News before shop news,

As we leave this month I confess that I kind of love November. Much more than October or December. Not a popular opinion I know, but it’s when the real change into winter happens and we get bonfires, comfort food, the prettiest in my opinion morning sky. We get to hunker down all cosy without worrying about the mad Christmas rush just yet. November also reminds me of my dad. He had the lamest joke when we got to this time of year and the temperature dropped to below freezing. He would say “if it gets any colder I will have to put my heating on”. He would make this joke around this time each year, each time that I phoned him to check how he was, and he would always laugh a little at his own joke. Stir -up Sunday is this month too, the weekend just passed. I made our our Christmas pudding adapted from a few vintage recipes. I will share at the end of this blog if you are looking for an easy yummy recipe.

Writing in a café today is not going so well unfortunately. There is a table of people who are having some sort of work meeting and one member of the group is being very LOUD! I feel I need to share with you I am a quiet person, I like a little soft background noise but not too much. It is all rather distracting, when I caught the gaze of the elderly gentleman opposite me he just shook his head. I’m not the only one who prefers calmer environments here. I have however learned the importance of the ergonomics of keyboards from their conversation. Not the musical keyboards though, the keyboards for laptops.

In shop news my right hand is now permanently in sewing needle holding position which, as it turns out, is a great tool for eating peanuts and mini mince pies, and basically any snack involving a pincer action. A few of the art deco dresses on my mend it list have needed more repairing than I had anticipated and my hand is for sure feeling it. All worth it though, as when each dress is restored it becomes a newly wearable piece of history ready for more adventures.

More vintage knitting patterns will also be added to the webshop (as digital downloads) over the next week. I love to imagine people from decades past, keeping warm next to the fire with their bag of wool, knitting jumpers and cardigans for their loved ones. If you enjoy knitting, I encourage you to take a peek in our shop if you haven’t already. Let’s keep these gorgeous designs alive.

Until next time

Collette x

Ingredients:

30ml Brandy (optional)

250g Raisins

150g Dried cranberries

100g Dates (chopped)

50g Mixed peel

90g Self-raising flour

125g Vegetable suet

1tsp Ground mixed spice

1tsp Ground nutmeg

90g Soft brown Sugar

30g Chopped almonds

125g Breadcrumbs

1 Apple peeled and grated.

1 Orange zest and juice

2 Duck eggs

Method:

Stir up Sunday is traditionally the day you prepare your Christmas Pudding, which falls on the Sunday before advent begins. However, the pudding will be just as tasty if you make it a little later. Add the dried fruit to a large bowl, If you are adding the brandy mixed it in with the fruit now. Then, add each ingredient in order as listed stirring in each time. Make sure the eggs are beaten in well too. It is traditional for each member of the household to give the mixture a stir and make a wish once all ingredients are added. Grease a 2 pint budding bowl with butter and spoon in the mixture, pressing it down tight with the back of the spoon. Cover the top of the bowl with grease proof paper and a layer of tin foil, tying them in place with string. Stem in a pan for 5 ½ hours topping the water as needed. Once cooled, remove from the bowl, wrap in baking paper and tin foil and store in a cool dark place. If you are feeding your pudding with brandy then 1 tablespoon a week should be enough, just make sure to wrap your pudding back up well once you are done. Your pudding will take 2 hours to steam on Christmas day before eating and enjoying.