Saturday, April 18, 2009

Feijoas,Friends and Fabric.














































Feijoas, friends and fabric - all good F words. This week; a short one; has been much more interesting. I have only spent a couple of afternoons with the Kiwifruit!
Last weekend I made progress on both quilts, but I will blog about that perhaps tomorrow.

Firstly Feijoas. Gudrun do recall last January I told you I would show you what these little red flowers turned into? This morning I picked up this basket of feijoa fruit from our 3 small trees. Here is one cut in half;( just scoop it out with a spoon ) they have really interesting patterns in the flesh. They grow well in NZ and not many other places. Folk either love them or hate them.They taste like feijoas - nothing else...a slight hint of turpentine scent, but YUM!

Yesterday, I had a lovely day out. I drove by the Tauranga Direct Road( one of favourite drives - photos here especially for Meg who misses our NZ bush ) to Ngongotaha, where I met Laurie for morning tea/coffee ( no of course I won't mention the muffins ); then across the road to Cottage Flair to spend my voucher my London son sent me for Christmas( took me a while to get to spend it ! )I got fat quarters, an embroidery hoop, perfect circle makers, a lovely jelly roll and the rest in batting.( Thanks younger son! ) I then followed L back home and saw some of her treasures and quilts then she drove us both into spotlight in Rotorua where I had another spend. I found the clover mini iron I was looking for,( for the bias tape ) very cheaply priced backing fabrics and also got us some new khaki coloured bed sheets I hope will tone with my Purple Splendour quilt.Thanks for a very pleasant day out Laurie.
Today R has gone over the hill ( Kaimais Ranges ) to shoot wild turkeys at his brother's farm, so I have all day to do as I please. I made a list and have yet to collect walnuts, but then I may sew!









10 comments:

Tracey Petersen said...

Kirsty asked me to plant feijoa in my new garden bed, but hearing about the slight tupentine scent doesn't really sell them to me!

meggie said...

I always felt feijoas taste rather like fruit salad. We had a hedge of them when we were young, & always had far too many, but our grandmother bottled them & sometimes made jam. I assure you Tracey, they are nice!
Thankyou so much, Ali, for the bush fix! I love the drive from Tauranga to Rotorua the bush is so pretty around the lake area.

Ali Honey said...

Meg, this drive is through the back way. Up Pyes Pa Road and comes out at Ngongotaha side of the lake. Have you been that way?

Diana said...

I love seeing your countryside. It's so lush and green there.

Have fun with all your new purchases!

Helen said...

I really enjoy 'driving' and 'walking with you'. thanks for the pix. I've never seen a fejoa flower before, aren't they amazing! I LOVE fejoas!

loulee said...

Sounds like a wonderful day out. Look at that sky .......189 days. (Sigh)
Enjoy your purchases.

Andrea said...

Great day out - had a click on your goodies and love that fairy fabric.

Brenda said...

Re eating feijoas - if you don't have a knife and spoon to hand, you can always chomp them in half with your front teeth and then kind of scoop them out with your teeth and tongue. Messy but yum!

Unknown said...

The fruit looks "interesting" :) Thanks for the information, I love to learn something new about your country.

notHamilton said...

42 Belows Feijoa vodka tries to bridge the gap, but feijoa season is a hard time to be away from NZ. The Kiwi Kitchen in London sells imported feijoas for £2.50 a piece - how much would you pay?