Whirlwind warning.

I am glad to report that the whirlwind was me, I woke up early yesterday and hit the ground running and have barely stopped since. Thankfully I have not needed painkillers since Saturday I just have to remember to ease off a bit now and then.

A warm welcome to some new followers, Sarina McKewen-Bell, Knollgardener, John Wooldridge, John Gray from Going Gently ( who I now follow after being a lurker for ages) and Sue from Our New Life in the Country, who I have followed for a while and taken inspiration and recipes from willy nilly. She relocated to North Wales a while ago and is working hard to get the new place up and running. 

I can knock numbers 21 - 23 off my list,

3 plump little cushions, made from orphan blocks that were made to try out new patterns and play with measurements, they have 12" cushion pads in them and are just the job to tuck in the small of your back. Alas they are not for me, at least not until Francesca has seen them.

The second batch of tomato chutney, slightly different recipe, I made a batch of Chilli last night so had to use dried crushed chillies in this, I made a bit more as well, you notice that I managed to get a half jar for testing again, most important testing is.

In the background there are 3 large Kilner bottles ready for infused oil, they were £1 each from Home Bargains, I am going back on Saturday to see if they have any more, the little ones usually sell at almost £2 each. I can think of at least 6 people who would be happy to get a bottle of flavoured oil in a few months.

When I took Ben out yesterday afternoon I stumbled across some ripe blackberries, I nipped home and got a container and snapped up a few, with some of the apples from Cardigan I soon had the jelly bag full. 4 1/2 jars ready to tuck away. I am good at getting a half jar to taste, lots of practice I suppose. 1 of these will go to Maggie tomorrow and the rest will be squirreled away to be joined by many more.

I am not a fan of inserting zips, so I need more practice. I have a pattern, well loads really, for a simple zippered pouch in several sizes. I looked at zips and am just not prepared to pay over £2 for a little zip to make a coin purse. I had a look online and got this little lot for 69 p each, a bakers dozen for less than £10 with postage. I chose bright colours that I use constantly and a selection of sizes. I do buy things from boot sales and CS just for zips and buttons sometimes but have worked my way through my stock. Plus at this price I can justify using new ones, and as these will possibly become gifts it is more fitting.

On the subject of fitting, I have seen mention of sewing patterns from Deer + Doe, I have Googled them but can not find a web page that will open. Does anyone out there know of a site that I can get onto to have a look see and possibly order from?

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  Lots of rain showers but plenty of hot sun in between.

2.  The containers of veg and salad are doing well.

3.  There will be pounds and pounds of blackberries coming along.

4.  I am off to cardigan to see the grands at the weekend.

5.  I have another project to finish off tonight with a bit of gentle hand sewing.

If you pop back to the Zips you will see a bit of the new project in the right top corner.

I will share tomorrow, it is for the Red Cross, I need  to contact the local branch and find out where to drop them off as I will soon have a big bag of things for them.

I still have not made a sizable dent in the fabric stash, good thing really as after tomorrow's finish I will still have 76 items to make.

Sad news about Robin Williams this morning, there were some clips of him on the TV at various events, it was noticable that in just about all them his mouth was smiling but his eyes were not. In repose his face and expressions were quite melancholy. He will be severely missed in the world of film, anyone who has seen the "wiggling derriere" of Mrs Doubtfire or heard the joyous bellow of "Good morning Vietnam" will never forget the talent that was there.  I first encountered him In Mork and Mindy and loved it, then of course I have watched Jumanji more times than is reasonable for a grown woman.

Good bye Robin, I hope you have finally found peace.

TTFN                                                        Pam

Super Sunday Ignoring Bertha

It has been a couple of days since I posted, time just slipped away on Friday and yesterday I went to Cardigan. There is a branch of Aldi very close to James and Cerys and I walked to it in the afternoon. Oh WOW, big "on the vine" tomatoes for 69p per 500 g, Fat Plums at the same price, 4 packs of each fell into my basket. I knew that I had all that I needed at home for some jars of spicy sunshiney preserves.
Along with a massive bag of apples from the tree in James,s garden I was all set this morning.

