January Wipocalypse Update

For the first update, I've been steadily working on Papillon Creations' "How Does Your Garden Grow". As you can see I am nearly done with it. I thought I would have a happy dance for this update, but thought it best to invest a little "kitchen clean-up time" before proceeding. Darn kitchen chores.

As you can see, I am just about done with this. I am currently working on section 11 out of 12. I've got my mind set to next things work on... and since I've been so diligent about killing my WIPS lately, I think I will treat myself to a few new starts next weekend. After all, it *is* Guilt Free January!

Speaking of which, please discuss... what are your thoughts on scroll frames for stitching? I normally use Q-Snaps, but I am going to start a big sampler that I think will not be well suited for Q Snaps. For that matter, I've been working those Long Dog Samplers, and I just don't like working on such a big Q Snap held in my hand/propped up so I don't have to hold it. Or is there a lap stand that is compatible with Q Snaps (I seem to recall there was?) I LOVE the tension that Q Snaps offer, so whatever I use has to be comparable to that. I'd love your thoughts on this.

WIPOCALYPSE 2012!

As I said before, last year I lost my stitching mojo for a while. I got pretty burned out and bored on beading the Mira piece I was working on, and for some time thereafter did not pick up a needle. I got it back though, and managed to finish a number of smaller pieces throughout the end of the year (I even had one last 2011 finish yesterday while at work).

Measi has organized a WIPOCALYPSE for 2012 for us stitchers to jointly work on reducing our WIPS (aka Works In Progress) which is something I had already come to the conclusion I was going to do because I have a number of pieces so close to finish (including that Mira piece that caused me to lose my mojo). As I was talking with Stasha on FB yesterday I was like... and I want to START this, and I want to start that... and I want to start this, and... well, you get the idea. I NEED to FINISH SOME STUFF TOO!! LOL... 

So my stitching focus will be on:

~Finish Stargazer (just have to finish the beading)

~Continue on Plight of Fancy (Long Dog Samplers)

~Continue work on Angel of the Morning, and if possible finish it (MLI)

~Continue work Fairy Moon (Mirabilia)

~Continue work on How Does Your Garden Grow (Papillon Creations)

~Continue work on Castles in the Sky (Papillon Creations)

~Start Time Well Spent (Sampler Cove)

~Start Celtic Banner (MLI)

~Start (and finish) Far Away (Shepherd's Bush)

~Start (and finish) the daughter sampler that I can't think of the name of right now

~Start (and finish) some of the millenium SB ornament series for gifts from the JCS Ornie issues (my goal is to stitch the whole series over time for Christmas gifts)
~Start the three other Miniature Season Samplers (all TW)

I may add to this list as time goes on, as far as WIPS (I have a few others but not sure if I want to work on them this year). However, I won't start anything beyond what's on this list. And, per the WIPOCALYPSE I will post here on Full Moons with status updates which are:

January 9
February 7
March 8
April 6
May 5
June 4
July 3
August 1
August 31
September 29
October 29
November 28
December 28

Happy Stitching New Year!

OK - REALLY my last finish!

OK... OK. I promise this is the last one! I finished this up while I've been on my little Christmas staycation. I finished up the 1x1 on the fruit (which I thought would never end), and almost everything through the end of the Celtic Knots yesterday. Today I finished the BS on the Celtic Knots, and then did all of the drawn thread-work and beading today. I thought I would do this as just a one off, but I enjoyed working this piece so much that I think I will work the other three seasons. This makes me feel a little *less* guilty about starting the new sampler Tom got me for Christmas (which I still need to get fibers and fabric for). In the meanwhile I will keep trekking through Long Dog's Plight of Fancy (I'm in the bottom third!), and see if I can't get over my beading ADD and finish up a few of the Mirabilia pieces that I am sooo close to finishing in the New Year. Considering I lost my stitching Mojo for about half of this year, its not a bad accomplishment to have finished WIPs, about 10 ornaments, and continued work on Plight.

Last Stitching Finishes of 2011

So, I worked all of Teresa Wentzler's Byzantine Ornaments, plus a few other freebies she has released. My strength is definitely in the stitching, and not so much in the finishing! Well, there is always next year!

First: Celtic Sampler Ornament

Byzantine Oranament 1:

Byzantine Ornament 2:

Byzantine Ornament 3:

Intermediate White Work Ornament:

Peacock Tapestry Ornament:

Byzantine Ornament 4:

Byzantine Ornament 5:

Byzantine Ornament 6:

Torta di Mandorle

Last night I made this for dessert: Torta di Mandorle, which is an almond torte with chocolate chips. Who can go wrong with that? It is DELICIOUS (and of course a little home made whipped cream to top it off doesn't hurt either). You can find this recipe in Lidia Bastianich's "Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy" in the section on recipes from Liguria.

