Moldy, Oldy Stuff

For as long as I can remember, I have loved old things. Being a rather domestic, home-body, I tend to gravitate towards things from the 30's & 40's. I'm rather fond of the shabby chic cottage look and it works for me considering my house is a cottage that was built in 1937.

Oh, I had thought I wanted something bigger, newer and more extravagant. What was I thinking? I'm by no means stuffy & stiff. I'm very casual, laid back and down to earth. Well, I was down to earth before my breakdown last Christmas but I'm sure in time, my feet will re-anchor themselves to the planet! Any day now would be fine with me!

Many of my needlework followers feel that they need to address me as "Mrs. Kellogg". Please! I like it when the neighborhood children call me that but as for stitcher's who enjoy doing my designs, I really prefer to be called by my first name. I'm just a normal (I use that word loosely) everyday girl who just happens to have a knack for designing needlework and other creative things. I'm really no different than anyone else. Well, for the most part anyway.

Many times though, my readers have told me that they wish they could get into my head and have a bit of my creativity! I always say, "Oh no you don't!" My head is a crazy place. I have Attention Deficit Disorder and Anxiety that is off the charts! The creativity is a side effect (a benefit, supposedly) of the ADD. Over all, I do see it as a benefit but there are times when it's a curse. Too many ideas at once cause my mind to race out of control which then causes my anxiety to go up. On the other hand, stitching and designing quiet my mind. It's a vicious circle. Someday, I'll explain what it's really like to have ADD. Oh, and to live with it! My husband has ADD too. We always say we're together because no one else would put up with our crazy ADD behavior! Ha, ha, ha! Truthfully, my husband and I are kindred spirits. I do truly believe we were meant to be together.

Well, enough yaking on that stuff. The point I started to make was, I love "moldy oldy stuff" as my sister refers to it. Well, actually, she uses a different "s" word but I don't care to offend any of my readers so I'll go with "stuff".

I was talking over the weekend about things to do with mason jars. I thought I'd share this idea with you:



A few years back, I bought a vintage blue Ball Mason Jar to keep my Mother Of Pearl buttons in. Out of the blue, I had the idea that it would make a really cool lamp. Well, I ask my dad, who is quite gifted with electrical things, if he could make it into a lamp for me. And here it is! Filled to the brim with my MOP buttons. Right now, it's in my living room on my electric sewing machine but I'm thinking of getting a different lampshade for it and putting it on my Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen after the holidays.

Another great idea for mason jars is this:



When I do finishing, I usually wait until I have a few things to finish and then do it all at once. I usually need several different colors of thread so I buy those small sewing kits that have a ton of little spools of thread in them and I store those in a mason jar. That way, I can just grab the jar with all the different colors in it rather than digging through my big spools of thread every time I need a different color.

There's more mason jar ideas coming. Just thought I'd share those for today. In fact, be sure to check back later this week as I'm going to hold a drawing for a mason filled with something very nice! Like I said, more details later this week.

Onto some stitching news, I'm finally almost done with my Vintage Vogart Dresser Scarf with the kitties. I have about 50 more French Knots to do and then I can move onto to another project. I usually keep an embroidery project going that I can do in the car if I ever have to wait anywhere. Crazy Quilting doesn't travel well! So I'll be starting another embroidery project to take out and about with me but here at home, I'll be starting on my Floral Crazy Quilt:



This will hang in my living room when it's done. Here is block #1 up close:



The quilt will be very flowery, with vines and quite a bit of SRE. Stay tuned to see this garden grow! I know Allie, with her love for flowers, will be watching this one very closely!

Before I head out, I like to reply to everyone who leaves me comments. In some cases, I can't find an email address to respond to so I would like to take a moment to say thank you to Sandy, who is also looking forward to seeing this quilt progress, to Linda who sent me a very sweet and encouraging message regarding this depression nightmare that I've been going through and to Annie who is enjoying my new approach to blogging. In fact, I'm hearing from so many of you that you find my "domestic" approach to blogging rather refreshing. Honestly, I do too. I never did like hiding behind the facade of professionalism.

Mason Jar Gifts

I'm sure no one needs to see anymore photos of my homemade applesauce. (Today I made some with raisens.) However, I thought it would be nice to to share this idea for quick & easy gifts:



Everyone has heard of Gifts In A Mason Jar but this year, with economy the way it is, it's a pretty & inexpensive gift for neighbors or for folks who you'd just like do a little something for.

I made my own label using some cardstock and a "From My Kitchen" sticker:



I apologize for my blurry photo. My hands still shake a lot. I must have taken 10 photos and they all came out a little blurry.

Anyway, I added glitter to the label and some ribbons and do-do's and just tapped it to the jar.

Please remember, with "wet food" gifts, although this isn't technically "canning", you still have to boil the jar and lid for a few minutes.

So what else can one do with a Mason Jar? I have tons of cool ideas. Stay tuned!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My garden window easily changed from Halloween to Thanksgiving! My mom made the turkey for me years ago. Actually, it's plaster and mom painted it for me.

Speaking of my mom, there is nothing more comforting than walking into Mom's kitchen and seeing her wearing an apron and running her Kitchenaid:



When I was little, my mom used to bake every single day! If it wasn't cookies, it was bread, if not bread, cupcakes and if it wasn't cupcakes, it was mom's yeast coffee cake! The house always smelled like a bakery!

This is what mom was making yesterday:



This is a Pumpkin Gingerbread Triffle recipe by Paula Deen. You can find the recipe here at Food Network.

And here are the Molasses Muffins that I talked about this week:



I have a weakness for anything with molasses in it! I love the way it makes the house smell! Here's the recipe:

MOM'S MOLASSES MUFFINS

1/2 cup Shortening
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Molasses
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 cup Sour Milk (or Buttermilk)
2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Raisins

Cream shortening and sugar, add beaten eggs and molasses. Sift flour and spices, beating alternately with baking soda and sour milk. Add raisens. Bake about 15 minutes at 350 degrees or until done. Makes one dozen muffins.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Treats

I've been getting things together for our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow at my parents house. My aunt & uncle will be there and I'm looking forward to seeing them.

I made another batch of applesauce to have with dinner tomorrow. This is Cranberry Applesauce:



My photo is a little blurry but it's enough to see that the cranberries make the applesauce look pretty!

Here's my recipe:

CRANBERRY APPLESAUCE

3 pounds Red Delicious Apples
Juice of 2 medium Oranges
1 Tablespoon grated Orange Rind
3 Teaspoons Vanilla
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1 cup (no sugar added) Cranberry Juice
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh Cranberries

Peel & dice the apples. Add the orange juice and orange peel. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the cranberries. Bake in a casserole dish in a 300 degree oven for 1 hour.

There should be some excess juice in the apples now. Pour the juice into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Depending on how much juice you have, you may have to add a bit more cranberry juice. I had to add about 3/4 of a cup more. Bring to a simmer, then add the cranberries. Keep your eye on them or they will pop all over your stove. Don't ask me how I know!

When you can see that the cranberries are soft, remove from heat and let cool. Mash the apples with a potato masher. Drain the cranberries and gently fold into the applesauce. I tried to keep my cranberries whole, so I folded them into the apples instead of stirring them in. And that's it! It's very good!!!

I just put my cookie plate and candy plate together:



Cream cheese sugar cookie dough made into turkey's and leaves, Shortbread with vanilla icing and crushed malted milk balls on top, Chocolate Chip cookies with butterscotch chips, chocolate chips and pecans (like my grandma used to make them) and Orange Chocolate Spritz cookies.



Old Fashioned Cream Cheese Mints (which aren't mint because I used maple flavoring in the orange ones and almond flavoring in the green ones), Apple Pecan Candy (these are to die for) and the easiest Chocolate Fudge on the planet!

Here's the recipe for that:

1 12 ounce bag of Chocolate Chips
1 14 ounce can of Sweetened Condensed Milk (not evaporated milk)
1 Tablespoon Butter

In a double boiler, on low heat, melt the Chocolate Chips and Butter. When it's completely melted, add the can of Sweetened Condensed Milk. Mix and mix and mix well!

Line a 7 inch X 5 inch pan (I use a Pyrex dish) with plastic wrap. Spray the plastic wrap lightly with No Stick Cooking Spray. Pour fudge into pan and spread evenly. Add colored sprinkles, cover another piece of plastic and refridgerate over night.

It doesn't get any easier than that! I confess, this fudge is way too sweet for me. My father absolutely loves it! I don't eat a lot of sweets but when I do want a little something, I prefer a cookie.

