I made marmalade last week, my pets! I am VERY pleased with the way it turned out – sweet and bitter, just like marmalade ought to taste. I used fruit from our backyard trees, as well as a few oranges that a neighbor left at our door (which I suspect came from a tree in their backyard), plus two farmers market lemons. Making was easy enough, but took a little time (one day to soak the fruit, the time it took to carefully slice the soaked fruit, and then total cooking time). I used a recipe from one of the Mister’s French confectioner cookbooks*, but had to cook my batch for hours longer than the recipe suggested, as will happen when you combine four markedly different citrus fruits together in one pan. Hmm, yes: the next time I make another mixed citrus marmalade, I shall cook the citrus slices in order of skin thickness, and thusly produce a marmalade that both tastes and looks divine. Still and all, my regular afternoon snack of a toasted tortilla and a dollop nut butter has been much improved by the addition of a small spoonful of homemade marmalade, lemme tell you… Continue reading
We were very merry at the Houseproud homestead this Christmas and New Year, but all good things must come to an end, yes? The Christmas decos came down on Saturday and the new year / good luck decos were given pride-of-place instead. And with the excitement of the holidays over, there’s backlog of projects to which I must attend – some of which you might find interesting, but many of which you would not. I’ll share the more interesting projects with you anon, but here are a few Christmas me-mades to hold you over until then. I really must say, I made some cool stuff this Christmas. 
Hello, my pets. Are you ready for Thanksgiving, if Thanksgiving is a thing that you do? Is your homestead reasonably neat, your menu planned, and the turkey ordered? If the answer to that question is not so very much, then this post will be a perfect distraction for you. You’ll be able to breeze through it in minutes, be entertained by my unwillingness to swatch, and go back to stressing about whatever it is that is currently stressing you. 
It gives me great happiness to present to you: new curtains in the Houseproud kitchen. [Sound of trumpets] Isn’t a finished object a lovely thing, my pets? I have NO idea when I cut these out, but it was at least nine months ago. The curtains have languished in my to-be-completed pile since then, but I finally finished them last Wednesday. They’re cut from the most marvelous vintage fabric, scored at the Oakland Museum of California’s White Elephant Sale some years back. Ain’t they a vision? This fabric is soooooo kitschy and kitcheny that it makes me irrationally happy every time I walk into the room. I like a bright, cheerful kitchen, don’t you?
Here’s a post about making a sweet autumnal wreath using an old wreath form and some handmade paper flowers. All of the materials I used were from my stash – validating my propensity to hoard craft supplies. If you’d like to learn how I make these types of wreaths, let’s go! 
Hello, my pets – I’ve accomplished all sorts of things in the last week, including completing the final batches of summer preserving, and while I haven’t the strength to talk about that now, I will in the coming weeks. Instead, let’s chat this week about a little knitting project of which I am quite fond: knitted wristlettes. These lovely items are a perfect portable project: they are simple to work and are small enough to carry around easily. Once you get over the fiddly bit of starting them, they are easy to pick up and put down. I’ve knit them on trains, in cars, at cafes, while on conference calls, etc etc etc. 
As I mentioned, I was so pleased with the way the first charm came out that I made a second one in half the time. This time I used bias tape from Britex Fabric, also reinforced with cotton twill tape. Next time I’ll use an aromatic that has better staying power: the scent of camomile flowers fades away rather quickly.
Houseproud 