Friday, December 13, 2013

Cat Collage Update, a Field Trip and a new Recepie

Hello all,

I was finally able to get all the brown outline completed on my cat collage. At first I was only going to do the box that I was working in, but after a while the cloth I am stitching it on would get heavy and cause my fingers to cramp. My thought was that if I could finally get the whole outline done, then I could safely cut the excess material away and make the whole project much easier to handle. So I stitched and stitched with the same drab DMC 610 until it was all finished. I actually did pretty good and only had to frog two sections. Now normally I won't wash a piece until I am completely done, but this piece has been sitting around for over a year and has survived a move. It was very dirty. So in the wash (in a lingerie (sp?) bag) on delicate, hung up to dry and ironed.

Thank goodness all the dirt came out. I was able to cut off the excess fabric and sew the edges. I also removed all the tape that I had on the edges. (I did that before I knew not to use tape). As you can see I still have aways to go, but I feel pretty good with my progress. I know I have enough material and I have each section ready for me to stitch it's occupant. Below is a close up shot of the completed occupants.
 
 
After getting everything cut down to size, I asked my little one which cat I should do next and she picked the box with the words. What is funny is that this little kitten is my 13th stitched cat and he is # 13 on the pattern. I was going to go back to the other side ( am am kinda near the right side of the project) I would continue where the hoop is so I did not have to move my hoop. (Being a little lazy :) So cat # 14 will be stitched in the box to the left of the kitten and under the words.
 
 
 
While I was finishing this one up and starting # 14, I had a stitching buddy.
 
 
Last weekend my brother really wanted to attend Mudfest again for his birthday and he wanted me there. Boy was it COLD!!!! We had some barrels set up so we could TRY (and I mean only try) to keep warm. In the picture the truck with the Rebel Flags is a friend who was with us. He has a great looking truck up close. I didn't think that I would really like attending this event but after my second experience, I think I will keep attending. With one exception...I will NOT EVER attend the winter event again. It is too cold!!!!
 
Below is a little video of a silly little jeep trying to pull out a stuck truck. He had the power but not the weight.
 

 
There have been some pretty nice looking recipes on Facebook lately. One for a Pepperoni Stromboli sounded easy enough to make. And with simple ingredients something even my little one would eat.
 

I like mushrooms on my pizza but the little one does not, so...we made two. I split the dough in half (pre-made pizza crust), put half the ingredients (pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, seasoning mix (two egg yolks, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup oil) on mine and the other half on hers, then added mushrooms to mine. Rolled them up, pinched the ends closed, twisted a little bit of leftover dough into a ribbon to mark one of them, spread the egg whites on top and Ta Da!! Personal Stromboli. Delish! The little one ate all of hers and she is a picky eater. I am not sure where the original recipe came from so I can't post it.
 

Well, I've got to run and get some things done.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Quick update and a couple of Giveaways

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Good food, family, some laughs...and of course, some drama. I am very thankful that it stayed to minor verbal comments (that were not directed at me).  We are probably going to go back and spend Christmas there. Hopefully things will stay calm.

I was able to complete a couple more cats.
Cat # 10 is now complete. I tried four times to fix his eyes. This last time I left as is.

Cat # 11

Cat # 12

I have been working on stitching the boxes for the rest of the cats. I wanted to do this so I can cut some of the excess fabric off the ends. It is getting to be a little too cumbersome to hold as I am stitching. I currently have masking tape on the edges (I restarted this project about a year ago before I knew better). When I cut off the extra I am going to sew the ends. I'll take another picture of the full piece when I get the edges sewn. I need to put this aside for a couple of weeks so that I can get some presents for the kids of the family done.

I took a quick stitch with me to my Brother's but forgot to take a picture of it. I have not touched it since we came back. I think I am going to use this as my traveling piece. I might make a pillow out of it when done.

Now on to the Giveaway portion of our program today.

First is a wonderful pamphlet of snowmen give by the wonderful Parsley at Seasons of My Mind.

Next is another wonderful giveaway by Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe...


Fourth Day of Christmas Give-away....LOTS of FLOSS!
On the fourth Day of Christmas Nancy gave to Me:
25!!! yes 25 skeins (20 yards each!), 500 yards!
of floss from the 1795 Sampler Collection! One lucky winner. You pick the colors!

Stop by both these beautiful ladies pages and tell them I sent you.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela