Happy Christmas To All, And To All A Good Night!

An Ornie Finish!!!

YAY!   I have finished the cross-stitch ornie I am making for my friend Barbara in England.  She collects vintage Sindy dolls -- sort of a British Barbie -- so I added "Elf Sindy" to the cute little chart I received as a gift from The Sampler Girl (free with an order during the fab "Black Friday" sale).  I also changed the beautiful colors that were recommended to use some Christmassy colors I had on hand.  Time is of the essence this time of year!   I messed up the hair a little bit....but...it was 3 AM and I was too tired to frog again....so I just went with it.

Sorry for the blurry pix...my camera battery needed to be charged and I had to use my cell phone to grab the shots before I sent the ornie off to Merry Olde England.

 I actually started stitching another pattern for Barbara, but when I received this adorable little elf pattern, I just had to go with it!  I hope she likes it!  (I haven't given her the link to this blog yet, so the secret is safe!)  I have never finished an ornament before and this method wasn't too difficult but I can't say I did a professional job.  You definitely wouldn't want to pull the two pieces apart and look inside....lots and LOTS of glue.  (I LOVE Tacky Glue.  It's my best friend!)  It doesn't look too awful, but I hope it doesn't fall apart on its' way across the pond.  Sorry Baps!  I'll do better next time!!!

I found a really great website with awesome finishing tutorials:

http://focusonfinishing.blogspot.com/

I wanted to do Elf Sindy as a pillow ornament, but I have a love/hate relationship with my sewing machine (I think it knows I'm afraid of it) and I just didn't have the time to chance it on this one.  But I definitely will try Anne's instructions when I have a little more time to set up the machine.  I have a few ornaments lined up to stitch for the Crazy January Challenge and I plan to "finish" them myself.  Ha ha, yet another goal for 2011 ~~~!!!

;O)

Needlework in Miniature

I have finished a couple of mini needlework items for my dollshouse (WIPs abound!)..... The inhabitants are thrilled and are preparing for the Holidays.  Shall we take a little tour?


 Oh, hello there!   It's sweet little Mattie... 

....and her cute little dog, Dickens! 



Wonder what's going on inside?

  Looks like fun!

Mmm,do I smell cookies baking???

I do!  Cook is making gingerbread cookies!   Hey, there's only two left....where'd they all go?!

Cook, did you "taste-test" the cookies while you were baking again ???! 

Hmmm, looks a little serious in this room...

Oh, they're only just anxiously politely waiting for the hosts to serve the wine....

Someone's left their beer on the piano, and Mr. Pinkerton-Spice is ready to have a taste!  Mrs. Pinkerton-Spice must have already gotten into the wine at home before she left because she is dressed for the wrong season!  Nice and rosy-toasty then are we, Mrs. P-S.?

Wonder what our hosts are up to....

Uh, oh, The Mister is getting an earful for forgetting to remove his hat immediately upon entering the house.....tsk, tsk.....Well, really, the poor fellow just came home after a long day and he made a straight bee-line for the Gluhwein, can you blame the poor chap???

I mean what's a fellow to do with a house full of family for a fortnight?!

Speaking of which.....the children are being awfully quiet....

Oh, aren't they perfect angels?  Roddy and Ruth are keeping Baby Eleanor company in her Nursery.   And they've only made a little bit of a  mess with the books on the floor...not too bad yet!  Be careful you don't ruin that lovely hand-made blankie kids....the nice lady who made it for you has sworn to never crochet anything that tiny and intricate again! 

But where is sweet little Elspeth?

Here she is!!!  The little doll (tee hee) is sitting quietly on the bed with the sweet tiny hand-embroidered sheet.  She's still quite cold from the buggy ride over and she's not moving until she gets the call for some Gingerbread Cookies!!!!

All this talk about cookies as made me hungry!  I'm headed to my own kitchen to make some of The Barefoot Contessa's Ultimate Ginger Cookies!  Click on the link below for the recipe!!! 

Happy Baking!!!

Barefoot Contessa Ultimate Ginger Cookie Recipe

   



'Tis The Season

Welcome!  Pull up a chair and let me show you what I've been working on.  It's a beautiful cross-stitch sampler from The Sampler Girl.   This one is called Good Tidings with Jane Austen and it's fabulous.   

The chart calls for 32 count Espresso linen from R&R (see pic to the left), but I'm using 30 count Light Cappuccino from R&R (above), just because that's what I found at  my LNS and I couldn't wait to get started!!  You understand, don't you?

It's such a joy to work this piece.  The colors are so yummy.  This is my first chart from The Sampler Girl and it definitely won't be my last!  In fact, she just announced on her blog that she is having a BLACK FRIDAY SALE beginning Wednesday at 12 AM and running from November 24th to November 28th!!!  A Black Friday Sale and I don't have to fight the crowds???  I'm there!!!

Also be sure to check out the cute little free cross-stitch pattern she's offering called Christmas Eve Flight. Isn't it adorable?  I'm so into little projects!  Instant gratification!!!  ;)

While I have you, let me share a little secret....I'm a terrible cook.  Uh huh.  Terrible.  But that doesn't stop me from trying.  Last weekend I made Vegetable Tian from Barefoot in Paris by The Barefoot Contessa and you know what??  IT WAS AMAZING!  And I made it.  Me.  Wow.  If I can do it, anyone can.  So if you're ready for a change from the usual Thanksgiving stuff (or if you're like me and your mashed potatoes could get you thrown out of the house), give this side dish a try.  I didn't have any fresh thyme so I used dried and it was delicious!

Unfortunately, I didn't take a pic of mine but it really looked just the same as in the book (except I used a rectangular pan - I cannot tell a lie). I can't wait to try more of The Barefoot Contessa recipes.  Here is a link to the Vegetable Tian on the food network:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/vegetable-tian-recipe/index.html

Enjoy!

~Sheri