Christmas and Beef Bourguignon

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  I had a nice weekend visiting family and seeing how much older all my nieces and nephews are getting.  It is so hard to believe they were just little things when I got married and they were in my wedding or they were in diapers.  Now all but three are taller than me and the last three are gaining.  I will again be the shortest one in family by next year. 

Two of my nephews where quite excited this year to bend down and give me a hug and rest their arms on my head and pretend they could not see me because I was sooo short.  Granted they both did this on their own without each other because one is from my family the other from Brian's family.  I thought that was pretty funny.  I did get my revenge I made sure and kiss them both he he.  I think that will be always be my ultimate Aunt revenge.


I did get a wonderful gift from Brian.  He normally does a theme for my gifts one year was traveling and he got me a cookbook from around the world and a Japanese block print calendar and learn Japanese on CD (I am still working on that.)  This year was cooking (he really likes it when I cook if you could not tell)  he got me the Julie/Julia movie and Julia's Kitchen Wisdom.  If you have seen the movie you will know that Julie in the movie loves Beef Bourguignon not just any Beef Bourguignon it is Julia's Beef Bourguignon.  So of course after watching the movie this weekend I was compelled to make Julia's Beef Bourguignon. 

After starting at 1:30 p.m. today and eating at 5:30 p.m. it was so freakin' fantastic it was worth the wait.  I know buttermilk biscuits are not french but they just seemed like the right thing to make.  I know I will make this again just on a I want to cook weekends.  I find it relaxing to have a meal that takes so long to cook.  The smell wafting through the house just makes you feel all homey and makes you want to watch an old movie while you wait for the food to be ready.  At least that is what is does for me. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and if you do not celebrate Christmas I hope you had a good Holiday and had plenty of family time. 

~B

Coats & Clark Book No. 180

This from the Coats & Clark Book No. 180.  It is a very simple patter but would look great with bright colors. 

Enjoy it.

~B

Tea Towel Tour V

The tea towel has been going on since September this year.  I was not able to actually participate this go around because I knew I would be to busy. 

I did instead agree to be a group leader.  It was fun as always and the gallery is fantastic.    My group was winding down and I was a bit sad that I did no participate in the swap, well sulky is more like it.  A couple of days ago I got the best package in the mail.  The ladies in my swap all decided to send a towel around for me.  They are fantastic!!  I thought I would share their lovely embroidery.  Did you by any chance notice they all have bees in the theme.  It really is the best!

I only know two people that did the embroidery so far.  I do hope they will let me know which ones they did so that way I can give them credit. 

Hope you are all enjoying your last week before Christmas. 

~B

Sunshine

This is what I am wishing was out right now the SUN!  It has been a cold 12 degrees here with a wind so it is even colder.  I hope in your neck of the woods it is nice. 

Enjoy the Vintage Aunt Martha pattern.

~B

Vogart 141

This is a Vogart 141 pattern.  I like the little daisy flowers.  I also have the heart apron pattern and the regular apron pattern.  I really should make these some time to use around the holidays.


Hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day.

~B

Clark's Book No. 180

This is a sweet pattern by Coats and Clark Book No. 180.  I just love embroidering flowers.  I am also providing the pages that tell you how to embroider it.  I just love following old patterns it makes me think outside of the box on stitches that I might not have used before.

Have fun and Happy Thanksgiving.
~B

Transfer Tuesday

These two are ones I hope to actually embroider in the near future.  They are from Coats & Clark's Book No. 143-6.  I really like all the details on the flower just trying to figure out the best transfer method so I do not blur all my lines together. 

My favorite method is the sulky transfer pen but it is a bit thick.  I do also like the pencil but my hand always hurts after using the pencil and that is a lot of transferring. 

Does anyone else have a better method?

~B

Sorry this is late I had lots of problems trying to post this.  I lost it 3 times and finally gave up and decided to give it one last shot.  Crossing my fingers.

Transfer Tuesday???

I know it is not Tuesday sorry about that.  I caught a cold and have been out of sorts for the last couple of days and today as well.  I had cold medicine I walk around in a cloud.  For a belated Veterans Day pattern enjoy the cross stitch pattern. 

This comes from Coats & Clark's Book No. 129.  

