A little more stitching time

Somehow, somewhere, I got some stitching time this weekend.

I WAS SHOCKED.

Right after Christmas, our storage hassles came to a head. Left-brain couldn't get to the desk in the office because of the stacked boxes in there, and I couldn't get to anything of mine. It was starting to really annoy both of us, so we reconfigured his mancave. A lot of my boxes are now downstairs, but I can get to them easily and they are no longer a towering death trap, where the heavy things seem to be on top and everything I need is in the bottom box. Our goal, as stated before, is to build a shed, even though I don't know how that's going to work because they just re-did our flood maps and my side yard is even more in a flood zone than it was before, and I don't want our shed in a flood zone. But, when we do that, we're moving all the man toys out there, all the exercise equipment that is downstairs out to the garage, and the area where that is now will be my stitching area/the baby's play area. Maybe then, I can get some real shelves and a suitable table set up. Barring us moving to another house/having another baby/who knows what else happening in the meantime.

But I pulled Waxing Moon's No Scaredy Cats out of my Crazy 15 starts from 2011:

Remember this? (It's the last one in the post. Not the last one to be completed, just the last one in the post)

My progress has been abysmal:

 No Scaredy Cats


But between Downton Abbey Season 2 on Monday, the "Gold Rush" finale on Friday night (that show is like watching a flipping trainwreck, but it's strangely addictive), and then a marathon of DA Season 3 on Saturday, during which Babygirl slept, I got a lot of progress. It's probably 2/3 finished, but I still have her sign to do and her head. And I love it. I did change the cat on her shoulder to a tabby/calico looking cat, just to be different, and it's cute.  I don't know if I'll do the pumpkin necklace for her though. I don't want to buy the charm, and I found out small things that dangle attract fingers that pull (and I'm not talking children's fingers). Not sure how I will finish this. Maybe as a cube, but then again, I may be able to rustle up a small black frame from somewhere. My mom is starting to be on the lookout for frames at rummage sales and the like, and, since those will be starting up again soon, I may be able to find what I need.

I will post a picture when I get a little more progress on it. I wanted to do it last night, but Babygirl was either teething or so tired she couldn't sleep, because she stayed up, fussing, til midnight. Makes for a very tired Mummy, that does. And she was not any better this morning. No fever, nothing obviously wrong, just disgruntled. But she was fine when she got to school, so hopefully, it will pass.

My weekend

I was so productive this weekend. More than I think I've been since I had the baby.


I attacked the mountain of laundry that has been growing in our hallway for a while.  We're just too busy to keep up with it. Now it's all done. It feels so good to have that out of the way.

I also did a deep cleaning of Babygirl's room: put away all the baby clothes she's outgrown, corralled a bunch of cards that had escaped my efforts to put them in her treasure box, along with her christening bib and booties, arranged all the stufties by her bookcase and made sure her library was neat. I have decided she gets a new book for each holiday and there've been enough of those that she is amassing a nice collection.  Valentine's Day brought her "Love, Splat", which she seemed to enjoy.

I also made this recipe! I must confess, I found it through www.pinterestfail.com, which is usually not a good recommendation for a recipe, but I figured it couldn't be that hard . . . and I used store brand Oreos in case it didn't turn out right. But it did. They are yummy. They are rich and indulgent and not that hard to make, and they taste like chocolate cheesecake. My only tip is keep them small, because thof the richness, and use a spoon to dip the almond bark, it's just a lot easier to deal with.

Today I spent the day watching Season 2 of Downton Abbey.  I got through 7 episodes before it was time to do something else.  Babygirl was at daycare--I thought long and hard about whether or not to keep her home, but it's good to have some consistency to her schedule, and I needed time to get other things done, so she went; I know some people may think me a bad mom for doing that, but I have a clean house and a rested spirit for my day, and that makes me a better mom, at least I think.

I finally managed to finish something today. Two things actually. I finished the above pattern, which I started on 1 January 2012. It gives me immense pleasure to have finished it, although it was supposed to have been done by the end of December.

And I started and finished this little guy:

I'm participating in an ornament SAL, and this month's theme was reindeer. I wasn't sure what pattern to pick, but I found this little guy on Pinterest, and he kind of stole my heart. He looks a lot like Beazer, doesn't he? It's from a French site, but I am not sure which one. I need to finish him up, but he was a fun, cute little stitch that took me maybe 3 hours at most.  What do you think? I may redo him on a t-shirt for Babygirl for Christmas next year, but not sure.

I pulled another UFO out, from my Crazy January starts of 2011, and worked on that a little. It felt so good to get time to work on my stitching. I've missed it, I didn't realize how much. I know there isn't a really good alternative right now; the financial issues I spoke of a few months ago are starting to let up, but we won't be out of the woods til at least the end of the year, and what time isn't taken up with trying to earn money is spent trying to make up for the hours I spend trying to earn a living. But I have a plan and I am going to be a stitcher again, soon. And I will appreciate the gift of time more.

One more picture to share. 

She's in love with her "puppy" now, pesters him incessantly. He puts up with her like a champ. I snapped this last week, the first good picture of them together.  My kids!

Cake pop adventures

For Christmas, I got the idea that I wanted a cake pop maker. I got introduced to them at one of the bridal shows we attended (which are a waste of time, BTW, except for the cake), and have been wanting them ever since. But I didn't know you could feasibly make them at home--I figured you had to have professional equipment, like a melon baller, to do it, and I have a tiny little kitchen . . . and no melon baller.

So when I found out they make a cake pop maker, I was stoked. I looked on Amazon to see if they were expensive (they aren't), if they work (if you're lucky, they do) and then put one on my Christmas list. 

Now is the time I admit that, had I done a bit more research, I would have figured out that you do not need a cake pop maker to make cake pops. The internet is full of sites that involve crumbling up cake, mixing it with icing and making balls. Somehow I missed these.

And I got the cake pop maker. We were going to fool with it the weekend Kaydence was baptized, but it requires vegetable oil, and I didn't have any, and the seven mile trek to Safeway was TOOO far. So it's been sitting, waiting, since then.

Yesterday, I got it out. I had time because the battery in my car died, so all my weekend plans were on hold til Left-brain got me a battery.  I have a Bella cake pop maker, and it came with cake mix to make the balls, otherwise, I'd have been breaking out the brownie mix I keep in the cupboard, for all the spare time I have to make brownies. I followed the directions. The maker smokes the first time you plug it in and turn it on, and they say to toss the first batch you make, which felt a little wierd, but I did it anyway.

It was not hard to use, once I figured out how much batter to put in the little holes, but, to be honest, what came out were more like doughnut holes than cake pops. They weren't very big. I didn't even bother to dip them in the topping, but we ate them just so. Chocolate in the morning, yummy!  I can see taking the maker camping or to the cottage and using it to make doughnut holes for breakfast. It would be a lot more fun, right?

And I just want to say, I am not ungrateful for the gift, and it was pretty easy to use, once I figured out what was going on, and got over the fact that a kitchen device was smoking. If it had been useless, I'd put it in the cupboard or never use it again. Left-brain was making fun of the cake pops while they were cooling, but he ate most of them while the game was on last night. I'm going to try to make the cake balls the right way, with the crumbled cake and icing, but I tried.

2012 finishes

I forgot to do this before the New Year turned. I managed to get 30 finishes last year. Most before the baby came. Babygirl will only be small so long and I would rather, when she remembers her small childhood, that she says, "My mother read me stories, even though I didn't understand what was going on, she acted them out for me," and "I remember her dancing with me in the living room in the evenings, and smiling at me,"  not, "I sat and watched my mom cross stitch." I can focus on that when she gets a little older. Maybe we can craft together, since I am still planning on finishing things and have a bunch of pretty craft ideas pinned to my Pinterest.

