Mandalas and Shortbread

I haven’t had much time to crochet this week, but all my plans for what time I had went out the window when I saw Zooty Owls new mandala- starflower.  Oh my word it is glorious, of course I had to get going…..straight away!  She is so generous with her designs.

Perhaps it is fortunate that I didn’t have enough colours in cotton to do the pattern as I was forced to use what I had.  In doing so I have a wonderful new use for a Mandala – yep the mandala shawl!

left to right
firebird, rhapsody,  and magic

I went to my trusty variegated 4 ply wool (Patons Fantasias range) and used 3 colour ways – magic, firebird and rhapsody).

To create this beautiful mandala!  (I did have to break off the wool in places to avoid some colours I didn't want creeping in.)  I haven’t done the last few rows as I am not yet sure I want them in the shawl.

While I was crocheting away I kept thinking this would make a wonderful centre point for a shawl, thus the idea was born.

So out came the colour pencils and I have sketched out I want it to look.  2 – 4 more mandalas, two probably up to row 6 or 7 and 2 up to row 4.  With the surrounds a lacy stitch in the ‘magic’ colour way.  I don't know how to do the joining and lacy bits, but I am sure I will figure it out!

I am linking this post to Cosmos and Cottons Monthly Mand-a-Long  I will probably link the finished shawl to next month’s Mand- a- Long.

I have just realized that I have been blogging for 3 months and crocheting for 6 months, doesn’t time fly.   I had started this blog to talk about my crochet and crafts along with my other passions cooking and gardening.  Um… crochet seems to be taking the upper hand, and the cooking and gardening have been neglected.

So without further ado here is a recipe for yummy lemon shortbread.

Lemon Shortbread

Ingredients

200 gm (7oz) butter,

½ cup (4oz) castor sugar,

grated rind of 1 lemon (NB lime is nice too, or a mix.)

2 cups (8oz) plain flour sifted,

½ cup desiccated coconut.

Method

Beat butter and castor sugar and rind till light, Work in flour and coconut, but not over work!  Roll out to 1cm (¼ inch) thick and cut into shapes of your fancy.  Bake 20 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius , cool on tray. (the coconut gives it a lovely taste and is not quite the same without it)

I love Shortbread, in all its forms.  I started to bake it when  I was about 13 for my father as he loved it so much, then it was plain shortbread, now I have a tendency to add other flavours, such as this lemon  one or sometimes in summer I like to add English lavender flower seeds, or sometimes I like to add ground coffee.

The gardening bit, Lemons are one of my favourite flavours and would choose it over chocolate any day!  So of course I have to have lemon trees, I have two a Meyer and a Lemonade which you can eat as is!  They are starting to ripen up nicely and this year I planted a lime and I noticed that it has a dozen limes, Yay!

To finish this rather long post (I must try and blog twice a week so posts are not so long!)I have a photo of a flower that is by my front door, it has been blooming all summer and autumn, I have no idea of its name but I just love the green and wine colour of the flowers.

Thanks for visiting and I wish you all a wonderful week!

My Crochet Week

I have wanted to redecorate my house, especially my bedroom for a while, it is decidedly getting shabby, I can’t even say it is shabby chic!  Over the last few weeks I have been delighting in Pinterest, oh my gosh isn't it addictive!  I have gone from bohemian to gypsy chic to shabby chic to romantic, there is just so much wonderful stuff out there.  I had come to no decision until I was in the local fabric shop and spotted the fabric I want for the curtains.  I just fell in love with it.  So now I had the colours.  Of course my head immediately went to what hooky stuff I could have in there.

For years I have wanted a cotton lacy crochet bedspread in white.  So I picked up some white cotton and of course I had to pick out a green and the rusty red colour.

Getting home I thought I could get started on a small cushion to see how the colours work.  I am very fascinated with the popcorn stitch at the moment so I went scouring the net for ideas.  First idea was from  AnaZard Atelier.

I was not convinced and when I saw this square I knew I had found the answer. It is Primavera Grannie Square from Dada's Place.

