Trying to Catch Up

I was able to get in some stitching this week but not as much as I would have liked because of doctor appointments and other errands. Virtuous Woman is coming along though no matter how slow.

My infusions are in full swing. I am at a new infusion center so it will take me a while to learn the layout of the place. I thought about a special start for this but I already have several things going so I decided to just take Virtuous Woman in and work on her during the infusion hours afterall, she is the same inspirational theme stitch that I like to work on during infusions.

I even made a start on Quaker Bluebirds. I think I will re-name it Quaker Redbirds hence the color change. I am using 18 count Aida Irish Cream by My Vintage Needlearts over at Etsy. The threads are Gentle Art Sampler in Mulberry. It's a small start but it gives you an idea of how the thread color will look on the fabric.

I also pulled out Pomegranate Santa by Plum Street Samplers over the weekend and started on it. I am using the called for threads and I am using Evergreen by Fiberlicious fabrics. Maybe I should get the nasties more often! After I feel better, I seem to get a good bit done! LOL

I fought the urge but I just could not contain myself! I ordered another BBD design with threads. Oh Joyous Day is just too drool worthy to pass up! Like Little Birds by BBD, it is out of stock at the moment but they will send it as soon as more arrive. I am fine with that!

Who doesn't love a pan of steaming hot cornbread? While it is still good and hot, I like to slice a piece, slather it with butter and drizzle some honey over it. After it cools off, I have my beloved glass of cornbread with cold milk! Something I have enjoyed since I was a child. It makes a great side or an even better snack!

Ingredients

• 2 cups self rising cornmeal mix not just plain cornmeal
• 2 eggs or 1 extra large egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil for the skillet if using cast iron
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk or regular milk Start with 1 cup of liquid if you are using regular milk and add the rest as necessary

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• If you are using cast iron, place the 1/4 cup oil in the bottom of a 9″ skillet and place over high heat on your stovetop while you make the batter.
• Pour the cornmeal into a bowl and add the oil, egg, and buttermilk.
• Mix until combined and drop a small amount into your skillet.
• If it sizzles immediately, go ahead and pour in your batter to within 1 inch of the top. If you want a thinner cornbread, just don’t pour in as much.
• Transfer the skillet from the stove top to the hot oven.
• Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden and set.

Notes

If you are not using cast iron, grease your pan with nonstick cooking spray and do not preheat the pan. Bake as directed.

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

It's A Cobbler Kind of Day!

No stitching this week. All this up and down, back and forth weather has made a lot of people (including me) just feel cruddy!

 

I put aside a few hours and straightened up my little stitching corner. The Grumpy Ol Gazer helped by putting up a new wall lamp over my stitching chair! I even bought a new Hardwicke Manor Hoop. Not as big as the other but I still love it. Anytime I can find them at a good price, I am game!

 

Most of the family will leave my cast iron cookware alone. One day I noticed my beloved cast iron skillet was GONE! I searched the kitchen up and down. I even made the rounds asking each person if they knew anything about its disappearance. After a year had passed, I was cleaning out some lower seldom used cabinets and (low and behold) hidden way in the dark back corner was my skillet! I pulled it out to discover it had rusted over the unused time but no problem! I cleaned it up and re-seasoned it. It is now in full use again with strict rules that NO ONE (but me or the Grumpy Ol Gazer)  touches my cast iron for any reason!

 

When I went to the grocery store and saw berries out, I knew it was time to start making cobblers! It seemed only fitting that the recipe of the week should be a Cast Iron Blueberry Cobbler. No, you don't have to use Cast Iron to make this but I don't need a big excuse to use it! Talk about some good eating! Just remember that with any cobbler to have vanilla ice cream on hand!

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup flour 1/2 cup butter 1 1/2 cups oats 1 1/2 cups milk 1 cup sugar 2-3 cups blueberries (fresh) 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla extract & 1 tsp lemon extract

 

Preheat oven to 350. Place your stick of butter in the cast iron skillet or pan and allow to melt in oven while combining the rest of your ingredients.

 

(Optional) Place blueberries in a bowl and toss with sugar.

 

In another large bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Then add the oats, sugar and milk.

 

Add vanilla and lemon extract. Stir all until combined.

 

Once the butter in skillet has melted, pour in the mixture and level out. Add your blueberries on top of mixture. I like to use 2 or more cups. If you did not sweeten your fruit, you can sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar over the berries.

 

Place skillet back in 350 oven and bake 40-50 minutes. I usually bake 45 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

 

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Shame on Me

I had another post written and ready to put up but things change. I am still working on Virtuous Woman. Just not as fast as I would like. It has been a busy week with doctors, errands and just feeling icky so I did not get as much stitching done as I had hoped.

