I am continuing to take classes at the San Francisco School of Needlework and Design. Their classes are amazing and their teachers are wonderful. Somehow they have managed to seamlessly move to teaching on zoom.
This is the most recent class that I am taking. I have finished the first of two classes and am enjoying it immensely. This is on needle painting and we are using the long and short stitch. I really struggle with this stitch and am looking forward to more practice and direction.
This is my progress after the first class. Homework is to finish all the stems and that one leaf before the next class. We are working on silk fabric which is really nice. At our next class we will work on one of the flowers. I can’t wait!!
I’m taking part in Sally’s Baking Challenge. This month we were tasked with making homemade stromboli which looked super fun and yummy.
Sourdough
I used my sourdough started to make the dough.
Fillings added.
I didn’t do the traditional fillings. I did make the garlic butter and brushed the dough with that first, then added pizza sauce. pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, garlic olives, and regular black olives.
All wrapped up and ready for the oven. I also brushed the garlic butter onto the top.
Doesn’t that look delicious?!!
It also smelled fantastically!
The rest of the family made personal pizzas and were all agreeing that they are going to make stromboli next time.
I have wanted a cast iron skillet for a LONG time. My oldest son works for REI and for Christmas he gave me one!!! I have been playing around. The first time I used it was not pretty – the chicken stuck to it, I had to clean it off midway through cooking, and we wound up eating dinner around 8:30 which is late for us. After doing some research about seasoning cast iron and the proper way to use it, things have been much better.
Cast Iron Skillet Pot from DS#1.
Isn’t she a beauty?! I have been poking around the internet for cast iron recipes and came across a site called Food52. They have all kinds of recipes, but also have recipes specific to cast iron. We love potatoes so I decided to try Hasselback Potato Skillet Bake.
Prepped and ready for the oven.
First you wash the potatoes and slice them really thin, but not all the way through. Then you mix up melted butter and spices and brush this mixture onto the pan and the potatoes making sure the mixture goes in between each slice. This took a bit of time, but was so worth it!
Yummy garlic and herbs!!Baking before the addition of the grated parmesan cheese.Finished!!
These potatoes were sooo yummy!! The only fiddly part is that you have to baste them with the butter/herb mixture every 15 minutes and cook them for an hour. Everyone liked these!!
DS#1 was in charge of the rest of the meal.
DS#1 made tilapia in the oven and asparagus in the air fryer (a birthday/Christmas gift from the hubby).
We have instituted a new dinner plan since about May. Each night one of the kids are in charge of dinner. They let us know by Friday what the dinner plan is and tell us the ingredients. When we go shopping, we pick up what they need. Since four of the kids are living at home and Friday is pizza night (I make the dough), I am really only in charge of a meal one night a week. It has been so fun to see what they come up with and it takes some of the pressure off of me.
I will definitely be trying some of the other recipes from Food52 for my cast iron skillet!
Lots of stitching is happening here, but not on Grandmother’s Flower Garden. She looks exactly the same as our last update.
I’m going to have to buckle down and get working on it!!
This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
I couldn’t resist starting the Peppermint Purple 2021 SAL!! The pictures of the 2020 SAL were beautiful and this 2021 SAL seems as if it will be just as pretty. As always, I am a little behind
Peppermint Purple 2021 SAL – block #1
I’m doing it in the colors called for. The blackwork was easier than I thought it would be and once I got into the rhythm of stitching, this block was done in no time! I’m going to try to get one block done each week, but we shall see.
I finally had a chance to work on that little postcard from last week! I had my image transferred and all I needed to do was apply some paint.
January PFA
I just finished and I’m actually quite happy with it. It looks very close to what I had envisioned. Now the actually stitching needs to be added. This will be super fun to embellish!
I decided to take part in Pintangle’s TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday) this year to hopefully learn some new embroidery stitches and different ways to use them.
This week we worked on the Fly Stitch and the Italian Border Stitch.
TAST – Week 2
I have done the fly stitch before although not much. It appears that I do need more practice!! I really enjoyed the Italian Border Stitch, especially with the beads.
The pages are 5X7″. I am using DMC Perle Cotton for the button hole stitch around the edges and for the specific stitches themselves. The writing is 2 strands of DMC cotton floss in black.
Finishing my son’s Christmas stocking in time for Christmas was such a great feeling. He loves it and I still haven’t put the stockings away because I like looking at them. The next stocking to make is for another daughter but I am really not feeling like starting that right now. I spent quite a bit of time going through my WIPs (there are MANY of them). It was so fun and kind of felt like I was visiting old friends. This past summer the embroidery guild I belong to started a project to work on together (virtually). Several of us chose the same one.
Heirloom Family Sampler
I’m in love with this one. One of our members is quite close to finishing and another one chose to do the top part only and she is done. This was my choice because not only do I find it beautiful and have never done a sampler, but there are so many elements I have never tried before.
1/17/2021 SAL update
First, I am working on linen. I have been afraid to do that. Aida cloth has been my “go to”. This pattern calls for linen. I could have done it in Aida, but decided to go all out with the new experiences. My kids actually roll their eyes when I use the words “new experiences” to describe embroidery! Hahaha!
Birds over 1 thread.
The top part of this pattern is done over two threads (this is a first for me) for the most part. Some elements, like the birds, are done over one thread. The contrast between stitching over two threads and then stitching over one thread is so fun!! I love the added texture and dimension. The floss I am using is not the recommended thread. This has been a stash busting project (except for the fabric).
More birds and bunnies over 1 thread.
This is going to be a very challenging project for me. It has pulled thread elements, hardanger and more, but I am excited to make this my SAL project!! This will hold me accountable to keep going and not to put it aside when things get tough.
Please take a look at the others who are joining along in this SAL. They are super talented stitchers and are working on all kinds of fantastic projects.
There is a fun FB group, called Postcard Fabric Art on Facebook that I have been following for awhile. They have challenges every month. This month is interesting as it combines fabric, paint and stitching. I am going to try my hand at this!
I found an image in this book that I want to use for my postcard.
This is the chosen image – it has been reduced by 10% and I am using only the center part where the two flowers and birds are.
I am using this piece of linen – the solid lines mark out a 4X6″ section.
The portion of the image that I want to paint and stitch has now been transferred to the fabric. Then I sewed batting to the back to add a bit of “plump” when it is stitched. The next step is to choose paint colors and make a stitch plan. Exciting!
Connie's Creations 