civil reproduction here I come!!

And so as I wind my weary way down the road to finishing off my wallhanging and knowing I still have to sew a sleeve on the back and determined to finish this project this time....I have suddenly pulled out the saved repo fabrics and although I have not got enough to finish I really want to start the quilt above found in a American quilt magazine (im sorry but is there any better type of quite mag than one form The USA?!..but so hard/expensive to come back in the back of beyond of NZ). Anyway the repo quilt above is a lap quilt and after doing two lap quilts I actually like to do bigger ones nowadays, so even allowing my quilt measurement dyslexia I think that I can expand this one without too much problem!

And also above is some of the fabrics collected and yes I know that a lot arnt the true repo deal but again this is NZ and I have to find just the closet thing possible...but some of them are the real deal mind you.

The Pantry is filling...I love the late summer with its big preserving pot digging its way out from under my oven onto the cook top and with something animal vegetable or fruity bubbling away on top. This is the first time Ive made pasta sauce and it didnt reduce in the 3 hours that I thought it would, I think I had it too low and I had no choice but to preserve it as I had to pick up the girls from School and drive to singing lessons. I have found another recipe and I am keen to try this as well...I can buy 5kgs of tommmies for five dollars at present and I have everything else on hand. Oh and one of the pasta jars didnt seal properly so I tried it over a packet of 2 minute noodles (such an extravagant life we live when the gorgeous hubby in uniform (the GHIU) is away..) and it tasted nice. So there you go . SUCCESS!!!!

Im so missing the GHIU and he is due back tomorrow after a week away in Tauranga and then ihave him back for a whole night before he takes off again for another week...Oh well at least "Coastwatch" is on tommorrow night and he occassionally is filmed for this so I might see in person then! I remember once he was away on a big job and we were all missing him but then he headlined the evening news The job he was on, not him personally!! But it was nice following him round on TV the girls are always thrilled when he gets on tv..he is less so!)

So I leave now to have a husbandless tea of vegemite and toast (The girls just want eggs) but it humid and so a big tea would always be a big push.

Happy quilting to you all amid the humidity and the late still blue skies,

Love Cherry

Another scrappy top finish

This time it is a small wall hanging from a magazine that I took a fancy to. Funny, this time last year I had no inkling to do smaller projects and wall hangings, yet this year I have and they are certainly a viable way to use up my scraps. Actually about those scraps...I began quilting just a few years back and I loved the country and primitive look, but being very thick when it came to materials I didnt iniatially look too hard at the fabrics i bought..if the design stated blue for instance then I would use a blue..any blue!! So it was a while before I realised this and now i have a stash of fabrics that arnt that countrified and that I arnt too fond of! And Im finding it a pain to try to find a pattern that I like and that they would go well in. But frugal as ever I will use them and I will not venture into Quilt shops until the stash is well down. After all I want to start afresh as it were, and when we leave I would like to have only a bit of material to have to take with me.

it is raining. Yes after the great dry and the oppressive heat the rains have come. And they came on the day of the School picnic at the river (well thats typical huh) its good to hear the rain and to lose the humidity. Its been so hot that our pool has been turning green every few days with amazing algae bloom!!!

The ghiu (Gorgeous hubby in uniform) is away at a Kapa Haka festival for four days. he says hes working..Im thinking its just four days of socialising with long lost relations and hangi feeds...When he rung me up to talk last night I think I was pretty true with that observation.! Hes away a lot at this time of year and I get used to being a bit of a solo mother. All the discipline in the house goes out the door with him too unfortunately. Yes I am the soft Mummy.

My pasta sauce is bubbling away, ready for preserving. Its the first time that Ive done this..I hope its a success!!! I grew basil in every nook and cranny this year just for this moment so it better be worth it. The thing about preserving something for the first time is the fear that it will all go off in the bottles.

Til next time

Cherry

Its not what I originally planned but this cushion is for my Mums birthday in March. She, like me loves chooks:)

And this is the scrappy windmills or whatever the heck they are called becuase you try findinfg them on the internet!!! As the scraps are predominantly brown I want to border them with a dark brown, but I dont have enough in stock...so is it a cheat to buy some reduced fabric for this purpose. Can I still call it a scrap quilt? hat a dilemma...

My local quilting shop out in the country is having a mass quilt making project for the bush fore victims so I will be helping out there.

happy quilting

love cherry

Albacore for dinner.

