Large and takes ages to move

Thought you might like to see Dartmoor in all it's snow bound glory.



Mew has a habit of finding great places to sleep away the Winter.
Here she is laying on my bed on the first quilt that I ever made.
Mew, is the most placid and friendly cat you will ever meet but if you've seen other pictures of her on Soggibottom blog than you'll remember she is also very LARGE.
To try and move her when she doesn't want to be moved is never an easy assignment.
To be honest...give in and leave her.......works best.

The quilt that I made all those years ago, still comes out every Winter, especially during the bad Winters.
I made the quilt on a machine. Pretty easy stuff, or so I thought.
Having never made one before I was sure it wouldn't take me long.... IT TOOK ME AGES.......
The quilt will never win any awards for being perfect, it doesn't matter, I love it.


This is what I stitched it on. My Nana's Singer sewing machine.
Days during school holidays of sitting at my Grandmother's side while she whirled away.
Curtains, cushions, skirts, blouses..and dresses of cotton print that were intended for me.

I do have a new machine in the black hole of Calcutta under the stairs called a cupboard.
But Nana's old machine still sews beautifully, has all the attachments and needles and a beautiful shuttle bobbin.
Shame on me for leaving it at the top of the stairs...
It needs a polish and some oil.
My old, working Singer sewing machine is faded and not so pristine as it was in my grandmothers time. I leave it out so I can reminisce occasionally.



Rather like this lovely old print Christmas wrapping paper.
I saw this and it instantly brought back memories of childhood and Christmas. Stockings with an orange and an apple in it. For some reason when I saw this paper I could almost smell Christmas.

I won this beautiful vintage Christmas paper a few days before December 25th. It has flown a few air miles from California to Devon. Complete and whole, not a tear or fold that shouldn't be there. Unlike most of the Christmas decorations this hasn't been put away. I have plans to use it during the Summer. A big thank you to Sheila from Faded But Desired Treasures for my win.

Sheila has a blog that makes you swoon for nostalgia....
visit by a clicking HERE you won't be able to keep away..

DID I MAKE THE SNOW MAN?


No........ I didn't.

I won't take the credit.
The children that made the snow fairy pass the cottage and are great admires of the Soggibottom Bear.
Here it is sitting on the railway bridge in the village..... always helps to get the full picture.
Keep warm.

SNOW FAIRY

We wondered what we would wake up to this morning.....ah...snow fairy....


The stream is there somewhere.



Like most of the U.K. we are snow watching.



Really picturesque.



Birds have been fed.
The neighbour's ginger cat is on his own side of the bridge.



The garden has gone to sleep.
From light snow fall this morning, now the snow is falling heavily.
Lots of snowball fights outside the cottage keeping us entertained.
I'm quite happy to watch from inside.....have fun everyone.
Most of all keep warm and safe.

Polar Bears as far south as Devon

The last bears of 2009.



The pink or should I call it the Port Wine creation/painted Amie and the Polar are both made from the same pattern.

Thought I would show you how "different" the look can be using slightly different materials.

Both bears are made from acrylic, one very long multi coloured material.
The other from soft white medium long dense material. One has all the safety features possible and the other I have made with traditional cotter pins and black glass eyes. Slight sculpture and shading to both faces.



Both are spoken for and are ready to move on.
One last thing to do before they go.

To make them truly Soggibottom Bears.
They will both sit in the cottage window for a few days.

The next bear ?
Back to mohair............

Amie Dreams.

When you have that hang dog or hang cat feeling after Christmas and the New Year.



Go and get some fresh air along the beach.


Make sure you dress up warmly so you feel pretty snug.
Then head straight for the shore line and stamp your feet as hard as you can to scare the seagulls.


After your walk make sure you bring as much of the beach sand on your feet with you inside.
Then snuggle up as close as you can to the fire and snore as loudly as possible..


Start of another glorious year on the beach.......

Port Wine Jelly if your feeling fuzzy

After all the festivities you might like the recipe for Port Wine Jelly.

I know this is the time for New Year Resolutions.
I never make a promise I can't keep, so I never ever make them, even to myself.


I do like to try and finish anything that has been hanging around for a while before the New Year starts.
I finished this guy yesterday. Only a few things left now. One is ongoing for next year, so that doesn't count.
The half finished quilt that has been hanging around in a cupboard for 6 years doesn't count either....so one thing left to finish, and I'm working on that, so you should see that soon.

This guy is made from acrylic that I found ages ago in the Summer in a shop in Totnes....
Acrylic isn't my favorite material to work with, so I suppose he didn't turn out that badly.
He already has a home. He's not going far. An hours drive away to Somerset.

As he's intended for someone who is slightly younger than the age group I normally make bears for. He is made with safety eye's and safety joints....

Your waiting for the Port Wine Jelly recipe aren't you?

So here it is, you still have time to make it for New Year. Unlike the bear this recipe isn't intended for children. You have been warned !

You need..

1 0z of powdered gelatine
3 fl.0s cold water
6 oz. caster sugar
4 cloves
Blade of mace...I haven't got a blade...shove a couple of pinches in it.
I stick of cinnamon
Grated rind and juice of 1 Lemon
1/2 pint of water and 1/2 a pint of port wine.

Sprinkle the gelatine over the 3 fl.oz. cold water in a small bowl or cup.
After about 5 minutes when it's spongy stand the bowl in hot (not boiling) water until the gelatine has melted and the mixture is clear.
Meanwhile, place the sugar, spices, lemon rind and juice in a pan with the 1/2 pint of water and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
Bring to the boil then remove from the heat.
Cool slightly, then whisk in the dissolved gelatine and cool for 20 minutes, whisking from time to time.
Strain the spices and zest from the syrup in the pan and then stir in the port wine.
Pour into a wetted 1 1/2 pint mould or into stemmed glasses and chill until set...

To all those we have yet to wish a Happy New Year.

Have a Happy, Safe and Warm New Year

from sleepy Soggibottom Cottage............

The bear in the window

I always love happy endings............

The give a way Soggibottom bear made it to Loir in time for Christmas..


I make better bears than cards !

Soggibottom is going to close down for a few days....

but then I always say that!

The Soggibottom Bear has had his day off and now is back on duty in the window seat..

He always has his fob watch at this time of year.......to count the minutes down...to a New Year.

He had a ribbon for his present from Wendy Carole Stuff.... shown here by his watch.

If you don't hear from me over the next few days it doesn't mean I am not around.

"Resting", is the word I am looking for.

We wish you a very Happy New Year.... x x x

Thank you for all the comments Amie Soto Blossom followers have made during the year and how lucky to have made such great friends and emailed such smiley people during the year.

Lucky Me x x x x x x x

I need to learn New languages.......I need google translate..................

Have a really great year..

Only another 364 shopping Days till next Christmas

What did she get from Santa ?

She ate it all ...................