Bento lunches

School starts tomorrow and I'm planning my lunches. I'm not going to be teaching in one class room this year so my usual lunch of left-overs may be difficult. One of my classes is at the opposite end of the school from the staffroom and I don't want to be spending all my time walking about so cold lunches I can eat in the resource room or class room would be better. Yes, the exercise is good for me but the stress isn't! Stress = eat on the run = muffins! So I'm planning some nice healthy bento lunches.

Here's my current lunchbox scenario.

My lunchbox is the right size and has a divider. Did you know that your bento box has to be the right size for your sex and age? More info on that on Just Bento. I bought a new ice pack as my old one was an questionable number of years old. But I can't find a better cold bag that this one. It's the right size, made by the same people as the box, but it has problems. It only fits the box and ice pack but I'm not going to pack any extras so that's not a problem. The main problem is that it stands up. The box should be leakproof but if I'm made my lunch horizontal, that's the way I want my lunch to stay. Also it doesn't have a carry strap for when your hands are loaded with books etc. And, the biggest problem, it doesn't look CUTE! Sorry about the caps shouting but I want my lunch to look nice!

So I made a strap.

This part velcros so I can still get into the zip pocket. Designed to be carried over my wrist.

I've also added a long strap so that I can carry it over my shoulder. 

I've hot-glued the strap assembly to the bag and I think you'll agree, it not only looks better but is more functional. 

It was also an opportunity to improve my binding sewing skills. I watched a video of Sharon Schamber's on binding (from Monika's blog? Can't remember!) and picked up some great tips. I will now use ladder stitch and not the slower applique stitch that I've been using up to now. Maybe all tutors teach ladder stitch nowadays but I've come from a dressmaking background and I'm basically self-taught over the past 30 years. I can't believe I've been doing this for 30+ years! And there is still more to do and learn!

I picked up this great tip on another bento blog. Take any minced meat (either as it comes from the butcher or add breadcrumbs, seasoning and egg for patties as I did here), put it in a large ziplock bag, squash it flat and then score into portions. When it is frozen, the portions snap apart. Clever!

This recipe is 450g chicken mince, 450g pork mince, one egg, about 2 cups of wholemeal breadcrumbs, small bunch of chopped parsley, 2 tbsp Thai seasoning from the tubes that you find in the veg section at the supermarket, 1 tsp veg stock powder, salt, pepper. I used my quilting ruler to measure the squashed bag, divided it by 3 and then pressed down with the edge of the ruler to score it. I think the middle portion is slightly fatter than the others so maybe next time I take that into consideration and make the middle section slightly less than a third.

All set for my first day back at school!

Timmy Dog

I really want a dog so I made one!

This pattern was designed by Abby Glassenberg. It's incredibly clever! I learned a lot about sewing accuracy, clipping and stuffing (I would do it better next time) but even given my slapdash approach, it turned out great. The darts in the underbody and shape in the pieces made even my sewing look good.

This is where the opening in the underbelly was, between the arrows. I started sewing the ladder stitch at the right hand side without reading glasses, found my glasses when I got to the join in the brown fabric and finished it with much better stitching! I should have unpicked the first bit but I didn't realise I could get it so good until I had done about half of the rest.

I enlarged the pattern from A4 to A3, so doubled. This shot gives you an idea of the size. You can also see that I've stencilled 'dog' on his head. I have used fabric paint, Derwent Inktense blocks, Fabrico pens, rubbing with crayons on net, onion bags and other stuff my flowers were wrapped in as well as stencilling with crayons. Then I've added scraps of wool tweeds and organza. It's a lot of fun to make.

Timmy Dog is curious.

Windswept model shot!

I also bought a bird made by Abby. Here's what happened when they met...

Hello! I'm Timmy Dog. What's your name?

I'm Little Birdie. I was made by your designer, Abby Glassenberg.

Nice to meet you Little Birdie. Will you be my friend?

OK.

Timmy Dog and Little Birdie in their house (aka The Bookcase).

