Merry Christmas

Best wishes to everyone who celebrates Christmas. 

Tuesday mornings are my time to do volunteer work in the Maternity Care Center of our local hospital.  I was not in today but I did stop by to bring in brunch for the maternity staff members who were in working.  By the time I arrived, we had already had a Christmas baby. 

Speaking of birthdays on 25 December, today is Amahl's birthday;  she is second on the left.

Merry Christmas from all of us to you. 

Still Here - Winter Solstice - Redemption

Gosh, that looks like it could be a deep theological discussion.  Hey, wait, don't leave; it just looks that way is all that I am saying. 

About two hours ago the time the world was supposed to end according to the Mayan calendar.  All that happened two hours ago was that we passed the winter solstice.  The good news is that the days will begin to get longer.  I need that; I really need that. 

As I understand it, we do not have the whole Mayan calendar.  The missing parts might be important for us to be able to understand it.  Anyway, the speculation is that if the Mayans survived, they would have made a new calendar.  We make new calendars every year..  The most fascinating thing about this is that the Mayans could so closely determine the winter solstice for so many years ahead of the time they made the calendar.  For how long have we had the tendency to dismiss the natives of the Western Hemisphere as ignorant savages?  The native cultures were very rich and complex.  We should never forget that.  If we do, it is to our own detriment.

No pictures of the snowfall are forthcoming.  It was not a very attractive one.  During the day yesterday, the temperature dropped and the wind picked up.  While there were blizzard warnings elsewhere, our winter misery was not severe enough to call one here.  The temperatures may be low enough to enable us to make a couple ice luminaria for Christmas.  We shall have to see how that develops. 

Redemption:  Yesterday was a day of redemption for me.  

1.  Someone who will remain unnamed because I cannot remember who it was spilled water on the sleeve I use to cover my rolling pin.  Needless to say that completely did the sleeve in.  Horror of horrors, I could not find rolling pin sleeves anywhere.  When I got mine more than forty years ago you could find them everywhere.  Without the sleeve, it was extremely difficult to roll out pie pastry..  I was dreading Christmas because we (that should really be I) are committed by the extended family to bring pie because no one lese in the extended family makes pie. 

2.  I have been having a lot of difficulty producing satisfactory baked goods.  Last weekend I made date nut bread.  It tasted okay but it did not look good.  I also made gingerbread; it tasted okay but it looked awful.  I thought long and hard about it and decided that it might be the presifted flour I was using.  It's texture was a little strange and not soft and silky like what I am used to. 

Yesterday I baked.  First was the gingerbread with the flour I am accustomed to using.  The results were perfect. 

The lesson I learned is that presifted flour does not absorb liquids the same way regular flour does.  That can have a significant effect on the finished product. 

Next was the pie crust.  Because I could not easily find a sleeve or sock for the rolling pin, I made my own with some white cotton ribbing.  I did a little experimenting and determined how big to cut the ribbing and how to seam it so it would not impede the process of rolling out the crust.  It works.  I used my trial crust to make this chiffon pie. 

Alive and Well in MN

During the night we had a little snow; areas south of us had much more.  Snow pictures may follow depending upon how it looks once the sun is up.  I have been doing a little stitching and sewing during my absence. 

Do you remember this little fabric envelope with all the buttons? 
I did do it all over again with different colors and fabrics and a lot less buttons.  This one is not nearly as heavy and I think more likely to be used. 





For the pocket, I used two fabrics from the Chateau Rouge collection by French General for Moda Fabrics.  The outside of the pocket is Laurette, pearl on red.  The lining is behind the pocket on the dark print, Flatetta, red on pearl. 

Just Cross Stitch magazine has begun to publish the sampler I stitched.  The January/February 2013 issue has the first part.  It will be published in 6 parts.  Beginning in September, I put everything that I was stitching for myself aside to stitch it.  I think it turned out very well.  Here is a link to the magazine but unfortunately at the time I posted this, it did not feature the current issue. 

Hiding Again or Is It Still?

At last, I finished stitching the model for Hoffman Media.  It is in the post and on its journey back to the office.  I hope the next time I see it, it will be published and not because I have to rip something out to restitch. 

There is so much that has happened while I was in hiding that I hardly know where to begin and what to tell you about.  I guess that I will just make a beginning; maybe I will eventually tell you everything that is on my mind and maybe some of it will never be said. 

I did finish my Blackbird Designs Exchange gift and sent it out on time. 

I happened to be browsing in one of the local stores when I saw the memo portfolio with the old fashioned looking picture of the Eiffel Tower.  That made my choice for the stitching very easy.  Yes, this is the completely finished project I have been showing you as the work progressed. 

Everything is from my stash.  Almost all, if not all, of the white buttons are mother of pearl.  The others are not.  There are so many buttons, I guess that I will post a picture of it with Button Floozies. 

My gift arrived today all the way from Arizona. 

It is the perfect antidote to the post holiday letdown that usually visits our home.  After all, there is a finite amount of Thanksgiving Day leftovers one can consume. 

When I took the box out of its protective tissue wrapping, I was impressed by the fact that it goes so well with the previous Blackbird Designs Exchange gift I received. 

