Feel Good Friday! Happy New Year!

Welcome 2010 and welcome Feel Good Friday! I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and celebrated the new year in your own special way. Today's Feel Good Friday goes out to you! I want to thank you for your overwhelming support and love in 2009 and look forward to seeing everyone in the new year. There will be some new features and of course the wonderful old ones.

I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends-like you-in my life. Thank you for making my Friday and everyday feel good. You make me smile and giggle more than you will ever know.

Happy New Year Everybody!

xoxox
Pam

Hanging out with Spotted Dog Farm

I noticed Jere's work on Flickr one day and knew we were kindred spirits. Not just because of our location (I'm a true Southern girl at heart) but also for our love and dedication to keeping puppies safe and making sure each one is loved. I love that every stitch of every piece of work she does, tells a story.

Who and what is spotted dog farm?
Spotted Dog Farm is just me, Jere Alexander, and a motley brood of dogs, donkeys, chickens, rabbits and my little handspinner's flock of sheep. It's a real place but it's also a pastoral dream that I'm trying to express in life and in art. I like how the name confuses some people - sometimes folks think I'm a dog breeder - so it kind of hints at how different animals are constructed since in this place and time, most people don't think of dogs as farm animals.

Your embroidered pieces have so much depth-what's your favorite and why?
Thanks so much!! So far I love the piece "I give you my tomorrow" the best. It's of my Rosie, who if i had to choose the most beautiful dog I've ever known, she would be it. She's just perfectly adorable with her underbite and her thick little body. It's hard to embroider a pit bull face straight-on. Their heads are such interesting shapes that I was afraid would lose expressiveness if I flattened it out in 2D. And at first she was looking more like a pig than a dog, but I used different stitches to make something of a sampler on her face. The triangle pattern in the vintage linen reminds me of a chain link fence, and the title is a lyric from a 70s song by Tim Hardin.

Who inspires you?
I am endlessly inspired by the handmade revolution, and textile artists like Nicole Licht/Astulabee, Beefranck, Porterness, Iviva Olenick, Sandrine Pelletier, and so many others. The cheeky, subversive angle of contemporary embroidery just kills me. I'm awed by soft sculpture artists - again Astulabee, Hisa Kato, Jennifer Murphy and Jennifer Muskopf. I am also seriously fascinated with some of the sculptors working with taxidermy, like Emily Mayer, Iris Schieferstein and Polly Morgan. I know it's creepy to lots of folks, but since i'm already used to working with animal fiber, it's not such a stretch to use furs and skins (although I would only use thrifted or roadkill, not hunted).

 What advice would you give to the masses?
Oh, I'm not in much of a position to give advice to anyone! But my hub has this little joke that we always laugh about, and I think it's very instructive. It's from some police movie with Sean Penn although I don't remember the name. It goes something like... Two bulls, father and son, are standing at the top of a hill looking down at a pasture full of cows. The son says to the father, "Hey dad, how about we run down and fuck a couple of 'em?" The dad replies, "Naw son, how about we walk down and fuck em all." So when I get all manic, I'll just think "walk don't run... fuck em all..."

Do you have a website?
Well, yeah, I have a love/hate thing with my internet presence. I love making online friends and connections in the craft world, but there are so many crazy pit bull haters, and I have no tolerance for that negativity. Some day, I hope to learn css and flash and those other obscure languages to make a beautiful website. Right now I have spotteddogfarm.com to describe my work, and then I blog over at Pit Bull Patriarchy, pitbullpatriarchy.blogspot.com.

Bonus Question!
Best name for a pet
The most magnificent name I've heard is Iris Ladonica Deville.

Worst name for a pet
I knew a shelter dog with a head injury that had been dubbed "Wee Toddy."

Gah! I think I want to be Jere when I grow up! Her attitude, spirit and just plain ol' kick butt good nature makes me smile on a daily basis. Her work is so inspiring. It makes me sleep a little better knowing that there are people like Jere out there in the world.

Movies to Ring in the New Year.

What are you up to for New Years? Have a party planned? Maybe a little dancing. No, you just want to stay home and have a nice relaxing night with family and friends-well, have I got a few tasty movies for you! There's suspense, romance and a few laughs to make you New Years go off with a little bang.

A very personal favorite of mine and one that I mentioned a few weeks ago is After the Thin Man. Nick and Nora must solve a mystery on New Year's Eve.  This is a wonderful story of intrigue and suspense with humor only William Powell and Myrna Loy can pull off. Of course, don't forget their wonderful terrier Asta-he certainly has a bone to pick with Mrs. Asta!

For the record, I am not a fan or romance movies, with that being said, I will make an exception for When Harry Met Sally. This is such a sweet and funny movie. The dinner scene was so hysterical! I love when Rob Reiner's mom says, "I'll have what she's having". The story is basically a boy meets girls, loses girls, meets her over and over again-they are friends and then fall in love. The last scene still gets to me. The soundtrack is amazing too-it brought big band and swing into heavy rotation again.

