Deep Sea Fish WIP

A little bit of back stitching and a new small fish got done this week.  This is such a cheerful and colorful stitching project so I hope to spend more time stitching this coming week.

Happy Stitching

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Yarn arrived

Remember the Arizona Crochet A Long I mentioned that is available HERE?
My gift card was not valid for international transactions so I was puzzling over a yarn substitute that I thought might work.
Lucky for me - my sister-in-law has a Paypal account so she ordered the recommended yarn from the UK - CLICK HERE to see the various color package options for the crochet a long.
You will not believe this but she ordered it Wednesday night (2/14/18) and  it just arrived.
I don't know how that's possible but I am beyond excited for the Crochet A Long to start.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

New Crochet A Long

I found this Arizona Crochet A Long that is going to start next month. Click HERE to go to: https://pippinpoppycock.com for a supply list and information.

You can order yarn packs of different colorways at the link below. 
http://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk

My Visa card does not work on international orders so I will probably use Caron Simply Soft yarn.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

WIPS

I have started a new Dimensions chart called Deep Sea Fish.  I found the chart on ebay (not the entire kit) so there are some highlighting marks on the chart but nothing to hinder reading of the symbols.  I substituted DMC floss for whatever floss was included in the kit.  I think my greens may be off a little but I don't think it will be too noticeable if you're not looking at the original cover picture - I really don't like to un-stitch this far into a project.

This is where I left off on my Lady in Red snowglobe before I started the Deep Sea Fish so this one will be on hold until I finish my fish.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Finish of Torah Verse

I have finished stitching the Torah verse that was assigned to me.
I hope it is correct as I don't read Hebrew and I kept worrying I was upside down and/or backwards.
Now I just need to complete my questionnaire and mail this to the group that is finishing the project:  http://torahstitchbystitch.org/

I have started a new project so a wip of that will be soon posted.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Giveaway - USA address

Edit:  The winner is Rita in WI.
I have removed the entrants from the comment section.
I am giving away the leaflet for the O Holy Night Nativity that I finished this year.
I will only mail this to a USA address so if you live out of the country you may enter the drawing as long as you can provide a USA address for me to mail your prize to you should your name be drawn as the winner.
If you would like to enter please leave a comment on this post.
If you are a follower of my blog you can leave another comment saying you are a follower and you will have a second chance to win the leaflet.
I will draw a name around January 3, 2018.
Please leave your email address in your comment(s) if it's not easily available from your entry so I can notify you if you are the winner of the drawing. 
I stitched this on Zweigart 14 count Vintage Blue Whisper Aida and I substituted DMC floss for the beads.
CLICK HERE to see my finished piece.
Good Luck to everyone.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Last of the Cookies

The cookie baking is over for another Christmas season.  A lady on the 123Stitch message board posted about making some cookies she called Slovak Cookies - Rosky, that her mother made while she was growing up.  I found a similar looking cookie here and decided to try them out.  After much time and even more work I had 3 dozen cookies for our Christmas gathering tomorrow.  My thought was this is not something that would become a tradition for me and I was ready to never think of them again.  But after sampling them, my dear husband has deemed them the most wonderful of all the cookies and for each negative I pointed out about my experience he came back with a positive that made it all worthwhile to end up with such delightful cookies.
The messy red cookies in front had Smuckers Sugar Free Stawberry preserves for the filling which melted and ran all over and as they cooled there is a sticky jelled layer on the bottom of the cookie - I suspect the "sugar free" aspect is the problem.  Since I only had sugar free jams/preserves I knew I needed a different filling for the remainder of the cookies.  Aren't they a pretty red color for Christmas, though?
I used the date filling recipe in our date pinwheel cookie recipe (see the recipe in an earlier post below) - this must be the magic for dear husband.
I won't say I will never make these cookies again because by now I am very familiar with my selective memory.  Next year I may only remember the positive reviews and totally forget the major pain these were to produce.
Have a very Merry Christmas, if you are celebrating, or a Merry End of the Year.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Cookies!

I made 12 dozen orange cookies (see post below for the recipe) to take to our family Thanksgiving but sadly word came back that so many were out of cookies. So I made another 12 dozen orange cookies that will be delivered tomorrow. I also made some date Pinwheel cookies which are my dear husband's favorite cookie that his Mom made for him. We don't need a lot of cookies but I only am sending 1 1/2 dozen Pinwheel Cookies with the Orange Cookies.
I am also sending the recipe for anyone who wants to make more cookies.

