It’s become a tradition now - for the last 8 years a lovely friend and I have made our Christmas Puddings together.  Usually we do it sometime in November but this year today is the day!  We make them using an easy, basic recipe from the Weekly Times 1964.  And it’s a tradition that has stood the test of many things - babies, living overseas and chemo but so far we haven’t missed a year! So here’s to many more puddings.

The recipe is below - we think it’s really yummy (even if half of my family won’t eat it!)

CHRISTMAS PUDDING (Weekly Times 1964)

• 250g butter
• 250g light brown sugar
• 5 eggs
• 185g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 375g raisins
• 250g sultanas
• 185g currants
• 60g dates (chopped)
• 60g almonds
• 185g soft bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons brandy

Cream butter and sugar with a wooden spoon (note: we use an electric hand mixer but I’m guessing they didn’t have those in 1964)  Add eggs one at a time.  Add 1/2 sifted flour/spice/bicarb soda, then 1/2 fruit mix, then 1/2 flour/soda/spice and then 1/2 fruit mix.  Add brandy and bread crumbs.  Boil cloth for 20 minutes.  Use tongs to squeeze out excess water.  Thinly flour cloth before adding pudding mix. Tie up leaving loop to hang later and enough room to expand.  Add slowly to boiling water.  Top up with water as needed (careful not to add directly onto pudding).  Steadily boil for 5 hours.  Hang to cool and then place in fridge. (We attach ours to a wooden spoon that sits across the saucepan so that pudding hangs in water and dosen’t touch the bottom of pan).

Boil for 1 hour to serve hot.  Serve with brandy butter, cream and custard.

Hard to believe that it’s Sunday again already!  There’s not many posts happening in between Sunday Stash ones at the moment - but there’s lots happening in ‘real’ life!  Four nights of gymnastic displays, Grandparents Day at school along with school swimming each day means some tired girls as well!  We did go around looking at Christmas Lights on Friday night until 10.30pm which did not help at all!  It was fun though.  One amazing place worth a look is 13 Narracan Street, Vermont South, if you are in the area.  And Saturday morning I had a very yummy High Tea with a gorgeous group of mums at this place - definately recommended!  Unfortunately I forgot my camera but if I get hold of any of the photos taken I will post them just to show how lovely it is!

Now to the stash………..

A cute Kokka fabric with matryoshka dolls - from one of the road trips.

PS.  Did I mention that I was given an Amitie voucher as ‘thanks’ for coaching Ella’s netball team???  So sometime soon I will be able to add more to the stash………..

Christmas cooking started at our house today……..a bit later in the year than usual!

A new recipe from here that looks really yummy………..I hope the music teachers and gymnastic coaches think so!

These are the cards we made for craft for Advent Workshops at church last Friday - I had everything cut out and ready to go as the age group was prep to grade 3 so all the children had to do was stick the pieces together, stamp a message inside and write on the cards.  They did a great job and Mum and Dads should get a nice surprise on Christmas Day!

Another couple from our most recent road trip, these fabrics are from the Charisma range by Chez Moi - it’s been around for ages but I haven’t had any until now……  Plans are to make an apron out of these lovely fabrics.

If anyone wants to join in Sunday Stash you can do it here.

It’s not quite as good as having Amy come and visit you in your shop but there’s some pics of An Evening with Amy Butler over here and if you scroll half way down and look on the right hand side that’s a photo of me having a chat with Amy whilst she signed a card for me - it reads ‘Especially for my friends at Sewjourn!  I want you to Relax……Create and ENJOY!  Amy Butler’.  You can imagine how excited I was!!  The plan is to frame it - haven’t decided whether to use her fabrics or scrapbooking paper yet but it will be hanging in the studio ready for all the guests next year to see.  There’s a few other crafty bits in progress that will be there for next year too.  We’ve had lots of enquiries and quite a few bookings already for next year so if you are planning a ‘Sewjourn’ make sure you work out your dates and let me know soon!

Lots of excitement, carols playing, laughing and 3 girls all jostling for the ‘best’ spot to hang their decorations on the tree………………………

It looks really good though and makes it seem more like Christmas……..we’ve had such a busy year I am struggling to believe that it is already December.  (One good thing about the new month is that our internet is faster again!)

And this is the new star I bought from Freedom last week to sit on the top of the tree.

I can’t believe it’s Sunday again!  This week has just flown - but I have worked about 30 hours this week in between  a School Dinner, Work Party, 40th birthday, Music Concert, organising the craft for a Christmas program at church, having good friends who now live about 4 hours away stay for the night and spending a morning in the city with a lovely friend who is back in Australia from Germany and meeting her gorgeous baby!  (But I did manage to squeeze in that fun relaxing day visiting some patchwork shops).  And that’s where I picked up today’s Sunday Stash.  These two fabrics are from a gorgeous range that Julie has designed herself.  Her quilt made from them is on the front cover of the current issue of Quilters Companion.

I was thinking of some cushions for the back bedroom at Sewjourn - will match the yet to be made quilts for the beds and the small quilt hanging on the wall.

Happy to be posting Sunday Stash on the correct day this week - for a list of other players head over here - thanks Tamara for hosting.

The start of December tomorrow signals the start of getting ready to celebrate Christmas at our house - decorations, cooking, cards, gifts and (hopefully) taking the time to reflect on what Christmas means to us.  Our decorations will go up over the next few days so I plan on sharing a few of the special ones with you……would love to see what special decorations anyone else has to share.

……..and they just seem to get better!  Accompanied by lots of fun, chatter and laughing we set off again today, our aim to visit some lovely patchwork shops and spread the word about Sewjourn!  First stop was Patchwork Passion in Cranbourne - we even arrived before the shop was open but the lovely owner let us in.  Then we headed to Craft Quarters at Koo Wee Rup.  Here we also discovered the gorgeous Something Shabby Something Chic which was a treasure trove of goodies - we were well behaved though with only one little jug coming home with us.  (Note to self:  need to go back here one day soon!) 

And last but certainly not least was the always divine Quilters Barn at Loch.  What a great way to spend a day…..and have a few more things to show in Sunday Stash!

A big night at our house.  4pm………….

5 pm………

HINT:

She’s waited a very long time to have her ears pierced and is VERY excited!