Monday 21 May 2012

Time for Afternoon tea and a Giveaway

A weekend in London is the perfect time to savour the delights of afternoon tea, so when my husband and sons organised a sporting weekend for themselves, it wasn't difficult to work out where the females of the family would go! The opportunity for a peek inside the newly renovated St Pancras Renaissance Hotel whilst taking tea was also just too good to miss. So whilst the men donned their rugby shirts and headed off to Twickenham the ladies donned their gladrags and made their way to the more rarefied environment of St Pancras!

As well as beautifully cut sandwiches and scones with jam and cream we had 9 different, dainty cakes to consume. It was a challenge but one we all rose to! Sometimes life is just tough :)

A trip to London wouldn't be complete without a visit to the fabric department of Liberty, and thanks to Needles and Lemons guide to fabric shops in London I was also able to sigh over the fabrics in the many fabric shops on Berwick Street nearby.


How about these to brighten up your day?

Or this for inspiration?


Speaking of inspiration, the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day at the end of last year was so inspiring that I resolved when I started blogging that I would take part in the next Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, if I could. I am, therefore, delighted to be hosting my first ever Giveaway as part of this year's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. Prior to starting this blog and being introduced to the joys of quilting I was an obsessive bag maker. I started off making bags for the bridesmaids at my son's wedding and never really stopped. So, in an effort to introduce a fellow blogger to the delights of bag making I have put together the following Giveaway Bag Pack for my first ever Giveaway.


The Giveaway Bag pack includes;

1    Party Purse pattern from Nicole Mallelieu Designs (website)
1    FQ Cream/Blue swirl fabric
2/3yd Blue/Red Flower Zippity doo dah fabric by Sandy Gervais
1     Invisible Sew-in Magnetic Snap
1     Magnetic Snap set
1pr  Snap Hooks
1    Loop Handle Purse Frame
2     1" D rings
4      1.5" Gunmetal D rings

There are certainly enough supplies there to get anyone started on their first bag, but I must warn you you may well end up hooked!


To win the Giveaway Bag Pack all you need do is tell me which cakes you would like to have on your Afternoon Tea plate.

International entries are, of course, most welcome! The Giveaway will close at 12.00 GMT on Saturday May 26th, when the winning entry will be randomly drawn. If you are a no-reply blogger please remember to leave your email address in the comment otherwise I will be unable to contact you if you win!

For new visitors to my blog I hope you enjoy your visit and I shall look forward to seeing you again some time soon!

P.S. Don't forget that Beth at Plum & June is hosting the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop , which is for bloggers who have started blogging in 2011/12. It kicks off tomorrow, Tuesday 22nd May with Kelsey Sews & Billy Button Designs! I shall look forward to meeting you there.

151 comments:

  1. Next time I go to London think I will have to trawl the fabric shops too!

    I would love carrot and walnut cake with cream cheese frosting on my afternoon tea :)

    Hannah

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  2. I love a browny or cappucino cupcake! What a great give away, like to give that a change too! Thanks for organizing! Kind regards, Conny

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  3. Oh......tea with lemon chiffon and gingerbread cakes would be delightful, don't you think?

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  4. Carrot cake with lots of frosting and raisins inside sounds delicious! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  5. Vanila cookies! I'd love anything vanila to be honest... fetachan@gmail.com

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  6. I'd go with cream tea. Missing it dearly...

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  7. Chocolate eclairs would go down very nicely thankyou! That is a fantastic giveaway and I'm very pleased to find your blog.
    Judith.
    judithlynes(at)btinternet(dot)com

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  8. Lemon drizzle cake, with earl grey tea mmmmm! Lovely giveaway.

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  9. What a thoughtful giveaway, all of the goods to start a new obsession! So very cool :)

    Mmmm my tea plate needs to have scones with devon cream, and shortbread, and some fruit tarts. And something lemony. I'm getting awfully hungry... :)

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  10. What a fab giveaway! I'm not sure that this is exactly 'afternoon tea' but I love pecan and maple syrup danish pastries!

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  11. I've never had an afternoon tea, so anything would be welcome on my plate :) Thanks for the giveaway!

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  12. anything chocolate would be good for me :)

    Desi
    weeshareblog@gmail.com

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  13. A local bakery has a pistachio rose water cake I love!

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  14. I know how good Nicole Mallelieu patterns are!!! I have a few, but not this one. Thanks for the chance to win such a great giveaway, Fiona!!!

