Quick Vegan Dinner

Well I arrived home from work with a sore throat which is a bit rubbish as I've had an awful cough for two weeks that is just going. While there are lots of things I could be getting done the only practical thing I felt up to was making the dinner then crashing on the sofa with a book.
So the meat eaters of the house had a stew, chop it all and pop it in the oven style.  I had a look in the fridge and came up with this...

It hasn't really got a name but tasted lovely and very soothing.

I put baked potatoes in the microwave for  five minutes each, then rolled them in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and put them in the oven. Then in a pan with a little more oil I added about eight mushrooms, half a pack of marinated tofu and some garlic salt then fried for a few minutes. Next I added about a quarter of a carton of chopped tomatoes with garlic and a handful of chopped spinach, finally a good sprinkle of Italian seasoning.  This was allowed to cook for about ten minutes then poured over the cooked potato. 

It was really just a case of grabbing what was available in the fridge and making something warming and quick, and it was. 

Change, Work and What if...

There must be something odd in the air at the moment as everywhere I turn there is someone having a change of direction, change of career, change of location even on the blogs I read people are hinting that it might be time to learn a new skill, retrain or move on.  With our working lives stretching on for longer now it is not surprising that many feel they ought to be doing something that brings them more joy.

A cute idea but working with mad brides is not for me.

I have in the past toyed with the idea of doing more in the way of sewing, and while I enjoy it there is always that doubt that if it became the main source of income would it take all the pleasure out of it? 
A couple of years ago when one of my friends got married she bought me a book called Handmade Weddings.  I had made a couple of table runners for her and while she was researching her ideas she told me that I should do that kind of thing, banners, bunting and little gifts, favours and the kinds of things that sell at wedding fairs.  Well I didn't go for that idea but the book is lovely and has some cute ideas for gifts.  I know this as I dug it out for a ponder earlier.  I am very happy in what I do (mostly) but it is good to be reminded that there are many skills to draw from and that we are not stuck in any situation should our feelings change.

Then when I checked my email I had one from Do what you love for life this particular post was not particularly encouraging you to change what you do but rather to explore and re-evaluate the value of it in terms of time and personal cost. The author was explaining how she had recently done a used baby item sale, spent a whole day on stall, hours of repackaging and preparation and missed out on a day of her weekend all for £50 which did not include her transport costs. 

Depending on your situation I suppose you have to calculate what your time means to you and how much you are prepared to give, how much time that can never be replaced.  This was the reason I chose to reduce my hours last year when my father was ill and I have kept them the same ever since. 
I think it is good to have options, to keep learning and be aware of what you enjoy and what skills you have, but for now I enjoy going to work and sewing as a hobby. 

Now after that strange diversion I would like to share the gift ideas that came to mind when flicking through the wedding book.

This lovely favour could be a pin cushion.

These button holes would make good brooches with a proper clip on the back.

I love the ruffled purse, in a deep colour it  would make a great clutch bag for party season.

A few ideas came from a quick glance at a forgotten book, it just shows there is inspiration everywhere.

Carrot and Cranberry Energy Bites (Vegan/Gluten free)

Occasionally I fancy something sweet, not as often as I used before I stopped eating gluten but every now and then I fancy something like that.  About a month ago I made the carrot bites from the cook book Keep it Vegan, and these are a variation on that. In fact I would imagine you could come up with all kinds of variations on these by just adding your favourite fruits, nuts and flavourings, keeping them all natural of course.

These are on a tray but they are not going in the oven as they are raw, just pop them in the fridge to set then keep in a container.

Ingredients

200g pecans

50g cashews

50g cranberries

100g dates

1 carrot grated

zest of 1/2 orange

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

40g desiccated coconut

Place all the ingredients except the coconut in a blender and blitz, I like to chop my dates a little first as my blender is not that powerful.  Shape  into balls in your hands, about 12 of a good bite size then roll in the coconut, place on a tray and leave to set in the fridge.  If you have ever bought those expensive naked bars you will never do so again if you make these they are much better value.

They go down well with a cup of tea at work and are just enough to keep you going until lunch, so much better than a starchy biscuit.   If you are interested the book I adapted this from it is 'Keep it Vegan' as mentioned above by Aine Carlin.

Fixing Dress Sizing Problems (Tips)

This weekend I was asked to sort out a dress that had been bought for a wedding.  The owner of the dress felt the dress fit but couldn't understand why it was sitting so strangely on one shoulder  and under the arms.  We often buy clothes but forget how very different we all are, this is one of the reasons that I enjoy sewing, it means I am able to make clothes that fit me just right or alter the ones that don't.

Looking at the dress in question I feel it was a bit of a design fault, I think it is unlikely the shoulder should be sitting so much higher than the other.

As you can see here, when the dress had been tried on, the shoulder was off by almost 2cm.

So first of all place your pins on the inside where the new seam will go and unpick.

Stitch your seam in the new position only catching one of the layers on one side.

The reason you only catch one seam on one side is that you are going to let it lap over the seam and turn it under.