On the "Stash Enhancement" front, I thought you would enjoy seeing a little Ebay find of mine:



This is satin trim from the 1940's. I have nothing like this in my collection (devastating! :) so when I saw it on Ebay, I asked Scott to get it for me. He's a better Ebayer than I am. I don't have the patience for it. I'm the flea marketer, he's the Ebayer!

Isn't it pretty? Now if I could just sit still and stitch!

Well, I'm heading offline for now. I have mom's recipe for the Molasses Muffins that I talked about yesterday. I'll get a photo of them today and I'll have the recipe here tomorrow.

Cookies For The Retirement Center

Yesterday, mom & I took Chooch, the therapy dog, over to the retirement center:



Mom adopted Chooch when she was about 2 years old. Mom's previous dog, Benjamin, who was also a therapy dog had passed away. Once mom had Chooch, mom trained her and had her certified as a therapy dog. Chooch just turned 10 years old 2 weeks ago.

Chooch is the sweetest, most lovely and gentle dog you would ever want to meet. So every other week, mom and I take Chooch over to the retirement center where Chooch is so loved and adored by the residents.

For each holiday, mom and I bake cookies and make up little cookie bags to give to the residents. We each make 3 different kinds for a total of 6:



Here is our basket of cookie bags:



And finally, we make little tags for them, with glitter (of course!):



We don't get too carried away with the tags. Just something to make the bags look pretty. It's really nice to give a bit of holiday sunshine to the residents. Some have little or no family. Some are a bit withdrawn or not totally on the planet (I know that feeling!) and some are just plain lonely. But they see Chooch and we had them a bag of cookies, and they smile.

I just got home from WalMart. I usually go on Friday but decided to do it today instead. I may be crazy but I'm not that crazy! I have a few dishes to wash up and then I'll head over to mom's. I promised I'd help make her Molasses Raisin Muffins for Thanksgiving. My mom is visually impaired so I promised I would watch the oven for her so they don't burn. These muffins are incredibly good so I'm going to see if mom will share her recipe with me and then I'll share it here. It'll be later this week.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I'll be making Applesauce with Cranberries tomorrow to take to mom's on Thursday. I'm hearing news that I've started an "applesauce making trend"! Baking it in the oven is really the way to go! Anyway, so I've never made applesauce with cranberries before. I'll let you know how it turns out!

I'm wanting to do some stitching but I have trouble sitting still. I seem to need to move around. Then, by 5 pm, I'm exhausted and need to go to bed. Once I get comfy cozy in my bed, restless leg syndrome sets in! That'll drive a person nuts! It's caused by the medication. If anyone has suggestion for me to get rid of it, I'm open to them! I usually have to get up and walk around for awhile. And I do take a bath before I go to bed which is supposed help and was helping until the last dosage increase.

Anyway, speaking of laying on the bed, thought you would enjoy seeing this photo of my Simba:



He pushes my stitched pillow/cushion out of his way and curls up with my teddy bear. I could love to be a cat in my next life and live with someone like me!

Still Breathing

I don't have anything all that great to share today. Just wanted to say hello. I've been quite restless and feel the need to keep moving around. I made a batch of shortbread cookies yesterday, sewed up a 9 inch block for a white peacock purse, went to Staples for a new ink cartridge ($71.99 later. What's up with that? Geez, we all need a loan to buy printer ink these days!), took cookies to my 3 great neighbors, made chili for taco salad and finally at 3:00 pm, when I was yawning, Scott told me to go lay down on the bed and watch TV. That was it for my day.

I saw my counselor this morning and she told me that the restlessness is really nervousness due to the upcoming holidays. She said that once I get past the 1st of the year, I should start to feel better. Thank goodness. I'm having a hard time sitting still to stitch.

I'm getting ready to head over to mom's now. We're going to the retirement center this afternoon with Thanksgiving Cookie Bags for everyone. I'm taking my camera with me to mom's so I'll have photos tomorrow. Wait till you see my mom's therapy dog, Chooch! She is so cute and so sweet! A beautiful Black Lab and the happiest dog I've ever met!

Until tomorrow, have a great day everyone!

Winter Crazy Quilt Project

I'm setting myself up here, with some projects to work on through out the Winter months. I thought I'd would put a few things together and just have a basket of projects ready to stitch on.

The first is a set of 9 8-inch blocks, all pieced in white fabrics with a vintage embroidered floral hankie as a focal point on each block:



This will be lovely hanging in my Living Room for Summer! It should help to keep my mind occupied too. This damned depression just seems to go on and on. Day after day after day. But I don't care to moan about it too much today. I try to think about my fun projects.

Another one that I want to piece up is a block for a Peacock Purse. I haven't done a peacock in a long time so I thought that would be a nice Winter project as well. I'm also planning to do a few embroidered things using my vintage iron-on transfers. I just need to finish up on my Vogart dresser scarf. I only have the flowers to do on one end and then it's complete. My mom wants to crochet around the outside for me. Despite my protests, only because my mom already does so much for me, I agreed to let her do that.

Well, I'm about out of steam for today. We've had nothing but cloudy, dreary, rainy days here all week. My Seasonal Affective Disorder Syndrome kicked in early this year. My Dr. increased my Zoloft to 100 milligrams a day and it just knocks me out by 3 in the afternoon on days like this.

Before I head off for the day though, I thought I'd share a photo of my Peach Applesauce with you:



I used 3 pounds of Red Delicious apples, 3 pounds of Jonathon apples, 3 medium size cans of peaches in pear juice, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Again, I baked it in the oven and oh, does my house smell good!

I never made applesauce with Jonathon apples before. I never liked them but as you can see, I'm experimenting these days.

Winter Crazy Quilt Project

On Saturday morning, I gave Mary Anne's Impossible Chocolate Pie a try. Oh my goodness! It's absolutely sinful! My father said it was dangerous! Ha, ha, ha! I took photos but, my photos were fuzzy so I don't have one to share. I just thought I'd mention that it's a wonderful, very rich dessert and if you want to give it a try, you won't be sorry. You can find the recipe here at Magpie's Mumblings. Thank you Mary Anne!

Susan asked me what I do with all my baking since Scott and I don't eat much of it. I give most of it to my father and my neighbors. The fun for me is making it and the way it makes my kitchen smell. My mom always jokes, that the only reason I have a kitchen is because it came with the house. LOL! I'm really not into cooking. It doesn't do a thing for me. I can make basic stuff like soup, chili and so on but it's the baking that I love.

Sue mentioned that she really enjoys whatever photos I post, be it stitching, sewing, baking or whatever. Thank you for your message Sue!

I was over-stressing (no wonder I had a breakdown) over staying on topic. My anxiety levels have always been off the charts! But as you can see, I'm loosening up a bit. From now on, I'm just going to talk about whatever I feel like talking about. There will be plenty of stitching, new designs (as soon as my desire to design comes back) and other craft related topics but there will also be my baking and probably some gardening photos come Spring & Summer. Maybe I'm starting to let go of some things and perhaps I won't be so uptight anymore.

Well, speaking of Spring & Summer, I started sewing up some blocks today for a new quilt project. I sewed up 4 blocks and have 5 more to do. I decided to do something light and airy to help me get through the dreaded Winter months ahead. Ya'll know how I feel about Winter!

Anyway, I've been collecting vintage machine-embroidered handkerchiefs for years now. I have a whole hatbox full of them! I pulled 9 out with different colored flowers:



The blocks are 8 inches square and are pieced all in a variety of white fabrics. I want my stitching and beading to really pop but I want the quilt to be soft looking. As soon as I get the last 5 blocks pieced, I'll share another photo of them all before I start stitching on them.

I'm still working on my Vogart dresser scarf with the kitties. It's taking me a wee bit longer than I anticipated. If I'd stay away from my Kitchenaid for awhile, I would be able to get it done!

Baking & Blog Friends

My mail came yesterday and what did I find in there? A wonderful vintage Cooky Book from Judy:



Oh, what a nice surprise that was! I've looked through it so many times, I'm surprised I haven't worn it out yet. There are a ton of yummy sounding recipes in here and I've already picked out a few that I would like to try. Along with the book, Judy also sent me a couple of charms. Thank you so much Judy! You're so kind to me!

I must say that my friends in blog-land are the best! So many of you have sent me cards and little surprises to cheer me up and encourage me through this very trying (and what feels like a never-ending) illness. I really can't thank all of you enough for your support and understanding.

Anne mentioned that she really enjoys my baking photos. She said that she wishes she could come to my house for a cookie! Anne, it would be a very long drive to my house just for a cookie! Thank you so much for leaving me a comment.