I decided to even abandon the completely white bedspread in favour of a mix of the three above.  I am not sure at this stage whether I will add a blue or pale yellow. 

Of course, being addicted to mandalas at the moment I had to try one in these colours.

Think it will OK, nice on the bedside table, the pattern was from  Lizzie Bella.

While I was at it I had to try the pattern adapted slightly with some cotton I had found in the local hospice op shop..  12 balls of Twilleys no 3 in pampas, goodness how old it was as it had the price labels from James Smith a big department store in Wellington that closed about 15 or more years ago!  I only paid $4!  I picked up some other crochet bargains, but will blog about it later.

I think I would call this a doily rather than a mandala.  You can see it in the photo but it has a nice sheen to it.

This week I have also been working on my shawl, scarves for family and granny squares for a baby blanket.

Are you like me and have numerous projects on the go? However, sometimes I wish I could just work on one project at a time and get it finished faster!

Linking to Annmarie's Link your Stuff

The Anzacs

This is a gouache sketch of poppies from a photograph I took in the summer. The poppy is a symbol of an important day of remembrance here in NZ and Australia.

Today is Anzac Day a sacred national holiday in New Zealand and Australia. Everything is closed by law. Both countries commemorate the battle of Gallipoli in Turkey during the 1^st World War.  Both countries lost so many young men that there was a generation of women who never married or were left widows with young children.  In modern times it has come to represent the futility of all wars.  Every town in New Zealand land has a dawn ceremony where the last post is played at the war memorial.  It is also a rite of passage for New Zealanders and Australians to go to Anzac Cove in Turkey and take part in the dawn ceremony there.  I have done it and it wasn’t really until then standing in the place where so many young men were slaughtered that it hit me how wasteful war is.

So, this post and collage of old photos is is commemorate those young men, and a generation that never happened.  In particular, my grandfather (he was fortunate that he was too young to go to war) lost four brothers and my grandmother lost all of her brothers – five.

You are never forgotten.

On a lighter note,  Gallipoli produced a national icon, Anzac biscuits! The soldiers were sent tins of these biscuits from their families during the war.

Here is the recipe:

(Feel free to download the pictures)

Today is a National holiday so I will be baking a couple of batches of these biscuits to supply a couple of confined to barracks elderly souls in in my neighbourhood.  Maybe I will get some crochet in, I have a long to do list of scarfs that my family are waiting for!

The Story of Gallipoli

For nine months in 1915, British and French forces battled the Ottoman Empire - modern Turkey - for control of the Gallipoli peninsula, a small finger of Europe jutting into the Aegean Sea that dominates a strategic waterway, the Dardanelles. By opening the Dardanelles to their fleets, the Allies hoped to threaten the Ottoman capital, Constantinople (now Istanbul) and knock the Turks out of the war.

Among the British forces were the Anzacs - the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps - who landed on the peninsula on 25 April. The landing, like the Gallipoli campaign itself, was ambitious and ultimately unsuccessful: the peninsula remained in its defenders' hands.

The campaign was a costly failure for the Allies: 44,000 British and French soldiers died, including over 8700 Australians. Among the dead were 2721 New Zealanders nearly 5000 wounded out of a force of approx. 8500 – while that may not sound a lot compared to other nations, NZ pop was less than a million.  Victory came at a high price for the Turks: 87,000 men died in the campaign which became a defining moment in Turkish history.

It was also a defining moment in New Zealand’s and Australian history, we started to draw away from Britain and become nations in our own right.  For the three nations Anzac Cove where the Anzacs landed has been made a Peace Park by the Turks and the three Nations every year send government members to the remembrance service at the cove.

Enjoy they are scrummy and healthy!  Great for lunch boxes.

Forgotten Treasures

First of all I want to welcome new followers Joy, Sue and Anna.

This week has been a wash out as far as weather goes.  One fine day on Tuesday, the rest we suffered the tail end of a cyclone!  Rain and more rain.  Perfect for lots of hooky stuff.

