Discussions and Decisions!

Today began with the usual rush of cake making... a lemon drizzle cake with pistachios  and poppy seeds (recipe and picture at the end) and also white chocolate and raspberry brownies - sorry no recipe as they were a Morrison's mix (which went down a treat with the girls).  Once they were in the oven, I set to to create the lunch menu which was chicken breasts, sliced lemons (using some of the left over skins actually as they still had lots of flavour and 'bits' left in them), sliced red onion and some home grown rosemary, all thrown in together and roasted with a modicom of water to stop it dehydrating (which I am very good at doing to my meals). Salad was easy enough to prepare and I just remembered in time to take the garlic and rosemary bread out of the freezer!

Alison arrived about 10.20 am  and we chatted about my next steps for a black and white based quilt for a friend of a friend.  she was kind enough to help me work out sizes, blocks etc which I still don't have much of a clue about how to work out... but I am learning! Then Janet arrived next having been waiting for a gentleman to complete measuring for carpets.. and had then popped into Needle and Thread on her way here. Chris followed closely and so we all settled to cuppas and cake.  

We  had a 'show and tell'; me with some lovely co-ordinating fabrics I had bought at the Festival of Quilts; Janet, her almost completed quilt top which she will teach a class for, and also some pins (decorative badges)she had bought at the Festival.   Amanda arrived later, after an appointment, (so we did a brief 'show and tell' again).  She stayed to have tea and cake and a good chat, then had to depart to look after some children as their family were at a funeral.  During this time Alison told us about her daughter's wedding and we all 'oohed' and 'aahed' over the tales and photos.  (She looked  beautiful, elegant and so relaxed, the family group photos showing the same.  The cake looked really pretty and the venue gorgeous.)  So on to some serious sewing.... after another cuppa!




 

Lunch was served, followed by a fresh fruit salad for desert and another cuppa.  Amanda had had to go by this time, but she had told us a little of her holiday in France and had brought us all some lovely soaps and a large flat tinned biscuit.  What do we do with the tins..? Well before we have even eaten the contents we were all trying to think what the 'recycled' uses would be, but it would most likely involve sewing of some description!!!!!



Stitching began in earnest for the girls whilst I ironed all my black and whie fat quarters.  Now to decide the size I need to cut and this is where the group are so wonderfully helpful.  After looking at images on google I had decided on a pattern, but how to present it and at what size to do for the completed blocks.  Alison and Janet conferred, drew out diagrams and gave me good advice.  Chris went home and then emailed me a picture of a Tiny Turning Twenty quilt top I had done and worryingly couldn't remember ever having doing it!!!  But it is ME in the picture.  Hmm!   Now to decide which I will do and so.... the girls departed, leaving me to make that decision.... after yet another wonderful relaxing day.




For the Cake
3 medium eggs
170g (6 oz) golden castor sugar
170g (6oz) SR flour
80g of melted unsalted butter.
50g (2 oz) ground almonds
50g (2 oz) chopped pistachios
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
2 lemons - grated rinds and juice
For the Topping
1 lemons- grated rind and juice
125g (4oz)icing sugar
Teaspoon of poppy seeds
50g (2 oz) chopped pistachios
Method
Whisk eggs and sugar until frothy.
Combine almonds, pistachios, poppy seeds, rind and flour and fold into the mix.
Add the butter and fold in.
Add the lemon juice and fold in.
Bake in a 2lb loaf tin (buttered and lined) at 160 degrees for 45 minutes or so.
Take out of tin and cool for a few minutes.
Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the top.

I added a tablespoon of honey to help keep the cake moist and replaced some of the lemon with lime juice as I like things a little sharper than sweet!





Hope you enjoy it!

Holiday Tuesday

A relaxing day was had by all.  Caroline arrived complete with sewing machine and was very keen to start.

Janet arrived in time for tea & cake - sorry no photo this week!




                                             
                                                                                   Caroline managed to sew together some of the Farmer's Wife blocks

Country Farm & Economy

Chris called in just in time for lunch & got on with the binding on a quilt already seen!

After a lunch of Chicken & chorizo risotto with salad, followed by fresh fruit & meringues we got down to the business of  the day,  It was a finishing off day for Amanda - all pins back into the pin cushion after doing all the mending!

   Caroline completed another square from the Farmer's Wife- Calico Puzzle.

