Exciting Day! Aurifil & Pumpkins!

Today is an exciting day!!!

Roseann has designed a super cute block for Aurifil and I'm kind of dying! I loved reading about her and her inspiration. Plus, seeing where she creates! eek! Super fun! Swing by and check it out. So far I'm *loving* the 12wt cotton, it's really fun to work with! AND! If you make the block and put it in the flickr group, you can win free thread! Who doesn't love free thread?!

The Pumpkins have released the first dessert! A champagne truffle!!! He's bubbly, booze-y and a great way to play with sparkle floss! To sign up for the full year, click here We are working out how to get the first month back to an automatic download but in the meantime after you sign up, I'll be emailing the files manually :) We had a little computer glitch this morning that almost gave me a heart attack but! all is well now in Pumpkin Land. Phew!

Best part? Karyn is selling floss bundles! 12 colors...which means...TWO MONTHS. mmmHMM. That means you'll also have FEBRUARY'S COLORS! eek!

Can I just say that all this talk of embroidering and cross stitch has me so excited? I am the hugest fan ever of hand work and seeing people want to do it makes me smile SO big. Bari has a ton of helpful tips & tricks on welovefrenchknots! I can't WAIT to share with you guys my Aurifil Block for October...but we have a while. Pat really picked some awesome people! I'm in such good company, everyone has a really unique style! I'm hoping to sneak in a little stitching & knitting today..maybe even sit outside at starbucks... ;)

Documenting Everything & Desserts

Happy Happy Happy New Year!!!!!

Imagine me tossing a handful of glitter and sparkles in the air because that's what I feel like doing this year!

2012 is the year I want to document everything. I just feel really positive about it for some reason. I want to give it my very best and see what becomes of it. I'm taking part in #JANphotoaday which is super cute and fun. Karyn mentioned a 365 app and I'm doing that. I don't always have time to take a "real" photo but I still want to do something! Plus I love the look of little instagram photos printed out. Cuuuute!

I'm also doing Project Life. I keep a very big & detailed journal but this year I want to do something small and sweet and special. I bought this library drawer and each day I'm going to add a card to it. I've been chopping up all my scrapbook paper into cards and collecting little bits of things. I want it to focus on the positive and inspiring tiny tid bits of daily life. Are you doing project life this year?

Our sock party is coming along great except...I'm not loving my pattern. And I feel terrible because it's the pattern I picked for us all to work on! I think today I might frog & pick something else. But I am *loving* the yarn, it's a Pigeonroof Studios and it's so dang cheerful! Very bright pinks and neutrals!

I hope you guys are ready for Dessert of the Month! I'm kind of dying, our amazing pal Stitchy Stitcherson has tested the pattern and has been sending us photos of the stitched up desserts and O M G! You guys want IN on this project! They are small desserts that are KAWAII and EASY but full of ADORABLE details. I got a piece of 32 count gray linen...with GLITTER!!!! I ordered here & hope it comes soon, I'm anxious to start stitching!

The Dessert of the Month Club is on sale until the 10th of January for $10...after that the price goes up to $16.95! We can do gift memberships too, so if you want to include something for a swap buddy or bloggy friend, let us know!

I'll give you a hint about the first Dessert, he'll be zooming to subscribers inboxes on the 5th..he's tiny...he's booze-y...and he's bubbly. That's it! My lips are sealed! In order to know what he is and to stitch him up, you have to subscribe!

See you soon!

2012 Dessert of the Month Club!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

The Pumpkins are so excited to announce the newest club...DESSERT OF THE MONTH!!! we've been debating what our new club would be, we had a blast with fruit of the month!

You can sign up between now & January 10th for only $10! That's 12 pdfs! After the 10th the price will rise to $16.95! And you don't have to make them into a sampler, they could be tea towels or bookmarks or sewn onto pouches. I heard that Ashleigh may be doing each one separate and framing them. I'll be doing mine traditional sampler style so I can frame it for my kitchen, adorable right?!

The first pdf will be sent to the inboxes on January 5th! eek!

