Waiting...

I'm waiting for my shoulder to improve, so my sewing is also waiting...  These couple of items are at the top of my to do list and I'm itching to get back to them (they've been waiting in this state since Australia Day). 

 So close to finishing - all I need to do is insert a zip...

The promised jacket for my husband.  A toile in pieces...  Maybe if I wait long enough they'll join themselves?!

How are your sewing/ crafting/ gardening plans going?  What are your strategies for getting back on track when your plans are interrupted?

Another garden post

Yes, another garden post!  Sadly my shoulder has had a relapse and my sewing, which was going so well, has all but stopped for a little while.  Hooray though, our garden is doing great!

Here's what we found in the backyard today...

Nine nectarines!  Two eggplants, some green beans, some small capsicums, an egg (thank you Harriet!), two different types of zucchini and eight different types of tomato.  We are also being flooded with tomatillos, basil and chillis.  Hmm, now what to eat first..?!

Blackberry picking in Canberra

Apologies to my non-Canberra readers, but ages ago I wrote a post where I mentioned we had gone blackberry picking and now I regularly receive hits on my blog from people looking for information on 'blackberry picking in Canberra'.  So here is some information that may help those people.

When my husband and I first went blackberry picking about six years ago I emailed Canberra Connect asking for information.  If you want to go blackberry picking I suggest you find out the current ACT Government policy on blackberries, but this is along the lines of what they said at that time:  Because blackberries are considered a weed the ACT Government regularly sprays poison on blackberry canes throughout the ACT.  However, they signpost the poisoned areas and never poison during fruiting season.

This is what I've learnt from several years of Canberra blackberry picking: The best blackberries come after lots of Spring and early Summer rain.  The biggest and juiciest ones are always deep in the middle of a huge clump of very spiky canes, so wear old clothes and know when to stop going deeper!  I find it easier to take several small containers rather than one big container.  Once you get home and have eaten your fill of fresh blackberries and made jam, freeze your remaining blackberries and they should keep until you want to make hot crumbles and tarts in winter.  To freeze blackberries: wash and drain them, line a tray with baking paper and spread a single layer of blackberries on the tray.  Freeze them overnight and the next day pour the frozen berries into a ziplock bag.  Freezing them in a single layer means they won't clump together and are much easier to use straight from the freezer.

As for where is a good place to go blackberry picking - you don't think I'm going to give away my top spots do you?!

Frozen berries packed up for the freezer.

Unplanned production and destruction

Phew, our weather has finally cooled down into something a bit more summer-like (and less extreme heat wave) and our garden is loving it.

 Our nectarine tree - netted against the circling birds.

 Our first nectarine of the season - it looks just like one you'd buy in the shops (but this one was grown without chemicals and didn't involve long distance travel).

 Inside the nectarine.  It was tasty and sweet.

So this is the reason we have netted the nectarine - a couple of days ago this was a sunflower...

 We've had quite a few rosellas and galahs around lately, but the destructive birds attacking the sunflowers are sulphur crested cockatoos.  These cheeky birds are so brazen they even left their calling card (a feather!) - you can see it here in the grass next to the sorry remains of the fallen sunflower seeds.

 One of our heavily cropping chili plants (completely avoided by the cockatoos!).

 

 Bright balls of sunshine!  Yellow zucchinis.

 Not sure if you can see the numbers on the tape measure, but this Dutch Cream potato is over 20cm (9inch) long!  This is from the stray potatoes we missed from last years crop that just popped up in the garden this year.  This guy is part of almost 7kg we dug up.  Pretty good for a potato we didn't plan for or help too much over a blistering hot summer!

I hope you have a garden nearby to enjoy - or maybe some cheeky local wildlife to add colour to your day!

The pleasure (and perils!) of the post

A small package arrived for me today containing...  a small haul of Vogue patterns!  A couple of weeks ago I was looking on the internet for men's coat and jacket patterns (they are few and far between and you won't see one in this post either!) when I saw that Vogue patterns was having a sale of USD3.99 per pattern.  With the strong AUD I was very easily tempted! 

Being new to sewing and also enjoying the challenge of drafting my own patterns I haven't bought very many patterns, so this purchase single handedly more than doubled my stash!  I found the sizing a bit confusing as many patterns used different size ranges.  Being quite a pear shape I had to make a couple of decisions on choosing patterns based on bust or hip measurement.  In the end I decided that when in doubt - size up! 

So here is what I ended up buying.   (By the way, postage to Australia from the USA was more than the cost of all these patterns combined but for the discount in pattern price it was still worth it).

 V8630 - A simple dress with a large fold over collar.  A 'Very Easy Vogue', though apparently not recommended for pear shapes...

 V8312 - Some pattern love for my puppy!  I've made a couple of simple coats for Tansy, but I like that this has sleeves (legs?).  She's only 3 years old, but Tansy has developed quite bad arthritis in one of her legs.  I'm hoping that a coat with legs will keep her extra cosy and help ease her arthritis pain in the winter cold.

 

 

  V8333 - What was I thinking?!  A beautiful but 'Advanced' (!) jacket pattern. 

 V2787, V1044 and V8811 - Pretty vintage dress reprints. 

I love the bodice detail in the V1044.

My favourites are the jacket V8333 and the vintage dress V1044.  Hopefully you'll see one of these here soon as a finished object - but don't hold your breath!

Seasonally inappropriate sewing

I could have also titled this post 'Getting Well Part 3' - yes, another month another operation in our little household.  This time it was my husband, he is in pain, but recovering.  And I swear that 2013 will be a much better health year for us than 2012 was! (I count this operation as being needed from 2012, and therefore nothing to do with 2013!). 

Having to do increased household and nursing duties has reduced my time for sewing though.  So I only have one small finished item to show this week.

This reversible double sided dog coat was on my cutting table last April when I had my accident so Tansy didn't have it in time for last winter, but she will be all set for walks on Canberra's icy winter mornings this year (though in the summer heat it is hard to believe those days are only a few short months away).  This coat a followup from the coat I made her last year. 

 The basic pattern - cut centre back on the fold (the straight line at the bottom of the photo).  

Tansy is an over sized (not overweight) Australian Silky Terrier.  She weighs around 8kg.

This pattern piece measures:

36cm along centre back length from neck to tail

27cm around her side from centre back to centre tummy, this includes ease for the Velcro fastening

14.5cm torso, from the back of her front legs to the front of her back legs.

This pattern does not include any seam or hem allowance as I used non-fraying polar fleece for Tansy's first coat.  If you want to make a double layer coat, or are using a fabric that might fray, don't forget to add seam allowance.

 One side of the coat.  I know putting a dog in leopard print is a bit naff, but I couldn't help myself - when I saw the fabric I just had to buy it...!

If you want to make a double sided coat, sew the right sides of the fabric together except for part of the neck area (the curve at the bottom of the photo).  Pull the coat right side out through the unsewn neck area, then stitch the neck area closed.  Add Velcro (or your preferred fastener) and you're done!

 

 Other side of the coat, blue polar fleece.  Because I have used Velcro as the fastener the coat is fully reversible.

 I'm sure the RSPCA would be knocking at my door if I tried to get Tansy to model a thick double sided coat on a hot summer day, so her toy 'Emu' offered her services. 

Refreshments for the heat

Today is the 10th anniversary of the devastating Canberra bushfires, that killed 4 people and destroyed around 500 homes.  The heat and dryness of the past couple of weeks has lead to conditions almost identical to those in the lead up to the 2003 fires.  Understandably some people are very nervous.  Today is another hot day with the temperature predicted to reach 39oC (102oF).  Last week I heard numerous helicopters overhead but none the past few days so I'm taking that as a good sign (they are spotting for fires in the National Parks around Canberra, there have been several small fires near Canberra and the smell of smoke was in the air).

I'm beating the heat today by staying inside with the curtains closed against the sun and making rhubarb cordial so I can have delicious drinks later this afternoon.  While thinking about writing this post I searched 'cordial' on the internet and was quite surprised to find that what I call cordial (as an Australian) isn't what other parts of the world call it!  So to clarify, this rhubarb cordial is a non-alcoholic fruit based drink mixer - it is best mixed with still water, soda water or tonic water.  My personal preference is cold soda water (and maybe a splash of Bacardi or vodka!).

We have three rhubarb plants but I must admit that while I don't mind rhubarb, I'm not a huge fan.  My favourite way to eat it is in a rhubarb and apple crumble, which is best eaten in winter - when the rhubarb is dormant!  So last summer we started making rhubarb cordial.  It is fruity and a little bit tart, so it is quite a refreshing way to use our crop.  This recipe is one I created by mixing up a few recipes I read on the internet and in magazines.

I'm not sure what variety of rhubarb we have, but it is quite green.

Ingredients:
400g rhubarb stems, chopped into about 3-4cm pieces
300g caster sugar
1 lemon, juiced
1 litre water
1 tablespoon citric acid
 (Double the recipe if you have lots of rhubarb)

Method:
Place the chopped rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice, lemon halves and water into a saucepan.  Stir to combine.
Place saucepan on medium heat, without lid.  Stir occasionally to ensure the sugar dissolves.  When mix comes to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer.  Continue to stir occasionally.  Simmer until the rhubarb is mushy.
Remove from heat and leave to cool for a couple of hours.
Push the mix through a strainer to separate the stewed rhubarb from the liquid.
Put stewed rhubarb into a clean container, remove lemon halves and place into fridge, eat within 3 days.
Whisk citric acid into the cordial.  Pour into sterilized jars or bottles.  Place cordial into fridge and drink within 2-3 weeks.  Makes about 1 litre of cordial.

This is not as concentrated as shop bought cordials, so you dilute it 1 part cordial to about 3-4 parts water.  It is also quite cloudy from the sediment of the stewed rhubarb.  I have tried a recipe where you didn't cook the rhubarb, just let it sit for 24 hours.  That recipe gave a clear cordial, but I didn't think it was as tasty.

You can eat the leftover stewed rhubarb, it is quite nice with a dollop of thick cream!  Just remember a lot of the rhubarb flavour is now in the cordial, so it is a muted rhubarb taste.

Everything in the saucepan, ready to cook.

 

 Mushy rhubarb!

 Freshly bottled rhubarb cordial ready to go into the fridge.