TUSAL AND SPOOKY SAL

This is this month's collection of orts. It looks like a lot. Maybe it is!! The new jar is a little smaller than the old. I had a couple of finishes and a lot of frogging! And here's my growing collection of scissors. I found the cute vase at the Goodwill shop and thought it would be great for keeping my scissors neat.

I've finished my Spooky SAL piece. I chose this particular one because she designed it after a trip to New Orleans. Haven't decided what to do with it yet.

I had another finish, but thank goodness for cameras. It's a pillow for a new baby. I took the photo, downloaded it and found a major mistake in spelling. I'll do a little more frogging and post the snappy.

We're waiting for some bad weather to hit here. According to AccuWeather it will hit in a couple of hours. Linzie senses it, I think. She's sticking to me like brown on rice!!! I have a crockpot full of a new recipe. Hope we don't have a power failure. It's Corn Chowder and absolutely delicious. And very rich. I'll post the photo and recipe shortly.

Until then, stay safe and happy stitching!

THERE'S SOMETHING GOOD ABOUT......

being housebound, I guess. I'm busily finishing some projects I started a LONG time ago. These last two days or so have been in the framing department. I used to beat a path to Hobby Lobby or my local framing establishment to have a piece framed.

Well, after having to remove a piece and re-frame it because it wasn't straight on line in the frame, I eventually figured out how to frame needlework. And sometimes not even using a frame!

Now, if it's a real "special" piece, I'll have a frame made. But, since I love the places anyway, I shop resale shops for frames. I buy them, bring them home and clean them up, trim a piece of acid-free foam board and go to work. My weakness is the brown paper on the back, but who sees that anyway? I've been working on "Red Thread" forever. Would you believe I actually found a frame a few weeks ago that is actually long enough for it?? Now I'm stitching 90 to 0 to get it in the frame and on the wall. And the red thread and the frame match. Just a good swipe with lemon oil will do the final trick.

Here are the finishes for the week. The needlework pieces are old--some are in aida (which is easier to get completely straight on the foam board). But they're finally completed. Just don't know where I'll hang them. Running out of space.

A little difficult to see! The top left I think is a Blackbird piece. Next to it is a very OLD Paula Vaughn. It will hand in my PV room. I wish I had done these pieces in linen. But......Below it is a piece of needle work I found in my fabby stash. Have no idea how old it is. The magnolia fabby around it came from my local quilting shop which has since closed. I bought some of the fab in every color they had. The brown fabby around the mags is just a piece I saw and liked. I'm not really a brown person.

The little" Fancy a Jane Day?" piece is new. It's from The Sampler Girl and will hang on my JA wall. The little frame I found at Goodwill and it was a mess. A little Old English stain cover and it was like new. I finished it with an antique button as Tanya suggested. Here's another shot:



And a few more:

Here's some oldies!! The kitchen sampler on the left is dated 1993, and I can believe it. The deer on the left is a Stoney Creek and I probably did it in 1997, when we moved into the house. We have LOTS of deer around here and it seemed.....appropriate. At the top is an old Snapper. It's a prayer by JA and will, of course, go on my JA wall. I used some stretcher frames, patchwork fabric and upholstery trim because the design of the piece wasn't really elegant. Here's a close up. Oh,and forgive the silly photo. I should have cropped it!

So that's about it around here. It's turning cold again. We have the wonkiest weather here: cold one day and warm the next. And it's supposed to rain again tomorrow. Just a little more coughing, sneezing and blowing...



STORMS AND MORE TO COME

This was the front page photo on today's newspaper (no, that's not my car!). We're having some major storms here. I know other states have, too. The last two nights have been noisy with some bright lights. And we have it to look forward to tonight, also. Some of the damage is SO much like hurricane damage and so many of us are still dealing with the results of Gustav. The shingles for our roof are supposed to be delivered today.

Luckily we have no damage here at my house, except for a few fallen limbs. But city wide there are major outages and schools in the area are suspended. And only two more months to hurricane season.

Such is life. We'll all get through this one, too. Our newspaper is here and you can see more pictures:

http://www.2theadvocate.com

The photo is from the Advocate, 3/27/09.

