The BEST Coffee and Walnut Cake

On Sunday I had a rare day with not much on, so I thought I'd bake a cake.  I went through a stage of baking a cake every weekend a while back, but that had gone by the wayside recently.  But I just felt like something super yummy to have with a morning coffee.  I was totally inspired by a new cookbook I bought recently - it is so mouth-watering, I just drool over the pages as I flick through.  I've declared to myself I will systematically bake every recipe in the book - a bit of a Julie/Julia Child thing.  No pressure Sooze..I mean I didn't set a time frame.  I think I might set a counter up and count down the number of recipes in the book...mmm I just need to figure out how to do that! 

 

I won't keep you in suspense any longer................

 

 

 

here's what it looked like from the top....

 

 

and side

 

 

 

 

It was to-die-for-delicious and got the biggest thumbs up from my girls. Totally gluten-free.

 

Thanks Julia Thomas from Cake Angels

 

 

The Crooked Fork Cafe in Victoria Park

 

 

A great new little café has opened up in Victoria Park - The Crooked Fork.  I've sampled their coffee and a gluten free Panini and the verdict?....Yum!  All their coffees are the same price - you don't get hit with extra for soy, rice or whatever your pleasure.  Love it!

And I love the black and red décor.  The owners believe in up-cycling so all the fittings are sourced or scrounged from around the place.  Hence the lights...great idea. It's well worth a try if you're passing by.

Floral fabric play

For a bit of fun the other day I pulled out all my largish scale floral fabric and started laying them out in a totally random way.  I'd like to whip up a quilt from big squares to show off the fabric design.  Here was the first play around.  I've stacked them all back up again in one tall tower and will have some more play time with them soon.  The pinks and oranges and reds are jumping out at me for this quilt - I've already named it..."Spring has Sprung"...even though it might not be finished until next winter, or the one after that.. ... quilts and time frames just don't go together really do they?  :)))

Snippets from my little corner of the world

 

So a little itty bit of sewing has been going on in my little corner.  A few more blocks sewn for my scrappy 9 patch above.

 

A quilt top pinned and ready to be hand quilted...exciting ...it will be my first attempt.  I'm a bit nervous and not sure how to begin, so I'll watch a few online tutorials first I think, but I have cotton, needles and hoop at the ready.

In the space on the mezzanine where I work I have my knick knacks collected during my childhood and my travels.  Each one of them is a very special memory.  Here's foxy.  A little ceramic red fox.  I just love his attitude! He was given to me by one of my English Great Aunts, arriving in an oh-so-exciting-Christmas package one year.  We were so lucky with the generosity of our English rellies.  Packages would arrive via sea mail every year and be placed under the tree tantalising us in the lead up to Christmas.

 

 



 

 

 

And so I digress from my progress report.  Another 2 blocks for my Scrappy Trip Around the World...below.

 

And here's where I sit and hexie away.  Pamela one of my childhood dolls keeps me company in her rocking chair.

 

A dog's life....

 

 

"Oh thanks Soooze, did you put that cushion there just for me?"

 

 

 

 

Tilly, " gotta love a good pillow".

to...

 

''Where's my pillow?"

 

 

Whistle stop blog post

The only crafting I did this weekend was admiration!  I spent a whole 5 minutes throwing my growing hexie quilt over my king sized bed to see how much more I needed to do.  A bit yet, but I am getting closer and closer all the time... The side view here shows you another row of flowers is needed.  It was oh so exciting to see ma beauty spread across it's future home.  Hugs to all :)

Russian Doll Quilt

 

For those of you who've been stopping by my little blog for the last few years may be wondering what ever happened to my Babushka quilt....well you can breathe a collective sigh of relief as I have finally finished the top!!  Here it is - apologies for the picture - there were no helpers around to hold the quilt up. 

 

Now to choose the backing and this is another one to be hand quilted.  The dolls are telling me that they really want to be framed by some hand stitches.  I'm looking forward to spending time chatting to each one as I go...there's Olga and Anastasia and Anna and Tatiana and Nadia and Svetlana...they have become my friends over the YEARS it has taken me to put this one together...

 

I'm thinking of renaming my blog to Quilt Interrupted :) I take so long to finish anything. So this is not a ta-dah, just a progress report

Hammock Quilt Ta-Dah

I finished the quilt top yesterday.....this is the quickest quilt I've ever made.  I think I took 3 weeks, snatching a few minutes here and there.  The colours are wonderful and I love love love it.  It looked so beautiful in the glorious sunshine in my garden yesterday.  Perth is having one of the most stunning weeks weather wise.  Wide blue skies with radiant sunshine. Cool crisp mornings for my walk. 

 My plan is to have it quilted by my quilter guy, once I choose the backing.

Colour Therapy

 

I added in lime.

 

I should have it finished on the weekend. It's the quickest quilt in the world to make...and as I'm the slowest quilter in the world, this is a good thang! 

