It's Monday Already.

Boy. The start to another week. I feel like I'm not even finished with last week. We had a very quiet weekend. Not much exciting going on. I managed a teeny bit of sewing and some cleaning. Aside from birthday cake, the highlight was visiting MeMum and catching up on Big Love. I'm addicted and it provides a nice diversion while WE (you are waiting aren't you?) wait on Sawyer's return.

So, when there are no new tidbits of craftiness, you either get an old project or recipe. Flip a coin? Um...it's tails -- recipe. This is my favorite baked gift. (I may have said that about those Orange Cranberry Cookies, 'cause I love to give them too, but really, this is my favorite gift of baked love.) Several of the kids friends love it too, so when they all come home from school, if I know they'll be around, I'll make it for them. But, my biggest fan is BigDaddy. The recipe makes 2 loaves, so I usually have plenty to take to him too.

BigDaddy's Favorite Poppy Seed Bread

3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. each, vanilla, almond, and butter extract

Combine all the dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add all the wet ingredients and mix well. (I just use a wooden spoon, rather than a mixer.) Bake in 2 large greased loaf pans at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. Cool on wire racks for approximately 10 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and place on wire rack. Poke holes in bread while it's still warm and pour glaze over top of each loaf.

Glaze:
2 Tbsp. frozen orange juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. each, vanilla, almond, and butter extractThe extracts in this recipe really give it a wonderful flavor. I like to wrap these loaves individually in parchment paper, tie them with string, and add a cute homemade tag.

And while we're hungry... wouldn't this make a great dinner -- butter roasted chicken, twice baked potatoes , and pie? Yum - O - Yum!!! Go ahead -- you can start your diet next week!

Behave yourselves....
XOXO,
Anna

Favorite Shops in TheBigCity

I always enjoy going to Indianapolis if I know I'll have time to hit some of the quilt and yarn shops. This past weekend was perfect because TheManoftheHouse had a show that he wanted to see, so I dropped him off for the day and then I went shopping. Indy being the "Crossroads of America" and all*, I thought I'd tell you about my favorite shops there. I'm sure someone like Be*mused is infinitely more qualified to tell you about these shops, but I'll give you my opinion anyway.

So, here they are , 3 yarn shops and 3 quilt shops, starting on the south side of Indianapolis and finishing on the north side. Luckily they all have websites which will give you much better info than I ever could.

Back Door Quilts. This is a great quilt shop. They have lots of stuff that covers a wide variety of styles of quilting. A little bit of everything -- except for the "modern" quilter. No free spirit types of fabric that I noticed.
For yarn shops, the mecca is Mass Ave. Knit Shop. After reading descriptions on the internet, I'd imagined a very sexy warehouse setting (picture New York Loft), neat, tidy and very stylish. Not so. It's pretty haphazard. A well-worn pair of shoes sort of feeling. But, oh, the yarn. And books. And friendly atmosphere. And lucky me -- I just happened to be there when everything in the store was at least 20% off. How often does that happen at a yarn store? (If you're near Indy, the sale lasts until Saturday, June 9th!) Mass Ave. Knit Shop is very near downtown. A little hard to find, but well worth it. You enter through the back door, sign pictured here.
I also like The Knit Stop. It's a much smaller shop, but very pretty. Lots of shop samples and inspiration. When I was there on Saturday, there were three dogs roaming around. I love dogs, so that was a really fun surprise and an unusual twist on the yarn-shops-are-for-cats line of thinking. And good news, they're getting ready to expand into the shop next to them, thus doubling their shop size.

Practically next door and just down the street from The Knit Stop is Quilts Plus. This has long been my favorite quilt shop, although The Back Door is giving it a run for it's money! They have beautifully made quilts, which are getting harder and harder to find as we are busier and tend not to invest time in the details of many pieces and fine handwork. Lots of civil war and wool stuff too.
Another quilt shop is Quilt Quarters. They're also a Bernina Dealer. I don't know what it is about quilt shops that are also dealers, but somehow they lose some points on charm. Quilt Quarters probably has the largest variety of fabric of the three shops with just a smidgen of Free Spirit to boot. And look, I felt compelled to buy some of the new Susan Branch fabrics here too. Do I need more fabric? No. But, it's my over-crammed sewing room and I'll buy if I want to.
And last but not least was my real treat for the day. The loverly Jewels has been telling Junie and I about Stitches and Scones for several months and I finally got to check it out. I loved it! Great yarns and displays and exceptionally neat and tidy. As my 12-yr. old nephew would say Sa-weet! Thanks Jewels for the recommendation -- it should definitely be added to our list for girls-day-out!
Somewhere along the way I picked up this Duck Duck Goose fabric. There are no babies (that I know of) on my radar. But I just had to have it. Maybe I'll make it for me. Well, probably not really. Maybe I'll do like Gurney and start a baby hope chest for those grandbabies that may someday arrive.XOXO,
Anna