Honestly, if I could mail cookies to all of my blog readers, I would. Unfortunately, I don't have a money tree growing in my backyard and I haven't been able to work much for awhile so the best I can do is to share my baking, my stitching and my other creative endeavors with you.

I didn't actually bake today but I did make some Strawberry Applesauce:



I guess this is sort of baking because I put everything in a casserole dish and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees. That way, I don't have to watch it and keep stirring it on the stove top.

I must say that my house smells so good right now! I cut up 3 pounds of Red Delicious apples, sprinkle them with the juice of 1 fresh lemon and baked it for 40 minutes. Then I added a bag of frozen strawberries and 1/4 cup of sugar. I baked it for another 15 minutes and I have a nice batch of Strawberry Applesauce. I used a potato masher to mash the fruit after it was done baking. I like chunky applesauce! Sometimes I just leave the sugar out. I don't eat much in the way of sugar but today I felt like adding a little.

I was going to try a recipe that Mary Anne sent to me called Impossible Chocolate Cream pie. I bought the Bisquick today but unfortunately, I'm out of steam now. I will see how I feel tomorrow and perhaps make it then.

I'm hoping to feel decent enough on Sunday to run my sewing machine. I mentioned last week that I'm planning a new CQ project to help me get through this Winter. I collect vintage machine embroidered handkerchiefs. I picked out 9 of them with different flowers and I'll be working each one into an 8 inch block. They'll be pieced entirely in white fabrics. I really want my embroidery and beading to show up and working with flowers will help me to think of Spring.

I do feel like I should be designing. I have ideas but the drive just isn't there. I don't know why since I can stitch, sew and bake. I can take care of keeping my home clean and I take care of all errands. Working on designs at the moment just feels like one too many things. I'm told that will come back in time. I sure hope so. I do enjoy it. I just can't get into it at the moment.

Well, that's my post for today. Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'll have more baking and some sewing photos soon!

Making Christmas Cards

My Thanksgiving cards are made and ready to mail out so I've started on some Christmas cards:



I have another one at mom's that I started today but it isn't quite finished yet. I have a few other projects going as well. I mentioned last week that this will be a pink Christmas for me. I'll share what I'm working on when I have things ready. I have to make Christmas different this year so I decided on everything being pink rather than the traditional harsh red & green. I find soft pastel colors calming on my nervous system. Of course, I'm using lots of glitter as well!

I still want to pick up some pink poinsettias that I can glitter. I'll be going to Hobby Lobby with mom next week. I'm sure I'll find some there.

I had some other things I was going to chat about today but it seems that they've slipped my mind. I'm sure those thoughts will come around again and hopefully it'll be when I can write them down!

Flea Market Finds & Tropical Gingerbread Cake

It was a lovely day here in Northern Illinois. Sunny and temps around 60 degrees. We went to a flea market this morning and I found some more treasures to add to my collections. First, some vintage pins and old lace:



I saw the feather pin and immediately thought it was time to do another peacock project!

Next are some vintage handkerchiefs:



I love the ones with the machine embroidered flowers on them. In fact, I'm planning a new CQ quilt project using some of my vintage hankie collection. I think it'll be a nice project to help me get through the Winter months.

Last but not least, are 2 vintage baking booklets. One is from Bakers Coconut and the other is from a chocolate company. Both are from 1925:



Of course, the minute I got home, I had to try one of the recipes using my new Kitchenaid:



Here's the recipe for TROPICAL GINGERBREAD CAKE:

2 cups Cake Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/8 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup Butter or Shortening
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Egg, well beaten
2/3 cup Molasses
1 cup Baker's Coconut (shredded coconut)
3/4 cup sour milk or Buttermilk

Sift flour once,measure, and add baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt
and sift together 3 times. Cream butter thoroughly, add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add egg, molasses, and coconut. Add flour alternately with milk, a small amount at a time. Beat after each addition until smooth. Bake in greased pan, 8 X 8 X 2 inches, in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 30 minutes.

I frosted it with cream cheese frosting and of course added sprinkles.

Please keep in mind that I typed up the recipe exactly as written in my book. We don't have to do all that sifting anymore. Once is enough.

You know, I used to totally stress about staying on topic as much as possible. I didn't want to stray too far from my needlework theme. Under the circumstances, I'm simply blogging about what I'm doing. I am stitching and will have a photo of my vintage Vogart dresser scarf as soon as it's done but I do think that daily progress photos on that is a bit boring.

