Threads of Inspiration

Easy Cupcakes

2012-02-01T17:30:00.005-05:00

Happy February! Last night a friend mentioned that we are halfway to spring! As if that wasn't enough reason to love the month there is also Valentine's Day. Time to pull out the lace, pink and red decor and figure out ways to make the days special for your loved ones. It was also 25 years ago that my sweetie and I tied the knot. Yes, it was on Valentine's Day!

I wanted to start the month out with a special treat and I was inspired by all sorts of beautiful food on the Internet. However, I got a bit overwhelmed with the effort it would take to make the cakes and deserts. I remembered the white cake mix I had in the cupboard and decided to make some cupcakes. I decided to make it a bit special and took out half of the batter and added some red food coloring. I filled the cupcake papers with half white and half pink batter and swirled it around. I did get a little decadent and made a cream cheese frosting (1/4 cup butter, 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 pound powdered sugar and tsp vanilla all whizzed up with the mixer). Personally desert just doesn't count unless there is chocolate involved so I topped each one with a kiss and some sprinkles. It was easy but makes for a special treat. So, find a cake mix and whip up some cupcakes for your sweeties!

New Work

2012-01-25T12:45:00.006-05:00

I have recently been asked to show my work in April at the Riverfront Art Center here in Stevens Point. The show is called Common Threads and will include several textile artists. This will be the first time my work will be exhibited in Wisconsin and it has really motivated me. I have gotten away from showing my work and I am finding that making new work feels refreshing and fun. Here is the latest piece I completed yesterday.

The trees are made out of rusted wire and the small house is made by weaving shredded money. No, I didn't cut up my money, I purchased a bag of shredded bills quite a few years ago and have done a few things with the material. I discovered that if I ironed the small pieces flat they could be woven into a really interesting fabric. I guess this makes sense because the paper money is made out of has a high percentage of cotton rag. Let me know what you think of it!

Tea!

2012-01-20T15:54:00.004-05:00

One of the hightlights of our trip to Colorado was a tour of the Celestial Seasoning's Tea factory. I have been drinking Celestial Season's Tea since I was in college and that was a loooooong time ago. All of Celestial Seasoning's tea is made in Boulder, Colorado and when we drove into the parking lot we saw a very colorful store front with graphic images taken from the art used on the tea boxes.

The tour begans in the tasting room where several teas, both hot and cold, were brewed and ready for tasting as well as individual cups of any tea we wanted to try. The tasting room not only has tea but also the original artwork used on the boxes. If you haven't looked carefully at the boxes, take a moment and pull out your teas and look at them. They have lovely illustrations. In addition they have a collection of artist made teapots that were great fun to check out.

After the tasting and a short film we went onto the factory floor and it smelled like heaven! There were bags of herbs and teas stacked to the ceiling. One of the rooms we went into was the peppermint room. They have to keep peppermint seperated from the other ingredients because it has such an intense smell. If it was kept with other ingredients it would start to change the flavor of the other herbs and spices. After standing in the room for a few minutes I could feel my head and sinuses start to clear!

Of course, the tour ends at the gift shop where I scooped up a few boxes of tea and a cute little dish in which to 1put my used tea bag. If you ever find yourself in Boulder, Colorado check out the Celestial Seasonings tea plant!

Colorado

2012-01-19T18:53:00.006-05:00

My sweetie and I just returned from a great January get-away. We went to Colorado and visited my cousin and a friend. The mountains were beautiful, the food delicious and plentiful and fun was all around. We didn't ski (haven't done that for decades and the idea of ending up with something broken didn't seem like a good way to spend a vacation) but we did take a gondola to the top of Vail mountain and took photos and had lunch. Here are a few photos of the trip.

CHEERS!

New and Interesting Things

2011-12-14T13:05:00.003-05:00

I have found lately that I haven't been reading blogs and that has made me a very dull person it seems! Although didn't know that until this morning when I decided I needed to take some time out and see what some of my favorite blog friends were up to. I discovered this great free hat pattern at The Purl Bee, B. at Dog in the Hole Studio wrote about making pockets to put beside each plate at Christmas dinner. Inside each pocket would be questions to be answered either by the person with the pocket or they could ask another person at the table the question. One of the questions was fun...if you didn't have any bones in your body to break what activities would you do without fear? I also caught up on holiday doings and the end of Every Inchie Monday, which I only participated in part of the time. I still love looking at my little inchies and maybe I will make some more to join the twenty or so I already have. So, next time I feel I don't have the time to read blogs I hope I remember how energized and inspired I feel by all of your creativity. I waste time in so many ways...reading blogs is not one of them!

My Favorite Christmas Cookies

2011-12-13T16:55:00.013-05:00

As the song goes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. The tree and decorations are up and yesterday I baked my favorite cookies, Fudge Peppers. They are a chocolate cookie with a chocolate mint inside. I was introduced to these delectable bites when I was a teenager. My mom's friend Jeannie used to make them and when I would babysit for her around the holidays I would eat as many as possible without getting found out. It was kind of like going after the brownies by "evening out the edges" of the rows. Then my mom made them and I also gobbled down as many as possible. The recipe calls for Rockwood Mints, a brand that is no longer manufactured, so for awhile, no Fudge Peppers. Then last year I got an idea to try Hershey Mint Truffle Kisses and voila! They were great! This year as I was making them I felt my mom and her good friend Jeannie, both who have passed, present in my kitchen. It was a nice baking day. Most importantly I want to pass this recipe on to you, but with a warning! If you have a babysitter hide your Fudge Peppers!

Fudge Peppers

Cream together:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter

Add:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cupt brown sugar
Add:

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Sift and add:

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt (I think this is a bit much, I reduce it to 1/2 tsp)

2/3 cup cocoa

Place Hershey's Mint Truffle Kiss or other chocolate mint in center of a teaspoon full of dough. Seal edges and roll into a ball. Roll in white sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes. Makes approximately 3 dozen.

Holiday Tutorials

2011-12-06T15:10:00.008-05:00

I was doing a little blog hopping yesterday and came upon some wonderful ornaments at A Creative Dream. These cute owls what drew me in and I explored more and found many others including this snowman and monkey. Happiness in blogland is finding great tutorials and the blogger, who refers to herself as a Creative Dreamer, is posting 15 holiday ornament tutorials in 15 days (not counting weekends). Hop on over there and start making some ornaments. Gifts perhaps?

New Work

2011-11-28T13:32:00.004-05:00

Sometimes when I work on a piece that has a lot of meaning to me it is hard to talk about, at least at first. I have just finished such a piece and I want to share it but not reveal too much about it, so here are some images. You will see that I have stepped back from an embroidered face and instead used watercolor and ink. Enjoy the images.

Early Winter

2011-11-09T11:46:00.007-05:00

Two days ago the weather forcast called for snow in the western part of the state and I was so happy to see my area was not in the colored boxes on the weather map. Unfortunately the front moved and today we are getting our first snowfall, and it is a doozy. No little skimpy snow to get used to the next season, no sireee. We have the stuff just pouring from the sky.

One thing about snow, it seems to turn the air calm and quiet and a of peace settles in. It makes you want to snuggle in your fluffiest sweater, make some hot chocolate and settle in with a good book. Here are some images taken from my driveway.

Fall Gardening

2011-10-24T13:54:00.006-04:00

I don't consider myself a great gardener although I've had a few gardens. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't. For example I usually get a profusion of herbs but for the last two years not a single beet has turned into anything but bug eaten tops. But I keep planting and trying and learn something new with every garden. I have never grown garlic and this year I am going to give it a try. You can plant it either in the spring or fall so I am going to try fall planting and keep my fingers crossed. The variety I chose is Late Italian. I would like to say I scoured through all sorts of varieties and this one was best for my purposes, but in reality it was the variety the store had left and I'm sure it will be just fine. It apparently is a soft neck variety with a tight wrapper and nice fat cloves and good for braiding. I planted them this morning and so goes another garden experiment.

I have waiting for me a large bag full of green tomatoes. I was tempted to toss them in the compost bin but then I found a few recipes to try, some green tomato chutney and green tomato salsa. I'll report back after I get them made.

I also took some photos of my backyard as winter sets in, a cool dried fern which I might bring in and see if I can do something interesting with and some very sour concord grapes on the vine. I probably could have made jam with them but it would have taken 40 pounds of sugar to make it palatable. Even the birds haven't eaten them!

Get Creative

2011-10-12T13:42:00.006-04:00

I was perusing my new favorite site, Pinterest, and found this great poster. It came from the blog Divas and Dreams which focuses on photography and lifestyle. While some of these suggestions focus on photography they could be transformed into the technique/media of choice. I think there are so many great ideas in this poster it should be pinned in several places in my house...my studio, of course, above my computer, the refrigerator, in the bathroom! Enjoy and get inspired!

Wisconsin Quilt Expo

2011-10-11T12:52:00.006-04:00

One of the fun things I did this summer was go to the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in Madison. It was sponsored by Nancy Zieman, of Sewing With Nancy fame, and so my husband took to calling it the Nancy-Palooza which I thought was quite funny.

I didn't discover this event until a few weeks before it took place so I didn't go to any workshops. Taking in the vendor area was overwhelming enough and I only planned on spending one day. There were booths with fabric and more fabric, sewing machines and sewing machine cabinets, patterns and threads and one of my favorite really expensive things, the embroidery machines. I'm not really interested in owning one but the technology is pretty amazing.

One of my favorite shops was Trims on Wheels which was a funny little booth filled with all sorts of trims and buttons. If I had an idea for some great trims I could have gone wild in that space. I got some marvelous badges that were made in India and kept my stash to just a few.

Marcia Derse has a line of fabrics that are very modern and fun. I spent a great deal of time there trying to choose among so many good choices.

Missing and a Trip

2011-10-10T11:54:00.008-04:00

Lately I have been having a hard time getting here to post. I have been feeling a lack of inspiration in many areas of my life and, really, that isn't very surprising given the last year or so has been filled with upheaval, change and sadness. But, given that, I decided it was time to move forward and for the last several weeks I have been giving The Artist's Way a go again. If you are not familiar with this book, it was the first written by Julia Cameron and it is about how to get creatively unstuck. Some of it is hard work but so worth it. I immediately felt more energetic and now I have some ideas that I am working on in the studio.