It was also a perfect opportunity to get into the cupboards and sort through stuff that has been in boxes and suitcases for years.  Four years ago I downsized and I am guilty of stuffing things away – out of sight out of mind!  Well anyway I found some treasures and I will share two of them today.

First was some chunky wool left over from a jumper I knitted about 15 years ago.  I don’t know what happened to the jumper, there was a whole skein of the wool, umm great for a chunky beanie a friend wants me to crochet for her. 

This afternoon after mowing the lawns, at last it was fine.  I set to and crocheted this lovely.

Only took an hour, the embellishment I had lying around. It was a trial I did from Karen’s P.S.I Crochet, the flower was for her almond blossom bag, which is on my want to do list.  However for the hat I did the final round as picot edging( 1 double crochet in one stitch, and then a half treble, a treble and a half treble all in the next stitch then a double in the next stitch, all the way round- eng. terms) instead of making it into an hexagon shape.  I quite like this look and I am thinking of making a small bag in the same wool with the same embellishment on it.  (I think I have enough wool!)

The next treasure was a Kaffe Kassett needlepoint canvas I did 10 years ago when I was in hospital after a car crash; I was there for 9 weeks and managed to complete it.  I didn't have the right size canvas and it went to the edges and it was terribly distorted, so it got shoved in a case and forgotten. 

 Looking at it I thought it is too beautiful to be hidden away, I wonder… Yes it is more or less the same size as the chair seats that I want to recover as the calico that is on them has got grubby.  Also as it will be stapled on to the chair so it can be pulled back into shape.  Er... that means I got to do 3 more, well never mind I have heaps of tapestry wool and a couple of Kaffe’s books for ideas.  I will stick to the floral designs of course.  Thank goodness winter is coming!  Just have to buy the canvas it was done on Penelope canvas which I think is 10 holes to the inch.

Now for one of my other treasures, not forgotten of course!  One of my fur babies Ambrose is fascinated with wool and loves to watch and snug down,  These photos tell the story!

I am being good Mum!

I am just helping!

Haw heck, do you really expect me to not tame this ball!

I am tired after helping think I will take a nap!

Well that is it for today; I have visitors for the rest of the Easter holidays so I imagine I won’t get much hooky stuff done.  But I shall enjoy their company.

Best Wishes to you all and a wonderful Easter what’s left of it if you celebrate it!

Linking to Annemaries Haakblog Link Your Stuff

and Natasha's in Oz  Say G'Day

Award and what is on my hook...

I have only been blogging for a couple of months and have already received an award from Anna of Anna’s Simple Crochet.   She does the most wonderful exquisite doilies and suchlike. 

The Liebster Award involves answering the questions she presents, choosing 11 blogs to pass it on to with 7 questions that you have made up and leave a comment so that they know they have received it! Put a link back to the person you received the award from.

So to answer Anna’s questions

I hope that my translation of her French is correct.  (Anna is a Swiss living in Portugal).

What are you having for dinner tonight ?– Pea and Ham soup with crusty bread.

With who? – Myself and the cats of course.

What is your favourite flower? – All of them, but I think the Rose comes out tops.

What is your best gift ever? – God’s gift of creative hands.

What living or dead person would you like to have a drink with in a café? George Clooney, sigh!

What drink you are unable to drink? – Red wine, gives me migraines, drat!

What music you are listening to at the moment? – Umm …… depends what mood I am in. But I think blues tends to win.

Now my 7 questions

What is your favourite book of all time?

What is your favourite colour combination?

Who would you like to be stranded on an desert island with?

What is your favourite dessert (sweet)?

Do you have a hankering to see what is on the other side of the hill?

What is your favourite breakfast

Do you have any regrets?

My award goes to

Flowerhouse

My Rose Valley 

Ladybird Diaries 

A Good Life in Tydd

Zooty Owl Cards 

Living the Good life

Girls Wear Blue Too

Greedy for Colour 

Joyjinks Creations 

Cosmos and Cotton 

Little Welsh House 

Here is a question for all of you.