Chop & I are eating french bread pizzas with veggies and brownies. Best way to start a New Year!!!!! Hope yours is GREAT!

ps: best part of dessert of the month? super sweetness that's calorie free! ;)

This Week:

I'm pretty excited for tomorrow. It starts a new week. A new week that involves Chop birthday (the 21st!) and Christmas. This week:

My lemons started to ripen!

I made a giant veggie lasagna!

I had a mega baking day with my mom!

I finished knitting a sock!

I worked on some of my cross stitch!

I daydreamed about creating something rad from this pile of fabric!

I'm ending the week with a date with Chop...scrabble!!!!

Can you tell I'm in love with Instagram? It's a free app for iphones and ipads, if you have it, let's be friends! comment with your name so I can follow you :)

If you are looking for a last minute gift, check out our Hoop Travel Bag, or maybe Snow Globe Cutie, or even Playful Mr. Fox!

I hope your upcoming week is fun & inspiring :) (and filled with candy, chocolate, cookies, pie...really whatever yumminess you are cooking up for the holidays!)

x x x x x xing

It was nice to hear about everyone's WIPs yesterday. I think the general feeling is that it's ok to have a tons of projects going at once and I should frog Damson. I'm going to let it marinate over the weekend & see how I feel about.

Yesterday I started a new cross stitch. This is called Snowy Day, by Lizzie*Kate. I do feel funny blogging and working on another companies cross stitch patterns when I co-own one of the cutest cross stitch companies out there. But sometimes when you work on creative stuff all day long for work, you want to just work on something for FUN and MINDLESS, without any ulterior motives than to just sit & stitch. Makes sense right? Also, I'm using a skein of Weeks Dye Works "Whitewash" that PKM sent me and is BEAUTIFUL! I want the Pumpkins to design patterns using these neat hand dyed flosses, they are kind of pricey though ($2 compared to Cosmo at $1 or DMC at $.60).

I swear, November should be called Scrapember  here around Casa de Porkchop. I've been sewing with my very favorite bits and pieces, using up every last scrap. I *love* it. I bet you guys are getting tired of me talking about these scraps! So, long scrappy story short,  I made a new project pouch yesterday.

Here are the details:

• Scavenged zipper that I had cut too small for a previous project.
• Measures 9x6 inches.
• Fabrics: FFA2, Shot Cotton, Cross Weaves, D2, Greenfield Hill, Liberty of London, Hometown.
• 4 inch star.
• Scrap silk batting.

I wanted to sew something kind of sweet & special but not start something "new". Like, I didn't want to cut into fat quarters or buy anything or really think too hard to be completely honest. I just sewed up some of my favorite scraps and backed it with my favorite Denyse Schmidt. I know everyone is all hullabaloo about Flea Market Fancy being re-released but I love Greenfield Hill way more! Library Stripe is so perfect!

I wish I had miles of the fabrics I used in this pouch. Seriously. They are my favorites and the colors I love to sew with.

I got a skein of Madelinetosh Erin in Faded Calico yesterday, I'm hoping to cast on for Crooked Paths soon! I'm not sure how flattering the color will be against my skin but I'm hoping for the best. I want a cozy knit cap!

What are you guys doing this weekend?

Tales of WIPs

How many WIPs (works in progress) do you have right now? No seriously. Think about it for a second! Here are my WIPs:

This is my Lizzy*Kate ABC Halloween. Kristi & I are stitching along together! I just took it out of my frame and rolled it for storage until next Fall. It's going to be a long term project, like work on it each year. I think it'll take me til 2013. I assumed it would be EASY but it actually requires a lot of concentration for me. And I get REALLY excited to work on the colored parts, then lose interest with the black words.

This is Damson. My absolutely 100% least favorite WIP. Like, I think daily about frogging it but I think I'm like 45-50% done and it nags at me. Do I finish it? Frog it? I don't think I'd even wear the finished shawl at this point because I'm so not into this project. Plus it's kind of dainty looking and that's not really my style. I think I was just REALLY eager to knit with this yarn & assumed I could finish it pretty fast! (WRONG!)! (pigeonroof studios original sock in ghost orchid if you are curious!)

