Stitching and Yummies

Hi friends! Thank you for your sweet compliments. You cheer me on. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes. You lift me up.

I can finally share my last finish of 2014 with you. It was a birthday gift for sweet Anne.  If you follow Anne, you will know that her and Lee are expecting their first child this spring. What a true blessing from God! I wanted to make up something special to commemorate this.I chose Family Pyn Pillow by Jeannette Douglas Designs. This pattern can be found in the JCS 2013 Christmas Ornaments Issue.

So frustrating! I must have deleted the closeups I took of this lovely ornament. I have "borrowed" Anne's picture from her blog. I used 4 of the recommended DMC flosses. I used Nancy's Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Hand Dyed Floss for the 3 remaining colors. I stitched this 2over2 on32ct lambswool linen. I finished this as a flat ornament.

I have had a request for the Challah recipe. Challah is a special Jewish braided bread eaten on Sabbath and holidays. I have been using this Jewish recipe for years, as it is adapted for the bread machine to make the dough.

Challah

warm water   1 cup
salt                2 3/4 teaspoons
sugar             1/3 cup
eggs, beaten  2
vegetable oil 1/2 cup
bread flour   4 1/4 to 4 3/4 cups
yeast             1 tablespoon

egg wash: 1 large egg & 1 yolk

Place ingredients in bread machine pan in order. Set machine for dough cycle and start.  When cycle is complete, remove dough to a floured surface and divide into 3 sections and then braid into a loaf. Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place bread onto prepared baking sheet. Generously brush bread with egg wash (reserve remaining egg wash for later).  Place whole baking sheet into a large plastic bag.  Allow bread to rise 30 to 40 minutes or until almost doubled in size.  Brush again with reserved egg wash.  Preheat oven to 375º. Place bread in oven, and immediately reduce heat to 350º. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Last week I baked more of the Grinch Cookies. I know Christmas is over and done, but the kids gobble these up! You roll these in powdered sugar before baking. I cannot seem to get them covered enough that more than only a bit lasts til after baking though.

Do you make chili? I make it fall through winter. I always bake garlic cheddar biscuits to go with it every time. I came up with my own chili recipe at least a dozen years ago. This is what my chili looks like.

Do you add noodles? What do you sprinkle on top? I sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese. =)

Finally, I must tell you I have one page of the six pages that make up the Theotokos pattern, completed!! That sounds weird after you have seen all my progress on that piece. The pattern pages lay out like this:
1  2
3  4
5  6
Well, I did not stitch them in numerical order. If you recall, I worked the outside border first. I have been slowly working my way around and in. So page six is finished! No updated picture today. Next time.

I hope you have a wonderful day my friends! I plan to. My pain is decreasing. I have a book on hold for me at the library. Yep! These are things to be thankful for. :)

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Papa Francisco

Hi friends! Hope all is well with you. Welcome to new friends! =) Glad you stopped by!

I designed, stitched and finished a little pinkeep back in spring. I call it 'Papa Francisco'.

I kept it neutral in color. I used a platinum linen. I researched his attire. Made sure to give him his iron cross, silver ring and his black shoes.

Am I Catholic? Nope. I was raised Catholic and was for the first 30 years of my life. Became Lutheran like my husband and kids. Anyhow, it's kinda still a large part of me. My whole family is Catholic. I really, really admire Pope Francis. I thought it would be super to make a pinkeep of him and leave a space for him to sign. I looked up how to properly write a letter to the Pope and the address and I sent it off in June. Well, I guess I am real naive.

Guess what came in the mail for me yesterday?! Yup! It's back from Vatican City. BUT... no signature. :( I suppose it was too much to expect honestly. But I did get this.

Well, it is a copy of his signature. ;)

I walked over to the park and got myself some Willow tree branches. Those are a lot straighter than our Silver Maple tree branches. And.... I framed my 'Autumn Delights' with twigs, right on the top of the flatfold. It turned out just like I envisioned. Not the best picture, but here ya go.

I made a loaf of Challah bread yesterday. One of my favorite breads I bake. It is a Jewish recipe.

This one does not have the egg wash I usually put on it.

That's all I got for today friends. You have yourself a stitchtastic day now. =)

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

ooOoo!

Hello friends! I have been having extra pain this week. So this surprise could not have come at a better time! Looky, looky!!

Isn't it gorgeous?!? I MAY have an ebay problem. ;) I check for poodle thimbles. They certainly do not come up often. This Kirks Folly beauty was just for bid. I knew it would be more than our budget. I am a penny pincher. Brian, not so much. ;) So I showed him it and said "Oh well!", and I truly, honestly meant it. None of this hint, hint stuff. I love to get deals on ebay.

So I was completely and utterly stunned and speechless(this is hard to do to me my friends) when Brian presented me with this. He said he was so happy it brightened up my day. I was feeling rather blue from the pain.

He had just gotten me this beautiful pink rose before the thimble came. I was so happy with just the rose. =)
Brian takes very good care of me, and I love him.

I baked this challah bread yesterday. I use the bread machine for the dough and then braid it up, let is rise and bake it. num, num, num. It is a Jewish recipe for Sabbath bread. I have been making it for almost a dozen years now.

Hey Trace! This picture is for you. =) This was my maternal grandmother's rooster. This pretty violet, which matches the rooster, blooms in the spring for me every year.

I wish I had my Easter stitch to show you. I used up a whole, new skein of DMC 746. Thanks to percocet, I had to unstitch a bit. Now, I need just a tiny bit more and I will be done. I went to our JoAnn, which is liquidating.It is closing. A new and bigger one is opening soon. ALL of the DMC 746 was gone. It was there last week!!  Off to Michael's today then.

I will be back soon with the finish and maybe more. Have a happy day friends! So glad you came by.♥

Stitching and praying,
Vickie