This is ... my favourite kitchen thing

It's been a while since I participated in "This is ...". I needed a break from having to exercise my brain every Sunday, and well, I just got lazy.

My kitchen is close to my heart (and my belly). I think I sometimes do my best work in amongst it's vile yellow cupboards and it's 1972 oven and barely-working stove. When it comes to gadgets, I had to think long and hard about it - I could have shown you my coffee grinder (not used since my stomach decided it could no longer abide home-brewed coffee)*, or my hand held beaters with the dough kneading attachment, or the food processor which almost killed me one day when the lid flew off while it was in action (although really, Killer, as I've christened it, cannot be classified as a favourite thing at all).

One of the only things I absolutely have a hankering for these days is tea. I have a few tea pots, and assorted gadgets collected over the years to enable easy tea making.

There's this - the Dutch Tea Strainer (although every Dutch person I know has no idea why this tea strainer is called Dutch). It's very handy and much less drippy than using a conventional tea strainer.



Then there's my multiple tea infusers, handy for work when you don't feel up to coping with a soggy bag of Lipton's. Mr QM calls this "Snapper Tea".



And then there's this - my absolute favourite. It's a vintage Pyrex tea pot I picked up a few months ago for a couple of dollars at an op shop. It's not often that the same item will appear in two different "This is ..." posts!



It even has it's tea infuser, which many don't have anymore. The best thing is it makes the BEST tea. Hot, and strong, but not at all bitter. And it looks so bloody good at the same time. You just can't beat that design. And the added bonus? No drips!

* It should be noted that yesterday, however, while spending a lovely yarny afternoon with some lovely people at a cafe, I had not one, but two strong lattes. They were lovely, although they did make me shake something awful. Which didn't help at all when a drunk teenager rammed the back of my car (no injuries, not much damage) on the way home. As if I wasn't shaky enough. Sheesh.

Edited to add: I'M FINE! STOP WORRYING! And the car bumper only has some chips on it, so it'll be fine too. My life isn't that bad, is it? The comments make me think it's just one disaster after another, and it's not, I'm sure of it. Concentrate on the teapot and tell me how pretty it is! ;-)

Bustin' out

Mini pouch, originally uploaded by quiltingmick / michelle.

I've had this idea for a mini-pouch in my head for about four months now. This is just the basic prototype to check how the boxed bottom goes with the quilted fabric, but it will eventually have a strap just big enough to hang on the back of the dunny door at work or at the shops. You know. So you can put your lippy and girly 'accessories' in it, and hang it on the back of the door, and it'll be all clean and lovely.

Or your could just use it for your dpns. Or your iPod.

Anyway, it's funny how the day I finally get the idea out my head and onto the sewing machine is the day I land myself a full-time contracting job.

I start Tuesday. That gives me four days to get everything done that I haven't done in the last four months.

So rather that doing Cathy's Blogtoberfest with everyone else, I'll be staying right away from the computer and doing stuff.

I'll be seein' ya!

Birthday goodies

As promised, here are the photos of some of the crafty goodies I got for my birthday. Mr QM got me the Amy Butler book after Thornberry told me it was more advanced than the Lotta Jansdottir book I already had. So now I have both. So lucky. And you know me - you can never go wrong giving me a Sublime Stitching book (thanks mum and dad). The gorgeous yarn is from Bec and Georgie, and the stunning Kirsten Doran fabric was an inspired gift from Bells. My friend Helen in Melbourne sent me a sketch book. It's brilliant - beautiful paper, hard cover, and all the pages open out really well. I can't wait to start plotting some designs in there.

And lastly, I had to include the Bison milk bottle, even though it's not crafty. It is hand crafted though. For years I've been buying all my friends and family Bison goodies, and yet I never had a piece of my own. Mr QM fixed that, bless his cotton socks. It's just beautiful, and the perfect gift. And here endeth the birthday show and tell!



I recently started, and stopped, a vintage apron collection. The collection stands at three, and faced with the reality that I will never wear these beauties, I've decided to list them in my Etsy store. I reckon somone else will get a kick out of them!

Tweet tweet!

The Visitors are still here, but they leave tomorrow. Today I convinced Mr QM to take them out for the afternoon so I could *ahem* do some work.

Because I'm getting sick of being watched every moment of the day. Like when I was making sandwiches for lunch - there they were. Watching silently, every slice of tomato, every turn of the salad spinner. It wouldn't be as creepy if conversation took place while the watching was happening.

