A Finished Quilt and A Tale From My Childhood.

 Kaiy’s quilt is finally complete. I struggled for the longest time to find a name for it — I tried the artistic route, the poetic route, even the colour‑inspired route, but nothing quite settled. Then, out of nowhere, a name from my childhood bubbled up: 

Fynoderee. 

(Finn‑udd -uh‑ree)

Who, you might ask, is Fynoderee?

He’s one of the old Manx fairies — though not the delicate, wing‑fluttering sort we often imagine. Fynoderee is said to stand seven feet tall, with piercing eyes and a long, shaggy mane of hair that hangs about him like a coat. A wild creature of the glens, strong as ten men, and yet gentle‑hearted.

In some of the old tales he’s sometimes called the Fynoderee, but I’ve always thought of Fynoderee as his name — one gentle, shaggy‑soft hearted being rather than a whole species.

The story I remember from childhood goes like this:

 Fynoderee fell in love with a human girl. For that forbidden affection he was banished from the fairy realm and forced to live among humans. Most of the islands farmers were frightened of him. Knowing that the fairy folk cannot abide iron, they left iron tools scattered about and locked their barns with iron bolts to keep him away.

He wandered lonely in the islands glens until he came upon one farmer who took pity on him. The farmer left his barn door open and put away every iron tool. His wife baked bread and left it out with a jug of milk, so that Fynoderee might eat and rest in safety.

And in return, Fynoderee worked.

While the humans slept, he tilled the fields, sowed the seed, mended fences and stone walls, and he tended the animals. Come spring, that farmer’s ewes all bore strong, healthy twins. He lost none to late snows or misfortune. His cows gave richer milk. His fields were the neatest, tidiest fields on the island. At harvest time, Fynoderee brought in the crops while the farmer slept. Those crops were the best in the parish.

All because the farmer had shown kindness to a creature who had nowhere else to go.

The neat, orderly blocks in this quilt reminded me of the fields that Fynoderee tended for the kind farmer — rows straight as a ruler, soil turned just so, every corner cared for by unseen hands. There’s something about the quiet precision of those little 2‑inch squares, all lined up in their 7×5 grid, that reminds me of Fynoderee's work: humble and generous, those black stripes between the neat and tidy coloured fields representing the darkness in which Fynoderee worked, or maybe the neat hedgerows or stone walls between the fields.

When I was quilting this one, the design itself helped lead me toward the name. I used Hearts by Meredeth England — a simple, steady pattern I’ve always thought looks more like leaves than hearts. But on this quilt, something else emerged. The shapes also carry a hint of broken hearts, which felt unexpectedly fitting for Fynoderee’s story: his love for a human girl, his banishment, and the quiet, steadfast kindness he offered in return for a simple farmers sympathetic friendship.

It’s not a showy quilting design. No grand flourishes, no dramatic swoops — just the gentle, rhythmic repetition of those leaf/hearts drifting across the surface. It settles over the tidy blocks like a soft pattern of growth, loss, and devotion. And somehow, that quiet simplicity made the name feel exactly right.

So in the end, the name came easily.

This quilt simply is 

Fynoderee’s Fields.

— a patchwork of tidy, magical spaces, stitched for Kaiy with the same quiet love the old creature gave to the farmer who showed him kindness.

Hopefully, seven weeks today we will be boarding a plane taking with us not only Fynoderee's Fields but also Anchor Me, and a few other special gifts as we wing our way around the world to the Isle of Man. The Land of My Birth and home of Fynoderee. 

Quilting, Crosses, and a Bunny's Bottom!

It’s been just over a week since I last wrote, though it feels much longer. A lot has happened in that time.

If you were on Zoom with Chooky a couple of weeks ago, you’ll know my quilting machine was not playing nicely and had to go away to the spa. She came back quickly… but still wasn’t happy. So, Peter the fixer man came to the house to see for himself what she was doing on the frame. Off she went again, and she finally returned on Good Friday. I was at work, so Tony was charged with staying home to take delivery.

Work and social commitments meant I couldn’t play with her until yesterday — but oh boy, did I make up for lost time. I spent what felt like the whole day shuffling up and down the length of the frame, quilting, quilting, and quilting some more. At long last, that stage is finished.

It is currently lying in a heap on the floor, awaiting a trim and binding.

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Life and work have been busy in other ways too. While shopping at an online Keto store here in NZ, I came across a hot cross bun mix and simply had to give it a try. The instructions were for hand mixing, but I chucked everything into the bread machine and set the dough cycle, then shaped them by hand and popped them into the oven after adding crosses.

