All about food

It seems as though it's all about food around here lately! I was lucky again and won a copy of Bake by TV cook Rachel Allen (who I'd not heard of before but you all know how much I love to BAKE!) from Frills in the Hills (Liss), who was giving away three copies.

I collected mine from the post office yesterday and before I even finished flicking through the pages, had baked the chocolate chip version of the Banana Bread (with a little help from Tristan). The house is now smelling totally divine and I now have a whole recipe book full of new yummy things to try. Thanks again Liss.In crafty news, I'm hoping my PIF gifts arrive at their destinations soon - I sent them registered post, having learned from my last disaster (and no, it - missing quilt, see previous post - still hasn't turned up). I also finished piecing the top for my FIL's quilt - I can't show a picture, as he reads Facebook and this post will appear there automatically. If you follow me on Flickr, you can see a picture of it there.

Comfort food

Well it's been a cold and frosty winter here in Canberra; there is nothing better to chase away the winter blues with some home-cooked cupcakes and muffins. Oh and lemon delicious! I recently discovered Frills in the Hills - the food heaven awesome blog run by the baking goddess Liss - just in time for a lunch we went to a couple of Sundays ago.
She had posted a lemon delicious recipe and I thought that would be perfect for the lunch - I was so right! It was an easy recipe with five-star results. Yum!

She also posts lots of other yummies, so I urge you to check her out. I cooked these golden muffins today for the kids. I substituted golden syrup for the honey (hence the lovely caramel colour) and mashed banana for the currants. They were a hit with the kids!

But wait there's more! Romily and I (with some spoon-lickin' help from Tristan) baked some vanilla cupcakes from the AWW Bake cookbook on Friday. Romily's great contribution (aside from sifting the flour and also licking spoons) was choosing the bright yellow colour for the icing. You can see her icing efforts above :)

On the sewing front - there has been action! I finished the three Pay it Forward gifts; they will go in the post tomorrow. I will show a picture or two when they're en route. I have also cut the fabric for my FIL's birthday/Christmas present quilt. Will piece the top tonight after my sad boy (2yo molars are causing a LOT of grief) goes to sleep. Boy, he's been hard work these past three days! Poor kid has had a temp and been grumpy as all get out; walking around like a zombie. Let's hope this stage passes quickly!

And sadly, the Walk in the Park baby quilt I made has gone missing in the mail. I'm hoping Australia Post manages to track it down...it's the last time I ever send anything by ordinary post.

Winnings!

I hardly ever win anything on blog giveaways, but I was stoked to have two recently!

First off, was a fabric giveaway at Emma's place. She sent me some gorgeous fabric left over from the most incredible custom quilt she made.

Then I won a cute skirt pattern from OzMaterial Girls - the City Girl Skirt pattern. I really want to make some summer skirts for myself, so here's my chance!

I also received my Pay It Forward gift from Mands - a cute owl appliqued shopping bag and a very cute notebook - all for my inventions, featuring Bert & Ernie! Of course Romily has claimed both items for herself! Thanks Mands!Thanks everyone for being such generous, wonderful, crafty folk!

As for me, very little in the way of sewing going on - but I did do some cutting in preparation for making my PIF gifts. Soon! I also ordered some fabric for a hush-hush Christmas present I'm making for my FIL. Can't wait to get started on that project - it's going to be an Oh Fransson! quilt. I love her work!

While there has not been any sewing, there has been a little bit of baking :) I discovered, via Corrie from Retromummy, a fab blogger Liss, who has the most amazing, droolworthy recipes on her blog, Frills in the Hills. Go check her out - you won't be sorry! This was the lemon delicious I made on Sunday morning to take to a lunch we were invited to - it was a big hit! (I made a double batch - nom nom nom!)

Walk in the Park - baby quilt finished

And another ta-da moment :) I actually finished this quilt before the baby was born - there's a first! I'm calling it 'Walk in the Park', as the feature fabric is from the much-loved Park Slope range (Erin McMorris). It measures 39" x 39". To see the inspiration for this quilt design, see this previous post. I chose to do an all-over meander (again), as it's quick, getting easier and very functional for a quilt that's likely to be washed many times.