I am still waiting on Little Birds by BBD to arrive with the thread pack. Oh, and the fabric. But I have everything set up to store it all in when it arrives.

Another new stitch will be Quaker Bluebirds by Willow House Samplings. I am not a big fan of Quaker designs but the birds on this piece won me over. Also, I have been wanting to do a solid red sampler for a while but was waiting to find the right one. This is it.

I seldom work on more than one piece at a time but for some reason, I changed it around this year. Several (or more) projects on rotation but in no particular order. Just whatever strikes my fancy to work on. I am playing around with the idea of making weekends, Christmas stitching. Nothing is written in stone so no pressure. It should be interesting to see what happens!

The recipe of the week is Shepard Pie. This is a quick fix but very filling! No need to make any sides other than some bread because all the veggies are in the pie! I use instant mashed potatoes because peeling the potatoes causes hand cramps!

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion chopped (roughly 1/2 cup)
• 1 garlic clove crushed or minced
• 3/4 cup tomato paste one 6-ounce can
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables or about two 10 oz. packages frozen vegetable medley, thawed (carrots, peas, corn, and green beans)
• 1 pound white or russet potatoes peeled and cut into about 1 inch chunks
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese divided

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F and coat a 1.5 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Peel and cut the potatoes into about 1 inch cubes, and place the potatoes and a pinch of salt into a pot of cold water.
• Cover, and bring to boil. Remove cover and boil for 10-12 minutes, until fork tender.
• While the potatoes are cooking, heat a skillet over medium heat.
• Add the ground beef, onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the skillet and cook, breaking up the meat, until it is browned. Drain any excess grease.
• Stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and beef broth. Add vegetables, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10-15 minutes or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• While the meat mixture is simmering, drain the potatoes and return to the pot.
• Add ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt or sour cream, milk, and 1 teaspoon salt to the potatoes. With a potato masher or hand mixer, mash to desired consistency.
• Add the meat mixture to the prepared casserole dish, then top with the mashed potatoes and remaining cheese.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until heated through, and cheese and potatoes are slightly browned.

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Time for Birds

Hi. My name is Sherry and I am a stitchaholic! I love everything stitching related (patterns, fabrics, floss, stitching aids, hoops....) and I can't control the urge to get more and more! LOL. Whenever I say I am only going to stitch from stash, that is like adding adding fuel to the fire and I go on another binge! I am not complaining though because I enjoy it all so much!

Our yard is like a swamp because of all the rain we have had over the past several weeks! I am ready for the weather to clear up!

Here we are in a New Year. It usually takes me about a month to get used to writing a new year date when required.

I was going to post an update on Virtuous Woman this week but I am still behind where I would like to be on this but the holidays just kept me busier than I had anticipated plus I had to do some frogging, allergies and hand cramps always figure in several times a month or more. I was going to leave it be but upon examination, it made the whole piece look out of balance! So I frogged.

I hate to admit it but 2019 was a terrible year for my stitching! I did not have enough finishes to even mention a number! I plan to do a lot better this year! One thing that will help will be to clean up my little space!

For several years I have thought of doing a BAP that would take the entire year (or less) to stitch. Just something I could take my time with. I finally found what I have been looking for! Little Birds by Blackbird Designs. It is exclusive to The Attic Needleworks. The charts are on back order but I hope to get mine ASAP!

As for our cleaning binge, it is not going quite as fast as we had hopped but I feel if we can do at least 1 room done a week, I am happy.

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

2020

A New Year

This is the same post I make every year at the end of the year. Sometimes I adjust it depending on my needs or life situation. So far it has worked well for me.

A New Year is right around the corner! A brand new clean calendar! It is up to each one of us what we do with it. Each year I take the same same basic goals with a possible extra or two tossed in for good measure. I prefer to use "goals" instead of "resolutions" because I feel I am taking already important things in my life and putting my focus on strengthening them.

1. To make an effort to learn something new every day. The joy of knowledge is indeed a blessing no matter what you choose to learn.

2. To make time for myself. It's amazing what 15 minutes sitting on the deck with a hot cup of coffee and watching the birds can do for my soul. A little time each day to refresh my spirit is all it takes.

3. To take time to appreciate each day. Too often we forget to see the beauty around us and take the simple things in life for granted. My continued goal is to look with my eyes but to see with my heart. To enjoy life and all that is a part of it.

4. To enjoy my family and friends. I am lucky to have each and every one of them in my life.

5.  Organize and Simplify! Two key words I always yearn to make a part of my everyday routine but often lose focus on. Organize does not mean that I have to go on a cleaning binge each day. It just means that I need to get my life and things that are a part of my life in some sort of manageable order so that I feel comfortable instead of constantly overwhelmed.Not putting things off until the last minute can contribute greatly to this cause. Simplify! Just what it means - plain and simple! Stop making a mountain out of a mole hill. Do what I can and leave the rest. Don't take on more than I can handle or that will leave me stressed out.

6. To remember. So many people have come and gone from my life over the years and I want to keep their memories alive.

7. To keep my faith alive and strong.

8. A Random Act of Kindness. Like so many others, I was raised to do them. Only back then they were called "manners" or just plain "consideration for others". So many people still do these and without even realizing it. For the New Year coming up, I challenge myself along with each and every one of you to make RAKs a regular part of your life and to become more aware of them. Whether it means opening a door for a person, buying a stranger a cup of coffee, taking the grocery cart back inside the store or something else. Let us all strive to bring back those values and in doing so we will give back and make someone's day a little brighter.

9. To Forgive. Things happen that cause hurt, anger and resentment but often the people who cause these feelings don't know or just don't care. We are the ones left with the bitter feelings that only mount up and make us more and more miserable. I will let the past remain in the past and let go of these feelings so that I can move on with my life.

10. To use kind words and patience more often. I will try to live by the good old standard rule "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all".

And of course the New Year would not be complete without some fun goals!

1. Take more trips. Even a day trip can be fun.

2. No pressure. Keep the fun and joy in my hobbies. After all, that is why I started them.

3. Take more pictures

4. Continue to write in my gratitude journal

5. To blog regularly

6. To work on my Stitching Bucket List this year

7. Work on my stack of WIPs this year

8. Work on some Christmas stitching

Have a safe and Happy New Year. Thanks for stopping by! Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Until Next Year

Christmas was quite around here. The boys are older and go their own way to spend holidays with friends (but they always come home for food)! With the boys grown, there is not the same excitement and anticipation of Christmas morning. Instead we can sleep in now and then come out for a sweet tooth breakfast later on. The Grumpy Ol Gazer and I just relaxed most of the day. I stitched and he played around with his hobby.

The BBQ and Chicken and Dumplings were delicious and NO clean up! My kind of meal. We had an early pick up time slot for the Chicken and Dumplings on Christmas Eve so we just went in a little earlier and had a nice breakfast! I do love their pancakes!

One of my presents were two more project bags for my cross stitch. I like these alot.

I worked on A Virtuous Woman part of Christmas day but then I started a Christmas stitch as well. I found about 4 designs in my stash that I have either forgotten about or just kept putting off over the years. And I have had these for YEARS so I decided to start stitching  them this year! I started on Tate's Stocking by Raise the Roof designs. I love the design but I will be framing this instead of making a stocking. I like most of my Christmas stitching to be either a holiday song title or a verse from a Christmas song. Once in a while I will make an exception.

Our dryer died right before Christmas! It had been sick and making all kinds of terrible noises then one day, it just stopped never to run again. We once again have a dryer that is happily humming whenever someone puts in a load of clothes to dry. I guess we can count that as our Christmas present! It certainly beats going to the laundry mat every other day!

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Have A Good One!

Christmas is a comin'

I had a birthday earlier this week. I have always enjoyed having my birthday so close to the holidays! All of the music, lights and festivities just make my day even more special! I had a nice day. We had a storm which I used to get some stitching done then the Grumpy Ol Gazer took me out for a birthday dinner at one of my favorite places with no clean up and a new dutch oven that I had mentioned wanting (and needing).

Several day later I stopped by my LNS with my birthday coupon and picked up a new project (like I really need one)! I was looking for a something Christmasy to start on for next year!

I had said once before that I had stopped cooking on Thanksgiving but I broke that little rule this past holiday. Because I had just gotten out of the hospital, I really did not want to stand in any long lines. Christmas is a different story though. I have never cooked on Christmas. We usually had family dinners to attend and when we got home everyone was always so busy "playing" with their gifts so I would just place an order with our local BBQ restaurant for a pan of BBQ with all the fixings and pick it up on the Christmas Eve. Everyone can eat as they please off and on all day (and into the next day sometimes). By now this has become a standing tradition. The BBQ is ordered to pick up on Christmas Eve and this year I added a pan of chicken and dumplings to the order. This (along with Christmas Eve leftovers) should last us several days or more.

I did not get any Christmas stitching done this year. I usually try to do at least one but I missed out this year so I will share several of my favorites from the past. I am already looking for one or two to do next year!

Poor Maidens by Plum Street Samplers

Feliz Navidad by Blackbird Designs

There is no update on A Virtuous Woman this week. I did not get very much done on her this week and I wanted to wait to get more done before showing her off but I am really enjoying this stitch.

Around the end of this month we need to do a big clean out around the house. We just have too much stuff that we never use! Just junky stuff (boxes, old papers...)  It seems like we just did this same thing about this time last year, too! How do we accumulate so much JUNK!

I probably won't post again until after Christmas so I hope everyone has a wonderful and Merry Christmas! Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

I'M BACK!

While I was in the hospital last month, the Grumpy Ol Gazer asked me what he was supposed to do with all my cross stitch if anything should happen to me. Wait A Minute! First of all, I asked him if I had been that bad. Then he told me that if I did not make some kind  of list for him he would probably just throw everything out. Supplies and finished pieces! Now, that got my attention! LOL. I doubt seriously he would throw out any of my finished work but he knew how get me moving! I know what I want done with each piece and my supplies but I need to get it in some sort of order that he could understand. Just in case.

I have been spending a good amount of time getting organized for 2020. I started a Stitching Journal with a page for each piece, the information about it and who should get it. Pages available at Etsy from blackcrowdigital. I have been working on this on the weekends.

I also ordered some organizational items. A project roll for keeping finished pieces looking nice until I can frame them.

And several project bags. One for current stitching and one for my good hoops. Early birthday presents from me to me. All from Etsy.

After starting feeling a little more like myself I had the stitching itchies. I wanted to work on Mother's Tree but I have been dying to start on A Virtuous Woman by Carriage House Samplers ( and I am using my new Hardwicke Manor hoop) so Mother's Tree is taking a break for right now. My call. I am stitching on 18ct. Aida Khaki by My Vintage Needlearts over at Etsy.

Not much stitching time the past week . We have had appointments and errands to take care of. We should be free for the rest of the month now and can do whatever we please. My infusions have been moved back a month so this will give me some extra free time to catch up.

We had a nice Thanksgiving. Our oldest son hung the lights outside the house and did a wonderful job. The Grumpy Ol Gazer helped me out in the kitchen so it wasn't so tiring because I was still pretty weak but everything turned out nicely. I did not get around to making a pan of dressing that the boys look forward to but I will save that for Christmas Eve dinner with a turkey breast. After an early morning doctor appointment the next day, The Grumpy Ol' Gazer and I enjoyed a lazy breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

Thank you to all my readers for being patient while I got my strength back and started to feel more like myself again.

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Be Back Soon

I have not forgotten my blog. I have been in the hospital. I am home now but still have a long way to go before I am myself again. I will post again when I begin to feel better.

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Thank You

Just Words

Yes, I am still working on the Mother's Tree but the hand cramps started over the weekend so I took a few days off from the needle to let my hands rest up before getting back to work.

When I put my stitching aside to give my hands time to get over the cramps, I play in my stash. I have so many designs in my Stitching Bucket List but I have ear marked 10 of them for 2020. LOL. I am not saying I will get all 10 completed next year (that would be a miracle) but those are the ones I have my sights on. I am staying busy to make sure I have every thing I will need for each sampler I do complete.I have also been concerned about storage of these finished samplers (until I get them framed) so I was able to find a cross stitch project roll protector

We had plenty of unexpected errands to keep us busy all week as well. Our weather has gone from chilly sweater mornings to wearing that sweater ALL day!

Thanksgiving is coming up and I no longer cook that big meal for several reasons. My husband and I decided it would be easier and more enjoyable to just go out. There are not many places open on Thanksgiving that appeal to our taste so we decided to do something different this year. We are going out for an early Thanksgiving breakfast (at one of our favorite places) before the crowds start and then everyone can just do their own thing the rest of the day with sandwiches and such. Easy clean up.

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Emelia

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know I had worked on Mother's Tree by Lavender and Lace. I worked steady and it seemed I never got past that tree. I don't know if it was the one color stitch after stitch or just frustration but I started to get terrible headaches every time I worked on it.

I was at my LNS picking up some framing and I mentioned this to the shop owner. She told me "make it your own". I thought on this for a while and I have decided how to do it. No tree but just as meaningful with the record of women in my family. A very simple design.

This has been a very hard piece for me to start. I just have this horrible feeling that I will stitch it, have it framed and BOOM, I will start finding new ancestors that should be on the tree! I have decided to make a detailed list with any extra information (and new mothers that should pop up) printed out and attached to the back after it is framed.

I am going to use the same alphabet but I am changing the colors and NO TREE (did I say that before? LOL)  I am going to stitch her on 18 count Aida Irish Cream from MyVintageNeedlearts over at Etsy. This is beautiful Aida fabric but it is sort of hard to tell that it is lightly mottled by my pictures.

Emelia Clarke Poer is the only woman in the tree with both her maiden and married name. The other women will only have their maiden name. Their daughter's maiden name is the mothers married name. She is my maternal 5th Great Grandmother.

Emelia (Milly) was born in 1791 in Lancaster, SC. She married Salvadore Poer on December 10, 1810. They were married in Lancaster, SC. After they married, they moved to Burnsville, NC. I looked and looked for Emelia's parents but birth certificates were not required back then. Most people just used the Family Bible.

Emelia and Salvadore had 4 children. Three girls and the youngest was a boy.

Emelia died in 1858 before her husband (who later remarried). Her grave is either lost or destroyed but there is no record where she was buried other than in Burnsville, NC.

I have some longer names coming up and I am not sure if my fabric will be wide enough. I will try to fit them in the way I had planned but I may have to shorten one or two. Either way, I will have the full info sheet on the back. Who knows, maybe I can finish this piece up by the end of the year. That would make me happy enough that I would not be upset about my lack of finishes in 2019!

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Short Season

Once again we had a very short Fall. On Halloween we had a day of heavy storms and tornado warnings but the weather was in the 80s and humid. When there was a break in the storm, we had some cute little trick or treaters come out. November 1st, we woke up to temps in the 30s and it barely even reached 60 all day! Winter has arrived!

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Happy Halloween

Making Plans

Once again I am late with my blog post! It hasn't been a very busy week but I did feel icky quite a bit. Not sick just bleck! So I rested when I could. 

I can't believe that this year is almost over! And, even more, I can't believe how little stitching I was able to get done! While I had the ickies over the past week, I decided to make my stitching agenda for next year! 2020 has officially been declared the Year of the Stitching Bucket List!

While going through my stash to see which charts still needed to be kitted, I noticed that most of the designs that make my heart beat a little faster are inspirational pieces. I love all samplers but if they have a prayer, a proverb or even an inspirational quote I am hooked!

How did this happen? It all began with one piece. My very first inspirational cross stitch. My Home is Built in Glory by Heartstring Samplery. I stitched on it during a difficult time of my life when my father was sick before he passed away. The words and the design gave me great comfort.

Then I began to stitch prayers and similar designs for my infusion projects. But it did not take me long to realize that I wanted to do these more often than that!

So bear with me the next several months as I shuffle through various pieces until I can lay my sights on what lies ahead in 2020 for my stitching!

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart!

Fall is in the Air

I need more walls!!! I think this is a common battle cry for every stitcher who needs more space to hang her work! For now, I am fine but I do have a sizable stash that may cause issues on down the road. Oh well, I can rearrange or just start hanging my work in other rooms of the house. I do like my work to be in the main area of house so I can see it easily!

We had several wonderful thunderstorms this past week! As long as I can stay in and have no errands or appointments to drag me out in the rain, I love a good thunder day for snuggling up and getting some stitching done! I am just loving this finally Fall weather we are having! The sweater mornings are the best!

I lost my massaging gloves! They are crafter's gloves for people with arthritis or other hand issues (like my hand cramps). When I feel a hand cramp coming on, I put these on and BOOM it's gone and I can keep right on stitching!  They are GREAT! They are called Creative Comfort by Dritz. I ordered two pair this time so I won't have to worry for awhile.

No gloves. No stitching. Thus, no pictures. Hopefully I will get my gloves very soon and get to stitching! This has been a hard week not being able to pick up my needle and hoop!

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Fall has Finally Arrived!

No, I have not given up on Sister's Garden by La D Da. I am not as far a long with it as I would like to be due to hand cramps and a very sore finger! But here it is to date! I know I got a little off track last post. That is what happens when I play in my stash

I have several empty spaces on various walls waiting for future stitches to be hung there. The main area is a blank wall. Not too big but I have it planned it. I know what I want to stitch and hang there. So why am I not working on any of it!!! When i choose another piece to stitch my mind always wonders back to the pieces I want to hang on that wall! I hate to leave a WIP to be picked up later but I just can't get these others off my mind! 

                   

The weather has finally cooled down and it actually feels like Fall. I could not take much more of the mid 90 to 100 weather!

I ordered some threads for a few pieces in my stash so I can kit them up and a little more of that wonderful fabric from My Vintage Needle Arts. My favorite sweaters were on sale so I grabbed a couple! The sale was so good it was like getting two for the price of one!

The Grumpy Ol Gazer helped me plant several new bushes. One is a butterfly bush. I noticed that one of my yellow roses is starting to die out so we planted close to that and will cut back the dying rose later.

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.