The Squares Quilt

The squares quilt. It took me ages, but it was worth it. I started it about 6 months ago, and when I went to Auckland recently, I took the quilt top with me, and Mum finished it off. That's how we roll- I do the exciting parts and Mum does the bits that require the real quilting love. And so now it sits happily on my bed. Just in time for it to be needed as it's slowly but surely getting cooler in these parts.

Mum's a super talented quilter-her work is colourful, textural and almost sculptural sometimes. And being the pushy oldest child/Capricorn/naturally bossy person I admit I am, I'm pleased to say that she now has her own Felt shop. Awesome.

I love this quilt for the following reasons-1. I stitched all those squares together by hand, and I'm proud of that. 2. I can honestly say that I LOVE every single one of the fabrics I used, and 3. Because Mum and I did it together and that's special to me.

Also, I'd like to point out that I'm pretty sure my husband would much prefer a neutral coloured bedroom with lots of cream and peaceful tones, but, because the poor man is married to me, this is what he has instead. He must love me huh?

What to make next?

Waiting for the Harvest

There's a lot of green fruit growing in my garden at the moment, and I'm waiting patiently for the Autumn Harvest! Oranges, Lemons, Grapefruit (isn't it clever how Nature provides us with all those Vitamin C rich fruits in the cold and flu season when we need them most?) Fejoas galore, and more exotically, Figs and Guavas. I've invited Rhiannon over to raid the fig tree-there's been talk of some fig based baking which I'm all in aid of. But the guavas-what do I do with guavas? Any suggestions?

Formspring Friday

The idea for this regular Friday post totally came from Rhiannon, I have to give credit where it's due! These are my formspring questions and answers from the last week...

Questions Answered
Sneakers or sandals?
Sandals-that way I don't have to locate socks and life's just easier!

What's your favorite city?
Sheesh I'm not really a fan of cities at all actually! I'd have to say Auckland, but only for visiting family and friends reasons, oh and the shopping, but I'm always pleased to get home to my small town haven

What song do you want played at your funeral?
Hhhmmm... Something I've never actually thought about! I'd have to say "Come for me Here" by Hollie Smith.

What would you do differently if you could do it over?
Have an indoor wedding. Never start smoking (I'm a reformed smoker now and have been since I found out I was prengant with Isla, but I regret the years I did smoke-it really is an insidious and puerile habit and it's embarrassing to admit that I was formerly a slave to it.) Take more photos of myself while I was pregnant (I had an aversion to cameras both times. Why? I don't know.) And NOT eat the Mars Bar I had last night!

Would you ever consider plastic surgery? What would you have done?
If I could afford it-absolutely! I love the thought of being able to change the parts of my body that I'm not so fond of.

Who's the most talented person you know?
Everyone has a special talent. But I was lucky enough to work with someone whom I consider the most talented teacher I know, which was very inspiring.

what do you think is your favourite thing of everything you've ever made? by squidgyums
My favourite of all my designs is definately the Hobby Horse. Which makes it all the more difficult when I see other crafters copying it! I know it's the highest form of flattery etc but it's still hard for me!

If you were offered the job of U.S. president would you take the job?
Never never, no way. I'd hate to be in the public eye like that. I actually feel sorry for celebrities in that sense-the media stalking that they have to endure...

If you had to perform at the circus, what trick would you do?
If I had to perform at the circus-I'd seriously reflect on what happened to my career in Early Childhood Teaching! No really, I'd be a tightrope walker in a pink sparkly costume. That or a clown!

Are you afraid of dying?
Not really-I'm far more afraid of something happening to my children or husband.

What's the best place near you to get a drink?
The local Irish pub is probably my favourite place for a drink locally, but as I have 2 small children, I can count the amount of times I've been out for "a drink" in the last 4yrs on one hand!

What did you dream about last night?
Last night I dreamed about horses-going to some type of stables or pony club with my mum and riding around and around and people were clapping. It was a strange dream!

What website do you spend the most time on?
Probably Trade Me-a lot of the contents of our home come from there! Everything from cupcake papers for the kids birthdays to a barking collar for the dog...

If you won a $1,000 shopping spree for any store, which store would you pick?
Borders bookshop in Auckland. I'd buy a pot of tea and spend the day there choosing books for myself and the whanau!