This is my FAVORITE WIP, Daybreak. I can knit a few rows while watching TV and feel like I actually am making progress. I love the yarns, Shibui & Koigu. I had picked a third Koigu for the the last bit, a drab olive but now I'm thinking I'd like to try something different...maybe a peach? a bright pink? either way, I love this and I know it's going to get worn a lot! But I kind of don't want it to end because it's a really relaxing and fun knit.

These are Log Cabin Socks, they are for Chop as a combo birthday/Christmas gift. I'm running low on yarn, I think I'll be able to barely eek out the rest of this sock. He tried them on a few nights ago and they fit so that was exciting! I'm knitting these along with Kayanna, who's making them as a gift too! I like working on projects with blog friends, it's encouraging!

Here are my two hooped projects. One is my Thanksgiving cross stitch that I have officially torn a hole in the linen trying to fix a slub, I might mail it to Kristi & see if she can fix it (I haven't told her this yet, lol). And then my long term embroidery project! This is from Flora, I sent her a flickr mail asking if it was ok if I embroidered her October desktop and she said it was fine. Woo Woo! I love working on the teeny tiny details. It's like blackwork but with a mustard pop (which makes it not blackwork at all ;)) I can only embroider during the day, my eyes are struggling at night...haha. Old lady right here!!!

The only quilt I'm currently working on is my Farm! I just finished binding a baby quilt. And I made a cute heating pad cover a few weeks ago (I can share it if anyone is curious).

I like having a few big long term projects that I can come back to and work on, plus some small/easy types. I feel blah if I have too many projects going on at once that don't make me happy (like right now with Damson!) and I feel guilty buying things like yarn. I don't feel guilty buying fabric because I use everything I buy, I'm not hoard-y, but yarn, I feel like I need to have a pattern & needles ready to go.

So how about you? Any WIPs? How many projects do you work on at once?

{~*Pumpkin News*~}

 

The Pumpkins are at it again!!!!!

I was telling Ashleigh that Sugarloaf, our mascot, needed a Halloween Costume and she went and zombie-fied him! He sure is creepy AWESOME! I'm going to start working on him at Sewing Summit. You can find him HERE! And then she made our candy corns in costumes too!

In anticipation of Sewing Summit and last minute sewing, we are having a little sale on Hoop Travel Bag! Even if you aren't attending Sewing Summit you can get our best selling pattern for $1 off! Awesome! It'll be perfect for those of you traveling or even just sitting at home relaxing and cross stitching!

I'm putting the finishing touches on my presentation...tomorrow is packing, laundry and last minute stuff day!

I'll see you soon in SLC!

{~*Happy Thursday*~}

It's been quiet around here. Lots of knitting & cross stitching. I'm REALLY excited for Sewing Summit! I can't believe it's NEXT WEEK! I'm leaving Sacramento on Wednesday morning to spend a little extra time with Karyn & Katherine. And help Erin & Amy if they need it. This is going to be an absolute BLAST.

My class is coming together so well. I'll be speaking about mini quilts because it's what I LOVE. I'm bringing a bunch of my favorites, plus a few new ones that haven't been seen, including one from a not yet released book! So that's pretty fun! You can still register but time is running out! Sewingsummit.com! Check it out!

I'm a little unsure how my days will be in SLC, right now I'm sleeping 14 hrs a night & napping twice a day. But I totally don't want to miss a THING. I think I'll bring two small handwork projects & just sit & stitch with friends. Hopefully there are lots of cozy nooks! I wish they had a kitchen so I could bake with everyone! Wouldn't that be a blast?!

I'm currently knitting Ptarmigan & still working on my Lizzy*Kate stitch a long with Kristi. Both are coming out well & I'm proud of them for sure!

I'm teaching a class all about autumn baking on Saturday at That Kitchen Place in Redding. Exciting! This morning I baked Chop pumpkin spice cinnamon buns with vanilla chai icing. He's going hunting this weekend & I thought he might like a little something sweet!

