A recipe for Karen

We had Tiffin and Lime Marscapone Cheesecake at our Quilting Bee last Monday and Karen asked for the recipe.  Apart from cake baking, which I consider a science as much as an art, I don't use recipes as such.  I have loads of recipe books which I love reading, but when it comes to making things though I quite often just chuck things into a bowl.  Sometimes they come out well and sometimes they don't.  The tiffin is made with a bar of chocolate, some crushed biscuits and whatever dried fruit or nuts are in the cupboard.  If it is a bit dry when I'm mixing it I put some melted butter in.  We had fig and hazelnuts in the bars above.  Maybe about 100g each of fruit and nuts to 200g of bikkies.


The cheesecake is a bit more ordered -


200g ginger biscuits, crushed
50g melted butter
Mix these together and press into a loose bottomed cake tin or a flan dish.  The smaller the dish the deeper the cheesecake.


2 x 250g tubs of marscapone
50g sugar (icing is best because it dissolves quickly - you may need to add more if the limes are large and juicy, but you have to wait for granulated to dissolve or you end up making it too sweet!)
juice and finely grated zest of 2 limes


Save a little of the grated rind for decoration then mix the marscapone, sugar, juice and zest together.  Taste and add more sugar if you like.  Spoon over the biscuit base, smooth out and chill until firm - maybe a couple of hours.  Decorate with remaining zest.  So simple and good for hot days when you don't want to put the cooker on.

Put your shades on before viewing

I've been making the front of the quillow this weekend and cutting the sashing for the quilt bit.  I knew it would be bright but I didn't think it would carry a health warning!  If it were edible you wouldn't want to give it to children under 12.  I've been making two - a bit of tweedledee and tweedledum.  One is to show the finished block and one is to show the construction.  We did the last of the nine patches for the quilt at April's class.  I hadn't done two Dresden Plate blocks for some reason, so I did that first.  I don't think Leonardo Da Vinci would be too impressed with my centre circle though.

My beloved Thirties prints aren't everyone's cup of tea!

Then I started on the block for the cushion.  We started our first class with a nine patch and we are going to finish with a nine patch - only it's a bit more advanced!  The Card Trick is a lovely block, using half and quarter square triangles. You need to be very accurate or your points don't match and the effect is spoilt.

Pinned and ready to sew

Just to prove it IS a Nine-Patch

Accurate piecing is essential

Marking the borders

Ready to sandwich the cushion front

The other quilt is not quite a reverse of the this one and it is very busy and bright.  The Dresden Plate above belongs to the other twin.  The one shown above has dark jade green backgrounds and is a bit easier on the eye.


I've loved doing this project.  This afternoon I am going to sit and mark the sashing for both quilts and make the Card Trick Block for the second quilt.

I know it seems a lot of fuss to hand sew and mark every seam but for me every part is a relaxation.  If I want to make a quilt quickly I just get the machine out and put my foot down.  


If I get time I'll start the next part of the mystery quilt.  I made this a long time ago as a mystery quilt for some of my friends.  Alison and I already have made two each - probably about fifteen years ago but these are slightly different.  We couldn't find the instructions for some of the parts so had to make them up again.


I have a list of about a dozen things to do this Bank Holiday weekend and I think I've ticked four or five. I'm totally chilled out though and that wasn't even on my list.


There's an enormous pile of fabric that needs to be tidied and put away before the end of the day and a teetering basket full of ironing but it's only 10am and there's a stack of little triangles waiting in anticipation.  Iron or sew?  No contest.

My favourite journal page yet

I've had a lovely time doing one of my journal pages. It's my favourite yet.

First I folded some pages and glued them together to make the 'sail' shapes. Then I used some of Sandra's stamps to make the brick wall and some trees, together with the gateway on the left.  Then I coloured the shapes with some Derwent Inktense pencils.  Next I painted over with a dampened brush to reveal the water-colour effect and then I had to fill in the lines that were missing because I hadn't pressed the stamp evenly enough.  Actually I think I will just sketch the shapes next time if I'm doing something like this. I'm working on the blank bits underneath at the moment which are going to be part of our next class - calligraphy techniques. 


The dark blue and purple sky reminds me of an occasion when my brother and I took our children to Wet 'n Wild.  It was daylight when we went in but dark when we came out.  My nephew said 'look Daddy, it's purple dark'.  He was only about four or five at the time and I can remember wondering when we lose that ability to pick out the soft nuances of colour because we are so busy that we forget to look.  Next time you look at the night sky you will see how many different shades and colours are right before your eyes.

The last block of the quillow was given to the Stitchin' Friends last Monday. Well last except for the front of the cushion.  Soon we will be stitching blocks together to complete the project.  It's been a fun year.  I've loved teaching and sharing the journey with everyone.  See the Mavis and Gladys tab for details of April's Block.  


