Pumpkin soup?

Remember those pumpkins I showed you the other day?  Well, this is what the resident cook (DH) did with some of them.  First he put them in the oven, whole, and roasted them for awhile.  It's SO much easier to remove the skins after they've been baked!

After he finished peeling and seeding them, he used some to make this...

And, for those who might be interested, here's the recipe he used...

PUMPKIN FENNEL SOUP

3 lb. pumpkin, peeled, seeded & cubed
2. c. fennel, sliced

1 T. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. each of coriander, cumin & paprika

1/4 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 1/2 c. vegetable stock
1-2 c. apple juice or cider
s&p to taste

Saute onion in oil until soft.  Add garlic and saute for another minute or two.  Add spices and continue to saute for another minute.  Add pumpkin, fennel, vegetable stock, and 1 c. of the apple juice.  Add the bay leaf.  Bring to boil, cover and simmer 25 minutes or til pumpkin is tender.  Remove bay leaf.  Puree pumpkin mixture and return to saucepan.  Add s&p to taste.  If soup is too thick, thin with more apple juice.

Very little done on the stitching front....

On committees, kettles and carcasses (plus some stuff)

Just before supper last night I happened to look

out my studio window to see this...

I dashed out with my camera to try to get some

pictures.  These are turkey vultures and this

was only a very small portion of the numbers

that were flying lazily over and around the

river.  

Did you know....that a group of vultures is called either a committee, a venu or a volt?  In flight they are called a kettle, and when feeding together they are a carcass?  I didn't either....until I looked it up.  It was a very impressive sight anyway

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Finally, here is the section of the crazy quilt purse
that I finished working on today...

And here is a closeup....

Today I did the seams surrounding the leopard.

The seam to the left of the cat and the pink one to the

right are both designs from Pam Kellogg's books.

The blue seam at the top(ish) is just alternating 

blanket stitches and the seam below is two rows of 

cretan stitch highlighted with some beads.

Fantastic mail, further seaming and signs of the season

Today was a really special mail day

when I received all this unexpected loveliness from

Jan!!!!!

These, I believe are sari fabrics and each one is SO

pretty.  I don't think the picture shows the

wonderful sparkle and sheen these pieces have.

Thank you SO much Jan!!

You know these will be put to good use,

AFTER I've finished fondling them!!

There even was a little bit of stitching done today...

 

I added the little rusty coloured leaves in the mid-top,

the seam below that (with the tiny pink flowers)

and the brighter pink 'bit' alongside the leopard.

And, last but not least,
our tummies are going to really enjoy

these pumpkins that our niece brought us
this morning...

I foresee some pies and some pumpkin soup!

A teeny little bit of stitching

Not much on the stitching front done around here the past few days, but I did finish these two little bits..

Above is one of the seam treatments from Pam Kellogg's book, along with a heart which was originally on a necklace found at the thrift store.

On the right is what seems to be a wooden button, but is made from a coconut shell.  The leopard is/was another piece of thrifted jewelry.

Outside my window and an amazing tour

This was the view outside my window

earlier this evening...

The light was amazing.  We face east, so we don't get
really good sunset pictures as a rule.

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AND - I want to send you over to visit Allie Aller's blog today to see her post about how they make those wonderful DMC threads we all like to play with.  Go HERE.

Taking time for exercise....and stitching....

Now THAT is the kind of exercise I can

get behind!!

Here's today's small effort at stitching...

Weekend and stitches

On the weekend (Thanksgiving here in Canada) we went on a trip up north to visit one of the cranberry marshes.  I have never seen how they actually grow, so it was definitely interesting.  We also purchased these....

Those are LARGE bags AND they're very large cranberries too!  

Yum!!

Here's a photo of the cranberry marsh
(unfortunately the berries had already been harvested)..

The plants you see in the foreground are the cranberry bushes.

The leaves were quite spectacular and around every
corner there were yet more beautiful colours.

I got a little bit of stitching done today...

The flat beads in the section above were 

another gleaning from a thrift store

piece of jewelry. 

