Monday, August 23, 2010

New projects

I have been busy with needle and thread recently – as well as ‘getting jiggy with it’ on my sewing machine!


Would you like to see a couple of peeks of recently completed projects?


CT sneak peeks 1


I love those country-style heart buttons from Dress it Up! I use them all the time.


CT sneak peeks 3


I also love this cloud fabric – you may recognise it from the free angel stitchery design situated on my side bar. I have a series of new stitchery designs using it… to be made up into something very sweet :-)


I’m making great progress on the cot quilt too! The appliqué is now complete and I plan to start quilting it tomorrow! Wish me luck! LOL


CT sneak peeks 2


I have two other projects on the go as well, that I’ll share soon. I don’t usually have so many things all on the go at the same time, but I was invited by the lovely editor of Creating Country Threads to do a profile piece in the magazine early next year. I’ve been industriously designing and making new items to send in to the magazine so they can be shared with readers. Exciting isn’t it?!! :-)


I am also busily preparing for two very special birthdays this week. My gorgeous son turns 13 tomorrow; I can still hardly believe how much he’s grown in both inches and maturity over the past year – but to have a TEENAGER? Wow! :-) Then, three days later follows my daughter’s birthday and she will turn Five! Another milestone. Bless ‘em!


Before I go, have you heard that Judith is having a sale in her web-shop? Head on over HERE to check it out! Also, the Material Chicks are having a sale on patterns too – their link is in my side bar! :-)


Rightie-ho, I had better head off and plan for the birthday celebrations tomorrow!! :-)


Until next time – Party On!!! Hugs! Vikki xx

Saturday, August 14, 2010

A bit of this and a bit of that!

Gosh, it’s been a week since I last posted and I’ve got a whole mish-mash of “stuff” to share with you!


First off let’s take a look at my creative space…


In my creative space


I’m making another birdie pincushion… this one is going to be sent to the very lovely Mary Jibson at Fresh Hope as a sample… because I am donating the pattern to this wonderful charity :-) The instructions are part-written and once the pattern is tested, the pieced birdie will fly up to Queensland and join new friends among the Fresh Hope Patterns range.


