I was asked the other day why I still decorate my house for Christmas even though my children are grown and gone. My answer was quick and easy to tell them. I love decorating for the holidays. I do it for myself and just maybe others will enjoy it as much as I enjoy doing it. Christmas is an actual day, but I decorate for the season. When you put so much into the decorating I am not in a hurry to take it all down quickly. I want to enjoy every aspect of the season. Of course, I like to share that feeling with everyone.
I like to make as many of my gifts as I can and never seem to get them all done in time for Christmas. My family has become very understanding. Thank Goodness! So what I want to share is the cute angle stocking that can be found at Stitchdelight.net.
This stocking is sewn partly in the hoop on the embroidery machine. There are 3 different sizes available. I made the largest one, and it fits my 7X11 hoop. I hooped all three layers together, the medium weight stabilizer then some thin quilt batting and then white cotton fabric. I did the baste stitch on the embroidery machine to help keep the fabric from shifting while embroidering. I had no problems with anything shifting or puckering.
There is also a reindeer pattern available. There is room at the top of the reindeer stocking to write a person’s name. Once the stocking is done embroidering you will have to cut it out. I trimmed the excess batting away to make it easier to assemble.
The next step is attaching the fur. If you have never sewn with fur before you will have to look closely at it to see which way the fur is going before you cut it. You want to make sure the fur is facing down and you will want to move as much of the fur out of the way for cutting and sewing. You only want to cut the backing. If you just cut the fur you will not be able to hide your seams.
You also have to cut out lining fabric and batting for the back piece. When attaching the fur you are attaching it at the bottom of the fur to the top of the stocking so the fur will flow down when you turn the stocking right side out.
I am sure like most of you I get my ideas from Youtube, Pinterest, and magazines and sometimes just go shopping and looking what is out there. Personally, I get my ideas from everything I look at. This idea is from FABEDhacks “Dollar Tree + DIY Gingerbread Christmas” on YouTube. This was her idea.
I liked her idea of watching Christmas movies and it did look like you spilled cookie-making goodies on the tray. She made cutout felt shapes to look like cookies. I loved the concept. So I bought the Dollar Tree cookie sheet, everything else I had on hand.
I painted the cookies sheet. I used Apple Barrel paints in black, red, and white. I then sealed it with Mod Podge.
I used peel-off lettering I also got at the Dollar Store and lightly placed them where I wanted them. I used a Sharpie paint pen medium point to make all the dots on the cookie sheet that helps form the words.
The letters I peeled off the cookie sheet once I had enough dots where you could read the words. Because I have an embroidery machine I had embroidered two gingerbread people and used them for placement for the wording. Once I was done I glued the gingerbread people down to the cookies sheet. I used my glue gun to glue them down.
Why is it that when family, no matter the size, almost always has food involved? There does not even need a reason to gather. Any opportunity to gather is great. For the cooks in the family, this is absolutely wonderous and joyful. I love cooking and baking and love to produce exclusive gastronomic delights. But, I also love to create traditional foods that mean something to our family. I am always on the lookout for more recipes to try and share with family. I know they appreciate it very much because there never seem to be any leftovers.
Chicken and Cucumber Sandwiches – Kylling- og agurksmørbrød
Of course, if you had not read it before I have a Scandinavian family. I also have some German and Irish and I try to work them in also when cooking. So this year at one of our usual gatherings I made some traditional open-faced sandwiches and baked goods. There are always trays of meats and cheeses and crackers and fruit.
I made Chicken sandwiches. I like to use sourdough bread because that is what my family prefers. But traditionally used is Pumpernickel or rye bread. I cut the skins off of cucumbers and then slice them very thin. I put them in vinegar and sugar and let them sit overnight. I cook the chicken in cooking wine and pickling spices. It is best if you can cook this the day before you need it. To assemble the sandwiches I first butter the bread. Then I add a layer of lettuce. I cut the chicken into as thin of a slice as I can and put that on top of the lettuce. I put a small spoonful of sour cream on top of the chicken. To that, I add one slice of a cucumber with a cut partway through it so I can twist it and put that on the sour cream. I slice small tomatoes to put in with the cucumber. To top it off I put a sprig of dill. (recipe is here in the blog)
Next, I made fruit sandwiches. With these sandwiches, you can use your favorite bread like my family likes but I use again sourdough. This sandwich is traditionally made with french bread. Cut the crusts off the bread. First, you butter the bread followed by cream cheese or blue cheese. The topping of this sandwich is strawberries and grapes. I like this mix rather than strawberries on one and grapes on another. This is a family favorite as is the chicken sandwich. I keep introducing new sandwiches to the family.
Another favorite is the heart-shaped waffles. I started making these on a cast iron griddle. I now have an electric griddle, so much easier.
Electric Hear Shaped Waffle Iron
The key to this recipe is getting the dough to the right consistency. The directions on how to make these are just like regular waffles except for cardamom. I crush the seeds myself. This is so much tastier.
We eat these hot and cold. Best served with whipped cream and berries.
This is the food that we have served at most of our gatherings.
In a medium bowl, combine sugar, salt, vinegar, and water. Stir in cucumber. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Poach chicken breasts in a skillet. (below) Then set aside the chicken to cool. Spread butter on each slice of bread, lay lettuce on the buttered bread slices. Thinly cut cooled chicken breasts and place them on the lettuce leaf. Drain the cucumber mixture and lay folded cucumber on top of the chicken piece. Lay a tomato slice on top of or next to the cucumber. Finish with a dollop of sour cream and a small piece of fresh dill.
Place chicken in a skillet with wine, water, and pickling spices. Boil, then simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Drain, the chicken is easiest to cut when cooled. Slice the chicken across the grain, thinly.
In a small bowl combine vinegar, sugar, water, and dill. Set aside. Cut the cucumber extremely thin. Place the cut cucumber in a medium bowl, gently pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers. Stir and refrigerate for approximately 4 hours.
Christmas cooking is around the corner and I hope to get all that photographed and maybe a video or two also. I will be looking for you then!
Roxanne Storlie Designs 