winter-y, pumpkin-y

I’m so happy! Pat who is the shop-owner of the LNS finished knitting my Midsome Mitts and I’m truly appreciative and so pleased by how they turned out. Aren’t they pretty? She did such a fantastic job. She was fast too. Go to Staci’s blog for the free pattern.

I started on Winter Row by Bent Creek. I don’t have a progress pic to share, but I started the first snowman. I’m using different color linen but the same count and I am using the recommended threads though.

This afternoon while the boys were attending school and dh was at work I decided to do some baking. I don’t get to bake very often but I’ve had this recipe for awhile now. I borrowed it from my mother and she borrowed it from her friend Judy. I believe she’s the source of the Pumpkin Coffee Cake. It is really good, however, next time I’m leaving out the chopped nuts. I can do without them. Nonetheless, it is good. I can’t wait until morning time. Coffee brewed, piping hot, and warm up that coffee cake. Yum-yum!

Pumpkin Coffee Cake Recipe

Ingredients:
½ c butter

¾ c sugar

1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs, beaten

2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

1 c sour cream

1 can pumpkin (16 oz)
1 egg, slightly beaten

1/3 c sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Streusel Topping:
1 c packed brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 c butter

1 c nuts, chopped

Directions:
Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Add 3 beaten eggs, beat well. Combine flour, baking powder and soda. Add to butter mixture, alternating with sour cream. Set aside. Combine pumpkin, 1 beaten egg, sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. Prepare topping by combining dry ingredients and cutting in the butter. Pour half of the batter into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Spread to cover the pan. Sprinkle half the topping mixture onto batter. Spread pumpkin mixture over the top. Spread remaining batter over pumpkin mixture. Spread the rest of the topping o the top over that. Spread remaining batter over pumpkin mixture. Spread the rest of the topping on top of batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

As I type I’m falling asleep. I guess that’s a sign I must retire for the night and call it quits. Talk soon….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

aside from stitching...a history lesson?

Thursday a friend and I went to Carnton Plantation in Historic Downtown Franklin where the Battle of Franklin took place during the height of the Civil War. It was one of the most intense, yet shortest (lasting only 5 hours) and bloodiest wars fought during the Civil War taking place the evening of November 30, 1864. Carnton Plantation was owned by a wealthy and well-known family named McGavock. There are roads named after the family and 3-4 other plantation homes surrounding Nashville. President Andrew Jackson was a very close friend of the McGavock family and even stayed at their home many times during his travels. [The Hermitage (located east of Nashville) is another town/plantation, tourist spot which is the home of Andrew Jackson.]

This entire area is one giant battlefield. It’s quite extraordinary really. Historical societies and private organizations are still excavating the grounds and finding Civil War relics. The history that Nashville and the surrounding area has to offer is amazing. A lot of people don’t know, and I didn’t either until now, is that Nashville was one of the more important cities back then for supplying the Union army with whatever they needed which was a pretty big army. Everything was sent through Nashville for the entire south – pretty amazing stuff.

Photos are not allowed taken inside the home, but we are free to take ones outside. I only took a few. This photo is actually of the back of the house. Funny how the door is off center. In the main living room I noticed a ball of yarn and sheets of paper on a table. Naturally, I had to check it out. It was counted cross stitch from the 1850s. The tabletop had a removable lid and inside was more sheets of cross stitch. I guess these girls drew cross stitch patterns for themselves. It was so neat!

A view from the back porch. It’s a breathtaking view looking out into open fields with trees here and there. I can just imagine no trees at all during the 1800s. Seeing as far as the eye can see and poor Carrie McGavock (pictured above at her engagement) coming onto her porch the morning of November 30 and witnessing two giant armies, each 20,000 strong lining themselves for battle, one in the south and one to the north, on their property. Can you imagine? This family had nothing to do with what was about to take place. It just so happened that their house was right in the middle of this battle and it served as a hospital for the wounded and dying Confederate soldiers. Four generals died on this back porch.

