Fall Retreat

Thank you for your lovely comments.  They mean so much to me.

I missed the first evening of the retreat because I was traveling.  That means I missed Sara's delectable appetizers and desserts.  I did have to work Friday, so that couldn't be helped.

Saturday was my first full day and I got in some great stitching time.

I worked on Bittersweet September by Blackbird Designs, probably the first time I touched it since retreat the year before.

And I worked on November Cottage by County Cottage Needleworks.

And, I put the last stitches and attached the embellishments on Be Nice by Shepherd's Bush.

I believe that we took a little stroll down the boardwalk to the Alaska Stand for burgers and fries.  A nice lunch eaten outside with friends.  

In the evening Sara brought out the leftovers from the previous night and I think some new desserts.  Lots of delicious choices.

I'll be back tomorrow with more.

Keep on Stitching!

Something for Me to Think About

Today I was goofing around on the internet and read a post by Ree Drummond called Ten Important Things I've Learned about Blogging here.  I must confess I don't watch a lot of tv and haven't ever seen her show.  I'll have to make it a point to find that one of these days. If you are a blogger her ideas may intrigue you as well.  She recommends blogging e-v-e-r-y day.  Hmmm, I've thought I'd like to aspire to that, but then, well, it can be so much trouble to take a picture and upload it (seriously, that's what I tell myself most days!)  But, I'm gonna try much, much harder.

The truth is, I miss blogging.  You folks are such an inspiration with your great comments.  And that's why I started this blog in the first place.  To show what I'm doing and read about what you're doing because this can be a pretty solitary pursuit.

Since, I wrote last time, I've been away on vacation, again.  I know, it seems like that's all I do.  But really, I do have  a job, and that job lets me take vacations.  I spent 9 glorious days in Ocean City, Maryland at the Lankford Hotel with many, many visits to Salty Yarns.  I started my vacation by attending a retreat sponsored by one of the guilds I belong to.  We were presented with a goodie bag upon arrival.  A zipper pouch with a small kit inside by The Purple Thread and a package of Bohin needles..  Some of the ladies were stitching that over the weekend.   I saved mine and will start it one of these days.

Well, it didn't take me too long to find the kit, the camera, take two pictures, and upload them.  Note to self, a post a day may be doable!  Just like Ree said.

I'll be back tomorrow to share more about the retreat and the balance of my vacation.  I did take my camera with me but never took it out of the case.  So I don't have any pictures from my time away to share.

Keep on Stitching!

Wow, has it been that long?

It's been way too long since I've posted. I have been reading other blogs but not commenting for the most part.  Not sure why that is, but I'll try to do better.

I haven't been stitching a lot, but with the change of season, I am anxious to get back to it!

I will share some pictures of our vacation in June.  And I'll have to see what else I have in my photos that you might be interested in.

We visited Deep Creek Lake in Maryland in late June.  It was supposed to be a family affair, however, our oldest son was unable to make because he had just purchased his first house.

There was fishing.  The Captain was a bit disappointed in this aspect of the vacation.  This was his smallest catch.

And some hiking.

To see this - really beautiful.  Wish I could remember the name of the state park.

The sign by the road to let us know we had arrived.

The house from the top of the driveway.

Baby Girl's favorite place to catch some rays.

The view from the deck.   It was a long walk down to the water.  And it seemed like an even longer walk back up to the house. My fitbit said I had climbed thirty flights on stairs on the first day we were there.  I did make several trips up and down.  We planned more carefully the following days and took everything we needed the first time!

A floating dock - a great place to sit in the sun and stitch. And be rocked by the waves from passing boats.

A place to stitch and read inside.

My favorite was the bowl of tea I had each morning on the deck in my jammies. 

A place to soak and talk on a cool night. 

I would go back again, to the same house.  The kids would have liked a little more active place - there wasn't alot for them to do in the evenings or on rainy days.    I read 3 books and started a fourth while we were there.  A perfect vacation for me. 

I'll be back soon.  

Mail

I love getting mail.  Stitchy mail is the absolute best!

Here is what's arrived in the past week or so:

Cotton Bird by Plum Street Samplers from the Colonial Gathering Club sponsored by Dyeing to Stitch

Three Heart in Hand kits.  I ordered these from Silver Needle as one of their daily specials in May

Bent Creek Welcome to Our Home series,also from the Silver Needle daily specials in May.

 Thanks for stopping by.

A Great Article

I have to admit that I love reading articles about organizing and looking at pictures of beautifully organized rooms (aka org porn.)

A while back I came across this article by Emily at So Damn Domestic.  I like what she suggests.  I struggle with this.

I was able to complete Step 1, eliminate the obvious.

Steps 2 through 5 have been more challenging!  My priority work in progress is whatever I spy with my little eye at the moment!  And if I want to start something new, that's ok, too.  And this is how I have come to have far more WIP's than I care to count.

Being realistic is another biggie.  I look at some projects and say that won't take long.  Maybe an hour or two.  And it's more like 10 or 20.  And still I tell myself that same story, again and again. How about you?

Step 5 is a real challenge.  I tell myself no more projects.  I've got lots and lots and lots.  And then I tell myself that I may not be able to get it again.  Which is true in the case of limited editions, kind of.  Even limited editions can be found on ebay and Stash Unload if one is patient enough.   But I want it now.

I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did.  Food for thought.

Thanks for stopping by.

Spring Gardner Sewing Roll

Last night I did the finishing on the Country Sampler Spring Gardner Sewing Roll by Stacy Nash Primitives.

Open

Folded and buttoned - the back

The flap

Under the flap

Inside.  I added the two pieces of floss to be used a ties.

Loaded and ready to be tucked into my bag with Salute to Abigail

I'll admit it's not perfect.   But I do think it is definitely prim.  And I felt that the addition of the two floss ties made is a little more functional for me.  The finishing wasn't too difficult.  I did have a bit of trouble with curve, but got that resolved to my satisfaction.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Mother's Day Gift

My son bought me this candle for Mother's Day.

He looked at it and told me that if I burned it for a couple of hours, I would be able to get the ring out.

After a couple of hours I was able to see the foil packet.  He told me it was time to take it out.

When we unwrapped it we found this ring inside:

And it fits!  How cool is that.  What a lot of fun.