Mmm Gorgeous hubby set off 15 miles out to sea in search of Tuna. Its the first one Ive seen that wasnt on the canned shelves of Pac n Save! We smoked it and can I just say that it is delicious with crackers, a bit of Philly cream cheese and a freshly picked Roma tomatoes from the garden. I feel the lovely taste of tuna should be preserved somehow but Ive never preserved fish before and now this one is smoked anyhow. But..any suggestions on this would be appreciated.

The Aussie fires have made me sick to my stomach the tales of the death and devastation. I have given to the Red cross-which Im pleased to say is 100% monies to the appeal, but I really want to give something solid as well, something tactile. All these people who have lost everything. Does anyone (in NZ) know of an appeal collecting quilts, or such like for the victims. I did see a lady on TV collecting clothing and baby goods for the victims and Qantas was providing the transport. Surely some Quilted minded people being the generous things they are know of something or are keen to join in on this idea??

Happy thoughts

Cherry

Scrappin"

I have always said that if i couldnt quilt, then I would scrap. I LOVE photos, and I have millions and the thought of scrapping them all is overwhelming, plus I dont have brain to come up with the wonderful pages I see in the magazines, by myself. And Of course quilting is so demanding of my spare time, the needle literally thrusts itself into my hand when i sit down at night. But every now and then I get the overpowering urge to just set all cotton aside and scrap . And now is one of those times. I dont know how long this will last, could be a month..or a week..or tomorrow, but I have to follow. So I have been pooling my limited resources and yes(even in the recession eating pigeons) I have bought a few more resources. So here are some of the results of my actions. Thats Alex in the above photo and following the unwritten laws of scrapping I included a page of her photos where she wouldnt pose properly for her annual pretty pretty recital photo. And so I turned what I thought was an awful situation around to include her mood and the things she said while I tried in vain to capture my one "perfect" shot.

Then this one captured on the beaches of Waitangi (it is Waitangi day tomorrow by the way) was copied in part from a book and was a simple layout ripping photos and paper. It needs something else thought and it will be an ongoing project until I find that something.

I did capture this photo of Alex before she pulled a face and looked away...and I thought it was quite neat with the wee tutus and the pretty fluffiness and unusual angle of the shot. The background paper I found cheap in a scrapping store in hastings and thats when I decided to find a photo from my collection to go with it.

When we went on holiday to Mahia recently Alex kept on insisting she make us coffees. Apart from walking to the kitchen and pouring the boiling water into the pot, she did everything else herself. It was so enjoyable having coffee made for us instead of out usual : "I made it last time its your turn " banter that hubby and I indulge in on a regular basis. Was I scared shed scold herself..No.
(I spelt Barista wrong....I hope people realise I wasnt geting mixed up with a lawyer)

This was also making a page out of what would normally be not so happy photos. The girls werent having much of a smiley morning and so I used that to come up with this page. I love journalling as I so want future generations to know the story behind the picture and not just enjoy the art artynist itself.

I havent completely put aside my quilting. Despite everything I still have my scrappy windmills going along the side. I thought I could dispense with quilting while this scrapping urge took hold but it seems I can not. I have managed to do two more blocks in between scrapping!!

Schools back!!

Im going to miss my babies in the day time!! Today feels very lonely and oddd after six weeks of noise, laughter, screeching, wet bodies (and towells everywhere!) and of course sisterly arguements. These are photos that show up on the camera when the girls get hold of it. Even photos in the local bakery!

(even brown skinned girls get tan lines in this heat)

So I found this recipe on a browse and I can confirm it really is the best choccy chip recipe on earth!! Find it here, and while yoiu are at it check out her journal which she got from Eyes of wonder site. Such a neat idea and one I may try.

As this blog is supposed to be about my simple and getting even more simpler life I felt i should post a picture of butter wrappers.I save these and keep them in my fridge then use them as baking paper. This hint came from my Aunt in her eighties and was always done when she was a child. I have found this very useful actually. I love reading books and garnishing ideas from elderly people on how they survived during the depression years and after. The stories I heard..I cant beleive there are people comparing this recession to that depression...but then Ive been assurred we havent touched rock bottom yet in this financial squimish.

Well its official...the heat here in hawkes bay has broken all sorts of records. Im glad they mentioned this on tv as I rant and rave about the heat. It was so hot, humid and uncomfortable yesterday and the native grasses in out park around the pond went up in smoke!! Exciting for the kids with the firemen around.! Plus all our automated flysprays are empty and the flys are overtaking us.!! Aah well such is summer in Hawkes bay!

Have a great day

Cherrry