The mystery quilt is more than half way through now and we are already planning new projects.  I'm just about to do some preparation for meetings we have this week at work.  John is in the kitchen chopping things for tonight's meal, so I might hijack the oven to bake a cake in a little while.


I have two hens living rough under the choisya bush in the front garden at the moment.  They escaped from an allotment and every time we try to catch them they jump over the fence and run on to the road.  I give them food so they probably won't leave.  I just couldn't bear the thought of them starving. They are fertilising my garden which is nice and although I've asked them not to, they are fertilising the garden path too.  We have to check our shoes carefully before coming in!


The weather outside is not the most pleasant so it is nice to potter around in the house.  Gentle Sundays - don't you love them?

The Easter Holidays (gone already?)

I know I went into work over the Easter Break - but where on earth did it disappear to?  I spent the first few days in a state of anxiety after painting over my terracotta bedroom.  My Bear's Paw quilt is helping me make the transition though.  When the wall hanging goes back up (seen here over the headboard) I will be much happier.

I usually put this on during the Autumn months but it's one of my favourites.  The  wall-hanging is a Nancy Halvorsen pattern called 'Give Thanks'. Again one of my favourites.


My friend Karin came for the week so there was rather too much red wine and laughter.  Apart from getting caught in the Metro Centre traffic on Bank Holiday Monday the week was great.  


Karin, Alison and I went up the A697 on Easter Saturday to visit 'Stitchin' Heaven'

How gorgeous are these!!  I love Buggy Barn.  Followers of the Mystery Quilt may well notice some of these appearing soon.

After that we went to the Milkhope Centre (Blagdon) for a luscious lunch and a look round.  Definitely on the list of repeat visits.  I took some cake bars home for the babies - Malteser Bars and Rolo/Toblerone Bars.  A little session of aerobics on the cards I think.  I spent Tuesday at work (start of the new financial year) preparing the budget for dishing out when everyone is back on 16th.  

Karin and I did a bit of knitting too.  My cardigan is coming on - I'm nearly up to the armpits!  She taught me to do Tunisian crochet and I taught her how to do the Solomon's Knot!

Next came a bit of preparation for the next quilting class.  This month is another step on the journey - curved piecing. I think this won't be the most popular block but it is a technique that is used for some lovely quilts, including the Wedding Ring.  I have tried an alternative piecing method which bypasses the curved technique but produces a similar finished effect.

The traditional method

The alternative technique

Karin went home on Thursday.  Spent part of Friday in casualty with Steph who dropped a mirror on her foot.  Big ouch.  Not too much damage though, thank goodness.  We went to look at a house for John and Steph who are just about to jump on to the ladder - it was perfect.  Hopefully they can get the mortgage sorted out.  I know there's lots of houses on the market at the moment but this one is the best by far.

Alison and I went to the Crafts House for our usual Saturday morning session.  It was lovely to see everyone again. And Sandra - looking good gal!!  I did a bit more work on my backgrounds for the journal but I'm way behind Alison.

A bit blurry - shaky hands!

 

A couple of pages under construction

Karen B was back from America, full of stories of craft shops and wonderful sights - look what she brought for me!

Thank you so much Karen  - these will feature in my journal for sure.

I had another little indulgence over the hols - courtesy of Amazon. 

The Quilt Blocks book is just pictures and names, not instructions, but I know it will be an invaluable tool.  The Fishermen's Sweaters book is stunning.  A labour of love though.  I've spied a pattern for an eight year old child that I would love to knit but I don't know any eight year olds...... well not well enough to knit a jumper like these!  Hey ho.

And now it's Sunday and I'm back to work tomorrow. Actually I have done a lot over the holidays come to think of it.  Work will be a respite then. 

My wonderful washing machine and tumble drier are working their little socks off - God bless Michael Faraday!  The hens need a top up and then I'll  start the Sunday Roast (shh it's chicken).

We eat at six or thereabouts so I'll do some more stitching before we sit down to dinner.

Farewell Terracotta Boudoir

My house is only little.  I've always tried to keep the decor light and airy to make the most of the space.  In keeping with this I decided to paint my bedroom an almost white.  Picture a wooden fence on the coast of Cape Cod laid smooth by salty winds - a soft grey green white that has seen years of bright clear sunlight. Restful, clean and airy.  

There's a problem though.  I'm feeling really sad as I paint.   For more time than I'd like to admit, my bedroom has been a deep shade of terracotta. Cozy and warm; rich, deep and mysterious, where I am surrounded by quilts and books and peace;  my space in a house full of light; my naughty little secret.

The BBC website says we have just had the third warmest March on record. I'm sitting here watching the snow pass almost horizontally in front of my window.

