Amanda Brooke

WELCOME

Hi, welcome to my blog! I am going a bit crochet crazy lately...if you are interested or would like to share your experiences, please leave a comment or email me.

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Thanks, Amanda

Breast of Friends Quilt

Remember the Breast of Friends quilt I am involved in for Homespun magazine? Well the original quilt is now ready to raffle and over 700 hundred tickets have already been sold! The funds raised will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Please visit this page to view the information you need to buy a ticket or make a donation.

This original quilt signed by each designer involved in the project is a testament to the caring women involved in this industry. I was so proud to be a part of this fantastic project.

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x
 

Seaside Memories

Some of my most favourite childhood memories were summers spent at the beach.

We had a caravan at San Remo (the gateway to Phillip Island) and I have fond memories exploring, hunting for crabs, eating ice creams, fishing and spending time with family and friends. I looked forward to catching up each trip with all the caravan park kids. We shared stories and adventures amongst the sand dunes, got burnt in the hot summer sun and played well into the darkness of day. They were really good times for me growing up with two brothers.

Some of these beaches are the most prettiest seascapes in Victoria. The mountains meet the sea with sandy edges and rocky formations...and some lucky farm owners have their own beach frontage.

I have been doodling with ideas of this beautiful, sometimes rugged landscape that I grew to love as a child, in the form of a stitchery.

 

 After many attempts I am close to have it ready to stitch and can't wait to share the design with you,

Thanks for visiitng,

Amanda x
 
 
 

The sun is shining....

...and the roses in our garden are all blooming!

Roses make a colourful display amongst the herbs. This is a healthy lemon balm plant and behind it is rhubarb and chives.

Planted with curry plant and a standard rose is a flowering sage bush and behind that is rosemary. I have had to start most of our gardens from scratch here, as it was nearly all agapanthus (a practical plant that is actually a weed) when we arrived, less that two years ago. The gardens are all young and still being created, but it is lovely to start from scratch, making it your own.

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

P.S If you intend to visit the websites I linked to in my previous post, view the video on BARF which gives some suggestions for ingredients. For grain info on the Vets all natural website click on the Health and Nutrition link, then view the Nutrition for dogs page.

 

 

My weekend

Yesterday I made up 5kg of dog food. I used mince from the butcher containing offal, silver-beet from the garden, rice, barley, vegemite, grated carrot, a handful of frozen mixed veg (you know that little amount that always gets left in the bag), pasta and garlic. This is how I would normally make it, sometimes I use brown rice and always different vegies...whatever is on hand or in the garden. I did use kangaroo mince in the past, until yesterday when Julie voiced concern over preservative #220. Thanks Julie!

 If you google making your own pet food or talk to friends, vets and neighbours you will find a for and against for a myriad of ingredients. I have made my own decision about what ingredients to include, based on my own research and recommendation from a retired vet. I wouldn't use onion, raw potato nor give my dog chocolate, and I take full responsibility for the ingredients I include now and plan to include in the future. I believe that if you make or plan to make your own dog food that you research ingredients and talk to your own vet. I cannot recommend what I do as I can take no responsibility for what you give your dog. I highly recommend that if you are interested in making your own food that you take a look at these websites....BARF ...watch the video, and THIS and make your own decisions on what to include or exclude.

After looking at the Barf website I will puree the vegetables more next time...I do give the mix a good mash, but I like the idea of pureed veggies. My pets like cooked food and I give them raw bones and the odd raw egg. I have never considered fruit, like apple or dairy yogurt, but I might be more inventive. I guess at the end of the day if you think about dogs in the wild and how they eat naturally, compared to the canned variety of food we buy off the shelf, any effort to provide a diet based on more whole and natural foods has got to be better....

 

...and getting Oscar off to a good start nutritionally is the best care I can give.

For school treats I like to keep the lunch box filled with healthy snacks, but on the weekend I like to make some treats from my collection of vintage recipe books. I find they have the tastiest treats and meals and are made mostly from pantry ingredients...you know nothing too fancy! I made ginger biscuits yesterday and they are almost all gone today!

Today I made shampoo, facial cleanser and some hand soap. I use a natural base and add my own essential oils. May Chang for us and Lavender for the kids. I recommend the book in the background, it has some great recipes and most are simple to make. I have owned it for several years and find it a great resource.

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

 
 
 
 
 

Looking forward to a weekend at home...

Just thought I would share a glimpse of some great vintage items I found at my local thrift shop earlier in the week. A well loved and worn gardening book, with a fantastic illustrated cover, and a collection of old linen. I am a collector of old linen and I am keeping my eyes peeled for a red gingham sheet to make into a rag rug for the kitchen, I just LOVE gingham! 

Using my size 10 crochet hook and more flannel sheets, I made another rag rug, this time experimenting with an oval shape. I am using it already in our en-suite bathroom. Next I want to try a half circle and a rectangle?

 

I have plans for a weekend spent at home and want to get some cooking done. I have pet food to make...now that we have an extra mouth to feed, homemade pet food is a necessity. If you make your own pet food what do you add? I cook and freeze mine in portions with vegetables, pasta, barley, vegemite, garlic, kangaroo mince fresh mince not containing preservative #220 (see comments below), rice and water. 

The only question is...which apron shall I wear?

Have a lovely weekend and thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

 

 

 

Barefoot on a Rag Rug

I am a sensory person and love the feeling of bare feet on a simple rag rug. We have one...a braided one in our bedroom, and I have always wanted to make one myself. Armed with a large crochet hook, several flannel sheets and a dream, I started on my own version yesterday.

