A new hat

I have made another hat for Greta and this time it fits much better. Still a little bit big but wearable.

 

I used a Izzy and Ivy pattern to make a quite funky cap. The instructions are quite easy to follow and I am happy with how my first attempt turned out.

And of course Greta looks so super cute in it. I am thinking of making a couple more for presents as I think it is such a great hat. I borrowed the pattern off a friend but I think I might invest in this pattern for myself, I think it will be worth it!

Tx

Chocolate and Vanilla Swirl Cookies

The blogtober has been great. I have been looking at many blogs and getting loads of new ideas. I came across the recipe for these cookies and knew I was going to have to make them. I made these this morning for the kids lunch box this week. I think they taste rather nice, Adele... these are yuck! Thankfully a little friend of hers came over and thought they were pretty tasty as well.

http://www.aspoonfulofsugardesigns.com/2012/10/chocolate-and-vanilla-swirl-cookies.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+aspoonfulofsugardesigns%2FrnqK+%28A+Spoonful+of+Sugar%29

I had a bit of kid free time today, well big kid free time. Meet a friend for lunch and coffee and then a walk along the river. Was so nice getting a break from it all.

Tx

Gutted...

I haven't done markets in a while. With being pregnant and the baby, plus (shhhhh) I find them very frustrating. People tend to be out for a bargain here in NZ. After all my quilts were $40, I very much doubt that would cover the costs of the fabrics if I brought them outright and the my merino is waaaay cheaper than in shops. I sold three baby hats, so $30 for an evenings work. But, it was a night out of the house and I managed to catch up with a bunch of friends and people I hadn't seen in a long time. And I keep telling myself we are coming into summer, but my quilts??!!?? I thought I would have sold at least one

I didn't get home till after 10, so a bit, well a lot, on the grumpy side.

Tx

A finishing sort of day

I have been going crazy busy this afternoon finishing projects, I brought batting, did some binding and now have three completely finished quilts.

I am doing my first market, post Greta, so whilst I have a whole heap of merino things to make I finished a few quilts and am hoping to sell them. I am rather nervous as it has been a while and markets just do freak me a bit. Standing there trying to sell stuff. I might try and talk a friend into joining me.

So here's some finished work..

My Cartwheel Quilt

I love Moda. Their fabrics are awesome and they have this great website filled with free patterns. It is great just to read for inspiration.

I had spied this quilt a while ago.

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2011/08/cartwheels-quilt.html

And I really wanted to make it. I had brought some beautiful fabric for a project and I hummed and haaaed about cutting it up for this. But in the end I pulled out some large scraps I had and cut them up. So whilst the other fabrics would have looked amazing, deep down I knew I had brought them for a reason and I am glad I used a bit of self control as the fabrics I used look pretty nice too.

I like the greeny/blue of the fabrics with the bright splash of colour. It is quite a neutral quilt which is nice as usually a planned neutral quilt ends up looking rather girlie. I am going to do scrappy binding of the fabrics I used. Still haven't had a chance to go and buy batting so the quilt tops keep being finished, folded and put on the shelf.

I do think this quilt would look nice as a big throw and maybe one day I might just do that.

I really am enjoying making these baby quilts. It has been great being able to try out some of the many patterns I have seen and loved. I am about to start a much larger one. So that will be nice for a change. I have so many of these baby quilts though that I really am going to have to part with some. So I am going to finish off a few and sell them. I counted, I have at least 5 baby quilts, two cot size and a few more sort of cut out.

Thank you have the kind messages left about Adele. She is doing much much better now. Amazing how being at home can brighten the spirits. So far the medicine hasn't messed with her tummy like we were warned and she is looking a million times better.

Tx

Colours

I brought a fat quarter Dr Seuss pack and made a quilt, then I made another. Still from the same fabrics AND I still have enough to make another one. Only baby size quilts but still I am pretty pleased with how well I am making the fabric stretch.

This one is for a friend who is having a wee boy, November I think. I keep forgetting, there are a lot of babies. I was going to do a blue quilt but everyone tends to buy blue or pink so I thought I would do something a little different and bright and funky. I think I will throw in a Dr Seuss book too. I do love his books and the colours and well everything!

I know I have said a bit about Adele being sick, well Thursday....

we were sent to hospital, just got home this afternoon. She was pretty amazing with all the tests and stuff they did. Glad to be home and on the mend. It is going to be a bit of a long process, but at least she is improving.

Tx

A photo less post

Only because it is Blogtober...

I did do crafting today, two hats and baked a cake. Chocolate for my son who wouldn't eat the slice as "I don't know what that is".

Today tiredness took over from growth spurting baby and sick girl. I did buy some fabric and a pattern, but sitting in front of the tv won over. Tomorrow though, energy will be restored

Tx

Ruffle Leggings

I brought this fabric and wasn't really sure how to use it. I saw a nappy cover tutorial and thought I should make Adele a pair of leggings. She is super rough with her leggings and has worn the knees out of two pairs this winter. Today she had on a pair that was more holes than leggings. I said it was time to retire them and she got all upset. I had to bribe her with a new pair of leggings to be able to throw the old pair away.

It was a bit tricky to sew up, a couple of the ruffles were sewn into the seams up instead of down. But they are super cute and I have some black which I will make for her as well. I just love how they look over her butt.

Tx

Fruit and Oat Slice

I belong to a few Stay at Home Mum/Baking/Living Cheaply sites. I get e-mail newsletters from a bunch of them and today there was an email from Kidspot about Muesli Bars. I know that bars aren't the healthiest things in the world. They are one of those "trick" healthy foods that really aren't! But they are tasty. Since the email came and I was needed some pretend healthy food I made up a slice and have tried a piece and it is very nice!

 It has fruit in it so very much healthy!!!!

www.kidspot.co.nz is the site, it has a bunch of kids and parenting and food and stuff like that.

Fruit and Oat Square:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sultanas or raisins
1/2 dried apricots cut into small pieces
125 gram butter
2 tablespoon water
2 tablespoon golden syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda

Oven at 180 degree, will bake for 10 to 15 mins.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a pot melt the butter, water and golden syrup together. Once all melted pour into dried ingredients and mix. Put into a tin about 24 cm by 29 cm. I just used a large cake tin. Squish it all in and bake. Yum!!

I made another hat, not for Adele, a lady from my old Play centre asked if I could make some for her children. So I am, this is for her girl. I am making a bucket hat for her son and I think she wants a bucket for her daughter too. I can't remember but if she doesn't want two they make perfect gifts.

Tx

A Rainbow sort of Quilt

I am so excited about this quilt. Like super duper excited! I brought this fabric a few years ago. It was to make a quilt for a baby we were expecting. And then we weren't, so I put the fabric away. I just couldn't sew it all up. But with the birth of Greta it was time to move on from the fabric being the other baby's fabric to it being Greta's fabric. And really this is such a cool quilt it had to be made!

It is from the book Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner. Now if you ever need inspiration on how to be an awesome person read her blog. SIX KIDS and still finds time for everything. I wish I could be half the crafter as her. In her book is the Hide and Seek Spectrum Quilt. I pretty much brought the book for this quilt.

This weekend the weather was terrible, we couldn't leave the house as Adele gets exhausted after a few minutes of not being on the couch. I made it over a couple of days. Most of the fabric was already cut, I just had to find coloured squares and sew it all up.

Don't you just love it too!!! (Please just nod don't burst my bubble) I am debating what sort of boarder to put around it, the pattern is white, I might do black, I am not sure. Did I say I love it!

School is back tomorrow so back to the busy craziness. I feel tired already.

Tx

Lemon Cake

Just sneaking this post in today. Whew!

Adele and I made the best ever Lemon Cake. It is so fattening and hence tastes so yummy. My mum used to call it Healthy Cake, so I got the recipe off her so I could make it. Half a pound of butter and nearly two cups of sugar!!!! Whats healthy... the small amount of yogurt. Mum's are so funny!

The kids love to help bake and love licking the spoon even more. It's nice as I remember doing the same thing with my mum, she would always make sure there was some left for both my brother and I. It was always a bonus if my brother wasn't home, I got more!!

http://www.thecraftycroall.blogspot.co.nz/2011/09/busy-old-fashion-housewife-day.html

The recipe for the lemon cake is here.


Right got my post in and now time for bed. I had a friend over for a couple of drinks, it was nice to be a grown up for a few hours. Blair and I are still dealing with Adele being unwell and it is pretty tiring in the house at the moment.

Tx

Pink Quilt Done

Finished my bright pink quilt. I could not picture it very well at all. It looks rather red but it is hot pink.

So it is my version of the "On the Road to Spring" quilt top from The Girl That Quilts. The quilt a long was done a while ago so I couldn't join in. I made mine crib size. I am very please with it. I have some pink flannels I am going to back it with but I have run out of battening :( So it is on the pile to finish. That pile is growing very fast.

Tx

A Break...

With everything a bit crazy at the moment, Adele has now had a reaction to the medicine she was taking, we had a break from it all.

We went over to the beach late yesterday afternoon and spent the day doing pretty much nothing. We had to come back earlier as Adele had another doctors appointment but we still got down to the beach and spent some time away from it all.

Tx

Hokey Pokey

I think every kiwi kid makes this at some point during third or fourth form science, over a Bunsen burner. I remember doing mine in Mr Jagers third form with Jade McCabe. We burnt ours. Thankfully it wasn't a sign of my baking adventures but to be fair I have still had my share of baking stuff ups.

Ryan got a volcano kit for his birthday and had been begging to make it up and do some of the activities. Yesterday Blair and him made the volcano, did the baking soda and vinegar thing. One of the other activities was making the hokey pokey (honey comb). Now I am not sure how this really teaches kids about volcano's but it is a lot of fun. Imagine a volcano spewing a lava of hokey pokey, be rather tasty but a bit sticky!

It is pretty easy to make, 5 mins really and Ryan has been a bit neglected with Adele being so sick. So really 5 mins is really nothing and means a whole heap to him.

Hokey Pokey:

4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda

a tray with baking paper

Put sugar and golden syrup in a pot, bring to the heat and stir, stir and stir. Once the mixture is caramelised, this will be when the sugar is completely dissolved and the mix runny put in the baking soda, mix and put on the tray. It will foam up and triple in size if not more.

Once cooled break into pieces. A yummy sugary treat.

I have a gas cook top, after giving the kids the reminder about the open flame I managed to catch my dressing grown on fire. Thankfully no burns, but a good lesson for the kids lol

Tx

Another Scrappy Quilt

I came across this quilt along on, well it seems I can't find it. Darn! But it was a quilt a long from either earlier this year or some time last year. I thought it was such a great design, had a wee look on the Flickr group and found a slightly different combo that I fell in  love with.

I had cut a couple of hundred (no lie there) 2.5 inch squares a week or so ago. The pattern required 3.5 inch squares so I just adapted the pattern sizing and made a start. The pink was meant to be 7.5 by 3.5 so I made mine 5.5 by 2.5 and I am really liking how it is coming along. The colours are popping and the pink makes it look quite summery.

I didn't want my Blogtober to just numerous post of the same projects but Adele has still been sick today so I haven't been able to get as much done as I had hoped and I am pretty sure I can make a good push and finish the top off tonight.

Four rows down, will be 17 in total. See the left over dark blue squares in the back ground, I have a plan for them. I think the bulk of the squares are Riley Blake Sugar and Spice, there is one Amy Butler, the blue spots and a couple of generic spots coming up. I have had this tucked away in a drawer for ages, I think I made a frog out of it.

70 little blocks ready for sewing.