What are your special moments of your day?  Mine is that cup of tea after a job well done.

Just to finish, on my crochet hook this afternoon will be this shawl I am making for the cooler nights.  It is from a free pattern I found on Ravellry - South Bay Shawlette by Lions Brand.

The pattern used a thicker wool, I am using 4 ply so I am having to do more rows and it is not so lacy.  But that suits me as I want it for the winter.

Have a great Easter and see you soon. If all goes well I hope to post again over the weekend  with some crochet delights.

The last bit of Summer

Summer is over!  Last week I cleared the last of the pumpkins and zucchinis from the garden.  There were enough zucchinis to make my last batch of pickles.

What is it about home-made preserves and pickles that bring out the warm fuzzy feelings?  For me it is a sense of satisfaction of a good crop, nostalgia plays a part, and of course the yummy factor.

Pickles, chutneys and relishes are firmly entrenched in my memory banks.  One of my most treasured memories of my father involves the two of us making relishes to sell at the local store every summer holidays.  I would do the chopping while he brooded over the mixture.  Then we would taste and make adjustments.  It is a precious memory.  Another precious memory is my first year away from home I boarded with my grandparents, every night at 9 the crackers, cheese and pickles would come out and we would sit around the fire munching away talking over the day.  Our digestion must have been sturdier in those days; I don't think I could handle that now!

Nowadays, I love pickles with cold meats and in Cheese sandwiches and rolls.  That is a habit I picked up in Britain when I was doing my OE (Overseas Experience a rite of passage for young Kiwis). Mine lasted 17 years!  When I was working in London I had to leave home at 6:30 as I had a lot of traveling to do to get to work by 8:30.  When I got off the tube at Kings Cross I had a 15 minute walk to the office and on the way there was a hole in the wall sandwich shop where I would stop and get a crispy roll stuffed with cheese and Branston Pickle that was my breakfast for a number of years.  It is strange I have brought imported Branston Pickle here, the same brand, and it is vile!

In the last few years I have revived the ritual of preserve making; it is a wonderful way of dealing with the glut of summer produce. And of course it makes me feel like I have been a good Proverbs 31 woman!  The glut that all gardeners have every summer is Zucchinis.  Last year I discovered a wonderful recipe for them as a sandwich pickle, and they make wonderful gifts.  Best of all leave in the cupboard till the middle of winter and bring them out and have on crackers with cheese or have the archetypal Ploughman’s Platter, something else I grew to love when I was in England.  As you sink your teeth into them you will be glad of the flood of zucchinis that made you tear with hair out in that effort to keep up with the abundance.  Best of all, you will have the taste of summer in your mouth!

 Zucchini Pickle

3 ½ cups white vinegar,

1 cup sugar,

4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dill seed or fennel seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

3 whole cloves

1 kg (2.2 lbs) Zucchinis

6 small onions

1 large red capsicum, or whatever colour you have to hand.

Place vinegar, sugar salt and herbs and spices  in a pan and bring to boil.  Cool.  Wash zucchinni and cut into thickish slices or chunks (I like chunks.) Slice onions and capsicums.  Place the vegetables in plastic or glass bowl and pour over the cooled vinegar mix. Leave 1 hour.  Put all mixture into a pan and bring to boil and simmer for three minutes.  Pack into bottles and seal. Enjoy.

I usually find I have surplus liquid, so I keep it and use in my next batch, for sure as eggs you will have more zucchinis to deal with, or the demand of friends and family for more!  I find that you can start eating them more or less straight away.  But they do taste better if left a week or two.

So my friends do have a go, if you have a huge surplus of zucchinis (I have found that scaloppini are wonderful treated this way, and have even used marrows (zucchinis that have got away on me.)

Today is nice and fine with a good breeze so I will be doing loads of washing, getting the winter bedding out - I am strange even though it is clean I like to give it a wash and let it get some fresh air before using after it has been stored away!  After that I just might have some pickles and crackers for tea!

Have a great day.

First of all I want to welcome my new followers, Anna, Gaby, Amy, Daisy Jones and Lindevrouw.