    Hmm... 9 little cakes. Could they all have chocolate in them???
    I hope you win something during the week...

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  15. Great giveaway! I love making bags, they are so addictive.
    I would love anything with chocolate too! Mmmmm
    Thanks!

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  16. I don't drink tea...does that exclude me from the draw?

    rebekahricker (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  17. Anything with chocolate in it.

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  18. Lemon cream filled cakes or cinnamon apple coffee cake!

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  19. I am a classic scones girl when it comes to tea...but I can do cake if I must :)

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  20. Hello from Minnesota! Lemon or chocolate never let me down...nor tea for that matter. If I made it, I'd go with angel food and strawberries; it's fancy and easy.

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  21. I've never had a proper tea time let a lone with a treat. :(
    I love scones though, lovely amazing things they are!

    And getting hooked on making your own bags is bad how? ;)

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  22. I have been wanting to make bags and your giveaway has everything needed. A great gift to get anyone started. Love butter tarts and brownies

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  23. I have been wanting to make bags all this year, but it's really hard to get good quality hardware in NZ, so this is perfect! I love cheesecake of any type, yuummm. Thanks for the chance to win!

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  24. Wow - what a great giveaway! I've finally started making totes and bags without hardware but have wanted to step it up.

    I no longer eat anything with sugar (ugh, I know) but a really good brownie or red velvet cake would be my choice. Or cheesecake. Sigh.

    lwghosts atyahoo dot com

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  25. A good scone with clotted cream & jam would do it for me. And maybe you could force a brownie on me.

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  26. How about almond cake or strawberry or blackberry scones? Maybe some lemon cookies? If it's chocolate I would eat it too. :)

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  27. Coffee cake.... mmm now I'm craving some!

    Thanks for the giveaway! Would love to get into bag-making!

    melissajpalmer at yahoo dot com

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  28. Scone with cream first then raspberry jam ( preferably bonne maman), not that I'm fussy or anything!

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  29. Well for afternoon tea it just has to be scones.

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  30. Definitely has to be scones. With cream.

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  31. Wonderful giveaway!
    I've tried lamington cakes here in Australia and now hooked to them :)

    Best wishes,
    Tatyana

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  32. Home made Carrot or banana cake.

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  33. My daughter would say yellow cake (victoria sponge) and brown cake (chocolate) oh and you've got to have scones don't you?!

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  34. Great giveaway!!! I think I would like something lemon or cinnamon flavored! I've only ever had southern iced tea though, so I am not sure if that would go well with a proper tea or not!

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  35. carrot cakes...yum! I want to go to London so bad...some day!

    ykatrina at hotmail dot com

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  36. Cherry bakewell, Victoria sponge (with jam & butter icing). Getting hungry now...

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  37. Red Velvet goodness for me, please! :-) jinglesells at gmail dot com

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  38. cheesecake all the way!

    bbbmonce(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  39. carrot cake so i can pretend i am eating veg and being healthy

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  40. Hmm, carrot cake for me please :o)

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  41. I am having a big time craving for gooey chocolate brownies.
    kirkwood0419(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  42. As long as it's chocolate it will be good

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  43. I love carrot cake....or something spicy or with cinnamon....

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  44. I would have to just have tea and no sadly no cake.

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  45. Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese frosting and Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting. Well maybe just a bowl of cream cheese frosting and a big cup of tea. Thanks for the chance to win.

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  46. Lovely giveaway. Bake well tart, coffee and walnut and millionaires shortbread and the my diet would be lost.

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  47. Fun giveaway. I would love to win and be able to make my first bag. A brownie with caramel and walnuts suits me fine. Thanks for the chance to win your giveaway.

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  48. I love mini Victorian Sponge with cream and jam - yummmmy!!! This is a great kit to win - I haven't made or used one of these so would love to give it a go!!!

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  49. Has to be homemade scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam, heaven!

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  50. I think I'd enjoy cranberry scones!

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  51. Lemon cake! I am already addicted to making bags so this would just feed that! Great giveaway!

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  52. Oh, this looks like a fun gift. I would enjoy any cake with chocolate!

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  53. I would like to have a piece of my After Eight cake - just love it :) Thanks for the chance to join in

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  54. With my tea I like to have little vanilla cakes with jam in them like petit fours.

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  55. hmmm..i love cranberry orange muffins/bread :) raineoc@yahoo.com

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  56. Hmmm, first I would have to have time for tea but I think Cranberry Scones would be great!