The tree is just in front of the garden room that is at the very end of the garden, it was a bit of serendipity as the room has power and carpet and has become the perfect play room for Junior and Kaitlyn. It is in full view of the window and french doors so is perfect for the playroom. I will be pruning the tree in the autumn and letting more light in through the window.

I managed a close up to show the apples, they are an eating variety and are almost ripe, crisp and juicy and I will be back next week to pick some more. Luckily for me none of the family really like apples so I can help myself. They do like a spicy chutney for burgers and sausages though so a few jars will be passed over.

I made a small batch to try out a new recipe, I looked at a few and cobbled together one to use what I had in the house. 

900 g Tomatoes, chopped.

500 g granulated sugar.

200 mls red wine vinegar.

2 large red chillies, deseeded, I left 3 or 4 in each for some bite.

2 apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped.

A bit of fresh ginger as long as my thumb and twice as fat, peeled and grated, I discarded the fibres left behind.

6 fat cloves of garlic

I blitzed about 3/4 of the tomatoes, the chillies, ginger and garlic and put in my maslin pan with the sugar and vinegar, brought to the boil and added the apple and rest of the tomatoes. Brought to simmer and cooked for almost an hour, till quite thick but still with some liquid as it will thicken up on cooling. I wanted a slightly runny mix, almost like a very thick sauce, rather than a firm chutney. As you can see I got 2 & 1/3 Jars, I did put a good dollop in a dish to try, it was sooo good and will be better in a few weeks. I am getting ready to make a double batch later.

The plums are supposed to be "ripen at home" but for my needs they are perfect as they are. Plum chutney with just enough chllies, garlic and ginger to make it spicy but not hot. I make a variation of this every year and use it in sandwiches, with hot and cold food and in stir fries and just about every casserole that I make. It gives a hint of flavour that seems to boost whatever it is put with. I do not use a definitive recipe as I have different amounts of the ingredients each time, I just follow the Glutney recipe from Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall.

The day at Cardigan was quiet for me, unfortunately I had to take on of my painkillers and it sent me to sleep for over an hour, but the grands both had a nap as well.

James and his dad used the time well, there are 3 brick sheds in the garden and they emptied, cleaned and got all 3 organised.

The one on the right has a stack of ready chopped kindling wood, and a stack awaiting the treatment. There is an open fire in the lounge with a lovely tall fire surround. Mmmmm fire toasted crumpets.

The middle one will house all the tools, both for making and gardening, there are now rows of hooks in one wall complete with hanging hammers, spanners and so on.

This one will hold the over flow from the house, storage boxes, shopping bags, the barbecue and the small freezer and fridge, it took 2 to get them stacked and level. I bought them a frost free fridge freezer for the new house, there is also the old cooker as I bought them a new one. Both these appliances were promised ages ago and the money was earmarked, both have very good power use ratings and will be much cheaper to run, and as a "Brucie Bonus" they came in over £100 pounds under budget. The fridge and freezer in the shed will be used as and when they get the chance to buy stuff on offer.

I nearly forgot this.

The skirt is finished, posted, delivered and Fran wore it yesterday, she was delighted with it and loves the colour and pattern. So I claim it as my latest finish for my challenge. More tomorrow, I hope.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  A lovely day spent with the family.

2.  My bargain buys from Aldi.

3.  Some yummyness to tuck away to add sunshine to winter food.

4.  My apple supply is assured for this year. whew.

5.  I am building bridges with Michael, who is working hard.

I should add that I have found some new blogs to follow and followed a few that I thought that I was signed up to already, my little grey cells must be drowning in the sea of colour, I need to work on that. I choose to blame the pain pills as they leave me foggy and fuzzy.

