Mouthy Stitches

What do you get when you team up an American living in Ireland, a Canadian living in Great Britain and a Brit living in...    well...   Britain? Three women who can't get a word in edgewise because we all talk too much! And that was how Mouthy Stitches was born.

What on earth is Mouthy Stitches, you ask? Well, I have the privilege of joining up with Hadley from Flying Blind on a Rocket Cycle and Cindy from Fluffy Sheep Quilting to create a swap group with the three of us sharing mama duties.

And we want you! (Please!)

We're starting off with a nice easy swap. (Plans to expand the empire might follow if you all join up and enjoy yourselves!) Easy, peasy lemon squeezy - just make one zippered pouch for your assigned partner and the only 'extra' is everyone is to then put one FQs worth of scraps into the pouch before posting.

I would appreciate it if everyone would stop rolling around on the floor laughing because I said that it was a Zippered Pouch Swap. Yes, I avoided them like the plague for just about ever. So making one scared the crap out me. I did it. And it turned out to be rather easier than expected. Like easy enough that I wondered what on earth I had been so afraid of for so long! If I can do it then so can you. (Yes, Shay, you are one of the people I am directing this message at.)

Are you interested? Have you been sat there wishing and wanting a Zippered Pouch Swap? (Am I pushing my luck here?) Well, we are looking for a group of people just like I had in the Modern Christmas Tablerunner Swap. Everyone was fabulous in that. They chatted, they joked, they made amazing things and (so they tell me) they had fun.

It doesn't matter if this is your first swap ever. Far more important is your attitude. And your willingness to be actively involved in the swap. This means commenting on other participants photos on the Flickr site, posting photos of your own, and sticking to the swap rules like posting on time, etc.

Here is the general information -

• signs up starting from now until January 22nd.
• you don't have to have a blog but you must have a Flickr page.
• you must post a mosaic to the Mouthy Stitches Flickr site and fill in the posted form before the 22nd to be in.
• partners will be assigned by January 29th.
• posting to your partner is between February 25th and February 29th.
• one zippered pouch and one FQ worth of scraps no smaller than 2.5" square are what is to be exchanged.

Right, are you up for it? Do you want to join in? Then please do go over to the Mouthy Stitches Flickr page to find the form and post your mosaic. I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

Here's some inspiration photos from my mosaic to whet your appetite. If you wish to see Hadley's and Cindy's mosaics then head on over to the Flickr page where they are posted already.

I do hope that you want to join in with us because I had such an excellent time in my last swap that I just want to repeat the experience.

Susan

All By Myself...

... Almost! I did get both girls to school this morning. And I did drive back before lunch to give Helen her medication as she hasn't finished it yet. But then I had to go back and get her after lunch as her energy and pain thresholds plummeted. I still have to return for Emily. I will be wearing a groove in that road, but that's okay. One of the reasons for being a stay at home mum is so that I am there for them when needed.

I did a few tasks for himself as well. That left me...  well...  not much time for sewing. But I did do a little bit on the Terrain HSTs. And in the process of pressing some fabric prior to cutting it I realised that I had received a shipment of fabric from Brenda at Pink Castle Fabrics and not told you about it. So here is a quick peek at what I received before I ask for some opinions on how to finish the Terrain quilt.

A lovely charm pack of Aneela Hooey's A Walk In The Woods
Some of this will destined to be fussy cut into my favourite fabrics quilt.

Some stash building Half Moon scissors.



A layer cake of Salt Air for Cosmo Cricket.
Luscious colours!



And more stash building with some California Dreamin' yardage.
The pink on the left will be used for the Somewhere Over the Rainbow charm swap.
The pink on the right has just been cut and some of it used in the Terrain quilt.
No plans for the green, yet!

I sewed some borders on the Terrain quilt today. I wanted to frame the HSTs so that they continued to stand out boldly.

Here's the part where I need your help. My original plan had been to add another navy blue border and then bind it in another colour, not the pink. But not the green used for demonstration purposes below.

But I've gone off this idea now. I am thinking that it would be too much of a good thing. So should I add another border of the navy solid and then bind it in the navy as well. Or should I stop now and bind it in the navy and be done?

Wider border of the navy or...

... just a navy binding?

Helen suggested a coloured binding directly on the pink but (don't tell her this!) I am not currently favouring this idea.

Anyone any ideas? All  help is appreciated as always! Thank you.

Susan

For the Love of Solids

I've taken the plunge and put my name down for another swap - For the Love of Solids Round Two. I wasn't going to. There is a lot going on but the first round of the For the Love of Solids really impressed me with the amazing things that participants made for their partners. So today I filled in the form and made my mosaic. No going back.

