August 2012 Calendar

It’s the end of July already – but at least the sun is shining now, so there’s no excuse not to get out and about to the weekend markets in Cardiff and pay a visit to Eira on her InnerCityPickle stall. Wherever you live, check out your nearest markets and buy from local traders – it’s the very best way to keep your local economy thriving and it’s great for the environment too.

Keeping it in the city, InnerCityPickle’s goodies can now be found at the Caesars Arms Farm Shop at Creigiau (CF15 9NN), so if you can’t make it to the markets, you needn’t miss out. There might be some delicious elderflower cordial left if you’re quick.

We mentioned last month that InnerCityPickle will soon be appearing at the St Mary Street Market in the city centre. This has been delayed a little because the next two markets have been cancelled because of the Olympics. However, Eira will be at Roath Farmers’ Market on August 4th and 18th, and her first St Mary Street Market should be Saturday 11th. Why not pop along, have a taste of her delicious jams and pickles, and say hi.

Details of forthcoming market appearances can be found here, and look out for a brand new InnerCityPickle blog for the autumn.  You can also visit the InnerCityPickle website or follow on Twitter for all the latest news.

The calendar has been made using photographs taken by Eira and Sean, in the Cardiff kitchen “as it happens”. If you’re lucky you might pick up a printed version on the stall!

To download August’s calendar page, just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a full sized version which you can download and print. It works at A4 and A5 so take your pick!  The September page will be available at the end of the month. If you don’t want to miss it, why not sign up to see new posts as soon as they appear.

July 2012 Calendar

As usual, Eira’s been very busy in her Cardiff kitchen making wonderful things for you to enjoy.  There’s caramelised red onion chutney, a new aubergine, pepper and tomato chutney, and tomato and celery chutney. She’s also just finished a one-off batch of ‘Mam’s Red Sauce’. If you’ve tasted her ‘Mam’s Brown Sauce’ you won’t want to miss that!

All these lovely wares can be picked up at Roath market, and as from July 14th, Eira will be at the new city centre markets on the Saturdays she’s not at Roath. If you’re not living in Cardiff, it’s definitely worth paying a visit. Eira tells me there’s also a very lime green coloured lime pickle (because she used only green chillis) available this month and she has topped up her supplies of spiced carrot and garlic chutney, all of which you can now wash down with her wonderful elderflower cordial.

Keep an eye on the Inner City Pickle website or follow on Twitter for all the latest details of market appearances and new lines.

The calendar has been made using photographs taken by Eira and Sean, in the Cardiff kitchen “as it happens”.

To download July’s calendar page, just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a full sized version which you can download and print. It works at A4 and A5 so take your pick!  The August page will be available at the end of the month. If you don’t want to miss it, why not sign up to see new posts as soon as they appear.

All sewn up

As if to remind me that I need to get a move on with my decorating (I’m going to make the spare room into a cat-free zone so I can make things in there), this May has had a bit of a sewing theme.

Earlier in the year I created a logo for Swinky Doo of County Kerry and this month I’ve been working on some leaflets to promote Karen’s beautiful handmade work.  She makes stunning personalised pictures and bunting for children, adults, babies, weddings – anything you like. She has also just launched her brand new website and I’ve been making banners for that too.

As with the logo, the leaflets and banners echo the style and the mood of the Swinky Doo brand. Karen says:

At Swinky Doo we love the idea of using up odds and ends of fabrics, old summer dresses, torn denim jeans and broken bead necklaces – transforming them into beautiful, unique and colourful gifts that will be treasured by their new owners.

Why not check her out. She ships to most places and you can be guaranteed a unique gift or keepsake. She’s on Facebook too.

Today I got some exciting news from fellow Southsea resident and maker of wonderful things, Georgina Giles.  Every month, Georgina picks the name of one of her subscribers out of a jar and the lucky person gets a present in the post. This month it was me! I am so looking forward to receiving these lovely hand stamped, fabric covered buttons.  Take a look at her blog – and why not subscribe? You might be next month’s winner.

I don’t know what I’ll do with them yet, but I’d better get on with sorting out that sewing room!

