Telline, Patchwork Fair & the end of holidays...

I can hear you thinking "What on earth are Telline?" (pronounced Te-lean-ay) Well, they're little shellfish that live in the sand at the beach - very easy to find if you know what you're looking for - and they taste delightful simply sauteed in a little garlic & olive oil! (And I'm sure also cooked in a multitude of other ways..) They're one of the things that I LOVE to go digging for when I'm on holidays.. it used to be something that my Nonno (grandfather) used to take us to do, but he's not able to make it down to the beach anymore so it's even nicer to be able to bring some home for him..

I think this is the first time that Blossom & Bean have really been able to join in successfully and they went crazy for it! They wanted to go down EVERY DAY! We only ended up going "Telline-ing" twice, but the second time was so successful that we had enough to leave some for my Aunt & cousins as well as bring some home to share with my brother & sister (and us of course!).

Our 2nd day haul - we'd already eaten the first lot!

 One of the really special things about going "Telline-ing" with the kids was being able to tangibly demonstrate to them the whole ocean to table experience, including the sustainability side of things (eg. "grading" the Telline & returning the small ones so they can grow bigger for "next time").. it's nice to be able to show them that not all food comes from the supermarket!

Up close and personal - aren't they cute?

On Sunday (which was also the day we were heading home) I managed to sneak in a (kid-free!) trip to the local Patchwork & Craft Fair.. rather brilliant timing, I must say! I went with the intention to NOT SPEND ANY MORE MONEY, and incredibly I managed to stick to my resolution. Sadly, I must say that I'm regretting my self control now because I really, really want one of the adorable cupcake pincushions..

Here are some of the things that caught my eye:

Hand beaded Christening dress & bonnet (~$250!)

Embroidered singlet with tulle tutu (~$14) - how easy would that be!

Quilts on display

 

The local quilting guild ran an "Ugly Fabric Challenge" where members were give a fat quarter of "ugly" fabric and had to turn it into something beautiful. The only requirement was to use atleast half the piece of fabric. Ugly has never been so beautiful! All of the entries were fabulous, and you never would have guessed that they all used the same piece of fabric in the designs..

The local quilt guild "Ugly Fabric Challenge" fabric

Ugly Fabric Challenge entries

More Ugly Fabric Challenge entries

And even more Ugly Fabric Challenge entries

Pincushions

The cupcake pincushion that I wish I'd bought

Isn't this table centre gorgeous? It's made up of fussy cut equilateral triangles.

Incase you can't tell, that's a cruise ship in the distance. Le sigh.

On the day we leave, a cruise ship docks on a day trip. What a way to remind me that while my holiday is over, someone else is enjoying my dream vacation.. one day it will be me on that cruise ship!