Who would have thought that some quilty novels would fire to such a great extent? I am sure that when our American supplier orders the Kilts and Quilts books to fill our order, the publishers will be asking why they are ordering so many books and then our supplier will tell them that there is this little store in New Zealand, near Australia, who’s customers fancy reading some light bedtime stories at the end of a stressful day!

You still have time to join our book club. Hope those interested in our Sew it’s Wednesday group have ordered these books and Lynda can have a book club meeting as she has read them all to date!!  A reminder this group starts next Wednesday 6th November at 10am.

I actually joke when I mention New Zealand being near Australia. When I first began going to Quilt Market 30 years ago, I well remember having a conversation with a taxi driver when I landed in Houston late in the evening. He was sure New Zealand was near Norway and I was jet-lagged enough to have him on a bit.

30 years later, New Zealand is so much more on the map, even with cab drivers, as we punch well above our weight on all levels - not winning the world cup though.

Nowadays, going to Quilt Market is a little easier as there is a direct flight with Air NZ to Houston and that awful LAX leg is eliminated. John tells me that landing with Air New Zealand in LAX is pretty awful now as you need to be bussed to security and Immigration like so many sheep. He flew into Los Angelas this month for a computer conference.

Personally, I will not fly again unless Ngaire Brooks flies with me to London and we again hire a car and explore Britain. Saying that, Gayle and I are going to the Australian Quilt Market week after next. . . . .

What’s New this week?

The truck has pulled in with this month’s shipment from America but that will have to wait until next week.

Cast Iron by Kathy Hall from Andover
We have full bolts in this collection from Kathy Hall! Each fabric has a spriggy print or dot and will be extremely useful.

Check our these fabrics here, AG606 - AG608


Smoke & Ashes by Kathy Hall from Andover
Find these on our website here, AG609 - AG612

There is a free pattern from Andover,
https://www.andoverfabrics.com/Quilts/Cast%20Iron.pdf

Kathy Hall is a prolific designer of quilting fabrics and you may like to look at some of her collections.  Read a little about her at this link,
https://www.andoverfabrics.com/SingleDesignerNew.php?Designer=Kathy%20Hall


Workspace - AG616
This fabric features computers so it would be a great fabric for making IPad covers, cell phone covers etc. Use Gygli stabiliser for any of these items.

There is a lightweight and a heavyweight but you can sew through it easily. Lesley has a great wallet she makes using Gygli. It is strong and very stable. Click here to check out Gygli.




Caravan Holiday - AG620

This one goes into our Kiwiana collection.

It features caravans by the beach and there are lots of Pohutakawa.



Bees Batik - AG6615
There is just a small amount of this fabric as it has come out of one of the girl's cupboards having been used for a project so there is no more than maybe two metres left but it is quite unusual as it has hand stamped green bees on a cream background.


Grunge Collection 
We had a shipment of Grunge and there are a few new colours. We now have a very extensive collection of Grunge and we do use it a lot for models of our projects. You will find them all here on our website and the new colours will have a “New” banner.

Happy Endings
Julia has been a busy girl again and she took away several bins of fabric to create these 4 metre bags of ends. None of the pieces are more than 50cm. Anything that size gets made into fat quarters. These bags are so popular and a great bargain at just 60 dollars. Julia will have more to come - she does a very nice job or sort of co-ordinating and we have had customers make a quilt using one bag - so here is a fun challenge for you! Send us a picture and we will put it on Facebook!

We have ONE pack of each of the following, so you will have to be quick.  Email me with your first and second choices and I will get one sent to you!

Dark Greens
Creams and Whites
Cream to Gold
Creams
Black and White
Burgundy
Blues
Greens and Browns
Teals
Reds
Light Mauve
Browns and Creams
Purples
Reds and Yellows
Light Greens
Sunny Yellows

Bits and Bobs

Plastic - AG622
This see-through, sewable plastic is used for pockets in thread keepers, needle keeps, pouches of all shapes and sizes, at 15 dollars a metre.

Duck Cloth - AG621
We have cream duck cloth on a roll. This is used for thread painting and is just 16 dollars and 50 cents per metre.

Now I must go - heaps of stuff to do! So many half-finished projects that need time spent on them. I am stitching an owl in the evening using a variegated Cottage Garden thread and it is looking very contemporary.

Until next week,


Hazel

P.S. I cooked this in my air fryer but you can cook it in the oven. This recipe was worth buying an air fryer for! It is also beautiful served cold in slices. I have made it a few times now.

Bacon-wrapped Chicken Thighs
herb and garlic butter
extra garlic
bacon
boneless skinless chicken thighs

First, you make a herb and garlic butter using parsley, oregano, any other herb you fancy and several garlic cloves. Do this in the food processor and then harden in the fridge. If you can make a roll of it, and wrap in plastic, you can just slice it when it is chilled.

Take each chicken thigh and beat it around a little. Season with salt and pepper and an extra squeeze of crushed garlic. Place a chunk of herb butter in the centre. Lay this onto two slices of streaky bacon and start rolling as tightly as you can, catching the bacon slices inside the thigh when you begin rolling. Air fry for 30 minutes on 200 degrees or cook in the oven until juices run clear and chicken thighs are cooked. I would think about 45minutes on 180 but test. You can probably tell by the bacon. It will be starting to crisp.