Make your own hot water bottle cover

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but if I'm honest I was put off by the faff of it all. However if I'd known how simple it actually was I'd have done it a lot sooner. Pip was also in tow whilst I was doing this and it still came out really well. That's how easy it is.

It's basically made in the same way as a slip on cushion cover. I used some leopard print fabric which was pretty thin so to help absorb some of the heat from the hot water bottle, I cut up a fluffy old dressing gown that wasn't in good enough nick to donate to the charity shop. Anyway, enough of the waffle, here's how you make it:

Step 1. Draw out your template

Trace around your hot water bottle. Then cut it out leaving a good 1" seam allowance. 

Step 2. Cut out your fabric pieces

The front will be one whole piece. 

The back will be made of two separate pieces. The bottom 3/4 of the template and the top 1/3. When laid against the front cover piece they should overlap one another.

*I overlocked the top of the bottom piece and the bottom of the top piece, but this isn't necessary. You could simply stitch them over or tidy them by adding bias binding.

Step. 3 Stitch together

With right sides together, pin the three pieces together so that the back bottom piece, overlaps the back top piece, (see image below). Pin in place and then stitch all the way around. 

*At this point you may find it useful to tidy the edges up a little if, like mine, they were a bit of a mess. 

Once the cover is all stitched together, turn inside out (so the right sides are facing out) and admire your handy work. At this point I also added an iron-on patch to try and lesson the Bette Lynch effect I had created. 

Et voila!

Apple & Blackberry Crumble Recipe

I only ever seem to get the urge to bake around this time of year. When the days become shorter, darker and my body starts screaming at me to eat stodgy foods and hide under a blanket. Who am I to argue?
That said, I am no baker. TV chefs annoy the hell out of me. All of them insisting I use ingredients that add to my weekly food bill, will rarely get used again and then trying to palm off their recipes as easy and simple? Oh please. I miss Delia.

When I bake, and admittedly that isn't often, I use the most simple version of the recipe I can get away with. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but when it does it's a thing of beauty. Well actually that's a lie. No one could ever describe my cooking as a thing of beauty, but it does taste good and that's the important thing.

So without further ado, here is my easy peasy recipe for the autumnal staple, apple and blackberry crumble. Enjoy.

You will need:

Crumble
Plain flour 120g
Margarine 60g
Sugar 60g

Fruit filling
Apples 300g
Blackberries 115g
Margarine 30g
Sugar 30g

STEP 1: Make The Crumble

Put your plain flour, margarine and sugar in a mixing bowl and rub it altogether with your fingers. Then cook it in the oven for 10 minutes. You don't have to do this bit, but it stops the crumble from going all soggy later when you sprinkle it over the fruit filling.

STEP 2: Make The Fruit Filling

Peel and cut your apples in to chunks. Big ones, little ones, s'up to you. Heat the butter and sugar in a saucepan and add the apples. Cook until tender then mix in the blackberries and cook for another couple of minutes.

STEP 3: Cook The Crumble

Pour the fruit filling into an ovenproof dish, sprinkle the crumble on top and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

See? Very basic. Very quick. Very do-able. And it's freezable too so you don't have to worry wasted leftovers. What's not to love?

Oh and as an aside, the blackberries in this recipe were picked with my darling daughter on one of the last hot summer days. I thought it would be a nice mummy/daughter bonding experience. She hated it. She cried. I was hot. She was hot. I got stung by nettles and the whole affair has probably taken five years off my life due to the stress involved. In short: it's ok to buy frozen blackberries.

Children's Non-Slip Socks Tutorial

Actually this DIY is so ridiculously simple that it's more of a tip than a tutorial. 

Alessi has to wear non slip socks at nursery and when she first started we found it really hard to find cheap ones. I knew I could make my own, but just never got around to buying the fabric paint needed. Luckily when we went to Wales a few weeks ago, my Mum was having a craft supplies clear out and had some bottles of fabric paint going spare. Needless to say I snaffled them up! Now Alessi has all the non-slip socks she could need.

To make your own you will need 1) socks and 2) fabric paint. That's it. Then get painting! You don't have to be creative, anything will do. As long as there's enough paint on the soles to give the wearer some traction on slippery services. Dots or zig-zags are perfect - and easy.

Et voila! One tip though. Don't let your toddler 'inspect' your work until it's properly dry, (second sock from left). It won't look quite the same. But you knew that

Dirty fingernails and a paper pot tutorial

I finally got around to sowing my vegetable seeds. Sweet peas, courgettes, onions, bell peppers and strawberries all went in today. There's more to come, but as I've made a start I can happily relax for a while.

When sowing seeds I usually use these pots.

They make transplanting seedlings quicker, easier and cleaner. They're also much better for them as they avoid disturbing the delicate roots. As the seedlings grows, the roots eventually push through the pot which itself then breaks down harmlessly into the soil.
As I'm a little strapped for cash I thought I would go down the DIY route this year. As well as using egg boxes and toilet roll tubes, I made some out of newspaper. I've heard that paper makes the best biodegradable seedling pots as it's not too restrictive on the plants roots and breaks down the quickest.

And in case anyone would like to make their own paper pots, here's a quick how-to.

Take a sheet from a newspaper (this is a double sheet folded down the middle).

Fold in half length ways again

Fold the paper once more until it's the right size for your tube

Tightly roll the length of paper and then unroll again. This just makes the next step easier.

Tuck the newspaper into itself. This will hold the paper in place, see step 6.

Tighten or loosen the tube until you get it the exact size you want.

Cut tabs along the bottom.

Fold them in on themselves so they create a bottom for you pot. I didn't think this would work as the tabs are not secured with anything, but surprisingly it does work. 

Alternatively, you can skip steps 7-8, scrunch up a little newspaper and stuff it down the bottom of the tube. 

Et voila! Fill them up with soil and get sowing. 

Each year I like to try growing something a bit different. Last time it was gherkins. They started off well, but due to some destructive chickens and a bout of powdery mildew all I managed to harvest were two feeble looking fruits.

This year it's the humble sweet potato. Alessi loves them so I thought I'd give them a go. Turns out, they don't grow in the same way regular potatoes grow. The fact that I've just found this out probably speaks volumes about how successful this experiment will be!

After the pot making and seed sowing, I didn't want to stop so I dotted some primroses around the conservatory, tidied it up (again) and hung up some curtains. The result makes me smile so much.
The room looks inviting again, but most importantly it's clean and not too bright for Alessi who can play in there without squinting. Always a good thing.

And speaking of the little dude, she was awesome company throughout. It was her first healthy day following last week's tummy bug and it was so good to see her little face all lit up and smiley again. She also managed to squeeze a week's worth of mischief into one day. Like chowing down on soil when I wasn't looking.

Or helping herself to the chicken feed. I probably should have stopped her, but somehow documenting the moment seemed more important. Besides, it's got to be better than earwigs.

And then we goofed around with the camera for a bit.

We've had so many illnesses in this house lately that days like this are like gold dust. While I was playing with pots and dirt, I kept thinking about all the chores I was neglecting. The laundry basket was overflowing, dirty dishes sat by the sink..the list went on. Sat here now, with an aching back and dirty fingernails I'm so glad I ignored it all.
There's supposed to be grey skies tomorrow. Perfect washing up weather.