Christmas pudding

This is the final stage of the pudding.  After boiling for 4 hours, you need to take it out and hang it to dry.  On the day that you want to eat it, it then goes back in boiling water for 2 more hours.

While I am it, thought I might as well show you the cherry tomatoes we have growing.  Just in time for summer.  This busy is about 8 feet tall!

Christmas Cooking Day

I thought that I would be really organised with my baking as I am not going out to work any more.  Not the case - I still allocated this weekend before Christmas as my "cooking weekend". A lot of cooking comes from our English heritage, and may not be familiar with everyone.  It is a treat for my family and friends to have old fashioned food, made with love.

 My Christmas Cake, pudding and fruit mince tarts all come from the old favourite Women's Weekly book.

 Starting with the cake - the fruit has been soaking several weeks in brandy and sugar - it is so nice!  Gently mix in the eggs.  These are from my own chooks.  What a treat!

 Add the flower and mix

Line the cake tin with several sheets of baking paper

Into the oven for 4 hours.  I was able to leave John in charge - yes, terrible idea - while I went to the gym

 Now for the pudding.  this is the same fruit mixture, soaked in brandy for several weeks.  I add bread crumbs - about 4 cups of fresh, and only 1/4 cup of flour, and mix it all up with eggs and melted butter.

 The pudding cloth is dipped in hot water, then spread with plain flour

put the cloth into a bowl, and transfer the mixture.

 pull up the cloth, and make it a nice round shape.  Tie it with string and into the boiling water.

 It needs to boil for 4 hours today, and again 2 hours on Christmas Day.  No I am not going out and leaving this one!  Must not let it boil dry.

 these are a few more goodies I have made - fruit mice tarts

 and mini-Xmas puddings.  These are made from dark fruit cake, all munched up, sprinkled with a 1/2 cup of brandy and left to soak.  Mix in some melted chocolate, and then make them into balls and decorate.  Lovely!

New Scrap Quilt idea

 Lots and lots of scrappy 5" squares plus lots and lots of 2 1/2" shirting squares

 Stitch across the corner and save these triangles for "something" later - maybe a baby quilt or a border

 another square on the opposite side - save the cut offs

 press them open

 Now the fun part - how to set them?  This was my first thought - look a bit like a squashed star if you squeeze your eyes.

 this I do like - but this lattice thing has bee done quite a bit.  May be because it looks good.

what about zig zags?  They could go across the quilt or up and down.  Maybe zig zag up and down with a small sashing?  hmm?  now that is a nice idea.   What do you think??

All the blocks are made, I just have to decide how to put them together.  

Antique Sampler

I started to make the first few blocks of this quilt.  It is offered as a Block of the Month over 12 months on my website.  To register go to the website, and make a "purchase".  The information is then sent to me in a secure format.  Your credit card will charged each month for $38 plus postage.  We will be sending the pattern and more fabric than you need.

 the first 4 blocks are hearts, appliqued into the centre of the blocks.  

The next blocks are Paper Pieced Stars.  Centre  is cut out and can be used elsewhere in the quilt.  

 I am putting my collection of centres all into bag so I can dip in and make a lucky pick!

Eventually it will look like this.  I even have the same fabric for the background of the large blocks.  What a find that was!  It has been out of print for ages, and I was able to get some.

Hollyhocks are happening

The spring garden is just about finished, and the summer garden is in full bloom.  It gets so hot here in summer, that I don't really worry about planting much.  The hollyhocks are growing wild.  Some must be 8 foot tall!

 It took me years to try and get these plants to grow.  I use to see them in other gardens, and was so envious!  I found out that you kind of have to ignore them.  Scatter the seeds like in nature, don't dig them in, don't water or nurture them at all, and this is what happens.  I worked it out after seeing the plants growing wild by the side of the road in the state's mid-north, where it is dry and dusty most of the summer.

 This one is my favourite colour

 There is that Fairy in my garden again - not looking quite so well behaved today

 Actually, I think this is my favourite

 Must not forget the vegetable garden.

 See how brown it has started to get already.  That is where the spring flowers have died off

 Not sure what this plant's real name is, but we call it "Bird of Paradise"

Circuit Rider Quilt - 2011

 

I started the Circuit Rider BOM in February this year, and I expected it to go for 12 months.  I have been making the blocks along the way.  I had a request to continue into next year, and have decided to do so.  I have already made the next two blocks - 13 and 14.

Also during the time I have been teaching applique at Patchwork By the Sea, at Brighton, SA.  I took along my CR blocks to show off and the group wanted to know if it was a class.  I decided to make extra blocks not from the book, to offer as a class.  I made them with the same background and similar theme so that I can eventually add them into the quilt.

By the time I finish these few extra blocks for the class, plus the 10 I need for the BOM, I will have 30 bocks, which is a good size for me.  Anyone familiar with the original Circuit Riders quilt will know that a few of the blocks are repeated.  This way I do not get repeats.

You can join into this BOM any time by going to my website Legend and Lace, and registering.