28 September 2017

Color Work

I'm getting my fall project ready to go. I'll be stitching CEC's Playing with Jax, but I'll be using the alternative "Forest Pumpkin" as the center instead of the Jack-0-lantern. CEC offered the Forest Pumpkin chart as a freebie when Playing with Jax was released, but I've never seen it stitched, either as the center of Playing with Jax or by itself.

This is the silk for the leaves on Forest Pumpkin. 

I love the colors in this silk, so I decided to adjust the colors in the main chart to bring them a bit more in line with the silk. Here are the original colors, followed by my adjustments.


I substituted muted greens for all of the blues, toned down the bright berry colors, and pushed the lighter greys to beiges. 

We'll see how this works out. I plan to start it at the beginning of October.

26 September 2017

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A while back, I posted a recipe for Chocolate Chip Biscuits using a product called Carbquick, a baking mix similar to Bisquick but much lower in carbs. That recipe is in this post. I've been experimenting with other adaptations of Bisquick recipes and have another one to share. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 c. Carbquick
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips (you could use sugar-free, if you like the taste)

Heat oven to 350. Beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy, add vanilla and egg and beat well. Add Carbquick and beat on low speed until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls, 2" apart, onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are set and golden. Cool on sheets for 2 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely. Yield: 2 dozen +


The original recipe using Bisquick is here.

Carbquick is available on Amazon.

24 September 2017

Autumn Basket and Pumpkin Kittens






I made this years ago and showed it back then, but I thought I'd share it again. Easy and fun to make. I don't have any instructions to share as I just eyeballed it from a picture I saw in a magazine.



To see my other seasonal baskets, just click on the label below this post.

22 September 2017

Posting pictures on the 123 Stitch message board using Flickr

This tutorial may not be of use to most of y'all, but I'm posting it here so that I have a quick and easy way to help people who want to post photos of their needlework on the 123 Stitch message board. I'm only providing a tutorial for Flickr, as that's what I use. Perhaps another blogger will post a tutorial for other photo hosting sites.


How To Post Photos

After signing up for an account, go to your "Camera Roll" page (circled in red). This is what the page will look like (minus my photos, of course).


Once on your Camera Roll page, you can drag and drop photos directly from your computer to the page. Open your picture file, grab your picture and drag it over this page. You'll see a message that says, "Let go! We'll take it from here." Release the photo. In the upper right of the screen (circled in red), you'll see "1 new photo has been uploaded."

Click on "Photostream" (circled in purple, on the left of the screen, just above the pictures).

Here's your new photo. Click on it.

The top of the page will look like this. Note the little arrow on the lower right, circled in red. We'll come back to that in a minute.

Scroll down a bit and you'll see the bottom half of the page. To share a photo on a message board, the privacy setting on the photo must be changed from "private" to "public" (circled in red). Change the setting of your photo to "public". 

Scroll back up and click on that little arrow. You'll see this box. The "embed" code will be highlighted. Copy that code and paste it into your post on the message board. You'll see the code, but you won't see the picture until you post the message.

19 September 2017

New needle minders!

Gearing up for Christmas stitching... gotta have new needle minders!

These are new button packs from my favorite online button shop, Shelly's Buttons and More.

I am often asked about making needle minders, and I assure you, nothing could be easier. This is all you need: 
1) neodymium magnets--I get mine from Amazon. I get the combo packs of three different sizes: 6, 8, and 10 mm.
2) super glue--Use your favorite; I use Loctite Ultragel Control. It's thick so it doesn't run everywhere, and it comes in a bottle designed for easy control. (I always let the glue set overnight before using the second magnet.)
3) button shank remover--If you're using plastic buttons for anything, you need one of these. Available at Shelly's.

15 September 2017

POW/MIA Day

I took this at my Chick-fil-A earlier this week.

More about the symbolism of the table is here.

More about POW/MIA Day is here.

12 September 2017

Christmas Finishes

I've been hard at work (play?) at the finishing table! Here's LHN's Season's Greetings.

For a quick tutorial on how to make templates for unusual shapes, see this post, and this one for a couple more details.


And here's an ornament from the 2016 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue.


I made a little tree using a cinnamon stick and a few snippets of evergreen trim from Hobby Lobby.





11 September 2017

A Fall Freebie Finish

How about a little fall freebie? This one is available here. 


I stitched mine on 32 ct. petit point brown/natural linen (Wichelt) and chose my own GAST threads: Endive, Fragrant Cloves, Harvest Moon, Oatmeal, and Picnic Basket. I also changed the over-1 "Pumpkins & Pins" to over-2 "Thankful".

Back to the finishing table!

09 September 2017

Saturday Sampler: Feels Like Fall Edition

Meteorological autumn (nerd alert!) began on 1 September, and right on cue, we have glorious fall weather here on the East Coast. I had all the windows open today, and have been stitching, watching college football, and baking. What could be better?




I also made this little wreath yesterday. I saw something similar on a home decor website and they wanted $80 for it (nope!). I think I made this one for about $25. The fox is from A.C. Moore.


And here's a bonus: a tiny, adorable frog! He was sitting on Mr. Wonderful's grill, so I had to move him to safety. He jumped onto my arm and promptly turned his back on the camera! Isn't he cute?


Happy fall, y'all!