Sunday 22 November 2015

Blog on hold until after the New Year


Hi everyone,

I received an email from a bloggy friend this afternoon that made me feel very guilty. Was everything all right? Where was I?????
I have been very slack on the sewing front recently and although things have been happening here I could not find the time or energy to write.
We have had an offer on the house and have found a house we love in the Malvern area. Mike and I are holding our breath until we complete the sale. Life is taken up with trips to the tip, car boot sales and trips to the charity shops as well as all our family obligations.
If I had my way we would be moving before Christmas but at the moment it looks like we might exchange before the holiday and complete early in January. At least I have the time to sort through our stuff and box up those things I want to keep. Who knew we had so much rubbish?
In the meantime I can only apologise for not letting everyone know what was going on.

Wishing everyone a fabulous time over the holidays.

Catherine

Saturday 12 September 2015

Thank you


Thank you to everyone for taking the time to leave me a message. It has been a great comfort to read them and the many cards I have received this week. It has been an up and down kind of week. At first I had no energy for anything- the slightest task took an age. My brother, parents and Steve's daughter and fiancé have all been planning the funeral which we hope will reflect the Steve we knew. I chose a poem from a book edited by the husband of a good friend which my husband will read on my behalf. The funeral is next Friday and I hope that we will be able to celebrate his very full life.

On Tuesday I decided that I must get out of the house so I went to the September meeting of Cutting Edge in Ystradowen. I even had, hold your breath, a finish to show; Isobel's quilt. However I did not take photos. I'll get some when the sun shines again. I do have photos taken yesterday of my second finish, the Japanese +x quilt started last year. So without further ado, drum roll please....




The quilting was done by Sue Phillips of School House Quilting near Newport. 



Details of the quilt are here. Funnily enough that post contains marmalade references and I have been making some today. I know, it is September. I'll let you in on a secret, we have had an offer on the house. I hope I'm not tempting fate by mentioning it and it is very early days so shush..... Anyway, I have decided to try to sort out the freezers (note the plural!) We could probably eat for months out of them. The two bags of Seville oranges were frozen in early February so needed using.


The roses are from the second flush this summer on the bushes and they smell divine. I'm taking another bunch up to Jenny's tomorrow. Her new baby is expected at the end of next week and she has been early with her last two pregnancies. I can only stay for a three nights but it means she will not have to call on her neighbour if she does start between now and Wednesday.

My next post will contain photos of a new online crazy quilting course I have been following. I never meant to keep it secret but have not had the time to write about it so until next time,

Have a good week,

Catherine


Friday 4 September 2015

Absence

I am sorry that I have not posted for a while and should explain.

My brother Steve was diagnosed with colo-rectal cancer last year. He went through chemo and radiotherapy and earlier in the year was told that there was very little sign of the cancer left. However he got increasing problems and symptoms and was told last week he had secondaries in his brain and liver.
Steve was transferred from hospital to a hospice on Tuesday and died early on Wednesday morning. The close family, his parents, siblings, daughter and partner and his own partner were all with him in his final hours.

He was an outgoing, loving person who lived life fully. I miss him so much.


I do not think I have the energy to reply to messages and hope you understand.

Catherine

Friday 7 August 2015

Summer bunting and Festival of Quilts

Whoa- where did this week go? What happened to Meals on Mondays?

Life is catching up with me. We have had our house on the market for some time and to be honest I was losing interest in moving. However we had a viewing last week and have been told that the couple will be putting in an offer when the survey result on their own property comes through early next week. I know I should not count my chickens but I have a good feeling so we have been viewing properties and trying to sort our sheds out. Mike is due to have a hip replacement in 2 weeks time so if the offer is forthcoming we will need to find a property so we can go forward.

Last week I decided to cheer the conservatory up with some bunting. All the fabrics were found in my stash so I just purchased the white tape.



Mike has finished painting the outside of the conservatory and the inside looks really pretty with 2 lengths of the bunting.

Festival of Quilts is an annual extravaganza of all things quilty in the NEC in Birmingham. I stayed with my daughter in Birmingham the night before the visit to save myself the 2 hours drive and the catch up with all the family news. She is blooming and has just 7 weeks to her due date but understandable she is feeling tired as she works 4 days a week and has Jacob and Isobel (and Matt!) to look after too.

