Mini-quilt

At last it's time to reveal my latest quilting project! Regular readers will know that I'm a member of a quilting group and, way back in January, we were issued with our 2013 challenge: to make a miniature quilt.

The challenge was inspired by this quilt by Leominster Quilters which one of our group had seen at a show (apologies for the awful photo of a photo). Like them we were each asked to make a mini-quilt  which would then be attached to a background to make a bigger quilt.

The only rule was that the quilt couldn't be more than 12 inches square. I knew almost immediately what I was going to make as I'd bought the book Easy paper-pieced miniatures by Carol Doak a few years ago and had never got around to using any of the patterns. After a browse through all the gorgeous designs I settled on 'Scrap Stars'...and then did absolutely nothing until the end of September! Clearly I work better with a pending deadline as it had to be submitted at our meeting last week.

If I'd been sensible, I'd have chosen a less fiddly pattern with fewer pieces. But who wants to be sensible when you can play with lots of brightly coloured bits of fabric :)

The only change I made from the original pattern was to adapt the border to make it fit the dimension requirements of the challenge.

It was love all the way until it came to putting it together and then I had a serious grump. Don't look too hard at the seams as the piecing is appalling. If I was to make a miniature again, I think I'd use a fabric foundation as the feed dogs on the sewing machine couldn't grip the paper very well, so it slid around and pulled the seams out of alignment. Frustratingly, I'd sewn with a really small stitch too to make it easier to rip off the paper foundation, so it was a real pain to unpick. In the end I just thought 'oh, sod it' and carried on. I'm getting much better at fighting my perfectionist tendencies and it's not as if I'm trying to craft some prize-winning masterpiece here!

The quilting is very simple 'in the ditch'. I did use spray glue for the first time to hold the layers together and was really pleased with how it worked. I know, I know, everyone has been using spray glue for years but I've always favoured the good old-fashioned tacking method. Part of the reason being that you need a big table and plenty of space to use glue on a full-size quilt so that you can smooth out all the layers and that's never been an option. I'm going to use it for my next quilt though as I'm doing the quilt-as-you-go method and the individual components should be small enough for the space I have.

Appalling piecing aside, I'm really pleased with how my mini-quilt turned out and enjoyed the whole process of making it.

At our November meeting last week it was finally time for us to reveal all and we excitedly unveiled our contributions to lots of oohs and aahs.

My favourite was this absolute stunner by Pam. My goodness but we have some really talented women in our group!

All of the quilts have now been taken away to be sewn to the background and the plan is to enter it in the Harrogate quilt show next year. It was so exciting to see our last group contribution there and I can't wait to see this one hanging at the show too! x

Early autumn at Tatton

I woke up this morning to a damp, grey, misty day. How different to the one we had at Tatton Park a few weeks ago. We've been trying to make the most of every last day of sunshine and warmth at the weekends before the winter sets in. So, when the weather promised to be fine on Sunday in October, we headed off to Tatton. It was one of those perfect early autumn days when the skies are still the brightest blue and the leaves were just starting to change colour.

Before heading out to walk in the park though, we stopped for breakfast at the Gardener's Cottage which only opened this year. What a lovely building - I want to live there! So many period features and it has been decorated beautifully.

And look, a table full of pretty teacups and saucers! I'm sure the people in our room must have thought I was odd wandering around cooing over all the prettiness and looking at the different patterns - I was in heaven!

Outside was lovely too with old apple trees and cottage garden plants.

There were lots of apples for sale in the garden shop - all different traditional varieties. I was very tempted but didn't want to carry them around all day and the park was calling.

There are lots of deer at Tatton Park and this pair were enjoying grazing under a lovely tree with its leaves just starting to turn golden. There were signs at the entrance saying it was the rutting season so we kept our distance.

I just love the wide open spaces here and those big skies. All the trails are from planes taking off from Manchester Airport.

I was so busy looking at the views and skies that it was Chickpea who pointed out these giant mushrooms.

I know photos can give a false impression and perspective but these were dinner plate size!

I'm no mushroom expert but, after looking at a few web sites, I'm pretty sure they're parasols, which seems a very apt name.

OK, that's the last photo.

Well, alright, maybe just one more :) These are younger versions.

After all those mushrooms I thought there might be an abundance of acorns and conkers. However, we found only one conker which looked like it had been nibbled by the deer and I think the squirrels must have beaten us to the acorns!

What we did see were plenty of sweet chestnuts.

There were piles and piles of them littering the ground.

There were also lots of beech nuts along the Beech Walk. It was actually quite a strange experience walking under the trees as there was a constant sound of cracking and rustling as the pods and nuts fell to the floor. Thankfully none of them fell on our head!

Sigh. I wish I could be there today walking along that beautiful path and seeing how the leaf colour will have changed. Unfortunately boring stuff like cleaning the car calls so it will have to wait for another time.

