We have made our own Christmas Cards this year. Little E is very proud.


To do the same you will need:
1 A5 Sketch pad
1 set of crayons, especially white
paintbrushes
Water based paint - I have used water colours, my friends have assured me food colouring does the trick too.

Step 1 - Get drawings, with the white crayon. Add some coloured bit so you know where to paint.

Step 2 - Pass crayons and paints to 2 year old and let them go for it.

I couldn't resist touching a few up to cover all the drawings with paint, but my favourites are the ones where Little E has taken it upon herself to draw a whole new picture over my careful Christmas illustrations.

Dear Family Circle,

Your recipe is a crock. How could you let me down like that? My gingerbread houses fell in a crumpled heap and I hold you responsible.

I have remained loyal for years. As the recipe books were thinned annually, I kept you along side my beloved Nigella. I extolled the virtues of your Vichyssoise, gingerbread, Chicken chasseur, fish pie and so many others.

However, your royal icing recipe left me cold. I had visions of beautiful snow capped houses made of sweet gingerbread. My sister and I were left holding the walls up, waiting for the icing to take hold. First they fell in, then the roof slid off. I think buttercream would have been a better solution. It would have worked too, if it wasn't 26 degrees in the shade.

I have checked, and your recipe, yes the one next to the ginger bread recipe, uses half the amount of icing sugar compared with other royal icing recipes. My trust is shattered. You're just lucky the ginger bread tastes so good.

Sincerely,
Amy

This quilt uses 45 degree triangles cut from string pieced fabric (refer to string tutorial 1). Triangles are then pieced to give 8” finished blocks. This quilt is similar to String with Red Centre from Gwen Marston's Liberated String Quilts

To make these blocks, start with a 45 degree offset when joining the strings. Continue joining the pairs until the fabric is 7” or wider.

Note : To minimise wastage, keep the width as close to 7” as possible (this is the difference between getting 6 or 4 triangles out of a piece of fabric, with more triangles in the narrower). Additionally, 44” long strings give a quicker result as there is less wastage at the ends of the fabric when cutting the triangles.


Cut the strips of string fabric into 45 degree triangles as shown, using either the angles on a ruler or a larger square.


Divide the triangles into two piles.

Cut 1” strips from a contrasting fabric – in this case the teal fabric. Join the 1” wide strips to the long side of the triangles from one pile and press. Next, join the remaining triangles to the other side of the contrasting strips and press. Square up the pairs of triangles to 8 ½”.

Layout the squares and start to assemble the quilt top.

Note: The joining seams are on bias (stretchier) edge of the fabric. To minimise distortion, use a walking foot to join the squares or ease off the pressure on the machine foot.

This concludes the string piecing tutorials for now. Let me know how you get on and if you have any questions, I will try my best to answer them.

This tutorial explains how string pieced fabric, from string tutorial 1, was used in the “If It’s a Boy” quilt that I made earlier this year. String pieced fabric is cut into squares and rearranged at different angles to create the overall effect.

The quilt uses approximately 3 pieces of 44” long string pieced fabric. The strips were cut from fat quarters and joined with at least one other string to create the full length to increase the number of joins seen in each block.

The first piece was 5” wide and then cut into 5” squares on the straight. The following pieces were slightly wider than 5” (say 6-7”) and the squares were cut at varying angles from these pieces. The remaining scraps were joined and cut to 5” square to create the orphan blocks on the back.

This tutorial looks at using the strings by replacing a conventional piece of fabric with one that has been created with the strings, as in string tutorial 1. The blocks above have used the string fabric, in place of a patterned fabric, to create the two different patterns.


These Christmas decorations also use string pieced fabric in place of a plain fabric. They were made by creating string fabric to the width of the pattern piece and then cutting the pieces from the string fabric.

I’ve fallen for string piecing in a big way. It seduced me with the seemingly quick results, hooked me with the unplanned combinations and then reeled me in. This tutorial looks at string piecing without using a foundation to create a string fabric. The following tutorials detail how the string fabric has been used in three different projects, including the blue cross quilt.

Step 1 – Gather Your Strings

If you are working with leftover strips from another project, sort strips into matching widths. In this case I am working with leftovers from a scrappy hedgerow quilt and have one pile of 1 ½” strips and one pile of 1 3/4” strips. To make up the quantities I then looked for co-ordinating fabrics.

Step 2 –Create Lengths

Decide on the length of the strings that you will be using. If you are using mainly fat quarters to make up the quantities, use somewhere between 18” & 22”and if you are using widths of fabric, use slightly less than 44”.

Place markers for the chosen length on your work surface. In this case I used black electrical tape on the kitchen table as it can be easily removed when I have finished.

Working through each width, pair up the leftover strings and join until you have you final length.

When a string gets too long, cut the end off and start to use it in the next one.

Step 3- Make-Up Quantities

Cut strings from your makeup fabrics in a variety of widths ranging from 1 ¼” to 2 ½”. I kept my fabrics in piles sorted my width.


Step 4 – Pair-up Strings

Join pairs of strings and then pairs of pairs until you have the required width for the pattern you are working with. If you are looking to make angled cuts into your string fabric, where possible, offset the ends to match the angle of this first cut.

Step 5 – Let loose
There are seemingly endless possibilities for the string fabric that you have just made. The next three tutorials explain how strings have been used in three different ways- String as a fabric, String as squares and the Blue Cross Quilt.

Foundation Piecing
Often I haven’t the patience for foundation piecing, however, string piecing using a foundation is brilliant for using a very small amount of left over strips or just one or two blocks. You can find a tutorial to this technique here over a Film in the Fridge.

Conclusion
There it is, string piecing without foundations. I hope you enjoy giving this technique a try. I’d love to know how it works out for you and if you have any questions please let me know.

As I took up the challenge to use every last scrap of the left over fabrics, this quilt came together. I raided my stash for other fabrics that might bulk up the selection. If you look closely you can bits of beloved Katie Jump Rope patterns, Heather Bailey and even some treasures pink Park slope from Joanna.


I am not a fan of foundation piecing so this one has been put together in strips as I will explain later – bear with we as I get a tutorial together.


I started out with just a desire to use everything up and try something new. For a brief time this quilt was homeless but as I laid out the boarders, Little E told me to “put on my bed”. Now I have to say that this quilt is well and truly spoken for.

It appears, I like the second quilt I make from any fabric, more than the first. Does this happen to anyone else? I think it’s the moments of sewing, staring intently at the fabric and thinking wouldn’t this or that look great too?


As the scrappy hedgerow pattern came together, I found myself wondering what to do with the remaining strips. There was about 5 inches of each that hadn’t been cut into and some other fabrics in my stash that went really well with the remnants.

Slowly the scraps started to come together to make something looking a little like this:

I have fallen for this fabric over and over. First as a dress, and now as a quilt. The little plants and flowers seemed to lend themselves to becoming the centres in some scrappy hedge row blocks. This one was slow in coming as I pieced away 2 hours at a time; A little bit every Tuesday and sometimes, even a stolen moment in between.


I auditioned number of fabrics for the boarders. The usual white appeared a little washed out, and the teal blended in with the barker blue outsides. In the end, I went with these tiny purple accents on the teal.

One Saturday evening as my dearest watched great western movies, I took over the lounge floor and managed to get it together. With a bit of careful dancing around the TV and a number of “What do you think of this layout, Dear?” it finally came together.


As I stepped back I notice one of the blocks is sideways. For the sake of serendipity I will leave it that way as a god block.

In the middle of the muddle the smallest things become treasures. My crafting space is a mess and my garden is even more so. However, I never thought I would get so much pleasure out of some failed cabbages and a few stolen hours.


The garden has become an collection of when the sun shines..when the baby is asleep..when I have time. It is nearing summer and I have only the midwinter vegetables planted. The strawberry patch is a neglected space waiting for me to replace the hose that broke last summer. The cabbages were bitter after a long winter, so I let them go to seed and the smallest cabbage turned out to not be a cabbage after all.


The shape of the leaves gave it away and so I just left it there in the hopes that is wasn’t a cabbage. It is slowly being joined by some other stowaways from the same punnet of seedlings. I think I will leave them there.

For someone who claims to be a quilter, there doesn’t appear to be much of that going on either. The last quilt I finished was months ago. I’m certainly not one of those people who can churn out a new project every week, pour over the newest fabrics while buying up large or even stop still for long enough to write about it. I used to dream of having days on end to myself to simply sew, but now I’m happy for just two hours. They have become very precious to me.

Every Tuesday night I sneak out of the house and join the local quilting classes. With my machine and bag in the car I am off. Two hours of not worrying about who is a sleep and who isn’t. Two hours of just me, my machine and some great friends. With such small bites, it has taken me a while to get even one top finished, but would you believe that there are two? I think I will have to call these my Tuesday Sanity quilts.

The baby is awake again. I must dash back to the muddle, and the little treasure in my life, who is getting bigger all the time. I will save the quilts for another time but for now here is a peek.

Little E is into Sesame Street in big way at the moment. Elmo is referred to as LaLaLa and tearing all the toilet paper from the roll is "being dookie monster".


When I read about these I just had to give it a go. It is so hard to eat them without singing that song.. C is for cookie and it's good enough for me ...

The Anzac Bee is progressing well, but we need some help. I am looking for one more member to join our bee. If you are interested, please let me know as I'd love to hear from you.

This month, we are all making red and black Essendon stars for Corrie. It had me reaching for the dictionary thinking Essendon was colour I hadn't heard of. Turquiose maybe? It turns out it is a sports team. I guess it is like making a Canterbury Rugby quilt really.

The blocks are looking awesome and, as usual, you can check us out on Flickr.

