First Letter - ABC Quilt Along

Here is my first letter for my ABC quilt, obvs the letter A. I should warn you that I've decided to go off piste rather on some of these letters and do my own thing. So who knows what will turn up each week. In true letter land spirit, (any one use these books when you started to write? Naughty Nick and Golden Girl anyone?) I decided to go with A for Annie Apple.

I used mainly back stitch for the apple and the letters, but also some stem stitch for the leaf, and satin stitch for the stem (ironic?). I've tried to tone my threads in with my fabric choices, listed in a previous post, but they aren't exact, and obvs there is no green.

Thoughts?

Love Eggs xxx

New Fabric

I popped into my local today, Puddle Duck Quilts to choose some fabric to use for the sashing of my ABC quilt. Armed with my padstow charm pack, so that the colours would go beautifully, I'm so boring, I was determined to chose something  different and exciting, maybe from another fabric manufacturer. This is what I  got.

Lets play a game, it's called spot which two fabrics are the same.

Between this and ....

...this.

Yes I ended up with the purple one from the Padstow range, but it's such a pretty colour, and of course it matches and tones in, they're the same fabric. I ended up giving up like this, because often when I try to pick fabrics interdependently I end up inadvertently choosing from the same fabric line anyway.

I also bought these two fat quarters, one is from the Athill range, also Cabbages and Roses, and the other is a pretty floral by Joanna Figaro.

I also bought these lovely Lecien prints, mainly from this lovely shop, Sew and Sos. A lot of them are various Durham Anews, but a couple are Antique Flower. In my head a lovely very low volume, softly coloured quilt is forming, and I think most of these fabrics are in it.

But this means no more fabric for a while. I'll try.

Love Eggs xxx

ABC quit along.

I've been itching to do a wee quilt for a while now, and have been greatly admiring those with embroidery all over them, so when I saw this ABC quilt along, organised by this lovely blog shush I'm quilting, I thought it was perfect, particularly as it is based upon a book written by the lady behind one of my favourite blogs, Pretty by Hand.

I've never taken part in a quilt along so I'm rather excited.

This is also giving me the occasion to use a charm pack from one of my favourite fabric designers, Cabbages and Roses, it's the padstow range, and isn't it gorgeous.

I love the love soft purple colours

And the dusky deep reds.

Then there are all the lovely floral prints, both larger and the dainty smaller flower sprays.

There are also colours that I wouldn't list if asked, but when you see them you realise how much you love them, like the oaty cream.

And the soft dove greys.

I've found some threads that pick out all those colours, so I suppose that I shall try and focus on these as often as possible.

So watch this space, I'm actually really excited. I think I've allready said that. I have vague thoughts of a potential recipient at the other end, who is even more cabbages and roses then I am even, we'll see if I'll be able to bear to part with it.

Love Eggs xxx

Traybakes - Apple and Plum two ways

There will definitely be recipes on this blog from time to time as I love it, and am baking constantly. In the past week I have experimented with this cake, and made it two different ways, which both turned out lovely but individual results.

First Way - Using Mincemeat

I make lovely Plum and sloe gin mincemeat every year for Christmas (in fact I'm sure I shall post a recipe for it  come November), and my biggest fear every year is that I shall run out of it before the desire for mince pies ends, so I always over make, and this leaves me with a surplus that needs using at some point. Fortunately it keeps well, so here I am in June still using some of it. I've made this a few times and its always been very popular, it ends up being a lovely moist, spicy cake, and has a much more complex flavour then the work would suggest, as all that effort is got from the mincemeat. Any type of mincemeat that you make, and have left over would work well in this recipe.

- 6 oz caster sugar

- 2 oz golden syrup

- 8 oz butter

- 4 eggs

- 10 oz self raising flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

- half a jar of mincemeat (this part isn't very precise, the more you add the fruitier the cake will end up being)

Cream butter, sugar and golden syrup. Then slowly and an egg at a time and beat after each. Then sift in the flour and baking powder and mix. Then stir in the mincemeat.

Bake in a small rectangular pan, at 180 C (gas mark 4) for about 35 mins. Its done when the sponge springs back to the touch, and a knife comes out clean.

Second Way - Using Fruit

This one ends up being more of a "plain cake", but is really yummy, and not too sweet.

- 2 oz caster sugar
- 6 oz golden syrup
- 8 oz butter
- 4 eggs
- 10 oz self raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 apple
- 1 plum
- 3 oz currents
- 2 oz sultanas
- 1 tsp almond extract

Cream butter, sugar and golden syrup and almond extract. Then slowly and an egg at a time and beat after each. Then sift in the flour and baking powder and mix. Chop up apple and plum, then stir in all the fruit.
Bake in a small rectangular pan, at 180 C (gas mark 4) for about 35 mins. Its done when the sponge springs back to the touch, and a knife comes out clean.

Well if you try either of these let me know what you think.

Love Eggs xxx

Arts and Crafts

I haven't posted anything since July, which seems rather a long time ago now. I was on one Christian youth camp, and then a hol with the fam in Tuscany and the my Church youth camp. Which I had heaps to get ready for, here is me starting to pack up all the Arts and crafts stuff for camp.

This is just the contents of one box. There were heaps more to try and squeese into my car and the mini bus. Another six boxes.

These are a couple of the fabrics that I bought for some of my crafts.

And some pretty scraps that always come in handy.

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get heaps of photos of some of the things people made. But here is a wee taste.

This is a wee felt tiger made by one of the boys in the upper sixth, I think its a solid effort. I did offer him a pattern for it, but he ploughed in and made it up himself from the pic in the book.

One craft that was very popular was the notebooks, we always take loads of notes in camp from the meetings, we're blessed with some amazing speakers, so this idea really appealed. A lot of girls decided to recover their bibles too, everyone loves a pretty bible. 

This was another felt animal, adapted from a  rabbit pattern in this book Home made Vintage Gifts, which is a lovely book just too look at even. As you can see its a sweet koala, and it was made using an old cashmere jumper of mine that I felted, so the baby that will be its recipient will have something extremely soft. The girl that made this did an ace job.

There was defs a large variation of skill level involved, ranging from crafty girls down to boys hanging around  because there was some girl they fancied and wanted to impress, but most of the options simplified down fairly well, so I'm pleased. I had an absolutely fab week, but am now rather catching up on lost sleep. 

Hope your summer hols were splendid too.

Tons of love

Eggs xx

Arts and Crafts

Project One (ii)

My printer is finally working so I've been able to print out larger hexagons, and so I made a nice simple pincushion.

Just one hexagon flower.

Then I stuffed it, and added a button.

So there is my pin cushion craft all ready.

What do you think?

Love Eggs xxx

Arts and Crafts

Project Three

Small notebooks are always a useful thing to have in your handbag, particularly on camp, where the campers are often taking lots of notes from all the talks, and seminars we have, so I thought another nice project, that doesn't have to involve any sewing would be pretty decorated fabric notebooks.

I just wrapped this as one would a present, or a hymn book at school (did anyone else use the Come and Praise books when they were little?). I stuck it down with PVA glue.

Then the idea is to decorate how they see fit. Lace, scraps of fabric, buttons, I even bought a nature book, from our Oxfam books, to cut up and use the flower/butterfly/bee pictures. There is something abhorrent about cutting up a book like that, but I managed to hack through the first couple of pages, so I shan't feel so bad on camp now.

Here is my one. I decided to go for a bunting theme, but after a trip through the new Paperchase, that has opened on the high street, I'm really wishing that I had done strawberries. Oh well.

This is the wee bit, I embroidered and stuck on the back.

Hope you are all enjoying the Sun shine.

Love Eggs xxx