~B

Transfer Tuesday

Tuesday is not over yet better late than never right?  This girl is a favorite of mine.  She reminds me of that scene in Fiddler on the roof when the Russians put bottles on their heads and dance.  I love that scene.  I hope you have a good what is left of Tuesday. 

~B

Who Said Disney on Ice is Just for Kids??

I would have never said that ..... actually I did. when I agreeded to go with Brian's family this weekend.  I said we are going to be the only ones without children and I was right.

We still had a blast look at the cool tulip hat and some flashy glasses I bought.  They have three different light speeds.  I wore them for part of the show but they just kept steaming up so I could not wear them the entire time.  I did wear them on the way home and while at home hence the picture taken in my PJs. (the peace sign I have no idea why I do it, it is just my signature in all my pictures since I was 8)

The ice skaters were amazing.  I love watching ice skating and ballet (can not wait for the Olympics).  Brian and I hope to maybe actually go to see Nutcracker in Seattle this Holiday season we will see it all depends if I can get time off.  I started a new job and it is pretty much just me covering everything in the office so we will see how that all works out.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. 

~B

Transfer Tuesday

Here is a favorite Workbasket, Days of the Week Bears.  They are all so cute in the way they are dressed up and doing all shorts of cute things.  I just adore cartoon bears, there is just somethign about a cute cuddly thing that in real life could kill you I guess.  The full set can be found here. 

I am really not sure on the year of any of my workbasket patterns.  Last year I won a box of Workbasket patterns on ebay that weighted 8.5 lbs 8.5lbs!!  I was shocked when it arrived and at how heavy and full the box was. 

I do get a bit overwhelmed when I go through my pattterns and see how many I own and I wonder if I will ever get a chance to actually embroider them all or will someone end up buying them at a yard sale after I pass away and use them for her collection.

I have given some away on this blog and I probably will give some more away in the near future as a way to ease my mind so keep checking back.

I have several vintage cross stitch patterns please let me know if you are interested in having them posted on a Tuesday.
Have a good day.
~B

P.S. It was brought to my attention that people were not able to download my transfer last week.  I have since changed my permissions and it should not be a problem now.  Happy Stitching!

Tuesday Transfer Day

I have really missed sharing vintage transfers ever since the Vogart scare of 2008.  Most of my vintage patterns had been Vogart so it really had diminished my fun of sharing those patterns with everyone.  I have since bought lots of Workbasket patterns and other non-Vogart ones.  My plan is to share one pattern a week here on Tuesdays I hope you will come by to see them.  I will also be throwing in an occasional Vogart pattern.
This week it does happens to be Vogart pattern 707 I have shared it before but hope you will still like it.  This one is is one of my favorites because of the roses and the little birdy trying to play that violin.  Bless its soul it will never work.

This is my favorite rose and I do hope you enjoy it.   If you stitch it up let me know, I love to see how other choose their colors. 

Come back next Tuesday for a new transfer.

~B

What a Weekend!

Friday night I worked on the the Robot Devil shirt for Brian.  He was pretty excited the whole night since every time I lifted the hoop to tie off the backside and switch threads he would peek over and smile like a kid on Christmas waiting to open presents.  So I ended up staying up until 2:30 am to get it finished.  So  he could wear it the next day.

It was not one of my brightest moments since I had to get up at 6am to get ready to go shopping with my Mom.  We had planned a shopping trip to spend some of my birthday money.  It was a fun and busy day even though I was still dead tired.  I did get some great deal and lots of pretty clothes and jewlery.  It was almost like going back to school shopping having trying on clothes and asking my Mom what she thinks.  Funny how it is the little things that make you feel young again.  I think I need more those feelings.  Because most of the time I feel a bit old. 

While I was in town I muster up the energy to go to Joanns and spend a gift certificate my work gave me for my birthday.  I was able to get 30 new skeins of floss and 4 new boxes for my floss.  The hinges on one of my boxes broke and I was just going to buy two boxes one as a replacement and one to hold extra but they were buy one get one so of course I had to get four.  I still have $6 left.  I guess I could always get more floss.  I only have 2 full boxes of DMC floss and one full of silk floss and one with hand dyed floss I am not sure if that is enough. 

I think I need to get cracking on a new project and stop hording floss.  What are you all working on?  Any ideas I am at a loss at what to do next.  All of my patterns are starting to look the same the more I look through them.

