It Has Been Busy Around Here...

Shearing has been happening and is now over and hopefully it was our last and the next one will be the new owners... nothing signed yet but very very very close... happy dancing...

these are the pet sheep being shorn... the shearer asked me if he had any in his pen... I said all the sheep in these pens are pets... yes I do have a few hehehehe...

 hubby watching over them...

can you see him up there?

 and some one decided our son should leave his mark???

that is him holding the can of marking spray but he didn't write it... even the daughters border collie got some blue on her white bits... children just can't help themselves...

 trying very hard to get a photo of the first lamb born in the pet flock

 but Mum was being very protective...

 and Lucy was feeling left out...

 this is the first ever Dresden plate block I have ever made and I was a little nervous...

it is for my swap for the month of April here

 and this is the block I received for my March swap

 and I was lucky to get two blocks from Richard...

Lest We Forget...

String Blocks...

117 scrappy blocks I have made this past week

 to add to this quilt top that I made a couple of years ago

 it just wasn't big enough to do anything with... well it could have been a throw but I have enough of those around and I have a white queen size brass bed that it would look lovely on...

so now I am adding those 117 strings to the sides...

Remember the quilt I made for my daughters friend who was having a baby girl...

well look here at her on her quilt...

isn't she just a cutie...

Breathe In Breathe Out...

After yesterday episode with ''blogger'' I was a little frightened to see what was install for me today... all is good so far but it does seem that my posting layout has changed... always &^%%$* changes I don't like changes please leave me alone ""Mr Blogger Google"....

Okay

I have been sewing madly once again... 

string blocks that is as my ice-cream containers were over flowing once again

 I do love making strings... especially when I am on a mission...

I sew all mine onto cut down recycled fax and computer paper...

so far I have made about 100 string 6 1/2 in blocks... I did do some of these a couple of years ago and put them together and was looking for the perfect border fabric and never have so I have decided to make more and add them to the top I have... more photo's of that later...

My winnings from the give away Michelle had... such yummy goodies... thank you Michelle.

Until next time

Luv T xxx

OMG

My heart fell in my butt this morning...

I was going to put a post up

and

I couldn't get onto my blog..........

because blogger had REMOVED it...

PANIC

so after an hour of going through all the

advice from google and a recorded voice ringing me with a code

I am back....

but to stressed to do my post today... so tomorrow it will be now....

A Special Quilt...

This quilt has been one of the ''secret women's business'' that I have been working on for a couple of months... "a quilt of hugs" for a very special lady who lost her hubby last year so unexpectedly... I can now show you as she has received her parcel...

 the blocks have come from around Australia and from Canada...

all made with love for our special friend...

Easter Swap...

Do you want to know what was in the box

and

who it went to???

 all good Easter swaps need loads of chocolate and bunny ears (even if we do look silly)...

fabric that are Easter colours... and a special key ring that is a little Japaneses doll (seeing my partner is flying out to Japan today)...

and

an Easter table topper...

I chose to do the background in chocolate brown homespun to represent chocolate of course... once everything was appliqued and embroidered and put together I stippled all the background to look like the pattern on an Easter egg...

Sandy was my partner and I think she liked her parcel...

thanks Maree for organising the swap...

Bits and Pieces...

I have been sewing but I can't show you and photo's yet until the parcels are received...

this is the parcel sent to my online partner in the Easter Swap hosted by Maree

 once the parcel is in her hot little hands I can post a photo....

and this next photo... talk about ''funniest photo competition''

this is my dog Joe's (RIP) brother Junior...

 do you think he was a little hot... not sure how he was balancing so well

I ran to get the camera and thought he would have fallen over or got out before I got back...

 I did some baking yesterday... a friend gave me a shopping bag full of passionfruit... I scooped the pulp out of half of them and frozen that and Hubby and I have been eating our way through the rest but not quick enough... I needed to use some of them up so a Vanilla Slice was in order...

 I have never made one before...

 I searched through some school recipe books and found one using soa crackers

easy peasy as I had some of them... surely that would be less calories than pastry????

its very moreish hahaha

Vanilla Slice

1 packet sao crackers

4 cups milk

4 level tbsp sugar (I used 3)

4 good heaped tbsp custard powder

1 heaped tbsp butter (I used 1/2)

1 tsp vanilla essence

passionfruit icing

Cover the base of a slab tin with a single layer of the soa crackers, when cutting these to fit the tin use a serrated edged knife to prevent breaking. Pour 31/2 cups of the milk into a saucepan, add sugar, place over a low heat.

Mix custard powder with remaining 1/2 cup of milk and stir until a smooth paste, add to the saucepan and stir constantly until thick and smooth.

Remove from heat add butter and vanilla essence and beat well with a wooden spoon.

Cool slightly then pour over the layer of sao crackers.

Cover custard with another layer of sao crackers, pushing them down slightly into the custard.

Make passionfruit icing and pour over biscuits.

Chill before cutting... keep in the fridge.

Passionfruit Icing

Mix well 2 cups icing sugar, 1heaped tsp butter, 1 large passionfruit (I used 3 then I didn't have to use any other moisture)

Beat in sufficient milk to make and easy workable spreading consistency.