January 24, 2012 3

January Fun

By in Gardening, Knitting, Random Thoughts, The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

Where did January go???

Oh right. I went on a major cleaning spree and vacuumed up my power cord and had to wait for another one to arrive. Awesome right? I have an iphone which I truly love but I *hate* writing long emails on it so please give me a few days if you’ve emailed me.

I’ve been doing lots of fun stuff, up until late last week it’s been bright & sunny here. I’ve been gardening, our first heads of cauliflower look so amazing, they are my PRIDE & JOY. I sometimes go outside just to look at them and think…I FREAKING GREW CAULIFLOWER. CAULIFLOWER!!!! We’ve been enjoying giant salads from the lettuce. And my lemons went to curd and marmalade.

I’ve finished the first 4 months of Dessert of the Month Club and I kind of am dying over how crazy cute it is. So far February & April are my VERY VERY VERY favorites. How are your truffles coming along? You can sign up at any point during the year.

Did you enter your January block to the Aurifil flickr group? You could win $100 worth of thread! I don’t know about you but I’d love $100 worth of thread. I’m all out of white for piecing so I’ve switched to light lavender. Kind of a pretty secret in my quilt blocks ;)

I’ve been slowly but steadily working on my SOCKS! So I started the month thinking I’d be making Pomatomus but I lost confidence in my knitting skills and frogged. Then I started on Hermione’s Everyday Sock but I wasn’t in LOVE with them and was running out of yarn scary fast. I took a knitting class and learned magic loop socks!!! from the toe up!!! I’m working on super plain Gusset Heel Socks & they fit PERFECTLY. I’m using a Madelinetosh yarn, this sock won’t win a beauty contest but I’ve learned so much & I’m very inspired. Not to mention I’m obsessed with looking at sock yarn online. I blame Kayanna completely for all of this. I’m hoping to finish my second sock this week so February 1st I can cast on for some very pink socks. I bought a skein of Madelinetosh from a girl on ravelry called VALENTINE & I’m dreaming of some simple lace socks. I even bought fancy wooden sock blockers!

I’m kind of (very) obsessed with making box bags. Robert Kaufman and Laurie Wisbrun very generously sent me some Modern Whimsy to play with and I made my good friend Brie a box bag for her knitting. This fabric is so bright & spring-y & just the pop of color I need, our beautiful sunshine has given away to actual winter. Lots of rain & clouds! Thank you RK & Laurie for brightening up my stash! I’m thinking by the first week of February I’ll re-open my etsy shops (yup, two of them!) with new treats! eep!

Off to tackle my inbox! Yippee!!!!

:):)

January 10, 2012 10

Truffle Party!

By in Stitching, The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

EEK!

Yesterday after finishing up my computer work I sat down and started working on my truffle. I’ve been seeing a lot of internet hype about Downton Abbey & thought I’d give it a try. It’s available on PBS! I finished my truffle. What a lumpy cutie! I used three strands of DMC iridescent combined with one strand of Cosmo gray that matches my linen. I wanted the sparkle to POP.

Confession. After using a smidge of sparkle in my truffle, I want this sparkle floss bundle so I can add sparkle to all my months! The Cosmo sparkle floss is so amazing compared to DMC. Really smooth and doesn’t get all crunchy. I know. Weird. But sometimes floss can get CRUNCHY! Even with thread heaven! This sparkle floss is like BUTTER. But the two colors I have didn’t work with the truffle. Hrumph. Maybe a Porkchop can get me this bundle for Valentine’s Day! (I don’t want sparkly jewels…I want sparkly embroidery floss. Haha! ;))

I just put the finishing touches on February…I’m hoping today while I’m getting an oil change in our car I can work on March. I’m wishing I had green sparkle floss for him! I think that’s what I love most about these little desserts, you can totally customize them! Make them however YOU want!

Check out our official Pumpkin Pattern Tester- Kristi-…does that orange not make you SQUEEL?! Her stitching is so nice and neat. Even though I cross stitch a lot…I am SO not at her level of awesomeness. My goal by the end of 2012 is to be a neater stitcher!

