Making & Baking - easter weekend

A lot of cooking went down over the long weekend, mostly thanks to the fact that I was catering for the easter sunday family get-together. On the whole it was rather successful but a bit of a pastry overload.  Let's just say, people certainly didn't need to eat anything else that day! I also did a bit of sweet baking in the form of this (even if I do say so myself) a-mazing sweet potato cake. It actually requires a cream cheese icing but seeing as it was intended for my v.pregnant friend who can't eat soft cheese, I made a simple buttercream topping instead. My sister found the recipe and it really is a winner: super moist (much like a carrot cake) and delicious without icing if you find it too sweet. Plus, there's the added novelty of cooking with vegetables - never a bad thing in my view. The cake made the journey to Essex with me and, thankfully, arrived in one piece. After a nose around my friend's new house we had a good old catch up over lunch, the best bon-bons I've ever eaten, tea and homemade goodies. Pretty much the perfect day really :)

As well as baking and stuffing my face I met up with a few friends in the evenings for drinks (and on friday, a game of five-way ping-pong - best. game. ever) and made time for a bit of craft-related productivity. I'm about half way through making the top of a baby quilt for my friend who I mentioned above. She's actually 8 months gone (and looking fabulous) so seeing her was both a reminder for me to get a move on and the exciting fact that the next time I see her, she'll be a mum! The quilt itself is a v.simple '+' shape design which I might do a DIY for once it's completed... I'm also slogging away at the crochet blanket - not long now though, I'm hoping it'll be finished by the end of the month.

experiments in dressmaking - Amelia

Started before we left Brixton and finished the night before Budapest, that's about two months in the making, but here she is... the Amelia dress by GreenBeePatterns!

Overall, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. The instructions were pretty clear but for some reason I spent aaaages trying to figure out the pockets and I still didn't get them right. (The left one is completely buggered but thankfully you can't tell from outside.)

The zip is supposed to be invisible, clearly it isn't, and it also sticks up at the top. The patterned asked for a 24 inch zip but I think I'd have been better off with a 22 inch. Not entirely sure how that happened. Annoyingly, the zip doesn't look so straight in these pics but it does when it's on a hanger... Ah well, at least it's wearable. And rather comfy actually.

It got its first wearing in Budapest and I've worn it this week too - reckon it'll see even more outings once the weather hots up.

The fabric is Anna Maria Horner - Dowry, Twill Bouquet in Navy which I got from the Village Haberdashery. I think I might have another go at the Amelia - I want to get those pockets right, damn it!   This or this might be nice, I really do not need any more floral dresses.

puffin & ponies

A few months ago I rather abruptly (and randomly) became interested in needlepoint. I tried a few different patterns but after a couple of weeks or so, I put my frame and tapestry wool to one side and promptly forgot about them. Then, last week, I dug them out thanks to a brainwave about what to make my mum for mother's day. And here he is, a little needlepoint puffin (she loves puffins).

This doesn't happen very often, but he actually turned out exactly as I'd imagined him. Needlepoint is incredibly satisfying, if a little labour intensive. I simply drew the puffin on the canvas and basically coloured him in with stitches. It's in no way perfect but my mum liked him anyway and I might have a go at trying to make another animal...

Yesterday, what with it being mother's day and all, my family headed down to the New Forest to see my auntie and uncle. The gorgeous weather, lots of cake and the presence of the ponies meant that it really was a perfect day.

On saturday I did something un-thinkable: I went to Oxford Street. Yes, I know, only crazy people go anywhere near there on a saturday but I can assure you, it was for a good cause. I needed to go to Berwick Street to pick up one of the fabrics for my wedding dress (and a zip for a different dress that I'm making). Despite the glorious weather, central London was heaving but thankfully the shop had what I wanted and I made a swift exit. I'm actually off to buy the remaining fabric for my wedding dress this afternoon which is pretty exciting. I will feel so much calmer once I've handed all of them over to the dressmaker in a couple of weeks. Hope you all had sun-filled weekends too :)

knitting & stitching at ally pally

Last Thursday I spent the day at Alexandra Palace looking at fabric, yarn and all things textiles and creative. It was, of course, the Knitting & Stitching Show.

As packed as ever with stalls, galleries, mini exhibitions as well as fun things to get involved with. Lots to see and not enough time. What I did get around to seeing was very inspiring...here are my highlights:

★ Nicola Jarvis and May Morris - 'The Art of Embroidery'
This latest work from very accomplished embroider, Nicola Jarvis, was based on the designs of William and, his daughter, May Morris. I'm v.fond of Morris' patterns and designs so I thought Jarvis' stuff was ace.

★ The Graduate Showcase
Students always seem to make the best stuff and this year was no different. Lucy Jones, from the Winchester School of Art, had some cracking knits and I v.much liked Katie Jones' (of Central st Martins) work too.