Janet was busy finishing her Autumn cross stitch.





All too soon the day came to an end.  Some of us are off on holidays soon, hopefully to return refreshed and raring to get going on all those new projects (or the many UFO's!!).
Janet is at the NEC for the quilt show with Needle & Thread from Horsell.  Some of us are going to take photos, gain ideas and, of course, spend money on buying more fabric!!  Can't wait!!

Sultry Summer or Christmas in August???

Well dear readers, although another 'Conservatory day' had arrived and as it was such a beautiful day on Tuesday, we felt it was just right for sitting under the gazebo and doing nothing but laze the day away.  Full of good intentions as always, I had had a busy start to my school holidays with all things family so was looking forward to a day of good company - which it always is.  Knowing also that DH was having the car, I had shopped well and got everything sorted and what's more .. to where it needed to be the day before, so I had as little as possible to distract me from doing some much wanted quilting. Hmm!

First of all DD arrived, very cheerful and with a lovely iced coffee milkshake from our village cafe  (she was looking for a superhero costume from the shop next to the cafe - but hadn't realised it  had moved to Chertsey).  Next Amanda arrived and went to talk to DD under the gazebo, then Janet in quick succession and I had just made tea, when Chris also arrived -  virtuously on her bicycle!  We all sat in the garden as it was just too hot in the conservatory by 10.30.  We would have melted!   We sat,  drank tea, ate cake (Brazilian Coffee - Tesco's best), cookies (M&S Cranberry and Orange... very, very nice) and some delicious, sweet cherries  and conversed some more at our leisure.  Janet was the only one to be industrious and actually sew today as she had a fantastic Christmas Quilt to stitch the binding on .. this will be for Needle and Thread's stand at the Festival of Quilts (Birmingham NEC) next week.  Once that was done, she held it up and it looked gorgeous.

Lunch came next and what else would we be having but SALAD with Salmon and/or Southern Fried Chicken with all the usual trimmings, followed by Key Lime Pies, courtesy of Gu. Not one iota of stitching was done by any of us from that point on.  We chatted and supped cold drinks, chatted some more and then the girls were gone, earlier than usual sadly, but chores called!

Until next week!

Summertime?

Having had recent Tuesdays dominated by work it was wonderful to reach the holidays and be able to host a Tuesday again. We had hoped to number five today but Amanda was poorly and had to cancel:{

Caroline kicked off the day with show and tell, a beautiful baby quilt with her first prairie points, which we are sure will be much loved and appreciated. Alison had been making the most amazing cards but for some unfathomable reason I didn't take any pictures - doh! Sorry Alison.

The colours were chosen to be gender neutral but the photo does not do the colours justice.

I had baked on Monday and the cookies were made from store cupboard essentials lefotovers which needed using up - a handful of museli, porridge oats fom the winter ... you get the idea! The recipe that follows is an approximtion of what I threw into the mixing bowl if you want to have a go.
4oz butter, 6 oz sugar, 1 egg, 2 tbsp water, 4 oz SR flour, 9oz porridge/museli etc, 4 oz fruit (raisins, cranberries) and a few stale pecans. Baked at Gas 4 until they looked cooked - about 20 minutes. We also had beetroot brownies from a Harry Eastwood book which came highly recommended but I am not sure they are destined to be as popular as the traditional variety, not in my home anyway.


As usual, we had a very productive morning chatting. It is an essential part of our Tuesdays that we cherish. By around midday we are all laughing having shared the highs and lows of our lives and worked up an appetite for lunch. I had prepared a very simple chicken and chorizo Nigella recipe which can be found on the internet, (hope the link works but google will help if the link fails!) Pudding was the result of another raid on the store cupboard. Meringues from the surfeit of eggs, blackcurrant jelly, strawberry mousse and fresh strawberries.

I'm wondering if our Tuesdays should also include a session on the wii to shed the pounds we gain each week!

 We did sew during the afternoon - our Farmer's Wife blocks which are making progress. The Marti Michel templates have been a great success. Our books are scribbled over as we make notes and discuss the merits and inconveniences of our fabric choices. Some of us find it awkward to work with directional fabrics! We have also found the smaller rotary cutters and revolving cutting mats useful in the preparation of our blocks. It was good to chat sew to the hum of our machines.

Looking forward to next Tuesday ...

