I always start out with such good intentions to do a post twice a week, and then I skid to the last day and find it hasn’t happened. So not much of a theme to this post, rather an eclectic mix of happenings.

On Monday, I went to Norwich Deaf Centre, where I had a long standing booking for a needlefelting class for the Craft Group. Good fun was had by all…

The felting needle related injuries were minimal…

..and everyone was very happy with their own needlefelted cupcake pincushion!

Good enough to eat!

Talking of eating, has anyone else made sour dough bread?  I’ve been wanting to have a go for ages, but chickened out of the little pot of bubbling goo thingy that you have to go through to make it.  Any way, I consulted Mr Fearnley-Wittingstall here,  and started out on my scientific experiment a couple of weeks ago.

(I put a little label on the lid saying don’t be scared ‘cos last time I tried I threw it away in a panic!)

Anyway it sat for nearly two weeks bubbling away while I fed it and this week I decided to actually make the loaf. It starts off overnight as a spongy batter, then with more flour added and kneaded in it progresses over the day…like this…

 

 

And the verdict? Well, I’ve not had sour dough bread before so I’ve no idea how it compare to the experts’ version.  It’s tasty, with an extra edge, a slightly sour tang like lemon juice or vinegar, without the flavour.  It’s good with cheese, and toasted with lemon marmalade.  It seemed to go dry quite quickly, almost as it cooled, but that could be a fault in the making.  But it was fine toasted.  I’m fairly confident T will NOT be impressed, being a fan of the sliced white or 50/50 loaf so it’s quite faff for one person, but I’m glad I gave it a go.  I’d love to know if you’ve tried it.  How did you get on, and what did you think?

I’ve been creative in other ways too.  I  had a special commission, a present for a small boy who isn’t really into birds, or sheep or frogs, but really likes his bike.  So let me present,

The Biking Bear, complete with cycle helmet…

And I’ve also been working on a new Bluebirds of Happiness project…

What do you think?…

And finally, I’ve been doing a little dressmaking.  This week I came across this lovely blog, Sew Scrumptious and Louise, who is currently collecting little dresses for Dress a Girl Around the World.  You can can read all about it by following these links, and it’s such a lovely thing to be involved in.  today I made my first dress…

It’s a really easy pattern which you can download, and with a brilliant tutorial here, even a novice can turn out a beautiful dress to make a little girl happy!

It would be lovely if you could join in too, what better way to use up all those pretty scraps of fabric you can’t bear to throw away, but don’t know what to do with?

See you soon! x