Saturday at Needle's Nest

 Needle's Nest is the EGA Chapter that I belong to.  Actually, I am the current president.  During the summer months, we have some "Saturday Sessions"  for stitching and finishing.  One is all day, and the other two are half days.  This past Saturday was our all day session, and the project we did was the Christmas Biscornu by Sue Hillis.   Sue designed this one originally for an EGA Chapter in Virginia, with plans to teach it in other places, but she had trouble getting more antique spools.    I stitched the model for her at that time.  She recently acquired more spools, so she let me teach the class at our guild.

We began that day with coffee and bagels, and then got to stitching.

We broke for lunch and then stitched some more.  It was a great day stitching with friends!

Father's Day 2019

 Dad is 93.  Although he is in good health, you never know how many Father's Days he has left
with us, so a celebration was in order.  My brother and his family flew in from North Carolina, and my sister joined us, as well as a few other family members, and we had lunch at Dad's favorite restaurant, Himmel's European Bistro on Lawrence Avenue in Chicago.

I love so many things on their menu but tend to get the same things all the time.  This time I tried something new,  the chicken Marsala, and it was wonderful!  I would get it again, but there are so many other things to try.

If you are in or near Chicago, this restaurant is worth a visit!

A Nancy Cucci Butterfly Banner

 At Fox ANG we had Nancy Cucci present her Butterfly Banner this evening.  I love her designs!  There were a number of colorways presented, but I chose the blue one.  Don't look for a finish on this one soon, I have lots of other things started.

 Here are two finished pieces (not mine).  I really like the red/pink one too!  I may have to stitch it again!

Heart Finish

Our ANG Chapter is doing an outreach project that has us stitching hearts to be delivered to children who attend a camp this summer.  The camp is for those that have lost a parent or sibling to cancer.  I finished my heart this evening.

Jam Sessions this Week

This week was rather busy, making jam!  I made lots!  Blackberry, Blueberry Lemon, Cherry Vanilla, Raspberry, Strawberry, and Strawberry Rhubarb.  Next week:  Apricot, Triple Berry and perhaps some others

Model Finish

Finished this Model for Sue Hillis recently.  She is going to add some buttons and then finish it on an antique spool.  Can't wait to see it done!

May Progress, June Goals

May didn't give me as much stitching time as I would have liked.  No finishes, but I did get 19 new starts as part of the Stitch Maynia challenge.  Should have a bunch of finishes in June!

May 2019

WISPS:
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

Merry Bells #1 
Diamond City Lights
Hardanger Runner: 

Maynia Starts
1.       Stocking for Eleanor worked on it
2.       Black grey and red hearts worked on it
3.       Gingerbread people #1  worked on it
4.       Gingerbread people #2  worked on it
5.       Gingerbread people #3  worked on it
6.       Fine Wine  worked on it
7.       Pumpkin Harvest  worked on it
8.       Sweet Watermelon worked on it
9.       Photobooth  worked on it
10.   Candy Corn #2 worked on it
11.   Foxy Fob  worked on it
12.   May flower of the month worked on it
13.   Snow Sampler worked on it
14.   Heart of Hearts  worked on it
15.   House of Flowers   worked on it
16.   Blackwork Biscornu worked on it
17.   Sue’s Model worked on it
18.   Hospice Heart  worked on it
19.   Hope of Spring  worked on it

Future New starts
Large Bargello Ball #2
Small Bargello Ball #2
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge
Ambrosia Honey
Scissors case
June flower of the month
July flower of the month
French alphabet page
Hardanger ornament
Snowman Heart
Marnee Ritter Heart
Gingerbread heart
Pretty Little Chicago
A Stitcher by Cherrywood designs
Twisted Band Sampler
Tree of Ornaments
Redwork heart
Flower patch
Hex Symbol 

June 2019
WISPS:
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress
Merry Bells #1 
Diamond City Lights
Hardanger Runner: 

