making things

I like to keep myself happy through making things. Each week I make sure that if a can possibly squeeze it in, that I create something, it may be baking, drawing, sewing, knitting.
This week has been very stressful. I had to complete a 3 day First aid course, which was great while it wasn't real. Now I have passed and will have to deal with First aid calls at work which is a little scary!!
This course included a written test and 2 practical exams. It has been a week of exams for me.
I have been ill for a few days but also had to sit an online exam on Friday.
Working in F.E is not too good at the moment, the future is very uncertain, job cuts, funding cuts, increased class sizes. On Dec 8th Parliament will vote to maybe change the future in a radical way. We may loose Art education completely! More on this in the future if it happens.
To balance all this, I have been busy feeding my creative needs and making myself happy.

found on German EBAY.Old Spekulatius board

The best thing that happened was that I received through the post my own Spekulatius board ! waiting for this to arrive  I was like a child waiting for Christmas.

Having seen the ones from my last post, I was determined to have one. I looked online in the states but were very expensive. Just by chance I was on ebay and typed it in .Up came one in England, at the bottom of the page is a link to all the international sites, I figured OK ? it's German so they might have some..there were lots.
I can't believe that only 3 weeks ago I went to Aldi and bought an obscure packet of biscuits.  Last night I made my own original Spekulatius gingerbread biscuits with this ancient piece of wood. You never know where life i going to take you do you ?

 My baked Spekualtius made with gingerbread recipe

This not my only ebay purchase, I do have a bit of a problem at the moment!
Ebay is also good for finding vintage knitting and sewing patterns.

I visited the Harrogate knitting and stitching show recently. I try to go each year.
http://www.twistedthread.com .This year I went with clear idea of what I wanted rather than behaving like a 7 year old in a toy shop.

student knitting prize winner

student knitting prize winner

embroidery work by Val Jackson

want them all !!

textile workshops

There is a great range of student stitched and knitted textile work,workshops and of course too much to buy..
I did buy, but was very controlled (honestly) .A few weeks ago I was given a web site to buy fabrics http://www.fancymoon.co.uk.

I bought some beautiful fabric to make this .The fabric is a vintage print reproduced by an American company.

The pattern for the bag came from this book.

 The Robin was my idea !

another repro fabric I just had to have.

just add it to the stash

seduced by fabric

So my purchases from Fancy moon are for a project I plan to start in the new year. They have the best selection of fabrics i have seen in a while.

Back to my Ebay problem.... The knitting pattern at the top of the page was bought about 10 days ago. When I went to Harrogate, another thing on my list of purchases was to be wool to knit this 1930's tea cosy .I have also in the last 2 weeks bought another 3 tea cosy patterns, (you see I do have a worrying problem.). I like the idea of knitting the basket texture,I thought it would look better if it was brown and not cream as in the pattern.

I am very happy with the final result. It will be a present for my Mum for Christmas. I think I may set up an ETSY shop in the new year.If you would like to order your own you will then be able to. I really enjoyed making this and it only took a few days.
Next on the list is this one.......

 I already have the wool, so this week, I will make this for another lucky family member?? for a Christmas gift. I am thinking of making it with a festive theme, so I can indulge in my bird obsession, I will add a Robin version of one of these to the top.

Today was the day I decided to make my Christmas cards.
I have been struggling with designing them for weeks. I have tried a few things but nothing was working.

On saturday night I remembered that last Christmas I had made these printing blocks. So this morning I dug out the box that contains all my printing blocks and inks.

I have a few lovely old printing letters bought in London in the 80's when Fleet street went digital and you could pick these up at Flea markets. I got these from some guy with stuff laid out on a blanket in Brick lane, before it became a trendy place to be.We also have a lovely big tray of these at work.

some other home made blocks 

I also found these, bought from Muji last year and never really used. they are really lovely to use and have the finest of detail.

I began by using an ink pad on my Reindeer block ,then adding various layers of snowflakes.

these ink blocks can be used on fabric too

I decided to just add part of the large Reindeer as i wanted him to have some movement.

