I've been quilting since 2013. This blog is my personal quilting diary, that charts my progress (and occasional regression) from the start. I use it so I can look back at my past projects...and hopefully see my skills improve!

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Part 5 of the Mystery BOM Completed


Part 5 of the 2014 Quiltmania BOM by Di Ford is now finished.  I am sad that there is only one more part to go before the end of the project.  I have had a lot of fun making this, so far, and have learned SO much.  Firsts for me include hand piecing, broderie perse and EPP.  I had made an attempt at needleturn a couple of months before the start of the project, but was very unhappy with my technique.  Somehow, miraculously, my needleturn seems to have improved with practice.  Points are still not as clean as I would like, but I hope to continue improving as time goes on.

My sister, Heidi, stayed with me for the past two weeks and I was able to give her the quilt I made for her.  It is now residing in Canada.

The weather has now taken a turn for the colder after a wonderful September.  The quinces from my 2 year old tree had all been picked and were ripe, so I got around to making quince jelly this morning.

Couldn't be easier to make! Heaven in a jar - good on buttered toast, in tarts, or served with red meat. Quinces contain a lot of pectin, so jams and jellies set well.

RECIPE
  1. Wash and chop up quinces into chunks. No need to peel them. Remove any pips. Just cover with water. 
  2. Simmer until soft: 1 to 3 hours. Add more water if necessary. 
  3. Place in muslin bag or jelly bag. I tie the bag to handle on kitchen wall cupboard and allow juice to strain into a very clean bowl overnight. 
  4. Measure the juice. I use 500g of granulated sugar for each pint of juice. Add the sugar to a pan of juice and heat gently until all the sugar has dissolved. 
  5. Increase the heat under the pan until you have a rolling boil. 
  6. Allow to boil until a small tsp of jelly wrinkles when placed on a cold plate.  (About 20 mins)
  7. Remove from heat immediately and pour into warm (not hot) jars (fill up to neck) and seal. 

Easy peasy!