Just the Three of Us

Although there was only two to start with.

Amanda and I started with tea and muffins, date and walnut and orange and sultana (from the Susan Reimer book).

We had the french doors open to the garden and it was almost like sitting outside.

Chris would be arriving for lunch, Caroline was teaching today and Alison had other plans.

Amanda was sewing needle cases and pin cushions for the Guildford Quilters Exhibition next year.  The needle cases were being made from dyed woolen blankets.

I was cutting and sewing half square triangles for a sample quilt for Needle and Thread.  This is from a range of fabrics by Kathy Schmitz call Full Circle from Moda.

Chris arrived bring with her several projects, two of which she had completed over the weekend!!  A small quilt using Jo Morton fabrics Toasty, Ember Reds and Evergreens, the pattern was from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co called Decoy.

From the same range of fabric, Chris had made a table runner from the book Table Talk by Gudrun Erla. 

Chris was also finishing off two other quilts.

Lunch was Coronation Chicken, salad and new potatoes followed by a Light Chocolate Mousse.  Here is the recipe for the Coronation Chicken, I'm not sure where it comes from.

Six chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks

Curry Mayonnaise

2 tablespoons olive oil
One small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 level tablespoon curry powder
150ml/1/4 pint chicken stock
1 large teaspoon tomato puree
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 level tablespoon apricot jam or sweet chutney
300ml/1/2pint mayonnaise
3 tablespoons double cream

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion, cover and fry gently for 5 minutes until the onion is soft.  Stir in the curry powder and cook for a further 2 minutes, to bring out the flavour.  Stir in the stock, tomato puree, lemon juice and the jam or chutney.  Stir until boiling, the cook for 5 minutes until the mixture reduces and thickens.  Allow to cool and then stir in the mayonnaise and cream.  This sauce should be of a coating consistency. Arrange the chicken pieces in a serving dish and spoon the sauce over.
   

Not another piece of cake??!!!

The time is here again & all five Tuesday girls are back from travels to Spain, Cornwall & New York!
It is always so exciting to have a reunion.  Sometimes these days it is hard to all get together even though 'Tuesdays' are sacrosanct!!

A slightly late start so straight down to business - Lemon Drizzle Cake.  Have to thank my sister's chickens for the eggs!  A very popular choice this morning!

Flapjacks with nothing added (i.e. choc chips or fruit).
Always difficult to judge how long to cook especially with molasses sugar.

Then it was show & tell.
Chris has finished two quilt tops from her UFO's

This fuschia fabric was from Maywood Studios                 The layer cake pattern was from the Layer
 a few years ago. Chris used an 'Animas' Quilt                   Cake & Jelly Roll Quilts  Book by Pam & Nicky pattern.                                                                             Lintott.


After lunch -  another healthy salad with chicken & bacon pasta followed by strawberries & yoghurt. we all got down to some serious sewing.

Chris & I are still on hexagons, likewise Janet is still finishing her diamonds!
Caroline has nearly completed her baby quilt top from last week.
Alison has started yet another project - Farmer's Wife squares & has already completed four!
Fabrics are from a range by Jo Morton.

Another week in the life of...

Tip of the Day (courtesy of Alison)

"To get on top of all your UFO's, fold neatly into a pile & sit on them"!!!!!

End of May!!

Another lovely relaxing day!  Just Caroline & myself due to other commitments & busy lives!

Much sewing and talking was done.
We even started before the tea & cakes!!
I was making a door stop, prompted by the recent windy weather. The dining room door just kept on banging shut - no longer!!

The finished object!

                                                                Caroline was making squares for a baby quilt after seeing the        pattern in the window of Needle & Thread in Horsell.

Are those lines straight?

Lunch was a put together affair of fresh salmon & prawns in a chilli sauce 

with pasta, salad & fresh rolls, followed by raspberries & meringue. 

 As a token to good health we had low fat fromage frais instead of cream!!

Dessert!

 Caroline made a beautiful job of sewing all the strips together, cutting & piecing, whilst I got on with another needle case for the Guildford Quilters Exhibition next year.

Another sunny day which always helps.  I think both of us felt we had achieved  some good results.  

Can't wait for the next Tuesday!!

Just Four Today

A sunny breezy day in Surrey and no sign as yet of an ash cloud!

There would only be four of us today as Alison is on holiday in Spain.  Chris was the first to arrive followed very quickly by Caroline and Amanda.

With our first cup of tea we had Lemon Drizzle cake by M & S, no time for baking this week.

Caroline had brought with her eight fat eighths which she is hoping to make into a baby quilt for a friend.

Amanda had brought four Lone Star blocks she had completed from the workshop at the beginning of the month and was sewing more hexagons to add to the growing collection.

Chris was also sewing hexagons but into rosettes.

I had asked Chris if I could have a look at a ruler she had called 'Fit To Be Geese' by Open Gate Quilts, there has been a lot of talk on various blogs about this and I was interested to see how it worked.

Caroline had an early lunch as she was leaving to teach this afternoon.

Lunch consisted of Quiche Lorraine and Salmon and Watercress Quiche with baby new potatoes and salad, followed by a Bonne Maman chocolate mousse.

After lunch Chris got our her Fuchsia fabric that had to be fussy cut into borders.  After a refresh of the video instructions from Animas Quilts this was easily done.

Since June 2010 Alison, Chris and I have been doing a block of the month from Fat Quarter Quilters a 'Designer Mystery Block of the Month' this was on a Christmas theme using the fabric Collection 12 Days of Christmas by Kate Spain.  These are my blocks.

Once more to the Conservatory!

Tuesday is the one day of the week we all look forward to, without a shadow of a doubt.  It is a day of  discussion, relaxation and the warmth of friendship.  Yes, there is the question of which muffin/cake to bake and what appropriate meal to serve for lunch, but these are minor issues.  After an extremely busy Monday, the guilt struck home as I (Caroline) had to resort to Waitrose and Alison, who had volunteered to make her Malted Tea Loaf,  (picture my head hung in shame, here... ). However, this is what our group is all about.  We have a good time together, but we also support each other in both small and large ways.  So thank you Alison, the tea bread was wonderful.

Alison arrived first... (she has the furthest to come) closely followed by Amanda.  Janet arrived a little later and sadly Chris had said she would not be with us, but she would try to make afternoon tea.  (We later found that she spent some time in our local A&E with her son, after he'd fallen off his bike, poor lad!)  Anyway, although it was overcast, it was warm, so the conservatory door and windows were opened and we got down to the serious business of drinking mugs of tea and devouring (or in one of our words - and I love this phrase.... Scarfing down) the yummy Tea loaf, brownies or choc fridge cake (the latter two from Waitrose - so no recipe there, I'm afraid) and of course a little stitching on the side. 

As we were supping our tea and munching on our chosen cake, Alison presented us with some little goodie bags... She had been to Berlin with her husband but also to a Quilt Exhibition near where she lives.  We opened our bags and found some very delicious Ritter Sport chocolates and a wonderful little 3 sided fabric item.  Alison told us they were good for earings.  Well, that set us off as both Amanda and I immediately did the daft thing of popping ours on our ears.  Not quite what they were for but..!!!!  They were little thimble holders and you squeeze the sides to open them... Alison had been told they were good for (holding) earings but of course we had to take it literally, didn't we?  After several minutes of laughter and general tom-foolery, we settled down.

Amanda was working on a super pin cushion, Janet - her hexagons and Alison was working on her wonderful little blocks for her Dear Jane Quilt.  Such talented ladies and the completed items always look so good! I was working on my star from the class, 3 of us had attended at Needle and Thread (see last week's post).   Soon it was time to turn on the oven and get lunch on the way, so off I trotted.  After a slight delay, our lunch of an Italian chicken and pasta bake - with a Mediterranean style vegetable, chianti and olive sauce, (parma ham over the top with parmesan cheese sprinkled liberally over it) which was all served with salad and warm pitta bread. This was then followed by a wonderful chocolate desert, (similar to Gu) from Waitrose, served with a small Almond macaroon. Of course, all this had to be washed down by a good cup of tea!

Later Chris arrived and in the time she had, she was able to enjoy the dessert and a cup of tea at least.  We all chatted about our various chocoholisms as Alison gave Chris her goodie bag - from Curly Wurlies to Creme Eggs (and how to eat them), un-opened boxes of chocolates and self restraint until - on opening  they are 'scarfed down'. 

This took us through a good part of the afternoon where upon projects changed.  Janet took up her x-stitch and Amanda worked on some of her hexagons.  I managed to stitch two of my star quarters together, after a few 'mental' moments (not threading my machine's needle being one, but still going ahead to stitch).  It was a merry afternoon, but still sad when it was time for us to pack up and go our seperate ways.  

After waving good-bye, I remained for a few extra moments, to put the rest of my star together and felt quite proud as most of the points matched up. Hurray!

Until next time!

My Turn Again!!

Another warm & sunny day but a little too windy to be outside!
Having friends with like minded tastes, hobbies & ideas, I always look forward to Tuesdays with much anticipation.
Janet was the first to arrive & we tucked into our tea & peach & poppyseed muffins  immediately so that we could actually get some sewing done! I was thinking whole heartedly about healthy eating & growing waistlines, so used as recipe from "Red  Velvet & Chocolate Heartache" by Harry Eastwood.
Caroline must have heard the kettle & joined us for the second cup.
The three of us attended a Lone Star class at Needle & thread in Horsell last Saturday.  We were all keen to see any progression & discuss ideas.

Caroline got straight to work!

Chris joined us for a healthy lunch of chicken & bacon salad followed by home-made raspberry mousse.

We all continued to finish our stars - Janet had already added the background & had almost finished sewing the parts together.






          I was working on a second star, having used a jelly roll, which makes a total of four stars.  It was decided that I will wait until I have done all four before I decide on my background.

                  Caroline was deciding which should be the
                   centre colour of her star. She finally decided
                    on pink with a pale green background.

Janet also brought along her small diamonds for a table runner & was finishing sewing them together.

             


We had a lovely afternoon chatting & sewing together.  Alison was unable to make it as she is busy with builders at the moment. Can't wait to see the results!
UNTIL NEXT TIME.............

Short, But Sweet

It was more of a lunch together today but great see everyone after the Easter and Bank Holiday breaks and catch up on news.

After a bit of a dull start the day turn out to be sunny with blue skies if a bit windy.  I thought you might like to see a photo of the clematis 'Jersey Cream' in our garden, it has out done itself this year.

 

Amanda and Caroline arrived mid morning followed by Chris at midday.  Alison was not with us as they are having building work done on their house.  Amanda and Chris left after lunch and Caroline, mid afternoon.

We did not get any sewing done today.  Amanda showed us her growing collection of hexagons and Caroline was sorting out her Log Cabin Stars.

I had finished two quilt top samples for Needle and Thread, one using Jo Morton's fabric, Evergreen, Ember Reds and Toasty II and one of the Schnibbles patterns from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co called Decoy.

The second top is a Daisy Quilt, the daisies are cut using a Sizzix die,

For lunch,we had cold chicken, cold salmon and prawns and salad with a chocolate mousse for dessert.

Our cakes today were dark chocolate and raspberry muffins, using the recipe from the Lakeland book as a basis and a Victoria Sponge