2013 Visual Diary

I've started a new sketchbook or visual diary for this year. It needed a cover, of course! I painted these flowers with Derwent Inkentense blocks. I've even made a title page.

My original photograph was not the best, too much shadow, but I love the flowers.





I applied the colour in three different ways. The red anthuriums were painted by directly applying the block to the fabric and then going over it with a wet paintbrush. It's a good way to get a intense colour on larger areas. For the pale blue background, I wanted more of a soft wash. I scraped a few little crumbs of the block into my paint palette and added a lot of water. I wanted more control and blending for the orange daylilies. For them I wet my brush and then picked up colour directly off the block. Sometimes I blended the colour on the fabric just by putting the two colours together and adding water. Other times I blended directly on the block or the paint palette. I've quilted around the anthruiums only in black thread.

This is the back, quilted in feathers. The macro function on my camera changes the colour considerably!

Now I just have to fill it with exciting ideas! I'm following Heather Thomas making art every day. She is challenging herself to produce a small piece of art every day. I think if I can put something into my sketchbook every day, that will be enough of a challenge for me. But I'm finding Heather's work very inspiring. One of my current projects that is just at the thinking stage is to produce a fabric book. I think some of Heather's techniques will make it into my book, via my sketchbook of course.

I'm off to Kerikeri  this weekend to see their quilt show and catch up with friends, hopefully meet some new friends. I'm stopping off at Waipu on the way up. I'm going to see the Waipu Grand Pageant, a performance telling the story of the migration of Scottish Highlanders to Waipu following the Highland clearances in the 19th century. I'm looking forward to it. It includes horses, carriages, bullocks and I'm sure I read somewhere that there is even a burning croft!

Quilt within a quilt

This is my first quilt finish for 2013. Maybe I should only make little quilts! I painted the daisies with the art group (with no name), cut them up into the little quilts (they're quilts as they are quilted and bound!) and then put them on this batik quilt that I quilted with crochet cotton in the bobbin.

I thought I hadn't done much in 2012. I moved house three times so that made it hard to finish things but when I look at my posts, I've actually achieved a lot. I made a few of these painted quilts. More table mat sized quilts! I seem to work best in in this size!

I also made three bags.

Then I made the purple/black/white quilt for a challenge (12" by 12"), finished a community quilt (yeah! a full size quilt!) and completed a couple of projects with the art group. I've really enjoyed some of the things we've done in this group. I'm looking forward to more creative stuff this year.

I started a lot of projects last year so I should manage quite a few finishes this year. I may even get on to remaking my Onehunga quilts, the painted quilt I made in 2011. I've got a series of three quilts planned and never even started them last year. I'm staying put at this house so maybe I'll actually manage to start them.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and may it be a good one.

Handbag tutorial

I've made a couple of these handbags now, one for my sister and one for my sister-in-law. My other sister-in-law saw my sister's bag this holidays and now she wants one too - and I would quite like one! This bag was a commission for my sister's friend.

I've been playing around with my iPad and I made a little video tutorial with instruction on how to make this bag front.

 And this is what is looks like after quilting.

 Here's a tip, when lining the front flap, cut the lining an eighth of an inch to quarter of an inch smaller and then match the edges when you sew it up. The interfacing in the front is very rigid but the lining fabric is soft so making it smaller means that the lining turns under and doesn't show when you press it. You can see a sliver of the lining on the bottom edge of the flap in the photo above. I should have cut it a little smaller.

Each piece of the bag is cut out in denim and fusible interfacing. Then cotton batting is cut out an inch shorter in length and width and ironed under the interfacing to make half inch seam allowances on each side. All the cutting and fusing is time-consuming but it gives the bag more body.

The magnetic clasp only has a layer of lining between the contents of your bag and the metal prongs that hold it in place. I felt that could be a problem so I made this little bandage to go over the it. Usually I sew something over it but this time I decided to use this product that is designed to "glue" batting together. It's a web with a fusible side and it made a neat and quick bandage.

