Projects Two and Three (and One...)

This is the project I started last night. It's going to be a black-and-white diamond quilt. As you can see, I've done my best to plan ahead this time!


And I'm very excited about the next project coming up at some undetermined moment in the future. I bought two big stacks of patchwork squares in the fair trade shop today:



Lots of lovely patterns, many of them featuring elephants! I think they're African fabrics. I could make another cushion cover, a bag, a huge wall-hanging to replace our brown one...

And for good measure, to satisfy my pride, some more pictures of Cushion One:


I didn't make the one with the butterflies, unfortunately, it was bought for me!

Project One finished!

My first patchwork cushion is finished!


I must admit, I'm feeling quite proud of myself. I did it all by hand, without a plan and with constant mistakes in measurements, so I think it didn't turn out badly at all.


Admittedly, it's not perfect....


Still, it's done! Just in time for my parents and sister coming to visit. I've already started my next project...

An Autumn Party

Although Alan and I moved into our flat over two months ago, we had not had a flatwarming party yet. So, it was high time. Alan sat down with the cookbook and devised a gourmet menu, and he also went on two big shopping expeditions to get all the ingredients, including a trip to the Covered Market to procure some pheasants. My job was to come up with a vegetarian alternative, to help with the preparations and to make sure the flat was looking presentable (quite an undertaking as it resembled a bombsite).

While I was cleaning the flat, I came across a ladybird in one of my plants.


Aww, I thought, and I took that picture. Then I realised that, in fact, the flat was infested with ladybirds. There were loads of them all over the windows. I'm not sure where they have all come from; it must be the warmish weather.

Anyway, we spent the whole day in the kitchen. It was like Christmas. There were bowls full of goodness everywhere. I thought this collection of yellow-ish foodstuffs was like one of those posh ads for different shades of paint:


The menu was:

- tomato, cucumber and melon salad
- pheasant with cider and apple sauce or goat's cheese and red onion tartlet, with roast potatoes, parsnips and carrots
- cheese platter with cheeses from the Great British Cheese Festival
- chocolate coated pears with dessert wine
- Drambuie coffee with cake and/or chocolate

It was a bit stressful, but our guests were very impressed by the food and we had a very good time. And they brought some very useful gifts: some wine glasses and a casserole dish from Le Creuset, which was put to immediate use!


And so our flat is well and truly warmed!

A slow weekend

I feel like I'm coming down with something; I'm achy and generally sluggish. This weekend has been quite low-key, especially in comparison with last weekend.

Last Sunday Alan, a group of friends and I went to the Great British Cheese Festival. Alan and I cycled the 12 kilometres to the farm where the festival was held. Luckily it was a lovely day and we had such a good time drinking cider and spiced hot apple juice, cheese tossing, buying herbs, sampling liquers and, of course, filling our stomachs with lots and lots of cheese. Alan and I bought so much cheese between us, we couldn't fit it all into the fridge! It was a wonderful autumn day. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so no cheesy pictures, I'm afraid!

The week went by very quickly. I've started a twice-weekly exercise regime with three male friends, and we're all feeling a little better about ourselves. Two more weeks to half-term, and I'm still enjoying myself at school.

I've also gone back to quilting with a vengeance. My first ever quilted cushion cover is now almost finished. This is what it looked like yesterday:


I worked very hard on it yesterday, and it's now almost done. I'm quite proud of it; I made it without experience, sewing machine, design, tools, or even thinking ahead in the slightest. You can see it's not perfect:


But it's still not at all bad for a complete beginner! I've already got my next project lined up - I'm so excited about this quilting business at the moment! I bought some new fabrics yesterday:


My next quilt is going to be a black-and-white affair in a diamond pattern. Hopefully that will be more agreeable to Alan (who thinks the cushion is a wee bit girly). I also picked up this lovely and helpful book (it has patterns and cut-outs) in the sale:


The quilt on the cover really appeals to me, as I love autumn and trees and leaves. I just need to find the right sort of fabric. The book is full of lovely ideas:


I suppose if I want to get serious about quilting I'd better start putting some effort into organising myself and not do it in this off-the-cuff manner...

I'll put up some pictures of the quilted cushion cover as soon as it's done - I want to show it off!

Meanwhile, a random picture of our kitchen:


I like that poster of the Greek votive offerings I bought in Greece this summer, and the view is lovely too. As long as I can see trees, I'm happy.

The previous inhabitants of our flat were apparently not the cleanest, and when we moved in the shelves of our kitchen cupboard were all sticky. Alan didn't mind too much, but I thought it was pretty disgusting. So I went out and got some shelf-paper, with very cheerful results:


It makes me happy every time I open up the cupboard!