Mr Benjamin...Bunny...

I would like you all to meet

Mr Benjamin Bunny...

He is a Lop eared Cashmere fellow...

Very handsome

with the quietest nature...

Very Fluffy
and adores cuddles...

I think he quite likes to be photographed as well...



Of course now with Mr Bejamin residing here at River Cottage
I might not have much spare time...

So I needed a project that I could just do every now and then...

Click on the photo below for details of
the inspiration behind these colours...



So for now I will just be plodding along with some crocheting...
and getting lots of cuddles on the couch...

I hope your week has started out as sweet as mine...

So until next post
Keep up the Granny Goodness...and Hug A Bunny or two...

Chutney cooking

I am officially obsessed

with Chutney making...

 

I have about 6 jars  made

and will be looking for some more recipes soon...

The two on either side are Kasundi

a Indian style tomato chutney...

That is so yummy I have already opened 

one of the jars and am half way through already...

I would have to say I made this a bit milder than what it should have been

but I prefer mild not hot...

The one in the middle is an Apple chutney but I did find this a bit peppery 

and will be changing that recipe

next batch...

I have also made a Peach Chutney that is a little spicier

for my husband

and that tastes like a good chutney...

 

For the Kasundi I used the recipe HERE...

But did change a few things...

So I will write it out for you

if you like...

250ml olive oil

2 tablespoons turmeric

2 tablespoons ground mustard

2 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon garam Marsala

Heat the oil and place the above ingredients in a large pot

and gently heat...

Be careful it doesn't burn...

You just want to bring the flavours out...

In a separate bowl place

2 tablespoons of crushed garlic

2 tablespoons crushed ginger

1 tablespoon crushed chilli ( more if you like it hotter)

*I used the pre-made supermarket variety of these in jars...*

mix in 50ml of malt vinegar...

Stir well and add to pot...

Heat this all through for a few more minutes...be careful not to burn it...

and don't stick your nose in for a good smell

as it is could have you in a coughing fit...

Add to the pot

2 kg of  Cherry Tomatoes quartered

1 teaspoon of salt

125 grams of brown sugar

and 170 ml of malt vinegar

Bring to the boil

and the turn down a bit

and cook for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours...

Heat washed jars in oven on low heat..

Using an oven mitt pick up jars and place hot chutney into jars

until overflowing...

be very careful not to burn yourself...

Place lid on jar...

Wipe  outside of jar and let stand until cool to touch...

You will find that the jars with the metal lids the best to use...

The ones with the lid that has the "pop up" circle in the middle...

You will notice that the cooler the jar gets the button in the middle of the jar will depress

and vacuum seal the chutney inside...

Now that's it...

Oh! almost forgot...

It goes really well on crusty bread...

Yum!!!

Homegrown...Goodness...

The garden here at 

River Cottage...

is overflowing

with Tiny Tomatoes...

With bowls full at the ready...

I am recipe hunting...

I am thinking a relish would be tasty...

I like the sound of this one...here...

or

maybe this one...here...

Maybe you my dear friend has a "fool proof" recipe...
you would like to share...

It's another rainy day
and I am needing to cook...
how about you?
Do you like to cook on rainy days too...

Crochet Top...

Hello there my lovely dears...

It has been far too long since I blogged...
I have tried to keep myself busy with a few crocheted tops over the last month...
But unfortunately not a lot of other crocheting projects...

We are still in school holiday mode which has kept me
occupied with visits to the pool, day trips out and lots of crafting with
"Little Miss"...

This is one of two swing crochet tops I have made this month..

The other is in a apple green...
I really like this pattern...super fast and everything worked out the way it should...
Which is always good when you are trying to translate a Japanese pattern...

I purchased the pattern book from this shop here...

This is what the front cover of the book looks like...

I do hope that the lull of late will not be a habbit...
and I will be back on track in blogland very soon...

Thank you all so much for your patience...and kind words...

A New Year ahead...

With blue skies shining...

The summer has eventually arrived here at River Cottage...

The days are filled with 

beach towels and bathing suits..

