STITCHING WITH IRIS: 2014

Monday, December 29, 2014

My last finish for 2014

I received this little design from Cathryn of Blueladie Designs as a Christmas gift in her Christmas Giveaway on KYKS. I love Santa's and anything to do with Santa so this went to the top of my to do list. It only took me a couple of hours to stitch. Well a couple of hours plus some frogging time. Thank you Cathryn

Designer: Blueladie Designs
Project: HO HO HO
Fabric: 16CT white Aida - Charles Craft
Floss: DMC
Started: 12/26/2014
Completed: 12/28/2014
It will be made into an ornament

Friday, December 26, 2014

a b Christmas from a freebie from Candy Cane Stitchers on Facebook

I finished this little design yesterday while Bob was cooking dinner. It was a great dinner of roast duck, baked rice and roasted Brussels sprouts, carrots and onions. For dessert we had pumpkin pie which I baked on Christmas Eve morning. It was just the two of us yesterday but it was a wonderful day. I think we both really enjoyed the quiet day together.

Designer: Nicky's Creations Primitive Designs
Project: a b Christmas a freebie
from Candy Cane Stitchers on Facebook
Fabric: 14 CT Antique White Aida
Floss: DMC
Started: 12/15/2014
Completed: 12/25/2014
I think I am going to make this into a
no-sew cube. I just need to find the right
fabric and ribbon .

Including the pages of Bridge in Monet's Garden and all the other little projects I stitched this year, I have completed 41 projects in 2014. Retirement really increased my stitching time. LOL

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Merry Christmas

Wishing all my blog friends a Merry Christmas. I hope you and your family have a memorable and safe holiday.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Decorating the tree and bakking cookies

Just wanted to share some pictures of our tree and a recipe for one of my favorite cookies/

Bob getting ready to start pulling
ornaments out of the trunk

Bob putting ornaments on the tree

Eiffel Tower ornament I made for Bob this year
to remember our 2014 Paris trip

The side of the tree we see when sitting
on the sofa

Close up of some of our ornaments

The view of the tree
when we are walking into the family room

The cross stitch ornament is a ornament I
received in an ornament exchange a few years ago.
The snowman was one of the 1st ornaments I
ever made. I was probably in my late teens early 20s

This ornament is one I stitched this year.

This one was stitched and gifted to me by Sarah

The little ornament with the stockings I
received on a Christmas card from Barbara
and I made it into an ornament.

This is our little mouse band. These were
part of my MIL's decorations. I love them and
they come out of hiding every year

More of my Santa collection

I baked a batch of cookies this morning.
This is my 8th batch of cookies

		250 Dollar Cookies

1/2 Batch	Full Batch	Ingredients

1 Cup	2 Cup	Butter
1 Cup	2 Cup	Sugar
1 Cup	2 Cup	Brown Sugar
2	4	Eggs
1 tsp.	2 tsp	Vanilla
2 Cup	4 Cup	Flour
2 1/2 Cup	5 Cup	Blended Oatmeal
1 tsp.	2 tsp	baking Soda
1/2 tsp.	1 tsp	Baking Powder
1/2 tsp.	1 tsp Salt
1/2	1	8 OZ. Hershey Bar grated
12 Oz.	24 Oz.	Chocolate chips
1 1/2 Cup	3 Cup	Chopped Nuts (your choice)

		Directions:
		Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder
		Cream the butter and both sugars
		Add eggs and vanilla
		Mix together the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda
		Mix flour mixture into wet ingredients in batches
		Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar and nuts
	`	Roll int balls and place 2" apart on a cookie sheet
		Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees

		Full batch makes 112 Cookies

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Bridge In Monet's Garden - Page 32 is finished.

Only 2 1/2 pages left to stitch.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Christmas 2014 finished

I finished this quick stitch in and just love it. I've also added a couple of pictures of Bob, Susan and I dressed up to go out to dinner last night. Susan is spending the weekend with us to celebrate Christmas. She and I have been friends since 1965. A few years ago she moved to Virginia so we don't get to see each other much these days so a weekend together is really something special. This year is really special since we didn't get to spend any time together last Christmas since I had a broken ankle and entertaining was a bit hard.

