Still Stitching!

Yes, I'm still around and still stitching. It has been a month of TWO's.

 

 Life is still busy with TWO new consignment sellers for my ebay business. 

 

And I have TWO real estate closings this week.

 

And I'm preparing for TWO retreats in the month of June.

 

And I have TWO new finishes to share with you-

 

 

Finish #1-SAL Sopresa 2012

 

I would love to sign up for the 2014 SAL but it is 55 euros.  The latest exchange rate to dollars is approximately $74-whew! A little too steep for me for a mystery project  :)  Is anyone signed up for it?  I can't wait to see it on someone's blog.

Finish #2-A Baby, A Manger

Cherrywood Studios

 

I saw this one in person at Acorns & Threads in Portland.   It is so adorable finished as a no-sew stand up.  It was also a quick finish since I used some 28 ct grey linen from my stash. Sorry for being too lazy to iron it before the photo.

Here is an update on Shepherd's Bush angel stocking for GD#2

 

 I have TWO new starts to share-

 

New start #1-Shepherd's Bush Fold-pretty pathetic start.  I already made a change in the house and put the chimneys down where they belong :) I do love the linen.

 

 

New start #2-Gay Ann Rogers Samples

This is the first time I have stitched on linen congress cloth. Try clicking on the photo to get a better look.  It should look like similar to this photo below when I'm finished-

 

 

 

Another thing I have been busy with is my local EGA chapter opportunity basket to the GPR seminar being held in Reno next month. Since there is no EGA chapter in Reno, all the participants will be flying or driving in.  So I wanted to provide a "basket"  that would travel home easily with the winner.  Yes, it is assembled and shipped and hopefully will be a large fundraiser for the chapter! 

 

Only one basket, not TWO!

 

One more TWO to share-

I was so happy to see SANQ thinking "out of the box" this month! And am in love with the half-doll pincushion on the front!  

 

 

So I rushed right off to order the doll and realized that I had another GPA pattern in my stash that needed a doll.  So, I ordered TWO!

 

 

Hey, Annette, I hear you are going to stitch the SANQ doll, too!  If you build it (a SAL), I will come!  :) And a lot of other stitcher's too, I'll bet.

 

Hope your Memorial Day weekend was fun and relaxing.  We stayed home and entertained friends TWICE.  And hosted a family birthday party for TWO family members.

(Couldn't resist two more TWO's :) 

Pacific Ocean Retreat and Stitchy Update

It was time once again for my annual Pacific Ocean retreat.

Here is the view!

 

The first day we had beautiful sunshine and warm spring weather!  The remaining 3 days we had rain and wind.  Very typical weather for the west coast :)

 

Here is our large stitching and dining room.  You can see the edge of the round dining tables on the right side of the above photo. We had a lady come from Pennsylvania and one from California.  The rest of us were from Washington and Oregon.

We had a charity auction and raised over $700 for a Newborn Care Unit that cares for drug-addicted newborns.

We also had a small sales table and lots of beautiful show and share (of which I forgot to take any photos!)

 

Here is our little mascot.  He is really mascot #2 as Joey, our mascot #1 was back in his room asleep for the night.  The red pincushion in the photo was a gift from one of the participants to all of us!  Wasn't that a sweet and generous gift?!

P>S>this mascot is stuffed :)

 

Here is what I worked on over the weekend-a pincushion for an upcoming exchange.

L'Atelier Perdu 2012 My Christmas Stocking-

All over one stitching on 32 ct lambswool linen

I completed the back portion first and the blue star on the right is the start to the front piece.

This is a wool applique wall hanging that I purchased on my Alaskan cruise last fall.  It is a birthday gift for my husband and all the blocks are finished and ready to be sewn together and backed.

Little Brooke's Christmas stocking is started! 

Another new start by CherryWood Designs-A Baby, A Manger

I saw this one finished at Acorns & Threads in Portland last month.  It is a beauty!

 

 

The December block to My Woolly Good Year quilt is also finished.

 

 And last, but certainly not least, I worked on Debbie Stiehler's American Patchwork.  It is the first time I worked on it since I took the class nearly one year ago :(  I still love it!

Work is busy. Two more retreats are coming up in June.  Including another one with Meg Hawkey at Crabapple Hill.  It will be a busy month.