Maynia Starts
1.       Stocking for Eleanor
2.       Black grey and red hearts
3.       Gingerbread people #1 
4.       Gingerbread people #2 
5.       Gingerbread people #3 
6.       Fine Wine 
7.       Pumpkin Harvest 
8.       Sweet Watermelon  
9.       Photobooth 
10.   Candy Corn #2
11.   Foxy Fob 
12.   May flower of the month
13.   Snow Sampler
14.   Heart of Hearts 
15.   House of Flowers  
16.   Blackwork Biscornu
17.   Sue’s Model
18.   Hospice Heart 
19.   Hope of Spring 

Future New starts

Large Bargello Ball #2
Small Bargello Ball #2
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge
Ambrosia Honey
Scissors case
June flower of the month
July flower of the month
French alphabet page
Hardanger ornament
Snowman Heart
Marnee Ritter Heart
Gingerbread heart
Pretty Little Chicago
A Stitcher by Cherrywood designs
Twisted Band Sampler
Tree of Ornaments
Redwork heart
Flower patch
Hex Symbol 

Jam Session today!

Today I made Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.  It is always good seller.  Monday, I will pick the rhubarb from Dad's garden and make some more.

Instant Pot Cheesecake Sucess!

I have been reading up on Instant Pots and since I don't have a working oven in the kitchen yet, I
though this might be useful to me.  I did a bunch of research and then found the one I wanted on a neighborhood garage sale site.  It was in new condition and the price was right, so I brought it home and looked at it for a few weeks.  I finally got up the nerve to hard boil some eggs in it.  And I didn't blow up the house, so I tried a few more things.  I made Macaroni and Cheese (Owen, mac and cheese expert like it!) I cooked potatoes for potato salad, and I made pork chops and I made cube steaks, everything has turned out very well.

 I also saw that people were making cheesecakes in their instant pots.....so of course I had to try it.  You need a 7" springform pan.  I already own at least 2 of every size spring form pan they make, except....you guessed it, no 7"!  Amazon helped me rectify that, because I couldn't find that size in any store.











After looking at various cheesecake recipes, I decided to try the Blueberry cheesecake recipe because blueberries were on sale at Aldi.  So here it is!  A Blueberry Cheesecake "baked" in the Instant Pot!  It turned out great!  My taste testers loved it!  There will be more cheesecakes that will come out of this pot in the future.

Maynia, Day 19

On Day 19, I started a Hospice Heart, which is an outreach project from the ANG guild I belong to.

Maynia Day 18

On Day 18 I started the Foxy Fob.  It is all beaded.  I got 5 rows of beads done and found out I had placed the first row wrong, so I had to pull them all out.  You want to know what is worse than taking out stitches?  Yep, you guessed it, taking out beads!

I have restitched the offending area and gotten a bit more done.

Maynia, Day 17

On Day 17, I started Fine Wine by Design Works.  I was lucky enough to get the kit on ebay recently, but am using my own fabric and floss.  Once I am finished, I will sell the kit.  I just love these whimsical designs by this artist.  They are all out of print, but I hope to find a few more on ebay in the future.

Maynia, Day 16

On Day 16 I started the Halloween Blackwork Biscornu.  It is one of our EGA Guild Projects.  I made good progress on this one.

Maynia Day 15

On Day 15 I started Hope of Spring by Chessie and Me.  Not much time for stitching that day.

Maynia Day 14

On Day 14 I started stitching on this Canvas Candy Corn Ornament.  I have already stitched this one once, this is the second one.

Maynia, Day 13

On Day 13 I started Pumpkin Harvest, another kit from the Rocking Horse.

Maynia Day 12

On Day 12 I started Sweet Watermelon, a chart from the Rocking Horse.  I had some trouble with the floss, but got some stitches in.

Maynia, Day 11

On Day 11 I started a photobooth chart by Bent Creek.  These are always fun to stitch.

Maynia, Day 10

Day 10 was a very busy day, but I did manage to make a start on House of Flowers by Bent Creek

Maynia Day 9

On Day 9 I started the Tree of Hope Stocking.  It doesn't look like I got much done, but in reality, I did it all twice, but had to frog it the first time, I used the wrong floss...….

Maynia, Day 8

On Day 8, I started Heart of Hearts by Bent Creek.  It is done with #5 Perle cotton on 18 count linen, over two fabric threads.  These are always a quick and easy stitch!

Maynia Day 7

On Day 7 I started the Ballerina Gingerbread Person by Handblessings Designs.  I got quite a bit done.

Maynia, Day 6

Day 6 I started the Baseball Player from the More Gingerbread People series by Handblessings Designs.  He is half done.

Maynia, Day 5

On  the fifth day, I started the April Gingerbread person.  He still needs a head.....

Maynia, Day 4

Day 4, Saturday, I stitched on a model for Sue Hillis.  And I unstitched it, and stitched it again and then did some more unstitching.....it is now in a time out until it can behave......

Maynia, Day 3

Day 3 I started Snow Sampler by Country Cottage Needleworks.  It is hard to see what I have stitched because much of it is white floss.  Trust me, I made some good progress.

Maynia, Day 2

Day 2, I started Hearts in Red and Black and Gray by Handblessings Designs.  We received this as a favor at our ANG luncheon.

Maynia, Day 1

Maynia - a challenge where we start a new piece each day for the first 19 days of May, and then commit to finish those pieces during the year.

Day 1 I started the May flowers from and old Ellen Maurer Stroh freebie.  It doesn't look like much, but it's a start!

April Progress, May Goals

Well, again, not as much stitching got done as I would have liked, but that always seems to be the case!  I had wanted to finish the Hardanger Runner, and I am close to a finish, but Easter and some more unpacking and organizing got in the way.  In May, I had planned 19 new starts for StitchMaynia, but I will have to fit a model stitching assignment in, so Maynia may not happen.

April 2019

WISPS:
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

Merry Bells #1 
Hardanger Hearts  finished
Diamond City Lights
Hardanger Runner:  worked on it

Future Maynia Starts
1.       Home of a Neeldeworker squared  finished
2.       Stocking for Eleanor
3.       Candy Corn #2
4.       Foxy Fob
5.       Ambrosia Honey
6.       Scissors case
7.       May flower of the month
8.       June flower of the month
9.       July flower of the month
10.   French alphabet page
11.   Hardanger ornament
12.   Snowman Heart
13.   Marnee Ritter Heart
14.   Gingerbread heart
15.   Snow Sampler
16.   Foxy Fob
17.   Heart of Hearts
18.   Tree of Ornaments

Future New starts
Large Bargello Ball #2
Small Bargello Ball #2
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge

May 2019

WISPS:
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

Merry Bells #1 
Diamond City Lights
Hardanger Runner: 

Future Maynia Starts
1.       Stocking for Eleanor
2.       Black grey and red hearts
3.       Gingerbread people #1
4.       Gingerbread people #2
5.       Gingerbread people #3
6.       Fine Wine
7.       Pumpkin Harvest
8.       Sweet Watermelon
9.       Photobooth
10.   Candy Corn #2
11.   Foxy Fob
12.   May flower of the month
13.   Snow Sampler
14.   Foxy Fob
15.   Heart of Hearts
16.   Tree of Ornaments
17.   Blackwork Biscornu
18.   Redwork heart
19.   Flower patch
20. Model for Sue

Future New starts

Large Bargello Ball #2
Small Bargello Ball #2
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge
Ambrosia Honey
Scissors case
June flower of the month
July flower of the month
French alphabet page
Hardanger ornament
Snowman Heart
Marnee Ritter Heart
Gingerbread heart
Pretty Little Chicago
A Stitcher by Cherrywood designs
Twisted Band Sampler

This Weekend's Baking

Spent Friday afternoon baking, and filled and frosted this morning to take to an event today.  On the left is Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake) and on the right is Nuss Torte (walnut tort).  It was all gone.

