IHSW

International Hermit Stitch Weekend.  On the third weekend of every month, we hermit ourselves and spend the entire weekend stitching.  Or at least, that's the idea.  While I wasn't able to drop everything else, I did manage to get quite a bit of stitching done.

Last week, Lynn, Dee & I went live with our new online shop.  We called it Treasure Chest of Friends.  We also have a Facebook page & a Pinterest account.  We are selling handmade items that we have sewn, crocheted, machine embroidered, or anything else we happen to have fun making.  Come check us out.  We're adding new items every day so keep coming back.  If you don't see something that you'd like to see, drop us an email.  If we can do it, it'll be a new item!  Our email address is www.treasurechestoffriends.com.

On Saturday, Mom, Mariah & I took a one stroke painting class at the library.  I haven't taken one in awhile & I really enjoy them.  This month we painted birdhouses. These are Mariah's

 

 

These are mine:

 

 

We had a lot of fun.  Next month, Kathy is doing wine glasses so I may just have to join that class as well!

 

When we got our CSA box this week (community supported agriculture), it was full of berries.  Red raspberries & strawberries to be exact.  I knew that we'd never eat them just like they were before they went bad, so I turned them into yummy items.  On Saturday, I made raspberry syrup.  We use this, not only on pancakes & waffles, but to make iced tea as well.  I gave Lynn a jar & she put it on top of ice cream last night and said it was great!  Sunday morning, I got up & made homemade buttermilk pancakes & put the syrup on top.  They were yummy!

 

On Sunday, I spent a good portion of the day in the kitchen.  First, I made strawberry bbq sauce.  Now, for those of you who are going eeeww, try it.  We first were introduced to strawberry bbq sauce several years ago at the Long Grove Strawberry Festival.  The tea room has a buffet for lunch that is quite reasonably priced.  On it was strawberry bbq chicken.  It was delicious!  When we got to the General Store, they were selling it by the jar.  I had to buy a bottle.  When that ran out, I searched for the recipe.  I found one that is very close to Long Grove's and have made it ever since!  The picture here is what remains of my raspberry syrup & the large jar of strawberry bbq sauce.  The recipe made the large jar, 2 pint jars, and 2 half pint jars.  I gave away the 2 pint jars and will make pork chops or chicken with the rest.

 

 Our basket also contained 2 small zucchini.  So, I made a loaf of zucchini bread & a zucchini cake!  I gave the zucchini bread & 1 of the pints of bbq sauce to my friend, Jen, yesterday.  We ate a portion of the cake last night, but there's plenty left for the next couple of days. 



I also scored a bunch of bruised bananas at Kmart on Saturday when we went grocery shopping.  Our super Kmart puts a lot of produce on the reduced rack, which I love.  I should have bought more as they had about 10 packages for 25 cents each, but I only bought 2.  I broke 1 package up & put it in my bag of frozen fruit for smoothies.  I intended to make Hawaiian bread with the rest, but Rich brought home a tray of brownies & I decided to wait a few days for the Hawaiian bread.  I'll share that recipe with you next week. 

Now, with all this, did I actually get any stitching in this weekend?  You betcha!  First, I finished my bikini beach bag Saturday morning.  I made mine extra tall so I could fit my stitching in it.  It has a reinforced bottom so it doesn't break through.  I absolutely love it!

  

I finished the wings on Petite Christmas Angel #2 yesterday.  There's a lot of gold braid in them!  Next weekend I'll work on the wreath she's holding.

Since I finished the beach bag, I got to do another letter on Enchanted Alphabet.  I did K yesterday. 

Today we go back to Fright Night Friends for 3 days.  I hope to get quite a bit done, but Mariah & I will be very busy today.  She has art class at Michaels this morning, her reading group at the library this afternoon, and then at 5:30 we go back to the library to see "Oz, the Great & Powerful". 

So, until next time, what did YOU do this weekend??

 

 

Weekend wrap up

Wow, what a weekend!  We had Mariah's birthday party.  7 adults, 4 kids, lots of ice cream & 3 dozen cupcakes.  This was what was left of the cupcakes

She was thrilled that she got 2 basketballs - 1 is glow in the dark!  She has recently discovered basketball and loves playing.  I guess I'll have to start taking her up to the basketball hoops to practice.  She also got a beautiful blanket for her doll, and LOTS of art supplies.  She also got a GC for Michael's which she is dying to go spend.  She wants to buy a new set of good paint brushes and then spend the rest of it on tubes of paint. 

Sunday, we went to church.  They had a wrap up of VBS for service.  It was great seeing what the kids had done.  There was a video compilation of the week with the kids' activities and Mariah was in it several times!  After service, there was a potluck with TONS of food.  We went home afterwards and relaxed in the afternoon.  Mariah & I splurged & treated Rich to Subway and even got him a chocolate chip cookie. 

I worked on the 2nd angel in Petite Christmas Angels over the weekend.  I couldn't find a progress picture from the last time I worked on her, but I finished up her hair & got most of the wings done. 

 

 

Today starts my new rotation.  During the day I'll be working on Fright Night Friends Monday - Wednesday, sewing projects on Thursday & Friday, and Petite Christmas Angels on Saturday & Sunday.  Evenings I'll be working on my crocheted bikini beach bag.  I'm hoping to have it finished by next weekend, along with several sewing projects. 

 

Until then, what are YOU working on?

Lots of finishes and progress

 

I've had a very busy week.  I spent a good portion of the week working on Mariah's dress for her party today.  I got it finished on Wednesday.  She was so excited she's wanted to wear it every day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I finished a small ornament that I found in my UFO bin.  When I'm crocheting, I usually crochet all day and then take a break every so often and work on a cross stitch project. 

 



 

Since I had 2 finishes, I stitched the next 2 letters in my Enchanted Alphabet - I & J.

 

Thursday, my friend, Lynn, came over & we worked on stuff for our shop.  One of my stitching friends had made a denim armrest & I liked it so much that I decided to make one for myself.  I have a tendency to stick my needles in the arm of the couch so this made Rich really happy.

The one that Pam made had 2 pockets, one on each end.  I tried it that way first and decided it didn't work for me.  It kept getting in the way of the recliner lever.  So, I took that pocket off and we're going to put a drapery weight in that end to keep it from falling off with everything in the pocket on the other side.  As you can see, the fabric for the pin cushion is coffee cups and bags & containers of coffee.  Just my style!

Our shop should be going live within the next 2 weeks.  We're working on the website and will still have some tweaking to do when it's live, but I think it will be great!

This morning, Mariah & I will be decorating cupcakes for her party today.  Last night we baked chocolate cherry cola cupcakes & yellow caramel cupcakes.  Today we will frost & 'bling' them with edible glitter, plastic rings, and candles molded like a purse, shoes, and a tiara.  Just the thing for a 10 yr old girl!  We're having the party at the local ice cream parlor since it's supposed to rain on & off today. 

My next project will be a crocheted beach bag that looks like a bikini.  We also start our Halloween SAL on Monday.  I can't wait!

Mariah had VBS all week and they're going to wrap it up with a huge cookout at church.  Rich decided that that would be his Father's Day dinner and we'll go out one day next week for both him & Mariah. 

So, until next time, what have YOU done this week?