Knitting Update

After finishing the Milo vest for my nephew I have been inspired to knit. I cast on a Tiny Tea Leaves cardigan for Grace in Bendigo Luxury 10 ply. This is knitting up quite quickly now I am past the yoke.
These socks have been hibernating since I cast them on in October, but a few rows here and there and I nearly have a sock.

Zucchini Cake and Banana Bread

I love how if a recipe has 'bread' in its name it somehow seems healthier even though it probably has more oil and sugar than a cake. I have tried a couple of zucchini bread recipes in the past week and think I have found my favourite - a kind of hybird of them all. I also made a delicious Banana Bread. It was adapted from a recipe I found in a Country Living a few years ago.

Zucchini Cake

180g soft butter1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (squeeze out the excess liquid)

1 grated apple (squeeze out the excess liquid)

1 2/3 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs. Add the grated zucchini and apple. Mix in the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Add the walnuts.

Bake at about 180 degrees for 55 minutes.

Eat with good butter.

Banana Bread

2 ripe mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk
1 cup dessicated coconut
150g dark chocolate chips

Mix the banana, vanilla and eggs. Mix in the sugars, then the flour and baking powder. Mix in the milk and then the coconut and chocolate chips. Bake for about an hour at 180 degrees C.

I wasn't aware we planted a variety of sunflowers called 'short and stunted' but it must be true. These are some of the shortest sunflowers I have ever seen.

I popped the very short Eva in the photo to make them look taller.

Uniforms

I love the days you walk into Spotlight and you find just what you want on the bargain table. In December I found blue gingham for $1 a metre. Perfect for the girls' school uniform. I made a few skirts today and cut out a couple of Molly peasant dresses to sew up in time for school next week.
A few more gadget pouches and a sunglasses case for me. Hopefully I might be able to find them easier in my bag and they won't end up so scratched.

Instant Pattern Downloads

If you are anything like me you find a pattern you like and want to start working on it immediately. So I have added two new pages on the blog where you can buy my patterns and they will be downloaded to you instantly.
Find my quilt patterns here and my toy patterns here.

Fergus Fish

Fergus Fish is now available in PDF form and is now in more of a tutorial form. Lots of pictures have been added to help you with every step. Available here as an instant download.

Yarn Dyeing

I have dusted off the dye pots and am back dyeing.
I am gradually adding this lot to the One Fat Slug shop.

Sherbet Pips and Potato Cakes

It is very rare that I fall in love with a entire line of fabric, but I am in love with Sherbet Pips. Scooters, swings and puppy dogs in the loveliest colours. I can definitely see myself using a lot of this.
We came home from our week away to find some potatoes ready to harvest. I thought I'd try some potato cakes for lunch which were a bit of a hit. I used this recipe.

Milo for Leo

I always have such big plans to craft while on holidays. I packed a few things that needed finishing, but didn't manage to do any of it. I did, however, start and finish a Milo for my nephew. I love this pattern. I didn't have a small circular needle so did it Magic Loop. I did the 6 month size and I used about 1.5 balls of Jo Sharp DK. I knit tightly so Leo at nearly 1 month can almost fit into it. More details here on ravelry.

Holidays

We are home after a lovely week down in Albany. As lovely as it was it didn't seem kind of right to be having a lovely holiday with everything going on on the other side of Australia. While it is too far away to physically help, there are plenty of other ways to help.
Here is a link to many many crafty auctions


Corrie is collecting quilts and quilt blocks to be made into quilts.
And you can donate money here.

Amelia and Grace in a quiet moment. I am pretty sure 5 minutes after this photo was taken the game ended with a dispute over who was allowed to move where and the pieces were thrown all over the room.

Quilting Bee Blocks and

Some more of my blocks from Around The Block 2 have arrived home. These lovely blocks arrived from Louise...

...and these from Amy.

I have had an idea for a quilt for my new nephew. I bought some of the Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow last year and it has been waiting for the right project. I think this is it.

Elephant PDF Pattern

As requested by a few of you I am slowly turning all my animal patterns into pdf form. First up is Eli Elephant.
Available in my Etsy shop now and for instant download here.

Kenny the Kookaburra

The latest Homepsun magazine arrived in my mailbox yesterday.
Inside is my Kenny the Kookaburra pattern!

First Crafting of 2011

Amelia and Grace saw me looking at this mushroom fabric online a while ago and both immediately wanted it in different colourways.
Amelia wanted me to make a dress using a pattern in this Vintage French sewing book (you can see it in the bottom picture on the right). The first one I made was awful - the hole under the button was huge and it was too tight at the neck. This second version is a little better, but still has problems with the top part. I added a zip to the back (as it is quilte slim fitting) so it doesn't have a buttonhole (the button is sewn through all the pieces) and it is much easier to get on and off. I added pockets from the Oliver and S Jump Rope dress.

Grace wanted Simplicity 2320. It was a quick and easy pattern, nearly exactly the same as this one I made for myself. I am glad I had made that first as the instructions for this aren't great and some of the pattern pieces did not seem to match very well. After sewing some great patterns from Oliver and S and other smaller pattern companies sewing this one was a bit of a disappointment. These patterns might be a bit more expensive and a little harder to get, but they make up for it with great instructions, well drafted patterns and I want to make them again and again so they are definitely cheaper in the long run.

More details are here at Pattern Review. I have decided one of New Years Resolutions is to write pattern reviews over there as it is the first place I look when I am thinking about trying a new pattern so I would like to help other people when they are deciding on what to sew and what changes they should make to patterns.
A small pair of kimono shoes for my nephew using this pattern. If you are looking for a cute baby present I recommend this pattern. The smaller sizes can be a bit fiddly, but with a little patience they turn out really well.

Goodbye 2010

A few last pictures from 2010.
It was so much fun shopping for crafty Christmas presents this year now the girls are that little bit older. The two big girls and their cousin received little softie kits for Christmas using Kristen Doran's gorgeous kokeshi dolls. They loved sewing them up on Christmas Day and were pretty proud of themselves.
I bought these stamps at the last Upmarket from beau est mien. They have had a lot of fun stamping and making their own pictures.

I finally finished the pew Dad gave me and finally found a great place for this wonderful candelabra we were given for a wedding present from a good friend.

Mum bought us this chair for the other end of the verandah. The perfect place to sit and drink gin in the afternoon.

Here's to 2011 - I hope it is a wonderful year for you all!