Sunday, March 31, 2013

Lookie What I Found

Change is afoot in the House of Bella. More to come, but lets just say it involves a lot of packing and cleaning.

But in the meantime...

I dug up a snap lock bag of fabric deep in the recesses of my stash, and found all the off cuts from Swoon, already stitched into HSTs. What to make?? Perhaps a little quilt...


My little bit of Cuzco arrived and the binding is on the quilt; just awaits hand stitching. 


I caved in and bought the Ikea cart I was admiring; so cute with all my sewing supplies right at hand.

And for something a little cute...I found these toadies while out browsing in 'the country' yesterday. Not sure where they'll go yet but I love them.



Tuesday, March 26, 2013

2012 BOM Block Ten

We're almost there! Bock 10 is Sunday Drive by Minick and Simpson. Gorgeous! Got a little distracted with the direction of my houndstooth but never mind.




Coming along ok with my wrist; still quite sore but nothing gets between me and Vintage Modern.


Saturday, March 23, 2013

Whoops

Normally I've got plenty to show off after being home on a Friday, but not this week; instead of being productive I tripped over Bella and sprained my wrist.

I got my BOM block all cut out, but didn't get the chance to piece it after having to duck out to the doctor; I can't put any pressure on it so cutting any fabric is a bit difficult.




Lots of fat quarters cut for my store too.


My Cuzco quilt is still waiting for binding, I didn't have quite enough backing fabric left so I've ordered in half a meter. And I'll be at Huckleberry Market in Mornington tomorrow, so there's not much time left for sewing! Hope everyone else is having a productive weekend.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Bunnies, Bunnies and More Bunnies

Today I finally had lunch with an old school friend who has been living overseas with her husband for quite a few years; we only see each other every two years or so. We keep in touch via email, and at Christmas I got an email with a photo attached...surprise! She had a gorgeous baby girl. 

Of course all new babies need something handmade, and my friend requested a red and white bunny. So of course Ruby was the perfect fit, and "Lucky Bunny" was born. She was handed over today, and promptly had both her ears thoroughly chewed.


Such a gorgeous baby too, very chilled and content.

I was flipping through the local paper earlier and what should I find? My bunnies! The ad for this weekend's Maker's Market features a pic of my little bunnies.I'm quite chuffed, but a bit sad I wont be there this weekend; I'll be at Huckleberry in Mornington instead.



Saturday, March 16, 2013

When It Rains...

Summer disappeared and the pouring rain arrived quite suddenly in Melbourne. Perfect for a little fabric time, so I pulled out my Marmalade layer cake and got cutting.


Star Blossoms is a pattern from Cotton Way, one of the designers of the gorgeous fabric. I've sorted all my squares into pairs and cut the first few; I think this is going to take a while!



Friday, March 15, 2013

Friday Finish

Well....almost. It's quilted and trimmed, and is awaiting binding, which I forgot to buy. I'm hoping there is enough backing left to bind it with, but I'm not feeling very optimistic.



This quilt has been quite a headache; if I could stuff it up, I did. Cutting triangles too small. Almost finished the quilting only to discover a seam has come undone. But I made it, and now that I can see it all laid out on the ground, I like it. 


First finish for the year!



Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Clearance: Central Park by Kate Spain

It's time to clear out the last of the gorgeous Central Park by Kate Spain. $12 per meter, you can buy all or some. Postage is $2 for 1m, $6.20 for 1-3m, and $10.55 after that.

From top to bottom:
1m zoo print
3.95m little flowers
2m violet print
5m yellow print

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Ikea Adventures

So it's 30-something degrees, a public holiday,and you have no air-con....what do you do? Go to Ikea! I originally wanted to look at their fabrics; I need 9 yards for a quilt back and had heard of other bloggers using Ikea fabrics for their backings. I'd seen one online that I liked the look of, so the hot afternoon was the perfect excuse!

Instead I found a few other goodies that I'd love to bring home. I really love this turquoise trolley! It can be used in the kitchen, to store books, or even as a bedside table. I think it'd look great full of fabric...if only I had somewhere for it!



I also found this cute rug; I love a paisley print and this one is quite eye-catching.



I finally found my way to the fabric department, and discovered the fabric I'd been eyeing off was a larger print than expected. So no luck there. But I did buy a couple of meters of stripey decorator-weight fabric which I'll stash away until I find the perfect use for it.

I still need to choose a backing for my I Heart You quilt; any suggestions?

Saturday, March 9, 2013

A Little Progress

It's still hot here in Melbourne. Mid-30s hot. So there's a lot more lazing around trying to keep cool than quilting happening, but I had a little burst of energy today, and my Cuzco quilt is almost done.


There's only a couple of squares and triangles to go. I thought I might leave the sashing and just quilt the cornerstones, then the border. Then I need to find some binding; I forgot to buy any!

As always Bella isn't too far away; apparently it's never too hot for a cuddle...


Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Spoiling Myself

It's probably no secret that I like to shop. I find it quite fun, unless I'm desperately looking for something, then it's just stressful. I also love to sniff out a good bargain; I try to never pay full price if I can help it. So I'd been eyeing off a cute leather travel wallet for a while, which would be perfect for my trip to Europe. It was on sale, but the website said it was sold out. But I had a little dig around in store on the weekend and managed to find the very last one! I can't wait to use it.

Despite it being quite hot at the moment (more than 8 days in a row over 30C, a record for March), I've managed to get my Cuzco quilt into the machine. It should come along quite quickly; I'm stippling in each of the squares, then I'll go back and do some wavy lines in the sashing. Easy! I really need to find a name for this quilt...any suggestions?


Bella is being her usual cheeky self; despite it being hot apparently the best place to sleep is at my feet, right up against the warm computer tower...


Sunday, March 3, 2013

Pumpkin Farro Salad

Last year at a lunch I went to I was served a pumpkin farro salad. I'd never heard of farro before but I really enjoyed it. So I did a little searching and found that you can buy locally grown farro at Thomas Dux (Mt Zero brand). It's a grain that looks a little like wheat, but you can use it as a substitute for pasta or rice, in salads, soups etc.


Ingredients:
2 cups Mount Zero Farro
2 teaspoons fine-grained sea salt
6 cups water or stock
3 cups butternut pumpkin, diced 15mm
1 large red onion cut into 1/8ths
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
4 tablespoons Mount Zero extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon Mount Zero red wine vinegar
1 cup walnuts, toasted well
¼ cup goats cheese, crumbled (optional)
1 bunch fresh herbs, chopped (Italian parsley, basil, mint, oregano)
Method:
Place the farro in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until tender and drain well. Dress with olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 200C
Mix the diced pumpkin, onion pieces and chopped thyme in a single layer in a baking tray and toss with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 30-40 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the red wine vinegar and set aside to cool.
Toss the roasted vegetables and chopped herbs through the farro and scatter the
surface with the crumbled goats cheese. 
I used a mix of pumpkin and sweet potato, and used slivered almonds as that's what I had in the cupboard. Was the perfect accompaniment to some chicken for dinner.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

A Little Facelift

No, no, no, not me! The blog. I wish I'd taken a screen-shot to show the "before", but I sat down with a glass of wine, started fiddling, and next thing you know my blog was "new"! 




We've got a new header (my favourite quilt), tidied up some of the fonts and colours, and added that very important "Pin It" button to the bottom of each post. This button is only visible when you view an individual post, but will let you pin any picture on the page. I think it looks much more "professional". Not bad for a Saturday night!

Edit: there is only one 'about me'; the other is a screen shot image. I've tweaked the column widths to get rid of the overlap (which is wasn't doing last night).

Friday, March 1, 2013

Folk Tale by Cinderberry Stitches for Lecien

It finally arrived! The lovely Natalie Lymer of Cinderberry Stitches has a new fabric range, Folk Tale, out with Lecien. This is a follow-up to the delightful Woodland of last year, and features little pixies, hedgehogs, birds and cuckoo clocks.



I've got a small sample of the range available, including the most gorgeous red hedgehog print. I'm also putting together little fat quarter bundles. Pop on in and check it out here.

2012 BOM Block Nine

Block Nine is 'Lakeside Retreat' by Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts.


Gorgeous blocks, but all those seams were a nightmare. I had to flip a few to get the block together and it's not perfect, but I'm sticking with it. That centre print is one of my most favourite from Vintage Modern.