Miniature Quilt Contest

Do you remember this little quilt?

Well, I have submitted it to this week's contest at

If you would like to vote, use the link on the side bar. 

I'll keep my fingers crossed ;).

Have a great weekend everybody.

Vreni

What have I been up to this week?

On the quilting front not terribly much! I've finally finished two rows of my JC quilt and I've made loads more of the petals - 130 to be precice! Not my favourite part I'm afraid.

But as you can see, I do like playing with them!

I've also been baking. I've made Basler Läckerli - a speciality from my home town.The Basler Läckerli (also Leckerli or Läggerli, lecker meaning "delicious" in German) is a traditional hard biscuit from Basel, Switzerland. It is made of honey, almonds, candied peel, spices and Kirsch and is enjoyed as a local speciality all year round. Basler Läckerli were originally created by local spice merchants over 700 years ago. For us it's a "staple"; I make a batch every few month or so. Because there is neither egg nor butter in the recipe they last a long time - if they last, that is ;).

450 g honey (16 oz)
300 g sugar (I sometimes use brown sugar or half and half) (10.5 oz)
1 ½ Tbsp cinnamon
1 pinch clove
1/2 tsp nutmeg

100 g candied orange peel (cut into small pieces) (3.5 oz)
100 g candied lemon peel (cut into small pieces) (3.5 oz)
200 g almond chopped into small pieces (7 oz)
1 zest of one lemon
1 dl (100 ml) Kirsch (cherry brandy)
600 g flour (21 oz)
1 ½ tsp baking powder

Method:

Put the honey, sugar, cinnamon, the nutmeg and the clove into a pan and bring slowly to a boil . Remove from the heat and add the candied peels, the almonds and the zest. Mix well, then add the flour with the baking powder and the Kirsch. Put the dough on the table and knead together while still warm. Roll out directly into well greased baking trays about 6 mm (1/4 inch) thick. Let stand for a few hours or over night and then bake for 15 to 20 min by 220 C (425 F) degrees in the middle of the preheated oven.

150g (5 oz) powdered sugar
3 to 5 Tbsp Kirsch or lemon juice

Mix and glaze the baked dough while still hot before cutting into small squares or rectangles.

Cheers
Vreni

The good news is....

I've finished the silk quilt. The bad news is, I've made a bit of a mess with the quilting. It's the first time I've used my new machine for quilting with the walking foot, and somehow I managed to put it on the wrong way. I couldn't figure out why the stitches were so uneven and also not quite straight. I tried changing the needle, changing the tension but nothing worked. Only when I took the walking foot off, after I've finished, did I see my mistake. Arrrr.... Anyway, what's done is done. I don't have time to unpick everything as the quilts needs to go to the post office tomorrow, so it can be in the UK by the 22nd. At least I know it was my mistake and the machine isn't faulty!

Because of the trouble with the machine, I've kept the quilting to a minimum.

Hopefully some people will like it and are willing to buy some raffle tickets since it's for a good cause. All proceeds are going to the Christina Noble Children's Foundation. If you would like to know more about this terrific organisation, please see here.

That's all for today. 

Cheers

Vreni

How lucky am I???

Very lucky indeed! Because I got one of my top choices in the "ALQE4" and I couldn't be happier. This little quilt came all the way from the US, from Tennessee to be precise. Carol designed and made it and she calls it "Flowers in my Garden".  This is the front of the quilt.....

and this is the back! Isn't it lovely?

Thanks very much Carol. Would you like to see more of the things this talented lady makes? Then head over to her blog and pay her a visit here.

I'm still plugging away with my silk quilt. I'm now in the process of machine quilting, nothing too fancy, just in the ditch. 

I have also been fussy cutting more hexagons. There's quite a bit of wastage but then I do have loads of fabric, so why be stingy, right?

I hope you are having a good weekend.

Cheers

Vreni

A new landmark in Singapore

If you ever visit Singapore and you don't suffer from vertigo too much, you might want to go up to the Sky Park on top of the new hotel Marina Sands. I took two lots of visitors up there during the last couple of weeks. Last week Thomas (DS) came along although he really doesn't like heights and was nervously avoiding getting too close to the edge.

As you can see, the weather was perfect with the sky as blue as can be.

The grand stands below are for the F1 Grand Prix which is scheduled to take place in September. It's the only race held at night.

The pool is 150 m long; unfortunately you have to be a guest at the hotel to be able to enjoy it.

I'm not sure if I would want to anyway. It seems to me just a bit too close to the edge!

This week I have to finish my silk quilt; the deadline is Friday. I don't do well with deadlines anymore, I probably wouldn't last more than a week in the corporate world these days.

Hope you have a happy week.
Vreni