Hi there.

What an exciting week it has been...aside from boat races and rugby and all that stuff, closer to home I am very excited to tell you that Annie’s Country Quilt Store has reached the national finals of the NZ Retailer Top Shop Awards in the viewer’s choice section.

This was announced at a function in Christchurch on Monday night, much to my surprise and delight. With a huge “Thank you” to you all for your votes, on-going support and encouragement, we are off to Auckland for the finals at the beginning of September.

Last weekend we had our annual stitching retreat in Akaroa which was once again a lot of fun. Although the weather didn’t play the game, it didn’t seem to hamper the stitching, eating, laughing and general good time. Make sure you book in for next year!

Here are a couple of the new projects that I kitted up. The first is “The Glad Bag” based on an idea I saw when I was in Palmerston North. The kit comes with the fabric, batting, bags and a little bit of Velcro for the fastening. It can be made in a jiff and is very handy for carrying around threads, hexagons and small projects. Available in two colours it is $14.50 per kit.

The other is a little project that I have put together using a pincushion featuring a small sashiko design on the dot fabric put together with the Clover pincushion. The kit including preprinted navy cloth, sashiko thread, needle and stuffing is $6.50 and the Clover pincushion hardware is $18.00. This would also be a really easy projects for kids to make in the school holidays.

Well that is all from me this time. Be sure to check out the Annie’s Facebook and Instagram pages for updates.

This week’s recipe is using the humble cabbage – a very versatile vegetable that is somewhat underrated. At this time of the year it is also nice to have something fresh.

Crunchy Lemon Coleslaw (feeds 6-8)

• 1 medium cabbage shredded
• 1 red or green pepper
• ½ small red onion or 2-3 spring onions
• 1 carrot
• Use your food processor to slice and grate the vegetables finely and then prepare the dressing
• ½ c mayonnaise or aoli
• ½ sour cream
• Grated rind and juice of two lemons
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp liquid honey
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the ingredients for the dressing and mix into the coleslaw just before you are ready to eat.