Teaching at Patchwork House and a few holiday reminiscences!

I am very excited as I will be teaching a quilting class at Patchwork House . Have done lots of teaching but usually about science and animals (that's another story) so I am really looking forward to it. Just a simple Star of LeMoyne that I made for my daughter a few years ago but it has always been one of my favourites with lots of old paisley fabrics (no photo as the quilt is at the shop).

Getting a bit over the cold weather here in Melbourne though it's good for sewing. Keep thinking about the beautiful Kakadu from our recent holiday and the warmth and the swimming holes....

This is Jim Jim Falls 170m high with a stunning swimming hole at the bottom. After 30 minutes 4WDing and 40 minutes scrambling over boulders you have earned a swim! The water is very deep and almost black. We were assured that the Estuarine crocs (they are the ones that eat you) had been removed at the end of the wet season and the fresh water species are very shy but we were still looking a bit nervous. So we sent the tour guide in first!

Much as I love Europe, Australia really is a beautiful place.

Inspired applique

Have a look at these inspiring felt appliques I found at this wonderful site . Jane obviously has a great eye for colour and the layering is fabulous. It puts me in mind of a modern Baltimore.....

Afternoon Tea

I found a recipe on a scrap of paper inside one of my notebooks. Can't remember where it came from which is a bit sad. Recipes are quite personal.

So I baked the Orange Syrup Cake and it turned out to be fabulous. Would have shown the whole cake but it wasn't around for long enough!

This is one of my favourite cups with my favourite beverage (tea from a pot never a bag) hence my blog name.

The recipe follows although I think it is a common one.

Orange Syrup Cake

1 whole orange (organic if you can)

1 cup castor sugar

180g butter melted

3 eggs

11/2 cups SR flour

1/3 cup almond meal

In a food processor: blend whole orange then add eggs, sugar butter and flour and process for 2 minutes. Add almonds and whizz a bit longer.

Put into well greased/lined 20cm tin and bake 40minutes in moderate oven.

While it bakes, bring 1 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup sugar and a large slug of Cointreau to the boil. When baked stab the cake thoroughly with a skewer (very satisfying) and pour the syrup over the top. Don't panic as it takes a while to sink in.

Cool in tin then manoeuvre out onto a beautiful plate (Hint: wet hand first so you don't remove the glaze when you touch it.)

Bon appetite (in the words of Julia)!

Oh, the book is for my new book club (Trust by Kate Veitch).

A new quilt and quilter!

My lovely friend has decided that she wants to make a quilt for her daughter. I have advised her that quilting is addictive and once she starts she will be unable to stop. It may even take over her life (and her cupboards) but she has chosen not to heed my warnings!!

So she dug out this beautiful photo of a Star of Bethlehem from an Architectural Digest cover and we are going to recreate the pattern. It lives in the Shelburne Museum and was sewn by a Sioux woman sometime in the late 19C. How gorgeous is it! It was part of a kaleidoscope exhibition held there in 2006.

Siblings!

Quick post while the teens are in the kitchen baking brownies and bickering as only sisters can!!

The two youngest members of the family (pictured here) are also trying to kill each other under my desk. Situation normal! We have tried to get them to love each other but just like siblings they have other ideas. Teddy (the gorgeous grey boy) loves Molly (the elegant older lady). Unfortunately Molly treats Teddy like she brought him in on the bottom of her shoe (if she had any)! So 99% of the time they avoid each other and 1% they fight at my feet!

Absence

Well it is supposed to make the heart grow fonder. Yes I had a panic attack and stopped blogging but hi, here I am again.

I am now trying to figure out how to use my camera (a very special birthday present) and add a bit of interest!

This is my year of "cleaning up my act" and hopefully doing a few "firsts"!! So we have just returned from a magnificant holiday in Kakadu in Northern Australia, camping with no phone reception and no computers.

My firsts: 1. Sleeping under the stars

2. Going on a tour with other people

3. Seeing the Northern Territory

4. Swimming behind a waterfall

Hard to come back to the cold!

Have also started a number of quilts I've designed myself. Now if I can work out how to get the photos on.............

Please excuse the photo quality. I'm working on that!
Have always wanted to do a red and blue star quilt but have abandoned a few attempts due to their strong resemblance to the American flag (no offence intended). I think the bit of mustard (my least favourite colour) adds a bit of balance. What do you think?

I also have a Babushka project but will save that one until it is finished!