Wednesday, August 17, 2011

THANK YOU!

I logged onto my Blogger dashboard this morning to find I have 8,001 visits!  Thank you all for your interest in my blog. To celebrate, here's a bookmark pattern I think you might enjoy:



Happy Stitching!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Beanie Weenie for Grownups

When I was a kid, one of my favorite dishes was Beanie Weenie. Open a can of Van Camp's Pork and Beans, cut up a couple of hot dogs and toss them in, simmer until hot. It was kid food heaven! I still like it, but these days I like it with a little more kick. Here's my recipe, Beanie Weenie for Grownups (2-3 servings)

1 can Pinto beans
1 4oz can diced green chilies
1/2 tsp paprika
3 tsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
4 hot dogs, cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat until fully heated through. Serve in a bowl and garnish with grated cheese.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Celtic border

It's far from finished, but I'm so excited about my new design that I just can't wait to share it.

I love Celtic knot work, the beautiful, winding lines weaving gracefully in and out, the intricate and painstaking attention that it requires to both draw and stitch. This one is not yet available for sale, but it will be soon at Ant of Sweden. In the meantime, pay a visit and check out my other patterns. Perhaps you'll find just the right thing for those upcoming Christmas projects.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Cream cheese

One of the staples in my refrigerator is cream cheese. I use it in a lot of recipes, but my favorite is a simple concoction using another wyrdbyrd kitchen staple, wasabi, a Japanese horseradish that you can find powdered or in a tube at your local grocery. Mix to taste, then chop a few green olives and mix in as well.  If you want to get fancy, roll the mixture into a ball and coat with toasted sesame seeds. Serve with your favorite crackers.

What's your favorite cream cheese recipe? Leave a comment and share your cream cheese ideas!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Back to the Beginning

So I've been tooling along, talking about blackwork and sharing my patterns, thinking everything is hunky dory.  Suddenly it hits me. I never explained what blackwork was.  Yeah, there are a thousand sites that tell the story of Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII, and Holbein. And yeah, there are some really great tutorials out there with wonderful diagrams.  Why should I reinvent the wheel?

I'm not, really.  I'm just consolidating information, making it easier for you when you come to visit.  And besides, I have these nifty pictures I took and they shouldn't just take up space on my hard drive.

So here it is. The Basics of Blackwork.

Work the stitch in passes, or journeys.
On the first journey, work the even-numbered stitches: 1,3, 5 etc.

On the return journey, work the 'in between' odd-numbered stitches: 6,4,2 etc.

You will end up where you started.

Side trips are worked as their own little journey.

Work the element in one direction, turn around...

...and join back to the main path

Voila!  In the traditional sense, blackwork looks the same on the back as it does on the front,
though modern blackwork may or may not hold to that tradition.  

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Baking bread, stitching slow

My husband looked at the ingredients on a loaf of bread last week. Saw all kinds of sugars and preservatives. Expensive, too.  So I thought, why not? I bought some yeast and flour and set out on the internet to find out how to make bread. I found Simple Dollar.  http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-cheap-delicious-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/

With easy step-by-step directions and photos, I found myself falling in love just as I had when I first picked up needle and thread. The first loaf wasn't horrible, but made for good practical experience.  My second loaf was much nicer.


Light, fluffy, and makes outrageously great toast. Looks like this household has seen the last of store-bought bread.

My blackwork has been slow going lately.  I've got a few "pay it forward" gifts to finish, and since I really liked the way the wedding invitations came out, I thought I'd send out greeting card collections to my FB friends.  The smalls I've posted on this blog are ideal for the project. 

My friend, Barb Day at Gypsy Wools recently posted some photos of a beautiful silk thread in the most amazing peacock blue....

I couldn't buy the floss, but it did inspire a new design that I stitched in DMC rayon (sorry, can't remember the color number).


Winter was long, spring was a tough, but as summer progresses, I'm finding myself embracing the joy of life again.  I hope the season brings you that same joy.



Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Back in the saddle again

My life has had a great deal of upheaval lately, and I just haven't had the energy to do much blogging. But I'm back in the saddle and looking forward to a summer full of new ideas and patterns.

The wedding invitations came out beautifully:


The wedding was a delight, as well:

Lindsay and Jon

Best wishes to the happy couple.