tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41916513394497917852024-03-12T23:12:33.612-04:00The Invisible PiperHuman beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust - we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper. -- Albert EinsteinScrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-23807745418708905242019-04-02T17:37:00.000-04:002019-04-02T17:37:34.883-04:00WIPocalypse March Update<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Wow, hard to believe it's April already! Spring has got to be coming pretty soon, and I can't wait. Well, I got quite a bit of stitching done in March, so maybe winter and cold weather have their good points, lol. So here are my progress pictures on my various WIPs.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkkVDi7YCSH7VQGyU3Y_g7Qrgu0L08ee03ZX75Xdui9ejeVY-YJ_Qee-shMcmZKsTJyZk__ndpFQfEyb854CF2RkvkEZXiT2nBD_zS8-WS07wo1VeDL2H8IzcD8jutCz-y-s3TsS6O0_Q/s1600/IMG_3671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="640" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkkVDi7YCSH7VQGyU3Y_g7Qrgu0L08ee03ZX75Xdui9ejeVY-YJ_Qee-shMcmZKsTJyZk__ndpFQfEyb854CF2RkvkEZXiT2nBD_zS8-WS07wo1VeDL2H8IzcD8jutCz-y-s3TsS6O0_Q/s320/IMG_3671.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">After finishing the Thistle colorway of the Broken Star pattern in February, as planned, I started a second colorway, Carnivale, on the same piece of 16 count Rustico aida fabric. As you can see, I didn't get a ton done, but I'm happy that this one is started. The Broken Star pattern is fun to stitch and it's one of those where you don't have to look at the printed pattern every second, so great for doing while watching TV.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil84NonAVO4_HA3IFLUh-YvPk6I0t9KGViAsnn8JYi3LEbzfAq7o1m_RRw9KHO3mR9hc2-DV6PpFzDwg4g5lpa4xjJQfaVKU9fOIEmSYyHBNEFqLQgPJpHEFEOAxb6b0HWFk_gUA9EGy_F/s1600/IMG_3672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="640" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil84NonAVO4_HA3IFLUh-YvPk6I0t9KGViAsnn8JYi3LEbzfAq7o1m_RRw9KHO3mR9hc2-DV6PpFzDwg4g5lpa4xjJQfaVKU9fOIEmSYyHBNEFqLQgPJpHEFEOAxb6b0HWFk_gUA9EGy_F/s320/IMG_3672.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I am also happy to say that I made a wee bit of progress on my Little Sheep Virtues piece. I managed to get the border of the sixth virtue finished, plus some of the sheep and surrounding scene. I've decided I'm going to try to work on this on at least a few days each month, to keep it moving along.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYnsQOIKXja5qsA4nno76PlWrwILEpDgvmu_N0WAz4JMccKPAmxjlbp8yjx0DTJ_axGVGV69FoZ4xhqVGxMaM60kluClGWRDM21gGs-i4eiwAyZucdEtQfm_E_BE6IKyXRQiP-ez6y6MS/s1600/IMG_3670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="573" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYnsQOIKXja5qsA4nno76PlWrwILEpDgvmu_N0WAz4JMccKPAmxjlbp8yjx0DTJ_axGVGV69FoZ4xhqVGxMaM60kluClGWRDM21gGs-i4eiwAyZucdEtQfm_E_BE6IKyXRQiP-ez6y6MS/s320/IMG_3670.jpg" width="286" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You can probably tell that this is the piece that I worked on the most in March. This is Polish Folk Heart by Artecy, and I'm doing it on 32 count cream Jobelan. The colors are fantastically bright and vibrant and it's just a super fun project to stitch. It's big, though -- I'm maybe between a fourth and a third finished, so lots to go.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1nVH_zdRDkXLdMl7iYSHZxt3GTxlCCVkdWZPdyTAmFKvV0UOLW82hmHk7HshOeAMFiyC5Lcr_lojREqLfX_WsRYdX_rzuv9sY8w_JQh7N4ZWnHe2vIzEy4503AjwO4_mrIiEfSgOrylv/s1600/IMG_3667.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1nVH_zdRDkXLdMl7iYSHZxt3GTxlCCVkdWZPdyTAmFKvV0UOLW82hmHk7HshOeAMFiyC5Lcr_lojREqLfX_WsRYdX_rzuv9sY8w_JQh7N4ZWnHe2vIzEy4503AjwO4_mrIiEfSgOrylv/s320/IMG_3667.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgByczag7EgGkW04CfkZqMVie9r1b3n6UxmEDlx1Z-9ytZpSIZD3NMWegi58aChty7YVBKWEiHsppI3D_jV492iJX8crBbnOOPeSyOF6rL4gQPSiYmI3nH15y4w1bWJYohqTMq7nCIDqA0q/s1600/IMG_3668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="438" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgByczag7EgGkW04CfkZqMVie9r1b3n6UxmEDlx1Z-9ytZpSIZD3NMWegi58aChty7YVBKWEiHsppI3D_jV492iJX8crBbnOOPeSyOF6rL4gQPSiYmI3nH15y4w1bWJYohqTMq7nCIDqA0q/s320/IMG_3668.jpg" width="219" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And this is my new start, one I'd planned on but forgot to mention in my initial post. It's a wedding piece, but I'm actually stitching it for an anniversary. I'm stitching it on 16 count Ocean Kiss aida with white DMC thread. The fabric is a sort of grey blue, and very pretty in person. At first I wasn't sure there was enough of a contrast between the white floss and the fabric, but I have enough done now that I feel like I can fairly judge, and I think it will be fine. At some point I'll choose a red for the two birds.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhjDBAFNjYtX2KPT_P4605nxfOSE2mhQMsU5Hhlrn3j9iL2fpRahxIgD6zKYuDl2-sYw9iANMc7aX1SgxLKrn8rxLk7RzQkJkhHV59cI3r6EsN1Mx_t2Le9mrRjYseflnHYMTNWVFzj6_/s1600/IMG_3659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhjDBAFNjYtX2KPT_P4605nxfOSE2mhQMsU5Hhlrn3j9iL2fpRahxIgD6zKYuDl2-sYw9iANMc7aX1SgxLKrn8rxLk7RzQkJkhHV59cI3r6EsN1Mx_t2Le9mrRjYseflnHYMTNWVFzj6_/s320/IMG_3659.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Finally, I had to share this as it's a piece I had framed in March. This is Tyler's Lion from Long Dog Samplers. It's one of my favorite pieces I've ever done, and I think it looks so great framed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So that's my stitching progress for March. The question for this month is, what new designers have we discovered lately for patterns or other projects? Hmmm. As you can probably tell, I'm more of a traditionalist when it comes to cross stitch -- I do a lot of samplers and things like that. So I'm probably not the person to ask this question of! BUT I will say that I consider Alessandra Adelaide a "newer" designer and I absolutely adore her stuff.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Til next month, happy stitching, everyone!!!</span>Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-50480831298952726432019-03-03T15:25:00.000-05:002019-03-03T15:25:14.098-05:00WIPocalypse Update<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Since I didn't get around to doing an update at the end of January, this post will update my WIPocalypse progress for both January and February of 2019.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I've been stitching a lot! That's probably because it's been so cold and snowy here, that I haven't felt like doing much else, lol! Anyway, here are my progress pictures.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOj7GhZO8FaBU1GZ-g0FngbRViY9iKQodEBzFYY10sQwSzlkY5ssvH1U_QXGCOKf6OESY6lqVKuhUONrVVI72nO4aszpvgT-yn7KlwMCTSp_sPNpq8Foqiida_qlr9XgHmru6qDLwI6Bn/s1600/Blog1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOj7GhZO8FaBU1GZ-g0FngbRViY9iKQodEBzFYY10sQwSzlkY5ssvH1U_QXGCOKf6OESY6lqVKuhUONrVVI72nO4aszpvgT-yn7KlwMCTSp_sPNpq8Foqiida_qlr9XgHmru6qDLwI6Bn/s320/Blog1.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">First, I have a finish! This is Alessandra Adelaide's "Hot Chocolate," done on 32 count Belfast linen in a flax color. This was a fast, easy stitch so once I got close to the end, I just kept going and finished it up. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, though. I might make it into a pillow.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmgdL7Q76SdO2UqgknDockyFYvD52imBMCJOVUUb7u7mufXgMjHo5WUiELbE0Gtbug5ih3WEl4jjkF_b7XDv1BXAtHI6KvcTfB3FHih9jHtnyR6f9zpDmjsV6mVUXGwz97AaAq95y3Lr8/s1600/Blog2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmgdL7Q76SdO2UqgknDockyFYvD52imBMCJOVUUb7u7mufXgMjHo5WUiELbE0Gtbug5ih3WEl4jjkF_b7XDv1BXAtHI6KvcTfB3FHih9jHtnyR6f9zpDmjsV6mVUXGwz97AaAq95y3Lr8/s320/Blog2.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxlahfMf_bojxMDj1wYWdR1qbIkV5tCp3nDEVZv2vn0SlNIP3Ts5jiKPsOkF7uyxQwJKSjJQFUPo3k9DCi1Zie3LwzDBtFtmuTb61sN2Ih8UqqYPy2YeRrIpNRI-dk80cH4siTxWB5Q4o/s1600/Blog7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxlahfMf_bojxMDj1wYWdR1qbIkV5tCp3nDEVZv2vn0SlNIP3Ts5jiKPsOkF7uyxQwJKSjJQFUPo3k9DCi1Zie3LwzDBtFtmuTb61sN2Ih8UqqYPy2YeRrIpNRI-dk80cH4siTxWB5Q4o/s320/Blog7.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And this is a new start, one I'd planned on starting in January. It's called Summer Beauties, and as you can see, it's an old-fashioned looking floral arrangement. I'm doing this one on 32 count white Jobelan, which I confess I really don't love. I am just not crazy and the synthetic fabrics, but they can be so much more reasonable in price. Anyway, this one is fun to stitch but requires a lot of concentration.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4l-yW0kFDlyg8zNfHf16tnPPPmHAOrG-oGNS-klZ0FcOnPKXy-IxFC5dDM01hBh9NRKHRJE1p_mrAZhP7_t04nl5reA0fRARdGBkcfBRrp7ClwGikuGXJkk6rSvQK_jaLfqkV6YlWAwtN/s1600/Blog3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4l-yW0kFDlyg8zNfHf16tnPPPmHAOrG-oGNS-klZ0FcOnPKXy-IxFC5dDM01hBh9NRKHRJE1p_mrAZhP7_t04nl5reA0fRARdGBkcfBRrp7ClwGikuGXJkk6rSvQK_jaLfqkV6YlWAwtN/s320/Blog3.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This one is both a start and a finish, LOL! A few days before Valentine's Day, I got the idea to stitch a little something for my hubby, and I found this cute sampler as a free pattern online. I found a spare piece of fabric in my stash and managed to stitch this up in about 5 days or so. My original thought was to make it into a bag of some kind that I could put candy or something in, but I decided instead to make it into a wall hanging. Unfortunately, I didn't have the supplies to finish it before Valentine's Day, so poor hubby is actually still waiting for this one to be completed and hung up! However, I just love this little sampler and it was fun to do.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IzU3XKT1_gxr24De8e1wHbN2PIJQ0w7taQf_-2DHAmdOZ3FMDy_1pYu0mu4FscTDOSocp-3b2kziwVrZphfD6ROk3jTK6toWQWxEtL4hGYHO1CIUSWq3ktY89xzFsGtmkteCAah_Dem0/s1600/Blog5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="600" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IzU3XKT1_gxr24De8e1wHbN2PIJQ0w7taQf_-2DHAmdOZ3FMDy_1pYu0mu4FscTDOSocp-3b2kziwVrZphfD6ROk3jTK6toWQWxEtL4hGYHO1CIUSWq3ktY89xzFsGtmkteCAah_Dem0/s320/Blog5.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCx94o3CEvXTUBiiF7xLW7RqPs0di3S0hg_9EeM7fcFm_2-56E0zDlwYuttawbl1h598Jo6Ib9WCjKtjxpkGos0YaWopkIn35RbGIa4B0w0h7BUlaMakZ90uk69ArmdVxskDw30EOQufhq/s1600/Blog6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCx94o3CEvXTUBiiF7xLW7RqPs0di3S0hg_9EeM7fcFm_2-56E0zDlwYuttawbl1h598Jo6Ib9WCjKtjxpkGos0YaWopkIn35RbGIa4B0w0h7BUlaMakZ90uk69ArmdVxskDw30EOQufhq/s320/Blog6.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And this is my other new start, one I hadn't really planned on. I just fell in love with this pattern from Artecy called Polish Folk Heart -- I'm drawn to the bright colors and the flowers, and as I think I've mentioned, I just LOVE heart charts. So on a whim, I kitted this one up and I started it a few days ago. This one is on 32 count cream Lugana, and I'm feeling good because it's a fabric I had in my stash, and I love to use things up!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEi5Vx19r0XBsi4ZmOSvqO4gN3faIlr4o7WPAdf2VZ0sx5e_JN86c5D8SGwXoIkApdZ2tXzJRBmbMBEGJZ7Ro0Mp0DbI8Q1wObL_fL4nxWFHi9Dkmgoas3XE7dkoOhoMxVdwCCuEPAX-a/s1600/Blog4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEi5Vx19r0XBsi4ZmOSvqO4gN3faIlr4o7WPAdf2VZ0sx5e_JN86c5D8SGwXoIkApdZ2tXzJRBmbMBEGJZ7Ro0Mp0DbI8Q1wObL_fL4nxWFHi9Dkmgoas3XE7dkoOhoMxVdwCCuEPAX-a/s320/Blog4.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And this is my big finale, my really significant finish. This is Broken Star from Carolyn Manning Designs, in the Thistle colorway. It's done on 16 count Rustico aida. I just love this design, which of course is CM's interpretation of a quilt block pattern, and my plan to stitch the same design in a second colorway right below Thistle. I posted a picture of the Carnival colorway in my last post if you want to check it out, but it's bright, fun colors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So that's my cross-stitch update! The question for this month from Measi is, what do you listen to while stitching? Hmmm. It depends. If I am stitching in the evening, my son is usually in the room with me, and he is a huge sports fan, so we often have a basketball game on. I enjoy basketball and I like sports because I can mostly listen while I stitch, and I know what's happening without having to look constantly at the TV. If I'm stitching in the morning, I typically listen to an Amazon Prime classical music playlist, but for the past few weeks, I've been listening to the audiobook of Gone With the Wind, one of my all time favorite books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Well that's it for this month! Happy stitching everyone!!!</span></div>
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Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-7549329552205825792019-01-06T15:32:00.000-05:002019-01-06T15:32:18.995-05:00WIPocalypse 2019 -- Introduction!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNlJLf8teTISORAZbAoytojsZYsbTzQsMnzYvvUir-p4Dtw459kBUEFg15IDotOxyE4YXL1w_0Z2K1FHvehQooSKcygN2itIY-7lxEiM93PBijOURHi2V4EcUzlj7TR-t54w4qUslo5r0/s1600/thumbnail_Barbara+button.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="520" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNlJLf8teTISORAZbAoytojsZYsbTzQsMnzYvvUir-p4Dtw459kBUEFg15IDotOxyE4YXL1w_0Z2K1FHvehQooSKcygN2itIY-7lxEiM93PBijOURHi2V4EcUzlj7TR-t54w4qUslo5r0/s320/thumbnail_Barbara+button.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Our first WIPocalyps post is supposed to be an introduction of sorts, so I'll just start by saying that my name is Barb, I live in Michigan, and I've been stitching for a long time. I participated in Measi's WIPocalypse several years ago, but had to stop stitching for awhile due to some health issues. But I'm now back stitching again, and I remembered how much fun this event was, so here I am for 2019. I had to dust off my blog, as well, and I can see that I'm going to have to learn blogging all over again! By the way, Measi herself made me this adorable button using a photo of my own stitchery, so a super big THANKS for that, Measi!<br />
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Anyway, on to the subject at hand -- my stitching plans and goals for 2019. I have a number of WIPs going right now, although I wouldn't call myself a rotational stitcher. Nor do I really get bored with a project and want to move on to another. I have several projects going because sometimes it's easier for me to concentrate on one type of design -- for example, if I'm watching TV with the family, I like to stitch on something fairly uncomplicated, so that I can talk and not make a million mistakes. Complex patterns I usually only work on when I have some alone, quiet time.<br />
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So these are my current projects:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKdjLfRRIIhyIBifBn5VcaUARcoIW4ZFT7w40gIwEu6jrPDKP5_AHjA7i4ozScc5V42YEFOyOXs9Xl-Rtqtsx2mzXDZfiGDLurKR4jUl05g_NxtSgOGVXS99pWgvPb1v-_WyD76Mj7AZc/s1600/Thistle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKdjLfRRIIhyIBifBn5VcaUARcoIW4ZFT7w40gIwEu6jrPDKP5_AHjA7i4ozScc5V42YEFOyOXs9Xl-Rtqtsx2mzXDZfiGDLurKR4jUl05g_NxtSgOGVXS99pWgvPb1v-_WyD76Mj7AZc/s320/Thistle.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