*You never know when you'll be driving across the country! I-70 runs smack-dab through the middle of Indy. Along with three other major freeways: I-65, I-69, and I-74. It's not the quilty/yarn mecca that someplace like Minnesota is, but just in case you're driving through....

My Favorite Places to Eat

On Friday night, TheManoftheHouse asked me if I'd like to go to The Big City on Saturday. We had a fun day, with just one annoying moment. For some reason, he decided to inform me that, with the boys soon out of college, we should think about downsizing.

We have several friends who are beginning their downsizing. But, I've never understood this concept. Just because the kids are gone, doesn't mean you don't need the space. I want space so the kids will want to bring their kids back home. And we can have big family dinners. And if TheManoftheHouse is bugging me, I can hide out somewhere.

So, after a little thought, I told him I had a downsizing plan for him. He'll be the first thing to go. He wasn't amused. It's such a burden to have to slap him back into reality sometimes. And he's burdened by the fact that his wife is a smart arse. Oh well...there'll be no more talk of downsizing, if you know what's good for you. ThankYouVeryMuch.


Now....on to the purpose of this post! KBG has tagged me to list my 5 favorite restaurants where I live. Please keep in mind that she said I can cheat:

1. Hands down, my favorite place in Ft. Wayne, IN is Asakusa -- a little hole-in-the-wall Japanese restaurant and sushi bar. Not that I'm a big sushi eater, but I LUV their Teriyaki dishes. I found out about Asakusa from our customers who visit us from New Jersey. They insist on eating at Asukusa whenever they come to town. And rumor has it that our corporate goobers in Boston make up excuses to visit us, just so they can eat at Asakusa too.

2. Next would be the Casa chain of locally owned Italian restaurants. The afore-mentioned NJ customers claim it isn't that great (and being from Soprano-land, I suppose they would know), but it's better than the big chains and it's what we have.

Now, here's where I start to cheat. I've seen these posts on other blogs, and a lot of them mention high-end restaurants. We have some really good high-end restaurants here, but we rarely frequent them. I'm just too practical. Think how much fabric you can buy for the cost of one good high-end meal! So...

3. Das Essen Haus in Middlebury, IN. This is an Amish-style restaurant where you can eat family style or order off of a menu. It's not that the food is incredible (although, it is good), but if you tell me I'm eating at Das Essen Haus, I start salivating, 'cause that means I'll be visiting the nearby quilt shops in Shipshewana, IN. (Someday, that will be a separate post!)

4. MeMum's. Sorry, I know this isn't a restaurant, but I love to eat at MeMum's. She's a fabulous cook.

5. Now, for some, this one will be boring. A big chain. While in The Big City last night, we ate at Cheesecake Factory. (At least some of you have a chance of being able to eat at this restaurant -- 'cause what are the chances that you'll be eating at any of my previous 4 -- northern Indiana isn't exactly a tourist mecca!) Almost everything on Cheesecake's menu is appealing to me. Especially the cheesecakes -- duh! My very favorite dish is Madeira Chicken. And fortunately, since Cheesecake is a 90 minute drive from where we live, I was able to find a knock-off version of this recipe on the internet. I have made this recipe and it's a dead ringer for the original. Here's a very unappetizing picture, but trust me, it's delicious! (Kim -- really, I know it has mashed potatoes, but it's fabulous. If you must, give the potatoes to the kids!)


Cheesecake Factory Chicken Madeira

1 T olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
8 asparagus spears
4 mozzarella cheese slices
Madeira Sauce:
2 T. olive oil
2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
3 c. madeira wine
2 c. beef stock
1 T. butter
1/4 t. ground black pepper
(And here, I have a handwritten note, to add a little cornstarch to the sauce to thicken it up a little.)