I did intend to live in this rented house while Im looked around for one to buy. As imperfect as it is I have fallen in love with it, it fits me well. Just the right amount of room, not so much that I can go wild and empty every CS in the area of fabric, big enough to swallow my stash, the sewing stuff that I brought with me and hold my new janome in its cabinet and the serger. I do have to move things around, the serger and my quiltmaster sit either end of the dining table and the little gem is under the sewing table tucked in a corner. It will all come good in the fullness of time, as long as it is by the end of the month. The treadle is in the far left corner and is the reason that I have been prevaricating over this room. I just can not make up my mind where I want to put it.

All of this means that if I am to pay rent, it is very very cheap,

(I know people who spend more on a night out than my weekly rent.)

 without raiding savings I need to brush the cobwebs off my frugal side and get busy with the calculator. 

I also need to get off my btm and take Ben out before I get the next batch of tomato chutney on the go. Have a good day, we have had the tail end of Bertha roaring and crashing around all morning but I have blanked her out.

BTW it has been super for me as I love making preserves as much as I love sewing and in between, chopping, dicing and stirring I have been selecting fabrics, pressing and cutting ready for tomorrow.

                          TTFN                                    Pam

Jammin 'n sewin through my day

I am pleased to tell you that I found enough blackberries and crab apples within reach to make 3 jars of jelly this morning. A lovely way to start the day, even if Ben though that his breakfast should have taken priority.

They have Francesca's name on them, she gets the first batch of every jelly that I make, a little spoiling goes a long way.

I have made a curry for the freezer and a Lamb Pastie for dinner, the rest will be fine cold tomorrow.

 Ben has been walked, fed, played with and walked and fed again. He has one more walk to come.

On the sewing front I have killed 2 birds with 1 stone, so to speak. Not only have I raided the stash and made a lined skirt but I used the overlocker for the first time.

A line with pockets, not as full skirted as the last ones that I made, and I really wanted to squeeze the Russian Doll fabric into something, it was a small remnant from Button up and Stitch in Wisbech. I have lined the waistband with it, no one will see but Fran, I just thought it was cute.

Here is the lining, showing my (none too skillful) use of the overlocker.

My tight side came out when I saw how much thread was wasted running off at the end of a seam so I chain sewed, just as I do when piecing patchwork. Result.

The sharp eyed among you will have seen that there are pins in the waistband. I have not quite finished, I just have to slip stitch the lining down and put a hook and eye in. I will show and tell tomorrow, and claim as my next finish in my challenge.

Reasons to be Grateful.

1.  More sun, ripening the berries.

2.  My first batch of jelly for the year.

3.  A present for Fran almost done.

4.  An email from Australia this morning.

5.  The grass was cut for me today.

I do love the sunshine, and at this time of the year I love it even more, seeing the berries ripen and getting ready to jam or jelly them fills me with glee. I do make jelly mostly as Fran does not like pips. the exception is gooseberry, it has to be jam and it should be pink.

Fran has no idea that I am making that skirt, she knows that there are 2 on the way but this is a surprise, she does not read the blog so no danger in showing it.

I had an email this morning from a follower in Australia, she would like to send me some fabric, in exchange she would like a roomy tote bag with lots of pockets to take travelling. I am ready and waiting.

Michael cut the grass this afternoon, it was burning hot and Ben only had a quick whizz out, I did not count it as a walk we were only gone 5 minutes. That was more than enough for both of us.

I am off to tidy the kitchen before settling down with my hand sewing.

       TTFN                                                                Pam

A win win and a disappointment.

Remember this from yesterday, I know it has been less than 24 hours but I forget things all the time.

The blue will become the back of several things and will end up in my scrappy patchwork but the over the top blowsy pink is a horse of a different colour my friends.

To console myself and soothe my psyche after 2 days of mind numbing sorting and tidying I took half an hour to play.

The pink is now this.

This is waste.

This is not.

Well what is it then I hear you thinking, the woman has finally lost it.

In the cooler months I lurve my soft snugly duvet as much as the next person, more than some as my window is only shut if the wind is blowing the curtains in on the horizontal or rain is driving in.