This afternoon I made this little birdie.

I'm not overly happy with the way the lining sits, and the execution overall is a work in progress, but this one's all mine so I'm not complaining too much. Well, not about the Birdie, anyway.

Sun and moon and stars rejoice

Nara Candle Festival 2008, originally uploaded by quiltingmick / michelle.

I feel rotten for worrying you all.

In the end, my birthday was quite lovely. I woke up super early and opened some wonderful gifts (including crafty gifts - photos some other time), then headed to the farmers' market. Breakfast at Gus', a turn around Civic, and then home to lounge and enjoy the warmth in the air.

The visitors arrived just before grand final kick-off. They ackowledged my birthday. It was the first time they have done that, and this is, I think, the third time they have knowingly shown up on or before my birthday (it's the curse of Floriade and having a spare bed).

And then, because it was my birthday (and as I reminded them all, I only get one of those a year) we headed to the Nara Candle Festival right on dusk. Seeing the river of candles glowing brighter as the sky grew darker was absolutely magical.

The day before the year before

Nara Candle Festival, Canberra, originally uploaded by gavin.jackson.

It seems everyone is tagging me for a meme lately, and while I'm very honoured, I've already done it.

You can read it and be bored all over again.

Tomorrow will be the first day of the last year of my 30s. Normally I'd be quite excited by my birthday - it's spring after all, and I was looking forward to a lovely day with Mr QM, with farmers' markets, breakfast, the Nara Festival, Floriade. But last night we heard that we'll be welcoming visitors to our home instead. I am not looking forward to it, and in fact the prospect of having to entertain the most miserable person I've even met has sent me on the slippery slope into a huge depression, something I normally fight quite strongly against.

Six funny-shaped bags sitting on the shelf

Available now in the shop. I'm fairly passing out at how awesomely cute the chocolate bear sunnyboy is. Cute, cute, cute.

Honestly, I think I'm pretty lucky having a job like this!

FO: Pebbled Sand socks

Forgive me friends, for I have sinned. It has been 24 days since I last posted a crocheted finished object.



Pattern: Pebbled Sand by Janet Rehfeldt (from the book "Crocheted Socks!")

Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Canyon Color, supplied by my friendly German sock yarn pimp.



Hook: 4 mm bamboo

Time: Started August 30 and finished September 22.

Notes: For the first time ever, I didn't have to adjust and adapt one of Janet's patterns. It was a freakin' miracle. Also, the Regia Canyon Color is probably not the most ideal yarn for this pattern - I don't think it shows the stitch pattern as well as a plainer yarn would. Plainer, say like Wollmeise in the Sonne colourway?

Yep, that's better. But I still love these Regia socks. Favourite socks yet, but also the least stretchy out of all of them, and it doesn't appear to be a problem.

You'll notice that I celebrated the cracking open of the Wollmeise with a new sunnyboy of my own. I figured I deserved another. (There will be sunnyboy bags in the shop tomorrow - I can guarantee penguins, matryoshkas, knitting script, polar bears, magenta bubbles. They've been quilted and are now awaiting zippers and seaming! But that can wait until tomorrow.)

Soup Swap - September

I've joined in on Soup Swap '08 over at Jessica's blog. She's over in New York and they are coming into Fall right now, while here in the sunny south-east of Australia it's all about the blossoms, dust storms and hayfever.

But I love a good soup, so here goes with the first month. This soup is so easy and so delicious - it has very few ingredients, and within half an hour you have lunch!



Kumara and Lentil Soup
(serves 4)

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
300 g peeled and chopped kumara (red sweet potato)
1 cup red lentils, very well rinsed
3 1/2 cups water
1 large vegetable stock cube
salt, pepper



In a large saucepan, heat the oil and add the onion, stirring until softened. Add the chopped kumara, lentils, water and stock cube and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and put the saucepan lid on for 20 minutes, or until the kumara is soft and cooked.



Take the pot off the heat and allow to cool a little. Use your mouli, or your stab mixer, and puree the soup until it is very smooth. This is the point where you add more water, depending on how thin you want your soup, and also season for flavour. I only ever add freshly ground pepper, as the stock cube does most of the salting in this dish.

Return the pot to the heat and bring back up to serving temperature. Serve with a little natural yoghurt and chopped chives (but this soup doesn't really need either - it's delicious by itself).



Enjoy!

Dance like nobody's watching

I hadn't seen this video before. I suspect a lot of other people have though.

But take a look if you haven't. Pure joy.


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.