In the midst of all of this my dad and I went on a short weekend trip to South Dakota to visit my great uncle and his family. The weekend was gorgeous and we took a really fun side trip to find the cabin on Big Stone Lake that my grandparents once owned. We only took one wrong turn but when we found the right road we knew it immediately because of the steep hill with a curve at the bottom that leads to the cabin. Of course it had changed some but it was still recognizable. There had been a large bank of windows all across the front of the cabin that have been replaced with two smaller windows which I am sure are more energy efficient but I thought the panoramic view of the lake was spectacular back in the day.

My great uncle had been a farmer and he had taken the farm over from his father, my great-grandfather and it is still in the family being run by my second cousin and his two sons. It is not the same farm I remember, but farming is not the same as it was 40 years ago. Visiting a farm in the fall when the harvest is coming in is truly a fun event. Enjoy the photos of the cabin, lake and some farm scenes!

P.S. I'm going to try to be a more regular blogger!

2011-09-20T10:26:00.006-04:00

I ran into an old friend a few weeks ago who told me about a website that she loves, Pinterest. It is the strangest sight but in a really good way. It is a place for you to create virtual pinboards and place upon it any image you might find on the web or on their site. You can create your own categories and have as many boards as you want. You can comment and "like" other people's pins as well as repin them to your own boards. In addition, when you pin something you get the original website or blog link the images was from. That makes it a great place to save recipes and diy tutorials. The image above was my first "pin" and I am in love with that space. Can't you just imagine curling up with a good book and warm cup of tea in that porch?

The only catch to joining pinterest is you must have either a facebook or twitter account and if you have an aversion to those sites you are out of luck. However, the inspiration is worth it! The only other drawback I heard from my friend was that it takes awhile to get a reply if you want to join, so getting an invite is faster.

Early Harvest

2011-09-15T10:58:00.009-04:00

Last night there were predictions of frost and it seems my garden is at the height of its productivity. We had a very late spring and I didn't get to it for several weeks after it was possible so the plants are acting as if it is mid-July, although the days are getting shorter and the temps cooler. This frost prediction is about a month earlier than normal, whatever that is anymore. I went out and harvested all of the tender plants - lettuce, basil, flowers, beans and lemon verbena that I thought wouldn't make it. I covered as much as I could with blankets and happily we stayed just above freezing. However, I now have all of these vegetables and herbs that I have picked. I'm planning on making big batches of pesto with the basil. After I make it I put it in ice cube trays and freeze. Once the basil cubes are frozen I pop them out and store them in a freezer bag. They are great for adding to pasta sauce all winter long! I think we will be having a pizza tonight with pesto, sundried tomatoes, calamata olives and marinated artichokes on my half! Delish! One more thing...today is my birthday, so this is birthday basil!

Patterns!!!

2011-09-12T18:27:00.003-04:00

At long last I have gotten myself together and finished the patterns I was making for the Matryoshka dolls. Actually the patterns have been done for a long time but I just converted them into PDF files so they could be listed on etsy. A PDF is a much speedier way to get them on their way. So, if you happened to like them head on over to my etsy site and shop away! The patterns could be waiting in your inbox in just a few hours!

School Days!

2011-09-01T14:04:00.007-04:00

This morning I drove by the elementary school that is just a few blocks from my house. I noticed little bicycles in the rack and the sign in front of the building noted that today is the first day of school. It made me think back to all of the excitement as well as trepidation that day usually brought. Deciding what to wear on that first day was one of the biggest decisions of my life back then. I found an old picture of myself standing in our front yard waiting to head out for third or maybe fourth grade. I'm wearing a dress that my grandma had made me. I think she spent quite a bit of time making me dresses for that year. Note, I said dresses, because it would be three more years before we were allowed to wear pants.

I have always looked forward to the new school year, even as an adult. Maybe because of the many years I spent as a student and then as a teacher, I have always found fall, rather than January, the time of new beginning. So here's to a grand new school year!

Cool Plant Stand and Inchies

2011-08-29T16:45:00.008-04:00

Last weekend we discovered a really cool consignment shop called Milo Milo (sadly they don't have a website) in Appleton, WI and found this really great plant stand. I am quite sure it is a one of a kind made from a variety of wrought iron pieces that have been welded together. The minute I saw it (and saw the reasonable price) I knew it had a place in my garden.

It is also Every Inchie Monday and I've posted two this week. I missed last week and the theme was imagine and all I could think of was John Lennon singing the song of the same name. So, here is a version of his self portrait in felt and thread. This weeks theme is change. My line changes color as well as goes from straight to curved. A bit lame but it's all I had this week!

Carol Eckert

2011-08-19T16:53:00.004-04:00

I have been pondering several things lately, among them are what to make and what to write about. I am interested in retablos, small wooden boxes that have vignettes or iconography in them and highly deocrated, and so I was doing an Internet search. I came upon the work of Carol Eckert, who calls the sculptures she makes retablos, although they are not in the traditional sense. The wonderful bird and animal sculptures she makes are copper wire wrapped with DMC embroidery floss. I thought they were amazing. Follow this link to the Jane Sauer Gallery to see more of Carol's work.

Strength, Popeye Style

2011-08-15T12:47:00.004-04:00

Once again it is Every Inchie Monday and I am back in the game. Today's theme is strength and I decided to make a strongman's arm. When I got it cut out I realized it wouldn't be complete without a Popeye style tattoo! So, here's to strength in all it's forms. To see many of those forms, go to Every Inchie Monday .

A Bit More of the Fishing Story

2011-08-12T13:51:00.005-04:00

After I posted the story yesterday about going to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame I got a note from my cousin. He remembered going with his dad and another of my uncles to take the rod and reel as well as some other things that belonged to my grandpa to the Hall of Fame. However, it seems it was never returned to family members and it has been lost. I went rooting around because I knew I had a photo of the fish and I turned up not only a photo of my grandpa, Victor B. Halls and one fish, but also a newspaper clipping of him between both of his giant fish. The date was 1941 and the fish was caught in Canada. After he returned home there was a fish feed held for the whole town of Ellsworth, Wisconsin. Of course, the town wasn't, nor is it now, very large, but what a great celebration for my grandpa!

Fishy Vacation

2011-08-11T12:23:00.009-04:00

Our summer has been an unusual one but we did manage to get a vacation in. Because of my mom we didn't want to go far so we were gifted by old family friends with the use of their beautiful cabin in northern Wisconsin. We lounged, read, fished off the dock and took a few day trips. One of our trips was to the ultra-touristy town of Hayward, not usually a stop I would choose but I wanted to go to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. The draw was my grandfather's old fishing pole. Long before I was born he caught two record sized muskies and his fishing pole had been housed there. Unfortunately we didn't find it and my dad thought it had been returned to a family member. But!!!!! We found very kitchy and cool giant fiberglass fish, the largest being a musky that you could walk into and look out at the grounds from inside the mouth.

There were also displays of fishing boats, motors, ice fishing equipment, rods, reels and lures, lots of lures. I was most fascinated by these because the collections were huge and the shapes, sizes and colors appealed to the artist in me. What is the kitchiest vacation spot you have come across?

Sunset

2011-08-01T17:14:00.005-04:00

This weeks theme for Every Inchie Monday is Sunset. I knew immediately what I wanted to do because I used to teach fourth grade and we always did a sunset art project. To create the sunset, I would have the kids tear tissue paper into strips and overlap the edges and glue them down onto a piece of construction paper. Then with a piece of black paper they would cut out a landscape and always include a tree and that would be glued down on top of the tissue paper strips. They were always really colorful and looked great on the wall. So, I used a similar idea but instead of the tissue paper I took markers and colored a piece of felt and then cut the landscape from black felt and glued them together.

Summer Sandwiches

2011-07-26T14:11:00.004-04:00

I made these great sandwiches a few weeks ago. They were simple and tasty, perfect for a hot summer day. I got the idea from looking through a cookbook by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa but I made a few changes.

Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

3-4 Roasted peppers

vinaigrette dressing

goat cheese

chopped red onion

basil leaves

party rye bread or baguette

Roast the peppers in a hot oven (500 degrees) for about 30-40 minutes. You can also use a jar of roasted peppers. Whip up your favorite vinaigrette or use a good bottled dressing like Newman's Own and marinate the peppers for a few hours. Spread the goat cheese on the bread, top with peppers, red onion and basil.

These were especially good with a nice glass of dry, fruity white wine like a sauvignon blanc or pinto grigio (my favorite wines) Enjoy!

Nest

2011-07-25T14:02:00.006-04:00

This weeks Every Inchie Monday theme is nest. That feels like such a perfect word for me today because over the weekend I attended my 35th high school class reunion which meant I was social for about 72 hours straight. Although I've had a great deal of fun I am truly ready for some nesting. So here is my quiet little nest as well as a photo of the folks I had a lot of fun with this weekend!

Love and Rememberance

2011-07-11T15:13:00.004-04:00

I haven't been here to write for awhile and it seems that Every Inchie Monday's theme of love is a good place to begin again. Here is my little heart that goes out to all of you.

As many of you know my mom has not been well and sadly she passed away peacefully on June 29th. It is a very sad time yet we know she no longer has to contend with her diminished body and mind. I wrote a funny memory about my mom which I would like to share with you.

As I've reflected on my mom's life these last few days what keeps appearing is how much fun my mom liked to have. She was such a good person to play jokes on that it happened a lot.

Quite a few years ago my dad's family would hold gatherings in Las Vegas. They came from many corners of the country to see each other, laugh, play cards, gamble and the women would shop for matching polyester pantsuits.

One time they stayed at a hotel with particularly nice towels and my mom slipped a few in her suitcase and brought them home. A few days after they arrived back home the phone rang. A man on the other end of the line identified himself as the manager of the hotel. He asked if they had stayed in a certain room and my mom said yes. He then said the television was missing in that room and he thought she had stolen it.

