Christmas Pomanders - A Brief Tutorial

I have been thinking about getting ready for Christmas. These are quick to make, but would need to be made soon if they are to be dried for Christmas.

You will need
1 small orange (with minimal skin imperfections)
1 metal skewer
1/2 cup - 1 cup of whole cloves (best to get from a spice or bulk store as this will take about 3 small 40g supermarket packets)

Pommander in process with quarters marked and being filled in

Getting Started
Wrap rubber band around orange from top to bottom.

Using skewer, pierce skin to the depth of a whole clove (4mm, say) with piercing along the lines made by the rubber band.

Insert a clove into each hole.

Remove rubber band and place again to divide orange into 4 pieces. Pierce skin and place cloves along the new line of the rubber band.

Filling in the Quadrants

Pierce holes, about 6 at a time and place cloves, until each quadrant is filled.

Drying

Place orange in a warm dry location to dry until hard i.e. hot water cupboard or sunny window sill.

Check regularly for signs of mould. This can be given away by smell turing unpleasant or orange not drying out. To reduce chances of mould, choose your fruit carefull and try not to leave any piercing without cloves.

Pommanders from front to back - in progress, 2 weeks old and drying out and 3 yrs old

Uses
Once dried the pommander can be used as a decoration - with a ribbon to hang, or to scent the linin cupboard or wardrobe. I tend to tie a ribbon on them for hanging. Then I hang each one in the wardrobe and retrieve tham for the tree in December.

If dried properly the pommanders should last for a number of years however, the scent will fade gradually overtime.

The Pencil Roll Post - Not How I Planned It

I was in awe of the Pencil Rolls I've seen coming from the Pink Chalk design. I cut out the pieces to make one a few months ago and finally finished it on Friday. Then I thought about taking a photo. Little e spotted it first and while this isn't how I planned it, I will let the pictures do the talking.

Our Garden Gets Built

I have been reading "The Creative Family" lately. I found it simultaneously inspiring and overwhelming. We're not ready for nature walks yet, or even family drawing time. But, there was one thing we could do and that is to start a vegetable garden.

I thought I would start small. There was a small grassy patch that was once a herb garden. I talked to Mum about it. Mum's a keen gardener. She knows about these things.

The Strawberry Plants That Started It All

Mum offered me some newly divided strawberry plants. The next sunny day we got the strawberries in. They should have been in the ground months ago, but it's a start.

I talked to Dad about it and all of a sudden we were discussing kitset garden bed vs. build your own.

Then I come home to find a trailer full of branches in the back yard, my father filling them, and a grumpy husband. Dad had announced that I wanted the garden finished in the next two weeks. After determining that I said nothing of the sort it calmed down somewhat.

Our Back Yard Becomes a Trailer Convention

Before I knew it there was a trailer of sheep manure on the back lawn. Then after some careful measuring, it was joined by a load of timber. For a while our back lawn looked like a trailer convention.

I was left with little sets of instructions, like clear away the area before I'm back to put in the posts, I've cut the timber but you will need to level the pieces before screwing them on. The first of the beds are full and the old compost heap is gone. Now it's our turn to level the remainder before the garden shed gets moved on Monday.

Granddad Showing Us How It's Done

We will get there, and hopefully well before that gardening Rubicon in late October, Labour Weekend. For now I dreaming of the things you can't buy, freshly picked sugar snap peas, scarlet runner beans, homegrown watermelon and sun warmed strawberries.

Words From Another Time

When I saw these plate, I thought of my Great Aunt. She could be both firm and loving, and often in the same sentence. My Great Aunt was fiercely independent and quite simply never had it overly easy. Legend has it she became the liberal aunt that my Mother and her sisters went to for a hot tea, stiff gin and a shoulder to cry on when heart broken. She had a passion for china and upholding the correct use of the English language.

One of my earliest memories involving her, was one Christmas when my brother announced that he needed to go to the “loo”. My great aunt was having none of this and my mother was told off for letting us use such coarse language. I still don't know what word she expected us to use. Water closet, maybe? Certainly not that American euphemism, bathroom when really you mean toilet.

She continued to up hold the english language in every way when I was in my teens. There are many words that you read a number of time before hearing them said. Opulent is one of them. My attempts at o-pew-lent were brushed aside with “It's op-ulent, Dear”.

Then there are words that changed in meaning over her life time. Once she told me of a wonderful evening she had had, lamenting that she couldn't just say gay anymore.

When I turned over these plates to check the mark, something my great aunt taught us all, I had to chuckle and I thought of her. The pattern certainly wouldn't be called “Gay Fantasy” today. I love the pattern, so airy with the leaf stencils, and definitely light hearted. My Great Aunt would be proud.

Applying Make-up on a Train

Following in my series of things to do on a train...There are some important things to consider when applying makeup on a train. As you are applying it on a train you are obviously pushed for time. To apply it at home would mean getting up even earlier.

Above: An extreme example of applying makeup on a train taken from The Marshall Cavendish Complete Book of Needle Craft

The first consideration is to apply while sitting in your seat, or using the bathroom. The bathroom has a better mirror, is less conspicuous and beside how else will you get your 10 minutes of balance exercises into the day?

Step 1 Foundation Powder is the easiest to apply and requires less accuracy so go with this option.

Step 2 Eyeliner Best to time this for the brief moment when you will be at a train station. Apply carefully. If the train is moving, apply very carefully.

Step 3 Eye Shadow Brace your knees between the measly vanity and the toilet pan to remain standing at mirror height. This requires more skill if the train driver is running late and prone to jerky movements.

Step 4 Blush Subtle colours are best as mistakes are likely.

Step 5 Lipstick See above. Remember that a scarlet track from the corner of your mouth to the right nostril is never becoming.

Finishing remember to smile nicely at the ticket collector who has been standing outside the cubicle door since the last station, and you are ready for work.

What Was in the Box?

This was in the box.

My cupcake swap has arrived at Susan's house.

I took the opportunity to re purpose some table linen picked up at a church fair. Consider it a beginners attempt at applique. There were scorch marks and burnt finger tips galore before I was finished.

The softies are magnets too. I had to call in the bolt cutters to get the magnets to the right size to hide underneath the cases. I made one to keep as well. I find it handy as pincushion stuck to the side of my sewing machine. Little e just tries to pull the wrapper off. While she may not be trying to eat them, it certainly looks like it.

Knitting on a Train - Part 2

My next tip for knitting on a train would have to be “read the pattern carefully”, followed closely by “it's not too late to unpick” I have finished the cardigan for little e. It looks a little different from the picture on the pattern and possibly a little tighter.

I mis-read some instructions and cast the arms off a little too narrow. This would have been fine if my daughter was a cartoon character and had spaghetti arms. I only noticed this when knitting down the second half of the front and was very reluctant to unpick. I thought I was being clever when I devised a knitted gusset with contrast texture. Granted it looks great , but as I finished it, I had a feeling that it might have been quicker just to unpick in the first place.

After messing up the first button hole (yes, should have unpicked that too)I decided that I would sew domes on. A kilt pin will have to do while I work out where I put those pesky domes. The fleeting moment in which this cardigan fits my daughter may have already passed. For now, the kilt pin compliments my daughter's generous puku quite nicely.

I like the way this looks finished. When little e's puku finally wins the battle with the kilt pin, it will be lovingly washed and put aside in the baby box.