Beautiful Summer

Rose, a photo by Loves2Stitch2 on Flickr.

Summer is so relaxing and beautiful, even if it isn't officially yet summer. I hope your month is ending nicely, too.

I have even had some stitching time this past week. Hurrah for summer!

Mom's Coleslaw

On the cooking front, I wanted to share my mom's delicious coleslaw recipe. We plan on preparing it soon as it's so perfect when enjoyed with summer barbecue fare.

Mom's Coleslaw

Chop up one head of cabbage. On top of this place a half of an onion, grated. Set aside. I put my cabbage pieces and onion in the refrigerator, in a plastic bag.

I was somewhat of a novice at this cabbage chopping thing, so I went onto Youtube and found various videos that explained how to chop it quite easily.

Mix up the dressing and allow it to chill well in the refrigerator-- for at least four hours, or overnight:
1 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup half and half
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. salt
A little bit less than 2/3 cup sugar

When you're ready to serve the coleslaw, combine the chopped up cabbage/grated onion fixture with the dressing. Enjoy!

On My To-Do List- Barbara Baatz's Fantastic Fall Bouquet

I once saw a pattern called Fantastic Fall Bouquet by Barbara Baatz stitched in person, and I loved it immediately.  The problem was, it was hard to find. I searched high and low for quite awhile, to no avail. Some time ago I did finally locate it on Ebay, and here is what the finished product will look like:

It's quietly waiting in the wings, until I finish another project.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Summer is Here, & So Are The Jacarandas!

My summer has begun, another school year is done. Every year it makes me feel a bit like a kid again. Well, maybe a little bit.

I hope to get in lots of stitching time this summer, and I think my first order of business is a bit more work on Quaker Diamonds.

We have lots of home improvement to do too, so we'll see how much time I can spend with a needle in hand.

On top of it, the jacaranda trees are blooming just around the corner. What a fine way to start my summer break. I love to walk down this street and be part of these purple blossoms.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Working on an old WIP- Wedding Ring Bouquet--Paula Vaughan

I started this one on a whim about ten years ago. Wow, that's a long time ago! It doesn't seem so long, hardly any time at all.

It's Paula Vaughan's Wedding Ring Bouquet. I'm stitching it on 22 count hardanger fabric, and it's at the point where I have a lot of backstitching and white left to do.

Here it is:

Scissors are included to show the size of this one! 

Do you have any WIPs this old? I confess to you, it's not my oldest one. My afghan was started around 1989. Now that's getting downright pathetic!

Thanks for stopping by here today.

A Very Small Start-- Quaker Diamonds

I finally had the chance to sit and stitch a bit today.

Here's my progress so far on Quaker Diamonds.

The finished project should look something like this:

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope to get more stitching in soon!

A Wonderful DMC Resource

Embroidery Floss, a photo by Loves2Stitch2 on Flickr. Photo taken several years ago at our previous home.

I did stitch a bit a week ago, but this week hasn't brought any more time spent with needle in hand. I think about my current stitching project off and on during the work day, and the anticipation of working on it gets me through the work day faster. I do love my job, but even with that being said I do need a mental 'push' to get me through the long hours from time to time.  Do you ever do this 'mental anticipation thing' to get through work or tasks at home? And like me do you find once you get the free time you are too exhausted to even work on anything?

To add to the tired factor, it's the end of the year for us where I work, so that means more piles of paperwork in the evening, and that too cuts into any hobby time.

Speaking of our hobby, I am excited that this morning I stumbled upon this resource for the DMC colors. I do have an actual color chart with the threads, but this digital version will come in handy too.

DMC Colors

Happy Stitching to all of you!