Miss 19 dueting with her Dad |
About Me
- Kris
- I am a mother of eight and grandmother of four who loves to make and create. Rosemary Hill is the name of our home where we live, work, learn and create together
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Tuesday
Monday 30 January 2012
I guess I must be moving.....
.... because I packed today rather than sewed. It took me a while to get into it. I had to watch the rain first.
It was pouring! After a couple of hot days here in Melbourne it was lovely to see. Then after I had packed one box I had to tweet about it.
Then check twitter. Then my email. Then I had to have lunch. Then find a DVD to put on. You know how it is. Then finally I really started. So the most important rooms are packed. The sewing room and the lounge room. (Where all the hand stitching happens!) Tomorrow more packing awaits. Perhaps if I get stuck into it early tomorrow I might have time to sew a little!
Sunday 29 January 2012
Feeling a bit restless today...
my workspace, and it's view |
Saturday 28 January 2012
A drive in the country...
View from Mt Baw Baw |
It was all so green and pretty |
Not sure what I would think about it if it was covered with snow. Especially since I have never seen snow. Perhaps now that we live in Victoria I might even get to see snow, now that I know where to go! Of course, there are other snowcovered places here too. Who knows where I will end up on my next fabric hunting trip?
Friday 27 January 2012
White chocolate and gingerbread slice
A couple of you thought this sounded delicious so I thought I would share the recipe with you.
100g unsalted butter, chopped
3/4 cup golden syrup
3/4 cup brown sugar
2tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup milk
2 cups plain flour
180g white chocolate, chopped
icing sugar, for dusting
1. Preheat oven to 180C or 160C fan. Grease & line a 19cm x 29cm slice pan with non-stick baking paper. (You can see I used a disposable pan with no greasing or lining. I saw Nigella do this with a similar slice & figured it would work for this. It does!)
2. Place butter, syrup, sugar, ginger & cinnamon in a saucepan. Stir on medium heat for 2-3 mins, until butter has melted & mixture is well combined and smooth. Remove from heat & cool slightly. Add eggs & milk & mix well.
3. Sift flour into a large bowl. Add chocolate. Fold through egg mixture & mix until combined. Fill pan. Bake for 30-35 mins, until firm. Cool in pan, dust with icing sugar & cut into fingers to serve.
I have made this a few times now & my kids just love it! It was the "tundra" for my Christmassy deer/moose installation you can see here. I use white chocolate melts or choc chips to make it even easier. (I'm all for easy here!) Of course, I always make a double batch. (There were 14 of us for dinner last night) I'm not sure how many you need to have in the household to only make a single batch!
Thursday 26 January 2012
It's Australia Day!
Have you had a great Australia Day? In true Aussie style, it is mostly considered to be a great day off here. I spent most of today baking. White chocolate & gingerbread slice, choc chip cookies, cup cakes and lots and lots of pasties. This was all in aid of Miss 14 and her friends who love to eat yummy things!
The only sewing I did today was the final three seams on this star flower block. (Hope you looked away Shay!!!) I am thinking of basting some quilt tops tomorrow. And packing some stuff. Moving will begin next Thursday I think, but since we are not moving far (two streets) we will probably move over several days rather than packing it all into one day. Hey! We will be moving seven people's stuff. It's not going to be quick!!! Catch ya tomorrow!
Wednesday 25 January 2012
My new system
the star flower project bag on my desk |
Some Kind of Wonderful project bag on my stool |
the Kate Spain good fortune project bag (clearly this project has outgrown it's project bag) under my desk |
Tuesday 24 January 2012
Kate Spain Good Fortune top finished!
Kate Spain good fortune top finished. |
flowers in my garden |
*sigh* I'm trying not to think about everything I have to do tonight. I leave you with a photo of some flowers in my garden. Not sure what they are. (Nicotiana?) The flowers don't open until evening and these babies are self-sown! Gotta love flowers that do all the work for you! Now, if only that quilt would baste itself.....
Sunday 22 January 2012
Record Keeping
I have a lot of ideas. Mostly though they just float around in my head and just remain ideas because I never actually make a plan for them.
In the past I have bought all sorts of wonderful books to record my ideas in. Mostly they are empty. Whenever I plan a quilt I usually do it on a scrap of paper, which promptly gets lost. This year I have decided to use the time I have more wisely, so I got my books out and I'm recording my ideas, my goals, and my progress.
