Tuesday 7 May 2013

May Day at Burghley

 How did you spend your sunny Bank Holiday Monday?

Jumbleberries xx

Monday 6 May 2013

Jumbleberry Gin

It was my best friends birthday this weekend. As a crafty-type, I do normally try and give her a homemade present. I think she appreciates the effort, even if she is not always over the moon with the actually gift ..... oh how we laughed, when, in the early days of my crafting adventures, I presented her as a house-warming pressie with my original take on a hanging wreath decoration. It become obvious after a minute or two of awkward silence that she thought I'd given her a 'unique', if over-sized, accessory which she would have to wear. I can't describe the relieve on her face when I explained that it was actually for hanging on the wall.....
Anyway, we both love a G&T, so this year I thought it would be fun to make her some fruity flavoured gin. Ideally I would have liked to have used a mix of berries (to truly make some 'jumbleberry' gin), however, being the type of chick that leaves everything to the last minute, I actually only had raspberries to use, but that's ok coz they are my favourite anyway.

I searched the internet for recipes and there are loads to choose from, but in the end I went for a simple mix of a punnet of raspberries, 50g of caster sugar, and enough gin to fill the bottle. I think ideally it should sit for two weeks and then be poured through a coffee filter to remove all the bits, but I must admit I made my version straight in the gin bottle.

Gently shaking the bottle to mix in the sugar, released the berry juice turning the gin pink, which I thought was really pretty. Hopefully my friend will like the end result. And, more importantly, hopefully she'll share some of it with me, tee hee.

Have you ever made any flavoured gin?

Jumbleberries xx


Friday 3 May 2013

Top Plan

So, hands up if you loved the Great British Sewing Bee?

A TV programme all about sewing, presented by the hilarious Claudia Winkleman, plus some technical expertise provided by the super-handsome (thank-you-very-much) Patrick Grant. What's not to love, right?
I never got on with the GB Bake-off. (I mean, stop crying over soggy-bottomed pastry, there are people starving in the world for goodness-sake!). But I thought the Sewing Bee was fab. I loved the projects the contestants were given but more than that, I really liked the sewers that were chosen to take part. I thought it was a really interesting bunch of people - obviously I appreciate that they had specifically cast a mixed bag of individuals - but to my mind that's what made it all the more interesting.

I think the last 3 deserved their places in the final and to be honest I would have been happy if any one of the three had won. My favourite competitor though had to be Stuart. I loved his creative flare and bravery (the tulip skirt was great, wasn't it?) plus he came across as a really nice person.

I loved Tilly too. From the peach flowers in her hair, to the purple nail varnish, the checked skirt and the bold eyeliner, I loved her quirky personal style. So how happy was I to discover that not only was Tilly a fellow blogger (Tilly and the buttons, if you've not already found it), but that she also sells her patterns on-line. Well I just couldn't resist and I am now the proud owner of her Mathlide Blouse Pattern, which I hope to have a go at over the weekend. I'll let you know how I get on.

What's on your sewing machine at the moment?

Have fun.

Jumbleberries xx
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