Giveaway Day

I thought it would be fun to take part in the Giveaway Day being organised on Sewmamasew, so first of all I'd like to say 'Hello' if you're visiting here for the first time because of that. What with Christmas looming and trying to make some presents I knew I wouldn't have time to make anything to giveaway (I'll leave that for an occasion like my 100th post or anniversary) so I looked through my stash and picked out these lovely, co-ordinating, jewel-coloured pieces of fabric. The colours are actually much more vibrant in 'real life', I'm afraid it hasn't been good weather for photo taking lately! In fact, it's been thoroughly diabolical. The daylight, yesterday, hardly rose above a grey gloom for the whole day.

This little pile didn't seem much to offer so I went on another rummage and came up with a few more bits and pieces to add. There are buttons, binding, ribbon and a little frame; some of which match the fabric.

I didn't even know I had these little white rose buttons! They are lovely and quite dainty.

Now for some details as per Sewmamasew:

-

Anyone who makes a comment on this post will be entered into the draw.

Closing time for entries is 6th December.

I will pick a winner at random on Monday 7th December.

The package will be posted by 12 December.

I'm sorry but I'm afraid this draw is only open to UK based entrants.

-

I hope this little selection will be useful to someone and am looking forward to making a little connection with someone else who has a passion for stitching.
-

Bye for now

Teresa x

Yippeeeeee.....We Can Now Recycle Plastic

(Photo of a moody sky taken from my office window. Surprisingly it didn't come to rain from this cloud! I thought the 3 different trees made a great contrast.)

I am so pleased because our council is starting a new recycling scheme next week, which means we can now recycle plastic along with all the other things we collect. I used to take plastic milk cartons and bottles to the recycling centre but other plastic like yogurt/margarine containers etc went in the general rubbish for landfill. I collected a couple of bags full in the hope that I could find somewhere that would recycle it and I got to hate putting anything plastic in the bin, so I'm really excited about this. There was some local opposition to the scheme because it means putting things like tins, plastic and glass altogether in a purple bag and some people think it won't be sorted and recycled properly. I hope this isn't the case!! All paper, thin card, junk mail etc goes into the red bag. Another advantage will be that I won't have piles and collections of different items all over the kitchen and back yard. Just 3 bins - one for the red bag, one for the purple and a green kitchen waste bin. I'm looking forward to getting it sorted out and having a more streamlined system.

I thought, in the absence of any stitching progress around here, I'd show my first solo patchwork/applique project. It's a Christmas placemat, coaster and napkin set that I made for a Christmas Challenge at my montly quilting group last year. I didn't win the challenge (obviously!) but I was quite pleased with the outcome. We were given a small piece of fabric to incorporate into the project and I think mine was the red with snowflakes on.

This tea cosy was made just before the table set as my first practice piece. It's foundation pieced by machine and the fabrics all came from the tutor's scrap bag. Only problem is, it's too small for any of my tea pots :-( so it's never been used!

-

Bye for now

Teresa x

A little progress is being made

My not-so-busy weekend started badly, with a 2 and a half hour journey home from work. Most of it spent in a 10 mile jam caused by a collapsed drain, which more than deflated my mood despite just filling up my car with fuel for free because the 'system went down' on the pump half way through my transaction (I waited in the shop for 15 minutes for them to try and sort it out). Therefore, including getting my shopping, filling the car and the traffic jam it took 3 and a quarter hours to get home!!!
-

Saturday drop scones with sultanas half cooked on the bakestone. Batter in the bowl.

Below is the result of what's in the skillet on the right of the first photo. Runner bean chutney from a recipe I've been meaning to try for a while from Shoestring Alley. I used up runner beans from the freezer and made 6 jars full altogether. Although it won't be ready to eat for a couple of months I had a sneaky taste and it was good. I was a bit worried that it wasn't thick enough but decided to trust the recipe as I've fallen into the trap before of over cooking and ended up with rubber. After a few hours it seemed to be setting nicely.

What! - how did that get in here again! Oh, well..........

Half of the jars of chutney will go towards Christmas presents so progress is being made on that front at last. Also managed to finish one pair of mitts (well almost, very nearly finished, I lied, but it felt good to say it :-) Just got to darn in ends and pick up a dropped stitch..........whoops.)
-
No stitching, baking, cooking or work of any kind whatsoever is going to be done tonight. I am going out for a meal with my OH, DS, DD and her partner, just because. Time passes so quickly and we don't get together often enough so I arranged this last week and am really looking forward to it. 

