I need help please - just stuffed up cutting French General fabric . . .

Well, I must have got too carried away with my new cutting blade. I have just realised that I have cut my fabric incorrectly!!!  What a goose I am.

I cut the 18 x 2 7/8 squares from across WOF and then now just read about the two 6 7/8 squares.

These are the two pieces left to cut - they are WOF x 10". Obviously I should have cut out the 6 7/8 squares first then played around with the 2 7/8 squares!!!

After cutting the 18 squares I am now left with only 4.25" x WOF to get the 6 7/8 squares.

Admiring my bundle of dark colours, even cut these on the diagonal - still didn't click in about the extra squares!

Any suggestions how to recalculate this mess would be greatly appreciated. I am pulling my hair out. Perhaps if it is recalculated to smaller blocks, I just don't know, my brain has gone into overdrive and I just can't think a way out of this one.

Life wasn't meant to be easy was it - I always say that I love a challenge, and I think I have found one!!

Cheers, SuziQ

This is us . . .

They talk about sheds that the men have, well I am thinking of adding a shed up the back yard for my addiction (no just kidding)!!!  One of the ladies I work with told me that her Mum has a yurt for her sewing room.  Her Dad promised this when they moved into the new home - WOW a yurt, that would be cool.

I purchased last year some gorgeous fabrics by French General for my DH quilt - he asked me about it the other day and I thought OMG I must find that - well I did find it and have dusted off the cobwebs and  have now found my blade is blunt, so out into the rain - hopefully I don't get too carried away with other essential items at our local quilt store.

Found this "funny" on Patchwork Orange Facebook page.

Enjoy whatever you are doing today, until next post, cheers SuziQ

Minnie Ripperton bringing back memories . . .

I just had to post this clip by Minnie Ripperton - WOW this was recorded in 1975.

I can still remember it well!!

This song brings back many, many wonderful memories for me growing up on the north coast of NSW - leaving the comforts of home and heading to the "big smoke" all those years ago. This song takes me straight back to those times and how daunting it was to be away from home and learning to "survive" in the real world!

Take care - hope you also enjoy! Off to work now . . . 

In my backyard . . .

Saturday morning and we are up and about recovering from yesterday's 33 degree scorcher of a day here in Sydney.  I have just been up to check out the vegie patch and thankfully they are rehydrating with a couple of slugs winding their way through the straw.

Tiny Toms sprouting flowers

Hoping for some strawberries

Love this perpetual spinach, so great in salad

My chookie girls survived yesterday's heat by digging dirt baths under the trees and just generally trying to cool off.  My poor cockatiels and finches were the hardest hit - but after a quick mist with the hose and plenty of greens they seemed to recuperate.





Off to work today for the both of us - back home around 8'ish after doing Palm Beach to Central routes and then second half similar routes.  I am sure there will be lots of people out and about enjoying today's cooler weather.
I hope whatever you are doing you enjoy the day . . . until next time. Cheers, SuziQ

Coffee, Cupcakes, Chooks & Clamshells . . .

Whew . . . just what I needed today after a very long week - a day away from work and to do just anything - and that's what I have been doing - and loving it!!!

Coffee

I started off my day by going into the wonderful city of Sydney - by bus of course - this takes approx. one hour.  Of course after the trip in it was 10'ish so I just had to have a coffee. I found this new little coffee bar in Market Street called QT - it is the newly revamped Gowings building right next door to the beautiful State Theatre.

New Hair Style

Then it was off to David Jones, Elizabeth Street store - walked into the newly revamped lower ground floor and noticed a hairdressing salon, so off I went for a new look - feeling great by the end of this!  Checked out the cosmetic counters and clothing departments, but didn't buy anything.

Cupcakes

 So off to the next task requested by DH to bring home some cupcakes from the Cupcake Bakery in Centrepoint.  This is the result of my findings and yes they are YUM !!!

Just had to try one before writing this for quality control!

Now into the garden . . .

Chooks

For the past couple of weeks our chooks have gone off the lay . . . I know some of them are in "retirement" so to speak, but the new ones should be laying.  Earlier in the season we were getting eggs and then off the lay they went. We thought it must have been the new pellets, but to our surprise today we found their "hidden nest" - under the palm tree inside the tree guard area we found 12 beautiful eggs!

So of course one has to check if they are fresh and they are!  I cleaned them up first and then did the water test whereby if they sink to the bottom they are still fresh and how lucky were we they are fresh!  

Clamshells

So, after the cupcake and egg hunt I am finally in the sewing room - cutting out some of my clamshells and have done a trial run to see how it looks. Will be placing them onto the green linen eventually. This is a jelly roll by Amy Butler.  I am also using the wonderful pattern from Sue Daley and can't wait to see the end result.

Well that is the news for today - back to work tomorrow and another day off on Sunday - so will keep you posted. Hope you have also had a rewarding day like I have. Until next time, best wishes, SuziQ

Blueberry Friands . . .

Just had to try out the oven after yesterday's class!!

Blueberry Friands for afternoon tea - YUM

Our day has mainly been full of catching up from yesterday and unfortunately, I haven't ventured into the sewing room as yet (nearly 3.30pm) so I still have a few hours daylight left to get in there!

YUM - worth the effort!

Easy recipe whipped up - 6 egg whites, almond meal, butter, icing sugar, flour and some blueberries which I had in the freezer.

Ever tried taking a photo through the oven door !!!

I wasn't happy with them after the suggested time, so popped back in for another 6 minutes and they looked a lot better. If I made them again I would use fresh rather than frozen fruit - I found they were a little wet - but hey they were delicious!

I hope you have had a great Sunday . . . until next time, warmest regards, SuziQ

Ilve Ovens Masterclass . . .

A Masterclass with Ilve 

Something different for me today . . . DH unfortunately had to work, but he was there in spirit!

Some many months back we purchased an Ilve 90cm freestanding oven - was one of those purchases when one walks into a Harvey Norman store and sees a great reduction on the oven you have always dreamt of owning!!!

It arrived and was installed and was somewhat different to the old oven we had inherited in our home 

. . . lots of buttons, so much bigger than used to, catalytic liners (sounds like a car), rotisserie (I thought who is going to clean up after using this feature) so wont bother with that.

How wrong was I . . . when I attend an Ilve Masterclass today.  So after revving up the GPS to find my way across the other side of Sydney I finally arrived and was made very welcome with a delicious cappuccino - waited for the other 9 people to arrive for the class and then off into this wonderful kitchen watching the home economist whipping up all the goodies.

We started with mini quiche - pastry to die for, so crisp; then into the oven a tray full of chicken pieces and lamb cutlets - 12 minutes later out they came looking scrumptious. Then we were shown how to set up the rotisserie - on this occasion two small pieces of lamb which had been marinated in moroccan spices, underneath were truss tomatoes and other veggies - some 25 minutes later out of the oven came this wonderfully cooked lamb - we all checked for the splatter in the oven and we were all just so taken aback - just a few splatters on the glass door - we all commented on how we just dreaded the cleaning up of the oven afterwards - so guess what is on the menu at our place tomorrow for lunch - will keep you posted on this one.

Then the raspberry friands were whipped up and served with cream topped with crushed toffee and nuts - WOW what a way to go. So much for my first week on WW diet!

Of course I forgot to take my camera didn't I so I have just popped in some pics from the recipe book.

I hope you have had a great Saturday doing whatever you love to do . . . until next time, SuziQ