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Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2021 ~ Wrap-Up

 


Welcome!

As the year is coming to an end, I am looking back and looking forward.

This will be the last time I post this weekly linky party.

As happens between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my energies have been focused elsewhere and I have done very little sewing, stitching or blogging.

I am in the process of deciding if I want to continue this linky party in 2022.

I have made some lovely new friends here and stayed connected with a few old ones, too. 

This makes me happy.

Mostly, this is a no-stress thing for me. 

If I stitch, I show.

If I don't, I am a virtual no-show at my own linky party.

Being a no-show makes me unhappy.

I have even had thoughts about putting my blog on pause.

So to continue or not?

Hmmmm ... ???

~~~

I have looked at the blog hops in the works for next year:


Sneak Peek ~ Blog Hops 2022 ~ @ MooseStashQuilting

I have signed up for the January Polar Bear Plunge Blog Hop.

I actually have a couple of blue UFOs that need sewing.

So I will be starting the year off with blog hopping goodness. 

I guess this means I have resolved to blog on!



If you have any thoughts on any of this, please share.

If you have any suggestions to improve this linky party, please suggest.

If you have any thoughts on a different theme or day for a linky party, 

I am interested. 



You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange Blog Hop ~ My Day!


 
It is Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange Time! 


Welcome to my home for Christmas! 

This is my favorite blog hop of the year.

For this year, I wanted to make a gingerbread cookie with candied ginger. 

I started with this "flight" of cookies for sampling to decide on the "best" recipe.


In the end, I made them three ways for everyone to choose.

My Ginger Snowball Cookies ~ Three Ways 

are for the ... 


Please visit all my friends today: 

December 7
Life in the Scrapatch (you are here)

My Ginger Snowballs are based on this recipe:

Gingerbread Snowballs @ Crazy For Crust

I made this as shown and then added the other goodies.


I gathered my ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground  allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

  • I preheated my oven to 325° and lined two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

  • I mixed butter in my kitchen mixer until fluffy. Added the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and molasses and mixed until smooth. Added flour and mixed until a smooth dough formed. The last part was done by hand. 

  • For basic recipe, I scooped 1 tablespoon of dough, rolled into ball and in powdered sugar and placed on prepared cookie sheet.

  • I baked my cookies for 15 minutes until bottoms were just slightly brown.  After removing from the oven I let them set 5 minutes and then re-rolled them in powdered sugar.


  • For my test flight of cookies, made one plain rolled in powdered sugar, one plain thumbprint rolled in demerara sugar cookie with blackberry jam, 


  • two with just finely chopped candied ginger rolled in powdered sugar, 

  • two with finely ground walnuts added to the candied ginger
  •  and rolled in nuts, 


  • and three with finely chopped golden raisins added to the nuts and ginger, two rolled in powdered sugar and one in demerara sugar. 


  •  Then Mr. Scrapatch and I tested while we decorated our tree. 
 In the end, we did not decide on a favorite. 
Mr Scrapatch enjoyed the ones with just nuts and ginger 
and liked the fact that the spices were not too strong.
These cookie were not very "spicy" on the ginger/clove scale.
If you like your gingerbread cookies to have a bit of bite,
 you may want to double the spices. 


I found the ones with chopped candied ginger, nuts and golden raisins 
had a nice moist and flavorful chew.


So I made all three kinds.

To the basic dough, I added one cup of finely chopped candied ginger and scooped, rolled in demerara sugar and baked this batch of cookies.

Then I added 3/4 cup of finely ground walnuts and made another batch rolled in the extra ground nuts.

Then I added 1/2 cup of finely chopped golden raisins and rolled this batch in powdered sugar.

The recipe would make about one dozen of each kind of cookies this way. 


I had hoped to have my Gingerbread Cookie Cross Stitch
completed for this post, but I have very busy doing other things.
I sat today and enjoyed my tree and latte and cookie break
while Maestro enjoyed The Tree.


Nutmeg snagged and enjoyed my comfy chair. 


Thank you for visiting us today.
I hope you have enjoyed my virtual cookies this year. 

May your Christmas be merry and bright and full with delicious cookies this year! 


Thursday, December 2, 2021

I Like Thursday #117 ~ Sharing the Season


Getting ready for Christmas!

I have been making Christmas Stockings since 2012:

Free Christmas Stocking Tutorial Here


I added names and made this one for Everly's First Christmas


and have welcomed new members to the family with their own special stocking. 

I am posting past projects today as I always find I have very little time for sewing and stitching in the busy weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

This is a time for family and celebrating all the gifts we receive everyday of the year. 

I do enjoy all the festive sewing and stitching online.

Here are some free quiltalongs:  


This Christmas QAL looks spectacular! 

Christmas Elves Quiltmas QAL 2021



Block 1 is this cute

Nordic Gnome Block @ Cotton + Joy


Block 2 is this adorable 

Christmas Angel Block @ Sharon Fraser Designs




Another wonderful free quiltalong may be found at ...

Cozy Countdown to Christmas @ Moda Bake Shop



Block 1 ~ Mom's Sweater Here



Block 2 ~ Merry Little Mitten Here


I am not sewing but I am saving the blocks.

Looking forward to another wonderful year of stitching and sewing in 2022.


Linking up today with my  Thursday blogging friends, 

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color

May you and yours have a safe and healthy and happy holiday season! 




Monday, November 29, 2021

Decking the Halls ~ 2021

 

It is time to deck the Scrapatch walls

 with warm and festive quilts! 


The Thanksgiving Feast was a lovely day with family and friends. 

Jessica brined the turkey and it was so delicious and moist.

I am going to be trying this when we cook our next turkey at home. 

Her Mom, Linda, had already started decorating for Christmas.

We were very happy to have feasted at her lovely home. 

Here I am enjoying her electric fireplace with Mr. Scrapatch and our sons.

~~~

So far, I have only taken down our fall quilts and hung my ...


Snowman in the Cabin Window Quilt



Free Scrappy Snowman Quilt Tutorial Here


May you and yours have a warm and wonderful winter!


Thursday, November 25, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving ~ 2021

 


May you and yours have a safe,

 happy, healthy, and thankful

Thanksgiving! 


Friday, November 19, 2021

I Like Thursday # 116 ~ Seasonal Spice is Nice

 


"G"  is for Gingerbread!

Welcome to I Like Thursday on Friday again.

On Thursday, my I like Thursday blogging friends

get together to share the things in life that make us smile:

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color

It has been a busy week. 


I have been happy this week stitching this fun new pattern from 


They have two other gingerbread patterns in their etsy shop:

Stitching With The Housewives

and I may have to stitch them all. 

I purchased the 


Gingerbread Cookies Cross Stitch Here at Fat Quarter Shop

There are some other cute Christmas cross stitch patterns here from Pricilla and Chelsea that I would also like to stitch.

For now I am just going to try to get this one done before Christmas. 

I really like the attached letter script in this pattern. I made a small adjustment to the small "r" to make it look more like the cursive letter I was taught to write. 

This is the first time I have stitched on a black background and it is a challenge to keep my white stitches looking uniform. 


Yesterday the weather was balmy and sunny so I was able to work outside and open the windows on the south side of the house for my stay-inside kitties to enjoy birdie-vision. It is probably the last day the windows will be opened this year as it is much colder today and they are battened down again.



For my inside break I enjoyed putting in a few stitches and snacking on ginger cookies and tea. My favorite year round ginger cookie treat is

Anna's Swedish Ginger Thins.  

I often have a couple of these with a cup of tea. 

At this time of year I love to track down my favorite ginger cookie,

 Walker's Stem Ginger Biscuits

which have pieces of candied ginger and crunch oats in them.  Delicious! 

If you cannot find them locally, they are available on Amazon. 


One of my favorite Amazon purchases this year as been this 

French Style Butter Crock

It keeps butter soft in winter and fresh in summer.

It is two-piece and the butter goes into the "bell" top and the cold water in the bottom keeps the butter soft but not oily. I change the water once a week with cold water from my refrigerator.  No more rancid or hard to spread butter! 


On Wednesday, I got together again with my three best friends for lunch and the request for dessert was rice pudding, my friend Elaine's favorite.

I made an easy slow cooker version of this old fashioned dessert ... 

Slower Cooker Rice Pudding

½ cup unsalted butter

5 cups milk

1 cup light cream

2 cups uncooked medium grain rice

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Additional ½ cup light cream (reserved)

Melt the butter in slow cooker on High. Pick out any dark grains of rice.  Add to melted butter and stir to coat rice.  Add 5 cups milk and 1 cup light cream and stir.  Add sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla and stir until well. Place lid on crockpot and turn to low. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally, until rice is soft and all liquid is absorbed.  Turn off slow cooker and let set for 10-15 minutes.  Stir in the additional cup of light cream … or more, if rice is very thick.  The additional cream adds a nice creamy texture and flavor.  Serve warm or cold.  Store in sealed container in refrigerator. Makes 6 servings.

Recipe may be doubled in large slow cooker.


Variation: Add ½ cup  or more of raisins ore dates, if desired.  

I like to add them in the last hour or so of cooking time. 

May you and yours have a happy healthy weekend! 


Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Stitch Sew & Show ~ Week 45

 


Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ Week 45

The year is blowing away on a crisp fall breeze.

I have had another busy week, but I have found some time to stitch and sew.


I have added a few more letters to my "G" word.

There has been some lovely guesses as to what this may be saying.

Hint: This is a Christmas themed cross-stitch.

I have never stitched on black aida before and it is much more difficult than I thought, especially when using white thread. Every little messy thread shows.



I have also made two more blocks for my Sampler Spree Quilt.

That six and a half inch basket block has some little pieces. 

It was fun to sew.

I am thinking of appliqueing a flower or two.

My fabrics are a Christmas line.

So I am stitching and sewing Christmas.


What are you working on this week?

Please Share! 


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