On My Way to Grandma's House - part two

I'm not the greatest of hand-embroiderers, but I think I managed to pull this off. I would love it if anybody had some tips, especially with what you are actually supposed to do with all those ends at the back? If you look closely at my photo, you can see them from the front, although it is nowhere near as bad when it is hanging on the wall.



I have a great tip for you, though. I had some trouble, initially, with my transfer pencil. It just was not working. Do you want to know what the problem was? Don't use steam. The pencil comes out with water, so when I was steaming it, the design wasn't going onto my fabric. Or perhaps it was, and I was just steaming it right back out again. There you go. That is helpful information to have :) I wish I knew that before I started. So use a dry iron.



I used Aneela Hoey's embroidery pattern, which you can buy through links on her blog, or from the Fat Quarter Shop as a digital download. Aneela also has a great tutorial about how to fill using back stitch.



I used this tutorial to finish the back of the finished piece. I didn't take any photos, but lets just say that it doesn't quite look as good as the one in the tutorial. I think the important thing is that it looks good from the front, right?

Nachos + Guacamole

We used to enjoy nachos all the time, pre-kids, but they are pretty spicy and served in a really hot casserole dish, so it's been a while since I made these. I had a bit of a rough day with the kids the other day, afternoon naps were missed and so the grumpy children were all given an early dinner, bath and sent to bed. So I made nachos, just for us.

The recipe was originally from a packet of corn chips, one of my uni house-mates discovered it, and it's been a favourite recipe of mine ever since.

30g butter
2 large onions
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
400g can diced tomatoes
465g can kidney beans, drained and rinsed.
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon brown sugar
200g packet corn chips
1 1/2 cups grated cheese

Melt butter and sauté onions, garlic and spices for about 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, sugar and beans and cook until thick. I substituted my kidney beans for a can of five-bean mix. It all works the same.

Layer a casserole dish with corn chips, cheese and sauce, finishing with sauce and then cheese on top. Bake in a 200oC oven for 15 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Serve with guacamole and sour cream.

Guacamole
avocado
tomato, seeds removed and diced
half an onion, diced finely
5 drops tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mash the avocado with a fork. Combine with the diced tomato, onion, tabasco sauce and lemon juice. Transfer to serving bowl.

Amélie's Room

Ok, so that last post was a bit of a tease. I finally got Amélie's room finished and all her furniture moved in. When I say finished, it's still a work in progress. There are plans for a pelmet above the window, as well as some proper curtains to finish off the window. Please excuse the dark photos, inside photography is tricky.



She needs a quilt. I have most of the fabric for it, but haven't yet decided exactly what I am going to do with it. The walls need adorning. I already have a little something up there, that needs to have it's photo taken. I'll come back with that in a few days.



There are quite a few things in here that I've made for Amélie, and blogged about before. The little suitcases have Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on them, and I purchased them from Kawaii for You (who have since gone wholesale). The little shoes are the Little Red Riding Hood shoes that I made. The cardigan is a Kina cardigan that I knitted. I also covered the change mat.

Ideally, I think the room would look great with all white furniture. Maybe once she has moved to a big bed?

On My Way to Grandma's House

I was lucky enough to be a pattern tester for Jodie Carleton of Ric-Rac. She thinks I was doing her a favour, haha! Anyway, it was great fun, and I think Little Red may well be Jodie's best pattern ever. I have always had a soft spot for Little Red Riding Hood, as can be seen here, here and here, so I was practically jumping out of my skin when she chose me to test this pattern.



Jodie's pattern even teaches you how to make the cute little basket of goodies. My basket isn't lined like it is in the pattern (part of the testing process) but it does show that if you find the lining a little too tricky, you can skip that bit and it will still be gorgeous. The fruit hides all the raw edges inside the basket, anyway. I think I might go back and re-do the basket, with the lining though, as I do think the lining looks lovely.





The boots are AWESOME! I must admit, threading the laces back and forth was a little fiddly, but oh, so worth it!



The dress is also pretty fancy. It's fully lined, and those little toad-stools along the bottom are pretty cute. I am proud to say that I have mastered the French knot whilst embellishing those cute little toadstools. I also love her hair and her cape. Ok, so I love ALL of her, and she has received lots of hugs and sloppy kisses already, in this house, as the kids all love her too.



Jodie has only just released her pattern, and it is already in stock at Under the Mulberry Tree.

*** Update: You can now also by Little Red as a downloadable PDF from Craftsy