Tuesday, January 24, 2012

New Tutorial! Pinhead stitch variation

Securing blackwork thread is much like cross stitch. You can use a waste knot or simply weave the tail between the threads.

Another great way to secure thread is the Pinhead Stitch. You'll find a great tutorial at Beth Katz's Needlework.

I have come up with my own variation for blackwork that you might find helpful: the Pinhead stitch variation for blackwork.





Sunday, January 15, 2012

A cook's new best friend


Love to cook? I do, and I spend a lot of time surfing the net for great new recipes. Of course, that means I've got recipes scattered all over my computer. From bookmarks to Word documents, I've had a devil of a time organizing it all.

Enter Pepperplate.com. This amazing website puts it all together in one place. Import your favorite recipes from your favorite sites, including Allrecipes.com, Epicurious, and Food Network. Add your own recipes manually, and categorize them all according to the way you like them. It's flexible and easy to customize.

A meal calendar and the menu section make for easy planning, and the shopping list is the best I've ever seen. With free apps for both iPad and Android, you can access your shopping list on your device even when you're off line.

Finally, a Pepperplate bookmarklet allows you to import recipes straight from the site you're visiting.

All in all, this is the best cooking resource I have ever found.

Don't wait. Visit Pepperplate.com today and find out how easy it is to keep your cooking world organized.

Bon Appetit!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

New Year, New Patterns

Happy New Year! I hope you're finding joy in every aspect of your life.

I'm celebrating with a new page on my blog: Cross Stitch Smalls. There you will find my newest cross stitch: Pepper Pot.


I love the bright colors. They remind me of the beautiful peppercorns I use in my pepper mill. I used four threads for the red, three threads for the black and two threads for the gold. This gave it a nice texture and really made the red pop! What colors do you envision? Stitch it up in your own fashion and send a photo to me. I'll post it for all to see.

Here's to a great 2012!

Happy Stitching!