"Back to School, Back to Basics"

That was the theme of the retreat! All of our goodies and the optional project fit right along with this theme too, as you can see from these photos. The first thing we received was a brown bag lunch with apple bread (made by our very talented president) and chips, caramel sauce, and the pumpkin pin cushion. Then throughout the retreat there were little present left at our seats and I think everything is shown in the photo above.

The optional project was an apple needle book and scissor case. That was such fun to make! On Saturday morning we received a kit with all of the supplies needed to make it and were promised a surprise when we finished. As each person finished, they were taken aside and given the surprise which was the scissors for the case. Neat! We had a choice of red or green and I chose green.

Here is a photo of the inside. On the top piece is the flower with the needle threader attached and the threader is slipped into the square pocket below. I attached the fob from our goodies to my scissors. And you can see that inside the little apple shaped needle book is the gold needle that was also included in the kit. Everyone who made the project finished and received their scissors!

The retreat was held at Ross Point which is a beautiful area. I completely forgot to take photos so I am buying a disc from one of the ladies who was there and then I will be able to post more photos. It was loads of fun and I can hardly wait for next years retreat!!!
Have a great day!

Spooky Drawing & Another Giveaway!

I put all the names into my cauldron and Lyn W is the lucky winner. Lyn, please go to my profile and send me an email with your address so I can get your prize into the mail when I get back from the retreat!!!

Do you like things with beady eyes? Well, then this next drawing is for you! I have the two Mill Hill kits shown above to give away. The drawing will be Thursday night during the witching hour, and will be posted on Friday. Be sure to leave me a post and this time I would like to know why you love or hate to stitch on Aida cloth. I just started stitching a spooky project on Aida and am really enjoying it! I feel like I am getting back to my stitching roots. I think we must have all started our stitching adventure with Aida cloth, right?

Okay, I really have to go. My stitching is packed, snacks are packed, clothes - NO! And, I think I do need clothes. Must go throw pants into the dryer and get my car loaded. I am so excited. A fabric order just arrive moments ago from Enchanted Fabrics and they are awesome! I will post photos when I get back Sunday.

Have a great weekend! Don't forget to post a comment to be entered into the drawing =)

Summer Quaker & Update

Above is a photo of what I sent to Becky. It was my first tin finish and now that I know they aren't as difficult as I thought, I will definitely be making more of these! Her photos look better than mine so I will refer you to her blog to see the inside of the tin and the matching fob. This really was a fun stitch. The pattern is Quaker Flowers by Samplers & Such. Instead of using the Altoids tin, I used the Hershey tin with the purple lid. It matched the stitching perfectly. Now that I see you can also put magnet in the lid, I will try to do that next time. Just have to figure out how, so if anyone who is reading knows and can tell me, that would be great!

Here is the exchange I received from Margaret C. She stitched a beautiful biscornu for me in the prettiest Dinky Dyes silk, coral seas. She also sent along a very generous package of goodies. I am truly overwhelmed at her generosity. Two charts from my wish list, a huge piece of Lakeside Linen in a gorgeous pink color called Chantilly Cream, and some really pretty buttons, floss holders, and a handmade card! I used to make all my cards but it has been a while since that craft has seen the light of day, lol!

I received an exciting phone call the other day. A spot opened up for me to attend a stitching retreat next month. I am so excited I can hardly wait to go! It is one where you just bring what you want to work on and spend the weekend in a beautiful place with other stitchers and just have a great time. Sounds like heaven =) I have been collecting lots of ornament patterns, fabrics and threads so that may be what I take with me. There are so many I want to stitch and I am really in the mood to stitch Fall and Christmas projects right now. As soon as I finish this post I plan to stitch the Prairie Schooler Halloween ornament from the latest issue of Just Cross Stitch. I picked out the fabric and threads last night! My order with all their new charts arrived on Tuesday so I am wishing again that I could stitch 24/7!!! Don't we all?

I have some other things to show you but I decided that instead of posting it all at one time, I would try to post more frequently. I received my Fair & Square round 8 but will wait until Danica has received her squares from me to post about those. I have a couple of other finishes I will be sharing in the near future too so keep checking in to see what's new!
Have a great day!

Blackbird Retreat!

Alma from Blackbird Designs came to my LNS this weekend! Here is the table display of items she brought with her to show and talk about. We learned so many amazing ways to use your cross stitch for gift making. It was incredible! You can see that there are notebooks, journals, magnets, tiny pictures, ornaments, etc, shown here. Many items were made from color copies of finished needlework projects. Including our project from day one.
We covered the box in front on the left with a color copy of an old sampler. The stitched piece behind it will line the inside bottom of the box. I have put the photo of the finished project there so you can also see the pin keep which will go inside the box with a beautiful pair of scissors that was also in our kit.

On day two, we learned how to paint and antique a box that will be made into a larger pincushion. There is a photo of the finished project shown with my box. Still need to do the stitching but I hope to have it all done in the next few days so I can post photos of my finished items.

On both days we were treated to wonderful gifts made by our shop ladies and from Alma, too. I did take lots of photos but need to check with folks before putting them on-line. This was my first retreat and I have to say I was so overwhelmed with all the fun that I fell asleep almost as soon as I got home on the first day! I really wanted to try and finish the first project but realized that I fell asleep while stitching and had to rip what I did out. Then I wrote in the little notebook we were given all my notes and memories of the day. I learned so much about putting your heart into your stitching and the many things you can make from one stitched piece. I know there are many technical classes out there where you learn how to make perfect stitches and specialty stitches but this class was very different from that. I learned that you don't always have to finish a project before you can turn it into something wonderful. I hope to share more of those ideas in future posts with my own experiments on my projects.

Have a great day!