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  57. Since I am a stereotypical American, I would probably want a slab of chocolate cake on my plate - ha ha!!

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  58. My mouth is still watering over the scones and jam!!! I would love to feast on a cream cake with a fruit filling after the scones. Please add the clotted cream for my scones too.

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  59. Which cakes? Umm.... All of them!!

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  60. My neighbor girls put on a tea that is divine. They have mastered the fine art of high tea.
    I make a cream wafer cookie that is a sandwich cookie. A delicate flour & butter dough is rolled out paper thin, pricked with a fork and cut with 1" - 1.5" round cutters (or I use my smallest heart or tiniest airplane cutters). These are baked where they poof up. The filling is a typical butter cream frosting. Sandwich a tiny dollup of frosting between the wafers and I serve them at most get togethers. Not too sweet, they melt in your mouth.
    Thanks for the giveaway. I am still heavily into bag making.

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  61. Something strawberry cheesecake-ish sounds wonderful! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  62. I'll have something lemony, please!

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  63. Anything chocolate works for me :-)

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  64. I love eclairs or petit fours. Chocolate anything also! I have never made a bag with a frame & would love to try. Thanks for a fun giveaway prize!

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  65. I am in love with scones and almond poppyseed cake! I think either would be lovely with tea! Thanks for your giveaway!

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  66. Ooh I love making bags, awesome giveaway!
    Cheesecake. Every time.

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  67. jeannie cake here in chicago, il. Eat with anything.

    wcharp6739(At)att(dot)net

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  68. Banana Nut with cream cheese.

    Thanks for the chance
    shel704 at aol dot com

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  69. I'd love scones and jam.

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  70. Your guys got to watch the rugby final last weekend?? I'm so jealous! but at least I'm going to see Ireland play the Barbarians next week!
    On my tea plate I would have scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream!

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  71. I'm rather fond of a nice carrot or banana cake :)

    I'm glad to have found a new blog to follow too!

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  72. My favourite it a lemon citrus tart! Mmmm, Yum! Thanks for the chance to win the bag goodies. I was planning to try making some bags for Christmas pressies this year!

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  73. oooh I love Tea. I think some kind of cheesecake would be delicious. And thanks for sharing in the giveaway day.

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  74. OH, I think a lemon chiffon would be stunning!

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  75. You made me miss home wish i was there for the olympics and the jubilee I would kill for a cream tea

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  76. chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!
    sntbosch(at)msn(dot)com

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  77. Any kind of cake that is gluten free! Thanks for the chance to win!

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  78. I've never had a proper afternoon tea but I think I would want something like a scone maybe. this is an awesome giveaway. Thank you.

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  79. OK then, carrot cake, chocolate cake, banana and walnut cake... chocolate eclairs, millefeuille, vanilla slice... need I go on??

    P.s., did you receive your parcel from me yet?

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  80. Homemade applestrudel with cream - yumm!
    Thank you for this lovely giveaway.

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  81. I had my first proper afternoon tea in London earlier this year, it was wonderful! I think my favourite afternoon tea cake is a French macaron.

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  82. My preference is for strawberry shortcake, especially in early spring with fresh strawberries.mmm, mmm , mmm

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  83. Oh - I love cake in general, so just about any cake is going to make me happy, but just for fun let's say a good Carrot Cake.

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  84. scones with cream, my mums makes the best scones in the world

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  85. an assortment of cheesecakes. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  86. A nice lemon cake!

    Such a great giveaway; thanks for the opportunity!

    handmadebytracie (at)gmail(dot)com

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  87. I am not a tea drinker so will have a diet coke and some strawberry cheesecake.

    http://richardquilts.blogspot.com

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  88. Some kind of chocolate cake! Or a cream tea, scones, jam and clotted cream, yum :)

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  89. Scones... or Leith's chocolate cake- Leith's make the BEST cake ever

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  90. • • • Fresh and warm from the oven croissants.

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  91. Strawberries and crime cake.

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  92. Mmm, I liked when I had tea with scones and cream stuffies! Thanks for the chance to win! :)

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  93. I'd definitely have the traditional scones with jam and cream on my afternoon tea plate - reminds me so much of the proper afternoon teas we enjoyed with my grandmother when she was still with us. Thanks so much for the chance to win, love your London pics!

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  94. Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

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  95. i love italian cream cake. it was a layer in my wedding cake actually with a layer of hazelnut cheesecake tucked in as the middle layer. OMGosh delish!

