Normal service resumed.....

After a very busy week in the kitchen I was delighted to get back in to my room on Saturday. It was lovely to potter in there. Belle was not so happy, she just couldn't decide where to sit, trying out some very unusual seats and generally getting in the way while I tried to play.

I still managed complete my RSC challenge for the month and now have two happy little kiwi blocks.

I just need to add some embroidered eyes and legs. 

These are foundation paper pieced and were designed by the lovely and very generous Louise. She showed them off one day while zooming with Chooky, of course we all fell in love with the design. I'm fairly sure I'm not the only one making Kiwis this year. Louise has put the pattern on her blog if you missed out on the zoom share. 

So with that commitment completed and lots of day left I went in search of another project. 

I've been collecting supermarket receipts for a while now, with a plan in mind for them. Yesterday was their day and I began to cover them with batik scraps.

Belle had gone round a few more times and eventually settled on the corner of my cutting table using my blocks as a cushion and a bag as a pillow.

I love the paw over the nose. LOL

(No, I don't know why there was a bag of half inch hexie papers in the batik box, but after finding them a plan began to formulate, I'll keep you posted if it comes to fruition).

So, back to the reason for pulling out the batik scraps.

I got nine strips made yesterday and have covered a few more this morning before the grand children arrived. I'm not entirely sure what I will do with them. 

Maybe some placemats?  

Maybe a lap quilt?  

Maybe the completed blocks will sit in a box for a while? 

What ever, right now I am enjoying the process and using the papers as a great foundation. Keep an eye open for more of these.

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Back to work tomorrow but I will still have plenty of sewing time.

It's been a busy week.

It was to be my short week at work. I was rostered to work only Wednesday and Thursday. I left a message for my boss last week, asking if I could have a break please as I was tired after all the extra shifts. The lovely lady granted my wish. Yippee!

I planned to tidy up my sewing room, then sew, sew and sew some more. But as I mentioned in my last post, my father in law turned up with all of those onions. There was just over 10 kilograms of pickling onions. I worked on them in batches. Each day this week I've spent an hour topping, tailing and peeling onions then leaving them in salt overnight. The next day I would bottle them up and start topping and tailing the next batch. My fingers were tingling each day from the onion juice. On top of all of that I've made two batches of cucumber relish.

And more marmalade. What you see here is about half of my weeks preserving work. After spending most of each morning in the kitchen and completing my other chores I was ready to sit and relax once I had eaten some lunch each day. Sewing took a back seat but I did squeeze in some sewing time.

I completed the cross stitch on my Christmas gnome.

I plan to add his back stitch today.

I've also added a few more rounds to my crochet blanket. 

I may not have done all of the sewing I planned to do this week but I got in more than my 15 minutes each day. 

The onions, cucumbers and mandarins are all used up now, hopefully I can sew all weekend. I have the back ground fabric for my RSC kiwis all sorted out and want them completed before I go off to work on Monday afternoon. 

Plans change....

Well today was going to be all about making my RSC kiwis blocks. Then life and my father in law got in the way. LOL

First I had to have a bit of a tidy up in my wee room and that turned into a major tidy up and sort out session. Not what I had planned but it needed to happen.  Just as I was winding up and getting that finished and started to allow myself to start thinking about fabrics for back grounds and where they might be stashed....... Father in law turned up with not one, but two big buckets of onions for pickling please.... 

Hmm, sideways picture, sorry.

I have no idea how many onions were in the buckets, we tipped them in to this basket and I started sorting. All the red onions were taken to the kitchen and dropped in to a sink filled with very hot water for washing and peeling.

There are 3 kilograms of red pickling onions, they are now all cleaned up and sat in salt. They will stay that way overnight and tomorrow I will bottle them before cleaning up the white onions and leaving them in salt overnight. LOL

I hope I have enough jars.

I'm sure I have mentioned previously that I have made batches of cucumber relish and looking at my plant I'll be making another batch very soon. Though father in law did take one away with him earlier as his plant is not doing so good.

It's not all savoury preserves, someone gave me a bag of mandarins, we've eaten a few but I thought I would try my hand at marmalade.

Yum. 

I might make more of that. 

It's not all been kitchen and yard work. Tony and I had a couple of days out. Hmm, no pics sorry.

And though I didn't get huge amounts done I have been getting in at least 15 mins a day on either my EPP, my cross stitch or my crochet.

I had my EPP blocks all pinned up on the wall quilt so I could get an idea of how I want to join everything together.

This looks like a good layout and I even have spare flower blocks.

Sadly I missed out on the Sunday zoom session, though I did briefly attend the previous one.

That's been my week. Full on busy and it looks like life will continue in the same way for a few days until I get through with onions, cucumbers and mandarins.

Cross stitch progress.

I started this cross stitch piece after I had completed my Santa last year. My records show I made the first stitch on 1st October 2023. I have a few progress shots then things slowed as I wound up to make ornaments.

I pulled him out again on New Years Eve. This is how he looked when I started.

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I love that eye watching me. It's like I have company while I stitch.

I made quite a bit of progress while I counted down the hours to midnight.

I have made a little more progress since then.

And plan to spend some time with him today once I have spent a little time with my EPP. I have papers and fabric ready to glue baste, that should fill more than my 15 minutes for today.

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This afternoon I made a start on my Chookshed challenge, I spent two hours cutting the first batch of back ground fabrics for wind swept, then my back started to complain, I'll do more soon as I have only done about half of the back ground fabrics. 

Before leaving my happy room I sorted out the requirements for my ornaments this month. Maybe I should work on one of those before I work on the watching cat and that will get another of my commitments for the month done a little sooner. 

That's my news, now I'm off to sew. 

January Goals.

 I think this year I may give the monthly goals thing a try. I'm not sure how that will go, but I won't know if I don't try.
 My first goal will be the Chookshed challenge.

Deana has drawn the first number, it's number 6.
I had a quick look at my list and  found that I was to spend some time this month cutting fabrics for a new start.

You may recognise this pattern, I have completed it once before back in 2021 and gifted it to my daughter in law. I plan to do it again in beautiful Autumnal colours. 

The hope is that it will look like swirling autumn leaves.

Instead of sea swept it will be wind swept. 

The first part of the cutting instructions is for the back ground fabric so I'll try to get the back ground cutting completed by the end of the month.  I might even begin cutting the pretty batiks I'll see where else the month takes me.

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In other news I have quietly told myself that I'll be doing the 15 mins a day challenge this year. I might use that to focus on my EPP. So far I have a 100% record. LOL

I like the idea of the RSC Kiwi birds. I see that this months colour is greens. I have a few of those. LOL

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So my January goals are....

1) Cut fabric for Wind swept.

2) Work 15 mins a day on my EPP

3) And create two green kiwi.

4) Stitch at least one Christmas ornament. 

Wish me luck.