Last minute Christmas inspirations or be ahead of the game for next year

December 13th

A typical example of a vintage calender

Today I share with you many makes that I hope to try if not this year then for next year.  We now live in a world of easy to access inspiration but too often there is too much to sift through, so here I give you my favourite Christmas round up that I have come across this year, hope it inspires you...


A last minute Vintage Calendar to print off and compile from 1899, the dates are exactly the same as 2017, who wouldn't want to receive this.  Brought to you by the very generous Gunnvor Karita:   2017 Calendar 




Again another great post that Gunnor shared were her delightful Christmas boxes in the shape of houses.  These would be gorgeous just sitting on the window sill or as a gift box for a small tiny present.  This would be a great activity to complete with a small one too I should imagine.  I am definitely going to print some of these off and give them a go...  Christmas house boxes

Gift boxes, house shaped

Day 6 of Drops Design Advent Calendar

Last year I shared with you Drops Design Advent Calendar and they are sharing a new one again this year.  Each day you can open an online door to reveal that days yarn design, be it knitting or crochet, it's all so Christmasssy and I love it.  I admit, that I have no time to make anything for this year, but it has me thinking for things I would like to create next year, my eye is currently on Day 6 especially but I love them all really!
Drops Design Calendar


Of course I have to mention Phil over at The Twisted Yarn who claims to not like to think about the C word until around the 20th of December but she has such wonderfully easy Christmas patterns to make that it can entice the most reluctant of knitter and crocheter to give them a try, pop over and see.

Knitted version of a paper chain and
Christmas knitted trees a la Twisted Yarn

Then there is one of my favourite designers on Instagram, the very generous and kind hearted Kate of Just Pootling.  She shares her patterns on blog.lovecrochet.com and her latest Christmas pudding and holly garland is simply Christmas perfect, look...

And finally stuck for a present for that hard to buy for person?  What about knitting your own luggage finders.  I think this is a genius idea and am going to be making lots of these, may even come up with my own designs personal to the people I am still needing to make for... and just a thought what about if you are travelling around Christmas time, how wonderful to make some Christmas luggage tags, holly, mini jumpers or stockings, Christmas puddings even to name byu a few ideas, the list is endless...   Luggage Finders

Knittted luggage finders

And finally today I leave you with a thought from a picture that popped up on my Facebook that made me stop and think.  I whole heartedly believe in this in a time when the world seems to be pulling apart...

Not forgetting today is St Lucia day and I shall be baking my saffron buns later this morning. I'll share them with you tomorrow...

Christmas slippers

December 12th

My latest pair of felted slippers

Two years ago I blogged about mamma's quick knit and machine felted slippers. The post is now one of my most popular. I decided it was time to revamp the slipper idea and create a Christmas version. 

Follow this link Felted Slippers for pattern and photo tutorial of these very quick knit slippers. If you have a couple of evenings free you can make a pair before Christmas. There's still time! 

So how to pimp the slippers for Christmas?  I am sure given more time and thought I could actually knit a Christmas pattern in the slipper design itself but you know what this time of year is like, busy busy busy. So as long as I do not forget this could be a great New Year challenge. If you beat me to it, be kind to me and share please...but onto the quick pimping of the slippers.  

Knitted and machine wash felted slippers

Once knitted and felted your slippers will look like this...

So the quickest way to pimp them I found was to embroider a Christmas design. 

I used embroidery thread but first outlined my design with a single strand so that it gave me a guideline to follow...


If you look at the photo closely you can see that I also stitched in a single strand a mid line on the leaf. This was my guide to keep my stitches short and so I embroidered either side of the line, look...

Holly leaf outline including mid line for guide

Here you can see that I have sewn up to the mid line guide only on one side and I shall do the same on the other.

And when both sides are completed they look like this...

Holly on my slipper

I decided that I probably could not replicate the identical holly on the second slipper so deliberately placed it in a different orientation on slipper two, hope it works that they do not match, what do you think?

Half way through pimping my slippers

And now they are ready for wearing...

Felted and embroidered slippers

I think I may even try and pimp other slippers for other times of the year too, it was so much fun.  and I confess to being a little bit in love with them.  John who seldom thinks my makes 

are of any worth, probably because they are not sailing related, 

even gave a begrudging nod as he walked past me today ;)  Can't be all bad then can it!  

