Long overdue post

Again it has been awhile since I have posted. Much has been going on. I just returned home from a trip to Chattanooga, TN and Atlanta, GA where two of our daughter's live.

Here are two of the reasons we were in Chattanooga. Emily Kate who is 18 months and Jacob who is 3 1/2 years old. Our oldest daughter Melissa and her hubby Shad are the parents of Emily and Jacob. We spent a couple of days with them and then we drove down to Atlanta to spend a couple of days with our daughter Karissa and her hubby Jason. This was our first trip to see their new house. After a couple of days in Atlanta were went back to TN and left for home on Saturday and made the drive back to Minnesota in one long day. After 16 hours we were back at home.

So with all that being said on our way down south we made a couple of pit stops to some cross stitch shops. Our first stop was to Country Sampler in Spring Green, WI.
Our next stop was at the Needle and I in Rockford, Ill. Then we hit Tomorrow's Heirlooms in Glen Ellyn, Ill. After all those stops we had dinner at Texas Roadhouse and stayed at a hotel in Mattoon, Ill. I checked out the phone book in Mattoon and lo and behold there was a cross stitch shop there. So on Friday morning before we left Mattoon we of course checked out Stitcher's Express. After all these stops here is--- the stash I acquired---

I picked up these scissors at Tomorrow's Heirlooms. DH said I should have two of them, not sure why though. More for the collection!!

My DH also thought I needed this cute little scissor/needle case. So he bought this little treasure for me from Stitcher's Express.

I still have a few more things to post but I will do that in the next couple of days.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stitching.

New Treasures and some more finishes.....

I have been wanting to post some pictures for the last day or two but I was having some kind of computer/blogger issues. I think they have been resolved so I am going to give it another try.

Last Thursday was our anniversary, so the DH and I did a little road tripping over the weekend and hit an antique shop and I came away with these lovely items. The dish is called a "bone dish". I thought it was so cute and would be a perfect place to put buttons. I am collecting pearl buttons, so I bought a couple of jars of them. I think I will have enough for awhile. I also found some hat pins and crocheted lace. I have already put some of the pins and buttons to work. I can't wait to use the lace.

Then I have been on quite a binge of stitching pincushions. I stitched up this Shakespeare's Peddler "Ole Pincushion". It was stitched it on 32 count black with 2 threads of Belle Soie--Kiwi. This was a very quick stitch. I stitched it and finished it all on Monday.

As I mentioned I have been on a pincushion binge. I stitched this BBD--Bird in Hand on 36 count cream with Belle Soie Cranberry.

And yet another BBD--Bluebird, which I stitched on 32 count cream with Belle Soie Kiwi. So I guess mine would be a green bird. The back ground fabric is what I used on the back of the pincushion, along with some of the buttons and pins I bought the other day. I just love these pincushions.

I had this LHN design--Snowy Pines stitched up and was in a finishing mood, so I took care of this little ornament. It was stitched on home coffee dyed 32 count with DMC. Turned out pretty cute.

Last Sunday my DD and I framed these two pieces. They are Bent Creek Snappers. I stitched this back in 2003!!!! I can't believe it. My SIL made the frames and my DD painted them and we finally got them framed. One piece is mine of course and the other one is my stitching bud Lori's.

Over the last three Wednesday's my friend Jackie and I have been putting together these Christmas ornaments. Jackie and another stitching bud--Chris did the stitching of the ornaments and then I helped Jackie put them together. So we ended up assembling 26!!! No last minute Christmas rush this year!!!

Tulip House finish and a couple of other finishes

I finished the stitching of my Blackbird Designs retreat project called Tulip House. I went to my local thrift store and found this frame which I thought worked perfect. I like the texture of the frame and the good news is the frame cost $2.42.

This is the stitcher's box which is the companion piece to Tulip House. I really enjoyed this Blackbird Design retreat, so much so I will be going to another Blackbird Designs retreat at The Silver Needle with my stitching bud Cathy B. I think we have become BBD groupies:)

Here is my version of the BBD cupcake. The design is from BBD book Honeysuckle Manor.

Another thing I learned from Alma and Barb was how to dye headpins to make them look antique. As you can see from the picture I started out with the pins on the right and dyed them with the end result being the pins on the left.

I stitched these next two pieces when we were still in Aberdeen, but just framed them over the weekend. This design is LHN--Faith. I used this Mill Hill frame that I bought many years ago and found in my frame stash.

The Sampler Lady by LHN.

I found this frame at a antique shop and paid about $2 for it. I really like to use frames I find at antique or thrift shops. Sometimes I find a frame and then look for a project to fit the frame.

My Birthday Bash Retreat Slideshow!

Thank you to all the girls for a GREAT 50th Birthday Bash Retreat.

New header and life update....

It has been a month now since we have returned home from our nine months in Aberdeen, SD. With that being said I have put up a new header which conveys my feelings about being back home in Minnesota!!

Here is a picture of me on the day we left Aberdeen. I was very excited to be leaving for home. I have been so busy trying to get settled here back at home I have not had a lot of time to blog all the things that have happened in the last month so I am going to try to get caught up.

Here is a picture my stitching bud Lori modified for my scrap book. A cute little reminder of our days in South Dakota--As they say Great Faces, Great Places--South Dakota!!!!


I will be posting about my BIG birthday and a some other stitching related happenings in the next day or so..

Blackbird Design retreat update

To start off our retreat weekend I stitched this Blackbird Design motif from the book Joyeux Noel. The bird was from the Vintage Pincushion pattern. Then I soldered the design between glass and attached it to a chain. I made one for myself, one for Cathy B, since she and I were roommates at retreat and then one for Alma and Barb.

The first project we were given on Friday night was a monogram sachet pillow. We stitched our initial and then added whatever else we wanted to our design. This was a quick and fun stitch.

Here is a sample of other pillows that the girls stitched up. There was quite a variety of ideas flowing through the room.

Here is the sample of Tulip House which was the project for our retreat weekend along with the Stitcher's Companion Box.

This box was Alma's sample of our project.

Here is the outside of the box that we all painted.

This was my stitched piece to go on top of the box.

And here is the finished result of my box. I think it turned out quite well.

Here is what the inside of the box looks like. I had such a good time working on this project. I may have to stitch another one sometime.

If you ever get a chance take a class with Alma and Barb of Blackbird Designs. You won't be disappointed.

I also want to thank Deb the owner of Stitchville USA for hosting this retreat. Everything was great.

Brief update.....

I have NOT dropped off the face of the Earth--although it sometimes feels like I have. I have had many changes and events occur since my last post. I am just going to tempt you with one of my many adventures with this quick post.

This weekend Cathy B. and myself went to a retreat sponsored by our LNS--Stitchville featuring Blackbird Designs. Here is a picture taken with Alma, Cathy, myself and Barb. We had such a great time and these gals are GREAT!!!! I loved every minute we spent with them. They are so friendly and down to Earth, I feel like I have made two new friends.

I will be posting more pictures and showing and telling what these girls taught us and the great designs they had for us. So stop by later tonight or tomorrow for more on the retreat and why I haven't posted in the last month

Alma, Cathy, myself and Barb.

Happy Stitching!!!!