Recipe for Making Basil Pesto

Summer in Tasmania this year has been particularly beautiful and I am proud to say that Hubby and I have managed to grow our own Basil. This is considered quite a feat amongst Tasmanians,  so I found out when we relocated here a few years ago.

Temperatures down here are not normally considered ideal for Basil growing so you can imagione out excitement when we were able to pick enough to make our own Pesto.

I think some of the secret has been growing it from seed and then placing it along the edge of a small garden bed enclosed with sandstone. Hubby has made two batches and I am sure we will have enough for another few jars before the summer ends.

Here's the recipe just in case you are partial to Basil pesto yourself:
 Blend the following ingredients in a food processor
2 cups fresh basil leaves
60g pine nuts
3 garlic cloves
salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Then stir through the grated cheese.
100g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bottle and enjoy.
We use ours stirred through pasta as well as on the base of home made pizzas.Yummy.

Until next time.
Warmly Lenna

Embroidery Patterns to Enjoy by Little Green Cottage

Hope you find some inspiration from these embroidery patterns.
I've been playing around with a new video program.
I've included a collection of graphics from some of my most popular embroidery patterns.

I'm looking forward to getting the creative juices flowing this year with some new designs. I have lots floating around in my head and the kids return to school this week Yahoo!!! That means I can play my own music, I will have food in the fridge and it will be blissfully quiet without any interruptions.
Can't wait. In the meantime, hope you enjoy my special presentation.
Let me know what you think.



All these embroidery patterns can be found at Stitching Cow as e-patterns.
Or drop me an email if you would prefer a paper version to be sent to you.
Chat again soon.
Warmly Lenna

Handbag Sewing Patterns in Creating Country Threads and Homespun Magazine

January was a very exciting month for Little Green Cottage with two handbag sewing patterns being published. The first appeared in Australian Homespun Magazine. It was commissioned to feature something Australian to tie in with the monthly theme. And being partial to my garden I thought it appropriate to include some little Wrens dancing amongst the Spring blossoms.

I always enjoy designing bag patterns because they come in very useful for all my sewing projects.

The second of my bag designs appeared in the Applique Creating Country Threads Yearbook. It features Poppies which have been created from Yo Yos and I have hand embroidered the stems and appliqued the leaves. The bag is made from a lovey piece of wool that I sourced last winter. I think it will make the perfect knitting bag.

The patterns for both handbag sewing projects are currently available so look out for them at your local newsagents. They will also be available as downloadable patterns from the Stitching Cow website within the next few months.

Hope you like them, which one is your favourite?
Until next time.
Warmly Lenna

An Afternoon of Sketching

Last week was hubby's birthday and it was decided that we should celebrate by having a barbecue down by the river at Richmond. This worked in well with the weekly touch football game that hubby and master 13 enjoy each Thursday afternoon.

Not being very interested in football, Miss 16 and I decided that we should go for a wander around the quaint township of Richmond, which is a visual delight. The town is one of the oldest in Tasmania and has proudly retained many of its original stone cottages and buildings. Richmond is most famous for its convict made bridge which is the oldest in Australia.

 

 

I was delighted when Miss 16 made mention that she had her sketch pad in her bag and that perhaps we should sketch a scene together. Miss 16 is very artist and is always sketching, whilst mother has not sketched just for fun in a very long time. So the idea was exciting although a bit unsettling, especially when Miss 16 announced that she had only packed two black ink pens which meant that there was going to be no room for error. Yikes!

We eventually decided on a scene and settled ourselves on a park bench. The idea was to record what was in front of us in a short period of time. We didn't want Hubby to notice that we had both disappeared from the football sideline.

We both started in and did not look at each others sketches until the end. It was amazing how different our interpretations were.
Here is my sketch.

 

And here are some close ups.

Unfortunately I do not have a picture of Miss 16's sketch, although I can tell you that it was very good and much better than mine.

I was lucky enough to find  a picture on Flickr of the side of the building we sketched. It's the white building on the right.

Reliving this afternoon now I appreciate how wonderful it was.
Far more important than the sketches was the special memory that we had created. I fondly remember us both sitting there in silence, sharing a creative moment and enjoying each others company.
It was very magically and will be remembered for many years to come.

Until next time, have fun.
Warmly Lenna

New Embroidery Project Featured in Sew It All Magazine

Yipee, I've been published in a brand new, United States based magazine called Sew It All. This is very exciting seeing as I live across the other side of the world on a little island.  So this seems a bit surreal. Sew It All has been put together by the same team as Sew News which you may have heard of if you live in the States.

When the editor Ellen March contacted me months ago to commission a project featuring hand embroidery I eagerly accepted. The 'Sew It All" magazine has only just hit the stands in America and has already been a huge success.
Here's the project that I came up with.

"Sew It All" magazine features many different projects to suit a variety of skill levels and each project is categories under time friendly, budget friendly, eco friendly and kid friendly.There's something for everyone.

And they also included a snippet from each of the designers and a graphic, can you find me?

I'm not sure if you will be able to find the "Sew It All" magazine in Australian newsagents but I have included a link here if you would like to take a closer look at this exciting new sewing magazine. If you look under Prairie Home Companions you will be able to download one of the embroidery panels from my project. Here's the link for you Sew It All magazine

Until next time, happy sewing.
Warmly Lenna
www.stitchingcow.com

Sneak peek at new designs for Homespun Magazine

As promised here is a sneak peek at my little felt friends that I made up over the Christmas break. They will appear in the Christmas in July issue of Homespun magazine. Hope you like them.

 

Homespun Magazine a Christmas Design in the Making

When the phone rang last week it was the delightful Catherine from Homespun Magazine reminding me that she had commissioned me for a project for the Christmas in July addition. This meant a flurry of sketches, some exchanging of ideas and a trip to town for some lovely wool felt. 

Here's a peek at what emerged.

Upon entering the tiny Steiner shop in Hobart, which is well know for its wholesome treasures, I was occupied for ages trying to choose form the shelves of felt squares that were before me. This did not amuse Hubby, who after 20 minutes was anxiously looking for an escape plan. He had accompanied me with the plan of starting our Christmas shopping and this was not his idea of playing Santa.

After mush deliberation I just had to buy a dozen and I was very proud of my decision when it was rewarded with another felt square for free. Here is my collection, aren't the colours wonderful. They look so good that I have not released them form the roll yet.

Something I know I will have to do very soon so that I can make a start. Otherwise I will not be able to enjoy them this Christmas which would make far more sense than trying to muster some Christmas excitement after the big event in January, when the project is due.

I'll share some snippets of my Homespun Christmas projects as they emerge.

Stay tuned.

Warmly Lenna