I have a new found appreciation for scones*. When I was growing up they were the staple. Mum would whip them up at a moment’s notice when visitors were imminent or the shearing gang needed feeding at the woolsheds. They were part of the fabric of our home. Mum made it look easy. I didn’t appreciate this until I had a hankering for Devonshire teas and tried making them myself.


Little E and I have been experimenting but this weekend she had a lesson from the master.


Mum says that it is the method, not the recipe so here is what you need to know:
Cold – keep the butter cold, rub in by food processer where possible
Baking Powder – more than usual, 2 teaspoons to each cup of flour
Fast – Mix the milk in with a knife, make it quick and stir as little as possible
Hot – Have the oven set to 200-220 C


So now you know. Hopefully my next batch of scones will measure up.


*Scone is a British term, in the US you might know of them as biscuits.
**Yes, that is my Dad doing a cameo appearance in the first photo.

I caught sight of this while sorting out our bedroom. From underneath a pile of forgotten, important things, too important to put away, was a piece of paper on how to tidy a house. I love that the only headline you can read in the pile of stuff is “Don’t Gather Junk”.

Amy, of A Common Place Life, is gathering together a collection of moments that step out of the orchestrated Martha Stewart Perfections into real life. You can find them here.

The random number generator has chosen - #6 Anna Fogg. Anna is a quilting Mom to 7 and you can find her blog here - www.bohemiancotton.blogspot.com. I can't outdo the computer that came through her mailbox but I will be hunting down some treasures.

Anna I will get in touch with you to get your postal details.

Dear God
Thank-you coming my house.
Amen

Grace, as offered at dinner earlier this week by Little E.

Luminous Clouds hanging above our house yesterday afternoon. I adore the wavey fringes and just wish I knew more about clouds so that I could give this one a name.

Last May I started on the Start Quilt Along. Now, well over a year later it’s on my bed.

I’m really happy with it but it has taken some time. I had it long are quilted and picked it up in January this year. It has taken a while for the quilting to grow on me. At first I doubted the pattern, then the threads, then I contemplated having it over quilted. None of which happened. After finally binding it in August, I love it.

The photo has been along time coming. I meant to tidy the room to get a shot of the bassinet next to it but missed that entirely. However, now I can get a shop of Miss H modelling one of the dresses that started my passion for these colours.


Please note: I do not usually dress my children to match the furniture so please somebody stop me before I turn the ends of the curtain fabric into a pant suit for myself.

I have been indulging in string piecing again. This time it was for Vintage Fern's block as part of the Stash busting bee. The aim was to make enough string fabric for a disappearing 9-patch block. As I got a little carried away, the remainder was framed up for a second block.


Some reminders also -

Louise of 20 Cent Mixture is hosting the NZ Christmas decoration swap again. Have a look over here for the details. I'm jumping in with both feet this year.

There is only a day left to enter the wonderbundle give away. Read here for more details

I have a habit of planning to do far more in a day than I possibly could. Some days start out in an impossible rush and fizzle into a reality by morning tea time. Thursday, two weeks ago, was one of those days, but it was not so bad.

I was planning to drop E off at crèche, drive up to the next town to get some fabric and make it back in time to get to a mother’s group an hour later. E was stalling, my bags weren’t packed for town and we were even late getting to crèche.

On the way home I noticed the car making a funny noise. It appeared to go away when I slowed a little. I got myself together and cruised slowly to the Mother’s group. I had a chance to stop, sit, catch my breath, adore my child and admire a few others.

Noticing the noise at 60 km, I returned even slower and made a detour to the garage. We went for a bit of a test drive. There was no noise at 60. I was beginning to wonder if I had imagined it. When we got to 70 the noise started up again and got worse. The mechanic decided that it must be the CV about to go so we slowed and turned to go back. The noise got even worse and then there was a crunch.

Yes, it was the CV. No, the cell phone wasn’t in the car. Yes the baby was in the back seat. It all sounds pretty bad, but it wasn’t.

The mechanic pulled out his cell phone and called the apprentice. Miss H cooed contentedly in the back seat and we were towed back to the garage. I have never been so delighted to break down. I could have been on my mad fabric dash, no phone, between towns with a distraught Miss H. The Mechanic was surprised too. He had never actually heard a CV go before.

The garage was wonderful and had my car back to me the next day in one piece. Service like that deserves a chocolate cake. All up it was a not so bad, bad day.

I have a weakness for ticking. I love the way that a simple design can evoke such a feeling of nostalgia. Add some rick rack and I am completely over the moon. Now, both my daughters have ticking curtains.


There was rush to get them finished for the spare room, allowing E some time in her new room before the arrival of her sister. During the rush, I didn’t get the free time and a tidy room coinciding. In the mean time, E has moved from her little big bed into her bigger big bed. The house and garden moment appeared lost.


Until her first sleep over, that is. E had a friend staying on Friday night and so the big and little beds were out again. Both E and Miss H were able to help me (un) make the beds for the occasion.


So there we go, the ticking curtains, finally.