Stacks of sewing and some savvy shopping.

Another gloriously sunny day here in Wales, I managed to get some more HST,s sewn, cut and pressed. I think that I have enough now I am only making a small quilt.

All the squares are in sets of 4 and ready for me to lay out and start chain piecing. It takes an age to get them pressed and paired but it makes the next stage go so fast that it is worth it.

I had to do a shop today so I slipped off to Ponty and went to Lidl and Home Bargains.

From Lidl £7.96p comes from the food budget.

From Home Bargains £3.36p, giving me a spend of £11.32p, I still have milk to buy which will be another £1. Those Egg Noodles are bought for the store cupboard, 59p a pack, they are over £1.60 in Tesco and almost £2 in the village shop. I have some from a previous shop otherwise i would have bought 4 packs. The cheesy biscuits were also a bargain and have also gone into the stores. 

The greenhouse is almost there, I am waiting for 2 bits to be delivered, hopefully today, then it is an hours work at most.

The polystyrene box has young beetroot plants in it, that I hope will give me some late roots.

There is just some filling in to be done on the right side of my slate steps and I can plant up on the left. I have some ground cover plants, some cyclamen and primroses along with a load of bulbs to put there. We have rain forecast for overnight, if that happens I will get planting tomorrow.

The area behind the greenhouse will be cleared and I hope to have some first early potatoes in there next year, followed by brassicas of some kind.

 I am falling far behind in my self imposed challenge to make 100 items by the end of September, it will not happen. My aim is to use as much fabric from stash as possible and by making the Building Block quilt I will be clearing quite a lot, once that is done I have 3 tops to layer and quilt. This will also use a deal of fabric, I will be starting on Seasonal stuff in October, I do have quite  a bit of That Sort of fabric as well, some of which has been mentally earmarked for some padded trees. I also have the blocks ready made for Fran's Quilt.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  A real gentleman stepped up to the mark in Ponty and stopped a bully from browbeating the checkout girl.

2.  The sun is shining gloriously.

3.  I have had lots of no spend days and today was a Low spend.

4.  My new sourdough starter is so vigorous that I will have to split it again today, I will make a sponge tonight and bread tomorrow.

5.  The smell in my kitchen is earthy, rich and sweet with just a hint of yeast.

I am really full of anticipation about this sourdough, It is only the third starter that I have made and is, so far, the most promising. I will feed it tonight with some organic rye flour which I hope will make it richer and deeper still.

It does take almost 2 days to make a good loaf but it also keeps well so there should be no problem.

I am off now to potter in the garden, more sewing later and a quick flick through my library books, Wednesday is library day, to decide what order I will read them in.

       TTFN                                                            Pam

Just call me clumsy or butterfingers

I am nursing a raw, sore and very scratchy throat, when I speak it sounds like a cross between Marlene Dietrich and Marlon Brando. I am slurping on strepsils, guzzling ice cold water and dreaming of eating my way out of a container lorry of Ben and Jerry's best.

I have had a lazy day, I have sewn some of the blocks together, some of the seam joints are rather thick, I had to put a thicker needle in the machine. All in all I think that I like it.

I had to feed my new batch of sourdough so rather than throw half away I made some rolls. They do not have the flavour yet but are pretty good none the less.

I made a big batch of base tomato sauce this afternoon, some of it had meatballs added and was poured into a dish of pasta, the rest I cooled down in a sink of iced water while I ate dinner.

I went back into the kitchen and took the pan out of the sink, turned to put it on the side ready to decant into freezer containers and dropped it straight onto the floor.
It was like a volcano, the sauce erupted into the air and splattered over half the kitchen, and me.

luckily I was wearing an apron so my clothes were mostly ok, I do have to wash it out of my hair though. I cleaned the floor first, so that I did not walk back and forth through it, the cooker front and hob, the work tops, my trolley, the fridge freezer, you get the picture. I did leave one little bit to share with you.

