Sew long

It's been sooo long since I've done anything remotely crafty so I made the most of a few hours on the weekend to crack onto a new project (I mean, why finish off projects when there are so many new ones to begin!!)
I raided my fabric stash and added some new fat quarters to make a summer picnic blanket.
I love the pinks, greens and yellows. Such pretty summer colours Don't you love the green and white spot?

I got the pattern from the queen of craft Pip Lincoln at Meet Me At Mikes.
I love her philosophy that when you craft it doesn't have to be perfect.
I'm quite a fan of the 'wonk' ... and the end result is delightfully wonkily imperfect.
Will post some pics of the finished picnic blanket soon. Can't wait for our first summer picnic or a dreamy afternoon sleep when you need a little light cover.

Dinner for One

I'm batching this weekend.
And loving it.
My time is my own while James and Eliza are on a father/daughter camp with a whole lot of dads and daughters from Eliza's school.

Usually when I'm on my own I do something very simple for dinner - toasted cheese sandwich or grab a takeaway.
But tonight I thought I'd savour the serenity and whip up a little something for just for me.

I started with 6 freshly shucked oysters ...



Earlier in the afternoon, I slow roasted a tray of tomatoes for about 4 hours at 100 degrees Celsius.
These are gorgeous.
Just cut in half, drizzle with olive oil, scatter some fresh herbs, a grind of pepper and some flakes of salt and into the oven.
They're so tender and sweet.

So what to serve with these little beauties?
I know ...
some quail.
Wrap the quail in prosciutto with fresh sage, a bay leaf, a bruised clove of garlic and some lemon peel in the cavity,
roast the quail for about 12- 5 minutes, turning after about 7 mins.

I rummaged in the pantry for some special pasta.

So there you have it.

Prosciutto wrapped quail with slow roasted tomatoes on hand rolled pasta .

Sorry there's no picture of all the elements on the plate. I finished the lot before I realised I didn't have a photo.

Trust me, it was totally delicious.

Getting Creative In Print!

What a thrill to pop into Spotlight today - for a couple of reasons:

1. I'm enjoying a day off and don't have to be anywhere for anyone but me!
2. I never get time to really have a good old fossick around and Spotlight is one of those places where you don't want to be in a hurry
3. I was keen to see a copy of the new look mag - Get Creative
because
4. I'm in it !!!!

I wrote a column about why I craft, and as I flicked through the magazine I convinced myself it probably hadn't made it to print.

I couldn't see it .... but then a few more pages over
And there were my words staring back at me ....

I smiled to myself ...

Then I spent at least an another hour choosing a few fat quarters for a summer project I've got in mind.
I came home (snuck past the sleeping puppy) and made a cuppa and settled back with the magazine.
It looks great. Lots of crafty ideas that seem pretty easy - which is absolutely my style.
If I can get my act together you'll see some of the projects on my blog over coming weeks.

Now ... where were we?

We've been busy.
Chopping, cooking, eating and drinking
and seeing the horses race past, occasionally.
And cleaning the house and entertaining
with more chopping and cooking and eating and drinking.
Then going to work and coming home and getting ready for the next day at the races
with more chopping and cooking and eating and drinking.

Phew!

The Spring Racing Carnival is officially over.
Time to put the hats, headbands and hatinators away.
And time to have a decent meal.

All this finger food is exhausting!!