Good morning!  Well, we are officially past the shortest day and now on the way towards spring.  I am sure it won’t be long before we are seeing young lambs and calves bounding around in the paddocks.

We had a great class at the weekend with ladies from as far away as Dunedin and Blenheim joining us at Annie’s for the wool applique pin cushion and needle case work.  These kits are supplied by Sue Spargo and it is a great way to familiarise yourself with her techniques (prior to Sue’s visit here next year) and have a go without a huge out lay for fabrics and threads, as these are all supplied.  We have another class for this coming up in August and there are still a few places left.  If you want to see what we were working on, there are a couple of pictures on the Annie’s Country Quilt Store Facebook page.

Aside from all that I have been busy unpacking boxes of new stock and goodies I found at the recent Gift Fair including beautiful French soaps, cast ironware, vintage sewing themed storage boxes, large antique wooden bobbins, beautiful notepads and gift tags….and the parcels are still arriving!

Also new in this week is the Modern Quilting Magazine.  Although at a slightly higher price point ($31.00), it is chock full of inspiration with lots of quilts large as well as smaller projects such as bags, purses.  This is the second issue of this quarterly magazine and it is well worth a look.

This week I thought I would show you another wee project ‘The Mending Kit’ from Anni Downs from Hatched and Patched, which is practical as well as gorgeous.  This is available as a kit for $24.00 or as a pattern with pre-printed stitchery for $16.50.

Don’t forget that postage rates go up next week so now is a good time to order!

If travel is on your radar for later this year and Europe is part of the plan (I wish!), check out this website for the Open European Quilt Championships in Veldhoven in the Netherlands in October.

www.textile-festivals.com

Moving right along…this week’s recipe is a real easy ‘family filler upper’ which is very tasty, and the fact that it is a one pot dinner will be a popular choice with those tasked with doing the dishes.

One Pot Pork Peanut and Rice

• 400g trim pork mince
• 1 finely chopped fresh chilli
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 2 carrots sliced in batons
• 4 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
• 3 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 3 c chicken stock
• 1 ¼ c jasmine rice
• 3 cups green vegetables such as broccoli, beans, snow peas, courgettes, cabbage.
• Chopped coriander leaves, chopped peanuts and a squeeze of lime juice to serve

Brown the mince in the frying pan, then add the chilli, garlic, ginger and carrots.  Stir in the peanut butter and soy sauces.  Add the chicken stock and rice and stir well.  Simmer until the rice is almost cooked and then add the green vegetables.

Season and garnish to taste.

Take care and happy stitching.

Rachel

Annie’s CQS