Wow, it is so hard to believe it's the end of April already. The proverbial saying "where does the time go" certainly jumps to mind?
Well, I had a great time at the Dyeing to Stitch retreat. Beth from Heartstring Samplery is darling and provided us with a fabulous sampler and pincushion kit. She gave us a little history about herself and her stitching journey and then we were off stitching. Pat and Ann were lovely hostesses and made sure I was taken under the wing of a regular attendee. At lunch we were gifted some wonderful treasures and we all had to wait and open at the same time...lots of ooohs and aaahs ensued! I met some very nice ladies and was instructed in the use of Instagram.....we'll see how that goes--I'm afraid it will be another "time suck" and keep me from my appointed stitching!!! :)
This is a little kit by Heartstring Samplery that we received when we arrived to check in at Dyeing to Stitch. They had a reception with refreshments at the shop Friday afternoon and then that evening we could gather in a room at the hotel and stitch together; I got a good start on the pincushion. The chart says "stitch or die"!
I was in the Saturday morning session and this is our class piece called The Stitching Life.
It was presented to us in this adorable bag which proclaims the verse from the sampler. That's a cute little set of colored pencils in the lower left and corner.
Between the morning and afternoon class, we all came together for lunch. At that time, we got our above mentioned "gifts", a hand painted box (I love the shamrock), a wooden corner 'measurer' and a thread holder. The 'measurer', for lack of a better word, was hand made by Linda, of Erica Michaels, husband. The grains on the wood are beautiful and it will come in very handy for measuring in for my starting point. The lovely thread holder was made by LaDonna Snellbaker of Black Branch Needlework and features our sampler from class. Sorry, but it's so sweet and tiny, it's hard to see.
Now to my Stroll piece for this last day of April. It is a favorite of mine, Mary Wigham by Needleprint. I stitched this in 2009-2010 and tried to use fibers from my stash, especially limited edition Sampler Threads. I added the initials of my grandparents, parents, husband, children and my aunts and uncles. At the time, all my aunts and uncles were still alive, still married to their original spouses and most had been married for at least 50 years! Quite an accomplishment nowadays, don't you think? Sadly, not long after, we started losing some of them but I am happy I have a piece dedicated to them.
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship! Enjoy your Sunday!
Stasi
Just a quick post today.....I'm late due to my class and then the drive home. I'll post about the retreat tomorrow...had a good time!
Today's Stroll piece is Common Thread Stitcher's Mat, stitched in 2015. This is by Nan Lewis of Threadwork Primitives and was kindly gifted to me by a friend (you know who you are). I stitched as called for and love the saying.
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship.
Stasi
I've been slooooowly unpacking and hanging some of my framed pieces , so I can finally start to share them. I'm not sure of the correct title for this one, and couldn't come up with it after a quick google search, but it's a little poem about the crescent moon. It is by La Broderie and stitched in 1997 for my younger daughter. I always loved La Broderie designs and was sad when she stopped producing.
I'm off to shower, finish packing and head out for my adventure to VA Beach. I hope you have a pleasant weekend with time to stitch and relax.
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi
I was up early and at a plant sale sponsored by our local tech school by 7:00AM. They had a ton of plants at very reasonable prices (thank MA)! Now on to getting them in the ground; I don't really enjoy playing in the dirt, so it's more a matter of me directing hubby where to dig.
For my Stroll piece today, I am sharing a preface piece from a class I took with Betsy Stinner in 1998. Betsy was a fabulous teacher who imparted a lot of knowledge coupled with a wicked sense of humor. I was blessed to have taken a few of her classes when she came to teach at Twisted Threads. Sadly, I have never completed the actual class pieces but recently stumbled across the "practice" pieces we did in class. This one is from Friends Sampler and is so sweet and delicate; I think I'll make it into a pincushion or biscornu.
I'm excited because I have a "date" tonight! For my birthday back in December, my hubby got tickets to see Beautiful at the Altria Theater here in Richmond. I've been waiting patiently for 4 months; I've always loved Carole King's music!
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi
Yes, it's still raining and I said yesterday that rainy days tend to get me in a organizational mood. So, yesterday morning, besides helping hubby hang a ceiling fan, I started to re-do our "password" book. I know, I know, how sad is it we have a book to hold all our internet passwords .....and it's practically undecipherable with all the crossing out and updating! I tried recently to start using the same password as much as possible but so many sites require upper case, lower case, number, symbol or combination of characters, that I can't keep it all straight. Then there are the ones that require you to update the password every few months--ugh!!!! Luckily, this "book" won't contain as much info as in the past since all the business related sites aren't necessary anymore.
Moving on to something more fun, here are the smalls for the Edinburgh Reticule by Betsy Morgan. They consist of a needle book and scissor fob. The scissors are from Uncommon Scissors and have thistles, appropriately, on them.
I have been stitching in the evenings but am working on a couple birthday projects, so I can't share until they are "gifted". I have had a bit of a "lull" in my self control recently and indulged in some unbridled stash enhancement compliments of Facebook. So I will, shame faced that I am, share some of that.
So how crazy am I, thinking I could possibly get all this done? Maybe I should start a one in...one out philosophy! I am trying to work up to clearing out more charts/projects that I can bear to part with, but that involves having to make some tough and realistic decisions; I'm just not in the mood. Maybe a straight week/month of rainy days are needed!!!
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi
Well, we got our hike in yesterday but got rained out at the baseball game. No stitching happened since we babysat the grand kids last night! So, it will be a short and sweet post today.
