Sew, sew vs Sew Amazing

I mentioned in a previous post that I've taken up sewing. Aided by the awesome sewing machine my parents furnished me with over Christmas, I began teaching myself. I'm not very good and it is currently just a bit of fun. A bag here, and apron there, and even a bit of quilting. Presents for everyone! You can see the first few items over on my other blog, A Teetotal 2012. I am a bit hopeless at sewing things in a straight line, the quilting, in particular, is a dog's breakfast. But I am getting better and most importantly I am having fun. Don't worry, the balcony garden isn't ignored, it just gets to share its time with the sewing (and cooking, and working, and occasional blogging.)

But if you want to see some lovely baby quilts, done by a friend who started off by making one for her own daughter and enjoyed it so much she went into business, then head over to Tiny Tots Quilts. I love her stuff, it is simply beautiful and fun and full of skillyfully pieced amazing fabrics. If you are on facebook then head over via the link to check out her stuff. Here is a glimpse of some of the quilt patterns on offer:

You can view the quilts without being on facebook, but if you want to see more, or order one for a tiny tot in your life then you would have to get on facebook.

A Double Domestic Rainbow (or triple?)

Things are beginning to become a little brown here on the balcony garden, with a few extra shades of new-growth green. However, before the changeover there was plenty of colour both inside and out. Portulaca and Snapdragons brought rainbows to the garden.

There were also rainbows in the kitchen thanks to my incessant need to bake. Three attempts at baking rainbow cupcakes made two misses and a hit (both botched batches tasted good but didn't present well, the first was simply a spreading issue with the lack of a muffin tray, the second was a poorly performing patty pan problem which saw the mixture bubble and boilover.) The third batch came out better - and all three looked great inside.

These weren't the only colourful things I've been eating - check out the dragonfruit I treated myself to the other evening. Delicious! And such pretty, vibrant colours.

But wait, there's more! The rainbow cupcakes were made for a friend's 30th birthday. He only got the third and proper looking batch (they went down a treat amongst the guests, and everyone wanted the recipe, which can be found via the earlier link) However my lovely Dr No doesn't just get cupcakes, he was in need of a Prue-made apron, and that's just what he got. Indeed it was the first thing I made on my brand new sewing machine. I'm still getting the hang of sewing, but this turned out really well. One side had rainbow pockets on a black background (Dr No is a rainbow kinda guy) and the other side was a vintage Australiana fabric with a single wide pocket.

A double rainbow can brighten a day, but how about this triple rainbow of domestic smileness.