The 2-story brick house with 2 doors was the slave quarters. One side was for sleeping and cooking. The other was for wool making and textiles. I wished I had photographed in there and am slapping myself for not. The McGavock family owned a total of 39 slaves. Some field slaves and some house slaves. Interestingly, there was a slave named Mariah (I think). She had been with the family for decades. After the war and after the Emancipation Proclamation she made the decision to stay with the family instead of being a free woman. In fact, she stayed with the family until her death. Even though slaves were not taken well care of, the slaves of the McGavock family, especially Mariah, had it better than most in the south. The small white brick house on the right was the family’s smoke house. We all know what a smoke house is, but they also made candles and other supplies in there as well. This is where they stored meat and other goods through the winter.

Here is inside the smoke house and this is just one of two giant dug out logs the family used to house meat and other goods. What’s amazing about the inside is that it still, after all these years, smells like smoke and a hint of meat. The roof is blackened and ash still remains on the walls and on the floor.

In the end, neither side won this battle in Franklin. The battle at Carnton Plantation was completely unnecessary and it was never about or for the Village of Franklin. It was about taking Nashville (about 20 miles north of Franklin) which the Union finally did win. The Confederate suffered more loss than the Union at Carnton but no one won. Each suffered great loss. The McGavock family literally went through hell this evening on the 30th of November 1964 doing all they could to sooth, mend, “put down,” house, and give peace to wounded and dying Confederate solders, and forever changing their own lives.

They continued to live at Carnton until the early 1900s. The entire McGavock family, cousins and extended, are buried just steps away from their home in their private cemetery along with the thousands of known and unknown Confederate solders that died in and around their home. I can’t imagine this battle being fought in their front yard. They owned the 600 acres surrounding their house which was the battleground and the land that encroaches downtown Franklin. Forty-thousand plus men on foot and horse, along with cannons and wagons and other supplies traipsing across the landscape at 4:00 pm. Amazing!

For those wondering what “Carnton” means it is derived from a Gaelic word cairn that means “a pile of stones”. A cairn is sometimes a pile of stones marking a grave. It’s fitting for a place like the Carnton Plantation.

Well, that’s all for the agonizing history lesson - LOL. I had a fabulous time there and always do and even though this was my third tour in 16 years I learn something new each time I go. I’ll probably go again sometime in the future and really study the graves next time around. Thanks for listening to how my Thursday went. Our dinner tonight was roasted lemon chicken, baked beans, and macaroni and cheese – Kraft style. ;-) Dessert? Pumpkin Coffee Cake! (More on that later.) Talk soon!

it IS a sickness after all

Okay! Well! My needles are either on fire or I’m extremely nuts…maybe a little of both. LOL I meant to post this last night, but actually began falling asleep on the keyboard (no kidding) and had to shut it and myself down. This proves I am nuts (in a good way), and tired. I finish-finished two projects after I made my post yesterday which proves that my needles are indeed on fire including my embroidery needle and sewing machine.

28 ct. Natural linen
Recommended GAST
Lizzie*Kate

I finished November flip-it into a needle cushion. I filled it with crushed corn. How suitable, don’t you think? It’s so dainty and cute. Feels like a little bean bag. I like it and Jose likes it too. He thinks it’s cute. I'm really glad he likes one of my handmade pieces, but he's NOT getting it!

28 ct. Lambswool linen
Over-dyed threads
primitivebettys

Better late than never I suppose. I stitched Hallow’s Eve a year ago. I even machine quilted the framework of fabric around the stitched piece, but I never finish-finished it. So disappointing b/c I wanted it done so badly. Oh well. At least I got it done and I was able to use my black ric rack. I do love my ric-rack.

We finally settled on pizza for dinner last night. And my third tour of the Carnton Plantation was cancelled today but we’re going Thursday instead. I’m home alone right now, can you believe it? It’s so quiet, except for my teeny taps on the keys. I’m going to get off and see what I can get into while the boys are away. Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments. I adore each and every one of you! Talk soon!

november & dashing

As of late, I am literally on fire. I just started the November flip-it Sunday night and finished it last night. I’ve had so many finishes lately. I’m not sure what my craze is. I think it’ll become a needle cushion or it can just sit in a basket or atop a shelf through November. I also started something new while at mom’s yesterday. Stacy Nash’s Dashing Through the Snow. It’s a cute primitive piece.

