Friday, January 18, 2019

A pretty SEW pincushion and scrummy slice...



I've been patiently waiting for this week to share W because I wanted to SEW this pocket pincushion for myself!

The fabric had been put aside months ago and I'd often consider running ahead to make it but time really hasn't been my friend so it just had to wait until yesterday before coming to life.




If I haven't said so before, now the secret is out.
I am smitten with a love for pocket pinnies and have made "many".
Most are given away as gifts but this one is staying home with me...




Your pattern this week is for the W, and the S is still a free download if you scroll through the posts to Friday January 4th. The E is available in my shop as part of the A-E set.

download the pattern for "W" here or here

I stitched a length of double ribbon into the top of my pinnie as a scissor keep. 
Simple but sweet.




The lace is sew in between the stitchery block and the backing fabric so that when you fold the two fabrics away from each other and then press closed again with your iron, the lace sits nice and high on the pocket.

"W" will be a free pattern download until January 31st.

The pattern sets for A-E, F-I, J-N, OPQUT are here in my shop.




If you've never made a pincushion like this then you'll be pleased to know I have a tutorial for you to follow.
Back in 2016 I shared a few pincushion tutorials and the Pocket Pincushion was one of them.



I love baking quick and simple sweet treats for morning or afternoon tea, don't you?!
Through the school year my baking days are usually Wednesday and Sunday as I need to prepare meals and snacks for my husband's work lunches and hopefully have some extras should someone drop by.

Not sure why, but I haven't made a Scrummy Slice for a year or more and the other day when Fee was sharing her date scone recipe I remembered this delicious and quick slice and immediately set about baking one. It was always a favourite of the family though I'm not as fond of dates as they are so perhaps that's why it slipped my mind?
Although, during the mixing I remembered that I do in fact love this recipe when I use fresh medjool dates and not the dried variety...which is why I'm now describing it as delicious!




All you do is melt the butter and mix it with the other ingredients in a bowl.
Simple, quick - my kind of baking most days.

Press the mix into a paper lined slice tray (those in the USA would call this a bar tray and they'd call Scrummy Slice a Scrummy Bar)...



Press it down firmly.



Bake in the oven at 180 C (350 F) for twenty minutes, then leave out to cool in the pan for 10 minutes...




...while you make the icing. Just mix the icing sugar, lemon rind and lemon juice to a pouring custard consistency.

You don't need much icing for this slice, just a thin drizzle all over to add a tangy lemon punch.




The slice will still be very warm after the ten minutes cooling time so the icing will almost melt into it. Lovely.




Do you love my festive little spatula? It's a tiny one, perfect for scraping out those tight corners or for spreading thin icing like this.
I bought one each for Blossom and I during the after Christmas sales for only a few dollars and I'm sure we'll still be using them twenty years from now...




Once the Scrummy Slice has cooled lift it out of the tin and cut into 24 squares.




Then it's time to brew a cuppa and indulge!




Here's the recipe for you.
Just alternate click on the photo and save to your computer, or pin it to one of your Pinterest boards so you don't lose it.





Out in the garden we have strawberry guavas ready to eat and as I'd never tried one before this has been quite exciting!
They are delicious...a mild mix of passionfruity-strawberry sweetness...




We have one strawberry guava tree and two normal guavas, and we're almost ready to harvest those as well. Just have to be quicker than the birds which seem to love our garden and all the tasty treats that are now in season.

Now before I go let me show you what is right outside our bedroom window.
My friends Rosie and Sharm (who visited from down south with her hubby just before Christmas) were both surprised at how big this plant is and both said there would be a huge flower come right out of the centre one day.

That day is almost here.

I call it the giant asparagus as it is now about 4 metres (12 feet) higher than our roof!
In fact I took these photos two days ago and it's grown even more since then...




Truly, doesn't this remind you of an asparagus?




No idea what the flower will look like but those arms spreading out from the stem are new little plants that we can pop in the garden should we want more of these humongous asparagus offspring taking up space. 
Mr E said "no, we won't be doing that."
Actually, he's concerned that when the flower and stem fall (which they will) they might hit the power lines depending on their direction at the time. The top of the stem is following the sun you see, like a sunflower does. Truly interesting!

