The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

May

15

Works in Progress: May Edition

Knitting / Quilting & Sewing / The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery  Posted by / 9 comments

I thought I’d share with you all my current WIPs (works in progress). Some of these are long term, some are instant gratification, some are work related and some are just silly.

I took my photos this morning before the sun was fully risen in our bedroom so they are a little dark but that’s ok right?! ;)

I’ll start with my most recent sewing:

Amanda from Westwood Acres very sweetly sent me some Briar Rose scraps! I knew instantly that I wanted to make the same pouch that Amy did. I made it my goal to use JUST scraps and NOT cut them. Oh and improv piece it. Those are all things I’m quite terrible at but I wanted to branch out. I’m not sure I *love* it but that’s ok! Unfortunately my sewing machine started to act funny during the quilting (ok-let’s be honest, it’s been cranky all winter). I did all the normal things: clean, oil, replace needles/bobbins/etc. Still no luck. By the time I attached the piping the machine wasn’t holding it’s tension at all anymore SO! To the dealer I will go and get a tune-up. And I think the timing is slightly off. No sewing for a little while!

Two weeks ago I got it into my head that I *needed* a new Halloween quilt. I decided to make a new Donut Quilt from my stash. I have the blocks partly done. It’ll be a fast finish once I get my machine fixed. I haven’t decided on a border fabric yet though. All I know is, that donut quilt gets SO much love around here, it’s the perfect size for me to drag everywhere. I think this might be the first time I’ve ever made a pattern twice?!

Oh these blocks! They kill me! (in a very good way of course!) They are from the Forest QAL and quite possibly my favorite things ever. However, I need at least a full day of complete quiet for each block. Not because they are hard, they are really straight forward but because I am *really* slow at paper piecing and these blocks have a ton of pieces in them. I have the feather and the woodpecker done, I’m using just scraps which is fun. It’s a little tricky to pick fabrics for them though. This is definitely my long term project- it’s special and I’m not into rushing it. I’d love to finish it by July and enter it into the fair but that’s probably wishful thinking. Also: They are crunchy & wrinkled looking because…I haven’t removed the paper yet! LOL! ;)

I’ve needed to apply the binding to this quilt since March. Eep! Lindsay did an amazing quilting job on it! But literally that’s the only corner bound. It doesn’t stop me from using it all the time though.

It’s not all sewing though…I cast on for a new pair of socks this week! I happily knit outside in Chico yesterday while Ashleigh worked on our shop! It got a facelift! And we re-released Fruit of the Month Club! Somehow in my excitement to be hanging out, I started doing the size large chart on my size medium sock! Doh! But I tried them on and somehow the pattern is still pretty centered. Maybe my feet are strange shaped? IDK! But I’m going to keep going. They also got the nickname “Cinnamon Toast Crunch Socks” from Chop?!

Speaking of work! Here is my Woodland Sampler! Even though we’ve had the full chart done & tested last year, I cross stitch along with everyone. It’s just more fun that way. Plus I can share sneak peeks leading up to the first of each month!

That’s everything! All my current WIPs! How about you? What are you working on?

Mar

08

My favorite snack ever. And my favorite pan ever. Le Creuset’s Soup Pot.

Kitchen Adventures / The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery  Posted by / 8 comments

Where do I begin today’s blog post?

 If it was legal to marry a pan..

 

Snacking is why I’m chubby..

I love Friday’s..

 

Ok let’s start here:

In August Le Creuset sent me some amazing pans to try and review. Crazy right? I’m not a food blogger at all, I’m just a girl who loves to cook. A lot. And I like inspiring other people to cook, via instagram and by teaching them in classes.

I’m going to have a full week of pan/cookware reviews coming up soon but I can’t stop obsessing over this pan so I’ll share a smidge about it today. And popcorn. And dill.

One of my hugest pet peeves is when a company gives a person an item to review and then 24 hours later, they give this gushing, glowing review. What the what?! How can you form an opinion that quick?! I certainly can’t. Which is why I rarely accept things from manufacturers and why my blog is ad free. But this pan? I’ve lived with it. I’ve dropped it. I’ve had cooking successes and failures in it. It’s been abused. And hands down, without a doubt, if you asked me what my very favorite pan is, I’d say this one. If I was stuck on an island with one pan, this would be my choice. It’s my soulmate in pan form!