Some of my photos from Festival.

The first is my favourite quilt and I was amazed it did not win the traditional quilt class it was shown in.  The quilter is Kay Bell.
Much more traditional than my normal choice but just look at the quilting!!! 


 a detail of the amazing quilting.

 This quilt was awarded a Judges Choice award by Sandi Lush which was well deserved.
A peek of the back next- it was double sided!!!!



Next for a bit of whimsy are 2 quilts in the section "Adventures in Wonderland".
The first is by Lyn Carr.

 The second by Jane Verrall.

A couple of collages of some of my images.



Lastly an interesting project based on hands.




Where would we be without our hands? The main photo is too small to see the printing on the images but I snapped the image that was relevant for me. Memories of my work in SCBU at Withington Hospital in the 1980s.

So many quilts were exhibited that I felt  overwhelmed and quilted out by the end of the afternoon. Did I tell you that I shopped too? I'll reveal my goodies next time. 

We are off house viewing tomorrow. Have a marvelous weekend,

Catherine.

Monday 27 July 2015

Meals on Mondays and an old fashioned tea loaf.

We returned from our short break in Suffolk this weekend and now I am faced with mountains of washing (and that means ironing too) and not much in the fridge. At this point it struck me that it might be worth while writing a regular blog post on Mondays.
I was born in the 1950s when the whole ethos was "make do and mend" and "waste not, want not".
World war II had meant rationing of vital foodstuffs so that everyone had a small and reasonably fair share. I suppose this is what  leads to me hating food waste. I love cooking and usually am a bit of a spendthrift when it comes to food but I always make a point of using up the odds and ends left from the weekend. Cold meat from a Sunday roast might become a cottage pie, curry or hash; cold roast potatoes and leftover greens become "bubble and squeak". Winter lunches mean soup to my husband and so vegetables are never wasted.
The week away meant that the pickings were sparse. The fridge revealed a few eggs, some chorizo sausage, some ever so slightly over-ripe tomatoes and onions (always onions!). I googled for recipes with chorizo and found a recipe on BBC Good Food for Rigatoni with spiced prawns, chorizo and tomatoes. We always have a few varieties of pasta in the cupboard so I will probably use penne or farfalle instead of rigatoni. I was short of the prawns but as I was only cooking half the recipe 100g of prawns were all I needed. Mike ran the errand for me so I could continue my chores.


I had noticed several almost empty packets of dried fruits in the cupboards and a  half empty jar of malt extract. Malt loaf was a childhood favourite of mine so I decided to throw one together before tackling the ironing. If you have never tried making this and have only tried the commercial version I can really recommend this recipe. It is so easy and you will not need a mixer just a large bowl, a large spoon to mix the ingredients and either a greased and lined 2lb loaf tin or 2 x1lb tins. I use the paper linings from Lakeland to save on the greasing and lining.

Heat the oven to 170°c or 150° fan oven. Shelf in the middle of the oven.

Ingredients for Malt Loaf
sunflower oil, for greasing
150ml hot black tea (I used Assam tea for a maltier flavour)
175g malt extract, plus extra for glazing
85g dark muscovado sugar
300g mixed dried fruits
2 large eggs, beaten
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • note: I bought the malt extract originally in our local health food shop.
  1. Throw the mixed dried fruit (mine was a mix of sultanas, raisins with a small amount of currants), malt extract, sugar and hot tea into the bowl and stir well until mixed.
  2. Mix the beaten eggs in.
  3. Add the plain flour, stir well then add the baking powder and bicarb. Beat again to combine.
  4. Quickly pour the mixture into the lined tin and place in the centre of the oven.
  5. Bake the small tins for approximately 50 minutes. A 2lb loaf will take about 10 minutes longer.
  6. Test with a skewer to check that there is no wet mixture at the bottom of the loaf.
  7. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes or so then remove to a rack to cool.
  8. Brush the top with a small amount of malt extract while the loaf is warm to glaze.


  • If you can bear to leave the loaf in a tin for a day or even two the texture of the loaf gets a bit stickier and more luscious. Slice and serve buttered with a cup of tea. Yum!!!!

