Ornamental Organic

You've seen snippets of this quilt before. It was my all organic quilt challenge based on Daisy Janie's Geo Grand fabrics.

Well, Fat Quarterly picked it up and the pattern is in the latest issue. Go here to buy your own copy. The pattern includes a discussion on my challenge in making this all organic. Here's a hint - I almost made it. This is a easy pattern - no curved piecing. The colour possibilities are endless!

And, if you are so inspired, make sure you share any projects you make with the pattern with me and on the Fat Quarterly Flickr page. I'd love to see what you can make.

Thank-you to Amy for sharing the prize draw for me, Jan for her gorgeous fabric, and everyone at Fat Quarterly, especially Tacha.

Nutella is Evil

Don't let that fake mom on the commercial fool you - Nutella is evil.

I don't care if you tell me there is a cup of skim milk in an entire jar. Turns out I'm not spreading an entire jar on toast. In reality I'm eating it by the spoonful and keeping the children from even knowing Nutella exists.

Let me make it clear that I've got nothing against treats for my kids. We bake at least once a week, they love their honey sticks, and sugar is not a bad word in this house. But Nutella is like crack. Highly addictive and good for giving you a rush. That rush does not belong on toast - that sounds disgusting - because no kid needs to get used to the idea of a chocolate filling for breakfast.

We are considered strict parents among our family and friends. I've got no problem saying no when my kids ask for something repeatedly. But if they knew Nutella existed a whole new world of begging would emerge. Seeing as I don't have the will power to keep a teaspoon out of the jar then I expect a distinct challenge in the same for my children. They also know how to climb on the counters. Keeping Nutella in the house is simply too dangerous.

Then again, I might ask my husband to hide a jar just so I can make these brownies periodically. Rich and fudgy and the recipe makes the perfect amount to satisfy the craving without leaving you with a pound of baking laying around.

That Abby Dodge is a genius when it comes to the easy dessert. She gave me the permission to share this recipe to you. You may have seen it a million times over already since Desserts 4 Today came out. Maybe not. Either way, you should dig out your own jar of Nutella and scrape out what you've managed to leave behind after your midnight snack.

Nutella Brownies

Makes 12 mini brownies

1/2 cup Nutella

1 egg

5 tbsp flour

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a mini muffin tin with 12 papers or liners. (Or spray with non-stick spray.)

2. Whisk the Nutella and egg together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the flour until smooth.

3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Top with chopped nuts.

4. Bake for 11-12 minutes. Remove from oven and set on a rack to cool completely.

Workshop in Progress - January 26

It's another week in the Workshop.

Thank-you so much for your tips on marking tools. I'm really keen to get one of those Hera tools. For now, I'm still eyeballing things, but I do like the idea of it.

This week I'd actually love it if you could help me out by pointing me to some favourite quilts. I'm in a photography class right now and I'm working on translating the concept of negative space from quilts to my photos. I'd love it if you could share links/photos to quilts you think demonstrate this concept. I know it's a bit different than expected for the Workshop, but sharing ideas is sharing ideas.

Don't forget to share your links here, I'm excited to see what you've got.

Blue Birds and Red

I know, so not me, right? But that's the joy of a round robin in a mostly traditional guild. As a result, I'm using up some fabrics in my stash that I never thought would see the light of day, and I'm pushed beyond my comfort zone.

The blue birds were my first round. We were assigned applique for this one. I did think cherries, as per the suggestion of another participant, but went with the birds. I hope she doesn't mind the blue.

This second one was pretty simple as the instructions were for a plain border. Nothing more. There was a touch of red in the plaid background for the snowman, so it was an easy choice out of my stash.

Just a little fun.