Road Trip.....and New Finish

I have put off driving up to see the needlework exhibit at the Chester County Historical Society all summer. It seemed September 7th (when the show ends) was a looooong way off! But, it was a "now or never" moment realized on Friday--that I had to go soon or miss it. Soooo, Rich and I took a road trip yesterday of about 3 hours to West Chester, PA. WOW--was it worth the trip!!! The exhibit was fabulous with many examples of different styles of samplers, huswifes, pinballs and globes. A veritable feast for the stitchers eyes! When we first got there, we were the only visitors--in fact our movement into the rooms turned the lights on. The whole time were we there , there were only 4 other people, so we could take our time, study the pieces, read the info cards in a very leisurely fashion. I was especially taken with some beautiful examples of needle lace; it was so fine and delicate. I was also happy we took some time to walk around the rest of the museum as we came across some fabulous pinballs that were in wonderful condition with very good color.

Sadly, there is no plan for a catalogue as a reference tool. I did take some pictures before my camera battery died on me, but am not allowed to post on my blog without permission. I'm figuring others have gotten that permission and posted them, so hopefully they are just a google search away.

Then, a walk up the street to find a plethora of restaurants- a veritable feast for the stitchers tummies!!!! We chose an Irish pub since they had available seating outside. Oh...and did I mention it was an absolutely beautiful day--temps in the low 80's and NO humidity!!!

Rich at lunch

A quick visit to The Strawberry Sampler where I bought a shop model that was perfectly fitting for the day...don't ya think? Heck, I couldn't buy the frame for the price of the whole stitched piece, so I'm extremely happy!!!

Now on to the finishing front!!! I completed one of my Merry cox classes  from June, Le Nouveau Palais Royale. I stitched this for my granddaughter, Cora. It has her initials, her name, as well as mine and the name she calls me...Mimi. The only change I made was to sew beading around the pin keep instead of using silk ribbon.  The pieces all fit inside the box stacked on top of each other and then the box slides into the silk bag. I'll have to start my hunt for treasures to put inside. I'd really like to come up with something special as a  scissor fob instead of the ribbon.
 I just love the colors...they are as sweet and lovely as my little Cora! I've been whispering in Cora's ear since she was born( she's almost 21 months old)  that I was going to teach her to stitch...that she'll be my little stitching buddy one day. I am starting to refer to myself as the "stitch whisperer" where she is concerned. My hope is she'll become interested in some type of needlework so we can keep the art going.

The whole shebang

Pinkeep and pincushions (bottom layer)

middle layer with scrims

top layer

presentation bag

That's all for now--thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!