FNSI Winner

I did get a lot done on Friday Night (well, we know how my Friday nights extend into Saturday and Sunday!)……I’m sorry I didn’t post before now….but I was finishing off a new design and writing the pattern…..so at 1am this morning, I was packing it away into a postpak ready for sending to a magazine for inclusion later in the year. So all I can show you are sneakies! (is that even a word??) I even managed to consume a ‘small’ bowl of  these delights…. with a warm cocoa, of course…..you can never have too much chocolate! We had stitchy people all over the globe altogether on Friday night stitching away, and from those, Mr RNG decided he’d draw number….     as the winner of this lovely sewing tool keeper kit….   So a BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO MELODY in Melbourne who just happened to be making lots of hexies on Friday night like me!  I wonder how many more of us have caught the hexi bug on Friday night? I’ve yet to visit everyone from FNSI to see, but I will this week…..if you’d still like to pop over and visit everyone and see what they got up to you can….just click on the links HERE Until tomorrow Sugary hugs xox  :o)

FNSI Winner

I did get a lot done on Friday Night (well, we know how my Friday nights extend into Saturday and Sunday!)……I’m sorry I didn’t post before now….but I was finishing off a new design and writing the pattern…..so at 1am this morning, I was packing it away into a postpak ready for sending to a magazine for inclusion later in the year.

So all I can show you are sneakies! (is that even a word??)

I even managed to consume a ‘small’ bowl of  these delights….

with a warm cocoa, of course…..you can never have too much chocolate!

We had stitchy people all over the globe altogether on Friday night stitching away, and from those, Mr RNG decided he’d draw number….

    as the winner of this lovely sewing tool keeper kit….

 

So a BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO MELODY in Melbourne who just happened to be making lots of hexies on Friday night like me!  I wonder how many more of us have caught the hexi bug on Friday night?

I’ve yet to visit everyone from FNSI to see, but I will this week…..if you’d still like to pop over and visit everyone and see what they got up to you can….just click on the links HERE

Until tomorrow

Sugary hugs xox  :o)

Thanks goodness for friends and FNSI….

This week has just been a doozy…..lots been happening behind the scenes here at Sugarlane….my head’s in a spin.  Photo credit: http://co1603.tripod.com/ I have a secret project to work on that MUST be finished by……TODAY?? (heaven forbid) Thank goodness it’s FNSI….my Friday night starts now…..well, soon!  If you haven’t signed up yet,  HERE is the signup page….everyone is welcome and there’s a lovely surprise for one lucky FNSI’er. After numerous trips to the doctor’s with family members, a trip to drop off the wedding quilt (which was received with humungous squishy hugs and promises of loving it to the end of time….made my so happy), catching up on meetings forgotten (almost) and life in general, Friday has arrived so quickly. A well-looked-forward-to trip to the north to be with ‘my stitching girls’ today had to be put off due to unforeseen circumstances in the Sugarlane household……             makes me sad I can’t make it, but I’ll be stitching my project with them from afar. Just knowing you can be close, even though you’re far apart, doing things you love ‘together’ makes me happier…..so  with all life’s ups and downs….. after all, it is FNSI and, despite everything it throws at you, life is beautiful! Sugary hugs xox  :O)

Thanks goodness for friends and FNSI….

This week has just been a doozy…..lots been happening behind the scenes here at Sugarlane….my head’s in a spin. 

Photo credit: http://co1603.tripod.com/

I have a secret project to work on that MUST be finished by……TODAY?? (heaven forbid)

Thank goodness it’s FNSI….my Friday night starts now…..well, soon!  If you haven’t signed up yet,  HERE is the signup page….everyone is welcome and there’s a lovely surprise for one lucky FNSI’er.

After numerous trips to the doctor’s with family members, a trip to drop off the wedding quilt (which was received with humungous squishy hugs and promises of loving it to the end of time….made my so happy),

catching up on meetings forgotten (almost) and life in general, Friday has arrived so quickly.

A well-looked-forward-to trip to the north to be with ‘my stitching girls’ today had to be put off due to unforeseen circumstances in the Sugarlane household……

 

 

 

 

 

 

makes me sad I can’t make it, but I’ll be stitching my project with them from afar.

Just knowing you can be close, even though you’re far apart, doing things you love ‘together’ makes me happier…..so  with all life’s ups and downs…..

after all, it is FNSI and, despite everything it throws at you, life is beautiful!

