With my mojo firmly in place, I’ve recently finished another celebration cake, but this time I’ve incorporated a new-to-me technique that I think has the wow factor – brush embroidery. The sky’s the limit with this style of decoration – … Continue reading Brush embroidery rose cake
Last Friday marked the 2nd anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, which with a death toll exceeding 1000 people is considered the deadliest garment factory accident in history. Remembering the lives lost in this disaster has once again brought the issue of fast fashion and the ethical practice, or otherwise, of the garment industry to the forefront. Just some of the blog posts that have caught my eye in recent weeks are Charlotte of english girl at home’s post about a few missed stitches she found in a RTW garment, and how it reminded her that the clothes we don’t make … Continue reading Ethical consumerism doesn’t have to be an oxymoron
So, an email just popped up in my inbox reminding me about The Handmade Fair coming up in September, and moments later my ticket to see the glitterati of the crafting world was booked. It was a ‘blink and you’ll … Continue reading The Handmade Fair is coming!
Have you ever got really into a hobby – read all the books, bought all the kit, invested heaps of time honing skills – only to lose your mojo? Well, that was me and cake decorating. Around 8 years ago, … Continue reading Found: One cake decorating mojo
….that’s taken 2 months to finish. Gah! First things first, I love the Wendy Batwing Sweater pattern. The main body of the jumper is knitted as one large piece, so less pesky sewing together of seams to do at the … Continue reading The One Week Batwing Jumper…
We recently lost our beloved greyhound boy, Tigs Rocket, to bone cancer. For anyone who’s ever loved their pet with all of their heart, I don’t need to describe the pain we feel, but it was quick, he did not … Continue reading Goodnight, Tigs Rocket
This little woolly hat was realised in the skies over Canada, and includes a lot of firsts for me – first hat, first cables, first experience of knitting in the round….first time it’s occurred to me to try and alleviate boredom … Continue reading James C. Brett JB110 – A Hat!
So, arm knitting, what’s it all about? Well, the gist of it is you ditch your needles, grab some chunky, chunky wool and once you’ve cast on you can’t answer any calls of nature until you’re done (yes, I have … Continue reading Is arm knitting just a gimmick?
I’m often extremely guilty of keeping my dressmaking projects in the planning pipeline for so long, that by the time I take the plunge my new make is completely out of sync with the season we’re in – think woolly jumpers … Continue reading A winter Coco
It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for a greyhound, so when a call came out over Facebook asking for some help to knit snoods for all of the Sanctuary hounds at the rescue Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare in time to … Continue reading Snoodtastic hounds
As we all know, time is of the essence on Christmas day morning as we count down to the food mountain that is commonly known as ‘lunch’….all of those presents to unwrap, sloe gin to be drunk – the list … Continue reading Haven’t you heard? Emergency cake decorating is the new Christmas day sport
Many moons ago I promised to introduce you to a little guy called Tim, made especially for my new, little guy, Theo. And here he is… My nephew Theo’s new companion is made from the Simplicity 9524 pattern and is … Continue reading Introducing…Tim, the space bear!
There have been many changes afoot in Chez Rocket over the last two months, including relocation back to the UK after 3 years as an expat in beery Belgium (hic!). By normal standards, I’ve moved house A LOT in the last 10 years, so you’d be forgiven for thinking I’m an old hand at this by now and it’d be a piece of cake…smooth sailing…a doddle, or indeed any other pleasant idiom you’d care to mention. However, while I’m something of a packing demon, the contacting of suppliers (stopping the old ones/starting the new ones) is, in my experience, always … Continue reading I want to quit the gym!
Hooray for Autumn, otherwise known as ‘sloe gin season’! While I’m yet to venture out on a hunt for this year’s hoard of sloe berries, the time has finally come to turn last year’s concoction into a smooth, syrupy batch of … Continue reading A tale of two gins
I like a helping of slow-roast pork belly with celeriac and pear mash as much as the next girl, but there are days when this (slightly) pretentious fodder just won’t do, and yesterday was one of those days. I came … Continue reading An (egg) cup of nostalgia