1. Heat up 1 T. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cover each chicken breast with plastic wrap, then use a mallet to flatten the chicken to about 1/4-in. thick. sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper.
2. Saute the chicken fillets for 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until the chicken has browned just a bit. Remove chicken fillets from the pan and wrap them together in foil to keep the fillets warm while you make the sauce. Don't clean the pan. You want all that cooked-on goodness to stay in the skillet to help make the sauce.
3. With the heat still on medium, add 2 T. of oil to the skillet. Add the sliced mushrooms and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the madiera wine, beef stock, butter and pepper. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until sauce has reduced to about 1/4 of its original volume. When the sauce is done, it will have thickened and turned a dark brown color.
4. As the sauce is simmering, bring a medium saucepan filled about halfway with water to a boil. Add a little salt to the water. Toss the asparagus into the water and boil for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your asparagus spears. Drop the asparagus in a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking. The asparagus should be slightly tender when done, not mushy.
5. Set oven to broil. Prepare the dish by arranging the cooked chicken fillets on a baking pan. Cross two asparagus spears over each fillet, then cover each with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Broil the fillets for 3 to 4 minutes or until light brown spots begin to appear on the cheese.
6. To serve, arrange two chicken breasts on each plate, then spoon 3 or 4 T of madeira sauce over the chicken on each plate. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes.

Makes 2 to 4 servings.

Of course, if you make this dish, you'll have to make cheesecake to go along with it!
XOXO,
Anna

Oh P.S.! Who to tag: How 'bout everyone who commented on the last post 'cause it makes for great diversity! That's Nicole from the west coast (who has potentially already done this?), Rohanknitter from the Heartland, Jade in Australia, and two girls from the UK: Lucy Locket and Kim, who is sure to include pubs with mashed potatoes! Also, a little boomerang tag for KBG, since you taught me how to cheat, could you give an example of a typical Ukrainian meal eaten at a local restaurant?

My Favorite Pasta Salad

The weather this past weekend was so beautiful and stirred up visions of summer to come. Now, however, it's cold and rainy as winter coughs up it's last (hopefully!) gasp. The forecast promises better weather after tomorrow, so, in preparation, I thought I'd share my favorite summer salad.

Ham and Chicken Salad
Salad:
3 oz. (1 cup) uncooked pasta nuggets
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup cubed cooked ham
1/2 cup sliced red onion
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 *8 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained

Dressing:
1/2 cup tarragon or cider vinegar
1/3 cup oil
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cook pasta to desired doneness as directed on package; drain. Rinse with cold water.

In large bowl, combine all salad ingredients. In jar with tight-fitting lid, combine all dressing ingredients; shake to blend. Pour over salad; toss to coat. 4 (1 1/2-cup) servings.

This salad should have kind of a sweet and sour taste to it, so it's better if you make if several hours before you're going to serve it. I always have to at least double the recipe because TheManoftheHouse loves it!

XOXO,
Anna

It's Let's Get Real Monday!

Randi at I Have to Say is once again hosting Let's Get Real Monday. Posting a dirty closet last time was a piece of cake compared to our assignment this week. ;-) Randi! What are you thinking??? I mean, seriously Randi. It’s Get Real Monday – Get Real!!! (And I mean that in the nicest way!) Do you have any idea how hard this topic is for me? I love everything. I have favorites of everything. This is a huge topic – Randi, were you thinking this would be easy???

Think about it – how many times do we use “favorite” in our normal everyday conversations? “Hey, there’s my favorite store.” Or, “This is my favorite poem.” Or you ask someone for a recommendation, “Who’s your favorite plumber?”, “Who’s your favorite Dr.?”, or “Who’s your favorite caterer?” (Ok, maybe that one’s a stretch, just had to throw it in there.) Or someone is trying to get to know you…”What’s your favorite book?" Movie? Food? Dessert? Main Dish? Ice Cream? Vegetable? Holiday? Hobby? TV show? How ‘bout your favorite president? Place to live? Vacation destination? Mode of transportation? Maybe your favorite yarn? Needle? Applique technique? Quilt that you’ve made? Quiet place to do your needlework? Place to sit and think? Or to the everyday…your favorite cleaning product? Brand of laundry detergent? Type of salt? Kind of cat litter???? Heck, I even have a favorite tooth. A few years ago it broke and I begged the dentist. “Mr. Dentist, puh-leeeez fix it – it’s my favorite tooth!” Speaking of personal favorites, how ‘bout my favorite way to annoy TheManoftheHouse? Or favorite way to tease TheEmptyNestChild? And people are totally off limits. Can you pick a favorite child? Relative? Friend? Or HeavenForbid – a favorite blog??? (There’s No Way that could ever happen!) Do you see the problem here? This list could go on forever.

