A Vintage Sheet Swap!

Wow - I can't believe that I haven't blogged for well over a year. Oh well, straight back into it.

I have signed up for Kel's vintage sheet fat quarter swap - I got some great (and a few dud) sheets in a vintage sheet a few years ago, so will continue to add to my collection in the hope of doing a lovely soft vintage sheet quilt.

She still has spaces and the swap is still open - go and join up!

EB Dolls Quilt Swap

I have received my gorgeous quilt from the latest roudn of the EB Quilters Doll Quilt Swap. I am SO luck. Leah made me a fantastic wallhanging with the best handquilting. Thanks so much Leah. I really love it.

The little quilt that I sent to Xena has been opened and hopefully she will take a photo of it because I forgot. Here is a work in progress shot though.

My new washcloth - swap goodies

I am superslack blogger and received this and did not blog about it.
I received this gorgeous knitted washcloth from Gillian in the jellywares washcloth swap. Gorgeous colour and perfect and soft. I was also spoiled with a ball of aqua blue cotton to make one for myself and some coriander seeds for my garden. Thanks so much Gilly.

washcloth swap

The washcloth that I sent as part of Jodie's washcloth swap has arrived at Pixie's house. I am so glad that she liked it.
I ended making a sewn washcloth - lovely white waffleweave with some park slope binding. Of course I forgot to take pictures, but there are some on Pixie's blog. (I had tried to knit up some washcloths, which just turned out like dodgy looking red squares, not really up to swap quality, but they are doing a nice job of my dishes!)
I am looking forward to seeing what I receive

pay it forward

I am participating in some 'pay it forward' fun over at ttp://funwithalittlewiseowl.blogspot.com/ and am continuing the fun here. I have three spots to fill for peeps who want to join in too. I will make a handmade gift for the first 3 interested people. I have 365 days to do it in…What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise!
The catch is that you must participate as well: you must have a blog and before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going.
(you can just cut and paste this one if you like, changing "funwithalittlewiseowl" to mandsnest) Looking forward to this :)

EB Quilters Doll Quilt Swap #3

Yes, it is that time of year again - EB quilter's doll quilt swap. I haven't taken part in many swaps this year as I have tried to be a bit more realistic about what I can achieve with my time, but I couldn't miss out on this swap with my buddies.

Eliza's quilt

My niece is almost 6 months old and I have only just finished her quilt :(
I did make her a special cuddly blanket - made from the blanket that Monique used to carry around with her when she was little, but that doesn't really count as a welcome quilt fro Eliza in my books.
A simple coin quilt, with wonky quiliting in lovely verigated thread (but not quite wonky enough - it looks like I was just a bit wobbly!) I embroidered the label using a free stitchery off the net which I thought was perfect (I'll be back with the source when I find where I saved it)
I'll have to give it a wash (with a colour catcher sheet as none of the fabrics were pre-washed) to crinkle it up and then deliver it next time we go to Sydney.

My favourite cook book

The Moosewood Cookbook is one of my very favourite cookbooks. It was in fact one of the first cookbooks that I ever owned myself. We always used Mum's Margaret Fulton book for 'regular' things like burnt butter biscuits. My Aunty Deb had a Moosewood Cookbook and the Enchanted Broccoli Forest. I remember looking through her copies of these books, dreaming about going to New York and sitting in the Moosewood restaurant!. I can't remember who I got my copy of Moosewood from, but it is a much loved book, and one that I often thumb through for inspiration.

This vegetarian book is beautiful, with gorgeous hand written text and special hand drawn illustrations (no food stylist photographs) and special recipes like "Lovely Sesame Sauce" and "montana's Mum's Dynamite chocolate cake". I love the directions such as "season it according to your nature, and stuff the shells generously and with love."


It was originally published in 1977, but I have the 'revised' edition which Mollie Katzen rewrote in the early '90s with leaner recipes. Apparently MOOSEWOOD was listed by the New York Times as one of the top ten best-selling cookbooks of all time, and no wonder!I have given this book as a gift many times, and hope that those I give it to love it just as much as I do.

Hepi Independence Day Olgeta!

Papua New Guinea (PNG) became a sovereign nation on 16 September 1975, PNG Independence Day. I have spent quite a few years in PNG and wish all of my wantoks a very Happy Independence Day. We will have to miss the independence celebrations in Canberra this Saturday as Mimi has chickenpox and we are housebound.

