Stitching Friends Forever

July Post One
RJ's Grab Bag/ Throw back Stitches
Mary's Recipe/ Raspberry-Wineberry Cake
SAL preview
Big Give Away

Welcome to Stitching Friends Forever.  I hope you enjoy your visit and come back often.   July is a very special month to both of us because we get to celebrate our nation's birthday.  Our flag is especially dear to our hearts and we always enjoy stitching patriotic patterns.  There are celebrations everywhere and lots of red, white and blue! 

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RJ's Grab Bag 

I'm not a regular on Facebook but I noticed on my husband's page that they have something called Throwback Thursday where they show old photos which are always fun to see.   I thought for this patriotic month I would do a Throwback Stitches post.   They are game boards in red, white and blue and seemed perfect for this month.    These are some of the first stitches I did and they are still near and dear to my heart.

We were stationed in San Antonio at the time and I found this great cross stitch store (my first) and I became a regular visitor.   When I saw this booklet with game boards I was smitten and decided to make them all.   Back then, I was using 14 count Aida cloth and DMC.  Who knew linen was out there and I'm not sure over dyes were even around back in the stone age.  I stitched them up pretty quickly and then took them to the base craft shop.   We were so lucky to have a retired Air Force officer who framed for cost for any one with a military ID.   Oh to have that luxury now!

Sorry for the glare but having a bad weather day and had to use a spotlight

That very sweet man tripled matted all of them!

I still love to play checkers!

Maybe my favorite of the small boards but look at the damage moving 17 times does.   I'm sure it's a water stain.   One day when I actually find the chart again I will redo this one.   

A few visits later to my favorite store and there she was the "Monopoly Board".   Oh my I had to make it as monopoly was my favorite game growing up.   And did you know that all the names are after streets in Atlantic City that lead up to the Boardwalk? Growing up in New Jersey, this was really cool.  To make the size of a real monopoly board I had to stitch it on 18 count.   18 count!?!  Everything seems scary before you try it.   But, it was a very easy change and I loved stitching it until I would come to a community chest.   They intimidated me...so I skipped them!  When I got to the end, I still had three community chests to do.    Right about this time, my husband came home and announced we had orders and were moving in two months.  That meant I better get those three dreaded "community chests" done quickly so there was time for it to be framed in a similar way as the other four.   I hated every single moment of stitching those three little babies.  Memo to self: never put off a part of a stitch because it seems hard.  Do it when you come to it.  You will be much happier in the long run.

This is the stitch that actually got my son's attention.   When he saw it he said "Mom, it's looks like you took a real Monopoly board and framed it."   When he visits he still comments on it all these years later.  

A corner of the board.  

Another corner.  Lots and lots of backstitching!

There it is one of those three community chests!

And one more corner

Unknown chart names (still looking for booklet)
called for DMC
14 ct. and 18 ct. Aida cloth

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Mary's Recipe


      Although I am not a "Summer" person, there is still much I love about July.  Celebrating  Independence Day with a family BBQ, cheering on my METS,  and swimming and kayaking at the lake are some favorite pastimes.

      A highlight of July is when the wineberries ripen.  I like them even better than Raspberries, they are tarter, have more flavor and taste great in muffins, cake and in a simple syrup over pancakes.

My property is surrounded by these bushes.

 Picking these berries is fraught with peril!! I have had snakes slither by my feet,  thorns snag my skin and where there are wineberries there is the dreaded poison ivy!!  But, it's all worth it!!   I go out each morning and pick the ripest berries and freeze them to use all year.  So please join me for a slice of a very simple cake and fresh lemonade! 

Raspberry/ Wineberry Cake

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick of butter, softened
2/3 cup of sugar
1 Tablespoon of sugar (for topping) 
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup of fresh raspberries ( about 5 ounces)  I substitute  wild wineberries

Pre-heat oven to 400 F with rack in center of oven. Butter and flour a 9 inch cake pan. 

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup of sugar with an electric mixer at med-hi speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in vanilla, add egg and beat well. 

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing till just combined. 

Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter berries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. 

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25-30 mins. 

Cool in pan 20 minutes, then invert pan  on cake plate.  ( I run a knife  all around the edge of the pan before inverting cake pan. ) 

Right out of the oven! 

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New SAL to announce:

We are actually starting this SAL today.   It is called Quaker Handework by With Thy Needle and Thread.   It's a beauty and we are excited to put our needle to the linen and get going. 

                            

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Our big Give Away

Don't forget to sign up for our big give away.   You will find all the details here    You can sign up until the end of July so don't miss out.

                   


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Well hope you enjoyed going down memory lane with RJ's "Stitching Throwback" and had a big piece of Mary's delicious cake.   Wish she could cut it and pass it around right now.   We will be by to visit with all of you and see the beautiful stitches you are creating.   Next week will be our "Styling with Stitches" post and we have a neat project to share.   Until then...Happy Stitching! 


                           "My patriotic heart beats red, white and blue"
                                                     unknown author