Birthday Presents!

 I am feeling utterly spoilt today after a wonderful birthday yesterday. Hugo (9) and I were at the local market last week when I spotted a salad sprouting kit which I thought was wonderful. Hugo stowed it away, later explaining it to Jonno. And together, they made one just for me! Archie (12) snuck away an enormous and very much forgotten glass jar I had filled with odds and ends and turned it into the most beautiful terrarium. So I am feeling very fortunate. I'm so glad they already have that ethos we all cherish in blogland, of making something special for someone you love. 

So today Hugo and I are going to start sprouting some seeds he bought. Very exciting..... watch this space!
Lots of love,
Kate. xxx

The Best Coconut Slice Ever!

 Archie had to do some cooking for his class last night so decided to make coconut ice. The recipe called for copha which is a hydrogenated vegetable fat... something I really didn't want to buy. So we thought we would try using coconut oil instead. Oh my giddy aunt - it was so much better that I thought we should share the recipe!

Archie's Coconut Slice (adapted from Stephanie Alexander's 'The Cook's Companion'

130 grams coconut oil

250 grams dessicated coconut

500 grams icing sugar

a few drops of vanilla extract

2 egg whites

a few drops of natural food colouring 

Melt the coconut oil and then mix with the dessicated coconut, icing sugar, vanilla extract and egg whites. Divide the mixture in half and mix the natural food colouring through one batch. Spread one half in a 20x20cm square cake tin then spread the other half on top. Refrigerate until cold and then cut into pieces. TRY NOT TO EAT TOO MUCH!!!

Crafting with Willow.

The boys starred in the making stakes this weekend. Jonno cut a big wreath of willow for the boys for to craft with and they came up with the most wonderful projects. Archie and Hugo observed an artisan making willow whistles on our trip to England earlier this year. With a memory fresher than min, Archie managed to successfully recreated his own. The only problem being that he couldn't resist whistling it whenever he was standing next to me.... so impressed with his craftsmanship but a constant high pitched whistling can tend to become a little frustrating over the course of an afternoon. Eventually I gently suggested that our dog Bertie was perhaps being driven to distraction and the whistling thoughtfully softened out.

It's so pretty though!

Hugo decided to make a hot pie server which is always useful to have on hand.

I have to say that I was blown away by his work. Just beautiful.

Hugo's hands are kind of amazing. They are so little but have the surety of an old man.

Look at that face.

At one point it began to slip so he reworked until it held perfectly. So, so, so impressed.

And here are some roses from my garden. I can't begin to express the joy they bring to me each year.

Love.

I hope you had a lovely weekend too!

Lots of love,

Kate. xxooxx.

Macrame and Other Exciting Things.

This weekend has had Archie and I doing lots of macrame together. I found this neon string at the hardware store and am so in love with it that I'm surprised I haven't knitted a suit for Jonno to wear yet. He would look so fancy. Instead I've been knotting up jars with it. They glow.

This jar is my favourite. I have some L.E.D. tea lights to pop in there so I can't wait for the next warm evening.

Can you imagine.

Archie has taken to macrame like a duck to water. He spends a lot of his time learning new knots... as you do when you're 11 and an assistant patrol leader at Scouts.

And today my yarn from Black Sheep Wools arrived. I can't wait to show you the Christmas project we're working on together but I need to whip this batch into shape first.... 

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

Lots of love,

Kate. xxooxx.

Crocheting with the Boys.

 Today a dream came true, Hugo learnt how to crochet. He still has a long way to go but the 'click' happened for him. Wahoo! Sitting at the table with my two boys while we had hot drinks and crocheted was beyond my wildest dreams. I'm still smiling all these hours later.

Yesterday my neighbour popped by with her new book by Mr. Finch and the teeniest, tiniest plate of macarons ever.  By the way, the book is utterly sublime and if you ever have the chance to read it, seize it. No patterns but amazing photography of his work so far. I tried to hide the book so it could live with us but to no avail..... I can't wait to see it again. 

Archie made a little crochet kite this morning. He thinks it would be a wonderful project for beginners so we will write the pattern up at some stage together and post it.

Crochet can be pretty intense you know....

Lots and lots of love,

Kate. xxooxx.

Sundays AND Another Giveaway - with Kat Goldin!!!!!

