Futurecast HD

Here's my second Futurecast by Teresa Wentzler. In 2006, I did a blue/silver version that I called Ice. I had the idea to flip the image and do a fire version. It took me a while to find an overdyed floss I liked (this still isn't "fire" enough for me)...and then I didn't work on it for a few years. I got the urge to work on this one again the other day, and since my mom's out of town and Matt and I had full babysitting duties, I worked on this one most of the weekend.

Logan is thankfully leaving my cross stitch stuff alone, with some reinforcement, but when you're the only caregiver, it's too much work to be able to stitch for any continuous amount of time. The boy's a handful!

Cupcakes: The cupcakes I've been featuring in my blog are from the book Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. You can probably also find them online if you do a search.

Sweetheart Needleroll HD

This one was very quick to stitch. I'm not fond of the eyelets that every one of these has. There isn't much space to anchor the thread, and the eyelets rarely come out looking good since they're done with perle cotton (or maybe it's just me). One of the eyelets also had a big slub get in the way--ugh. I do like the look of the needlerolls, and the stitching itself is fun (other than the eyelets). I have two left, though I'm missing some champagne/putty fabric for one of them. I'll wait to order it once I need something else because you know I'll need something else right after I place the fabric order.

I've been agonizing over what to stitch for the By the Sea exchange for HoE. I should get my partner's name today. I usually like to pick the chart after I get the name so I can stitch something she likes. But this one only has a month before it's mailed out, which probably doesn't leave enough time to order a chart. I've already checked the LNS. I probably would have stitched the Just Nan mermaid piece if Ginger's would have had it in stock.

Chocolate chip cupcakes

I think these were my favorite so far. The cupcake is white with semisweet chocolate chips, and the icing is dark chocolate with nonpareils (like a Snowcap!). I made a batch of these and some cheesecake cupcakes for a birthday party (which I didn't get to go to because I had to stay home with Logan). They were a hit; I got a lot of nice comments after the fact. :-)

It's also time for my ort jar and the Totally Useless SAL.

Victorian Floral HD

I finished this needleroll yesterday (I'll put it together later). I had thought about stitching it on something other than white since so many of these are white, but even cream fabric had the colors washing out. The next one is antique white (almost indistinguishable from white), and the floss colors are also very pale.

Spring Faerie HD

Here she is! This one definitely took longer than the other two. I think it just had more confetti to it. I also didn't preblend my floss on this one. Oh, and there's Warhammer Online, which we just started playing....

So to talk about recent stash acquisitions... When I went to Ginger's this past weekend, I picked up Bewitching Cross Stitch. She said she orders one copy at a time, and they keep disappearing! So I obliged and made this one disappear. I also picked up an embroidery pattern, Zelda's Fancy Hat. Matt spotted it, and he knows how much I like Halloween items. I haven't done embroidery in a long time, but I just have to do this one. I'll need to go shopping for some black fabric. Also, today a pattern came in from an eBay auction, Quilted Bear by Just Nan. I have been looking for this one for a long time, and now I have it!

What to start next...I may work on Lady of Shalott or one of my other WIPs. We'll see what bubbles to the surface.

Spring Faerie update

Not far now! I should be able to finish the stitching and beading this week.

I made a trip in to Austin this weekend to pick up my reframed Dragon Alphabet. I'll get some pics up soon. I also bought a few items at Ginger's, which I'll tell you about too. ;-)

Cupcakes: It's time for another cupcake. This is marble cupcake, and it tasted great. It's very light, though I kept choking on the fine texture. You shouldn't breathe in your cupcakes!

Tulip Time Needleroll HD

I finally finished this Sweetheart Tree needleroll. I've been working on it here and there for over a month. I'll turn it into a needleroll later, when the mood strikes me.

So I now have four more ST needlerolls to go. I plan to do them all because I'm a completist. I have to admit they're getting tedious by now because they're all so similar, but I just have to look at my basket of needlerolls to know it's worth it. I think they're so pretty.

I made a small purchase recently. I bought a "beading mat" in order to make the minimum order when I needed to replace my plastic bead case (which I shattered). What came in was a thick piece of fuzzy fabric, kind of like velour. I was skeptical to say the least. I tried it today, and it's actually pretty nice! My beads don't go skittering across my desk anymore to land somewhere in the carpet (and accompanying dog fur) where they're lost forever. I also picked up a little wooden bellpull rod; I can never find those when I need them.

Recipe

Zeb asked for the recipe for the Boston cream pie cupcakes. Ta da.

Spring Faerie update and Boston cream pie cupcakes

I got a pretty good bit done this week, with the holiday. Another two weeks should do it. But Matt and I have started playing Warhammer Online, which has taken up a good bit of time lately. (If anyone wants a key for a free trial, let me know.)

Cupcakes: Last week I made Boston cream pie cupcakes, which tasted really good. I now have a good recipe for pastry cream and chocolate ganache! The cupcakes were rather messy. I think a cake is a better choice than a cupcake for these.