Freedom and Fireworks

Today, the 4th of July, we honor the birthday of the United States and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. I hope you are spending time with family and friends, enjoying this Independence Day.

I am celebrating with a quiet day...a little quilting and some model stitching...maybe later we will do a little grilling and enjoy some time outside on the deck, where tonight we will be able to view the fireworks.

Wishing you a safe, happy, and healthy holiday!

A Little Extra Sweetness

I love to bake....in fact, I rather bake than cook...I am not much for eating baked goods, but I really enjoy making them...to me, it is relaxing. Since it is just me and my husband, I find I give away a lot of the items I bake. This week, Travis had a sweet tooth and wanted me to bake something....and due to limited supplies on hand, I narrowed it down to peanut butter cookies. This is a pretty standard cookie recipe, except I have a little twist before baking - I like to roll balls of dough in granulated sugar before flattening with the fork...I like a little crystal sugar on the outside of the cookie...a little extra sweetness!

Peanut Butter Cookies
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine peanut butter, shortening, light brown sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl - beat at medium speed (I use an electric mixer) until nicely blended - add egg - beat until blended.
Sift flour, salt, and baking soda - add to creamed mixture at low speed - mix until blended.
Roll heaping teaspoons of dough into balls - roll in granulated sugar - place approximately 2" apart on an ungreased baking sheet - flatten with fork (I like to do a criss-cross pattern).
Bake at 375 degrees F for 7 to 8 minutes or until just starting to turn brown. Cool for a couple minutes on baking sheet - then place on sheets of foil to cool completely.
This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies. I almost always double the batch, as they freeze nicely.

I decided to foof (wrap with GiftGloss) several packages of cookies for our neighbors - just a fun little summer treat!

This past weekend, I started shipping my new designs ("Liberty Stitchery" and "Sweet Simple Samplings") to needlework shops and distributors, so they should be available VERY soon from your favorite shop....visit my website for more details. I am keeping quite busy with new designs for the Fall Needlework Market, but I did manage to design a new complimentary chart that I will be posting soon - in fact, I will debut it here first...so you can look forward to that later this week (think Christmas!)...

Coming Soon...

My two new designs are *finally* back from the framer...and the printing process is underway. These took a little longer than expected...and I am happy they are ready for printing and then packaging...*hopefully* they will be shipping to needlework shops by the end of the month. I am busy getting the website updated and supply lists posted - this information should be available in the next couple days (please be patient with me)....

Sweet Simple Samplings (model stitched on 40-count Lentil by Lakeside Linens with Weeks Dye Works Cotton Floss):
















Liberty Stitchery (model stitched on 40-count Fawn by Lakeside Linens with The Gentle Art Sampler Threads):

Sweet Simple Samplings - The Smalls

To say this week has been a bit hectic in our household would be an understatement. First off all, after being vandalized while I was in Rockford, my Jeep was at the dealer being repaired/painted this week...this meant several days of a trashy rental car (seriously, with my moderate OCD, I had to Lysol it before driving it). We are also in the middle of starting a bunch of home improvements...so, we had meetings with our bank, an appraiser, and multiple contractors this week for new roofing, windows & doors, siding, and a new deck - it was almost overwhelming picking new colors, windows, doors, skylights, wood for the deck, light fixtures, and various other things. On top of that, we are doing some landscaping and building a small retaining wall in our back yard, so there was a bunch going on with that as well....and today I had a stump removal company come to give us an estimate for removing the awful hedges in the front of our house. That would all be enough...but on Wednesday, I had to take Simba (my Shih Tzu) to the vet for the day to have his teeth cleaned and his annual shots...he has had a small growth on his leg for quite some time, and at his last grooming it had been an issue, so we decided to have it removed, as well...he made it through everything okay, but he has five stitches in his leg (which he constantly wants to lick) - so he has an E-Collar (you know, the lampshade that goes around his neck)...which is a HUGE issue, as he cries, whines, and grunts the entire time it is on...so needless to say, I have had two sleepless nights. Add all that to my increasing pile of work and I feel like everything is out of control! I did find time to finish up the smalls for "Sweet Simple Samplings" (shown below)...and I am frantically model stitching on various other deadlines. I am hoping to release "Liberty Stitchery" and "Sweet Simple Samplings" towards the end of July (if all goes well) - I was hoping to have both pieces back from my framer today...but that didn't happen...maybe tomorrow...then the files will go to my local printer for production. I have so many new Blue Ribbon Designs projects I want to start...and so many ideas swirling around in my head...if I can just stay focused with all the construction starting soon. I think I will need my weekly sewing/quilting stress reliever tomorrow morning...

