Image Converter Software

I've spent hours downloading and rejecting free image converter software. I need a program that will allow me to convert my JPGs to PDF files so that I can put my free charts into PDFs to offer here for my blog readers.

Nothing has worked with my computer. I'm running XP and using Firefox browser.

I have downloaded the free trial of Image Converter Plus. This seems to be exactly what I need, except that it costs $49.99. Does anyone out there use a good free or shareware program?

I have another freebie chart nearly completed. I know the JPGs that I've put up are not the best quality. I'd like to be able to offer my designs as PDFs.

"Just Cross Stitch" Received

My gift subscription to Just Cross Stitch magazine began. The Jan/Feb 2010 issue arrived first, then the Nov/Dec 2009 issue.

I did not find much in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue that I liked. I do not understand why the editors allowed two similar designs to appear in the same issue, i.e. the poinsettia design and the Xmas anemones. Both are red and green floral designs, very similar in feel. Oh, and then there was a red amaryllis in a planter with the word "PEACE" AND a wall motto of the word "PEACE."

There are some religious designs that I will not stitch and some that I will adapt by leaving off the verses.

I loooked through my Just Cross Stitch magazines from the early 1990s and I find them to have a greater variety of designs.

JCS has put online one digital issue, perhaps to see if they can compete with the established digital cross stitch magazine. I don't think they realize that stitchers want contemporary designs. If they offered the types of designs that people pay big money for on ebay, or buy in these "limited editions," then they would get more subscribers.

The majority of stitchers today do not want these designs that slavishly imitate realistic pictures--these designs that require a complete back stitch outline.

Anyone can look at blogs and see what people are stitching. The samplers , the primitives, the LHN, CCN, The Prairie Schooler, the Quaker designs and many more are preferred styles.

After my year is up I plan to ask for "Samplers and Antique Needlework" quarterly.  

Free Valentine Cross Stitch Chart

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This is a free chart that I designed. I downloaded a free PDF software but it is not working. You need to right-click on the image and save it to your computer. On printer set-up, you will need to shrink the image to fit an 8 1/2 " X 11" paper.

Mine is stitched on 28ct. white Monaco. The picture was not taken in good light. 

Get started on those Valentines!

A Sparkling Peacock Pinkeep

This is a pinkeep stitched with a combination of DMC floss and a strand of sparkly blue thread. It is on hand-dyed Lugana. The design is from a Dover publication(I will post the title later).

Happy New Year!

This is a downy woodpecker at a homemade feeder that I set out yesterday. It has been visited also by juncos, a red-headed woodpecker, tufted titmice, chickadees, cardinals, blue jays, and a flicker.

I did not finish all twelve biscornus for 2009, only ten, but will have the last two finished and posted by tomorrow. I have eleven left (gave one away as a gift). I was trying to finish them last night but it was too much, and so I put them aside. Now I will have something new completed for today, New Year's Day.

My watchword for this year: FOCUS . . .

that is, to focus my attention on various things I want to accomplish for the day, the week, the month, etc.  I have goals for a lot of projects(not just x-stitch), ideas, and activities to implement this year. Some of them will require only 1/2 an hour at a time, while others will require more time.

Merry Christmas!

Just Cross Stitch

I've received a great birthday surprise--a gift subscription to Just Cross Stitch magazine.

I haven't had a cross stitch subscription since back in the early 90s, when I had cross Stitch and Country Crafts.

I looked it up online and there are lots of projects in the Jan/Feb issue that I'll enjoy stitching. As far as digital is concerned, I've bought a couple of single issues of that big digital cross stitch magazine, out of Australia, but never had the funds to get a complete subscription. I don't think I would because I don't like the very detailed "picture painting"-type chart that is in every issue, or the simple (usually humorous) chart at the end.

Bramble Biscornu

This is a biscornu that I stitched. The chart is from Jane Ile's "Cross Stitch from A Country Garden."

Trillium's Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes

Cream together:

1/2 c. unsalted butter
1/1/2 c. raw sugar(I used Sugar in the Raw)

Then add:

2 T. yoghurt (I used organic low-fat)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a separate bowl, mix together:

2 c. white all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/8 teaspoon salt

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.

Add 1 c. milk (I used 2%) to entire mixture and stir well by hand or electric mixer.

Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees until top springs back. These do not rise that much. If you want the cupcake to top over the paper cup, then fill just to the top of the paper.

Cool, frost, and decorate if desired.

A Christmas Gourd

This is a handmade present from a friend. The door opens up and there is a hole in the back through which to insert a string of lights. I plan to get a battery-operated tea light for it.

A Quilted Patriotic Wallhanging

I haven't posted in ages because I've spent my free time working on this quilted wall hanging. I finished it two days ago and mailed it yesterday. It will get there in time for Christmas because it is not going far, and because we mailed it 2-Day Priority.

I created it for my sis and her husband, who are both veterans. She doesn't read this blog and so the surprise is safe. I just hope she has room somewhere on her walls to display it.

It is all cotton fabrics, except for the purchased binding, which is poly/cotton. I inked on all of the signatures of the signers of the Declaration of Independence with a permanent Pitt Artist Pen with a fine tip.

The cross-stitched insert is 14-ct. white Aida. The designs are freebies (freedom stars & Liberty Bell) from Erica Michaels (I think). I will check and correct post if necessary. The letters are from an Anne Orr cross stitch design book from Dover Publications.

Disclaimer: The quilting is very poor on this. I am not pleased with my quilting stitches at all, but I had no quilting frame, not even a lap-type frame. It will hold up OK because it is for the wall, not for repeated use on a bed. So, those of you with eagle eyes will see my many giant and uneven stitches due to the lack of a quilting frame.

Eggless Pumpkin Carrot Cake

Recipe: Egg-free Pumpkin Carrot Cake

2 c. white flour
1 c. raw or organic cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 3/8 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/16th teaspoon ground cloves

1 c. canned, unsweetened pumpkin
3 c. carrots, peeled and grated
3/4 c. sunflower oil
4 T. yoghurt

Optional: 1 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. raisins


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl.

2. Mix together the wet ingredients in a bowl.

3. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir thoroughly. Ad nuts & raisins if desired.

4. Bake at 350 degrees until the top springs back when touched.

If no nuts or raisins are added, it will make about 16 cupcakes or one 9" cake. This cake doesn't rise much so you can fill the cupcake papers 3/4 full with batter. I haven't made it with nuts and raisins yet (no one in the family likes cooked raisins), and so I cannot tell you how many cupcakes you will get when adding them. I think you might need 2 cake pans, though.

I use King Arthur white flour, "Sugar in the Raw" Maui raw cane sugar, and a store-label brand of lowfat organic yoghurt.

These cupcakes turn out so moist that it is like eating a cloud (the nut-free version, that is).