Technically, I could have a slam dunk here. I’ve already got a head start in this category – I could just defer you to my "favorites" category in the side bar. You can check out my favorite cookie, chair, baby gift, and hostess gift. And there are many more favorites planned for the future. But in the meantime, I’ve been tortured by favorites all weekend. Like the good and bad angels that sit on your shoulders, they’ve been yelling at me. “Pick me! Pick me! Me!Me!Me!Me!!!”

But finally, I slept on it. I took a deep breath. I said, let’s think about this here blog. Its name is Thimbleanna. Hmmm, thimble. There’s been little mention of thimbles here, so, perhaps it's time to bring them up. I do have a very small collection of sterling silver thimbles. My mother started me collecting them and she has a bigger, very small collection of sterling silver thimbles. And in my very small collection, I do have a favorite:
In 1998, we took our boys and my parents back to Germany to see where we’d lived many years ago, and we went to the Thimble Museum (or Fingerhut Museum as it’s said in German – isn’t that cute? Finger in German is finger, and Hut is hat – you get finger hat!) in Creglingen, Germany. It’s just a little one-room museum, but it’s very close to Rothenburg o.d. Tauber which is a big tourist attraction, so, while in the area, it’s well worth the visit. Especially if you love fingerhats like we do. Anyway, we bought this thimble there and I love it because of the sewing scenes.

So, there. I found a favorite. And Randi, how ‘bout a little break for the next Get Real Monday? Maybe we could list bad habits? Projects? Hmmm. I see your problem. Life is just too BIG.

XOXO,
Anna

My Favorite Cookie

Holy Cow. I'm SO tired. It's taken me three nights to catch up on blogs. You guys sure write a lot! And I'm getting a cold, so I'm not getting much sleep. Makes for a lot of yawning during my boring meetings.

Before I left home, I grabbed a cookie recipe to share with you this week. So far, there's been no recipe sharing here at Thimbleanna -- a problem that needs to be remedied, since I do love to cook. These Orange Cranberry cookies are my VERY favorite and that's saying a lot, 'cause I love cookies. My aunt found these cookies several years ago at a bakery and since I don't live in the area and can't get the cookies whenever I want, I wrote to them and asked them for the recipe. And they sent it! I've made some changes to their recipe and if it's possible, I actually think they're a little better -- not quite as dry. I took 2 dozen of these cookies on the Hawaii trip and after the first day, they were all gone. (Note: the recipe calls for a box of yellow cake mix. I suspect there are some of you who don't have access to a yellow cake mix. The only thing I can think of is to maybe try substituting the mix with the dry ingredients in this recipe.)

Frosted Orange Cranberry Cookies

1 box yellow cake mix (I like Betty Crocker Super Moist Cake Mix)
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
Generous 1/4 c. sour cream
2 T. orange juice
1 t. orange extract
2 t. orange zest
1 c. coarsely chopped dried cranberries
1/2 - 1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
Mix all ingredients together. Drop by heaping tablespoons (I like to use a medium sized ice cream scoop -- six scoops per sheet) onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. You just have to watch them -- I take them out when they are still underdone in the center and I leave them on the cookie sheets for a few minutes to keep cooking. When cool, frost.Frosting:
2 c. powdered sugar
dash salt
2 T. butter, melted
2 t. orange zest
3 - 4 T. orange juice
Mix all together.

I've found 1 large or 2 small oranges will provide enough juice and zest for the cookies and the frosting. You might not think these cookies are that great when you're eating them. But trust me. Eat one. Then go and do something. Pretty soon, your tongue will be craving another cookie. So. Good Luck!

XOXO,
Anna

My Favorite

As I mentioned in my last post, on Feb. 19th, Portobello Pixie challenged anyone interested to write about their favorite "design". It could be anything, she said, it didn't have to be something sewn. I thought this would be fun and fit right in with the category of things that I already post as "my favorites."

About 6 or 7 years ago I saw an article about painting chairs in different ways. And somewhere in there, I was thinking about those special plates that you can order that say "It's Your Birthday" or "It's your Special Day" or something like that. I've always loved the idea of making a big deal over a kid's birthday. Or the day they get their braces off. Or have a stellar report card. Etc. And the thoughts collided and I thought it would be fun to have a chair that the kids could sit on for "their special day." Then, the idea expanded a little more, and I thought it would be fun for others in the family to be able to sit on the chair -- for Father's Day, or Mother's Day, or a promotion at work, etc. So, I thought it might be fun to paint a "Celebration " chair.

I started looking for chairs and soon found three chairs at an auction for $7.00 each. They were so odd looking, but I thought I'd see what I could do with them, and the chair to the right is what happened. I painted the three chairs exactly alike and gave one to my mom and one to my sister. So now, no matter who's house we're at for a party, the honoree sits in the celebration chair. The idea has grown a little too, for birthdays we've added a banner, placemats and one of those goofy stuffed hats with candles on top to the collection.

Here's a closer view of the front and back of the top of the chair:





A year or two later I was asked to paint some chairs for charity auctions. These pictures were taken before the chairs were sold and long before I had a digital camera, so they're dark, but you can see how the idea can be extended to different style chairs. The first chair didn't have a solid piece of wood running down the middle of the back, so I put the special days on little pieces of wood running along the top of the chair.
PeaSoup blogged the other day about a cape that she'd made for her child's classroom. When a child has his birthday, he gets to wear the cape and a crown all day at school. How I wish I'd known about that when my children were still in school -- just another thing to make their day SO special!

XOXO,
Anna

My Favorite Baby Gift

TheManoftheHouse has a cousin who just had a baby (well "just" means before Christmas) and I'm "just" getting around to making her gift. So, I thought I'd show you how I make our favorite baby gift -- a tied quilt.
All the babies in our family (my DadLovesMeBest sister and mine) had at least two of these quilts when they were little. They all loved them, and son2 was particulary attached to his, well into his childhood. He called the little ties "nubbies" and he used to twirl them between his fingers as he fell asleep at night.
Here's a picture of the closest thing we have to a baby, wrapped up in the baby blanket:

So, you'll need:
1 1/3 yds of fabric for the top of the quilt
1 2/3 yds of fabric for the back of the quilt
1/4 yd of 4 different contrasting fabrics for the prarie points
Quilt batting
2-3 skeins of pearl cotton in a coordinating color

Preshrink your fabric. You need to cut a square of fabric from both your top and bottom fabrics. Measure the width of your fabric (after shrinking probably somewhere around 42".) Cut the length of your fabric the same as the width so that you have a square.

You need to cut 3-inch squares for the prarie points. Cut 2, 3" strips of each of the 4 contrasting fabrics, Also, cut 2, 3" strips from what's left of the backing fabric. You will now have 10 strips of fabric. Then cut 3 inch squares from each of those strips.

Fold each square diagonally. Press. Then fold diagonally again and press.






Now you'll have lots of small triangles to line up along the edge of the quilt.





Pin the triangles to the right side of the top of the quilt. Tuck the folded edge of a triangle between the edges of the triangle next to it. I've tried to figure out how to put the alignment of the triangles into words and I'm giving up -- a picture being worth a thousand words and all -- look and the picture to figure it out! ;-)

Here you can see how I align the triangles in the corner.







Sew 1/4" seam to attach the triangles to the quilt top.







Place the quilt bottom fabric on the quilt top fabric, right sides together. Stitch from the quilt top side, and stitch on top of the existing 1/4" seam, leaving a 10" - 12" opening in the middle of one side. Now, I don't have a picture of this next part, but leaving the quilt wrong sides out, place the batting against the wrong side of the top of the quilt and pin. Turn the quilt over and stitch from the quilt's bottom side, on top of that same 1/4" seamline (and don't stitch through the that 10" opening.) That makes three times sewing on this seamline. You could have put the batting in the mix during the 2nd stitching, but the batting would have been on the bottom side of the quilt and I prefer it to be on the top side. (It's hard to explain, but stitching three times makes for a nicer looking quilt from the top side.)

Turn the quilt right side out. You now have a quilt sandwich. Pull the prairie points out and gently press along the edge.




Hand stitch the opening closed.