Garden filled with flowers...



and even picking our very own Peaches...



This is just what summer and the New Year is all about...



I am just hoping that all of this colour and sunshine...
leads to lots of inspiration...



For the last 3 weeks I haven't crocheted a thing...
I know, quite the shock to the system...
But I wanted a break to re-think...and get some new ideas...

I have missed blogging and missed catching up with all of my readers...

I hope your holiday season has been a safe and a family friendly break...

 For my northern hemisphere friends...I hope the cooler climate has been forgiving...
 and you have been able to spend quality time with the yarn and hook...
 making warm scarves and woolly mittens...

and for my southern hemisphere friends...
I hope summer has arrived and is a pleasant change
from the inclement weather we have had before Christmas...
and if you are like me and still find the time to crochet in summer...
I hope you have found some brightly coloured cottons
to make crocheting a bit easier in the heat...

Till next post...
I hope your New Year is granny good...

Granny Seats...

I made these two seats (with some manly help)
for two very special people in town 

that have helped me out a huge amount this year...

They love recycling and helping the environment 

 so these were ideal for Christmas gifts...

The tops were crocheted in cotton and a bamboo-wool blend...
I really wish I had made one for home...
they are just too cute...

 

Inspiration:

Lots of old painted bits of timber from the bathroom renovation...

A stash of cotton and bamboo-wool just waiting for a project...

and pictures of the lovely amazing work of Ingrid from

"WOOD AND STOOL"...

who's stools I have admired for so long...

These sweet Granny seats are 

a "one off" present for two special ladies...

Sorry there are no orders on these...

Yarn Motivation...

Just needed to share...

Things that get me motivated...

Looking Forward...

The week 

I am looking forward to some peace and quiet...

But I have a feeling that it might not happen...



Too much Granny Goodness to share...

Granny Greetings...

Granny Greetings...
from River cottage...



The tree is trimmed...I have re-arranged, dusted and washed the lounge room...
It's looking a lot like CHRISTMAS...

 

Crocheting classes have sadly come to an end...

We did have a lovely last night thou...

With sweets, crackers and dip...

and lots of "giggles"

We all made some Grandma Rosie Rings...

and went home late and full of Christmas inspiration and cheer...

A huge THANK YOU to all my lovely dears

who attended this years classes...

and I will be looking forward to organizing 

even more exciting projects for next year...

***

So

from ME to YOU...

Enjoy your festive season

Stay Safe, keep up the Granny Goodness and Hug a Bunny...

That last one is just  because

it can make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside

***

Grandma Rosie Rings...Tutorial...

Yes that's right...

My Grandma Rosie Ring pattern if here...

For all to enjoy this festive season...

I have included a printable version as well...

Which is only in English terms

but the tutorial on this post will be in English terms with

American terms in brackets..

Requirements:

I ball of rose coloured cotton 2 ply or less...

1 ball of green cotton 2 ply or less...

(these will make several Rosie Rings...)

1 ring base

Super glue or very strong hot glue to secure ring to base.

Terms:

sl st - slip stitch

ch - chain

dc- double crochet- sc for American

htr - half treble - hdc for American

tr - treble - dc for American

To Start.

Using Rose coloured cotton...

Leave a "tail" of thread about 30 cm long to sew rose together.

Ch 31.

Round 1...

Working along these chains.

Miss first ch, 1 dc(sc) in all ch to end.

30 dc(sc) in total.

Turn work over.

Round 2...

1 ch, miss very first stitch that is directly under this chain.!!! 

6 htr (hdc) into next dc. 

1 dc(sc) in next dc(sc).

* Miss 1 dc(sc). 7 tr(dc) in next dc(sc). 1 dc(sc) in next dc(sc).* 

Repeat * - * to end...10 petals in total... 

The last dc will be hard to see... but just take your time... 

Sew and trim in this end... 

Now using tail end thread from the start...

curl and sew rose to form a pretty rose...

Leaves... 

Using Green cotton...

5 ch, join with a sl st to form a circle. 

