The piles of paired charms has reached epic proportions and I now have 382 pairs and a good pile of singles. This will enable me to be as happy with the distribution in the last block as the first.
My next step is to press these open and then pair them up and sew 4 patch blocks.
I am going to decide on backing and binding once I have made the 4 patches into 16 patch blocks, I may use the quilt as you go method of joining these.On the crochet front I have finished the Lipstick red squares and started on Aster blue.
I had a little trip out yesterday afternoon, Maggie rang to see if I could take her out to look at a bungalow, just the other side of Ammanford. So off we went to meet the owner and have a good nosey round. It is just about perfect for Maggie, there are a few easily resolved issues with steps in the garden. Nothing that a few sessions removing moss and scrubbing algae will not resolve, and 2 that need repairing or replacing. The owner will be letting her know as soon as he decides which of the prospective tenants he chooses.
I will be embarking on a Bamboo cane cutting session before she moves, part of her present garden is a veritable forest of the stuff.
If she does get this place I am going to buy her a couple of fruit trees as a house warming gift.
We have our normal shopping trip today, I only need to buy a chicken, butter, milk and bread flour. I did a top up fruit and veg shop on Tuesday.
My meal plan was completely changed round this week, my fault entirely, I had a fancy for coleslaw. Possibly fuelled by spotting small red and white cabbages in Lidl. I prepped all the veg and put into zip lock bags and just dressed what I wanted each day, I have had it with jacket potato and cold ham, smashed roasties and smoked sausage and with impossible quiche. Tonight I will have a beef casserole from the freezer in a Yorkshire pudding with some Cavalo Nero from the garden.
This is next weeks plan,
Sunday, Roast Chicken
Monday, Spicy Vegetable Pasta Bake.
Tuesday, Chicken and vegetable pie.
Wednesday, Sausage and Bean Hot Pot.
Thursday, Pumpkin and Chickpea Curry and rice
Friday, Fish Pie with carrots and Kale.
Saturday, Pulled Beef, warm rolls and coleslaw.
I have a Bloggers get together on the horizon, in Newcastle Emlyn, 4 of us plan to meet up. I must not look at fabric, I want to find a cross stitch project that I can enjoy.
On the subject of fabric, as I have been cutting my charm squares I have generated an alarming amount of strips and rectangles of fabric. Even though I have made several scrappy projects this year, including 3 quilts, they are beginning to take over.
If anyone out there would like to try a scrappy sewing project I will happily send off enough scraps to make a baby quilt or a pair of cushion covers. If this will be your first bit of patchwork I could include wadding, lining and backing fabric as well. Just drop a comment in and tell me what you would like to make, and if there is a colour group preference. Or even a colour phobia.
All my followers are welcome to this give away, I may even manage to find a book to add to the fun.
Now it is time for tea, the rain is spattering gently against the windows so I will be dashing away with the smoothing iron shortly. Once Ben has been out for a paddle of course.
TTFN Pam
PS. Do not forget about the RAK for the new year, all you need to enter is to be a follower and have a blog to enable you to carry it forward. If enough peeps try for this I may make 2 up.
Love your menu plan. I must start doing this. Enjoy your day out, I bet you come back with fabric.
ReplyDeletePS I'll email you the cake recipe later today xxx
I am quietly confident that you will win your bet. I look forward to the recipe.
DeleteI would love to know more about your fish pie recipe. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm following your blog via my feed reader, FYI. :)
My fish pie varies each time I make it. There will always be at least 3 species of fish and one will be smoked. Said fish is poached in milk and the liquor is strained and used to make a white sauce. Mushrooms may well feature, parsley or dill will be in it. The filling will either be under a layer of buttery mashed potato, sometimes sweet potato. At other times it will be under a dome of crisp buttery puff pastry. It all depends on what I have and what I fancy, I have even wrapped little scoops of filling in squares of filo pastry and gathered the corners up to make little "purses".
DeleteJust to say, it's very nice of you to do a giveaway. Please don't include me, I have enough. Good luck to everyone who enters.
ReplyDeleteI like to spread the joy when I can. I started patchwork after being given a boxful of scrap cotton by the village dressmaker.
DeleteOoo Pam you are like the quilting guru!! I'm also super jealous of your cavelo Nero, you saw what happened to mine!! It's raining here, so I am knitting! If I do go in your giveaway, my next door neighbour's are expecting a baby boy in January...so maybe I could be persuaded to enter and then make them a baby quilt!
ReplyDeleteConsider yourself persuaded.
DeleteYour meal plan sounds excellent. I especially like the sound of the pulled beef in rolls with coleslaw, although I shouldn't eat the latter as it's one of those things that sets me off asthma-wise.
ReplyDeleteI hope your friend Maggie gets chosen as the new tenant for that bungalow. Fingers crossed.
Looking forward to our meet up. NE is a lovely little town.
Your charm quilt piles are amazing. I take my hat off to you!
Meanwhile I am struggling with those dratted crochet socks and know they won't fit Zane, but I want to do one so I can make them again for someone else and then I will unpick and knit him a pair.
I have not touched my sewing today, shopping this morning and my cooker hood is having a service and deep clean this afternoon. Ben and I are chilling out on the sofa, he is snoring and I am surfing.
DeleteCould I please enter the give away. I would like to make a baby quilt with a new baby in our family due next March. Colour preferences would be pinks, blues , purples. Thank you for this lovely opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI will add you in, do you know the sex yet?
DeleteJust found out it's a little boy. I have 2 nieces and last night my eldest niece had her son. He is divine. My youngest niece is due in March and we have just been told it's a boy too. Very thrilling x
DeleteNot sure where my last comment went Pam so if it gets duplicated feel free to delete.
ReplyDeleteYour meal plan is very good, I love the way there are so many different veg, I must do a plan today.
I got rid of the few scraps of material I had when we moved, so have to start again, I have just bought some Dr Who Fabric to make a cushion and maybe a mini quilt/topper for out sons bed at uni, this will be a few stocking fillers for him, also I am making a mini quilt for the evenings, I would love to be entered into your draw, many thanks.
You are in, I think that this year will stay in my mind as, The Year of The Quilts, I seem to have made loads and still have several on the go.
DeleteCan't wait to see you cross stitching, if you get a block, I have loads of designs here.
ReplyDeleteI have tried a few times but with those ready printed Aida sheets and the edges are so blurred. I will be looking for a simple counted pattern, I have a few hoops of varying sizes but will be buying thread and needles.
DeleteEnjoy your sewing! Don't enter me though, I have far to many WIP's already to add another one! Very kind of you though! xx
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat, I have a huge quilt, layered and basted, another smaller ready to baste, 1 that just needs a few blocks attaching and 2 in blocks. Then there is the crochet.....
DeletePam you are so kind and a good friend to Maggie. You will miss having her so close when she moves. You are so generous with another giveaway. Don't put my name in as I won your last one so it is someone elses turn. Your meal plan sounds delicious. I had to google Cavalo Nero to find that it is black kale. Don't think LH will eat that as he doesn't like the regular kale.
ReplyDeleteIt is completely different to regular curly Kale, much closer to spring greens in texture and taste. It will n ot be too bad if Maggie gets the bungalow, she will only be 15 minutes away, if that.
DeleteThe developing patchwork looks interesting, I look forward to seeing the end result. Have a lovely day in Newcstle Emlyn, since I moved in January NCE is now my nearest small town! Prior to that I lived in cardigan so maybe we have pushed trolley past each other in Mr A's shop?!
ReplyDelete