A rescue job and lots of life interruptions.

You know in a recent post I mentioned that my hands were ready to be doing something other than stitchery? I should be careful what I wish for.

I had big plans for my two days off this week, but very little of what I wanted to happen actually happened.

I came home from work on Saturday with a crochet blanket. It belongs to a resident but was falling apart. Just simple Granny Squares, surely, you can fix it Lou?

Well, I did. There were several squares that needed attention some more than others, and after some messing about I settled on a good method of rescuing them.

I also had a good look at the joining, several of the squares were coming adrift from each other. Then as there was no border, just a bunch of joined squares, would I be good enough to add one? 

It's quite a nice blanket, and hopefully my attention will see it last a while longer.

So that took care of my weekend evenings and also my free time yesterday.

The rest of yesterday was taken up with chores and errands.

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Unfortunately, today has been pretty similar and throw in a training thing for work this afternoon. There really hasn't been much time for my things. That said, I stopped for a while at lunchtime and picked up my stitchery. Down in the Garden has progressed a little more. As it was time to move the hoop, I decided that it was time for an updated photo too.

Oh dear, Blogger is doing that thing again. Click on the image for a clearer view. Though even if you don't, you can see that the coloured border is almost complete. I can see the end of this one. Then it will be time to sew all the blocks together. 

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And just before I return to my stitching, a quick look at what a friend of mine has been up to. On Friday Tony and I went to a Wearable Arts show here in town, our friend Ange had an entry which her daughter Ree was modelling for her.

Sadly, Nature's Palette did not win any prizes.

It was an amazing show with some stunning pieces. 

Even Tony was impressed.

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Back to my needle and thread now. 

Then back to work tomorrow. 

A New Recipe.

 I promised you a new recipe and here it is.

Creamy Peppercorn Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken breast, sliced
Broccoli
1 leek, sliced
1–2 tbsp peppercorns in spring water, with some lightly crushed
100–150 ml cream
2–3 tbsp cream cheese
Salt and black pepper

Method

Brown the sliced chicken in a little oil or butter, then remove it from the pan.

In the same pan sauté the sliced leek in butter until softened.

Add the peppercorns, crushing some against the side of the pan to release their flavour.

Stir in the cream and cream cheese. Let it gently simmer until the sauce starts to thicken.

Return the chicken to the pan and simmer until cooked through and the sauce is lovely and creamy.

Season with salt and black pepper to taste. 

Serve with steamed broccoli. I stirred mine into the sauce.  

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You could use any veg you like with this recipe. I've had broccoli and leeks in the garden over winter. The broccoli has gone nuts and I need to use it up. The leeks are still small, I'm hoping they bulk up a little and don't go to flower. I just pulled the largest while I was out there the other day.

Tony loved this meal and announced that this invention test is a keeper. 

Though I think I would use less peppercorns next time.

It's Spring, Down in the Garden.

 It's only just the third day of the month and already one of my goals has been achieved.

My Christmas ornaments are all completed. No photo though, you know I like to keep them secret until after delivery. Though I probably should take photos now, before I forget and give them all away without doing it! LOL

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I've also been making good progress on my Down in the Garden stitchery. Picking away at it here and there.  Here is where I left it last night.  🪡🪡

Blogger really does not like the images of these stitcheries. It is clickable if you would like to see a clearer image.

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I'm at the three days off point in my roster. Yesterday was taken up mostly with chores and errands which included a haircut. While I was awaiting my turn I looked out of the windows in the upstairs salon. It's in a corner building and has wonderful views out over the bay area and also toward the mountains.

It wasn't the brightest of days and the views over the bay weren't much to write about, but looking inland, to the mountains....

The camera sees things differently. Yes they look majestic rising up beyond the back of town, but in real life, I felt like I could just reach out and touch them. They felt so much closer than they appear in this image.

Speaking of views, looking out of our own dining room widow I can see that the big cherry tree has blossom.

Spring is in the air.

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Back to my goals. 

A little more of my time will be about fun today, though there are still other less exciting things to do.  Hopefully I can make some more great progress on the stitchery. I'm ready to have something else to do with my hands. My cross stitch is whispering to me from its resting place behind my armchair. But there are other projects vying for my attention too.  A decision will be made once this one is complete. 

Maybe not today, but I do need to add a little stitching to the memory quilt, once I work out what that is, I will let you know. Then maybe it can progress its way to the frame for quilting. 

And finally for today.

There has also been a new to us recipe. I'll share on another day as it was good.

Now I'm off to peg washing out. Then the fun can commence. 🪡

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September Goals.

 A new month. 

A not so new list of goals.