A LONG WEEKEND AND A RECIPE

I didn't get back as soon as I planned. What a weekend!

On Saturday, we went to Plaquemine, a sleepy little town across the Mississippi River. Go across that dreadful bridge, carefully driving through Bruly and Addis, because they are speed traps, and then happily into Plaquemine. Right? Wrong. There had been a chemical spill earlier that morning and traffic was being re-routed. We rode by many, many sugar cane fields, past many, many police and National Guard guys, and getting more stressed by the minute. We had to go to a funeral-yes, another one. One of DH's clients died and we were going to pay our respects. We finally rolled into the funeral home just a few minutes before the procession to the church was to start. Well, because of the spill, the service was at the funeral home. No Mass. Just a short service. But the best part came afterwards.

We went to his house for the repast. WOW. He was a big game hunter--literally--so the living room was filled with LOTS of stuffed animals: giraffe, grizzly bear, gazelle. You name it, it was there. Whatever floats your boat! Their daughter had been in 3 Mardi Gras krewes, so her costumes were on display in a large case. Absolutely beautiful. I still don't understand how the ladies wear those LARGE headpieces.

The best part was the food. No one can cook like South Louisiana Cajuns. There was everything you could want, even meat pies. And some real home-baked ham. Anything you wanted to drink. And the desserts! I always thought an Irish wake would be the way I wanted to go. Now I've changed my mind.

Sunday was slow. I'm not an early morning person, so the time change nearly did me in. I woke up every hour during the night, so afraid I would be late for the Early Service. I wasn't, but yawned through the first service, poured in the coffee between services, and made it through the last service. Came home and took a long nap.

On the sewing front, I actually picked up the petit etui and did some stitching. Same for the Bea Potter SAL. I got an email from Robin, saying that some charts I ordered came in. I know one of them I want to start right away, so I'll get a little fabby, too. That's on tap for tomorrow.

Well, now for a recipe. I think my favorite holiday to cook for is St. Patrick's Day. Maybe it's the little bit of the Irish mixed in with the Scot. My favorite is Leek Soup. Sometimes I even make it during the year. Here goes:

CREAM OF LEEK SOUP

4 medium leeks (white and pale green portions only), cleaned and trimmed NO SAND!

1 Tbs. butter

2 tsp. olive oil

1 large clove garlic, finely minced

3 Tbs. AP flour

2 2/3 C. Chicken stock (or Swanson's broth)

1/2 C. milk

nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste

1/2 C half and half (or heavy cream)

1. Quarter leeks lengthwise and cut into 1/2" long pieces. Makes about 2 1/2 C.

2. Melt butter with olive oil over medium heat in large saucepot. Add leeks and garlic. Cook about 2 min., stirring often. Don't let garlic burn.

3. Mix flour with milk. Add to leeks with stock and seasonings. Stir and bring to simmer. Cook 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.

4. Spoon into blender and puree well. Put into saucepot. Add half and half and heat slowly. Garnish with chopped chives to serve, if desired.

I have another recipe around here that is Leek and Potato Soup. It's good too. Just what we need in this 80 degree weather.

I BELIEVE!

It's cold here so I guess ole Phil maybe right.Perfect time to stay inside and stitch.

Here's my progress on the Bea Potter sampler. It's coming along okay. I try to take a few stitches at least every other day. And, like another sampler I finished, I've added special dates to the sampler. You might have to look closely to find them. The chart shows some initials worked in. Like some others in the SAL, I'm holding back, thinking that I might add my choice.

I've stitched a couple of ornaments for Stitching For A Cure. Plan to do more. I still have to put them together. Come on, those of you that stitch. Let's get busy. Donna's goal is $5000.

The big stitching news is that I've finished the Loose Feathers box. I've done the stitching on the pin cushion and will show a snap of them both later.

I've also started the Victoria Quaker. The picture shows it as a framed piece, but it may be completed as a stitching kit, which is what I'm doing. I'm also doing it in a complete color change and adding the wording in French. More later.

Until then, I'm going to drag myself up, get dressed and go to On The Boulevard, my favorite beauty place, and get a nail repaired and---ta da---a hair change. If I still have the nerve when I get there.

Until then, stay warm. Especially my friend across the pond. England is being snowed in.