Tea and Stitches and other delights!

April Showers will bring May flowers!

2010-04-28T16:00:00.007-05:00

That's right! April showers brought lots of tulips that are going to last well into the first part of May! The Tulips are everywhere this spring! While I was out running errands in the afternoon, I passed by these on my way home........take a look........aren't they beautiful?

I wish these were in my garden but all we have is grass. These are in Ned's garden, a friend who lives down the hill from us, and he said I can take pictures of his tulips and flowers anytime I want! I love the pointed petals on these tulips. They almost look like they are daffodils! After enjoying a little walk around Ned's tulip garden, I headed home because I had picked up something delicious at the bakery that I planned to enjoy with a cup of tea.

And it was that yummy looking apple turnover you see on that pretty blue plate. I had my favorite cup of English breakfast tea and relaxed with a few pages of "Little Women". I've seen the movie lots of times, but thought I'd read the book. I don't recall ever reading it as a kid. Then again.....it's been awhile since I was a kid so maybe I did and don't remember it! :-)

I had been doing some stitching on some tea towels and finished up a couple that are similar to the one in the photo. I thought you might like to make one so I am sharing the little tulip pattern that I drew for a quilt block exchange in our Prior Lake Quilter's group back in 2003. Just right click on the pattern page, save to your computer and you can print from the file.
I prewashed my towels although I'm not sure that's necessary. I made them just for "pretties" but I like the feel better after they are washed. I used woolfelt that was white and then washed with red to get the mottled effect on the tulip. I want real tulips that color in my garden next summer! Perhaps next time I sit down for tea, I should grab my gardening catalogs and start shopping. :-)
So the question for the day is.........

are there tulips growing in your garden or will they only grow on teatowels and quilts?

Have a lovely relaxing day!

Sandi

I think it's high time for a cup 'o tea!

2010-03-17T18:33:00.005-05:00

That's right. It's been too long! When I last wrote, my mom was having health issues and she is doing well now. Can't believe how busy things have been since then. However, today is St. Patrick's Day and I sat down for a cup of tea and a bit of a rest. No sewing, just rest and a little reading.

These were the books that I laid on the kitchen table to enjoy with my tea. My favorite of all the books is the one on the left........"Shamrocks, Harps and Shillelaghs". It's a relaxing read that covers bits of history and traditions of the holiday. I am fond of every holiday so I have every one of Edna Barth's holiday books. :-) They are geared more to children but they always provided just the information I needed when I wanted to do a project with my kids or as background for a library or community ed class. That's a new copy in the photo because I ruined my first copy when I spilled a glass of water on it when teaching a kid's class. I think part of why I like her books so much is that they remind me of when my kids were young! Plus, she's from my home state of Iowa!!!!
The newest book is the "Tour Ireland with Pat Sloan" book. I couldn't resist that beautiful cover photography and all the gorgeous pictures of her quilting tour to Ireland. Someday, I'm going to get there, too! I also want to make that little sheep quilt on the front cover. They remind me of sheep that we saw when visiting the Lake District in northern England. That was the same year that we visited Scotland so when I saw the next book "Clans & Tartans of Scotland and Ireland", I had to have it. While on that trip, we visited a mill and watched the tartans as they are woven and I brought home a wee bit o' wool and a lovely piece of Douglas plaid for my mom.
Now that last book is one that I found at the library a couple of weeks ago and I really did give it the "old college try". I wanted to know more about the history of St. Patrick's Day and I tried to read the book but it was just too "deep" for me. I do think I'd like to buy it, though, so I could read it when I feel like it and not under pressure because I need to finish it to avoid a library fine!
I expect to be here for tea in April. I think some spring tulips are in order then. Join me, won't you?
Sandi

No time for tea today......

2009-10-27T23:43:00.003-05:00

My mother is going to have a surgery for kidney stones on Friday so I am busy preparing to leave to go to Iowa to be with her. I'll have to postpone this month's tea to another day. Sit down and have a cup for me, okay? :-)
Sandi

Tea Gifts in the mail!

2009-09-23T20:26:00.009-05:00

It's TeaTime but I have to be honest....I have had a lot of tea in the last ten days because of the flu and I was not "in the mood" for a "cuppa" today. I did cook up something rather tasty, though, and I'll get to that in a minute.

First, I must tell you about this cute little bag that I received in the mail. It's a gift from Pat at ArtfullyOoglebloops. She was having a little giveaway recently and anyone who signed up to be a follower got a chance in the drawing for this little tea filled gift tote. I couldn't believe it when she e-mailed me that I had won!! The tote was filled with her own tea blends, a little charm and the darling little teapot tea strainer! And then she made a little pincushion that I can add to my collection. I am saving the tea for later on this fall when I'll be having some friends over and we can sample it together. Thank you so much, Pat!!
Another tea-themed package arrived in the mail one day last week when I was totally in the grasp of the flu. It really cheered my up because it was unexpected and held many surprises. The package came from my Aunt Loretta and it contained a cookbook and the letters and photos you see below..........

The cookbook - titled "Economy in Cooking" - belonged to my Grandma Goldie (mother to my Aunt Loretta. Written inside are the lines "give to Loretta when I'm gone". My grandma passed away in 1994 and so the book went to Loretta. But now Loretta is selling her home and down-sizing and she decided it was time to pass the cookbook on to the next family member who will care for it........me. You can see why this really cheered me up. I didn't know the cookbook was "out there" and that it came to me was a real treasure, a real gift! Written on the inside cover of the cookbook is a cookie recipe for "Sultanas" and it says it was a favorite of Loretta's. I thought about making some today but I did not have the right raisins for the job. I need the golden ones and the grocery store downtown only had regular raisins. There were letters (one is written on birchbark!), recipes, newspaper clippings and photos in the package, too. In the photos on the lower right, you can find my Grandma in the center (3rd one from the left) and the photos on the left are pictures of me at Christmas when I was about 3 years old. I am so glad that Loretta passed this on to me so that I can care for it and then pass it on, too. :-)

So, what did I make today that was "rather tasty"? I was hungry for a good meal so I decided to experiment. :-) I made this.............

It's a potpie, of sorts. It made me think of the English pasties that we would eat in pubs years ago on trips we took to England. It really was tasty. Instead of tea, I poured a cold glass of milk to enjoy with a slice of this vegetable pie....................It really was good!

Want to try it? It was easy. Here's all you do.

You will need..........

One box Betty Crocker pie crust mix for 2 crust pie

One can Campbell's Chunky Beef with Country Vegetables Soup

One can Mixed Vegetables (drained and please feel free to remove the lima beans!)

1/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon flour

Mix pie crust as directed on box. Roll out just over half the dough and place in pie pan. Remaining dough should be rolled out and ready to place on top of pie.

Place Chunky beef soup in mixing bowl.

Next, mix 1/4 cup milk and flour into thin paste and add to beef soup, mix well (this helps thicken the soup broth).

Add drained mixed vegetables and blend.

Pour mixture into pie crust. Place upper crust over this mixture, crimp the edges and then brush milk all over top of pie crust. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Since oven temps vary be sure to watch carefully if you bake this. Makes six servings.

There was not a drop of tea consumed this day but the time still revolved around tea. :-) Comfort tea, comfort food, they both work for me!!!

The Goop Scoop!

2009-08-26T18:24:00.007-05:00

I hope you enjoy this post as it makes me smile just to write it. :-)

Yesterday, August 25th, was my mother's birthday ( go here to see her picture). We will celebrate the next time I go home to visit in a month or so. In the meantime, I thought I would bake up one of the things that we (my brother, sister and I) would request as a treat for our birthdays. While her chocolate mayonnaise cake was delicious, for me and my brother, nothing could beat her CHOCOLATE GOOP!! Yes, I know it doesn't sound very elegant but the taste is rich, chocolaty and scrumptious!! It was a recipe from a 1950's cookbook and was called Butter Crunch Crust but we always called it Chocolate Goop. I have no memory of how it got that name. I only remember the taste. ;-)

I haven't made this in several years because when I make it, I generally eat the whole thing. That's not good as it makes a 9 x 13" pan of Goop. But today was Tea Time so I wanted a special treat. Plus, I need a dessert for our crazy quilting meeting tomorrow night so unless I get totally out-of-hand with my Goop cravings, there should be plenty left for tomorrow night!!

This afternoon, I sat down with a good-sized portion and my favorite cup of tea. I added a good book and some fabric for inspiration. What could be better? Hmmm, another slice of Goop!! Hee hee!! Seriously, though, there is nothing quite so good as a favorite piece of pie or cake or a cookie that recalls good times and good folks!!

Speaking of good times and good folks, you will find that in the book you see in the photo. My friend Arlis gave me the book "Aprons on the Line" for my birthday and it is a lovely story of an elderly lady named Virginia who learns to see life anew after a stroke. I highly recommend it. And interestingly, author Traci DePree is a Minnesotan and has other titles that are just as good. Be sure to check it out at your local library.

There's one final charming item in this photo and it's that pack of fabrics, Charm squares by Moda. Instead of a project this month I thought I would offer up a little prize. Several weeks ago, I bought two of these packs at Firefly Quilt Shop and I'm keeping one for me and the other one................will be won by one of you reading this post. Summer's coming to an end and I thought "why not give away a sort-of Last Rose of Summer" and that's what this fabric represents. All you have to do to win is leave your name (make sure your comment links back to your e-mail address or include it in your comment) and tell me what your favorite cup of tea is. And if you want more than one chance to win, then tell me what my favorite tea is and you'll get your name in the drawing twice! Comments must be left on this post and a winner will be announced on Friday at 6:00 p.m. August 28th.

Edit: It's Friday night and my husband has drawn the lucky winner........and it is.........Anett!! Congrats, Anett and thank you all for joining me for tea!

And in case you haven't heard enough about Goop, then read on.........because, you see, when my kids were small, we had this old book and in it was this poem..........

The Goops they lick their fingers,
And the Goops, they lick their knives,
They spill their broth on the tablecloth,
Oh!, they lead disgusting lives!

Well, that poem is 100 years old and if you want to learn more about the poem, it's author, minding your manners and more, then check out TheGOOPS. I think you'll enjoy the visit. :-)

Now would you like the recipe for Chocolate Goop............here it is..................

The recipe for Chocolate Goop!

2009-08-26T18:19:00.019-05:00

Chocolate Goop isn't difficult to make and requires ingredients you might have on hand. If you don't have chocolate pudding on hand then any pudding will do.

Assemble these items:

A 9 x 13 pan (mist with cooking spray)

1 cup butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup angel flake coconut

2 cups flour

You will also need....Two packages pudding mix and 4 cups milk.

Soften butter (but not as much as I did) and then mix in brown sugar. Blend well and add the coconut. Add one cup flour and mix, then second cup of flour and blend til crumbly.

Place mixture in baking pan and press til flat. Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden.

While the crust bakes, you can prepare the pudding mixture. Combine milk and pudding mix and follow package directions to prepare pudding. When pudding is done, set aside but stir frequently so that you do not get a hard layer on top of pudding.

Your crust should look like this when you remove it from the oven.

Let it cool a bit and then chop it up with a spoon and fill one cup of mixture in a measuring cup. You will use this mixture for top of pudding.

Next step is to press the crust back down in the pan and pour in the pudding.

Spread the pudding across the entire crust, then with your hands, sprinkle the cup of crust crumbs over the top of the pudding mixture.

Adding a dollop of whipped creme is highly recommended but I had no whipped creme on hand. Cool whip would do in a pinch. :-) I enjoy it just as it is!!

A Saturday morning cup of tea.......

2009-08-01T10:59:00.007-05:00

I only really post once a month here on my tea blog but this morning I am sitting down with a cup of tea and thought I would share two things with you..........

one, is that I am reading that lovely book that my friend, Barb gave me titled "Time for Tea - Tea and Conversation with Thirteen English Women" - and I love it! It's such a relaxing "read" and it makes me wish I was in England. If you go to my stitchingblog you will see Barb and how she delivered this lovely little gift. :-)
Now, the very best cup of tea I ever had was in a little tea garden in the English countryside. I was a lucky girl. My husband's job took him overseas a great deal and as airline miles accumulated, I would get to go along about once a year. I have some lovely photos that I should share of those trips. That means unpacking photo boxes so it could be winter before I get anything posted. That will give you something to look forward to.

Second thing, is that I have had a link on my sidebar to "TheTeaGuy" ever since I started this blog. There are wonderful links there to other tea sites, too, and many things to check out while you are also sitting down with a favorite cup of tea. But what I really enjoyed over at the "TheTeaGuy" this morning was the videos he shares. I do not recall ever hearing Paul McCartney and the English Tea song. It was too cute! Check it out!

Now it's time to get back to relaxing with my morning "cuppa". Hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend wherever you are!

Sandi

Perfect summer day and a cold glass of iced tea!

2009-07-15T21:46:00.010-05:00

I took time out for tea earlier today. However, I had a number of things to do and I'm only now sitting down to type. Yes, I am sitting down and I am not in too much pain!! Gotta take advantage of it!!
I went to the doctor early this morning and he was amazed at how well I was doing. And he was right as I am doing really well considering where I was a few days ago. But long story short, and if you want the details go here, I will be going for a cortisone shot next week and perhaps that really will give me complete relief from pain.
Actually, I was feeling almost no pain at all about 4:00 this afternoon when I took to the front porch and my favorite plastic lawn chair. Instead of hot tea, I chose iced tea today and I enjoyed it with cookies, not the "Chocolate Goop" that I promised. I'll share that concoction in August when I am sure I will be doing a lot better.

That cheap plastic lawn chair is so comfortable that I have thought of bringing it into the house! Instead, since it was a beautiful summer day, although pretty windy, I gathered up my basket of sewing, a glass of cold iced tea and some strawberries and a couple of cookies. They were yummy. The local grocery store carries this macaroon sandwich cookie that is really good and I dressed it up a bit like this.................

Warm left-over chocolate frosting in the microwave and dip macaroons in the frosting and place on waxed paper or parchment paper.

There was no leftover vanilla frosting in the fridge, so I opened a new container and put some in a bowl, warmed it up and drizzled it across the cookies. Let set until frosting hardens. Wash the strawberries while you wait. :-)
Soak up the sun while you enjoy the iced tea and every last bite of the cookies and strawberries!

Kaiser got a crumb or two and he enjoyed watching some guys working at the house "kitty-corner" from us. I wish he was always this mellow. Anyway, I'll keep some of the cookies and some are going across the street to my neighbor.

I started feeling pretty good yesterday and just had to do some sewing. Check out my recipe for a "Cinderella Tea Towel" that follows. Plus, you'll want to watch my pincushion blog for a little tutorial on that pincushion with attached needlecase that is shown in the photo with my iced tea and cookies. I'll get that posted shortly. When you're laying around in pain, sometimes the mind saves you by thinking up things you can do when you get better. :-)

Hope you all had a great day!

Sandi

Recipe for a "Cinderella Tea Towel"

2009-07-15T21:39:00.019-05:00

The "Cinderella Tea Towel" starts with a bargain-priced fabric panel (with a flaw), that is combined with a bargain-priced dishtowel (from the dollar store, of course) and it becomes a cute and sassy dishtowel that adds class to your kitchen!! The fabric panel is shown on the right. There's a flaw in the printing on the other half of this panel and so it was only $1.00. :-) I loved the cherries. They made me think of Erma Bombeck as I think she's the one who authored the phrase...."if life is bowl of cherries, why am I in the pits". Correct me, if I am wrong. Either way, they seemed an appropriate theme for me as I have felt like my life is in the pits with this annoying leg and back pain.
This idea came to me pre-pain and so a few weeks ago, I picked up (yes, I paid for them) several dishtowels at the Dollar Tree store.

As some of you who may be reading this already know, I proposed a "Tea Towel" challenge on my SeasonsBOM Yahoo group. I wanted to make a sample to encourage members to make a tea towel and get their name in the drawing for a bag full of goodies. I didn't get a sample done but Anett from HouseOfMouse stepped up to the challenge and not only made tea towels to inspire members of the Seasons group, but she also made potholders to inspire members of my Wooly Buddies group (yep, there's a potholder challenge going on in that group). She saved the day, make that - the month - for me!! Many thanks to Anett! And also, to Pat, my Wooly Buddies moderator who keeps the "flock" connected! :-)

SO, to make a not-so-great towel into a cute and sassy towel, you'll need one dishtowel and one fabric panel (any will do), or any favorite fabric that might have borders on it. I forgot to take a picture of the step where I cut out the strip of unwanted vegetables you see in the photo above, so imagine now that you are seeing the towel minus that border. :-)

Cut two pieces of border print that are one inch wider than the width of the dishtowel. You'll use one on the front and one on the back.

In the photo above, I have pinned the two border strips to the larger section of the dishtowel. Stitch along this edge following any border line that is a straight edge and preferrably gives you at least a 1/4" seam. When stitching is complete, remove pins and fold fabric over for the front of the dishtowel and press.

In this photo, you will see that I have sewn the bottom section of the dishtowel to the border piece used on the front of the towel, plus I have pressed the back border piece down. Remove your pins and press.

Your towel should look like the one above except in different fabrics. On the back border piece, turn under the bottom edge and press. You will stitch this down later on.

Time to pin the side seams.........above is front view........and below is back view.

Handstitch the side seams on the dishtowel, then pin along the bottom edge. On the front of the dishtowel, topstitch along the border piece on the upper and

lower edges and you are done. Just press it up and hang it on your stove or a decorative towel rack and a plain old dishtowel is now fit for Cinderella's kitchen!
I realize that I missed taking a photo or two that might have made this easier to explain. I stitched this up yesterday and did it in a hurry while I was feeling good. Took me less than an hour to do. I want a pretty towel for each season or holiday so I will be sure to post what I do with the rest of those towels. :-)

A change in time for Tea

2009-07-08T15:06:00.002-05:00

Due to my back and leg pain problems (I've had the MRI and await results), I am going to postpone my monthly Teatime to next Wednesday, July 15th. I have a special treat I want to share called "Chocolate Goop" and I don't have the energy yet to prepare it, my tea and a stitching project. It's summer, anyway, so iced tea is probably more the "drink of the day" than a cup of hot tea. Hope you are having a good day wherever you are!
Sandi

Memories of Tea Parties

2009-06-03T18:27:00.003-05:00

Did you have tea parties when you were a kid? Or did you set the scene for them for your children? I loved tea parties and can remember little sets of dishes and tiny silverware, too. Somewhere in my photos, I have this really cute photo of my kids playing "tea party" and they are using the set of Little Lulu dishes that my mother made in her ceramic shop. When I come across it, I am going to post it her on Tea and Stitches. :-)

There were two kinds of tea parties that we played at when I was a kid..........there were "mud pie" tea parties and then there were tea parties where we actually had some tea and cookies. Thinking about that reminded me of a treat that I loved when I was young...........SUGAR sandwiches. Yes, that's right........soft white bread (Wonder Bread in the 50's), real butter and pure white sugar. Looks just like the half-sandwich you see in my photo. Only difference is that I went "light" on the sugar but I used real butter. And with that cup of English Breakfast tea, it was delicious. In fact, I had forgotten how good a SUGAR sandwich can taste!!! The other snack I liked was frosted soda crackers. When there were not "real" cookies in the cupboards, my mom would make up some vanilla icing and spread it on crackers. The combination of the sweet and salty is really tasty. When I grew and married and there were not cookies in the house, I, to0, made frosted crackers for a treat. I think they are even better than frosted graham crackers!

This was just a simple tea today. After all of yesterday's treats, I didn't need much of a snack. If you haven't tried a sugar sandwich or frosted crackers, take a chance and see if it might be just the thing for a snack tonight!

It is, oh, so nice.....to share!

2009-06-03T17:01:00.008-05:00

That's all there is to it!! It is just nice to share. Life is so much more pleasant that way!! After celebrating my birthday yesterday, I can't help but think ...... good grief, has it been that many years since I was a little girl?!! Sure has!! And you know what.......I enjoyed being a kid so much that I am not sure I ever grew up!! LOL!!
Pleasant memories of how much fun it was to play in the rain and then follow that with making mud pies and it didn't get any better. Because we lived in a river town, there was one particular spot on our sidewalk where the soft silt collected and I remember how fun it was to feel the mud between your toes. And I remember little pans filled with mud pies that dried in the sun. I'm sure my mother did the same thing as a child and I know my kids did. With those thoughts in mind, I sketched this design a few years ago. It is, of course, reminiscent of Sunbonnet designs but I drew the sketch thinking of my daughter and her kindergarten friend. It's an 8 1/2" by 11" design and I have shown it in three needlework examples..........
First there is Redwork and I loved it when I finished it in Redwork on muslin.

And then I thought I'd try traditional embroidery on muslin like my mother did as a child.

And then I combined embroidery and colored pencils on muslin and I really like this one. To get the pattern, you can copy the Redwork design to your computer and then print it out. I will be posting the PDF file for this to my Seasons Yahoo Group later on this week.

And now it's time to fix a cup of tea. Back soon.....

Sandi

A little Mother's Day project..........

2009-05-06T17:19:00.006-05:00

My little Mother's Day project is one that I gave to members of my "Wooly Buddies" group on May Day. It's a project that I designed a couple of years ago as a free hand-out at a local quilt guild's fundraising event. All it takes is a little woolfelt and some embroidery floss/Perle cotton and beads or charms if desired.

I scanned the framed photo with my samples so you can clearly see the colors and designs.

And, yes, the pattern says "Hello, Wooly Buddies" but I was in a hurry and decided I didn't need to take time to change it. I post several patterns in my Wooly Buddies Yahoo group so if you are interested go here and you can join.

Just right click on the pattern pages and save to your computer and the pattern will print out just fine. I must load jpg files and cannot load PDF files on to blogger. I am able to load PDF's in Yahoo groups so you will find PDF's of my patterns there.

That's all for today. I have a nice little project planned for June. Here's a clue.........everything's coming up roses and teacups and warm weather!!!

One more time ....... have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!!

Sandi

My Favorite Cookies and Tea!

2009-05-06T12:47:00.013-05:00

In just a few days it will be Mother's Day so here's my wish to all of you for a very Happy Mother's Day! Don't you think there should also be a "Daughter's Day"? Not all women are mother's but we are all someone's daughter. Makes sense to me. :-)
I am a daughter, my mother is Mary and as most of you know she taught me to sew and only last week we were sharing quilt talk. I am sister to Judy and to my brother, Doug. And I am mother to daughter, Collette, and son, Devlin, and I am also grandma to grandson, Jacob. :-)
I liked being a mother. That sounds silly because I am still a mother, it's just my kids are grown and on their own now. My Grandma Goldie reminded me when she was 88 and my dad was in the hospital and she was so worried about him, that you are always a mother if you have kids because you are always worried about them if you don't know they are doing well. My kids are doing well and I am fortunate that they both live within an hour of me. Thinking back to the years when they were young, I didn't have to think very hard to know that one of their favorite cookies that I would bake was chocolate chip cookies. It is still one of their favorites and mine. :-)
When my son was about ten, he was playing with a labelmaker and he typed out the phrase you see in the photo......."Mom is the best cook". I think it was because I was a good cookie baker. :-) I put that label sticker in my recipe box and have kept it there all these years.
When my daughter was little and I would bake cookies, she and her friends would start singing that chocolate chip cookie song........"Chocolate chip cookies gotta have more.......you can bake 'em in the oven or buy them at the store", etc. She can still sing that song and if you want the words just go here......... TheChocolateChipCookieSong!
It became obvious that the cookie for today would be Chocolate Chip Cookies. My recipe is the one on the back of the Nestle Tollhouse Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips package. It works everytime. I like it made with mini chips but also use regular ones and sometimes I add peanut butter ones, too. No mint ones for me, though. I am not a mint chocolate fan. I use real butter or Butter Flavor Crisco and always get good cookies. Here they are almost ready to take from the oven.

This is my mom's new oven and I was testing it for her when I visited last week. Plus my niece, Sue Ellen, helped me mix them as they were Grandpa's favorite cookie so we talked of him while we mixed and baked. My mom and I then took most of the cookies to the Care Center where my dad had been and residents really enjoyed the homemade cookies. I used disposable cookie sheets and noticed that each cookie came out perfectly round. Then when I baked the cookies at home and that you see in the picture below, I just used my real cookie sheets and the cookies are not so nice and round. That's okay as I eat chocolate chip cookies in any shape!

My tea was simple today. Just a cup of Earl Grey tea and a couple of cookies and that was just the right late afternoon snack. I wish I could offer you all a cookie. Since that can't happen, I do hope you can recall a fun time or two when you baked cookies or other treats with your mom, mother, mama, or grandma.

Hoping you all have a lovely weekend!! Tasty treats are planned for my June tea so I'll see you then!

Sandi

P.S. Look at the little gifties I found for my mother at a nearby gift shop. It is going out of business and I found everything but the fabric and it all made a perfect package to send off to my mother. Jean, if you're reading this, don't tell her what's coming. :-) That fabric corsage package will show up on my Stitches blog in a day or two as I bought one for me, too, and I'll tell you about the shop I found it at along with a lot more than the two fat quarters that I went in to buy!!! LOL!!!

Tea Time with the Bunny Family!

2009-04-08T17:41:00.008-05:00

It was easy to decide what I would make for tea today! I recalled those wonderful cupcakes that my mother would make when we were little (1950's) and could hardly wait to taste them!

I am sure many of you have made cupcakes and topped them with icing, then coconut and jelly beans so I don't need to take you through the steps for that recipe. Just in case, though, here are the steps to delicious Easter cupcakes. Start with your favorite cupcakes. I baked up a batch from Pillsbury's German Chocolate Cake mix (my mother, of course, did not use a mix and I will offer up her chocolate cake recipe for a post later this year) and then frosted them with Pillsbury's Chocolate Fudge frosting. I added green food coloring to Baker's coconut and mixed it up really well, then dipped the frosted cupcakes in the coconut mix (same way I did for my white Snowball cupcakes in January). Then I added old-fashioned jelly beans. Didn't want any fancy flavors or colors. I was going for great taste with a dash of 1950's memories tossed in!! I was not dissappointed!! Oh, they were yummy!! Just so you know, I did not eat the entire plate full of cupcakes. They are a treat for the Easter weekend. :-)

The tea I chose for today was a sample packet I had in the cupboard and I thought I would give it a try. It's Lipton's White Tea with Island Mango & Peach Flavors. Oh, did it smell delicious. But oh, it did not taste delicious. Sorry but it was a dissapointment. To my tastebuds, it seemed a bit tart and I like my tea more sweet. I think I am very happy with my Irish Breakfast tea or Earl Grey blends and will probably not stray again.

There are a few items in my tea setting that I will tell you about. This little miniature setting is one that I did in the 1980's. It was first a candy jar and then it took on new life when I placed the floor in the jar, then added the table and decorations.
The cake is a plastic bunny that I covered in glue and then rolled in glitter to make it look like a coconut bunny. The little eggs are made from Fimo clay and if you click and enlarge the photos, you can see that I painted Happy Easter on the egg that is sitting on the table. The tiny basket is made from needlepoint canvas and the bunny is just made from pink pom-poms.

The bunny family that watched me eat my cupcake were made in the early 1980's. It's a little pattern I drew in 1970 and made the larger size for my daughter Collette when she was a baby. She would suck on the ears of the thing as if it were a pacifier. I made a number of them for baby shower gifts and little ones all did the same thing. They loved those ears!!

I decided to make up a set in pink and a set in blue sometime in the 1980's and there would be one that could go to my daughter and one to my son someday. There were four of each. During our move a couple of years ago, the tiniest pink bunny became seperated from her family but I am sure she will one day pop up in a box of craft and holiday items. On my "drawing board", there is a quilt design that incorporates these bunnies. Maybe I'll get to it by next Spring!!

Hope you all enjoyed today's Tea and Stitches. Have a wonderful spring weekend and a Happy Easter, too!

Sandi

Hopping down the Bunny Trail looking for an Easter Basket....

2009-04-08T17:40:00.005-05:00

.......and here it is! This month's Tea Time project is just a little Easter basket sketch that can be done many ways, just like those in past months.

You can trace the design and stitch it in Redwork or trace it to muslin, then color it with crayons or colored pencils (I like this method but does not withstand washing too well) and embroider outlines. You could even trace the design onto wood and woodburn the design to a decorative piece of wood or trace it onto wood and use acrylic paints for the sketch.

Or, you can do as I am in the photo above and cut out the basket, bunny and egg pieces and trace to cotton fabrics backed with fusible web and press to backing fabric. I am going to use some of the new threads that I received from TheGentleArt. I love the names of the threads. The brown thread that I will use for the chocolate bunny is appropriately titled "Dark Chocolate"! The lighter brown that I'll outline the basket with is called "Maple Syrup". Makes me think that since we live on Maple Ridge that perhaps there are some trees we should be tapping for syrup! The colors that I will use for the eggs are Butternut Squash, Blue Jay, Rhubarb, Grape Leaf and Punchberry. Most of them sound good enough to eat except that Blue Jay. I would think that pretty soon there will be a few Blue Jays in our backyard. This morning I could hear the Cardinals singing some spring love songs so little birdies are coming soon. :-) Even the black has a cool name - Black crow. There are always a lot of them around as there is a marsh area across the street and they love sit in the tall grasses out there. Instead of cotton fabrics, you could also do this piece in wool or woolfelt. Just get creative!! And if all you want to do is color the picture, that's all right to!! Print it out for the kids and keep them busy while you are cooking for the Easter weekend.

Here's a little update on previous projects..............the snowman couple are still in progress although the Tea Time heart stitchery is finished. I am almost finished stitching the Irish Blessing and now here I am starting this one!! I will probably finish both of them this weekend but the Snowman couple will continue to be a "work in progress". All of these designs could be placed in an 8 x 10 frame so I am on the look-out for a really cool frame where I could change out the design each month. I'll bet I'll find something at spring garage sales or the next thrift shop stop I make. LOL!!

Now it's time to post tea and goodies...........Yum!!!

Wishing you a...............

2009-03-17T00:27:00.010-05:00

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!

I have a little surprise........ I hosted a giveaway and you didn't even know it. And here is the prize I prepared for one lucky person who has commented here on "Tea and Stitches". I gave you a clue at tea last week when I showed the little book "Tea and Friendship" and said I would draw a winner from those who had commented from January through March and that there might be just "a little bit of green fabric that will come along with it, too. " And here it is............

This little bear is bringing someone a cup filled with three lucky green fat quarters! I selected the tea cup from my box of favorite thrift shop finds and then cut the three fat quarters from my St. Pat's fabric stash. I tied a piece of vintage green ribbon about the little bear's neck and place him upon his very own little doily mat. He will be on his way to a lucky someone and who would that be................

Well, I printed out all the comments posted up to March 16 and I cut and tossed them into this little pincushion box (more on that in a minute). Then I drew out the name .......... and it was "Quilting Nana" (go here for her blog)!! Now she already knows she won because as soon as I drew her name, I e-mailed her that she was a winner. I decided to do a giveaway in this fashion because I wanted to show appreciation to those who leave comments and regularly stop by. I so appreciate your comments because they let me know if I should continue sharing my thoughts and projects. So right here and now, I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who visit here (and my other blogs, too). I will be doing this again, but I won't announce when I'll be doing a giveaway. It'll just happen. And that's a special treat for all of you who stop by to read and comment. :-)

Now to that pincushion box. I was needing to do something totally creative to release some stress. I wanted a box to put the comments in because only the winner's name was removed and the rest of the names are there for the next time I do a giveaway. So I had this paper mache box that I had rubbed with walnut stain and thought........hmmmm.........and then I had this little teacup Christmas ornament that I used to hold my tape measure............and an idea was born. I took some woolfelt that I also colored with walnut stain (I have a whole pile of multicolored woolfelt that I have dyed with all sorts of stuff) and cut a circle, sewed a running stitch around the edge and then stuffed with polyfil. I secured the stitches with a knot and then left some thread that I could use for the string for the tea bag. I went to the Twinings website and printed out a page (actually two for a front and back) with Earl Grey tea on it. Then I cut little squares of it for the tea bag and glued a piece of fluff between the layers, then glued the "bag" to the little bit of thread for a tea bag. Then I added a dollop of glue to the bottom of the felt ball that simulates tea (and looks more like hot chocolate). I found a scrap doily and glued it to the box lid, the glued the tea cup to that and there it is.........a pincushion on top and a place for your comments inside the box!!

Congratulations to Kathleen of Quilting Nana and good luck to the rest of you whose names are in the box. And here's a little perk.........if you've commented more than once here on "Tea and Stitches", your name is in the box with each of your comments so your luck is doubled, tripled, etc. So may the "luck 'o the Irish be with ye" when I decide to host another surprise giveaway. :-)
Hope you all have a great St. Patrick's Day!!
Sandi

A Little Irish Tea!

2009-03-11T19:55:00.013-05:00

Remember last month when I made what looked like tasty sugar cookies? And then I had to let you know that my cookies turned out to be more like biscotti? Well, this month, I have made something that is very tasty and came out just as good as I hoped it would. Here is what I enjoyed......my own little recipe for what I am calling Irish Tea Cake.

And here is why and how I did it........
When I was a kid we were often assigned those reports where you had to tell your heritage and so, we would ask our grandpa "what's our heritage" and his answer was usually "Heinz 57". Then a few years ago at our Linn family reunion, a relative who had moved out west sent along the death certificate for my grandpa's grandpa (my great-great grandpa). There, on that sheet was the answer to "what's our heritage"? Noted on the certificate was the name of my great-great grandpa's father - Issaac Linn and place of birth was Ireland. How about that? There's a wee bit 'o Irish in me! But wait, Issaac was married to Mary McVey of Scotland! Wow, we have a wee bit 'o Scottish heritage, too. No more "Heinz 57"!! So with that in mind and St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, I felt I had to share something really tasty and a tribute to that heritage.

I needed inspiration so went to the cupboard and got out some cookbooks we picked up on a trip to England and Scotland many years ago (we never made it to Ireland). I found one that sounded tasty called "Jam Sandwich Biscuits" but I wasn't in the mood to roll out cookie dough. I was looking for something different. I decided to draw on some ingredients from the Jam Biscuit recipe and a cake recipe in one of my favorite vintage cookbooks (several without covers from the earlier 1900's). The names and measurements in the English books were very different from the terms in our U.S. cookbooks and when I saw "Castor Sugar", I wondered what kind of sugar is that? Then I remembered my gift from Shelly in Chookyblue's Secret Santa exchange and found my answer. It's granulated sugar. Simple. Shelly also made a mitt and apron for me. I put on the apron and with spoon in hand, I was ready to go.

I didn't take pics as I mixed this time as this recipe is quite easy and anyone can make this one.

You will need a 9 x 13 pan. Mist with cooking spray and set aside. Set oven temp to 350 degrees. Find a shot glass. You'll see why later.

Ingredients needed are flour, sugar (dark brown and granulated), eggs, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla.

You will also need your favorite jars of jam for filling and some white frosting for icing (I turned to Pillsbury for their vanilla frosting).

Cream together:

1 stick (4 oz.) butter

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

To this mixture add two large eggs and blend well.

Add 1 teaspoon real vanilla. Set aside.

Mix in bowl or in a paper lunch sack ( I do this all the time for my dry ingredients. I get a better blend of ingredients.) the following items:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Add this dry mixture to the sugar/egg/butter mixture. Mix well.

Add 1 1/2 cups Oatmeal (quick-cook variety) and mix until well blended. Dough will be stiff.

The final ingredient is 2/3 cup evaporated milk. Mix carefully until you get a creamy dough/batter that looks like this............and I am here to tell you, it smelled good enough to eat at this point!!

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes in 350 degree oven until cake is golden......... or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (you can't beat those time-tested tricks!).

While cake is still hot take your shot glass and press 12 evenly spaced indentations in the cake top as shown in the photo above. Let cake cool. You thought I was going to tell you to fix a little drink with that shot glass, didn't you? LOL!!

When cake is cooled, fill those indentations with a spoonful of your favorite jam, any flavors you like. Take one cup of white frosting and microwave for 15 seconds. Then drizzle over the cake top and you will get the delicious looking treat in the picture below and at the top of this post!!

It was so tasty, if I do say so myself. My tea choice for the day was Celestial Seasonings English Breakfast Black Tea. It was also really good with a little milk and a dash of sweetner. Now I know some folks say tea isn't tea if it comes in a bag, but this was quite a fine break for what was a very cold day here in Minnesota!! So cold, that later on tonight, I am going to have that Irish Creme hot chocolate mix you see in the photo. And also in that photo is one item for one of you. It's that little book "Tea and Friendship". I am going to take all the names of those who have commented from the January and February teas, add them to the names of Tea and Stitches Followers and those who comment on this tea and I will throw them in a basket and draw a winner of the little book. There might just be a little bit of green fabric that will come along with it, too. Hope you enjoyed today's tea. I'll be posting this month's project next (you'll find it below). It works better to do two posts sometimes and this is one of those times. :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Sandi

Blogger making me sad.......

2009-03-11T19:16:00.001-05:00

Blogger is currently not letting me load the pictures for my tea I prepared for today. I have all the text ready and had part of the photos loaded and poof! no more ability to load photos. I tried a new post and same problem. I will try again in an hour. Please come back then.
Sandi

A little Irish Tea! The Project..........

2009-03-11T19:14:00.009-05:00

Before we get to March's project, I wanted to give a little update on the project from February. I shared a little sketch called "Time for Tea". Here it is partially finished so that you can see what I have done here. I colored parts of the design with colored pencils (more on that in a minute), then added embroidery stitches. I do the coloring then iron the design which supposedly heat-sets the color. Will this withstand being laundered? I don't know as I have never used it on a piece that I planned to wash on a regular basis. It does work well for small pieces for wall quilts or items to be framed. I like the colored pencils better than crayons as you can get a softer look and so many more colors.

If you double-click on the photo above, you can see that I colored all the little flowers surrounding the heart and the tea cup and saucer. You will also see how awful my stitching looks on the words. I used three strands of floss and do not like it at all. I decided not to rip it out. This piece will become a "teaching tool" on when "choosing how many strands of floss to use when embroidering". LOL!! :-) Three strands of floss worked well on the heart, though.

In this photo, the piece is finished. In addition, to coloring each little flower, I also traced around each petal with an 005 purple Micron pen. Black French knots give me just the look of black-eyed Susan's that I wanted. I used just one strand of floss for all the tea cup embroidery and I am liking the tea cup design so much that I want to find some really nice fabric and embroider the design on dinner napkins. The fabric used here is 100% cotton but I think I might need to look for a poly-cotton blend that might not require so much ironing. I am going to color a tea cup on fabric, then wash it and see if the color remains. I'll let you know the results.

In this photo above, you can see the tools I use when sketching a design and then coloring the piece. My clipboard is clear and so I can place it over my lightbox and trace designs very easily. If I am doing a design in Redwork, I trace the entire design in 005 Red Micron pen. I have multiple Micron pens in various points and colors that I use to trace my designs and for finalizing sketches. The colored pencils I use are Prismacolor Watercolor pencils. Sometimes I color softly with them and other times, I wet the tip on a damp paper towel to get more vibrant color when using the pencils. I also have several other brands of colored pencils but find that the more expensive the colored pencil, the better the results. I love my dollar store purchases but this is one time they do not work.

And here is the design for March........just a little touch of shamrocks. As I sketched the little bouquet, I thought that surely "An Irish Blessing" must have been said many a time by those long ago ancestors of mine. I am glad to know my heritage and share a wee bit of it with you.

This design can be embroidered or you could cut the shamrock shapes from cotton fabric backed with fusible web and then do the rest of the design in embroidery. I am going to work on mine this Sunday afternoon after church. I'll finish it and post it here on St. Patrick's Day. Till then, have a great day!

Tea and Stitches ...........

2009-03-04T00:30:00.003-06:00

will be posted next Wednesday, March 11th so that I may bring you a little Irish Teatime just a few days before St. Patrick's Day. Then on St. Patrick's Day, March 17 I will post again with a bit of wee surprise for those of you that follow my Tea and Stitches blog.

Til then, I share my favorite Irish blessing.....

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields

and, until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

A sweet tea to warm your heart...............

2009-02-04T17:25:00.011-06:00

Happy Valentines Day! I know it's a week away but I let hearts be the theme of my day today. And here is what I enjoyed this afternoon.........a much needed break from a busy day!!

I decided to have a cup of Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea because I never ate breakfast this morning. I added a twist to it by putting two teaspoons of Nestle Hazelnut Creamora in the tea. I love Hazlenut flavored coffee so thought it would taste good in my tea. It was very tasty and I will try this more often. I had been rather busy today so my first delight with my tea was one of my favorite biscuits. I used those heart shaped cookie cutters and after they were baked, I scooped out the center heart so I could fill it with butter and jam. You already know it tasted really good!! Yum! Then I topped it off with a cookie, two actually. I didn't like the ones with the frosting. I am not crazy about frosting unless it's real chocolate fudge frosting. Everything tastes better with chocolate so I popped a kiss and finished off my tea and headed to the computer to share it all with you. I placed a couple of my favorite Valentine items on my old sewing machine. The little cross stitch piece is one of three that I did in the 80's. My cross stitch period was very short. My daughter picked it up though and so I have passed on most of my supplies and books to her. I have this thing about being "number-challenged" so any hobby with counting in it, is not one that I will excell at. The little bear is holding a tiny valentine that I did in my years of making miniatures. I need to share some pics of my mini scenes and will do that before Valentines Day.
Hope you enjoyed this stop for "Tea Time". I'll be back the first Wednesday in March! See you then.....
Sandi

And just one more thing........the cookie recipe that follows originated in this little gem of a cookbook and as you will read in the recipe, I combined it with one in the Rumford Common Sense Cookbook. Actually, "common sense" should have told me that it might not be wise to mix two without doing a trial run first. Anway, read on and enjoy my "Cookie Recipe" post. :-)

Cookie recipe

2009-02-04T17:24:00.025-06:00

In January, my little goodie for "Tea Time" was a plate full of Coconut Snowball mini cupcakes. My recipe was not a recipe as I followed the ingredients on the Pillsbury box. So, I thought this month, I would bring you something made from "scratch". This proved to be interesting........Here we go........

In the picture you can see an old cookbook. It's one of several that I bought at Wit's End Antique Shop last summer. Rumford was a company that made baking powder. There is no date on the cookbook and no copyright. It's just a little book that was probably a promotion to get the ladies to buy Rumford for their baked goods. I found a cookie recipe that sounded good. I also found one in the Sprye cookbook pictured above. I decided I would sort of "combine them" to make a really good cookie. I experiment all the time and usually the results are tasty. I expected the same ........

The recipe is as follows........

1/2 cup butter (or butter flavor shortening)

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs, well beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar, then add beaten egg. Mix in vanilla. Set aside. Mix dry ingredients. Add half dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture. Then add remaining dry ingredients and blend thoroughly. Drop by teaspoonful on cookie sheet or roll dough balls in sugar and bake. You may flatten dough with glass for a flatter cookie. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool, frost and decorate if desired.

That's the recipe I came up with so I began to mix. I creamed the butter and sugar.

Then I added the beaten egg ....................

...........and the vanilla and mixed well.

I set the liquid mix aside and prepared the dry ingredients. Blended them well, then added half the dry ingredients to the butter/egg mixture. Then I added the remaining dry ingredients and blended the dough thorouhly.

The dough was stiff and a bit sticky .........................

..........but I rolled it into balls by "flouring" my hands so I would not have more dough on my fingers than in the cookie balls.

I placed the cookie balls on the ungreased cookie sheet. And here, I must apologize for when I saw the close-up photo of my cookie sheet my first thought was.........gee, they're going to think they'll have to take up a collection and send me new cookie sheets! Guess these have been around awhile. I will make them look like new for next cookie bake. :-)

So, with the cookies ready to bake, I popped them into the oven (yes, I preheated it and it was ready to go) and they looked like this when they finished baking............

Hmmmmmmmmmm........I thought they would flatten a bit when they were baked. Not at all what I was expecting. I had plans to imprint a heart on each flattened cookie (the little one in the lower left of the photo) and fill the heart with red sugar sprinkles. It didn't work. Instead, I just sprinkled red sugar all over the top of the whole tray of cookies. I ate one and it was interesting. Very vanilly flavored and.........

So, I tried another tray of cookies. This time, I flattened the cookies with a glass. I remembered that one of the two recipes I was using had done this. And here's what they looked like this time...............

The cookies were flatter but still not as flat as I thought they might be. I pressed the hearts, tried my red sprinkles idea and stopped at one done.

The rest of the cookies got frosting stars. Much easier although not as bright as the red hearts would have been.

The cookies baked up nice and even, round ones and flat ones and they reminded me of something...............they were kind of dry - maybe too much flour? - and strangely they were crisp - actually "hard as a rock" on the outside but kinda crumbly on the inside. So when I made my tea today, I knew exactly what I would do........ I would dunk those little puppies in my tea. That's just what I did and they were really tasty. And that's when I realized that I hadn't made cookies after all..........I made Biscotti and didn't even know it!! :-)

Now just so you know.......I am a really good "cookie, cake and sweet things maker" but every once in a while my concoctions don't work out quite like I think they will. Someday, I'll tell you about the pizza-flavored chocolate cake I made for my quilt retreat friends. :-)

Hope you enjoyed your visit and a good cup of tea.

Sandi

A "Time for Tea" Stitchery!

2009-02-04T17:10:00.005-06:00

Well, it's about time you're thinking. Right? Where has she been. She said tea was at 4:00 and here it is an hour later. Some things came up. I didn't get to my tea until 4:30 and then I had pictures to take, then load and finally here I am. I'll get to the actual tea and goodies in a minute but want you to know that I have a new project for you. Last month I shared my Snowman couple design with you. Here's how far I am on my stitching..............

I was hoping I would get it finished by today but now I will be happy if I finish it by Valentines Day!!

Now since this little blog chapter is all about "Tea and Stitches", I thought it would be fun to stitch up a little piece that would be a reminder to show up here the first Wednesday evening of each month. That's right, you might as well stop by in the evening because then it will be posted on time. :-) Yesterday, this little design popped into my head so I quickly sketched it up and finalized it earlier today.
I am going to trace the design on muslin, then color it with colored pencils, iron it (to set the colors) and add outline embroidery stitches and embellishments. Then I will put it in a frame and you will see it finished - promise - in the tea picture in March. :-)
So, now I have to load the photos for my tea for February. Back in a jif.......
Sandi

Time for Tea!!

2009-01-07T23:35:00.013-06:00

Well, here it is the first Wednesday in January and so, it's time for Tea. Wherever you are take time for tea. It can be very relaxing to just sit down and relax with a warm cup in your hands. And,okay, if you are not a fan of tea, it will be okay if you enjoy a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. The important thing is to relax...............and isn't the scene below relaxing? It may be January but bits of Christmas are still all around the house. Surrounding the house on the outside is lots of snow and cold. So, with that in mind, I decided to make something warm and delicious to go with my tea................little Coconut Snowball Cupcakes!! They disappear in one bite!!

I chose Twinings Earl Gray for my tea this afternoon. Yes, I have already had my tea and because of a number of interruptions, I am only just now writing about it. And so it goes... :-) Perhaps I need a maid. Oh, what a silly thought.........let me get on with what you see in the vignette above........ the tea cup, saucer and plate are one of two place settings that my daughter, Collette, gave me for Christmas two years ago. Her thought was that we would have a special luncheon, just the two of us and use them. We haven't done that yet but we're going to soon. The teapot filled with greenery was a thrift shop find last fall and it was only $2.99 and that was because it was missing the lid. So it became a decorative teapot unless one day I find a lid. There's a pretty little bell pin that I stuck in the candle in the brass holder. It belonged to my mother and is from the 1950's. She can remember giving it to me although all I can remember is that I have had it for years. When I took it off at Christmas, on a whim I stuck it in the candle and realized it looked pretty so left it there. And the last little piece in the vignette is the Snowman couple. My mother used to have a ceramics shop and those are pieces I made and painted in the mid 1980's. I keep them out through Valentine's Day. The project for today also features a snowman couple. More on that in a minute........first.............if you want to know how to bake up a batch of the little Snowball cupcakes, here's how..............

I love a good cake mix. I've already shared a recipe or two on my Legacy of Stitches blog and Betty Crocker was often there! This time, I called on the Pillsbury Doughboy. To make the little cupcakes you will need......

One Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic White Cake Mix

One container Pillsbury Creamy Frosting Vanilla

Package of Flaked Coconut

Mini muffin tins (to make 24 muffins)

Now I realize that not all of you are in the States so if you can't get a Pillsbury cake mix, just mix up a white cake mix. Yellow cake mix will not do as these are snowballs, remember. Back to baking.........Prepare cake batter by following package directions. Spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray, then fill each cupcake well two-thirds full. You will have enough cake batter left to make twelve regular size cupcakes or one 9 x 9" cake. I made cupcakes and dipped them in sprinkles because that's what my husband prefers instead of coconut. Bake the cupcakes about ten minutes or til lightly golden (see photo).

