So, joining in with Ginny again this week for Yarn Along...

To start with the books I’m reading: a crafty Christmas book to give me some ideas for the season ahead (although, I have to admit, I didn’t find this book overly inspiring, but like having my Christmas books on hand at this time of year) and “Eating for Ireland” by Tom Dooley, which is hugely entertaining (and lots of delicious recipes thrown in here and there)

I finished these slippers for Grace- then embroidered a leaf and sewed on these lovely ladybird buttons I have had for ages waiting for the right project… I will be posting the tutorial for these during the next month in my Craft♥Advent Linky Party (starting tomorrow!!- thank goodness I’m organised. For once)

I also finished the Baptismal Shawl for James. Unfortunately, I feel it is too small, but due to the haphazard nature of my lack-of-pattern and the fact that I made it up as I went along makes it difficult to remedy… and the thoughts of crocheting around it again makes me want to weep (beat me if I ever start something in 4ply cotton again please) so I am going to go a bit free-form and turn it into more of a cape-like garment.

(eeeeeek)

So. Moving swiftly on… I’m off to check out other yarn Along-ers and get ready for tomorrow… See you then!

]]> http://blog.thenest.ie/2011/11/30/yarn-along-13/feed/ 2 http://blog.thenest.ie/2011/11/21/craft%e2%99%a5advent/ http://blog.thenest.ie/2011/11/21/craft%e2%99%a5advent/#comments Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:56:01 +0000 Emily http://blog.thenest.ie/?p=3082

I’ve been doing a bit of housekeeping here on the blog- moving things around, needing to add more links, etc. Today I spent 3 hours (in a state of utter frustration and near-alopecia as a result of same) trying to make a blog button, and ta-dah!!! (as all the with-it bloggers say these days):

Here, is a blog button. Feel my blood, sweat and tears as you look at it… (I think I need a stint on the stage) and feel free to “take” it for your blog; (html at the end of this post: you paste this into your widget section (or at least thats what I do in WordPress)to create the button on your blog)

for this Advent I am hosting a

“Craft♥Advent” linky-party!

The idea is that as many as possible bloggers will add their tuppenny piece: a Christmas craft idea, recipe or tutorial and link it back here (there will be a page on the right with all the links) I will be posting a craft tutorial each day of Advent to bring us up to Christmas day: lots and lots of ideas for festive homemaking and making gifts for you and loved ones, and giveaways too!

(I have actually started compiling posts so I am ultra-organised; really, there must be a blue moon out!!)

So! Will you join me?

Lets make this a great party!!

html code for button:

<a href=”http://blog.thenest.ie/craft♥advent-linky-page-3/”><img src=http://blog.thenest.ie/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/blog-button.jpg>

They are also renowned for their exceptional gift-giving (my mother is also a gift-giver-supreme, our visit to my parents home after Christmas is like a second Christmas morning!)

 One of my dearest friends has elevated gift-giving to a veritable art. And no matter how much I try to out-do her, she sweeps in nonchalantly bearing “a” gift like this:

(like, how am I supposed to compete with this??!)

 Her gifts are like a thoughtful group of memories from the previous year. Each part has a funny story, and in this gift selection, it was the large whisk (in use obviously when the photo was taken!!) that we laughed most about:

 A week or two previously, we had been making dinner, and my friend was making a cheese sauce. As she was preparing it, she began to rant orate beautifully about the merits of a large whisk while making sauces, and how a home simply wasn’t a home without it, why! it was a veritable disgrace that any cook worth her salt wouldn’t have a proper one, and might try make do with a teeny piddly useless one…

 Oh, and, would I hand her the whisk as she needed one quickly…

So I did.

I handed her my only whisk:

(who, very sadly, couldn’t make it home to my parents for Christmas due to the bad weather)

had written so beautifully about the magic of our childhood Christmas’- something which we, as parents, try to re-create every year (and wonder at the incredible effort and work that our parents undertook in order to create that)…

And with each passing year, it becomes clearer that the most wonderful ones are the ones that we actually do very little- but spend time with friends and family.

Today, our plans went a bit awry. The Small Girl was a little unwell this morning, then the weather dictated that we couldn’t go far, so a day spent visiting was out of the question.

As such, the many cakes and biscuits and pies that I usually spent Christmas Eve morning making didn’t have to be made, and instead we spent the morning reading to the little ones and wrapping presents

(Which, when I absolved myself from the guilt that I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to do, made the day all the sweeter)

This evening, wonderful friends of ours came to share Christmas Eve supper (possibly the nicest fish pie ever) and spend a few hours laughing and talking about Christmas past and present.

It reminded me of when I was small, spending the weeks before Christmas excitedly talking about The Big Day with my cousin Deirdre: the excitement and the pure magic of being a child. 

And now we are almost ready for the big day ahead; our children, in their Christmas Pyjamas have readied a table of food and drink for Santa and his reindeers,

our candle is lighting in the window (a tradition to welcome travellers and the Baby Jesus into our home on this eve), and in our manger, the Christ Child has been born:

(we had a little Nativity play which starred the Angel Gabriel, played by our little girl who had the Angel flying manically around and then wouldn’t leave the inn…)

Very soon, all will be quiet here, I’ve brussels sprouts and carrots to ready, last minute presents to wrap…

This Advent blogging has been a wonderful pilgrimage (one which I didn’t honestly think I would complete). Thank you for joining me as we made the journey to this evening!

A blessed and joyful Christmas, from our house to yours X

 This is the recipe- as I said, I have doctored it a little…

 Mincemeat Recipe

4 cooking apples, cored and baked in a moderate oven (180’C) for about 45 minutes, then left to cool.

 The rind and juice of 2 lemons.

 450g of butter, grated (I put mine in the freezer the night before, and then it is eay to grate without it melting as you grate)

 pinch of salt

 500g of currant & 500g of sultanas (or you could part-substitute mixed peel)

 900g of dark brown sugar

Remove the skin and mash the flesh of the apple, with the lemon.

(I had to remove little fists full of butter many times, she would have gobbled up the 450g of butter without any hesitation)

 Add the butter, fruit, salt  and sugar one by one,

mixing everything thoroughly.

Put into jars and cover with jam covers, or into a Kilner Jar, as I have done here. Leave for at least 2 weeks to mature before scoffing greedily at every opportunity. 

(I have to admit, that after looking at the jars of mincemeat for 2 days I had to make a tester batch tonight. Let me assure you, that even after 2 days the mince pies were oh-my-gosh scrumptious. We have now come to yet another executive family decision that these jars will not last until Christmas and that we need to make another batch (or several more batches) a.s.a.p to keep our mincepie-cravings satiated)

(I am linking up, and adding this post to The Christmas Craft Collective Blog- do check it out!!)