Okay. Time to close up for the week and as it's ghastly humid I'm sure a swim in the pool will be the best way to unwind.

I do pray your weekend is a restful, joyous and contented one.

hugs


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28 comments:

Kay said...

Jenny, I found your blog from Annabelle's The Bluebirds are Nesting blog. To answer your wondering about your very tall "asparagus" plant, it looks very similar to our US Yucca plant. It will have creamy sweet-smelling white flowers.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/yucca/yucca-plant-as-food.htm

Jenny of Elefantz said...

Kay, apparently it has a lot of names. The one we use (just checked with Rosie) in Australia is Furcraea.
And it IS a member of the asparagus family – cracked me up!! LOL!!

Lorrie said...

Thank you, Jenny, for your sweet embroidery alphabet patterns. I haven't done anything with them yet, but hope to one day. That is some plant!

tylasnan said...

Oh Jenny that slice certainly does sound scrummy. I love dates in anything. Our family history group meetings commence for the year on Wednesday next so I might just have to make for them.

Cheers, Karen near Gympie.

Julie said...

I absolute ADORE your Sew pinny Jenny & shall definately be trying that one! Thanks so much for the free download. Also have printed off the scrummy slice .. it reminds me very much of a slice my Mum used to bake but it had a different name.
Jenny I have been trying to send you an email to reply to your sweet blog comment but - for some reason - everything that I send to a bigpond email address comes back as unable to send. I have found this with other bigpond addresses too ... this problem has just started so I need my tech savvy son to look into it for me. Thanks Jenny for stopping by my blog. Hugs my friend Xxx

Ondrea said...

I love that type of pincushion as it stores your scissors at the same time while looking absolutely beautiful. Ooo you are a temptress with your baking. That slice looks really yummy and now I am hungry LOL. I wonder if that humongous plant is one that only flowers once every decade or so? It looks quite prehistoric and must be related to the asparagus plant in some way.

Erinmason said...

Always love your sewing. I often make your slice but under the name date slice. I have made it with medjool dates and it is a totally different flavour. Medjool dates add a different flavour to a lot of dishes.

Janice said...

Thanks for sharing your latest pinnie. It is so cute and I love the lace trim. I've printed off the Scrummy Slice recipe. It will be a good one to pop in Mick's lunch. Keep us posted on your giant plant.

Jenny said...

Many thanks for your date slice recipe, I plan to make it very soon. I often make your Matrimonial Slice and just love that too. Many thanks for sharing.

Karen said...

Wow! That plant is awesome! Very funky! I do hope it flowers soon, before it gets much bigger!!!

Tammy said...

Thank you for the lovely W alphabet and your gorgeous Sew pincushion. . Your recipe looks and sounds delicious. Thank you for everything you share with us. Your plant is awesome it looks similar to a plant we have in our region called a Century plant.

Tania said...

I love seeing your beautiful sewing projects Jenny. I have saved the tutorial, thank you. I am organising my "disorganised" chaos of a craft room at the moment, then I will be able to craft until my heart's content :)

Your date slice sounds and looks yum! I have saved it and will try later this week. I use medjool dates here, but was wondering if the other dates were soaked beforehand (to soften) whether they would taste better in the recipe? I think I read that somewhere. I have posted an easy sugarless date and coffee log on my blog too, must be the week for dates lol!

Wow that is one HUGE plant! If it keeps going you will need binoculars to see the open flower lol!

Take care and have a lovely weekend,

xTania

Carla - Alaska Wolf Pack said...

I found your blog yesterday and realized I NEED you in my life! So many beautiful things you have sewn and shared :D

gracie said...

We have that same "giant asparagus" plant here in Arizona USA. the flowers are a yellow. Then the plant usually dies. It takes years for them to flower. I love the recipe and may give it a try.

Susan said...

