Santa finish! Stuffed cabbage!

Hello!  I've finally removed all the Christmas decorations and have them boxed and bagged, ready to go back into storage.  Well, except for the new teeny light strings that I searched high and low for and can't find.  I'm still trying to find a shipping box for the new 3' tree, but no luck so far.  I quit working on re-charting the sampler because it requires concentration which is difficult with crap everywhere.  I should be able to work on it tomorrow and in the mean time, I'm back to Lucy.

 So today I completed the finishing on BOAF's Red Santa, brother of Green Santa who is mysteriously larger.   ????  The Santas in this series are the same stitch count so what happened here?  Well, I measured from the stitched edge for the seams but didn't realize that the linen stored with these charts and cut to size are not the same.  After measuring, Green is 28 count and Red is 30.  I opened the bottom on Green and ran new seams to size him equivalent to Red.    I used the envelope method on Red and added a small piece of quilt batting between the two front facing pieces.  Machine sewed with the linen side down and flat, the batting lifting the back fabric slightly to create a little excess.  I prefer the stiff and interfaced linen front to appear flatter and thought this might help.  It did, but I added a little too much so next time it will be less.  If I remember.  I so wanted to win a bid on Ebay for Overshot Heart (Carriage House/Barrick) and completely forgot this morning.   Just another instance of my memory being a real problem for me.

Something else I forgot - I'm offering the 1994 magazines for the Bargello Sewing Case and there are 3 issues, not 2.  I didn't remember that!  Where's the third?  Gone.  WHERE???  I found one online and ordered it so there will be three complete issues offered for post 100. 

Today, my posts number 96, but dashboard shows 97, yesterday it was 98.  Does Blogger have no sympathy for menobrains?  As soon as I get the magazine, we'll be close enough.  Here's the inside of the bag. 

And now the stuffed cabbage.  It was outstanding!  Boiling the cabbage heads are the worst part.  You have to core the head, simmer and remove outer leaves as they soften.  Cut down the thick center rib.  The filling is easy easy - roll in the leaves, and bake.  I chop extra cabbage to line the bottom and top of the roaster, pour my mom's recipe for the sauce/juice (tomato soup and tomato juice with water), and bake covered for 4 hours.   Sliced or slab bacon can be added on top but.....I forgot to get it.

 Our local grocery's deli has the cabbage stuffed and rolled, ready for sauce and baking, so I freeze some of the sauce for those.

The cabbage flavored water after boiling had carrots, onion, crushed tomatoes, basil, and Italian sausage added, along with the unused cabbage and extra rice for a great soup.  For dessert, after a week of cookies, I made 2 boxes of sugar free jello and let it set, but not gel.  An 8 oz. Cool Whip Lite beat with 3 - 4 oz. cream cheese was whipped into the Jello and made a very refreshing and light dessert.

My husband's grandmother had a remedy for bland beef or cabbage based soups - a squirt of ketchup.  That's all it takes and it makes such a difference.  I added a squirt (1 Tbsp?) to this one too. 

I'm done.  I'll be posting the Bargello Sewing Case magazines offering as soon as I get the missing issue in hand.  Until then, stay safe, enjoy the first week of 2012, and thank you for visiting!