If you are interested then I think that there might still be spaces left. You can go have a look here.

Narrowing down some of my favourite makes done in solids wasn't easy but here is my mosaic -

1.Michael Miller Lipstick, 2. Bella Solids Turquoise, 3. Bella Solids Lime, 4. Bella Solids Terrain Iris, 5. Package sent to my For the Love of Solids swap partner, 6. FTLOSS - received, 7. Swap extras, 8. Ripple quilt back, 9. "everything's coming up rainbows" , 10. modernswap2, 11. Chris's Blocks - "Triple B" Bee, 12. Kona Solid Challenge Quilt, 13. Festival de couleurs, 14. FLOSS Recieved!!, 15. kona mini quilt front partial view finished, 16. From Sarah - my MCTRS partner

Now I just have to sit back and wait for my partner assignment. That will happen by the 15th of January. Then I start panicking. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Susan

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Or Chocolate! Or ice cream. How about ice cream and chocolate together, with laughter served as a side dish? Now that would be the best medicine of all. Some of you may remember that I mentioned I got something else for Christmas, besides my ticket to the sewing retreat. I got one of these.

It seemed to me that it was time to break out the ultimate medicine.

This was our inspiration.



This was the recipe book.
Love those guys!



Surprisingly I had enough chocolate in stock.

To make Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream, first you need to make the brownies. I used the recipe supplied by the very nice Ben and Jerry. I'll tell you what. This is a win win situation here. You make brownies and you only need a cup of them chopped up to use in the ice cream. The rest is sort of like a reward for your hard work. And they are good! I didn't have the correct 9"x13" baking pan so I made some the regular way and the rest in star shapes.

OMG, I am telling you, if you can't be arsed to make your own ice cream - and I readily accept that most people would not be - make the chocolate brownies. They are sooooooo amazing!!

I am sure if you click on this photo it will get bigger and show you the recipe more clearly.
If not, and you want the recipe, let me know and I will type it all out tomorrow, or the next day.

Brownies made, with the gooey centre of the tray baked ones duly chopped up and chilled, waiting to be put into the ice cream...

... we made the ice cream mixture. It then got poured into the frozen container to be churned...

... and then we sat and watched.

Here's the really good bit. The frozen container turns, not the plastic churning blade inside. And there is a hole in the top for adding ingredients (like chopped up brownies). So you can, in complete safety, jab your finger into the gradually freezing mix and make sure it hasn't gone off in the two seconds since you last jabbed your finger in. I am sure, after hearing that, you don't want to eat ice cream in my house ever. But the novelty will wear off eventually and we will all stop jabbing our fingers in. Honestly!

Now we have a container of ice cream for desert.

In the freezer, getting firmer.

Label by Emily.

It would have been nice to do some sewing after all that but, horror of all horrors, himself bought a key board and set it up on the dining room table! I have squatter rights in there! Me!! Not him.Emily had my iPad and Helen was watching telly in the sitting room. So I took my time making dinner. I played with the carrots for the Thai curry, sad git that I am.

My life is too exciting for words!

Thank you for all those lovely comments about Helen. The new improved medication seems to be making headway where the other wasn't. She isn't exactly happy (other than when taste testing ice cream) but things are improving. Woohoo!

Susan

Favourite Thing Friday Returns

Today I did no hand sewing whilst keeping a child company. I did do grocery shopping. (She stayed home with her dad, I did not drag her around with me.) I did do laundry. And I did make a venison stew. I did not pick up a needle. No, instead I took said child back to the doctor, he trebled her medication and then we went on an entertaining (not!) hunt for a pharmacy that stocked said medication.

Three pharmacies later, and a wait for them to fill the prescription said child had a new coat. So something good did come out of that excursion.

Despite the second photo...

... she loves this coat.

To earn her keep, and the new coat, I made her stand outside and hold up the pieced Terrain HSTs. I still need to add several borders, but I was ever so pleased when I showed himself and he asked, 'What are you going to do with this one?' My heart sank as I thought I was going to get a lecture about another quilt without a home, but I was wrong! No, he suggested that we hang this one up! I was gobsmacked, flabbergasted and generally all round pleased. Miracles do not cease!

You would think that this would be my Favourite Thing Friday, but it isn't. I had to open a bottle of red wine when I was cooking earlier. The remains of that bottle are going to be my FTF because I am tired, fed up, am hoping Helen starts getting better and generally do not want to play this game any more. So I am tossing my dummy from the pram and replacing it with a glass of wine! Shay would most definitely approve.

Susan