Meet Bertha

I made a new friend this week. She is a little rough around the edges and may need a hammer and a bit of WD40 before she is the right shape (which in this instance is MY shape).......

Bertha, as I have christened her was being throw away by the business next door and they said I could have her for free!!! WooHoo!

There is enough for a dress, but I suspect the colour will look awful near my face!

I think she looks rather fetching in this fabric which I think is destined for a quick and dirty skirt job this week.

I also managed to pick up a couple of great pillowcases to be used either as dresses for Poppet or as panels in a skirt for moi (come on spring!!!!), and few more patterns.

Prints galore!

I also picked up this truly dreadful tea towel. I have a soft spot for all things Scottish having lived there for a few years many moons ago. I saw this guy and had to buy it....because sometimes something is so bad it is good.

So bad its good? Or just bad?

I may be even more sporadic with my posts in the coming weeks......after a year of being on the market we finally sold our house and are packing up and moving! (Just as soon as we can find somewhere to rent!!!) .

Til next time...
CC.

Linking up with Her Library Adventures Flea Market Finds and

Sunday afternoon baking

With the wind blowing and colds taking up residence in the house I got my bake on with some quick easy Apple Butterscotch Scones. Excellent way to warm up and use an apple that was starting to go a bit brown!!!

Normally my scones are pretty crumbly, which is as far as I'm concerned how they are supposed to be...but these have a more cakey consistency which I'm happy to go with this time around.

Apple Butterscotch Scones

2 cups of Plain Flour and 4 tsp of Baking Powder (Or Self Raising Flour instead...normally I will replace with 1/3 wholemeal four.....but I was out).
2 T Caster Sugar
Pinch salt
80 g butter
1 cup of Buttermilk (or if you are me and never have any 1 cup of milk with 1T of vinegar).

Filling
1 Apple (peeled and grated).
2 T butter
2 T brown sugar
2 T maple syrup (or golden syrup)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Add dry ingredients to bowl and stir. Rub though butter. Stir in milk. Mixture will be a bit sticky...this is OK! Empty onto a floured bench (or floured chopping board for size) and spread.

Not pretty but you get the idea.

In a separate bowl mix all filling ingredients except apple.
Spread over scone mixture.
Grate apple over the top.

Roll up, roll up!

Slice into 1 inch pieces (most recipes like this say you will get 8-10 scones.....ummm no. More like 6-8!). Use a bread knife it cuts easier (yes, that's a Belinda tip)

Mum's helper.....in between trying to shovel brown sugar in his mouth

Place on a baking tray covered with baking paper and brush with a little extra maple syrup.

Cook on 200c for about 20 minutes. Top will be a little brown and the bottom will be a little bit crunchy.

Classy chipped china and tea bags

Serve with lashings of cream and a nice cup of tea.

Poppet, Percy and the remnants of afternoon tea.

CC

Linking up with Gingerbread this week.

Dotty for Doilies!

I jumped on the doily bandwagon this week. Actually I jumped on it a while ago after seeing a ridiculous amount of cute doily projects on the blogosphere. After picking up an appropriately sized doily in the haul a couple of weeks ago, I was inspired to try this collar. I made a  few changes to the original instructions.

1. Mine started unravelling as soon as I cut it, so I added bias tape to the neck and edge.
2. I used hat elastic to fashion a loop for he button to go through. Poppet pulled this off in about an hour, so I ended up pushing the button through the existing holes.
3. I messed up the cutting and both sides are a little uneven if I wear it Peter Pan style. As long as I wear it fastened at the back it fine!

Thank you to Noemie from The Sun was High for posting it. I will definitely try making another one. If you have a spare doily hanging around give it a try. If I can get it (almost) right anyone can!

Please ignore the similarity to the gorgeous Noemie's picture...I didn't click until after I posted it!  (Well as similar as this old lady is going to get!  I cropped my eyes so the wrinkles and bags couldn't be seen after a few too many nights without sleep!)

CC.