Round 1... 1 ch, 9 dc(sc) back into circle. Join with a sl st to first dc(sc). 

* 5 ch.(working along these now) 

Miss first ch, 1 dc(sc) in next ch, 1 htr (hdc)in next ch, 

1 tr(dc) in next ch, 1 tr(dc) in next ch. 

Join with a sl st to next dc(sc).

* Repeat * - * to end... 

You will have 8 leaves in total... 

Sew to base of Rose...
Then using strong glue secure to ring base...

Take some time to let it set properly before wearing your Rosie Ring...

Printable pdf attached below...

Click on image and you will be able to go to my flickr page and go to all sizes and print
out a copy for yourself...

I hope everyone enjoys this pattern...
Please feel free to make and share
but I would really love it if you
credit me for the pattern...

Random collection...

Lots of lovely Granny Christmas Stocking patterns

are now in my shop...

Not forgetting

Rosie Rabbit patterns too...

Not one of my best photos...

But this is a shot of my Granny Flats artwork

hanging in the little shop in town...

This gorgeous round vintage tin storage cupboard...

That I have been in love with the day I saw it...

has been sold by it's current owners...

I will very very much miss it...

I have loved seeing it whenever I have popped into the little shop...

It is, I am sure, a great conversion starter...

Lets just say if I would have know there was a possibility of purchasing it

I would have saved up all of my

pocket money...

Note to self...In future when someone says something is not for sale

don't assume it will not be in the future...

It is going to spend it's days with a nice family in Western Australia thou...

Which does sound sweet...

I have see one a long time ago at an antique shop

and the owner said he knew of only 3 others...

But I would love to find out more...

They are just so unique...

If anyone has seen one of these cupboards thou and has any history on them

I would love to know...

I have google searched over the years but came up with...zero...

Picture perfect cards...a gift that keeps giving...

I came across these gorgeous handmade cards

while visiting my local gift and nursery shop...

I have bought the first two and will be framing them...

Although many will not be able to buy them like me at my local store...

I have found an online store that stock them...

You can find these cards and so much more 

at Sankofa

These wonderfully unique greeting cards are from El Salvador 

  They are made using native flowers and plants

by a group of enterprising women who formed a 

co-operative in the highlands of El Salvador 

after massive mud slides and a devasting earthquake left 

many families jobless and homeless.

Not only will you get a unique gorgeous card 

that you can give as a gift or like me frame it for all to see...

But you will be helping creative woman that are part of a

 company committed to providing 

sustainable employment to the economically disadvantaged. 

They are a member of the Fair Trade Federation.

Granny Christmas Stocking...

The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care...
In hopes that my Granny would see them there...

This is my new Granny Christmas Stocking pattern...



This is an adaptation
of my Granny Slipper pattern...



so if you have made my granny slippers
you will have no problem doing these sweet things...

The sole is worked exactly the same...
but I have added a few extra bits of redesigning to the new shaping for the top ...
and not forgetting some pretty little picots too...

Got to LOVE picots...

and the pattern is just about ready to be proof read
and
it will be listed in my etsy shop
by the end of the week...

So while you are probably thinking
"oh is it that time of year already"
well it isn't quite...

But it is a fabulous time to start those "merry good" projects...

Rosie Rabbit Pattern in store Now...

After recent inspiration...

I have decided to call my 

"bunny" pattern

Rosie Rabbit...

 

It will be listed quick sticks...

Just in time

to make as a CHRISTMAS GIFT...

Speaking of Christmas...

I have an

 added bonus of listing 3 Rosie Rabbit patterns

for 20 cents each...

So pop over to my etsy shop to see if you will get a bargain...

If you miss out don't forget that these patterns are

just ideal for making lots of friendly critters...

Turn it into a mouse, bear or even a puppy...

Just use some imagination and adapt this very versatile style...

and also on the subject of Christmas...

I have been working very hard and have

a very sweet Granny Christmas Stocking pattern

all written up and several made...

I am just waiting for a picture perfect day to take lots of pretty pics...

Hopefully it will not be long away...