Scrappy squares and falafels

 

It's a glorious day here in West Yorkshire, sunshine and birdsong and - possibly - a chance to catch sight of the Aurora Borealis later on tonight.  Fingers crossed as I've not managed to glimpse that wonder of Nature before.  I've got lots of crafty pursuits on the go at once, as usual.  

I've got various plastic storage tubs filled with scrap fabric, and sorted roughly into colour groups.  For some reason I got it into my head that I wanted to piece together some of 'em, probably as I've not done any machine sewn patchwork for a while.  I grabbed the tub with browns, oranges, yellows and greens in it, and tried to be really spontaneous about piecing scraps together, not spending any time deliberating over which colours or patterns complimented each other.

I chain pieced lots of small scraps together, so it looked like I was making raggedy bunting!  

Out came the quilting rulers, and I cut my sewn-together scraps into 12 and a half inch squares.  

I made half a dozen in all, and at some point I'll grab the black/white/grey scraps, the blues/purples, the reds/pinks, and I'll make blocks of those too.  I do love a truly scrappy quilt, and these will eventually end up being joined together to make at least a lap sized quilt, maybe even single bed sized.  

I've also been slow stitching with white embroidery thread on this, inspired by last week's Stitch Art class.  I'm hoping it's got a vaguely Japanese boro type feel to it.  I have a purpose in mind for this, but more of that another time.  

My lines aren't as dog's leg bendy as usual, mainly because I used a ruler and fabric pen on the reverse side, marking out where my lines of running stitch should be.  I've been adding a few crosses here and there, as the mood takes me.  

This embroidered bird is something I keep picking up and putting down.  I've got most of the body embroidered now, and I've started on the head. This bird's a slightly different shape to the completed one shown below the hoop, but I think it'll look okay once it's finished.  It's only a stylized representation of the birdie anyway.  No one's expecting perfection or ultra-realism, least of all me.  

I'll finish up with something un-crafty.  Mmm, cumin scented falafels.  I'm a rubbish cook and can't bake to save my life, but I can successfully make Slimming World's diet-friendly version of falafels.  Easy-peasy if you've got a food processor, as you basically bung the ingredients in that, whoosh 'em up then tip the mixture into a bowl.  Add an egg, form the mixture into balls and leave them to chill in the fridge for a few hours.  I usually leave them overnight and they firm up nicely.  Then it's in the oven and don't ask me how long or what temperature as my oven is a rule unto itself.  I take them out when they look done, and they're delicious.  Just as nice when cold, and perfect to keep in the fridge for when you get hit by the munchies and need a snack.  

Okay, that's me done for the day.  Have a good evening and let's hope this sunshine carries on into the weekend.  Bye for now.