We are having a quiet one today. Yesterday saw the boys dressing up as characters from Lord of the Rings for their cousin's party. Lots of fun and LOTS of preparation. Always handy having real bows and arrows on hand for costumes though.

Archie and I are still in our pyjamas this morning. He has been up in his room having a serious Lego morning with another cousin and Hugo is busily writing a speech on magic (which has to be performed tomorrow.....).

I couldn't resist showing you Hugo's cork castle that he made earlier in the week - complete with a Japanese kokedama ball in the centre.

 So much care and love went into this project - it was made as a thank you present to Jonno for our trip.

 I love the happy person at the top.

And now for some more exciting news, Kat Goldin - my absolute hero and author of 'Crochet at Play' and the soon to be released 'Hook, Stitch and Give' is holding a 'Stanley and the Hot Air Balloon giveaway  over here! Go and visit her now and say hello.
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
Lots and lots of love,
Kate. xxooxx.
p.s. don't forget to enter into the crocheted Stanley giveaway in the post below.

A Hugo Project.

 So I will say unabashedly that sometimes (no in fact, make that quite often) my greatest inspiration comes from my kids. Hugo started crafting with corks this afternoon and came up with this plan

 I am sooooooo impressed. Isn't this the most wonderful thing that you could ever do with a cork. And the best thing is, Hugo ordering me to drink more champagne.... or at least sparkling white as we have to call it these days.

He also loves it because it gives him a chance to use an awl. There's just not that much call for awls these days.

Lots and lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

Books and Boy Crafts.

 I am not featuring a huge stack of books today. Instead I am showing you two of my favourite books from the last few weeks. I had a run of reads that left me feeling a little meh. But these books had me neglecting the family, the house and the world.  

Funnily enough, I really don't want to give you the full synopsis for 'Boy, Snow, Bird' by Helen Oyeyemi. I went in without knowing anything about it and was blown away by a little twist half way through the story. All that I will say is that it's set in 1960's America with a slight air of Snow White  but instead of an evil step-mother, deeply human characters. 

And as for 'The Circle' by Dave Eggers, think of a world run by a corporation bigger than google that encourages complete transparency in everybodies' actions and transactions..... giving Big Brother (the George Orwell kind, not the television version) a friendly face. Both were completely unputdownable which can be a blessing and a curse.

 So what did the boys get up to in the meantime? Hugo had a case of strep throat and worked steadily on a tapestry that he designed (awwwwww).

 Archie stripped electrical cables for copper wire and made a forest. Apparently they are for Easter and support a mini egg in their roots. Beautiful and practical considering the season!

What have you been reading?
Lots and lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.

Felt Wreath Making... With Kids!

 I think I have written before about two very cool girls who come to me about three mornings a week before school. I've known them ever since they were tiny and their mum was even at Hugo's birth. Needless to say I love them to bits and we all treasure any time we get to hang out with them. Not only are they the loveliest things known to mankind, but they also wear shoes like this! What I wouldn't give for a pair of silver sequined balled flats.

At the moment we are working on a special project. All four kids have pitched in and I think they have done the most amazing job. Still a wee way to go though, thank goodness, because it is so much fun.

Lots and lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.

p.s. I am so sorry, I have accidentally deleted someone's comment from the previous post and I can't remember who and I don't want them to think I thought their comment was inappropriate. I am sooooo sorry if it was you!!!!!

A couple of Easy Easter Projects.

First of all let me say a big thank you for all of your comments in the last post - you gave such great advice and so much to think about. You are all such a great resource and I am so lucky to have you!!!

Yesterday morning I had to quickly come up with a couple of easy crafts to take with me to the school library which I open on Tuesdays at lunch time. Something I could do beforehand and another I could do with the kids.

 So using glassine origami paper I cut out these egg shapes and stitched them up on the sewing machine. A very quick project indeed.

 And made travel safe courtesy of a cardboard envelope.

 The project for the kids had to be achievable in 30 mins and accessible to a variety of ages. So, I had them finger-knit a length of yarn and then I sewed it up into a little nest. Older children were able to do their own sewing. Did anybody else harbour a bit of a fetish for these baby chicks when they were growing up? I still love them.

They are now dotted around the school library looking very cute and festive.
Still have to write up the egg cosy tutorial...
Lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.