

Beverly said...

oh, yes I would love a slice of that cake! You sound very on the go right now. I am enjoying a few lazy days on the river.