Hi there. I hope you are all feeling refreshed after the holiday weekend and that you managed to eek out some time for yourself whether it was stitching, reading or catching up with friends and family.

It was also a busy weekend in the shop with lots of people calling and in and large boxes of stock to unpack. After waiting so long for new stock to arrive, the parcels seem to be arriving at an alarming rate...a little like Christmas, but with invoices! Gorgeous new cross stitch patterns, hand dyed threads and linens, jelly rolls, home spuns, sashiko panels, feature fabrics, children’s prints, threads, sewing boxes, pin cushions, haberdashery and much more.

Something else that I am looking forward to next month is the arrival of this embroidery panel from French General. With four sections in each panel you get to embroider and stitch to your heart’s content experimenting with different colours and stitches to come up with your own unique pieces. These could be put into a quilt, a bag or used for table runners or cushions – or perhaps stitched onto the back of a denim jacket?

The 60 cm panel will be $21.00 and I am taking pre-orders now with the estimated delivery being the end of November.

The previous French General panel was very popular, so order yours today so you don’t miss out!

With the hint of Christmas in the air, I thought I would show you this cross stitch that I have just got back from being framed. “Christmas Rose” is from Blackbird Designs and is stitched one over two on 35 ct linen with Weeks Dye Works threads. I have put this together as a kit which is $78.00 or the pattern is available on its own for $28.00. The smaller elements in the pattern such as the rose or the reindeer would also look good on pincushions, scissor keeps and Christmas decorations.

Also just arrived in is “Sweet Summer, Come Again” and “Maria Selby Humphrey – 1831” from Blackbird Designs, which are now on the Annie’s website along with “D Freitag 1849” – A From the Heart Reproduction Sampler. So many projects, so little time.

Don’t forget about our first Crazy Cross-Stitchers’ session on Friday November the 12th from 5-8 pm. This is free, you just need to bring something to drink, something to nibble and something to stitch.

Now, on to the recipe. This is a super easy one that you can whip up in a hurry with just a few ingredients – it could be dessert or it could be breakfast! It won’t be long before there are lots of strawberries, or you could use frozen berries or banana, preserved apricots or peaches. Passionfruit or lemon curd would also work well.

Grilled Madeira Cake with Berries

• 250 g strawberries
• 1 un-iced Madeira cake
• 1 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp freshly grated orange zest
• ¼ c icing sugar
• 250 g fresh ricotta cheese
• Cooking spray

Place the strawberries and orange juice in a bowl with a tablespoon of the icing sugar. Set aside.

Place the ricotta, orange zest and remaining sugar into another bowl and mix well to combine.

Cut the cake into chunky slices and spray with cooking oil. Cook on a grill or in an air fryer.

Serve the golden brown cake slices topped with the ricotta mixture and berries, and drizzle over some of the syrup.

Have a great weekend!

Happy stitching

Rachel

Annie’s Country Quilt Store

03 3076 277