Natasha:
“ooooh,the oliver and S pattern book would be lovely jubbly:0)
thank you for hosting the giveaway”
Congratulations Natasha on being lucky number 9 and choosing the book Oliver + S, Little Things To Sew. Â I will email you shortly.
Thank you all for taking the time to enter the giveaway.
Happy days, Jacinta x
I used a random number generator to draw this prize.
I have decided to join in with Ginny at Small Things yarn along this week.
I have been working on sewing up a friend’s baby blanket which is a blessingway gift for her baby. Â Her babe has now arrived (a little girl) and so the pressure is on to get the blanket completed. Â It is rather a technicolour blanket as there were no stipulations on what colour/colours to use, but I think she will love it regardless. Â It has been a bit tricky as most people didn’t leave a tail for me to use to sew their squares in with, so I think I am going to have to chase up some of their wool to finish it, as I want the seems to blend in.
I am actually reading a magazine at the moment. Â It is a copy of Living Crafts from 2009. Â I was visiting a friend the other day and she showed it to me and very kindly let me borrow it. Â I am very tempted to try out the hand painting of wool featured in the magazine. Â My daughter, Scarlett, has a birthday coming up and I thought it would be lovely to send the children home with a small ball of hand dyed wool as their party favour.
Happy crafting, Jacinta x
I purchased a couple of kilo’s of blood plums in our organic order last week, intending on making jam. Â I’m happy to say, I actually got the jam made before the girls ate all the plums. Â I always cut down on the sugar content of jam, as I still like to taste the flavour of the fruit. Â With my plum jam I like to leave the skin on.
Ingredients:
1.5 kg organic blood plums (or what is available at the time)
500gm organic raw sugar
Method:
Score the skin of the plums and place in a suitable pot. Â Place the lid on the pot and simmer plums on a low heat for approximately 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. After this time, remove the lid from the pot while still simmering and let the liquid reduce by half. Â Remove pips from the jam. Â Using a sieve, remove some of the lumps in the jam by pushing through with a spoon. Â Add the pulp left in the sieve back into the jam. Repeat until jam is thick and has a fairly smooth texture.
About 10 minutes before jaring jam, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Â At the same time, add your jars to a separate pot of rapidly boiling water for 10 minutes. Â Remove jars from water carefully with tongs and place on a tea towel. Â Carefully ladle jam into prepared jars (make sure your jars are still hot to avoid the glass breaking). Â Place the lids on jars and seal immediately. Â This recipe should yield enough jam to fill 3 medium size jars or approximately 4 cups (1 cup=250ml). Â Store in a cool, dark place. Â Jam should keep for approximately 6 – 12 months if stored correctly.
Helpful hints:
Gorgeous Organic Blood Plums
Organic Blood Plum Jam
Enjoy. Â Jacintax
We were lucky to have a long weekend here in Victoria (labour day). Â We decided to go and visit my dad who was home on his break from work. Â He works interstate and comes home once a month. Â It is a long enough drive (approximately 300km) but we were crafty and left late on Friday night. Â The kids were very excited as we don’t get to go away very often. Â We arrived at dad’s place at about 1am and put the kids to bed. Â We weren’t far behind them.
My brother came down on Saturday which was lovely as we don’t get to see much of him. Â We headed off to a place called Port Campbell to go to the beach and also to catch up with family who were camping there for the long weekend. Â I remember Port Campbell as a sleepy port town when I was a kid, but it has changed so much in the last 30 years. Â I suppose it is for the better, although the beach is much more crowded these days. Â I recommend it as a place to visit, should you ever travel on the Great Ocean Road. Â The girls had fun in the surf and we had a lovely time seeing family we don’t get to see much of. Â I met my cousin’s newish (4 months old) little daughter which was lovely. Â She is gorgeous.
Dad and Jairah
Sunday was spent fishing on the river the surrounds dad’s property. Â Unfortunately we only caught an eel. Â It got put back. Â The kids had fun in dad’s boat and Scarlett has become quite the fisher woman and is very proficient at tying up the boat!
Salty kids!
Our own personal deckhand
All in all we had a lovely but all too short visit. Â We headed home on Sunday. Â We have spent today doing jobs around the house. Â Not as fun, but at least it has been a beautiful day weather-wise. Â I feel autumn creeping in more and more as the days are going by. Â Even though the sun was shining, there was a cool undertone. Â Ho, hum, at least around our area autumn is gorgeous.
Oh and don’t forget to check out my giveaway. Â It ends this Wednesday.
