Holiday Baking

I'm doing some Christmas baking today so wanted to reshare this old favourite recipe of mine. There are few things I find more comforting than these 'Amaretti', which are Italian almond cookies. Similar to the French almond macaroons but way more almond-y! And super yummy!

When we lived in London my hubby and I were addicted to amaretti from an Italian restaurant/deli chain there called Carluccio's. Alas when we moved to Australia we couldn't get them anymore so I had to learn how to make them. After lots of trial and error I perfected my recipe over the years, which I wrote up for you. If you like marzipan, you will love these sweet cookies! They have a thin crunchy crust with a soft centre. Tip: don't leave the almond extract out - the cookies will still be yum without it, but the extract takes them to a whole 'nother level. Pin the recipe, and enjoy!

Zakka Home Book Tour Round Up

The Zakka Home book tour has come to a close - as you may have seen if you follow my Instagram or Facebook feeds. Oh we had so many wonderful projects!!  I would like to thank all the makers for their talent and incredible support in the launch of my new book. I hope you find their projects as inspiring as I did - there were some really clever twists!

Jemima Flendt - Tied With A Ribbon - @tiedwitharibbon

Minki Kim - Minki's Work Table - @zeriano

Jane Davidson - Quilt Jane - @quiltjane

Elizabeth Chappell - Quilters Candy Box - @quilterscandybox

Lauren Wright - Molly and Mama - @mollyandmama

 Sarah Scott - Piccolo Studio - @piccolostudio_sarah

Alyce Blyth - Blossom Heart Quilts - @blossomheartquilts

Emily Dennis - Quilty Love - @emily_dennis_

Sharon Burgess - Lilabelle Lane Creations - @lilabellelane

Wynn Tan - Zakka Art - @zakkaArt

Amanda Woodruff - A Crafty Fox - @a.crafty.fox

Samantha Dorn - Aqua Paisley Studio - @aqua_paisley

Love Patchwork & Quilting - @lovequiltingmag

Kate May - The Homemakery - @thehomemakery

Ayda Algin - Cafe Nohut - @cafenohut

Faith Essenburg - Sarana Ave - @faithessenburg

Nadra Ridgeway - Ellis & Higgs - @ellisandhiggs

Fat Quarter Shop - @fatquartershop

Laura Cunningham - @laura_zuckerkuss

Bev McCullough - Flamingo Toes - @flamingotoes

Amy Smart - Diary of a Quilter - @diaryofaquilter

Riley Blake Designs - @rileyblakedesigns

Michelle Hickson - @coleandtaffy

Christopher Thompson - The Tattooed Quilter - @the_tattooed_quilter

Ange Hamilton - A Little Patchwork - @alittlepatchwork

Sarah Ashford - @sarahashfordstudio

For more inspiration and to see other projects from the book please check my first blog post. Thanks for visiting today!

'Afternoon Picnic' by Nancy Zieman

Today I'm deeply honoured to be taking part in a special project tour in memory of the late Nancy Zieman using her latest collection for Riley Blake Designs, called 'Afternoon Picnic'. Nancy was a huge inspiration to many of us in the sewing community and she left such an amazing legacy - I feel very privileged to be sewing with her beautiful fabrics today. 'Afternoon Picnic' is a supremely cheerful floral line featuring glorious blues, reds, creams and blacks - you can see all the prints here.

The star of the collection is definitely the main print - which is showcased on my cushion front in all its glory. When you have a piece of fabric as pretty as this you really don't want to cut it into tiny little pieces! I gave the cushion front some texture by quilting around each flower and leaf. Very happy with how it turned out, and I would like to think Mrs Zieman would have loved it too.

The backing of the cushion is also a very pretty blue mini floral from the same collection. I bound the cushion in white cotton which I think gives it a clean, modern finish.

Thank you for visiting today and I hope you enjoyed seeing what I made with Afternoon Picnic. The collection is just coming into stores now - it's definitely a keepsake collection by a sewing legend to add to your fabric stash!