Sign up to this blog to hear about updates as soon as they’re posted.

 

Update: Georgina delivered the parcel to me today. So beautifully wrapped, and the buttons are gorgeous.

June 2012 Calendar

It’s already time for the June page of Inner City Pickle’s 2012 calendar which is free for you to download and print. It really will brighten up your kitchen, as would a few jars of Eira’s delicious wares.  This month she’s been working hard on some new Aubergine Chutney, and Dukkah (which she tells me is “ground roasted nuts, seeds and spices – nice when dipped in with bread and olive oil”). What I’m really keen to taste though is the new season Strawberry Sauce – it always looks so amazing. Sadly for me, Inner City Pickle is low carbon footprint, local produce for local people – if you’re in Cardiff!

If you are in the Welsh capital, however, you can find Eira and her Inner City Pickle stall at Roath Market three times in June – 2nd, 16th and 30th. No excuses – pop along and have a chat.

The calendar has been made using photographs taken by Eira and Sean, in the Cardiff kitchen “as it happens”.

To download June’s calendar page, just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a full sized version which you can download and print. It works at A4 and A5 so take your pick!  The July page will be available at the end of the month. If you don’t want to miss it, why not sign up to see new posts as soon as they appear.

May 2012 Calendar

Well I’m sure Eira hasn’t been out much with her “wally trolley” collecting jars this month, but I know she’s been filling them with more of her wonderful jams, pickles and preserves. You can stock up at Roath Market – this month the Inner City Pickle stall will be there on Saturday 5th and Saturday 19th. Pop along and say hello to Eira, and see what she has for tasters!

The calendar has been made using photographs taken by Eira and Sean, in the Cardiff kitchen “as it happens”.  Just look at the colour on that strawberry sauce! I keep seeing photos of it but I still haven’t had any.

To download May’s calendar page, just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a full sized version which you can download and print. It works at A4 and A5 so take your pick!  The June page will be available at the end of the month. If you don’t want to miss it, why not sign up to see new posts as soon as they appear.

Spring projects (part 2)

I’ve been at it again. After the successful chair and lantern painting of a couple of weekends ago, I’ve forged ahead with four more chairs, two more lanterns and a couple of mirrors too!

Today I headed out to a local charity shop in Southsea which sells furniture and lots of household things – The Ark on Albert Road. It’s utterly brilliant, and its profits go to The Stubbington Ark where we got our two lovely cats.  A few weeks back I’d spotted a large dressing table mirror going cheap. A little scratched but that didn’t matter – I wanted it for the garden.

It was quite heavy to carry because of its shape but I managed to get it back home in one piece and started by putting it in place to make sure it was going to look how I wanted it to. It illuminated a dark corner very well so I set to work and painted it with some exterior wood paint (I bought a few sample pots last summer) after a quick sand down. I’d already painted another, smaller (and rather badly scratched) mirror in the same lavender colour – that one is propped up on my garden table and featured briefly in my previous blog entry.

It was a nice warm afternoon so it was soon dry enough to put back in place. I’ll need to paint the back and give it another coat on the front but it will survive until Sunday afternoon. I like it.

My new garden mirror brightens up a dark corner

I’d already painted and covered another two chairs last weekend and, completely bitten by the bug, I grabbed my two mis-matched chairs to give them a new lease of life as well. The four matching chairs are in the colours of (from left to right) my daugher’s room, the kitchen, the living room and the bathroom.  The red chair is the same colour as the dining room and will get a cover to match the covers in there, and the green matches another room.

Finally, I’ve painted two more of the lanterns – also red and green. I gave them a little ‘extra’ with a quick spray of gold paint (I’ve bought nothing for this project except today’s mirror – all the paints I had in my ‘stash’ already).

I should point out that I haven’t done all this in one day! I haven’t gone completely mad.  I have had a lot of fun doing it, but I’m going to turn my attention to indoors for a little while now. I’ve been collecting garden ideas on Pinterest so I can add to it again later.  I’ll be thinking about herbs next.

