A Special Quilt...

This quilt has been one of the ''secret women's business'' that I have been working on for a couple of months... "a quilt of hugs" for a very special lady who lost her hubby last year so unexpectedly... I can now show you as she has received her parcel...

 the blocks have come from around Australia and from Canada...

all made with love for our special friend...

Easter Swap...

Do you want to know what was in the box

and

who it went to???

 all good Easter swaps need loads of chocolate and bunny ears (even if we do look silly)...

fabric that are Easter colours... and a special key ring that is a little Japaneses doll (seeing my partner is flying out to Japan today)...

and

an Easter table topper...

I chose to do the background in chocolate brown homespun to represent chocolate of course... once everything was appliqued and embroidered and put together I stippled all the background to look like the pattern on an Easter egg...

Sandy was my partner and I think she liked her parcel...

thanks Maree for organising the swap...

Bits and Pieces...

I have been sewing but I can't show you and photo's yet until the parcels are received...

this is the parcel sent to my online partner in the Easter Swap hosted by Maree

 once the parcel is in her hot little hands I can post a photo....

and this next photo... talk about ''funniest photo competition''

this is my dog Joe's (RIP) brother Junior...

 do you think he was a little hot... not sure how he was balancing so well

I ran to get the camera and thought he would have fallen over or got out before I got back...

 I did some baking yesterday... a friend gave me a shopping bag full of passionfruit... I scooped the pulp out of half of them and frozen that and Hubby and I have been eating our way through the rest but not quick enough... I needed to use some of them up so a Vanilla Slice was in order...

 I have never made one before...

 I searched through some school recipe books and found one using soa crackers

easy peasy as I had some of them... surely that would be less calories than pastry????

its very moreish hahaha

Vanilla Slice

1 packet sao crackers

4 cups milk

4 level tbsp sugar (I used 3)

4 good heaped tbsp custard powder

1 heaped tbsp butter (I used 1/2)

1 tsp vanilla essence

passionfruit icing

Cover the base of a slab tin with a single layer of the soa crackers, when cutting these to fit the tin use a serrated edged knife to prevent breaking. Pour 31/2 cups of the milk into a saucepan, add sugar, place over a low heat.

Mix custard powder with remaining 1/2 cup of milk and stir until a smooth paste, add to the saucepan and stir constantly until thick and smooth.

Remove from heat add butter and vanilla essence and beat well with a wooden spoon.

Cool slightly then pour over the layer of sao crackers.

Cover custard with another layer of sao crackers, pushing them down slightly into the custard.

Make passionfruit icing and pour over biscuits.

Chill before cutting... keep in the fridge.

Passionfruit Icing

Mix well 2 cups icing sugar, 1heaped tsp butter, 1 large passionfruit (I used 3 then I didn't have to use any other moisture)

Beat in sufficient milk to make and easy workable spreading consistency.

Blogging Buddies Are The Best...

A couple of months ago I was invited to join a private online group 

and of course I said yes...

they have a "birthday fat quarter swap" and a ''mortals and angels swap''...

The first swap was Easter and my partner was Shez... which I didn't know until the parcel arrived...

and what a parcel it was...

 I was so blown away from the pressies and Shez' big big big gift giving heart...

 inside the brown paper wrapping was this box

 and look at the bounty with in

 first to be opened was this gorgeous dilly bag

  with in was this yummy Easter egg which is still in its whole form

 looky look what I also got this wonderful little mat all wool felt... 

I saw this on Shez' blog and thought it just gorgeous and now it's mine

 not one but two very cute hand towels

 and how cute is this Easter runner

 and did you notice that they are all in my fav colour??????

thank you thank you thank you Shez for being a wonderful partner 

and so generous and for all my wonderful pressies...

also in the mail was this parcel all the way from the Fat Quarter Shop

 while the Aussie dollar is still high 

I thought I'd stock up on some more Amy Butler from her Lark range...

I Can't Believe...

that I entered a quilt in an online competition hahahah

I don't usually do things like this as I make most of my things just for friends and family...

 but

I entered this

here

mine is titled ''hugs and kisses''
just click the picture above and that will take you to the voting page...
 only vote if you wish too...
thank you...