No Cook Fudge

Nothing whatsoever to do with stitching but this has been the most popular recipe with my learners. Its very sweet, go on you know you just want to make some.

Ingredients
200g icing sugar
85g butter
95g condensed milk
(for chocolate fudge use 50g cocoa and 15og icing sugar)

Method

Put butter into a bowl and cream with a wooden spoon until soft.

Mix the condensed milk with the butter. Try not to have too many lumps.

Add about half the icing sugar and mix in with the spoon. use your hands to mix in the rest of the sugar until it is like a dough and will be able to be kneaded. If it is too wet still add more icing sugar.

Roll out onto a surface dusted with icing sugar. Cut into approx. 1.5cm cubes. Leave in a fridge overnight to harden.

This fudge will keep for about a week. You can alter the basic mixture by dipping it in chocolate, putting in some dried fruit

Catching Up

It seems like ages since my last post but I have been teaching several Christmas workshops and even some Christmas cookery along side my normal adult cooking courses! This last one is a bit of a joke with those who know me well as I hate cooking. Unfortunatley I didn't have my camera with me for these workshops but these were some the children did in York. Its not a great photo though but you can just about make them out alongside the butterflies.
When I put my Christmas tree up today I just can't believe that it is eleven years since this hung on the tree for the first time, where does the time go? It has become a tradition to make a new tree decoration each year -
I have also managed to get some work done for my City and Guilds diploma, the most worrying thing about this is that I seem to be enjoying working with plastic more and more. This is a page from my sketchbook
I am really happy with this folded patchwork sample
After folding a square I then covered it with fabric paint and used the folds to insert old lace and fabric. I also covered some cotton wadding with the same fabric paint. I used an idea from Tina, folded the backing to the front and stitched down with big stitches so you could also see the wadding. No plastic on this though.

Chrismas Decorations

I'm gearing up to teaching some Christmas workshops both locally and up in York. Today I was preparing samples and my youngest decided he wanted to make a tree decoration. He concentrated for about an hour and did everything by himself. The only thing I did was to cut around the heart shape inside. The inside was done on the embellisher machine and then trapped between red felt. I was really impressed with his determination to sew on the green beads all by himself as well. As for me, well I am struggling with a robin's legs at the moment!!

Fabric Fusion

This is the finished piece for my friend I have been working on. It's now with the proud owner and hanging on her wall. I'm not sure if I said before but one of the workshops I teach is a six day course covering different dyeing techniques, printing, stamping, paint sticks etc etc. At the end some students decided to trade work so the fabric has been "created" by lots of different ladies. The owner of this is just about to go and have a major back op so I have made it as a kind of gift. Her brief was to make it look like it had been thrown at the wall, nothing too formal. This photo doesn't show up all the detail but I used hand and machine stitching with different binding techniques.

These beads were from some curtain fringing.

Blanket stitch with beads attached.

Seals, fabric cuffs and fireworks

Yesterday we all managed to get up and out early so that we could go and see these amazing seals. We are lucky enough to live quite near a nature reserve, Donner Nook in North Lincolnshire which grey seals go to each year to breed. It is really well "policed" with volunteers from the Wildlife trust making sure that the public don't disrupt the seals, we are also contained behind a strong fence. In the past week there were 134 babies born (according to the statistics in the information shed).
Having never been before I was surprised at just how close to the fence some of the seals where. You can see the shadows of people behind the fence on this baby and mum -

I couldn't resist a close up of mums face, nor the baby below.

Once home I received these in the post -
I now belong to Fibre Arts Trading Group and this was the first trade I took part in. Thank you so much to Trees and Laura if you read this post, I can't wait to wear them. I am a bit worried though as I sent off my cuffs over a week ago and my trade partners haven't received them yet. These were the cuffs I made, I have fingers and toes crossed that they arrive safely.

The day finished with us going to a fireworks display, I discovered that my digital camera has a firework setting so I wanted to play with that
I'm going to use some of the images and print them onto fabric for my November journal quilt.

Rusting

I've been having a play with some rusting powder from Crafty Notions. If you want to see how I did it check out my other blog. This is a blog set up when my friend and I decided to challenge ourselves. The first thing we did was to use discharge paste. the results were very different. Pop over and have a look, its called Expedition Quilt Art.

Interesting Journey

On Saturday I travelled with a good friend, three children and a boot full of fabric, thread, sewing machine and embellisher machine to a Quilter Guild Area 10 day. On the way we saw this -

and this -
altogether there were three of them -
These straw mammoths were just standing in a field with collecting boxes to raise money for the children's ward at the local hospital. It surprised me that there were lots of CCTV cameras on them but I've since found out that the first mammoth was set on fire by arsonists.

I had a really good day, catching up with friends and running a children's workshop. I love working with children as they don't know that they can't do anything and have a go! They really enjoyed using an embellisher machine and made some Xmas decorations. I really enjoy the show and tell, lots of talented ladies in Lincolnshire. I was going to be strong and not buy any fabric, I'm pleased to say that I stayed strong and didn't buy any fabric..........until the last hour anyway. I found a Halloween panel that I must have had 8-10 years, I have promised the boys to make it up this year so these three will go alongside it.

I am coming to the end of a seven week stretch at a local village school. I gave up my full time teaching post a year ago as I just didn't have any work life balance. Slowly over the past few weeks my time has been taken away from me again with planning, marking and all the other things teachers have to do. No sewing, no family time and I got a really bad cold that still hasn't totally cleared. After half term I am back to regular supply teaching and working as an adult tutor, fingers crossed more time for sewing and work on my diploma (I am very behind with this). I'm also behind on lots of e-mails and blogging - sorry :-)

A few months ago I promised a friend that I would put these pieces of fabric into a wall hanging. She did a workshop with me, over six weeks it covered dyeing, printing, stamping, rusting and everyone on the workshop made some fabric to share with each other. This is why there are a great many textures and colours-
She doesn't blog so I can share this image. Rather than do neat seams I think I am going to overlap everything to give a more organic look, this is my latest arrangement but it changes almost daily. I am going to see her next Friday so I do need to start asap!!