Repeat Performance is a wonderful "what if" movie starring Joan Leslie. Joan stars as Shelia Page, a Broadway star that murders her crooked husband on New Year's Eve. In a state of panic, she flees to a friend's house and he grants her a wish and sends her back home, only this time, it's a day earlier. The suspense is..what path will she take this time and will the outcome still be the same?

What a wonderful way to send 2009 on it's way-a little romance, some giggles and a lot of intrigue-kind of sounds like the state of global affairs. Anyhoo! I hope you enjoy these wonderful New Year's gems. Until next time my favorite movie goers!

Scrappy Dog Sunday-The Holiday Edition

Hi all! I hope your holiday was a festive one. I know at the Pedersen household, the pups were in rare form. From putting the decorations up

To posing as Santa Claus and his reindeer

The pups were in the Christmas spirit as they patiently waited for Santa.

And when the day finally arrived toys were destroyed!

And savored

And guarded

Don't worry, no limbs were lost and the holiday came to a close without a hitch. A few pieces of ham from grandpa, a couple of cookies from mom and new toys gutted....All was right with the world.

Happy Holidays everybody!

Feel Good Friday!

For this very special Feel Good Friday I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. May your day be filled with peace, joy and love. May today and everyday find you with love, tolerance and respect for your fellow person. My Christmas wish for you is very simple. Good food, a wonderful family and smiles for everyone.
I am so blessed to have all of you in my life.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna watch A Christmas story for the 15 time today and crash from my sugar high!

Love from the Pedersen household
Pam, Mark, Lola, Jujube and Pete

The Amazing Stitching of Kunderwood

If you have never seen Kunderwood's stitching, you are in for a real treat! She is AMAZING! I first came across her work on Flickr and was blown away. She is just too adorable and super sweet to boot. Wanna know what else-this girl is the Kung Fu master of French knots! She kicks butt and takes names!

Who is the real kunderwood?
This is kind of hard for me to answer, since I am still
trying to figure it out for myself, lol. The real kunderwood
is a wife and mother, first and foremost. I tend to be shy
around people I don't know. I have an off-beat sense of
humor and can be very sarcastic. Oh, and I curse too much.
:-)

I love your embroidery. How did you get started?
First of all, thank you! I love your work, too. I got
started a couple years ago. I'd been an avid cross-stitcher
since 1996, but had grown a bit tired of it. I was online
one night and stumbled upon Sublime Stitching's website and
thought, "Hey, now that's cool! I want to try that!" Then I
found various embroidery blogs, which led to Flickr, where I
discovered that there are tons and tons of people who
embroider. I fell in love with the vintage patterns,
especially the ones with anthropomorphic fruits & veggies,
and once I started stitching I was hooked!

What or who inspires you?
Flickr is a great source of inspiration for me, along with
blogs. Floresita and Early Bird Special were the first to
really catch my eye and make me long to be able to do what
they do! There's a long list of people who inspire me,
including Wild Olive, Sewsew-a-Gogo, sewitsforyou, Amanda
Panda Pants, and you, kittykill. That shag glow in the dark
piece you did is amazing!

Any advice for the masses?
If someone is just starting out with embroidery, I'd advise
them to take it slow and easy, and start off with a small
project. I think a lot of beginners try to tackle
complicated projects before they've had much practice and
tend to get frustrated and want to give up. Or maybe that
was just me, lol...

Seriously though, I would say persevere. Keep trying! Don't
give up on French knots just because they're not turning out
the way they're supposed to. Also, if it ain't fun, don't
do it! I have lots of UFO's in my closet. Embroidery is
supposed to be a fun, relaxing activity, and if I am hating
the piece I am working on, then it defeats the purpose of
stitching! Chuck it and try something new...you never know,
you may rediscover it a few months down the road and see it
through different eyes, so to speak. And don't be afraid to
ask questions. Stitchers are a nice bunch of people who like
to talk about their craft. :)

What other crafts do you like to do?
I'm not a big crafter, believe it or not. I LOVE stitching
and it comes easily to me, but crafting takes a kind of
effort that I find exhausting. I recently did a
collage/paper project that I really like, using paper
embellishments that I bought from greenbeanbaby
(http://www.etsy.com/shop/greenbeanbaby). It took me forever
to figure out the placement of the pieces, which background
color best suited the embellishments, etc. Whew! Talk about
tiring! I have such admiration for people who are crafty. I
wish I were more so.

