Wednesday, 29 October 2008

York Trip

We started out with great plans for a family weekend in York, a visit to the Quilt museum for the girls and the Air museum for the boys. However my DH managed to get an abscess on his tooth, then he was allergic to the antibiotics and just generally feeling awful, the whole trip was abandoned. Well not quite...

When the boys went back to work on Monday, my DD and myself set out for the early train for a day trip to York. It was a lovely bright morning and walking in from the station we were greeted with this lovely view of the sun shining on the boats and the river Ouse.

The Quilt museum and gallery are shut on a Monday so there was nothing else for it but to shop til we dropped!!! We will have to go back again when the Quilt Museum is open (and the bank account has recovered). We found a lovely wool shop in The Shambles which had Rowan cotton yarn reduced to £2.40 a ball, so I purchased enough to knit a cup cake. With a pattern from Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits, I started knitting last night.

I am quite pleased with the result, and doesn't it look lovely sitting on this glass cake stand. The cake stand and table cloth both came from my granny. She was a great knitter but never bought quite enough wool. As children we grew up wearing cardigans with a mismatched band around the neck, where she had run out of wool and couldn't get quite the right wool to match it. Anyway she had also made this lovely embroidered tablecloth at sometime. Here is a close up of one of the flowers.

I have had a bit of a house wifely sort of day today. Carrots in Tesco were on special at 50p for a 1kg bag so I bought a big bag and made carrot and coriander soup. My DH is starting to worry about me now, when he had to wait until I took a photo of his soup before he could eat it. Perhaps am taking the blogging too far?

But here is the recipe anyway because I like to see recipes on other peoples blogs.

Carrot and coriander credit crunch soup.

2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 med onion peeled and chopped
4 large carrots peeled and chopped,1 large potato peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
750ml vegetable stock
salt and pepper
Heat oil in large pan, add onion and cook over low heat til soft. Add carrots and potato and stir again, Cover pan with lid and cook gently for 10 mins. Stir in ground coriander and stock, stir and bring to boil and cook for about 25 mins, blitz soup with hand blender (Note this is a new blender because the last one melted the last time I blitzed hot soup!)
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with a swirl of fresh cream and a sprinkling of fresh coriander or parsley.

And finally a sneak preview of Jenny's pumpkin lantern,ready for Halloween on Friday.


Happy Quilting xx

Monday, 20 October 2008

Good intentions...





The weekend started with good intentions. On Friday at the Fat Quarters we were all working well being looked after by the lovely Anne in Kim's absence. I have started on Beaut, the little Koala. Perhaps I ate too many muffins or Tunnock's tea cakes but by the time I got home I felt awful. I have been fighting off a bug all weekend, just lying about feeling grotty. No more sewing got done but lots of reading. I am enjoying the new book by Ian Rankin, Doors Open, it's just unfortunate he gave a hint as to the ending on the One Show tonight.



Then there was the new book from Jamie Oliver, Jamie's Ministry of Food. Well he's got a lot to answer for, making us working women feel guilty about feeding our families convenience food. Tonight I set off on the first recipe, Quick SalmonTikka with cucumber yogurt. It looked good and tasted lovely. Unfortunately the cucumber yogurt had a life of its own and wouldn't stay on the fork. Each of us in turn dropped the cucumber yogurt down our clothes so as well as cooking I have had a load of washing to do!! Jamie just wait til I get my hands on you! My recommendation, if you make it, is to make the portions twice as big and issue everyone with a pelican bib.


I had a nice parcel in the post, a pattern from Buttonberry, Apron Strings by Leanne Beasley. I have plans for Christmas pressies with this pattern so watch this space.


Because I haven't been far this weekend a photo from the archives to remind us what spring was like. A sharp clear day at StAbbs in May.

Happy quilting xx