-
Bye for now

Teresa x

Nothing Nasty on a Thursday Evening

This is what we had for dinner last night. Chicken/quorn curry. As I'm a veggie and the rest of the family are not, this is my usual system for preparing this sort of meal. Exactly the same ingredients in each pan, with chicken in the larger one and quorn pieces in the other. This picture shows the last of the ingredients just before stirring in. I had plenty of time to make this from scratch by my usual method of throwing in anything I can find lying around. In this case, onions, chicken/quorn, left-over tinned tomatoes, cumin, garam masala, carrots, frozen peas and spinach, sultanas and a chopped apple.

Later on it was off to my monthly Ladies Group meeting where, during my pre-ramble I informed them I'd be standing down from leading the group. This will free up a small amount of time but the main benefit will be one less thing to think about or plan for.

-

Our speaker for the evening was the lovely Elin from Nothing Nasty who makes 100% pure 'natural aromatherapy beauty and skincare products'. The products are sold in glass bottles which can be returned for refill at a 20% discount. This particularly interested me because even many organic and natural products come in plastic tubes which cannot be recycled easily if at all. Elin didn't promote her products as much as inform us about looking after our skin in general and the effects of a healthy, more natural lifestyle on the condiditon of our skin. The evening went well and we had a good turnout of members despite the wild and wet weather putting on its own performance outside.

-

At the end of the evening Elin asked for volunteers to test a new product (a night moisturiser) she was developing (see above). Those who agreed gave their details and will be contacted for feedback in a while. I also ordered some Organic Rosemary Castile Soap to try on my hair as shampoo is the product I've had the most trouble finding a natural form of that isn't an exhorbitant price and packed in plastic.

Talking of natural products packed in plastic, here's a hand and body lotion I received in the post the other day. It was offered free in a magazine when sending back a coupon and is apparently worth £8.00.
-

I'm looking forward to a not-so-busy time this weekend so hopefully some stitching progress of some sort to show soon.

-

Bye for now

Teresa x

You Will Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Weekends

Once a month a Whist Drive, organised by the Church, is held in our village hall. Now, I have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with it except that my name is on a rota to make a loaf of sandwiches for the refreshments twice a year. It happens to be that time of the year. But........... I am also on another rota, as a member of Ladies Group, to clean the church, also twice a year. Do they get together to co-ordinate the rotas or is it just a coincidence that my turns comes up on each rota on the same weekends? Hence the sandwiches above, which are egg mayonnaise and cress - and the church cleaning that took place Saturday morning!

The rest of the day was spent in the kitchen (apart from an hour rehearsing for Sing Hallelujah and an evening at a Children in Need charity Stars in Their Eyes competition). Cake was required, and I was going to make scones but didn't have enough eggs left! I wonder why (see above and below). So I made rock cakes instead subsituting white flour and sugar with brown because that's all I had. They're going down well so far though so most of them were thrown in the freezer before they disappeared too quickly.

I made this cake for my BIL's birthday.

And this is the best loaf of bread so far, but now I'll stop showing photos of my bread because I'm even beginning to bore myself (although I may show some if I make something different).

-

Bye for now

Teresa x

Slow But Sure / Kiddies Cross Stitch

Progress is slow around here but at least some is being made. One fingerless glove is complete, apart from darning in ends, and another is on the needles. Apparently, having the right side of the knitting on the inside is not the correct method as I found out after consultation with an experienced knitter! I tried doing the thumb the 'correct' way and got in such a tangle with the needles, so I think I'll stick to my left-handed, 'wrong' way.

I came across these little (about 2" across) cross-stitch motifs in my son's bedroom the other day. He and my DD were into cross-stitch for a little while when they were younger (pre-teen I think), especially my DS, but from the look of these the interest wore off quite suddenly. The letter N and the dog's face look finished but the bottom one, which is I think a turtle on a rock in a pool with a lily pad, is unfinished.

These 2 little framed cross-stitcheries were the first ones they did. The flower by my DD and the K by my DS (the K being his name initial, don't know what the N is for above though).

This is the progress of the table runner (I didn't tell you it was a table runner before did I?). The squares have been turned into triangles but they are still spread over the kitchen table. I would hope to get them together in one piece this weekend although (as usual) it's a very busy weekend which involves, amongst other things, a Sing Hallelujah practice and a Witness performance.
-

Bye for now

-

Teresa x

Quilt Raffle and Lovely Cadw Jewellery

Jess, the daughter of Welsh Quilter, aka Elizabeth, is going on a trip to Africa through her college and one of the rules states she has to raise the money herself. She cleverly came up with the idea (amongst others) of raffling one of Elizabeth's quilts. It's a gorgeous quilt, which I hope I win, so pop over and have a look because it could be you. The trip to Africa is partly to help out in deprived areas so you would be supporting that as well as getting a chance to win a beautiful handmade quilt.
The main subject of this months quilting day on Saturday was to make a hanging of a Christmas/winter scene. Whilst I was interested in it I don't really have the time to take on something like that at the moment so I took notes instead (in case I decide to make one at a later date) while finishing sewing the lining into my crocheted bag. The only problem is, I don't know what to do with it now. I don't need another bag myself and can't think of anyone to give it to. Why, then, you may ask did you make it. Well, I liked the pattern and wanted to see how it turned out. I was also itching to make something with yarn and found a pattern to use up some I already had.

I also had time to cut out a pile of squares (above) which are going to be turned into a Christmas present, when I've decided how to arrange them. They are sewn and pressed and scattered all over the kitchen table as I type.
-
The jewellery set and pen are from the Cadw shop at the local castle. My mother and father had some Cadw vouchers and very generously decided to take my sisters and I to the shop to spend them between us. I chose the earring/necklace matching set and pen (above), we also chose something for our brother (who lives in Belgium) and mother was able to get a necklace for herself.
-
Our brother and his family are hoping to visit us over Christmas and the New Year so we are all looking forward to that, especially as it's been 11 years since we last saw them!

More progress on the Christmas present WIPs to come soon I hope. I'm going to try and make as many as I can this year, including some munchy treats nearer the day. None of the prospective recipients read this blog as yet so it's safe to show them as I go, which is good because there would be nothing else to show here otherwise :-)

-

Bye for now

Teresa x

Giveaway (not mine), K-I-T-R & Custard Slice

There's a great giveaway going on at Block Party this week. On offer to those who blog, Twitter, Facebook etc and then leave a comment, is one of these fabulous piles of fabric. Getting people to spread the news like this is a great idea but, although I'm having a go, I hope I'm not disqualified for not having enough of an audience on this little blog.
-
These are the 2 piles on offer if you win.

I think I got the hang of this knitting-in-the-round business. I completed quite a bit more than this yesterday but I'm going to have to start again because it's too big. That's what comes of using British materials with an American pattern. However, I'm more confident about the actual method now and look forward to finishing at least one pair of these fingerless mitts by Christmas.
-

My auntie does wonderful baking and quite often leaves some custard slice or warm pie for us by our front door. I decided to show her latest offering on one of a pair of plates that I bought at a charity shop on the weekend for £1.

-

I'm off now to leave a comment on the Block Party Giveaway (which closes on 9 Nov).

-

Bye for now

Teresa x

How Can Two Days be So Different

(The berries on our Holly Tree)

(A flower in the warm morning sunshine covered in the night's rain)

(A Grasshopper that jumped off my washing as I gathered it in )

(The top of my auntie's Holly Tree with all it's red berries)

-

My goodness!..........There couldn't have been more of a difference between 2 consecutive days than there was on the weekend. Saturday was warm and sunny right from the start with no hint of autumn apart from the colours of the trees. I had a lovely day out shopping and lunching with a friend and spent most of it in a t-shirt. We also popped into a new cafe in town mid-afternoon for hot chocolate and.....ahem, cakes. I don't normally have hot chocolate (or cake) but it sounded like such a treat I thought I'd indulge, but it was much too sweet when drunk with a big, choc and nut filled pastry. I really should have declined the cake altogether seeing as I had a Ball to go to that evening with a four course dinner!! It was just unfortunate they had both fallen on the same day. I coped manfully with the dinner in the evening but had to pass on the cheese and biscuits and couldn't face the after-dinner mints at all. Then to cap it all, I couldn't even burn the calories off as the music wasn't suitable for dancing.

-
Sunday was (as they say in the merry old land of Oz) a horse of a different colour. The wind was as strong as I've seen it in a long time and made all the more dramatic by the leaves being blown horizontally past the windows. Combined with the rain it was very much staying-in-weather. I first noticed it before I got up, by a strange noise that I can only describe as.........ANNOYING!! I thought my OH was thumping away at some DIY project but, on getting up ready to 'have words', discovered it was the cowl on the chimney being spun round at such a speed we thought it was going to take off.
-

I took advantage of the sun to take a few photos on Saturday (see top). If you click on them they should enlarge and they look quite nice, if I do say so myself. On Sunday I didn't bother getting the camera out!!

-

Bye for now

Teresa x