I love that squirrel charm. Squirrels remind me of my Grandparents b/c they used to feed them from their dining room window, and Grandpa used to feed them outside on the porch. Some squirrels would sit on his lap and eat from his hand. There have been a few bites to the hands, but that never stopped Grandma and Grandpa from feeding the squirrels peanuts. Squirrels ran through the house a few times as well. LOL Wonderful memories!

I’m stitching this on 32 ct linen hand-dyed by me. I like it so far. It’ll help with the overall primitive feel. I’m using the recommended threads - can’t go wrong sticking with the SN recommendations.

That’s all I have for now. The sun is starting to lose its appeal. Going bye-bye! The days are so short now, but the weather has been fantastic! Tomorrow I’m taking my third tour of the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, TN with a friend of mine. It’s an awesome place with tremendous history. The Battle of Franklin during the Civil War was fought there. Well, Jose will be home from school shortly, Cameron is still napping, and I have no clue what's for dinner. WOW! Talk soon!

a busy bee

I felt like a queen bee today tending to my hive. In this case the “hive” stands for all my activities not home. First I went for my routine walk. It was g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s! Our high was in the mid-70's - can’t beat that. Afterwards, I went to the FedEx office store (used to be Kinko's) to make copies and print off my Jane Austen sampler for an upcoming project. Here are the ingredients:

Not too long ago, Alma and Barb’s blog had the best tutorial on how to cover a paper mache box, which I’ve done before, but they added one small clever detail to their box that I have not yet tried. They copied a favorite Quaker sampler and inserted it inside the entire box. It is so, so adorable. I just had to make one so I began the process today. The two pieces of reproduction fabric above are of original color. I adopted Blackbird’s way of removing color.

I experimented with removing color from two pieces of fabric with Rit dye color remover as they did. Blackbird was right. You have to remove that fabric quick or else. Thankfully I read their instructions twice over and was ready to take the fabric out as fast as I was at putting them in. I let the pieces air dry in the sun for a couple of hours. Here they are color removed, after drying, and before ironing. I’ve ironed them since and they look so soft and old. I love how they turned out. I’ll work on the sizing and slicing of fabric as soon as possible. I’m in no rush.

Jo March says…

I finished stitching Little Women Saturday night. I started it Friday afternoon so a fairly quick stitch indeed. I picked these two pieces of fabric a year ago for this design and they look better now than they did before. I’m glad I picked them. =)

I’m shocked I had bells in my finishing drawer, but they work, don’t they? They add a nice “ring” to the piece – LOL. Tanya was right. Christmas doesn’t always have to be in red and green. PINK will work just as well. The pink and green stripes remind me of candy canes so it definitely works for this piece. The pink with green stripes is the backing fabric while the just pink stripes are for the bottom panel.

Here it is all made up. It’s done on 28 ct linen that I hand-dyed with a pomegranate and that was a year ago. Surprisingly its managed to keep its color nicely. I used the recommended DMC thread – only three colors. I used a ribbon that had polka dots on it which compliments the berries, wouldn’t you agree? :o) Anyhoo, can’t wait to get this out for Christmas and jingle those bells!

While I was in the spirit of finishing projects and starting others I decided to get threads together for the November flip-it by Lizzie*Kate. This needs to get stitched b/c it is November – can’t waste anymore time. Aren’t the colors pretty with this one? I think so. I love those rich colors. I’m going to turn this one into a little needle cushion.

Last, but never ever, ever least is Cameron being ever so sweet and cute. I cut his hair Saturday night and as mothers we know how much older our toddlers look once we make those snips. I leave you with him playing outside today in the yard and the car.

