Hi there. As I type we are heading north for our Hand Stitchers Retreat at Lake Rotoiti and hoping that the weather plays the game for at least a couple of days...but then I guess it won’t really matter!

If you have missed out on this one we still have places available for our Akaroa Retreat 16-18 July staying at the Akaroa Village Inn. This is a great weekend with no kids, husbands or housework, good food and as much stitching, shopping and walking as you can handle!

I always like to have a hand stitching project (or quite a few to be honest) on the go, and I thought I would give you a peak at the latest work in progress. This is using Liberty Tana Lawn Hexagons and some of my collection of old doilies that I have carefully fussy cut (trying not to offend grandmothers and great grandmothers everywhere!

When I am cross stitching or hand quilting I do like to use a frame with the Q-Snap frames being my favourite. However these seem to have disappeared off the market lately, but I am pleased to see that DMC have just brought out a very similar product in two different sizes – 11” x 11” (28 x 28 cm) and 17” x 17” (43 x 43 cm)

https://www.anniesquilts.co.nz/cms/latest-products.html

If you are out and about in Christchurch it may well be worth checking out the Aotearoa Quilters Joint Exhibition with quilters from Japan and France (Tuesday-Sunday 10-3) at the Bhuddist Temple on Riccarton Road. There are 90 quilts on show featuring 30 different cities throughout the world. Entry is free

Now...onto the recipe, an easy one pot meal done and dusted within about 30 minutes.

Spanish Chicken and Rice

• 1/4 c Olive Oil
• 10 chicken drumsticks
• 1 large red onion
• 1 large green capsicum
• 3 tsp paprika
• 400 g tin of diced tomatoes
• 1 ¼ c Arborio rice
• ½ t ground saffron

Brown the chicken in batches in a large deep pan on a high heat using 2 tbsp of the olive oil. Remove the chicken from the pan.

Reduce the heat and add in the onion and half of the green capsicum (diced) for about 5 minutes and then add in the paprika. Stir in the tomatoes and cook gently until the sauce thickens.

Stir in 3 ½ cups of boiling water, the rice, saffron and season to taste. Return the chicken to the pan and then simmer gently until all the water is absorbed and the chicken is tender. Garnish with strips of the remaining capsicum.

Happy stitching

Rachel

Annie’s Country Quilt Store