Pop in a Good Movie---Knit and Pearl!

When all else fails--I have the seed stitch. It never lets me down. It's so easy--just knit one pearl one. That's it! It makes this gorgeous bubbly texture--I want a blanket, a sweater and a scarf with this stitch! Maybe some leggings too!

I'm using this so so fun pink and white striped Sugar n' Cream cotton yarn. I am casting on 31 stitches per square--it's better to cast on an odd number with the seed stitch, so that you can just knit and pearl all down your row, and you don't have to try and remember how you started the row. Just stick with knit and pearl.

My first square had a boo boo row--but it's still going in the blanket. Reminds me I'm not perfect!

These squares are going to be part of a little blanket--so perfect for winter! I love how the white stripes just randomly show up in different places on the square--I never know where. Love it! And what I really like about my knitting is that it goes places with me. Usually when I'm working on projects at home--I'm working on things that are so full of elements, they have to be worked on at home. But my knitting is just needles and yarn and off we go! I can have a visit with family and friends and knit away. I can wait in the car for hubby or daughter and knit knit knit. We can have a movie night at home--I can stitch and watch.

Hmmm...not loving the crocheting. But I'm still trying to get the hang of it! I'm haunted by Julia's elephant! (don't ask)

Dreamy Doodling with Floss--OR--I Doodled On My Shorts!

Sometimes I have to drop everything and doodle-stitch my shorts! Yes, it's yet another pair of green cutoffs. I guess I bought these green cropped summer pants years ago, and they got too big (yay me) and they just make great cutoffs. But, they're also just a little too plain for me. So I've embroidered the second pair. I had so much fun, because I just sit down with a needle, lots of floss colors, and let my DMC take me where it may. Freehand embroidery! I was feeling a little bit like the queen bee of embroidery (I know...I'm not) but that became my little theme.

This is my new sign for "Queen Bee."

Flowers and bees on the front.

Flower and butterfly on the back. I may not be done here--but I think this pair is now interesting enough to go shopping for more floss in! I had to get these going, while it's still warm enough to wear shorts! It only took a few hours and watching a couple of movies--and I guess it's sort of like people who love their tatoos...I just love wearing around my embroidery!

I dream and doodle in floss! Hmmm...what's next on my list! I'm still dreaming about getting that embroidery sewing machine! (Hello? Santa?) But I love handstitching, and always will.

WOYWW -- A little puffed up

I am standing on my Greenhouse sunporch, on a Tuesday night, looking through the door to snap this unusual angle of my creative corner of the world. This looks a little like organized hoarding! I have a few too many stacks going on right now--but I have so many projects in the works, it's hard to stay put away! This has been just a hectic week with my darling daughter starting college, our family's crazy school and work schedules, and we are still working on a big backyard beautification project. I cherish the time I can get inside, right now, to stitch, work on my new art journal, and my Etsy store plans (which will include some embroidered baby dresses--sew excited!) Come winter, I will be just the opposite!

So in my stacks here, I've pulled out one of my very very favorite vintage cookbooks--a cookbook that is a classic staple in my life.

It's the Silver Palate Cookbook! Who doesn't love this thing! I've made sooo many recipes from this book--note all the posties marking pages. I need to replace those with new page markers. But anyhoo...I have had the urge to take a day at home, when I'm busy stitching, and make puff pastry. Making puff pastry is so fun, because it's not that it's so much work...it's just that it rests for an hour at a time, inbetween rollings. I love making a batch, and being able to freeze some so it's at the ready any time!

Visit our lovely What's On Your Workdesk hostess here to link up your own workdesk and visit fascinating creative spaces around the planet!

In the meantime, Joseph has grabbed my foot and wants me to stop blogging! 

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch what's on your work table!

"I like feet. So?"  --Joseph

Good Material in Old Places - Finding an Art Journal

Once upon a time, somebody wrote a book about making housework simple. I love it! This book was eventually available in the public library. A lot of people wanted some help in how to make their housework simple...so for years and years, this precious housekeeping book was checked out over and over and over. Eventually, the poor thing was just worn out and tired of helping people make their housework simple. Because, after all, housework is housework--it is what it is! So, the worn-out book threw itself in a stack of outcycled library books set to go to the semi-annual Friends of the Library sale. It was looking for a new life.