Blueladie Designs
Christmas 2014
Fabric: Ocean Kiss
Floss: DMC

We went out to dinner last night with
my friend Susan who is visiting from
Virginia
This is Bob and me

Susan and me

Thursday, December 11, 2014

More house decorations

I promise no more after this until we decorate the tree.

These are pictures of our family room. I shared a couple the other day of our fireplace and the CCN Christmas Village. Now some of my Santa collection.

Santa is everywhere in my family room. OK there is a mouse
up there but he is holding a Santa.

OK there are a few kissing angels mixed in.
My niece did the angels in ceramic class
about 29 years ago. They usually reside
on the mantel but I wanted to change
things up this year;
The bookcase is new this year we took it from Bob's
Aunt Ruth's apartment after she passed away. I just
love the way it fit right in our family room.

More Santas on the shelves with a
few cross stitch finishes thrown in.
The house on the table is something I did
in ceramic class many years ago.
The tablecloth was stitched by a friend.

More Santas. I try very hard not to buy any more
Santas. While I love them I just have no place
to store them anymore.

This is my little ornament tree all decorated
in snowmen and snowflakes and Lizzie Kate's
Merry Christmas hanging above it.

I crocheted a lot of dishcloths to give to
family and friends. Hope they like them
and the little flameless candles they are getting.

No more decorations I promise until we finish the tree. Well we have to get the tree first and that won't be until next Thursday.

Send some good thoughts as I have a friend driving up from Virginia today and we are having snow right now. They keep saying it is only snow flurries but ............... you just don't ever know.

'Till next time.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Some more Christmas Decorating

Here are a few more pictures of my decorations this year. I do enjoy decorating for Christmas and do go a little overboard.

Some of my Beyer Caroler collection in my living
room.

My countdown to Christmas
with one of my large Santa's
in the living room

This Santa is a latch hook Santa that I made
about 40 years ago.

Mr. & Mrs. Santa (Beyer Carolers)

I'll post some more in the next couple of days.

Have a great Tuesday.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Some of my 2014 Christmas Decorationg with Cross Stitch

This past week I have been a busy little elf decorating for Christmas. This is my favorite time of year and I so enjoy seeing my house come to life with all the colorful Christmas decorations.

This is the fore place in four family room.
I stitched the 2 stockings many years ago
and the Santa and Sleigh with is called Hang on (I
know you can't see it very well) a few years ago.
I changed up from how I regularly decorate my
mantel. I thought since both stockings are Santas
I needed to have the whole theme of the mantel Santas.

The cross Stitch is CCN Santa's Village
I stitched on this faithfully every month
in 2013 and finally finished it in early 2014.
The book is Twas the Night Before Christmas
and was my DH's book from his childhood. We read
it every Christmas Eve. The Santa sitting on
the cabinet I bought in Paris in 2008.
I like displaying the old with the new.

I'll post more pictures over the next couple of days. The next couple of weeks are very busy but that is a good busy. Seeing old friends. My best friend of many, many years is coming for a long weekend this coming Thursday. I haven't seen her since October of 2013. She deserted me a few years ago and moved from Pennsylvania to Virginia to be near the only family she has left. I treasure the few times a year that I get to see her.

Well I am off to wrap some Christmas presents. I enjoy wrapping but I don't enjoy getting all the stuff out and then having to put it all away. I am having lunch with a group of ladies I use to go to the gym with and I crotched them each a dish cloth and bought them each a flameless candle so I have 9 extra grifts to wrap.

Till next time.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Two more finishes

I finally finished some stitching finishes into ornaments.

Blueladie Designs
Thanksgiving 2014 from her
November newsletter
I changed some of the design because
I only stitch on Aida and I don't like doing
quarter stitches on Aida so all the
leaves on the project are from a bookmark
freebie I found on the Internet
Fabric: 14CT natural Aida (it looks almost like
burlap)
Floss: DMC

HO HO HO Santa
Designer: Lorraine Niesyto
Cyberstitchers Freebie
Fabric: 14CT Perforated paper
Floss: DMC
This is for my niece, CJ

I am now back to stitching LHN Pumpkin Patch Inn when I want to stitch in the afternoon. Unless I see an ornament I really fall in love with I think I am finished with Christmas ornaments for this year.