My mom yelled into the phone "I might have taken a few towels but I didn't steal your TV!"

At the other end of the phone my Great Uncle Bob roared with laughter!

I shared this at the funeral and although I wasn't planning on sharing anything this story came to me that morning and it was as if my mom was saying, "Go on, write it. I want to make them laugh one more time."

Give Away Winners

2011-05-31T14:48:00.004-04:00

I'm guessing you all thought I'd flown the coop, but no I am still here but had to take a bit of an absence last week. My mom continues to need more care and so we had to admit her to a nursing home. It was a sad day but we are all trying to adjust in our own ways.

But onto more fun things! Denise was the winner of the giveaway! The kit to make Anya will be winging it's way to her soon. Congratulations Denise!

Sew Mama Sew Give Away Day!

2011-05-22T21:51:00.012-04:00

Bettina

Today is Sew Mama Sew's Give Away Day and I am participating. I will be giving away a pattern and kit for one of my matryoshka dolls. There are three to choose from and you get to decide which one you prefer! The kit includes the pattern, instructions, felt and embroidery floss, enough to complete one doll.
To enter, leave a comment after this post (if you would like to follow me I will enter your name twice!) and let me know which kit you would like. Also leave a way for me to contact you if you are the lucky winner. You must enter anytime between now and midnight central time Wednesday May 25th. The winner will be chosen randomly. To see more blogs participating go to Sew Mama Sew. Good luck and have fun!

Anya (above) Sasha (below)

Easy Embroidery Sampler

2011-05-18T17:15:00.005-04:00

This is my first post on my new computer. Everything faster and the screen is shinier...much more fun!

I've been working on a design to use when teaching a beginning embroidery class and this is what I have come up with. The stitches are easy...stem stitch, satin stitch, chain stitch and french knots. I tested it out and really like the colors but would also like to try a set of colors that are either much brighter or in a green and blue palette. Right now folks are getting geared up for summer plans so that gives me time to test out some other colorways before teaching. I think this design would make a nice little pillow, gift bag or even a pocket on an apron.

Don't forget to come back on May 23 because I will be participating in Sew Mama Sew's spring Give Away Day! Remember those Matryoshka dolls from a few posts ago......

Pink and Fancy

2011-05-16T20:54:00.007-04:00

This weeks Every Inchie Monday theme is fancy. Now, you might be wondering why I did an inchie with two dogs on it. Well, when we got our dog as a puppy she was really energetic and wanted to constantly play. On a walk we met one of our neighbors who understood how warn out we were. She invited Tia, our puppy, to come and play with her dog Fancy. That began a great friendship between the two and when we even said Fancy's name, Tia became excited. The beads are on the inchie because Fancy's mom gave Tia a collar with rhinestones to match one Fancy had. These two dogs were so far from being frou-frou that the collars were a joke. Unfortunately we have moved away from Fancy but if for some reason we have to say that word in front of Tia we say f-a-n-c-y so she doesn't get excited and think her friend is back to play. Here is a picture of the real Fancy (white) and Tia (black).

If you read my previous post you know why I missed last Monday's inchie. The theme was pink and here is my version. Not only are the materials pink but I used my pinking scissors to "pink" the edges! To see more inchies go to Every Inchie Monday!

Prayer Stitches

2011-05-13T16:01:00.005-04:00

Last Sunday I had a great plan for Mother's Day, my parents were going to visit and I was going to make a great meal complete with English Trifle brimming with fresh fruit. Instead I recieved a call that my mom was sick and being admitted to the hospital. My mom has Lewy Body Dimentia which is Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease all rolled into one and then some. I went home and spent the last few days with my parents first going to the hospital and then helping my dad get her situated after she returned home. This is a really difficult disease for everyone, especially the main caregiver, in this case my dad.

As I was dashing out the door I knew I needed something to stitch, keeping my hands busy is always a calming thing, my version of prayer beads I guess. I grabbed a piece of blue felt and tossed it into a ziploc bag that already held some embroidery floss. As I was stitching I discovered a crocheted medallion and that became part of this piece. I have no idea what this will become, and maybe it will just be what it is a small bright spot amidst several stress filled days.

My mom is doing much better and is home once again and for that we are all happy.

On a fun note I am planning on participating in Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day on Monday May 23, so come back and see what is up!

Three Matryoshkas

2011-05-05T15:22:00.006-04:00

Sasha, Bettina and Anya are among the projects I completed in the last few months. They are inspired by matryoshkas, the Russian nesting dolls. These don't nest, however, and are made of felt and ornamented with hand embroidery. The embroidery stitches are basic and I had a lot of fun creating them.

One of my goals is to make patterns so that other people can create some of my designs and I decided these dolls made the pattern list! I told my friend Barbara of Stony Mountain Fibers and she asked me to make kits that would include the felt and embroidery floss. That was real motivation and so I got to work! She is taking them this weekend to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Show and I am anxious to see how they do. After I get some feedback from her I will adjust what needs to be adjusted (price, packaging, whatever) and list them on etsy. I'll be sure to let you know when I get them listed.

Every Inchie Monday...Heart

2011-05-02T14:34:00.003-04:00

Todays Every Inchie Monday theme is heart. I thought of different ways to make this inchie, but when it came down to it our weather was my inspiration. We have had a gloomy, windy and cold spring often punctuated by bouts of snow. In fact I heard from a friend that is was snowing this morning a few hours west of here. Given that, I wanted something bright and sunny to make up for the outside gloom, so here is my yellow heart stitched with bright orange and magenta thread. I am thinking of it as a talisman that will call to the sun and bring it forth! To see other heart inchies go here.

Felting

2011-04-27T12:56:00.003-04:00

I have been really busy planning things...a class, a class reunion, some pattern designs and sometimes dinner! Last Saturday I taught a basic wet felting class and had seven lovely women sign up. We had a great time trying out different color combinations, embedding yarns and even shredded money into the felt. There was mostly wet felting but also a little needle felting. It was a fun time and I enjoyed meeting like-minded folks! I hope to teach some more classes soon.

Now I'm going to try to get some new things listed on etsy today so you can see what else I've been up to.

Joy!

2011-04-25T13:11:00.003-04:00

Todays Every Inchie Monday theme is JOY! I was going to make a little horn with confetti coming out of it but as I worked it morphed into a vase with spring flowers. I will have to say, after this long snowy winter, joy is spring flowers. I discovered a little patch of blood root blooming in my yard this morning which is adding to the sunny joy of this day! For more joyful inchies, go here.

My 150th Post and New Inchies

2011-04-18T20:48:00.003-04:00

I have been working on a special project that I'll let you in on next time! I tell you this because it is the reason that I have gotten behind in my inchies. I really don't want to miss out on the inchies so I created three and here they are. Todays inchie is Friends, last week was Peace and the week before that, my favorite inchie so far, was Sing. If you want to see more inchies go here.

As I was signing in to write this I noticed it was my 150th post!

Danish Inspiration

2011-03-30T11:04:00.011-04:00

My friend Libby and I are doing monthly projects to help spark our creativity. The March project was to chose a time in our life and create something on a 12 inch square of muslin that represented that time. I have recently met Dorthe who blogs at Den Lille Lade and lives on the beautiful island of Bornholm in Denmark. Memories of my trip to Denmark and a weekend stay bicycling and hiking Bornholm came back to me. I decided this had to be the inspiration for my March project.

I have always had a fascination with block prints and decided I would carve some stamps and make concentric borders within the 12 inches. I printed on both muslin and paper. I was using Colorbox inks for the fabric but it absorbed the color and I am much happier with the paper print. This has a shadow underneath because I photographed it on top of the paper print. In reality it is much cleaner.

We were there in April and the bare trimmed trees were the inspiration for the outer border.

We came upon runestones and so I carved a set of runes. However I forgot about carving them backwards so they print in the right direction. C'est la vie! I decided to just go with it!

As we were biking we came upon a marker for a Viking dwelling. On one side it looked like a hill with trees on top but on the other was a stone entrance and this photo shows the construction with large boulders and stacked slabs of stone. It was a magical feeling place and so ancient. That is the inspiration for the third border.

The inner image is a church window.

If you ever have the chance to visit this wonderful island don't hesitate! Have you ever made art inspired by a place or a time in your life? I'd love to hear about it.

Catching Up on Inchies!

2011-03-28T11:33:00.005-04:00

After a cold, a house guest and a trip to visit friends, I have returned to Every Inchie Monday. I decided to make the inchies for the weeks I was away so here they all are. At the top is todays inchie, Winged. It got a little out of focus because it is somewhat dimensional and when I put it in the scanner it wouldn't lay flat. The two that I missed are Rhythm, the musical notations and Endless. When I thought about endless two things came to mind, the symbol for infinity and the geometric symbol for a ray. I decided to put both of them on one little inchie. To see more inchies go here.

Little Birdies

2011-03-08T15:01:00.003-05:00

These are my little birds having a hen party! I made a bunch of these little birds and finally got around to listing them on etsy! So far I've only listed three, but I'll add more in the next day or so. They are all made with silk dupioni and have silk or cotton tails and breasts with beaded crests and hand embroidered wings and eyes. Go check them out and let me know what you think!

Dance

2011-03-07T14:03:00.003-05:00

Every Inchie Monday and the theme is Dance. I attempted to make a tiny dance diagram and I have to say it isn't my favorite. It was a little difficult to cut those tiny shoes. I printed off some from the computer and laid the page over a piece of felt and then did my best to cut them out. But, here it is for better or worse. Go to Every Inchie Monday to see more dancing inchies.

Gifts

2011-03-03T11:24:00.008-05:00

Earlier this week I received the door prizes that I won during the amazing One World One Heart blog hop. I was a lucky winner of not one, but three of the door prizes! I want to share with you the talents of these creative women. First, Jeanette of Handmade sent this colorful envelope containing a hand embroidered heart which came all the way from Sweden. We discovered in our conversation that several years ago I had traveled to her town, thousands and thousands of miles from where I live!