The left over squares. I have a plan for them too. I must admit though I am getting a bit over coming up with plans for 2.5 inch squares. One more and then I think I will take a bit of a break from them. I brought another Aneely Charm Park and I really want to use that. Plus I have been invited to have a stall at a Fundraiser at the end of the month which means I should be sewing merino not baby quilts (that I may not need).

I will find the blog I got the idea off and post it tomorrow.

Tx

Summer Skirt

I was asked to make a hat, the only instructions, no pink. So for what ever reason when I went fabric shopping I brought a lovely piece of floral with bright pink flowers. So silly of me. Instead of a hat I made Adele a wee summer skirt.

I cut the fabric the whole width, the length, I lay one of her skirts from last year on the fabric, added a couple of inches and cut straight across.

I wanted a little detail but nothing too full on. After all she is getting quite a collection of full on skirts. I took to WOF strips, 2.5 inches and lightly gathered them and then sewed them straight on to the skirt. I ironed the gathered piece of fabric to get it nice and flat. I stitched it on, top and bottom so it sat flat on the skirt too. Added a white waistband, hemmed and done.

She is a little under the weather today. Vomiting, swollen glands, trip to the doctor, antibiotics and throat infection. She doesn't complain (in terms of sickness) much and we just thought she had a cold. We were planning a trip to Tauranga and I was getting everyone ready this morning, starting to think about packing our bags and vomit all over the table. So that put an end to that. I figured a new skirt would make her a happy lass and it seems to have. Got her out of her PJ's.

I want to start on my next quilt, but my husband is home on leave this week and I don't think he will "get" me starting another one. I am thinking of using this one though. I think I need two floor quilts for Greta. Then when one is in the wash I can use the other one. She spills a whole lot more than the others, so a back up would be most useful :)

Tx

Blue Quilt Finished

From yesterday to today I have managed to finish the blue quilt including quilting. I haven't bound it yet as I am still trying to choose between a plain white or a shade of blue. I have been chipping away at it all day in between looking after the kids and doing chores. I managed to scrub the heck out of the bathroom, en suite and the toilet. There rest of the house is a mess but we have pristine bathrooms.

The quilt, it is 2.5 inch squares out of all the blue scraps I could find. Finally I seem to be seeing the end of them. I have another project in the works for the turquoise scraps. To be part of this quilt it had to be blue. Though towards the end I was getting to many of the same prints so a few sort of strange ones made the cut. But they look fine once in the mix. I am so pleased with how it looks. Adele walked inside and saw it, stopped and was "I love this mum" then her and Ryan sat down and looked at the fabrics and pointed out "their" ones and what they had been used in.

I was lucky enough to find a piece large enough to be a complete backing. I was rather unsure how  I was going to back it but this solved my problem. I love it how a project evolves when you don't really have a plan. I was thinking of making a bit of a patchwork backing.

So just the binding to go and then all done. I like it a lot.

Now I cut all the squares, then I sewed into pairs then fours. Took the fours and made blocks of four. Came together so quickly. I thought it would take for ever and ever but very surprised I finished it today. Which was lucky as I had nothing else to blog about. 31 days of blogging in a row is going to be tricky as I want to blog about craft or baking. whew!!!!

Tx

Biscuits for Blair

I made a batch of biscuits for Blair. I am such a good wife. They are very yummy, half a pound of butter, yummy but fattening. 

http://thecraftycroall.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/chocolate-chippie-biscuits.html

I wrote about the recipe here.

This time Ryan didn't like them. Too hard apparently. Can't please every one I guess! They are pretty yummy, I do like them.

I made Ryan his storage bowl. This is a Micheal Miller fabric (I think). So now the Star Wars figures have a home, well for a little while I guess.

