Beginners quilting lessons

Paula and Steff learning binding

For the last two months I have been doing a series of beginners quilting lessons. 4 friends get together once a fortnight and learn four different things. The quilts that are coming out as first quilts are amazing. The piecing is precise, the colour choices are varied and they have even all quilted their own tops together. Very brave ladies.

Lesson 1: how to cut using a rotary cutter and mat, patchworking strips of material

Lesson 2: making squares and the assembly of nine patch blocks

Lesson 3: half square triangles completed two different ways

Lesson 4: pining a patchwork top out with batting and backing, quilting a top

Lesson 5: binding.

Shirley planning her next quilt

Some of the results of lesson 3

All done

Asparagus and eggs with hollandaise sauce

Two weekends in a row I have made myself my favourite lunch. Fresh asparagus from the garden (literally picked 3 mins before going in the pot), a poached egg or two that were laid that morning by the chooks and lovely hollandaise sauce made on my stove using my Cordon Bleu Recipe from the days of training at the academy in London.

Getting ready for the fair

On Saturday there is a street fair at Leithfeild. My sister and I decided to buy a stall and are setting up (weather permitting - if it is not good then I get to sleep in!!). This is a tester to see if some of the things we do have a commercial value. We would love to do a stall about once every six months. Anyway it has motivated some fast finishing and last night I managed to paint and stretch material over a pin board and finish some lavender hearts. (Which had only been sitting around unfinished for the last year). They look a bit like bunny ears filled and somehow I did not get the tape right for hanging. But hey my pattern will improve next time.

I love the pin board and will not be disappointed if it does not sell - I have a perfect wall to put it on.

A virtuous day

cooking the curd

Well I have managed to get a lot done today. Apart from going to work I have been occupied in the kitchen.

This morning before work I started making a pasta sauce with a box of tomatoes that were seconds at the green grocers. I use Jamie Oliver's standard tomato pasta recipe, it is a staple in my freezer. ( It was one recipe that was in the original Naked Chef series) So we had that for dinner and I froze one lot.

I made "citrus slice" as I needed something for lunch boxes. I am trying to be healthier so I pulled a bag of frozen chickpeas that I had precooked and then frozen in portion lots. I made humus - page 91 of the Moosewood Coookbook. Yum. Jakob and Aaron have that for their packed lunches tomorrow with carrot sticks to use as scoops.

straining the whey from the cheese

Then I tried Donna Hay's recipe, from her current magazine, for making ricotta cheese. It worked really well, though is no cheaper than buying it ready made. One of the bonus's is the whey acts like buttermilk and therefore will be fantastic for using to make pikelet, pancakes and muffins. The one thing that annoyed me about her recipe was that you threw they whey out! What a waste!! So if you combined the cost of ricotta and buttermilk then it would be cheaper to produce.
I think I will make spinakopita pie with it. I have lots of feta cheese at the moment. YUMMY.

Fantastic food while camping - dinner

A posh chicken rice risotto 

We have this on rainy days as it is nice and warming and it doesn't matter if the gas is warming the caravan during the cooking.

Ingredients
Take all the left over veges that you have in your caravan or tent 

Enough rice for the people you are cooking for. ( I used two bags of rice for four people)

Some oil 

A packet of green thai curry paste.

1 tin of coconut cream.

I packet of chicken drums or whatever you managed to pick up last time you went into town.

Method - Put a non stick frypan or large pot onto your cooker. Place the chicken in and brown. As the chicken is browning cut up an onion and put it in too. Once browned add 2 tablespoons oil and the green curry paste. Let the paste cook for a minute. Add 1 cup of water and bring to the boil. Add the amount of rice you need. Stir well and start adding veges as you chop them up. Once all the veges are in (do lots) then add the tin of coconut cream (or milk) and another cup of water. Let it simmer while you watch a DVD with the kids. Keep cooking until the rice is done and make sure that the chicken is cooked through to the bone. Add more water if needed. Serve in a bowl with rice and vege on the bottom and a drumstick per person on the top.

Vege selection - use anything that is looking like it will not last too much longer as well as what you have fresh

Rice - I keep the boil in the bag only in the caravan as it is tidy in a box and it makes no mess when cooking (which is a big deal when camping - the easier the better)

Oil - I have rice bran oil as it is square and so easy to store in the caravan or your food box and it has a high burn point so will do for everything you need when camping.

Thai green curry paste - I love the Asian Home Gourmet brand as they are very authentic. Also camping they are the right portion size so there is no waste or no bottles etc that you have open that could go off in the summer heat. This is quite spicy for kids. You could use red curry paste which is much milder if you wanted.

The new FINISHED Quilt

Well, earlier this year I took the process challenge.(thought I have not been able to attach the button to my blog). As part of this I have been teaching a beginners quilting class). I started this quilt as I was looking at various blogs and people talking about "strings" of material. So I made some. Then some more, as they were so quick I got addicted and made more!! (see previous blog).
While I have been teaching beginners quilting I have been finishing this quilt. Pining it together etc. Now they all want to do one like this too. Which would be great fun.

photo 1 - quilting the strings

Anyway. I quilted the strings with a synthetic quilting multicoloured thread using a heart and swirl pattern. (see photo 1). I wanted to do a specific centre in each plain block so cut a shape from freezer paper (see photo 2) and when I stitched around it I added a wee twirl at each centre. Freezer paper was really handy for this as it meant each centre was pretty much the same (which is difficult for me on my domestic machine).

This is the only quilt that I have made that did not have a specific destination in mind. I just loved making it.

photo 2 - freezer paper template

photo 3 - the quilted result after removal of freezer paper

Yes we all watched the Rugby World cup final

Stephen, Aaron, Jakob, Eli, Friend, Jess

What a tense game!!!

Teddy Bear made from a fat quarter of material

I made this pattern specifically to give as presents for baby showers or new born. Because it was for littlies I could not put on buttons etc so instead of doing easy jointed legs and arms I had to sew them. It was not the easiest to put the head onto the body as arms and legs get in the road. But in the end it worked out. I still can't decide whether to go to the trouble of drafting a proper pattern up to sell or not.
Anyway this wee teddy went to Steff at her baby shower on Sunday.

Upcycling an old step stool

The before picture

Ta Dah, the finished look

Well I feel that I am getting better at my upholstery. This stool has been the best finish yet. I was particularly proud of the fact that I managed to get a binding around the edge of the stool seat. I also don't like the way that upholsterer's just staple underneath. Even though the round head tacks look glitzy I think they are better than a furniture staple.

after, underneath

School holidays hut making

Jakob and Eli spent the sunny afternoon outside. Primarily making a hut. Take all the stools and chairs out of the house, all the quilts off the bed and you have a hut. Then start picking herbs and making drinks. I do have to say that the mint, lemon, honey, sugar and water drink worked quite well and was tasty enough to drink.

Backing Black

Eli getting wiped out

First day of the school holidays saw us go into Christchurch to the Telecom sponsored "Backing Black" activities. We got there at 12 noon and the boys got all blacks balloons and rub on tattoos. They played hard. The blow up obstacle courses and wipe out balls were great fun. It slowly got windier and windier and at 2pm they closed it down as the blow up things were lifting off the ground. But we had already had a great time.

This was Jakobs favourite

The boys after their first race

Jakob could not get his rugby ball through the gap - but he did get himself through that one!!