Wanda of Needlewings sent me this beautiful charm with my initial on it. It is on a satin cord that is cleverly tied to allow you to adjust the length of the of the necklace. I wear a lot of black and red, so it is perfect!

Lastly, Wendy of Dragonfly Dreams sent me a bookmark and collage tag. There is so much attention to detail in her work, it is truly wonderful. Since I read constantly the book mark will come in handy!

As I was getting ready to write this post I popped over to each of their blogs to make sure I had the right addresses for linking them and I was blown away that each of them had great posts I want to go back and read. Jeanette wrote about making paper mache teacups and a link to one of her favorite artists for inspiration. Wanda has some amazing art dolls that are made with lots of gears and circuitry, very cool! Wendy has several posts about some necklaces she is making with the theme of birds and birdhouses. Frankly, I am coveting them! Head over to their blogs and see what they are up to.

Frolic Through the Garden

2011-02-28T12:08:00.005-05:00

Today is Every Inchie Monday and the word is frolic. I decided that I would most like to frolic in a garden so I used my machine embroidery stitches and embroidered the yellow flowers, then I added the purplish red line which is the line of the frolicker and some green leaves. The leaves and frolicking line are done by hand. Once again I started with a larger piece of fabric and cut it down to size. To see more inchies go to Every Inchie Monday.

Another thing I want to share is this funny picture I found while poking through some antique shops when we were up in northern Wisconsin. Written on the back of the photo is "Louise ready for a masquerade." I think it would be fun to print this on some fabric and do some embroidery on it.

Winter Up North

2011-02-23T14:22:00.004-05:00

This past weekend we went to northern Wisconsin to Treehaven, an educational facility in the woods. My husband took some of his students for a class project and while he taught, I got to roam the woods, read, stitch and generally relax. I thought I would share some of my photos. I tend to like the minutia of life so here are my shots of tree bark, tiny dried weeds and one long view of the woods.

Cosmic

2011-02-21T16:25:00.003-05:00

Once again it is Every Inchie Monday and the word of the week is cosmic. I looked up the word and found it has several meanings, this is the one I wanted to work with:

adj of or related to the cosmos, the extraterrestrial vastness, or the universe in contrast to the earth alone

I had some black felt with glitter embedded in it which gave it a lot of depth. Once again I cut a piece larger than one inch and stitched some metallic thread in a circular motion to give it a sort of endless feel. I trimmed it down and then topped it off with a star bead. To see more of this weeks inchies go here.

On another note, I have been the winner of several great door prizes from One World One Heart! How exciting that is! When I recieve them I'll give you a peek at what has come my way.

I went up to northern Wisconsin this past weekend with my husband and have some fun pictures of the wintery outdoors, I'll post them later in the week. Now, I have to take my dog for a walk in the continuously falling snow and get some nice hot soup simmering for dinner.

And the Winners Are...

2011-02-18T10:24:00.003-05:00

One World One Heart is over and what an amazing event it was. I found so many great blogs, followed many of them and bookmarked others. When I opened Google Reader this morning there were over 300 posts to read. I really don't think I'll get to all of them, I'll certainly read my old favorites and maybe start from scratch on the new ones. Well, for the winners. They are Marie at Spun by Me, Jo at Tanglefrost and Debra of It's All Good. Congratulations, I've e-mailed all of you so please send me your addresses.

Every Inchie Monday...errrr, Tuesday

2011-02-15T09:50:00.003-05:00

Well I am a bit behind with my inchie, but I did it and want to post it. The theme was fishy and the day was Valentine's, so again I combined the two and came up with some love-ly fishies. To see more inchies go here.

There are just a few more days left of One World One Heart and if you are looking for my post scroll down a bit or click here.

Valentine Treat Bags

2011-02-08T11:56:00.018-05:00

As promised, here is a tutorial for these cute Valentine Treat Bags. Fill these with some sweet candy or little gifts and you'll be well loved! Both bags are made exactly the same way just cut x's and o's instead of hearts for the white one. Have fun!

You will need:

8x10 inch piece of felt for bag

small pieces of felt for the hearts and x's and o's

24 inches of 1/4 inch ribbon

contrasting embroidery floss

ruler with scallop or decorative edge (optional)

purple disappearing pen

sharp pointy scissors

large eye tapestry needle

sewing machine

regular sewing supplies

To make the pattern cut a rectangle 8 1/2 by 6 3/4 inches. To mark the line for the ribbon cuts measure an inch and a half from the top draw a line from side to side. Draw another one parallel and 3/8" below the first one. Mark 1/4" seam allowances on the bottom and two sides. Using a scalloped ruler, or just eyeball it, draw scallops along the top. Please look at the image if any of this seems confusing.

Pin the pattern onto the felt and cut out. Fold back the pattern on the lower line that was drawn for the ribbon. Mark this line on the felt with a purple disappearing pen.

Next cut out hearts, just like you did in elementary school. Cut a square or rectangle, fold it in half and cut half a heart, open and viola!

Arrange the hearts in a way that makes you happy. Be sure to stay underneath the line for the ribbon. Using three strands of embroidery floss and using a running stitch, stitch down the hearts. Bury the knot under the heart so it wont be on the inside of the bag, but between the bag and the heart.
Stitch on all hearts.

Using the purple pen, make dots for the meandering stitch lines (I did two). Once again, keep this below the line for the ribbon.

To have the stitching lines meet up after sewing, mark on the side you will end the stitching on, where you started. That way you can end your line in about the same place you started. Stitch the meandering line.

Stitch 1/4" away from the scalloped edge.

With sharp pointed scissors make small cuts about 1/4" long for threading ribbon through. The cuts should be about 1/2" apart. Fold bag in half matching sides, and using a sewing machine, stitch a 1/4" seam allowance across the bottom and up the side.

Trim the corner on a diagonal.

Turn bag right side out. Using a large eyed tapestry needle, starting next to the seam, thread the ribbon through the small cuts. Make sure you straighten out the ribbon after each stitch because it tends to get twisted. Fill with treats!

Electrifying

2011-02-07T13:52:00.006-05:00

Every Inchie Monday again and the word is electrifying. I decided to be very literal this week and I have a little electrical socket and a cord to be plugged in. Did I ever mention I live in Wisconsin? Well, in honor of the Packers great victory yesterday my electifying homage to the Packers wears green and gold. To see more inchies go visit Every Inchie Monday.

If you are looking for my One World One Heart post scroll down or go here. I also hope to be back later today or tomorrow with my Valentine Treat bag tutorial.

New Heart Design

2011-02-04T12:23:00.004-05:00

Since it is February and Valentine's Day is nearing I find myself playing with hearts. I decided to expand on the hearts I have been making and try a different design. This one is quite a bit larger and I appliqued some birds and then added the flowers and stems that were in the smaller ones. I really love how this turned out.

Another thing I am working on is a little tutorial for some Valentine treat bags...that will be my next post. I still have some kinks to work out, mostly with the photos. I need to re-take some of them and that means make another bag LOL! So, stay tuned!

If you are looking for my OWOH post, it is just below and features one of my small hearts!

Newest Inchie

2011-02-01T12:45:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I got sidetracked visiting all sorts of great blogs from One World One Heart so I didn't get my inchie made in time. But, better late than never! This weeks theme is mirthful, meaning:

adj. 1. full of gladness and gaiety

2. characterized by or expressing gladness and gaiety

When I thought about this word what came to mind was a giant smile so I made a little felt (I seem to be obsessed with felt these days) square and embroidered some starbursts in the background, a big smile on top and finished the edges with little blanket stitches. To see more inchies go to Every Inchie Monday!

On another note, Happy February! I really love this month, Valentine's Day which is also the day we got married, inspires me with happy colors and hearts galore. I've come up with some projects, recipes and fun links so come back and visit often! If you'd like to win one of my felt embroidered hearts join in on the One World One Heart giveaway in the post just below this one!

One World One Heart

2011-01-31T01:50:00.009-05:00

Just an update to this post. Because I have had such an overwhelming response I will be giving away not one, but three hearts. Your choice of white with red stitching or red with white stitching. I am truly amazed and delighted to meet so many new friends and explore such great blogs!

I am excited to be participating in One World One Heart, an event for bloggers to meet and mingle. If you are new to my blog, welcome! If you have been here before, welcome back! If you would like to join in the event just click on the button on my side bar or here to find out more.

I am someone who has always asked the question "What do I want to be when I grow up?" Well, I'm in my fifties now and I think I probably need to quit trying to figure that one out and just "be." So, here is what I know about myself, so far. I am a textile artist and I like to use traditional techniques in unusual ways. I tend to make three dimensional fabric pieces and then embroider on them. Sometimes they are quite traditional looking and sometimes they are unusual. I think this is all part of my 'what do I want to be' thing. I want to do and try it all!

Besides textiles, my other passions are cooking and gardening. I like to experiment and try new recipes especially if it includes ingredients out of my garden. Herbs and I seem to have an especially good relationship but I still need to work some things out with peas and spinach.

I live in the upper Midwest of the United States. I grew up here but until recently, I lived in Virginia. As I watch the snow pile up and the temperature drop I long for the milder winters but I really love being in a place where I feel such a connection and being closer to family.

I left one of the best parts of One World One Heart for last, the door prize. In honor of February I will be giving away one of my felt embroidered hearts. Just leave a comment on this post and a way for me to get in touch with you. The drawing will take place on February 17th. Good to meet you!

Recycled Doll

2011-01-30T10:42:00.005-05:00

My friend Libby and I decided to do a monthly art exploration. We will choose a monthly theme or idea and see what we come up with. January's project was to use things you would throw in recycling to make a doll.

I had a plastic milk bottle which was the perfect shape for a body, a toilet paper tube extended the neck and while the styrofoam egg wasn't in my recycling, it was something I had so I didn't have to purchase a thing. I decided I would try my hand at paper mache, something I hadn't done since about fourth grade. I remember not liking it very much because the stuff got everywhere and I had cold mush running down my arms. Well, that was how it was in fourth grade, but I thought maybe I could be an adult and do it differently. I found a great website, Ultimate Paper Mache for recipes and hints. I decided to use warm water to mix up the paste and that was so much nicer to work with...no freezing fingers! I will say it was better than I remembered and I would probably do it again but as you can see I didn't get the surface very smooth. It was a fun experiment though and all in all I think it turned out pretty well.