This is Thistle, and it's by CM Designs (Carolyn Manning). As I'm sure you can tell, it's a cross stitched rendition of a quilt pattern, the Broken Star pattern, to be precise. Carolyn has charted Broken Star in several different colorways, all of them lovely. My plan is to stitch Thistle and another colorway, called Carnival, together (vertically) on one piece of fabric. The fabric I'm using is 16 count Rustico Aida. I rarely stitch on Aida these days, but I wanted a fabric for these designs that looked simple and homespun, and the Rustico Aida fits the bill. I'm probably 2/3 done with Thistle, so I definitely plan to finish this in 2019.<br />
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Here is a picture of Carnival, the design that will go below Thistle. I plan to get Carnival stitched this year, as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheueur_u0jWv_s0_3EWeVpT2XMooOGF97Y6ceqoN_p5KsBh4Z-bkfsNn1UQsBO6xKfcO1QNL-6AORn-91brdjDnyaPAu5zR8EPy_NpjCcrJRvQNczsYnjKy4hYFfOTkAdUkOyoUkfYMNJM/s1600/Carnival.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheueur_u0jWv_s0_3EWeVpT2XMooOGF97Y6ceqoN_p5KsBh4Z-bkfsNn1UQsBO6xKfcO1QNL-6AORn-91brdjDnyaPAu5zR8EPy_NpjCcrJRvQNczsYnjKy4hYFfOTkAdUkOyoUkfYMNJM/s320/Carnival.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is another current WIP, it's from Long Dog Samplers and it's called Sneek.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTyE_z8Tg8tv4QMuiOsUeIbaJLvKfLfpRQ8KxSAVgWStGsNekYqb49T-rOgnRmGAT5fxqAeVzzLsJSp5S4ROIXuDbvPdzXegI2ukIN42252xDrQ4rQDEtkTyobMCYTgD40a_2KtUVLZxx/s1600/Sneek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTyE_z8Tg8tv4QMuiOsUeIbaJLvKfLfpRQ8KxSAVgWStGsNekYqb49T-rOgnRmGAT5fxqAeVzzLsJSp5S4ROIXuDbvPdzXegI2ukIN42252xDrQ4rQDEtkTyobMCYTgD40a_2KtUVLZxx/s320/Sneek.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Sneek was originally a stitch-along hosted by a company in the UK, but I didn't find out about it til mid-year, so I didn't even try to keep up with the charts as they were issued. The last chart was issued toward the end of the year so I've got the complete pattern now. You can't tell from the photo, but this baby is huge. I have the entire border finished, and I couldn't even fit it in the picture! Anyway, if you're not familiar with Long Dog Samplers, I encourage you to check them out. The designs are by Julia Line and she is simply phenomenal. I've done one LD design previously, which is one of my favorite things I've ever stitched. I'll post a picture of it at some point. LD designs often have historical elements in them, but Julia is a master at using icons and design ideas in striking new ways. But I definitely hope to get Sneek done in 2019. I'm doing it on white 32 count Belfast linen, with two colors of DMC blue.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalCkF61YCoiP5XIqdr0kdmkXVzrg0qBFTBWyVGzEDZrdMmIpKtBPFHrQmyAB3gT7g-dZi33jtZCjBxVRiinE-Yuj056ugwQ6HAYLgLeNf-_5gCyGGah2HBPljA67Iho-Ff2vRwdgVsOey/s1600/Hot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalCkF61YCoiP5XIqdr0kdmkXVzrg0qBFTBWyVGzEDZrdMmIpKtBPFHrQmyAB3gT7g-dZi33jtZCjBxVRiinE-Yuj056ugwQ6HAYLgLeNf-_5gCyGGah2HBPljA67Iho-Ff2vRwdgVsOey/s320/Hot.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
The photo above is my WIP of Hot Chocolate, by Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks (AAN). Alessandra is one of my favorite designers, and she has a unique way of looking at everyday things. Here's a picture of what this one will look like when finished:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqew9IbJo4i-zPpJ5ppS_zMDpYwp4-3jztaW__-nSFWI11k8-HwFMhGP0cVNCIt3xqD3g1eCH0oj_2763UQmrA1HlP-3Ge9ZGrkUvgwUU5ItsyKSnQmsgLcsbMaI4HgmIIpnISTYaR_AZ_/s1600/Choc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqew9IbJo4i-zPpJ5ppS_zMDpYwp4-3jztaW__-nSFWI11k8-HwFMhGP0cVNCIt3xqD3g1eCH0oj_2763UQmrA1HlP-3Ge9ZGrkUvgwUU5ItsyKSnQmsgLcsbMaI4HgmIIpnISTYaR_AZ_/s320/Choc.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
I originally started this project on the dark brown linen that was called for, but I ended up giving up after a couple of weeks of work. I tried every trick in the book for stitching on dark fabric, and I could do it, but my progress was soooooooo slow. So I changed to a flax colored linen, 32 count, and I picked different browns for the main design. This is an easy, fast stitch, so I'll definitely get this one done this year.<br />
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Speaking of AAN, one of her specialties is hearts -- she has dozens of different ones and I kinda love them all! So I'm in the process of stitching three of her hearts, which I want to have framed together in some way. So first I'll show you the two hearts that I already have done:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxDny1CSQpz4e5HXTzy_ENOe7WgHpY91b3xXzlxHNTcpo2nnRuN1lau8cE9zRYKIqTpfjjKw3kSD6eRrek1onmun4h0h_TxIy24tuwv-vdwr4JySFMXn5nYcHy2I7S8WxaIiURNImQUBM/s1600/Heart1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="640" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxDny1CSQpz4e5HXTzy_ENOe7WgHpY91b3xXzlxHNTcpo2nnRuN1lau8cE9zRYKIqTpfjjKw3kSD6eRrek1onmun4h0h_TxIy24tuwv-vdwr4JySFMXn5nYcHy2I7S8WxaIiURNImQUBM/s320/Heart1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiroUbndeaBKagOvtnnC5ZJWS7oi1d-rG-RN2DVnXGVQ9TI8rgI1WS1laUulCEk8KApXOGW-oHw0GU0SvYSNvCJVIYepEpZGjey9EWmY9u3mbny8kpBpBicgHXuscIaGgW4vZmve5mSpHxP/s1600/Heart2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiroUbndeaBKagOvtnnC5ZJWS7oi1d-rG-RN2DVnXGVQ9TI8rgI1WS1laUulCEk8KApXOGW-oHw0GU0SvYSNvCJVIYepEpZGjey9EWmY9u3mbny8kpBpBicgHXuscIaGgW4vZmve5mSpHxP/s320/Heart2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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They look like they're different sizes, but they're really almost the same size, both width and height. I haven't started the third heart yet, but I'd like to at least get it started, if not finished, in 2019. Here's the pattern for the third heart:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4TyMB3bYPAOLwQ1repcqAvEvfjSVzoVj5hQn005UCwxmCP9H4e56kL_VWdRWzoF1lifGLIHwhlHNqQ3UhwTC_bH3Mm3CDwEyItkO_RG5V3KXmpMQBpg8uuejHp1FfvFTtvrQFPkQoxdb/s1600/Heart3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4TyMB3bYPAOLwQ1repcqAvEvfjSVzoVj5hQn005UCwxmCP9H4e56kL_VWdRWzoF1lifGLIHwhlHNqQ3UhwTC_bH3Mm3CDwEyItkO_RG5V3KXmpMQBpg8uuejHp1FfvFTtvrQFPkQoxdb/s320/Heart3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This one will be done in a sort of burnt orange color. All three hearts are stitched on 32 count while opal Belfast linen. "Opal" means that the fabric has sparkly threads that run through it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOuDaObWUhBcE-QPuL74S6asmDAgANmFaL0EXKEH3K72K_22tFAF_ChS0b0PzGorvPhQlDTQta-v37Qp7lflilVEDsNd1qLnbzVbKKuqs9u92m24FFctnRjToHb9xF7kLUcgvlyt1HztBC/s1600/Liza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOuDaObWUhBcE-QPuL74S6asmDAgANmFaL0EXKEH3K72K_22tFAF_ChS0b0PzGorvPhQlDTQta-v37Qp7lflilVEDsNd1qLnbzVbKKuqs9u92m24FFctnRjToHb9xF7kLUcgvlyt1HztBC/s320/Liza.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This one is a long-time WIP called Liza's Bouquet. It's a Ginger & Spice design, and I just love it. I'm stitching this one on 14 count white Aida with three strands of floss for really full coverage. I adore this design, but for some reason, I put it down for long periods of time and then keep coming back to it. It's huge, although I have a fair amount done. I don't know if I'll get this one done this year, but what I do for sure need to get done is changing out some backstitch that I started. What happened is that I started doing the backstitching on this design in the called-for color, and I decided to use 2 strands of floss. Well, I hate it. I mean, I HATE it. So my plan is to take out the backstitching that I've done, and start again doing it with a darker brown, and using only one strand of floss.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlSBH_wuQx2nOvWrRXFEPmXi5YoyiKcGwnLyyc6hZMCwNKHGxPqfW-FKOcNCWtqbmZNxw_vgemvnz60yQLH3OeecXQAH5FnpIdJYFuSH5vUsv8WxdCfhSSHRSREZaav5TZqLmOBsRSIcB/s1600/Backstitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlSBH_wuQx2nOvWrRXFEPmXi5YoyiKcGwnLyyc6hZMCwNKHGxPqfW-FKOcNCWtqbmZNxw_vgemvnz60yQLH3OeecXQAH5FnpIdJYFuSH5vUsv8WxdCfhSSHRSREZaav5TZqLmOBsRSIcB/s320/Backstitch.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Here's a bit of the backstitching that I've already done, so maybe you can see the issue. This design has TONS of backstitching so I didn't want to leave it all for the end, but what I ended up doing was probably worse! I am just dreading taking out the backstitching that I've already done, but it's on my list for 2019, lol!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOQRmeEy1zz_zkDEOVCd5gCsoXSHsP8tpdk-n-tO4kzgeDhxLGjDlitiHUW-VAs4X80taSyovgs_AELNQK6GbWfSpHcpvE7xWyPVEeOCVYA3kds7cwgLamEaOzuIGAubygP3x9I5kQBq3/s1600/LittleSheep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="615" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOQRmeEy1zz_zkDEOVCd5gCsoXSHsP8tpdk-n-tO4kzgeDhxLGjDlitiHUW-VAs4X80taSyovgs_AELNQK6GbWfSpHcpvE7xWyPVEeOCVYA3kds7cwgLamEaOzuIGAubygP3x9I5kQBq3/s320/LittleSheep.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>
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This is Little Sheep by Little House Needleworks. Everyone did these 12 designs a number of years ago, and I started mine, but never finished. This isn't a priority for me to get done this year, but I do love the designs and it's a fun project to work on.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhyphenhyphenbiSVXKzIGixKcrQ7dY4a5tovWdZ6HRGV46lXBRtp0j9GRZ4gbDi2OVCs4YkK9WTMAKHESA5EzOHZ2a3DsaAd9YjLMKnXii6wedaENv5ee8jlZ0frtwLRne2yOAEWZeNKj1lNdFdC8E/s1600/Spring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhyphenhyphenbiSVXKzIGixKcrQ7dY4a5tovWdZ6HRGV46lXBRtp0j9GRZ4gbDi2OVCs4YkK9WTMAKHESA5EzOHZ2a3DsaAd9YjLMKnXii6wedaENv5ee8jlZ0frtwLRne2yOAEWZeNKj1lNdFdC8E/s320/Spring.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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And finally, Spring Queen, by Mirabilia. Yes, she's almost done. And unfortunately, she's been "almost done" for a few years. All I have to do is finish the metallic threads and the beading. But can I make a confession? I'm terrified of the beading! There are SO MANY beads! I am just not sure how the heck to tackle them, especially because I normally work with a hoop. But I am determined to do the little bit needed to finish this lovely lady this year.</div>
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Now for possible new starts. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0l_VAeeSWtAIFaz_qPQzKntDn-VWE36Zyc_C_hHjIR-IS3ewRwPS0uaiNVh2mcuRMzz0wsCMg7N5ysEr3oz4l0MK28IQZt8HA4S8RiUbyTC3zai0YTNXeJ2RjnsP5g5rU_2GOVW5qJGI/s1600/Summer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0l_VAeeSWtAIFaz_qPQzKntDn-VWE36Zyc_C_hHjIR-IS3ewRwPS0uaiNVh2mcuRMzz0wsCMg7N5ysEr3oz4l0MK28IQZt8HA4S8RiUbyTC3zai0YTNXeJ2RjnsP5g5rU_2GOVW5qJGI/s320/Summer.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is Summer Beauties by Ellen-Maurer Stroh, and as you can see, I've got it all ready to go. I think I picked white Jobelan for this design. I definitely want to get going on this one this year.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBGiVJ9_SjhfWAgof8FcHvGh4lJUBywYt_P5LeKjELHR0yzNAafWCEuVZhA09dXyaDFOtGvqYhJ9uLnCY0-BtNJGElru5ieQhwjmNnsw_TJhhi4xRuEoI0XzacAvGx_acUfUMuPriaeeV/s1600/Angel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBGiVJ9_SjhfWAgof8FcHvGh4lJUBywYt_P5LeKjELHR0yzNAafWCEuVZhA09dXyaDFOtGvqYhJ9uLnCY0-BtNJGElru5ieQhwjmNnsw_TJhhi4xRuEoI0XzacAvGx_acUfUMuPriaeeV/s320/Angel.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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And finally, Remembrance, an angel by Joan Elliott. I adore this design and I've wanted to stitch one of Joan's lovely ladies for a long time. I have fabric, floss, beads, and metallics for this one all ready, I just need to put the floss on bobbins. I'd like to stitch this one in memory of my parents. I'd even though of including a meaningful quote or something at the bottom, so I'll give that some more thought.</div>
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I have some other projects kitted up that I may or may not start in 2019. But, that's the lay of the land right now, and how things are looking today. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's work and their progress through the year!</div>
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Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-4482350189689878652019-01-04T10:27:00.001-05:002019-01-04T12:20:15.262-05:00Bacon-Cheeseburger Skewers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, it's a brand new year, 2019, and I am shocked to say that I have not made a post on this blog in over four years. I'm not exactly sure why I stopped posting, but it seemed as though blogs were becoming passé and everyone shared things instead on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media. And those are all fine. But I'm back to thinking that there is a spot in this world for blogs, too. Sometimes a blog is just the right way to share something.</div>
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In particular, blogs are great for sharing hobbies, and that's the immediate reason why I've started mine up again. I used to take part in a fun counted cross-stitch year-long "event" called WIPocalypse, and I've decided to participate again this year. While there is an associated Facebook group, I like the idea of sharing the details of my projects each month in the blog format. So I dusted off the old blog and thought I'd start 2019 off right with a quick and super easy recipe.</div>
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I love a good appetizer recipe, and the Bacon Cheeseburger Skewers I made for our Christmas Eve buffet, pictured above, were delicious! For the actual recipe, I'll refer you to the source, which is a post on a blog (see? Blogs are great for sharing recipes, too!) called <a href="https://anaffairfromtheheart.com/bacon-cheeseburger-meatballs/">An Affair from the Heart</a>.</div>
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But you can pretty much put these together without a real recipe, as they're simply frozen meatballs (cooked, of course), topped with squares of cheese, then bacon, lettuce and grape tomatoes. I'll be truthful here, these ARE a little fussy, because you have to cook the meatballs and then cook the bacon separately, which is time consuming. But, you could easily do at least the bacon ahead of time, as it's not crucial that the bacon is piping hot.</div>
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What I did was cook and cool the bacon, and then I partially assembled my little skewers while the meatballs were cooking in the oven. I used 4" skewers and threaded half a tomato, a bit of folded up lettuce, and one-half slice of bacon (also folded in half) on each one. When the meatballs were heated through, I added a small square of cheese to each and popped them back in the oven for just a minute for the cheese to melt. When those were finished, I simply speared one meatball on each pre-made skewer and put them all on a platter for serving. I forgot about a dipping sauce, but I think that mustard and ketchup mixed together would make a delicious dip, if you wanted to serve one alongside.</div>
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One final note -- be super careful not to overcook the bacon. You don't want it crisp, or you won't be able to fold it in half and spear it on your skewer. So go for done, but chewy.</div>
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A great appetizer is as simple as that! My family liked these so much that I will definitely make them again. I'm thinking these would be great as part of a finger food spread for the Superbowl.</div>
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<br />Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-16265868838507401812014-07-13T15:26:00.001-04:002014-07-13T15:26:36.731-04:00July WIPocalypse Check-In<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Well, somehow I missed checking in last month. I just lost track of things and by the time I remembered, it was pretty late to be doing a post. But that means I have some progress to show this month!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">First, I have been stitching like a mad woman on my anniversary sampler. This is by Ellen Maurer-Stroh, done on 32 ct. light mocha Belfast linen. It dawned on me awhile ago that I really didn't have THAT much time to get this baby done, so I put my foot on the gas. As you can see from the picture above, it is quite close to being completed. I had a goal of having it done by July 15, so that I could get it framed in time for our actual anniversary in August, but since the 15th is just a few days away, that may not happen. But, I can't see needing more than another week to get it done, so I'm happy about that. Hopefully, next month I'll be showing you the framed, completed piece. I do love the design. Those old-fashioned roses just make me smile!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And secondly, I have a new start. My sister and her husband bought a vacation condo on the beach in Galveston, Texas a couple of years ago, and I wanted to stitch a decor item for the condo. I'd looked at a few beachy-type pieces, but when I saw this seashell wreath, I knew it was perfect. Unfortunately, the design is only available as a kit, but fortunately, it was pretty inexpensive on Amazon. Anyway, I managed to work on the wreath for a few days here and there, and the photo below shows how far I've gotten. Can I just tell you how much I LOVE the colors in this thing? The softest golds and tans and lavenders and greys. Yummy. The design is by Nancy Rossi, one of my all-time favorite designers, and I'm using 3 strands of floss on white Aida 14.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Finally, this month's topic is Christmas or holiday stitching, and when we start. If I'm doing Christmas projects, yes, I would start now or even have started earlier. But, I'm not planning on doing anything big as far as gifts this year. At most, I'll stitch a few ornaments, so I'm not terribly worried about getting started. I'm much more worried about getting that anniversary piece finished!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Til August, happy stitching everyone! Can't wait to check everyone's progress on their pieces!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-64871169744450254792014-05-17T08:26:00.002-04:002014-05-17T08:26:45.275-04:00WIPocalypse May Check-In<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Greetings, fellow stitchers! Can you believe that it's May already? So wonderful to be having longer days and warmer weather. Unfortunately, I did not stitch as much this past month as I would have liked to. I went to Texas for a week toward the end of April, and I frankly expected to be able to have some down time for stitching. But, it just didn't work out that way and I barely stitched at all that whole week. Add in a few busy weeks with my hubby having a medical procedure and moving my older son out of his apartment at college, and you have the makings for a slim month of cross-stitch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Still, I made a LITTLE progress on most of my projects. First, this is the AAN stylized tree design that I have been working on:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I'm happy with how this one is coming along. I love the colors, and it's an easy stitch (nice, easily definable blocks of color) for those nights when I'm tired.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Next, I got one more sheep finished on my Little Sheep Virtues -- this one is March, and the virtue is Peace:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Although I have not kept up with my loose goal of doing one sheep per month, I'm still glad to have finished Peace. The little sheep in this one has the cutest wreath of leaves of leaves and flowers around his woolly neck!! Here is how the whole piece looks so far:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Finally, Tyler's Lion. This is the HUGE sampler by My Big Toe where the motifs are based on ones used in the weaving industry in the 1800's. I haven't worked a ton on this piece lately, but I've almost got the huge center house and trees motif finished. This sampler does not have a lot of backstitching, but backstitches connect all of those little leaves to the trees, so I need to finish that on the right-hand tree, plus finish that bit of fence at the bottom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Well, that's it for my progress this past month. Hopefully, I'll have more to show in June.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now for this month's question. Measi has asked: What designs or themes do you really wish you could find? What do you think is missing among stitching designs?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hmmmm. Well, in general, I have no complaint about the number and variety of cross-stitch designs out there! It is crazy how much is available these days! But, it just so happens that twice in my stitching life, I have had occasion to look for a design for an anniversary sampler. The first was years ago, when I wanted to stitch something to commemorate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. The second time was just recently, when I was looking for a design to stitch to celebrate an anniversary milestone of my own that is coming up later this summer. Both times, I searched and searched and just did not find very many pleasing designs. There are TONS of designs available for weddings, but not much specifically for anniversaries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In fact, for the piece that I gave my parents, I ended up modifying a wedding sampler that I found in a magazine. I loved the design, so I changed the words of the poem so that they were more fitting for an anniversary, and then I included my parents' names and the span of their marriage. It came out great, but I did a lot of work modifying the design.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For my own anniversary, I think I've mentioned on a past post that I am using EMS's Anniversary Sampler. I know, it's called an anniversary piece, right? Yet, the actual design was charted as a BIRTH sampler. No problem there, except that the alphabet provided, while beautiful, is too large to stitch two names in the heart. But, I can use a different alphabet and that shouldn't be a problem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Other than that, I think it might be nice to see more collegiate sports themed stuff. I've seen a few motifs, but for a college kid or sports buff, it might be more practical to make stuff like towels or smaller pieces with the school's emblem or logo. However, this design gap probably has more to do with the cost of licensing those kinds of designs than anything else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Well, that's it for me for May! Have a great stitching month!</span></div>
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<br />Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-45612659728369673342014-04-15T18:12:00.001-04:002014-04-15T18:12:51.217-04:00WIPocalypse April Check-In<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Greetings, fellow stitchers! Hard to believe that it's time already for the April WIPocalypse update! But April means spring time, and that is definitely a good thing. So, first things first -- my progress for the past month on WIPS.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I did not work at all last month on Tyler's Lion, my historical sampler. No reason, I just got sidetracked by other things. Such as my new start. I loved the finished Albero Felice so much that I decided to start what will be a companion piece by the same designer, Alessandra Adelaide (AAN). She has a couple dozen fantastic, stylized tree designs, and I fell in love with this one:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I chose this one for the design, but also because some of the colors are the same ones used in Albero Felice. Since I plan to frame them similarly and hang them as companion pieces, I figured the similar colors would tie the pieces together. Anyway, here is my start on this one, which I'm stitching on 32 ct. antique white Belfast linen:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-lVydMCwsOZv2uI5irOryArDTVkSAqs_h9zbwji16QnmXH14kLQiFVGI8G1AW_0gZXb2jlmPWZUOO_FJbP4hESUeOAMxG0bveKFZ0_YVMEgVej5FZBW-1_NCETB-lKf5U1WnLE7FdwTH/s1600/photo+1+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-lVydMCwsOZv2uI5irOryArDTVkSAqs_h9zbwji16QnmXH14kLQiFVGI8G1AW_0gZXb2jlmPWZUOO_FJbP4hESUeOAMxG0bveKFZ0_YVMEgVej5FZBW-1_NCETB-lKf5U1WnLE7FdwTH/s1600/photo+1+(4).JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I actually could have worked a lot more on this one, but one of the reasons that I started it is that I am going to Dallas to see my sister in a week or so, and I wanted a piece to take with me that wasn't super small like an ornament, but that was simple enough that I could work on it without having to intensely concentrate on each stitch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Next up is Liza's Bouquet. This piece was my primary focus for the month. I'm not sure why, I just couldn't seem to stop working on it! I just love stitching this design, it is so bright and colorful. So here is where I am on this one as of yesterday:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmMATu0WU9__qZBhATJo2W3YgLmWtMh2D0FOp-LHYRU3OTEPMZOuNlFI9m7b3o2AOuKad2W14ke39vyYcQ6yl0IVvjA6DQq7GZIBZtiFTAy77uwJKCGID4ec37q7-KyoT37E32ESxg7wH/s1600/photo+1+(6).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmMATu0WU9__qZBhATJo2W3YgLmWtMh2D0FOp-LHYRU3OTEPMZOuNlFI9m7b3o2AOuKad2W14ke39vyYcQ6yl0IVvjA6DQq7GZIBZtiFTAy77uwJKCGID4ec37q7-KyoT37E32ESxg7wH/s1600/photo+1+(6).JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And here's a close up of one of the super colorful areas:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ok, so that's my stitching progress for the month. April's discussion topic is how do we organize our stash? Hmmm. This one is kind of tough for me. I have two stashes. The reason is that I took a multi-year hiatus from stitching when my arthritis got bad, and I've only returned to this hobby in the last year. So I have stash from "before," which is mostly still packed away in boxes in the basement, and then I have "current" stash, which is a few patterns and fabrics that I've purchased lately. And I really have not organized my "new" stash at all! I have some projects put together and they are in a basket below my stitching table, but other than that, things are in disarray. I do have all of my floss organized on bobbins in the plastic boxes, so at least I can easily find threads that I need. I'll be anxious to read everyone else's updates and see all of your organizational tips -- maybe I can work some magic on all of my stash!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Until May, then, happy stitching! </span>Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-56281623715235204282014-04-11T09:55:00.003-04:002014-04-11T09:59:34.490-04:00DIY Puzzles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here is a great idea for a party activity, or a fun twist on a greeting card -- do-it-yourself puzzles. Did you know that you can buy blank puzzles that you can decorate yourself? Yep, you can, and you can even get them in various sizes. You can find these in some party stores, but you can also buy them on Amazon. That's where I got the ones I recently made.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">At my office, we celebrate Pi Day (see <a href="http://invisiblepiperblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/painting-on-glass.html">this post</a> if you want more information), and I'm usually in charge of the activities. I needed something that would be fun and that wouldn't take too long. I decided to make puzzles stamped with random numbers, to be put together by teams of two. This was a contest, so the first team to finish their puzzle won a prize. Because these were adults, I chose puzzles roughly 81/2 x 11 in size, with 63 pieces in each. But, as I said, you can buy the blanks smaller or larger, and with more or fewer pieces. For instance, you might want small puzzles with just a few large pieces to put in goody bags for a kid's birthday party.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You can decorate the blanks any way you choose. They can be painted, stamped, or colored with markers, colored pencils, crayons, or pretty much anything else you can think of. For mine, I left the background white (I actually wish now that I had painted the background a color first -- the puzzles would have been more attractive). Then I got out various number stamp sets I own, along with a few different colors of ink pads. I needed my puzzles to be all the same, so I set up the blanks on my kitchen table and stamped them assembly line fashion. Here's a picture of the puzzles in process:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2AxBTT91m6IyUOm6jKBWUkih6qbcX0R8MYChhMprzRYs9D7foujvSuk5JpISiM4-kcwvHe9e2C54QowYm3nRr2AfMfO0MPIh78k5wS46svJuNP8ZPosa0uAUOTjvABDIl29Z5pwzciZE/s1600/photo+1+(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2AxBTT91m6IyUOm6jKBWUkih6qbcX0R8MYChhMprzRYs9D7foujvSuk5JpISiM4-kcwvHe9e2C54QowYm3nRr2AfMfO0MPIh78k5wS46svJuNP8ZPosa0uAUOTjvABDIl29Z5pwzciZE/s1600/photo+1+(5).JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And here is a close-up of one of the puzzles -- you can see where the pieces will eventually snap apart:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFuPI9rIrFVbCSoHRGEVvRlZy4F_NSJ055bzTtkmMF5UIkm2ZNEbirFezsaF3metQrN5sh4kC_T8xgCHxBwALUE4RaaEFZRABt7jrwk0zUX-eS1_bJUJdVFrGkplxavByTx3mGrEQDMvL/s1600/photo+2+(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFuPI9rIrFVbCSoHRGEVvRlZy4F_NSJ055bzTtkmMF5UIkm2ZNEbirFezsaF3metQrN5sh4kC_T8xgCHxBwALUE4RaaEFZRABt7jrwk0zUX-eS1_bJUJdVFrGkplxavByTx3mGrEQDMvL/s1600/photo+2+(5).JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I should mention that the one thing you can't do with these puzzles is run them through a printer -- the blanks are made of thin cardboard material, NOT cardstock. Because they are cardboard, they are pretty much like a "real" puzzle that you would buy, just a little thinner. And the pieces come apart pretty easily when you are done decorating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I just packaged mine in plastic bags to tote to my office, but you could do a cuter presentation, as well. If the puzzle is to be a greeting card, you could slip the pieces in an envelope or small box. The possibilities are endless.