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