Mom’s Pinwheel cookies
FILLING:
2 1/2 cups Dates, cut up
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Mix and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stir. Then add:
1 cup Nuts, chopped, walnuts
DOUGH
Cream together
1 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar, packed
Then add and beat until well mixed
3 eggs
Then add and mix well
4 cups Flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
36 slices from each roll
Mix dough and refrigerate at least 2 hours
Divide dough in half and roll into 9 x 15 rectangle. Spread with half of date mixture.
Roll from long side as jelly roll.
Freeze, or refrigerate .
Slice and Bake when ready
Bake at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes
 

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Virtual Cookie Exchange

Grandma’s Orange Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (I substitute 1 T lemon juice mixed into 1 cup whole milk)
3 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 large navel orange - see note

Mix sugar and shortening until well blended then mix in eggs one at a time.

Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add buttermilk and dry ingredients alternately to the sugar and egg mixture and mix by hand.

Note:
Zest the orange and then juice it.
Reserve 3 T of zest and 3 T juice for the frosting.
Add any leftover grated orange rind and orange juice to the buttermilk (if there is more than 3 T of either from one orange).

Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

FROSTING: Mix all together
1/2 cup soft butter
2 tsp vanilla
3 T orange juice
3 T chopped orange rind
3 cups powdered sugar

These freeze very well.  I usually freeze them on a cookie sheet after they are frosted.  Then I stack them in large containers with wax paper between the frozen layers.

If you would like links to more cookie recipes CLICK HERE to go to  Carol's blog, Just Let Me Quilt or click the links below.

December 5 

Creatin’ in the Sticks

Creative Latitude

Gray Barn Designs

Domestic Felicity

Pieced Brain

Quiltscapes

Ms P Designs USA

Cynthia’s Creating Ark

December 6

 Sew Incredibly Crazy

Freemotion by the River

Moosestash Quilting

One Old Goat And Her Little Farm

A Little Bit of Everything, from Mike & Alisa

Hazel’s Daughter

Patchouli Moon Studio

Bumbleberry Stitches

Selina Quilts

Brenda’s Blog

December 7

 Quilt Doodle Doodles

Kris Loves Fabric

Life in the Scrapatch

Home Sewn By Us

For The Love Of Geese

Stitch Days

Val’s Quilting Studio

Tu-Na Quilts

It’s A T-Sweet Day!

Just Let Me Quilt

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Snow globe start

I started this snow globe that I ordered from the French Needle - click here to go to the website.
I saw a finish posted on the 123 Stitch message board and I could not stop thinking about how pretty the lady in red chart was.
I didn't think the other 3 charts would be something I might stitch but after receiving the charts I think I like all of them.
I am not stitching them on the linen towel - I have decided to use white 18 count aida.

I am also stitching a verse from the Torah for a Canadian project - click here to read about it.  I am having a bit of trouble with this project for a couple of reasons.
1.  I can not read Hebrew so I must be vigilant about not accidentally turning the chart upside down.
2.  All top cross stitches must go from lower left to upper right corner.  This is the opposite of the way I have been stitching since the 1970s.  I will admit I have had to frog some stitches where I have done some inattentive work and reverted my "old" ways of making cross stitches.
Let me say that I am very honored to be a part of this project so I apologize for complaining just because it is harder than I thought it would be.
December is soon to be upon us so I wish everyone a joyous end of the year, filled with as much stitching as your days allow.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Finish O Holy Night

Look!  I finished my big project!  I just love it and I really enjoyed every stitch.
I am going to start another project in a few days but I want to enjoy this finish for a while first.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]

Holy Night WIP

I have done a little stitching on the second wise man so the end is very near.  It seems like so little progress that I thought a picture of the entire scene would remind me how much has been stitched so far.
Does anyone else feel the excitement of the Holiday Season already starting to build?  I actually am beginning to question if the goal to finish this before Christmas is realistic.
My mind spins this time of year - there are so many things I want to finish (and even start) I know it can't all get done.

Enjoy your stitching time

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]