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Cost: For the size that I bought, the blank puzzles ran a little less than a dollar each, but I did have to buy a dozen. You may be able to buy blanks individually at a party store.</span>Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-12192932178266355302014-03-16T09:46:00.000-04:002014-03-16T09:46:36.840-04:00WIPocalypse March Update!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Greeting fellow stitchers! Wow, hard to believe it's time for the March WIPocalypse update already! This last month has gone fast, but I've gotten quite a bit of stitching done. It's still cold and snowy where I am, and that helps.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">First, I have a finish! This is Albero Felice, by AAN. I stitched it on antique white 32 ct. Belfast linen. I just love how this came out. In fact, I like it so much that I bought the pattern to stitch a companion piece. I thought they'd look great framed together. I have the fabric and floss for the companion piece, too, so maybe I'll start on that in the coming month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Next is a new start. I mentioned last month that I have a milestone anniversary coming up this summer, so I decided to do a commemorative anniversary piece. This is what I chose -- it's by Ellen Mauer Stroh. I love the lacy look of the winter white border and, looking at the floss that I've gathered, the colors in the roses are just gorgeous! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here is my start on it:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I'm doing it on light mocha linen, and I like the subtle contrast of the border thread color. One problem with this project, though -- the symbols on the chart don't match the floss key AT ALL. It's like they decided after printing the key to use completely different symbols. The shop I bought the pattern at is awaiting word from the designer on this (I found nothing about the issue online), but I was able to start anyway since it was pretty obvious what the border color was supposed to be!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Next up is Tyler's Lion, my huge historical sampler. It is really hard to get the whole thing in a picture, so I photographed just the part that I worked on this past month, which is that huge center house and trees motif. I just need to finish that fence on the right side and that motif will be done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Finally, since finishing Albero Felice, I pulled out Liza's Bouquet and I have been working on that for the past couple of weeks. Here is my progress :</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintF40_-IkPt8mW5IPnsVuUwPEIt3KDdxtne7K0PoZVZWzoA7GUL6CojRfmsSKvnYXmPzIx0TH2ovYJlV4wwYkkFF4CwDocwUNW2jzsQhbtcGlGRX0QN7MLnuUiqUJ3F1ZvUshE3AFyab9/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintF40_-IkPt8mW5IPnsVuUwPEIt3KDdxtne7K0PoZVZWzoA7GUL6CojRfmsSKvnYXmPzIx0TH2ovYJlV4wwYkkFF4CwDocwUNW2jzsQhbtcGlGRX0QN7MLnuUiqUJ3F1ZvUshE3AFyab9/s1600/photo+3.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I LOVE working on this piece, because it is so colorful and fun that it just cheers me up to work on it. As you can see, though, it's a fairly complicated and dense design, so it's one that I have concentrate on. This design is by Ginger & Spice, and I'm stitching it on 14 ct. white Aida using 3 strands of floss because I wanted really full coverage. I have been working on this particular flower the last couple of days, so thought I'd show a close-up:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Isn't that flower the most beautiful thing? It just comes alive under my needle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Well, that's the progress on the projects I worked on this past month. As the March discussion topic, Measi suggested that we talk about our "stitching spot" and include a photo. Well, here's mine, excuse the mess:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I stitch in a chair in the living room so that I can be with the family when possible. You can't see it in this picture, but I have a floor light right by the chair, and I keep my current projects and paraphernalia on top of that table. I've got a pair of reading glasses there, as well as pencils and highlighters, a pencil sharpener, my home phone as well as a little speaker-stand that holds my mobile phone, and the coaster is for my omnipresent cup of coffee. I like to listen to classical music while I stitch, and I can plug my phone into that little speaker and enjoy my music. I have a lot of my music in the Amazon Cloud Player -- love that thing!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The contraption on the chair arm is a combination pincushion and trash bag. I love this thing. I keep a bunch of needles in the pincushion and then there is a magnetic strip right there that holds my embroidery scissors. Under the table is a biggish basket that holds other projects, a couple of floss boxes, and things I may need soon but that I'm not using at the moment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Til April, then -- happy stitching!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There was a thread recently on a message board that I frequent regarding using needle minders when you are cross stitching or doing other needlework. I don't have a needle minder, but they are two-piece items with magnets on both parts so the minder (usually decorative) kind of "sticks to" your fabric. The minder provides a safe place to park your needle while you are working, so that you aren't leaving stray needles in chair arms for another family member to accidentally find (not that I would know anything about that).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Well, I do not use a real needle minder, but I wanted to share what I do use, because it is effectively the same thing. I use clips that are sold as food storage items -- you're supposed to use them to keep bags of chips closed, etc. And I assure you, they are great for that. BUT these clips also have strong round magnets on the back, because they are intended to stuck to the fridge for easy use while you're in the kitchen. That magnet makes them PERFECT for needlework, too, because the magnet acts as a needle minder!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I bought the clips at my grocery store and they came in a set of 6, with multiple bright colors. Here is a picture of the orange one, in use:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As you can see from both of the photos, I use a hoop when I cross stitch, and I roll up the extra fabric around my design and I simply clip it to the edge of the hoop with one of the magnetic clips. I face the magnet part toward me, because then I can use it just like a needle minder -- as a super convenient place to park my needle while I answer the phone or grab another cup of coffee. Because the clips are meant for kitchen use, they open up quite wide. That's perfect, because I know that some people use hair clips to clip excess fabric onto their hoop, but a lot of hair clips just don't open up wide enough. These clips do!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So, just wanted to share this little tidbit with my stitching friends. I don't know exactly what brand these clips are, as I bought them some time ago and then "re-purposed" a few for my craft area. But, I'm sure there are other, similar clips that would work fine. The real point is just to recommend that if you're looking for clips to hold needlework, don't forget to check out the kitchen department. You may just find the perfect clip and needle minder in one!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">P.S. Update on the fruit fly situation. We are now on the THIRD dish of vinegar solution -- I leave the dish out for a few days and see what we get. I got 25 or so fruit flies in the first few days, another 22 the second few days, and there are at least 10 more in the dish that is currently on the counter. The moral of this story is, if you have a fruit fly problem like we did, there are probably A LOT MORE OF THEM in your house than you ever suspected!! I plan to keep a dish of the vinegar solution out until we have no dead fruit flies after 48 hours. And yeah, it's still really gross.</span><br />
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<br />Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-18112800182945116482014-02-28T16:03:00.000-05:002014-02-28T16:03:13.467-05:00Fruit Fly Trap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Sorry for the rather gross photo! But -- have you ever had a fruit fly infestation? We get them occasionally in the summer, but we've had a bad one over the past few weeks, despite the fact that it's WINTER and I don't have any fruit or other produce sitting out in my kitchen! So this post is really just a quick tip about what to do if you find your self in the same boat that I was in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The first thing is to find the source of the infestation. You might think there isn't anything, but there is. In our case, my son apparently threw away a banana peel in his bathroom wastebasket two weeks or so ago. (He's supposed to empty that wastebasket, too -- yeah, didn't get done.) So we got rid of the banana peel, but we still had fruit flies in the house.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">To get rid of them, I filled a shallow container about a third full with apple cider vinegar. To that I added a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Then I covered the container very tightly with plastic wrap, and poked some holes in the top. The holes need to be big enough for the fruit flies to find, so they can't be too small. Then I set the container out on the counter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Twenty-four hours later, there were 22 dead fruit flies in the vinegar, and I'd killed 3 more that were hanging around nearby and were apparently drugged by the scent. Now, if you'd asked me how many fruit flies I thought there were in the house after the banana peel had been tossed, I'd have said 3 or 4. I had NO IDEA we had this many! Gross, just gross. And yeah, it's really gross seeing their dead bodies in that container. But, it had to be done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">After twenty-four hours, I tossed the old mixture and set out a new container. You have to keep a dish of the mixture out for a few days to make sure you catch any fruit flies that have just hatched. I'd have sworn there weren't any more of those suckers in the house, but after a few hours, there were 3 flies in the solution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Again, sorry for the gross picture, but I wanted to show you that this fruit fly trap really works! Apparently, fruit flies are really dumb, and after they fly into the container through one of the holes, they can't figure out how to get back out again, and eventually they drown. So, yeah, very gross, but very effective. Just a quick tip from my kitchen to yours! </span>Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-64139987246348136322014-02-18T19:55:00.001-05:002014-02-18T19:55:37.052-05:00WIPocalypse 2014: February Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It's the middle(ish) of February, so that means it's time for a monthly report on the progress I've made on the various cross-stitch projects that I've committed to working on this year. I've been stitching quite a bit lately, and have made pretty good progress on some of my WIPs. First up is Tyler's Lion, my huge, historically-based, one-color sampler. This was designed by Long Dog Samplers. I've gotten the entire border down the left side completed, and I decided to start on the large center panel next. This is my favorite thing to stitch on while watching TV. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Next is Albero Felice, an AAN design. The name translates from Italian as "Happy Tree," and I can't tell you how much I love this piece! I love the design, the cheery colors, the wonderful curliques -- all of it. I love this pattern so much that I've been looking through all of AAN's tree designs (and there are a TON of them) and I've found one that I may stitch at a later point as a sort of companion piece to this one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Next is Little House Needlework's Little Sheep Virtues 12-part series. I decided to stitch these all on one piece of fabric, and my goal is to do one each month. I've completed the first two virtues, with February's "Love" shown below.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One project I haven't worked on yet this year is Mirabilia's Spring Queen. Below is my most recent progress photo on this one. She is all finished except for the metallic thread stitches, and the beading. I just haven't been in the mood to start those beads, but I'm sure I'll get back to this pretty lady soon!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Measi suggested that for this month, we talk about how many projects we like to keep going. It's funny. I used to be a strict one-at-a-time stitcher, but now I enjoy having several projects going at the same time. I don't do any sort of formal "rotation," but sometimes I just don't feel like working on a certain project, so I'll take something else out of the basket. I've found that my interest in all of my projects stays pretty high when I have several going at one time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Also, I think I may have to change my proposed WIP list for this year. I realized the other day that I have a milestone wedding anniversary coming up in August. I am thinking of stitching an anniversary sampler to commemorate the occasion. While it wouldn't really be "for" my husband (i.e., not really a gift), I know he would love it. I have my eye on a beautiful design, and if I decide to buy the pattern and start on it, I'll post the update here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In the meantime, happy stitching!! </span><br />
