The Lion is nameless no more....

Thank you to everyone for all your name suggestions and you'll be glad to hear our little dog douglas is a lot perkier... the anti-biotics seem to have kicked in... we just have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't cough them back up half an hour later!

It was extremely difficult to choose the best boy & girl names but after much thought & getting help from my husband Paul the decision was eventually made...

Congratulations to our 2 winners..... Share for 'Marlion' & Brenda for 'Leona'. Your pdf pattern prize is on its way via email :) Putting both names on the pattern was a bit of a mouthful... so we decided to make the Lion a 'he' to keep it simple.

I have listed my Marlion Pdf pattern in my etsy store which is now up and running and I'm working out how to add it to Ravelry for purchase too. The pattern costs $5.50 full crochet instructions include photos where needed for assembly & felting instructions.

Thanks again to you all... it was so much fun I might just do this again!

Fiona

x

Twas my birthday yesterday!

I would have posted this yesterday but it has to wait until I'd painted my toe nails to match my new Crocs sandals :) (how vain is that?!). It was a fantastic day... but so busy I didn't get a chance to do them until after lunch today!

Paul had organised to take the day off work so we could spend the day together... so I grabbed the chance to go and get my hair done in the am (my birthday present from mum & dad... thanks)! It was way overdue... last done mid Dec'07 and desperate for a good cut. The layers were getting straggly and it needed about 3 inches off the bottom which might sound like a lot to most people but if you see my picture on Ravelry you'll see my hair hovers at waist length so it's not much overall to me. So while I was being pampered in the salon... by also having copper & brown low lights :)... Paul had daddy time with Finn.

Then the boys took me for lunch at our local fusion tapas restaurant Pravada. I forgot to photograph what we ordered as it was all so yummy... sorry. F tried a bit of all of the dishes except my scallops and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We walked off some of our lunch with a potter round the shops & a few purchases including my new shoes & the much needed peat plant pots... more coming about that in a future post!

After getting F into bed after tea we settled down on the sofa to watch a Nicolas Cage DVD 'Next' which was surprisingly good fun. The only down side to the day was the fact I started Anti-Biotic's on Thursday for an upper respiratory tract infection which has given me a nasty cough and very sore throat. So intead of a glass of chilled pink fizz it's been Lemsips, Benylin and Lockets... Oh well!

Right I'm off to play with my new GHD hair straighteners (thanks Paul & F) & I should probably watch the DVD first as I've never used any before... but hey how hard can it be? :)

The lion prototype is felted!

The washing machine is fixed and I just couldn't wait to show you how the lion prototype turned out. I used up some of my stashed 4ply/fingering yarns just to work the pattern out hence the multicolour!

I'm busy typing up the pattern.. so I'm now setting a closing date for the competition to name him/her... so this is your last chance to have a go if you haven't already. All entries must be submitted by posting your suggestion on site by 11am (GMT) Tuesday 20th May. I will announce the 2 winners (1 boy name & 1 girl name) Wednesday 21st May & email them their prize of the Lion PDF pattern :)

Only one more question.... I'm wondering whether I should have done the shaggy mane all over the back of the head too? It is a proper mane as it is & making the back of the head shaggy would use more yarn... is it worth doing? I can easily amend the pattern if you think it's worth doing...

Fi

x

Pancakes anyone?

This morning I decided it was a pancake day.... but not just for any old pancakes. It had to be the American thick style ones with a bit of golden syrup and my secret addition of vanilla extract in the batter.

I may have made a touch few too many... the stack kept falling over as I was photographing it! No one is complaining though.... even the dog is being on his best behaviour in the hope of some stray crumbs.

If you fancy making some yourself :) here's my recipe...



Ingredients

• 150g (5 1/2oz) Milk


• 2 Large eggs


• 40g (2tbsp) Melted butter


• 20g (1tbsp) Golden syrup


• 20g (1tbsp) Caster sugar


• 200g (7oz) Plain flour, sifted


• 14g (2tsp) Baking powder


• 14g (2tsp) Vanilla extract

Method

Put all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until smooth. The batter should run from the whisk like a thick ribbon. Cover the bowl and leave to rest for a minimum of 2hrs (or overnight in the fridge if you want them for breakfast).

Heat a non-stick frying pan or griddle until medium hot. Test temperature if you want by dropping some batter into pan... holes should start to appear on the surface of the batter after a minute. When you are happy with the temperature start making your pancakes by dolloping/ladling up to 2 heaped tbsp of batter onto the griddle. Carefully flip them over with a spatula when you see the surface of the pancakes starts to go holey. Then repeat until all your mix is turned into pancakes...

The pictures above show the amount of pancakes made with a double quantity of this batter :)

Enjoy & please let me know how yours turn out :)

fi

x

Whoopee... today is my one month blogaversary!

It's been a great day today. The sun is belting out of the sky and while F was having his post lunch snooze I managed to get the last few bit of Angela's dress finished. I am delighted with it and can't wait for her to see the finished dress. The flowery fabric is a viscose crepe and fully lined throughout. Inside I built in a fully boned foundation so nothing but knickers will be required under it! Angela's daughter is getting married in Spain so I tried to keep it as light as possible in case it's quite hot. I'm sure both mother and daughter will look stunning & I must remember to ask her for some photos of them on the day...

This was just a quick post because as soon as F wakes up we're heading off to the beach with our bucket and spade for some sandy fun.

Fi

x

p.s our washing machine is still waiting on the new pump :( No doubt the delay is due to the bank holiday yesterday and typical as I'm ready to felt the amigurumi lion...

p.p.s Thanks to Bimble for his new word 'blogaversary'... I'm adopting it!

Nearly my first month of blogging already!

F is growing up so fast it seems... as of this week he's now saying 'mummy' & 'daddy' properly. These days all I hear through the monitor when he goes for a sleep is a lot of giggling, bouncing on his mattress like a trampoline & now chanting 'mummy''mummy''mummy''mummy' when he's supposed to be sleeping. Luckily this usually doesn't last long, as tiredness wins out and all goes quiet... but it does make me smile :)

I bought my first accounting book yesterday to try and be good and keep the business paperwork up-to-date. I did discover one problem though... F wanted to read it first. After following him around the lounge for a while... asking him nicely to give mummy back her book (as taking it off him these days creates an instant meltdown) I decided to get the camera out and take a picture instead. All I managed to get was one picture and then the book suddenly wasn't so interesting!

Well I can't believe it's been a month since I started my blog already... time has just flown by. I'm getting to grips with widgets, page links, wp code & animated buttons slowly but surely and most importantly having fun.

The amigurumi lion pattern is pretty much done but I have a hold up in the testing of my crocheted pieces. The washing machine is broken... I'm told it's just a pump. Luckily not too expensive to fix & the part has been ordered so I hope to be up and running again very soon. So in the mean time I'm typing up the PDF and keeping my fingers crossed the prototype works out beautifully when I can felt it. There have been some great name suggestions for him/her. I'll let the competition run until the washing machine is fixed and i'm able to check the pattern pieces are all ok.... so a bit of time left if you still haven't posted your suggestion...