I plan to keep it simple for September.

1) Progress the Christmas ornaments.

It would be nice to finish them, but if I don't that's ok, just so long as they move along somewhat.

2) Progress Down in the Garden.

Blogger what have you got against this project?

The image should be clicky. It's not the latest block, but it is pretty. 

Getting the last block stitched and all the blocks into a completed top would be ideal, but I will be happy if I can complete the stitchery on the final block.

3) Complete the Memory Quilt.

That should be doable. Maybe one more border.

I have the batting and backing fabric.

The frame is empty at the moment.

4) Progress Lest We Forget/ The Poppy Quilt.

It needs some more hand and machine quilting.

An opportunity to try out my new quilting hoop and stand.

5) Try out and share a new to me recipe.

I have a few lined up to try, hopefully I'll find one to share. 

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That should be enough to keep me busy for a few weeks. 

August Achievements and Acquisitions.

Well here we are at the end of August. Time to have a look back and see how I got on with my goals.

I was late posting goals, they didn't appear until the 10th, but here they are.

1) Make progress on Lest We Forget/ The Poppy quilt. 

I wanted to make progress. And I did. I got a lot of hand quilting completed and also the applique flowers have all had some machine quilting added to them. 

I still have a way to go with this one, but I am happy with the progress I have made.

2)  Make progress on Down in the Garden.

It would have been good to have made a little more progress on this one. But I am working on the last block. It is all stitchery, no pretty fabrics.

All of the words are stitched and about a quarter of the floral border. 

Ugh! Blogger what did you do? The image should clear up if you click on it. 

3) Make progress on The Memory Quilt.

This one made the greatest progress. I cut the feature fabrics/clothing into big blocks, so that helped to speed things along.

It now has one narrow border in the same lilac/pink as the sashing strips. I'm undecided about adding another wider border before quilting and finishing. I might also add some hand stitched details to the two school badge blocks. 

4)  Christmas ornaments.

I made good progress on these. I only needed four more, then added an extra. So I now have five under way and need only to add some details and finishing, and they will be done. Plenty of time.

5)  Get a quilt onto the frame.

Done. I loaded my latest scrappy hexagon quilt onto the frame and got busy.

It was quilted and bound in just a couple of days.

Yay!! A finish.

So there it is. Five goals.

One finished and four with great progress.

All achievements in my book. 

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It was also a good month for acquisitions.

I had some amazing acquisitions in July, all from the same lady who was sorting her mother's stash. The money she made was going into the great grandie's bank accounts. They did very well out of me in July, and August saw me making another deposit into that same account and acquiring two more big supermarket paper sacks filled with fabrics and UFOs. 

It took me quite some time to sort and find homes for all of these new fabrics, many of which are quite large, big enough to join a couple and use for backings.

And of course UFOs are a great head start when it comes to quick finishes. No patterns though. Some will be easy to complete, some will require a little thought.

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A more recent acquisition is exciting for different reasons.

Do you recall I brought home a quilting hoop on loan from the club? I wanted to try it out before making an investment in one for me. 

Last week a friend tagged me on one for sale in Christchurch. Oh my! A bargain!

Tony said go for it!

The vendor had family visiting from Timaru and if I could wait, he could get it to Timaru on Sunday.

For that price, yes I can wait!

So yesterday I got the message to say the vendor's brother was home here in Timaru and expecting me, I hopped into my car.

Not just the hoop, but also the stand.

And a half hoop.

All for $75 NZ

Delivered to Timaru free of charge.

I didn't try out the hand held hoop from club yet, and now possibly won't, 

but I am very much looking forward to trying out my new Hundred Acre Wood hoop and stand.

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I have had some incredibly lucky finds recently.

I thank whatever lucky star it was that sent them my way. 

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And finally, last time I wrote, I mentioned that Torstein and Charmaine were coming for a visit yesterday. They enjoyed a BBQ lunch and as the weather was so nice, they asked if they could build a playhouse. Out came my Grans old wooden tri fold airer which we covered with a big table cloth.

Add a pile of Nannys quilts and blankets and some cushions off the garden furniture and you have a very comfortable playhouse. 

While we were out in the garden the children spotted this visitor.

He doesn't look like much here on the fence. LOL A furry caterpillar about 1 inch long.

They had fun letting it crawl over their fingers and were then persuaded to put it back onto the fence and allow it to get in with his day.

As I said it was a warm day and after the BBQ had gone cold, Charmaine asked about the 'lovely smell'.

The sun was warming the violets, just below where they were playing.

What a beautiful scent they give off. 

That's my news for August.

Time to plan for September.