 

The funny-looking fabric at the top of the photo below

is very much like velvet, but I think it's a
synthetic.

 

Beginnings and a seam, and another giggle

One of the things I showed the ladies at the embroidery workshop was a knot-less way to begin your thread and I thought perhaps some of you might find it interesting as well.  Go HERE for the simple instructions.

Today I didn't have too much time to do any stitching but I did manage this...

Just realized that it looks a little lo-sided in the picture, but it isn't in real life!   The stitch is a laced double pekinese and the instructions for it can be found on Sharon Boggon's site.  Look for it in her stitch dictionary.

And, lastly, here's another giggle I found for you. 

 

This is what happens when somebody cuts down all the trees!

Thank you, giggle and seam

First, I really want to thank you all for your support and wishing me well with teaching the workshop.  I'm sure it was all your good thoughts that got me through it!  So thanks for thinking of me.

I stumbled across this little 'funny' the other day and it pretty much sums up my life....

I think we could all aspire to that, couldn't we?

Today I didn't get much accomplished on my stitching....just one lonely seam.  This one is also done using waste canvas and I can't give credit to anyone for the design because it simply evolved as I went along.  

Survived - despite the odds....and TUSAL

Well, to my great surprise, I seem to have survived the great embroidery teaching venture.  And, it seems, so did the ladies who thought they might learn something from me.  Wonder of wonders!!

To be truthful, once I get over my nerves and actually get into it it's not so bad.  Just wish my jitters beforehand would go away so that it would ALL be a fun experience.  Hopefully I taught them a few little secrets and that they went home feeling as though they got at least some of their money's worth.

I'm late....I'm late.....(but what else is new?).....but here's my TUSAL  pile for last month (shown alongside a skein of embroidery floss for perspective)....

Guess this proves I actually did some stitching!

For those of you who don't have a clue what I'm babbling about....TUSAL is the 'Totally Useless Stitch A Long' .  Once a month the particpants post a picture of their ORT's (old recycled threads)...or, in this case, the leftover bits from our stitching efforts.  Yep, it really IS a totally useless venture, but it's a lot of fun.  This little pile of threads has now been added to my jar and in December I will show you the end results. 

Weekend stitching....and terror

Yep, I bet THAT title got you thinking didn't it?!!

Here's the stitching part....

Above is a little motif created using beads pirated from a thrift store necklace

and leaves from the scrapbooking department at the dollar store.

Below is a seam treatment where I used the

lovely stencils from Sharon Boggon to create the curved lines.

Above is another seam treatment based on Sharon's

stencils.

Below is a catherine wheel.

Below is another seam treatment using Sharon's stencils

for the basic form.

As for the 'terror' part of this post....

Tomorrow I teach (or at least try to)

embroidery to a group of about a dozen ladies from

the local quilt guild.

That, in itself, shouldn't be a 'walk the plank' 

moment, so why do I feel as if I'm poised 

on the edge??

AND EVERYBODY KNOWS I CAN'T SWIM!!!!!!!

 

dismal amount of progress

Today was another of those days that I spent more time out than in, so therefore not much stitching was accomplished.  Actually I did more than I have to show you here, but tore it out because it looked awful.  So, two steps forward and one back....at least I'm going in the right direction!

This was created using a pretty button and parts of
a thrifted necklace. 

Some stitching

I didn't have much time to stitch again today, but I did manage do these two little motifs on the latest purse...

The cross stitch (done on waste canvas) below is another one of the lovely motifs in Pam Kellogg's 'Elegant Cross Stitch Sentiments For Crazy Quilting' book.  Using waste canvas is one of my favourite techniques.  I changed Pam's design slightly to suit the design I'm working with.

more progress

I'm afraid I didn't have much time to stitch today, so only got this little motif done...

This pretty little rose came from Pam Kellogg's 'Elegant Cross Stitch Sentiments For Crazy Quilting' book, available through her blog site HERE. 

Progress on CQ project...

