Monday, May 26, 2014

Autumn Retreaters

I have just had an amazing weekend with a group of retreaters from Rotorua and points south. Eight gals arrived with a plethora of colourful projects and went home with many completed or at least on the way.

It is their enthusiasm that is so inspiring and shows in the comments they made on the weekend:

- A wonderful weekend, filled with great creativity, fabulous friends, amazing food and the best camp mother in town! So good for the soul! Thanks Natalie

- A whole lot of sewing, a whole lot of food and a whole load of fun and laughter. See you next year for more.

- Such fun! Such fun! To sew, laugh, eat fabulous food, enjoy great friends. What more could you ever want ... many thanks

- Fantastic weekend. A huge learning experience for me. I can't wait to come back for more ...

- Sewing for the Soul at Natalie's Thank you ... you are a continuous inspiration

- Fabulous time - good friends, great host, lots of fun. Natalie, I am sure you will learn to love my quilt!

The weekend menu included: Pea and Ham soup with herb bread and a fresh crusty fruit loaf for supper. Saturday's lunch: cold chicken with warm pumpkin salad (topped with caramelised pumpkin seeds), pasta salad and green herby salad from the garden and for dinner a slow cooked beef casserole. That was served with braised red cabbage, stir-fried garden greens and horseradish potato mash. For dessert we had feijoa and raspberry crumble with custard and cream.

Monday, May 19, 2014

May 2014 Newsletter



G'day
How many of us turn to our quilting in times of stress? Way back I began my first quilt the day after my husband left me and have had comfort from quilting ever since.

My extended family are waging a battle against cancer right now. My lovely nephew has been an officer in the army for over 20 years and now his private war is on. It amazes me how members of the family deal with this - all of us open our arms wide and send love to him and his little family in different ways. It is a stressful time. A time when only the medicos can offer immediate help but a time when the family can be there in spirit.
Key Lime Project
You all know by now that my daughter has come to live with me, well not for some days now. She is on a mission first to my sister and then onto Matt's family next week. I think she has the easiest job cos she actively helping. All I can do is turn back to my quilting.

I have finished three quilts in the past weeks and have this next project set out to ponder. I issued a 'paint chart' challenge to club members and as you can see my chart is lime green and I have all the makings but not much inspiration yet. 'Something small' I told everyone so something small it shall be - will show it off next month and yes you may well ask, what I am going to do with the feathers. 

Pumpkin Patch

PersimmonsThe Pumpkin Patch is shrugging on its autumn glory though I think the ripening oranges and lemons will add more colour than the leaves. The slow start of winter is confuddling all the plants with new growth and rose buds in abundance.
This morning I made a large batch of muesli using produce from last year's autumn garden - dried figs, feijoas and persimmons. How gratifying is that? Except now I have to pick those same crops and dehydrate them all over again. That's what gardening is all about. 

Chopping Block

The Chopping Block is just hankering after ripe persimmons (and they are only days away) so I can make my favourite ice cream - persimmon and passionfruit.
According to Gillian Painter's Home Orchard Cookery book you need two cups of persimmon pulp and blend in one cup sugar and juice of quarter lemon or grapefruit (here's where I go off and add the pulp from 2 or 3 passionfruit instead).
Stir this through a cup of whipped cream and freeze 2-3 hours.

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Thursday, May 08, 2014

Feijoa Time

Today was to be a concerted effort to get some of the feijoas off my bench. I had a Monday bucket (not quite full) and a Tuesday bucket (overflowing) so I set to work
I made Feijoa and Apricot jam; I made Feijoas and Prune Indian relish; I made Feijoa and Raspberry scones and finally I made a Feijoa and Walnut cake. Now I only have to work out what to do with the remaining half a Monday bucket. Jared has already put his dibs on the Tuesday bucket.
See TVNZ for some of the recipes!