Hi there. Well....we are into it again. School is back, the holidays are over and we are already more than a month into the New Year!

Our regular weekly classes kick off again this coming week – Tuesday night from 7-9.30 pm and Thursday morning (fortnightly) 10am-12.30pm. These classes are $8.50 each (cheaper than the gym and much more fun!) and run continuously throughout the year with everyone working on their own projects. Beginners and more experienced sewers are welcome and it is just a matter of choosing a project from Annie’s and we will help you with it and teach you some of the tricks of the trade along the way.

Our monthly Woolly Stitchers day is scheduled to start again on Saturday 24 February. This is a once a month day where you can join us in the classroom to sit and stitch uninterrupted and make progress on those wool projects from designers such as Sue Spargo and Wendy Williams. This is $20.00 for the day with morning and afternoon tea provided, and you are welcome to bring your lunch or eat at one of the local cafes and make an outing of it.

This week I thought I would show you this fun quilt that I have just finished using one of the Seuss panel and some of the co-ordinating fabrics in 10” squares. I have put this together as a kit which is $89.00. However if you wanted to make it bigger, you will have some extra panels in the kit (these could be used for another project such as a library bag or a pillow case or cushion). We have put together some extra packs of 20 x 10” Suess squares and these are $38.00 each.

Now....onto the recipe. The tomatoes straight from the garden are gorgeous at this time of year and this is a great easy recipe to make the most of them.

Meatballs and Roasted Tomato Sauce

• 1 c fresh breadcrumbs
• Finely grated zest of a lemon
• ¼ c milk
• ¼ c finely chopped basil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 600 grams of sausagemeat (can be chicken, pork, lamb or beef)

Topping

• 2 tbs tomato past
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

Sauce

• 1 kg fresh tomatoes
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Freshly ground salt and pepper
• Preheat the oven to 200 C

Place the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, milk, crushed garlic and basil in the food processor. Let this stand for a few minutes and then add the sausage meat. Process until just combined, then shape into small balls.

Cut the tomatoes into quarters and toss them in a large baking dish with the other sauce ingredients and roast for about 15 mins.

Push the tomatoes to one side of the roasting dish and place the meat balls in the other half, brush with the topping. Return to the oven for a further 15-20 mins until the meat balls are cooked right through and the tomatoes are very soft.

Sprinkle with generous amounts of parmesan and serve with cous-cous, rice or pasta and a crispy green salad.

Well, that is all from me this week. Happy stitching,
Rachel
Annie's CQS