After three layers of newspaper strips were applied and thoroughly dried, I drilled holes in the sides to put a wire through to string the beads for the arms and then painted everything and added the wooden beads for arms. Some glass flowers finished her off! Next month is making a two dimensional piece inspired by things in the kitchen - stay tuned!

Sarubobo Dolls

2011-01-26T12:15:00.006-05:00

I was checking out some of my favorite blogs the other day and at Coyote Craft I found a link to Mairuru and found a great tutorial. Sarubobo dolls are Japanese amulets traditionally made by grandmothers for their grandchildren to use as dolls and made for daughters as charms for good children, good marraiges.

I am always taken by very small things and very large things and these fit in the category of very small. They are hand sewn and very quick to make up. Go visit Mairuru for the directions and Coyote Craft to see her versions.

Every Inchie Monday

2011-01-24T09:54:00.004-05:00

Today's Every Inchie Monday theme is maudlin. It's meaning...

adjective

1. tearfully or weakly emotional, foolishly sentimental

2. foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkeness

I decided to depict sentimental with embroidered flowers and lace on felt. I added some eyes peeking out of the lace....watching, waiting, probably tearfully.

I have discovered I can work on these little pieces more easily if I start with a larger piece of fabric and mark a square inch in the middle. I then sew and embroider while having more room to manipulate the fabric through the sewing machine or in my hand. When I am finished I trim it down to size. For those of you wondering how I didn't sew through my fingers, now you know!

If you would like to see more inchies go to Every Inchie Monday.

You Are Worth the Time

2011-01-21T13:19:00.001-05:00

The other day I was blog hopping and found myself at Ardea's Nest where she had posted this video by Jan Phillips. I was moved by the power and truth of the words. If you have ever created, ever wanted to create or just want to understand why people create you need to watch this video. In other words, it is for everyone.

Valentines Anyone?

2011-01-18T10:59:00.006-05:00

I have had an etsy shop for quite awhile but haven't posted anything for way too long. I made these hearts and took them down to a friends stationary shop and she went wild for them so I decided to give them a go on etsy. So, in the event that you are looking for a little something for your loved ones, these little hearts might do the trick. They would be a nice addition to a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates but they are sweet enough to stand on their own! They are hand embroidered on wool/rayon felt and have a ribbon for hanging. To see the details go to Threads of Inspiration at etsy.

Every Inchie Monday

2011-01-17T11:44:00.003-05:00

I have joined Every Inchie Monday in creating an inchie every week for a year. An inchie is what it sounds like, a one inch square that is embellished and in this challenge around a weekly theme. This weeks theme is caring and here is my first inchie (I missed the first two weeks, but 50 inchies seems o.k. to me! Go to Every Inchie Monday to see more or join in yourself.

My inchie was originally going to have winter colors. For the last 5 days we have had an inch of snow each day and today expecting 3 to 5 inches so that seemed appropriate. I opened my box of felt and on top were beautiful bright colors and I realized how much I needed to see something other than white, silver and gray. So purple, lime green and blue with pink metallic stitching was for me! Enjoy!

Valentine Collage Cards

2011-01-14T11:51:00.005-05:00

I had such a good time making the collage cards in the previous post that I made more with a red/pink/white Valentine's Day theme. What I like about making these collages is every action you take - the motion of the machine stitches, placement of a ribbon or stamp, density of the angelina fiber - is creating the design. That seems obvious, but in the other work I do, for example embroidery, much of the design work is done up front and then making the object is really being the machine, if you will, that puts the stitches in place. Yes, design decisions are made along the way, but not every stitch is a design decision that will change the look of the piece. So, here are more collage cards!

Collage Cards

2011-01-10T16:44:00.003-05:00

A friend and I got together last week for an art play day. I find I need a friend to do this with because I forget about the play aspect of art. I have so many projects to work on that I go to them instead of experimentation. So, I packed up a few bags full of fabric, found paper objects, beads, buttons, thread and whatever struck my fancy, some muffins to start the day, soup for lunch and a movie to have on in the background. My friend supplied coffee, a great salad, some wine (how decadent to have wine for lunch!) a good space to work in and a plateful of cookies and goodies! The results for me were these collage cards that I am going to put in my local stationary shop, Paper Doll.

New Year - New Calendar

2011-01-08T17:36:00.004-05:00

Well, a new year has arrived and with it comes choosing a new calendar. For me this is an important task because I have to love my calendar, after all it will be by my side for a whole year and it has to work the way I need it to work. I have tried monthly and weekly formats, large, medium, and long ago when I was in high school I had a really tiny one which Hallmark gave away. I used to make up abbreviations to fit on the little squares which I thought might keep my parents from knowing what I was doing. The abbreviations went something like this....hotdlam...meaning heartthrob of the day looked at me. Those were the days! Now I abbreviate my colonoscopy and mammogram appointments.

After a lot of different trials I have come to find that We'Moon calendars are my favorite. They are filled with great artwork, prose, poetry, and some astrology. I find if I am waiting for an appointment I can always take out my calendar and read something interesting. Last year I was unable to find one but several weeks ago I snapped up one at my local bookstore so I am ready to organize and schedule my life for another year. I hope you have found the calendar of your dreams. Happy New Year!

Frosty Santas

2010-12-16T12:48:00.003-05:00

We have had some pretty cold weather here and Jack Frost has visited! I took photos of our windows and did a little photoshop magic and put my favorites from my santa collection in front of the windows. Enjoy!

Give Away Day

2010-12-13T10:08:00.002-05:00

This is just a quick post to let you know that today is Sew Mama Sew's big giveaway day. Go to their site and you will find three lists of blogs that are hosting giveaways. The list categories are; Sewing and Knitting Supplies, Handcrafted Items and Supplies and Handcrafted Items. I have participated in this before but this year I am just going to spend my time checking out blogs and maybe sign up for a few giveaways. Have fun!

House of Yum

2010-12-09T11:55:00.007-05:00

If I had any little ones to buy holiday gifts for the fabulous felt food at House of Yum would be tops on my list. My friend Beth White and her friend Danielle Miller have come up with amazingly creative felt play food. Their moniker is "Feed your childs imagination!" In addition to feeding the imagination the food also might get your child to try some different items on their real plate! I'm not going to say much more because the images of the tasty treats say what words can't describe. Go to their blog and order up some tasty shrimp lo mein, tea and cookies, pizza, bacon and eggs and fortune cookies.

New Work

2010-12-07T12:13:00.004-05:00

This is the newest-old piece I have been working on. The four large panels were made several years ago and I didn't know exactly what to do with them. I had them pinned together to form a sort of pyramid that stood (kind of) and I was thinking they might make a sculpture or doll skirt. When I came upon them a few weeks ago I wanted to reconfigure the pieces so you could see them all at once. I took them apart and instantly was filled with ideas of where to take them. I made a central piece that echoes the stars and points on the bigger pieces. I seem to always incorporate leaf images so made the skinny strips with leaves. I'm now working on smaller pointed pieces to go between the long and large pieces. They will have birds and shisha mirrors. All of this is hand stitched which I realize is a bit insane...but there it is. This is a piece about personal symbolism, birds, leaves, hands, spirals hearts and eyes often show up in my work and have meaning for me. So, now I have to go and thread a needle and get some more stitching done!

Tabula Rosa

2010-12-06T12:52:00.006-05:00

About a year and a half ago I was asked to join an art doll round robin along with 8 other women from all over the U.S and several from Canada. I happily joined but a month into the process I realized I would have a difficult time continuing. Most of my supplies and materials were in storage and working space was at a minimum so with sincere apologies I asked that my doll be sent back. Well, these wonderful, giving and creative women said they were going to keep her and work on her even in my absence. What returned to me a few weeks ago was amazing. Tabula Rosa, the name I had given her, and her journal are works of art. I am so grateful for the kindness, caring, time and creativity these women put into this piece. The pictures only give you a glimpse of the good energy Tabby brought back to me! Thanks again everyone!

Little Birdies

2010-11-15T10:22:00.003-05:00

I made this little bird for a friend and it turned out so well I made one for myself. Then I had to get some things made for a local holiday art show so I turned out ten more! I've been bird crazy! The main body is made of silk dupioni and the breast and tail feathers is made of a silk stripe. The wings are embroidered and the crest on her head is beaded.

While this one is made of silk, I have made them in felt, cotton and just about anything else that isn't stretchy. I made this pattern up in two sizes, this one is the tiny one which is about three inches long and the larger is about five. I'd really like to post this so you could go to a link and download the pattern, however, I'm not sure exactly how to do that. So, two things here...if you want the pattern, just leave a comment with your e-mail address and I'll send it to you as an attachment. The second thing, if you know how I could put it on here as a link, please let me know how it's done!

Finding Balance

2010-11-12T10:32:00.005-05:00

As you may have noticed my blog posts have been in short supply of late and I was, at first, thinking the title of this post would be "To Blog or Not To Blog?" but to rewrite Hamlet a bit, that is not the question. I have been realizing that in a lot of areas of my life I either go all out or I quit.

Then I started going to the local Y and adding regular exercise into my life and I really wanted to commit. With a membership you can get several sessions with a trainer and I thought it would be a good idea to help me get past that time when I want to quit. When I started to get overwhelmed with exercise cutting into my studio time, Seth, the trainer, a very wise young man, made me come up with alternative ways to think and act. Maybe only go three or four days a week, go on alternative days and times, don't stay as long, etc. Then he grilled me on thinking differently about my eating habits and it has actually worked.

So what does that have to do with blogging? When I first started blogging it was for fun, a friend talked me into it and I really enjoyed reading comments from new and old friends. Then I decided to really try to get new readers and blog everyday. It took over my day, which meant less studio time and so true to my habits, I set it aside. So, back to my Hamlet quote. The question "To blog or not to blog?" is answered by balance. I will be blogging a few times a week, not daily and not leaving three or four weeks between posts, at least that is my goal. I will try to read and comment on others blogs as often as I can and am inspired to. I really need to exercise, create, cook, do laundry and manage my life and I want to do it in a balanced happy way. It only took me 52 years to figure this out, but better late than never!