It’s real name is Le Creuset’s 4 1/4 Qt Soup Pot. The color I have is called Ocean and it’s quite possibly the most beautiful color. A few years ago Chop surprised me with the tea kettle in the same color and it’s dreamy. A perfect slate gray. And it’s DURABLE. I’ve brought it too and from cooking classes, friends houses, camping, etc. I had a rather memorable occasion  (read that as, I was horrified!) when I was juggling things out of our car and dropped it onto the pavement. No dings. No scratches. Relief for sure!

Our electric stove is quite possibly one of the worst. It’s ancient (no really!) and it has two settings: barely on and flaming hot. This pan distributes heat wonderfully. I can simmer soups successfully, I can create amazing jams and it goes from stove top to oven perfectly- ala my favorite curry recipe. 

Ok, so later on I’ll tell you more about this pan because I’m totally in fan girl mode right now and I’m rambling and I REALLY want to share with you my obsession with popcorn! And dill!

When I was little my mom, who’s an amazing cook, would make things like chicken & dumplings and I’d throw a hissy fit because I hated the green floating things (dill). Thankfully I’ve grown out of my hatred of dill (like, 3 months ago).

So now I eat dill like, daily. On eggs, mixed in yogurt cheese, in soups, on baked yams. Basically, dill 24/7. And now..dill popcorn.

I saw on pinterest a link to Soule Mama’s blog post about popcorn. And I thought it would be fun to take some photos of my favorite popcorn and share them with you!

I make my popcorn on the stove top using Simply Recipe’s method, which is super easy and always works out perfectly. Even if you have a horrid stove. You just need a good pan. ;)

Here’s what I do differently:

A heaping tablespoon of coconut oil instead of another neutral oil. I found this out accidentally, I don’t keep many oils in the house except for olive oil, which you shouldn’t use because it’ll burn. I had a heaping tablespoon of coconut oil left in a jar and gave it a try…perfect!

I use 1/4 cup of dill, a hearty shake (or 5) of Bragg’s Sprinkle, a melted tablespoon of butter, some smoked Alder salt (it sounds weird but it’s heavenly), some garlic powder and a healthy grating of romano cheese. That’s it. And it’s perfect for Friday’s! You can eat it out of the pan if you are lazy like me or share with your family.

You know what else is perfect for Friday’s?! Springtime Sampler. YES. It’s ready for pre-sale today and it has a chart to get you started! And theworkroom has floss bundles and fabric!

That’s a lot of info for one blog post huh? I’ll be back on Monday with some Springtime Sampler sneak peeks.

Have a good weekend!

Mar

01

March Means…Marchy McMushroom!

The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery / Tutorials & Patterns  Posted by / 1 comments

March 1st equals…NEW ADDITION TO THE WOODLAND SAMPLERRRRR!!!

Soooo many people were like OMG SO MUCH STITCHING IN FEBRUARY! I’m super glad when we designed the pattern that we put this little mushroom in for March! I think it’ll help people not become too discouraged. April is going to be super fun, it has a lot of details but not so many that it’ll be overwhelming.

Can you guess who named this guy? I did. ;) Haha! Each time we come up with a pattern, I send Ashleigh these goofy little emails with a story about the character. Because I think I’m actually a daydreaming 8 year old, doodling in a notebook and laying in the grass.

Here is this guys story in email form.

“hi mushroom, what’s your name?”

“my name is marchy mcmushroom! I live in a little glass terrarium in the study of a girl who loves kit kats!”::
Can you guess who recently discovered the joy of kit kats? ;) I told Porkchop yesterday my dream milkshake would involve kit kats and potato chips. Clearly I’m craving salty & sweet. But don’t worry, I didn’t actually make that milkshake.
Actually, speaking of strange food, one last thing before I go…have you guys seen the Lay’s new flavor chips? I got a bag of chicken & waffles and a bag of sriracha. I’ve had a few of the chicken & waffles, I’ve never actually had the pleasure of eating chicken & waffles together but I’m sort of obsessed with the idea. I love…salty & sweet (I know, I’m repetitive and predictable!). One of my favorite things is breakfast sausage with maple, when I make sausage from scratch I tend to go a teeny bit overboard on the maple extract. And I lust after making this recipe ALL THE TIME but you know…clearly not a health food. ANYWAYS, the chicken & waffle chips aren’t too shabby. I can’t eat more than a 4-5 at once because they are a little much but a good rare treat!
And, you can sign up for Woodland Sampler year round! There’s no deadline, you can join whenever you want! The workroom has floss in stock for it too! We do have another club coming up, SPRINGTIME SAMPLER! I’ve been sneaking in photos on instagram but I’ll take some photos today for the blog so you guys can see it too!
It’s supposed to be 72 degrees here today and I have spring fever xten.
Feb

06

Woodland Sampler: February Midnight Raccoon Bandit

The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery  Posted by / 2 comments

Oh hi!

February’s Woodland Sampler was released on the 1st and I’m in *love* with this little raccoon. I swear, Ashleigh’s designs just get better and better!

You can sign up year round and there is no such thing as being “behind”. We get so many emails asking if it’s ok to start now…heck yes! You can start whenever you want!

The pattern is here & you can get floss bundles here!

Ashleigh & I got together today and finished up the color palette for Kawaii Spring Sampler. After doing the Kawaii Winter Sampler we had lots of requests for more seasons so we decided to do all of them! I’ll let you know when the pre-sale goes live! We also are finishing up the stitching on the new Around the World patterns…eek!

Don’t forget, #woodlandsampler on instagram shows you all the works in progress, plus you can post to our facebook page AND you can email us your photos directly :):)

Jan

22

Long Weekend Projects

Quilting & Sewing / Stitching / The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery / Tutorials & Patterns  Posted by / 6 comments

I started a little embroidery yesterday for a friend who’s having a baby. I’m super slow at embroidering so I figured I’d get a head start! I’m using this pattern, because mama-to-be is a Kurt Hasley fan. I don’t know if it’s going to be a boy or girl yet so I picked some constellation scraps for the background. Stars are gender neutral right?! ;) I super love iron on patterns, I’m the absolute worst at tracing and for some reason the whole “iron it and it’s magically on your fabric” is really magical to me. I’m a nerd. ;)

Porkchop made me a little scrap thread holder! It’s a piece of 4″ x 6″ wood that he wrapped fabric around and stapled down. Then he hammered a few nails in it and we sprayed it with a bit of glitter spray. I love it so much, I tend to just leave little piles of floss everywhere and now I have them all together with me!

I finished my Donut Quilt on Sunday night, it was the best weekend of sewing, relaxing and watching t.v. Those are the best kinds of weekends to me.

Also! Voting ended in our poll for the next patterns! We’ll be doing Japan, Australia and Ireland! Ashleigh is already designing and I’ve ordered new linen/evenweave for us this morning. I can’t wait to start stitching them and sharing sneak peeks! I was begging everyone I knew to vote for Japan, Ireland and Russia, but sadly Russia didn’t win! But once these patterns are done, we’ll have another round of voting! :):)

I hope you had a nice long weekend :)

Jan

18

Weekend Plans: Frosted Pumpkin Shop Update & Donut Quilt

Quilting & Sewing / The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery / Tutorials & Patterns  Posted by / 5 comments

TGIF! TGIF!!!

Today was the best mail day, all the fabrics I needed to complete my donut quilt arrived! Woo! That never happens! Usually one or two will meander in at a time but today, BAM! all at once! Although sadly the fabric I’d planned to bind the quilt with I bought in the wrong color! oops!

I spent the afternoon listening to Driving Mr. Dead & cutting this quilt out. I never listened to audiobooks until last year when Amber got me into them. Now I can’t imagine an afternoon without them! Molly Harper’s books are read by Amanda Ronconi and she takes the book up a notch. Truly *hilarious*.

This quilt is the most sweet and girly thing I’ve ever sewn. I used Lizzy’s little constellation stars for the background, a bunch of favorite pinks (and two rebel black fabrics) for the donuts and then the border I went with pearl bracelets in cotton candy. And then! I found donut fabric for the backing. That totally cracks me up!

Ashleigh & I are asking for your help! We are having a poll to decide the next countries in our Around the World Series! You can vote between now and Sunday! Full confession: I voted for Japan with my other hopes being Ireland & Russia!

We’ve also updated our shop with all the new Valentine’s Day patterns, included one we kept secret, Elements of Love! ooOOOooo!

What are you going to do this weekend? I’m cross stitching and working on this quilt. I heard a rumor someone is going to take me out for yogurt tonight. ;)

Jan

17

The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery Presents: Valentine’s Day!

The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery  Posted by / 1 comments

omggg!

It’s almost time for new patterns!!!!

These new cuties will be available tomorrow evening on our bigcartel shop! 

I can’t wait!!! I stitched up the latte love & you are smashing, Ashleigh stitched up the bacon & eggs…sooo much fun! We had a little party on New Years Eve and sat up until 4 am cross stitching & playing with her two puppies. Best! I used the scraps left over from my Woodland Sampler that I glitter sprayed. Smash used a scrap of evenweave from her stash.

I printed out a copy of the pattern with some floss and linen as a little hello for my neighbor. I think these would be super cute stitched up as gifts! Imagine a few for teachers gifts or for bffs? Adorbs!

I’ll post an announcement on facebook when they are up for sale!

Who’s ready for some weekend stitching?!

Jan

15

DIY Glitter Linen

Stitching / The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery / Tutorials & Patterns  Posted by / 2 comments

Raise your hand if you love glitter!

Meee!!! I loooove glitter. Fierce. And I also love cross stitch. Combine the two and you get pure radness!

You can buy commercial glitter linen from sources like dovestitch.com but if you are like me and want the most glitter for your buck, try this!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Krylon Glitter Spray or Krylon Glitter Blast. I can only vouch for these two sprays, different brands may vary. I picked Glitter Blast in Diamond Dust & Glitter Spray in a Multicolor. The multicolor has bits of red, blue, silver, gold and green. I went with Krylon because these are acid free. I purchased these at Michael’s with a coupon. The small can is $5.99 and the large is $7.99 without a coupon. You could get a LOT of glitter linen out of each can. And they had a ton of colors, gold, silver, pink, green, etc.
  • Linen Scraps. Please try this project on scraps first, I’d hate for you to buy expensive linen and have it not work out!.
  • Either newspaper or paper bags. Or your front steps. Just a place to spray your fabric outside.

 

You really want to work on this project outside, it’s spray paint and it stinks.

I simply laid down my fabric and using even strokes, covered the fabric with the spray paint. Easy right?

Here are a few tips:

  • Let the fabric sit 24-48 hrs before you try to stitch on it. Not because it’s wet but because the fumes are crazy.
  • The fabric will be SUPER stiff. I found I liked it, but if you don’t want super stiff fabric, you probably don’t want to try this project.
  • I completed an entire project with minimal glitter shedding. Occasionally I’d look down and see a piece of glitter or two on my hands but it didn’t fall everywhere.
  • The fibers of the linen can be stuck together, meaning it’s a little easy to miscount but a few stitches in I figured it out.
  •  It WILL darken your fabric considerably. In the photo of the spray paint cans, the linen on the left has been glittered, the right hasn’t.

 

Here in this photo shows the original linen rolled up and then the glittered linens below it! Exact same one, Charles Craft Irish Linen Tea Dyed! See how light it is compared to the glittered ones?! Neat!

Look how awesome glitter floss looks with glitter linen?! This is Cosmo’s White (silver!) and it’s super dreamy looking. I’m working on a project today with this sparkle floss and I can’t wait!

See how nice the stitches pop?! This has been ironed on low with a dish towel between the iron and the linen. It is FLAT. Crisp even! Imagine the cutest bookmark ever and this could be it. Sometimes my regular projects I have to starch in order to get the crinkles out but this fabric is so stiff that the crinkles just fell out. Amazing!

Anyways, I hope you give it a try! Ashleigh & I will be releasing a line of brand new Valentine’s Day patterns on Friday, if you haven’t had a chance get, come visit us on facebook! We aren’t spammy (that’s just not our nature!), we share tips & tricks and post photos of things other folks have made from our patterns :)

Jan

09

Monthly Woodland Sampler Sneak Peek: February

The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery  Posted by / 10 comments

On January 2nd we introduced our Woodlander’s to Deer Couple and I was downright *shocked* how fast people stitched these cuties up. It takes me a zillion years to cross stitch, I’m pretty sure I’m the slowest stitch-er ever! But it makes us crazy excited to see how you guys dive into each pattern and project. I kept texting Ashleigh with “another person finished!” “someone else is done and it’s soooo cute”!

Yesterday I posted a little sneak peek on instagram of my hoop and people seemed *really* excited so I thought it was only fair to share it with the entire universe. (Well, my little spot of the universe that is!)

I think 2-3x a day we receive an email asking if the blank bits in the frames are supposed to be there. The answer is yes! These little spaces will contain cute things later on…such as CLOUDS! See that little guy above?! Adorable right? Ashleigh really went all out on this pattern, it has a lot of sweet little details.

February has also had people curious…why is it blue? Is it special?

