maybe third time's a charm...

Definitely not the second.

Remember how long it took to piece together my first block of fabric for my wrapping cloth? .... and how I thought maybe the second one would be a bit easier and therefore take less time?  hahahahahha..yeh...right.... it took even longer if I'm not mistaken.

But, I love it. ...   and, that's all that counts really isn't it?

Mooooommmm.... c'mon... hurry up willya? .... how 'bout this lovely lacy hankie? .... ..

The guys and Buttercup were getting exhausted trying to help... poor little tykes.  Still burrowing in and out of all the lovely whites .... trying valiantly ..holding  up bits every so often for approval .... Mikki just finally fell asleep under his hat...which is not his really...he just "found" it and wanted to wear it even though it's a bit girly and quite obviously far too big for his little head.

I used a few bits from my newly acquired 'stash' from Twig too.  See the fabulous lacy looking scallops at the top right ? ...I love that piece... and just under it...the one with the cutout circles? a portion of a little blouse or dress top...  this is a piece of the collar... so soft and fine that cotton is...  there is one other piece of it with a button still on it...that will go on another block... definitely leaving the button in place.

My Friendship Garden is well under way now.....

.... today I'm going to cut up some hex shapes to piece together .... that's my new found info from Karen for this week ...

and...in other rnews..... whoops..I mean news..... it is snowing........................better get out to shovel too..........

I'm a lucky bunny!

Look what arrived in the post yesterday!  Bits and bobs from the UK, most of it vintage .... wheeeee... woohooo !! ......

Which is exactly what Ms. Goosie quocked and honked as she got just as excited as I did when I unwrapped my parcel.  There was a lot of flopping about (she still has no feet) ... her wings flapping madly ...  picking up this and that .... and a grin from ear to ear... do geese have ears? ... They must ...how do they hear if not?..hmmm... one of those questions ...I'm full of 'em......

Anyway.... look!  Look at my treasure from  Twiglet .... who knows exactly what is needed to do this type of piecing together of special fabrics.
She makes lovely cards with fabric bits.. this particular one she sent is perfect... it celebrates lace, embroidery and soft colours.... I love it.

This piece of silk is sooooo delicate I must find a way to protect it when I do use it... I wish I knew more about fabric...so I would know exactly what it is.

Obviously all the flapping and squawking got the attention of others..because this morning when I walked into the kitchen ... there they were ...looking slightly guilt ridden ... caught in the act ...  playing in the pile of goodies....

oh, sorry.... just let me smooth this down for you...

Yep...I'm goin'......but, make sure you use this piece in the next block willya? ...

Absolutely, Percy....I'll just get right on that.......

Thanks so much for all my treasure Twig!  love it!  What a fun day.........

An amazing thing...

Damp stretching.  Ever heard of it?  I hadn't before I started this EEC class with Karen. (embroidery, embellish, create)

She showed us how to accomplish it... mentioned that she does it often..even for a better photo of her demonstrations etc...but.. I didn't try it right away... sort of thinking more of doing it later I guess.

However, I got tired of looking at "Rumpelstiltskin"...  which was what I had begun to call my first block of work.  Not very complimentary I know... ...but, it was looking pretty bedraggled and it just sort of sprang to mind.

I couldn't find a cork bath mat, which was Karen's first choice for us to use.... so settled for a cork display board from an office supply store.  She had said to check if colour came off ...which, luckily I did...because it sure as heck does!  I sprayed the cork surface..wiped it with paper towels... it was almost orange-y ... and it only got slightly  better with several wipes and then even a good wash.  I thought about taking it back ...hahaha..yeh... "I washed it down and then decided I didn't want it" ...  can you see the look on the clerk's face?

I decided to lay a couple of pieces of Saran Wrap on the board and then pin my fabric to it... spray... wait....fingers crossed... and hope for the best.

I put the board on the bathtub...just above the heat vent...so it dried nicely in about four hours.... 

Perfect!  My fabric was pristine when I removed it .. and ..... big 'AND' here!! .... what a great job damp stretching does to fabric and embroidery stitches.  It looks freshly laundered and ironed.  Not that it was dirty..but, just being all rumpled makes it look somewhat less than clean if you know what I mean...

Look how lovely and smooth!

new header

Check out little Tanner... remember him?

He went to live in the UK with a blog buddy.  She took this great picture of him ...  he was very busy 'helping'... they did a search for some white fabrics to add to my embroidered cloth that I am making.

She put it in the post last week ....so now...this week I will be looking out the door every 10 minutes.... to check the mail.... even though I know full well nothing has moved all weekend what with it being a holiday and everything....sigh..... maybe by Friday..........................................

Meantime.....what fun I'm having with every part of this Karen Ruane class.  She calls hers "wrapping cloths" ...but, ....I think I've decided to call this first one my "Friendship Garden Cloth" ...  because it is going to be a collection of bits and pieces that friends are helping me gather to make it.  My sister has found a pretty doily to send me too now... and a lady up the block has said she will go through her quilting pieces .... I've been thinking I may also be able to trade something, including two silk hankies (that are too colourful and not my choice for colours really.... to others in our class for some trims or hankies of other colours) ...  .. we'll see........

I added what was going to be a little silk pocket.  I was just fastening it with the two shell buttons and the thread wrapped loops when something happened....   my hand caught it kind of funny... it tipped up on the back end... the button fell off before I poked the needle through the hole,  ...  ... and ... all of a sudden, all these little white and gold stars and gold knots spilled out all over the place !! ....

Not the Easter chicken..

"Listen Missus ..... this is all well and good...but, where's me legs"? ... "Where, eh"?

.... Poor little goosie....

She's been checking out the shiny shell buttons I've added to my embroidery piece... and the thread wrapping for a button loop ...

That is not an elastic piece even though it may look like one.... not.... ...instead, it is many wrappings of embroidery thread around two other strands of thread.  French knots at the base.... there will be more in the vicinity...eventually...and... I have a further idea for those buttons... and now...a second loop is also on the fabric... for the other button... what fun!

Practising my embroidery stitches ...

Learning some new stuff too....

About me actually......... hahahhahh... almost as much as I am learning about embroidery and embellishment.

For instance ... I'm totally anal.

This block...our first.... took me about 3 hours and 7 minutes of agonizing over before I got it pieced together... and was happy with the look of it.

Dare I tell you how long it only takes for Karen to put together an amazing looking block?  7 minutes!  Flat!  .... PLEASE go to see her beautiful work... it's worth it just to gawk at some of her postings.  The photos are enough to blow you away....

I'm consoling myself with a few things..... first, she has a lot more 'stuff' to choose from than I do at the moment ..... and......she has been doing it for several years now..... plus....as she says herself...it is not a race.  It is to make a lovely cloth for ourselves, that honours the traditions of women through the ages that have made, or pieced, or stitched, on any fabric or scrap of fabric they managed to find, buy or somehow secure ....

I'm going to start begging for scraps and, (all of a sudden, while typing),  I just remembered a lady up the block makes quilts........so, now,  I do know three people who sew ...maybe they have some useable pieces hanging around....and my sister says she has found a pretty doily with some cutwork ...  so maybe I will find or make a pretty box or container for all my lovely white stuff which I hope to eventually accumulate.  I've always loved white on white...just never got around to doing anything like this... but, now.......it will probably become an obsession.....

The first stitches I wanted to do were some my Mom taught me ... she used to do bits here and there .... little cloths and some pillow cases and one table cloth are all I really remember her doing... but, she did know how to embroider and so daintily. She always worked so tiny and I find I do the same with a lot of things... how we become our parents in so many ways.... without even realizing it.

The first embroidery stitches I ever learned.... Chain Stitch and French Knot.......how did I do Mom? Personally I realize quite a bit of practice is needed...it's been awhile since I embroidered..... but, I know she would have said how wonderful they are .... she was always our biggest cheerleader in all our endeavours.

My cloth is underway.

Wheeeeeee !!

Yesterday I put on surgical scrubs, got out my various haemostats and surgical threads... laid out the patient's arms and ... er ...wings..... and got bloody...... on the first stitch actually.  Then, had to stop, lick the wool  (to get the blood off ) ..your own spit is the best way ...and almost the only thing that works really well.... but, your tongue gets kinda fuzzy.... plah... pluh.....

No wonder I hold my embroidery threads in a vice like death grip .... that's how I have to hold down a patient every time I attempt to stitch on arms, legs, heads, wings.. you name it.  I have to totally change tactics for embroidery stitches... learned that already.  Gentle pressure is all that is needed to make the various stitches look so much better.

With mohair and animals (and goosies) .... almost every stitch in tight or hard to get to areas takes pulling through with a needle grabbing hemostat.... oh, and a bit of cursing and occasional finger stabbing.

Finally... just as I was about to tie things off .... there was a flurry of wings and somehow she got airborne...

Wooohoooooooo ...........

Look at me! ................ I'm flying ..... and I can even see myself in that spoon.....

Watchout.!!!

Luckily she landed safely.... I tidied up my mess and she went over to talk to the DTBs  (dining table birds) ... they were still at it over an hour later.... I'm not even going to tell her when I paint her feet.  i'll just do it and then poke them in where they belong...I hope...

Housebound birds.....  they get a little stir crazy......

Couching

But, with a bit of a difference ... I tried a bit of gauzy chiffon type fabric..on a little piece of silk I found hanging around ..

That was fun.

Then I made some Prairie Points.... apparently it's just folding little squares to look like mountains...well, that's what they remind me of anyway...

Maybe when I piece my fabrics and trims...this piece of lace that is also pointy will add some interest....

Onward..... Rouleau Loops next ...

Practice

My first attempts at Karen's web... and some French knots, which of course I used to do, but my fingers don't really seem to remember them too well...yet.  What a disaster with several.  But....one thing I do have... perseverance ... yep....I've got that.  'Stick-to-it-iveness' as some folks used to call it.












I'll get it.  See the difference in the last web?  Pretty good compared to the first little white one and much better than the first yellow one.  My own experience after only trying two showed me something...I was pulling the wrapping thread a bit too taut around each of the legs ..... so, when I loosened my vice like grip on the thread... look... nice webby effect.  Plus...I must remember to work a bit larger for the first few til I get an handle on it.  I tend to work too small with everything it seems...

I love this stitch.  It's beautiful.

Poor little goosie

She's taken to talking about me behind my back ... to anyone who will listen ...

As you can see she still has no legs.. but, look...I almost thought about attaching her little arms...


Other things are happening... and, as is my usual.... I didn't finish my project before I have begun another...

I should have hurried along with Ms. Goosie and got her finished before starting anything new...but, this was last minute.

I went to a blog... saw a name and a reference to something beautiful in somebody's post...went to that blog and ...as the Brit's say... "Bob's yer uncle"....

I'm now enrolled in Karen Ruane's Embroider, Embellish and Create class.

Haven't done embroidery for many years...and have a hoop somewhere ...but, had to buy a new one, along with some needles, thread and a bunch of other stuff... because I can't find any of it.  Not that I have much of what we will be using anyway... because this will be a white on white project.  I've never worked in whites.  I'm having trouble just remembering how to do French Knots... sigh.... and I know I did plenty in my time.

Look here at Karen's work!!  so beautiful....


And, even though I keep saying this is not a food blog....I do keep showing you food don't I ??
... hahahha ... Look. We made pizza from scratch the other day...it only takes 2  hours from putting yeast in water.... and, soooooo yummy!  I love that you can make it however you like when you do it yourself....

Yo- yo season..

..and I don't mean playing with them because it is spring.  I mean it is the season when the weather yo-yos....  long before it is time to be out there playing at all.

This is actually a time when we can get a lot of snow...

Two days ago it soared up to +15C; snow melting like crazy and little rivers running down the alleyways as thick ice was melting there too... sunny and warm and easily warm enough for a great golf day if the ground wasn't frozen and covered with snow and ice....

Yesterday?     it plummeted once again and today it is -12C and snowing ....  it's a winter wonderland once again outside .......  sigh......and, so......we wait.... for real yo-yo weather.

Meantime.... seeing as I am out of flour....I know... "GASP" !!  how can that be?  My second hobby is baking and I ran out of THE staple....flour.   Sigh....I am so fired.

Okay then.... I'll play with my feet instead.   My goose feet that is.  They have been sitting around ...getting moved from hobby room to coffee table..to kitchen table over the past few weeks.  Once I actually worked on them.
Yesterday I added some Apoxy Sculpt and got them about the right size and shape that I was trying for.
And, may I just remind everybody that Apoxy Sculpt can adhere to just about anything, so don't forget to put it back onto the tin foil while letting it dry.  Here I moved the feet to a place mat for a photo and forgot them for quite a while ... later I picked one up and the placement lifted off the table attached to it.  Luckily it had not finished setting or Ms Goosie might be permanently attached to a placemat.
If ever you try glue on something and it does't work?.... buy a couple little pots of Apoxy Sculpt.

The next thing I knew, little Ms Goosie was examining things herself and wondering if they would eventually be the right size and shape for her body type.

Soon, I will have to poke some holes in her undercarriage and decide exactly where to position them so she will be balanced enough to stand on her own.

Maybe later today ....seeing as no baking will be happening... actually it could happen right after breakfast... my neighbour is out there snow blowing our sidewalk for some unknown reason...so I got lucky and don't have to shovel...wheeee....... thanks TOM! you crazy old guy......

GE appliances, Pagh !!

Now the brand new GE Monogram 'Fridge is making strange noises... and is unable to maintain set temperature in the freezer drawers.  I took my peas and other stuff out and put it in the chest freezer downstairs.

Not only are we not impressed ...we are disgusted.  Totally disheartened and ready to just cry about it all.  Where did we go wrong?  Everywhere it seems.  At this point....I cannot in all good conscience recommend anything GE.

Even the stovetop... not many people have this humming and buzzing problem with stainless pans with their stovetops.  So far only Miele and GE that I have heard about.  Not good.

After getting the keypad fixed on the 'also brand new' microwave.... and having gone through months of hassles with the cabinet company to get the panel correct that surrounds it... we decided it looked cheap and cheesy ... so we bought a new Panasonic instead.  Routered the panel ourselves to make it fit properly.  And...now have a brand new GE  microwave for sale.  .. in the Panasonic box... because of course, by now we had thrown out the GE box it belongs in.

So.... I have my call in to the technicians for the fridge...which of course, we also had months of hassling over....and finally got to use it only 2 months ago when the panels for that finally got made properly and were installed.

Arrghhhh!!!!

Baking is my salvation.  I have no motivation to do much else.

Pineapple cocoanut muffins yesterday....oh....man...are they tasty.  I invented them to use up some cocoanut milk and some pineapple I was using for a chicken dish the day before.  Still some of the milk remaining....so today...I'm making carrot sweet potato curry soup...with cocoanut milk and a bit of pineapple tossed in.  It will all be pureed at the end..... mmm....with fresh bread.... which I am making as I type..... okay well, it is resting.... I'm typing.

Look at the pretty buttery design in the bottom of the mixer bowl....

GE Induction Cook Tops

I'm kicking myself for not doing a lot more homework before buying one.  We thought we had researched them sufficiently to think we were upgrading to the latest and greatest.  Appears we were wrong.

First of all... finding some cookware that works is tricky.  It has to be magnetic.  My All Clad that we bought about a year ago...??  a big, fat, resounding NO!  Yikes!  And the new All Clad? ...along with other brands, makes the most annoying hums, buzzes and pinging or ticking sounds.  I can't stand the noise.

So far, we've tried CuisinArt, Le Creuset stainless, and two other manufacturers, Demeyere and WMF, because the claim is that it needs to be good quality stainless in order for it to work properly.  No luck there either.

Something that does work is Le Creuset.  Wouldn't you know it?  It is soooo heavy and pretty expensive.  However, I did buy one smallish enamel Dutch Oven pot...because it was being discontinued, was on sale ...and then... a further 30% off that.  The only price a person can afford when it's Le Creuset... sale price.   Except for the unruly weight...I love it.

It's a bright yellow called Dijon...can't figure out why it is being discontinued.  I like the colour... much better than the ugly dark greens, blues and (gag) ... purple..   it was sitting beside...and, I definitely don't want red or orange...

Guess what I am using for pots and pans ?? My ancient 3 ply stainless that I bought from a traveling salesman when I was 17 and still living at home (in the late 60's).  Some of you will remember the scenario.  The guy comes to the door... gives his pitch... you say no...they sweeten the deal by adding dishes... you still say no, and they sweeten it more by offering a whole set of stainless flatware. ... and even some some cleansers.. at which point you finally say yes ... because it was the time of your life when you were considering leaving home and would be needing some stuff anyway?  plus who knows...maybe thinking ahead to marriage? ... hahha.... yeh, as if... I never gave that much thought in those days.

Anyway... the upshot of my purchase was.. I paid half down... nothing showed up.  I got mad.  He wasn't getting away with that.  I located the head office in Calgary; (at the time I lived in Kamloops in the neighbouring province) talked my sister and our boyfriends into driving to Calgary in whatever jalopy we could make run that far... and off we went.. at least a 10  hour drive at those speeds and on those roads in the day....
Found the office, laid my complaint... they trundled out the goods, I paid the rest (I probably refused to pay full price, can't remember, but that would have been my MO; nothing's changed in all those years.) and off we went.  Happy as larks.  The only problem is ...my sister and I split the set.  I only have two saucepans (one lid missing) and one large soup pot...  but, all these years later, those lovely, still shiny pans are the only ones that work properly and are silent when the stove is turned on.  I have used the heck out of them and they are still perfect.  What the ... ????

And, my stainless steel flatware was in regular use up until a month ago when I bought new stuff and really ... still in perfect condition.  The dishes... still have the gravy boat and a little plate or two hidden in the back of a cupboard.  Maybe my sister will trade some of her remaining pans for my useless practically brand new All Clad.

The other thing I know now is this:  repair techs hate induction cook tops.  The fella here to fix my new GE microwave ( yep, the keypad quit working after only two weeks) noticed the stovetop and said so.  They say there is so little info around on them even though they are not a new idea. They seem big in Europe, but not here.  He said keep my extended warranty handy.  If one burner area goes...they have to change out the whole undercarriage and it is at least $900 for the part. ..huh?  Who buys extended warranties?  Not me.  I always think if it goes in the first little while then I know I got a lemon and hopefully things are still covered on regular warranty.  I don't wear down the sales guys to then add that amount back on as payment for extended warranty.


They sure don't make 'stuff' like they used to.  It's called planned obsolescence.

Here was our Sunday...

It was howling winds and blowing snow for several hours.... and now we have a new 7 inches of the stuff ....

Not that the yard doesn't look lovely.... because it does.  The mess the landscapers left when they got caught unaware with a big dump of snow very early in our season... is covered once again...and I much prefer looking outside to this than piles of dirt, exposed irrigation pipes and big stumps that still need grinding...

At one point the driving snow was so thick you could hardly see across the street....

the wind caused it to swirl in all directions...it landed on each and every single window of the house...
 as you can see, it filled the pots once again too..

beautiful..... I love it.

A perfect day to stay inside; warm and toasty; baking.

Share a smile Friday

I toyed with the idea of showing you my pot holders.... never mind a smile.... anybody who sews would have laughed right out loud.

Must practice how to sew a straight line for starters... and then... get Maggi back to show me again about how to fold the bias strip and get it on properly.....hmmmmm....

Mr. BV was so complimentary about my first one...
 (which I did with much handholding from my chum) ...but then, when I finished the second, and after not just a few curse words.... he laughed at it.  Of course, he doesn't do it to be mean...and it was kind of funny I suppose, with all the wrinkles and such... but, still......

At first I was a bit hurt...but, then I remembered he does laugh at my sister for things that I go right along and laugh at....so ...I laughed too. ... after I pouted a bit... and then, he suggested picking it out and doing it over.  Why didn't I think of that?  I always think things should be perfect the first time I do them.  And... as Maggi, my sister and even Mr. BV have all mentioned ....they are just potholders!

But, just a minute...they are just MY potholders and I want them to be nice people!!

Anyway... you're not seeing them today...