Hunza Pie

One of my favourite stand-by meals - always yummy and easy peasy! My measuring is often pretty haphazard, and it works every time, so amounts are 'variable'.

Hunza Pie
6-8 spinach leaves - washed, steamed and shredded finely (or alternatively a pkt of frozen spinach)
1 grated onion
about 1 cup cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups grated cheese
3 eggs beaten
add any or all of the following (in whatever quantity you have - a handful seems to work well)
mushrooms
celery
zucchini
carrot
bacon

Mix all ingredients together and place in a pastry case (you can blind bake, but I never bother)
pop a bit of extra grated cheese on the top
Cook in a moderate oven for approx 40 minutes (or until cooked and the cheese on top has gone nice and brown)

HomeMade - the Handmade Recipe Book

I am thrilled by the arrival this week of my copy of HomeMade - The Handmade Recipe Book, the recipe book put together by the craft community in aid of the people affected by the Black Saturday bushfires. It is full of fab tried, true and treasured recipes, donated by crafty peeps across the globe who wanted to do their bit - my croissant pudding recipe even features in the desserty section!
You can order your very own copy, either in PDF or as a 'proper' book! All proceeds go to help fund bushfire relief efforts by the Salvation Army.

little skirts from old pants

I have whipped up some quick skirts for the girls, out of some old cord pants. The cream pair were mine, but I was realistically never going to fit into them again, but I loved the fabric so much I couldn't get rid of them (it has ribbon roses embroidered onto it). The pink striped one is from a pair of pants that I bought in an op shop, with the plan of re-fashioning something for the kids because the fabric was bright and fun. They were so easy to do, no pattern or anything. Just cutting up the outler leg seam of the pants, then cutting to length, overlocking up the sides, turning over a casing and threading the elastic through.






I still have a bit more of both pieces of fabric, so will see what becomes of them!

I also made a skirt for Lulu out of a thrifted 'big girl' skirt that has bits of silver in the fabric - again, easy peasy. Cut of the wasitband and remove zipper, cut to length and turn the casing for elastic. No need to hem or anything as I used the existing hem.

In more refashioning, I also cut up a thrifted waffle weave dressing gown and cup up some new face washers for myself - just doubled them and overlocked around the edges. Couldn't be easier.

I have bought a large length of white waffle weave to make the girls each a throw for their beds - I just need to choose a great fabric to bind them in - I was thinking a bright red spot?Any suggestions? I have a gorgeous white waffle weave blanket on my bed and I love how crisp it always looks.

saffron craig fabrics

Saffron Craig makesthe most gorgeous hand printed fabrics and I just had to indulge in her last sale before her new line came out. (the new line looks fab by the way - there are more owls!).
This is my little stash of Saffron fabrics, still waiting for me to decide how they will fit together into a quilt.

Check out what Amy from Badskirt does with Saffron's prints - too cute!

I miss you Pop

Rest in Peace Pop - we will never ever forget you

our trip to PNG

After 7 years away, I went back to Alotau in PNG, where I lived for 6 years, initially as a volunteer with Australian Volunteers International. I took the girls to meet their Bubus (grandparents) and the rest of their extended family, and we stayed in the village in Milne Bay. What a wonderful adventure. I hadn't realised how much I missed PNG and my friends up there.

I am so, so grateful that my girls have an exposure to a life that is different to the one that we lead here in Canberra - that they understand that not everyone in the world turns on a switch for light or opens a fridge for food, or has a bath or shower at their house. I am thankful that they have had more exposure to their culture than they can get here, and I am indebted that they will have a loving, accepting place that they can run to when they are older if they ever need to.

The girls had a fantastic time running around with their cousins, bathing in the river, buying food at the market, learning to speak tok pisin and meeting lots of people. Hopefully I can take them back every few years and it isn't so long before I return again.

Fat Quarters

My LQS no longer sells fat quarters - they sell 30cm strips. I love Fats though. I had a scrap of paper with the following info on it that I though may come in useful some day. (I think that I had betetr store it here given my luck with scraps of paper!)

From a fat quarter, you can get the following number of cut squares:

110 x 2' or 64 x 2.5'
42 x 3' or 30 x 3.5'
20 x 4' or 16 x 4.5'
16 x 5' or 12 x 5.5'
9 x 6' or 9 x 6.5'
6 x 7'
4 x 8'
4 x 9'
4 x 10'

I was a winner!

I won this great wooly friends kit on Island Kylie's blog - thanks so much Kylie. I'm looking forward to making it up. These sheep are the sweetest and the colors are so bright and fun. The kit has all the fabric needed to make the quilt top, which is 45x54 inches. It uses Andover Fabrics and I think will be perfect for my gorgeous baby niece. (i hope you don't mind Kylie but I lifted your photos)

pre-school

Lulu started at pre-school last week. She was so excited, and a little bit nervous. No tears on the first day (from either of us).

Island Kylie's give-away week

Head over to Island Kylie's blog - she has a great week of give-aways going at the moment

meme time

(bold means I've been there, done that - italics are just comments)



1. Started your own blog.

2. Slept under the stars.

3. Played in a band. I used to play flute in the primary school band

4. Visited The Great Barrier Reef.

5. Stood under the stars in the outback, the real outback – think Uluru.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity.

7. Been to the Gold Coast’s theme parks – anyone, you take your pick. Dreamworld

8. Climbed a mountain.

9. Held a praying mantis.

10. Sung a solo.

11. Bungee jumped, jumped out of plane, been paragliding or hang-gliding, hot air ballooning – you get the idea, you’ve been hundreds of metres about earth in a seemingly flimsy contraption. None of these things, but I have done a fair bit of travelling both in light planes and tiny air-nuigini planes that felt pretty flimsy

12. Visited Paris.

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.

15. Had a child. Raised a child. Worked with children. had 2 babies

16. Had food poisoning. and a stay in a third world hospital to prove it

17. Been to the Snowy Mountains.

18. Grown your own vegetables.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.

20. Slept on an overnight train or bus.

21. Had a pillow fight.

22. Been backpacking.

23. Taken a mental health day.

24. Been buried in sand with just your head and toes sticking out.

25. Held a possum, kangaroo or koala – or any other native Australian animal.

26. Gone skinny dipping.

27. Run a marathon does a half marathon count - I am saying yes!

28. Been on the Blue Mountain cableway.

29. Seen a total eclipse. and a famous comet

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. both - over the ocean is the best

31. Played, or watched, summer cricket. bring back 'the hill'

32. Been to Niagra Falls on the Canadian side

33. Seen the Daintree.

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.

35. Visited an Aboriginal settlement or mission. Bathurst Island

36. Learned a new language. although out of practice, I used to be fluent in PNG tok pisin and could probably still hold a conversation

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. I think so

38. Toured the Sydney Opera House.

39. Tried rock climbing (indoor or outdoor), abseiling or just simple bushwalking bushwalking for me - the other two are scary

40. Visit Queensland’s Gallery of Modern Art

41. Been to the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

42. Sunbaked at Bondi.

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.

44. Visited Broome.

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.

46. Been transported in an ambulance. Twice - once with Kya and once with Mali

47. Had your portrait painted.

48. Gone fishing.

49. Seen Tasmania’s old growth forests.

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling. I did my PADIcertification in Alotau and the only diving that I have done is in the Pacific

52. Kissed in the rain.

53. Played in the mud.

54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.

55. Gotten a speeding ticket - yes, but only once

56. Driven the Great Ocean Road. a road trip with Kate and Jen during uni

57. Started a business.

58. Taken a martial arts class. I went to Yun Jung Do for a while

59. Visited Norfolk Island.

60. Served at a soup kitchen.

61. Sold Girl Guide biscuits.

62. Gone whale watching. I have seen whales on the northern beaches of Sydney, but have never been on a special whale watching 'cruise' or anything

63. Got flowers for no reason.

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.

65. Gone parasailing.

66. Stayed the night in jail.

65. Cried so hard you threw up - yes… don’t care to revisit that.

68. Flown in a helicopter. and far too many VERY VERY small light planes

69. Saved a favourite childhood toy.

70. Visited the Australian War Memorial.

71. Eaten Caviar.

72. Pieced a quilt.

73. Stood in Federation Square.

74. Been on the Murray River.

75. Been fired from a job.

76. Travelled, or climbed, over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

77. Broken a bone.

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.

79. Seen the Three Sisters at Echo Point, Katoomba.

80. Published a book.

81. Visited St Mary’s Cathedral, in Sydney.

82. Bought a brand new car.

83. Been to Litchfield National Park

84. Had your picture in the newspaper.

85. Read the entire Bible.

86. Visited Parliament House.

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.

