Poinsettia Christmas Wreath

I wanted to make a large Christmas wreath for our front door. I had a twisted twig circle which I have used as a base in previous years to wire fresh holly to, lacerating my fingers in the process. I gave it a spray of sparkly varnish. 

I found a great and easy tutorial from Ruth at Permutations in Fiber . Using green and red merino, and some wisps of silk, that worked very well. I used metallic red thread on the red petals (bracts?).   I had no yellow beads, so I needle felted a splodge of yellow in the centres, and added silver beads which gives it a zing. 

I glue-gunned them onto the twig base, and then gave the flowers a spray with waterproofing protector, as they will be outside. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Slow sloe gin

The edge of our garden is a wild hedge row, and this year there are lots of sloes on the blackthorn bushes. And there is really only one thing to do with sloes, as they are toe-curlingly bitter in their raw state. 

Apparently a superstition says the berries must be pricked with a silver needle before use. Well I used a wooden cocktail stick! 

Here they are with the addition of sugar and gin, in sterilised jars. The recipe I used calls for 450gm sloes, 225gm caster sugar, and 1ltr of gin. 

We should shake the bottles every couple of days for a fortnight, then every week. By Christmas it should be ready, and we can strain the liquid through muslin into bottles. The longer you keep it the better it gets. 

I'll post a picture of the finished product! 

Advent

I spotted this delightful knitted nativity in a bakery shop window on Sunday in Monschau, which is just near the German Belgian border. 

It had snowed, and the Christmas market was enchanting.