The Sewing Dilettante

Hello, hello! Welcome to my newly re-named blog (formerly Secret Ingredient: Love). I was never completely crazy about that old name, and, as hubby told me, it always suggested a cooking blog, rather than one primarily about sewing with a bit of baking thrown in. When I started thinking about how much I'd like to get back to blogging, partially for a bit of encouragement to get my sewing machine out more often, I decided I'd change things up a bit. 'Dilettante' seemed a really apt word to apply to myself as both a sewer and a blogger, as I'm an amateur and fairly casual about both hobbies, so here we are... The Sewing Dilettante! Bear with me as I transition fully into this new blog; I'll be keeping the old email address for the time being but am linking to a new, blog-specific Instagram account: thesewingdilettante. Since my youngest little'un was born in November 2015, I've been doing the odd bit of patchwork and embroidery, but it feels as if I'...

Hello, hello! Remember me? I seem to be perfecting my disappearing act these days, but I'm back again with a little update on that baby quilt I mentioned in my last post (all those months ago). I'm really thrilled with the way it came out! In fact, of all the quilts I've made, this one may just be my favourite. I just love how bright and scrappy the blocks are! I quilted simple diagonal lines - my fallback quilting style - and finished with a colourful scrappy binding, which seemed the natural choice for a quilt like this. For the back, I used the completely scrumptious Pink Bake Cherry by Riley Blake. Swoon. I didn't get a photo of it before giving the quilt away, but I did manage gleefully to deposit in my stash a few small leftover pieces for future projects.  I'm hoping the beautiful baby girl this was given to will enjoy exploring each and every one of the blocks. There are a few different textures here, with one or two linen and silk scraps thrown in...

Yesterday was my first day of maternity leave, and, while I managed to stay in bed until almost 11, I also realised very quickly that relaxation isn't my forte! Especially when there's nesting to be done! The nursery is all but ready to go, and we've got all the necessaries laid out in their appropriate places, but what we don't have is a freezer full of food to feed us in the first few hectic weeks after Baby H's arrival. Naturally, I had intended to prepare a variety of delicious and nutritious freezer-friendly meals over the past few months, but life got in the way. The best laid plans and all that. Yesterday and today though, I managed to bake a couple of batches of biscuits - one chocolate chip, one white chocolate and pecan - to pop into the oven straight from the freezer when friends and family call around. I also threw together a lasagne and a few other hearty, satisfying casseroles, and am now smugly patting myself on the back. Such self-satisfaction, I sus...