Cross Stitching on Linen or What Have I Gotten Myself Into!

Projects

Feeling crafty, I ordered a cross-stitch pattern and material. The pattern is a bit folky and I thought it looked like fun. A train station at Christmas time. I have not cross-stitched in years, but used to love it when I was a kid. I have always cross-stitched on aida cloth in the past and found it relaxing. This pattern, however, called for 30 count linen. Ok. So I ordered the supplies and, after they arrived, I sat down to begin.

But where to begin? 30 count linen does not have noticable holes like aida cloth. It is a much more tightly woven material. How on earth do I even count these holes! I had to google it. Ok, now I knew to count every other hole (if one can even call these holes) and stitch my crosses. I started in. Had to take my glasses off. Had to REALLY concentrate. Oh my! What have I gotten myself into! This was suppposed to be fun but now I had a headache.

After getting into the project, I got used to the material but needed to be under a good light source to work comfortably. For cross-stitching projects, I would not recommend linen to beginners. It would be way to frustrating. I would not recommend it to older persons or people with poor eyes either. While I like the look of the linen, I just do not enjoy working that small. I had also purchased 28 count linen. To tell the truth, there is really no significant difference between the 30 count and 28 count linen. Small is small. If I had seen the material before purchasing it on-line, I may have had second thoughts from the start. But by ordering things on-line, it is extremely hard to see exactly what one is in for. Of course, I could always use the materical for embroidery. We shall see…

From this photo one can see what I was working with. The 30 count in the center. The 28 count on the right looks no different to me. On the left is (Fiddler’s cloth) Aida cloth that is 14 count and the holes are much more visable.

As always, Happy Crafting!

My Take on Jet Lag

movie review

Jet Lag is a French, romantic comedy starring Jean Reno and Juliette Binoche. The movie is in French. Since my French is not up to par, I read the English sub titles. Really must work on my language skills…

Jet Lag takes place in an airport where Rose (a beautician/masseuse) finds out her flight has been delayed due to an airport strike. She has a mishap with her cell phone (quite hilarious) and asks to borrow the cell phone of a complete stranger, Felix. Felix (who is in the restaurant business) is on his way to the funeral of the mother of one of his exes. These two meet and part and then keep running into each other throughout the airport.

Because Felix is flying first class, he is being put up at the Hilton hotel. Seeing that Rose would have to sleep in the airport overnight and feeling sorry for her, Felix offers for Rose to join him at the hotel as there would be an extra bed in the room for her. Perfect roommates they do not appear to be. And the story continues…

I found Jet Lag to be a movie worth watching. It went a little deeper into pasts and feelings, so was really more than just a comedy. I enjoyed seeing the relationship develop and the character Rose, played by Binoche, was truely likable. Once the characters layers are peeled away, it shows how there is always more to someone than just appearances. Jet Lag will have you laughing aloud at times and the ending will be a perfect way to end the evening.

My Take on The Lady Vanishes

movie review

The Lady Vanishes is a black and white Alfred Hitchcock movie filmed in England in 1938. Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, and May Whitty are the main actors in this film. Of course, Alfred Hitchcock always appears as an extra in his films. So be sure to be on the lookout for him as well.

The setting for the film is a hotel in Europe and a train. Travelers are forced to stay at the hotel as an avalanche has postponed travel for the night. Iris Henderson is staying with her friends before catching a train to meet her fiance that she is not to eager to marry. While her friends are out, she tries to get some sleep and is disturbed by the noise of a folk musician in the room above. While going out into the hall to investigate the noise, she meets an older woman, Miss Froy. They talk about the noise and then say their goodnights.

Next day, the train is back on schedule. While waiting to board, Miss Froy drops her glasses and Iris goes to give them to her but takes a bump to the head that was meant for someone else. Miss Froy accompanies Iris to the train. Iris is in and out of sleep and then low and behold Miss Froy is nowhere to be found. Everyone that should have seen her has no recollection of her. Iris is beside herself. And so the mystery begins….

One really can not go wrong with an Alfred Hitchcock movie and this is no exception. I was drawn in from the beginning till the end. And believe me, the ending was a surprise. I highly recommend to all mystery buffs, The Lady Vanishes. It is an oldy but a goodie.

