I have been busy...honestly!!

Even though I haven't had time to do any much loved patchwork, I have been very busy with making Fig Jam twice a week (the tree just keeps producing!) and also knitting these Dish Cloths.. all being done after a full day's work as a Secretary.
I have knitted 9 of the 12 patterns out of the Dish Cloth Book I have, just got another 3 to make and then I have made them all! The other 2 multicoloured cloths are made up of left over balls of cotton, using the first pattern I had, which is oh so serviceable... the first cloth I had made in this pattern, lasted nearly a year with daily use and weekly washes.
The other things I am working on is a gift for a friend who's Birthday is at the beginning of March. She loves lighthouses, so I have decided to knit a dish cloth (blue item in the middle), make a tea-towel (or 2) out of the white honeycomb fabric (underneath dishcloth & fabrics) and decorating the tea-towel with a strip of the lighthouse fabric on the edge, then with the other pile of fabric, I am going to sew a paper pieced lighthouse pot holder.
Then lastly, my daughter asked me to make this dress for my granddaughter, so I bought the fabric and now I have to sew it together. The instructions said to buy a metre of the fabric, which I did, but I think they meant a metre of the UN-shirred fabric... ah well, there is enough to make 2 dresses for her... just have to buy more ribbon. I will make the second one a tad longer with different ribbon, so she will have 2 different dresses, 2 years apart.
Until next post...
Cheers..Jewells

Now Zucchinis

My boyfriend's small vegetable garden is producing more than we can eat, so tonight after work I made Zucchini Pickles and Zucchini Muffins. I used up all the zucchinis and the few onions I picked on the weekend.

Tomorrow I will be picking more figs off my tree, so I will have to make more jam soon. I am fastly running out of bottles!

I have been googleing on the computer to find interesting recipes for all this cooking, and todays two things are from that.

Until next post.

Cheers...Jewells

Making my Gifts

I am not one who makes New Year Resolutions, but this year, I privately told myself that I am going to "try" to hand make all my presents to people I give to for their birthdays and Christmas, and this is the first one of the year to my friend Colleen for her birthday on the 22nd.
It is a basket I had in storage filled with 4 things I have made this year:
1) Fig Jam
2) Nectarine Jam
3) Tomato Relish
4) Knitted Dish Cloth

I have decided not to wrap it and will just hand it over to her as is.

Until next post.

Cheers...Jewells

I've been busy!

Boy! the time has flown since the last post. I kept thinking that I must get on and show what I have been doing, but I wanted to get some sewing done, but other things had to be made, so there is no sewing to show this time, but here is what I bottled today:
The tall bottle is one of 2 bottles of "Grape Vinegar". My boyfriend has a grapevine of black grapes (Lady Fingers) and he gave me a heap...too many to eat, so I made this up and now have another lot soaking to make up in 3 day's time. It says to mix 3/4 oil to 1/4 of this grape vinegar to make a salad dressing, so I will try that tonight to drizzle over my salad.

The other bottle is one of 5 bottles of "Fig, Pineapple, Pecan Preserve". I have a fig tree and this year is the first year I have been able to pick the fruit. Last weekend I made up 6 bottles of "Fig Jam".

If anyone wants the recipes to the above, please let me know.
Then I have been knitting these dish cloths from a book that an American friend bought me. The first is a "Topiary with Heart" and the other of course is a "Frog". I am using American cotton (purchased while I was there) as it is about an 8ply and VERY soft.

I want to fiddle with these patterns (and others), by using smaller needles and more stitches.

Until next post..

Cheers...Jewells

My ABC Quilt

Over the New Year weekend I finally got to make up the ABC quilt I started many months ago. The problem was, I didn't have a pattern to go by. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, then just sewed and sewed. The last border of piano keys was a last minute decision, as I was going to sew straight borders of the red, blue & green, then inspiration grabbed me, hence the piano keys.
The size of the quilt is 36" x 52", and again like the last quilt I made (A Tisket a Tasket), I have no idea what to do with this quilt top.

Until next post.

Cheers.......Jewells

A Tisket a Tasket Blocks Made

I have been doing the free monthly pattern of A Tisket A Tasket and joined it all together last night. I have hand sewn the pattern in stem stitch using 3 strands of thread, then I colour matched the thread with fabric for each border, all being done in 100% cotton. So far the quilt top measures 36.5" x 48.5".
I was going to place a cream border all the way around it, then after quilting, add a multicoloured binding, but have decided to leave it as is and sell it on eBay as an UFO (Un-Finished Object). Don't get me wrong, I love how it has turned out, but I don't have room in or out of my cupboards for it. My daughter says she doesn't need anymore quilts and my Mother and Sister both quilt, and have the same problem as me with what to do with them after they are finished!

This way, by selling it on eBay, I will get "some" money back, so I can buy more fabric to make another quilt!

Until next post...

Cheers...Jewells