Thinking about things now, I'm not sure why I always felt that I had to stay on topic. I mean, there's more to me than just stitching and designing. I've always love baking and I collect all sorts of little vintage things that are pretty and fun to look at. I'm a very domestic person and I guess I'm starting to think that since this is my blog, it can be whatever I want it to be.

I confess, I've lost about 1/2 of my daily readers due to my lack of posting during my illness. I imagine in time, my readers will come back and maybe with a few new topics like baking and other things that I do, maybe I'll attract some new readers.

In the meantime, I hope my readers who have stayed with me through this trying year, are enjoying whatever I write about!

I'm trying to figure out how to have my comments sent to my email address. I would love to reply to everyone's comments but it would be so much easier if could just reply to an email. If anyone knows how I can set that up, please let me know.

Ok, I'm off to wash up a few dishes and then I need to take a bath and call it a day.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies & Thanksgiving Greetings!

I got home from mom's yesterday and I just had to play with my Kitchenaid. I whipped up a batch of Chocolate Sugar Cookies:



My dad loves these and although Scott isn't much for sweets, he too is quite fond of these cookies. Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

1 cup Sugar
1 cup Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 Egg
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/3 cup Cocoa
2 cups Flour
1 bag Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips

Cream butter & sugar. Add baking soda & cocoa. Mix well. Add egg & vanilla. Add flour and mix well then finally add the bag of chips.

Drop by teaspoon full on baking sheet. Flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. I then add seasonal sprinkles! Also, I bake my cookies on Parchment Paper. It helps them to bake more evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes or until cookies are done but not brown.

I'd love to play with my new toy a little more but I'm toast for today now. I'll be taking my bath shortly and laying on my bed with my remote control and the new issue of Artful Blogging. Of course Nightmare, my little guardian, will be hogging the blankets!

I also thought you would enjoy seeing my handmade Thanksgiving cards:



You may want to click on the picture to see them up close. They're very glittery!

I have some new projects rolling around in my mind. I try to keep myself busy in hopes of keeping my mind off of how I feel. I still don't have my head all together yet. I can't do things as quickly as I used to. And I can't seem to organize things well yet. I'm assured that it will all come back in time but for now, it's a little frustrating.

I'm off to fold a load of laundry and put dinner together. We have left-over taco salad for tonight. Scott told me that taco salad was "border-line" cooking. Ha! I said no way! It's browning a package of ground beef and mixing in a jar of mild Pace Picante sauce!

BTW - I'm a little behind on my email. I plan to have that caught up by the end of the weekend. If you're waiting to hear back from me, please hang in there. I'll be replying very soon.

Floral Pillow

Isn't is amazing what you find when you go through and organize your things? I was looking through my stitched pieces that need framing and I came across this little floral embroidered piece that I stitched years ago. Way back in the mid 1980's! It was a pre-stamped design. I did a lot of those back then.



I don't know why I never sewed it up. I guess I just forgot about it or kept putting it off. Well, it's sewn up now and sits in my wicker rocking chair with my cardinal pillow. I stitched that one a few years ago. The design is from my collection of vintage iron-on transfer patterns. It's crayon tinted.

Well, I've been grocery shopping this morning and I have some ground sirloin cooking up for taco meat. We'll have Taco Salad for dinner tonight. When that's done, I'll head over to mom's for a bit.

Elegant Lady Purses & Other Finishes

I spent Monday doing some finishing on my sewing machine. I confess, I've been pushing myself and feel today like I'm paying for it. It does however, feel good to have a few things out of my hair.

You may remember this piece from Sharon's 2008 Take It Further Challenge:



This was the January project. I really love this block and decided it would make a beautiful purse.

As you probably noticed, I backed out of the challenge in June of that year. At the time, I didn't realize it, but the depression was coming on. It's actually been coming on for years. I felt pressured by this project and just reached a point where I couldn't continue on with it.

I can now see that I'm really not a "joiner". I like to do my own thing, my own ideas and I like to leave myself open for creating just for the sake of creating, with no purpose intended whatsoever. Sharon really comes up with some great projects but I've since learned that I can't take on so much. My ADD tends to jump into things without thinking about everything else I do! And I really do like to do too many things!