(movie still photograph from: https://talkfilmsociety.com/columns/beginners-guide-to-alfred-hitchcock-the-lady-vanishes)

Finished Just in Time for the Holidays

Projects

As I said in my previous post, (Cleaning-up the Pieces and Putting Them Back Together) I had begun a quilt that had been shoved to the back of the cabinet. I am pleased to say that after way too many years of procrastination, I have finally completed the Santa quilt! That is one task I can check off my list. One down, about four more to go. I’ll get there.

The Santa quilt was not hard to do, but it did take a bit of time. I, of course, had to change a few things along the way. First off, I left off the text. I decided I did not want the quilt to “say” a message. I did not feel it necessary. Also, my outer border is not as wide as what was called for. This is because I wanted to use the fabric I had on hand and I did not have enough for a wider border. But the biggest change I made was to what Santa is carrying in his hand.

“What do you think this is?” I asked my husband.

“A mouse,” he said.

I knew it! That is exactly what I thought it looked like too. The pattern is titled, Teddy Bear Santa, however, the “bear” looks more like a mouse. Its ears are too big and the snout is not quite right. So for my quilt, I made the teddy bear ears smaller. I also embroidered a mouth onto the snout. I am happy at how it turned out. I think those small changes make it look like the teddy bear it should be.

The Pattern
My finished quilt with my version of the teddy bear

One great benefit of making something oneself is that things can be changed. The pattern can be altered slightly to ones own taste. Why make something that will not please you, after all.

Well with that project finished, I will be off to the next one. Perhaps I will share it in a future post. As always, Happy Crafting!

Is This the Year of the Snake?

life

I have already shared my encounter with a snake while gardening this year. Was that not enough for one year? Well I guess not, for I had my second encounter recently. This one was a little too close for comfort. Not that comfort would ever be a word I would use when talking about snakes.

So this time, I had just come home from a shopping trip and parked my car in the garage. I got out and opened up the back hatch and took out my bags. As I was starting to shut the hatch, I looked down and AT MY FEET was a SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Need I say that the hatch did not get shut. I ran around to the back of the house with all sorts of thoughts running through my head. I peared in the window and found my husband sitting down to lunch. He let me in the back and then went out to check on the snake. Brave man! I did not want the snake in the car with the hatch left open or in our garage.

The snake was still there and not moving. Did I run it over? Was it dead? No, it was not flat or anything, just very still. This part I was told by my husband. I was not about to go out to see for myself.

So my husband checked out what type of snake it was that he was about to confront. It was a gopher snake. Since it was not poisonous, he moved it slightly with a stick to encourage it to go elsewhere. Apparently, it stuck its tongue out before heading down the driveway. EEKK!

I, as one might imagine, did not leave the house for the rest of the day. But afterwards, I had to wonder, was the snake there all along and I almost stepped on it or did it creep up on me? Yikes!

(Picture from: https://www.desertusa.com/reptiles/gopher-snake.html)

Mediterranean Tuna and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Cooking

Spaghetti with meat sauce is not the only way to eat pasta. I felt like a lighter dish last night. So I decided to head to the Mediterranean.

My recipe for Mediterranean Tuna and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta is a quick and easy, healthy dinner choice. Ready to try it? Let’s get started…

Mediterranean Tuna and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

2 cups of dried pasta (I used mini penne…but bow-tie would also be nice)

1 (5 oz.) can of tuna packed in water (drained)

1/3 cup or so Jar of Roasted Red Peppers (drained) (I buy the jar that is julienned)

1/4 cup sliced black olives (drained) {optional}

2 Tbsp olive oil

Crumbled Feta Cheese

Boil water in a medium pot. Cook pasta for 10 minutes or according to taste.

While the pasta is cooking, pour the olive oil in a medium saute pan and heat over medium heat. To this add the tuna, olives, and peppers. Saute for a few minutes. Add 1/3 cup of the boiling pasta water into the pan. Stir and continue to cook until incorporated and slightly thickened. Do not over cook this, or reduce the liquid.

Drain the pasta and pour into a serving bowl. Pour the tuna mixture over the pasta and toss to incorporate. Serve topped with crumbled feta cheese.

As always, Bon Appetite!

How Not to Store Embroidery Floss

Projects

I think we have all been guilty of putting things away without care. Stuffing things into a drawer, closet, purse, under the bed, wherever it may be, without worrying to much more about it at the time. Later, sometime down the road, the snowball effect happens and things become out of control. This is exactly what happened to my little bag of embroidery floss.

Honestly, I should have known better. Stuffing embroidery floss in a bag is not a good idea. The strands can not keep to themselves. Soon there is a big party going on in the bag and they are all playing twister. Now it is up to me to untwist all the strands!

