Don't forget to pick the Daisies

Handmade felt with detached chain stitch, french knots and running stitch in tapestry wool.

Made for a friends birthday - I was inspired by the last line of a poem I recalled, which she wrote for her husband who is no longer with us:
"I'd pick more daisies,
I will pick more daisies.
Won't you join me"

Goodbyes

"Home is where the heart is"

This week has been one of farewell. A student at work has left and a good friend has packed up and is leaving for an exciting opportunity in a far away land. I don't know where they consider home, but I offer this additional life rule/proverb (of my own) "It doesn't matter where you are its who you are with that matters", whether that is yourself, loved ones, old friends or making new friends.

Dried Apricot Jam

This is the recipe for August which I would usually post on my stitching blog. Now I have a place for recipes I place it here:

Makes about 6lb

Ingredients:
1 lb dried apricots
1 oz almonds
3 lbs sugar

Method:
Cut apricots into quarters.

Pour over 4 pints of boiling water and allow to stand 48 hours.

On the third day bring it to boiling point and boil for 1 ½ hours.

Add sugar and almonds (blanched) and allow the whole to boil for another hour or until setting point is reached.

Pot and cover in clean, sterilised jars.

Wot no stitch?

Sorry, being geeky rather than stitchy at the moment. You may notice a little tweek to your left. No, no, no not the profile being cleared off - if you want to read that you are going to have to click the "About Me" link. The new Categories drop down list. It is not fully populated yet - I would have to go back and do a lot of re-posting. But it is something I can now add to for future interesting posts. Typical! as soon as I have it all figured out blogger beta comes along and provides labels properly! Anyway switching to that method now - less leg work in the long term.

I have also been out and about on my bicycle and down the allotment. I have also been a little more active in the kitchen.

July's Recipe

With 20 minutes to spare:


My Grandmother and I had one or two "disagreements" when I was a young child. One of the less serious altercations was over the classification of pie and tart. Anything that she brought out as a sweet or dessert in a pastry case was a tart regardless of whether it had pastry over the top or not. One thing that was agreed on was the name we gave this: Lemon Meringue Pie, even though there was no pastry over the top.



As for more serious altercations ..... well I was a bad bad child and suffered the disgrace of being the kind of little girl who bit her Grandma......

A Stitch In Time Saves Nine

Erm yeah - this is this months Project Spectrum Postcard. Ironic isn't it? The meaning "A little preventive maintenance can eliminate the need for major repairs later." Seems to be totally lost on me sometimes....

Silky Moopy

Made from silk dupion scraps left over from my previous adventures. The green, turquouse and pink were all hand dyed. The purple check was left over from a party dress I made for one of my nieces. The felt face was made out of some felt I made last December.

The pattern for this funny little fella came from my Project Spectrum postcard swap partner. She makes large Moopys, each with their own unique personality which are well worth checking out.