Hi there.  What a busy couple of months it has been!  This coming Labour weekend we will be at the Collingwood Hall for the Golden Bay Quilters Show for what will be the last of five shows in a row which has seen us tripping all over the country.

It has been so great to see old friends and new, and show you our new fabrics,projects, quilts, kits, gadgets and specials with our unique “Annie’s” flavour.

This week I thought I would show you this gorgeous little sewing or knitting bag from Natalie Bird from Birdhouse Designs featuring a little stitching, some hand pieced hexagons and a draw string top to keep your works in progress from spilling out.    I have made up the sample and the kit in blues ($79.00) or the pattern is available on it’s own for $23.00.

The other thing I thought I would show you is my Mary Gibbs 1812 quilt.  The pattern is from one of Christopher Wilson Tate’s antique Collection, and features lots of hand pieces and lots of lots of circles in the border ☺.  I have used a lot of the very beautiful Dutch Heritage fabrics in my quilt along with a variety of other reproduction prints which we specialise in.

This is available as a pattern with the centre panel ($54.00) and we can certainly help you put some fabric together for this project.
https://www.anniesquilts.co.nz/cms/index.php?option=com_mijoshop&route=product/search&search=Mary%20Gibbs%20

If you are having a look at the website and couldn’t make it to one of the shows we have been at lately, check out our specials on quilters clips, sew in magnets, clover quick up picks and  packs of needle threaders.
https://www.anniesquilts.co.nz/cms/shop-online/category/2-quilting-essentials.html

This week’s recipe is a good week night meal or perhaps with the addition of a few tooth picks and the sauce on the side it could be a “take a plate” dish.

Pork, Pear and Cider Meatballs

• 2 firm pears, peeled and grated
• 500 g pork mince
• ½ c breadcrumbs
• ½ bunch of chopped parsley, salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp each of Olive oil and butter
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 tsp cornflour
• ¾ c chicken stock
• 1 c pear cider (or apple juice)
• 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Squeeze out the extra juice from the grated pear and place the pear, pork mince, breadcrumbs in a bowl with half of the parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.
Roll the mixture into about 20 small balls.  Heat the butter and oil in a fry pan and cook the meatballs for about 10 minutes until browned and almost cooked through.
Remove the meatballs from the pan and drain on some baking paper.

Add the onion to the pan and cook until golden and tender.  Mix the cornflour into the stock and then add this to the pan with the cider and mustard.  Once this has reduced a little return the meatballs to the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve with a fresh salad a baked potato or some crusty bread.

That’s all from me for now, have a fabulous week with some stitching factored in!