Friday 19 August 2011

Anniversaries!


In this entry there is a craft site and podcast review,  a recipe, a chat on steeking,
and a referral to something amusing.

Its Land!
Today is my 41st Wedding Anniversary, I wondered what the symbolic meaning of 41 years is, just as my 40th was Ruby, and 25th Silver etc.  Turns out it is land!  Don’t know quite how a spouse bestows a parcel of land though.  But in case anyone has a family wedding anniversary coming up and wants to know the meaning there are a number of sites, like http://www.confetti.co.uk/article/view/5313-8301-0-Anniversaries_at_a_glance_Anniversaries.do

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 Crafty stuff!
On the craft front, the site and podcast being reviewed this week is imake. http://www.imake.gg/
Martine does the site and podcast and this week was the first anniversary of the podcast (see the theme to this blog today?!!) Yes, anniversaries!  Martine’s podcast is really  pleasant to listen to, and she covers a good variety of craft related topics and also articles related specifically to Guernsey.  The site for imake is a pleasure to visit and there is some stuning photography on there, and just as with the podcast there is a good variety of articles.  Her craft tutorials are excellent, really well explained, good pictures etc, for instance take a look at her tutorial for body scrub http://www.imake.gg/archives/1282#more-1282. I will say no more other than make sure you pop in and visit imake, and tune in to the podcast which is on itunes too.

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Recipe:  Easy peasy tea loaf!  As with any cake, cooking time can vary according to the oven, and where the cake is placed in the oven.  So just check on it and it is done when top is firm to the touch, and a needle/skewer or knife comes out clean. For those who don’t eat egg, the substitute for the egg is: heaped teaspoon of baking powder or bicarbonate of soda and 1 tbs vinegar in a small cup of milk.   But watch out as it froths up like Vesuvius!!

Tea Loaf.
Half pint tea
12 oz mixed dried fruit
4 oz sugar
12 oz SR flour
1 egg beaten
Method: Soak fruit and sugar in the tea for minimum 2 hours.  Overnight is fine.
Fold in the flour and egg or egg substitute
Put in lined loaf tin
Bake No 3 for about 2 hours.  No 3 is moderate oven.
This tea loaf is low on preparation effort and versatile.  It is fine just sliced and eaten, it is even better sliced and spread with butter and even butter and jam.  It is nice for picnics as it doesn’t produce many crumbs.  When everyone is fed up of it, then it is time to serve it as pudding with custard poured over.!!

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Steeks
What do I need? 
1) some knitting, 2) pair of scissors, 3) nerve, 4) glass of wine
Last time I said more would follow on Steeks.  I have come to the conclusion you can have it the hard way, or the easy way.  In fact I had been steeking for years before I knew there was a hard way!  The hard way involves sewing or crocheting.  So long as the garment is knitted in pure wool, there is no need other than the knitter’s own satisfaction in seeking a perfect finish in sewing steeks.  They can be a little bulky but not intolerably so.  I always do a minimum of 11 sts in a steek, this gives plenty of leeway if I should go off course!,  Having an odd number means there is an obvious centre stitch to cut. It is  really useful if the steek is done in two colours, which is always going to be easy if the garment is done in fair isle.  I always keep say even numbered stitches dark and odd numbers light, so that there are easy lines to follow for the cutting. 
When it comes to the cutting, I always place a wad of thick paper or a book under thepart I am cutting.  This ensures no other part of the garment gets accidentally nicked.
To sum up golden steeking rules are:
1)      Minimum of 11 sts knitted in alternate colours
2)      Protection to place under the part being cut
3)      Glass of wine afterwards to celebrate success
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Finally to raise a smile:  Maxine is a cartoon character from the US with acid wit.  There are many collections of her cartoons on the net, so go to Google and input "Maxine Cartoons" and hopefully the first listing is "images for maxine cartoons" and when you click on up comes a page full and you click on each individual one and it enlarges.Images for maxine cartoons 



5 comments:

  1. Just wait until next year one's spouse should bestow unto you "Improved Real Estate" according to http://marriage.about.com/cs/anniversaries/a/wedannivideas_5.htm

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  2. Well Peter, cannot wait for the 44th as that is....groceries!!! What I really want to know is who thought up these ideas in the first place?

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  3. Happy Anniversary Sandra - and thanks for the kind shout out :-)

    Martine

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  4. Hi Sandra; You were kind enough to comment on my blog so I took a look at yours. As it happens I am vegetarian, though not vegan and I look forward to future posts from you. Your blog is great! I love the tea cozy. And happy anniversary as well. Michele

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  5. Hello Michele, and thanks for nice comments. It occured to me I hadn't listed blogs I like and so I have just started a list, and have started it off with yours! Happy crafting! Sandra

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