♥  Cosy toes now ready for Winter, 

let me know if you make a pair   ♥

Fingerkremkjeks Christmas Cookies 4

December 11th


As always this month is running away and we are quickly at Christmas cookie baking 4 of 7.  As this is the third year of posting about Småkaker (Small cakes) at Christmas whereby Norwegian families

Fingerkremkjeks Norwegian Christmas Cookies

bake 7 varieties of biscuits for the festive season, I have now shown you all the ones that we dip into.  Therefore I am searching far and wide and looking to other Norwegians to see what their family favourites are.  As you would expect many are the same as the ones I have already blogged about.

However in trawling through old Norwegian Christmas magazines, I stumbled upon the following recipe from 2004, whereby the article implies that Christmas is not Christmas for many Norwegian families without this biscuit.  Blow me down, I have not seen it or heard of it before, so baking I began...

Dough ready for the fridge

Fingerkremkjeks 
~ Finger Cream Biscuits

You will need:

♥  250g butter
♥  150g sugar
♥  2 egg
♥  500g plain flour
♥  1 tsp vanilla sugar or essence a drop or two
♥  1 tsp hornsalt or baking soda

♥  possibly a little cream  

Filling:

♥  250g coconut oil
♥  1 egg
♥  250g icing sugar
♥  red food colouring
♥  rum essence

1  Whisk the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Stir in eggs one at a time.

Once refrigerated the dough will be hard

2  Mix in the flour, vanilla sugar, hornsalt into the butter mix.  If the dough is a tad too hard then you can add a drop or three of cream to loosen it up a bit.

3  Let the dough rest in the fridge OVERNIGHT.


4  The dough will now be very hard and can actually be sliced.  I tend to slice off a piece and then use that to roll out.  Roll out dough to a thin level, approx 3-4 mm.  Using a glass and not cookie cutters cut out circles and place on a lined baking tray.

5  Bake on 150 degree C for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown.  In my oven it was barely 10 minutes.

6  Cool on a wire rack

7  Meanwhile make the filling by melting the coconut oil and then allowing to cool slightly.

Sliced dough, ready for rolling

8  Whisk egg and icing sugar together and then add cooled coconut oil and a drop or two of red food colouring and rum essence if using.

9  Making sure the filling has stiffened a bit before loading up the biscuits, otherwise the filling will spill out.  Make sure to place filling in the center of the biscuit before placing the top biscuit and gentle pushing down to spread the filling.

10  Biscuits must be stored in an air tight container.

Using a glass to cut out the biscuit shapes

Ready for the oven

Place the filling in the center of the biscuit

All ready to eat

Adding ribbon can turn the biscuits into an great edible gift

♥  Let me know if you make them, enjoy!  ♥

Gløgg is Scandi Mulled wine

December 10th

Nothing cosier in the winter than a roaring log fire and a glass of something warm.  Depending on the

Christmas tree decorating with my
family and drinking mulled wine

time of day of course it could be a cup of tea, a milky coffee or my favourite Gløgg.  Gløgg is the Scandinavian version of mulled wine, it tends to be sweeter and therefore I think more warming. Always ask a Scandi what they have in their Gløgg as many add dashes of vodka to it too!

There are many versions of  Gløgg on the net and in the huge number of hygge books that have hit our shelves this past year, so instead of the very traditional I share with you three variations, the first is particularly delicious and encompasses all that I think is right about Gløgg.  Huge kudos to Signe for coming up with this one.  The second is a huge variation on a theme but may appeal to those not so keen on the heaviness of a warmed red wine and is in fact a white based Gløgg, it's good, but for me there is nothing that beats the red wine versions. The last recipe I share with you today is a quick version that can be drummed up straight after work for that much needed pick me up, I'm too tired for Christmas but need something to get me in the spirit drink, then this is it.  Created by Food Truck owner Rhonda from Sixes & Sevens, do give this one a go.