In the warm months I love my cotton sheets and a patchwork quilt, I keep a thick throw across the bottom of the bed just in case it turns chilly. I do have crisp white cotton sheets and I have a few patterned ones because, as you may have noticed, I likes a bit of colour.

TAH DAH

I know have a blowsy sheet, a bit of trimming, some super fast steamy time with the iron and a quick blast on the Janome et voila!

Some of you may have seen the log cabin quilt before, I have made several versions of it. This one is mainly Bonnie and Camille fabric left over from other quilts. In the spirit of living in a rainbow I have a deepish mauve throw on the bed this week.

I claim this as number 21 in my challenge, I do not think it is a cheat as I have made it over from my stash, and besides that its mine and I love it.

While upstairs I thought I would show you my "new" bathroom cabinet, I have stacks of towels, Ben goes through several each day when it rains, and have to keep them somewhere.

It came from the shop in Crosshands and was the princely sum of £10, I have seen the mirrors on Ebay for 3 times that. Of course it has the odd scrape and scratch, but none so bad that I feel the need to do anything about them. It was very grubby but cleaned up easily and all the bits are intact, it reminds me of my Granny, she had a bedroom suite very much like it. Much nicer than an expensive bit of MDF from a big store for How Bluddy Much. All the joints are dovetailed and it is as sound as new.

The disappointment was in the garden, or rather it was not in the garden. I went up to pick my courgettes that had had appeared after so long only to find them gone, disappeared, not there. I saw no snail trail and they should have been at least 6" long each. I have no clue as to what may have eaten them, but I better not catch it in the act. 'Nuff said.

On a happy happy note my new Sew Magazine arrived today.

The free pattern is for Knit fabric and I will not use it, so if anyone wants it let me know, first one gets it.

One of my go to quilt blocks, in some scrummy colours from  a new fabric collection. Don't panic, I am not about to rush out and spend, I may however be cherry picking through my stash later ( once I have sewed the 4 aprons together)

The I spotted this, and with a quick glance thought ooh a bag made from pyjamas, how thrifty. Then I had another look, it is a bag made for pyjamas, how old fashioned I had one of those at school. But I need a pair of dirty laundry bags, dark and light, and PJ,s are cheap as chips in the CS. But wait I have a load of HST blocks in pale colours and some squares in dark colours somewhere. They are on my To Do list.

This is the Tease page, what is in next months issue. I am so going to make that dress, without 6" of net peeping out, in fact I will probably make 2 as I am sure that Francesca will want one. I apologise for the Seasonal page but I quite like all things Scandi as does Fran.

O M G just look at the time, I must dash. Library will be open soon and Ben needs a walk first.

                 TTFN                                                 Pam

Meet Doris and look what I found.

Another busy day, emptying cases and boxes, moving things around and filling a bag for leukaemia research to be collected tomorrow. I also have a bag for the first CS I come to in Ammanford  on my next visit.
Hiding in the bottom of a very large case full of winter clothes I found treasure.

Two duvet covers with a single pillowcase each, I will get lots of squares and strips out of these.

5 Solid colour pillowcases, always good for borders and sashing and 6 patterned ones.

A pillowcase that has a medallion center, the other side is the same so this will become a pair of something.

The last 2 are very similar in pattern and colour so I will have to be careful where I place them, probably 2 different projects.

I had a delivery this afternoon, let me introduce you to Doris.

I put an old dress on her just to check the measurements, perfect, it fits her just as it does me, the zip will not close for the last 3 inches. 

I look forward to spending lots of productive time in her company, as far as I can see there is only one fault. She can not make tea.

 I now have more or less finished upstairs, just a few things to find a permanent home for.

All this work in the house means another no sewing day, I will have to make up for lost time in the remainder of the week.

On the upside, in between the down pours I got 2 loads of washing done, dried and ironed.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  Laundry done for a few days.