A Wednesday Finish!

Finished this morning, Home of a Needleworker Squared by Little House Needleworks on 30 ct recommended fabric with the recommended Classic Colorworks fibres.  It was a quick and enjoyable stitch.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, dear blogging buddies!  With still no fully functioning kitchen on the main floor of the house, I managed to make Easter Brunch for the family anyway.  Lots of planning and timing and I managed to spend all of Saturday with the oven in the basement, and all of Sunday morning with the microwave and the stovetop on the main floor.   The deviled egg platter was full when I went to get the phone to take a picture but was attacked in my short absence.




Dessert was equally as well received.  Cream puffs with chocolate whipped cream filling and
Kremschnitten with a vanilla pastry cream, and there isn't much left.

The little ones loved their Easter baskets.  I had also hidden 2 dozen eggs outside in the yard for them to have an egg hunt, but the neighborhood squirrels also wanted to hunt them.  They got 3 of the eggs and chewed right through them to get to the candy inside!

I will spend a little more time with my feet up, and then I will tackle the dishes.

This Week's Jam Session

I had an order for 30  4 ounce jars of jam, so I went to work!  I ended up with 35 4 oz jars and 2 8 oz jars of Triple Berry Jam.  All labeled and ready to deliver!

WIP Wednesday 4-17-2019

Work continues on my Hardanger Runner.  All the bars are wrapped and many of the dove's eyes are done.  I am getting a little tired of doing only white.

To relieve the boredom of all the white, I have started a new piece; Home of a Needleworker Squared by Little House Needleworks.  It should be a quick stitch.

Cutting is finished

After 4 1/2 hours of careful cutting.  Now I am ready to start wrapping the bars and doing the filling stitches......

WIP Wednesday 4-10-2019

Stitching is complete, and now we are ready for cutting....

WIP Wednesday 4-3-2019

It is hard to see because it is white on white, but there is good progress on this piece!  Although I have done this runner a number of times, it is still enjoyable to work on!

March Progress and April Goals

As always, not enough stitching time, it was a busy month.  Next month will be better.  

March 2019

WISPS:

Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

Merry Bells #1 
Hardanger Hearts  worked on it
Diamond City Lights
Mystery Sampler part 11 finished

Future Maynia Starts

1.       New design model for Sue
2.       Stocking for Eleanor
3.       Candy Corn #2
4.       Foxy Fob
5.       Ambrosia Honey
6.       Scissors case
7.       May flower of the month
8.       June flower of the month
9.       July flower of the month
10.   French alphabet page
11.   Hardanger ornament
12.   Snowman Heart
13.   Marnee Ritter Heart
14.   Gingerbread heart
15.   Snow Sampler
16.   Foxy Fob
17.   Heart of Hearts
18.   Tree of Ornaments

Future New starts

Mystery Sampler part 12 finished
Luck of the Irish Photobooth  finished
Hardanger Runner:  worked on it
Large Bargello Ball #2
Small Bargello Ball #2
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge

April 2019

WISPS:
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

Merry Bells #1 
Hardanger Hearts 
Diamond City Lights

Future Maynia Starts
1.       New design model for Sue
2.       Stocking for Eleanor
3.       Candy Corn #2
4.       Foxy Fob
5.       Ambrosia Honey
6.       Scissors case
7.       May flower of the month
8.       June flower of the month
9.       July flower of the month
10.   French alphabet page
11.   Hardanger ornament
12.   Snowman Heart
13.   Marnee Ritter Heart
14.   Gingerbread heart
15.   Snow Sampler
16.   Foxy Fob
17.   Heart of Hearts
18.   Tree of Ornaments

Future New starts
Hardanger Runner: 
Large Bargello Ball #2
Small Bargello Ball #2
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge