Hi there. Sometimes I think that we should turn the world upside down, (or maybe just the calendar) for at least one Christmas and let our northern hemisphere cousins experience the craziness of peak growing season, harvest, home maintenance, gardening, and all the other things that we try to cram into our lives at this time of the year while the sun shines. With of course, Christmas thrown in for good measure!

The Bernina Christmas sale is now on with 20% off Bernette and Bernina accessories. There are also savings on machines, but this is tempered by flow on effect of Covid, and the freight and production issues that have created problems in terms of stock availability. We are doing what we can, but if you have a sewing machine on your wish list, let us know so that we can put your name on one!

Freight, shipping and postal delays continue to be a problem, with one of my shipments from Australia (shoe box size) which arrived on Wednesday after 7 weeks in transit!

On the good news trail...the very popular Field Journal Block of the Month from Cottage Garden Threads will restart early next year. If you wish to join us for round 2 of this botanical stitchery project let me know as soon as you can. I will be contacting those people I already have on my list to confirm very soon.

New in this week, we have a few more Christmas fabrics, patterns from popular Australian designer Wendy Williams. There are new charm squares and fabrics from The French General, and the latest edition of Quiltmania magazine has just arrived in to provide plenty of inspiration.

Don’t forget that this Saturday is Woolly Stitcher’s Day and everyone is welcome to join us for a day of uninterrupted wool applique stitching, chatting and sharing ideas, more details on the class page.

In the meantime, on to the recipe. This is a tasty summer dish...serve up with some extra salad, fresh asparagus and some crusty bread and you have a feast!

Smoked Chicken and Avocado

• 250 g carton of sour cream
• 2 T mayonnaise
• 4 T lemon juice
• 2 T wholegrain mustard
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 shredded smoked chicken
• 3 spring onions
• 2 avocados

Blend the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard and pepper. Add in the smoked chicken and chill until ready to serve. Add in the spring onion and sliced avocado and serve in a lettuce cup.

Happy stitching and best wishes for the Christmas madness, or “silly season” as we like to call it!

Rachel