A Pumpkin Mat and Some Goodies to Share

This pumpkin mat has always been one of my very favorite items that I stitched over the yrs.  It was a fun design to work on and I used Pearl Cotton #5 and also Watercolours thread by Caron Collection.  They are a 3-ply thicker type floss, equal to Pearl Cotton in thickness, but have a much more variegated look to them.  It was stitched 'over two' on Anne's Cloth, (nine-square) that comes w/that 'square' already stitched and then you just stitch the design within the square, sort of using it as a guideline.  (Have I confused you yet)??

  It was from a Dutch Treat Design from yrs. ago. (you can click on pic to make it larger so you can see what I'm talking about, if you're not familiar with this fabric).

 I added a little pumpkin holder in the center square.

 I have it on my little drop-leaf table in my craft/sewing room.  Gives the C.R. a little bit of fallishness, is that a word???  It measures about 21 inches square.  I used to sell of lot of this fabric when I owned a cross stitch shop yrs. ago.

 Recently, I received a sweet little box in the mail from Danice of Homespun Hannah.  She made me the cutest rustic can w/my blog name printed on the label and inside was a cinnamon candle (my favorite scent) and some vanilla potpourri, along w/a very sweet note.  I wrote her back, thanking her and telling her that I needed to do more RAK(random acts of kindness), which she replied to that I had already done that w/her earlier this summer!  I had totally forgotten all about it!! how funny!  anyway, thanks again Danice!!

 Last week we had some family come to town from out-of-state that don't get to visit very often, so we had a big family gathering 3 nights in a row, and two of them were at our house. There was enough food to feed an army!!  I tried a new recipe for dessert and everyone LOVED it.  Can you say 'Pistachio Cake'??  Oh my goodness, was it ever moist and had the most wonderful flavor.  I sprinkled pecans(boy are those babies pricey) on top, just like the recipe called for, giving it that 'over-the-top' rating!!  I used Cool Whip instead of Dream Whip or whatever and I tinted it w/green food coloring, which I got all over my hand!! LOL    I found the recipe from 'South Your Mouth' blog.

I also made a few loaves of Pumpkin Bread earlier in the week(forgot to take a pic of them), which I took to our Women's meeting at church, where everyone was supposed to bring a baked good and then we all BID on each other's baked goodies to raise $$$ for missions.  There were 3 long tables end to end, full of baked items and boy, do those ladies know how to bid!!  I think a few hundred dollars were raised that night.

 Also, I've been on the hunt for the perfect homemade PRETZEL (don't ask me why), but just got a hankering for them not too long ago, so tried a couple of recipes in the same week.  Here's how a few of them turned out.  You should have seen me trying to get the 'knot' just right ~ what a hoot!!  Anyway, they tasted pretty doggone close to the kind you find in those pretzel shops at the mall.

I'm always glad you stop by, thanks for your sweet comments!  Enjoy the rest of your week!  It is finally getting a little cooler here and feels a lot more like fall.

I still need to write a few more book reviews, so I'll try to get them in my next post.  Until then, happy fall crafting!!