Embroidery for Dummies

My mom always cross-stitched while I was growing up. It was a constant presence, and something I enjoyed watching her do as a child. You think I would I have learned these skills or similar, then, before the ripe old age of 31 but…no. But about two months ago, I was flipping through a magazine while awaiting the doctor for the Bear. And I found this article on updating your home on the cheap, and it mentioned embroidering your own pillow. And I thought: “I really want to do that.”

So I told my mom, who as previously stated is knowledgeable in things of a stitchery nature, and within a day she picked up “Embroidery for Dummies” at Joann (also available and Michaels and Hobby Lobby, as well as online). It was a pretty easy project, and good for learning satin stitches, backstitching, and french knots. You can see the results above.

I plan to blog about my embroidery projects here – I’ve just finished another piece, which you can see here. My next piece is an old shirt of mine, on which I traced a bird using a fabric pen…I will post the process here.

If you’re interested in embroidery, I’d recommend the “Embroidery for Dummies”. It’s a good start, and you end up with a cute little piece.

Conchas

Made these for Cinco de Mayo. Yes, I know that’s like two weeks ago, but I am just now getting around to paying attention to this old blog. The conchas came from this recipe and were pretty darn tasty. Add food coloring to the vanilla ones if you like, or for chocolate, use the cinnamon measurements but substitute cocoa powder instead. Very tasty. My only complaint is that they were not quite as fluffy as I hoped – I don’t think that’s the recipe though. I think I am a very amateur baker and just need to improve my skills.