AND a few photos of a scrappy blue quilt I am working on. It is a slow time quilt. I have cut every 2.5 inch square separately. Some of my scraps were tiny and once I started cutting the squares it was sort of fun. The best thing is it is very scrappy, very blue and I am just taking my time with it. I had to hunt high and low to find enough different blue fabrics to get enough squares. It was a bit like a trip down memory lane as I found bits from project of Ryan's when he was a baby. I know we don't need another quilt of this size in the house but I guess it is a memory quilt so I am sure it will find a home some where.

Every time I start a new project Blair asks who it is for... Its for no-one, just for fun.

Tx

"Healthy" Chocolate Chippie Cookies

I say healthy because they have a bunch of rolled oats in them. So completely healthy.

My son saw these in my new Dish Baking Magazine. He wanted them, of course I agreed. Dish is a foodie magazine and the other day I was thinking how great it would be to have all their baking in one place. Next time I was in the supermarket that's exactly what I found. Perfect!!!!!

I was telling Blair about my day, he was at work and I said I was making biscuits. For some reason he got it in his head I was making some other biscuits so when he got home he was most upset to see they weren't the super duper fattening (but oh so good) one but these ones instead. I had to point out that these were what Ryan wanted and Ryan had eaten a good chunk of them.

We had a play date so I was able to take Chocolate chippie biscuits AND the remanding Jam Drops. Yeah I looked pretty good ;)

Double Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cookies:
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
3/4 cup each of white and dark chocolate (I used milk instead of dark, kids wont eat dark)
3/4 cup melted butter about 150 grams I think
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 caster sugar (I used normal white sugar, it was fine)
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Both sugars and melted butter in to a bowl and mix well. Add vanilla and eggs, mix again. Put in the remaining ingredients. Mix.

Take big teaspoon amounts of the mix and place on a lined tray. Give them room to spread. Takes about 10 mins on 170 degrees or until nice and golden.

This is all that is left, so whilst Blair didn't like them.... Kids seem to love them.

Tx

Fabric Storage Bowls

I have been reading a bunch of the other Blogtober blogs and came across this wee tutorial for some fabric bowls. I have seen them before but never really known what I would need one for. All of Adele's hair ties and bangles and her "stuff" is stored in one of my containers, a Tupperware too. I sort of wanted it back, it is a freezable one. I am planning on making a big batch of soup so I really need it back. Finally I had a purpose for a fabric bowl.

See, perfect for all things girlie.

She loves it so much that it is not used to house her hair ties, but is her purse and carries her toy money and other toy treasures. The hair ties are all over the floor in her bed room. Not going to plan at all.

http://www.aspoonfulofsugardesigns.com/2011/03/tutorial-gathered-round-basket.html

I used this tutorial. It is perfect. The only thing I did different was the size. I think she said a small plate to make the circle. I used the biggest I could find, a dinner plate. You can get two out of a fat quarter, I guess it is lucky as today I can make one FOR THE HAIR TIES! Yeah I am a bit cross they are all over the floor.

The fabric is a fat quarter from the Disney range and the lining is a piece of flannel with crowns on it. Even though I don't have a beautiful stash of millions of fabrics, I am finding that I can make do with what I have. And most of the time the kids don't care what it is made of, just that they have one. Of course now I have some plans for Ryan. One for his Star Wars figures as they end up all over the floor.

Tx

Hat Number two

This hat pattern, I have never been happy with it. A couple years back I made an extra large for Ryan, way too small, had to give it away. I have managed to make Adele one that fitted but this one, well the pictures will speak for themselves. I used the pattern Butterick B5056. There are some cute options but I think from extra small to extra large the hats will only ever fit a 12 month to maybe 18 month old. It was a little bit frustrating to finish a project and then it not fit. At least it was too big and she will grown into it. Nothing worse than some thing being too small and never going to fit.

The hat comes together nice and easy and is rather quick to make. The fabric is obviously the same as the fabric to Adele's hat, Amy Butler's Gypsy Caravan. This time I did the lining out some plain pink I had. You can just see a tiny peek of it in the next photo. For two fabrics out of two different lines it matches pretty well.

Our baby is growing so fast. I can't believe she is already over a month old.

Tx