Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins


2 cups SR flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup castor sugar
approx 100g melted butter
approx 1/2 cup natural yoghurt (use good stuff - I like the premium natural from Mundella)
approx 1/2 - 3/4 cup milk
approx 1/2 white choc chips
approx 1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen raspberries.
Mix and cook at 180 degrees C for approx 20 minutes.

Yes a lot of approximate measurements because I didn't measure any of these things, just threw in the amount that looked right. They turned out quite tasty. Well I didn't hear any complaining from the little people and that is usually a good thing.
Now the little people are in bed I am getting back to this pile of cutting and sewing.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Shop Update

The real estate agent took pictures of the house yesterday - it was the cleanest it has ever been. I wish I could say the same for this morning, toys and quilts covering the floor again.
I am slowly adding these little fellas and some elephants to the shop.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Colour

A very slow week here. I thought we'd had the final cold for the year, but it turns out there was one more which the girls have recovered from, but mine has turned into a nasty chest infection. Lucky the DVD of Project Runway Season 5 turned up in the mail.
Yesterday I sat and watched and finished the binding on this quilt which to me is like seeing a spring garden through a frosted window. I think if there was Project Runway for quilts Michael and Nina might say it looks like I vomited colour and fabric and failed to edit and maybe my taste was questionable. I would be one of those very self assured designers that refuses to listen to the experts and sticks to my guns because I love it and they just don't understand me as a designer.
I am wrapped up in it now because there is nothing that makes me happier when it is cold and rainy and I don't feel great than a big vomit of colour.


Corrie is having a pattern and fabric giveaway! Go over and have a look!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Paper Necklaces

I often see great activities to do with the girls when I am blog surfing. Then I usually forget all about them, but yesterday when it was once again rainy and cold outside I remembered seeing necklaces made from punched shapes. I have no idea where I saw it so I can't give a link or give credit (if you know, let me know and I will link to it).
The girls punched a lot of different flower shapes out of pretty paper and then I sewed them in a long line and joined them at the end. Instant necklace and surprisingly they are stonger than I thought they would be.

Retro Mummy is now stocking my patterns!! Go have a look at all the lovely fabric that Corrie has!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Multi-tasking

A bad case of second sock syndrome. This explains why I have been knitting all winter and have no new socks to wear.I had some time to play with my new sewing machine yesterday. So there was a little piecing.
And there was a little quilting.

Some may say I have a small attention span. I prefer to think of it as multi-tasking.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Carrot Cake


Kind of carrot cake, kind of lumberjack cake. Whatever you call it, it is totally delicious and my kind of cooking - dump all the ingredients into a bowl, mix and cook.

2 cups SR flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup grated carrot
3 eggs
¾ cup oil
Vanilla
½ 450g tin crushed pineapple and juice
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Bake at 180° for 70 minutes.

Topping
125g cream cheese
60g butter
1 tsp grated lemon
1 ½ cups icing sugar

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Imagination

According to the girls there is one thing better than a new sewing machine and that is a sewing machine box. This box has been a plane, a bear house, a train and a doll's house and much more. It has been drawn on, thing stuck on it and the girls have played with it for hours.
I am sure I have quoted Hundertwasser before - Our illiteracy is our inability to create - and I would also add that our illiteracy is our inability to imagine. Sometimes I just wish for a clean tidy house. One where I won't break my leg just getting through the living room, but I try to remember that play is good and children creating and acting out stories is a good thing and much more important than a tidy and quiet house.


Sunday, September 06, 2009

The Winner is .....

The winner of the fabric is number 13 - Meika!!!!
My bleaching experiement turned into this lovely bright cushion. Already claimed by the girls and somewhere in a cubby house.

Bleaching and Sewing

Malka of Stitch In Dye does amazing things with bleaching and overdyeing and I thought I would finally have a go at bleaching some fabric. I bit splotchy in parts, but it seemed to work.A little bit of sewing.

On this. Yes Chris you can definitely have the title of Husband of the Year.
Happy Fathers Day to you. xxx

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Giveaway

Mr Banshee says thanks for all the lovely comments on his guest post!
I say you have no idea what you have unleashed. I have heard him wondering around muttering things like witty... supportive...fantasic and something about husband of the year.

I have found some great fabric at Textile Traders in the past year so I thought I would share it with you. Some are fat quarters, some are approx 20cm cuts and the one at the back is about 60cm.
The rules are
1. Leave a comment before Sunday about 6 pm Western Australian time.
That is it. Very simple. Yes I will post anywhere.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Guest Post - Mr Banshee

Mr Banshee Shares His Thoughts…
The Sydney Stitches and Craft Show was an interesting few days, which has led to me writing my thoughts. It was the first time Kate had run a stall at a big show like this, so a bit of a learning experience for both of us. Lots of lovely people that we met, several of whom amazed, surprised and/or impressed me. The reason I’m writing this is that the Selvedge Sisters –Jodie and Annie (absolutely classic ladies) tag teamed and bullied me into agreeing to write a male perspective of the whole show. So let me start by unloading on them…
The one session that I attended intentionally and really enjoyed was Jodie’s Sunday session on blogging and how she started the blogging process. Some good laughs and she outlined her challenges, blog etiquette and a few cracker stories. Oh and she makes some pretty impressive stuff too – check out the selvedge umbrella, chair and a very funky dress. Throughout the session I think she had to contribute to the swear jar around $5 – one dollar for swearing and $4 for calling me craft-tarded. Later on we chatted while she was waiting for Annie (who was spending the national GDP of a small African country on various fabric). Like all hobbies and occupations there is a meta-language that exists in the craft world. I suggested to Jodie (and the rest of the craft blogging world) that maybe the other end of the continuum to craft-tarded should be craft-tastic.
I was lucky enough through my periods of Sluggo-sitting to chat to several stall holders – Louise + Cathy from Audrey and Maude, Belinda from Tutti Frutti, Fi from Dear Fii, Helen and Nic from The Stencil Gallery, Justine from Mixtape and Lisa from The Red Thread and many others. Everyone had amazing designs (even from an art and craft philistine like myself) and there were so many different yet quality products. Quite a few of the Incubatorettes were obviously multi-tasking champions (Sorry – I’m a bloke who still is amazed by this) who were either knitting, stitching, cutting, making, creating a little something whilst running the stall and chatting to either customers or neighbouring stall holders. I needed to have a Bex and good lie down just watching them operate. One of the above mentioned ladies (with 5 kids of her own) gets absolutely no gold stars for her suggestion, after seeing Sluggo, that Kate and I need to work on adding some more cute kids to our brood (and yes I’ll contribute to the swear jar!).
Good move having the kids Crayola section – a gold star from me to the organisers. However, they could have got 27 more stars by maybe considering a small bloke’s section – with some chairs & tables, sport tvs or radio, magazines, papers, bar facilities, all just slightly removed from the hustle and bustle of the show. Remember that happy hubby = more chance of you staying at the show = spending lots in the Incubator section.
Ms Banshee obviously needed a break here and there so I took over running the stall while she ate, shopped and chatted to others. I’ve never worked in a retail job before so it was a little weird seeing people look at me funny as I stood in front of the quilts, toys, bags, patterns and yarn with a half completed sock knitted on the table. “Surely he couldn’t have made all that?” Correct. Still - Millions of gold stars to the lady who stood there and said to her partner “Wow – look at the great work this guy’s doing on that sock”. Made my day! It was actually quite cool being able to see the variety of people come through and chat, and even better when those who found out I knew little about the craft stuff still continued to chat and even more so those who actually bought something from me at the stall.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to say hi and maybe I’ll see you in Melbourne next year!