Little bliss balls....

 I've been making these little balls of sweet goodness for a few weeks now. They are the perfect sweet treat for those moments when you crave something sweet but know you shouldn't. They look and taste like they are too good to be healthy but contain no sugar or fat.

They are naturally sweetened with a mixture of dried fruit such as dates, sultanas, prunes and figs or whatever you have on hand along with cocoa, nuts and peanut butter. This latest batch contains dried cranberries rather than sultanas and figs because I like the crunchy texture of the fig seeds. You could coat them in coconut, cocoa, finely chopped nuts or toasted sesame seeds too or make them even healthier by adding chai seeds or flaxseeds. 

Here's the basic recipe which I always double as 10 balls is not enough ;-) ....

Ingredients:-

1. 1 tablespoon peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
2. 1/2 cup dates, soaked in boiling water then chopped finely
3. 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
4. 1/2 cup dried sultanas
5. 1/3 cup dried prunes, soaked in boiling water then chopped finely
6. 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts finely chopped

Method:-

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and mix well to form a tight mixture.
2. Use wet hands to mould 10 balls, squeezing mixture tightly so it sticks together.
3. Place in refrigerator to chill for 2 hours or overnight. Store chilled in a sealed container for up to 10 days, if they last that long....

Enjoy!!

Untouched and peaceful....

For the past couple of weeks I have had my eldest daughter Amelia, home from university for the mid semester break along with her boyfriend, Bayley. Its been really lovely to have a full house again and to hear her and her sister Caitlin, have there normal sister banter going on and to also have a male voice added to the mix as well. Their visit home also coincided with Caitlin's 16th birthday and Caitlin's first school ball which was nice for them both. 

 Unfortunately I was working most of the time they were here but I did manage to get a couple of afternoons off to spend some time with them and show Bayley around our part of the country. These photos are taken at Opoutere beach, an untouched and often deserted beach north of Whangamata. Its easy to take the scenery around where you live for granted so when you show visitors around its like seeing those places with new eyes. Plus it's also a reminder of how fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful part of New Zealand. 

 The afternoon we did this beach walk was quite windy and it had showered intermittently all day hence the dark clouds in the photos which I think adds a little moodiness to them. 

Hand stitched....

 Freshly added to my Etsy shop Inez&James is this hand-quilted baby quilt that has been given the royal seal of approval from my daughters cat who just had to get in on the shot.

Made from a modern selection of predominately blue and green prints with a theme of pretty butterflies and blossoms just in time for the southern hemisphere spring season. These butterflies have been patiently waiting in my fabric collection for that perfect project  ;-)

 Converging circles have been hand-quilted to give a subtle texture and to break up the straight lines of the simple piecing.

A hand-stamped label attached to the back with a blanket stitch adds the finishing touch...

Available for purchase here..

Amelia's quilt....

 My eldest daughter Amelia turned 18 last month and since it's been a few years since I've made a quilt for her I decided an 18th birthday was special enough to make her one. This year has been a big year for both her and I as she moved out of home and into a Halls of residence in Wellington. She is doing a Bachelor of Arts degree at Victoria University majoring in Film and Theatre. It was so very hard to leave her in Wellington once I had helped move her in but it has been so very rewarding to see her grow and mature into an independent young adult. She loves her new life down in Wellington as a student and loves what she is studying. She has a sign on her bedroom door at home that reads "Sorry out living the dream" and that is exactly what she is doing. I am so very proud of who she is becoming and what she is achieving so far. I can remember when she was just a few weeks old, pushing her along the road and commenting to someone who had stopped to admire her that I couldn't wait to see what and who she was going to grow into. I was eager to see the future her but also enjoying that first time motherhood period. 

When we were choosing items for her new room she had a definite colour scheme in mind of tuquiose, aqua, green. Once all her room was dressed with all her new things it looked fresh and modern which helped me choose a fresh, simple and modern quilt design. It had to be fairly simple as I didn't leave myself much time to complete it.

 All of the prints are from my stash of fabrics so the only purchase was some more solid grey print and the aqua and white spot for the backing.

I gave myself added pressure by being determined to hand-quilt it but I just love the look of a hand-quilted quilt.

 It should keep her nice and warm in Wellington's slightly cooler temperatures with it's inner layer of wool/polyester batting.

And of course a quilt isn't complete without a label. "Inez and James" is my new Etsy shop.

Simply hand-stitched.....

These 3 hand-stitched cushion covers have been freshly added to my new shop/label "Inez & James" which is all about simplicity, those all important small details, vibrant colours and quality fabrics.

 The charcoal grey cushion has 5 hand-stitched sets of 3 decreasing circles in different shades of Perle cotton. I seem to have a thing with circles at the moment as they are appearing frequently in my work.

  The aqua cushion has this playful "noughts and cross's " design that I think would look good anywhere but may be particular suitable for a child's room...

I think the green one is my favourite just because I love this shade of green. It has 6 simple star designs in 6 different shades of the Perle cotton. All 3 cushions are made with quality 'shot cotton' that has a beautiful vibrant deep colour and a almost natural linen look to the weave.

 These are my new labels which are hand-stamped with specialised textile ink for longevity. 

 All 3 have a generous envelope back enclosure and are finished with a 1/4 inch edging. You can purchase them here or customise your own by switching around the colours and designs. Oh and more designs and colours to come :-)

Good things take time....

So about a year ago I sold these chairs to a lady in Auckland who was redecorating her house and was hoping to have it featured in the "Your home and garden" magazine. Since I hadn't heard back from her regarding the magazine feature and it had been so long ago I had kind of given up on it ever happening let alone a picture of my chairs being included. About a month ago though I received a brief email from her asking for my business details and this month my chairs have been included as part of the feature of her redecorated home.

Sorry about the quality of the photo but here are my chairs looking very at home in their new owners house don't you think ;-) It's a very cool feeling to have something that I spent hours creating be featured in a beautiful magazine like this....

Making tomato sauce

I think I mentioned here before that I had planted twice as many tomato plants as I normally do because I planned on making tomato sauce. Over the weekend I picked a bucketful of tomatoes (approx. 6 kgs) and on Monday I made what I think will be a years supply of tomato sauce for us since Amelia is off to university in a couple of weeks which leaves just Caitlin and I. Might have to give some away....along with some fresh tomatoes as there are still many more tomatoes to ripen and pick. The recipe I used is an old recipe given to me by a friend but can also be found in the Aunt Daisy cookbook.