I started out with the scrap pieces of paper for my Kate Spain Good Fortune quilt. I've stuck them in my book now and have further workings out in the book now I have decided how I want to finish it. It's all dated too, which I am hoping will make me more accountable.
I tend not to use patterns very much. I usually design my quilts myself, but with the scrap paper method of design if I ever want to replicate a quilt I have to design it all over again. So I'm hoping my ideas book will make things easier. And keep track of my projects and help me finish more. Here's hoping its a magic book!!!
Saturday 21 January 2012
Star Flower Blocks
I had so much fun with these the other day that I decided to make some for me. That's after I saw a pack of "a stitch in color" charm squares by Malka Dubrawsky.
Charm squares are perfect for the star flower because there's a little less cutting! My 5" charm squares mean a 16.5" finished block, but big is beautiful, right?
This is the first block and it's still fun, so I think this will definitely be a quilt. Of course, I have to get the Good Fortune quilt finished before I do any more.
I know. We'll see!
Friday 20 January 2012
Sewing desk mess
My mess |
Oh. And there really is no such thing as a sewing desk too messy to create on. If you are ever in that situation, what you really need is a new project!
Thursday 19 January 2012
Sewing for do. Good Stitches {a Charity Bee}
Star flower blocks, my first for do. Good Stitches |
Wednesday 18 January 2012
Full Circle.
Miss 14's birthday cake 2010 |
Today has been a slow day. I did do a little sewing, some preparation for a scrap quilt that is calling my name, and working out what fabric I will need to back a quilt top that is almost finished. (You'd never know I had done two maths subjects in high school AND passed!) More about the sewing stuff tomorrow. Tonight I am just being happy that I know which roof will be over my head during 2012.
Tuesday 17 January 2012
Jiggety jig
Home again. Another long drive today. This time away from this face. He helped me take this photo. My camera has a display that can be turned to the front so he could tell me when he could see himself and then I "snapped" the photo. I find driving from here to there very tiring. Goodnight!
Monday 16 January 2012
Good Guessing!
Lots of you worked out where I was. We are in Adelaide for a day or two and then we will be going for a long drive home again. My Bradley will be working, but I will be looking at this for a day and a half.
And this
And taking lots of photos too I think.
Sunday 15 January 2012
My Day...
...looked just like this.
We went for a little drive. It wasn't what we were planning when we woke up, but we're flexible. What does this week hold for you? I'm never quite sure at my house.
Saturday 14 January 2012
He's taken an interest in photography.
Photography by Mr 11 |
Friday 13 January 2012
She made covers for her folders.
Miss 14 believes that every folder deserves a fabric cover. So far three of her five folders have one. Some even sport pockets for books. Much sewing happening here!
Thursday 12 January 2012
Fabric and thread.
We went to Spotlight today so Miss 19 could pick up some supplies for the new bag she is making. On the way out Misses 25 and 14 noticed the wheels on Spotlight's trolleys were suitably covered with fabric and thread. Don't you just love fabric and thread?
I have done a little more on my "Good Fortune" quilt today. Honestly, it seems to be taking THE longest time!!!
Here it is right now. I finally have two rows together! Hopefully I can get the others together tomorrow. So tired right now. Goodnight!
It has begun.
Days when I spend most of my day out and don't sew much at all (there are very few actual no-sew days in my world) I don't seem to be able to remember to blog. I am thinking of having dictionaries around the world change the word "blog" to "brag" because it seems that that's what I do here rather than blog. Now I have no record of a day spent at the Caribbean Gardens and Warrandyte.
Then, when we came home, Miss 19 and I began the packing. Yes, it seems as though we have barely unpacked (our stuff did only arrive here six months ago) and now we need to get everything back in those boxes! Well, possibly not everything. Moving is a wonderful opportunity to sort and discard, if nothing else. So we started on the books yesterday afternoon. Eight boxes were packed, and we had two boxes of discards. We are probably half done. (I know! We have a lot of books! My excuse is that we are homeschoolers and need a lot. Perhaps the real reason is that we are hoarders!) Anyway, we have begun packing and still have no idea of our destination. Moving day is less than three weeks away. Today I am hoping to sew my cares away!
Tuesday 10 January 2012
Gingernut Biscuits and Painting.