I stitched the Sewing Machine Lady purse last January while I had lightening bolts and fireworks shooting off in my brain:



What a horrible experience! But it does show me that my creativity was still there. Even I'm amazed at what came from my "short circuiting brain".

I'm particularly fond of the Sewing Machine Lady purse because of my antique sewing machine. When I saw that picture, I had to use it on a bag.

Next, are my recent little doorhangers:





These are Christmas gifts and I'm happy to say that my Christmas gifts are complete now!

Well, it's not a great day today so mom and I are going to go and wander around Hobby Lobby for little while. Sometimes that helps.

Christmas Cat Pattern

I've just added my Christmas Cat design to my Etsy shop:



Isn't she a beauty? Her name is Lily and she belongs to my blog friend Vicki over at Turkey Feathers. When I saw Lily, I fell in love with those eyes and asked Vicki if I could use her in a design. Thank you Vicki! She is precious!

Gingerbread Cupcakes And Other Baking

I've been running my Kitchenaid Mixer since 9 this morning! I started with Blueberry Muffins for Scott. He loves these:



I've never been big on Blueberries so they don't do anything for me but Scott said that this is a really good batch. The recipe is just the one in the Better Homes & Gardens basic cookbook. The only change I made is that I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

CNext, are my Gingerbread Cupcakes:



I only had a small taste of one and they are incredible! I never made them before. They came from my grandmother's 1963 General Mills cookbook. Here is the recipe:

GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES

2 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Butter
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Egg well-beaten
2/3 cup Molasses
3/4 cup Buttermilk

Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Combine all wet ingredients in another mixing bowl.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.

Bake in cupcake pan at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 3-ounce package Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups Powdered Sugar

Mix frosting ingredients together and frost cupcakes. Add sprinkles.
Makes 12 cupcakes

Next, I made the most incredible Chocolate Loaf Cake:



Again, I just had a tiny bite. I really don't eat too much in the way of sweets but I love making them. I kind of made this one for my dad. He loves chocolate! The recipe came from Food Network. I saw Nigella make it yesterday morning and I knew it was something my dad would like. You can find the recipe here.

When I finished that, I made some applesauce and then some egg salad. I confess, that was probably a bit too much but I can just stitch for the rest of the day now. My laundry is done too and I put my Halloween do-dads away and brought out my Thanksgiving do-dads. I can't stand looking at Halloween stuff the day after Halloween!

Anyway, on to some stitching:



A few weeks back, I started stitching on this vintage Vogart Dresser Scarf that I bought at a Flea Market for $3.00. I have one end of it completed and just started on the other side. I don't plan to start another project until I complete this one. I do hope to have it done by the end of next weekend. We shall see!

Ok, I'm off to stitch.

Happy Halloween!

These sweet little scarecrows are in my Garden Window. I've never really used it for plants. Instead, I like to decorate the top shelf with different do-dads for the holidays and seasons. The bottom shelf is for Lucy. She likes to lay there because of the warm sun. I'll have to get a photo of her laying there sometime. It's just too cute!

Well, I've been enjoying my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer quite a bit. I made about 6 different kinds of cookies so far. My mom and I visit the elderly at our local retirement center every other week. Mom's oldest dog, a gorgeous Black Lab named Chooch, is a therapy dog. So we take Chooch and visit the sweet elderly people at the retirement center. They absolutely adore Chooch! I need to post a photo of her too. Perhaps at Thanksgiving.

Ok, so where am I going with this? Geez, I'm still waiting for my brains to get back in my head!

Mom and I made several different kinds of cookies and fixed up these pretty little treat bags to give to the residents at the center:





Of course, we made the tags as well:



It was amazing to us, how a little bag of homemade cookies could brighten the day for so many people! They were thrilled and went on and on about the cookies and the tags! Some of the residents no longer have family or friends to visit them so they really look forward to seeing mom and Chooch and I. And 2 days later, they're probably still talking about the Halloween treat bags!

I had intended on taking photos of my cookies and sharing a recipe or 2 but again, my brains are still somewhere else at the moment. I will be so glad when this depression subsides and when I can get off of the Zoloft so I can think straight again! My Dr. told me that I have to stay on the medication at least until late Spring. All of the symptoms have to be gone for some time before I can taper off. Well, I can honestly say that the symptoms are still here but at least I can function better.

I stitched up my Holly Doorhanger over the past few days:



I hope to have the energy to run my sewing machine later this week. Once I get these sewn up, my Christmas gifts are done. I still have 2 purses to sew up too. Both from last year.

