Mighty Mojo!!

Wow!! It's amazing what you can achieve with lots of little bouts of energy!!

Monday morning I woke up with my Mojo rising and once sending Master 6 off to school, Miss 4 and I motored through some cleaning and washing so we could spend some guilt free time doing what we enjoy best. Which means I get to sew and she gets to color-in while singing to me. Nice!

This burst of enthusiasm saw two wonderful creations begin AND completed!!

As I said last week I wanted to create a little dress inspired by the famous 'pillowcase' dress so, I came up with using three Fat Quarters, some shirring elastic and ribbon to create my cute little number, named inspired by Miss 4 , "Swish and Swirl Fat Quarter Dress".

My little model having a wonderful time posing!!

Honestly this dress was made in a morning!!

And the best part was I learnt how to gather on my overlocker - only owned the thing for 10 years but better late then never!

While we where on a roll I have been having some 'issues' getting Miss 4 to wear shorts to little school instead of a skirt for better playing movement however my solution was to make her a pair of 'frilly' shorts. 

Armed with a Tinkerbell fat quarter and four strips of tone-on-tone my frilly fairy pants are a massive hit and been worn and washed numerous times already this week!! 

With the busy day we had I used my new pressure cooker and made a yummy Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Casserole recipe I saw on Taste.com. Following the recipe for the preparation then popping it in the pressure cooker for 30mins while I made the creamy mashed potatoes, we all enjoyed a super delicious meal without any stress or the usual 'what to eat' drama after an active day!!

The school held a Meet and Greet last Friday and I took the opportunity to try out a recipe I saw in this months Super Food Ideas magazine, to take for dessert. 

Apple Frangipane Tart

This dessert is so fast and easy to put together, will definitely be added to the family cookbook!! I added some lemon zest to the almond mixture for a nice little zing and while it is nice on it's own, I feel it needs to be served with either fresh whipped cream or some vanilla ice-cream.

In honor of Anzac Day, I made a batch of traditional Anzac biscuits also out of the Super Food Ideas magazine. They did a double page spread of many different types of Anzac's however I believe that you can't beat the traditional, not only for the flavor but also for what they represent.

Lest we forget.

Hopefully these biscuits stand up to the high standards required in a small country town, as I have been convinced by a lovely friend to join her in entering our Anzac biscuits and a few other baking items into the local show. We are also encouraging our kids to enter in the packet cake section! Stay tuned for the fun and mess that will no doubt occur in my kitchen just before show!! 

For the links to these and other recipes I have featured on my blog, click the 'Yummy Things' tab on my page bar above.

With Mother's Day around the corner and one of the local cafe's holding a vintage high tea, I could not resist the opportunity to make myself a new 50's tea dress!! I have been drafting up the pattern and will start cutting soon!! I can't wait to show you all the finished project when I get completely dressed up to go out to tea with the ladies! Gloves on girls!

To end this week's blog and also just because I think my kids are cute I am going to finish up with a few more photos from the other days modelling session.

May your bobbin always be full!!

Amanda

More Time Please!!

Due to some technical issues regarding internet access and our friendly telephone company I haven't been able to blog for almost three weeks!!

Well hold on, because here it comes!!

Firstly hope you all had a wonderful break doing whatever you chose to do. I spent a week with my beautiful family, including my gorgeous new nephew who I met for the first time. I forgot how good 'baby smell' was!!

As is becoming the new family rule I get to take over the kitchen whenever I visit home, my mother loves this, however she asks frequently if it's necessary for me to use every dish in her kitchen. Drama much!!

Just before I left the April issue of Better Homes and Gardens arrived and I was absolutely DYING to make the Lemon Drizzle Cake! Instead of baking it in a loaf I thought it would look cute in a fluted pan, it did and was totally gorgeous!! Needless to say this recipe is going in the family book.

  I had to take this photo while I had everyone standing 

behind me waiting for a slice!!

The aftermath - this cake only lasted one day!!

A request by everyone was that I make some bread rolls, scrolls and buns while I was home. I think the thing I love the most about making my own bread is the endless possibilities!! To keep it traditional I made one of my kids favorite of Bacon, Garlic and Two Cheese buns - they eat these straight out of the oven!

 Easy as! Bread dough with Grilled bacon, red onion,

 garlic, parmesan and cheddar cheese. Yum!

After we returned back home, in an attempt to 'de-sugar' the family, I tried a little tricky recipe called "Popcorn Cauliflower" It is a combination between this recipe http://www.food.com/recipe/popcorn-cauliflower-217432 and I added some parmesan cheese for a nice little crunch. TIP: Don't over oil or it won't crisp up!!

On a side note - after eating the WHOLE bowl the kids inform me that,

 "Well Mum, we don't really like cauliflower" Yeah right!

My final note out of the kitchen is that thanks to my lovely mother I have a new toy, a beautiful 6 Litre Pressure Cooker!!!

I have already created the BEST Ox Tail Stew and the most delicious Bolognese Sauce in next to no time!! I bought a Women's Weekly Pressure Cooker Book and with the weather cooling off I can't wait to start making some warming food for us and the neighbours!!

I haven't been in the sewing room very much lately, if you can't tell, so not much to talk about there :-(

I have however finished quilting and making the cushions to match a quilt I made for a friend and once it reaches the intended I will post some of the photos of this nice little set.

I have been inspired by Moda bake shop again to create a little pillowcase dress for Miss 4. I am going to tweak it however because I'm not keen on the way the original has no shape through the body. 

I have gone through my stash and found three fat quarters which I am going to use to create a three tiered dress (bodice, band and skirt) using the same principles as a pillowcase dress but with a gather here and there should look a little more fitted.

Last but definitely not least I received a wonderful surprise from my very beautiful group of sewing friends in Emerald! They all got together and made me this stunning bag - which when I received made me cry with the love they put in it! Each of the girls all had a hand in the creation of the bag, even down to the label which has each of their names on it! 

Needless to say this bag is going in my,

 "Keep forever and bury me with it" list!!

 Well that's it for now however I hope to have some achievements from the sewing room next time. Sending Darling Husband under the house to run me a TV cable to my sewing room this weekend, which he doesn't know yet and I believe will help the kids and I with our "getting along" while we are in there! Live in hope :-)

Right now, I have a date with some inspiration in the form of a big pile of new quilting magazines and a nice cup of Earl Grey.

May your bobbin always be full!!

Amanda