The next quilt

Busy planning and cutting out for my next quilt. It's another baby quilt (will everyone please stop having offspring?!?) but I'm following a pattern this time, in squares within squares. I'm following it loosely as I still want it to be quite random and higgledy-piggledy. She doesn't know if baby will be a boy or a girl so just wants it colourful. So, colourful it will be!

At the moment it's all a bit messy...

But, at least my blocks look neat. Even the backs are really tidy! Much easier to keep things straight and narrow and tidy with my excellent new sewing machine.

Buxton breeze

I've been in Buxton, Derbyshire all weekend, so no sewing or baking, but lots of walking and blustery photography.

Gym biscuits

Today was my first real workout at the gym since before my hip surgery last year. Needless to say, I'm somewhat knackered now! But in a good way. Luckily, to ease the pain of all that exercise, I have some home-made chocolate and cranberry biscuits to hand.

I used half plain chocolate and half plain chocolate with orange and spices (using up leftover ingredients) and the spice is a little overpowering, but still yummy. Possibly should have flattened them more before baking to get them flatter and looking more like biscuits...

Teapot quilt - done!

My teapot-themed quilt is done!!

I finished the binding today. It's the first binding I've ever done, so it was a bit of a challenge and a learning curve. There were a few mistakes along the way...

And not all of it is as perfect as it could be - but then quilts aren't allowed to be perfect, else they don't look handmade.

I'm really proud of it - it's my first full quilt, with all the quilting and binding done properly. I've learned a lot doing it, and certainly got to grips with my new sewing machine - and it's full of teapots and cupcakes! I made it for myself to practise all the right techniques on, rather than as a gift or donation for anyone.

Paddington comes for tea

A gorgeous greetings card I bought today of Paddington Bear, illustrated by Fred Banbery. On the back it gives the following profile of the illustrator:

"Fred Banbery was born in 1913 and trained as an artist in London. After graduating he worked in the advertising industry. He moved to India in 1938 where he became a political cartoonist in The Times of India. In London in the 1950s he illustrated books, notably an edition of The Pickwick Papers, and in the 60s he became a cartoonist for The New Yorker. In the early 70s he was commissioned to illustrate a number of Paddington Bear books. He died in 1999."

Here's to good ol' Paddington, and to his illustrator. Now I'm off to have a marmalade sandwich.

Light of my life...in tea

Good lord, look at what is surely going to adorn my home in the future:

Looks like any old teapot hanging from a rope when it's not in the dark:

I never thought I could be in love with a light fitting....

Courtesy of http://www.anthropologie.eu/uk/page/home where from came my brilliant teacup and sugar pot.

Floater!

I love this floating tea strainer. Read more at http://wgsn-hbl.blogspot.com/2011/01/kinto-at-maison-objet-and-nyigf.html
Do you think John Lewis will sell them??

The beauty of teapots

Really like this new design of teapot, and what it stands for:

The idea that the handles are mass produced and ergonomic, while the body of the teapot is hand blown and more rustic. The lid is also a teacup.

Read more here: http://www.louierigano.com/index.php?/product-design/teapots/

Going Sloe...

Tonight I will be mainly drinking Sophie & Steve's Sloe Gin 2010 Vintage...

And very nice it is too... It might be a school night, and it might be the busiest day of the year at work tomorrow (I know it's only January 11th but still), but I deserve it. Sloe gin rules OK!

What a ladder, sugar!

With the weather turning sunny, even if it's still freezing cold, it's always good to know that you can hang your towels on a bamboo ladder, don't you agree? Luckily, I have one! Another of my Christmas presents that has made me disproportionately happy.

Not only that, but check out the best sugar pot in the world. I feel very protective over this sugar pot, and worry every time I take it off the shelf to add sugar to the Boyf's tea (I'm sweet enough already, haha).

I also got an almost-matching mug/cup (I'm not sure what it is) for my birthday.

Shame I don't have any red thread, so I can't do some quilting, rather than just making cups of tea in my new mug/cup. But it is a lovely new light Earl Grey by Fortnum & Mason, excellent.

Happy New Year!

I've been absent for a while, enjoying the Christmas and New Year festivities. So to update, here are some of my brilliant Christmas presents.

Firstly, a new sewing machine!!!! It's an Elna 6600, the "Quilter's Dream" - it's amazing! It does about a million pre-programmed stitches, including a penguin. It took several days to read the instructions before I built up the courage to turn it on... But it really is a dream.

A gorgeous teapot, a 1920s Royal Albert design teacup and saucer, and a chicken teapot were also received with glee:

So now I'm off to make tea and so some quilting!