The Dessert of the Month Club sale ends TONIGHT! at MIDNIGHT! That doesn’t mean you can’t join tomorrow! It will just be $6.95 more! So from now until MIDNIGHT, it’s only $10 for the entire year! One time payment! 12 pdf cross stitch deliveries! That’s pretty rad right? Especially since we decided that some month’s will be getting cute recipes. Like next month!

Ok! off to run errands! See you soon!

ps: I’m so in love with my linen from dovestitch! It’s really soft and sparkly and awesome! I’m not affiliated with them at all, just totally crushing!

January 9, 2012 Off

Wild Olive Pattern of the Month Club!

By in Stitching, Tutorials & Patterns

It’s Monday! Monday needs to have an infusion of cute. We have to start the week off right! Do you guys know about Mollie? I’m sure you do! She’s pretty much the cutest blogger ever. I love her kawaii aesthetic and her blogs positive & fresh feel. She’s always blogging adorable things, like laundry, printable calendars, and she has a ton of patterns.

You know how the Pumpkins have Dessert of the Month? Well Mollie has a Pattern of the Month Club. MMMHMM! That’s pretty rad right? If you’ve ever purchased any of her patterns you know that they are professional and you get a lot of adorable things to stitch. I have Hearts Day & Happy Campers! My goal for January is to embroider some hearts and camp fires on a pillow case for Chop for Valentine’s Day!

^ that right there? ^ Adorable right? It’s a peek of one of Mollie’s projects for her Pattern of the Month Club! You’ll get 13 patterns for $38! That is so awesome! That’s 12 months of patterns (plus you get a bonus!) for less than $3 a month. In Amanda Language- that’s one Starbucks trip! And she even has a Project of the Month Club! how inspiring can one girl be?! eek! So cute!

Pop on over to Mollie’s blog and say hi! I’m going to make one of her fabric flag key rings today to stick in my project life. Eep!

PS: if you don’t know how to embroider, she has an entire section on embroidery! woo woo!

I’m getting ready to have some breakfast & get to work! :) See you soon!

January 8, 2012 8

Dessert of the Month & Project Life

By in Kitchen Adventures, Project Life, Stitching, The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, Tutorials & Patterns

Happy Sunday!!!!

I thought it would be neat if once a week I shared with you my weeks worth of project life cards. Project Life is SO much fun for me. If you’ve never heard of it, check out some links here, here and here

I’ve been making 4×6 inch cards to store in this little library drawer. Every day my phones alarm goes off and I set a timer for 10 minutes to reflect on my day and make a card. Super fun & achievable since I take about a zillion cell phone photos a day. I’ve been using scrapbook paper I’ve been collecting just because I love paper and my pogo printer. I’m keeping them simple and fun. Sometimes I write a few words that capture the day or glue a receipt to the back of a card. I love things in multiples and already seeing this cute little stack of cards makes me super happy. I bought myself a Martha Stewart Valentine’s Day Mat Stack (I think it’s called?) with a 40% Michaels coupon so I think the entire month of February is going to be PINK! eek!

Dessert of the Month!!!! My linen from dovestitch arrived yesterday afternoon & I watched some Psych and started stitching. I’m SO excited with how many people are stitching along with us! I’m having a hard time keeping up with all the blog posts/photos/tweets etc! I want to make sure I link to, re-tweet, like photos and I don’t want to leave anyone out! So if you’ve blogged about dessert of the month, could you leave me a comment or if you know of a friend who’s blogged about it? I’d love to do a round up this week of links! Truffle PARTY!!!!!

The pattern is on sale for $10 only until TUESDAY! Then it goes up to $16.95!

Also- twitter & instagram friends, let’s use the hashtag #dessertofthemonth so we can keep up with each other!!! Fun!!!

I can’t wait to share with you February’s dessert. Seriously. Each time I look at him I get excited. My mom thinks I should send out dessert recipes for each month…why didn’t I think of that? I think next month I’ll include a recipe! That would be cute right?!