Yes, my crosses are pretty awful, but the spicy rolls were so soft and light. Yum!

I made a quiche at the same time, using a wrap as the 'pastry' case. A very tasty lunch for workdays.

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I was called in to work an extra shift on Good Friday and caught this stunning view from the staff room window when I went up to put my bag and lunch away.

And as the rhyme predicts, that red sky in the morning brought about poor weather. Three days of rain!

It turned out to be a good shift — lots of fun, and a resident’s daughter had made Easter treats for all the staff. There were beautiful cupcakes with mini‑egg nests, pretty flowers with butterflies, and the cutest little Bunnies’ Bottoms. LOL One of my colleagues was delighted by the way my Manx accent sounded when I said Bunnies Bottom! She kept prompting me to say it again. LOL

Sadly, I didn’t get photos of the cupcakes, but I did manage to score myself a Bunnie's Bottom!

Oh, my goodness, it was sweet. The dark chocolate shell was filled with homemade marshmallow and caramel. I haven’t had refined sugar in a long time, and it was a bit of a shock! LOL.

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One last thing before I start my busy Tuesday. I began this jigsaw puzzle back in January:

It has taken a while, but I finally completed it yesterday before I got busy with the quilting machine. The next one is already on the board — one of Tony’s war planes. He was working on that while I quilted. I would share an image, but the lid is full of pieces, and I’d better not spoil his system. LOL.

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So what does Tuesday have in store?

First a walk, then a shower, then off to town for a few errands. I have not one but two heaped boxes of Chilli peppers to deal with, so maybe some cowboy candy and/or Evil Chilli Chutney. I need to make a pie for dinner and hopefully find time to trim the quilt and maybe even make a binding for it.

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Back to work tomorrow. 

🧵 Red Hot Chilli Hexies.

 If you were on Chooky’s Zoom session yesterday, you’ll already know that my poor quilting machine ended up having what can only be described as open‑heart surgery.

Tony had her completely pulled apart, trying to track down the cause of her sudden tantrum. After three rows of beautiful quilting she began shredding and snapping the top thread. He did find a little nest of thread fragments tucked away inside, and out they came, a quick free motion test and all seemed well, but alas… once we put her back on the frame and I tried again, she was no better.

So off to the spa she went. I took her to the store yesterday and Linda slapped an urgent tag on her, which is the sewing‑machine equivalent of being wheeled straight past the waiting room.

Moving on…

Life has been busy — so busy I forgot to take photos. Tony and I spent some time in the garden. The mad courgette plant has finally been removed, though even as I was chopping it up for the compost I found two more courgettes hiding in it. More relish is definitely in my future, I have about ten of them now. While we were out there I planted more broccoli, carrots, and a few spring onions.

Back indoors, Tony helped me make another batch of Evil Chilli Chutney. About a third of the chillies were Carolina Reapers, so this batch is going to be HOT.

I was also given some rhubarb, so that’s been stewed and tucked into the freezer. It’s not the bright ruby red of our own plants, it must be a different variety, but Tony will happily eat anything rhubarb‑adjacent. I stewed some apples too and added raspberries, which turned out to be a very tasty combination. Today I’ll top it with a keto crumble for the grandchildren. Yum.

I did remember to get a photo of my last peach cobbler.

You can find the recipe for it here. 

During the Zoom session yesterday I made a little more progress on my Hexie quilt top. It is growing very slowly — like, glacially — but it is growing.

And now it’s time to pop a chicken casserole into the oven and make room for another chat with Chooky and the girls. Priorities.

Never turn your back on a courgette!

 Garden duties and kitchen chores continue to get in the way of the fun stuff on my days off. The chillies are coming in a steady flow at the moment. 

They’re keeping me busy — another batch of Evil Chilli Chutney will be bubbling away this evening once Tony gets home. Not a birds‑eye batch this time either. Oh no. We’re levelling up. The Carolina Reapers are joining the parade. 

The courgette plant is still doing its best to take over the world too. Here’s a hint: never turn your back on them. 

They go from gherkins to marrows in the blink of an eye.

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As if our own produce wasn’t enough to keep me occupied, a neighbour handed over a big bag of peaches. Yum. I’ve been hunting for keto‑friendly ways to use them up — just a little at a time. The rest have been diced and frozen for later. Those are the interesting chores. I’ll keep the other ones to myself. LOL.

