Signs of Winter/Summer

Georgia - Frost! We've really had such a mild winter so far, only a few really cold days. It was -5°c this morning though. Brrrrrrr!

Nicole - Blue skies! This is actually a view from my garden with the camera pointing to the sky. Our garden is not too big (because we live in a city) so these aren't even our trees in the photo. These are trees from the neighbours gardens. But this is our little piece of sky. ;) We had 32 degrees last week, enjoying a few cooler days now but from tomorrow the weather will be much warmer again.

What I'm reading

Georgia - A quilt book - looking for some inspiration, loads of house type magazines (spending a fortune on them - eep!), Sandi Henderson's new book, and a good trashy one from the library.

Nicole- I just started reading UnLunDun by China Mieville (marvelous name by the way) so I can't really tell what I think of it yet. So far, I have read 50 pages or something, it's odd and an enjoyable and interesting read. The other book is about Scherenschnitte. Not sure if papercutting is a craft I will take on myself but the examples and photos of Scherenschnitte pieces are very impressive.

My floss collection

Georgia - The two more organised looking boxes are left over from my cross-stitching days. They are sorted by dmc number. The very messy box is the one I use most, full of the colours that I go back to time and time again.

Nicole - Yes, well...this is part of the floss collection. There is some in the cupboard as well, and in my craft room, and in my embroidery basket thingy. I am not a very well organised person and I try to battle the lack of organisation with zip lock bags. They hold current projects (embroidery work + floss) and extra floss etc. The more organised floss is DMC, the shoe box is filled with Anchor Floss (which was an Ebay bargain)

A Recipe (or two!)

Georgia -

Balsamic Glazed Roast Vegetables

(one of our favourites)

• Whatever vegetables you want to roast - potatoes, sweet potato, parsnip, pumpkin carrots etc, peeled and cut into fairly big chunks.
• Balsamic Glaze -
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

Preheat oven to 220°c. Line a large roasting pan with baking paper. Spread vegetables into a single layer in pan.

Glaze - place oil, maple syrup, vinger, garlic, salt and pepper into a jar and shake to combine. heat ina saucepan over medium heat andcook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until hot.

Pour glaze over vegetables and toss to coat. roast vegetables for 1 hour or until tender, turn once during cooking. Season with salt and pepper.

(metric measurements. 1 tablespoon = 20ml)

Nicole- Tomorrow I'm making yummy Cauliflower soup from this recipe on Amy Karol's Angry Chicken blog. There is no meat involved so the worm has to go! ;) The worm is actually called 'Beessie' and I got a couple of these when I did my grocery shopping this morning. Orange is the Dutch National Colour and next week the Football (that is Soccer for the American readers) World Championship starts. Football is an important thing over here!

My next project

Georgia - Fresh into the hoop today. A unicorn pillowcase for a little girl who is having a birthday very soon.
Nicole - Due to illness I'm terribly late with posting so I have it on good authority that this is already finished and turned out very lovely!  ;)

Nicole- No new projects planned as I am still in the middle of so many wip's! But I'm pretty sure that whatever the new project will be it's already here on one of the pages of these sketch books....

Look through my front door

Georgia - Come in, come in... Please excuse the dust on that little table there and don't look too closely at the legs because our dog had a good chew on them when she was a pup. Also please don't look up at that hideous light fitting. When we bought this house 6 years ago we said it would be the first thing we'd get rid of. We've actually sold the house again now, so the light shall remain. ;-) The floor is polished concrete. I love it.

Nicole- This is photo excellently represents the usual state of our hallway: unfinished and messy. Even the front door still isn't finished. We have Marmoleum Flooring throughout most of the house in all kinds of colours: the hallway and the kitchen are red, the living room floor is yellow and the children's bedrooms are green and aqua.

A movie that I love

Georgia - Love Actually. Love it. Have watched it heaps of times. Colin Firth...mmmm. Andrew Thingummy (the one who loves the Keira Knightly character)...mmmm. ;-)

Nicole- this is a movie I recently saw and loved. It's funny, romantic and it has good music in it as well. Another favourite (that I couldn't find in my stack of dvd's) and a must see is Amelie. I also love most Tim Burton movies, movies with Johnny Depp. Ooh and since I caught a glimpse of Russel Crowe in a skirt cool Roman outfit in Gladiator the other day, I can't wait to see him in tights!

Something I made a long time ago

Georgia - This tapestry/needlepoint hangs on my bedroom wall. I bought the kit in Harrogate, England in 2000. I still love it. It cost a fortune because our dollar was worth something like a miserable 40p at the time, but it's a perfect souvenier.

