A Quick Post

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends thanks so much for stopping and as promised I did post the recipe for the Peanut Butter Cookies, over at Blacksheep Bakes.  Just click on over.

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I am still stitching away on Exchanges, but I think that will wrap up this weekend. 

Thanks again for stopping in, do stop again.

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I think I'll leave off with a snap I took of the Pacific Ocean a while back.....

Take care,

edgar

Mail and Magazines

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends thank you so much for your kind words about the ornament I made for Kayona.  It was a fun piece to stitch and finish!!

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Yesterday the mail brought two super packages....

The first package was my ornament for the HOE Exchange....

... from Janet over at Home Sweet Home.  She adapted a poinsettia from the BBD 2011 LF Winter Sampler, and it is just gorgeous!!!!  It is stitched on Graziano linen using Belle Soie silk

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I was one of the winners over at Victorian Motto's - It was a Birthday Gift-a-way that Nancy was holding!!! - and I was sent 4 skeins of beautiful floss.....

... are these lovely colours for Fall!!

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Yesterday after work we headed to South SF City to make four stops (that turned into five stops)  The first stop was at Michael's.  I am kitting out a French chart that is charted for DMC and I didn't want to pull from completed collection, there are about 30 colours.  I grabbed a basket and headed to their very small cross stitch area and found that a majority of the little box-spots for floss where completely empty and those that did have a few skeins of floss were a complete jumble..... so it was on to target for a few things.....and then a quick stop at Carter's children shop to get some things for Rico's great nephew.  Then it was on to the next stop......  we headed up to Pet Smart for the puppy cookies we were after and then turned around and hit Joann's on the way back home  - they had all the colours I needed except for two - they have also jacked the price of a skein to .39 - just a month or so ago the price was hovering at about .34 - it is what it is guess!!  I still need to make a trip over to Needle in a Haystack for a piece of blue linen, but this is a project for next year so there is no hurry. Two things I had no intention of buying.....

The September Vogue at Target and the JCS Hallowe'en Issue at Joann's.  I always buy the September Issue of Vogue... but, I was not intending to get the Hallowe'en Issue - I changed my mind after browsing quickly through the projects, some of them look really cute.

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I am running out of time this morning so the recipe will have to wait until tomorrow.  Have a great one!!! - and - thanks for stopping by!

Take care,

edgar

Monday Posting

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends it is a cold and damp Monday here by the Bay - and it was a cold, foggy and damp weekend....  it was supposed to rain, but that never happened.  I spent the weekend doing the usual - and stitching like crazy on Exchanges.

I read over on the HOE that my BBD Ornament for the last round arrived at Kayona's - it got there pretty quickly!!  Here's a snap - 

It is from the 2010 JCS Ornament Issue - I used the recommend Belle Soie on 32ct linen.

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I got around to the thrift shops for my weekly fix!!  There was lots of stuff, but not much I wanted to bring home.  I did find...

 

... a nice little reticulated plate ca. 1900, and a Christmas book that looks pretty good!

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Yesterday I made a batch of Rico's favorite cookies.....

.....  peanut butter.  The recipe made a heap of cookies!!  I'll post the that in the morning.

There you go for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!

Take care,

edgar

A Quick Movie Post

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends just a quick post this morning.  Since I am still Exchange Stitching I have no snaps of any of that to show, just yet.

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Last night there was a Netflix DVD waiting for me in the mail - "55 Days at Peking" - 1963 - starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven, Flora Robson, John Ireland, Leo Green, Robert Helpmann, Kurt Kasznar and Paul Lukas.

Although the film is based on an actual historical event, as with so many Hollywood Epic Films it does stray from the actual Historical facts quite often.  But all that aside, I have always enjoyed this film and seen it many times.  Here is the overly dramatic period trailer....

The film is about 2 1/2 hours and with tons of over acting, mega-tons of costume changes there is still a pretty good story to found!

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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Shopping!

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends thank you again for your kind comments regarding ATS, it is a monster stitch but a great piece to work on!!   I had a quick question about the linen I am using, it is a piece from LL, and is 36ct, Vintage Sand Dune.  I wasn't up to 40ct when I started it, but I am working myself up to 40 ct....  or at least I have a few cuts of it in my stash!  I also had a question about how I handle the linen as I stitch.  With this being a much largest piece that I have ever worked with - how I handle it is....  I am still using my trusty 8 inch Q-Snap and just move it back and forth and downwards as I stitch, the extra linen (and there's quite a bit) I just loosely roll up and rest in a heap on top of my knees and top of the Q-Snap and the bottom I roll up and rest in my lap - I sort of slouch when I stitch, but hey, that works for my.... bad posture!

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On Saturday I did get a chance to run around to my usual haunts, not much out there at the shops or Estate Sales, but I did find three things to add to my ever growing DVD collection.....

...  I found a two disc set of 16 episodes of "Petticoat Junction" - 1963-1970 - I have always enjoyed this show and the antics taking place at The Shady Rest Hotel, down in Hooterville!!  Here's the TV Intro......

 

 I also got a copy of "Designing Woman" - 1957 - a great romantic comedy, and the third film I found was "Spaceballs" - 1987 - a great parody of the Star Wars movie machine!  Here's the Theatrical Trailer...

 There were some other films I passed on - I usually pass on discs that are in iffy condition, smudges and dirt I can deal with, but scratches are another thing.

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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Cake and More ATS

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends thank you all for your kind comments about ATS and my less than stellar snaps.  I had an email request for an overall shot of ATS - which is getting harder and harder to take, the longer and longer it grows!!  So here is the effort from last night.....

I am not sure when I'll get back to ATS....  I finished up an Exchange last night  - and out it'll go this morning, but I have a couple more in the works and I want to get September Cottage done, boy there is lots to do!!

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On the baking front, Sunday I made up a great little recipe for Apple Cake - which was perfectly delicious!!!  I am thinking of adding it to my already groaning Thanksgiving Day menu!  I found the recipe over at Jolts & Jollies - "Apple Cake with Maple Frosting."  It's a perfect cake for Fall and so easy!!  Basic ingredients....

The only changes I made was to add quite a bit of Nutmeg to both the batter and the frosting - and - I baked it in a greased and floured 10 in spring form pan, lowered the temp to about 325 and baked it for about 43 minutes.  Other than that I followed the directions and came out with this....

The frosting changes I made other than the nutmeg was to use the whole 8oz block of cream cheese - I figured what was an extra 2 oz gonna do !

And - here is is in its final form....

I served it up on a platter and sent it off to work with Rico - and I heard that they really enjoyed it!

 

The apples and spices are very complimentary and with that little crunch of walnut - it makes a super cake!!

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That's about it for today sports fans - thanks for stopping by, do stop again.

Take care,

edgar

A Bit of ATS

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends our weekend here in the City by the Bay had some really great weather...  mid to upper 50's and bright and sunny.  I finished up an Exchange and rewarded my efforts with some stitching on ATS.

Here is a shot of the little bit I got done...

I am not sure why this is coming out so "green" , trust me the linen is not green...  but a vintage Sand Dune colour piece of linen.  I got the vines down to where they hit some trees so at least all the vine/leaf/vine/leaf stitching is behind me!!  

I think that's about it for today, it is running late and its gonna be a busy Monday morning!!  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar