Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Baking bread, stitching slow

My husband looked at the ingredients on a loaf of bread last week. Saw all kinds of sugars and preservatives. Expensive, too.  So I thought, why not? I bought some yeast and flour and set out on the internet to find out how to make bread. I found Simple Dollar.  http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-cheap-delicious-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/

With easy step-by-step directions and photos, I found myself falling in love just as I had when I first picked up needle and thread. The first loaf wasn't horrible, but made for good practical experience.  My second loaf was much nicer.


Light, fluffy, and makes outrageously great toast. Looks like this household has seen the last of store-bought bread.

My blackwork has been slow going lately.  I've got a few "pay it forward" gifts to finish, and since I really liked the way the wedding invitations came out, I thought I'd send out greeting card collections to my FB friends.  The smalls I've posted on this blog are ideal for the project. 

My friend, Barb Day at Gypsy Wools recently posted some photos of a beautiful silk thread in the most amazing peacock blue....

I couldn't buy the floss, but it did inspire a new design that I stitched in DMC rayon (sorry, can't remember the color number).


Winter was long, spring was a tough, but as summer progresses, I'm finding myself embracing the joy of life again.  I hope the season brings you that same joy.



Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Back in the saddle again

My life has had a great deal of upheaval lately, and I just haven't had the energy to do much blogging. But I'm back in the saddle and looking forward to a summer full of new ideas and patterns.

The wedding invitations came out beautifully:


The wedding was a delight, as well:

Lindsay and Jon

Best wishes to the happy couple.