 Can you believe that there is an entire queen size, flat sheet in that ball shape?

  

This is the rug this afternoon after the striped ball was added.

 

And voila! Tonight I finished it, after adding a darker blue border. It will be perfect in our main bathroom. My mother tells me that my Great Grandmother, that I have never met, made these and many other styles when she was a young housewife. Making do with what they had around them, recycling and re-using, making their homes comfortable and simple, they are footsteps I like to follow...

...and it does feel nice to follow with bare feet.

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

 

 

Introducing Oscar

Meet our new family member, Oscar! After being born a few months ago on a neighbouring farm, and weeks of considering, we decided to welcome him to our home and we picked him up yesterday. He is a Border Collie x Kelpie and has a loyal and friendly nature. He is certain to bring us lots of joy!

The recent rain combined with the sun today has given the garden a boost and a local farmer commented today that you can " hear the grass growing". I love my lifestyle and the farms and community around us. I long for more land, but we are just so lucky to have what we do and enough space for our animals, room for vegie beds, fruit trees and childrens secret play spaces.

I have been creating but I can't show you what I have been doing...not even a peek!  I am working on a project, a big project, that will take some time, but I am enjoying the process. I am bursting to share, but just not yet....

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

 

In my kitchen

I have received several emails and questions about making your own dishcloths. I don't use any set pattern to make these. My squares are anywhere between 7in and 9in and I have made them using 4 ply cotton, 4 ply cotton doubled (see apricot and blue cloths my mum made me), and 8 ply cotton (which I prefer).

It is best to make a few using cotton of a different ply and experiment with the weave of the stitch you crochet/knit with. Dunk them in the dishwater and determine what you are most comfortable using, whilst washing the dishes. The size is also another factor you are best to experiment with.  

I prefer to crochet them, as I get a quicker result, but I will still make knitted ones. You can make them as simple as you like or as pretty and decorative as you like. If you make one and don't like it enough to hang over the tap... use it as a dusting cloth!

I have used the Heirloom brand of cotton, Cleckheaton and just odd bits I have picked up at the local op shops. I am going to experiment more with different stitches, both knitted and crocheted, so when I do I will post a pattern. Coming up to Christmas they are nice to give and a decorative one is extra special!

Please don't hesitate to ask more questions.

Last night I made my Pops own recipe for Sultana Cake. As it is such a simple, moist and tasty recipe used from basic pantry ingredients I thought it would be nice to share the recipe. Be warned though...this one should only be enjoyed in small portions...however hard that is...because it is a bit fattening! The ingredients are listed just as my Pop gave them to me.

POPS SULTANA CAKE

1lb of butter, 1lb of sultanas, 3 eggs, 1 1/4 cups of sugar, 2 1/2 cups of plain flour, 1 tbs baking powder

Wash sultanas, cover with cold water in a saucepan and boil for 5 minutes. remove from heat and strain. Add the butter to the sultanas and allow to melt while you prepare remaining ingredients.

Beat sugar and eggs very well. Sift flour and baking powder and add to sultana mix, pour egg mixture over and then mix all ingredients until combined. Pour into a medium sized tin ( I use a loaf tin) lined with baking paper.

Bake at 160 degrees for 11/2 to 2 hours. My oven is fan forced and I find that 1 hour and 20 minutes is enough for mine.

Enjoy!

I have picked up some storage jars and Deco'r plastic containers cheap recently and have made great progress in organising our pantry. When I open a package, the contents go straight into a storage container and it has made things so much easier. I can see at a glance what I have/don't have and the contents will remain fresher for longer.I especially like these jars found at my local Supermarket.

It is bucketing with rain here, we really need this for water storage in dams and of course for our own tanks. We have gone from having about a 10th of water in one out of three tanks, to 1/2 in two and 3/4 in one in the past month...keep coming rain!

Neighbours cows are sheltering from rain under the trees!

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x
  

 
 

 
 

Sunday Bliss

After the chores I found some time to just enjoy my Sunday today with the children. I finished a crocheted round that I started last night and I think it makes a sweet little mat for my cup and saucer.

 

I prepared strips of soft flannel sheeting for an experiment with a large crochet hook. There is something I just love about a ball of fabric strips.

  

I baked some fresh bread for lunch and enjoyed my slices with cheese and Mint chutney. The recipe for the delicious chutney is here.

In the studio this afternoon I was watched by my funky vintage doll. Just thought I would share a pic of her as she is so unique! This is the quilt, below, I am making for Max. He helped me snip the chained pieces and it was nice to have him by my side while I make his quilt for him.

 

A stroll around the garden exposed my first rose bloom for the season.

I had a lovely Sunday at home, and I hope you did something blissful too,

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

  

Finished feeling blue...

I have finished making the blue/white dishcloths and they are ready to give to my friend. How sweet do they looked wrapped in a bundle with a ric rac trim and Stampin Up! tag?

They were so quick and simple to make and I feel grateful to my Aunt for teaching me the basics of crochet. I have since adapted her method and find it quite simple to do. Watch out for my dream attempt...granny squares! Marian shared a story of making one back in school, but it was a face cloth. I think that they would make lovely, soft facecloths and wouldn't it be nice for gift giving to give one with a special bar of hand made soap?

Have a lovely weekend and thanks for visiting,

Amanda x