Sugary hugs xox  :O)

Yummy, yummy….Friday night Sew In goodies in my tummy…..

I love finding new recipes for us to try for our FNSI nibbles, but this month I was a little stuck for ideas……(help, Pinterest!) But then it occurred to me before I could get seriously sidetracked…..I’d made some apple and cream turnovers on Sunday night when my boy brought his girlfriend home for dinner…..and they are super easy and super yum! First of all, you take a sheet of frozen, pre-rolled puff pastry and let it defrost slightly.  Then cut it in half, straight through the middle.  Then, cut each of those halves into four equal rectangles, giving you eight altogether (which will be MORE than enough, I promise you). Using a biscuit sheet lined with a piece of baking paper ,  evenly space the eight portions onto it.  Bake in the oven  at 200 degrees C. for about 15 mins, or until they are puffed and golden brown. When they’re cool I usually sprinkle with icing sugar/icing mixture and store them in a sealed container until I need to use them.  You could leave the ‘sprinkling’ until the end…it really makes no difference. Split one ‘puff’ in half and lay open. Using a spray can of whipped dairy topping (use the light one if you’re worried about putting on weight…this is the only part that’s ‘fattening’ as the pastry is full of air! Really!  LOL) Spoon on some stewed apple….I like to stew any apples (or in this case, apples and pears) that are starting to get a bit wrinkly in the fruit bowl that no-one will touch because they’re icky!  I peel them, then slice the ‘meat’ off the fruit in chunks and place in a saucepan.  Sprinkle a teaspoon or two of cinnamon in with them and add a sprinkle of caster sugar.  (sometimes apples can be a bit ‘bland’ and this seems to just give it the helping hand it needs). Add a 1/4 cup (as a guide) of water to the pan. Cook them on the stove for about 15-20 mins till they are a soft, translucent consistency and allow to cool.  Don’t worry if there is a bit of liquid in the pot, this will be mostly reabsorbed into the fruit.  When cool, mash a bit with the potato masher (I only do this stage for the turnovers so you don’t have great chunks of apple), leaving it slightly chunky, as in the picture.  This will keep cool in the fridge for up to a week. *NOTE:  if you’re not making the stewed apples for the turnovers, I like to add a few ‘generous’ tablespoons of sultanas or raisins…..lovely on breakfast meusli. Give another squirt of whipped dairy topping on the top (this is mainly to hold the lid on……..truly!) Place the other half on top and serve….. (mine looks like it needs another dusting of icing sugar doesn’t it?) …absolutely delish and easy as pie! You can prepare the pastries and the apple earlier and then constructing them takes hardly any time at all….the time it takes to boil the kettle or even less!  Perfect for our FNSI, don’t you agree?   A great dessert idea too! I’m sooooo looking forward to tomorrow night.  I’ll be sewing some secret squirrel stuff, but I’ll be busy and I’ll share some sneaky piccies over the weekend.  If you haven’t signed up yet, make sure you head here….there’s a great prize for one lucky joiner-innerer!  and share the fun on your blogs too….the more the merrier! Sugary hugs xox  :O)

Yummy, yummy….Friday night Sew In goodies in my tummy…..

I love finding new recipes for us to try for our FNSI nibbles, but this month I was a little stuck for ideas……(help, Pinterest!)

But then it occurred to me before I could get seriously sidetracked…..I’d made some apple and cream turnovers on Sunday night when my boy brought his girlfriend home for dinner…..and they are super easy and super yum!

First of all, you take a sheet of frozen, pre-rolled puff pastry and let it defrost slightly. 

Then cut it in half, straight through the middle.  Then, cut each of those halves into four equal rectangles, giving you eight altogether (which will be MORE than enough, I promise you).

Using a biscuit sheet lined with a piece of baking paper ,  evenly space the eight portions onto it.  Bake in the oven  at 200 degrees C. for about 15 mins, or until they are puffed and golden brown.

When they’re cool I usually sprinkle with icing sugar/icing mixture and store them in a sealed container until I need to use them.  You could leave the ‘sprinkling’ until the end…it really makes no difference.

Split one ‘puff’ in half and lay open.

