"A Woodland Wish"

My copies of the Just CrossStitch 2014 Special Christmas Ornament Issue arrived yesterday afternoon, and I am pleased to share my contribution to the magazine with you. My ornament is titled "A Woodland Wish" and can be found on page 75...and this year, I included my recipe (well, really my mom's recipe) for Mommy's Muffins (which I will also share later in this pre-holiday post). My 2014 ornament complements my woodland ornaments from the past several years - and as usual, combines cross stitch over both one and two linen threads. I stitched the model on 40-count Mocha linen from Weeks Dye Works (same as previous ornaments in this series) and used Weeks Dye Works cotton floss. I opted for a flat-finish with two-tone cord as an embellishment....and as a little finishing tip for those of you using the 40-count linen - I used standard hotel room keys padded with cotton batting (or you could use fake or expired credit cards) instead of the padded mounting board that the magazine suggests...they are the perfect size! My ornament doesn't have an individual photo in this year's publication and I have been informed that some of the symbols in the magazine are hard to read (the published chart symbol choices are those of Just CrossStitch and are different than what I submitted), so I hope the clear photo below will give you a good reference.

Now normally, I would spend my evening curled up in my cozy stitching nest, savoring each and every page and admire this special publication...but unfortunately, my packaged arrived with the enveloped destroyed and taped back together and my magazine copies were terribly damaged (a BIG boo hoo!)...but all was not lost, as somehow, my ornament survived whatever mishap happened in transit - for that I am very thankful.

...as promised, I will now share my/my mommy's recipe for a family favorite breakfast treat:

Mommy's Muffins

2 English muffins

1 tomato

Fresh basil (dried, if fresh is not available)

4 slices sharp cheddar cheese

4-6 slices of cooked bacon

Slice each English muffin in half and lightly toast. Place one slice of tomato on each half of the toasted English muffins. Sprinkle each tomato slice with fresh basil (and I like a little fresh ground pepper, too). Place a slice of sharp cheddar cheese on top of each basil/tomato/muffin and put them in the toaster oven or under the oven broiler to melt the cheese until it starts to bubble. Remove from the oven and place several half strips of bacon on each. Makes 4 delicious half muffin servings. Enjoy!

I hope you make a little time to stitch or create this weekend...