Instead ...I have my Russian friend to how you for a smile.... what a mug!   Literally.

Check out Annie's blog for more smiles...

Play dough .....

....my way......  I should be playing with Apoxy Sculpt and making chicken legs...er...goose legs for Ms. Mother Goose....but, my kitchen just seems a more fun place to play at the moment.  So, I am.

How I love playing with dough.  Any dough.  Ever since I began to bake bread several years ago...I just love to experiment with various recipes and types of breads and buns.  Check out my other blog sometime to see what else I get up to.... lots of tasty recipes if you care to try some ....

It's great fun to see if I can recreate some of the photos and textures that are shown and talked about on bread baking forums and blogs...

This is a no knead ciabatta loaf from Chef John...

Cornmeal so it doesn't stick ...and also it gives a nice bit of crunch to the bottom of the bread.

Here it is rising.... hiding under a floured tea towel....

Share a smile Friday

Bob's Pant-cape Tuesday was fun.... well worth a giggle, smile or laugh right out loud, so do check out his page....and just keep on scrolling ....waaaaay down .... my guy is there too......

I can't find my page from last year ...and I know I participated...but, perhaps only on his blog... so... you'll have to go there to see periwinkle "pants" on Bernie...

other than that ..  check out this page from Tuesday... or just scroll down a post or two ........to see him this year ...trying desperately not to hang himself ..yet again!@  Sadly.... it is now his most unfavourite word.... hahhaha.... maybe next year he will let somebody else give it a go.


 Heeellllpp!!

check out some other smiles for your Friday....

bending wire..

Usually a bit more tricky than it looks ... for me anyway....

...maybe just one size smaller would work better.  I seem to be awkward at it and it is a struggle to get it how I want it.

Bent into a shape for Ms Goosie's feet ... I was then hesitating as to whether to just put on some felt as called for in the pattern...or go for the gusto and form some Apoxy Sculpt into great feet... as Maggi and I decided, and she has already done. ...(she's a lot quicker than me at doing any of it...and carries on between visits... I seem to be lazy or something..) ...  somehow I just never find much time to work on anything crafty these days.

Organizing, still trying to choose kitchen tiles...which by the way...I HAVE now!  woohoooo ..... must tell the contractor because it takes 5 weeks to get them!  acckkk!

And, then...I had to fix  my mixer.  Can you believe all this time I was dissing my Cuisinart mixer.. because it didn't pick up whatever was on the bottom of the bowl?  Some of you are probably already saying....she should have read the instruction manual.  No??  Well, I should have.

There it was.  In black and white. The solution to the problem.  Which by the way.... I found out from somebody's blog while reading and surfing ...   and it wasn't even to do with that.  But, on a bread baking forum ...somebody mentioned how to fix a Kitchen Aid mixer having the same problem.   I had always been whining about not having my little Kitchen Aid still...as it was perfect for that very thing.  Couldn't believe it when somebody complained about hers..and I had to read on.

To discover this:::::

There is a nut to loosen......

If you have this problem  ... get out your trusty crescent wrench ..... and....one thin dime....















After loosening the nut... give the top post of the blade a turn ... tighten the nut again, insert the blade, and put the dime in the bottom of the bowl. Turn the mixer on at 2 ... if it doesn't even touch the dime yet...which mine still didn't..... take it out, loosen the nut again and try another quarter turn or so.... reinsert and try again..... until it moves the dime a bit on every swipe past it.

I actually had to turn that post so that several threads became visible.... as you can see in the photo ...in order for it to even touch the dime....so it was short of the bottom of the bowl...allllllll thissssss tiiimmmmmme!  mutter...mutter........ *&^%....
No wonder it didn't mix as well as it should.  It couldn't even touch the ingredients.

Several years now since I gave away my trusty KitchenAid mixer and bought this new one.  All the time I have been wishing it would give up the ghost so I can treat myself to a new yellow mixer.
NOw what? ....it may go on forever ...grinding and clunking and being downright noisy...but, working perfectly.   I want a new pretty, yellow, quiet KitchenAid mixer.

Maybe when the tiles are done....I'm gonna treat myself.