2.  Tidy bedrooms with no cases or boxes looming out of the corners.

3.  A pile of rediscovered vintage linen.

4.  Ben has continued to have a positive response to his meds.

5.  I found 3 books on Amazon today second hand for 1p each plus postage.

I also found the library in the next village and will be going tomorrow afternoon. 

If the weather is good I must get the grass cut or I will find myself hay making rather than mowing.

I am watching Kirstie on the telly, her show "fill your house for free" is very entertaining. People do throw some lovely things away, I picked up a repro mahogany dining table with 2 carvers, 2 chairs and a long display unit a few years ago, when I sold the house I sold the furniture as well. I have Sanderson material curtains that cost less than £5 from the CS when the fabric is more than 4 times that for a yard.

We have just had a downpour so I am off to get Ben out for a quick walk.

      TTFN                                                  Pam

Order out of Chaos and a happy find.

It's been a busy old day, I woke up full of "get up and go" and did not want to waste a crumb of it. It was glorious and sunny although by the time I had 2 loads of washing pegged out it decided to go black and rain. Oh well the soft water will make it all lovely and soft.
I decided that Today was THE DAY, the day the utility and under the stairs get blitzed.

This little box opens off the kitchen and I used to avert my eyes when washing up. It was a dumping ground and I had a clear path to the washing machine, the rest was full. A trip to Ponty to pick up storage shelving and an hours sweating and swearing and all is nearly well. I just want to put some hooks up to hold the broom, mop and brush and dustpan, and find some little shelves to stand on the deep shelf at the back, all Ben's stuff is there and my cleaning kit and so on. 

(An hour later and the bottom 2 shelves now hold my boxes of jam jars and my stock of new lids for them, they had been hidden right at the back of the understairs cupboard.)

I then took my life in my hands and emptied the cupboard under the stairs, it is deep and narrow. There are some coat hooks on the wall behind the door and my Drizabone will live there with some umbrellas to keep it company, I will need to have some wellies also.

This is where all the clutter went to be sorted, the sewing/dining room, needless to say I have done no sewing today. Also the weather did a U turn and my washing is dry so I have an overflowing ironing basket.

This is the result, all electric tools on shelves, big bits of kit stacked right at the back and I managed to empty 3 suitcases and stow them away, result.

I will not be showing you the sewing room as there is still a pile of things to go through before it is presentable. My ironing will have to be done today, I hate hanging it over to the next day, it seems to take twice as long. 

There is a chicken in the oven that will go nicely with roasties, cabbage, broccoli and some swede and carrot mash. I did not cook dinner yesterday, I just cut some raw veg sticks, opened some cheesy snacky things and made some dips, lovely.

Tomorrow I will make a Lamb Curry for the freezer and huge, as opposed to tiddy, Oggies using some lamb, potato. swede and peas in a minty gravy.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  A much tidier house.

2.  Room to move in the utility.

3.  Laundry done and dried outside.

4.  As always the Sunshine.

5.  Lots of help of the muscle variety.

There is no way that I could have moved all that stuff by myself. My 2 outside storage units have been assembled, 1 is in its designated place and the other is ready to be sited once the area chosen is ready ( a job for tomorrow maybe)

I have Michael to thank for all this achievement, he has worked hard for 3 days getting everything assembled and in place.

I ordered some storage units for James and Carys from Argos, they were out of stock and I was promised an E mail once they were available......Nada, zilch, a big fat nothing. So I looked on line a little while ago. Oh Yes they are in stock but the price has gone up quite considerably. I had a pootle round on the web but could find nothing else. Then I thought about Ikea. My nearest branch is in Cardiff, a 100 mile round trip which if you count the cost of petrol and time will effect the cost. I am going to have a look at their site later and see if I can get what I want and if they deliver. If the stars are in alignment and with a back wind James may get his storage soon and Michael will be putting yet more stuff together. Fingers crossed everybody.

I have still managed to get Ben out and walked and this afternoon I made a wonderful discovery. Peeping out of an overgrown bank of shrubs and blackberries was a beautiful crab apple tree, it is not laden with fruit but there will be enough for at least 2 batches of blackberry and apple jelly, and the berries will be ready to pick in a couple of days.