The image at the top is another little garland I made, some crocheted fall leaves. Just so you know, I have been creating!

Beef Bourguinon

2010-11-10T11:29:00.004-05:00

After I posted the Brunswick Stew recipe a friend asked me if I had a good beef stew recipe. At the time I didn't, but I took it as a challenge. I immediately thought of using a slow cooker because the longer a stew cooks, the flavors become richer and deeper. I found a recipe for Beef Bourguinon in The Slow Cooker Ready and Waiting Cookbook by Rick Rodgers. He maintains that you can't just throw a bunch of ingredients into a slow cooker and expect it to taste good. Rather the cook should treat the ingredients just as you would if you were going to put them in the oven. Hence, there is a lot of sauteing and searing before you put the ingredients in the pot. The preparation is longer but the result is fantastic. So here is the recipe for Beef Bourguinon.

Bistro Beef Bourguinon

1 pound baby carrots, peeled

1 pound small boiling onions, peeled

4 ounces slab bacon cut into 2 inch pieces

2 pounds boneless beef bottom round, cut into two inch pieces and well trimmed

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

10 ounces fresh mushrooms, quartered

4 shallots or scallions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup double-strength beef broth, canned or homemade

2 tablespoons chppped fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Place the baby carrots and boiling onions in a 3 1/2 quart slow cooker.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the bacon and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook for 2 minutes. Drain well, rinse under cold running water, and pat dry with paper towels.

3. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon strips, turning often, until crisp and browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain.

4. Increase the heat to medium high. Add the beef, in batches without crowding, to the fat remaining in the pan and cook, turning often, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker, add the bacon and season with the salt and pepper. Mix well, but leave the carrots and onions undisturbed.

5. Add the vegetable oil to the skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms have given off their liquid and are beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the slow cooker. Add the red wine, broth, parsley, tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf to the skillet and bring to a simmer, stirring to blend in the tomato paste and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add to the slow cooker.

6. Cover and slow-cook until the beef is tender, 7 to 8 hours on low (200 degrees F). With a slotted spoon, transfer the beef and vegetables to a serving bowl, discarding the bay leaf, and cover with foil to keep warm. Skim the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid.

7. In a medium skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, without browning, for 1 minute. Whisk in the cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Cook, whisking often, until thickened and reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the beef and vegetables, mix gently, and serve immediately.

Brunswick Stew

2010-10-25T17:17:00.003-04:00

The first time I had Brunswick Stew was at the Virginia State Fair at the Brunswick County Fire Department Booth. I immediately knew I wanted to know how to make it and fortunately for me they had kindly printed out copies of the recipe free for the taking. It is the perfect stew for a rainy day when you want to stay home and nest. This stew takes awhile to make and if you think you could scrimp on the cooking time, don't. I've tried that. The flavors just don't blend and it is really pretty terrible. If you have the time to simmer it for a full five hours, do it. It only gets better!

Brunswick Stew

2 1/2 - 3 pound chicken

2 pieces celery

1 small onion

2 quarts tomatoes, fresh or canned

1 cup chopped onion

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 quart green butter beans or lima beans (I use frozen limas)

1 quart whole kernel corn (again, I use frozen)

5 Tbsp sugar

Salt to taste

Red and black pepper to taste

Place chicken, celery and small onion in a large kettle. Add water to cover chicken. Simmer until meat is tender or begins to loosen from bones. Lift chicken from broth. Cool the broth and discard the celery. Remove meat from bones and cut into small pieces.

Add tomatoes, chopped onions and potatoes to broth. Continue cooking over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Add cut-up chicken, butter or lima beans, corn and sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil while stirring. Cover, lower heat and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, for 3 to 5 hour or until tomatoes have cooked to pieces.

Makes about 6 quarts.

Gettin' Witchy

2010-10-10T14:33:00.006-04:00

One of my favorite blogs the adventures of bluegirl xo has a great tutorial for making a little witchy-poo. She has several examples of different ways to embellish and construct them. Julie puts up a new tutorial almost every Thursday and they are always something I would like to make or have. You really should check out her blog.

Wild Geese

2010-09-30T12:38:00.007-04:00

Not too long ago a friend of mine sent me a poem by Mary Oliver via e-mail, then a week or so later another friend posted the same poem on her facebook page. A week after that I opened the newsletter from our local food co-op and the poem was printed on the back page. I do not believe in coincidences and so I have read this poem a few times to see what it has to say to me. It is really a lovely poem and with out further adieu I am passing it on to you along with an image of the beautiful Wisconsin River, which is just a few blocks from my home.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to yo like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-

over and over announcing your place in the family of things.

--Mary Oliver

Fish

2010-09-28T15:42:00.005-04:00

I have been thinking of making a fabric fish for sometime now and finally got around to doing it. I used a technique I learned from Susan Shie (Lucky) when I went to her Turtle Moon Art Camp quite a few years ago. It involves a lot of hand sewing but I love the texture. I live in an area where everyone seems to fish and I was inspired by the simple shape a fish can have. I embellished it with some shisha mirrors and beads as well as a very crude applique on the tail. I tend to use more subtle colors, so I was pleased that I broke out of my usual and tried some bright colors.

Lemon Tea

2010-09-27T15:41:00.004-04:00

I found myself with an abundance of lemon verbena and lemon balm growing in my garden and an offer to borrow my brother's food dehydrator. I read in one of my herb books that those herbs are great in potpourri so I decided to dry them. Somewhere along the way I thought that mixing these two herbs might make a nice tea and then decided to make it really lemony I would dry some organic lemons to add to it. It has turned out to be delicious, expecially with a nice dab of honey. I am thinking that if any colds come along this winter this will be my go-to tea. It also would be nice with a slice of fresh ginger.

Memoriam

2010-09-10T11:32:00.004-04:00

I like to keep my blog posts upbeat and positive, but today I am feeling a deep sadness. A man that I went to high school with died last Friday by his own hand. I hadn't seen him for about 25 years but my memory of him is as vivid as if it were yesterday. He was one of those people you can't forget because fun followed him where ever he went. In reading the memories of others on a memorial page on facebook, every person expressed the same memories. Tim was a fun, wild and crazy guy. Behind all of the laughter was clearly pain. He had recently experienced some personal setbacks and disappointments but there were so many people that loved him and would have moved heaven and earth to help him. If there is someone in your life having struggles, please, today, let them know you care and that there is professional help out there no matter what the circumstance.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce

2010-08-31T11:07:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I turned some of my garden produce into a summery treat to be eaten in the dead of winter. The roasted vegetable pasta sauce filled the house with a deliciously rich aroma all day long. The recipe comes from The Complete Book of Year Round Small Batch Preserving, which I mentioned before when I made bread and butter pickles. The thing I like about this book, aside from the delicious recipes is you don't have to have 40 pounds of anything, although it is quite easy to multiply the recipes up in case your garden is wildly prolific. You can make just a few jars at a time and my husband loves it because he doesn't get called in to heave-ho any heavy pots of boiling liquid. Here is the recipe:

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce

2 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, unpeeled

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

2 onions, unpeeled

1 sweet red pepper

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried

1tsp granulated sugar

1tsp salt

Prepare jars for canning by boiling them in a canner for about 10 minutes. Also boil both parts of the lids in a separate pan. This sterilizes the jars and lids. Leave them in canner until you are ready to fill them.

Place tomatoes, garlic, onions (I halve them) and red pepper on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Roast in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes, removing the garlic after 12-15 minutes or when soft. Remove remaining vegetables when they are soft and the skins blistered. Let stand until cool enough to handle.

Peel tomatoes, being careful to catch all the juice. Squeeze garlic and onions to remove soft centers. Peel and seed pepper. Place all vegetables in a food processor, process until smooth.

Place vegetable puree in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Add vinegar, oregano, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover and boil for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch of rim. Put lids on jars. Process 35 minutes for pint jars and 40 minutes for quart jars.

*I have found that this recipe makes two pint jars and every pound and a quarter of tomatoes you add you will get another pint. Of course if you increase the tomatoes you must also increase the other ingredients proportionally.

Home Canning Help

2010-08-29T17:46:00.004-04:00

I have been quite busy this August with friends and relatives visiting and a couple trips to see my parents. While I was socializing and traveling it seems the tomatoes and zucchini kept right on growing and ripening. I found myself with a counter full of them this morning. It is really too hot to make the tomato sauce I have planned for them because our house doesn't have A/C, so I'll be doing that tomorrow morning when it is cooler.

While I was visiting my family I snagged my brother's dehydrator for a couple weeks and am also planning on drying the herbs that are abundant in my garden. I took it without any instructions so went to the internet and found this site that you might be interested in, The National Center for Home Food Preservation. You will find directions for safely canning, freezing, dehydrating, salting and pickling food. I love to can but if it isn't done correctly you really can have unsafe food, so check out this site and happy preserving!

Inspiration vs. Focus

2010-08-20T12:29:00.008-04:00

I named this blog Threads of Inspiration and now I'm wondering if I should have left off the -s in Threads. It seems I have had a lot of inspiration lately and now I'm needing some focus. I thought I would show you some of the works in progress that are staring at me in my studio. I'm hoping that making them public will get a few of them completed.

The turquoise and white fabric is a skirt I am making to wear to a picnic next Thursday...this one has a deadline so I'm guessing the waistband and hem will get finished by then. The green fabric is a doll body and I am stitching a separate embroidery (not shown) as a decorative element for the bottom. I could stuff the body while I am waiting for the embroidery, but hey, I should just work on the embroidery.

This little box with wooden balls in it is the beginnings of another doll. I thought I would use this as the torso and attach legs, arms and head to the sides of the box. It is screaming for some vintage colors...I picked up a few color samples at the paint store but they were a little too garish, so I need to do a little research for this.