Our yucca *is* similar to the plant you've shown, but Australia has its own native succulent known as yucca, though it is different. I didn't find anything quite like this on Australian Succulents, but I'm sure you know lots of resources for looking it up. If it is anything like ours, it will dry on the stalk and weigh almost nothing by the time it blows away or falls over. I like this pincushion a lot. So very pretty paired with something delicious to eat! I just call them all baking pans. =)

Allie said...

That SEW pincushion is stunning! Thank you dear heart!! Your garden is a delight to look at, and that stalk is tremendous! You'll have to get on the roof to see the flower, lol! Amazing!

Createology said...

Thank you dear Jenny for your lovely “SEW” pinnie withh the pocket for scissors. My sewing and crafting treasures are getting more and more organized now that I have my custom floor to ceiling cabinet and curved shelves in the walk-in closet...now referred to as my Vault! I see stitching in my future..near future. Yum to the Date Slice. Your Green Giant asparagus plant blossom is amazing. Blessings Dear...

Natureluvr57 said...

Thank you for another lovely alphabet. I'm waiting for the Y because I want to make a pocket pincushion with pray stitched on the pocket. I'm going to make one for my friend also so we can tuck a prayer request, that has been written on paper, into the pocket. We can change it daily or weekly and place the one we take out into a mason jar for the year. I cannot remember all the names and circumstances in my prayer book (or the upcoming mason jar) when I pray so I just ask God to care for them-He can remember. They have such lovely color glass mason jars nowadays. Just something that came to mind and this pocket pincushion inspired me. I made a large pocket pincushion as a trial basis (no stitching)to hold my pair of Kai scissors I use for wool applique. Thank you again.

Jackie said...

I love reading your blog and all of the wonderful comments everyone leaves. You bring such joy to everyone. Thank you for the beautiful SEW pinnie tutorial and recipe. Have a wonderful weekend!

Kathleen said...

Oh I love this pincushion. I've seen this style before but this one is especially sweet with the embroidered word on it. Thank you. The recipe sounds delicious too. Love dates! And molasses. I never use self raising flour though. I wonder if I can adjust the recipe to using regular flour?

Nanna Chel said...

Jenny you must be really appreciating your pool. My grandchildren loved the pool at the units they stayed at when in Townsville. The temps were 10 degrees less than they have been at home in the Outback. We have a guava tree but the fruit fly gets into it. I am surprised yours isn't full of grubs. LOL! Have a relaxing weekend with your hubby. Not long till school starts up again.

StitchThrifty said...

Thank you for the recipe. And that monstrous asparagus is fabulous, I can't wait to see the flower.

Farm Quilter said...

Your garden never ceases to amaze me! I am really looking forward to seeing it flower - it will be amazing! Your pinnie is so sweet...totally perfect for you!

Winifred said...

You have an amazing garden Jenny & it's so great that it's full of surprises.

I had to smile when I read you were going to keep your pinny. I expected it to be an apron, an abbreviation of pinafore. That's what we call a pinny. I do love your design it's so pretty yet practical.

Like you I really only like Mejool dates, sticky toffee pudding is so much nicer with them rather than ordinary dates. Must give your slice a try it looks delicious although I could do without any extra weight!

Looking forward to seeing your sweet pea blanket. I've been dithering about getting the pack but I've just started a lovely cotton blue & white one & have loads of lace wool to knit. So much lovely wool & so little time left to use it.

Christine said...

Hello from Canada. I have recently found your blog and just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying your posts. I love the Lord and I love to stitch, by hand or machine, so we have lots in common. We are about half way through our winter and that makes me enjoy your garden all the more.

Thank you for bringing lots of cheer into my home.

Christine in Ontario

Helen L said...

Thanks for the beautiful letters for the pincushions that you have been sharing this year. I love this one with the "Sew" and will make one for my daughter who I'm trying to encourage her sewing. Have a wonderful day!! Hugs, H

KingsailK said...

Thanks Jenny for sharing!You take so much time and effort into it all.I really appreciate it all photos and recipes and your LOVELY sewingxx

ann said...

Hi. The plant is a Gymea Lily and will have a red flower. Ann