Anyway, here's the list:

5 November--cat freebie

1 September-Thomas-Kitty and Me


8 August-Spooky-Kitty and Me

2 August-August Itty Bitty Kitty Quilt--Val's Stuff

21 July--Bunnies-- Prairie Schooler

19 July--July Itty Bitty Kitty Quilt-- Val's Stuff

1 July--freebie--Jean Farish

15 June--Sharing the S--Sanman

4 June--June Itty Bitty Kitty Quilt--Val's Stuff

3 June--SNN kit-June 2008--UFO since 2008

28 May-Ice Dragon's Kingdom--Dragon Dreams--UFO since 2010

20 May--October floss tag--Heart's Content

17 May-The Rabbit Alphabet-JBW Designs

11 May--May Itty Bitty Kitty Quilt--Val's Stuff

9 May--Just a Little Flaky--Val's Stuff--JCS 2011

8 April--Merry Christmas--CCN--JCS 2011

7 April--April Itty Bitty Kitty Quilt--Val's Stuff

4 April--Hearts of America--Little House Needleworks-UFO since 2008

13 March--Star of Wonder--Fine-ally Finished-2011 JCS

10 March-Carrot Patch-Cosmic Handmade

4 March-March Square--Itty Bitty Kitty Quilt-Val's Stuff

18 February--Half Hour ornament--Lizzie*Kate--JCS 2011

15 February-Winter Forest-Little House Needleworks

11 February--Trim The Tree-Debbee's Designs-JCS 2011

3 February-February Square--Itty Bitty Kitty Quilt-Val's Stuff

29 January-Love and Joy-JBW Designs--JCS 2011

28 January--Fresh Fallen Snow--Little House Needleworks--JCS 2011

19 January--Spring Has Sprung--Brightneedle--UFO since ?

17 January-Yuletide--Plum Street Sampler-JCS 2011

14 January--Lucky Dog-JAB Co-UFO since 2008?

7 January-SNN kit--January 2006--UFO since 2006.

2 January--January square-Itty Bitty Kitty quilt-Val's Stuff.


I won't be mad if my 2013 list isn't as long. My photo albums are getting full.

You mean this old thing?

Someone Small was baptized last Sunday. I wanted to share because, as textile artists, I thought you might enjoy seeing her in her great-grandfather's christening gown. It is at least 106 years old, maybe older, and was worn by Left-brain's grandfather, his mother, him and all his siblings and cousins, and our niece and nephews. Think of all the beautiful ceremonies it has seen. It was sewn by my MIL's grandmother, out of beautiful batiste, embroidered (if it's not broiderie anglaise, it's something very close) and edged with hand-made lace, truly a work of art. She also wore her paternal great-grandmother's crucifix, tucked against her skin, and a crucifix her godmother gave her. My mom had a bib and slippers for her, so that she wouldn't ruin the pretty dress. I probably should have made something, but I made her, so maybe that was enough?

It was a beautiful service. I teared up, but managed not to start openly crying. Babygirl took it in stride, she had her pacifier in while she was being anointed with oil, and sucked quite contentedly on it as she was carried down the aisle by the same priest who married her father and I, to be introduced and the newest member of God's Church.

She did want to eat the food at her party, though. She was eyeballing everything, especially her baptism cake. Which had purple flowers on it, since purple is her signature color. It was a nice day, all in all.

The lost

has now been found. Rossana got her ornament last night.  You can not imagine how ecstatic I am. I was at the point of planning a re-stitch, and that alone inspired me with great dread, since I do not get much stitching time, and having to redo an ornament, let alone a design I already did, I was a little upset. At least now I can stitch for myself!

I have been going through the old freebie charts I have and pulled out a few to kit up and do, now that I am determined the sewing machine is coming out of the box. I am going to try something new, at least for me. I have so many pretty things, have been blessed to be able to have them, and it's ridiculous that so many of them end up in boxes, usused and underappreciated. All that sewing fabric that I have, I am going to try to match it up, color-blind, to the designs I have, then tweak the colors to match the fabric. They may not look good here for a while til I find my way, but what is the point of having things if they bring me no pleasure and are never used?