Later, at the sale, this precious, worn-out housekeeping book saw me wandering around the many tables of beautiful outcycled library books. It called out to me, "Hey Lady! Over here! I like your embroidered shorts and butterfly flipflops! You seem creative! Look at me, I'm a cool old housekeeping book...take me! Make me into something beautiful! Look! I have a hard cover and I'm spiral bound! Paint me! Color me! Glue things on me! I'm only 50 cents!"

So, here I am with the perfect ready-to-repurpose art journal. Since I actually love homemaking, I think this art journal already has its theme in place. I have collected a few very old Homemec Textbooks--starting with my own from eighth grade. Our homec textbooks were so old that year, they decided to outcycle them, and let us buy them for a quarter at the end of the year. After finding my old textbook 20 years later in my mom's attic, I started noticing old homec textbooks at flea markets. I have a precious one from the 1940's! 

Now, I can't really bring myself to repurpose my old homec book--as I just want to keep it the way it is. I like to look at it! But I'm thinking with this old library sale book, I can write my own homec book, my own way, art journal style! I'm kind of excited, and full of ideas. I think I'll get started, one page at a time. Maybe over the next year it will be completed...no rush. I also found this Plantcraft book at the sale.

It has some great pages and illustrations to use in my art journal project!

Here's another little precious book I found--an old "reader" from 1901! I don't quite know what to do with it! I guess I could put it away somewhere, but what's the point? I'm so tempted, instead, to use the pages somehow since it's already falling apart.

Missing its front cover--it's in bad shape.

Love this page in the old reader.

Somebody colored the back cover! What year were crayons invented?

Don't you love library sales? The best place to find your future old art journal! A great way to contribute to the prosperity of your local library! I can't wait to color, create and write in my new old housekeeping book.

 I'm having an Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch theme week! Tomorrow I'll be dreaming.

Do You Remember Your First Cookbook?

My first cookbook ever! This is a very old cookbook.

Apparently, I got an early start in my kitchen career--I've actually had my first cookbook since I was about 8 years old. Let's not go into how long that is--what I will go into is the fact that being a chocoholic starts very young.

Please note, that while most of the pages in my first cookbook are very pristine--this only proves one thing. I obviously thought all the recipes in this cookbook-for-the-young-1960's-child were junky. Except for one.

Brownies! The one, all-chocolate, very fudgey recipe in this cookbook, is the one and only recipe I ever made from it. I remember making these brownies for years and years. I had this homemade brownie recipe perfected people! I don't know how far it got me--but it did only add to my love of chocolate and my curves! (no skinny minnies here)

Notice, it's the one page that's torn and worn! I don't know why this cracks me up...but it made this little book worth keeping. It lives in my special set of cookbook shelves, on the bottom shelf with other vintage cookbooks. I have to pull it out every now and then! Sadly, we mostly make Betty Crocker brownies now...from a mix...but they're oh so good. My hubby and daughter pretty much need brownies in the house, oh, every week!

In other news--I made my second batch o salsa yesterday! This batch seems even better and chunkier than last week's, so I'm very pleased. This may be it. My wonderful neighbor gave me a whole case of canning jars, quart size, so these will be perfect for canning the rest of the tomatoes that ripen in the garden. Can't wait! There are lots of biggies still to come. I LOVE making and canning my salsa, but I have to say, canning tomatoes is quite a bit easier. So I think a couple of dozen jars of salsa is enough to get us through the year and have some for gifts. It's canned tomatoes all the way now!

 

I can't believe it's so late in August! I think I need a little Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch theme week this week! So today, it's Eat your brownies and make some salsa!  (that way, you can eat fresh all year)

Sunday Threads

"May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us--yes, establish the work of our hands."

Psalm 90:17

Very Cuke

So here we go--a quick, healthy refrigerator snack. A no-brainer really. Go to the Farmers Market or out to your garden...gather those fresh-off-the-vine tomatoes and cucumbers...and get chopping. Here are the three ingredients, in any quantity you prefer.

Fresh chopped tomatoes (combine red and yellow to make it pretty)

Fresh chopped cucumbers

Fresh chopped red onion

Feel free to also add fresh chopped basil. Now, keep this in the fridge, or in a few small containers that you can grab to go. Add salt to taste and enjoy this al fresco...or drizzle on some Italian dressing or even ranch dressing. You are good to go! This is what summer tastes like. The weekend is a great time to put these kinds of snacks together, and have them ready to go on Mondays! And who doesn't love cukes!