I will take pictures of the Robot Devil shirt once it is out of the laundry tomorrow. He wore it right away and I did not get a chance to take a picture of it. Brian now has plans for a Zoidberg t-Shirt. What have I started??

~B

My Place to Relax

Since the weather is dipping down at night in the 30's we have re-arranged our living room so we can use the fireplace at night to be nice and cozy.  Nothing is better than watching movies by firelight. 

When we moved I was able to finally moved my craft light somewhere so it would not be in the way.  I am at peace with my living room arrangement.  Trust me it has been a struggle it is strange shaped room.  I am actually standing in a door way taking this picture.  It is nice and cozy yet roomy.  So this is where I embroider and knit, while I watch movies LIKE KUNG FU PANDA.  Oh sorry I love that movie I have watched it I swear like 15 times.  Although I have not watched it as much as I have watched Pride and Prejudice.  I like watching movies I have seen before because they are comforting and I do not have to really pay attention.  Any movie suggestions?

Recently I went to see Whip it and now I am hooked on Roller Derby stuff.  I remember seeing Laverne and Shirley when they had to be in a Roller Derby and I have loved it sense then but it went away and now it has been revived so much that I rented Roller Girls season 1 on netflix.  That is what made me make a shirt for myself with this Roller Gal on it.  I think her name should be Deadly Daisy I have no idea why I just do.   So when the other discs come I will wear my t-shirt while I watch it.  The funny thing is that Brian is actually into the series as much as I am.  I think that is why I love him to much he is just as silly as me.


So my review of my craft stand.  I love it!  It makes embroidering on T-Shirts so much easier because I can use both hand to help with the stretchy material.  I have not been a fan of interfacing like others are. I think it is user error on my part but I like to go naked. 

Now that I said it makes doing T-Shirts easier Brian already has two in mind and wants to me to start ASAP.  So I am off to start a Robot Devil T-Shirt that is way over due.  I made a Bender one awhile back you can see it here and after I made it I promised him a Robot Devil so you can see it has been awhile. 

Have a nice weekend everyone.
~B

A little bit of embroidery

I have not been embroidering for awhile.  We have been so busy going here and there I have not had time to pick out all my colors and prepare them to be toted around.  So for the last 3 weeks in my time at home I have been embroidering this pattern from Coats and Clark Book No. 143  I actually decided to use the colors they suggested.  In retrospect I would probably not use that much green it seems to overwhelm the piece. 


The deer was my favorite not to favorite part because I decided to tackle the long and short stitch.  I did not succeed.  It is very lumpy and wonky in lots of parts, but I am working on it.  If you have any tips please do share I can use all the help you can spare. 

One another note, my birthday was last month (we will not discuss age) it was fun and Brian was so sweet he bought me a universal craft stand.  I put it together but I have not used it much.  I think I will like it for doing french knots and other difficult stiches because it will keep my hands free.  Right now I see the only problem is I tend to move my hoop as I stitch and that might be difficult with the stand.  I do like that is it short and very compact we have a small house so space is a premium.  I plan to play around with it this week and I will let you know what I think later on. 

Does anyone else have a stand, if so any tips?

Knitted Goodness

I have had a lot of road trips this summer and with most of them being camping I decided I would take knitting instead of my embroidery. I tend to lose those small embroidery needles and then I would probably step on them in the car. I do that in the house and that is bad enough.

The Monkey is Mr. B.A. Foster. (B.A. stands for Ben Anise) B.A. is a bit of a character always trying something. First of all he thought he should drive when we went to Portland and we had to tell him no. Then he thought he should have our lunch.

We finally got him to sit in the backseat and leave us alone while we ate. Cheeky little monkey.

After we bought our Bug I was looking on etsy for anything VW bugish and I found this lovely pattern. It has a bus, bug and scooter. I did make the bus for my T. He loves it and it sits on top of his computer desk.

What have you done this summer and what have you made?

~Bekah

New Project

I have wanted a VW Bug since my parents got rid of theirs in the 80's. I was so excited when T and I decided to start looking for one. We found this one a 1968 VW Beetle. We were hoping to find a 1975 since that is the we both were born but all those were either just shells or junk. Oh well, we might have to try and get a 1975 VW Bus instead.