This embroidery is one I began at the beginning of the summer and I clearly haven't gotten very far on it, but I love the image and I think it will be beautiful when it is finished. I'm debating about what elements to do in stumpwork (a bunch of techniques that give the work a three dimensional aspect). I think the birds in the tree and some leaves in the tree will work well with these techniques. I also plan to put some foliage in the grassy area that is already embroidered, so basically what you see completed will most likely be covered with other elements. That's my plan anyway.

Lastly, is this doll which is mostly completed. The wild heap of illusion you see at her feet is really a tutu that I have to put on her, but I don't want to do that until I figure out what kind of hair or headpiece she will have. So, now you see why I must end this post and get to the studio!!!!

Blessings Dropping

2010-08-19T17:12:00.007-04:00

Two days ago I was walking my dog on one of our usual routes. We were about half a block away from a yard that has an apple tree that spreads out over the sidewalk. I wondered what those apples tasted like. There are always apples on the ground but are well past their eating time and I didn't want to pull an apple off of a stranger's tree. I let the thought go and continued on. Just as I got under the tree three apples fell to the ground right in front of me. An offering from the universe! With the first bite of the crisp, sun warmed apple came memories of being a kid eating sour/sweet apples right off the tree. I ate the whole apple and tossed the core into some tall weeds for the animals and insects to feast on. The event reminded me of a quote...

Listen to me.

For one moment quit being sad.

Hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you.

--Rumi

Back in a Routine

2010-08-17T12:34:00.005-04:00

After my last post I got the house cleaned and the cooking done and people started arriving. First my entire family for a Sunday picnic and then a few days later My father in law and cousin Cate stayed for a few days. The day they left our good friend Swasti came for two days. Between the heat and the company I was wiped out when they left!

After that my dad let me know that my mom had been having some difficult days. She is struggling with a hard disease, Lewy Body Dimentia, which is a combination of Alzheimer's and Parkinsons all thrown into one but with a few twists of its own. I went to stay with them for a few days and help with her care and be supportive for my dad.

I'm back now, and although I really enjoyed all of the visiting and was glad I'm living close enough to be able to help my parents, I'm really glad to get back into my routines. I'm planning on spending a lot of time in the studio so you can expect some work-in-progress photos. For now I'll leave you with a photo of a couple of my dolls who are telling me to get in my studio and make stuff!

Cleaning or Gardening?

2010-07-30T11:42:00.007-04:00

We have family coming to visit both this weekend and next followed by an old friend. I have put off cleaning for as long as I can, so that is my task today. Since there is really not much of a story line or photos I'd want to share on the topic of cleaning I'm going to leave you today with some images of the flowers, herbs and a nice zucchini from my gardens.

My herb garden with Tia keeping out the rabbit.

Batchelor buttons, one of my favorites

Zinnias from seeds my friend Joan gave me.

Pumpkin blossoms! I'm hoping for 23 pumpkins!

We found this rose in the front buried between ferns getting no sun. We moved it and were gifted with five beautiful flowers.

Last but not least, tonights dinner!

Bread and Butter Pickles

2010-07-29T14:30:00.002-04:00

I went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and cucumbers were everywhere. It is pickle season!!!! I bought two pails and made some dill pickles and bread and butter pickles. I remember my mom making bread and butter pickles when I was a kid. The distinct smell of warm vinegar and spices filled the air. I didn't much care for the smell when I was a kid but my sense of smell seems to have matured and now I love it. Here is the recipe I used from The Complete Book of Year Round Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard. It is a nice book with all sorts of recipes for jams, chutneys, relishes and pickles that use, as the title suggests, small amounts of fruits and vegetables.

Best Bread and Butter Pickles

4lb small pickling cucmbers

4 small onions, thinly sliced

1 sweet green pepper, cut in thin strips

1 sweet red pepper, cut in thin strips

2 Tbsp pickling salt

4 cups cider vinegar

3 cups granulated sugar

2 Tbsp mustard seeds

1 tsp celery seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Cut a thin slice from the ends of each cucumber and cut into medioum thick slices, about 3/16 inch. Place cucumbers, onions and peppers in a non-reactive container, sprinkle with salt and let stand for 3 hours; drain. Rinse twice and drain thoroughly.

Combine vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, turmeric and cloves in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add vegetables and return to a boil for 30 seconds or just until cucumbers are no longer bright green.

Remove hot jars from canner. Remove vegetables from liquid with a slotted spoon; pack into jars. Pour liquid over vegetables to within 1/2 inch of rim. Process 10 minutes for pint jars and 15 minutes for quart jars.

Renate Hiller - "On Handwork"

2010-07-27T12:11:00.002-04:00

As an artist I have bumped up against the some negative thoughts about why I make things. Does it even matter if I am a maker? What good does it do the world if I create these little dolls, embroideries, food or even this blog? Who even cares?

As you might expect, thoughts like these paralyze me and nothing gets created. I have cut myself off from the inspiration that drives creation.

If you too have had this experience I suggest you watch this video. Renate Hiller, Co-Founder of the Fiber Craft Studio, talks about the importance and meaning of creating, not just for yourself but the greater world. It may help you get your intentions back in alignment and the understanding to know that using your hands for creation is for the greater good.

Comfort Doll Project

2010-07-26T11:29:00.004-04:00

"Serve the needs of others, and all your needs will be fulfilled." I just read this quote by Wayne Dyer and it helped me to decide what to blog about today.

The Comfort Doll Project was started by Pat Winters with the purpose of reaching out to women in domestic abuse shelters to let them know they are powerful and not alone. The blog and the project is now run by Brenda Hutchings but its purpose remains the same. People make small dolls (6 inches or less) and mail them to Brenda. A small card with a lovely message is attatched to them and they are mailed to women's shelters around the country.

Please go to their blog here, see the dolls that have been sent out, read the loving message and find out more. Maybe you would like to help with the project. Anyone can join in. I plan on being part of it.

Make Your Own Minion!

2010-07-23T12:22:00.005-04:00

While I have not seen the movie Despicable Me, I think the Minions are pretty cute. If you are a knitter (and if you're not, this could be the nudge to get you to learn) go to Kat Knits for the pattern. She has very detailed instructions and they are just darling. How can you resist?

And the Winner Is....

2010-07-22T12:03:00.003-04:00

Yvonne!

Congratulations!!!!

I'll be popping your garland in the mail and you should recieve it soon.

Thank you to everyone who left comments, followed and linked this post! I loved reading your comments!

100th Post Giveaway

2010-07-19T11:21:00.010-04:00

I can't believe this is my one hundredth post!!!

I have decided to mark the occasion with a giveaway. As you know, awhile back I was making star garlands and posted the directions. Well, I continue to be enamoured with garlands and so will be giving away this multi-colored floral garland. It is about 49 inches long and has small loops at each end to help with hanging. I think it would be fantastic to hang at a birthday party or in a little girls bedroom window!

Now, how to win...leave a comment on this post for one chance to win, follow me and I will put your name in the hat twice, link me and it will go in three times! Your comment must be posted by midnight central time on Wednesday and I will draw a name on Thursday. Please be sure to leave me a way to contact you (blog link or e-mail address). Good luck and thanks for reading! It is the comments and interactions with readers that make blogging so much fun!

Mud

2010-07-15T16:15:00.006-04:00

Last night we got wave after wave of storms and a lot of rain fell. It is beautiful today, sunny, no humidity and a lovely breeze. I was out in the garden and noticed a tomato stalk had fallen over so I walked in to tie it back up. I sunk about eight inches into the mud! I couldn't pull my feet out and I was wearing my favorite flip flops and was afraid the strap would break. The only way out was to sit down and scoop the mud away with my hands and pull my feet out. I had to go back in the muck and rescue my shoes. What a mess!!! I have never really understood how quicksand worked...I'm pretty clear on that now! Me and my shoes are all hosed off, thanks to my husband. It made for a pretty big laugh!

His comment was, "If I'd fallen in the mud you would have made me sit there til you went and got your camera so you could blog about it." I'd thought about asking him to get my camera but really wanted to rescue my flip flops. So here is a photo of my clean toes!

Ooooh, and one more thing, this is my 99th post to this blog, so my next one will be 100!!! I am planning a give-away so come back and find out how to enter!

Arugula

2010-07-13T10:24:00.007-04:00

I planted arugula for one reason, a salad I had over 13 years ago while on vacation in St. John, US Virgin Islands. I had never had it before but after trying it I, occasionally, would re-create the salad. It was a very simple salad of arugula, toasted walnuts, goat cheese and a very mild vinaigrette. I have been enjoying this salad for a good while this summer, but last night I found myself without goat cheese (woe is me!) in the house, but I had a mango. So I made the exact same salad and sliced the mango into it. I actually think it is better than the original. The spicy arugula, tart and salty vinaigrette, earthy walnuts and sweet mango was an amazing combination. While I haven't measured exactly the ingredients, here is the recipe. Be sure to taste the vinaigrette as you make it so it suits your taste.

Arugula, Mango and Walnut Salad

large bunch of arugula, washed

handful of walnuts, toasted

1 mango sliced

1 clove garlic

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp mustard

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil or more to taste

salt and pepper

To toast the walnuts put them in a small pan over medium high heat and leave for about 3-5 minutes stirring often making sure they dont burn. When they start to brown and you can smell a nice toasted nutty smell they are done. Remove from pan and set aside.

To make viniagrette mash together the salt and garlic clove to make a paste. Add the garlic paste to the mustard, vinegar and stir. Slowly pour olive oil into vinegar mixture all the while whisking. This will form a nice emulsion. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put it all together. Put arugula walnuts and mango in a bowl and drizzle enough vinaigrette to coat but not drown salad. Toss. Serve immediately

Variation To make the original salad substitute crumbled goat cheese for the mango.

What's your favorite arugula recipe? As you can see, I have a lot in my garden!

Relaxing in the Garden

2010-07-12T14:32:00.011-04:00

This weekend we went to visit our families and had a whirlwind time. There was something going on all the time, which was quite fun but when I got home last night I was zonked. So this morning I decided it would be very tranquil to go out and take some photos of my garden.

Pumpkin Blossoms

Gardens are such a process, you can't plant them and have them finished in an hour like you can say, a video game, a recipe, or even an art project. They make you slow down and appreciate the tiny bud that appears, the new tendril, the fruit that will be your dinner someday. And they are so beautiful along the way. Here are a few shots of my garden this morning.

The End

Coconut Macaroons

2010-07-08T21:47:00.006-04:00

This weekend we are going to a celebratory gathering for my nephews high school graduation. I offered to bring some cookies and so began a search through cookbooks for a good cookie. I believe there will be a lot of kid food there so I wanted to have something that would appeal more to the adults in the crowd. I was thinking I would make some frosted lemon cookies. I will admit the amount of work the recipe I found was going to take made me hesitate. But then, I found a recipe for coconut macaroons. I had never made them, but do really love them. The recipe called for only four ingredients, and while the baking time was long, the whipping up time was short. They are really sweet, but mmmmm, mmmmmm good!

A few notes on the recipe...first off it calls for cake flour but I used regular flour and it worked just fine. It also calls for loosely packed coconut, but I would pack it fairly well, my first batch was very flat and sticky. After adding more coconut I was able to get a nice mound shape that held. And finally, I used both parchment paper and a silicone mat for lining the baking sheets and the parchment paper was the hands down best.

So, here is the recipe which came from Baking in America by Greg Patent. Enjoy!

Coconut Macaroons

1/2 cup cake flour

2 1/2 cups loosely packed sweetened flaked coconut

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with cooking parchment or a silicone liner. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour and coconut, tossing well with your fingertips to coat the coconut with the flour. Add the condensed milk and vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined. The mixture will be stiff.

Spoon rounded regular teaspoonsful of the mixture onto the baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart and making 20 mounds.

Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet from front to back once during baking. Increase the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 6 to 10 minutes more, only until the macaroons are golden brown all over; do not overbake. Carefully transfer to cooling racks and cool completely. Serve very fresh.

A Perfect Summer Meal

2010-07-07T17:32:00.006-04:00

Last night I made a delicious meal of pasta with roasted vegetables. I took some summer squash, cherry tomatoes, red onions and garlic, seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil and roasted at 450 for 40 minutes. Then tossed the vegetables with pasta, some homemade pesto and a bit of parmesan cheese. It was great. I can't wait for the leftovers tonight!!!!!

Fairie-ality Enchanted Fashion

2010-07-06T14:30:00.006-04:00

This is my second book review in my occasional series. The book I have chosen is Fairie-ality, an amazing trip through a fantasy filled fashion catalog. All of the fairie fashions are created with natural materials; pressed, dried and fresh flowers, leaves, grasses, feathers and shells. The book begins with an invitation to view the new fashion collection from the House of Ellwand. You will find attire appropriate for a Cotillion held by the Queen, May Day outfits including hats and shoes, playwear featured in a section called Fun and Games, and of course a Wedding ensemble.

The clothing is a real treat but so are the beautiful photographs and graphics. Some pages are vellum giving a smoky view of the image to come, there is a collection of mix and match clothes with half pages of designs so you can turn all of the pants over and see another set, and small envelopes so you have things to discover inside. It is a wonder of inspiration and fun. You won't look at your summer flowers in the same way again.

The first image is the cover and the lower one is the bridemaid's dress.

Happy Fourth of July

2010-07-02T15:53:00.005-04:00

Here is wishing all of you a wonderfully festive Fourth of July holiday weekend. I hope you are visiting family and friends, eating delicious summer food and playing in the sun. Be safe as well! I will be back with more inspiration next week.

Vintage Pillow

2010-07-01T11:08:00.008-04:00

I have had this piece of embroidered fabric for a long time. My maternal Grandma embroidered it and it originally was made into a fabric bag with a wooden handle. I believe she kept her "fancy work" in it. Over time the handle broke and I took the bag apart with the idea that I would make myself a bag. I had bought a nice cotton for the lining but everytime I went to make it I felt like I wasn't making the best thing for the fabric. I even had it marked where to cut for a clutch purse but when I went to cut it the other day I couldn't.

Then yesterday it just popped into my head to make a pillow. Once that idea came to me I had it made in about an hour. I used the fabric purchased for the lining for the welting and back. It looks great in my guest room. I wish all of the fabric I have around here would tell me what it wants to be!!! Or maybe I just have to listen a little closer.

Cupcake Envelope Book Tutorial

2010-06-30T10:02:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite blogs, The Adventures of Blue Girl xo, has a really great tutorial for a cute little book. The cover is made with an envelope and is cut in such a way that you have little pockets in both the front and back, which I thought was pretty clever. Julie Collings is the blog's author and she posts a tutorial every Thursday and they are always great. Go here to see how to make the cupcake book but look around and you will find lots of inspiration.

Iced Coffee

2010-06-29T12:52:00.004-04:00

In the summer, when the temperature is just so, I instantly get a hankering for a good iced coffee. The operative word here is good! I like it smooth without the bitterness that a lot of iced coffees have. The bitterness comes from brewing the coffee with hot water, and here is the trick...you cold brew it. Of course, you should buy the best coffee you can and I am partial to fair trade, shade grown and organic. It is a little more expensive but well worth it. Also, this takes awhile to make so be patient! Here are my directions to make fabulous iced coffee.

Cold Brewed Iced Coffee

1/4 pound of your favorite coffee beans, ground fine
2 cups of cold water

Mix the water and the coffee together and let it steep for 8 to 12 hours (overnight works well).

Line a colander with a large coffee filter and drain into a bowl or container. (This part can be a little tricky finding just the right size colander and filter) It might take as long as an hour for it to drain completely but the wait is worth it. Now you have a coffee concentrate. Put the concentrate in a pitcher that holds one half gallon and add water to the half gallon mark. (You should have a total of about 8 cups) This will make about 4-12 ounce servings. I like mine with a touch of half and half.

Link Love

2010-06-25T11:42:00.004-04:00

I've been doing a little blog-surfing lately and found some great blogs I thought I would share. I've added the links in this post, but also on the side column for future reference. Enjoy!

Sara Lechler's blog is divided into three sections, art, fairies and art dolls and woollen creations.

Sally Mavor, one of my favorite artist is the author of Felt Wee Folk and many children's book featuring her fabulous textile art.

Feeling Stitchy is filled with great embroidery ideas, tutorials and work

Embroidery as Art is Jenny Hart's blog. Jenny is the woman behind Sublime Stitching so you'll find great stuff with an edge here.

Elsa Mora has some amazing paper cutting (her banner alone is worth the look), art dolls and illustrations.

Doll, the Art and Craft of Mimi Kirchner is just what the title suggests. Mimi has a great sense of humor.

And lastly, Contemporary Embroidery focuses a lot on crazy quilt pieces filled with beautiful embroidery. The image at the top of this post is from this blog.

Summer Sights

2010-06-24T13:57:00.004-04:00

Last night we enjoyed a true summer treat, berry yogurt parfaits. They were really simple to make, just take a large wine glass and put some sliced strawberries and blueberries in the bottom. Spoon about two tablespoons of plain yogurt on them, drizzle some honey on the yogurt and then some chopped walnuts. Add another layer of berries, yogurt, honey and nuts. Yummy!

My husband was taking some spent peonies to the compost pile and saw me looking out the window. He stopped, raised them over his head and shook. It was an amazing sight watching petals rain down on him. This is the way they looked all over the grass. I love pink and green!

Sculpture Park

2010-06-22T11:16:00.005-04:00

This weekend we spent a lot of time on our bikes exploring the area. My favorite ride was through the new Stevens Point Sculpture Park. It is a lovely path through the woods and over creeks with sculpture nestled in the trees. One of my favorite sculptures was a room-like space created with dried branches woven together.

Another had cords tied to the trees and tied on to the cords were small pieces of paper. Each paper had a message or blessing written on it by hikers. Nearby was a jar with paper strips and pencils, so we added our blessings to the sculpture. I believe this is similar to a Japanese tradition of tying papers with blessings onto trees.

We also found a little bird nest.

Fourth of July Garland

2010-06-21T12:32:00.006-04:00

I've been working on a little Fourth of July project for you. There are so many cute garlands around the bloggosphere that inspired me to try one out for myself. These stars are crocheted and then attached to a crochet chain, stiffened and voila you're ready for a celebration.

I tried another version and sewed them onto a red, white and blue ribbon but they didn't hang right, so I've decided to use them to run down the middle of my table and I'll take some and tie them around some napkins for napkin rings. It will be very festive.

The great thing about them is they take no time at all to make and you can whip up one of these garlands, or at least all of the stars while you are watching your kids at soccer or during a T.V. show. If you are not a crocheter here is a link to some good directions, including a video! Here are the directions for the stars.

Fourth of July Stars

Materials

1 skein red and 1 skein blue Size 5 Perle Cotton

Stiffy fabric stiffener

wax or parchment paper

buttons (optional)

Size 1 crochet hook (or whatever guage you want)

Make 7ch, sl st into first ch forming a ring.

1st round 1 ch, work 15 sc into ring, sl st into first sc.

2nd round 9 ch, work 1 sc into 4th ch from hook, 1 hdc into each of next 2 ch, 1 dc into each of next 3 ch, skip first 3 sc on ring, sl st into next sc, *9 ch, work 1 sc into 4th ch from hook, 1 hdc into each of next 2ch, 1 dc into each of next 3 ch, skip next 2 sc on ring. sl st into next sc; repeat from *3 times more placing last sl st into same st as sl st of previous round. Fasten off.

I made 13 stars (7 blue, 6 red).

To attach to chain. With red make a chain about 4 inches long. sl st into the top of a blue star, ch another 3.5-4 inches, sl st into the top of a red star. Continue alternating red and blue stars finishing with a blue star and make a 4 inch chain beyond the last star.

The stars will curl a bit so I used Stiffy and diluted it with the same amount of water. I painted it on both sides of the stars being careful not to get it on the chain and laid them out flat on wax paper to dry. You can sew or glue a button in the middle of the star if you want.

Now to get the picnic gear!!!!