I still have another day trip to tell you about from several weeks ago but next time it's time to reveal my latest quilt. Thank you for all the lovely comments lately - you really do make my day. xx

Sunshine & hail

Well this wasn't the post I'd planned but I thought I'd show you a few images from the weekend instead. Yesterday, Chickpea and I went into Manchester to meet up with friends at the Art Gallery. Just as we arrived, the hailstorm started - hail, thunder and lightning. Earlier it had been brilliant sunshine: don't you just love the British weather and how you can experience all its variations within a few minutes!

We were there to see the exhibition of Grayson Perry's tapestries, Vanity of Small Differences (the link is from a different venue but has better photos). Not something I'd want to display in my house but fascinating all the same.

Luckily the good weather returned today and, after houseworky things, I had an irresistible urge to get out into the fresh air for an hour. I headed for my favourite walk down by the golf course.

Everywhere is still surprisingly green.

I loved the light coming through the ferns. In the height of summer you could barely squeeze past them as they crowded over the path.

There are still a few berries on the trees though probably not for long as I saw several blackbirds munching away.

And despite all the greenery, there are definite signs of autumn colour.

This is what we had for dessert.

Amaretti and sultana cheesecake, made to use up some amaretti biscuits which I've had in the cupboard for ages. It could have done with more amaretto but was lovely and creamy.

I think I'll be making other kinds of cake over the coming weeks as I bought a copy of the Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook on Saturday and have been drooling over the recipes. Haven't had much time to make progress on my various craft projects so I'm off to curl up with some knitting before bed. Hope you enjoyed your weekend. x

Firelighters

I thought I knew all of the cookery books that Mum owns but, when I was there the other day, I came across this very battered little gem. Family Fare was published by The Co-operative Wholesale Society - yes, the good old Co-op - and we think it dates from the late 50s/early 60s as Mum bought it when she worked for them. At that time it sold for the very reasonable price of 1/6 (1 shilling and 6 pence).

Naturally, the first sections I turned to were for cakes, scones and biscuits and it was here that I found Firelighters. The name alone seemed perfect for a recipe to share on Bonfire Night.

As the book was published by the Co-op, the recipes are used to promote their products such as Wheatsheaf evaporated milk, Eskimo frozen cod and Silver Seal margarine. This one though used Cremo oats. Despite a good hunt on the internet I couldn't find out what kind of oats these were but, since firelighters seemed to be a kind of flapjack, I guessed at rolled oats. It was only afterwards that I thought to search for 'firelighters' and came across a traditional recipe called Stanhope Firelighters. The difference is that this one includes coconut and I've added my own twist of glace cherries to represent the glowing embers of the fire.

Firelighters

100g soft brown sugar
100g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
200g rolled oats
25g dessicated coconut
1 tsp baking powder
75g glace cherries, quartered
pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to Gas 4/180C/160 Fan
2. Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan.
3. Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, including the cherries.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
5. Press into a 28 x 18 cm tin, or whatever size you have to give a depth of about 1.5cm.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Leave in the tin but, while still warm, cut or score into pieces and leave to cool.

A sweet treat to enjoy by the bonfire :)

I'm at my yoga class tonight so won't be going to our usual fireworks display. If the weather is still fine when I get home, we might wave a few sparklers around in the garden. Hope you have a lovely evening wherever you are and stay safe. x

Home alone

I've been home alone this weekend as Chickpea was away on a residential course. Yesterday, I made the most of it by pushing aside all the furniture to lay out the fabric pieces for my latest quilt. The colours are brighter than this in reality but the light was poor what with all the rain, thunder and lightning!

This morning I ground up some spices to add to coffee (recipe from The Simple Things).

And then curled up on the couch to start a new book, unearthed in a charity shop this week.

Before long, baking called as I had a plan to use up this chocolate orange and make...

Popping candy rocky roads - perfect as a Bonfire Night (day) treat for my colleagues at work (with a few left over for us).

The morning rain eventually cleared away and the sun lured me outside. The lawn really needs mowing but is still too damp. In the meantime, I can admire the mushrooms sprouting up all over the place. I have a post featuring some amazing mushrooms coming up soon.

Lovely red berries on the berberis.

Then it was time for a stroll around the lake.

Time to pause to gaze at the sky through the leaves that survived the winds last night.

And to smile at the ducks in a frenzy as a mum and her daughter threw them bread. I love the ducks, they're just so funny and endlessly entertaining :)

Finally, back home to once again curl up on the couch with the last of the sun's rays warming me as I waited for Chickpea to arrive home. This is the first time I've knitted with circular needles and I'm quite enjoying it.

And that was my weekend - well, apart from the dull stuff like washing, ironing and hoovering. I'll be back on Tuesday with more biscuity treats to enjoy by the bonfire. x