Thursday, January 6, 2011

The Liesl Dress

It's pretty well known that I am a big fan of The Sound of Music. Aside from the story itself, some of the costumes are gorgeous. So I'm pretty thrilled to discover that someone has made a pattern for Liesl's dress. You know, the one she wears when she dances with Rolf?

It's from Edelweiss Patterns and I look forward to seeing more.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Finished at Last!


There are times when it bothers me that Andrew's family is so small next to me (mostly because it makes me feel freakishly large) Then there a times when I am glad of it. Like when I take an entire extra year to complete a dress for my niece's Christmas present. In any other family, she would have grown out of it by now, but not our Amy. It will fit her perfectly!

Back

Look at that lacy sleeve

And the lace peeking out of the tuck!

And, of course, the smocking, even if it is a little rippled.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Chilli con Carne

I am sure that this is in no way traditional, but it's tasty anyway.

Ingredients:
1 onion
1kg mince steak (approximately - I use anywhere between 750g-1kg or so)
1-2 tins tomatoes or 1kg pureed fresh tomatoes
2-3 heaped dessert spoons tomato paste
1 tin red kidney beans
1 tin chick peas (this is optional, but I'd use another tin of kidney beans if you're not using this)
salt, pepper, chilli powder to taste
You can also add a grated carrot and zucchini if you like.

Method:
1.  Empty kidney beans and chick peas into a strainer and rinse well (I find they tend to foam disturbingly...) Set aside to drain.
2. Cut onion finely (or however you like to chop your onion for these things) and sauté in a large saucepan until clear and tender. (You will need the saucepan as you add the other ingredients. You can fry the onion in a frying pan and transfer it, if you prefer, but that just makes more washing up)
3. Add the mince, and brown.If you're adding carrot and zucchini, do it now.
4. Add salt, pepper and chilli (go sparingly with the chilli. The flavour will become more intense as it cooks. I've made this mistake more than one - lucky my family is not overly sensitive to chilli!)
5. Add tomato paste and tinned tomatoes. Make sure tomatoes are broken up to your liking before adding beans and chick peas.
6. Simmer until there is very little liquid left (this does depend on how you are serving it). Serve. We like to serve with tortillas, cheese and salad, as shown below. Warm the tortillas as instructed on the packet (generally, 10 minutes at 180C wrapped in foil) When I was younger, my brothers ate theirs in taco shells, or with corn chips, while I had mine on pasta (like bolognaise) or with toast soldiers.

Served!
This is mine, ready to wrap.

All rolled up

This is what a normal person's looks like.

But then is much harder to wrap up.

And it's much messier towards the end!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

In which she begins to knit


It may have been Flora's influence, it may have been the Oddballs (and my presence on Ravelry), or it may have been the beautiful skeins of yarn glaring at me balefully from my stash, but I have finally given in and started to knit.
It has not been a good start. I knitted 3 rows, and pulled it all out because I had extra stitches and didn't know why. I knitted 4 rows, had 4 extra stitches, attempted to go back to the previous row (where I knew I had the right number) and ended up 2 stitches short. This resulted in my taking it to my soon-to-be mother-in-law, who corrected the number of stitches and reknitted those rows that had been pulled out. Still, I have now successfully knitted 4 more rows without gaining or losing any stitches, and the pattern is beginning to emerge.
Flora approves.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

New family members


We've acquired some new family members during my absence. First there was Filleap. He was a present from Andrew, both a congratulations, and an anniversary gift. He's growing up too fast, and is oh-so-naughty. He likes cupboards, and hates carrots (but loves broccoli)

Then we got Felix, because Andrew saw him when buying animal food, and he was too cute to resist. He and Filleap aren't friends yet though - despite being 'fixed' Filleap molests him, so we're waiting 'til Felix grows up.


And then, following some losses in the chookhouse (The Colonel to illness, and Nando to a fox) we got Goldie Hawn, Ingham, and Fred Rooster.
Goldie is Dad's 2nd chook at last - a bantam to go with Chook, while the others are replacements for the lost ones.

Oh, and back on April 19th, a new niece, Milla was born. She is a sister for Alice and Amy, and absolutely divine. And at 5lb6oz, is the 'big' one in her family!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Winter's End

I have a love/hate relationship with the end of Winter. On one hand, it almost frightens me, as I know how desperately we need the rain. On the other hand, there's no denying the smile that comes to my face when I get home from work and it's still light.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

A thousand apologies...

...for my prolonged absence. I have obtained a full time teaching position which started at the beginning of last term and while I love my job, it drastically cuts into both my crafting and blogging time. In addition, Anna at Pleasant View Schoolhouse has ceased blogging. As this was my favourite blog, and my inspiration for Sew, Cook, Laugh, I have lost some interest in blogs in general - I have not even been reading blogs regularly. I do, however, love this space for sharing, so I shall try to be better.
Upcoming posts are likely to included - additions to our family (a gorgeous new niece, plus a couple of bunnies and three new chooks) and my latest crafting supplies. There may also be some mention of my current obsession with knitting, though I have about 5 things to finish before I actually do any.
So please hang in there, dear readers, and we shall return to regular programming soon. I hope.