getting ready to stitch along

It's kind of late-ish (11:20pm) and I'm having trouble winding down.  So, I'm sitting here at the computer looking at blogs, ravelry, pinterest....the usual suspects.  I thought for a second I could start my new cross stitch project, but feel like maybe it's too much brain power for right now.  But, I could take a picture and post about it.  So, I am going to do my first ever year long stitch along.  I bought the pattern Story Time Sampler from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.  It is a pattern that has a portion sent once a month every month for a year.  I thought that would be a good pace for me, just a little bit at a time so I don't get overwhelmed.

 I just got the fabric for it today in the mail, really fast delivery!  I bought the embroidery thread colors and frame last weekend.  Today I thought it would be fun to make a bag just for this project.  The frame just barely fits in the bag to pull the drawstring but I think it will still work okay.  There is plenty of room for thread, notions and the pattern.  I used fabric I had left from a charm pack (5" squares) I bought a few years ago called A Walk in the Woods.  I really just love the little toadstools!

Hot chocolate, sleeping puppies.....hoping I will be able to join them!

whimsy in the kitchen

This post is mostly for my Mom.  I was trying to explain to her this plate that I painted a few years ago that is very sad but kinda cute.  I wish I could find my original inspiration because truly if you saw that next to this you'd laugh as hard as I did!!!!!  This is a classic example of what always happens to me - I get an idea and I just know it's going to turn out super cute!  And then it doesn't somehow translate to real life.  

And I've been seeing on blogs and Pinterest these embroidery hoops with fabric all arranged together cute.  I thought I'd also throw in one of my favorite pictures of Scott and I.  I'm not sure I like how it all turned out?  It's a tighter grouping in person, I think the angle of this picture makes the top one look really far away from the others.  The turquoise backround with daisies I had some crocheted trim that I picked up somewhere so I just gathered it around and stuck it down with hot glue.  The bright pink is vintage sheet.  The top right is little apples!  Eeeek I love those little apples.

 This little hoop I decided to try out another thing I keep seeing that I think is cute: embroidered sayings in hoops.  My embroidery is not super clean, like my stitching is hard to read I think.  EH.  It says, "Thus far has the LORD helped us" which is from one of my favorite verses 1 Samuel 7:12.  I was going to put Scott's favorite verse "This too shall pass" to help remind me to stay present and enjoy the now - but thought this is also a good reminder that God has helped me get this far and He won't abandon me.

 Here's a close up of the picture.  This was taken the day we got engaged!  We were so young.  I was 19 and he was 20.  We had come up to Oregon to visit his parents who were at the time living here.  This was in September, I believe.  In 3 months he would be leaving to re-enlist in the Army and he wanted me to meet his parents before he left.  It must have been a test and I passed because on the drive home he proposed.  That big old green truck was so much fun!  He named it Stomper.  It was big, and loud!

British invasion

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but I have a serious crush on England.  Everything about it, the accents, the spelling of words, just everything.  Course I've never been there, but still (!).  Today I received my package for the Wild Olive Stitch Swap, and it was from England!  Yikes.  Could I be more excited?  nope.  The stamp on the outside was even cool.
It's from Elsie and I love,love, love it! Look at those tiny stitches on the lettering! And I had asked for something with toadstools, so it's perfect! And the ribbon. Oh man don't even get me started!  There was  a really nice letter enclosed explaining her inspiration.  The package even smelled nice.

almost spring

Yikes, this is a long post!  Okay, so I finished the granny square quilt top last weekend, here it is:


and here's my attempt at an artsy angle *grin*

It was a blustery day and kind of shadowy in the back yard, so I didn't get great pics, but you get the idea.  So I added a thin border of more scraps.  If you remember, my Mom gave me a giant bag of scraps this last Fall I think it was and there were a lot of long thing pieces that sort of made me think they were binding extras.  So I trimmed down a bunch to 1.5" and then just randomly put them together in long strips.  I like the way it turned out.  I wasn't sure at first, but once I got it all put together then it kind of made the center even more colorful, if that's possible?  I do have the back sewn together but just haven't quite had the ooompf to tape it all down to the floor and pin it together.  I have linked up with the Stitched in Color Festival of Scrapiness. 
In other crafting news I joined an embroidery swap, I think I mentioned it previously.  It took me awhile to think of something I'd like to stitch up.  I have to admit I was completely intimidated by the work others have done that are also participating.  I thought of doing a pattern....but then I felt like it wouldn't really represent me.  I don't know, maybe that sounds pretentious or something and I don't mean it that way.  Anyway, I started doodling, and came up with this:

I bought some stickers last weekend that had little bunnies and also some pinwheels and then I thought, what if there was a happy little bunny holding a pinwheel?  I like to think of little stories as I stitch things and so I had fun putting this together.  I also now have in mind to recreate my bunny painting wreath into an embroidery.  And, when it's something for me then I won't feel badly making the bunny a fun color like lime green :)  heee, heee.  I also stiched up a mug rug to put along with this, I'm going to redo the binding because I feel like it came out too thick.  I hope she likes it!
I'm also working on a knitting project, a knitted bunny.  So far I have the body and 2 legs.  Once it's done I'm going to knit it a sweater, because you know how bunnies need sweaters right?  lol.  Oh yes, here is a pic of the fabric I picked up last weekend.

The stripey one is going to be the binding for the granny squares quilt, which I think is kind of perfect. All those colors. Also the stripe is on the bias and since I like to do a bias binding the stripe will come out well on the fold.
In other news, I finished the 2nd book in the Hunger Games series which is called Catching Fire.  I really liked it.  While in Barnes and Noble last weekend I read the end of the third book.  I've been on the waiting list at the library and couldn't stand it anymore!  I had to know how it all ends!  LOL I know this makes a lot of people crazy that I read the ends of things, but I can't help it and I will still read it :)
Today I made banana bread, and man it turned out GOOD!  This is my first time making banana bread, shocking I know.  I've made tons of zucchini, squash, pumpkin and even persimmon bread.  It's the same recipe except with 2 cups of banana.

Bread:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup oil (or can sub applesauce or crushed pineapple)
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups bananas (or whatever like zucchini, pumpkin puree.....)
walnuts are optional, it's also fun to add stuff like raisins, shredded coconut, cranberries

I put all the dry ingredients up till the nutmeg in one bowl and mix it all around.  In another bowl I add everything from the eggs down.  Before adding the bananas I mix everything with a handheld mixer, then slowly add in the banana and mix with the mixer.  This is very tricky when using shredded zucchini and I don't recommend mixing with zucchini, but do mix before zucchini.  Once that's all mixed together and nice and smooth add in the dry ingredients.  Mix well.  I spray two glass bread pans with nonstick spray and then divide the contents of bowl between the two pans.  Bake at 350 for approximately an hour.  I usually start checking on it about 45-50 minutes.  You don't want to over bake.  Cool on wire racks.

mmm, delish!  This is like the easiest recipe.  You can also sub sugar for 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup honey if you want to try that.  Or sub margarine for oil.  Basically I play around with things a lot and so far haven't gotten anything grody.

Hope you have a great week!  Tuesday is the first day of Spring!