The absolute worst part is that I had put a stack of clean tea towels and hand towels in earlier and yes they were covered as well. They have been rinsed, soaked in Home Bargains finest oxy clean stuff and are now in the washing machine.

On the bright side my kitchen has had another blitz and is squeaky clean. Plus there was a large pot full of sauce left in the pan, so not all is lost.

The greenhouse is completed all but some glazing as some bits were missing, they have been ordered and will come via courier.

While digging out the ground in and around the base Michael unearthed several Bricks marked Cwmgors, they will all be incorporated somewhere.  I had been told that there used to be a brickworks here and it is nice to have these.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  A sparkling clean kitchen.

2.  Some more goodies in the freezer.

3.  My sewing is looking very effective, it will be a gift.

4.  The sun has shone all day again.

5.  I have been given a load of young plants and cuttings for my garden.

I am so lucky with the people who live around me, they are kindness itself. If I am not careful I will have more plants than Kew Gardens.

Ben is sleepy tonight, our last walk was quite long and he was in a hurry to get back, I was nearly trotting on the way home. he will be going out again soon though otherwise he will be waking me up at goodness knows what time in the night.

Now I think there is time for a quick cuppa before that last walk  then it will be bed and a book.

     TTFN                                                                   Pam

Plants and Triangles

I have been busy for the past 2 days, I blitzed the house and did 3 loads of washing on Monday and today the ironing has been done and lots of cutting, stitching and pressing has happened.
 In amongst this Ben and I have had some long walks, as my hip ache less I have been slowly increasing distance and pace and it seems to be working. 
 I have found a source of free range eggs at the very top of the village, and have been told about a Farmers Market in Llandeilo.

Any way, on to plants. I picked these up at Lidl,

Ground cover to go on the left hand side of the steps up to my greenhouse.

These pretties came from Aldi and will go in with the others.

They were all on the dry side so I gave them a good drink.

I cooked a roast on Sunday and while the oven was hot cooked a few sausage rolls and a small batch of plain scones. I cut the scones with a knife instead of cutters as I hate to reroll and will not waste any. They taste just as good no matter what shape they are.

I skinned 3 sausages and rolled out the meat to fit the amount of pastry that I had made.

Back to the title. triangles of the half square variety, well not quite. i made these by sewing 2 charm squares together round the edges and cutting corner to corner across both diagonals, this gave me 4 HST.

A mixed selection pressed and ready to sew.

Some trimmed and laid out, I quite like this mix if light and dark, the solid squares are 2 charm packs of Kona Snow that I won a couple of years ago.

This was going to be  a Chevron block but I placed some facing the wrong way and now it will be building blocks.

Happy, happy, happy.

I have to scoot off and take Ben out now, I am getting The Look.

          TTFN                                                              Pam

The Beast is Tamed

The Beast is of course the lap top, my photos are now loaded and I can share them with you. Be aware this is the stuff of which dreams are formed.

I am going to have this framed, there is a little shop in Ammanford that do framing, and hang it on the wall in front of my sewing station where it will inspire me.

I have taken a couple of close ups.

How beautiful is that, one day, maybe, I will be sharing my work with you.

In my present were lots of other goodies to help me get started.

Pretty thread in glorious colours, I am going to have so much fun with these.

Some beads, charms, fabric ( I see a very special book mark for me in that) and 2 needles in a holder. Everything that I need in fact to make a start.

With a very happy card inside to encourage me on.

It felt like having an extra birthday, I am so pleased for this and will be sure to "pay it forward" at the first opportunity.

I have found, in the short time that I have been blogging, that Random Acts of Kindness happen frequently in blogland. The American blogs, that I started off reading before writing my own, would often mention RAK's. I took them with a pinch of salt but have come to understand that this is worldwide. I have had parcels from the States, Australia, Germany and Singapore alongside some from the UK. I have also sent some out myself, as my Granny said, "What goes round comes round." and I read The Water Babies and Mrs Do as you would be done by was a favourite character.