An idea via Soulemama
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Feel free to leave a link to your moment in the comments for others to see. Thanks for stopping by! I have a great giveaway happening. Click on the link and check it out if you like. Jacintaxx
I just had one of those moments. Â I left a comment in another blog as the writer was talking about how embarrassed she was about the state of her old wallet. Â I had a giggle, not at her, but at the state of my own wallet. Â It has served me well for many years, about 15 actually, but then of course the zipper broke a few years ago. Â No worries, I just started using a separate coin purse. Â Then there is the fact that the card section is so loose after many years of stuffing putting my cards in it, that the cards practically go flying everywhere when I am at the supermarket. Â But lets face it, I donate so much of our funds to the supermarket (for not a lot), they may as well have all my cards. Â Anyway, after I had left the comment on her blog, I went to get a drink and remembered there was a package that arrived for me today that I hadn’t yet opened. Â I opened it up and along with a gorgeous card, a dear friend of mine (I shall refer to her as A) had sent me (you guessed yet?) a new wallet! Â Cue the sci-fi music. Â The wallet is adorable, but I can help but feel a little weirded out, but in a good way of course. Â Thanks A, you are divine! Jacintaxx
Isn't it gorgeous!
Tell me about your serendipitous moment, I love hearing other stories like this. Â Oh, Â and don’t forget to enter my giveaway, ends next Wednesday 23rd.
Well it seems I have hit a little over 100 posts here on my blog. Â I figure that is something worth celebrating with you lovely people. Â So I have for you, a book giveaway. Â There are three books to choose from. Â The winner will receive one new copy of one of the following books.
A Felt Farm by Rotraud Reinhard. Â This is a gorgeous book with lots of projects to do. Â It is well worth having if you are interested in felt craft or to just admire the beautiful pictures.
or Little Things to Sew, by Oliver + S. Â I have recently ordered myself a copy (I am still waiting for it’s arrival), but I have only heard good things about it. Â Oliver + S patterns are so lovely, I figure it would be a book worth having.
or one for the children, In my dreams I can fly, by Eveline Hasler & Kathi Bhend. Â This books has gorgeous illustrations and a lovely storyline. Â We purchased Tenneille a copy of this book for her birthday and it is now one of our favourite bedtime stories.
Now all you have to do is leave a message in the comments section and tell me which book you would choose, if you won.
For a bonus entry, please mention this giveaway on your blog, with a link back here for others to see.
For a third bonus entry, mention the giveaway on Twitter with a link back to here.
Please leave a comment for each of your bonus entries here in the comments section too, so I can enter them into the giveaway.
The winner will be announced here on Wednesday 23rd March. Â This giveaway is open to both Australian and overseas entries. Â So come on, enter now! Â Thank you for visiting and goodluck. Â Jacinta x
We enjoyed a beautiful autumn afternoon in the garden today with tea and homemade goodies.  The girls enjoyed rosie tea I made a variation of these biscuits.  Greg and I ate yummy fruit bun, straight out of the oven.  It was all good until the european wasps decided to join the party.  I really wish they hadn’t managed to be introduced here. Anyway, we had fun playing ladies and gentleman (Jairah was asleep), as the sun slowly disappeared over the hills.  Days like today are never long enough but they also remind me that my girls are growing up so fast and I am trying to make the most of tea parties on the front lawn complete with furry ‘pets’ and dress-ups.  Almost makes me teary.  Hope you spent your weekend doing something you love too?  Jacintax
Waiting,waiting!
Definitely refined!
I think this might be cup refill number 5
We have been buying beautiful bunches of fresh basil in our weekly organic order. Â It’s fragrance is divine. Â I love making pesto this time of year while basil is at it’s peak. Â The following recipe doesn’t last very long around these parts as we can’t stop eating it. Â Can be served with so many dishes, on pizza, with meat, veggies or as a dip. Â Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 bunches fresh basil
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/3 cup macadamia nuts, lightly toasted
1/3 cup oil (I use half olive oil, half rice bran oil)
salt to taste
Method:
Place all ingredients in food processor except oil. Â Blend until well combined. Â Pour oil into the mix in a steady stream while food processor is going until combined. Â Pour into a prepared jar. Before sealing the jar, place a piece of plastic wrap over the surface to help avoid discolouration.
Store in fridge. Â Can be frozen. Â I find the best way to do this is to put the pesto in sealable ice cube trays. Â This makes perfect size portons for adding to your dishes.
An idea via Soulemama
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. Â A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Feel free to leave a link to your moment in the comments for others to see. Â Thanks for stopping by!
