Treating myself

I used some Christmas gift money to buy myself some goodies.

I bought some supplies from 123Stitch. I got myself the hook and loop tape needed to attach my Aida cloth to my lap stand. I needed it to finally start this large piece beachy scene I am calling "Three Boats" for my daughter and her husband. I also bought the stocking you see above to make a stocking for my son-in-law as the rest of us all have stockings made by me.

 

I purchase this blue even-weave fabric so that I can make this pretty pattern sometime soon. I don't know whether this will be for me or my daughter. She loves snow globes.

I have been spending a few minutes each day working on "Jingle as ye enter, Jingle as ye go". This is where I was on the last update. 

I have made a lot of progress on the words. The "Jingle" that I have completed is actually one stitch too far to the left, but I am not going to move it. I will adjust the ribbon above it as I stitch it and no one will know. It doesn't bother me, because this is a fairly free-form design anyway.

It is a snowing here today on the first day of a three day weekend and I am taking advantage of staying inside by getting some baking done. 
First I made a favorite granola.

Then I made some blueberry muffins to share with my mom and MIL. They both like these particular muffins the best of those that I make. I always make sure I have some blueberries in the freezer so I can make these any time.

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. I will be getting "Three Boats" set up on the frame and do a little more stitching on "Jingle".

Thanks for stopping by!

More from the Met!

I have completed a few more rows on my hat. It is about halfway done.

I also started reading a new book. It has been sitting in a basket waiting to be read for quite a while.

I want to share the American furniture that we saw at the Metropolitan Museum of Art a few weeks ago. The decoration on this clock is beautiful.

 Below is a Connecticut desk. I really love the fan design.

 Don't you love the beautiful inlaid compass design on the desk below. 

 I tried very hard to get a good picture of them, but the light was shining just so.

 There were even whole rooms set up. My son called me over to this vignette to show me the card table with places to hold candlesticks in the the corners. You really had to be careful when dealing cards I guess. I also love the built-in china cabinet in the corner.

 Below is a bureau table from Rhode Island. That fan design occurs again. 

 I think this bedstead is beautiful. I have always loved the sleigh style.

Isn't this dining room gorgeous?

There was also an American pottery display.

This Rosewood piece really caught my eye. I love daffodils.

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. I think I will put a few stitches on Jingle. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Frogging in the New Year

That nasty frog visited me bright and early this year. 

It appears that I miscounted 5 stitches for 4 on the green ribbon in the upper left corner. That meant that I also misplaced the green ribbon above the bird. I didn't frog the corner ribbon, I am just going to add a two stitch row at the top, but I had to frog the ribbon above the bird, because I couldn't accurately place the star. All is well now and I did just sit down that day and stitch and make some good progress on the word Jingle.

I have been crocheting my lavender hat, but my right thumb is quite unhappy about it. Now I am back to doing my exercises, icing it and taking pain meds. The hat is growing slowly, but I love the way it looks.

On the last Saturday of December, my son, Hubby and I took the train into NYC and toured a small part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The first thing we saw was the Christmas tree. This is a view from the side.

The Nativity was quite complex and interesting. Look at the detail of this little scene.

They had an exhibit of Dutch Masters that was quite interesting. This is "Flora" by Rembrandt.

"Self Portrait" by Rembrandt.

"Merrymakers at Shrovetide" by Frans Hals.

"The Hague and its Formal Garden" by Jan Van Der Heyden.

"Castle by a River" by Jan Van Goyen.

"Allegory of the Catholic Faith" by Johannes Vermeer

"Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints" by Raphael.

There were many more paintings, but these are the ones that captured my interest. The museum was crowded, so I couldn't always get a straight on picture.

We also saw an American Furniture and Pottery exhibit as well as an Egyptian exhibit. I will add pictures of those in my next post.

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. I hope to get some more stitches done on Jingle today. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year!

Cross-stitching and crocheting

Now that Christmas has passed and I have a month off from my university duties, I can get back to crafting. I started working on "Jingle as ye enter, Jingle as ye go" again. I am adding some snowflakes at the top left. I am not sure why the picture is so dark.

I also bought another skein of the pretty lavender yarn that I am using to make a scarf. I decided to make the matching hat first. 

When it is completed I will use the rest of the yarn to finish the scarf. It is a little too short for my liking.

Hubby and I had a wonderful Christmas celebration with our son, daughter, son-in-law and Ruby (our daughter and son-in-law's pup). Our annual picture on Christmas Eve in front of the tree included our son-in-law and Ruby.