Now, it's time to tie the quilt. Thread a tapestry needle with your "thread" of choice -- you can tie it with whatever you want -- Son2 loved his quilts tied with yarn. You can also tie the quilt wherever you'd like. I prefer to tie the quilt every 4". Sometimes the print on your fabric will "tell" you where to tie it (e.g., in the middle of every circle, on the tail of every puppy, etc.) When it doesn't, as in this case, I make a 4" square template out of cardstock and just place it along the quilt and move it along as I tie. That's 'cause I'm lazy and I don't want to take the time to mark the quilt. For you more motivated types, mark away! Move along the quilt in horizontal lines and grab stitches every 4".

Continue making rows of stitches until the quilt is covered.







Clip the threads between each of the stitches.









Tie each "tie" in a square knot. This is the best knot if you want it to stay tied.








After all the knots are tied, go back and trim the tails. I like to cut the length using my middle finger as a guide.





Voila, you have a finished quilt!










Wrap your baby up and watch TheEmptyNestChild freak out 'cause there's a new baby in the house!

XOXO,
Anna

I'm Sick and My Favorite Hostess Gift...

I haven't felt well in several weeks. I think they call it BlogFever. ;-) I can't stop reading the dadburn things. It's SO fun! And so inspiring!!! Today my victim has been Creative Little Daisy. I've just started reading some of her archives -- I'm feeling like she did a year ago when she first started reading blogs -- it's so overwhelming! I'm really enjoying reading her blog and I love her purses.

I thought I might share one of my favorite little projects. When I'm invited to parties that call for a hostess gift, I like to make a monogrammed hostess towel. They make a nice little elegant gift and they're fairly neutral, which is helpful when you don't know the style of your hostess. (And let me apologize for the lack of light in my photos. Since I work all day away from home, I never see the sun at home during the week. Not that that helps much -- it's been so gloomy this winter that there's not much natural light to take advantage of.)

So, here's how I make my little guest towels:
Cut a piece of cotton or linen 19" x 26". Stitch 1/4" in on all sides. (I know these pictures are sort of hard to see -- if you click on them you can see them larger. I also used red thread for easier viewing, but I'm sure you know to use thread to match your fabric. And Holy Cow! Try to ignore all the lint on that presser foot -- that sure shows you how bad my eyesight is!)

On each of the two long sides, press the fabric toward the wrong side along the line of stitching. Fold again and press -- this creates a 1/4" little hem.

Stitch these hems close to the edge.









On one short end, press the edge toward the wrong side along the stitching line, creating a 1/4" fold. Then create a 1 1/2" hem and press. Sew this hem near the edge like you did on the long sides.

Iron the other short end in the same fashion as the first short end -- first turn under 1/4" and then make a 1 1/2" hem and press. Put a wing needle in your sewing machine and select a decorative stitch. Stitch from the right side of this hem, right along the edge. (It will be easier to see this wing needle if you make this picture bigger -- sorry it isn't very clear.)

Clicking on this picture will show the detail of the wing needle stitching at the bottom of the picture.




Just above the wing needle stitching and centered on the towel, add a monogram. I happen to have one of those spiffy embroidery machines, but this step could just as easily be done with hand embroidery and a pretty alphabet.

So...clear as mud? Again, sorry for the dark pictures -- they really don't do justice to these little towels. The first time I gave one of these towels, we were invited to an end-of-season baseball party when our boys were on the HS baseball team. The grandparents of one of the boys hosted the party in their new seventeen thousand square foot house. Complete with acreage, a pool and a guesthouse. I decided to take one of these towels not knowing at all what this woman's house looked like. After we had been there awhile, the Grandpa asked if I'd like a tour. Would I? It was awesome. Sort of a giant Cape Cod style. They had designed the second floor for when their children (6 of them) and grandchildren visited. In typical Cape Cod fashion, the stairs were in the middle of the house and when you got to the top, you could go to the right (the boys wing with a full up master bedroom and large cowboy themed dormitory style bedroom) or to the left ( the girls wing with another master bedroom, laundry room and princess style dormitory bedroom.) The guesthouse was bigger than the first little house we lived in. It had two bedrooms, living room, kitchen and a laundry room. There were many more very cool things about this house but the absolutely best thing was that there were monograms everywhere. I had chosen the perfect hostess gift -- it fit in perfectly. So, there you have it...the start of my giving monogrammed guest towels as hostess gifts.

That's it for today....
XOXO,
Anna