Favourite HM Christmas presents?

Hardup_Hester

I don't have an apron pattern, if I do need a free pattern i use http://www.wildginger.com/
I made jeans bag before & they have always been very popular.
As for scarves, I cast on 20 to 24 stitches & knit till it's long enough & then cast off. If you use eyelash wool, it hides all the mistakes, lol.
Hester

mandy_moo_1

mossstar wrote: »

I make sweeties, lots of sweeties LOL

Favs are toffees and Whiskey Fudge....mmmmmmmmmmmm

All prettily arranged in (charity shop) containers with nice tissue paper and ribbons etc.

please could you post how you make the toffees and fudge, cos the last time i made fudge it just WOULD NOT set, and it put me off! but i'd love to have another go,to make it as xmas pressies!

how far in advance did you make it?

scooterwife

i've done a similar sort of thing to Grimelda with christmas cakes, but for single relatives I cut a large rectangle cake into little cakes and then DD's iced and decorated them (using fondant icing - they made little snowmen with scarves and orangey carrot noses to go on top)- Grandmas love these!
then either wrap in cellophane or make home made boxes for kids to decorate and pop cake in at last minute.

Spendaholic_Chick

Hardup_Hester wrote: »

I make Scarves, aprons, socks, lavender/rice heat bags & shopping bags

I'd love to know how to make the lavender/rice heat bags, if you don't mind telling?

mossstar

mandy_moo_1 wrote: »

please could you post how you make the toffees and fudge, cos the last time i made fudge it just WOULD NOT set, and it put me off! but i'd love to have another go,to make it as xmas pressies!

how far in advance did you make it?

There's a definite art/science to fudge making - i now make fudge to sell here in a shop, so i make it over and over and over - but when I first started I had to do a few batches, and learn the reasons WHY my fudge was 'gritty' and not smooth, and why sometimes it didn't set... so here is how I do it now, step by step:

I use cream, milk, brown sugar, caster sugar and whiskey (!). (i don't have the recipe with me, but i'll post it later when I get home).

First I mix the liquid (cream and milk) with the sugar and stir it all together until it's well mixed, THEN i turn the heat on, put the thermometer in the pan and leave it alone till it reaches 'soft ball stage' or 115 degrees on my thermometer.

As it boils/heats I use a pastry brush moistened with water to gently wash down the sides of the pan so that no big sugar crystals remain on the sides of the pan - it only takes one crystal to remain big to turn the how batch 'crunchy' and not smooth.

Read this site: http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/recipe-fudge.html and make sure to watch the wee video for what is 'soft ball stage' here http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar-stages.html#softball

Then I just turn the heat off and leave the whole thing till the thermometer is nearly back to nothing (till the fudge has quite a skin on it) - this can take half an hour or so - quite a long time!.

Then (and only then!) you get your spoon out and beat the fudge until it turns from glossy to sort of dull and starts to set - you'll see it happen. This is the bit that traditionally is done on a marble slab. Then I just pour it out and it sets. It keeps for around a fortnight? or so? yep, i make it in the few weeks before christmas.

The fudge is AMAZING - it's so smooth and just melts in your mouth. Plus I'm a big fan of whiskey in just about anything - ha ha ha

I'll post the recipe later.

x

Hardup_Hester

Lavender rice heat bags

I make some squareish, & some rectangular, I make an inner bag of cotton or calico as some synthetic fabrics smell funny when heated, calico is cheap, or I buy old white cotton pillowcases or sheets from charity shops, sew round 3& half sides, turn inside out part fill with any cheap dried rice & a few lavender flowers, sew up the gap neatly, put a few drops of lavender oil on the bag. I then make an outer bag of something pretty or appropriate to the recipient. I make the outer bag with an opening so it can be removed for washing, DON't WASH THE FILLED INNER BAG UNLESS YOU WANT A BAG OF RICE PUDDING!!!
Put the filled bag in the outer bag, I usually them put it in a plastic bag to retain the smell of lavender as long as poss.
HTH
Hester

MrsTinks

Some great ideas there... Man I SO need a sewing machine to complete all the projects I want to make

scuzz

Last year I made my friend some flavoured sugar. I did two - one vanilla and one rosemary (from the garden)

I got some posh jars from my local farm store and hand wrote the labels.

Other than that, I make sweets for her parents

I used to do salt dough decorations.

When I was little, I used to be given a lot of craft things - sequin pictures etc, and used to do them and give them back to my parents completed as a gift at Christmas with a special message stuck to the back of it for them

the_optimist

scuzz wrote: »

Last year I made my friend some flavoured sugar. I did two - one vanilla and one rosemary (from the garden)

That sound interesting? How did you do that and, more importantly, what would people do with it afterwards? I've got no idea why or where I would use rosemary flavoured sugar - but I'd love to know...

scuzz

You just put the sugar in the jar with the rosemary, or if using a vanilla pod, slice it open to allow more of the flavour to infuse. Just leave them for a week or so, but the longer it's allowed to infuse, obviously the better the taste

People use them as a rub on meats before cooking, or to dust cakes.

Rosemary goes very nicely with chocolate as a box of posh chocs once taught me!