Sunday 10 November 2013

little fish...


the little fish quilt was finished and has found its way to a new home...

i am particularly in love with the texture from the serpentine stitch that i used to quilt it...


my first time using a faux-piping in the binding.  another little detail that i love!!

along with a couple of cuddly companions made from the scraps for the new baby to play with...

gluten-free quick biscuits ... a recipe

and i return to my much neglected blog! work has kept me busy this year, and what little free time i have is often spent catching up on household tasks and recharging my batteries

this is one of my favorite biscuit recipes.  it holds a lot of fond memories for me as the first time i baked them it was at an orientation day before i started secondary school, i also met one of my best friends that day.

i have since developed a gluten-intolerance so swapped regular flour for a gluten-free blend, i also reduced the sugar content slightly and added gluten-free oats for texture

1 cup coconut
1 cup self-raising flour (either gluten-free blend or regular flour is fine)
3/4 cup sugar
130g melted butter (or margarine)
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup gluten-free oats
 optional:  for a bit of variety i have used cranberries, sultanas, dates, choc-chips instead of oats

* mix dry ingredients together
* add melted butter and beaten egg to the dry ingredients
* use a cookie scoop (or tablespoon) and place the biscuit mix onto a lined tray... remember to allow room for spreading
* bake at 180degC for 15-20 minutes or until biscuits are slightly browned.  check and rotate trays after 10 minutes
* remove the trays from the oven and allow the biscuits to cool on the tray.  once cooled they should be crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle... my idea of a perfect biscuit!
* makes 24



Saturday 20 July 2013

quirky monster softie

a little boy i know has just turned 1, which gave me an excuse to spend some time at my sewing machine creating this little guy

what a lovely way to spend a wet and cold afternoon.  i used this tutorial to guide me


Sunday 14 July 2013

kissing fish

a friend has commissioned me to make a quilt for her soon-to-be bub.  she has chosen some gorgeous fabric that makes me smile every time i see it and a sweet little pattern called "kissing fish" from Lee at Freshly Pieced (although i have slightly altered how i am constructing the blocks to make them less fiddly to sew)

my progress so far; all of the blocks are done...
 next step is to get them up on my design wall and play!!


Thursday 20 June 2013

embroidery hoop art

a new wall display for my sewing room, made from some old embroidery hoops, some scrap fabrics and buttons...




i LOVE it!!

Sunday 9 June 2013

a sunny day in my winter garden

well, my sewing room is renovated and starting to look gorgeous but for the moment my interests have been diverted by a large pile of books and my garden!

it is a lovely sunny day here (despite being only 14degC !) so i thought i take advantage of the weather and spend some time updating things...

a cute stack of pots, planted with dutch irises and violas (i got the idea from here)



and a new garden arch to grow some sweet peas on - i am looking forward to having a scented arch to walk under in a couple of months time...
my dad built me a planter box to replace the tatty pots on my verandah - i planted it with an ornamental grape vine, dutch irises, species gladioli, white crocus and silver dichondra

the other pot on my verandah got a freshen up too
there are a couple of other areas in the garden that need a freshen up too, so i am hoping my motivation sticks around for a bit longer!!

 

Monday 18 March 2013

hellooooooooo


hi everyone, long time, no post!  life has been crazy busy, sadly not much sewing but way too many hours at work and some house renovations haven't left me much time to be creative.

i did manage to take a short holiday and attend Grampians Textures, i was lucky enough to be able to do the 4 day bag making workshop with Nicole Mallalieu (the genius behind You Sew Girl).  i picked up some great tips and techniques for designing and making bags that look professional (handmade as opposed to homemade).  thanks to Nicole i think i have finally conquered my fear of zippers!

a couple of photos of the bag that i designed, drafted the pattern for then made (just a couple of little things to finish off and it will be ready to use)...



wishing everyone a slightly belated happy st. patricks day (and happy birthday to me!)

 3blessing3.gif

Tuesday 8 January 2013

selvedge madness at the art gallery


my quilting group holds an exhibition every second year and we are very lucky that our local art gallery hosts the exhibition - we choose a theme, then make the quilts and drop them off at the art gallery.  the curator then decides which quilts will go in the exhibition, hangs them beautifully and does all the necessary signage.  this year the exhibition has gone for around a month, from mid December to mid January, and from all accounts it has been very popular

our theme was "from scraps to heirlooms", a nod to the origins of quilts.

i had my quilt in planning and was working on it in the 12 months leading up to the exhibition... but being the procrastinator that i am, i finished burying the last of the threads in my selvedge quilt the evening before i had to drop it off at our local art gallery!

i cant tell you how excited i am to have my quilt hanging in an art gallery! i took this photo on my phone...

the quilt is actually quite bright in person and there are a lot more selvedges on the back of it, but obviously i cant get a photo of the back until the exhibition is finished.  i will post more photos when it get my quilt back.

i plan on hanging it in my newly redecorated sewing room, and call me crazy but i think i am going to do a lot more selvedge projects to go in there... recovering my computer chair, recovering my sewing chair, a new ironing board cover and probably some curtains!