- Maternal instincts of the grand kind: Stitching for the newest member of the family

When we headed up to St. Louis last month for Jackson's second birthday, we returned with a list of projects for little brother Jace who is due September 4th. They have been duly completed with two whole weeks to spare!

First up was a set of four 10"x10" canvases spelling out the new baby's name, two of which were covered with cloth from the woodland crib sheets. Each canvas was padded with white flannel and cloth laced on with heavy quilting thread (which I no longer use for quilting, thanks to Jude Hill). The letters were ably painted brown by Don (aka Pop Pop), but are not yet affixed (so I guess I'm not done done).

Lacing fabric onto a backing is also a great way to make a mount for needlework

Having a fair bit of leftover crib sheet fabric, I decided to tackle my first-ever quilt. The backing was a piece of blue striped flannel (see background in the picture above) and the middle layer was a gossamer piece of harem cloth. After hand quilting meandering vertical lines of variegated green floss between the owls and trees, I zig-zagged a wavy outer border with the sewing machine and cut away the excess cloth with pinking shears. After several washes, the edges have stabilized into a soft fray. I also embroidered letters and numbers along the bottom edge of the quilt, including a run of backward ABCs (for those who haven't yet memorized them) ...

... then stitched Jace's name across the top, followed by members of his extended family tree.

And of course I had to make at least a few new burp cloths, even though there are plenty left over from Jackson. I did notice that the cloths I made the first time around kinda seized up after being run through the washer and dryer, so this time I made raw-edged cloths and washed them a few times to work out the loose threads. So far they are much less inclined to bunch up, probably since there isn't a lot of bulk from turning under the edges.

All that's left to do now (aside from gluing on letters) is wait to learn what birth day stats to stitch into the trees on the quilt and the family sampler. My prediction is that Jace will be 7 lbs 14 oz and that he'll arrive on his due date ... just like his mom.

- Sometimes dreams come true: Or, you can't win if you don't play

Here's an essay that I just submitted to the Central Market 20th Anniversary Contest in hopes of winning a culinary tour of France and Italy ... whether I win or not, it's all true!

I’m Going to Texas: A Foodie Fairy Tale 

Once upon a time, long ago (at the turn of the century) and faraway (in Virginia), I first heard tell of Central Market’s wonders when my husband began consulting in Fort Worth. He would come back to Williamsburg with tales of post-meeting sorties that left my mouth watering.

So I was happy indeed when daughter Meg moved to Austin, where I fell in love with Tortilla Soup from the Central Market Café on a hot summer day in August. Winding through the aisles, marveling at the produce and deli and bakery, I found my Foodie bliss … only to return to the East Coast and rue my fate.

Fast forward to the present: We now live in San Marcos and shop at both local HEB stores, which have many of the Central Market products we’ve come to love.  But I still have a special Central Market shopping list for our weekly trips to Austin, where I stock up on:

• Red boiler onions in Produce – just the right size to zing up Salad Days
• Fresh ground veal and pork in the Meat case – for mouthwatering Meatballs
• CM fresh ravioli next to the Sushi case – which gives new meaning to Leaving the Burg Leftovers
• 5 grain cereal, rolled oats, maple syrup, and coconut flakes from the Bulk Foods section – for the best homemade Granola when combined with …
• CM Arbosana olive oil – a balanced blend of fruit and bitterness, with a gentle hit of pepper for the back of the palate or …
• CM Virgin Coconut Oil – which also makes killer popcorn
• CM organic pasta – capellini so fine it cooks in only three minutes, for a fast dinner go-to
• White Shoyu soy sauce – so delicately flavored it makes sushi sing
• Pasture-raised eggs in the Dairy case– for the lightest, airiest Popovers and Cakes
• CM flour tortillas– freshly made, they are requested by our hosts when we travel to the Midwest and East Coast (along with Salt Lick Chipotle Bar-B-Que Sauce)
• Italian white bread from the Bakery  – perfect for Crème Brulée French Toast … if it survives the dinner bread basket
• Castelvetranos from the Olive Bar – so perfectly brined you can’t eat just one
• Speck (smoked prosciutto) – a Deli case delight that sparks up pastas and salads alike
• Shredded Gruyère from the Cheese case – a wintertime wonder for Onion Soup and Gougères* (light puffs of butter, egg, flour  and cheese)

Central Market even carries Williamsburg Peanut Shop peanuts – for a little taste of what-used-to-be-home.

Of course, the list keeps growing as we encounter new Foodie Finds from Alfajores (buttery cookies sandwiched around dulce de leche) to Chiles (CM Hatch Green Chile Salsa Roja and CM Hatch tortilla chips), all ably accompanied by libations from local brews to worldly wines.

It’s no wonder we’re living happily ever after!

- It's magic: Weaving a cloth patch with four selvages

As part of my early efforts during Jude Hill's online course "Considering Weave" I created a small bit of weaving on a "cloth loom" (some even weave linen stretched in an embroidery hoop). At the time it seemed insignificant so I didn't post it, but here it is for the record:

6-strand DMC floss, green warp, gold weft needlewoven on a 35-count linen "loom"

Today while tidying up I actually toyed with the idea of tossing it, thinking, "What's the use?" As I pondered its destruction, I absentmindedly picked out the linen threads and realized I had managed, quite unintentionally, to create a tiny cloth with four selvages.

Now this was worth saving ... and reiterating. Perhaps I could even control the dimensions.

With a goal of creating a 1 1/2" patch of cloth, I gathered some recently acquired white and black size 10 cotton crochet thread (which I had planned to weave into a tapestry version of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse), a square of green linen cloth (which changed colors in the photographs as the daylight coming in the window came and went), an embroidery hoop, and a very long, very sharp needle.

The steps I followed are documented below with details in the captions:

The green linen was marked in 1/2" intervals and the initial warp was anchored with a waste knot

Spacing the warp every 2 threads of linen seemed too tight

This is the back after I began spacing the warp 3 threads apart. I changed colors using a simple square knot.

I ended up with 8 warp threads for each 1/2" section

Another picture of the back, which didn't change for the duration. Note the loose warp thread at the lower right.

After finishing the warp, I simply brought the thread up to the front (lower left corner) and began needleweaving

When I reached the end of the thread, I buried it along the selvage

Then started a new thread by needleweaving up the other side

Here I left the black weft thread loose in order to try anchoring it with subsequent passes, which worked well

After each pass, I "beat" down the weft with a tiny brush (an unused hearing aid cleaner)

As I reached the end, things got tight so I needlewove one stitch at a time

Along the way I tried knotting some of the weft threads, which didn't work as well as weaving the ends in

Then I cut the woven patch away from the linen "loom"

This was the final back view ... which looked just the same as it did in the beginning.

After picking out the linen from the ends, I had a 1 1/2" square patch with four selvages.