This one does looks terrible but the engine is pretty sound. Although, we did have a fun time getting it home. We were about half an hour from the place we bought it and an hour from home when the fuel line came loose. That was fun here it is 9:30 at night on the side of the freeway trying to get it to start. I was pretty glad T was able to fix it enough I could coast to the next exit and get to the gas station. We temporarily fixed it enough to get home. I was glad since I was driving it. I think I also forgot to mention that the breaks were iffy so ... well that is a longer story. The point is it is home and ready for us to work on it.  Next time we are towing.

We plan on doing the interior first and hopefully get it painted in the spring or summer next year. I am so excited I can barely stand it.

Hope you all are having a great summer.

~Bekah

What a Weekend!

We had quite a weekend first on Saturday I was scrambling to finish two birthday presents for a double birthday party on Sunday. (Yes I always leave things to the last minute I work better under pressure, or that is my excuse.) I was finishing embroidering an apron for my niece and I only had 7 french knots left when we heard a huge zap then the power went out and flicked back on and went out again. I could not believe it. It was about 8:00 pm. We had a little light but not enough to see the faint line that I had ironed on. So I could not finish the embroidery or sew on the ribbon. Did I mention the party was on Sunday. I was a bit concerned that I would not get the apron done or the hankies that I was making for my FIL since I had not even printed out the pattern.

We of course made the best of the time we played Yahtzee by candlelight. It was fun and I won two out of three so it was a good night. By the time we started the third game the power came back on and we turned off the lights and finished the game. It was lots of fun. I think we should play more games by candlelight.


On Saturday morning I woke up early and was able to get the apron finished, ribbon sewn on, print and embroider the hankies, wash and starch them. I was glad the party was later in the afternoon. I was so tired that I went to bed early but then we were awakened at around 1:30 am to a huge downpour. I mean like as if a sprinkler was broken and shooting water everywhere. That is quite unusual for this side of Washington. We are on the desert side sagebrush and everything. I do miss living on the other side of the mountains but do not miss the Seattle traffic.

Am I the only one that waits until the last minute?

***Then yesterday as I was getting ready to post this our Internet and cable went out. Man when it rains it pours. he he. Oh well all is well today. Have a good one everyone.

Summer Thunder Storms

I love summer thunder storms! I could sit here all night and watch the lightening and listen to the thunder. I wish I could capture this with my camera and show you, instead I will show you what I have been up.



Last year I spent most of it not embroidering but collecting things to embroider on and embroidery patterns. So this year I decided I really should use all those patterns and materials. I have this bee fabric that was just dieing to be a lining for a tote bag and it also gave me a chance to use one of my vintage patterns.

This pattern is a Vogart 293. This was the first Vogart pattern I ever bought I just loved all the bees. I hope you will enjoy this pattern.

What have you been up to?

~Bekah

Spring is Here

Spring is finally here in my neck of the woods. The evenings are still cold but the days are beautiful and warm. I tend to get a bit of spring fever this time of year and can not concentrate on anything all I want to do it be outside and camping. In an effort to calm my self I am been embroidering a lot.

This is from a Design 7228 pattern. I used a varigated red floss and lined the tote with some apple fabric. I am not sure what I will do with it yet keep it for myself or give it to my sister-in-law she is an elementary school music teacher and loves all the apple stuff. Still deciding....



Hope you all are enjoying the spring weather (if you have it).
~Bekah

Random Things

I was tagged by SewSugarySweet on flickr. Here are 16 random things about myself.

1. My Mom calls me Sis

2. My Dad calls me Kid

3. My Husband calls me Bee

4. My name is Rebekah

5. I do not make the bed everyday (for that matter I really do not make it until all the covers are tangled at the bottom of the bed)

6. I drink milk with my pizza

7. I like ketchup on my tacos

8. I have 3 nephews

9. I have 4 nieces (one of them is in the picture above with me)

10. I look like a midget with my husband's family and average height with my family.

11. I love old movies and musicals

12. I am learning to speak Japanese for fun

13. I love to bake and make-up my own recipes

14. I have a 10yr old bassett hound

15. Fall is my favorite time of year

16. I love ice cream (especially my home made ice cream)

So consider yourself tagged! Let me know if you decide to do it.

~B