Now available on Etsy

Big news! Nightingale & Dolittle now has an Etsy shop and I'm taking my first steps into the ever-growing world of craft selling. I've been talking about doing this for ages, and seriously thinking about it for about 18 months since I've been self-employed, but I've now decided that it's time to stop talking and thinking about it and actually do something about it instead. I was quite nervous about putting my creations out there for public scrutiny, but so far the feedback has all been positive, fingers crossed it stays that way!

I'm concentrating on my home sewn items for now and have decided to work on the philosophy of creating simple pieces that are all beautifully embellished to add a touch of originality and fun. I only have a small range at the moment but I'm currently working on a few other designs that will hopefully be added in the not-to-distant future. You can find the shop here and you can also now find me on Facebook.

I'd also be happy to take commissions, so if you spot something that takes your fancy but you'd prefer it in a different colour or would like it to be personalised in some way, or if you have a completely different idea that you think I could make a reality, then please get in touch and I'll see what I can do!

Prize-winning cake!

This week's major achievement has most definitely been, rather unexpectedly, winning Best in Show at my WI Bake Off. We're not a very traditional WI (last month we were street dancing at our meeting) but some traditions, namely baking, are worth preserving so there was a huge array of cakes, bakes, biscuits and brownies on offer. I was fairy sure my offering would be overlooked because it didn't look particularly glamorous and didn't involve any chocolate, but it seems that being a bit different paid off on this occasion. Here's my winning creation...

It's a courgette and lemon cake from the Good Food website. I'd only made it once before but it went down really well that time and even better this time it seems! The only change I made from the recipe the second time around was that I creamed together the butter and sugar before adding the other ingredients at the start this time as the first time I made the cake it took forever to get the butter all mixed in - creaming the butter and sugar first seemed to work much better as far as I'm concerned.

I think the courgettes keep the cake light but moist, and there's quite a lot of lemon in there so it's almost refreshing compared to lots of cakes. And with all that courgette and lemon it must almost count as one of your five a day. Well, maybe not but never mind, it's still delicious. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed!

A cute little card

Here's a wedding card that I made today - it was inspired by a card that I saw in Oxfam Books & Music at the weekend. I can't remember the last time I bought a greetings card, but I often have a quick look at what's in the shops to get new ideas and this seemed like a good one to me so I thought I'd give it a go. The one in the shop had a lot more, smaller heart balloons and prettier thread, but overall I'm happy with how my simplified version turned out. See what you think....

Retro rocket rascals makeup bag

The other week I got some great new fabric, which I wrote about here. I said I was going to turn it into a makeup bag, which I have now done thanks to a great pattern from Flossie Teacakes. The pattern was really easy to follow thanks to lots of pictures and really clear instructions - I often get puzzled about something or other half way through a project the first time I'm following a particular pattern but that didn't happen this time. I'm really pleased with the finished result, and here it is...

It's not quite perfect due to some issues I had with the interfacing I was using, but they can easily be ironed out and I think I may be having to make some more of these for presents for people soon.

I've already got another project on the go which could be a bit of a challenge, we'll have to see how it goes....

Happy Easter!

I have mainly been celebrating a couple of days off over the Easter weekend by baking - it's been a tasty few days! I started off with these....

Roasted vegetable and ricotta rolls from Italian Home Baking by Gino D'Acampo. They were delicious, and would be really good on a picnic as you kind of end up with a whole meal in one roll. I haven't had this book long, but the recipes that I've tried have all been good so I'll probably be doing some more experimenting soon.

Once the rolls had been devoured, I then moved on to pudding for Sunday lunch - a 'Glam trifle slice' courtesy of Good Food magazine. It's essentially the elements of a traditional trifle but set in the form of a terrine so not really baking (apart from the sponge base), but still good fun and with very tasty results. It's an easy recipe, it just takes some time for all the layers to set but it's definitely worth the wait. Here's the final result...

It's meant to be topped with whipped cream, but I decided to be a bit different and use mini meringues...

Quite proud of them! I think they worked well, it was nice to have a bit of a different texture which you wouldn't have had if you used cream.

And the last baking project? Hot cross biscuits....

From 'Biscuit' by Miranda Gore Browne. A nice twist on the classic hot cross bun, and much quicker to make! And just in case anyone is worried that I haven't left the kitchen for the last few days, here are some pretty flowers that I've found on my baking-fuelled travels...