Thursday 15 December 2011

Creating during winter ...... Quince and Felt


I thought I would take part in Thrifty Household's and Silver Pebble's Making Winter.  I too am not really a winter lover, I hate the pewter grey skys and the cold, I hate that I can't get out into the garden to potter and earth myself and what I hate most of all are the dark mornings :-(  So here goes with a bit of creativity to see if that helps lift my spirits :-)

A month or so ago I took advantage of my neighbours Quince tree and made some Quince Jelly from the book below.  I love this book, it is full of wonderful recipes ....

   
Image taken from Amazon site
I started off by roughly chopping the Quince.  This fruit has the most wonderful smell, it smells like flowers until you cut it and then it smells like pineapple.  When you stew it it then changes to the scent of apples.


I then stewed them ....


I hung them to drain off over night, I was going to make a net fruit bag but got this off e-bay for cheaper than I could create one in the end :-)


You then re-boil the liquid with lots of sugar until it becomes syrupy in consistency .  I did find I had to squeeze a lemon into it to get it to change more quickly although Quince are meant to be high in pectin.




I then sterilised some old coffee jars and jarred the jelly up.

 

It is a really lovely taste, sweet with a summery flowery taste .... hmmm I can't really describe it.  It goes really well with strong cheese or pork.  Here it is on a plate with some of my friends piccalilli :-)


I think I will make smaller jars next year as less is more with Quince Jelly.

I have also been playing with Merino wool with the children and had fun wet felting and needle felting with them.


Here are some little felted acrons I made :-)


Here are the children's.


After chatting the a lady who created gorgeous felted scarves about creating a tortoise in a walnut shell (she must have thought I was a little bonkers :-)) she suggested a pin cushion would be great too - she was right, I love this little pin cushion :-)

 
And then of course there are my son's (right) and my tortoises made out of walnut shells :-)


There is something else I am creating but that will have to stay secret for a little while longer .... this is the scene in my sock drawer (away from prying little eyes :-)).

17 comments:

  1. I love all the River Cottage books in that series. My French friend used to make quince cheese which she cut into cubes and serves with a cup of tea - I found it much too sweet to eat by itself but think it might have gone well with cheese or cold meats! Love the little felted acorns and other things. Is that a bunny I detect in your sock drawer?

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  2. The quince jelly looks lovely, I made medlar jelly using the fruit from our tree a few weeks back. I aso love the RC preserves handbook, I use it so often it has more than paid for itself.

    How cute are those tortoises :)

    Bethx (the linen cat)

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  3. You have been so busy...the quince jelly looks beautiful and I love the little felted acorns. And I see Marigold Jam has already spied the beginnings of a bunny there.....
    Have a happy crafty time, Zoe!
    Helen x

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  4. woweee that looks yummy and amazing-i want to try some hehe ;0)x looks a great place to hide gifty makes in the sock draw!...ihave to wrap and try and hide things for sophia on the top of the wardrobe- high enough so she cant reach or sneeeky peeeky hehe ;0)Thanks zoe for your sweet comment, i hate being miserable on my blog i read back and think of the homeless the needy and really my problems seem so selfish- but i guess we all get low days! ;0)...i hope you enjoy your dish washers! my hoover is held together with sticky tape- but touch wood is still working hehe x merry festive blessings x

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  5. Lots of delicious things in this post! The jelly looks yummy, but the felt tortoise is the most gorgeous little thing!
    Becky x

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  6. Quince Jelly is lovely, I have to agree about the lovely aroma.

    Jan x

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  7. Quinces & felt- what's not to like! I adore those tiny felt acorns, I think I need some of them...

    Thanks for taking part in 'Making Winter', I hope it continues to keep your mind off grey skies!

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  8. I've never tasted quince, but I've been seeing more and more of it lately and it really makes me want to try it. Your jam looks so lovely and clear!

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  9. Isn't it funny...sometimes I think a proper grey Winter would be so lovely. We don't get a whole lot of cold here in Perth, just varying degrees of warmth :) We'll be up over 40 degrees soon, and then I'll be definitely thinking of you with envy :) Enjoy your creation...you've been busy! Loving those sweet acorns.

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  10. Those little walnut tortoises are wonderful, so cute. The quince jelly looks delicious. I've never tried quince but I'd like to do so. It always reminds me of The Owl and the Pussycat.

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  11. I can smell that jelly from here - delish! They are such pretty fruits to look at too. Needle felting is great fun and I love the fact that you can manipulate it into any shape - VERY cute tortoises!
    Katie

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  12. I have never tasted a quince or even quince Jelly it looks yummy I love anything that goes with a good mature cheddar, now I am hungry off to the bread bin!

    Have a lovely weekend!

    Denise

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  13. Those walnut tortoises are really cute. I can see you've caught the felting bug.

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  14. Those acorns are gorgeous!Have a wonderful Christmas and a fulfilling New Year in which all your hopes and dreams come true! love Annie xx

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  15. The quince jelly looks lovely. I have never tried quince! The felted things look lovely too. I must have a go at felting as I have been meaning to try it for ages.

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  16. Quince jelly looks lovely, been trying to find a quince source myself, but no luck. Felting looks fun - clever children x

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  17. Your quince jelly looks wonderful Zoe...and I love your felted acorns..they really are so sweet!
    Wishing you a lovely Christmas with your little ones...they must be getting so excited!
    Susan x

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