Cook the Perfect…Triple Cherry Gløgg 

recipe from the fabulous Norwegian born Signe Johansen as heard on Radio 4 Signe on Radio 4 

Triple Cherry Gløgg

Triple Cherry Gløgg

Serves 10 in heatproof glasses or cups

For the Spiced Sugar Syrup
100g golden caster sugar
10 cardamom pods, crushed
5 whole cloves
3 peppercorns
3 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1cm piece of fresh ginger
1 long strip of unwaxed clementine rind
(or citrus peel of your choice)

For the Cherries
150ml cherry cordial
150ml cherry liqueur such as Cherry Heering
100g dried sour cherries
75cl bottle of light red wine
such as Beaujolais

To Serve
2 organic clementines,
peeled and sliced into discs
100g blanched almonds

Cherries have a particular resonance. They remind me of summers spent at my grandparents’ fruit farm on the west coast of Norway. I can conjure up their intense flavour even on the darkest of midwinter days, and I enjoy nothing more than sharing that experience with friends and family with a glass of this Triple Cherry Gløgg—it’s dark, rich, sweet and sour all at the same time.

To make the spiced sugar syrup, heat the sugar in a small saucepan with 100ml water. Turn off the heat as soon as the sugar has dissolved. Add all the spices and the citrus peel, cover and allow to infuse overnight or for at least a few hours.

Do the same with the cherries (but without heating them). Place all the ingredients in a bowl and leave
covered overnight.

When you’re ready to serve the gløgg, place the syrup and cherries in a large pan and heat gently. You do not want to boil this under any circumstances. It should be just hot enough so there is a little steam coming off the liquid but nothing more. I like to leave it on a low heat like this for about 20 minutes so all the flavours infuse together. Place one or two clementine slices in each glass or cup along with a couple of almonds and then carefully ladle in some of the gløgg. Serve while warm.

Tip: It’s definitely worth making a large batch of spiced sugar syrup as it features in other recipes in this chapter, so double or triple the quantities for the syrup and keep what you don’t use for the gløgg in the fridge in a sealed, sterilized glass container for up to 3 weeks.

White mulled wine

from the fabulous website of Norwegian Paul: Sweet Paul

Photo by Reetta Pasanen 

Makes 6-8 servings

You will need:
zest of 1 lemon (without the white pith)
1” piece peeled ginger
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bottle white wine
1⁄2 cup apple juice
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup Calvados (optional)
nuts and raisins for serving

1. Put the lemon zest, ginger, spices, white wine, apple juice, and sugar into a pan.
2. Heat gently until steaming but not boiling.
3. Taste—add sugar if you prefer a sweeter drink.
4. Sieve the spices off and add the Calvados, if wanted, or alternatively you could use brandy or applejack.
5. Pour the drink into glasses. Serve with nuts (like almonds) and raisins.
6. 
   

[Text+recipes+food styling by Sanna Kekalainen]

Mid Week Mulled wine from DC Food Truck:  Sixes & Sevens

Mid week Gløgg

Boil 330 ml water and 4 tbsp of brown sugar      
Throw in whole cloves
Sprinkle black pepper
Sprinkle ground ginger
Sprinkle ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp all spice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Squeeze the juice of 2 clementines
Add 500 ml red wine
Strain through a tea strainer and serve in tiny Christmas cups and enjoy!

You can of course make the trek to Ikea and buy their ready made bottle of Gløgg and often I bring back my favourite ready mixed version from Norway, all that is needed is the addition of red wine and perhaps that Scandi dash of vodka, hic!

♥   Wishing you a warming Christmas time   ♥

Christmas Five on Friday

December 9th (second post of the day)

Every December I write a post a day to share my love of the festive season.  My Scandinavian heritage is largely to blame for my enthusiasm for this time of year and those of you who read this blog may remember that I began blogging originally just at Christmas time so that there was a record of our family traditions and all the recipes for my children to follow in years to come should they so wish, helping to keep the traditions alive.

Today is day 9 so I cannot share all posts but I will pick out 5 photos from five different blog posts so far this month in case you are interested...



