sardines, anyone?!

This gives new meaning to the term "packed in like sardines"!

Kiwifruit Chutney

I meant to post this recipe a couple of weeks ago, when I made it with the last of the golden kiwifruit we were given - it's super yummy!

2lbs Kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
2 Bananas, peeled and chopped
3 Onions, chopped fine
Grated zest of 1 Lemon
Juice of 3 Lemons
1 cup Raisins
1 cup Raw Sugar
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Ground Cardamom
1 Tbsp Salt
1 cup White Vinegar

Put all the ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for around an hour, until thickened.

Pour into dry, sterilised jars. Eat with cold meats, and on cheese sandwiches - YUM!

D.

I think she likes...

Hope under her new zig-zag quilt reading Eclipse on her 13th Birthday!

smells like teen spirit...

My daughter, Hope, turns 13 tomorrow, which officially makes me a mum of a teenager!  EEEEK!

I've made her a quilt, and she's getting the last two books in the twilight saga - plus a couple of other treats which should keep her happy!  We live in hope, anyway.

I'd had great plans to do all sorts of things for her thirteenth, which is a super special age to be, but as with a lot of things this year...  well, they've gone by the by.  So, it's about keeping things simple, but good!

She's having a couple of friends over on Saturday for a Pizza, Sundae, Movie night.  Should be good, just have to pick a movie that's good for 12 and 13 year olds!  Kind of a difficult age, really.

Anyway, wish me luck for the next couple of years...

D.

Craft Room Gets A Little More Sorted

The lovely Mr Sew Funky has given my craft room a nice little present: his old Apple Mac Dual 1.25 GHz G4 (He's just acquired a Dual 2 GHz G5 for his film and game websites). The G4 is a little on the old side, but still has plenty of grunt for my surfing, blogging and photoshopping needs. Mr Sew Funky also did a quick photo panorama of my craft room in it's present state. Click on the image for a bigger view.

Knitting for charity...

This week I decided to join a new group of crafty ladies at a local church.  I'd been missing my old bunch of crafty pal's and needed a kick-start back into crafting.  Had it really been 7 weeks since I'd crafted?!?  All that shifting and grieving had done my head in!

I was a little bit scared to being going cold into the meeting.  I only "knew" one woman there, and that's taking the "knew" a little bit more than what it was.  I'd met her twice!  So, yeah, little old me, who hates meeting new people, took the plunge and was so pleased I did!

This group of women meet every Tuesday at Franklin Baptist Church, here in Pukekohe.  And boy do they have a good laugh and lots of fun crafting up a storm.  I felt very welcome. :)

Every week they have someone teach a specific project, share morning tea and an encouraging word.

At the moment they are knitting for charity.  Some very cute wee jersey's for the "fish 'n' chip" babies of Africa.  Apparently, wee babies are sent home from the hospital wrapped in newspaper for warmth.  So very sad!  And so a group of people in Australia decided to do something about it, by making and sending wee jumpers for the sweet new babies.  Some of which are afflicted with aids.

I decided to give the pattern a bit of a go and am halfway through my second jersey.  Very easy and fun!  Nothing like doing something for others to take your mind off your own worries!

Here is the pattern if you want to try it;

Baby jumper knitting pattern (Knitted all in one)

8 Ply Yarn
Size 5mm needles (tight knitters)
Size 4.5mm needles (loose knitters)

Cast on 44 stitches
Work 18 Rows in K2, P2 rib
Work 30 Rows stocking stitch (1 row plain, 1 row purl)
Cast on 12 stitches at beginning of next 2 rows and at the same time change to K2,P2 (for sleeve)
Rib 22 more rows.
Next row: Rib 21, cast off 26 stitches, rib 21
Next row: Rib 21, cast on 26 stitches, rib 21
Work 22 rows in K2, P2 rib
Cast off 12 stiches at beginning of next 2 rows
Work 30 rows stocking stitch
Work 18 rows, K2, P2 rib
Cast off
Sew up the sides and under arms 


If you're interested in knitting for this cause, I've included the pattern in this post. Keep in mind that the jumpers may never be washed so don't use light colors like baby pink, light blue or white. Use 8 ply wool. Bright (ie. primary colours) and mixed colours are best – one colour or stripes are ok.