BONUS QUESTION!
French knots-friend or foe. Discuss!
Oh, French knots are *definitely* your friend! I adore
French knots. It took me a looooong time to master those
suckers, but once I did, I was unstoppable! I think they're
so cute and versatile, and can really add dimension to a
project. Last year, I stitched a Sublime Stitching piece of
a mod lady and I did her hair entirely in French knots. I
called it a French Knot 'Fro, and I think it's totally rad!
There's a rhythm to doing a large number of French knots
that can be very soothing.

So awesome! kunderwood attention to detail can not be surpassed! I simply adore her stitching. I just love her outlook on life. She is a great inspiration to so many stitchers out there. Make sure you check out her blog.
She has all of her amazing projects in one place. I hope she makes it up my way one of these days-Portland would never be the same! 

Tie One On Tuesday!

Woohoo! Time to get your nog on! Now myself, I can't stand the stuff but there are many out there (Martha Stewart-you saucy little minx, I'm looking in your direction) that love it, so today's TOOT is for you.

This recipe sounds yummy. I might be willing to give the old nog another try.

Coconut Eggnog
Ingredients:
8 egg yolks
4 cups coconut milk or cream
8 tablespoons dark rum ( personally would vote for more)
6 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
Into a large saucepan, pour the coconut milk/ cream and add the white sugar.
Heat BUT DO NOT BOIL over a medium heat.
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the vanilla essence.
Into the bowl, pour approximately half the coconut milk & sugar mixture.
Whisk briskly.
Add the remainder of the coconut milk & sugar mixture.
Pour the combined mixture back into your large saucepan.
Wash out the large bowl because you'll need it again in a few minutes.
Cook over a low heat BUT DO NOT BOIL, ensuring that you continuously stir.
Continue stirring until the eggnog thickens slightly - enough to be able to coat the back of a spoon.
Pour & strain the eggnog back into the (washed, rinsed & dried) large bowl.
Allow the eggnog to sit and cool until it becomes room temperature.
Stir in the dark rum.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight.
Just prior to serving, combine the ground nutmeg & ground cinnamon on a small dish, and sprinkle a little of the mixture on top of each served glassful of your delicious coconut eggnog!

Coconut not your thing? How about a little chocolate?

Chocolate Egg Nog
Ingredients:
8 eggs
3 cups chocolate milk
2 cups milk
1 cup cream
1 cup Kahlua liqueur (or delicious, freshly brewed strong coffee)
1 cup dark rum
1/2 cup brown sugar
¾ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
¾ teaspoon nutmeg, ground
pinch cinnamon, ground (as garnish)
pinch chocolate, grated (as garnish)
In a large saucepan over a medium heat, pour the milk and chocolate milk.
Heat the milks, but DO NOT BOIL.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and brown sugar until they are well combined and of a reasonably thick consistency.
When the milk mixture is hot (but not boiling!), add approximately half of it to the bowl containing the beaten eggs and brown sugar.
Whisk well.
Pour all of the egg, sugar & milk mixture back into the large saucepan.
Reduce heat to low.
Slowly and gently, add in the Kahlua liqueur/ coffee, and then the cream.
Stir continuously until the mixture has thickened enough to be able to coat the back of a spoon.
Remember not to ever allow the mixture to boil.
Remove the eggnog from the low heat.
Stir in the dark rum, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled (at least 3 hours).
To serve, ladle the eggnog into individual glasses, and garnish with a little grated chocolate or ground cinnamon.

Oh I see, you're a traditionalist. Well then, Here ya go! I nice classic Egg Nog coming right up!

Classic Eggnog
Ingredients:
2 eggs, separated
6 cups milk
2 cups heavy/ thickened cream
2 cups bourbon
1+ ½ cups sugar
¾ cup brandy
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg In a large bowl and using a mixer, beat the egg yolks together with the sugar for approx 10 minutes (you want the mixture to be firm and the colour of butter).
Very slowly, add in the bourbon and brandy - just a little at a time.
When bourbon and brandy have been added, allow the mixture to cool in the fridge (for up to 6 hours, depending on how long before your party you're making the eggnog).
30 minutes before your guests arrive, stir the milk into the chilled yolk mixture.
Stir in 1+ ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg.
In a separate bowl, beat the cream with a mixer on high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks.
In yet another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture.
Gently fold the cream into the egg mixture.
After ladling into cups, garnish with the remainder of the ground nutmeg.

Yummy! These recipes sound so good that I might have to give the Eggnog another try. If you are Vegan, they do make Silk eggnog in the carton-so you can just add some rum or bourbon or whatever spirit you like and drink up. It's so much easier to make and you could probably put it on your cereal or coffee. Hmmm, that give me an idea-where are my Wheaties?

Well, there ya have toot'ers! A few twist on an old tradition. I hope that your holiday is wonderful and filled with happy spirits of every kind. Oh my, look who got out the mistletoe-SMOOCH! Happy Holidays!