“Oh what a beautiful moooorrrning……..Oh what a beautiful day!” 

Ok, I will stop singing now.  Actually I am just trying to convince myself that I would rather be here rather than on a tropical island somewhere!

Anyway, moving right along.  There is sewing to do and many unfinished projects to work on.  I am busy stitching some Sue Spargo projects at the moment that I will make up as kits, so keep an eye out for the first of those real soon.

There is something very therapeutic about hand stitching in the warm, so I was very excited to receive the brand new stand of Sue’s Eleganza  Cotton Perle 8 threads at the weekend.  There are 54 variegates ($9.50 each) and 36 solids ($8.50 each) in the range.

Given that it is school holiday time, it is also a good time to encourage young people to try something creative, whether it is making YoYo’s, making a new pencil case or book bag a small embroidery or perhaps a quilt.

I have just finished this bright fun quilt that is easy and very economical to make.  This is “quilt as you go”, so does not require any batting or quilting and is made from recycled jeans and 5” squares.  (Make sure you hide your best pairs before the kids get stuck in with the scissors!)  This comes as a pack with the circle/square ruler and the pattern for $36.00, and we do have packs of charm squares in the fabrics I have used for $32     (63 pieces per pack) which is a really good price.

Speaking of prices, if you have been keeping one eye on the news as you have been sewing, you will see that the financial crisis in Greece (amongst other things) has had quite an impact on the value of the NZ dollar.  The upshot of all this is that NOW is a really good time to stock up, as I am picking that this will have a quite an impact on the price of fabrics, notions and imported goods before too long.  However I assure you I will still be trying to get the best deals I possibly can from our suppliers.

Anyway I am sure that chocolate can fixalmost anything, and this week’s recipe is a good (if slightly messy) school holiday treat!

Pretzel and Popcorn Caramel Clusters (courtesy Dish Magazine)

• ¼ c popping corn
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp each of curry powder and cinnamon
• ½ tsp each of mace, ground allspice, cloves and ginger
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 150 g butter
• ¾ c caster sugar
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ c broken pretzel pieces
• 150 g melted dark chocolate to finish

Pop the corn in a large saucepan with a lid on it and turn into a bowl discarding any unpopped corn.

In a small bowl combine the salt, spices and baking soda and set aside.

Heat the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan and stir until the sugar is melted.  Cook over a low heat for a further 5 mins stirring constantly until golden.

 Remove from the heat and stir in the spices and vanilla.  Tip in the popcorn and pretzels and stir until everything is well coated.  
Spread out onto a greased tray to cool.  Drizzle with melted chocolate, and resolve to diet tomorrow! (Makes 8 Cups)