Souvenirs and sewing

Hello! A very quick post to show you the start I've made on my holiday embroidery, and some of the bits and bobs I brought back with from our trip to Finland and Sweden in August.

The first thing I sewed was this Dala horse. It measures approximately 5 x 5 cm so is quite small. I use chain stitch, a stitch I've been using a lot on this embroidery, and I'm pleased with the shape and colour. I needed the outline for this horse to be exactly right - they have such a distinctive shape - so I sketched a design on paper then traced it using my trusty fading pen.

Next came a small Falu-red summer house, similar to the ones we saw everywhere in Finland. You can see the progress of it below: the blocks of colour...

...then the details of window and door frames, and a log pile of course.

You can also see the purple pen outline of the trees and blueberries I planned to sew next. The running stitches between the pictures are just for me to keep the lines straight - I pull them out when I have stitched the pictures.

Here you can see the finished pine trees and blueberries, as well as a bowl of traditional salmon and potato soup.

The trees were one of the things I remember most about Finland: forests everywhere you looked. The blueberries I had not considered especially Finnish but when we flew there with Finnair we were offered a glass of blueberry juice on the flight. All the supermarkets sell it, and the berries. It was delicious. I had to mark that Lohikeitto soup in stitches because it was so good, and also because I just love stitching food. 

To this, I have just added a Finnish flag and sauna. I plan to do ten Finnish memories and ten Swedish, all on one embroidery.

I bought all sorts of bits and bobs back from our holiday. Postcards, a lot of postcards. I like to use them as bookmarks, or I prop them up here and there around the house on shelves.

That little metal sauna sign, €5 from a shop by the beach in Hanko, sits on the bathroom shelf. The black and white tote bag bag was €2 from Stockmann, a big department store in Helsinki. I picked up the Moomin socks at the airport. They make me smile every time I put them on.

I bought the blue Dala horse at Stockholm airport. It sits nicely between the white and red ones I picked up in Copenhagen years ago.

I couldn't go to Finland and not buy some Marimekko, that most iconic brand. This cushion cover came home with me.

Along with this black and white plate, bottom right. 

I completely fell in love with this green and white Stig Lindberg leaf print, a Swedish classic. A tea towel seemed like a much safer bet than a china cup for the flight home.

It's already in constant use in the kitchen.

Finally, and this was probably my biggest splurge, I bought a Kay Bojesen monkey and he makes me smile every time I look at him. I'm going to crochet a little Christmas hat. 

I printed some photos which have just arrived. I have framed a couple and others will be bookmarks or to stick up around the house.

This may be my best souvenir of all: liquorice, raspberry and caramel chocolate. Utter deliciousness. Apparently there is a shop in London called Scandi Kitchen and they sell it. I may have to seek it out next time I'm in London.

I love bringing back bits and pieces from holidays, such a nice reminder of good memories. Thank you for indulging me with all the holiday posts - normal service will resume soon with lots of every day, autumnal goings on. 

Relaxing, cooking, cleaning, crafting.

Two weeks into the holidays, and I am starting to relax. I am still dreaming about work, but definitely thinking about it less when I am awake. We have mostly been at home over the last fortnight, with a quick trip up to Durham and a few days out. The weather has been pretty awful, lots of wind and rain and days of heavy cloud. 

I have been on a mission to regain some kind of order over the domestic situation in the house. I have moved through rooms, washing, wiping, vacuuming, mopping and sorting out piles of clutter. 

 It has been very therapeutic.

The kitchen got a very thorough clean, the sort in which parts of the fridge, freezer and oven saw a cloth and disinfectant for the first time in months. Cupboards were wiped and organised, drawers emptied and tidied. 

This prompted a lot of cooking. I love cooking in the school holidays. There is more time for thinking about what needs using up and planning interesting meals around the contents of the fridge or cupboards. Nothing is wasted because I forgot about it sitting in the back of the fridge.

There is time for French toast for breakfast.

Or lunches made up of leftover mashed potatoes and greens, re-heated and mixed together topped with poached eggs and lots of hot sauce.

An audit of the spices and the discovery of lots of opened packets of red lentils, prompted this delicious dinner of dahl topped with roasted sweet potatoes and coconut chutney, recipe here.

For me, holiday cooking is less about what we need to cook (dinner) and more about slow, store cupboard cooking, investment cooking. Like this granola.

And, my much-anticipated summer favourite, blackcurrant and liquorice ice cream. The recipe is from Simply Nigella but I cannot find a version of it online.

It's a no-churn recipe, so you just whip the blackcurrants, cream and condensed milk together then pour into a tub, drizzling with liquorice syrup which you swirl through.

It's only me who eats it so I always add more than the recipe suggests. 

Me friend Abbie gave me some cherries from her tree, a huge bag of them. I stoned and halved them, then tossed them into a pan to simmer with a little sugar to make compote. 

I've been eating it with my granola and some plain yogurt, but it would also be delicious with pancakes or waffles. 

I bought some really nice nectarines so made this marzipan and nectarine cake by Claire Thomson, who I follow on Instagram under @5oclockapron. Her reels of her cooking are so good. 

It went down very well. It is the kind of cake best served warm although it is lovely cold. You need to eat it up quickly though or it goes soggy.

And finally ginger slices, which have a flapjack base with zingy ginger icing on top they are so good and keep for ages which is just as well as the recipe makes a lot. They are from the book One Tin Bakes Easy by Edd Kimber which I am loving at the moment. 

And finally, the thing I am most proud of, is this sourdough. I managed to kill my old starter so at Easter made a new one. I have been trying hard to remember to feed it frequently and finally had the time and head space to make a loaf a couple of days ago. Sourdough is not hard, but you have to think about the timings: when to feed, when to stretch and fold, when to overnight prove etc. This rose really well and I was happy. 

I have been making good progress on my Iceland embroidery. I have added a volcano, snowflake, geysur and whale.

 The whale is my favourite so far. 

I have also whipped up (and it was very quick and easy) a summery bag.

I chose remnants of Drops Paris Arran weight cotton and used a 5mm hook to make these large squares, which I folded in half and sewed together, like this.

Then I added a strap and a button, and hey presto.

Below is proof that I have left the house. There were end of term drinks.

Coffee dates with John.

Lunch out and bookshop time on the wettest and greyest of days.

New nails.

Muddy dog walks in wet woods.

And a few days in Durham.

Finally, a few photos of Bella ready to go to her school prom. It rained so heavily we could not take any nice photos outside so made do with the living room.

I love that she felt comfortable and confident, and very much like herself. She did her own hair and make-up and wore her trainers. She had a great time.