Carolyn Pearce's Home Sweet Home Book

I mentioned a few months ago about reading on Mary Corbet's blog about a shop that was kitting up Carolyn Pearce's Home Sweet Home Embroidered Workbox.

I got on their waiting list on Dec 29, 2013.  And it came last week!

It felt like Christmas!

 

This is the book I am talking about in case you are not familiar with it. Below are photos of the threads and fabrics that came in the kit. The book is not included in the kit.

If you are interested in learning more, contact A Stitching Shop in Denver.   They might have a few more kits available.  Scroll down on the home page for more info.

Stitchy Update, RAK, and A Little New Stash

It has been awhile since I gave you a stitching update.  Retreat and a new grandbaby didn't bring my stitching to a halt, just a temporary slow down :)

 

I pulled out my neglected 2012 Sal Sopresa awhile back.

Here is my before picture-

 

Here is my after picture-

It's not finished, but I'm making progress.

I've acquired some more new stash.  Thank heaven I didn't sign up for the Stitch From Stash Challenge this year.  I would be a big failure already!

 

It is a kit by the Purple Thread. Purple Thread is a new designer to me.  This is an adorable needlebook and scissor fob in a decorated paper mache box that I hope I can reuse eventually.

Finish #1-the needlebook to go in my Tea Time Basket. 

 

 Confession Time- I love the mosaic stitch in needlepoint projects.  It is very versatile, looks great in the diagonal, and makes a beautiful texture.  But I put in lots of mosaic stitch with silk threads on my Tea Time Basket and from 2 feet away it looks exactly the same to me as a plain ole cross stitch. So I am using more cross stitch and less mosaic stitch on this project.

Finish #2-The May block for my Wooly Good Year Quilt

Finish #3 & 4-2 more blocks for my Red Home quilt

Last, but definitely not least, I received a RAK in the mail!  Some cute cross stitchable trim, floss, Made with Love charms, and some needles.   There was no return address and I'm embarrassed to admit I can't read the name signed on the card!  I think it is Marlene???  So, if it was you,  Thank You So Much! It came as a total surprise and it touches my heart that you took the time to send it :)

 

Finally, an update on my ebay selling business- I am getting lots and lots of really great items from de-stashing sellers.  It is slow going right now, but I hope to be able to get more items up real soon.  If you want to watch my listings click HERE.

Welcome Little One!

Another Blessing To Our Family!

Welcome Matthew James!

Born Saturday, March 29th after 39 hours of labor!

3:05 pm

8 lbs. 10 oz.

21 inches

 

Congratulations DD#2 and SIL!

Crabapple Hill Spring Retreat

I am back from the spring Crabapple Hill Retreat!

This was the 2nd retreat at Crabapple Hill that I have attended. 

My first retreat was Fall 2012.

Meg Hawkey is a wonderful hostess.

It was a relaxed time of stitching and crafts with lots of laughing and chit chat.

Here are some photos so you can see.

Here is the Crabapple Hill studio.

Here is inside. 

 

More inside.

 

 

Isn't this wall of quilts lovely?

 

 

Here is my table full of friendly stitchers/quilters. We were happy to meet Jennifer and Ailene from Jennifer's Quilt Shop in Michigan.  There were ladies from Oregon, Washington, Canada, Utah, and Idaho also.

 

Here is the box that greeted me with my nametag and cream velvet heart pincushion.

 

Inside the box was the weekend stitching project.  I love it!

Here is a 2nd project-a wool needle roll that I am happy to say I finished.

Here is the 3rd project a stitching fairy in a jar-there are two examples below.  Mine is finished!

If that was not enough, we still had time to complete a scissor fob.  The example is laying on the white rectangle.  The charms had pieces of antique lace in them. My finished scissor fob is pictured above on the photo of our weekend heart project.

Here is Sunday brunch.  All the meals were delicious!

Lots of show and tell-here are some new quilts by Crabapple Hill.  This one is Shiny & Brite.

This quilt is Gingerbread Houses.

This one is Snowmen A-Z

 

I didn't forget the photos of my new stash :)

Thank you, Meg, for a wonderful weekend. 

Looking forward to returning for the Summer retreat in June.