<br />Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-1960748080740973502014-02-14T09:37:00.000-05:002014-02-14T09:37:52.851-05:00Ham and Navy Bean Soup (Slow Cooker Sunday)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I've mentioned on this blog before that Sunday is my favorite day of the week to use my slow cooker. I love getting up in the morning, getting a hearty soup or stew started in the slow cooker, and then not having to think about dinner until it's time to toss some biscuits into the oven. I use my slow cooker during the week sometimes too, of course, but something about using it on a weekend day gives me a delicious sense of freedom. So much so that I make it a point to use the slow cooker on Sunday -- hence the subtitle of this post.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Today I'm featuring a hearty and delicious Ham and Navy Bean Soup. It's easy, has a wonderful flavor, is reasonably healthy (I mean, the soup has ham in it, no getting around that), and very economical. It also tastes great left over, so no problem making a BIG batch!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Before I start, though, I have to share a funny tidbit. Many years ago, I bought a great little cookbook (before the internet, when people bought cookbooks) that featured bread and soup recipes. There was a recipe in there for navy bean soup that I made several times, and the other soup recipes in the book were good, too. But what I will never forget is the illustration accompanying the recipe for navy bean soup. It featured a simply-drawn bean-shaped figure wearing a sailor's cap and saluting. So, now, all these years later, I still can't make navy bean soup without thinking of that little enlisted bean saluting me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My current recipe for ham and navy bean soup is actually a combination of a few different recipes, including one that claims to be one of the soups they serve in the cafeteria of the U.S. Senate. In any case, I found that taking a little from each of the recipes produced a really great soup. So, let's get started.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7GkDdD4jePzfxlYPsboukhMio3o8Y6a9ZVAAXV9oTkC67_QrgGwv1Nflha878EMrJisnwe5I3C8y-kK7JkRIvgYM3WyIWm5ZQs5kvXcgubwssE2Gx0DOQafp-i5O9ttD3nEtD-ixpsYa/s1600/SAM_0250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7GkDdD4jePzfxlYPsboukhMio3o8Y6a9ZVAAXV9oTkC67_QrgGwv1Nflha878EMrJisnwe5I3C8y-kK7JkRIvgYM3WyIWm5ZQs5kvXcgubwssE2Gx0DOQafp-i5O9ttD3nEtD-ixpsYa/s1600/SAM_0250.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Armour Cure 81 is a great ham to use for soup. It has a nice smoky flavor, without being too salty. And have you ever noticed that some hams don't really have much ham flavor? This one does. I like to buy the spiral-sliced type so I have a bone to use for a later pot of soup. And, of course, you don't have to buy a ham JUST for this recipe. I usually make the ham for dinner (Easter, anyone?) and then freeze portions of the leftovers to use in soups.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The first step is to par-boil the navy beans. You could soak them overnight, but I've found par-boiling them is much faster and produces perfect result. All that par-boiling means is that you're going to pre-cook the beans a little bit before putting them into the pot. This recipe calls for 1 lb. of dried navy beans to be boiled for about 10 minutes, then drained and rinsed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">After tossing the par-boiled beans in a large slow cooker (mine is 6 qt.), chop up and add in the ham, carrots, onions, and celery. Add one of the big (about 32 oz.) paper containers of chicken broth or chicken stock. Then add in the herbs and spices:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A quick word about those. It might seem odd to put sage in the soup, since most people use it about once a year, in their Thanksgiving stuffing. But, although it's known for going well with poultry, sage adds a perfect note to this soup. So even if you're thinking "what the heck?" go ahead and add it in. Here's what your pot will look like with everything in it, ready to be stirred up:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Cook the soup all day, but at least 9 hours. I usually start the cooking time with an hour or two using the "high" setting, and then I turn it down to "low" until the soup is done. Sometimes if I don't do this, the beans will be a little bit hard, and I've found that a couple of hours on "high" ensures that they'll be done to my liking. One really important note: the soup does not call for salt because of the salty ham and the salt in the chicken broth. However, if you need to add in some salt, do NOT add it in until AFTER the soup is finished cooking, as it will inhibit the beans from getting as soft as they should. And, the same is true for the tomato puree -- you want to add it in at the END only, or the soup won't come out right. Here's what the pot should look like after the cooking time, but before you've added in the tomatoes (which, by the way, just give a mice touch of color and a little additional flavor to the soup):</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Add in the tomatoes and let them heat through for just few minutes, preferably while you slice a nice, warm baguette of crusty bread. (Just a note -- biscuits or cornbread go great with this soup, too.) Taste for seasonings, and then dish it up and enjoy!</span></div>
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<u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">Ham and Navy Bean Soup</u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">1 lb. dried navy beans</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">32 oz. container chicken broth or stock</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">2 cups ham, cut into small cubes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">2-3 stalks of celery, sliced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">1 tsp. dried sage</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">1 tsp. dried crushed thyme</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">1/2 tsp. black pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">1 can (about 14 oz.) pureed tomatoes (or tomato sauce)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In a large saucepan, bring the navy beans and about 6 cups water to a boil; boil for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse the beans. Turn the beans into a large slow cooker, then add the carrots, celery, onion and ham. Add the chicken broth to cover, then stir in the sage, thyme, red pepper and black pepper. Cook on high for an hour or two, then turn setting to low and continue cooking until beans and vegetables are tender. Add in tomato puree and taste to determine if additional salt and pepper are needed. Allow tomatoes to heat through for a minute or two before serving.</span></div>
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Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-41373637384601863182014-02-01T00:58:00.000-05:002014-02-01T00:58:13.060-05:00Tutorial: Lace-Trimmed Pincushion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4a07dHstg7GHTSAO-079YLyVP4l_5Tqti0QkCgyKY3ZNzcgNN-ZTQEEFKX4piNpEE6nkbnaBo7SVrGk2qqwSsRi8FmykAl_Dn22xjAv4993k6PGYhApvGPBqpie7Q_INtKrRsDOGWxA2/s1600/SAM_0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4a07dHstg7GHTSAO-079YLyVP4l_5Tqti0QkCgyKY3ZNzcgNN-ZTQEEFKX4piNpEE6nkbnaBo7SVrGk2qqwSsRi8FmykAl_Dn22xjAv4993k6PGYhApvGPBqpie7Q_INtKrRsDOGWxA2/s1600/SAM_0132.JPG" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A couple of months ago, I posted about the cute pincushion that I made for my sister for her birthday. That's it in the photo above. I liked the finished pincushion so much that I ended up making four more of them for Christmas gifts! So, I decided I might as well show you all how to make them. By the way, although I started off with a cross-stitched design, this same technique would work to make a small pincushion from most anything made out of fabric. The design could be embroidered, sewn, painted, or it could be a quilt-block type design (pieced). As long as you have a fabric front and back, you can make the design into a pincushion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">First draw two borders around your design, as I've shown below. The outer border is going to be the cutting line, and the inner border will be the stitching line. My design was intended to fill up the fabric, so I simply measured 1/2" from the outer edges of the stitching for the inner border, and then I added another 1/4" to get the outer border. I marked the inner border with pencil and the outer border with pen. If you are working with a small, centered design, just figure out the size that you want the finished pincushion to be. That measurement will be your stitching line, then add the seam allowance to that to get your cutting line.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aeppGh8hx2-LXB_UHh5_aIJ40JDt6zFIMxoIRlpmcqsRR0via5YP9g2MZ0Swvy_SHr7nfeR5TKAYyT7z8Y8c_h0by42YjKXbX6CqWnxyMYTgKTUlaZeqWHfBWeuT_dYDJro2E2K5uxco/s1600/SAM_0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aeppGh8hx2-LXB_UHh5_aIJ40JDt6zFIMxoIRlpmcqsRR0via5YP9g2MZ0Swvy_SHr7nfeR5TKAYyT7z8Y8c_h0by42YjKXbX6CqWnxyMYTgKTUlaZeqWHfBWeuT_dYDJro2E2K5uxco/s1600/SAM_0200.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Next, on the piece of fabric that you want to use for the back, draw a rectangle that is the measurement of the cutting line. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNiyfYZNhOod5i0qmlaDerBLlU2NO8SdqmbUZVtHNdEl4TXHNirIFkjOx9uBjJ-oRJ_KcxUgjO4PCrM5Sq23fkOh5Hpmmu2ODA93z942aDjmSBYyuYLHZOJRDuxqjjM-N8dnzq87rWCO_f/s1600/SAM_0201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNiyfYZNhOod5i0qmlaDerBLlU2NO8SdqmbUZVtHNdEl4TXHNirIFkjOx9uBjJ-oRJ_KcxUgjO4PCrM5Sq23fkOh5Hpmmu2ODA93z942aDjmSBYyuYLHZOJRDuxqjjM-N8dnzq87rWCO_f/s1600/SAM_0201.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Cut out the two rectangles, then head to the ironing board. Cut two pieces of fusible interfacing a little larger than your fabric pieces. Fuse the interfacing to the WRONG sides of your fabric. (The purpose of the interfacing is to make sure the filler material stays inside the pincushion -- especially important if you're using a fabric like linen as I did.) Trim the interfacing so it's even with the edges of the fabric pieces.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Next, place the front of the pincushion face up on a work surface. Starting at the bottom center, pin lace or other trim into place, aligning the edge of the trim with the stitching line. This is somewhat counter-intuitive, but the trim has to be pinned with the ruffled edge facing INWARD. If your trim isn't pre-ruffled, add a long basting stitch along the edge of the trim with your sewing machine, and pull up the basting thread to gather the trim a bit as you go along. As you go around the corners, add some extra gathers into the trim, so that it doesn't pull when the pincushion is turned right side out after it's sewn. Overlap the trim a little as you come to the end. FULL DISCLOSURE: This step is the hardest part. You have to gently force the trim to do what you want it to do. Go slowly and pin carefully, especially at the corners. Make sure the trim is right on that sewing line that you drew in earlier. Use lots of pins.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPZi6jFz5OX86yXPoEJSZc-tbcJE4aghO4r9Ogiuw0TwrntkNrzO_09i1xIgRgU6CGDgmDMs9H8nFHVAL9uLS2K1huRSnpwlMiyxXrb9qN4pTI1Hm-EjQuCDA_czlNMmNRwItPbKLZJvwq/s1600/SAM_0221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPZi6jFz5OX86yXPoEJSZc-tbcJE4aghO4r9Ogiuw0TwrntkNrzO_09i1xIgRgU6CGDgmDMs9H8nFHVAL9uLS2K1huRSnpwlMiyxXrb9qN4pTI1Hm-EjQuCDA_czlNMmNRwItPbKLZJvwq/s1600/SAM_0221.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Once the trim is pinned in place, using a normal length straight stitch (not a basting stitch), machine sew right along the sewing line, being certain to catch the edge of the trim. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1yt2yQTEI_Tdp89DcEjPxoK61rzmfCDtv_GQzIAmsMoFYnFgQLiydKTxYu-dulIFguh-JIIBhuOD3vGpaRPEjUlH3jbjUJUuSslhOfrhaypXoGK6zfF6R5AFZi0Vt044FlYLX_Mi3dA8/s1600/SAM_0224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1yt2yQTEI_Tdp89DcEjPxoK61rzmfCDtv_GQzIAmsMoFYnFgQLiydKTxYu-dulIFguh-JIIBhuOD3vGpaRPEjUlH3jbjUJUuSslhOfrhaypXoGK6zfF6R5AFZi0Vt044FlYLX_Mi3dA8/s1600/SAM_0224.JPG" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Below is what the front of the pincushion should look like once the trim is stitched into position.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB-lSSGnFPHPRzog9y5Ol_SpYYYzucSxbU-f7kW8HfeO7OP0zws87XsaXGqMuEzH2J2FFuEIUSNhklRpSFo0Vi6dRoqqSCo71HGD8DvRTwpGIeThpwxilhC1Iwh9ua748ALbIObDGoYoh/s1600/SAM_0226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB-lSSGnFPHPRzog9y5Ol_SpYYYzucSxbU-f7kW8HfeO7OP0zws87XsaXGqMuEzH2J2FFuEIUSNhklRpSFo0Vi6dRoqqSCo71HGD8DvRTwpGIeThpwxilhC1Iwh9ua748ALbIObDGoYoh/s1600/SAM_0226.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now pin the front of the pincushion to the back, right sides together. It's important to have the pincushion front ON TOP, so that you can see the stitching line where the trim was stitched down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Starting in the middle of one of the long sides, machine stitch right along or just barely inside the trim stitching line, using a somewhat short stitch length. Follow the line of stitching especially carefully at the corners. Go all the way around the pincushion, stopping a couple of inches before you reach the beginning of your seam. You need to leave an opening to turn the pincushion, and to fill it. Here's the stitched pincushion, with the opening for turning.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHkVFkVYe9fr-k0plpuxtptYpYr5ZmsfsGZdVdEwNMQEffN-VqM9Th2d1HoH7JaY5-gXim2O1tl_rTw6qT-I9kn8UF38pu_rVfC7IoGJMqSTYWDjUHDbDT1Krwz85Kak0_4XDIc9uW6Ohn/s1600/SAM_0229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHkVFkVYe9fr-k0plpuxtptYpYr5ZmsfsGZdVdEwNMQEffN-VqM9Th2d1HoH7JaY5-gXim2O1tl_rTw6qT-I9kn8UF38pu_rVfC7IoGJMqSTYWDjUHDbDT1Krwz85Kak0_4XDIc9uW6Ohn/s1600/SAM_0229.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Carefully turn the pincushion right side out. This will take a bit of effort and coaxing. Pull on the trim at the corners to be sure the corners are turned out the whole way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ground walnut shells make a great filling for your pincushion, and give it some weight. You can get ground walnut shells at the pet store -- it's used as "litter" for lizards and some types of birds. The bag I bought looked like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Scoop some of the filler into a shallow bowl, so that you have a nice big area to work over. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJN14AQlhR1-M3zE6UfSoihag3QsBcjSrz50fqlxldqdTcCrpF1xMClE_doH_CafG-oN77JG1P5pTmoarthzFHpA1fSlGuRolUL6MBHwg1P5kCwLirieslYoO4haqcYKuHE6VRIkeODj9x/s1600/SAM_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJN14AQlhR1-M3zE6UfSoihag3QsBcjSrz50fqlxldqdTcCrpF1xMClE_doH_CafG-oN77JG1P5pTmoarthzFHpA1fSlGuRolUL6MBHwg1P5kCwLirieslYoO4haqcYKuHE6VRIkeODj9x/s1600/SAM_0234.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Using a small spoon (a baby food spoon works great), fill the pincushion with the ground walnut shells through the opening that you left. You want the pincushion to be fairly full, but not completely stuffed.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDWyl1px3agn06n6UAV7J9EeNJ4AIziGolBcUtoTRYSXgp2BIcbEkk7I0C4PwlG3jLLD_0tJcTcZt8zHHQHiaop1VNJNLScPziteV8qtNIdzipGS2wZAXaXNjHlCh7ym9gHb177le7STN/s1600/SAM_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDWyl1px3agn06n6UAV7J9EeNJ4AIziGolBcUtoTRYSXgp2BIcbEkk7I0C4PwlG3jLLD_0tJcTcZt8zHHQHiaop1VNJNLScPziteV8qtNIdzipGS2wZAXaXNjHlCh7ym9gHb177le7STN/s1600/SAM_0235.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Once the pincushion is filled, carefully tuck the seam allowances in along the opening, and hand sew the edges of the opening closed, using very small stitches. You can use a blanket stitch or any type of stitch that will overcast the edge. If you like, you can also tack the pieces of trim together along the bottom where they overlap (this is optional).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That's it -- your pincushion is finished, ready to give as a gift or to take its place next to your sewing machine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I promise that once you've made one of these pincushions, you'll want to make more, both because they're cute, and also because the ground walnut shells come in something like a 5 lb. bag. (By the way, if you know of another craft use for ground walnut shells, I'd love to know about it!) Happy stitching!!</span></div>
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Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-82473176439513489762014-01-24T19:44:00.000-05:002014-01-24T19:44:04.088-05:00GROW YOUR BLOG 2014 -- Welcome!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcli-pE8736nL3OTc4_fxK7HUJ35vTbnTsOr1RHuZbZpQziyXQs16X9TYjU_hHdr52FpKd0bvObxwjXhbUsxbpnZaqY1xOCo4dPMTHr2sVo7-5J0WgI60BU5gAZ8AZzr5XR4ijUKbBgQ6X/s1600/SAM_0154+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcli-pE8736nL3OTc4_fxK7HUJ35vTbnTsOr1RHuZbZpQziyXQs16X9TYjU_hHdr52FpKd0bvObxwjXhbUsxbpnZaqY1xOCo4dPMTHr2sVo7-5J0WgI60BU5gAZ8AZzr5XR4ijUKbBgQ6X/s1600/SAM_0154+(1).JPG" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Greetings, blog guests! Welcome to my tiny little corner of cyberspace. My name is Barb and I’ve been blogging since about 2009. My blog focuses on the multitude of hobbies and crafts that I’m interested in, including cross-stitching, sewing, quilting, scrapbooking, card-making, other paper crafts, and photography, as well as cooking and recipes. In general, I do NOT blog about my personal life or include personal photos in my posts. At the top of my blog, you’ll find tabs separating the recipe posts, as well as crafty tutorials and cross-stitch finishes. A "Gift Ideas" tab is in the works. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">With respect to cooking and recipes, my focus is on things that taste good! Well, I guess there’s a little more to it than that. I work full-time outside of the home as an attorney (I work in tax policy), so I love recipes for quick and easy dinner entrees, and I especially love good recipes for the slow-cooker. Beyond that, I am always collecting recipes for interesting finger foods, appetizers, and desserts – these come in handy when I’m planning to make snacks for the big game, as well as those times I need to bring a treat into the office.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So that you can see what I’m all about, here’s an example of one of my crafty posts, a tutorial I posted awhile ago on how to make adorable painted plant pots. <a href="http://invisiblepiperblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/polka-dot-flower-pots.html">Polka Dot Flower Pots</a> And here’s an example of a recipe post, showcasing a delicious and easy muffin recipe I discovered over the holidays: <a href="http://invisiblepiperblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/cranberry-muffins.html">Cranberry Muffins</a> Finally, here’s an example that will eventually appear on the “Gift Ideas” section of my blog – a recipe and cute presentation idea for an easy and budget-friendly spiced tea mix, perfect if you like to give just a little something to your co-workers at Christmas: <a href="http://invisiblepiperblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/great-gift-hot-spiced-tea-mix.html">Hot Spiced Tea Mix</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If you like my blog, I’ve tried to make it easy to subscribe or follow. There is a subscription gadget to the left, as well as a separate gadget if you’d like to follow my blog by e-mail. I love following blogs by e-mail, as I’m more likely to take the time to click a link right from my in-box, especially if the title of an update post has really caught my eye. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So, welcome to my blog, and I sincerely hope that you’ll find something you like here. Please feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think -- I would love to hear from you! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thanks for visiting!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Barb</span><br />
<br />Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-78253801581626203062014-01-17T10:30:00.000-05:002014-01-17T10:30:42.787-05:00Caesar Salmon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImZNGtep1bYC_DZXDo2pGn8D60wTAmVU48_ioKXCdDyVwLemG-2KwT8pmzvAYuTw3N7wlGbkFUtjCSJ4gu1N_w3234BSnpGl9weTZ-oJnAOROV6p8VDiVULL2FmoBd3CqGvWO_qG4bsjK/s1600/SAM_0268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImZNGtep1bYC_DZXDo2pGn8D60wTAmVU48_ioKXCdDyVwLemG-2KwT8pmzvAYuTw3N7wlGbkFUtjCSJ4gu1N_w3234BSnpGl9weTZ-oJnAOROV6p8VDiVULL2FmoBd3CqGvWO_qG4bsjK/s1600/SAM_0268.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I work full-time, so I am a big fan of easy dinner recipes that are also quick to prepare, even on a busy weeknight. This is one of those recipes. In fact, it is so simple that it really isn't even a "recipe."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We love salmon at my house, but it's pretty expensive, so we don't have it as often as we'd like. But, when it's on sale in the seafood case, I always take advantage! This is one of our favorite ways to enjoy salmon.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYaQLTamI0eNu_-XBVjdFFsRRRj_Arv0bY6JGy-CzJKtVy3Jm2pNek3N7M-hm7FkJ5W9wG8dl5VhLIIymrpihxH7clIrfmKZ9OiMMTIWAZ2o6XK3Mgs7OpvBmdhQHThuuo72xM8rpG-lgn/s1600/SAM_0261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYaQLTamI0eNu_-XBVjdFFsRRRj_Arv0bY6JGy-CzJKtVy3Jm2pNek3N7M-hm7FkJ5W9wG8dl5VhLIIymrpihxH7clIrfmKZ9OiMMTIWAZ2o6XK3Mgs7OpvBmdhQHThuuo72xM8rpG-lgn/s1600/SAM_0261.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You only need three things for this entree, and they're shown in the picture above. You need a nice, big salmon fillet (I prefer fresh, but frozen and thawed salmon is fine, too), some Caesar salad dressing, and bread crumbs. Now, you can really "do your own thing" with these ingredients. If you want to use low-fat Caesar dressing, that's fine (but I wouldn't use the fat-free). If you want to use panko bread crumbs, or Italian bread crumbs, or if you want to make your own bread crumbs, great. It's all good. But the Caesar dressing is the key to this preparation. Caesar dressing is full of yummy flavors like garlic and pepper and Parmesan. So really, the dressing is doing all of the seasoning for you!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxR4boIS_ExJhrCJVoDT1O4I7Id7byUvLy_TSz0u_0DF10XuqTsL9k4CbzfPZW2-ti-3XWn2CnhMVV4mXUiqf_s4VX5c75J7QIWlkK2kShwvc_XEPr8oZL0yPrKWWun2-CIVWs5XUdOvOU/s1600/SAM_0262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxR4boIS_ExJhrCJVoDT1O4I7Id7byUvLy_TSz0u_0DF10XuqTsL9k4CbzfPZW2-ti-3XWn2CnhMVV4mXUiqf_s4VX5c75J7QIWlkK2kShwvc_XEPr8oZL0yPrKWWun2-CIVWs5XUdOvOU/s1600/SAM_0262.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">First, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the salmon in a shallow baking pan (you can spray with cooking spray first, if you like). Then, spread some of the dressing right from the bottle onto that beautiful salmon fillet. How much? Well, that depends on how much salmon you have. I usually use about 1 to 2 tablespoons of dressing for a pound of salmon. But more or less is just fine. Oh, and you don't need to brush any oil or butter or anything else on the fillet first. The dressing has enough fat in it to keep the salmon moist. I don't even salt and pepper the fish, because I think the dressing provides enough of both, but if you want to add salt or pepper, this would be the time to do it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUtLPP3m-Zb1zDvqP7CvM_uGDCNnpUFaeBTmHz3iNvGZG02BGPFZ2_5OkA4l7qp0JGTprvQG2PiSPDsOUS7bSOALVsOzoFeJ3AYxNxYEB0DVO7wfRMXLZIICp9XU9C7jD5er2p18lkLGj/s1600/SAM_0265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUtLPP3m-Zb1zDvqP7CvM_uGDCNnpUFaeBTmHz3iNvGZG02BGPFZ2_5OkA4l7qp0JGTprvQG2PiSPDsOUS7bSOALVsOzoFeJ3AYxNxYEB0DVO7wfRMXLZIICp9XU9C7jD5er2p18lkLGj/s1600/SAM_0265.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The next step is to sprinkle some bread crumbs over the dressing-coated salmon. Again, use as much or as little as you like. Now, if you want the top of the salmon to be all brown and crunchy, you can combine your bread crumbs with a little melted butter and toss before sprinkling them over the fish. I actually prefer to do this, but my very weird children like it when I use just plan bread crumbs, right from the container, no added butter. (Yeah. Ever wonder if your kids are really yours? This is one of those times.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So, that's it! Now all you do is pop the pan into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or so, until the salmon flakes easily and is done all the way through.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4nVSDqyZIjPZZ8ZeKyeNQ1xZWjqNJvHNpGFfTszGTe_IqwSSDBfzTvGnizPjoHNRfp8v2BOS4ZJTwRwCStvTUGkZC1NGlFanpE4uz9QsTFQY4e9TQ8VkxnvJa4MqsZGSIY01jTLe6nbd/s1600/SAM_0268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4nVSDqyZIjPZZ8ZeKyeNQ1xZWjqNJvHNpGFfTszGTe_IqwSSDBfzTvGnizPjoHNRfp8v2BOS4ZJTwRwCStvTUGkZC1NGlFanpE4uz9QsTFQY4e9TQ8VkxnvJa4MqsZGSIY01jTLe6nbd/s1600/SAM_0268.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I like to serve Caesar Salmon with either buttered noodles or some kind of rice, and a green vegetable or salad. Oh, and if you have any salmon left over, it is delicious for lunch the next day, chilled and flaked over top of (dare I say it?) a big Caesar salad (or any salad, really). Yum!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u>Caesar Salmon</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">1 lb. salmon fillet (fresh or frozen and thawed)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">2 T. (or more) Caesar salad dressing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">3 T. (or more) plain or seasoned bread crumbs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">2 tsp. melted butter (optional)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place salmon in a shallow, greased baking pan. Brush with dressing. Combine bread crumbs with melted butter (if using) and sprinkle over top of salmon, or sprinkle with crumbs right from the package.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Place baking pan in center of oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until salmon is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook!</span><br />
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Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-91215506222974842192014-01-12T09:40:00.000-05:002014-01-12T09:40:26.820-05:00Christmas (Cards) in January<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJRfp35FRBVvAkz8jtjOSkGyLsSs3iIILTUn003ArxJo4082cLS_hSU1Rxo6NNqx7oe5giVyxjXsotTbzOQb4CBvt6k96NzTQuP2_A_sz57ThOHWSW0f4ydbvt66FmpchtaUgp8HgqtBz/s1600/SAM_0175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJRfp35FRBVvAkz8jtjOSkGyLsSs3iIILTUn003ArxJo4082cLS_hSU1Rxo6NNqx7oe5giVyxjXsotTbzOQb4CBvt6k96NzTQuP2_A_sz57ThOHWSW0f4ydbvt66FmpchtaUgp8HgqtBz/s1600/SAM_0175.JPG" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I don't know about you, but every year, I plan to make all of my Christmas cards, and then somehow, I end up not doing it. But, you know, it's NOT just "somehow" -- there 's a definite reason for this yearly failure. I have plenty of supplies and plenty of ideas, but what I always run out of is time. You too, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The thing about Christmas for me is that, while I love the whole season, I'm always wary of losing some of that love if I start "doing" Christmas too early. Making someone something that will be Christmas gift (a rag quilt, for instance) is perfectly fine to do many months ahead, but doing something with an overtly Christmas theme, such as making cards, doesn't feel right until, say, after Thanksgiving. Kind of like decorating the house doesn't feel right 'til then.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Well, I'm going to try to abandon that mindset this year, because there simply isn't any way that I will ever be able to make even a small number of Christmas cards between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The only way it will work is if I start making those cards earlier than what "seems right."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">So, in that vein, I've already started thinking about Christmas card designs for next Christmas! I like to make a couple of different versions of a basic design, so I started looking for a simple design that could be adapted in any number of ways, and came across a basic tree design made with different Christmas-y papers. It occurred to me that not only could this cute little tree could be made out of many different combinations of papers, but the resulting card could also be embellished in a number of different ways.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWBvMCCjBhGuTaLGEe3lwC_ZxjdByO_QUOG-2QnD2M_3cYvH22gA5M8Om6hmPFlrcjqL7MrI7OO8xSHUpm93xVk1JjXDnUX-TmNTc1ROA-OUbdPOe7s49c0E7H6r784jHI7zTfpZO8cRU/s1600/SAM_0175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWBvMCCjBhGuTaLGEe3lwC_ZxjdByO_QUOG-2QnD2M_3cYvH22gA5M8Om6hmPFlrcjqL7MrI7OO8xSHUpm93xVk1JjXDnUX-TmNTc1ROA-OUbdPOe7s49c0E7H6r784jHI7zTfpZO8cRU/s1600/SAM_0175.JPG" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Above is the first card that I made. I used a little gold adhesive gemstone on the top of the tree, and the "joy" is a die cut I made using my Quickutz (yes, I still use mine!). I really love this combination of papers and colors, and the contrast of "joy" done in white.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaFApQNFWtCzRPzQPYzR6fRQ8nST1Nd5eAElKAdzN7H-LEbXaUz4jv9cbNjz14XUOtvfO8oLNjDTBaTqSHr_ta8gIWeOAqmFpqGn5UecqsC5_CFzEsmEZMqDdG83jetPxmI7h1T5L1fv0/s1600/SAM_0199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaFApQNFWtCzRPzQPYzR6fRQ8nST1Nd5eAElKAdzN7H-LEbXaUz4jv9cbNjz14XUOtvfO8oLNjDTBaTqSHr_ta8gIWeOAqmFpqGn5UecqsC5_CFzEsmEZMqDdG83jetPxmI7h1T5L1fv0/s1600/SAM_0199.JPG" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I like how this one came out, too. Three different green papers for the body of the tree, and since the background was so simple, I figured I could get away with using a really busy print for the middle part of the tree. A star brad tops the tree, and the snowflakes were made using a Martha Stewart punch. (BTW, she has GORGEOUS snowflake punches!!) "Holiday" is a punch-out from some random set I had, but you could use most any type of sticker, or print out a greeting on the computer using a favorite font, too.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8L19j01fgvEf618lL1UXQrWDVjixEUNPKB-dVop4q8wLFl2vcMiqeS63AamQekbitKSyzQD06C-THAxgu_RdSLZg1dJ2pElw3Lmn4MVVuV6oRdGDBxZbykta-GWpkCt6ByDXpOcjtnEu/s1600/SAM_0238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8L19j01fgvEf618lL1UXQrWDVjixEUNPKB-dVop4q8wLFl2vcMiqeS63AamQekbitKSyzQD06C-THAxgu_RdSLZg1dJ2pElw3Lmn4MVVuV6oRdGDBxZbykta-GWpkCt6ByDXpOcjtnEu/s1600/SAM_0238.JPG" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">And here's the last version that I made. The tree is embellished with different sizes and colors of star brads, then I used one of the gemstones for the top of the tree.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I"m happy that I've at least gotten a start as to what I want to do for cards this coming year. I can't promise when I'll get around to actually making them, but I"m going to try to let go of that self-imposed "no activities 'til after Thanksgiving" restriction. So, I'd love to know -- which version of my card do YOU like best?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> </span>Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-38911302743271500162014-01-06T11:30:00.002-05:002014-01-06T11:34:31.631-05:00WIPocalype 2014 -- First Post!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCSk-1IPaa_9giCAKftFk-NEuqI9ShGEpuzXxhUi405EO6MB7qbzoDJbfKySJe48mPu6JtgNMa_RBpKuye2RqzuwbfLODMVeIVykCUX-l6spB4Vc5M1OK4Xgj11zfr_yEWTFJKAmfb96t/s1600/11402901674_5cd19d2dc5_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCSk-1IPaa_9giCAKftFk-NEuqI9ShGEpuzXxhUi405EO6MB7qbzoDJbfKySJe48mPu6JtgNMa_RBpKuye2RqzuwbfLODMVeIVykCUX-l6spB4Vc5M1OK4Xgj11zfr_yEWTFJKAmfb96t/s1600/11402901674_5cd19d2dc5_o.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Although I don't make New Year's resolutions, I am definitely a goal-oriented person. And I am also the kind of person that likes to have goals with respect to hobbies. Not to stress myself out, or to make my hobbies into things that "have" to be done, but simply because, for me, goal-setting works. I get more done when I've thought about my goals, and written them down, than when I just "wing it.".</span><br />