Here, the trees are starting to turn into glorious colours, as the days get colder.  I took this photo on my walk this morning – wonderful!  I can’t wait for the reds to appear. 

With such colour around me I can not but help create crochet and art in these tones.

I have been making a cushion cover out of the variegated wool that I used for the Mandalas last week.  I was thinking of having a pretty flowery cotton backing with a frill.

While I was doing the edging last night,  I realised I had a wonderful use for a mandala.  Do you remember the circular cushions that used to have tapestry or embroidered centres.  The material was gathered at the edge of the embroidery.   I have no idea how to make one, is the material cut into a large circle and gathered?  Will have to research it.

Anyways, this morning – murky damp day – I got stuck in and crocheted this simple mandala in grannie stitch, I think it will look nice with some flowery cotton.  Actually I might undo the shell edging and crochet a few more rounds,  but will wait till I find the right material. 

Oh I nearly forgot, early in the week I did this pink mandala for a friend’s daughter who is crazy about pink and purple, what little girl isn't!  This is for you Samantha.

Autumn inspiration!

I love lace and I love playing around with photos in Photoshop. So this afternoon I have been playing with the autumn photos and two vintage Victorian ladies I have downloaded from http://thegraphicsfairy.com/

Original photos

Have a great weekend and week.

Linking my crochet to Chrissies Mand-a-Long

Garden catch up and a bit of cooking.

Autumn is in full force here down under!  The trees are changing colour with the colder nights and the nights are starting to draw in.  Almost time to cosy up in front of the fire.  But first there is the garden to put to bed!  I normally have a winter garden, but this winter I decided to let it rest as the vegetable patch has been cropping constantly for 2 years.  I will keep the silver beet (Chard) and sorrel, and will plant some kale and purple sprouting broccoli to tide me over.

I decided to take a leaf out of the permaculture circles and put down layers of leaf litter, grass clippings and compost so that the rain doesn't leach away what goodness is left in the soil and by next spring hopefully it will have rotted down to create a rich soil.  So over the last two weeks I have been out there beavering away.  It is now ready to layer from the collected piles of garden waste.  I have a big trailer load of mushroom compost being delivered next week from the local mushroom farm.

Nice and tidy!

While I have been hard at it my cats have watched intently, probably thinking oh she has made us a giant litter box!  Can you see Ambrose peeping out in  the above photo.

Mostly they have been taking great naps; all my activity makes them tired!

Enough Mum!  Ambrose and Peggy Sue take over the garden refuse sack.

Lucy prefers to rest indoors, near the fridge in case I might throw her a snack whenever I go to it!

With all this gardening I haven’t had much time for baking.  However yesterday I made some Welsh scones, they were a family favourite along with pikelets when I was growing up.  Don’t you find sometimes you hanker for the things of your childhood?  Must be a sign of advancing years!

These are quick to make and you don’t need to use the oven.  Traditionally they were done on a griddle or hotplate.  I used a fry pan and decided to add some chocolate chips along with the currants. The blog  Little Welsh House      suggested that you can do so and the idea appealed, so finally I got around to it.  However I used my family’s recipe.

Welsh Scones

8oz (225 g) flour

2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

½ tsp ground nutmeg

2oz (50g) butter or margarine

2oz (50g) sugar

2oz (50 g) currants

Chocolate chips (I used a handful)

1 beaten egg

Milk to mix

Preheat girdle or heavy based fry pan.  Sift  flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.  Rub in fat till it resemble breadcrumbs, Stir in sugar, fruit and chocolate chips.  Mix with the egg and milk to form a firm dough but not too dry, like normal scone mix.  Roll out to 1 cm or ½ thick and cut into rounds or triangles.  Cook on a moderate hot surface till brown on both sides.  About ten minutes.

That is it they were delicious both hot and cold.  I like the chocolate in them, but I think it would be too much if they were just chocolate and no fruit.

That’s it for today, the forecast is for rain for the nest few days so I will be able get lots of crochet done!

Have a great day.