Via Glittersmack

Where I leave notes for myself on her current hair color(s).
A mother has to keep up.
xoxoam

Dredged in Flower

Biltmore's conservatory.  What an indulgence it was for me to be able to take my time and just snap, snap, snap. Maybe these little souvenirs will hold you until you get the chance to see it yourself one day.  This is likely enough inspiration for me to draw pictures of flowers for at least a decade.  Sigh.

Thanks for the workshop sellout that happened pretty lickitysplit today.  I am so honored that there is that interest out there, and I promise to be a good hostess to those of you joining.  I simply cannot wait.  If you missed this one, let me know, and I'll add you to an interest/wait list for the future.

In other news:

:: My husband can not stop making tofu scramble like this.
:: I cannot stop watching/listening to this.
:: Somebody help me.
:: I can't get sick of it.
:: Tofu scramble on the other hand....

xoxoAMoxox

Lady on the Hill

I adore the nickname given to the Biltmore.  The structure is really quite stunning.  And it does seem to be a graceful lady of a house.  You feel permitted to love it as you tour the inside, because you learn of George Vanderbilt's legendary kindness.  So you can unapologetically love the beauty of it all.  Anyway.  I took so so many photos.  Not so many of the house exterior (you can't photograph the interior), but the several of grounds as I have for you below. I took even more of the conservatory and dozens of intoxicating greenhouse blooms which I'll share next. I could have kept snapping for another few hours. Above is me with mom, and Eleni, my sissy. Enjoy the rest.


If you've been waiting for more in depth info about the fall needleworks workshop, here's a pdf:

Needleworks Nashville

The info pdf is also now located at the shop page where the event will be on sale Wednesday morning.
xoxo, Anna

Add stitching and combine gently

I am happy you guys enjoyed some of the foodie love I offered yesterday (and to answer a Q, that table linen is 4 yards of gorgeous fabric that I found in NYC last fall... cannot remember the name of the store, but it was a shop in the garment district that is nothing but linen).

I was thinking today about my go-togethers. I have favorite movie genres that I pair with various types of handwork that depend on the focus needed for each.  I should make a chart sometime (it's right there in my head, I just need to write it out). Jeff and I have exhausted almost every single British period piece available in the Netflix instant streaming offerings.  We were so sad to come to the end of all of the Catherine Cookson novel adaptations (where even the low-budget ones are 10x better than most anything on the television).  All the drama.  So entertaining.  The typical British kind.  Wealth.  Poverty. Getting knocked up out of wedlock, etc.  (Why do we relate so well?  Hm.) I get frustrated when I have lots of handwork to do and Jeff wants to watch something with subtitles.  Although, maybe not as frustrated as he does, because he begins reading the movie out loud to me if he notices that my eyes are cast on the fabric and not the screen.  So funny.  He really does love me.  Documentaries are really good for handwork that requires a lot of focus because while its nice to see everything, it is just as good to listen.  Today I've been watching (listening to) Wild China.  Utterly fascinating so far.  I'm finishing up the works that will be featured on the front of my new embroidery patterns.  Anyone who drops by, lives or works in this house will tell you that I pretty much always have something in my hands.  My left arm felt no pain, not even a twitch, at holding a candle through midnight service for 3 hours at Easter because it is so used to holding a hoop up to my face.  It might become permanently bent.

But before it does.... I have a big announcement!  I've been working away to put together a really, really fun needleworks weekend for this fall!  I love Nashville.  So why don't you come here?  I am so excited about sharing it with whoever is able to join me.  And I am loving my new book so far too, so I am beyond excited to celebrate it's publication during this special weekend.  I've put together preliminary information here.  I'll also be sending out an email to everyone on my mailing list today.  I'm letting you know a week in advance of the workshop being available for purchase so that hopefully anyone who is interested will have time to plan and see if it's a possibility.  I can't wait!  I plan to post more info on that store page on Monday that will hopefully answer any of your questions.  Stitching goes really well with friends.

I'll be packing my needles and threads tomorrow to head for a weekend at the Biltmore with my mom and sister.  Just the three of us.  I am hoping they will speak English so I can keep my eyes on my work and not read the subtitles under their heads.

smack.  AM

On the Menu

Xristos Anesti!
Care for lunch?
Here's what we had (and are still having):

Lamb: 2 rolled boneless legs from Whole Foods (8 lbs or so).  I rub salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and lemon juice on them, and made small incisions with a knife to insert garlic cloves in several places.  Then I seared them in a hot pan of my dad's olive oil and placed them in a crock pot for about 5 hours.  A very delicious alternative to roasting on a souvla (spit).  I drizzled a bit of red wine on them about midway through cooking.