What are you reading right now?
I'm reading "Saving Fish from Drowning" by Amy Tan, and I've just finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. Both fabulous books.

what is the best thing about being a an early childhood teacher? by squidgyums
Ooooo, that's tricky, because there's so many things that are great about it! I love the fact that I get to take my children to work with me-very handy. But I guess the best thing about the job is that it's never boring. I can spend the morning in a meeting, and the afternoon face painting or planting seeds. I get to be indoors, outdoors, really experience the seasons of each year and I get to be professional, academic and creative all at the same time-it's so varied and interesting.

Well, there you have it! Keep 'em coming! And again-thanks to Rhiannon for the introduction to Formspring-so much fun xx

Lovely Things

I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter! Ours was a day of family and chocolate which is pretty much as good as it gets as far as I'm concerned! I'm just stopping in with some random news...

Thanks for all the interesting questions on formspring. Some of them really make me think... If you haven't joined I encourage you to, because I think you can learn a lot about yourself. Plus-it's fun!

The lovely Kristin is having a giveaway. The prize is one of her fabulous sleeveless hoodies. I can vouch for these because Kyan had one last year and it was top notch both in terms of quality and cuteness. Here he is modelling it (oh my Gosh he looks so tiny! Don't children just grow up so amazingly quickly?)

And last but not least, Hollie Smith has a new album out. It's called Humour and the Misfortune of Others, I've been listening to it a lot over the past two weeks and it's absolutely fabulous!

Eggy Goodness

Have you ever tried blowing eggs, to decorate for Easter? We did, and it was lots of fun! You'll need;
A bowl of hot water (not boiling)
Vinegar
Eggs
Pins
Bowls to catch the egg white/yolk
Food colouring
Glue
Sequins, stickers, felt shapes or whatever you can find to decorate the egg
Bamboo skewers

Poke your pin carefully into the top of the egg. Wiggle it round so you break up the yolk and white-which makes it easier to blow it out later. The wiggling also helps to make the hole bigger. Do the same thing at the other end of the egg.

Blow the contents into a bowl (note Isla's wet hair-that's because my children had just had a bath. I'm the kind of Mum that bathes her children and then, when they are nice and clean and sweet-smelling, I give them raw eggs and food colouring to play with, but that's another story anyway...)

When the egg shells are empty, put them into the bowl of hot water and add a good swill of vinegar. This helps to kill any eggy bacteria that may be hiding in the shell. Save the egg yolks/whites for scrambled eggs later on...

Add food colouring to the water/vinegar mixture...

Swish the egg shells around in the water so they are evenly covered, and dye your hands in the process...

Stick the eggs onto bamboo skewers and find a suitable place to dry them where they won't be touching/leaning against anything.

Decorate! Check these out for insporation!

Display proudly! Happy Easter everyone xx

Formspring Me

Well, it's been so interesting following Rhiannon and Kristin's questions from Formspring that I've totally hopped on the bandwagon. So, if you'd like to ask me anything-go ahead. Check the sidebar for the question box.

Here are my questions and answers so far...

If you could choose, how would you want to die?
Peacefully, in my sleep, at the age of 94.

If you could be on one TV show which one would it be?
I'd love a part on Outrageous Fortune. I am a true blue West Aucklander after all!

Do you believe in God?
Not in a Christian sense, but I do believe there is a higher power, and a purpose beyond oneself. I believe in karma, integrity and the power of positive thought.

Chocolate Brownie

I'm suffering from a case of total Crafters Block. My symptoms include-inability to follow a pattern, shortened attention span, lack of inspiration and general aversion to fabric. Thank Goodness I can still bake-Phew! It's my only creative outlet at the moment and apparently, also the only project I can see through from start to finish without stashing down the back of the sofa in frustration! So let's celebrate with Chocolate Brownies!

Originally this recipe came from a magazine, but I've "tweaked" it a little bit.

Ingredients

4 eggs

175g butter-preferably unsalted

1 cup of plain flour

175g darkest chocolate-Whittakers is best

1 cup of castor sugar

2 tbsp of cocoa

1 large packet of Malteasers, crushed up a bit-not heaps, you don't want a fine powder-just bash them a bit with a meat mallet or similar while they're in the packet.

Icing sugar for dusting

Method

Heat oven to 160°C

Melt butter and dark chocolate together in the microwave, or carefully in a saucepan. Whisk until smooth, then stir in sugar and eggs.
Sift flour and cocoa powder together, then stir into chocolate mixture carefully-just enough to mix it all up, then gently stir in the broken up Malteasers.
Pour into your tin-use baking paper!

Bake for about 40mins-1hour-until a knife when inserted comes out cleanly. Allow to cool before cutting into pieces. Dust with icing sugar before serving. Enjoy!