Nicole- I only started sewing and embroidering a couple of years ago. I made this 'Easy Lap Quilt' (from Bend The Rules Sewing) a little over 2 years ago. It's still in one piece so that's good  and it's well loved but it is also slightly wonky. ;)

Something in my house that is...green

Georgia - Our lounge/sofa/couch (whichever you happen to call it) is green. There is a green painting on the wall. And, this African Violet is (mostly) green. My Grandma used to have lots of African Violets, so this reminds me of her.

Nicole- Well I was looking kind of green myself last monday which is why we didn't post. ;) Other than that: my curtains in the living room are velvet and have a lovely deep olive green colour. The house plants ( the ones that survive) are green. And this lovely package from the local (and very awesome) kids book/toystore is green!

On my bedside table

Georgia - A wonky lamp (really need a new one), a box of tissues, a photo of myself and my sister when we were little, glass of water, bunch of bangles, a ceramic bird which only appeared there this morning thanks to the kids, Paw-Paw ointment (which is a great lip balm), and a variety of handcreams (I am addicted) - yes, one of them is called "udder cream", but it's not for your , um...udders. :-/

Nicole- I always have a book on my bedside table (or even 2, a crafty one and a novel) with an old pair of glasses on top. You can also find my teddy bear which I had since I was 2 on my bed side table and Georgia's Polka Dot Bunny. Also pictured is a not so pretty alarm clock, some loose change, keys from a bicycle lock, a lamp and a phone.

In my hoop

Georgia - Still working on my alphabet tree. I'm just about to take the kids to their swimming lesson, so the perfect opportunity for a little bit of stitching.

Nicole - I actually have about 5 things in my hoop at the moment. These two are for the Hoop up! swap. Progress is a bit slow but that's because I'm working on other things as well. 

Today I need to...

Georgia - Drive the kids here, there, and everywhere. School first thing this morning, swimming lesson, and two lots of ballet lessons. Monday is a busy day.

Nicole- I need to make some phone calls. Generally I don't like to use the phone except to call my mum!

In my handbag

Georgia - Not really all that much inside it, so I don't know why I have so much trouble finding whatever it is I happen to need.

So, the contents - purse, mobile phone (usually has a flat battery, and I never know what the phone number is. I'm not much of a phone person), tissues, re-useable shopping bag, handcream, perfume, various lipbalms, notebook, far too many pens, paracetemol, bandaids, one of the kid's bangles, a squashed empty sultana box (also care of the kids), quite a few scrunched up receipts, and lastly - some scraps of fabric that must have been in there for at least 12 months.

Nicole - I have a small bag and it's rather full. Still I think this is all essential stuff: purse, mobile phone (also with a flat battery and I can't remember my own phone number either haha), a receipt, my sunglasses, mints, chewing gum and emergency sultanas, paracetamol, a hair clip, loose change, hand creme, keys, passport, 1 lip stick and 3 lip balms and a little notebook with pen.

My fabric stash

Georgia - I did a big tidy-up yesterday!

Nicole - This is actually only part of the stash. The not so exciting fabrics and large quantities of Ikea fabric and so on are in plastic storage tubs. The Ziplock bags contain the quilts I'm currently working on (well not working on actually). The green basket contains a couple of charm packs and fabrics that haven't been pre-washed yet.

The ironing pile!

Georgia - It might look bad, but it often looks a lot worse. It's not unusual for it to be spilling out of the basket and making an equally large pile on the floor. :-/ I have to admit that some things live in that basket on a fairly permanent basis.

Nicole - Yes well what can I say about it...maybe that this is only half of the real ironing pile? Good news is, is that the house isn't that messy, I just am permanently behind with my ironing!

I love this song

Georgia - Actually I love almost anything by The John Butler Trio. The fingernails in this video are a bit...eeeuwwwww!



Nicole - there's actually not much to look at in this video so you might as well close your eyes and just enjoy this great song. It's called Fish and Bird and it's by Tom Waits. I'm currently making an embroidery based on this song.

My latest crafty buy

Georgia - The latest thing to arrive in my mailbox was that pile of grey Kona Solids. That would have made a very boring photo on it's own, so I added the little pile of Hope Valley that they will go with. The latest thing that I ordered, yet to arrive, is this book.

Nicole - My latest crafty buys, some linen and some fat quarters of the lovely new Sis Boom fabric line called oh St. Croix, are still on their way to the Netherlands so I can't show them yet. I also bought Scandinavian Needlecraft last week and I love it!

A kitchen gadget I wouldn't be without

Georgia - Meet the 'Alligator'. It dices an onion with one big *CHOMP*!

Nicole - The only thing in the kitchen I really couldn't be without is my coffee machine but you can hardly call that a gadget can you? So... this thing here is one of the most used objects in the kitchen: it's a garlic press.

What I'm Reading

Georgia - Total fluff.

Nicole - It's a Swedish Crime novel. It rains a lot and the main character, a police Inspector called Wallander is grumpy and always troubled by something (apart from the gruesome murder cases he must solve) Also available in English and there is even a tv series now.

My Favourite Thing Made by...Somebody Else.

Georgia - My needlebook, made by none other than Ms Windmill herself. :-) It's filled with needles, safety pins, sewing pins, bit of thread. I love it, and use it all the time.

Nicole - Well that's a coincidence because I chose a bag made by Ms. Wombat! I use it all the time and it desperately needs a wash I just noticed. Don't pay attention to the terribly neglected garden featured in the background. There are major changes planned and hopefully it will look better in a couple of months :)

Something Arty/Decorative in My House

Georgia - An odd angle of a painting done by my sister. I took it this way so that you could see the beads that are stitched onto it. This is her website - http://artbycarlaadams.com/index2.php#/home/

Nicole- I love my ceramic Polar Bear, he fits right in with all of our other stuff and furniture from the 1930's.  I bought him at the Norwegian Salvation Army Shop. :)

Breakfast time

Georgia - Toast with vegemite (yum!), coffee still to come, and because it's school holidays at the moment I have some time to actually *sit* and enjoy with a book. :-)

I have to admit that I cheated and took this photo yesterday because my in-laws are visiting this weekend, and they would have thought I was a lunatic if I got the camera out and took a photo of my breakfast this morning. ;-)

Nicole - Well I didn't cheat but I forgot to take a photo! Luckily I'm a lazy housewife and there was still something left to photograph.  ;) I had a slice of bread with Chocolate Sprinkels (called 'Hagelslag' which means 'Hail Sprinkels' ) and a coffee. In the Netherlands you can buy lots of types of  chocolate or sugar-y sprinklets like these for your bread. 

Favourite thing made by...me!

Georgia - An old photo because I've given the quilt away. I made this one for Mum's 60th birthday last year. Making the quilt top was super quick and easy. The quilting took an eternity, and an awful lot of thread! I love it, and I've been madly collecting some more Nani Iro fabric to make one for MYSELF.

Nicole - It was hard to decide, not sure if I had any real favourites and wondering if I maybe should have chosen something I embroidered or had drawn. I chose this quilt because it turned out quite well, considering my lack of expertise and proper quilting tools. I used a not very accurate cardboard template for the squares *shivers* because I didn't have a quilt ruler at the time. And no rotary cutter either. I was also under the impression then that I had to iron the 1/4 of an inch seam allowance to the back of the fabric squares.

In my neighbourhood...

Georgia - ... somebody has this trompe l'oeil painted on a garden wall, and according to two little girls that I know, it's where all imaginary friends live. Magical!

Nicole - o.k. I confess, I saw Georgia's photo before I had made mine and I thought this made a 'nice' contrast to the pretty trompe d'oeil . I didn't even have to leave the house for it (but I did open the front door).

Something that means a lot to me

Georgia - These pearl earrings belonged to my youngest sister, Zoë. She died in an accident in 2001, less than 2 weeks after her 20th birthday. I wore these on my wedding day, as did my other two sisters. They're not only for special occasions though - I wear them a lot. :-)

and... HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICOLE!!!

♪ ♫ ♪ Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday Dear Nicole,

Happy Birthday to Yooou! ♪ ♫ ♪

Nicole - I had the hardest time to think of a thing that has special meaning to me. I guess that is not a  bad thing? If I would have to mention one thing it would be my special teddy. My parents gave this bear when I was 2. :)

In my hoop

Georgia - I seem to have lost my embroidery mojo lately, but I did start this a couple of nights ago. A very sweet little pattern - can't remember who designed it though. ;-)

 Nicole - It's such a dark rainy day here so the picture is not very good, sorry about that!. Anyway this is the Fish & Bird embroidery I'm working on. I use the wood grain print on the fabric to 'make waves' and 'clouds'. Lot's of filling to do but I'm not in a hurry :)