88. Had chickenpox.

89. Saved someone’s life.

90. Sat on a jury.

91. Met someone famous.

92. Joined a book club.

93. Lost a loved one.

94. Saved a pet.

95. Been to the site of the Eureka Stockade.

96. Swum in The Whitsundays.

97. Been involved in a lawsuit. only through work, no juicy story here

98. Owned a mobile phone.

99. Been stung by a bee. and I am allergic

100. Read an entire book in one day those were the days

book list for 2009

The Last Wednesday Bookclub has set the reading list for 2009.

Edited to update on the January book -
We had the January meeting here at my place and the book - Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert provoked a lot of discussion, with people loving it or hating it. I was a bit in-between - I felt it difficult to relate to the author even though we had been through a similar traumatic marriage break-up. Having children, the liberty to run away just doesn't exist sadly.

The books for the remainder of the year are:

The Cure for Modern Life
Lisa Tucker

Atonement
Ian McEwan

The Secret Life of Bees
Sue Monk Kidd

The Slap
Christos Tsiolkas

When Gaston met Doris

Anne of Green Gables (2009 is the 50th anniversary of the release of AOGG)
Lucy Maud Montgomery

Infidlel
Ayaan Hirsi

Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe

Girls Like Us
Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon

The Young Widows Book of Home Improvement
Virginia Lloyd

To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee

We have a great list this year and I'm looking forward to getting all of them read. I used to be a voracious reader, but these days I find it hard to just get through my book club books unless I am going through a period of travelling frequently for work.

berry croissant pudding recipe

This recipe came from my friend Skue and it has become a favourite here that I often take when I am asked to bring a dessert.

Blueberry Croissant Pudding
butter for greasing
3 large croissants, cut length ways into thick slices (I have also used mini ones and they are fine too)
1 punnet blueberries (I have used frozen blueberries, raspberries, frozen mixed berries or chocolate pieces (white or milk) all turn out yummy)
250 gm block philly cheese, softened
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)

Grease a 6 cup ovenproof dish
arrange croissant slices in a single overlapping layer in the base on the dish
Sprinkle with berries
beat the Philly and caster sugar until smooth
gradually pour in cream , milk, eggs and vanilla until mixed
pour the mix over the croissants and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes
sprinkle liberally with the brown sugar
bake at 180 degrees C in a water bath for 40 minutes or until golden
serve hot with cream or ice cream

YUM!

Hello big 4!

My big girl turned 4 in eary January. She woke up and said "goodbye three, hello four"
As is the usual tradition in our home, we wear a special birthday crown when we blow out our candles, but Lulu kept the crown on all day

Holiday time

Wonderful summer holidays. Great Christmas; time with far away friends; beach holiday....bliss.

The Wiggles Concert 2008

Once again we went ot the Wiggles concert this year - they are such fantatsic entertainers and I love it just as much as the girls.

Thank you Xena

I recently won a give away on Xena's blog - and last week this gorgeous package arrived at my place. An adorable little bag, three sets of her super hair clips and a gorgeous hair band (just my colour!) as well as an issue of I Can Make it Myself, all wrapped in some vintage sheeting with matching bias to tie it all together - thanks so much Xena. I love it :)

EB dolls quilt swap revealed!

The quilt that I sent to Natalie can now be revealed (although her pictures are SO much better than mine - check out those gorgeous kids!)

EB dolls quilt swap received!

I am a VERY VERY lucky girl. I have received a beautiful dolls quilt (which I am going to put on the wall) from Helen as part of the EB girls doll quilt swap. Helen makes gorgeous quilts full of colour and I am thrilled to have one of my very own! Thanks Helen :)

EB Dolls quilt swap sneak peek

some sneak peeks at my EB DQS

new dresses

I have stayed up into the night to get some new dresses finished for the girls for thier kindy photos (which go over 3 days). I am one of those mean mums that dress their kids in the same clothes!

On Monday they wore little reversible smocks - cherries on one side and red gingham on the reverse with little shorts. Today they wore yellow 'pillowcase' dresses made form a vinatge curtain - super cute! I didn't get pics of them yesterday morning, but did get a couple tonight. All 4 dresses are in the washer now, so we will choose in the morning which ones get re-used!! Here are some pics - checkout Mimi's teeny tiny piggy tails!