Wednesday 28 January 2015

Gone Knotty Again

Remember my French knot addiction (click here for a tutorial on French knots) ? Well, not much has changed since then and I am still totally addicted to it.

French knot tutorial
by MADE BY Y
I had made the half of the bib with the French knots on it a while back not knowing how to finish it until recently, then one day, I found this gorgeous red fabric that compliments it well in my ever-growing stash. Once I saw it, I knew just what to do and this is what I came up with.

French knot - Scotty dog

Almost every time I make a new design, I keep staring at it for a while and then walk off. After a while, I look at it again and see whether I am still happy with it. (I actually keep doing it for some time.) Every time I look at this design since I made it, I still LOVE it. I guess it is a good sign that it is ready to be shared with you as well, right? I find it to be unique, cute, stylish, fresh, elegantly colourful, and yet, still babyish. The yellow ribbon on the side adds a character to it too. Do you agree?

Unique boy bib by MADE BY Y








Friday 16 January 2015

DID YOU KNOW ...? (78)

The first graded sewing pattern was invented by a tailor named Ebeneezer Butterick in Sterling, Massachusets in1863.

The idea or the articulation of the need came from his wife, Ellen, who was the main person to sew their son's clothes at home. She told her husband, Ebeneezer, how much easier it would be to sew for her son if she had a pattern correctly sized for him and Ebeneezer came up with the concept of graded patterns as at the time, patterns came in one size only. He also was the first person to use tissue paper in pattern making too.

Friday 9 January 2015

RECIPE: Bite Sized Chocolate Coconut Balls

This is something that reminds of my childhood and my early days in the kitchen. It is something from the past for me and has a warm feel attached to it. As far as I can remember, this is one of the first and mostly tried recipes of mine since much younger. It is a recipe that has not failed me, not even for once. I am sure you can find several recipes around for this delicious treat but I can guarantee you that this is one of the easiest and most successful ones ever!

chocolate coconut ball recipe

Ingredients: 

250gr finely crushed arrowroot biscuits
250gr melted margarin or butter (I use butter)
3 tblsp shredded coconut
1 cup caster sugar
2-3 tblsp cocoa
2-3 tblsp finely chopped hazelnut or walnut (optional)

homemade dessert recipe
Method: 

Place butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and mix well. Add biscuits, cocoa and the nuts and keep mixing until it forms a dough that sticks together when squeezed. Make balls in a desired size using this mixture and then roll through coconut. Place the chocolate balls in the fridge at least for half an hour and serve when nice and cool.

bite sized coconut ball recipe

Enjoy!