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Yesterday I finally got Kaiy’s quilt fully loaded onto the frame and sorted out thread for the quilting, but I still haven’t settled on just the right design. I’d planned to look at that today, but there was a small… incident last night. I was happily working on my hexies and pulled my specs off to give them a polish. They broke clean in two. Right across the nose bar. No more sewing for me.

If you know me, you’ll know I wear a pair of cheap readers over my prescription lenses when I sew. It was the prescription pair that broke, the readers survived and I was still able to watch TV, but reading, sewing, driving. I couldn't even see my laptop. Basically, anything we take for granted — was out the window. Luckily Tony was able to duck away from work long enough this morning to get me to the opticians, and they managed to pop my lenses into a new frame. Phew.

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Once I could see properly again, I got on with the chores. They’re done, and now it’s finally time to sew. Out come the hexies.

This one is almost big enough to be a lap quilt. Time to straighten it a bit by adding odd hexis in here and there around the edges, then I’ll add a quick border and pop a fleecy back onto it.

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🍑 Keto Peach Cobbler  (One‑Peach, Four‑Serve Version)

Low‑carb, small‑batch.

Ingredients

Fruit layer

• 1 medium peach, diced (fresh or thawed)

• 1–2 tsp sweetener (optional, depending on peach sweetness)

• Pinch of cinnamon

• Tiny squeeze of lemon (optional)

Cobbler topping

• ¼ cup almond flour

• 1 tbsp coconut flour

• 1 tbsp butter, melted

• 1 tbsp sweetener

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 1 tbsp cream (or a splash of milk/almond milk)

• Pinch of salt

• Vanilla if you’re feeling fancy

This makes just enough topping for a single small baking dish split into four servings.

Instructions

1. Prep the fruit

• Toss the diced peach with sweetener, cinnamon, and lemon.

• Pop into a small baking dish or two ramekins.

• Microwave 30–60 seconds to soften and get the juices going (or bake for 5–10 minutes).

2. Make the topping

• Mix all topping ingredients in a small bowl.

• It should be a soft dough — add a splash more cream if too dry.

3. Assemble

• Crumble or dollop the topping over the warm peaches.

• Don’t worry about perfection — rustic is the whole point.

4. Bake

• 180°C (350°F) for 12–15 minutes, until golden and the peach juices bubble up the sides.

Cowboy candy and other adventures

And just like that, another week has slipped by. We’re one week closer to our long journey, and at the moment I’m swaying between excitement and worry. It’s a bit of a roller coaster, and I try not to think about it too much… so let’s move on quickly.

Life has been busy with work and chores, but I’ve still managed to squeeze in a little creative time. Around here, even the chores can be creative. The chillies in the greenhouse are beginning to ripen, and they don’t wait for anyone. I got home from work the other day and made a batch of cowboy candy.

A sweet, sticky concoction much loved by Tony and a few friends. It’s a quick way to preserve a glut of chillies and is delicious served with cream cheese and crackers. There are four jars tucked away for later. 

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As I mentioned in my last post, I waited for Tony’s help with making the Evil Chilli Chutney. I had one lonely bag of last year’s birdseye chillies in the freezer, so they went into the pot first. 

Then I topped up the batch with this year’s wildfires to make the right amount for the recipe.

Hence the name: Wild Bird — Tony’s idea, of course. He does like to keep track of which chillies go where. We now have eight jars tucked away, quietly improving. Like most relishes and chutneys, Evil Chilli Chutney is better if left for a few weeks before serving.

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My creativity wasn’t all used up in the kitchen. I’ve been picking away at my hexies, and the latest batch is slowly multiplying.

Just a few more and this one will be ready for a border and finishing. And there are still plenty of hexie flowers waiting for their turn in another project. LOL.

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And finally — I have the back made for Kaiy’s quilt. Two pieces of the same fabric sewn together. Oops! I forgot to get a photo. It’s already loaded onto the frame with the batting in place.

The top has been pressed and is sitting on the frame, though not yet properly loaded. Hopefully later today I can get busy with that.

But first, I need to make a chocolate brownie, and at some point I hope to get into the garden to plant some veg. I have more leeks to go in, and some daffodil bulbs waiting patiently.

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I've gotten very behind on my blog reading and have been working my way through them all in the last couple of days, trying to catch up. Hopefully life will settle down soon and I can get back into my routine of reading, writing and creating. But first, todays chores.

Time to get on and get busy.

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