The answer is….it takes place at NIGHT! I’ve always been curious of the woods at night. Curious and slightly scared. I’m a bit of a weenie. What is lurking around? Friend or Foe? In this case, totally a friend! This little woodland creature is heading out for night time adventures, maybe visiting a masquerade ball for a little dancing under the stars! wink wink hint hint!

I’ve blocked out all of the navy blue already, the rest of the blank spots will be grays, yellows and a few little bits of sparkle. This month has a lot of stitching, no empty squares within the 33×33 stitch block! Eek! Exciting!

Don’t forget, tomorrow at midnight the price of the pattern rises to $16.95! And we’ll send patterns to friends, we have lots of sisters, mothers and daughters and bffs working on this project together.

<3!

Dec

27

2013 Woodland Sampler Sneak Peek & FAQs

The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery  Posted by / 16 comments

Hi friends!

Did you have a nice holiday?

Today I thought I’d share some helpful tips and a little sneak peek of  our 2013 Woodland Sampler!

  • What is the 2013 Woodland Sampler? The 2013 Woodland Sampler is our newest mystery cross stitch club for this upcoming year. In the past we’ve done Fruit of the Month Club & Dessert of the Month Club. This is our third year of running clubs and it is our very best & cutest. By December of 2013 you’ll have a completed cross stitch sampler!
  • How does this work? After you sign up you’ll receive an email from us containing a link to a PDF. You can download this 3 times before the link expires. In the PDF you’ll find a stitch guide, the list of materials and the first chart. This chart contains the frame work of the pattern. Each month you’ll fill in the blanks!
  • When will I receive each pattern? Starting on January 2nd, once a month you’ll receive an email directly from us. It’s helpful to make sure you have plenty of room in your inbox and add us to your address book! For example, January 2nd you’ll receive the chart to fill in January. On February 1st you’ll receive the chart to fill in February. And so on!
  • How much does this cost? The cost is a flat *one time* fee of $10. That’s a great deal! But this special only lasts until January 11th, then the price rises to $16.95.
  • This sounds fun! But can I sign up in February or March? As with our previous clubs, you can sign up year round! This is completely go at your own pace! Some people sign up but can only cross stitch on their vacations or other down time. The best part of PDF patterns is that you can download and stitch at your leisure, no waiting for patterns in the mail!
  • But I’ve never cross stitched before! That’s totally ok! Our patterns have a helpful stitch guide and are completely beginner friendly!
  • How big is this project? Using 28 ct linen or 14 ct aida cloth, this measures 100w x 236h stitches, or 7.5 x 17 inches. Now, if you use a larger or smaller count fabric, be aware that the size of your finished project will change!
  • Can I order supplies online? Absolutely! We are working with theworkroom to create floss kits!  This kit contains all the floss for the entire year! You will have the option of picking either champagne (goldish!) or white (silverish!) sparkle floss for your project. The sampler looks equally awesome with either color. If you haven’t tried Cosmo’s Metallic Floss, it’s a real treat. Very easy to use, no need to ply down the thread and it doesn’t snag as much as other brands. We are hoping to have a kit that will include fabric available soon & I’ll send out a newsletter/blog/tweet/facebook a link once this becomes available.
  • I have my floss but I can’t find the recommended linen! That’s ok! We purchased our linen from Michael’s Craft Stores in hopes that it would be easy for everyone to find. If you can’t find it, bring your floss to your nearest craft store to see what they have available. You want to make sure all your floss will show up on whatever fabric you choose. For example, don’t choose bright white because the white stitches won’t show up! Don’t feel limited by our fabric choice, feel free to choose whatever color YOU like, as you’ll be stitching on it all year! One of my very favorite kawaii winter wonderland projects is being worked on in BLUE fabric! It’s seriously stunning and unique!
  • Do you have any tools or notions you suggest? I sure do! I alternate between a round 8 inch wooden hoop and a 11 inch Q-Snap frame. I recently purchased a hoop stand from Michael’s that I like, I used a 60% off coupon so make it super budget friendly and that’s a good option if you don’t want hand/wrist fatigue. I also love thread heaven, which makes stitching snag less. Another favorite notion is an embroidery floss needle threader. Last but not least, highlighter tape is handy for keeping track of where you are stitching!
  • If you have access to a serger or a sewing machine it’s incredible helpful to finish the edges of your fabric. This means either overlock or zigzag the edges so they don’t fray all year long!

 

ok! finally! phew! the part you’ve been waiting for…SNEAK PEEK!!!

 

 

oooooo!!!!!!! Join us in 2013 stitching up a Woodland Sampler! woo woo!