Fresh Hope is in the process of updating its website, so if you are interested in any of their patterns you can still view them but they’re unavailable to purchase at this moment in time. However, if you email Mary here, she will take a note of your enquiry and notify you as soon as the patterns become available again! She’s a sweetie isn’t she? You can read all about Fresh Hope on Among the Gum Trees, HERE.


~~~~~


Next up, I’d like to say a big fat juicy THANK YOU to the lovely Rebecca Jane and another gorgeous lady who I do not yet know the name of (you know who you are, sweetheart!!) for giving me links to some fabulous tutorials on creating hexagons.


Melanie at Texas Freckles has some great tutorials, and her blog is absolutely gorgeous! Visit here to learn how to piece hexagons – although you won’t want to stop there - there are also many other fantastic tutes! My other recommendation was to visit Lori at Bee in my Bonnet – another inspirational place to hang out! and I’ve been chatting-up the lovely Dawn Hay to find out how she makes hers, too!! Here are my very first hexies, made for Dawn on her birthday…


First hexies


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Okay – I have a little smirk on my face as I share this next story with you! In my last post I showed some delicious cinnamon scrolls I had made, and shared how I planned to attempt a gluten-free version. Well – I went for a substitution of wheat flour for this:


GF flour


Gluten free flour, and a teaspoon of Xanthan Gum to help give the bread a stickiness that is most definitely lacking when no gluten is otherwise present.


My DD and I made one batch with gluten free ingredients, and then I made another batch with wheat flour. The wheaten scrolls are on the left of the pic:


Scrolls


Notice how different they look? The gluten-free versions were so much smaller and didn’t rise very well. They didn’t taste too great either! I gave my daughter a bowl with a freshly iced scroll and came back some 10 minutes later to her sitting with an empty bowl… I was astounded that she liked it, but when I asked “Wow, you ate it all?!!” she replied, “No, I thought you had eaten it?”


Together, we peered down under the couch where – as predicted - our pup was chomping away on the scroll. And when I say chomping, I MEAN chomping!!! So if you ever have the urge to make a rubber ball – I can provide you with the perfect recipe!!! :-P


So – having a child with Coeliac disease I have learned to always have a fail-safe on stand-by whenever we attempt to bake something new. Gotta love this!


GF home bake


Because with 5 minutes preparation time and 10 minutes in the oven, you end up with these…




GF cookies


Soft and squidgy in the middle and tasting as good as they look! :-) But shhhh! Don’t tell anyone my secret ok? When people ask, “did you make them yourself?” there’s every truth in saying YES, isn’t there?!!! Ha ha!


Speak to you soon!! I’ve made plenty of progress on my cot quilt and have some more sneak peeks to share soon, too! Oh, and Karen sweetie, I haven’t forgotten to share some pics of the Wearable Art exhibition – I was going to add them to this post but it would be a marathon read! LOL


Catch you round like a fruit loop!


Vikki x :-)

Friday, August 6, 2010

Sneak peaks and special cinnamon’y business!

I have been busy making a very special quilt – a cot quilt for a sweet friend who has just given birth to her first baby – a darling little girl! Welcome into the world, baby Eloisa! :-)


My friend isn’t into pastel colours, preferring a palette of blues and greens. I was going to add lilac in to the mix (you can see the fabrics I had initially chosen here) but when it came to the crunch, I settled without those purple hues. I’m not quite finished yet – but here’s some sneak peeks!


Cot quilt 1



Cot quilt 2


My inspiration was the Tree of Life! :-) I’ll show you more real soon!


Have you been over to Dawn’s recently? She has a gorgeous new BOM to share with us! You can see the first block on her cute blog button!


Frosty Flakes BOM


Isn’t it gorgeous? And a lovely take on using hexagons! I’ve recently made my very first ‘hexies’ using the plastic templates I purchased at a craft show a couple of weeks ago – and it wasn’t as straightforward as the salesperson made out! So I’ve been searching the Net for hexie tutorials and think I’m going to give this one a try. I’ll let you know how I go! Do you have any tips for me?!


If you would like to stitch along with Dawn – just click on the button above to take you to the delectable world of As Sweet as Cinnamon!


Talking of Dawn, and talking of cinnamon… I made cinnamon scrolls last night for the very first time and they were delicious! Dawn had the recipe on her blog a few weeks ago (check out this post). Yummo!


Cinnamon scroll


Mr SUDs and DS sang my praises all night! One would be mistaken for thinking that I never offer them tasty food! I’m not renowned for my baking skills, you see! Ha ha! My DD has Coeliac disease and can not eat gluten, so I’m going to give the recipe a try with gluten-free flour and see how it pans out… it’s quite a science to cooking gluten-free and not all recipes work with a straight ‘wheat flour for GF flour’ swap. But I won’t know until I try. :-)


Okey-dokes, I’m going to head off now and finish making dinner… and then I will return to sewing the cot quilt! :-) I will be visiting baby Eloisa tomorrow evening – can’t wait! {insert the biggest grin EVER, here!!} What are you up to this weekend??


Until next time – Hugs!! Vikki xx

Sunday, August 1, 2010

‘Sharing’ My block for Fresh Hope!

I have been sat here for the best part of 20 minutes writing and re-writing this post! Truth is, I have been so excited about us Gum Tree girls introducing ‘Springtime’ with you that I am stumbling for words!


So… I thought I’d carry on stumbling as it’s more interesting than looking at a blank page! he he..


‘Springtime’ is a beautiful quilt designed by the Gum Tree Designers for the wonderful charity, Fresh Hope. You can read the full story behind it and see the finished quilt here. :-)


I’d like to introduce you to the block that I designed, and share my inspiration with you…


“Sharing”


Vikkis Springtime block



When reflecting on the charity ‘Fresh Hope’, I considered how liberating it would be for the young women receiving care to be able to share their problems; and also, I envisaged their tremendous courage in accepting help. It led me to thinking about the innocence of youth, with no fears of sharing, and a bounty of trust in the heart. With the theme of Springtime, the vision of a young girl sharing acorns with a squirrel popped in to my mind. The usually timid creature felt safe and trusted in his young companion’s company while she enjoyed his beauty - out in the open air - with no boundaries.


It has been an honour to contribute to Fresh Hope Patterns, and a privilege to work with such beautiful women in making it happen. Thank you Vicki, thank you Dawn, thank you Jenny, thank you Fee, thank you Cheryl, thank you Joy and thank you Judith! My dear friends! Special thanks also to darling Blossom (Jenny’s daughter) for designing the ninth block – it’s so special! :-) {{Hugs darling girl!}}


For the full story, head on over to Among the Gum Trees. Or you can visit the Gum Tree girls’ individual blogs to view each of the blocks they designed and read the inspiration behind them, by clicking on each of the names in the paragraph above!


The pattern for this quilt will be made available through Fresh Hope Patterns in the very near future! :-)


Until next time – enjoy sharing! Hugs! Vikki xx

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