With a little help from my friends...

is the perfect title for this post. I made this penny rug mat with the help of two special friends. Katrina bought the kit to make it, but had a case of buyer's remorse. I bought it from her because I've always wanted to work with wool. Since it came as a kit with everything included, it was a great first piece for me to start with. I did stray from the original design and omitted a couple of things. My friend, Sandy (no blog ) who I call the "wool master" was a patient teacher and is my personal wool guru. She visited the Phoenix area over the holidays and spent a day with me. She got me started and taught me a few of her tricks. Now I blame her for my newly acquired addiction to wool. I've been searching the local Goodwill stores in search of blazers to cut up, and they are starting to recognize me there. Who buys wool blazers in Phoenix? So, it's not really surprising. It's a great way to build a stash of wool, but it does take a bit of work, especially the felting process. I'm very happy with my first attempt even though I made a few mistakes. It was definitely a learning process.

On the stitching front, it's still Country Life for me. I keep thinking that I'll finish it soon and then another week goes by and another and another...My overall photo doesn't do it justice so I've taken pictures of it in sections.

I love the little dog and bunnies. I'm not so crazy about where that gun is pointed though. Let's just ignore that part of the sampler. The doves on the feeder and the bunnies are stitched over one.

I need to mention that there is an extra skein of AVAS 3734 needed for Jane Tindall's grass. Thank you to Margaret for pointing that out. It was a crazy time when I was finishing up Jane before the St. Charles market, and it didn't get mentioned on the chart. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Happy stitching everyone.

Maria Tilley 1835

I'm excited to show you Maria in her beautiful frame. She was an absolute joy for me to stitch. I have to admit there were times when I questioned my sanity at choosing 45 ct. fabric, but I couldn't be more pleased with her. The chart is now available from NeedleWorkPress. Many, many thanks to Vickie for once again entrusting me with bringing another one of her girls to life. Maria is on display at The Attic, if you are in the Phoenix area and would like to see her.

I'm still stitching away on Country Life, but I'm getting closer to finishing it. I can't remember a sampler ever being so labor intensive as that one, but it is a beauty. I'll post a photo soon.

I saw a spool cabinet like this one on The Twisted Stitcher's blog awhile back. After a few emails with Vonna, I decided it would be perfect for holding my DMC thread. I thought it was time to replace the plastic storage boxes that have held those fibers for more than thirty years. The plastic trays fit perfectly in the drawers. This is a reproduction that I found on eBay, but it really looks old. I have looked forever for a real antique one, but they were either way too expensive, missing knobs, or the drawers were wonky and warped. The height makes it perfect for sitting next to my stitching chair. Thanks for convincing me, Vonna. I love it.

Thinking ahead...

Happy 2011 everyone! As I said last post, I've spent a lot of time thinking about what I hope to accomplish this year. I sat down today with my binders which are overflowing with charts. I limited myself to the 15 that spoke to me the loudest and made my list. Before I get to the list though, these are the samplers that will see action also. Country Life (above) will be first. I love, love, love this sampler. Next will be the Prairie Schooler Alphabet that I am doing over one on 30ct linen . I think I started it last January and it is such fun. I can't remember what sidetracked me away from it.

Lastly, poor Harriet Burry has been languishing away in my wip basket. It's been so long since she's seen a needle that I'm sure she has a complex by now.

I'm not the type of stitcher that can handle a bunch of unfinished projects, so I need to wrap these up. I can't be too hard on myself because I did finish eight beautiful samplers, two of which I had to chart first.

Here's what I hope to work on this year:

Goode Huswife's Peaceable Kingdom

Carriage House Sampling's My Home Town and Pear Orchard Farm

Scarlet Letter's Sophia's Sampler, Sally Hunt 1795, and Jenny Bean (A Massachusetts Sampler)

Cantebury's Jane Woodward Sampler

The City Stitcher's Strawberry Sampler, Two Fine Ewes, and Prize Shorthorn

Homespun Sampler's Ann Sims Sampler

Polly Bartlett Sessions by Hope's Dwelling Place

Heaven Doth Ask by The Sampler Co.

The Heart That Gives by Ewe & Eye & Friends

Hannah Pepper

Some of these have been in my stash for a long, long time and I'm looking forward to them. Of course, I may change my mind a million times, and I know I'll have to squeeze Ann Grant in there somewhere. Wish me luck.

Samplers and Sheep

Maria Tilley 1835 is finished and awaiting her frame. She is the reproduction that I have been charting and stitching for Needle Work Press. Vickie, who owns the original was brave enough and sweet enough to let me choose the fabric and silk and adapt the sampler as I chose. ( Since I chose to stitch her on 45 ct. vintage Sand Dune from Lakeside Linen, let's hope she doesn't do that again!) Truthfully, it turned out really beautiful and the labor was worth it. And the good news is that I didn't go blind. As soon as I am able to get her framed, the chart will be off to the printer and available soon after.

Lady's Garden from Carriage House Sampling was a nice change after the last two big samplers. As with many CHS designs, I sometimes wonder initially at the colors chosen, but I always like the result. I chose not to do the back stitching veins in the large leafy things. So now I've picked Country Life back up and I'm making great progress. I had hoped to have it finished before the end of the year, but unless I give up sleep for the next three days, it's not happening.
I've had fun seeing the endless lists of projects planned for 2011. I've also given a lot of thought to what I hope to accomplish next year sampler wise. I'll post my list next time. With the exception of the upcoming Ann Grant from Shakespeare's Peddler, everything that I plan to do involve old, old charts from my stash.


Samplers and sheep...I don't know which I love more. In my perfect world, it would be a sampler with sheep. Every winter, the fields by my home are dotted with these grass eaters. They are brought in and moved continuously from field to field to mow. I look forward to seeing them every year.
One more thing...I received several emails and inquiries about the bird cookie cutter that I used for my cinnamon birds. I wish I could tell you where I got it, but I have no idea. I've collected them for years and most likely found it in an antique shop. It isn't old, so they might be out there somewhere.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season, and here's to a very Happy New Year to come!

What goes around, comes around...

In need of a hostess gift for a Christmas party that we are attending tonight, I had to channel my inner Martha Stewart. What to do? What to make? I immediately thought of my friend Yolande's macaroons. Yolande is THE best macaroon maker ever. Fortunately, I have her recipe, (and you will too at the end of this post). I've shared it before in years past, but it is so worth repeating and maybe some of my new blog readers will appreciate it.


They look like coconut snowballs, don't they? The recipe is supposed to yield a dozen cookies, but somehow I ended up with thirteen. Hey, that's no problem. That one will be my test cookie.

This little plate will work perfectly for them.

See?

And here they are all wrapped up and ready to go. You might be wondering what the blog title has to do with making cookies. Well, Yolande will also be at the party and maybe she'll have one of my (her) macaroons.

Also, the cute cellophane bags were bought one day while out shopping with tonight's hostess. I'm fairly certain she took home the very same bags for her own homemade goodies. Maybe she'll get a laugh out of getting one back.

Yolande's Macaroons

Beat 4 large egg whites until frothy.

Add 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 2/3 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup flour. Beat until well-mixed.

Stir in 3 1/2 cups lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut.

Drop dough in 1/4 cup portions on a buttered and floured cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees until macaroons are golden~about 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon birds and orange slices...

On my last post, I mentioned that I was going to try my hand at drying orange slices to decorate a small tree. Any normal Arizonan would simply lay the slices out in the sunshine to dry. Eventually, that is exactly what I did, but first I went surfing the net to find a faster way. My Google search led me to this site. Thinking that the microwave way sounded easy, I went that route first. I followed the directions just like it said, and lets just say the slices resembled well-done barbecued potato chips. Not exactly the look I was going for. I then tried the oven method with slightly better results. Not wanting to spend 3-4 hours flipping orange slices every half an hour, outside they went after a short turn. I let them dry for most of the afternoon and they were ready to hang. I think they are really primitive and simple, exactly what I wanted.

The cinnamon birds were super easy to make, and they smell wonderful. Here is my recipe:

3/4 cup applesauce

1 bottle (4.12 oz.) ground cinnamon

1. Mix applesauce with cinnamon in a small bowl to form a stiff dough.

2. Using about 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll out to 1/4 in. thickness. Cut with cookie cutters.

Make a hole in the top of the ornament for hanging.

3. Bake on a cookie sheet at 200 degrees for about 2 1/2 hours. Place on a rack to cool. Use ribbon or yarn to hang.

Here is Scarlett peeking out from her spot on my (okay, her) chair. Our three Bostons do not like to be cold, and they all have to burrow down under a blanket to sleep. Talk about spoiled...

Thank you for all the enthusiasm and love for Sarah. I'll get busy charting her soon.

Meet Sarah Elizabeth

Christmas has come a little early. I had been drooling, obsessing, ogling, and dreaming about this antique sampler since September. She arrived from England last week, and is now front and center and the focus of my craft room wall. To say that I'm one happy girl is putting it mildly. Thank you, Mr. B. She has everything I love about samplers including the big red house, birds, and four dogs. As a friend said, "it's definitely a Tanya sampler." Did I mention it has a big red house, lol? The verse is wonderful, too. I'm always amazed at the ages of these young girls. Sarah was 11 yrs. old when she stitched this in 1842. I will be reproducing her in the near future. I can already picture the linen and fibers in my head. I think I had that done before I even saw her in person. Here she proudly hangs:

I am finishing the model for Maria Tilley any day now. I hope to show pictures soon. When my eyes can't take any more of Maria's 45ct linen, I put a few stitches in Lady's Garden from Carriage House Samplings.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We sure went straight into Christmas, didn't we? I spent yesterday decorating the house. It's exhausting, but I love the results. My next adventure will be making cinnamon ornaments and drying orange slices for a small tree. Stay tuned to see how that turns out...