I have a recipe to share with you today, an easy one! Best friend Brea came up for Babygirl's baptism this past weekend (yes, Mummy got teary), and she said this is one of her family's favorites, perfect for a cold winter day! We told Left-brain it was chili, because he doesn't eat soup. He ate two bowls.

Southwestern Soup
1 can Rotel tomatoes (or diced tomatoes with chilis)
1 can regular diced tomatoes.
(Note on these: Brea used small cans, she said the recipe calls for two cans of Ro-tel, but she substituted regular tomatoes for the second can. I will check definite sizes when I go to Safeway next, but they were smaller. If you want bigger cans and can find them, use them, or if you want spicy, use two Ro-tels)
1 regular can tomato paste
1 can chili beans
1 can black beans
1 can shoepeg corn (you can probably substitute if your store doesn't have, we don't tattle in Crazyville)
1 pack mild taco seasoning (you can always add heat, but you can not replace a burned tongue)
1 pack dry ranch dressing mix
2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, diced (if you have a food processor attachment for the blender, use it. Much easier)
1 bag tortilla chips
1 bag Mexican-style cheese blend
a container of sour cream (optional)


Brown the ground beef in a pan. Saute the onions in a large pot with a little oil til they are somewhat translucent. Drain the ground beef, put it in the pot, add the canned stuff, the taco seasoning, and the ranch dressing, along with a can of water.

Let simmer for a while, until you're hungry. It should look a lot like chili, but it is not.

Serve with the tortilla chips and the cheese.

It made enough for us to eat, and I still froze some for another meal. I love low-effort recipes that make enough for two meals. It's like a little food bank account!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas one and all.

Hope your Christmas was full of light and love and smiles. Of course mine was, how could it not have been when I have my own personal elf?  Her little suit is going in our memory box, since it gave such joy when she wore it. Maybe if she has a baby sister one day, she can wear it, but it's going away til then.

I worked all month at the theatre. I'm not complaining, if I hadn't, Christmas would have been quite lean for us. But it was hard to be away from Babygirl so much. I am so blessed that her father takes care of her without complaint--I know fathers are supposed to do this without hesitation, but I live in the real world and not all men are willing or able to deal with a small child for large amounts of time, and not all moms are willing to give them the chance to do it.  We just make the best of the situation we've been handed and it works beautifully.

I tried to do a photo session with her on Christmas Eve. This is the best photo we got. Yes, that's an ornament off my Christmas tree; it was that or the stitched Santa at the left of her. Next year, I think my tree will be decorated from the middle up. But she looks so pleased with herself. She was a good girl this year, Santa spoiled her and it was so wonderful to see Christmas through her eyes, knowing this is only the start.

As far as next year's stitching goals, I am not sure how well I'll accomplish them. I didn't even manage to finish my Little Bitty Kitty Quilt this year, that will bleed into the new year. I just didn't have the time. It's starting to increase, bit by bit, since she started sleeping through the night, but I am no where near where I was before, and this is a child who will grab some fabric if I stitch by her. I did sign up for the LHN Sheep SAL Vonna of the Twisted Stitcher is hosting, and an ornament SAL. And I vow to do Babygirl's Christmas stocking for her this year. It just kills me that I didn't have that for her, but then again, I don't have MINE done.  My mom gifted me with gift certificates to 123Stitch--she's realized if she gives me gift cards to Walmart or Sears, I don't spend them on myself--so that is paying for the fabric and the sheep charts. I also printed off the Dragon Dreams freebies she has been posting on Facebook, and think I may do those this year as tuck ornaments. They'll be quick stitches, and will be really cute on my tree next year.

So that's it from Crazyville for now. Left-brain, Babygirl and I wish you and yours a very happy New Year. May 2013 be the start of good things for all of us, may we all be healthy and happy, and may we gather together next year--via cyberspace--and reflect on a wonderful year.