Enjoy your Monday! We’re spending ours at Nana’s house – Yay!!! Talk soon!

decisions

With trying to keep with the holiday spirit (so not me but trying to find cheer in it) and after much inner struggles I have decided to put any project that doesn’t ring Thanksgiving, fall, Christmas, or winter aside for the time being and focus on just the fall thru winter projects. I need and want more pieces to fill my home that reflect the season which unfortunately I don’t have much of.

I’m putting Mayflower Landing by LHN away even thou it will be greatly missed. I just haven’t touched it in over a month. My focus over the next couple of months is ornaments and anything winter-ish and fall. For example, I just pulled out Little Women yesterday and look how far I am already.

This is proving to be a quick stitch and much loved. Upon looking through Tanya’s Booklet One I noticed several other Christmas themed stitches that look fun and quick – I’m going to look into those as well.

When going through my stash of charts I noticed I have Paulette’s Christmas Tea design which I really want to stitch, but I need to get the Belle Soie silks first. Also, go check out Paulette's freebie bok-bok turkey - so cute! I have a teeny tiny November pillow to stitch up by Lizzie*Kate that I need to get a move on with before the month is over. There is at least a couple of other Christmas themed projects I want to start, but I won't bore you with those now; not in this post anyway. And I have the yearly stitching project for mom to do. Ahhh...! What are us stitchers to do with all this stash and not enough hands or time to stitch it all in??? Seriously! It’s overwhelming, don’t you think.!?

Anyhoo, my walk was fantastic. It was extremely windy though which was fine b/c I actually broke a teeny tiny sweat – that sun was just blazing. It was wonderful! I think the weather will be about the same Sunday so looking forward to another round. =) Well, I’m off. Cameron is napping and I’d like to get some stitching in or whatever I can do before he wakes. Talk soon!

pillow talk

NOT!!! We aren’t that intimate, are we? LOL But I do have finished pillows to share with you. The first…

Give Thanks by Heartstring Primitives. I decided on a cupboard pillow finish for this one b/c of its width yet small size. To keep with fall and the pumpkin theme I used a jute-type cording for a hanger which I really like. Stitched on 18th Century Grey linen by R&R. I used a combination of Crescent Colours and GAST threads. There are a couple of mistakes, but I decided on keeping them. I backed it with an orange batik fabric which really compliments the pumpkins and the overall feel of autumn. I am pleased overall. I hope Beth likes it too! =) It’s my first finish of hers.

My other conversation pillow piece is…

Crows by Bent Creek. I finished stitching this a couple of weeks ago but procrastinated sewing it up into a long pillow. I kept with the fall theme again and filled it with crushed corn that I got from the pet store months and months ago. I’ve used it before for filling and it works great. I’m just happy I have it finished-finished. I’m pleased with having something else for fall.

Finally, this will ultimately become a pillow…

Little Women by The Sampler Girl. This design comes from Booklet One back in December 2008. I pulled this out for two reasons. First, because I recently started reading "Little Women" in which the very first sentence reads “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents” grumbled Jo March. This brings me to my second reason. Reading that sentence reminded me that I had Booklet One; that this design was included, and that I began gathering materials when it came out. Right after I took the photo of my necessaries, I put the first several stitches in. See, it says Christ already. I hand-dyed that fabric myself with pomegranate – that was a fun and messy experience. Ironically I feel in the spirit to stitch something Christmas-y (so not me) so in feeling this way I had to watch something Christmas-y…so in went Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase. I’m a weirdo, I know. Chevy doesn’t coincide with the March sisters, but that’s me. Miss. Weirdo!

Anyway, I can’t wait to go walking Saturday. Nashville’s high will be in the 70’s and not a cloud to touch us with low humidity. OMG! That is P*E*R*F*E*C*T weather people and I’m taking advantage of it with a nice looooong walk. Ah, I cannot wait to get out there! I’ve been pumped all day for it. I must go. I want to stitch more on Little Women. Thanks for listening to my “pillow talk” ;-). Talk soon!

give thanks

I finished stitching this freebie last night.

By Heartstring Primitives. I made a couple of mistakes, but I’m not going to correct them. I accept small mistakes such as these.

And I give thanks for moments like these…

After school specials.

Goodnight everyone. Talk soon!