Pin it in position then hand stitch taking care to only catch on the underside of the fabric.

Next tackle the side seam

Unpick

Keep the pin in the position where you want your new seam to be.  Sew seam in the new position be sure to taper it gradually, trim away excess, and fold facing to wrong side of dress.   Hold in place and topstitch into the seam on the right side of the dress making sure your stitches stay in the seam.

Once you have had a go at this it will make more sense, why not try it out on something old first of all.  I learnt to sew by doing, trying on my own and I feel no amount of books or courses will make up for just having a go.  If you practise on ill fitting garments that you never wear anyway then you have nothing to lose.  I hope this was of some help.

Autumn Wool Skirt Ideas

A couple of weeks ago I bought a fabulous little remnant of wool mix fabric when I was out shopping for the new lining for my jacket. It is grey and has a tweed feel to it however the cost was only £2, it is a good sized piece and I also bought lining to match which cost me the same as the fabric. 

Usually I just jump straight in and make the first thing that comes to mind and usually this works pretty well but recently I have decided to try and keep track of the items I make. I thought it would be nice to keep some sort of paper record other than this blog so I have decided on a small note book.  I began with my recent apron and I thought I would continue in this vain.  It is a shame that I didn't do this years ago as there are so many things that have been made for myself and others that have now gone forever but here is a start.

Here are my ideas for my autumn skirt...

Now I am no fashion artist so this is purely for my own train of thought but I have seen a few skirts that gather from the waist slightly and I don't think there is enough fabric for that.  I also like the one pleat front (see above but imagine just one centre pleat). Other thoughts were adding a pocket within a placket as I have a zip with heavy metal teeth in my stash or some detail waistband tabs with button detail.

The skirt will be lined as I like my clothes to have some substance and it prevents tights from grabbing on the fabric.  It will also be slightly longer than the one in the diagram, other than that it is still up in the air at the moment but I will be using elements from the picture above I just haven't made my mind up yet.  I hope to begin this tomorrow along with a party dress alteration for a colleague of my husband.

I had a little peak on the Betz white blog and there is a gorgeous little tree ornament stitch along, I am not going to take part but what a lovely idea, I may take a few ideas from pinterest nearer the time and  make a few things.  If you have time maybe take a look you may find some inspiration.

Sweet Potato, Carrot and Apple Soup (Vegan/Gluten free)

My son actually requested I make us a soup today, quite unusual for him to request something healthy but progress at least.  Last week I made us a kale and watercress soup, today I did something different.

Very deep bowls so it looks like I haven't got much but there is quite a bit in there.

Ingredients

2 large carrots

1 large sweet potato

1 red onion

1 apple

2 tomatoes

1/2 tsp cumin

1 veg stock cube

A little black pepper

Boil sweet potato and carrot until softened, fry onion in a little oil, add tomatoes and apple and fry a little longer. Once the veg are cooked add to the blender with stock made from the water the veg were boiled in ( or steamed, I usually steam them it just takes a little longer). 

Add onion, tomatoes and apples to the blender along with the cumin and pepper, blitz.  This amount served three of us with bread, I had gluten free toast with mine.  It could be stretched much further but I like it quite thick so not as much water.  I also made vegan lasagne for four but I will share that some other time.

Coasters from Recycled Fabric (Handmade Gift Idea)

There never seems to be enough coasters around the house here, I like a cup of tea but I don't like putting a hot cup down on my furniture without a coaster to protect it, I often wander upstairs with a drink in my hand then have to pop it down on a book or something, not good.  Another little problem is I have lost a few due to my youngest dog thinking it is a fun game to snatch them off low tables and nibble the edges.  As a result I am a few short, however I have plenty of fabric so I thought I would make a few more.

Not sure it was a good idea to make binding from stretch denim, it is so thick I had to leave some edges hanging over then hand stitch as there was no way it could be turned under or mitred, rather more rustic looking.  So stick to nice thin cotton for that.

I am sure everyone needs these, the hard ones wear out eventually and can sometimes cost a lot for what they are.  Fabric ones can be washed, they use up those odd bits of fabric and they are quite quick and easy to make.  This also  got me thinking they would be quite nice to put in a little gift hamper for a tea loving friend, a nice cup, some coasters, good tea and some nice biscuits.  If these were presented carefully in a covered box it would be better than the overpriced hamper style gifts that will be hitting the shops soon.

First of all you can use a regular coaster that you have already to cut your squares of fabric to size, I am going to bind these around the edges so cut exactly the size you want.  I am doing three layers, one is denim, but it depends on the thickness of your fabric.

I tried to get the image from my fabric in the middle.

I used one layer of denim, two of cotton twill.

To make the binding I cut the strips as long as I needed, folded the edges towards the centre and pressed.

Then I folded it over but leave it hanging over a bit on the underside so that you have more chance of catching it when you sew.

I have two more to sew the binding on but I will be using a thinner cotton to bind those. You could make them dinner mat size with larger pieces of fabric if you wish.