Yesterday I canned habanero marmalade! It is so amazing but too spicy for me. I’m going to try grapefruit marmalade next weekend, I’m testing recipes for a winter jam class I’m teaching in February. I’m crossing my fingers Chop & I go out for frozen yogurt today, I haven’t had any since OCTOBER! What the heck?!?!!!

Have a good Sunday pals!

January 5, 2012 4

Exciting Day! Aurifil & Pumpkins!

By in Stitching, Tutorials & Patterns

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… ;)

January 3, 2012 4

Documenting Everything & Desserts

By in Knitting, Stitching

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!

December 31, 2011 5

2012 Dessert of the Month Club!

By in Stitching, Tutorials & Patterns

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! ;)

December 30, 2011 13

colors I love & knitting

By in Knitting, Quilting & Sewing, Random Thoughts

I’ve been mulling over these colors for weeks. Linen, beige, dusty brown, grey, hot pink, rich wine, burgundy and bits of white. I can’t stop thinking about it. Piles are forming all over my sewing room. Websites of fabric are bookmarked. Sketches are drawn on napkins. EQ has some blocks saved. My friend Sarah sent me some scraps that work PERFECTLY with these colors.

I  keep coming back to these little piles and sketches, thinking about a full sized bed quilt and it’s like “Amanda…do it!!” “Make it your winter goal.” “Start collecting more neutrals” “Work on bits & pieces each day!” The little creative voice in my mind is like…GIT R DONE. (also, the little creative voice in my head wears plaid shirts with no sleeves apparently ;))

I’d like to do a lot of improv piecing with a few little tiny traditional blocks pieced in. I’ll send it to the amazing Lindsay to work some magic…then I’ll turn and top stitch it. I’m totally smitten with quilts that are turned lately. I love how clean the edge looks and how it feels more playful. I did it with my neutral quilt & I’m happy as a clam with it.

Starting in January I’m going to work on it a little each day. I’m going to start with one of my favorite blocks- churn dash, and create around it. Just work with the stash I have and see where it takes me. And maybe treat myself to a few little bits, my neutrals are surprisingly low ;) Or swap with some pals!

 

I finished knitting The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief with my favorite yarn. and I’m pretty obsessed with it. I know it’s going to be a wardrobe staple. A very fast & fun knit! Only a few episodes of Leverage ;) And! It’s going to be PERFECT for next fall. It’s a very fall-ish color.

 

We are starting our sock knitting in January & I’m REALLY excited! If you want to knit socks with us, you are more than welcome! So far it’s Kayanna, Angela, Amy and we are bullying Megan into making socks. It’s going to be pretty laid back, just a month of sock knitting, I think we are using Pomatomus but Angela is making ribbed socks, so really, any sock goes :) We are keeping track of our projects via instagram & twitter. I’m using pigeonroof yarn & I think I’m going to get a skein of Madelinetosh so the toes are a different color. I’m kind of (very!) excited. I got a ball winder for Christmas and it’ll arrive next week, I’m trying to hold off balling my yarn until then. Because the last time I made a giant mess.

It’s almost New Years! I’m feeling very excited about 2012. It’s my last year of my 20′s and I want to make the most of it!

See you in 2012!!!!

December 27, 2011 11

Fresh Thoughts

By in Random Thoughts

Did you have a nice Christmas?

I totally did! I’m so looking forward to 2012, are you?

This week I want to get everything done. Outstanding swaps, outstanding emails, cleaning, organizing, planning. I want it all DONE.

I want to start 2012 fresh. I want to start it focused and positive and excited. I have a few little goals in mind, I’ll share them once I put them on paper. I’m doing a fun knit-a-long starting the first week in January with some cute friends, we are knitting Potamous socks! I’ve planned a new quilt for our bed. The Pumpkin’s will be starting a brand new club (I’ll blog about it soon! or sign up for our newsletter and be the first to know!)

Some neat things:

SewMamaSew interviewed me for Reflections + Predictions which was rad! (full confession, I got their email and was like WHATT! THEY KNOW WHO I AM!?)

