Merry Christmouse: At Home for Christmas

Welcome back to day two of my Christmas Open House! Today we have the beautifully detailed At Home for Christmas from Blackberry Lane Designs. 

This adorable little guy is stitched on 28 ct. Simply Sage by Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. I used the recommended DMC.

Today's recipe is a fun, can't-leave-it-alone snack that makes a bunch so it's perfect for a large family or a party. Very munchy.

Savory Goldfish

3 (6 oz.) packages cheddar cheese Goldfish crackers

1 package Ranch dressing mix

1 tsp. dried dill

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. lemon pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 c. vegetable oil

Toss crackers in spices and oil until well-coated and bake at 250 for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

See y'all tomorrow!

Merry Christmouse: Gingerbread Reindeer and Crystal Snowlady Mice

Welcome, welcome, welcome to my seventh annual Christmas Open House! Y'all didn't think we were gonna skip it this year, did you? No way. It has been a really tough year for everyone and we need all the Christmas cheer we can get. As always, I hope this blog is a place of calmness, joy, and creativity for you, as it is for me, and I couldn't think of skipping this little Christmas tradition. So settle in for a week of "Merry Christmouse!" celebrating the smallest critter in our Christmas traditions: the Christmas mouse. 

When I thought of this theme last year, I began to wonder, "Why mice?" Why are mice so closely associated with Christmas? I assumed it was due to the famous poem, "The Night Before Christmas" and perhaps also The Nutcracker. I didn't discover any information to contradict that theory, or any other explanation (if you know of one, please share!). But cute little mice are everywhere at Christmas and are very well represented in Christmas stitching. 

If you're familiar with my Open House, you know that I share recipes every year. This year, since we're celebrating the Christmas mouse, I'm sharing quick, easy, snack recipes for holiday nibbling. Because next to stitching, nibbling is one of the best things about Christmas. So let's get going! The sewing room and the kitchen are open!

This is Just Nan's Gingerbread Reindeer mouse and Crystal Snowlady mouse. There are oodles of these mice for all seasons and occasions. They're quick to stitch and not too difficult to finish, even if you're not super experienced with hand sewing.  And as you can see, they turn out awfully cute!

I stitched both of these mice as instructed, but I did use opalescent linen for my Crystal Snowlady mouse because the sparklier the better. 

*****

Today's recipe is one from my childhood: my mom's Spiced Nuts. Spiced nut mixes are a Christmas tradition and this is the mix she always made during the holidays.

Spiced Nuts

3/4 c. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 egg white

2 Tbsp. water

1 1/2 c. walnut halves

1 1/2 c. pecan halves

Sift sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat egg white and water slightly. Add nuts to the egg white mixture and stir until well-coated. Remove nuts from egg white mixture and drain well. Toss nuts in sugar mixture until well-coated. Spread nuts in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake about 40 minutes at 250 degrees or until crusty. Cool completely. 

*****

Come on back tomorrow for more Christmas mice and more delicious nibbles!

It's Coming...

 Mark your calendars for my 7th annual Christmas Open House, starting Monday, 14 December!

Catch up on (or revisit!) previous years' Open Houses by clicking the tabs at the top of this page!

Six Nice Things

Hey, y'all. How's everybody doing? I think we're better here, but more on that at the end of the post in case you prefer to skip it. I want this to be a stress-free and pleasant place for everyone, but some have very kindly asked after my dad and I'd like to provide an update.

Speaking of pleasantness, I have some nice things for y'all... Ready?

1) It is about to get seriously Christmasy on this blog. The sewing room is tidy, the finishes box is out, and I am in a finishing zone. First in line: our 2020 Christmas ornaments, and my 2019 ornament (how did that get left unfinished?!). And so much more! Will I get it all done? Stay tuned to find out!

2) Super cool fabric. In a moment of madness, I started a sort of large-ish Christmas project even though I already have plenty to stitch (and do!) two and a half weeks before Christmas. Because I wanted to use this fabric. Makes sense. This is Whitewashed Board from Fabric Flair available here. I believe it's also available in 32 ct. and 14 ct. Aida. I can't wait to show y'all this project!

Overseeing my work.

My other project, on a delicious mint green fabric (one whole row of progress before I started the one above!).

3) Freebies. There are a couple of "freebies-in-progress" at the moment and you may want to check them out.

With thy Needle & Thread is running a free SAL called Merry & Minty. It's a four part SAL on her Facebook page, but you do not have to have an account to access the charts. 

And there's a 12 Days of Christmas freebie series ongoing. It has a basic color scheme that would be easy and fun to customize.

4) Comfort food. One of my favorite comfort foods is my mom's spaghetti (below), but I also looove chicken spaghetti. This is the recipe I use, although I bake chicken breasts to use in it instead of boiling a whole chicken. It's delicious and it makes a ton. I could eat the whole dish by myself. (But my mom's is still my favorite.)

5) Cinnamon Cake. If you're watching carbs, I just came up with a cinnamon variation on my standby Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake recipe. Simply add 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and swap cinnamon chips for chocolate chips and ta-da! Sort of like a mini, lower carb coffee cake. Mr. Wonderful says he likes it even better than the chocolate chip.