★ Mandy Pattullo - 'Thread and Thrift'

I'd seen most of this collection at the festival of quilts but there were one or two new pieces. Her work is just beautiful.

★ Phillipa Turnbull - A timeline of Crewel Work 1630 - 1930
This lady had some seriously impressive examples of crewel work (entire bed spreads, bed curtains and canopies - god only knows how long it would've taken to stitch it all). She had a very strict 'no photography' rule which is a shame because the neatness and colour work was incredible. I did manage to get a quick snap of one of the less antique, but no less intricate, examples.

★ Japanese Connections
A mixture of work by 6 Japanese and 6 British textile artists. Sadly I didn't get the name of the lady that made the one below. I love how seemingly simple yet v.atmospheric it is.

★ The Rowan Wool section
I think that now I'm well on the way with making my second scarf, I'm much more interested in knitting and all the possibilities it holds. The rowan section this year was hugely inspiring - sooooo many pretty jumpers. I had a very brief chat with Sarah Hatton who has done a number of (seriously gorgeous) books for Rowan. She was lovely, v.encouraging and enthusiastic. Alice from work ended up buying one of her little books for beginner knitters. Some of the projects inside are fabulous and v.manageable. Alice v.kindly said she'd lend me the book so perhaps I'll be knitting more than a scarf this year...

Some other nice things I saw:

A detail of a piece by Sue Spooner for the Japanese Connections gallery.

These cute crochet animals which you can purchase the pattern for and make for yourself! The tiger and the wolf were my favourites, and the bat which sadly doesn't appear on the website. The collection is called Edward's Menagerie and is available from Toft.

The knitted taxi. Naturally.

All in all a very good show. I even managed to leave without buying anything for myself which is a first!

Making & Baking - a rainy weekend

Although the weekend's evenings were filled with lovely social stuff, the rain-filled daytimes meant that I didn't really venture out (apart from a v.good sesh at the gym on sunday).

Of course I was hardly stuck inside (I've got a perfectly good pair of wellies and a raincoat) but it was rather nice being cooped-up in the flat. It was, in fact, the perfect opportunity to get on with some creative shiz, in particular, needlepoint!

It took me an age to secure the canvas to the stretching frame but it was worth it. Needlepoint is probably the most satisfying thing ever, even more so than knitting or crochet and is nowhere near as scary to start as a complete beginner. With just a few uber simple stitches, which you essentially just repeat over and over, you can make a v.pretty pattern.

Admittedly I did buy the wrong type of canvas (3 strand weave rather than a single weave) which means that the patterns with vertical and horizontal stitches don't look as tight or neat as the patterns which require diagonal stitches. But hey, you live and learn. Plus, this canvas is great to practice on, I'm kinda treating it like a piece of paper to doodle ideas on. Mitch said he thought it looked nice but wondered (I detected a hint of concern at yet another craft related hobby) what I was going to make with it. I think something simple to go in a frame might be the best place to start and then perhaps a cushion.

This is my favourite pattern so far, it's called bargello (hello chevrons), and I reckon it would look pretty ace as a cushion.

I also got around to doing some baking and made some strawberry and white chocolate muffins. They don't look great - or anything like muffins - but I can assure you, they taste guuuud! I used this recipe but switched the raspberries for strawberries as we had some in the fridge. Also, I ran out of muffin cases and went for the baking paper method instead which definitely contributed to their strange shape but whatever, I'm not in the Bake Off.

After much wining and dinning at a couple of friends' houses AND eating most of the muffins I made, an hour at the gym seemed like a v.good idea. It's only been two weeks but I love it! Of course it helps massively  that it's the fanciest gym I've ever been to and is only a 10 minute walk from the flat. Feeling v.positive about my new exercise regime (at least 30 mins 3-4 times a week is the plan for the mo), now all I need to do is address my diet!

Hope you all had a fun-filled weekend whether you were in or out :)

needlepoint swooning

Thanks to a new project being tested at work I have now become slightly obsessed with embroidery and needlepoint. Anyone who follows me on pinterest will probably have noticed a stitching themed pin-athon over the last week or so. Perhaps unsurprisingly I'm particularly drawn to the geometric designs (triangles galore!). Here's a few of my favourites at the moment - pretty non?

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left // middle // right

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Yesterday, the insanely talented textile lady I work with v.kindly gave me some of her old embroidery stuff! She's given me a bunch of threads, a canvas stretcher AND, perhaps most excitingly, a big DK book full of all the stitches and how to do them, written by herself no less! I cannot wait to get started, watch this space :)

star block baby quilt

Finished! And in the nick of time :)

I managed to finish the quilt just in time for the Christening at the weekend (it was a seriously close call what with making the label and stitching it on about 15 mins before we had to leave for the church).