Festive knitted wrist warmers

A fun and easy knit, free pattern in above link

Brunne Pinner Cookies

A gentle Christmas nutty flavour cookie,
recipe in above link

Kitchen pot holder

Knitted heart, knitted double so it can be used as a pot holder,
free pattern in above link

Norway's favourite Christmas cookie: Pepperkaker

A must make cookie in our Christmas house,
free recipe in above link

Advent cake

A great cake to eat in the run up to Christmas,
full of subtle Christmas flavours without
being over powering.  Keeps for well
over a week, free recipe in above link

Joining in with Amy in December to bring some festive posts, 

do pop over and see what others are sharing today

♥  Wishing you all a calm and happy 

run up towards the end of December  ♥

Pepperkaker Christmas Cookies 3 2016

December 9th

I always use heart cutters for pepperkake
but you can use any shape

I make no apologies for this recipe being posted every year.  Why? because it's the best and because it is the most traditional of all the Christmas cookie baking in Norway.  Get your ingredients ready and let's start baking...

This is the 3rd of 7 cookies i shall be sharing with you this month, the previous 2 in case you missed them are:

Goro Cookie 1

Brunne Pinner Cookie 2

Out this recipe comes year after year, we NEVER tire of it

NOTE 1:  It is really imperative to put the DOUGH MIXTURE into the fridge over night, therefore MAKE IT THE DAY BEFORE you need to bake the biscuits.

Any cookies at Christmas make a lovely gift

NOTE 2:  This mixture also freezes very well, so you could freeze half the dough if you so wished.  I never do, as the biscuits keep well in an air tight container and actually I tend to have to make a second or third batch during this Advent season.  They seem to be so popular that the children take them in tins to school.  My sister is known for her Secret Santa parties and each year there is a demand for these biscuits to make an appearance.  Last year she entered them for her works cookie competition, they did not win, what d they know, but we think they are a winner, give them a try and see what you think.

NOTE 3:  The dough mixture softens quickly once out of the fridge, it may seem hard to get out of the bowl, but this will soon change, so handle it as little as possible and put back into the fridge that which you are not immediately using.  Roll out to normal biscuit depth and cut with seasonal shapes.  I tend to stick with the traditional heart shape, this too is very Norwegian and all shop bought Pepperkake will be this shape.  We keep ours plain with no icing, but many now add white icing outlines to the outer edge of the cookies, less is more in this instance I think!


Method:

♥  Melt on a low heat, the syrup, sugar and butter.

♥  Allow to cool ever so slightly and then beat in the egg thoroughly.

Using grease proof paper to line the baking tray is a good idea

♥  Sift in the flour, baking powder and spice and mix well.

At this stage the dough is quite gloopy, I tend to leave it in the pan and then place it in the fridge overnight, but you can transfer to a smaller bowl if you so wished.

♥  The next day take out only a small amount of dough (see note 3) and roll out on a floured surface to about 3-4 mm thick and cut out shapes placing cookies on a grease proof lined baking tray.  this is important.

♥  Bake on 175 degrees for approximately 10 minutes, or as in my fast oven less, until just golden brown.

♥  Cool on a wire rack before either icing or placing in an air tight container.  These will last for 2-3 weeks.

All ready for Christmas

♥   Enjoy Norway's favourite Christmas cookie   ♥

Christmas bauble

December 8th

London bus bauble

My sister moved to the USA three years ago and this great book by Mille Masterton landed on my door mat last month.  The two became connected, why?  Inside among many quirky fun projects was a Christmas bauble of a London bus.  As I love Christmas so much and my sister is no longer in the UK, I thought this would be a great lift pre- Christmas gift for her.

Great book with some quirky fun crochet project 

The pattern instructions were clear and it was incredibly quick to hook up.  Two red bus pieces were made with htr and each of the windows, bus board name, radiator grille, and lights were made separately and then sewn on to the front of the bus.  Both bus pieces were then crocheted together with dc and gentle stuffed with a small amount of toy stuffing.  Wheel and wing mirrors were cleverly then made once the bus was complete. It could not have been simpler.

Crochet Christmas bauble, London style

Inside the same book there are other cute Christmas makes too, take a look...

Teeny stocking

Adorable mistletoe

Small Christmas puds

So here's hoping she will like it...

A gift for my sister who lives in the USA to remind her of  home

...and in the mean time, I spotted this London skyline cushion in the book too, 

think this could be my New Year project!

♥   If you are on the hunt for a new 

crochet book, add this to your Christmas wish list   ♥