I'm back!

I didn't intend on being away so long! Computer issues and the start of a new semester at uni have kept me a little occupied. All seems to be going smoothly now :)

This semester my uni schedule is really hectic, but I'm absolutely loving it! The subjects are so much more interesting than first semester. As part of our Home Ec teacher degree we have to do a couple of TAFE courses so we actually gain cooking & sewing skills - which I already have, but it will be useful to have something "official" to back up my skills. A couple of weeks ago we started our first TAFE course which is Commercial Cookery. Apparently it's the same course that apprentice chefs have to do. I'm really enjoying it. We have to wear the full chef uniform - black & white checked pants, white chef jacket & hat etc. So far we've learnt to make chicken stock from scratch, precision cuts like julienne, brunoise, macedoine and a few others. I've only had a couple of minor injuries so far - a tiny cut and I burnt my finger on an oven door - ouch! It's so much fun though, working in a huge commercial kitchen and being trained by chefs. I think next year we progress to pastry chef skills. I can't wait for that!

I have been doing some creating, but nothing I can share just yet. Soon...

I can share a uni assignment that was just handed back to me a few days ago. I actually started it last year, but never had it marked. My start at uni has been a rollercoaster ride - I had a bit of a false start last year and pretty much had to start over this year (apart from one subject). But I seem to have found my "groove" with balancing study + family life this year and so I am enjoying it a whole lot more. Not to blow my own trumpet, but I was thrilled to have received a couple of High Distinctions, a couple of Distinctions and a Credit for last semester's assignments. It was incredibly reassuring that I am indeed on the right track. Below is my Design and Technology project that I received a HD for. As well as the quilt the assignment included a Design Folio, each making up 50% of the total mark.

I was prepared to make a new project for this assignment for this year. But my lecturer was happy for me to resubmit this one seeing as it was never marked. I had run out of time to even quilt it last year. So it was nice to be able to finish it off properly for this year.

Well I had better hit the books again! So wrong to be stuck here doing psychology homework when the weather is so gorgeous - almost springlike - outside. Sigh...

frilly dilly bag

This is another "old" project. I made this bag about a year ago using Janelle Wind's Frilly Dilly Bag pattern.

Earlier this year I started making another of Janelle's bag patterns - Thelma's Day Out. But after starting uni, it kind of got pushed to the side. I really should finish it now that I'm having a break.

I love Janelle's work. Her patterns are gorgeous and really easy to follow. She has a new book out that I might buy as an early birthday present for myself :)

Felt Folios

I made these a couple of years ago...back when I used to scrapbook a whole lot more than I do now. They were designed by Janelle Wind for an online class at Kim Archer's site . The folios are designed to fit a bunch of 6x4 photos in them. I'm thinking of making something similar for storing my growing collection of crochet hooks :)

Finished "quilt"

I managed to finish my quilt for uni just in time (please excuse the black corners on the photo, I had to crop & rotate it). It's not really finished seeing as I didn't end up having time to quilt it - it was finished enough though. After the stress of finishing it way to close to the deadline, I was really happy when my teacher commented on how neat my stitching was. As nice as it is to get encouragement from friends who sew, it's really nice to get positive feedback from those who don't sew (especially those who will be grading me on it lol) - kwim?
The assignment was about gardening and we were asked to choose one plant and choose an audience (I chose pre-school aged children) and tell them at least one thing about the plant. We could choose to make whatever we wanted so I decided on a quilt to show how a tomato grows from a seed.There was a lot more I was going to add, but there are only so many hours in a day so I had to downsize my original idea. But as I said, the finished product serves its purpose.

Time for a break from uni now which hopefully means I can get back to some crochet, knitting, baking, sewing... just for me (and my family) with no deadlines! Looking forward to some downtime :)

Busy, busy...

I've been incredibly busy since making the coat hangers from my last post. This is the last week of Semester 1 at uni, so I have a stack of assignments due and not much time for anything else. Thankfully - one of my assignments is fun :) I'm making a quilt with lots of applique. The idea is that it shows the process of growing tomatoes from seed. This is just a sneak peak...I'll come back and upload the finished product after Tuesday, when it's due... I can see a few late nights coming up this week!!!

Covered coat hangers...

I love covered coat hangers (or hang coaters as my children have always called them lol). But I have to admit I'm not too keen on the "granny-type" knitted lace covered ones. They're great for hanging your clothes on, I just don't like the look of them. Anyway with the Mother's Day stall coming up at school, I thought they'd make great gifts. But I wanted to give them a cuter, more modern look. So I decided to try covering them in fabric. I found an online tutorial here . I cut mine out the same way except my fabric needed to be 43x13cm. I rounded the ends the same way as the template in the tutorial. I sewed the curved ends by machine and the long opening across the bottom by hand. I'm really happy with the result and they were quite easy to do. This batch is all ready to be donated to school for the Mother's Day stall. The kids have already put in orders for some of their own. So I promised to take them fabric shopping next weekend so they can choose their favourite designs :)