Wordless Wednesday - Aero Mint Ball Birthday Cake

Alnwick Castle, Northumberland

 Our new favourite holiday destination is Northumberland.

 When the children are not on the beach we head into Alnwick...

 Alnwick Castle is a great day out 

and these school holidays were no exception

with chain mail... 

and armour to try on in the inner Bailey...

  (as well as the usual fabulous dressing up closets!!)

A great time was had by all!

Wordless Wednesday

Minecraft - Steve - Tablet/I-pad case

I made this Minecraft tablet case for my son's birthday.

He unwrapped it and said:

"Ah it's Steve",

So apparently this is Steve from Minecraft.

One is never too old to learn!!

This time, I did all of it on my machine,

no last minute hand stitching any seams

and I rounded the corners of the flap to give it a better shape.

I also baked a cake.

Can you spot the number '9'?

I would like to be all caked out,

but my husband and daughter's birthday's are up next!

Miss Kalico is hoping for a purple princess party

(as one does when one is 3 going on 4!)

Daim Bar Cake

A friend at work loves Daim Bar's

and as it was her birthday,

I made her a Daim bar cake.

Basically it's a simple vanilla sponge

with some crushed Daim Bar pieces in the batter.

Then I iced the cake with 'Caramel Frosting'

(the recipe was found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/7506/caramel-frosting-i/

I doubled the quantities of the frosting recipe

so that I could put the frosting inside and on top.

Then I topped the cake with crushed Daim bar pieces

and mini Daim bars.

I believe it tasted ok ;o)

*****

I also embroidered a sheep 

in Bullion stitch on a heart as a little gift.

*****

Now I'm making another Minecraft patchwork block

as my other son has his birthday tomorrow....

I didn't measure this one 

so it's a bit of trial and error as to what it will end up as...

A tablet case WAS the plan, but we will see!

Hello Blog My Old Friend....

.....It's time to talk with you again!

I don't quite know what's happened to me.

I've always been busy, but my life has reached new levels of busy-ness.

February just flew by with a trip to sort out my Mother's flat

which turned out to be a mammoth task...

We're awaiting a shipment of sentimentality soon...

[I was reading with Miss Kalico the other night

and she saw a picture of an aeroplane and she said:

"Mummy went on an aeroplane to Africa. It was sad" :'( ]

*****

I keep wanting to take photos of things I'm doing,

but the change in Seasons means that if you blink you miss photo weather....

(Spiderwebs get worked on now and again....:)

*****

The biggest change after my Mom passed away

was that I got a part time job.

I needed a job, the lack of sleep 

and the horrible flashbacks were making the days and nights very difficult.

I think Mom would have been pleased....

It's just a few hours a week with a lovely bunch of people

and a great boss (this may sound a bit creepy,

but when you've spent the last decade looking after your kids

you need a special job with great workmates 

and an understanding boss to break you back in ;o) )

Sewing has taken a bit of a back seat,

except I still sew pretty much every evening (as I always have).

I have been working on 2 tractor quilts....

And I finished my 'Luna Lapin' kit

from coolcrafting.co.uk

 I don't normally buy kits, but this one is so cute.

She's been adopted at work,

so I have made her a 'work' outfit:

 with fabric from our Spring/Summer ranges....

and tiny heart buttons on the back.

*****

There has been much Easter crafting in this house:

And Easter baking:

I love letting Miss Kalico decorate the cake herself:

And 'to the victor the spoils' so to speak

*****

I will try not to leave it so long.....

.....until next time xx

Sorting Fabric

I have been trying to sort out some fabric

as I move it into the new studio...

I had help with the little pieces...

"This one's my favourite" she said!

Then low calorie refreshments were served...

Before fabric was stroked, twizzled

and sorted....

 (Obviously) only after she went to bed

was any fabric order restored.

(And inspected!)

Wordless Wednesday - Miss Kalico turns 3!

Concealed Zip Cushion

A few years back,

I did a refresher Screenprinting class

and this was one of my designs

which sat idly on a piece of cloth until I recently

turned it into a cushion....

 With a concealed zip on the back!

I used this tutorial that I found on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqve_Xv3jqY

to insert the zip.

*****

There has been plenty more sewing,

but October (and the end of September!)

is birthday month(s),

with all 3 children, DH 

and many many others in the family

celebrating their birthdays!

 However my husband, 

after getting certain gifts for his birthday this week,

has now been informed by Miss Kalico 

that is birthday is actually "Underpants Day!" :o)