there is beauty in everything

they never cease to amaze me....

its quince season...and i love them...

i love that the plain ordinary looking fruit can transform themselves into something so beautiful..

i love the colour...the scent...the flavour....the surprise in their cooking....
but ohhh the flavour...

quince jelly

1.3 kg quince fruit..washed and quartered
2 lemons...halved
1/2 cup water
two cinnamon sticks
1kg sugar

place fruit, lemons, cinnamon and water in a large pan and simmer until the fruit is soft and pulpy.
place in muslin/gauze and hang over a bowl overnight. don't be tempted to squeeze the pulp hasten the process or the jelly will go cloudy.
place the collected juice back into a clean pan and bring to the boil. slowly add the sugar and continuously stir until it comes to the boil. turn the heat down to low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally for 2 hours, or until setting point is reached.
bottle while hot into sterilized jars. you can add a sprig of rosemary to each jar or a bay leaf and as you pour the hot jelly into the jar, the herb will infuse into the jelly giving it an additional flavour...

this jelly keeps for well over 12 months if sealed properly...
trust me it is worth the effort.... its delicious on toast...delicious with cold meats....delicious on a cheese board....

winter T cover-up..

I have just stocked up on some new winter T's....I have only worn the white one once and managed to spill something on it, and I have been unable to remove the stain ...i think the offending food was the chilli mussels we ate on saturday night...don't you hate that...

so rather than replacing it after one wear, i changed the neck line from round to a V, and added a stitched down frill...made out of white gauze..
i am please with how it looks...i have even been thinking of what else i have in the cupboard that needs an update/embellishment...

and the only other crafting around here has been a pencil holder for school....by order from said teenager, yes teenager, not child...she says it's much easier to manage, than an over stuffed pencil case..

from this fabulous book....

i just made the pockets wider so that a texta could sneak in next to the pencil...



this was so easy to make, quick and fun...using only the smallest of scraps from the bucket...

might make some more, for the birthday stash cupboard...if i ever get to the bottom of the 'to-do-list'....

connecting with the past..

everything ripens at once...

i have been cooking all weekend.....

stewed plums...plum sauce...pickled plums...plum conserve....

then of course the tomatoes are ripening faster than we can eat them....chutney this week and hopefully tomato and passionfruit jam next week....
and because this is so delicious some more limoncello.....
i felt like my granny all weekend...

she loved preserving, she always produced a jar of something delicious to share....i used her favourite receipes that were given to her by her mother....

i love that the generations still remain connected through old hand written receipes...tried and true...simple...they never fail me.....

now i have to label and find a home for all this in the pantry....

wrapped up again

this is a commision... the same process as this.



fabrics not supplied by me...i felt guilty becuase they were so beautiful and their beauty does not get seen to its fullest because of the process...beautiful japanese silks, and linens, combined with various cottons...colours i would not put together... but they work...i love them...



i wish i could see the vase in its home, on its antique sideboard, matching in with the sofa and footstool...whose fabrics are incorproated in the vase...

i guess thats what happens with commisions...you rarely see them in their glory...

i'm sad to farewell this one...but i have been asked to do another commission, much more exciting...it will take some time...some planing... some making...

i'll share that secret later...

snippets

where do my days go...

only snippets of creativity around here as work seems to have taken over...
a bag for a niece who is red mad... to go with the red scarf i bought her..


and progress on my cardigan...this has been frogged several times, but i think it looks about right now...i am loving the colours that keep showing up in this.
i have drafted some patterns for said daughter, similar to 'Morrison' from previous post, and am dying to test them out..
roll on the end of extra days at work... only two weeks to go..i am hoping by then it might be cooler, and i can shut myself into the stitching room for awhile...hoping..