Tea, Rain and Planning

Alison was the first to arrive this morning, from Hampshire.  We were soon indulging our first cup of tea of the day together with banana and chocolate chip muffins which Alison had kindly made, and chocolate and hazelnut cookies. 

Amanda arrived and we had more tea and when Chris arrived again more tea!! Caroline is still teaching this week, but this is the last one before the summer holidays.

We did very little sewing this morning, we spent most of the time catching up on news and things we had been doing.  All of us are doing the Farmers' Wife blocks and we hope to do them next week.

After a salad lunch of chicken and mackerel with a summer fruit dessert, we carried on as much as we did this morning.  We planned a couple of sewing days for the autumn/winter.

Alison did manage a little sewing, stitching together diamonds into stars.

We had afternoon tea with the muffins and cookies from this morning.

I had a 'show and tell' I had finished the quilt top of the  paper pieced Christmas trees that I was doing a couple of weeks ago. 

As Chris and Amanda planned to leave we had a heavy downpour after a few minutes they made a dash for their cars, Alison waited for the rain to ease off before she left.

Another Tuesday over, a relaxing few hours with friends, looking forward to the next one.

Paper Piecing Tuesday!!

-Just a small gathering today - Janet arrived for tea and cake & Chris timed it perfectly for our second cup - no, we did not have a second piece of cake!!

Lemon Drizzle Cake


4oz Butter/marg
4oz Caster Sugar
4oz SR Flour 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 eggs
Rind & Juice of 1-2 lemons

Combine ingredients & put into a 2lb loaf tin (liners from Lakeland are easy & quick).
Lemons are to taste but it is really good with more lemon.
Bake in pre-heated medium oven 180*c (less for fan oven).  Bake for approx 25 mins until tester comes out clean.
Meanwhile, add rind & juice of another lemon to 2oz sugar (any type) & heat until syrupy!
Once  cooked, poke holes all over cake with knitting needle or cake tester & pour syrup over the top whilst still warm.  Leave on wire rack to cool.
Can be served warm with greek yogurt for a change.

Sewing projects this week seemed to have a theme - paper piecing¬

Chris is still going with her 1" hexagons.






                                                                          The pile is growing!!

                         

Janet is also continuing with her paper pieced
diamonds.

It is amazing how different they look.  Not sure how large either of the finished products will be but they are a great way to spend an evening & are very addictive!

Diamonds by Janet

Not much new this week.  Alison is helping her mother in Scotland & Caroline is working hard as usual.
I have been away on a photography course for the past few days so not much time for any extra.
I am, however, continuing with my felt candle mat, another enjoyable hand project.

The pins are getting fewer!!










Lunch was jacket potatoes with coronation chicken and/or prawns.  Raspberry mousse to finish.

Another lovely day with friends.

Two Plus One

It would be just Amanda and I until lunchtime, when Chris would be with us after her course had finished.  Caroline will be teaching until the end of tern, so will not be with us on Tuesdays until the summer holidays.  Alison was hoping to be with us, but had to travel to Scotland to be with her Mum who had a fall last week.  We all hope your Mum makes a speedy recovery.

It was very hot today, Amanda and I sat outside on our deck under the umbrella, having the first cup of tea of the day, together with Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate Chip muffins.  (Again from the Susan Reimer book).  There had been a rebellion in our house, over the which flavour of muffins there would be this week. "We never get Chocolate Chip muffins anymore"  was the cry!!

With the French Doors wide open and with our second cup of tea, we settled down to do some sewing.  Amanda was hand stitching a wool felt candle mat, that she had for her birthday. 

I was paper piecing Christmas Trees (yes I know it's a bit early for Christmas), using a range of fabric called Jovial by Basic Grey from Moda Fabrics.  This is a sample quilt for Needle and Thread, to be taken to the Festival of Quilts (11 - 14 August, NEC Birmingham).

Chris arrived for lunch and as it was still hot, we eat outside, today we had BBQ Chicken, (sauce from Delia Smith's book The Complete Cookery Course),  salad and new potatoes, with meringue, summer fruits and fromage frais for dessert.

After lunch Amanda and I continued with our sewing and Chris cut out more of her Farmers' Wife blocks.  With our afternoon tea we had a Banana and Walnut loaf also from the Delia Smith Complete Cookery Course.

By mid afternoon the skies had clouded over and it was raining when Amanda and Chris left for home.

And for its back to the Christmas trees.