Digressing to the world of blogs, I recently stumbled across Frugally Challenged and would like to follow but there is no way that I can see to do so. I do follow her other blog, Trundling Through Life so will have to remember to click over to check regularly.

I went into Ammanford this morning, silicone stuff was needed for the glazing bit of the greenhouse. I popped into Lidl to get another bag of bread flour and some lard, £1.07 to add to my total. I did pick up 4 ground cover plants for the side of the greenhouse for £5,00 but that comes from the garden budget. That also applies to the roll of green covered wire netting that I picked up for £3, that will form a tunnel to protect my garlic from marauding cats and playful birds. There will be loads left for other projects and as the cheapest ready made tunnel cloche that I have seen was £3.99 and too small makes it a Bargain.

I can see myself turning into a Garden Bore, I will try to restrain my self and not publish photos of every new leaf that unfurls.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  My lovely gift, I will use every last thread.

2.  My new found friends who have welcomed me to the village.

3.  The sun that continues to shine on us.

4.  My poor neglected roses that have bloomed continuously.

5.  The wonderful Welsh people who are friendly and helpful where ever I go.

I am so glad that I finally plucked up the courage to move across the country, I could not be happier. I know that I go on about the sun a great deal and I know that summer will end and there will be cold winds and rain. I also know that I will enjoy those times as much as I can, my days will not be spent moaning about the weather but rejoicing in my crafting. being thankful for cooler evenings with my crochet spread over my legs without melting from the heat of it. 

The smell of luscious casserole meals wafting from the slow cooker and the scent of freshly baked bread or herby dumplings perfuming the air.  There will be fruity jams and jellies to spread on thick slices of toast, oozing with salted welsh butter, from a local farm. Jars of spicy relishes to add a bit of oomph to savoury foods and steamed puddings swimming with the afore mentioned jam.

The of course as soon as Spring arrives I will have to garden and walk like a mad thing to get the weight off.

That is not quite a mere jest.

I have a small piece of RTC welsh beef to roast for dinner and as I have a fancy for sausage rolls will be sliding a tray of them into the oven while it is hot.

I have also started a new batch of Sourdough, I will have to divide it tomorrow so will let you know how it turns out. I do not waste the bit that I take out, I make something if only pancakes or flatbreads.

I am off outside now, I need to tidy round a bit and put my new plants into a water bath, they all need a good drink. 

    TTFN                                                  Pam

A very very sweary hour

Just call me Bridget for I am teetering on the edge of reason.
 This morning I had a gloriously fat parcel squidged through the letter box. It came from Marlene Jones and is full of all things stitchy. I took some lovely photos and the *%$>@# lap top will not load them. I have tried until my toes curled and have thrown in the towel for now.
 But....I will be back to try again. This happened a couple of days ago and after leaving it for a while it worked without a hitch. 

It does not help that I have been to Cardigan and all that sitting in the car makes my hip ache, I will pop a pill as a last resort if I really have to.

I have started the patchwork cat, the body and tail are finished and the ears are folded ready to go inside the head, I have to embroider the face, sew the head together and stuff it, then just sew it all together.
 This one is my usual blend (?) of bright colours and is for me. The next one will be in Autumn colours and will be going to Maggie in Cat's Cottage.

BTW Maggie watched a DVD all about colours and the effects that they have on us, apparently people who eat off red plates consume 20% less than when they eat off any other colour.

She has bought a set of red crockery, I will wait and see.

          TTFN                                                             Pam

The greenhouse has landed.

It arrived mid afternoon and the base in now in situ, the frame pack is opened and (fingers crossed) most of the assembly work will take place tomorrow. 
I am so excited, I already have a list of plants that I will be raising next spring.

I was intending to have a day away from sewing today but fate stepped in with both feet, I keep a pot near the machine with a few things that I use repeatedly,

This afternoon I managed to tip it over and it hit the floor and disintegrated. 