6) The top of Tiger Lily's head. So smoochable. 

Hope one of today's goodies has taken your fancy and brightened your day! Have a good one!

Update:

My dad was finally able to move out of the hospital to a (different) rehab center this past Monday. We are much more comfortable with this new facility than the one he went to initially, but he still has a long road ahead. He went into the hospital, strong and healthy, on 30 October for a serious but not uncommon surgery that should have required only an overnight stay. And here we are nearly six weeks later. It has been nightmarish, but the Lord has blessed us in so many ways over these difficult weeks. I so appreciate your kind words and your prayers. Y'all are one of my blessings. Thank you.

Christmas in the Sewing Room

 

(Unfinished oval Santa design is Jingle All the Way by With Thy Needle and Thread)

Time for Tea Update

 November block is finished!

Info on this design can be found in this post.

Saturday Sampler: Solace of Stitching Edition

Been thinking a lot lately about how thankful I am for the solace of stitching. So I thought I'd share what's been keeping me sane lately (besides prayer, of course!).

Whipped out this adorable little baker a few days before Thanksgiving. She's from The Blue Flower and is in the Nashville Market 2020 cookbook.

Over Thanksgiving I also worked on this sweet pilgrim girl by Brooke Nolan. She's available as Annie the Autumn Witch but I left off her hat and broom and just stitched her as a pilgrim. 

A couple of new Russian kits, which are a weakness of mine and always make me happy! This luscious pink and green confection is perfect for my sewing room.

And this lovely winter design. I may start this after Christmas. Hopefully we'll be having something that looks like winter by then. It's been quite warm and dry.

These are the two Etsy shops I rely on for Russian kits:

mirkrestikom

tanyaHPSrus

Both of these shops carry a lot of the same kits. The first one has sales more frequently, and you'll notice differences in the price and shipping costs. Typically, one has higher product prices but lower shipping, and the other is the opposite. It's just a matter of where they place their cost. Both have been very reliable and shipping usually takes 3-4 weeks, although during the spring and the first wave of the pandemic, one of my orders took 10 weeks. My last order from both took about 3 weeks. Shipping costs may seem high, but I remind myself that my goodies are traveling over 5,000 miles! 

And I'm giving y'all fair warning... if you're a bit bored with the sameness of the designs you're seeing on this side of the world, wait til you fall down the rabbit hole of Russian kits. They're gorgeous and irresistible. 

And finally there's this! This is what really brightened my day last week! Remember the pretty little Autumn Quaker I showed a while back, and I was wishing for the other seasons? Well, I got my wish! Winter is Coming Mini Quaker has just been released and it is gorgeous! You should really visit the link to see it as my snap of the printed photo doesn't do it justice. The very day it came out I ordered my threads!

And here they are. Aren't they lovely for a wintry design? 

I have the urge to start this one immediately but I do have some Christmas stitching I'd like to do first, so it will have to wait a bit. But honestly, I'm not sure if I can hold out!

Thank you for all of your kind wishes about my dad. He had to be re-hospitalized last Tuesday, but should be returning to the rehab center in a couple of days. The last month has been a rollercoaster and I'm so grateful whenever I can just settle down with my stitching and get lost in it.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, hope you and yours are healthy, and I hope you're getting to snuggle down with your stitching, too.

Wee Fall Sampler

I'm still here and I have a wee finish to share! This is Mouse Sampler available in this Etsy shop.

I just went my own way on the colors and used Caron Collection Wildflowers on 28 ct. Natural Brown Undyed linen. From top to bottom:

Top border: Sedona Sunset

Stars (I added these): Quicksilver

Moon and sun: Old Gold

Clouds: Suede

Birds: Copper

Trees: Sedona Sunset, Copper

Sampler motifs: Bark

Houses: Quicksilver, Copper

Acorns: Gingersnap, Copper

Corn: Old Gold, Guacamole

Pumpkins: Marigold (orange only), Gingersnap

Mouse: Gingersnap, Coal

Bottom border: Bark

My dad has been in the hospital for several weeks (not the virus) and has just moved to a rehabilitation facility, so we've been coping with that amid the pandemic and related restrictions. It's a difficult time for a lot of people and I hope y'all are doing well and staying healthy, and enjoying your stitching. 

PSA: Playing with Jax

 

Public Service Announcement! CEC has re-posted the free chart for the alternative center pumpkin for Playing with Jax. It's available right here. 

This one is my own purple color conversion. All the info on my color choices is available in the Playing with Jax posts I shared while stitching it. 

If you don't have the freebie, you might want to go grab it. It's not always available.

Happy Stitching!

Time for Tea Update

 September and October blocks finished! Getting close to a finish!

Info on this design in this post.

Happy Halloween from Tiger Lily!

 

Road Trip, Part 3

Back in the car, everybody! Last leg of the road trip and we're off to The Badlands of South Dakota!

Badlands National Park, South Dakota:

That's it for the road trip! We had a wonderful time and were blown away by the country we saw: the vast, lonely beauty of the High Plains, the pine forests of the Black Hills, the other-worldly ruggedness of The Badlands. It was all gorgeous in its own way. Thanks for tagging along!