Due to its tiny recipient, this is the smallest quilt I've made, and took around six weeks to complete. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out - the fabrics and colours suit a baby quilt I think and the variety of star blocks look cute together. However, in true Annie style, it is in no way perfect. The edges are rather wobbly, the blocks are anything but straight and don't even get me started on my corners - why are they so difficult? - at least they're an improvement on my first quilt's corners.

Although it was a bit of a rush to get it finished I really loved making this quilt. The small size meant that it was a (relatively) short project to do and the star theme gave me boundaries but also a bit of variety in terms of shapes to construct.

Now that it's over and the quilt is in its new home my hands are idle again. Watching a film or something on iplayer without making something just feels odd so I'll need to start a new thing soon. I quite fancy making another quilt (that said I do have another one on the go  which is more of an on-going project), or perhaps it's time to pick up the knitting needles again and get cracking on that scarf, or the crochet hook as Meredith of One Sheepish Girl is organising another yarn bombing... the possibilities to create stuff are endless and I bloody love it!

recently

★ Reading: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. It's an interesting and rather wordy read. I've not read anything by a Swede before  but I'm liking it muchly. 

★ Watching: Copious amounts of Star Trek Voyager. Mitch wanted to re-watch the entire series and I catch most episodes too - it's really not that bad and in fact, some of the episodes are pretty good as stand alone story concepts. Also, rather surprisingly, I've completely warmed to Captain Janeway. She is one cool spaceship captain. In between episodes of Voyager we've been getting our Breaking Bad fix (can't believe there's only 5 left!) and tuning into the new series of the Great British Bake Off, naturally.

★ Making: The baby quilt. The top is complete so now all I've got to do is make the backing, sandwich the layers, quilt it and bind the edges all before sunday. It's doable but I might not get much sleep! Also, excitingly, I've been making our 'save the dates' :) We're printing them through moo.com and they should arrive next week!

★ Baking: I've been baking brownies and Mitch made a pie. Normally we just take it in turns to do the cooking but it was fun working in the kitchen side by side, we should do it more often especially since Mitch gave the kitchen the most EPIC clean/clear out and now it looks amazing.

★ Drinking: Twinings green tea with jasmine pearls. I know it sounds poncey but they are the bomb.

★ Looking forward to: Another long weekend. I've got the day off tomorrow so Mitch and I are heading for the coast. There's also the baby's christening on sunday which should be fun.

★ Feeling: A little blue. I worry too much.

the festival of quilts '13

Last Thursday was the opening day of the Festival of Quilts - not only was this my third time in attendance at the show but it was also rather special because...my v.own quilt was on display!

Childish excitement abound, it was the first thing I looked for upon arrival. Back in May I'd entered the 'My First Quilt' competition category (mostly on account of my 'Do More New' approach to life) and so there it was (and would be for the next 3 days) hanging up amongst all the other hundreds of other competitors. I quickly realised that my first attempts at a quilt were nowhere near as good as most of the people in the category but it was pretty cool to see it up on display all the same - especially when I saw one woman take a picture of it :)

Anyway enough about me, the rest of the show was v.fun too! Highlights for me:

★  Lynne Edwards mini exhibition, in particular her feedsack fabric quilts.
★  Mandy Pattullo's beautiful fabric and paper collages
★  Listening in on Kaffe Fassett's interview
★  Godharis from rural India
★  The beautiful geometric patterns (and products) by Heleddmai.

Close-up of the butterfly quilt by Lynne Edwards

Lynne Edwards' feedsack fabric quilts

Mandy Pattullo work taken from 'Thread and Thrift' exhibition

Mandy Pattullo. This and the one above were my favourites.

Mandy Pattullo - skirt

One of the godharis (that's quilts to you and me) from rural India. These pictures really don't do the colours justice - they were amazing.

Godharis close-up

Godharis

Left: Alicia Merrett -  Map quilt.
Right: 'Box' entered into the 'Quilt Masters' category, sadly no name was displayed next to it. 

Kaffe Fassett chatting away. He was very charming with an interesting turn of phrase - he actually described paisley as sexy!

'Crossroads' - Hayfa Al Mughni


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And now for some of the competition pieces which really stood out for me...

Left: 'Princess and the Pea' - Sue Trevor
Right: 'Just to make you Smile' - Gillian Travis.
Both from the Quilt Creations category

Left: 'Scarlett's Crimson' - Philippa Naylor (Quilt Creations)
Right: 'Little Stars' - Jean Ball (Traditional Quilts)

Left: Peckham community quilt (I think this was in the group category)
Right: 'Flower Pecker' - Stephanie Redfern (ContemporaryQuilts)

'Every text he ever sent' - Lara Hailey (Art Quilts). I thought this idea was v.clever and pretty insane if you think about the amount of hours needed to stitch all that text!

'In the style of Frank Lloyd Wright' - Mary Morrison (Miniature Quilts)



Lastly, as always, I couldn't leave the NEC empty handed so bought a couple of fat quarters for the stash from The Running Chicken.

Nice eh?