Zoe was born on my birthday, so this quilt is going to a very special baby indeed! Her mum is one of the loveliest people you'll ever meet and she'll be a great mum. I'm not showing you a close-up of the back - there were a couple of puckers that I didn't notice until I was stitching down the binding. Shhhhh - don't tell the quilt police! The other thing I'm not so thrilled about is the way the pattern in the Park Slope fabric 'walks' off the quilt - I was so careful to cut with the grain - the print is slightly askew. This is a definite downside of strip quilts!
Next under the needle will be the three Pay It Forward gifts I need to make. I have cut all the fabric, now it's a matter of sewing it all together! I received my gift and will blog it as soon as I can retrieve it from Romily!

~~~

And here is a photo of our new friends.Eastern Rosellas are a gorgeous native Australian parrot - my clever father-in-law made us this fabulous bird feeder for Christmas. We finally put it up in about April and it took the birds a few weeks to find it. First we had visitations from some Currajongs, then, a few days later, a pair of Rosellas made some tentative enquiries (sitting on our fence, in the adjacent tree, on the balcony railing) before they decided it was safe enough. They've been back almost every day since. They don't seem bothered by us at all, as long as we're not too close. Today we were even visited by four Magpies! The kids are loving it - it's the closest we'll get to having pets for the foreseeable future...

Cute pram quilt finished

A friend from work had a baby girl in May - another friend had already made a gorgeous play quilt, so I decided to make a little pram quilt! I am super happy with this tiny little quilt :) Measuring 20 x 30", it'll be a perfect fit for keeping a newborn nice and snuggly on the freezing days we're having in Canberra.
I love the innovation (not mine, but a great idea, nonetheless - Milly makes them this way too) of a 'foot muff' for the bubba's feet - click to enlarge the above image - you can see the line of the foot muff/pocket along where the label is stitched). It'll not only keep her a tiny bit warmer, but should stop the quilt from riding up and covering her face.

This tiny quilt didn't really need the full label treatment, so I stitched one of my labels to the muff and voila!

And look at these gorgeous lillies! From my father-in-law to help celebrate my non-birthday this week. Carl, the kids and I have all suffered through gastro on top of a head/chest cold, so it was really a non-event this year!

The House That Jack Built

I've been a member of the Canberra Quilters for about three years now and love getting to the meetings when I can (which hasn't been all that frequently since Tristan's arrival, although I'm getting back in the swing of things now). Each year I promise myself I'll do a quilt for one of their challenges, but each year I get too busy and let it slide. This year was nearly no exception! However, I was determined, and completed this quilt, 'The House That Jack Built', in one night. It measures approx 18" x 15"

(click on image to enlarge)

I posted a while back that I thought I might do some tiny wonky stars for this year's 'Cutting Corners' challenge, but at the last minute changed my mind and did a wonky house instead. I enjoyed making the Tequila Sunhouse mini-quilt for Helen, so I thought I'd have another crack. I decided to go really bright, hoping to make an eye-popping quilt. Sadly I think I discovered that quilts can indeed be 'too bright' - resulting in insufficient contrast. In hindsight, I think I should have stuck to a white background. (Looking at it now, I wish I'd added a turquoise button for a door handle.) Nonetheless, I submitted this mini for the calendar contest - you never know, they might be looking for crazy, bright and quirky! I'm not sure when we'll find out, but regardless of the outcome, both kids like it and it can go on their bedroom wall when I finally get it back from the competition organisers :)
I love the backing/binding fabric - I originally bought it to use in a dress for Romily...that still hasn't been made! I did add a label after this photo was taken - at the meeting where the quilts were handed in. Talk about cutting it fine!

Baby season is here

It's baby season again! No, not me, but babies seem to be popping up (out?) all over! Two friends have had/are having babies, so I thought I'd whip something up for each of them.

As I'm so pressed for time these days, simple designs are king. I wanted something striking though, so I googled 'strippy quilt' and found oodles of quilty inspiration. The photo that really kicked me off was on Flickr, from Bubbachic, who had a similar dilemma and lovely scraps!

I went through my stash and found some gorgeous soft pink left over Amy Butler (from 'Marina's Midwest Modern' quilt), which is now snipped and sewn into a top for a pram quiltlet. A friend at work has just had her third girl, and another work friend made a play quilt. I thought one for the pram might be a good idea, especially now winter is really here - it's been cold and raining for two days straight!

(Measures 20 x 30")

I also had some left over Park Slope from the 'Funky Chicks' quilt, which is now doing double duty in a cot quilt. A friend of mine, who I never get to see because she lives so far away, is having a baby - a girl - and I'm just so happy for her. My friend has been dreadfully unlucky in love and has finally found a man who's right for her, so this baby is extra special! I love how this quilt is coming along. I'm going to use a stripey binding in chocolates, pinks and purples, which I think will bring it all together. The baby's due in a couple of weeks.