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That's why WIPocalypse 2014 is perfect for me. I want to make sure I keep up with my overall goal of cross-stitching more in 2014, so WIPocalype will help me do that. I love the idea of checking in once a month with progress pictures, and being free to change my list of things I want to work on, or finish, in 2014.</span><br />
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So, without further ado, here is the list of cross-stitch projects that I intend to work on in 2014. Some of them are current WIPs, but some will be new starts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">1. Spring Queen by Mirabilia</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">2. Liza’s Bouquet by Ginger & Spice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">3. Tyler’s Lion by Long Dog Samplers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">4. Angel of the Morning by Lavender & Lace</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">5. Christmas Flourishes by Mirabilia</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">6. Apostle’s Creed by My Big Toe Designs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">7. Afternoon Nap (Bucilla kit)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">8. Seasonal Birds (Bucilla kit)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">9. Albero Felice by Alessandra Adelaide</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">10. Little Sheep Virtues by Little House Needleworks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">11. “My House” ornaments (Little House Needleworks) for Brandon and Brian</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: normal;">Spring Queen, Liza's Bouquet, and Tyler's Lion are all current WIPs. I have all of the supplies for Angel of the Morning, Christmas Flourishes, and Apostle's Creed, and I just ordered fabric and pattern for Albero Felice. For the Little Sheep Virtues, I want to stitch these all on one piece of fabric, so I've ordered the fabric and a couple of the patterns to get myself started. I have a mini-goal of stitching one of the Little Sheep patterns each month.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: normal;">That feels really good to get that all written down. It is a very snowy and ice cold day here in Michigan, so I think I'm going to make myself a nice hot cup of coffee, and sit down and stitch!</span></div>
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Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-36656306479057320212014-01-03T07:06:00.000-05:002014-01-03T07:06:55.253-05:00One Little Word for 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7G7DD1C6J9-iW5tpK6lIh6eVURkG4kQ6T5i8s3Rgok1SUd0ZJQt5BzDPBA4Q6mvmf9gfEl9uYlrL2Z9SNrlf6uRvVhJtHXYGvTsQUXbEYhyphenhyphen1jPp9nw8y0OZIW35RZS2GejCBa01aXF7SQ/s1600/charlie-brown-christmas-tree1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7G7DD1C6J9-iW5tpK6lIh6eVURkG4kQ6T5i8s3Rgok1SUd0ZJQt5BzDPBA4Q6mvmf9gfEl9uYlrL2Z9SNrlf6uRvVhJtHXYGvTsQUXbEYhyphenhyphen1jPp9nw8y0OZIW35RZS2GejCBa01aXF7SQ/s320/charlie-brown-christmas-tree1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Choosing "one little word" to focus on for the new year has been all the rage for the past few years. I rather like the idea, because I am not the type of person to make New Year's resolutions -- I don't like making promises to myself that it's likely that I can't fully keep. But the idea of "one little word" is broader, and I like that. One idea representing a goal that is important to me, that I've decided to keep in both mind and heart throughout the upcoming year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So what's my "one little word" for this year? Simplify. As in, try over the course of this year, to simplify my life in ways that are meaningful to me or truly helpful. Here is a great quote I found from Hans Hoffman: "The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." Hans Hoffman was a German-born American abstract impressionist painter of the early 20th century. Here's one of his works:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">It's pretty fitting that an abstract artist purposely focused on simplicity in his work, isn't it? But Hoffman's was not a random focus -- instead, he chose simplicity as a means to help him get to what is necessary, to cut through the riff-raff and find what's important. I find Hoffman's quote deeply inspirational.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Oh, and that image of Charlie Brown and Linus at the top of the post -- that's another image I am going to keep in mind this year. I saw the Charlie Brown Christmas special this season for the first time in several years. I had forgotten how meaningful it really is. Charlie Brown manages to find the spirit of Christmas in a lonely, forgotten little tree, and Linus, standing under a spotlight on a stage, cuts completely through the commercialism and materialism of Christmas by reciting a few verses from the Biblical Christmas story. "And that's the true meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown," Linus concludes. Yeah, it is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Simplify. My "one little word" for 2014. What's YOUR "one little word"? </span>Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-13944398359973776652013-12-30T18:53:00.000-05:002013-12-30T18:53:02.537-05:00Cross-Stitch: Works in Progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDS7Lnrh0IlPc6yO5ZyWMd6Y9Hf-EI135WL_lPULeTzPsuiYPh1AvqlMl8STioxBSkTo1Z2L4pAdW0iQD5i_B-DMWS25_MpNCBzOrac0vM8XkS-OLzCrx2Et7s2W3_DyAKhxN4iDqf5bnT/s1600/SAM_0204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDS7Lnrh0IlPc6yO5ZyWMd6Y9Hf-EI135WL_lPULeTzPsuiYPh1AvqlMl8STioxBSkTo1Z2L4pAdW0iQD5i_B-DMWS25_MpNCBzOrac0vM8XkS-OLzCrx2Et7s2W3_DyAKhxN4iDqf5bnT/s320/SAM_0204.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Well, it's December 30. A new year is almost upon us. So, it seemed like a good time to take stock of where I am on the various cross-stitch projects that I currently have in process. I kind of like the idea of having progress pictures all in one place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My first work in progress is Spring Queen, designed by Nora Corbett of Mirabilia. My progress is shown in the photo below. I am stitching her on antique white 32-count Belfast linen, which I just love. As you can see, she is pretty close to being finished. I'm currently doing the stitches requiring metallic thread, then I have a little bit more backstitching, and then all that's left is the beading. This is a design I really need to focus on when I work on it, so I won't go back to this one til after the holidays are over and things are back into a routine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here is a picture of what she should look like when she is completely finished. (Sorry for the terrible photo --I have no idea what happened there!) Anyway, as you can see, I don't have far to go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My second work in progress is an out of print design called Liza's Bouquet. It's by Ginger & Spice. I am stitching this one on 14-count white Aida fabric, using three strands of floss for really good coverage. I adore this design, but it is really huge and also has a lot of backstitching, so it will take me awhile to finish. It is a fun project to work on, though, because it is so colorful and cheery.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkREUG8ZrT90FrKzWumuQ_1MshHqUaIDWwcG7GFPCOHbnysJ3wKFBkVe-bzHk57L1OSFIF7aJlg3a8ExnVU7moZY3-s6uJxmucaOuFgef79Zak11T-u2RPArvdtViSbWbD6In-oTN9bXWI/s1600/SAM_0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkREUG8ZrT90FrKzWumuQ_1MshHqUaIDWwcG7GFPCOHbnysJ3wKFBkVe-bzHk57L1OSFIF7aJlg3a8ExnVU7moZY3-s6uJxmucaOuFgef79Zak11T-u2RPArvdtViSbWbD6In-oTN9bXWI/s320/SAM_0209.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here is a photo of what the finished design will look like. As you can see, I have the top part of the bouquet done, but have a LOT more to go!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And finally, my last major work in progress is a design by Long Dog Samplers called Tyler's Lion. Here is my progress on it so far:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0UBF_72FFTQ9gtkaRvS2lMgDNSODsoFyLOu2Ah6KdaMbb3_vpCDHFkYO-4mvL0S_qmlMHNv5VWkT2g0I3yXEwRMTafmWI6Xn22pwKmO8QK898PnKmZcuSN2TrFXHIvHFG76oBYrLCGpy9/s1600/SAM_0206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0UBF_72FFTQ9gtkaRvS2lMgDNSODsoFyLOu2Ah6KdaMbb3_vpCDHFkYO-4mvL0S_qmlMHNv5VWkT2g0I3yXEwRMTafmWI6Xn22pwKmO8QK898PnKmZcuSN2TrFXHIvHFG76oBYrLCGpy9/s320/SAM_0206.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And this is what it will look like when it's finished:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Obviously, I have a LONG way to go on this one, but that's okay. I'm stitching it on hand-dyed 32-count Belfast linen. The color is called Autumn Field, and it's a great neutral.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So, those are my current three projects. I am not a "rotational" stitcher (and I didn't even know there was such a thing until recently), but I do like to have more than one project going at a time. It's not so much that I get bored with one project and need to put it down, it has more to do with how hard I need to concentrate. With something like the Spring Queen design, which is fairly complex and which I'm doing on linen, I really have to concentrate when I work on it. There's lots of counting and it's easy to make a mistake. Sometimes my eyes get tired, and I will pull out Liza's Bouquet, because it's so easy to stitch on Aida. Also, although there are lots of color changes in this design, there is no confetti and most areas are small blocks of color. Finally, I started Tyler's Lion because I wanted to do a design that was all one color. I just love this look, and the added benefit of this is that this is a super easy project to take along somewhere, as all I need are my project, chart, scissors, and a skein of floss. This is also a good design to work on while watching TV, because although counting is required, the motifs are simple and there are no color changes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now that I've shown you where I am on my various projects, I hope to do a post in the next few days with some goals for my stitching (and maybe other hobbies, too) for the upcoming year. </span>Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-89702442366228115422013-12-28T10:46:00.000-05:002013-12-28T10:46:54.555-05:00Embellished Wedding Photo Frame<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have remained in touch with one of my younger son's elementary school teachers, a woman named Roxanne. So when her son got married this summer, I wanted to make a little something for her. I have done embellished picture frames/mats before as gifts, but I had never done one with a wedding theme. So I went to Michael's to see what I could find that looked "wedding-ish." I was pleasantly surprised to find various types of silver flowers along with little black and white adhesive pearls and other adhesive "gemstones."<br />
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I selected a simple black frame with two slots for 4x6 photos. I did this because I wanted Roxanne to be able to use the frame for snapshots from the wedding, and not necessarily for prints that came back from the professional photographer. In fact, I got the idea to do the frame because of some pictures that Roxanne had posted on Facebook shortly after the wedding -- wonderful snapshots of her and her husband with the new bride and groom, one of her and her hubby dancing at the reception, another with her and her new daughter-in-law goofing around. The pictures were so great and just expressed the total joy that Roxanne felt that day.<br />
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So, to do the embellishing, I just took the mat out of the frame and arranged my goodies in a pleasing manner around two of the corners, then adhered everything using mostly glue dots. One thing I know about doing these frames is that you need a strong adhesive, because the embellishments will be on a vertical mat (assuming the frame is hung), and that places a lot of extra stress on the embellishments. They really need to be on there securely!<br />
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The top photo shows a close-up of the bottom corner. I added the date with simple black rub-ons. I put the date and the embellishments where I did for a specific reason. I wanted the frame to be useable for photos oriented either vertically or horizontally. So I kept that in mind while I was designing.<br />
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I had a 50% off coupon which I used on the frame, and this gift ended up costing me less than $25. Plus, I did not use all of the silver goodies so I can use those for another fun project in the future. The best part is that Roxanne loved it. She is a wonderful, upbeat, positive person, and in addition, she loves all manner of "bling" so I knew that this would not be too much for her tastes, but you could also tone it down a little for a more streamlined look. <br />
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Picture frames are one of my favorite gifts to give for any occasion, but they make an especially great gift for someone that you don't know that well, or when you need something pretty quick but would like something with a bit of a handmade touch. I am really pleased with the way that this frame turned out!<br />
Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-15618223644072531012013-12-26T19:15:00.000-05:002013-12-26T19:15:50.159-05:00Cranberry Muffins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Do you have some fresh cranberries lying around that you didn't use over Christmas, and you're wondering what to do with them? Well, wonder no longer. Make these muffins! They are really simple and have a fantastic fresh cranberry flavor. I took these in to my office a week or so before Christmas, and everyone was raving about them. When I make them at home, they are gone lickety-split. Yep, they are that good. The process is pretty simple.<br />
