Weekending

• My spoils from the Hamilton craft show
• Some baking -Weetbix Deluxe Slice from this book: Grans Sweet Pantry. it is deliciously caramelly, chocolatey and dare I say, that the weetbix make it healthy.  For a similar recipe try here
• Sewing - yes I have officially started Mr J's shirt quilt.  60 blocks have been sewn, and there is probably at least another 50 to make.  He is delighted to finally see how it will look, very roughly laid out, and has insisted that some of the blocks be replaced with shirt pockets. I am intending to make the quilt back from fat quarter size pieces of some of the shirt backs, and yes, apparently I have to include a pocket or two there also.

Hoping you all had a fabulous weekend too.

Today I ....

am loving

• these beautiful frilly camellias - picked from my neighbour's garden.  I have them floating in a bowl on my dining table.
• being organised and cooking dinner early - tonight a savoury tomato mince rice bake and coleslaw.
• knowing that I have a day out in Hamilton tomorrow, to attend the craft fair.  Fingers crossed I will catch up with Rachel and Deb, and also my mother-in-law.  No doubt there will be a little money spent ....
• this fabulous pile of cookbooks - I am especially looking forward to making some treats from  Gran's Sweet Pantry - which is  a New Zealand cookbook too.
• my pile of bedside reading - currently I am reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.  I am not really a  fantasy book reader, but thought I had better try some different books and genre, now I am working for the library.  This was recommended to me by one of my co-workers as a good series to start with.  I am about 60 pages in, and so far I am enjoying it.
• another shot of this beautiful camellia.

Hoping you are all having a great week - not long till the weekend now.

A Cockatoo Cushion

Finished - one cockatoo cushion. This is going to be a green loving, bird mad, nephew's birthday gift.

I decided to use batik, for the background, because it gave the impression of a bird looking out of leafy branches and a slightly tropical feel.  A strip of green Kona cotton breaks it up and I have bound it in the same fabric. Quilting is just  four straight lines each side of the inset green strips The backing is the batik too and it has a concealed zip.  I am really pleased with how this has turned out, hopefully my nephew loves it too.

Pattern from:  Quiet Play

Size: 20: square

Weekending

• one finished Cockatoo - now to finish the cushion.  Love how this bird has turned out.
• a postcard sent by my flickr friend Emma from Italy - I remember sitting at the bottom of these steps many years ago - eating my lunch and watching the world go by.
• using up some of the abundant celery from garden in this soup.
• glorously bright green and gold leaves on one of my geraniums.

Hoping you all had a wonderfully relaxing weekend too.

Lately

Gosh, the year is just whizzing by, it hard to believe that it is August already.  Officially one month of winter to go.  It has been a busy few days with work, visits to prospective high schools with Miss B, inter-school maths competitions,and today Mr J is home with a cold.  However the outside temperature is beautiful and mild today, so I have spent the morning weeding the vegetable garden and shaded flower garden in my back yard.  It is amazing what little treasure reveal themselves once the weeds are cleared:

• my white Daphne is just starting to flower, so it smelt divine weeding around this plant
• miniature cyclamen - these are all ex-indoor plants that I plant outside after they have finished flowering
• a tiny spreading violet - normally I am quite ruthless and pull this plant out, it spreads very easily, but it provides a little extra colour in the garden at this time of the year.

Not much sewing has been done:

• I did make a project pouch out the scrappy blocks I was creating - this has been sent to one of my Pay It Forward recipients - hopefully it has arrived at it's destination.
• another paper pieced cushion has been started - this one for my nephew, who is mad about birds. Cockatoo pattern from here

I have just started reading The Layered Garden by David Culp.  I saw this book on my friend Nicole's blog, and was delighted to be able to get it from my library.  Beautiful photos - and very inspiring.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend - whatever you may do.