Gingernut Biscuits |
Miss 19, on a chair, painting. |
I am sewing today. Miss 14 is sewing. (Covers for her folders for school. She believes every folder deserves a fabric cover.) Miss 25 is doing the work I should be doing (yay her!) loading items to eBay. My Bradley is busy working. Mr 17 is playing x-box. Mr 11 is alternating between shooting hoops, watching iview, playing xbox, wandering and eating. Miss 19 is painting something mysterious in a corner of the kitchen. I haven't looked because she doesn't want me too. It's a busy day here with lots of creative energy!
Monday 9 January 2012
Managed to sew some more today too.
Lots of 9-patches now |
Fabric and my Bradley *sigh* |
Sunday 8 January 2012
Inspired by Kate
Saturday 7 January 2012
Some sewing
Good Fortune by Kate Spain |
As you can see, I got it out of the bag today. Ironed it. Cut it up and started sewing it into some nine-patches. (I really love nine-patches for some reason. They always come to my mind.) I thought I might get the nine-patches together, but didn't quite get that far. Tomorrow.
Thursday 5 January 2012
Veggie pancakes
Last veggie pancake left. |
Whilst out shopping our thoughts turned to dinner and Miss 19 declared a want for veggie pancakes. I hadn't made any for ages. I think all my veggie loving kids have moved out and the others are not usually very receptive to such veggie delights. Anyway, I cooked two large stacks and this was all that was left. Definitely making these again soon! While I am on a cooking/dinner track I must mention Frogdancer's latest post. You can read it here. What a bunch of inspiration she has for eating well, but for less money. The amount of money we spend on food has been on my mind a lot this year. Not that it is wrong to spend money on food, but (as Frogdancer points out) do you really want to pour a lot of money down your throat? Would it be better spent elsewhere? I'll leave you to ponder that...
Wednesday 4 January 2012
Rhythm.
Grandson waiting on the stairs for his foph (aunt) last August. |
Tuesday 3 January 2012
Results of today.
And I'm not much of a singer. I prefer to walk in the rain. I have also spent time cutting out teeny tiny squares for the filler patchwork that goes in between my December blocks of applique. Now there's a tedious task! It looks good though so I am happy to do it. I have also spent ages drawing ideas for my own favourite things. Not sure if I have quite enough ideas of my own yet, but there are enough to carry on with. And now, last of all, I will show you the grandchildren block. I hate it! I loved it right up until I did their faces. I'm not sure whether I will be able to salvage it or not. I am posting it here so you can see it, but hope you don't cringe too much. (Or laugh too much!!! It really is terrible!) It may be that I will start again on this block. It's funny, because this block is "blocking" me, so I have decided to post it here AND get over it.
Ugly Block |
Monday 2 January 2012
Here's Something I Prepared Earlier
This is a bag I made at the end of November last year. It sounds so long ago when I say last year! I made it for my mum for her birthday and was able to hand deliver it to her when I visited Adelaide. The stitchery is a Gail Pan design that I stitched at a Port Pirie stitching weekend at Country Hart. The fabric was some country checks I bought years ago from the Patchwork Apple. They just scream "patchapple" to me. (My nickname for that favourite shop!) Today has been a hot one here in Melbourne. We made it to 39.6 officially I believe. I seem only to be able to do headaches when it gets hot, so that's what I've done today. I did tidy my sewing desk and thread a needle with some red DMC too, then it was all too much and I gave up. Which turned out to be a good decision really because two of my nieces turned up with two friends looking for somewhere to stay tonight. They are on their way home on a road trip and know they're always welcome at our house. (It's kind of a tradition with us. If any of our kid's friends need somewhere to crash they give us a call and show up. The nieces must not really know the tradition part, cause they got their mum to call!) So I mostly just visited with them this afternoon, hearing all about their trip. A fun time!
Sunday 1 January 2012
So hard to post today!
So I make a bunch of goals on December 31, not sure whether I will be able to accomplish them, but I'm hopeful. Then January 1st arrives and I have no internet.
None.
*sigh*
Blogging is so hard without the internet! Luckily I have a smartphone, I've never blogged from it before, so this is an experiment!
Today has been a pretty slow day here. We spent New Year's Eve at a friends house. The plan was to be home just after 10pm, but inertia set in. We were sitting, we were comfortable and suddenly it was midnight. So I have done very little today. Tune in tomorrow for some finished stitching!