I'm not sure how much blogging I'll get done between now & Wednesday, my poor little laptop is so grouchy! If you use instagram I'd love it if we were friends! I want to delete flickr together & JUST instagram! Everyone is so friendly!

Oh & yesterday I saw Tracey...she is BIG!!!!!! and ADORABLE! that baby is coming SOON. I'm thinking it's going to be a boy!

Have a good Thursday!

{*~ x x x x x x ~*}

I'm attempting to blog from the wordpress app on my phone. I hope this works :) Kristi (stitchystitcherson I'm not sure how to add links ;)) & I are doing a stitch a long! We are working on a Lizzy*Kate pattern called the ABC Halloween. I'm doing mine on evenweave that I tea dyed! It's a REALLY fun & relaxing project. Kristi's stitching is seriously perfect, like, the best! I totally admire her stitching skills.

I hope you are having a good week! It's still hot as heck here. Normally I'm first in line to buy a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks & I'm not even motivated! I'm trying to hold off until it drops below mid-80s.

Is it fall-like where you live?

{*~Hi!~*}

Things are very quiet around here at Casa de Porkchop.

I'm having some personal problems and my days are quiet per drs orders. Very quiet. Like didn't check my email for 7 days and have been sleeping more than I think I've ever slept in my life. It's been different but ok!

One afternoon on twitter I was talking to Kayanna and she mentioned she was knitting Pogona by West Knits and I thought...hey! I like that! AND! My LYS is carrying a ton of MadelineTosh so I cast on using a color called Rosewood and it's been like knitting with air! Total bliss.

I randomly scored 4 lbs of strawberries so I quartered them and grilled them at 400 degrees with a big splash of pomegranate vinegar. Once they reduced down like CRAZY I brought them inside and made jam with them. I reserved one cup of the chunky berries and blended the rest. I added some white & pink pepper and canned it. It might be my FAVORITE thing I've canned all summer. Very bright tasting with a burst of spice.

I joined a local sewing group, so that's AWESOME! It's been super fun to sit and sew with other people. Although it's crazy humbling, these ladies are so talented, but really welcoming which is the best!

Last week Pam came up! It was so so so fun. I freaking LOVE her. She's hilarious. We had Gobblers and went fabric shopping. I slept the entire next day. She is wayyy too much fun. You can read about our outing here! She says it way better than I could. You know how you just meet someone and you instantly adore them? Yup! That's PKM!

I snuck in an hour yesterday and an hour today to Farm. I am still totally a wife! I picked two easy blocks: Economy and End of Day. I needed blocks I could finish quick, have fun with and not feel like I've been abandoning you guys & Angela! I'm hoping once I'm back on my feet I'll do 3 a week until I'm caught up, until then I'll just post one block a week. When PKM & I hung out I got some new 1/4 yards for my blocks & I'm excited to cut into them. I really love End of Day (the bottom block) it looks fancy when it's really incredibly easy.

The Pumpkins teamed up with the ultra talented Melody Miller! You can now cross stitch her BEE!!! So awesome right? I'm dying to make it!

Sewing Summit is just around the corner! Literally! I booked my flight this weekend and I'm excited and NERVOUS. I think it's going to be a fantastic time and I've been working my butt off getting ready for my class. (I see that photo & I realize I've lost a LOT of weight! eeee!!!!) If you've wanted to meet your online friends, take classes from some super passionate people and have a sewing filled weekend you should totally come! I'm rooming with Karyn & Katherine.  I have a whole list of people I'm excited to hug and jump up & down with in real life. I'm thinking by Sunday I'll have no voice from all the shouting and talking! If your coming to Sewing Summit, leave me a comment; I'd love to check out some new blogs & put some names with faces!

I'm off to knit and watch the season finale of Torchwood! PKM got me interested in it...and of course we chatted about the greatest tv show on earth...HAVEN! She's one of the only people I know who watches!

:):)