I got a skein of sock yarn from a shop called CakeWalk Yarns, it is SO awesome! My skein is called Peppermint Bark. I’m kind of into pink this past week. With lots of neutrals of course ;)

One of my Christmas gifts was this mug! I hope it arrives soon! I have the hugest crush on it! (again…pink!?)

I love this knitting needle holder Megan made…I think once my knitting needle set arrives I’m going to sew it a fancy case!

I played around today with the aurifil 12 wt with some machine quilting…it is love.at.first.sight. I can’t wait to share with you the little mini I was playing around on!

All of the yummy foods of Christmas have done me in. Tonight I’m making a veggie loaded chicken ginger soup. So excited! I feel like I’m going to have to have light meals for a month to detox all the sugar I’ve been consuming. But it is so hard to say no to marshmallows!!!!

Happy Holidays friends!!!

December 22, 2011 16

Chop’s Birthday & Aurifil Thread

By in Kitchen Adventures, Quilting & Sewing

Yesterday was Mr. McPorkchop’s birthday! I threw him a little party to celebrate. I’m big on birthdays. My birthday I try to drag out as long as possible, I start reminding people in March. Which doesn’t sound crazy until you learn that my birthday is in August. It’s not that I want a zillion presents, but more because I love celebrating. Anything. Had a good hair day? Party. Got a quilt in a book? Party. Got a big wholesale order? Party. Taught a successful class? Party. Went a whole week without buying fabric or yarn? Party! (at the fabric/yarn shop ;)) jkjkjk! (kind of ;))

But I have a feeling when your birthday is so close to Christmas…you get kind of screwed. Pardon my harsh language here but really. Combined gifts because the person obviously remembered Christmas but your birthday? Not so much. Christmas cards that say Happy Birthday. No way! Not for my ChopChop! So I spent the day yesterday making him a perfect birthday. I made chicken enchiladas, a funfetti cake from scratch, a quilt, some decorations. He got home from work and was promptly fed about 90 pounds of food. And tonight we are going to a local restaurant! woo woo!

Chop’s Birthday Cake Recipe
As adapted from Fannie Farmer Cookbook & my mom ;)

Makes two 8 inch round layers

1 ¾ cups cake flour (minus 2 tbls if you don’t have cake flour & are using all purpose)
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
10 TBL softened butter
1 cup sugar
3 egg whites – aprx ½ cup
1 ½ tsp vanilla (clear if you want a pure white cake, paste/standard extract if you don’t mind an off white cake)
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup jimmies (I like a lot. You can use less :))

Heat oven to 325. Grease the bottom of the cake pans. Add a circle of parchment paper to each pan. Grease the parchment.

Sift dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream the butter and gradually add in the sugar. Beat until blended. Add egg whites one at a time, mixing one minute in between each addition. Stir water & vanilla together. I used vanilla bean paste and my cake turned out off white, if you use clean vanilla extract you’ll have a perfectly pure white cake. Alternate between adding the water/vanilla and the flour mixture to the creamed sugar. Once combined fold in jimmies. Separate evenly between two cake pans and bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes using a tooth pick test. Mine was done at 18 but our oven is slightly cranky.

For the frosting I used this Classic Buttercream and it’ll be my new go-to frosting recipe.

We had a super fun night! And I had a cake for breakfast. So that’s how my day is going so far ;)

In other exciting news, I’m one of Aurifil’s 2012 Designers! Super neat right? I’m really excited to work with their 12 wt thread…and…my month is OCTOBER. mmHMMM!! You know I’ll be stitching up something crazy cute & Halloween-y! Or Autumn-y! Or Kawaii! It’s top secret until then. Each month I’m going to work on my fellow designers blocks & blog about them, I love the group of ladies, each one has a totally unique style and I know everyone is bringing something rad to the table!

You can (and should!) quilt-a-long with us! You can win aurifil thread by entering your photo of the blocks we work on into the flickr group!

I’m hoping since Pam and I have months close to each other we can get together & work on our projects at Starbucks! woo woo!!!

I’m off to finish up a zillion last minute projects so I can take a few days off! woo woo!

Older Posts