Hi there. When I was little one of my favourite rhymes was “Doctor Foster went to Gloucester in a shower of rain, he stepped in a puddle right up to his middle, and was never seen again!” Today I am thinking that there are quite a few places around New Zealand that he should not venture to either with torrential down pours and flooding causing damage for so many people.

Originally coming from an area where floods were reasonably common, I feel for the people who are in the midst of this as the real work begins when the waters recede.

Here at Annie’s work continues with our preparations for Quilt Symposium in Wellington at the beginning of October where we will be one of the merhants. I look forward to seeing you all there, and if you are doing classes and need supplies I am sure we can help.

Because a girl can never have too many pincushions I thought I would show you this wee treasure that I have just finished. This is comes from the Blackbird Designs book “...and Blossom As The Rose” ($46.00). There are several beautiful patterns in the book which are all on my “to-do” list, but we have put together this pincushion requirements as a kit ($32.00). The kit includes the box, linen, threads and lace to complete one gorgeous pincushion. You will just need to add a little bit of time and some folk art paint to create this special little gift for yourself or someone else.

If you have a few minutes to spare, check out the new patterns and templates we have just added to the web site that have just arrived in from Australian designer Jen Kingwell. Jen is well known for her modern quirky designs will keep even slightly idle hands busy for quite some time!

Don’t forget about the Aussie Quick Quilts ruler demonstrations here this coming Thursday. This is bound to be lots of fun with loads of give aways and a guarantee that you will learn lots! There will be a morning and an afternoon session and tickets are $5.00 each.

On to the recipe. These delicious biscuits are a great “breakfast on the run” the lunch box, or anytime pick me up type of cookie which can usually be made with ingredients that you have in the pantry. Free free to substitute your own favourite nuts and seeds.

Banana, Oat and Seed Cookies (makes 12)

• 175 g rolled oats
• 50 g pumpkin seeds
• 50 g sunflower seeds
• 225 g crunchy peanut butter
• 2 ripe bananas peeled and mashed
• ¼ c honey

Preheat the oven to 140 C fan bake. Put the oats and seeds into the food processor and chop until fine. Tip the mixture into a bowl and add in th rest of the ingredients. Knead to mix and divide into balls, flatten and cook for 15 minutes or until golden.

Happy stitching,

Rachel

Annie’s CQS