I have been baking Christmas cookies and wrapping a few presents over the last couple of days. I need to get the presents wrapped by the end of Thanksgiving weekend so I can ship them off to their recipients. I did order some stuff for Bob but I don't know if the order was received. Long story but I did call this morning to see if they got the order and of course I got their voice mail.

'till next time...................

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

2 more Christmas ornaments finished

I finished 2 more Christmas ornaments. These 2 are for my niece, CJ. Her daughters took the Christmas ornaments I have been making them since there were born so she is minus about 40 ornaments this year.

Project: Snow
Designer: Lorraine Clarke
a freebie from Cyberstitchers.com
Fabric: 14Ct Perforated Paper
Floss: DMC Variations

Project: Andy on Ice Skates
Designer: Janlynn kit
Fabric: Plastic Canvas
Floss: DMC
Started: ?
Finished: 10/29/2014

I can't believe that so far this year I have completed 33 stitching projects. Well not really the 33 includes 4 pages of Bridge In Monet's Garden. Most of the other projects are ornaments of one kind or another.

Till next time wishing you happiness and peace.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Bridge In Monet's Garden

I finished page 31 last night. Only 4 more pages to go.

Page 31 completed
Started 9/9/2014
Completed 11/4/2014

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Silent Night by Barbara Ana Designs

I finished it into an ornament over the last 2 days

Silent Night
Barbara Ana Designs

I don't keep many of the ornaments I stitch but I think this one is a keeper.

Another Christmas stitched

I finished this little freebie from Facebook, Candy Cane Stitchers in just a couple of hours of stitching. Now I need to decide how to finish it. This was a fun and easy stitch and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Christmas Alphabet
by Heart in Hand Needleart
Stitched on 16CT white Aida
using DMC Floss
Started: 11/2/2014
Finished 11/3/2014

I just counted how many stitching finishes I have had this year. Including 4 pages of Bridge in Monet's Garden I have stitched 32 projects.

Have a good evening and I hope you all went out to vote today.

Paris - Tuesday, September 30 and Wednesday. October 30, 2014

Tuesday September 30, 2014

After breakfast at the hotel it was off to meet for our Eiffel Tower tour. Yes we bought tickets in advance because we didn’t want to stand in line to get them. Took the Metro and then walked a few blocks to the office of the tour company. Then once everyone was assembled the guide led us to the Eiffel Tower. As we walked the couple of blocks to the Tower she had us introduce ourselves and tell where we were from. Then she stopped just behind the Tower to give us a history lesson, when it was built, why it was built and why it still remains in Paris. It was suppose to be disassembled a few years after it was built in 1889. So we passed through security and took the elevator to the 2^nd landing. We were suppose to immediately take the elevator to the summit. Oops there is a problem. The elevator to the summit isn’t working. They have no idea how long it is going to take to repair it. So first we stand around in a line waiting to get on the elevator to the summit. We probably stand there for a good half hour and still no word on when the elevator will be repaired. Se we walk around the second level and take some pictures. Buy a few post cards and then take the elevator down to the first level and take some more pictures. The elevator was still not working so we decided to leave. It was a shame because poor Bob has never been able to get good pictures from the summit, in two other visits before, because of the weather. Today would have been a perfect day.

So we left the Eiffel Tower and walked around the corner and up the street for a bit of lunch. We went to Restaurant Ribe, a place we had eaten lunch in at least twice when we were in Paris in 2008. The onion soup is the best.

Lunch

Restaurant Ribe

Bob and I both had a bowl of Soupe Gratinee aux Oigon

We shared an order of Foie Gras de Canard

Our wine was Pouilly Fume

And for dessert we shared Café Liegiois (it was like a coffee ice cream sundae)

Absolutely wonderful lunch

After lunch I sat on a bench down the street from the restaurant while Bob walked up the street to a wine shop he had visited in 2008. He did pick up a couple of bottles of wine to bring home.

Then it was back to the hotel. I spent the afternoon packing and Bob walked down the street to a little candy shop we had visited a couple of days before to buy some more candy.

Then we got ready to go to our last dinner in Paris.

We took a taxi to the restaurant but we were a little early. So we decided to walk around a little bit. As we were walking down the street I saw a little jewelry store and stopped to window shop. I saw a couple of watches in the window that I liked to Bob suggested that we go inside and see if there was anything I liked. I picked out a watch and several pairs of earrings that I liked. Bob told me to go ahead and get the watch and then he made me leave the shop while he bought me some Christmas presents. Can’t wait to see which earrings he actually bought me.

Dinner

Au Trou Gascon

Entrée:

Bob – Steamed Cooked Brittanh Lobster, Coral Custard Perfumed Infused with Fresh Herbs

Iris – Duck Foie Gras Paste Pie – Bitter Sweet Fruits

Plats: We both had Cassoulet, a dish of white beans, duck confit, veal chop and saussage

Dessert:

Bob – Postachio Cream cake, Raspberries and Pistachio Ice Cream

Iris – Instant Dainty Chocolate Ice Cream, Vanilla Meringue, Mango Chutney

After dinner we took a taxi back to the hotel and finished packing.

The Eiffel Tower

One of the many views from the 2nd level of the
Eiffel Tower

Champs de Pars from he Eiffel Tower

A wonky view of the tower

Me on the Eiffel Tower

Bob on the Eiffel Tower

Café Ribe

Bob, me and bowls of Onion Soup
Oh it was so good

Me and the Onion Soup

Wednesday October 1, 2014

Up early to get the shuttle to the airport. We had no problems getting our boarding passes and finding our gate for departure. We flew from Paris to Frankfurt, Germany with a short layover in Frankfurt. Then flew from Frankfurt to Philadelphia. Our flight was uneventful. Arrived in Philadelphia and went through customs, retrieved our luggage and found the ground transportation desk. We only waited a few minutes for the shuttle and then off to Collegeville. We were the last passengers to be dropped off. We packed our luggage in the trunk and then Bob tried to start our car. It wouldn’t start. He tried several times but no luck. Luckily for us the shuttle driver hadn’t left the parking lot and he saw we were having problems. He came back and jumped our car and it started right away.

It was wonderful to get home.

Paris - Monday, September 29, 2014

Monday September 29, 2014

Yesterday when we had breakfast we took a couple of extra croissants as we have to be up and out of the hotel early for our tour to the Chateaux of the Loire Valley.

Patrick gave Bob instructions for the Metro and except for having to ask someone on the street which way we should walk once we got off the Metro we got to our meeting point early.

This tour of the Loire Valley is a bus tour we arranged from home several months before our trip. Bob spent time in the Loire Valley when he went to France in high school and he has always wanted to go back.

It took us a couple of hours to get to our first Chateau, Chambord. It was a beautiful drive through the French countryside on an early fall morning.

Chambord is one of the older Chateaux in the Loire Valley. It was built by Francis I as a hunting lodge. It is mostly unfurnished. The staircase is absolutely amazing. We got some good pictures of the countryside from the “balcony” at the top of the stairs.

Then back on the bus for an hour drive to Chateau Chenonceau. Again, beautiful countryside between the two Chateaux. I think this was my favorite of the three Chateaus we visited. While the owners do not live in the Chateau itself they do have a cottage on the property where they do spend time. There is a maze on this property. The gardens were absolutely lovely. I walked around the ground floor rooms but decided not to go upstairs. I waited for Bob and the rest of the group outside enjoying the gardens and looking down the river at the changing leaves.

We ate lunch at a restaurant on the Chateau property.

Lunch

Chateau De Chenonceau

Bob: Terrine de Poisson, Soda

Iris: Hamburger, soda.

After lunch we still had a little time so Bob stayed around the Chateau to walk through the garden and I walked back towards the gift shop. Yes every Chateau has a give shop as you leave. Another way to help finance the upkeep of the Chateau.

Then it was back on the bus for an hour trip to our next Chateau, Chateau Cheverny. This Chateau is still owned and operated by the family who built it. The family lives in one wing of the Chateau and the rest of the house I open for tours. It is completely furnished.

After Cheverny it was back on the bus to head back to Paris. I enjoyed the trip back. The scenery was beautiful and it was a chance to just sit for a couple of hours.

This was a long day. We left our hotel about 6:30 AM and got back to Paris after 7:30 PM.

We decided to have dinner at the same Café we had lunch in on Sunday. The food we had on Sunday was good and it was close to our hotel.

Dinner

Le Canon De La Nation

Bob: Risotto Champignon, Affligem

Iris: Shrimps Et Salmon Cesear, Iced Tea