The stroll piece is a freebie from Heart in Hand called Spring Flowers. I did it in 1999 as one of the ornaments of the month club for Twisted Threads.
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi
An adorable little bunny is strolling by today, Bitty Bunny, by Twisted Threads. This was a limited kit I stitched back in 1999 over one.
Now on to some current stitching. I've been all over the place getting small tasks completed. I finished the Shepherd's Bush piece, Fear Not, into a needle roll.
Next, I completed the pre-stitching on the Betsy Morgan Class for June, Virgin Queen's Stitching Wallet.
Then I got the pre-stitching done on another Betsy Morgan piece, Virgin Queen's Stitching Pocket. I am waiting for the kit for this as I was able to take the class as an away stitcher through the Delaware Valley Historic Sampler Guild.
And finally, I started on a piece for a SAL on Facebook. It is hosted by iStitch Designs and called Blue Band Sampler. It is stitched on some lovely banding, that I got from a shop in Europe, over one on 28 count. I'm doing it with Needlepaints fiber in a dark "tealish" green.This is week one!
We're off for a hike and hoping it doesn't pour...a little mist will be fine since the temps are dropping through the day. Hope you are warm and dry where you are!
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi
The Drawn Thread has always been one of my favorite designers and this piece, Sanctaury, is my favorite design of hers. I stitched this in 2001, starting right after 9/11 and it truly became my sanctuary after the horrific events of that day. Yes, I was glued to the TV but I could escape, if only for a bit, to a beautiful garden filled with lovely flowers and scampering critters. It is a true blessing how our needlework can help us through trying times and stressful situations. Do you all find this to be so?
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship! Have a spectacular weekend!
Stasi
A few things to share today; I'll start with my Stroll piece. This was a piece offered by Catherine Theron to needlework guilds. It is called Small Quaker Traveling Sewing Roll and I stitched it in 2014. I used my family's initials and don't think I changed anything up.
I managed to get a little more done on my pre-stitch for Betsy Morgan while watching a double episode of Survivor. Yes, we are Survivor junkies..not sure why this appeals to us so much, but we are often amazed at what outcomes occur and the manipulation/guile versus naivety/gullibility of the players.
Lastly, I'm sharing some finishing I've been working on over the past week or so. It is Black-eyed Susan's Workbox and Smalls by Jackie DuPlessis. This was offered by Jackie on her Facebook page and I stitched it last summer while at the cabin. The shaker box was hand painted around the lid band and is 3 1/2 inches in diameter. I gave the centers of the flowers "black eyes" where Jackie had them gold and found a realistic looking black-eyed susan to put in the bottom of the box. I then put the little label "wrought by" on the underside of the lid. I decided to use the ort container to house a wax beehive--it fit perfectly! The other accessories are a scissor fob, thread holder and bead storage roll. So sweet!
Well, I have a class today with the Virginia Guild of Needlewomen with Patti Nicolosi; she is teaching a bee skep scissor fob, so I'm excited. See you tomorrow!
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi
Yesterday was an absolutely, perfectly beautiful day and my hubby and I took advantage and drove over to Williamsburg. We visited the outlets first to buy a Bose wireless speaker....... hubby thought we were ready for the jump to streamed music...... me, I'm a little more hesitant. But we took the plunge and I have to say, it appears to be an easy process and the Bose sounds fantastic. Now I just have to figure out how to get my CD's into a "cloud" so I can access them through my phone....easy-peasy...right????
We then went to the Williamsburg Pottery and had a true OMG moment! We hadn't been here for quite awhile and, for any of you who haven't been there, this used to be a series of big old plain white buildings filled with pottery, imports and junque! You never knew what you'd find and prices were very low. Hubby and I went there on our honeymoon and got a ceiling lamp with black-eyed susans on it that is still hanging in my house today. So "what to our wondering eyes should appear" but this......
They have built a new (2012) series of buildings with quaint storefronts that house large open areas within. It's very attractive, still had good bargains but not near as much "stuff". I hope they make it, as a lot of money must have been sunk into this project. But, I'll miss the 'thrill of the hunt' we experienced at the old stores.
On to stitching......today's Stroll piece is Calculator Case by Olde Colonial Designs, stitched in 2003. The calculator is long gone--it broke soon after the first use--and I haven't replaced it.
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| Front |
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| Back |
I've started the pre-stitching on a class I'm taking with Betsy Morgan in June.
And to close on this dreary day, here are a couple pictures of some flowers I planted last weekend.
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| Spanish Lavender |
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| Phlox and lithodora |
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Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi
Wow, we had a ton of rain yesterday---approximately 2 inches in the afternoon. It was proverbially raining "cats and dogs"--good for our newly planted flowers though!
Today's Stroll post is Hatched Hare, a whimsical piece by Ewe and Eye and Friends. This was one of their black sheep night kits from 1999 that I stitched as a model for the shop. Our finisher, JoAnn, picked out the perfect backing fabric and made it into a cube. JoAnn always was the best "stuffer", something I hate to do.
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi
I hope you had an enjoyable Easter and didn't indulge too much with the sweets! My dinner turned out very nice; not too many leftovers, as care packages went home with some relatives.
Today's stroll piece is an older kit (1998) from Bent Creek called, fittingly, The Rabbit. It came with the tuckaway pillow and buttons, so quick to stitch AND finish. I love how it appears he's standing in a field of cabbage/lettuce.
My granddaughter paid a visit with her Mom to the American Girl doll store last week and she and her doll, Saige, wore the matching dresses I made.
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi
