Songs, skirts and scones

This blog is about what I sing, sew and bake. Although no expert at any of this, I get inmense pleasure from learning another song whilst doing the dishes, sewing together a nice bag or baking a sumptuous cake! As long as I have my recipes, patterns (and sewing machine!) and recordings at hand, I am not at all bad!
For myself, I hope the blog will be a nice record of the things I make and do; for visitors, I hope that it will inspire people to go and try what they want to, even if they think they cannot do it!

If you wish to leave a comment on one of the posts, click on the title to open the post, you’ll find a comment box below it. If you would like any of the recipes of things I have baked, let me know in the comment and I’ll be happy send it to you!

Last weekend was rather an orange weekend: football, politics, food and drink all had the bright shine of a sunset. Across the waters in our homeland the people were going crazy because of the Dutch national football team had reached the final of the world cup and anticipated a big win. Normally we couldn’t care less about football, but the wins of the national team convinced us to watch the last three matches. Orange is the colour of our Royal house and mostly used national teams in all sports.

Here in Armagh and all over Northern Ireland people were preparing for the 12th of July celebrations which are by definition also an orange affair. In big parades Orangemen celebrate the win of the Protestant King William over the Catholic ruler at the battle of the Boyne. This is something we definitely would not associate with, if only because the parades keep our children up all evenings!
Then the food. With Lucy from Attic 24’s lemonade recipe being a big hit, we thought that that procedure could be used for all sorts of fruits, especially oranges. Five oranges peeled and squeezed, mixed with sugar and water give a lot more sirup however than five lemons and my precious soup terrine nearly overflowed!

After 24 hours of patiently waiting, a nice glass of homemade orange squash with bubbly water taste sooo good! Tjabering loved sucking out the orangeskins, funny little man!

Along side in the meantime, I had an evil plan (evil for any weight loss ideas we might have had): after a few weekends of very little baking, I wanted to make a proper cake. One that would make people beg for more, even though the are ’shtuffed’. Obviously the orange theme had to be maintained and there was just the recipe waiting for me in Leiths Baking Bible: orange and poppy seed cake. Although I am usually hesitant in baking/making poppy seed food with a toddler running about (anyone who has ever changed a dirty nappy after a poppy seed roll lunch can only sympathise, I’m sure), but as Young Master nowadays does really well in toilet training himself, I took the chance!

The cake itself is baked with only some orange rind. The big sunburst orange flavour is added after the cake is baked and cooled. Orange juice and sugar is boiled to a syrup, which is poured over the cake after you have put a skewer in about 40 times. Swirl swirl until most syrup has run into the holes and leave to stand until all syrup has disappeared. Wait, not yet, let is sit for a few hours, so the syrup has had the chance to seep right to the bottom of the cake. Then cut, eat and say, like Young Master: mm-mm, lekker (yummy)! And no, he didn’t walk into a wall, those are the remains of a green tiger face painting!

Some orange weekend we had!

A couple of weeks ago I received my long yearned for order of the Sew Liberated Schoolhouse Tunic pattern and a long long stretch of Anna Maria Horner’s Fortune Sea fabric. While I finally had it, I didn’t dare cut it, in case the tunic would prove too small, wrong fit etc etc etc. The only way around that would be to make a test tunic. Unfortunately my fabric pile did not have enough fabric to make up the 2.7 metres I would need for the tunic. Maybe patching things up would work, but I figured: what if the tunic is perfect, but I can’t wear it because it is made out of seven different colours? I might as well go for a proper, but cheap fabric.

Up and away to the fabric shop to get pattern paper and fabric. Ha, paper yes, fabric, no. Only synthetic fabrics and not what one would call cheap. But not to worry: I still neede plenty of time to trace the pattern AND add one size to the largest on the pattern… Although all my tops are a size 20 when shop bought, the schema of the pattern said I would not fit into their size 20. With a lot of patience and double calculations I increased the largest size to a 22…

A solution for the fabric came from an (for me) unexpected corner: Hendrikje and I went to the Barnardos to leave down some clothes all children grew out of. And what did my eye spy? A second hand, o sorry, *cough*, a vintage *grin* duvet cover! Lovely smooth and fine fabric in creme with orange motive on one side, and a woven orange, brown and green striped fabric on the other. £2.99! I didn’t have to think for too long, and that same evening I was cutting the pieces for my first schoolhouse tunic.

Before long I was pinning and sewing away, feeling so happy that most of the pieces actually fitted! Only one piece had a little excess fabric, which was swiftly cut away. Yesterday night I finished it and I was really pleased. The shape seems to suit me, although the split at the front gapes a little more than on any photographs I have seen so far, as I am just a tiny weeny bit more endowed than others. Perhaps with the ‘proper’ tunic, I will close the split a few inches at the bottom.

There is a recent trend in our house: whenever I get my sewing machine out during the day, the girls ask if they also can make something out of fabric. Last week Hendrikje really really wanted to make a heart like the one we made for our friends. As I hadn’t planned any major sewing detours that afternoon, I gave her granny’s box of squares and let her pick her fabric and cut out her own heart (you can imaging I had to rewrite this sentence a few times, to prevent social services coming to investigate!).  I did do the sewing on the machine bar 1 inch, but she turned the heart herself and stuffed it with Ikea pillow filling. Not long after Kathrijn came in, saying she wanted one as well. Same procedure as last time.

When they were hugging their hearts, I asked them to pose with them. Would they stand still? No. Too interested in their late afternoon movie… So here you go: several blurry pictures of the girls with their handmade hearts!

For the lunch with our friends I wanted to make something the girls choose. The last couple of weeks the girls are weirdly and unexplainable interested in the cupcake and cheesecake cookbook I bought a while back. The only cheesecake I made from it was nice, the first slice, but gosh, the rest was ate with some reluctance. Most recipes ask for 750 grams to 1 kilo (!!!!) of cream cheese, which gives me hardburn just reading it. Anyway, the girls had picked a ’sprickled cupcakes’ recipe (i.e. picture), and as I promised I would make whatever they picked, I followed the recipe to the letter.

Remember how I always complain about the consistency of the batter. This recipe gave the most gorgeous, velvety batter I have made so far!!! O, skip sip, hop hop, this is going to taste sooo good!!

Half an hour later I am chewing some stodgy cupcake that is perfectly cooked, but still tasted as if had just gone in the oven, yugh! The girls went on the decorate them with icing and sprinkles and thought that they were yummy…. Weird children!

I am sure I will now only use that cookbook for flavour inspiration and leave the recipes well unread.

Last week was ‘last time’ week. Last school day, last french lesson from Madame Bernard, and probably the last time of having lunch in Armagh with our friends Petya and Stanko and their girls Yoana, Zornica and Anna. About four years ago I met Petya at one of the local toddler groups. She moved to Armagh around the same time as we did, in the same group of people as her husband Stanko (whom she didn’t know at the time, ah, romance). Their eldest two girls have been the best of friends with our girls ever since they started playing together at the toddler group. Great was the excitement when they found out they were going to go to the same school and class! We have grown very fond of the whole family, and we were happy, as well as sad to hear that Stanko gained a place at a hospital in Edinburgh for his doctor training. Sometime during the summer they will be leaving for at least six years…

As we got a sneaking suspicion they didn’t want to have big farewells, we invited them home for a lunch last Sunday  before the girls would leave for their summer with their grandparents in Bulgaria. We had a lovely time, a bit quiet every now and then. I was able to contain my emotions really well until Petya called the girls to leave. Yoana came downstairs in tears saying that she would never see Hendrikje and Kathrijn again… I fled into the kitchen: one child upset was bad enough and I didn’t want to set anyone else off. Unfortunately I still had to hand over a gift I had made them: a family heart, or rather, a friends’ heart that I made (again from Amanda Soule) with a little pocket containing an A4 sheet with drawings and messages from everyone to wish them well. Well, eventually, all adults and Yoana were crying and the others were looking sheepishly….

I so hope their new life in Edinburgh and the new little life they are expecting in August will make them happy and content. Of course we will now have a prefect excuse to finally travel to Edinburgh together, but it would have been nicer not to have one.

Gosh, how ridiculously emotional can one get from a child’s last day at school?!  A very lovely and genuine comment in Hendrikje’s report set me of into a weepy mood. Luckily the girls were as casual as always and even needed reminding to say a proper goodbye for two months. The French teacher who was leaving for another job in Belfast, was fine when I said goodbye, but the second time I walked past was red-faced and teary eyed… Gulp. Madame Bernard, you’ll be missed!

I have never been one to encourage the children to buy presents for their teacher at the end of the year: a drawing or some art work especially for the occasion is just fine. This year however I couldn’t let the excuse pass me by: two teachers, two classroom assistants and the French teacher: HA, lots of sewing! In order not to make things too difficult for myself, I chose to make each a ‘mama bag’ form a pattern by Amanda Soule. The pattern is slightly adjusted, as I use a fat quarter for each, which is a wee bit smaller than the pattern requires. The lining and straps are made from creme coloured curtain lining.

As usual, I started far too late, thinking one bag takes around an hour to make… Ah, not. With all the cutting, sewing, pressing, it takes around two hours to get one finished. So, when the girls were at school having their last hours, I was frantically sewing the last bags…

The recipients were happy and impressed with them, which in turn made me happy and proud! If only I would sit down and make one for myself!!!

Yippie: my final Kona Solid fabrics for Kathrijn’s part of the Eliasberg bairn triptych quilt have arrived! Only two weeks after ordering, which is a record from Hancock’s of Paducah. I was so happy when I opened the package, as the two colours that I ordered were just right: bright green for the back and ocean blue for the sashing and borders. I couldn’t wait to get everone in bed and the house tidy, so I could begin with putting the quilt together. Ah, the poor dears.

When I finally got round to it, I realised that the measurements in the Last Minute Patchwork and Quilt Gifts Book are in inches and I am an imperial girl. It took several ‘measure twice, cut once’ moments (i.e. measure four times, cut once), but then I finally had cut the border and sashes for the front (I hoped). Although it was really time to go to bed at that stage, I couldn’t resist pinning at least one, or two, or three stacked coin columns, until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. The next day some time is spent watching football (WHAT?!) and pinning the other columns. After sewing column to column, bigger pieces to bigger pieces, I was able to cut away the extra centimeters of fabric before sewing the columns to the borders.

Pressing the fabric nearly ended in disaster, as the only suitable surface for pressing without folding the fabric was the floor. ‘Our’ (i.e. the landlord’s)  carpet is definitely not 100% natural: after pressing a corner of the quilt, some of it stuck to the carpet and left sticky residue in one of the corners… Some of it come of straight away, some with my nail and some is still on. I hope it will come of after the first wash.

Below the top basking in the sunshine of 20th June 2010, held down from the wind by the future owner.

… strawberry, rhubarb, strawberry and rhubarb, rhubarb and strawberry!

Last Thursday was one of those days when I thought: ‘why did I think it was a good idea to work full time over four days?’ By the time I dragged myself home again I had had quite enough. So to my great and pleasant surprise I found an old friend in the kitchen who was on a trip from Canada. Paul did mention to me briefly that pipes maker Joe Kennedy was in the country again and that he wanted to visit, but it had completely slipped my mind. Of course there was lots of talk, food and beer (for the men) and a casual mention of home made baking. Joe mentioned his mum’s rhubarb and strawberry pie and how he hadn’t had a cake like that in a long time. Ha, that was my cue for to do some particular shopping.

So, on Friday, while everybody was at school and visiting other friends, Tjabering and I set to making squashy rhubarb cake, but now with strawberries added. Tjabering was insistent on helping me at every step of the way, and without sisterly distractions that worked surprisingly well. After greasing, mixing, adding, tasting, it was time to put the cake in the oven and patiently wait and wait. Then, after taking the cake out, we had to wait again for it to cool down  and then again for everybody to come home. After a light dusting of icing sugar, we set down for a nice cuppa and cake… A good day, not the least thanks to my little helper!

After tonight’s Armagh Pipers Club class, I spotted the new cd Roisín White had left with Eithne to sell at the club: With thanks/Le Buíochas. Quickly bought and taken home, I have been listening to it for a few hours now. With a big smile on my face. Roisín’s singing is as direct and clear as ever, but the edges seem to have gotten a lovely soft finish.

The songs selection are a mixture of great songs, most of which bring back good memories of late night singing sessions, treasured cds and session recordings played back at the flat in Amsterdam. I especially love Roisín’s rendition of Mountain Streams, one of my favorite songs to hear.

If you have a chance, buy the cd and enjoy some exquisite traditional singing!

These are the songs featured on the cd:

1. The Bleacher (3.18)
2. Bold Jack Donohue (3.07)
3. Úrchnoc Chéin Mhic Cáinte (2.48)
4. Erin’s Flowery Plains (2.41)
5. McGuinness (3.01)
6. Dobbin’s Flowery Vale (3.56)
7. Pat O’Donnell (4.12)
8. Tandragee (2.25)
9. Erin the Green (3.52)
10. An Bonnán Buí – The Yellow Bittern (2.25)
11. Johnnie and Molly (3.06)
12. Mountain Streams (4.21)
13. Lass among the Heather (1.50)
14. The Lakes of Pontchartrain (2.35)
15. Cloughwater (2.39)

(While looking for the cover picture online, i spotted a new cd by Rosie Stewart as well: On the Leitrim Mountainside. Where is my credit card????)

After I came across Amanda Soule’s blog SouleMama, I spent a few days reading the archives from early morning to late evening, not really knowing where to start with making ’stuff’. But, when the end of September came round and Hendrikje’s 6th was waiting around the corner, I knew I HAD to make her a birthday crown. A felt crown, especially for the birthday girl or boy, only to wear on that special day. Hendrikje got a pink and orange one with flower buttons, Tjabering got his in December: blue and green, and Kathrijn got hers last week. After I couldn’t find hers…

I was under the impression I had already made three, one for each. But, on the birthday eve I couldn’t find Kathrijn’s, and strangely enough, I couldn’t remember what it looked like! So, after a birthday without a crown, but before the princess party kicked of, a trip to the craft shop resulted in shocking (or should I say neon) pink felt for the front of the crown and a roll of elastic band. Elastic is sooo much cheaper when you buy a roll, rather than little bits of what you need! Probably 5 times cheaper, if not more!!

I still had some nice felt in my felt box for the decorations and the crown was sewn together while I was watching the Marriage of Figaro on iPlayer. (I love iPlayer!!! You can find whatever you fancy, even from channels you can’t get, or necessarily want at home. We only have BBC 1 and 2, ITV and Channel 4, which is plentyplentyplenty.) Unfortunately I had forgotten to get some fancy buttons, so I had to make do with some plain Jane ones. Kathrijn  even remembered: ‘I want some flower ones as well’! Oops, another trip to the craft shop!

Kathrijn’s crown.

Tjabering’s crown (also in need for some fancy, butch buttons!).

Hendrikje’s crown.