As luck would have it I received a book today and on flicking through it found this.

I instantly wanted one, this will not break no matter how many times I send it flying.

It did not take long, I did cheat a little bit and use strips rather than squares, I could have pressed it better but was in a hurry. Oops , that's how I broke the pot in the first place.

I am glad now that it was not pressed so well as I need to make it a bit taller. This brings my running total of stash makes to 43/100, It seems likely that I will not make the 100 but I have been asked to make 10 bookmarks. Would it be cheating to count them, they are very fast to make, and I want to make some tissue holders for a fund raiser later in the year, I plan on dressing them up with flowers and frills.

I also found these in the book.

The front cover is just too cute, it reminds me of one of my cushions, I see a few of these in the future. They would hold a small toy or a little colouring book and some crayons They would also hold a jar of jam or chutney if I played with the dimensions.

I know several cat lovers and look forward to making some of these. Oh look, embroidery, I better have a good read of Marlene's blog and see what I can glean.

Just look at that, a dog cushion, I much prefer my brightly coloured versions, how bizarre to find that only days after making them from memory. I still want to make it up with bigger squares.

Dinner was a chicken pie, top crust only as I had 3 little potatoes to use, I mashed them. I served it with carrots, cabbage and runner beans gifted to me and a little gravy. That was some of the chicken from Monday, I have put the remainder in the freezer, I want to have a fish meal tomorrow and am in Cardigan on Saturday and do not want it to spoil. That is 4 meals so far, plus a sandwich, and enough for another 4 later. 

Today was a no spend and tomorrow will be as well, I will have to check back and keep a running total, it will keep me focussed.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  Another sunshiny day.

2.  The generosity of my new friends.

3.  My garden is taking shape.

4.  I will see the grands on Saturday. 

5.  Michael is working so hard both in the garden and in his mindset.

The moon has been splendid the past few nights but the sun has outdone itself. I know that moonlight is flattering and beautiful but give me hot sunny days any time, even if I can not have the sun on my head at all, I am happy with the heat and have managed to go quite brown this year.

I am off to make tea, camomile this time, I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

     TTFN                                                                    Pam

A sociable sort of day

I have had a very sociable day today and a productive one. I walked Ben this morning and joined up with another woman walking 2 little dogs, Ben was so happy playing with them. On the way back I met Jill who lives a few houses from me, she invited me back for tea this afternoon and gave me a bag of runner beans. I also picked up a good bag of Hazelnuts, I am going to try roasting and skinning some, then I will grind them and see if I can use them in place of ground almonds.

My frugal dinner was delicious last night and very colourful.

The Bulgar wheat was creamy and the hint of balsamic in the roast veg gave it a taste boost, I did have a little more on my salad, I use balsamic in lots of things. I am told that it is wonderful with strawberries, I may try it one day but I am certain that it will not beat clotted cream.

I did some shopping today, Lidl for all the main things, their bread flour is 75p against 96p in Tesco.

I did go into Tesco as well and added 2 jars of crunchy peanut butter, milk, some RTC cheese (safely grated and frozen), a bag of frozen chips to use in my air fryer and some salad that was cheaper than Lidl. My total spend was £19.92 and I am happy, all I will need at the weekend is more fresh veg and milk.

The 3 bags of sugar are for Rose Hip Jelly and some more fridge jam.

The 6 place mats are done, simple and colourful without being too bold, my old ones were stained here and there with tomato sauce and beetroot, and had been washed till they were thin, so will become cleaning cloths

No garden work today it has been very hot but the greenhouse has been bought and should be delivered tomorrow. I am off to see Maggie first thing, she wants me to alter some curtains for her. I will measure and pin then bring them home to sew.

My Sew magazine came today and I have not had a minute to open it, that is next on my list.

Time for tea, a last walk for Ben and bed I think.

              TTFN                                                Pam