 

I can't get over the ''prolificnessness '' of the likes of Rita at Red Pepper Quilts! I am totally awed out.

 

And this next pic because...well...just because (fabric lovers will get it :)

 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by xo

My next patchwork project :)

I'm putting aside the sewing this weekend for some household patchwork.  A section of a side wall of our house is in desperate need of attention and has been for the 9 years we've been here.  But now we're moving on, this wall has the potential to freak out any buyer! 

Who'd have thought a carpenter/builder lived here? Just testament to the old saying about living with a plumber and always having dripping taps, or a painter an unpainted house or however it goes.  I've lost count of the unfinished bits and pieces around our place.  Funny how there is always time to drink beer and pat the dog and watch hours and hours of Dad's Army dvds.....

Needless to say I'm hitting a very bumpy patch as our relationship ends and the house sold.  As much as I am trying to stay calm and tell myself one day I will wake up and this ugliness will all be behind me and not ahead of me, I have my moments of freaking out, intense sadness, relief, exhaustion, nervous hilarity...so "bear with me'' dear readers and sharers of my little corner of happiness and sunshine that is my blog.  I love coming here and reflecting on snippets of my life.  I love looking at others crafty worlds and sneaking a peek at other creative lives.

thanks for reading xo

I'm not sure

I've had this fabric stashed for years now, just waiting for the right project to come along, so when I spotted the Hammock Quilt in Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making, I was totally inspired. So here is my version, ready to piece together....but .....I'm hesitating.  Perhaps, it's because I have followed a pattern in a book and my version is different in that I've used stronger colours and I look at the photo and think am I getting this right?  Do I just trust myself? 

Do you know that quote "Don't let comparison steal your joý."?  Should I just bust it together and not over think it?  Or is that yellow really too strong?

Retail Therapy

My last week has been very stressful, so when I got an email from my local fabric shop announcing 4 DAY SALE, I knew what I had to do :)

I've been sorting my stash a little lately - I know I have, but to the onlooker they may not see my progress.  Piles of fabric covering a fairly large floor area = sorting to me :)

So off I chuffed in my lunch break...I'm lucky enough to work in the next suburb...for a bit of light relief from a fairly harrowing office environment lately. Having recently sorted I identified a few gaps in my stash...and a sale coinciding with pay week...what serendipitous timing.  The planets have aligned and spend I must :)

Down to Materialise I drove...and here is my stash builder collection

I know you can feel my glee and hear my squeals of happiness and delight.

Here is the hero piece of the day....

The bolt had just arrived and it leapt into my arms.

All in all I think I was fairly restrained...with 20% off EVERY bolt in the store, I may have to venture back...I mean after all....it's an investment in my future......

A flying visit to the Cotswolds

 

 

 

 

My second last day of my holiday was spent visiting my old flatmate from my London days, who now lives in a thatched cottage in Oxfordshire.  My sister and I caught the train down from Hertfordshire, where we had a quick flit around Oxford itself, then headed out to Cathy's house in a little village for lunch.  We hadn't seen each other for 18 years, but it felt like yesterday. Isn't that the best when that happens?  In that time she has married and had 3 children, but it still felt like we were flats mates in London 25 years ago.

 

 

 

Tropical

I made another block for my Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt last night.  I think this one is from a tropical haven somewhere....blue, blue water, happy coloured beach towels, large colourful flowers, pretty birds flitting about and the coral, -that amazing underwater world you see when snorkelling the reefs.  It totally contrasted with the weather in Perth last night - it was wild, wet, windy and cold.  But I was snug inside my creative space, dreaming again of my trip around the world.  A hot chocolate to keep me company!

 

so this is my Fiji block.....

and here is Fiji beside Iceland!

2 blocks in....many more to go.

Scrappy Trip Around the World Quilt

I've jumped on board the Scrappy Trip Around the World bus or jet plane.  I made my first block yesterday and OMG it was so much fun.  I have another one nearly done...but I'm so time poor...my scrappy trip is going to be more like a slow boat around the world, but hey, that's ok, I get to savour every step of the journey.  No whistle-stop tours for me! I like to immerse myself in the different cultures of the world...so if I manage a block a week, I think that's close to a year to have enough blocks to make a quilt?

My trip has started in Iceland.  As I made the block, I thought about what the colours in the block made me think of - as in which country they brought to mind.  I settled on Iceland for my first.  Not sure why, I've never been there, but I thought the grey reminded me of the volcanic rock and the bleak landscapes I've seen and the green for the very green grass when it's not covered in snow.  they have those grass roofed houses there. The orange because I recall seeing bursts of colour in their buildings, mainly their rooves and also because I'm sure in Spring some beautiful wildflowers pop up and add colour and the birds chirp away. I imagine you hear the sound of seagulls a lot in Iceland. Perhaps one day I'll see it for myself...until then I'm happy with my thoughts and block making. Very happy.