I love Autumn so much!

I have two things for you this time - liver bones for your favourite doggy fur baby and some fabric pumpkins to decorate the house.

Ready? Well here they come! First of all, liver bones...

And then the pumpkin for a Halloween display......

If the pumpkin is your thing, scroll down, it is just underneath the recipe.

But first, let's get baking! These bones are healthy and the dog loves them. Bliss!

Gather these supplies:
225g finely processed chicken liver
4 tablespoons dried herbs
2 eggs
400g (or thereabouts) spelt flour
100g ground hazelnuts. Pulse these to leave some slightly larger pieces.

Find a bone shaped cutter too. They are available all over the place where baking things are to be found. I found mine here.

Now you will notice that I have said or thereabouts when mentioning the flour. Make sure that you have enough on hand to make a dough that doesn't stick to everything like glue. You can add more of this flour until you have the right consistency. Just add a little at a time - you cannot take it out!

Preheat your oven to moderate and line a  tray with baking paper.
Mix all of the ingredients together well until you have a non sticky dough. wrap the dough in clingfilm and then rest it in the fridge for half an hour.

Roll the rested dough out on a well floured surface and then cut the biscuits out with your bone shaped cutter...

As you can see, the bone shaped cutter makes all the difference!

Lay the biscuits onto the prepared tray and then bake for about 30 minutes, slightly longer if you want crisper biscuits. As you can see, mine a quite floury. This is easier to handle and looks nicely artisan. The dog likes it too!

Not a terribly patient person! Well, okay, let's get on with it then Sally!

Cool the biscuits on a baking tray with a strong and established armed guard - one which doesn't include the dog...

The fluff monster is hovering. Keep your cooled biscuits in a sealed tin. A small dog may prefer you to break them up a bit. I include one with Sally's dinner but they make a good treat too.

And that is all there is to it! Now I promised two posts didn't I? It occurred to me the other day while I was walking in the woods that the animals are decorating for Halloween...

This was a reasonably freshly dug burrow and the leaf just set it off beautifully. So. What can we make? I think that pumpkins are just the thing. Made from your favourite fabrics in Autumn colours, they can be made in different sizes and piled up as a display.

Here is what we are aiming for.....

So what do we need? Well for a start, we have to find some fabrics, a stick, some wire and some stuffing. You need a button for the bottom too and a hot glue gun is really handy  - I cannot live without my Dremel.
Make the stick match the size of pumpkin that you are aiming for. Here is the selection that I have come up with...

Halloween things can be a bit grungy and a bit prim so I have opted for muted shades in my fabric selection. My button is brown and the wire is rusty. The stick is a thumb thickness piece of a twisted willow in my garden.
The pumpkin is made from 6 sections like the one in the picture below. You can either make all of the sections different for a patchwork effect or all the same. It is up to you. Here is the basic pattern piece.

You can reduce or enlarge the pattern piece as you like. If you are a beginner, don't go too small because sewing can be a bit of a trial if it is too fiddly.

Cut the sections of the pumpkin from your fabrics and then, with the right sides together, sew the sections. Leave a gap in the top for turning out and for stuffing.

And here is what it looks like turned the right way out.

Half done!

Stuff well and then sew the top closed, leaving just a small (your stick sized) hole in the top. 

As you sew, attach the button to the base and draw the pumpkin in a little to contour the shape. An extra long doll needle is really useful here.

Your pumpkin should look like this now....

And from the bottom...

Prepare the wire next. Cut about 30cm of wire and wind it around a pen, pencil or chopstick like this...

Notice the I have left a little 'tail'. Then pull it off the stick and pull it out, curve it and make it look a little more natural....

Heat the hot glue gun and glue the stalk and the wire into the centre hole. The tail on the wire pokes into the pumpkin.

et voila! We have a pumpkin! Make a pile in different sizes and heap them up for a really nice Autumn display - who says that Christmas has to have it all!

I hope that you have enjoyed this quite long post! Thank you so much for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment.
Hugs and kisses
Debs
xxx

Making doggy biscuits with Sally

I love to spoil my dog and really, apart from cuddles and a warm bed, the best way to do it responsibly is with food that she loves and that is super good for her. Today, we had a baking session and I produced (under her strict supervision) some dog biscuits. I thought that the recipe may interest you too so here it is....

They actually taste quite nice and they can be used for training treats too.

Gather these supplies: 
1 can tuna in oil
2 eggs
3 teaspoons mixed herbs
150g plain flour
150g self raising flour*
150g rolled oats
2/3 cup cooked spinach
2/3 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup grated cheese

* this is optional. Using all plain flour will give a denser biscuit. If you want self raising flour but cannot buy it in your area, simply add 1 teaspoon baking powder to ordinary flour. otherwise, simply double the plain flour.

Preheat the oven to moderate and lay a piece of baking paper onto an oven tray.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mash together with your hands until very well mixed. You may need to add a little more flour and this is fine. you are after a non sticky dough which can be rolled into sticks.

