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! 

From little acorns . . .

I have some great oak trees near me, which produced lots of acorns this autumn. I've seen that several people make charming felted acorns using the real "caps" but replacing the acorn with an elongated felt bead.  I discovered a fool-proof way of making felt beads in issue 7 of the wonderful Australian Felt Magazine. You put the wool into a small container, add water and soap, close it up and shake vigorously. Then remove the loose ball of felt that has formed, and roll between your palms under running water gently at first and applying more pressure until it's a tightly felted ball. Rinse, squeeze out excess water, and roll in one direction to elongate a bit for acorns before drying. I used a glue gun to attach them into the (cleaned) acorn caps. 

I wanted to give these as small gift to my special friend Dawn who likes all things autumnal. But what to put them in? A little felt pot of course! I followed this great tutorial from Annie and Lyn. I used yellow felt on the inside and green on the outside, with little wisps of silk to decorate.  

Here's the gift feeling at home among some other seasonal objects on my friend's table.