Finished card complete with a Rudolph nose

OK enough already !! I am babbling again. I now have a few hours of my weekend left to write these cards, complete the rest of the paperwork I need for work tomorrow ,oh and I have to watch X Factor too. 

Spekulatius

Saturday
Today has been a funny sort of a day,full of good intention ,however never really got there.
Iwant to make a new bag with the lovely fabrics I bought this week from fancymoon.co.uk but my sewing room looks like it has been burgled !(not really) it's just that I am not the tidiest of people.
When looking for something I always just pull everything out ,thinking I will put it back later..I never do!
So The day started well full of sunshine.
I wanted to get this blog up and running.I located my camera only to remember that I had lost the usb lead in the Summer. I sound like a complete air head, I do have my days.
So with my morning coffee I went online to buy a new one. That was quite easy,I found one on Amazon and will have it early next week.
However I need my camera for tomorrow and thougt i may be able to track down a card reader. Off i popped to the shops. I did buy one ..oh and a new bird table!
I went to Aldi on the way home, to get a few things. At the moment they are stocking up on Christmas goodies. I love these supermarkets at this time of year, full of German Christmas treats.

I picked up a packet of biscuits called Spekulatius. The name grabbed me first. I have seen them before but never really paid much attention. Hmm nice with a cup of tea this afternoon..In the basket they went. My daughter Laura and her partner Simon were house hunting and they were going to drop in. This was my excuse for buying them.
I arrived home put up my new bird table which is soooooooo nice, hung with fat treats, meal worms, an apple and a branch of bright red Hawthorn berries from last Sundays walk.I am hoping that now that it is colder the birds will be brave enough to try it.

The card reader did not fit the card from my camera, This made me mad as the shop wont take it back once the package is open aaarrrrgghh.
Then a text from Laura saying they were running late and couldn't make it..........Just me and the cat again. By this time the day was nearly done,dark at 4pm
With this there was nothing else to do but to make a nice cup of tea and open the Spekulatius cookies.
Little did i know what wonders were inside.
The biscuits had images of swans,old men and lions,they were old looking kind of medieval.
I sat down with my tea and 2 cookies...I'm going to have to look this up on Google the name was intriguing me.
It was fascinating here is Wkipedia:
There are several interpretations for the origins of the name Speculaas. It may derive from Latin speculum, which means mirror, and refer to the fact that the images are cut as a mirrored bas-relief into a wooden stamp which is then used to decorate the Speculaas. Another explanation of the name refers to the Latin word speculator which, among other meanings, could also refer to a bishop or St Nicholas' epithet "he who sees everything". Specerij the Dutch word for spice is another possible origin.
I then though i would like to see the wooden carved molds used to make these ancient cookies and found this remarkable site http://cookiemolds.wordpress.com.

They sell original antique molds . Indeed, one of these now has to be bought!! They are so beautiful. I then found a nice man in the States who carves replica molds www.cookiemold.com 

The molds he makes are really beautiful .I now need these cookie molds more than ever.
I then read that the history of these biscuits may go back to pagan times
The name Springerle comes from an old German dialect and means "little knight" or "jumping horse." Historians trace these cookies back to the Julfest, a midwinter celebration of pagan Germanic tribes. Julfest ceremonies included the sacrificing of animals to the gods, in hope that such offerings would bring a mild winter and an early spring. Poor people who could not afford to kill any of their animals gave token sacrifices in the form of animal-shaped breads and cookies. Vestiges of these pagan practices survive in the baking of shaped-and-stamped German Christmas cookies such as Lebkuchen, Spekulatius, Frankfurter Brenten, and Springerle. 

These are family owned molds much prized possesions.
I just have to have my own mold.I want to bake my own Christmas gifts ,how nice would that be ?

So I am now very happy to have found this on Etsy.com .
2 hours later my cup of Earl Grey is cold and my Spekulatius are still sat where i left them. I am off now to make a nice hot fresh cup of tea and enjoy my cookies.
I am looking forward to buying my mold.Will post results of that special baking session .