(Measures 40 x 40")

Both quilts will get the all-over stipple treatment, with the pram quilt to have a built-in foot muff, so I'll 'birth' that one to integrate all the layers. Never done it before, so it should be interesting!

I'm hoping to have both quilts finished by Thursday night in time to take them along for show and tell at the Canberra Quilters meeting this week, alongside the Hungry Caterpillar quilt (see previous post).

And here's one of Romily - wearing my clothes (the hat is now a permanent resident in her dress-up box). She thinks she looks like a grown-up in this outfit!
For long-time readers of my blog, can you believe Romily will be five in just a little over two months? Crikey!

Never has it felt so good to finish!

It's been two years in the making. Drum roll, please...........................................Tristan's Hungry Caterpillar Quilt is finally finished! Woot! (I haven't actually been working on it for two years straight - a baby/non-sleeping toddler kinda got in the way...)
I did a lot of handquilting on this baby - a mixture of quilting and perle thread. The perle was a bugger to quilt with, but I eventually got my needles sorted out and after many evenings of stitching in front of the television, got there in the end. The only downside of using such a thick thread is that it stiffens the quilt - the rest of the quilt is all soft and snuggly. The butterflies are noticeably stiffer - and they warped the 'squareness' of the quilt.
Not that Tristan minds! He just loves it and has spent a good part of today climbing in and out of his bed to go under his new 'covers'. God love him :)And here's a photo of the back - it's cheater flannelette. So warm and snuggly and the perfect colour combination for this quilt. Now I just have to add the label, but since I'm not giving this one away, there's no rush, right?

Since this is such a momentous occasion, Tristan's Hungry Caterpillar Quilt is my entry for this year's Blogger's Quilt Festival

Collaborative Comfort

It's so nice to have a finish. I should outsource block-making much more often! Quilts come together amazingly quickly when you're working together. Here is 'Susan's Stars' bound and finished. I am very happy with the quilt (made by three work friends and me) and was delighted to present it to our colleague Susan, who was recently in a serious car accident. She is still in hospital, and will be for about another two weeks. The quilt will certainly brighten up her bed.
She said it was the first quilt anyone had made for her and was absolutely chuffed. She also confirmed that while she loves making quilts, she doesn't do much machine quilting - therefore she thought mine was fab!

Here's the pieced back - a beautiful stripe from Spotlight, of all places. I might have to go back and get some more - the colours are just fabulous. It didn't quite fit across the width, so I added a 90 degree strip down the middle - quite effective I think.
And one more close-up of the quilting/stars - excuse the folds, I had taken it to show everyone and it got a bit creased in the bag.
I now have five days to make a small challenge quilt for a calendar competition being run by the Canberra Quilters - it'll be no surprise that I'm doing some maverick stars! It may not get made in time, but I'll give it a try :)

Susan's Stars Update

I love long weekends - especially when Carl takes the kids of my hands for half a day here and half a day there. I get a lot done when I have the place to myself!

Here is 'Susan's Stars' quilted all over with a medium sized meander. While it's not perfect (I accidentally crossed the lines a couple of times - quilting in white over white-on-white fabric can be tricky!), it's effective and it was quick. So, it will have to do!
Now for some binding. I'm going to raid my stash for a suitable stripe - the back is a very bright Adobe style stripe, so it needs to coordinate or contrast. If I'd been thinking clearly when I bought the backing I would have bought enough to do the binding too. Ah well!

Gasp! There be quilting around these parts

Well there's been some quiltmaking going on around here! A work friend was in a serious car accident two weeks ago - she just happens to be the president of the Canberra Quilters - and a bunch of us at work, who also are quilters, decided a comfort quilt was in order. I wanted to get the quilt to her while she was still convalescing, so I thought a larger version of Bonnie Hunter's Maverick Stars would be a good idea, a la the Bushfire Quilt Project.

Polly, Teena and Ruth made up a bunch of blocks, and I made some too. I made eight, although it turns out I only needed two (leaving me with six for another project!). I originally thought a 5 x 5 layout would work, not realising how quickly 12" blocks would stack up. So I ditched a row and the quilt has finished up with a 4 x 5 layout instead. Now it's a very generous size lap quilt - Susan, the recipient, is vertically challenged, so the quilt will cover her completely when she's lying down.