I must go and check up on the one and only Elder tree that I have found. I will be extremely peeved if I am beaten to the fruit.

The chicken smells wonderful and the roasties have to go in shortly, all the veg is in the steamer and I am really looking forward to it, I am rumbling.

  I have tea to drink so I will see you all tomorrow.

                          TTFN                                               Pam

Dots Before My Eyes

I started my day in my favourite manner, tea lots of tea and blog reading. One of the ones that I started with was Lazy Daisy Jones, she wrote about a crochet cover for a wooden coat hanger. I saw that pattern and fell in love, it is so cute, then I read the pattern and realised that all those tiny shapes, all that counting and my big hands did not go together.

Time passed, Ben was walked, tea was made, sewing machine cleaning took place, Ben was walked again. I had a trip into Swansea, my mission failed and I groaned about wasted time. Then I spotted Matalan and sale signs, I am in dire need of some mid weight cardigans or sweaters. Success, 3 cardies and a sweater later ( for the very nice sum of £15) I went home smirking.

Food was prepped and eaten, washing up happened, Ben was walked, tea was made and Tiramisu was eaten, slowly, very slowly with much pleasure. The garden was sat in and sunshine was enjoyed. 

Then while my brain was on idle I had a thought, I have boring wooden coat hangers, I have a small mountain of fabric, there is no way on this Earth that I will ever crochet a cover for a coat hanger.

I nipped upstairs and found a hanger then dipped into my box of  Fuglies. These are bits of fabric that came free with something or were in the remnant bin for next to nothing, one or two were the result of Fat Quarter swaps where my partner has totally ignored the swap rules and bought the cheapest and tackiest bit of tat there was. I waste nothing, these become tiny gap fillers in my crazy patchwork or foundation squares or lining for things. 
I fished one out and found a small bit of lining , from a CS curtain and whipped this up in about 15 minutes.

It is not perfect, I did not stop to draw a pattern, just layered the fabric and lining and cut round a coat hanger. But with a bit of refinement and some batting and quilting with good fabric and some embellishment they will make good presents. It is Cerys,s birthday on the 12th I think that a set of these will be just the job.

Here it is with one of my super cheap cardies, I love Polka Dots and this is lovely and bright. It looks baggy and it is a few sizes bigger than I wear but it will go over a sweater and will be almost a jacket for Autumn.

I am going to draw up a pattern and try one with some basic quilting, once I am happy with it I will make some for Cerys, Francesca and myself, and they will be a nice Seasonal gift for my new friend Maggie.

I am claiming this as number 20 for my challenge.

 I do have 4 more of the small aprons from yesterdays post cut out, slightly longer with 2 layers of pockets, one of those is for Maggie.

Reasons to be Grateful.

1 . Lots of sunshine again.

2.  My pretty bargains from Swansea.

3.  The blackberries are finally starting to ripen.

4.  I have a dressmakers dummy on it,s way.

5.  One of my courgette plants has decided to bear fruit.

I have 2 courgette plants and usually that is enough, this year the only flowers that they produced were male. The yellow plant is not looking happy, if it does nothing this week it is gone, the other has 3 fruits and several more female flowers on it. My 3 French bean plants have flowers and I have 2 more sowings that look promising. The herbs from cuttings look good and my radishes are  continuing to grow , some I have let flower as the seed pods are brilliant in salads and stir fries.

I have been humming and hahing as to whether I really need a dressmakers dummy for ages, today I found one on E bay and got it for a very good price, it should be here mid week.

In Lincolnshire the blackberries will be nearly over, they are further forward nearer the coast here and tomorrow, weather permitting, I am off to find some ripe ones now. I want to make some jelly ready for Francesca to take back to London with her after her next visit., and I quite like it on scones.

On that thought I feel that tea is in order, I hope that you have all enjoyed your weekend.

                            TTFN                                          Pam