Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2021 - Another Problem

 Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2021 - Another Problem

For some reason things never seem to go smooth for me. I have now found my Leaves and was going to start adding them when I Spotted something.

Wrong Colour

 

I should imagine that this was another of my working in the wrong light and being too tired moments. I have inadvertently added a Bright Orange to the edge of my Night time section.

Unpick Colour

 

There is absolutely nothing I can do to hide this so I have to Unpick the Leaf.

Replaced Colour

 

I have Replaced it with a Dull Yellow although the camera has made it look quite bright. I haven’t put it back in exactly the same place because with Unpicking I slightly Damaged some of the Red. Therefore I had to adjust the angle to cover it.

Night Start point

 

This is the area I was supposed to be working on. I need to make the Brown section look more organic and add Embellishments.

Branch Embellishment

 

I begin to add more Branches. This is going to take a long time so only going to add a few at this point.

First Leaf

 

As you can see in the above photograph I have put a few twigs on and added my First Leaf.

Absolutely Fantastic

I am still struggling to use my new phone to take photographs and somehow I have appeared to have lost them. Will have to retake them. Do the problems never cease?

Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2021 Filling Time

 Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2021 Filling Time

Would you credit it? I have had the Leaves I Knitted under my nose for months and now when I want to use them they have gone walkabout.

Gap Fox Side

Since I cannot do what I planned until I find the Leaves or make some more I am reduced to doing a spot of Maintenance.

As you can see in the above photograph there is a Gap at the Top where I have added extra Rows.

Fox Side Sewn

 

I proceeded to Blanket Stitch the Two Parts Together.

Gap Badger Side

I have the same problem on the Badger Side.

Badger Side Sewn

 

This was easier to Sew as I had left a long Tail when I Knitted whereas on the Fox I had to find the Wool to Match.

Top Rim Tidied.

Finally I Sewed the Top Rim to make it Tidy.

 

Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2021 Toggle & Loops

Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2021 Toggle & Loops

The year 2020 was for me the year of the Face Mask! I have finally managed to put away my Sewing and get my Knitting back out.

Matching Fox Overlap

 

Frankly it was so long since I have worked on this project I had to go back and read my blog - Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2019 Toggle & Loops to remember where I left off.

After I sorted out my Needle and I-Cords I got my Cape and opened it fully. I then Folded over the Fox Side so the Loops Matched where the Toggles were on the Badger Side Interior.

Sewing Fox Overlap

 

With the Tail of the I-Cord I Sewed it Opposite the Adjoining Loop. I Sewed it through itself as well as the Wool.

Fox Overlap Tied

 

I then double checked that the Tie would hold. There was plenty of Cord left to make a Double Tie if I wished.

I decided that for now at least I was only going to Sew in One Tie on that Side and see how it held when I was wearing it. This is because with the extra Rows on the Top of the Overlap I didn’t want to throttle myself with it being too high.

Badger Overlap

 

I repeated the process with the Opposite Side. You may notice in the above photograph that the Wool used is a slightly different colour. Therefore I had to be extremely careful not to go completely through the other Side.

Triple Treat Time 2021

 Triple Treat Time 2021

It was my Boyfriends Birthday recently. I decided to make him a Cake. So much effort went into it I decided to take photographs and turn it into a blog.

Basic Ingredients

12 Oz’s Flour, 12 Oz’s Butter, 12 Oz’s Caster Sugar, 3-4 Large Eggs, Packet of Marzipan, Large Bar of Chocolate, Teaspoon Baking Powder, A bit of Water and Butter for greasing.

Flavourings

Vanilla Essence, Chocolate Powder, Maple Syrup

Made to Measure

 

My first Challenge is lack of equipment. My scales battery was dead so I was forced to use the old fashioned way of measuring Ingredients by using a Marked Measuring Jug. Therefore a great deal of this recipe was done by eye. So adjust wisely.

Like Breadcrumbs

 

Add Flour and Sugar together in a Bowl. I didn’t have enough Caster Sugar so I ground some Granulated Sugar with a Mortar and Pestle. Then add the Baking Powder and Butter and Mix until you get Fine Breadcrumbs.

Next add the Eggs. The number depends on the size. I put in 3 then thought the Mixture was still a little thick so added another one.

Vanilla Swirl

 

When the Mixture is smooth add the Vanilla Essence. Either use a Capful at a time or use a Spoon. I tend to be heavy handed so put a good dollop in.

Divide in 3

 

Next fun part. I didn’t have enough tins of the right size or shape. Hence the reason it is a Tower instead of a Circle. I used Bread Tins. The Two Outer ones are the same size. I tried to Divide between them reasonably equally. There is more mixture in the Centre one as no more Ingredients are to be added to it.

Chocolate, Vanilla and Maple

 

I added Chocolate Powder into the Left. Technically it should be Coco Powder but I didn’t have any. In the right I added Maple Syrup. I Mixed both well in.

Well Raised

 

Cooking was a little tricky. I preheated the Oven at 180 degrees. With two different sized Tins and 3 slightly different levels of mixture this is definitely a watch the oven recipe.

I gave it a good 20-30 minutes then tested with a knife. The Cakes were all still gooey. Therefore I put them back in and checked every 5-10 minutes.

A Little off the Top

 

After waiting for them to completely cool I used a breadknife to slice off the Tops.

Triple Tower

 

The Chocolate one broke I will simply put that one in the Middle of the Tower. I then levelled off the Edges to make it smoother to cover.

Off Cuts

 

I put all the Off Cuts into a tub. These are ideal for either having with custard or as a base for another Cake. Remember these can be frozen for another day.

Franken-pan

 

My kitchen is often too hot for certain types of cooking. Marzipan can be a nightmare. I did this at 1am but still had problems. I rolled it out flat but it broke on lifting. Therefore the result looks like a Doctor Frankenstein creation.

Smooth Operator

 

In order to make it easier to add the coating I used a bit of water to Smooth down the Marzipan to make it a little more presentable.

Melt Chocolate

 

Break the Bar either of ordinary or Cooking Chocolate and place in a bowl. Get a pan add water and place bowl in. Normally you heat the water first but I started with cold and heated so I could control the melting process. DO NOT LET WATER BOIL DRY OR BUBBLE OVER THE TOP.

Happy Birthday

 

Let the Melted Chocolate cool until it starts thickening slightly. I poured it over the Cake a bit at a time and smoothing it over with a knife. Once completely hardened I added the candles.

Triple Treat Inner View

This is the Inner View of the Cake when sliced.  The amount it feeds depends on how you slice it. We had at least 3 portions each and fed several of the neighbours into the bargain.