Oh, why does she bother, one might think. Well, I do not like to waste, so I feel obligated to save the mess I have created. Plus, the cheapskate side of me says this is not only embroidery floss thrown out but money as well. So onto my task.

This lovely bag of floss would have remained as is had I not recently decided to make some new projects requiring said floss. That is what led to my motivation. So I spent a good amount of time yesterday untangling the mess. I will admit that there were a few casualties, but that can not be helped as the floss was in quite a state.

After entangling the floss, I decided to properly store them on plastic bobbins that are meant for floss to be wound around. These bobbins have holes in them that can be strung unto clips for individual projects. Genius! Now I feel all organized and am ready to start on my embroidery.

As always, Happy Crafting!

It’s Fall…Time For Lentil Soup

Cooking

It is finally beginning to feel like fall here in SoCal. We received frost on the ground a couple of nights ago, which seemed early for us. The leaves are starting to drop and a few are even changing colors. It is nothing compared to New England, but if one observes closely, the subtle changes are there. With fall in the air, I thought it a good time to make Lentil Soup.

Lentil Soup is an easy meal to make. It does require a bit of time on the stove, however, one can go about their business while the soup simmers. I like to serve warm biscuits or cornbread with my Lentil Soup. Here is the recipe…

Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 c onion- diced

2 medium carrots – diced

1 green pepper- diced

1 clove garlic- minced

32 oz. Chicken Broth

1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) (undrained)

1 cup dried lentils (rinsed and drained)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

4 tsp balsamic vinegar

pinch of salt

fresh or dried parsley (to taste)

Steps:

After chopping all the vegetables, heat the oil in a large sauce pot over medium heat. Add carrots, pepper, and onion and cook until softened a bit. Then add garlic and cook until the aroma of garlic is in the air.

Add the broth, tomatoes, and lentils to the pan. Sprinkle in the thyme and salt. Turn the heat to high until the soup comes to a boil. Once it begins to boil, turn the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 60 minutes.

When the timer goes off, add the balsamic vinegar and parsley and continue to cook for 5 minutes.

That’s it!

As always, Happy Cooking!

My Take on… Nottingham vs. Robin Hood

Book Reviews

I read the book Nottingham by Nathan Makaryk and was a bit disappointed. Is this the same Robin Hood that I remembered? Maybe it was time for me to refresh my memory. So here is where my research began.

My son was a HUGE fan of Robin Hood as a child. I even made him a Robin Hood costume for Halloween one year. So I went to the source to ask for a copy of The Adventures of Robin Hood. He leant me his copy, which I devoured. Now this was more like it!

Nottingham was a rewrite of the legendary Robin Hood story. It reads like a movie. Makaryk is writing his novel in a ‘what if?’ fashion, hence, changing things up a bit. He makes lesser characters have larger roles and greater characters have lesser roles. What has he done to Robin Hood?! In Makaryk’s version, it is made out that Robin Hood did not really want to help the poor and did the job only because he felt made to do it. Really! Come on! No, this was not how I remembered Robin Hood. I felt too much liberty was taken with the story, especially in the character of Robin Hood.

The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green, was on point to me. This was the Robin Hood who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. This was the Robin Hood who cared for his followers. Every chapter was interesting and had me wanting to continue. While Robin meets the same fate in the end of each novel, they are in two completely different ways. I prefer the storyline and ending in The Adventures of Robin Hood.

While Nottingham is a well written book, I felt that the book took too many liberties with the storyline and characters. I could forgive most of the changes, but not those to the integrity of Robin Hood. Maybe I just prefer classics to be left alone. After all, if it isn’t broke, why try to fix it?

My Take on…The Good Liar

movie review

The Good Liar is a good thriller. I was surprised at the turn of events that would happen in this movie. But after all, isn’t that what makes for a good thriller?

The movie starts out with Roy (played by Ian McKellen) and Betty (played by Helen Mirren) typing away on their computers. They are chatting in an online dating site. They decide to meet. Roy is a con artist who we soon find is after Betty’s money. But the story becomes more complicated than this.

The movie is set in modern day England. However, flashbacks to WWII Germany will have a significant importance to our characters today. That is all I will say so as not to spoil the movie. Both McKellen and Mirren did an outstanding job of acting in this movie.

The Good Liar was originally a book. I have not read the book, but can imagine it must be worth reading, as books are usually even better than movies. And this is a movie worth watching.

As always, Happy Viewing!