Over-run by Geese

Fortunately not of the feathery kind. I don't think I've ever had to make quite so many flying geese units! Looking forward to putting A La Mode together, just have to plow through all the pinwheels next.

Another big week at uni this week; got my first few assignments, which are all due this coming week. Not sure how I ever coped with assignments from multiple subjects through high school and undergrad; I obviously didn't have a life back then. As a result, the flying geese are my only progress this week. Look at the size of the stack!


My mum and I are off to the movies tonight, to see Killers. I love Katherine Heigl, and it'll be good to get away from "homework" for a while.

Self-Saucing Citrus Pudding

I made this for dessert tonight and it was yum! If we weren't trying to save some for tomorrow night we would have eaten it all.

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter, softened

1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped (I just used a splash of vanilla essence)

1tbs finely grated lemon zest, plus juice of 1 lemon

1 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup milk

2 tbs cornflour

Finely grated zest and juice of 2 oranges

Method

Preheat oven to 180C and grease a 1.5L pudding basin.

Beat butter, vanilla, lemon zest and half the sugar in an electric mixer till thick and pale.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well.

Fold in flour and baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt, then fold in milk until combined.

Spread batter into basin.

Mix cornflour with remaining sugar; use sieve to dust over pudding.

Combine lemon juice, orange zest and juice and 1 cup boiling water in jug, then pour over pudding. (Don't stir!)

Bake 50-60 min, till skewer inserted in sponge layer comes out clean.

Scoop into bowls, dust with icing sugar and serve with ice-cream.

Enjoy!

Recipe from the current issue of Delicious magazine.

Intense

This week I had the first week of my DipEd (teaching degree), and it was intense. I only have two days each week, but they are 11 hour days, which means I leave home just after 7 in the morning, and get home a little after 8 at night. At the moment it's all a bit overwhelming, as I'm mid-year entry which means I don't have all the background from first semester that the other students have, but at least there are about 20 of us who all feel the same.

Even more overwhelming, we do our first school placement in 3 weeks! It's definitely going to be a bit like being tossed in the deep end, but I think once I get in to it I'm going to really enjoy it.

Not too much crafty progress this week. I made one of my bunnies for my friend's baby, Jasper, who turned one this week. His mum loved it, so hopefully he will too.

I've also been working on a scarf I started about three years ago; I'd finished all the knitting, but the last step is to drop specific stitches so that it opens out into a wrap, and it's taking forever to unravel them all!

Last up, I'm cutting out all the bits for A La Mode. I'm mostly sticking to the prints/placement shown on the pattern, but with a few minor changes as I really love the paisleys.

The Blues

I think I've got a little lost over the last few weeks. I haven't felt like doing any quilt sewing, mostly because I've had no idea what to work on. My new rotary blade has a chip in it, making cutting impossible. The weather is crap. And to top it off I have an eye infection of some sort that requires putting thick cream in my eyes, making the world a little hazy.

Plus, I've been having parcel delivery problems; one ended up at a house in a different street, a quilt kit was tossed over my back fence yesterday even though I was home, and one hasn't even turned up yet, so it could be any where.

I'm trying to get my mojo back today; I did a yoga class last night, I've put my old blade back in the rotary cutter, and pulled out my bundle of fabric for A La Mode. I'm going to do some quilty sewing if its the last thing I do.

I also had the realisation earlier that all but one quilt I've made this year has a pink backing, completely by coincidence. And to add to it, the backing I bought for A La Mode all the way back last September is pink also. Weird!

At the top is Port-de-France, then Summer Wind, and at the bottom pint-sized Jelly Filled. Wild Thing also has a pink backing, but its on my bed...

Bunny Brigade

I've been pursuing crafty activities of a non-quilting nature for the last week or so. Mostly this has to do with my plan to have a stall at a market; I'm tossing up between two different markets that would allow me to sell both hand-made goods and new fabrics.


My first softie is a bunny; after a few attempts I finally got a shape I was happy with, and these guys/gals are pretty cute. All they need now is a bow around the neck.


I've also whipped up a pile of jingle cubes; my friend's babies love them so I know they are a winner, and they are very quick and easy to make.



I've also finished that scarf I was working on; admittedly I actually finished it a week or so ago, but had dawdled on tying in the loose ends...

Port-de-France

Two posts in one day? It's been one of those days.

Port-de-France is quilted and bound, and finally made it outside for a photoshoot. The pale fabrics don't really make for the best photos though.

I stippled each section and dividing borders (sashing?), followed by the red border. Finally I stippled the HST and outer border as one section, and unfortunately had a little battle with an unexplained wavy border.

It seems to have turned out ok, with one little pucker on the back; a fair trade I think for getting the front sorted out.

Vegie Soup

The perfect meal for a cool winter's day, and it can be whipped up in about half an hour.



Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• wedge of pumpkin, cubed
• 1 carrot, cubed
• 1/2 zucchini, cubed
• 1/3-1/2 cup peas
• 1/4 cup risoni
• fresh herbs (I used parsley and thyme)
• Chicken stock (about 5 cups)

Method

• Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft
• Add in pumpkin and carrot, stir briefly, then add stock
• Once stock boils, add pasta and stir.
• When the hard vegies are almost done, add in peas and zucchini.
• Just before serving, stir in chopped herbs.
• Enjoy!

Moda Cuteness

I'm always excited when I spy my postie putting a larger than usual letter in the letterbox. This morning was no different, and I opened the parcel to find a little Moda goodness.

A gorgeous Moda Collectors Tin, and inside....

...cute "candy bars" of Bliss and City Weekend. Yum!

It's a beautiful morning in Melbourne today; cool but sunny, perfect for walking the dog. There are only a few flowers blooming in my garden as the moment; hibiscus and jonquils.

Grand Opening

After months of planning, a lot of organising and just a little bit of stress, I am really excited to announce that Bella's Patchwork is open for business! We have just a small inventory to start off with, but will be adding a few extra ranges as new lines are released.

I'll be co-hosting a giveaway with Stefanie in the coming month to celebrate our new business ventures, so keep an eye out for that. Until then, take a stroll around my store and let me know what you think.