Kefthedes (aka meatballs): I used ground beef from the cow that Jeff's step dad, Ben,  gave us for Christmas.  It was already butchered.  But we were still really happy about it.  Anyway- 3lbs ground beef hand mixed with salt pepper, parsley, oregano, cinnamon, chopped garlic and onion, 1 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup parmesan, 2 eggs.  And a douse of red wine.

Red Potatoes: chopped and mixed with fresh garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, lots of fresh lemon juice and some fresh sprigs of rosemary- oven roasted for about an hour.  I sprinkle that with red wine mid way through cooking too.  Ahem.

Spanokopita and Tiropita: the "spano" version is a mixture of one large container cottage cheese, 2-3 eggs, steamed and squeezed spinach, and a small block of feta.  I spoon that into a tri-folded length of filo dough which is then folded (like flag folding) into little triangles to trap the cheese.  The "tiro" version is the same but without the spinach.  And both are generously brushed with melted butter before baking at 400 until golden.

Asparagus:  Because we've been eating so many vegetables for forty days, these bundles of asparagus were asked to wrap themselves in half a slice of bacon before being invited.  First I rub olive oil and salt and pepper all over the freshly trimmed and rinsed springs before wrapping about 5 or 6 together with bacon.  Then I broil on the top rack at 465 for about 10 minutes. 

Green Salad: Fresh greens, mini tomatoes tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper.

Tsoureki:  My mom brought the sweet bread so I'm not sure of her recipe but here is one example, maybe she'll enlighten us in the comments section if she sees this.  When I asked her she said, Oh I don't use a recipe.  Show off.

Yellow cake: Also brought by my mom but I never asked about it because my mouth was full.

Family:  I sprinkled them with kisses and candy, and doused a few of them in red wine too.

thanks for coming,
xoxoxo, Anna

Alicia, my children think you're a genius.

Of course I agree with them. Eastern Orthodox Easter is one week later than Western Easter this year, so in addition to getting all your Easter candy on sale (thanks for leaving some), I also have an extra week to absorb some really good egg dying ideas.  In addition to our traditional solid red eggs, as soon as I saw my friend Alicia's botanical eggs, I was dying to do it (pardon the pun).  Falling in line with their typical kid selves, the children did not trust me when I explained the process.  There were smirks, huhs, quizzical brows, rolled eyes, and every manner of mom-yer-dumb looks on their faces.  Then I pulled up Alicia's post on my laptop and a chorus of aaaahhhoooOOOHhh came over the room.  Why do I always have to prove myself to this bunch.  Hmpf.  This is one rare occurrence where I am totally happy to give someone else the credit (even if those stinkers shouldn't need proof).  (Anyway, Alicia, and then they kept reading your blog while I did most of the work.)

I am so excited about this weekend!  Juliana is coming home tonight, my parents are coming Sunday and we will break the fast in every delicious manner possible.  But first, Saturday we will plant all our Spring veg in the newly built raised beds in the backyard then take big long naps before we wake everyone up for a midnight Resurrection Liturgy.  I have such sweet memories of giving in to sleep on my mother's lap at midnight service, using her crocheted shawl as a blanket. 

I hope you have a lovely weekend.  Should you need to mess around with fabric, Bianca has started a Quilt Along for the Patchwork Prism quilt as well as gathered up some incentive for playing along!

smack! AM

Hello There

How was your weekend? And the past few weeks? I hope good and happy.



I am so excited to finally be able to share these projects with you- they are the Patchwork Prism Quilt & Sham that I designed for Janome. And they're ready to be downloaded, viewed, flickr'd and all! Visit my Janome page or Janome's Anna Maria page - either way you'll find everything you need to make your own. I loved making this project so very much.  I included mostly my own prints + Liberty + some Denyse + Kaffe too.



We even have some print by color stacks in the shop for you if you're so inclined. The sham has gotten quite cozy on my bed.



It is such a lot of work to get things just the way you want them, especially in the format of video, but I really hope you enjoy watching it.  Mostly I hope that, together with the pattern pdfs, it makes building this quilt easier and more exciting. All the linkies should be working but of course let me know if something isn't doing what it's suppose to do. I've been in a house full of kids on Spring Break for 10 days so I can handle it. Hit me.

Next, lots of catching up to do with you. xoxo, Anna