Pinch off about a golf ball sized portion of dough and roll it into a long thin stick. Sally is a Cocker Spaniel so she doesn't want huge biscuits. If you have a larger dog but want small treats for training, make them smaller too. The yield of this recipe depends on how big they are rolled.

Lay them onto the prepared baking tray and then lightly score them with a knife or something similar. This is more of a dent really and it makes breaking up a little more predictable later.

Cook in the oven for about 35-40 minutes. Less if you want them softer (for an older dog) and longer if you want them really crisp. They will crisp as they cool so don't go overboard.

Next make sure that you have some one to watch the oven very carefully....

Turn them halfway through the cooking so that they cook and brown evenly and then get your helper back again....

When you both agree that they are ready, bring them out of the oven and leave them to cool before breaking into bite sized pieces.

This bit is fun actually and strangely satisfying, like popping bubble wrap.

Everyone deserves gourmet food!

Well there we go! I hope that your dog enjoys them as much as Sally does. As we speak, I am working on some doggy cupcakes with healthy things in so watch this space!

Thanks for stopping by
Debs
xxx

Pretty Pincushion

Well here we are again and this time I have made you a pin cushion. It is a hexie shape and it has some pretty embroidery and my favourite red and white gingham on the bottom.

Now the sewing here is very straight forward but all the rage at the moment is patchwork combined with embroidery so I thought that I would walk you through some embroidery stitches. There are only two so please don't panic if you are new to this!

Here is what we are aiming to produce this time...

We will work with a french knot and a detached chain or lazy daisy stitch.

Okay, so what will we need? Gather a piece of pink fabric with a very subtle print. This is a new idea too. The old fashioned way of doing embroidery was to use plain cloth or linen. Using subtle prints is fresh and new.

You will need a couple of fabrics, 20cm sq. One of them is the subtle print (I have used a Tilda Nina pink) and one is a bold red and white gingham (don't ask, it just works!). You will also need some embroidery threads. I have used Anchor #1344 (variegated), #9046 (red) and #256 (green). Finally, you need some polyester stuffing, a small lace daisy, a little bit of ribbon for a tab and two buttons, red and pink.

You also need your usual sewing requirements including a water soluble marker and a small embroidery hoop.


TIP: keep your pins really sharp by stuffing the pin cushion with steel wool (the un-soaped variety).

So lets get started! Draw yourself a large hexie template. these are available online or you can draft it yourself. It will need to be 
3 3/4". This included seam allowance.

You will see by my photo that I have cut the hexies out of my fabric already. Don't do this until after the embroidery is finished if you are a beginner. It is easy to draw the hexie shape onto the fabric with the water soluble marker and then embroider and cut out afterwards. 

Draw the shape on and then draw the flower pattern. This is very easy. You only need to draw three small circles and then a few sets of straight, short lines for the leaves. position the sets of embroidery about 4 cm in from each hexie corner.

Doesn't look an awful lot to go on does it! Well, have a look at the finished work and then we will go back and construct the flowers a bit at a time...

It is super pretty and the red centres instead of the usual yellow pick up the red and white gingham nicely.

So how do we achieve this marvel? Let's look at it step by step.
Firstly, put the fabric into your embroidery hoop to keep it tight and draw a circle about 1 cm diameter with the water soluble marker...

If you need to, you can show the positions of the petals with five straight lines radiating out from the centre...

Next, thread the needle with your chosen colour (work with three strands of embroidery floss) and bring the thread up through the centre of the circle

Take the needle back right next to where you brought the thread up and then bring it up again on the outside of the circle. Loop the thread around it and pull the thread to make the petal.

Secure the petal by making a small stitch at the top (the outside of the circle). Begin again in the centre to make the next petal, using your lines as a guide.

When you have made all five, go to the next flower or, if there isn't one, fasten the thread neatly on the back and let's make the centre.

The centre is a classic french knot. You begin by bringing the needle up through the centre...

Then take it down again and bring it up next to the first bit....

Wrap the needle about three times and then, holding the wrap gently, draw the needle and thread up so that the knot sits on the fabric....

See what I mean....

Finally, take the excess thread back down and secure on the back neatly and out of sight.

There you go! Now remove the water soluble marker lines and it will look lovely. These stitches may take a little practice but they are worth it and they add a whole new dimension to your work.

Well, do the embroidery and then cut out the hexie shape and it should look something like this...

Take the little piece of ribbon, fold it in half and and sew it on half way along one side of the hexie...

Now place the two hexies right sides together and sew all the way around the edge, leaving a small gap for turning out. Clip across the corners to reduce bulk.

Turn out and stuff well. Slip stitch the opening closed. Now position your lace daisy and red button in the middle of the front and the pink button on the back and hand sew into place, drawing the pincushion in to give it a contoured shape as you go....

Why the button on the back? Well for one, it looks better because it hides the thread and more importantly, it stops the thread from pulling out through the fabric. It is under quite a lot of pressure because of the stuffing. Here it is from the back...

And the finished thing!

This doesn't have to be a pincushion either. Consider it as a lavender bag in your wardrobe or to freshen the air in your car. Very versatile indeed and super pretty!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope that you have enjoyed this tutorial.

hugs and kisses
Debs
xxx