Hearts for Hospice Final Update

 About a month ago, I showed you the heart on canvas that I had finished stitching.  This is that same heart "finished".  It was turned into to my ANG chapter for our Hearts for Hospice program.  Thanks to Laura Taylor for doing the finishing on it for me.

The goal was to have 40 hearts completely finished for a camp for Children who had lost a parent or sibling to cancer.  We had 59 completely finished hearts and two that still needed finishing!  I hope we do this project again next year!

A July 4th Start

I needed to stitch on something patriotic on the 4th of July, so I started One Nation by ByGone Stitches.  I am stitching it on 25 count blue Lugana, over one fabric thread with 1 strand of Classic Colorworks floss.

June Progress, July Goals

8 finishes this month!  I am quite happy with that.  7 of those finishes were Maynia starts, so only 12 left of those to finish.  

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  worked on it
3.       Gingerbread people #1 .finished
4.       Gingerbread people #2  finished
5.       Gingerbread people #3  finished
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  finished
15.   House of Flowers  
16.   Blackwork Biscornu  finished
17.   Sue’s Model finished
18.   Hospice Heart  finished
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 
Tulips  finished
Butterfly banner   worked on it

July 2019

WISPS:
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

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

Maynia Starts
1.       Stocking for Eleanor
2.       Black grey and red hearts  
3.       Fine Wine 
4.       Pumpkin Harvest 
5.       Sweet Watermelon 
6.       Photobooth 
7.       Candy Corn #2
8.       Foxy Fob 
9.       May flower of the month
10.   Snow Sampler
11.   House of Flowers  
12.   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 

Heart of Hearts if Finished

Finished this one this evening, last finish for June.  This is Heart of Hearts by Bent Creek.  This series stitches up very quickly.  It is stitched on 18 count linen, over two threads with #5 perle cotton.

Halloween Biscornu Finish

This was our March project at the EGA chapter.   It wasn't hard to stitch, just a little fiddly getting it all finished and the beads attached.  The fabric is really a brighter orange, it looks rather washed out in the picture.

A Tulip Finish

These tulips were an EGA Guild project.  They are done on canvas with perle cotton and they are daring patterns.  I wasn't sure about doing this project, but I am the president of our guild, so I felt I needed to set a good example for the members and just do it.

I was pleasantly surprised at how fun this was to stitch!  I didn't do the blue border, it did nothing for me.  I plan to either frame it in an oval frame or an oval mat.

One More Framing Post

Last one for awhile.  This is the 2017 Linens and Things Mystery Sampler.  I stitched it on 25 count vintage mocha Lugana, with one strand of Valdani floss over one fabric thread.  I used the Autumn Quaker floss pack.

Three Quick Little Finishes

Finished the stitching on these three little cuties recently.  They are More Gingerbread People #1, #2 and #3, free charts by Handblessings Designs.  The next 3 come out next week.

More Framing

I stitched these four pieces in 2017 and 2018 and finally got around to having them framed.  They are by Country Cottage Needleworks, done on the suggest fabric with the suggested threads.

Framing

I picked these two pieces up from my framer a while ago.  They are Farmers Market Fruits and Vegetables by Sam Sarah Designs.  I finished the fruits in 2014 but wanted to wait until the vegetables were finished to have them both framed at the same time, matching of course.

The vegetables were done as a round robin with 5 other stitching friends.  When it came back home to me, I couldn't find the buttons that needed to be added.  I found the buttons recently, but had to hunt for the stitched pieces.  Luckily, they weren't in storage, just in the 'finished but unfinished' bin in the closet, so I add the buttons and went off to the framer.  They will hang in the kitchen once it is remodeled.

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.