Before I show you pictures of what I've accomplished so far on the next purse, I stumbled across THIS whilst poking about on etsy and must say that it would be an invaluable tool for those of us who like to knit cables and are constantly losing our cable needle into the bowels of the chair or couch.  The creator was definitely thinking when they came up with this piece of equipment!   Be sure to read the description of the item.

Now, on to pictures of what I've been doing today...

As usual, you can click on the pictures to embiggen!

Being prepared....me???

Never let it be said that I don't pay attention when my friends happen to mention that they're looking for something, either purchased or handmade.  Late last winter one of my friends was searching for bed socks because her tootsies were cold in bed and lamenting the lack thereof in any of the stores.  Hmmm, said I....surely there are patterns on the internet for such things.  Sure enough, I found one (although there are very few out there) and I proceeded to knit her some.  This morning we had coffee together and I presented her with these...

Unfortunately I have lost the band from the yarn so I have no clue what I used, but I do know it was a 4 ply worsted from Lion Brand, probably Wool Ease.  The pattern is called 'Baba's Bed Socks' and I think I got it from Ravelry.  They're nice and cushy and should keep her feet warm this winter.

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I've also been working on the prototype of the 'project' I will be sharing with the ladies that are taking my embroidery workshop class next month.  

(and yes, you can laugh, because it DOES look like a boob!!)

I think I've managed to cover pretty much all the basic stitches in this project.  The finished size is 8 1/2 x 11", which means they can put it into a binder and keep it for future reference.  At the very least, I suppose they could mount it on the wall and use it for dart practice!

Questionable!!

First of all....a response to Heather M. who asked what size my faces I created yesterday....they range from about 2" for the biggest down to 1/2" for the smallest.  They are done with a mold that I *think* I got from Michaels several years ago.  btw Heather, I can't respond to you directly because you have your comments set to 'no reply'. 

Secondly....I'm beavering away on getting the 'stuff' I need ready to teach the embroidery workshop next month.  Thought I'd better be ahead of the game and not put myself into TOO much of a panic mode closer to the date.  I'm going to have enough trouble coping with the heebie-jeebies as it is!!

So....

today I attempted to draw some

stitch diagrams in a large size.

Please do keep in mind that this gal 

can't draw to save her soul!!

 Here's a sample....

Yep, good thing they're not there to learn to draw!!

Silly husbands and meeting

I must firstly apologize for the horrible picture, but I simply have to show you just what type of man I married!  Last night he asked what I wanted for dessert...the choices were frozen yogurt, a coconut tart or some cheesies.  My response was that I didn't care what I got and I would eat whatever appeared.  Well, being a nut case, he gave me all three...presented artfully....

How in the world he managed to balance the tart on top

of the cheesies is beyond me!

And, in case you're interested, here's the

recipe for the tarts...

JELLY COCONUT TARTS

2 eggs, beaten slightly

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter

2/3 cup unsweetened coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon apple jelly, per tart

Combine eggs, sugar, coconut, and vanilla.

Place small piece of butter and jelly in the bottom

of each prepared tart shell.  

Spoon egg mixture over top.

Bake 15 minutes at 450 degrees.

Today was the CQTeers meeting at my house.  Irene was here, but Sue was absent due to having shingles...ouch.  Anyway, we had our usual exchange of atc's - this month the theme was 'embroidery'...

Irene did the one on the right.  Her background

was a lovely hand-woven piece of cotton she got 

while on a trip to Montserrat in the Caribbean.

Mine is the little fellow on the left - my background 

is some of my rusted fabric.

We always try to have some sort of programme at our meetings whereby we try a new technique or play with some sort of material.  This time we made little faces using paperclay and some face molds I have in my stash.  (and yes, Sue...I made a few for you too!!).  

These are now drying and will be ready to use in
future projects.

Next crazy quilt profject - beginning

Yesterday I pieced together the parts I need to make another purse.  Brown isn't usually my 'comfort' colour to work with, but we'll see how I get along.  Here's a picture of one of the pieces...

Obviously, with the blue background on the image, I will be letting some blue creep into this one too!