Yesterday when I woke up the temperature was above 40°F but we had been warned that a weather front would begin to pass through the area about noon.  The temperature, we were kindly informed, would drop like a lead sinker and be accompanied by some fairly heavy wind.  In the wake of that weather front, a second one would pass through bringing some precipitation, most likely snow considering the temperature. 

The predictions were 100% correct.  This morning we woke up to heavy winds that were still blowing a little snow around.  The temperature is such a shock from the lovely November temps we have had that it is hard to feel comfortable.  The weather forecasters have also kindly informed us that the ground will now freeze.  Fortunately we had been watering our yard and garden so as the ground freezes, it will be solid.  This is very good because it is hard on the soil if it is dry when it freezes.  I decided we needed to fire up the ceramic oven to take the chill out of the living room. 

In the Nick of Time

Yesterday was productive with two completions. 

First is this little one.  I edged it with nun's stitch so I could cut it out and use it without a seam allowance.  It seemed like I had to stitch miles of nun's stitch. 

Next are my mittens.  I had set them aside because I was unhappy with the way I did the kitchner stitch closure at the top of the right mitten.  I did quite well with help on the left mitten but the right mitten looked sloppy no matter what I did. 

Yesterday afternoon, I knew what I wanted to do but the question was would I be successful. 

First I finished the thumb and then I picked out the kitchner stitch.  I was afraid that I would unintentionally rip out the knitting and not be able to knit it back in.  I did rip down one round.  When I picked up the stitches, I had the correct number and knitted back the round.  Fortunately there was no shaping in the last round. 

My first couple attempts were no more successful than what I had picked out.  I set the mitten aside and read through my written resource a couple times and then I viewed the DVD that came with the book.  As I sat in front of the computer monitor, I began joining the top.  Using some things that I learned from the DVD, it began to come together.  The right mitten top is not as well done as the left but I did it on my own and I am certain that I will be able to do better the next time I need to do the kitchner stitch. 

It was fortunate for me that I finished these little projects yesterday because I will have little time to work on them for the remainder of the month.  The model that I am stitching was delivered just as I finished the mitten. 

Memories of Summer

This afternoon we went to check out another estate sale just because it was relatively close.  We drove through the local countryside where the residents like their open space and keep horses.  When the fields have been plowed and the trees have lost their leaves, all the horses seem to be very highly visible.  We were wondering if the horses know winter is coming or do they just wake up one day and say, "Shoot, look what happened during the night." 

The sale was a total loss to us, nothing, nada. 

It brought to mind a sale that I checked on during the summer just because it was two minutes from home.  Really and truly, two minutes, well five minutes door to door.  It was hot, hot, hot that day so unlike today.  The sun was baking us.  But it was worth it, oh so worth it. 

With the exception of the solid blue piece in the middle, it is all wool, gorgeous, lovely wool.  The blue is lining. 

1.  Red Superfine Worsted Wool, anytime the fabric description is woven into the selvage, you know it is high quality.  It is roughly 3¾ yards of 60-inch wide fabric. 

2.  In the back is some lovely blue tweed, 5½ yards of it.  At first I thought it might be Harris Tweed but at 62 inches wide, I think not.  It is still to die for. 

3. On the blue tweed is the brown, cream, and gray tweed which is 2¼ yards long.  At 60 inches wide is probably not Harris Tweed either.   

4.  The plaid looks a lot like the MacKenzie tartan but I am not certain nor have I any idea of its origin.  It is 2 yards long and 61+ inches wide. 

Thought You Might Like

For those of you who cross stitch, I happened to think that you might like the chart for this little design.  It is a freebie from Blackbird Designs. 

The chart itself is here.  

But do not skip the specific blog entry which is here. 

During the time I was working fast and furiously on the sampler for Hoffman Media, I took a little time to check out a couple estate sales.  Of course, I could hardly leave a sale without picking up one or two or even more things.  It is not that I do not have enough.  It is just that I could hardly bear to leave them behind. 

I feel compelled to tell you about this sale first.  It was very close to my home and was very scary because I could easily see myself in it.  The woman knitted and maybe did a little crochet but primarily knitting.  She also spun yarn.  All over the house was yarn and more yarn than anyone could use during two or three lifetimes.  She had a couple spinning wheels and lots of books about a variety of handwork crafts. 

 I selected two books1. 

 I think The Filet Crochet Book is much more useful to me.  There are a couple things in Compendium of Finishing Techniques that I want to learn to do but I am not certain the whole book is worth it. 

Now back to the yarn.  This woman was very much into the Red Hat Society.  She had very little besides red and purple yarns.  My pictures will not reflect that because the blue and green yarns that I pulled out were almost the only ones there. 

Here are the red yarns that I selected.  I should have had the presence of mind to not select the ones that were one or two of a kind and taken a total of twelve red Mohair Kid 80.  That would have been enough to make a sweater.  Perhaps I can knit a sweater vest with the six skeins.  I think I can make myself a pair of mittens with the two skeins of Misti Alpaca.  It remains to be seen what I can do with the rest. 

These are my colors and I grabbed every one I could find.  The silver metallic yarn simply jumped into the bag; I have no idea why.  There is not enough yarn to do very much with here with the exception of the stocking yarn.  As I said, they are my colors and I could not bear to leave them. 

She was a very talented and accomplished knitter.  I selected one sweater.  It is clean but I feel I want to wash it before I integrate it into my wardrobe.  I may change out the buttons too.