Well, that's all for now. Hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Halloween!

Glittered Pumpkins & Pumpkin Biscornu Designs

Well, my new Kitchenaid has kept me quite busy! I've made 3 batches of cookies this afternoon. I also made some fudge and another candy. I'll have photos soon and I'll share my fudge recipe. It's so easy!

In the meantime, mom & I did a fun little project yesterday. Glittered pumpkins:



I was driving to the Post Office yesterday, and decided to stop at the farm market on the way back for some squash. Those little tiny pumpkins always catch my eye! I already had a few but decided to get some more and suddenly, I had this idea to glitter them and add some dried flowers to the top. So I bought 8 pumpkins and drove over to mom's house! (Ya'll know I love my glitter!)

These are the supplies you'll need if you would like to make some:

Aleene's Tacky Glue
Hot Glue Gun
1 inch wide flat paint brush
Fine Gold Glitter (I used Martha Stewart's glitter available at Michael's)
Small Silk Autumn Leaves
Moss
Dried Flowers or dried stuff from your backyard.

First, wash the pumpkins and let them dry. Using a 1 inch wide flat paint brush, spread Aleene's Tacky Glue on the pumpkin starting at the stem. You don't want the whole pumpkin covered. Just the top but you do want it to look like frost settled on the pumpkin. Sprinkle on glitter and let dry.

Then, using a hot glue gun, glue some moss to the top near the stem. Add some small silk Autumn leaves, some dried flowers and snips of dried things from your backyard.

A quick & easy project, perhaps perfect as Thanksgiving Dinner Favors!

I have to go and frost my pumpkin face cookies but I'll leave you with a new design project:



I feel like I missed out on Spring (I don't even remember it) and Summer wasn't much better but I am enjoying the Fall. If you would like to stitch my new Pumpkin Biscornu designs, you can find them here.

My New Toy & Some Stitching

I bought myself a new toy. As most of my long time readers know, this has been an awful year for me. A huge tree limb fell on my house a week before Christmas last year and although the damage was minimal, we still had plenty of damage to deal with. I had a mental breakdown and went into a state of horrifying depression on Christmas Eve (my birthday). I had to say goodbye to my teddy bear Garfield and among other things, the current state of the economy has not been good to us.

There were months there, where I couldn't stitch or do my designing. I didn't have the energy or mental capacity to run either one of my sewing machines. I was able to make cards with my mom and I was able to bake. And bake I did! There must be something about it that has been helping me get through this awful experience. I've baked more this year than I have in the past 5 years!

Anyway, I've been wanting a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer for quite some time now. Thinking back, I remember looking into them about 8 years ago but I was very specific on the color. I wanted a Professional heavy duty mixer in Pistachio green. Well guess what? I bought one for myself:



I wanted the Professional model because I intend to make bread in it. It just arrived last night!

I haven't been able to use it yet but mom and I have been playing with hers so at least I know what to do and don't have to read the instructions. As soon as I get something made in it, I'll share some photos and more recipes.

In the meantime, I stitched up a doorhanger:



It looks like a pink blizzard doesn't it? Me, who loves Christmas so much! NOT! And mentally crashing on Christmas Eve last year does not help me to like it any more. But my mom gave me some suggestions to make it different this year and to keep my mind occupied with something more fun. I asked Scott if he would either take me to JoAnn Fabrics on my birthday or the Antique Mall that I love. Being the sweetie pie that he is, he told me that we may be able to do both! That should help.

So, that's my Christmas doorhanger. It'll be a gift. I'll be starting another one shortly and then I'll sew them both together at the same time.

Ok, I'm off to try my new toy out!

Altered Cookies

It seems that all sorts of things are being "altered" these days. One of the easiest things to alter is a basic cookie recipe:



This recipe for Drop Sugar Cookies is the recipe I sent in to Just Cross Stitch this year to go with my ornament design:

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/3 cups flour
1 bag mini chocolate chips

Cream butter & sugar. Add vanilla, egg & baking soda. Mix well and add flour. Add mini chocolate chips. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls, flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees until light golden brown.

I altered this recipe by adding the zest of 1 large orange, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

I've made this cookie recipe many, many ways and will share my "alterations" as I make them again. Give these a try. They are really good!

Be sure to visit my Boutique!