My mother celebrated with us.

 As did my mother-in-law.

It was great to have the newlyweds with us also.

There were lots of gifts.....

and treats after dinner. I made a variety of cookies 

 and a Buche de Noel.

I received some very nice gifts including these two books. 

I love to peruse Country decorating books for ideas to incorporate in my home. There are several projects in the knitting book that have really caught my eye. I can't wait to get started on them. First I need to clear some WIPs though.

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. I think I will work on Jingle today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

Virtual Cookie Exchange

Welcome to the Virtual Cookie Exchange and blog hop hosted by Carol at Just Let Me Quilt. I am excited to share a favorite Christmas cookie recipe that I make each and every year with all of you. Part of this exchange is to share a family tradition and quilt too.

Since this exchange is right at the beginning of December, the family tradition that I will share is our Advent Calendar. I bought this magnetic calendar from a catalog years ago. 

When my two children were little one of them got to add a magnet on the even days and one on the odd. We alternated each year and Santa was always the last magnet put on the tree. Now Hubby and I put the magnets on each day. Looks like I need to add one for today.

The quilt that I am sharing is actually a set of placemats. 
I made these several years ago and they have been well used. I love the fabrics if I do say so myself.

Now the cookies. Each year I make Raspberry Walnut Thumbprint Cookies. I have been making this recipe since I was a kid and I have continued the tradition with my now grown children. My son tells me it is his favorite Christmas time cookie. The recipe was originally found in a local church cookbook. I have been know to double the batch (it's a necessity at Christmas time) and make one half with apricot preserves or strawberry jam instead of raspberry jam.

Here are some pictures to show the process followed by the complete recipe.

Gather all the ingredients and the mixer.

 Separate the egg.

 Mix everything together.

Gather all the dough together and wrap in waxed paper.

 Now it is ready to chill in the fridge.

Once the dough is well chilled. Beat the egg-white a little bit and chop the walnuts. I use this handy dandy grater (I think it is for cheese, but I have always used it for nuts). 

I grate the nuts on the finest setting. 

Roll the dough into little balls, then roll the balls in the beaten egg white followed by the grated walnuts.

Place the little balls on your cookie sheet and make a thumbprint. I use the end of a small whisk covered in plastic wrap as I have longish nails. The cookies do not spread.

Next fill each indentation with jam and bake.

Don't they look delicious!

Here's the recipe:

Raspberry Walnut Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened  

                     1/3 cup sugar

                     1/4 tsp salt

                     1/2 tsp vanilla

                     1 egg, separated (keep the egg white for later)

                     1 cup flour

                     3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

                     Seedless raspberry jam (or apricot preserves  

                                                        or strawberry jam)

Directions: Cream the butter. Add the next 3 ingredients and the egg yolk. Beat until light. Add flour and stir until well blended. Wrap dough in waxed paper. Chill well, at least one hour. 

                 Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Shape dough into balls about 3/4 inch. Dip balls into slightly beaten egg white, then into nuts (roll the balls around in the nuts). Put on ungreased cookie sheet or Silpat. Press the center of each cookie with a forefinger. Fill indentation with jam. Bake 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and store airtight in a cool place. These can be frozen. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Be sure to visit all the other blogs that are participating in this Virtual Cookie Exchange.

December 2nd

Creating in the Sticks

Ms P Designs USA

Home Sewn By Us

Vrooman Quilts

Cathie's Craftworks (that's me!)

Sew Many Yarns

Just Because Quilts

December 3rd

Stitchin At Home

Barb - Hosted by Just Let Me Quilt

Hill Valley Quilter

Little Penguin Quilts

Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Selina Quilts

Count it *all* JOY

Purring Cottage
MooseStashQuilting

December 4th

Made By Marney

Homespun Hannah's Blog

Beaquilter

Cynthia's Creating Ark

Life in the Scrapatch

DesertSky Quilting

Sunlight in Winter Quilts

December 5th

Quilt Doodle Designs

Ridge Top Quilts

Pumpkin Patch Patterns & Quilting

Websterquilt

Bumbleberry Stitches

Kathy's Kwilts and More

December 6th

Just Let Me Quilt

Kris Loves Fabric

Domestic Felicity

Karrin's Crazy World

Songbird Designs

Melva Loves Scraps

Brenda's Quilt Blog

I hope you enjoyed your stroll through these wonderful blogs. I know I will be collecting some new and delicious cookie recipes to make this year and in the future.

Thanks for stopping by!