Autumn Leaves

From Out and About

Why do boys need to play "school-yard football" during thanksgiving? My friends in Ottawa call it the Turkey Bowl. Dustin's friends in Guelph call it the Fall Classic. I don't get it.

But it gave me the opportunity to go for a nice hike in Guelph with Mackenzie.

The day was gorgeous. Crisp autumn air, vibrant shades of red and orange leaves, and just enough sun to warrant my Michael Kors aviator sunglasses. Dustin lost his football game. But the day was gorgeous.

From Out and About

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Avoca Poshness

My dear friend (and loyal blog reader) Rebecca currently lives in Ireland. I have been able to sneak a peek at the Irish culture through her many pictures, FB posts, and gifts/packages that she mails or brings back for me (like the big box of skips!!!)

From Food

A couple of years ago, she mailed me a package containing super cute cookbooks (as well as a mug that says "I'd rather be eating cake": so true.)

They were Avoca cookbooks. I can't believe I had never heard of Avoca!!! Their website shows an endless world of all things beautiful. I can't explain in words. Here are some pictures from their website:

At first glance, I see Anthropologie with an extra sprinkle of whimsical, plus an entire world of cafés and gardens!!! Where Anthropologie is Bohemian Chic, I get the impression that Avoca is Whimsical Posh. But I digress.

My intention was merely to acquaint you with Avoca, and the poshness that it exudes. And then to surprise my readers with a blog post about Rice Krispies Squares. No joke. Let me explain.

I had a potluck at work last week and needed a simple recipe that could be made a couple days in advance. (The night before the potluck was my quilting class. Nothing gets in the way of my quilting class. Not even my 3 year anniversary. My husband is still waiting to take me out for a belated dinner celebration... oops.)

I turned to my trusty (and posh) Avoca Tea Time cookbook from Rebecca.

This book has all sorts of posh tea time treats (ideal for a 9am coffee-break-pot-luck):

Hazelnut Praline Mousse Cake

From Food

Jam Tarts

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Cheese and Sundried Tomato Scones

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And then this:

From Food

Yes. Mars bar biscuits. No picture. From the ingredients list, it looks an awful lot like a recipe for Rice Krispies Squares. But with Mars Bars. Mmmm.

We start with 200g butter and 9 mars bars (45g bars).

From Food

The instructions say to melt with a balloon whisk. Ridiculous. It all gets stuck in the whisk!!! Note to self: use a wooden spoon or a heat proof spatula next time.

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Mix into 200g of Rice Krispies and then press into a pan. I used a cookie sheet.

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Wait for it to set, and Tada! A super delicious "biscuit". And it's posh because it's from the Avoca cookbook. The only thing I will change for next time is the quantity of butter. I think I'll try and cut it in half... The recipe also finishes the "biscuit" with a spread of melted chocolate. I like it without.

From Food

Enjoy with morning, afternoon, or evening tea, with or without your pinky finger in the air.

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Dutchman's Puzzle

From sewing

Another crazy name for a quilt block: Dutchman's Puzzle. I'll have to ask my brother in law if he can figure it out.

This one seems to be a favourite with the people I've "show and tell"ed my quilt blocks to. Probably because it just looks so intricate. Oddly enough, this block turned out to be the most accurate in size. Most of the other blocks I had to adjust by trimming here and there.

I've actually finished the entire top of my quilt. That means the sashing fabric has been sewn to frame all 6 blocks, and the border fabric has been sewn all the way around. Tomorrow we layer with batting and then actually get to what the term "quilting" actually refers to!

Almost done my very first quilt!

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Chic ruler caddy

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I'm definitely a bargain shopper. It might be the Chinese in me, but Dustin does it too sometimes. That's why we buy a pack of 20 bars of soap because it's such a better deal than than the two bars that we really need.

And that's why I bought a 24 inch quilting ruler instead of the 12 inch. For an extra few bucks, the ruler is twice as big!!! TWICE!

But then I started my quilting class and realized that my commute on the TTC became an exercise in "don't poke that scary lawyer in the eye with the ruler!!!" I got lots of dirty looks. They all questioned whether or not I should have a 2 foot ruler sticking out of my bag on the TTC during rush hour. I bet someone was ready to add an amendment to the rush hour rules on the TTC, right next to no bikes and no pets.

It was time I engineered something.

After a lot of thought (and I mean a LOT of thought... making patterns is hard!) I decided to make a carrying case that was similar to a yoga bag. It would protect innocent TTC business folk from the 2 feet of sharp edges and all four acrylic corners. In addition, it would have extra little pockets for my scissors, rotary cutter, and other quilting supplies.

And it's chic!

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Log Cabin, Drunkard's Path, Applique, and Nine Patch

The last few quilt classes have been spent working away at more quilt blocks. There's a crazy name for every quilt block out there. Sometimes even several names.

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The log cabin is self explanatory: you build from the inside out, like a log cabin being built from bottom to top (listen to me talk like I've built a log cabin before...) Traditionally, the centre is a red fabric and then you make one side with light fabrics and the other side with dark fabrics. If you make an entire quilt with this block, you get some really cool patterns.

Here's a quilt from a silent auction donated by ALA Biblioquiters:

Drunkard's path is the only quilt block we made that involved curves. Not one of my favourites. Quilting has so much to do with precision that the curve made it just that much harder to be exact. My quilt block turned out to be almost 1/2 inch bigger than my other blocks. I'll have to figure out what to do when we sew all the blocks together... To keep the theme of the "path" I decided to make the outer part of each curve from a brick-like fabric.

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My favourite block so far is the applique. We learned how to hand-sew shapes onto the quilt block and make the thread almost invisible. So simple once you learn the right technique! I've decided that my next quilt is going to made entirely of appliqued birdies. You like my birdie fabric? See what I did there? Birdie background for the birdies?

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Lastly, the nine patch. You can make the entire block with nine patches, or make mini nine patches and match it with solid fabric like we did. Again: a little too much precision work for me.

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Only one more quilt block to show you then then we're sewing them all together!

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