Nature's Alphabet - Elizabeth's Designs

I finally had a stitching finish this year! For a long time this year I lost my stitching mojo. Over the summer I picked up the needle again, and had been working on L&L's Angel of the New Dawn... but then I hit the 1x1 on the face and lost interest (for now anyway). I wanted something I could tick off the WIP list, so I picked up a piece I started many years ago. It actually only took me about  1.5 weeks to finish it, so without further ado... the pictures: 

Shooting

And now without further ado... a video of us off shooting from a few weeks ago! What fun!

THE Birthday Cake

I know. Its been a while. AND I made my husband a birthday cake that I just had to share with you! As always, hubby requested a traditional Black Forest Cake. It is laden with whipped cream, sour cherry preserves, and kirsche (this is a Cherry Brandy that merely enhances the overall cherry flavor... you otherwise have no idea it is there). The sponge is a dense chocolate torte, and it is a delight to the taste buds! I've always used Gourmet Mag's recipe, and wanted to link to it on Epicurious but they don't have it there, so I won't be providing the recipe for copyright concerns. However, you can find it on page 746 of The Gourmet Cookbook Bible by Houghton Mifflin. Everything is from scratch and as such it is a true labor of love (it takes about 4 hours from start to finish, and uses about every big mixing bowl I have) but the end result is incredibly worthwhile. In lieu of a recipe, observe in various stages of completion:

This is the chocolate and butter melted together:

This is the egg whites beaten to medium peaks:

This is the egg yolk, almonds, and other small dry ingredients whipped into the egg yolks:

This is after the chocolate mixture gets whipped into the egg yolk mixture:

This is before it goes into the Springform pan, when the flour has been added to the above chocolate yolk mixture, and then the whites have been gently folded in: 

Et Voila! (Yes, that is fresh whipped cream)

YUM!!

Barbecue Pork Sandwiches with Blue Cheese Coleslaw

By popular outcry, here are the recipes for the barbecue pork sandwiches and the Blue Cheese Coleslaw.

First the pork:

Dry rub:

• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon cayenne
• 4 pound shoulder pork roast 

Wet Ingredients:

• 2 cup apple juice
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
• 1/2 tablespoon liquid smoke
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder 

Accessories:

• 6 soft hamburger buns with seeds
• Bbq sauce
• Cole slaw

Directions

Mix the dry rub ingredients in small bowl. Sprinkle dry rub all over the pork roast, pressing into the pork. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

When two hours have passed, preheat your oven to 325.


Combine liquid ingredients and the garlic powder in a medium bowl and pour into a large Dutch oven or Le Creuset style pot. Place pork in the pot and tightly cover with aluminum foil then lid. Roast for 4 hours or until fork tender and shreds easily. Brush the roast with cooking liquid every hour.

Remove from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle. Shred the pork with a fork or tongs into bite size pieces.

Serve on hamburger buns topped with BBQ sauce and Cole Slaw.

Next, the Cole Slaw:

Ingredients

• 1/2 small head green cabbage
• 1/2 small head red cabbage
• 4 large carrots, scrubbed or peeled (optional)
• 2 cups (16 ounces) good mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) crumbled Roquefort blue cheese

Cut the cabbages in half and then in quarters and cut out the cores. Sliver your cabbage by running your knife from the outside of the cabbage towards the core (it is easier to lay it on one of the cut sides while shaving the cabbage. Likewise you can always use a food processor to do this faster). Repeat with carrots. Transfer into a large bowl, discarding any very large pieces. Before you pour the dressing on the salad, save a handful of the grated vegetables to decorate for serving. Transfer to bowl with the cabbages. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, both mustards, vinegar, celery salt, kosher salt, and pepper. Pour enough mayonnaise dressing over the grated vegetables and toss to moisten well. Add crumbled blue cheese and toss together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to meld. Serve cold or at room temperature

Corned Beef!

I know. It's a lazy picture. That being said, the great thing about the corned beef project last month is that it was so hands off. I've been working a ton of overtime, and have had little energy to do much of anything.

The corned beef is delicious, and my husband has been making corned beef sandwiches with homemade Carroway Beer Mustard (also from the Charcuterie book), and a lovely pile of Emmenthaler on top. He cannot get enough of it. It's definitely the best corned beed I've ever had, with little exception. I just wish I had a meat slicer so I could slice it a little easier.

I didn't do anything creative with it, and we still have a ton of it left. I may freeze it so we don't get sick of it and waste it... but so far we are going on a week strong of corned beef sandwiches. Yum!

Next project is hot smoking. I'm not a huge fan of Canadian Bacon, (maybe I've just never had a good one), but Tom is begging me to choose it over Taso Ham. I suppose we will just have to stay tuned to see what happens in the kitchen. :-)