Sewing, cooking and gardening

 I have had a lovely long weekend, I got lots of sewing done. I finished my hexagon quilt by Thimbleblossoms, now it just needs to be quilted. I even got the backing joined so its ready to go as soon as I have some spare time.

 I used all my fig tree scraps for this quilt and it has turned out so pretty.

 My on line stitching group is making little sewing kits to send to the bush fire victims. Here  are my goodies. A sewing bag, thread basket and a pin cushion, we are also putting other goodies inside the bag.

 Some secret sewing I started yesterday.

 As you can see we can grow very big zucchinis, well I had too many so I blanched some and put them it the freezer to use later on.

 I haven't done this before so if it works I will be very happy with all my efforts. Blanching them stops them being soggy  and mushy when they thaw out. Thats the plan anyway.

 Playing with my camera again in the garden, bumble bees everywhere yesterday.

My sun flowers are just delightful.

So thats my weekend, today I plan to sew a bit more and catch up on some washing. Hope you have a great day.

Friday night sewing

 I had a great sewing night last night  for my first Friday Night sew in, I got all my blocks for my scrappy trip around the world together and I'm thrilled to say the least. This quilt is full of  my favourite colours and fabrics and I can see it easily becoming well used this winter.

 This quilt took me 11 days to make, I was pretty happy with that. it was one of those projects  you just can't stop working on and the blocks were so much fun. I love it.

 This cute zinnia was in my garden yesterday when I was bringing in the washing, it looked so pretty against all the greenery so I just had to take a photo.

Here they are all in a row, these are my favourite flower and I plant them every summer.







After I finished putting my blocks together it was still early so I sat down with my new Anni Downs stitchery and got all the words finished.

I was so pleased with my efforts for the evening, lets see what I can achieve in my sewing room today.

Happy Australia Day to all my Aussie friends.

First Friday night sew in

Tonight I'm joining in my first Friday night sew in, hosted by Heidi. I plan to get my scrappy trip around the world together.
Have a great day.

36 blocks

 I have finished all 36 blocks for my scrappy trip around the world quilt, it looks so good all layed out on my sewing room floor.

 Now I need to sew them altogether.  I can't wait to get it all finished. Its so pretty and fresh. I'm not having a border as I don't think it really needs one. Would you put a border on this quilt?

 Some floral inspiration from my garden taken with my new camera. I'm having lots of fun with it. Not too many photos of my boys though as they run away when they see  me with the camera.  I think they are sick of my taking their photos. I'll just have to catch them when they're not looking.

Have a great day. xx

Cooking and sewing like crazy

 Yesterday my husband came inside with a bucket full of plums from our tree, I looked at them and thought what on earth am I going to do with all those. This morning I googled plum recipes and wow, there are so many things you can make. First off was 2 plum cakes, this recipe is an old German one and it was easy to make. It tastes delightful, the plums are a little bit tart combined with the sweetness of the cake. Yummo.

 Then  I made plum crumble, the boys have said it tastes good, it probably won't  last long. Which is a good thing I guess. At least they like what I cook.

 I then discovered on line that you can actually freeze plums so I cut them up in pieces and stored them in a container in the freezer, this is so good, now I'll have them whenever I  need and they will last for up to 6 months.

 I also did lots of sewing today, no wonder I feel a bit tired now. I'm almost there with my scrappy trip around the world, only 5 blocks to go. I reckon I'll get them done this week.

Tonight I'm going to sit in front of the tele with some easy stitching and a nice cup of tea, I think I deserve it, don't you.

Halfway

 Last Tuesday afternoon  I decided I wanted join in on the scrappy trip around the world   so I went through my cupboard to choose fabrics and as I don't have that many scraps I opened 3 jelly rolls that have been in the cupboard for ages, this saved alot of cutting to. I'm so pleased with how its looking so far, the blocks were tricky to start with but once I did 2 I got the hang of it.

 I think I'll make 36 blocks in total, that  means I'm halfway already and its only Saturday. I have made 18 blocks this week and if I work really hard I hope to get a few more done today.

 I  like how its looking so far.  Colour placement is the key to a good block.

I also finished the middle row for Sweetheart houses quilt for work, I'm on block 7 now and its looking good.

Ok back to my sewing, have a great day and I hope you find some sewing time today to.

I made Jam

 We have a big plum tree in our back garden just bursting with fruit so I thought I would have a go at making my first lot of Jam. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

 I sterilized all the jars and made fancy covers for the lids while dinner was cooking.

I found some free printable labels on line . Tied some ribbon on them and there you have it, the perfect gift from my kitchen. All the boys had a taste and gave me their seal of approval. I was thrilled to bits with all that hard work.
I thought I would share the recipe with you...

2kg of plums
1.5 kg of caster sugar
2 tbs lemon juice.
1 cup water

Cut all plums in half and remove the seed. Put all the plums in a big saucepan and cover with water. When fruit is soft, gradually add sugar and stir until dissolved. Turn up heat and boil for at least 45 minutes until the fruit is thick. Test jam on a chilled plate by placing a teaspoon of jam on the plate and tip it, if the jam is runny boil mixture a bit longer.

Pour into prepared jars and seal lids. It will keep in the cupboard for up to 1 year.

I was going to sew tonight but I'm too pooped so I think I'll just sit and stitch in front of the tele.

I hope you enjoy your evening.

Sewing day at the Cherry Shed

 I had a lovely day yesterday  at the Cherry Shed with a bunch of wonderful friends. Lots of sewing , laughter and good company.

 Here is Christine with all the beautiful gifts she got for christmas from  our on line stitching group.

 Here is lovely Jo and her mum Lundy. They were eating yummy scones with jam and cream when I snapped this pic.

 Beautiful food.

 Beautiful quilts to look at, these were our online quilts from a couple of years ago.

 We did a little journal cover swap I got this beautiful one made by Sarah.

 This is the one I made and Sarah got that.

Did I actually do any sewing I hear you ask, well yes, I sewed and sewed until I had all the binding and the hanging sleeve done on this quilt, now its hanging in my sewing room.

Back to work tomorrow, I have had a lovely break.  I hope you have a lovely day and you find some sewing time. I reckon I can squeeze some in.

Tilda Journal

 When I'm not quilting or sewing which actually isn't very often according  to my husband, I like to dabble in a bit of scrap booking. During the week I made a Tilda journal. it was so much fun cutting papers and adding embellishments. I thought I would include photos of Tilda projects I make.  Above is the 1st page,

 I was lucky enough to get some Tilda stickers and cut outs from a very special friend. So I have included those as well,

 I even cut out little pictures from magazines, like the garden party emblem above.

 I made this scrappy basket with tilda fabrics.

 This is the front cover, it took the longest to decorate as I sewed buttons and  lace and had to have it just perfect.

 Here is another page of my spring tilda doll. I think she could be my favourite.

 Just a few random pics of my summer flowers I took with my new camera. I'm having so much fun with it. Can you tell.

Tomorrow I'm going to a sewing day with a few of my closest friends to the Cherry Shed, I can't wait. This will be our 3rd get together there. I'll be sure to take my camera and share the day with you.
Take care.