TEACHER, TAILOR, SEWER, SPY!

It may have appeared recently that all has been quiet on the making side here at Clementine & Bloom but there has been plenty of creativity going on behind the scenes - Covert Operations perhaps? We can reveal all soon but one thing we can share with you right now is that we have been asked to teach a quilting class for one of our Union Jack Quilt designs.

As this is the first time we've taught this quilt it seemed a good idea to have a practice run through and tweak the lesson notes.

Although we combine our creative ideas and projects from the start to finish, we also tend to have our separate specialisms when it comes to the practical areas. This teaching opportunity offered the chance for the serial quilter to teach the novice, so mother taught daughter how to patchwork.

Final dates and class times are yet to be finalised but we will keep you posted!

...AND AFTER

Remember the fabulous chair we found in the brocante on our last trip to France? Now the work on it is finished and we can reveal our new chair.

The fabric we've used is a GP & J Baker design that was a great find on ebay - we couldn't resist the big blue and cream pattern and managed to get 15m of it!

Those of you with a keen eye will notice that we loved this bold print so much that we have recovered other chairs around the home with it. We used our local upholsterer to do the job but wouldn't it be great to be able to do this yourself?

A GOOD YEAR

When we were in London last week we just had to pop into Anthropologie where we fell in love with these beautiful patterned door knobs. In amongst all the gorgeousness we came across this lovely book, 365 good reasons to sit down to eat.

Written by French chef and cookery writer Stephane Reynaud it offers a recipe for every day of the year using seasonal produce. This is perfect timing as we are planning on planting our vegetable patch this weekend.

Not only is it beautifully photographed on nice tactile paper (no over shiney pages here!) but it also contains foody tips and lovely illustrations to guide you through the process.

This is a very lovely book for anyone with a love of cooking but also as an enjoyable dip-in-and-out-book for all with an interest in food and eating.

Stay tuned to see the results.

FANCY FONDANTS

Rose Water & Orange Blossom Fondant Creams

These were made following the recipe in the Spring edition of ukhandmade magazine.

I thought these would make a tasty little treat for Mother's Day and like the good pastry chef that I am, I followed the instructions precisely. I soon found that a lot more icing sugar was required than stated and that the mixture never really became a dough. It remained very sticky until refridgerated so my advice to anyone making these would be to add enough icing sugar (10 ounces plus in my case) to create a solid fondant, skip the kneading part and just refridgerate.

Even though they required quite a lot of elbow grease I am pleased with the results of my first attempt and received a good response all round. Definitely something I would whip up again (probably the day before) as an after dinner treat for guests!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Today we will be raising a glass or two to celebrate these lovely young women and the wonderful mums they grew up to become.

Happy Mother's Day

TOTALLY HOOKED

Sometimes the simplest things in life can make a girl so happy, like these antique French hooks I picked up in the local junk shop!

SUNDAY BRUNCH

Yesterday was one of those mornings when everyone else is still upstairs sleeping but you're up and away because the day just seems too good to miss. Filled with a spring in my step and the sunshine buoying me along I decided to set the table for a lazy Sunday brunch.

I even found time to experiment with spelt flour and a new bread recipe.

Besides the joy of getting to play dress up in the home I also 'upcycled' some glass bottles into mini vases that just added the right kind of country chic to the table. Who knew an Orangina bottle could look this good!

REVAMP YOUR DRAWERS!

I've had this simple set of drawers from my student digs for a couple a years and it was looking a bit sad and needed some expert tender loving care.

With a lick of paint, some gorgeous printed fabric and these fabulous orange knobs I bought on ebay, I rolled up my sleeves and got down to work. Now look what a beauty it turned out to be!

LUCIAN FREUD

Travelled up to London yesterday with some friends to see the wonderful Lucian Freud exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

His portraits capture the character and personality of his sitters; partly because he chose to paint people he knew or cared about but also because he took his time over the paintings with his subjects sitting for months on end. He would constantly mix and remix the paint for the skin tones to ensure that no one colour would dominate the painting.

image courtesy of obit

I love the famous images of 'Big Sue' but my absolute favourites have to be of the artist himself - striking and captivating.

image courtesy of homepages.pavillion.co.uk

Definitely worth a visit.

MUM'S THE WORD

Now that March is here and we have seen the return of the sunshine, we have been looking forward to upcoming events on the calendar. With Mothering Sunday only 16 days away, why not give the gift of something hand-made. All these and much more are available now in our shop.