Carl took the kids off to see the Dora the Explorer concert this morning, so I got busy and pieced the top together, as well as constructing the gorgeous stripy backing. As soon as I finish posting, I'll get started on sandwiching and pin basting - the intent is to spend part of tomorrow and Monday (public holiday here) quilting and attaching the binding to the front. Ruth has kindly offered to help me stitch down the back of the binding at work on Tuesday - a lunchtime quilting bee!

If I have any time spare after finishing the binding part on Monday I'm hoping to get a pencil roll made for a good friend's daughter - I made one for her big sister just over a year ago and the little sister adores it apparently! Meanwhile, the handquilting odyssey on Tristan's VHC quilt continues - I'm almost there!

Finally, here's a photo of my two cuties together. They both had haircuts yesterday - Romily had about 10cm (3") off in length (it was time) and Tristan had his first professional cut (he was remarkably still and well behaved!).

Poor, neglected blog!

This poor little blog, abandoned but not forgotten. Life just keeps getting in the way of crafting and blogging. And I am sorry I have been unable to come visiting with my blogging buddies. My research/studies are taking up a lot of my time, and, in what little free time I have, I am usually too tired from work and looking after kids to pull out the sewing machine/quilting tools.
I have been doing quite a bit of handquilting on Tristan's Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt, which I started way back before he was born, but there's not a lot to show for it (above picture is of the finished top, pre-machine quilting - it looks a bit different now - will post a photo when it's done). We went to Bendigo for Easter and I spent the evenings stitching away (how lovely). I showed the quilt in progress to Tristan, whose reaction was: 'wowowow!' - I think he likes it! He loves the book and is constantly bringing it to me saying: 'Mummy. Story. Cat-pillar. Story.' He's already a man who knows what he wants!

Tristan is 19 months old already. As I keep saying, they grow so fast. Rom will be five in August and is loving preschool. She will definitely be ready for school next year.

Dot's Bouquet is finished

I am really happy with this quilt I made for Car's aunt Dorothy! Number one, it's finished (and don't we all love a finished quilt?!), and number two, I am happy with all my choices. The fabrics, colours, pattern and quilting all seem to work together. (See the previous post if you want details about where I got the idea for this quilt from.) The fabric is from the Timeless Treasures Kiwi Mama Mia range.
I had to piece the back, after discovering my backing wasn't quite long enough - I even like how the back turned out! I'm pretty sure she'll like it - she'll appreciate the gift, even if green isn't her favourite colour!
Now that I've made quite quite a few of these comfort quilts and feel much more comfortable free motion quilting, I feel like I can tackle some 'keepers' for us. It would be nice, wouldn't it, to have something to show for all this quilting? I only have one quilt here that is made by me! The very first sampler quilt I made for Romily way back in 2006.

And just because, here's a photo of Mr Trista! He is wearing a deflated ball as a hat. Why not, I say?!

Shhhhhhhh! There's been quilt making going on around here!

I know, it's been a while! But I finally started piecing the next comfort quilt on my list - this one for Carl's only aunt, who's been having a rough time with her health lately, including a long stay in hospital. She's home now, but taking things slowly. As the weather starts to cool, what better than a snuggly quilt to keep your knees and toes warm? I've pieced all the blocks, and hope to stitch them together tonight. I'm hoping I can baste and start quiting by Monday - a public holiday here in Canberra. (Edited to add that I was very neglectful in mentioning that the pattern isn't mine - it's based on a pattern called Highlights that my friend Helen used in a quilt last year. I loved hers, so based my blocks on the general ratio used in the Highlights blocks. Mine are quite a bit smaller and I don't have so many different fabrics. I've also made only 'A' blocks and changed the layout to get the secondary pattern of squares of the main fabric.)
The weather has certainly turned here; we're still getting warm days, but it's noticeably cooler in the mornings and we're starting to get a bit more rain. So guess who has some new gumboots to go with the rain? Tristan loves his first pair of gumboots - Roary the Racing Car boots, replete with 'headlights' and 'wheels'! They are so cute, although not so cute as their owner!

18 months

Time flies when you're having fun, so the old saying goes. But I'm wondering where on earth the past 18 months has gone? And wondering how my child-bearing days whizzed by without so much as a 'by your leave'?

Here's proof that it has! Tristan has grown a lot since I took this photo at one month old (on his fab 'Winter's Garden quilt made by some lovely friends in my online quilting group).Playing 'peekaboo'!And one with his big sister, who he loves and adores (and sometimes shows his enthusiasm by whacking her with whatever whacking object he can lay his hands on, all the while cackling like a madman!).
And here's one of Miss Romily herself, after the party on Saturday, where she 'won' a mini-face painting set in pass the parcel. I promised her a butterfly when we got home. Then I tossed her into bed for a sleep - she's got a slight summer cold/cough and was absolutely wrecked - you can tell from this photo!