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Measure and mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and the wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.<br />
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Coarsely chop the raw cranberries, either by hand or using a food processor. Little hint here -- although the food processor is much faster, I actually prefer to chop the cranberries by hand. They come out more evenly chopped, and I like the berries to end up in very large pieces. But, either way is perfectly fine.<br />
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Turn the cranberries into a separate bowl, and zest an orange right in the same bowl.<br />
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Add half a cup of sugar to the berries and zest, and mix to make sure the sugar coats all of the cranberry pieces.<br />
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Now add the small bowl of wet ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients, and mix until the flour is almost all mixed in. Don't overmix, though, or your muffins will be tough and won't have the right shape. Gently fold in the bowl of sugared cranberries as the last step.<br />
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Scoop the batter into muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.<br />
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Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until the tops are nicely browned. Allow to cool and serve with butter.<br />
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You could also add some chopped pecans in with the cranberries, if you wanted to. I often have nuts left over from holiday baking, and I love using them up in recipes like this one. Oh, I forgot to mention that this recipe calls for buttermilk. I know it's a "special" thing to buy at the grocery store, but is it so worth it! I usually buy a pint, and since buttermilk is very lowfat (weird, huh?), it keeps for several weeks. That's plenty of time to make a second batch of these muffins, thus using up the extra buttermilk! (Or, I have a great cornbread recipe that also uses buttermilk. <a href="http://invisiblepiperblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/perfect-menu-for-crisp-fall-evening.html">Grandma's Cornbread</a>)<br />
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Here's the actual recipe:<br />
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<u>Cranberry Muffins</u><br />
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2-1/4 cups sifted flour<br />
1/4 cup sugar<br />
3/4 tsp. baking soda<br />
1/4 tsp. salt<br />
1 egg, slightly beaten<br />
1 cup buttermilk<br />
1/4 cup cooking oil<br />
1 cup chopped fresh cranberries<br />
1 tsp. orange zest<br />
1/2 cup sugar<br />
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Stir together flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine egg, buttermilk, and oil in small bowl; stir all at once into flour mixture. Do not overmix. Combine cranberries, zest and 1/2 cup sugar; fold into the batter. Scoop or spoon batter into muffin tins; bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Makes about 15 muffins.<br />
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I hope you enjoy these as much as my family does!<br />
<br />Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-84664335848738495682013-12-01T18:12:00.000-05:002013-12-01T18:12:12.045-05:00Cross-Stitched Pincushion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If there's one thing I just love, it's a gift that is PRACTICAL. And this one is a double score, because it's practical AND pretty!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I made the pincushion pictured above a few weeks ago as a gift for my sister for her birthday, using a pattern from Blackbird Designs, and 32-count Vintage Maple Sugar linen. I used over-dyed floss, which has some color variations in it, and I really like the subtle shaded effect that the floss gave this project.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The pincushion took a little lest than 2 days to embroider, and then I got stuck a bit on putting it together. I couldn't seem to find the type of crocheted edging that I was envisioning, and then I couldn't find the right stuff to fill the pincushion with. But, eventually I found everything and finished this little pillow up on the sewing machine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Size-wise, it's about 4 x 5 inches, so it's not a tiny thing. I gave this to my sister together with a limited edition pair of patterned 4-inch Gingher scissors. My sister doesn't do embroidery, but she has recently started sewing, so I thought she'd like a small, good-quality pair of scissors to keep by her machine to clip threads and so forth. And it's nice to have a good pincushion, too. It helps keep your pins nice and sharp, and I find it so much easier to grab pins from a pincushion than sticking your fingers into a box or cup of pins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh, as a final little bit of loveliness, I stitched my sister's initials into the top right hand corner of the pincushion, and the year in the bottom right hand corner. I always find that personalization makes a gift just that much more special. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-38771616049047167052013-11-24T14:02:00.000-05:002013-11-24T14:02:54.847-05:00Renewing an old friendship -- Counted Cross Stitch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I was in law school many years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to counted cross stitch. She was making a gift for someone, and came back from a needlework store with all kinds of stuff -- a chart, fabric, embroidery floss, and so forth. When she showed me what all of it was, and what you did with it, I was entranced. That happenstance introduced me to what became my primary hobby for quite a few years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, then life intervened. I had two kids, developed arthritis in my hands, and found that my eyesight wasn't what it used to be. It got harder to see those tiny embroidery stitches, and my hands would often hurt after cross stitching. So, somewhere along the line, I stopped doing cross stitch and took up scrapbooking, card-making, and rubber stamping. I did think about cross stitch sometimes, mostly when I had occasion to go down to the basement and see my several boxes of cross stitch supplies, all neatly packed away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My kids are now 19 and 13, and as best I can remember, I stopped doing cross stitch within a year or so after my younger son was born. So it's been at least 12 years since I picked up a needle and floss.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then a funny thing happened. In September, someone on the scrapbooking message board where I hang out posted for advice, saying she had not done counted cross stitch in many years and wanted to get back into it. Several people posted, saying they were in the same situation, and other active stitches put in their two cents. I recommended some designers to the poster, and later that night, as I lay in bed, I started thinking about how much I used to love cross stitching. Although I knew most of my supplies were in the basement, I also knew that I had a few things in the bottom drawer of what used to be my stitching table. So, the next day, I rooted around and I found the three projects that I had in-process when I had decided that I couldn't cross stitch any more. Over the next couple of days, I found everything -- my favorite hoop, the box of floss I had all organized with the colors I needed for those three projects, my needles and scissors..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I started thinking. I still have arthritis in my hands, but I take a daily pain reliever now and the pain is much more manageable. My vision is still bad, but somewhere along the line I discovered reading glasses and how great they are for failing , "over-40" vision.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I decided to give cross stitching another try. One sunny Friday afternoon that I had off work, I took out the project that you see in the picture above, I threaded a needle, opened up the chart for the design, put on my reading glasses, and... took a stitch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Friends, I don't know how to put it into words, but the best I can do is to say that as I made those tiny crosses that afternoon, I literally felt calmness and serenity wash over me like a soothing ointment. I couldn't imagine why I had ever stopped cross stitching. You see, I love everything about it -- the texture of the tiny crosses on the fabric, the feel of a beautiful piece of linen in my hand, the orderly precision of all of those rows of Xs, all lined up, the unfolding of a beautiful design.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, long story short, I've been cross stitching like a madwoman ever since I renewed this wonderful friendship. The design I'm working on at the moment, pictured above, is called "Spring Queen," and it's by one of my favorite designers, Nora Corbett of Mirabilia. I'm close enough to the finish on this design that I'm working on it exclusively.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'll post a picture when I'm finished! In the meantime, is there a hobby that YOU once left behind, for an understandable reason or for no reason at all? Maybe it's time to revisit something that gave you so much joy. I am ecstatic that I rediscovered my love of cross stitch, and I don't see myself putting down my needle again for a long, long time.<br /> </span><br />
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Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191651339449791785.post-56295540452016816462013-04-28T10:20:00.000-04:002013-04-28T10:20:11.968-04:00Carrot Raisin Muffins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Don't these muffins look yummy? My absolute favorite muffins to make on weekend mornings are these <a href="http://invisiblepiperblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/banana-muffins-and-some-tips.html">banana muffins</a> that my kids just love. But, I don't always have two or three overripe bananas in the house, so I've been looking for another easy but delicious muffin recipe that uses ingredients I pretty much always have on hand. So, I found the recipe for these Carrot Raisin Muffins in a quick-cooking type magazine, but for one reason or another, it took me awhile to try the recipe out. I'm so glad I did, because these are wonderful, and the fact that they have carrots in them makes me feel the tiniest bit virtuous (I like to pretend that the carrot goodness doesn't get cancelled out by the sugar badness).<br />
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<b>Carrot Raisin Muffins (makes about 16 muffins)</b><br />
2 cups all-purpose flour<br />
3/4 cup sugar<br />
1 T. baking powder (yep, that's one TABLESPOON)<br />
1/2 tsp. salt<br />
1/2 tsp. cinnamon<br />
1/2 tsp. nutmeg<br />
1 large egg<br />
1 cup milk (can be whole, lowfat, or skim, it doesn't matter)<br />
1/2 cup butter, melted<br />
3/4 cup grated carrots<br />
1/3 cup golden raisins (I used currants, see note below)<br />
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line a muffin pan with paper baking cups. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk and melted butter, and beat well. Add in the grated carrots and raisins, and stir. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir until just barely combined (a few lumps are fine -- don't overmix). Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 to 3/4 full.. I use an ice-cream type scoop for this task because it helps me keep each muffin the same size, but you can use a big spoon, as well. Pop the muffin pans into the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. It's best if you turn the muffin pans once during the baking time, especially if your oven tends to have "hot spots." When done, remove the muffins from the pan immediately and allow to cool a bit before eating.<br />
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Note: This recipe calls for golden raisins (you could use regular dark raisins, too), but I like to use currants, and that's what I used for these pictures. Currants taste very similar to raisins, but they are super tiny (and cute!). Because they are small, they lend themselves well to muffins. Each muffin with have a good number of the tiny currants. You'll usually find currants in a small box near the raisins in your grocery store, but be warned, they are definitely more expensive than regular raisins.<br />
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This is what your dry ingredients and wet ingredients will look like before you combine them. If you want, you can put the carrots and raisins in with the dry ingredients instead of the wet, but I like to do it this way because it helps ensure that the raisins or currants are nice and moist.<br />
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Here are the filled muffin tins, ready to be popped into the oven. I got 15 muffins from this recipe, but you may get one or two less or more. I don't recommend just filling the muffin cups to the top to use the extra batter, because muffins just don't work that way.<br />
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Here are the muffins, fresh from the oven. I always lay them on their sides to cool for a bit, because it helps the bottoms not get soggy. That's the same reason you need to take them out of the muffin pan right away -- if the baked muffins sit in the hot pan, the bottoms can get sort of "wet" and they don't taste as good. Cooling the muffins for a few minutes makes peeling the papers off MUCH easier.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNGSzfOhDgPcXfNtjEIrq5yPk8Gy_Tw1gKlq2QXHC1qo1xDMrLtyAqIiDZn3J7o_WSumSDH5JKAMvUSdAu_n5p6Wa5x7ZnoY7Yr3ajdnm_PDjLnHVkoqnfaqT5Q_WXXW7sF6dRklPiH2q/s1600/SAM_0030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNGSzfOhDgPcXfNtjEIrq5yPk8Gy_Tw1gKlq2QXHC1qo1xDMrLtyAqIiDZn3J7o_WSumSDH5JKAMvUSdAu_n5p6Wa5x7ZnoY7Yr3ajdnm_PDjLnHVkoqnfaqT5Q_WXXW7sF6dRklPiH2q/s320/SAM_0030.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And here is a finished muffin, happily awaiting a spread of butter. I hope you have a chance to try this recipe and tell me what you think! By the way, these are good the next day, too. The secret to keeping muffins a day or two is to cover them, but not tightly. For instance, put them into a flat plastic storage container, but leave the lid ajar. If you do this, the tops of the muffins won't get all wet and icky the next day. Muffins are super moist so you need to vent the lid of your storage container a little bit to make sure that all of that moisture doesn't collect inside the container.</div>
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Scrapbrat1http://www.blogger.com/profile/03724278582732077179noreply@blogger.com0