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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

Small actions = BIG blessings

We spent the weekend watching Mr. Wonderful's hometown of Houston be devastated by Harvey. Thankfully, our families are safe. It seems that for every heartbreaking photo or video of the destruction along the Texas coast, there is another photo or video that makes me want to stand up and cheer. The bravery and selflessness of those who are trying in whatever way they can to relieve the suffering is truly heroic. On Saturday, I told Mr. Wonderful, "I don't have the skills to rescue people, but I could feed the rescuers. I could make sandwiches. I'd make sandwiches and coffee all night." The very next day, I saw a reporter interviewing a soaked, exhausted rescuer. The reporter asked him what they needed, and the first thing he said was, "Someone to make sandwiches."

I cried.

"I CAN MAKE SANDWICHES!" 

We're 1500 miles away from home. I can't make sandwiches. But I will find something I can do.

In the midst of all this, look what arrived in the mail today. How perfect is this?

This sweet gift is from Mary Ann in Ohio. An Alamo key chain (my hometown is San Antonio, Texas), and a pin with several charms that will be perfect for embellishing my Texas finishes. This gift was mailed on Friday, before the storm even hit, and arrived today to cheer me up. Perfect timing. Thank you, Mary Ann. This "small" gesture made such a big difference in my day today.

A long time ago, I posted this quote from Pascal: 

"Little things comfort us because little things distress us."

I mentioned this quote to Mr. Wonderful yesterday, and observed that little things can comfort us when big things are distressing us, too. Never underestimate the power of "little things" to make big differences.

We can't all be the heroes wading through chest-deep water to rescue people. We can't all be on the spot, providing relief to the rescuers and the rescued. But we can all find something to do, and nothing is too small. Nothing.

I got a new teapot!

Always cause for celebration: a new teapot! We stopped by our favorite local potters' shop on Saturday and I got this little beauty. For more on our pottery obsession, see this post.

I also recently got a new tea wallet. I love these things, and never travel without one. I purchased this one from this shop.

I got this one at an area garden show a couple of years ago. See the little Chow? So cute.

We also took in an art show on Saturday, and I got this beautiful fox print by a local artist. I think she captured such a sweet expression. Her Etsy shop is here (lots of lovely birds).

Haven't had much time for stitching since I finished my last project, but I am getting supplies together for my fall stitching. This luscious silk thread is Autumn Bouquet. Isn't it gorgeous?

I can't believe summer is all but over. I'm spending these last few days of August doing a bit of reorganizing in my sewing room. Mr. Wonderful bought me a new craft table (it's actually supposed to be a dining table, but I'm repurposing it) so I needed to do some shuffling in there. I want it all just so, because I've got a busy fall ahead and I need room to work: finishing, framing, Christmas Open House project, and who knows what else. There's just something about the approach of fall that makes me want to be busy. Probably that "squirrel brain" I've mentioned before...