Little Christmas bits 2

I was pleased to finish my second Christmas item on time. However, it was dark when I did so I decided to wait until this morning to take the photo and do the post. I have chosen something smaller for today.
Tuesday's project was a pieced Santa face, also in my Pinterest Christmas ideas board. It is a free pattern with a cutting and sewing guide. The cutting guide required just enough brain power to make it interesting, with numbered fabric colours and cutting long strips in half. The sewing was easy except for the little hat triangles. It suggests finagling them but my points just weren't meant to match up.
I made him into a kitchen or table mat with retired bath towel on the back as all in one wadding and backing. The pattern says it is a 12" block but mine turned out 11" so I added some borders. I think he needed at least one border to make him look right. He would probably make a nice cushion cover too.

Here is the link to the Pieced Santa Face tutorial.

Here is mine. If you hover over the image you will see the pin button. Why not pin it for later.

Happy Quilting and Crafting,
Val

Practicing foundation piecing

From Quilt a Koala: Australian Animals and Birds in Patchwork by Margaret Rolfe

, a photo by valspiers on Flickr.

I have decided to improve on at least one skill a week or try something new. Time seems to just fly by and a week goes by and I have only done more of the same. Working on the cat appliqué quilt is achieving but still more of the same.
This is only the second time I have done foundation piecing. The first time taught me that I need to work with big pieces. This time I learnt that when one uses interfacing as a foundation you should not write the numbers on in dark pen.
I made it into a counter mat for my kitchen with wadding to hide the pattern on the kitchen towel I used as backing. I retire the hand towels a couple of times a year so I always have spare ones around. They give kitchen counter mats a nice firm feel and are good and absorbent .
The new things I tried this week were some low sugar biscuit and muffin recipes. I love eating something with body like cake or biscuits rather than chocolate or dried fruit so I modified a few recipes. The biscuit recipe is definitely worth repeating. The muffin was a bit boring.
Date Dainties
12 dates chopped
12 pecan halves chopped
1 cup flour
1 egg
2 tbls honey
1/3 cup marg or butter

Cream butter and honey. Add egg and dates and nuts then flour. Makes 12 biscuits. Cook at 160 C for 20 mins.
700 kJ per biscuit

The other new thing was getting into Pinterest.

Happy Quilting,
Val