Spare a thought for me as I steel myself to paint out the last little bit of my terracotta boudoir.

More daylight, less sleep, it must be Spring

Well here we are at last - that magic weekend when the long days really seem to start.  I have various methods to kid myself that I'm not losing sleep, none of which really work but the payback is what I'm doing now.  In my garden in the bright afternoon sun, the bbq almost alight.  I've just had a refreshing cup of tea and iced the emergency back up cake for tomorrow night.

Raspberry and Vanilla Cake

Date Bread

The date bread was supposed to be tea bread but when I went into the pantry there was only a little bit of dried fruit and lots of dates.  I'd already made the tea so I thought I would give it a try.  I'll have to slice it tonight when it's cool to see if it looks like it should or if the dates have disappeared into a sticky toffee pudding.

The bbq has just caught alight and of course the wind has changed so that I have just had an eyeful of smoke.  Hey ho.


Beautiful Steph has just arrived back from a weekend away with her Mam and family to celebrate her Mam's 40th Birthday.  My next door neighbour is sitting in his garden watching Newcastle play football (3-0 to Newcastle).  The hens up the road are crowing away and there's lots of birds singing. There's rather a large mess in the kitchen though and I have the ironing to do later but for now everything is good.


Yesterday at The Crafts House Sandra took my hand and steered me back on to the path of colour righteousness.  I didn't feel as though my journal backgrounds were turning out the way I wanted them.  I'm trying to break out of my boundaries but I'm obviously not ready for that yet.  I'm trying to achieve the wild look but my boundaries are calling me back.  I think that's why I love patchwork so much, it's like maths - logical.  That doesn't mean you can't see the beauty just because there's logic.  Keats said Sir Isaac Newton had spoilt the beauty of the rainbow when he showed how the light splits into it's component colours - no I say, it just makes it even more beautiful.   "Go back to your pallet" Sandra said.

What good advice!   Soft muted tones - lush.  Maybe I'll break out another day.  I had a happy time yesterday afternoon doing my logo for Strawberry Patches.

I scanned it in and then I had a little play in Photoshop this morning (well over two hours and still couldn't get the background hidden.  John came down and did it in less than five minutes - watch and learn Brendie).  I did manage to get the text on though.....  Now I just need get my blog header sorted.


Sandra had some water colour blocks (Derwent Inktense) and I had a little play with them - much more my style than spray inks!

Roll on pay day that's what I say.

Well, I'm going to light the beer lamp.  Happy crafting everyone.

Mother's Day

I had my quiet time rather early this morning whilst watching the Australian F1. It was worth getting up for - three brits in the top ten and two on the podium.  Whilst watching that I  finished the prep for my Sawtooth Block at the next Mavis and Gladys class.  I'm making two at the same time - one to demo the construction and one to show the finished block.  Luckily Alison makes a demo block too so that people can see different colourways and the finished effects.  It also helps them to see the block as it should be and not with my sometimes strange placements.  The blocks look fine when I'm making them but sometimes a mischievous fairy flips some of the units round when I'm not looking.

....and then did a few more rows on my crinkly jumper but I don't think I'm going to have enough yarn.  The body is knitted in one so it may be that it looks as though it's using more but there will be enough in the end.  

Next I sorted out some fabrics for the Mystery Quilt so that I could see what I'm doing instead of diving into my stash and pulling stuff out willy-nilly.  I love the jewel colours I have chosen for this.

Note to the ladies who are doing the Mystery Quilt that there is no clue in the fabrics!

A delicious breakfast of a hot cross bun and fresh coffee and then John and I went into the garden to dig.  I have always encouraged my children not to buy Mother's Day presents, especially not the sort that has a sudden price jump before the day, like cut flowers. However, the Turkish Delight from Will is not covered by this clause.  This year's present from John was the hard slog in the garden (helped by the hens who gobble up the worms -  mmm juicy worms).

The white one is Maddy and she lays beautiful pale cream eggs.  The speckled one is Miss Freckle and the black and gold one is Sam Sparrow.  They both lay dark brown eggs.  The one with the red shirt is John.

All ready for planting

We thought we had harvested all the artichokes but there's always some left -

We're having bbq chicken tonight and salad so I'll make some artichoke matchsticks in vinaigrette but I'm a bit sick of soup.  Maybe some mash although it does have some unpleasant side-effects.....

Beautiful Steph has just arrived back from visiting a friend in London.  She brought some plants and doughnuts with her.  Lovely!  

Today is a day when I remember my lovely Mummy who was everything you could ask for and more. This evening I'll be raising a glass of wine to her and all Mothers on our Special Day.  It's quarter to six and still bright and sunny although quite nippy.  It's been a good Mother's day.