To frost the cupcakes, place half the container of frosting in a glass bowl and then microwave for 15 seconds, no longer. You just want to soften it, not liquidate it. :-) Put some coconut in a small bowl and get ready to dip.

This proved to be an interesting photo op as I have the camera in my right hand and I am dipping with my left-hand. I am not left-handed so this was a challenge in coordination.

Dip each cupcake in the frosting, then dip into the coconut and place on a pretty plate. If the frosting begins to stiffen, just stir with a spoon. In just a few minutes, you will have a whole plate full of little Cupcake Snowballs! If you like coconut, you will really like these. It was kind of like eating a little bite of coconut pie! Yum!!

So who will eat all of these because I surely don't need them. Well, my friend Carolyn is celebrating her 95th birthday this Saturday and I think I will stop by with them on Friday and bring her a card, too.

So, now you have an idea for tea and goodies, what about a project. To keep with the winter theme, I have another Snowman design for you. This one is a design I drew for some notecards in 1994. I was working for a computer company at the time and my co-workers liked the sketches I would draw and encouraged me to print them as notecards. The design was pretty detailed so I scanned it in, then enlarged it and redesigned it without so much detail.

In the photo, you can see the notecard in black and white. The pattern for the design is shown below. (E-mail me if you need the PDF.) I have traced it with a red Micron pen onto white Kona cotton because I plan to stitch the design in Redwork. Last year I completed two series of blocks - one snowmen and one angels - and both in Redwork. I love the look. My favorite red floss color is DMC 498 but you can choose whatever color you prefer. I use two strands of floss for a delicate outline. I also use two pieces of fabric so that knots and threads do not show through. I will be using a stem/outline stitch for most area and French knots in areas such as the mouth, on the scarf, etc. As I begin to work on the piece, I will post a couple of photos so you can see the stitches.

So, are you ready to relax? Then make that cup of tea and if you don't want to bake, then grab a cookie or cracker from the cupboard. Too busy to start this project? Then work on one that is already in progress. Remember, the important thing is to relax.

Til next time,

Blessings for a lovely day!

Sandi

Tension Tamer Tea at Midnight!

2008-12-04T00:03:00.010-06:00

I thought it would be late afternoon when I got back today but not so. Had a very busy day that you can read about here. Right now I am finally relaxing with a cup of tea - Tension Tamer from Celestial Seasonings - which I enjoy. A friend introduced me to it a few years ago during a stressful time in my life and I think it helps reduce the stress. Now whether it's the tea or just the suggestion that it tames tension, it doesn't matter because I find it calming!!

Earlier I didn't quite have time to tell you about some of the items in the picture at the top of my blog and I wanted to do that to "set the stage" for this aspect of my blogging journey. All of the items in the picture are sitting on the table runner I made as a gift to myself last Mother's Day. Sometimes giving yourself a gift is really necessary. :-) I pieced it that weekend but it wasn't until the end of the summer that I did the hand quilting and then it took another two months before I added the tassels that finished it off. I like it a lot and all along knew just where I would put it - on top of the 1890's treadle sewing machine that belonged to my Aunt Bell. She made clothes for my mother on that machine and my mother made baby and toddler clothes for me on that machine. My husband wasn't crazy about having that old machine in our new family room. He sees an old worn sewing machine (and yet he replaced the belt so I could actually sew with it) and I said it had character and belonged there. Right around the corner from it is a rather worn old 1930's upright radio that belonged to his grandpa. Both pieces are old but their value lies in the memories they hold. I like to think think that my Aunt Bell might have enjoyed a cup of tea or coffee while she sewed and in the evenings, perhaps my husband's grandma and grandpa enjoyed the same while listening to radio programs in the 30's and 40's. Ah, the pace of life was just a wee bit slower and I think that was a good thing. So, right here on this little blog, I am going to slow the pace to that time. No talk of machine quilting or modern day politics here - just tea and stitches!

So what about the items on my table runner. Well, the little half-doll pincushion is one my mother had and gave to me over 30 some years ago. The tiny angel that is eyeing the chocolate candy and cookies is a little thrift shop find from a shopping trip just two weeks ago. The tea in my cup and pot is Earl Grey English Breakfast. My introduction to English tea came on a trip to Ottawa, Canada. I had never had tea with so much milk in it as I did then. And then we went to England and I discovered several really tasty teas. That's a box of tea we bought in Scotland several years ago. I used it once. Saving it, I am. Can anyone tell me how long tea lasts? The tea cup in the photo is one of several I purchased at my neighbor's garage several years ago. She had a few luncheon place settings that she was collecting to use with friends but I think she must have tired of the collection because she sold her pieces very cheaply. I can't remember what I paid but they had to be cheap or I wouldn't have been able to buy them!! The cup and saucer are "Eggshell - Georgian" by Homer Laughlin. I was only vaguely aware of the Homer Laughlin name then. Now I look for it all the time at thrift shops. The square plate that the teapot is sitting on is a near match for the cup and saucer but the plate has no markings on it. The teapot is only two years old but I loved it the minute I saw it. I bought it at a little shop called Home Accents (in Prior Lake, MN) just prior to our last Christmas there. It's by MWW Market that makes lots of holiday ceramics and such. It's a Christmas teapot and what you cannot see that makes the teapot so sweet is the lovely message near the spout - "May the Spirit of the Season Bloom in Your Heart". Lovely, isn't it. I hope the spirit of this season is blooming in all of you. All my friends and family make my spirit bloom. Sometimes we just need a reminder of that.

I so appreciate your comments - Christina, Gretchen, Valerie, Michelle and Mary Grace! I am thrilled that you are looking forward to stopping by for "Tea and Stitches" each month. And, yes, Valerie, since there is a Santa Claus then, yes, there will be a tutorial on embroidery stitches. :-)

And my last thought for this post is to suggest that you check out Michelle's blog at TheTeacupCottage. I found her blog just a few days after I decided to do my blog and enjoyed reading about her teacup collection. I left her a message then that I was planning a tea related blog that would debut in December. She has patiently waited for almost two months to find out what my plans were. And now you know, too. Mark your calendars and come back on the first Wednesday in January. I'll share a little recipe for tea and one for a good little cookie (biscuit for the English). And then, of course, there will be a free stitchery project. I know what it is and I hope you will like it. See you then!
Sandi

Welcome!

2008-12-03T11:26:00.000-06:00

This is my first post on "Tea and Stitches". My first stitches were done in embroidery. I find it the most soothing of all the handwork that I do. Sometimes I can just get "lost" in time when I am doing embroidery. Seeing the design come to life is what it must be like to be able to paint a scene or a portrait. I have tried painting. I can see what I want in my mind but it doesn't come out quite the same on canvas. Working with fabric and threads are the canvas and paints that work best for me!
So what is "Tea and Stitches" going to be? Well, we will see. My plan is to post on the first Wednesday of each month. I'll share my thoughts on tea, stitches, little goodies that will go along with the tea and a little stitchery pattern (free) each month!!
I will add more later this afternoon when I have time for tea but right now I am off to do some volunteering. This is such a busy time of the year!!
Sandi

Coming soon.......

2008-09-24T15:11:00.000-05:00

Tea and Stitches will debut in early December. Watch for news on my blog, A Legacy of Stitches.
Sandi