Using a spray can of whipped dairy topping (use the light one if you’re worried about putting on weight…this is the only part that’s ‘fattening’ as the pastry is full of air! Really!  LOL)

Spoon on some stewed apple….I like to stew any apples (or in this case, apples and pears) that are starting to get a bit wrinkly in the fruit bowl that no-one will touch because they’re icky!  I peel them, then slice the ‘meat’ off the fruit in chunks and place in a saucepan.  Sprinkle a teaspoon or two of cinnamon in with them and add a sprinkle of caster sugar.  (sometimes apples can be a bit ‘bland’ and this seems to just give it the helping hand it needs). Add a 1/4 cup (as a guide) of water to the pan. Cook them on the stove for about 15-20 mins till they are a soft, translucent consistency and allow to cool.  Don’t worry if there is a bit of liquid in the pot, this will be mostly reabsorbed into the fruit.  When cool, mash a bit with the potato masher (I only do this stage for the turnovers so you don’t have great chunks of apple), leaving it slightly chunky, as in the picture.  This will keep cool in the fridge for up to a week.

*NOTE:  if you’re not making the stewed apples for the turnovers, I like to add a few ‘generous’ tablespoons of sultanas or raisins…..lovely on breakfast meusli.

Give another squirt of whipped dairy topping on the top (this is mainly to hold the lid on……..truly!)

Place the other half on top and serve….. (mine looks like it needs another dusting of icing sugar doesn’t it?) …absolutely delish and easy as pie!

You can prepare the pastries and the apple earlier and then constructing them takes hardly any time at all….the time it takes to boil the kettle or even less!  Perfect for our FNSI, don’t you agree?   A great dessert idea too!

I’m sooooo looking forward to tomorrow night.  I’ll be sewing some secret squirrel stuff, but I’ll be busy and I’ll share some sneaky piccies over the weekend.  If you haven’t signed up yet, make sure you head here….there’s a great prize for one lucky joiner-innerer!  and share the fun on your blogs too….the more the merrier!

Sugary hugs xox  :O)

Pinterest-ing….

I don’t know about you, but I have been known to become addicted to things I love.  I MUST have all of them….. one of my latest addictions is pins! Not your usual, sharp, pointy, ouchy ones….but those that stick your ideas down on Pinterest! Have you had a chance to visit Pinterest yet?  Now I’m not one for advertising, but this truly is my downtime, and gets my creative juices running (and also helps me to think of new things to make for dinner….and FNSI nibblies). Take a look what I mean….. Don’t know if you can see that, but I actually have pinned 16, 508 pins, or in real terms, I ‘ve filed 16, 508 good ideas I found on the WWW through Pinterest into my folders I created on my page so that I can go back and look at them anytime I want, and so can any of my followers. Feel free to come and take a look anytime. Take for example my “Friends I love to Visit” folder….the second one on the top line…… …you’ll notice I have 41 pins of friends, often quilty ones but not always, I love to visit that I’m sure you’d love to visit too (‘cause my friends are wonderful). And my ‘Fontabulous’ folder ,(yes you do get to create the names of your folders and they can be as wacky or boring as you like)  has 850 pins of pages of different fonts you can use on your computer or to print out for your stitcheries or invitations or scrapbooking or whatever takes your fancy.  Most of them are free font downloads but *naughty me* hasn’t checked every single one of them yet…..I just get into ‘pinning mode’ and pin, pin, pin to my heart’s content. I don’t mean to brag, but I have 95 boards full of pins of interesting ideas that I and other fellow ‘pinners’ have found….now the thing I have to worry about - does that make me a hoarder,  a knowledge seeker or just purely addicted? hmmmmm, maybe you shouldn’t answer that! Truly though, If you haven’t been pricked by the Pinterest bug yet, I highly recommend it.  It costs you nothing and when mojo is low, it revitalises the creative juices in whatever you fancy and gives loads of links to great ideas, tutorials and advice…….why not give it a try?  ** MAJOR NOTE OF WARNING:  Just be cautious not to break any copyrighting laws by copying pins that share, for example, other artist’s patterns or designs..  Links to the designers and where you can get their work from is fine but please respect the rights of designers and report anyone whose sharing copyrighted works inappropriately. Visit Pinterest and you might even find some cool ideas for FNSI and catch the bug, like I have. (By the way, don’t forget to go back to my last post to sign up for FNSI!) Now, before I head off, I’m going to spend just 5 minutes pinning browsing! PLEASE NOTE:  All comments are my own and are not influenced or promoted on behalf of Pinterest or anyone associated with them….honestly I truly just love it! Sugary hugs xox  :o)