D.

stuff

I guess my Mum and I had more in common than I first thought... She was a hoarder, just like me. And that has been fortuitous for me as we have been wading through all the crafty things she'd kept in storage. I have been adding big time to my collection of craft supplies.

Whilst it's fun to add to what I have, it's also been a very difficult time. It's the little things really, the things she'd kept, the things she didn't. I still haven't come across my wedding dress, I hope it turns up, but...

So, I've lots of things to go through, and photograph to show you all. Keep an eye on the blog over the next couple of weeks for updates of the exciting things I've found.

Here's just a few books I've added to my collection;

click on image to see better...

Some molynyke thread and bits;

And some more BUTTONS! hurrah!

There's lots of yummy fabric, currently in the wash, smocking books, knitting patterns - it's like being in craft heaven!

D.

kiwifruit leather

YUM!  Actually, one of my favourite kitchen appliances is my handy dandy dehydrator.  I just hardly ever use it because of the terrible sound it makes - my ears are still ringing and it's been off for about 2 hours now!

Anyway, as you know from my last post, we've been inundated with kiwifruit and so I thought I'd try something I've always wanted to try and that's kiwifruit leather.  It's so basic I don't know why I've never made it before!

Here's the recipe;

KIWIFRUIT LEATHER

12 Kiwifruit (pureed)
2 1/2 Tbsp Honey
A little Lemon Juice to stop leather from going brown (this was in the recipe but I didn't use it and mine didn't go brown!)

Lay it 1/2 - 3/4 cm thick on your dehydrator's tray and dehydrate overnight.

See, simple.  And also so much better than the roll-ups you buy for kid's lunches.  Not that I buy them - I am scrooge mum when it comes to school lunches! ;)

PS. I am slowly unpacking all my craft stuff into my new room - it's shocking how much I've accumulated over the years!

when life gives you kiwifruit...

go ahead and make some jam!

this is only half of what we were given...

Earlier this week, I was blessed with being given a huge box full of golden kiwifruit, and left with a dilemma of what to do with them all.  We ate some and then the rest started to ripen and I had to quickly think about what to do with them all.   I hate waste!

Kiwifruit aren't all that nice stewed (I've tried), and so I decided some jam making was in order.  I looked up loads of recipes on the internet, but couldn't find one that suited me.  So I made one up, after years of watching my mum make jam, I guess some knowledge actually sunk in!


Kiwifruit Jam

(makes 5 jars of jam)

6 cups chopped kiwifruit (around 18 kiwifruit)
7 cups sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 heaped Tbsp Kings Jam Setting Mix (Pectin)

Peel & chop kiwifruit into 1cm pieces.

Put into a put heated to a medium heat and stir gently until the fruit breaks down into mush.  This takes around 20 minutes.

Add the sugar and simmer until the sugar has dissolved completely.  This takes around another 20 minutes or so.

Skim off the froth.  Add the lemon juice and pectin to thicken and simmer whilst stirring for another ten minutes.

Remove from the heat and cool.  Place into sterilised jars and refrigerate until required. 

The jam doesn't taste like what you expect, it's a little "marmaladey" in flavour, but good - it's real good!

learning to knit | Max Alexander

Learning to Knit from Max Alexander on Vimeo.

I'm still around...

... just enjoying setting up the new house, and loving living in a friendly small town. :)

My craft room is not even half way organised, I can't really get my head around sorting it out at the moment.  The sun is shining outside, my children and animals are happy in the new environment and life is looking up. :)

I can walk most places I need to go, and so Mr Sew-Funky and I are sharing the car.  I get it on Mondays and Tuesdays and he gets it Wednesdays through Fridays.  I think it will work out great.  He carpools with a workmate 4 days a week, and so it's one way to keep costs down whilst "saving the planet". :)

I leave you with what I wake up to in my bathroom every morning - I could very well get used to living like this!

Have a neat day, from the currently craftless one...

x D