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  96. Any cake with chocolate or fruit would work for me.

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  97. nice and toasty biscuits:)
    andri_chama(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  98. Not sure they count but I loved my Great Aunts Lemon Curd tarts and Marmalade Tarts. They were so good and I think they now form part of my comfort food list.

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  99. Carrot cake is a favorite of mine. Tea and cakes sound delightful. i'd love to be included in your giveaway.

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  100. I would prefer some fruit with tea! I would end up eating way to much cake lol!

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  101. A scone and jam? That sounds good!

    Jennifer
    jennifereladd at yahoo dot com

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  102. Cream scones and strawberry jam..yum!

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  103. Do cream puffs count? :)
    peachstateme (at) hotmail (dot) com

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  104. carrot cake for me!
    Thanks for the great giveaway!

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  105. A nice, buttery shortbread!

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  106. I think mint chocolate cake would be lovely!
    beth(dot)sebastian(at)gmail(dot)com

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  107. I would have fruit scones and fresh cream eclairs

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  108. red wine chochoalte nut cake ... with some whipped cream.

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  109. Cinnamon coffee cake, or scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

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  110. I would have a fresh strawberry scone!

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  111. I want chestnut cake! It's impossible to find in the US.

    winterwrens at gmail dot com

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  112. Thank you for the giveaway! I have tried a couple basic purses because I'm too nervous to spring for parts, they don't turn out so wonderfully ;) I'd always want a lemon tart on my plate no matter what time of day!

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  113. I like chocolate cake. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  114. Ooh cakes...lemon, and chocolate raspberry, and lime. And I'd accept coconut too. hehe :)

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  115. I have never had afternoon tea but I love choclate cakes and tea... Also love your wonderful giveaway. Thank you for the chance to win.

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  116. A chocolate cake with fresh strawberries.

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  117. I'd like all the cakes on my afternoon tea cart! Recently saw a recipe for an arnold palmer cake that was lemon and tea and everything fantastic in a cake, sounds perfect for an afternoon tea!

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  118. A scone with lemon curd and clotted cream please.

    majorasue(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  119. I'll have my tea with a little Louisiana flair and some king cake ;-)

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  120. Lemon Curd Cup Cakes - I have recently discovered an amazing gluten free version which I bake when I have morning tea with a dear new sewing mummy friend when we have play dates. She is Gluten intolerant and they were an experiment for me that worked out very well. I even serve them to my non gluten free friends they are so good.

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  121. Anything with chocolate and cherries will make me happy. I'd even be happy with Japanese cakes filled with sweet bean paste, since I'm in Japan, and they are non-fat. Hey, I'm dieting again!

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  122. I'd love to have chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese icing on my plate :)

    kate1485 at hotmail.com

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  123. I would love browny cupcake) Thank you!

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  124. I've just seen a recipe for a salted caramel peanut cupcake - I would love one of those!

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  125. Macarons will have to be present!
    anaeosviraventos(at)gmail(dot)com

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  126. I'm a sucker for anything containing mousse/ It's just so fun and absolutely yummy.

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  127. Scones with jam and cream and perhaps a lamington or two.

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  128. Carrot cake for me please . Thanks for the chance . On a side note my son just returned from London , he was there for the Queens Jubilee as a member of the RCMP Musical Ride and had an awesome time in England so thanks for your wonderful hospitality.

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  129. Scones - do they count? I'm addicted. :)

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  130. I've never used a purse frame... would be neat. Not cake... but I like cucumber sandwiches and Pimm's with cucumber on a hot day!

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  131. Carrot cake or lemon cake or gingerbread or chocolate cake or....I'm not hard to please when it comes to cake.

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  132. Cakes? Afternoon tea? Oh what a lovely idea! I like lemon cakes best. Nice giveaway!

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  133. I'd have to go for scones with jam and thick, heart-attack-inducing clotted cream.

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  134. Definitly chessecake! Thanks for the giveaway! Love from Croatia!

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  135. Poppyseed Cake with lemon glaze would be yummy! Thanks for a chance to win! :)

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  136. How about some margarita cake?

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  137. What a lovely giveaway. It would have to be the classic Victoria Sponge!

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  138. Scones.... I miss real scones from when I lived in Surrey. christina112358 at gmail dot com

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  139. Lemon cake! And chocolate! Can I have some current scones too? I haven't had tea for so long and I miss it!

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  140. A chocolate eclair! Thanks for the giveaway. I already love making bags.

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