  • Dinner turned out fine too. Mike did not manage to get raw King prawns as the recipe intended but I tossed the cooked prawns through at the last minute and they were almost as good. The pasta I used was Gigli. This is a shape I had never heard of before. I searched online and apparently Gigli can also be called Campanelle (little bells, bellflowers).


It looks a bit of a dog's dinner here but it tasted good. Try the link to the original recipe for a better photo!

I hope to get back to some crafting tomorrow. We are having a lunch party for friends in a few weeks and I would love to make some bunting to pretend we are having a summer party- when will the sun shine again, do you think?

Meals on Mondays might become a regular feature to encourage me to blog regularly. I hope you like it. Please leave comments and let me know what you cook.

Catherine

Friday 17 July 2015

Preparing for a break with a Friday finish.

I finally got it together and delivered 3 quilt tops to Sue Phillips of School House Quilting. I finished Isobel's bear paw top and then realized I did not have enough of my chosen fabric for the backing so I made a detour to Newent to buy what was left of the bolt, another 1¾ metres. I spent a frantic hour working out the best way to piece the back.

The other quilts were the Japanese +X quilt top which was finished ages ago and my English Country Garden appliqué quilt. I have asked Sue to baste the appliqué quilt and I will be quilting it with perle cottons.

So on to my Friday finish. Ta dah!!!!!


This is the Vintage smock frock coat for the new baby that Jenny is expecting In September. This is the 0-6 months size knitted in Drops baby alpaca/silk in the Powder colourway. It reminded me of ballet pink tights.

This is meant to be a sport weight yarn but I found it more like a 4ply (fingering) weight. The pattern is by Sublime yarns and was written for a 4ply yarn. I did knit a tension square at the start for once and the Drops was just right as a substitute. There were a few comments on Ravelry about the yarn. I noticed I had a similar problem to other knitters in that my stitches looked uneven- or should I say more uneven than usual! The short soak and blocking seems to be sorting that though. I soaked it for a short time with Eucalan in off-cold water. The label said 30° but I wanted to err on the safe side. I gave it a gentle swish and blotted the excess moisture on an a fluffy towel. The coat is exactly the right measurements without any pulling or pushing for once. I must say I love it.

I am taking a short break next week as we head to the beach at Walberswick in Suffolk for an old-fashioned English beach holiday with Sam and Lexie. I am looking forward to enjoying my grandchildren's company, paddling, catching the crabs by the bridge over the stream, eating fish and chips and ice-cream, going on Southwold Pier and all those things that make a proper holiday. I am praying that the sun shines for a few days.

Still collecting our fruit from the garden. I have been trying to get a few pounds of raspberries into the freezer before we go.


There should be another two or three trays tomorrow and then I suppose the squirrel will eat the rest while we are away.

I am linking up to Freshly Finished Friday and Wool on Sundays with the baby coat.
Also to On the Needles with Patchwork Times.
 Links in the right hand column.

Have a restful weekend and a great start to the school holidays here in the UK.

Catherine.

Sunday 12 July 2015

My Bear Paw quilt progress

The weather has not been too good for the last couple of days which was a great excuse to get my sewing machine out to sew and watch the tennis finals from Wimbledon. I realised I had not reported on a "quilt in two day" class I took in April with the lovely Sue Warren at Busy Bees Patchwork so I dug out the blocks and fabric and got to work.
This quilt is for Isobel. She is about to go from a cot to a junior bed in preparation for the arrival of a new baby. She is only two so I wanted something pretty and soft coloured. I chose my fabric way back from the Patchwork Basket in Newent. A soft rose coloured print from Moda (Pattern 46196, Collection for a Cause) and a Lecien floral in soft green with rose and yellow flowers.

Sue's design was for a bear paw quilt with setting blocks of a cross. I must have been on a go slow that weekend because I only managed to complete one row of the bear paws and one of the crosses! Mine is in the middle.



So today I got going and I am determined to finish the top in the next day or two.

The claw blocks have to be squared up and trimmed to 1¾", a great excuse to sit for 20 minutes and watch a few games. Federer does not seem to be at his best!


This is the progress today- I have only 2 more rows to make, one each of bear paws and crosses. I have cut all the pieces for the remaining blocks so that I'm ready to sew either tomorrow or at the Cutting Edge group meeting on Tuesday.


The soft fruit harvest continues both for me and for the local birds and other wildlife.


I spotted this little squirrel through the kitchen window. He had squeezed into the fruit cage to liberate a raspberry or two. If the weather improves tomorrow I will be picking all the ripe fruit to freeze at least a few pounds for us.

Congratulations to Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic. I really enjoyed the men's final!!!!

Novak Djokovic

Current tournament:Wimbledon (Men's Singles)
1
N. Djokovic
77
610
6
6
Finals
2
R. Federer
61
712
4
3
Jul 12, Completed
1
N. Djokovic
77
6
6
Semifinals
21
R. Gasquet
62
4
4
Jul 10, Completed
1
N. Djokovic
6
6
6
Quarterfinals
9
M. Cilic
4
4
4
Jul 8, Completed
1
N. Djokovic
66
66
6
6
7
4th Round
14
K. Anderson
78
78
1
4
5
Jul 6, Completed


Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Catherine 

I'll be linking this post to a few of the link parties in the right hand column.

Tuesday 7 July 2015

Where did June go?

I seem to have got into the habit of a flurry of posts early in the month then nothing. The weather was too good for a while to spend inside with any crafting. However it is Wimbledon and so I am in front of the TV with my knitting.
I promised to knit a bunny girl for my oldest granddaughter Alexandra. She is 5 now and I thought she may be a bit old. However when she saw Isobel's blue bunny girl she asked if she could have one too. Her colour preference was for silver and gold! I searched high and low for the silver yarn, I can tell you. However the bargain bin at Hobbycraft came up trumps with this variegated grey and silver thread yarn. It is Rico Creative Reflection print. Full details on my Ravelry project page 
The Bunny has been left half finished in the bottom of my knitting bag for ages but we are travelling to Wiltshire tomorrow to stay the night so I cracked on this morning and she is finished.
All the bunnies I have made seem to have a different character. I suppose it depends on the shaping of the face. So tah dah..... here she is,




Here are the girls, all together.


Full details of the pattern are on my Ravelry page.

I'm making progress with my green cardigan too and have started a baby coat for Jenny's bump. More on these later in the week.

I'm hoping I am not too late to link up with Wool on Sundays (even if it is Tuesday!)

Catherine

Monday 15 June 2015

Garden flower bouquet and a Monday finish

I love this time of year. The sun is shining and the garden is looking beautiful. This is the result of of all Mike's hard work, but under my direction, of course. The best thing is that there is plenty of choice to fill a vase for the house.
Today's choice is a mix of pink shrub roses, late flowering honeysuckle and Sambucus Nigra "Black Lace". The last is a version of the wild elderberry that we planted in the quarry garden years ago. I'm afraid that part of the garden is a bit of a mess but this bush is a towering display of tiers of pale pink blooms.

Last year our bees made a bee-line for our chimney for the winter. Unfortunately they died out early in the New Year. We were lucky enough to be offered a swarm of bees last week and we are thrilled to have honeybees in the garden again.






 Half of the bees were tipped gently into the top of the hive and the rest were left on a sloping board to make their own way into the hive. They instinctively walk upwards to the opening.



The hive is right down at the bottom of the garden and the bees seem to have settled well. They have been  drawing out the comb from the foundation and are busy bringing nectar and pollen back. Hopefully, the queen will start laying this week.

So to my finish. Ta dah!.....

It is the finished foundation pieced table runner. I have appliquéd the centre flower with whipped buttonhole stitch.




The glass bottles are all Victorian in origin. Mike rescued them when he excavated the ice house here on the farm. They are a mix of seltzer, medicine and poison bottles! We found a dozen Victorian champagne bottles too. The ice house must have become redundant and was then used a a dump. I think the bottles look just right with the colours of the table runner .


I have spent the afternoon preparing for tomorrow's masterclass by Harriet Hargrave on invisible machine appliqué. Bags now packed, machine checked and all the class requirements ticked off. I think I'll need my brain in gear tomorrow so I will be having an early night.

I will be linking to several of the link parties (see the right hand margin for the links)

Hope the sun is shining on you too today.

Catherine