Wishing you a wonderful 4th of July holiday weekend...take some time to enjoy family, food, and fireworks...

Sneak Peek - "Liberty Stitchery"

FINALLY....here it is....my latest design model (pre-frame, of course)...titled "Liberty Stitchery", I am hoping to release this piece (along with "Sweet Simple Samplings") sometime in July...we'll see how quickly the framing and print production advance...I will give you a little better idea of a release date in the coming weeks. The design model was stitched on 40-count Fawn hand-dyed fabric from Lakeside Linens and uses The Gentle Art Sampler Threads. I am truly looking forward to getting it to my framer this week...
























So, as I promised myself, I stayed up until 3:12 AM finishing the stitching last night...well most of it...I made a design change today and did a little extra stitching early this afternoon. Now for my reward...I still have a couple hours in a quiet house, so I plan to do a little sewing and play with my new quilting toy (a shiny new Accuquilt GO! Fabric Cutter)....

Beautiful Begonia

I know you were probably expecting a sneak peek photo of my new design "Liberty Stitchery" today....and I am sorry to disappoint you, but it isn't quite done yet. I have been stitching my fingers raw...and I just taped them up for the third time today. For some reason this model is taking longer than planned - but it WILL be done late tonight...I am working on the final section (the bottom border) and I vow not to go to bed until it is finished! Once you see this new piece, I think you will understand the delay...

Today, I finally replaced the flowers in the basket next to my front door...the geraniums just didn't survive well after the crash with the bird nest...so, I have replaced them with some gorgeous blooming begonias...they are a delicate shade of salmon pink...I have had begonias in this spot before and they usually thrive, so I am expecting them to last throughout the season...

While I was outside working with the flowers this afternoon (after another torrential rain downpour), I managed to get this photo of a robin collecting dried grass for a nest...for some reason, this picture immediately made me smile, so I had to share it...
























I will be back tomorrow with a sneak peek photo for you...really, I WILL BE...I have a new quilting toy I am dying to play with and I have promised myself not to touch it until this model is ready for the framer...so I have a huge incentive!

Sunday Sewing

I worked on a quilting project today...I really wanted to start it yesterday, but had to chose between sewing and mowing, and mowing seemed more critical. I hadn't turned on my sewing machine for any length of time since before my teaching trip to New England, so I was definitely going through withdrawal...I really needed this! This last week has been overwhelming, to say the least, and I just need some creative time that had absolutely nothing to do with "work"....so with a quiet house this morning, I got up and immediately went to my studio and chose a project...I wanted something a little complex and challenging, yet something I could finish today if I was unable to make time later this week to sew. I chose this small quilt...well, I guess you might call it miniature...it is actually only about 12.5" x 12.5" square. It is called "Crossing Ohio" and is made from the fabric line Bar Harbor by Polly Minick & Lauri Simpson for Moda. I wanted to work on a seasonal project....and this patriotic piece caught my eye....it was the perfect one day project (and it gave me some more practice on my bindings - which are much improved).

Now, I head to my stitching nest for more model work - "Liberty Stitchery" should be done today or tomorrow...and I can't wait to share a peek with you and get it to the framer....

New In The To-Do Pile: A "Garden Fresh" Quilting Project

Happy Sunday Stitchy Friends!

It has been several days since my last post...and mainly, it is because I have been focused on model stitching...I have lots of new designs in the works - for teaching, for magazines, and for releases this summer. I have a list of deadlines and I am stitching my little fingers off to obtain all of those goals. I will have a sneak peek picture of "Liberty Stitchery" for you soon - it is over half completed...

I haven't had much time for sewing or quilting lately...and I am truly going through withdrawal...seems like ages since I last turned on my beautiful Diamond machine...well, really it has only been a couple weeks - but to me, it seems like years. I have promised myself that this week, I will make time to sew! ...and I just had to share this fabric and project with you! If you read my blog regularly, then you know I love vegetables...I truly eat a spinach and fresh veggies every day...so this fabric line is right up my alley - not to mention my kitchen colors are black and white with sage accents, so it matches perfectly. I first saw this fabric line ( "Garden Fresh" by Gail Kessler for Andover Fabrics) in the March/April 2010 Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine, and I'm totally "in love" with it. I had been looking locally for this fabric line for quite some time and had not been able to find it....so when the Fons and Porter online store recently had a sale, I just had to purchase the kit for the Garden Fresh magazine quilt while it was still available. This fabric is so beautiful in person...and I love that there is a panel (shown Below), a border print, and fabulous coordinates...I can't wait to start this project!...hopefully this week....