The clasp from the front

This was meant to be a photo of my next innovation, a rigid plastic base for the bag. I forgot to take a photo of it. Basically, the feet of the bag and like brads or paper fasteners I think we call them in UK. I've lived in New Zealand for 18 years now so I'm forgetting how to speak proper, like what I did in Scotland! That's a joke, folks!!  I wonder what google translate will do with that.

But back to my feet, the prongs went through a plastic mesh designed for making bags and then fold down and hold it in place. It makes a great base and the bag stands up nicely.

Feet with plastic mesh. Looks like my other bags but is a big improvement.

Pocket for an iPad

Inside I made a pocket for a Kindle

So I'm going to make two more of these bags and that's it! No more. I've got too many quilts I want to make!!

Mystery quilt blocks finished

There were only five more blocks to make so Mum and I finished them off. Here they are after I chain-pieced the rows together.

I tried to trim the blocks as carefully as possible but I haven't fussed too much about matching seams on the applique. A lot of them are amazingly accurate but where it is a little out of alignment, like in the shorts leg above, I've just left it. I think it will add to the charm of this quilt. 

Want to see the whole thing? Not long now... :)

More community projects

Yet another project finished! Last weekend we had the woman from Dingwall Trust (care homes for children) come along to pick up some quilts. I really wanted to get this one finished and off my UFO list and I'm really happy to have one of my quilts go to Dingwall. The kids love them. It does your heart good to hear how our silly hobby of cutting up fabric and sewing it back together can comfort a child.

I arrived at the guild meeting 20 minutes before she came to pick up the quilts and I still had to stitch the binding down and sew a label on it! Two wonderful ladies helped me and we got it done just in time! Then Liz took this photo for me as I didn't have a photo of the quilting. As we were waiting for Liz to get her camera, I was chatting with the woman from Dingwall and I told her that I called this my stress relief quilt. I made this when I was a bit stressed at work and just needed to unwind by doing something that didn't require any thought. I wrote about how I made it here. http://layer-upon-layer.blogspot.co.nz/2011/02/my-stress-relief-quilt.html

She asked me who I thought it should go to. I said that I intended that it should be a quilt for a boy so maybe a little boy who is angry with the world. She said that they have just taken in a seven year-old who lost his mum and she thought that maybe it would suit him. Then I pointed out the quilting pattern that looks like lollipops is actually inspired by the movie Tron, where the characters go into the computer. 'Ah yes,' she says,'this will be perfect for him!' As I said, it does your heart good!

Here's a photo of the top before quilting. By the way, that quilting pattern is called Cyber Echo.

Well, first day of the school holidays and I've got lots of sewing to do - and lots of prep work for next year! I'm teaching a class next year using iPads. This will be a class of about 16 students that are very weak in maths, perhaps with learning difficulties, behavioural issues etc. They have been having a lot of success with these students in the intermediate school so we want to carry that on at secondary school. I'm looking forward to it but it's a lot of planning.

Then yesterday I found out that I'm going to be an ESOL teacher for one period of the week. Have I ever done that before? No, but I'm game for anything! The way our timetable works, if you teach two junior and three senior classes, you are one period under allocation so you have to pick up a lesson somewhere else. I've taken a reading class before (go to the library and read quietly - I can do that) and remedial maths tuition. The ESOL department want me to teach quilting instead. How exciting is that!! Imagine, the Ministry of Education are going to pay me to quilt! Well I hope they are going to pay me. I've gone from a fixed term contract to permanent staff so I had to fill in a new form for Novopay. My readers from New Zealand will have heard how the new payroll company has stuffed up pay for teachers. I haven't been affected - yet!

And I leave you with a photo of my daughter's name badge that she made for the guild she joined in Doha, Qatar. She seems to have abandoned her blog - after persuading me to write a blog! It's based on the traditional knife-through-the-heart tattoo. I can't say I've ever understood that image (maybe Melanie can explain) but I think her take on it is very amusing and I love it. That's my girl!!