All I need now is a party and some bums to put on the seats!

I’ll be posting more home and garden projects in due course. I have a few pieces of furniture I’d like to renovate (so far I’ve only read a book about it!), two rooms to decorate and a workspace to plan. Do let me know about your home projects – and if you’ve enjoyed this, why not sign up to hear about updates as soon as they’re posted.

 

 

Spring projects

It’s been such a long time since I posted regularly, but now that the spring is here I’ll be making a start on some of the many ideas I’ve got buzzing round in my head. Before I can get properly underway I need to sort the spare room as it’s the only cat-free zone in the house – then I can get out my fabrics and make, make, make!

I have been doing a few jobs though – a quick renovation of a chair to match my daughter’s room now that she has a desk to sit at, led to a second chair being kitted out to match our kitchen and dining room. The chairs will be for the garden eventually and I want them to reflect the rooms indoors – there are two more waiting to be done when I’ve located the right fabrics.

Last summer I bought some cheap metal lanterns. They were all different shapes and sizes, but a rather dull cream colour. I bought them with the intention of sprucing them up and we made a start on that this weekend. I’ll be using up more of the left over paint from decorating the house, and also some of the gazillion match-pots we bought to try out different colours. Many of these are similar to the colours we eventually chose, so again these garden adornments will reflect what’s inside the house – and what a cheap project! Lots of us have some leftover paint, either from decorating or from craft projects. They can be put to great use in giving something a new lease of life.

I’ve definitely got the bug again now, so I hope this weather keeps up so I can spend more time in the garden painting. I’ve also got some small pieces of furniture to renovate so, watch this space!

I’ve added a few mirrors to the garden too – they add a wonderful further dimension – and double the lights! I’d love to know what you’ve got planned for the spring.

Why not sign up to hear about updates as soon as they’re posted?

April 2012 Calendar

I’m late with this month’s Inner City Pickle calendar! I know some of you were lucky enough to get a pre-printed copy from Eira at the Made in Roath and Milkwood Gallery Spring Fiesta on Sunday, but here’s the digital version for you to download and print yourselves.

The calendar has been made using photographs taken by Eira and Sean, in the Cardiff kitchen “as it happens”.

To download April’s calendar page, just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a full sized version which you can download and print. It works at A4 and A5 so take your pick!  The May page will be available at the end of the month – I will remember!. If you don’t want to miss it, why not sign up to see new posts as soon as they appear.

March 2012 Calendar

March already and time for the third installment of the 2012 calendar for the lovely people at Inner City Pickle in Cardiff. The calendar has been made using photographs taken by Eira and her partner in the Cardiff kitchen “as it happens”.

Eira has been working on something new to tickle your tastebuds. ‘Mam’s Brown Sauce’ is the latest addition to her incredible range of locally produced goods – all made with locally sourced ingredients. Some of the new titles will only be available for a short while – for example Cathays Pear Jam was made with pears from … you guessed it, Cathays. The next batch could be from another tree in another area so grab it while you can.

To download March’s calendar page, just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a full sized version which you can download and print. It works at A4 and A5 so take your pick!  The April page will be available at the end of the month. If you don’t want to miss it, why not sign up to see new posts as soon as they appear.

February 2012 Calendar

Here is the second installment of the 2012 calendar for my good friends at Inner City Pickle in Cardiff which has been made using photographs taken by Eira and her partner in the Cardiff kitchen “as it happens”.

Eira will be at Roath Farmers Market on Saturday 4th February from 9.30 until 1.00.  This will be a one-off appearance so do pop along and see her. She’ll be selling all her  local seasonal products. Eira makes the best banana cake that you will ever taste, bara brith, Adamsdown artichoke relish, Seville curd, Cathays pear chutney, and the wonderful Mostarda di Frutta and Pumpkin marmalade. Plus more. Not to be missed.

To download February’s calendar page, just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a full sized version which you can download and print. It works at A4 and A5 so take your pick!  The March page will be available at the end of the month. If you don’t want to miss it, why not sign up to see new posts as soon as they appear.

And save me a jar of Seville curd!