Here Today...Gone Tomorrow...and a Little Strolling....473-476

The last two weeks are a bit of a blur.....Rich and I took a whirlwind tour in the Midwest covering over 2900 miles. We had been planning a trip to Rockford, IL to see Rich's brother who, sadly at 67, is in a nursing home due to strokes. We decided to make a vacation out of it and added some cities before and after Rockford. Be warned this post will be a long one with photos, but I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did experiencing it. 

We started out Monday, 9/24 and headed to Cinicinnati (I lived there for 15 years) where some dear friends put us up for two nights. I wish we had more time there, but we were on a tight schedule. However we did manage a trip to Waynesville, OH--the antiques capital of the midwest. This was one of my favorite places when I lived in Cincinnati and I enjoyed many visits there. They are home to one of the BEST fabric stores, The Fabric Shack, which has expanded and udpated their look.

Fabric Shack

We also wandered into a shop called....

....and look at all the eye candy!!!
 

None of these were for sale (not that I could afford to buy one) but they were certainly a treat to drool over!!!

Next we were off to Rockford to spend a couple days with Rich's brother. After that we stopped in Springfield, IL to learn about Abe Lincoln. There was a wonderful museum there; we got to tour the house he was living in before he became president and see his tomb. It was amazing to think my hand was following the banister where he must have climbed the stairs.

 Then it was on to St. Louis to ride up in the Arch and visit my old boss...and friend...Ruth. The Arch was pretty scary...you ride up 60 stories in a pod they lovingly call a "washing machine". It was a tight fit with five people, but we managed. The room at the top is only 7 feet wide and full of people so we did not tarry!!!

Rich in "washing machine"

At the top of the Arch

Dinner with Ruth and Jen at Vin de Set

When we left St. Louis we stopped at some old Indian mounds of the Cahokia tribe which date back to 1050-1350AD. The main mound was huge and we had to climb 158 steps to get to the top!!! Again, they had a very nice museum and we were amazed that we had never heard of this tribe before.
 

From there, it was on to Memphis with a visit to Graceland and Beale Street. We heard some great music there and spent quite a bit of time wandering the museum at Graceland..a trip down memory lane!!!

Me and Elvis's Pink Cadillac

Beale Street

Next up was Nashville! (We did visit a Civil War site between Memphis and Nashville but at this point I don't remember where it was....might have been Shiloh something or other--can you tell this trip was mainly geared towards my hubby...only one cross stitch stop....but he deserved it) The first night we stayed in Franklin, TN...what a quaint little town...wish I'd had more time to spend there. We spent almost a day in the Country Music Hall of Fame and again listened to some great performers on Broadway. The only downside was having to pay $55 to park for the day!!!!

The Batman building in downtown Nashville

Me bending down to visit Kris Kristofferson's plaque in the Hall of Fame

We also squeaked a visit in to the Antique Archeology, owned by Mike Wolf of American Pickers fame. I was underwhelmed with the actual store, but the old building (they made Marathon cars there in the early 1900's) it is housed in was wonderful....lots of cute shops!

From there we drove to the Asheville, NC area to visit my daughter and SIL.... and the only cross stitch shop on our itinerary, Sassy Jack's. Here are my purchases:

These were great little pieces of  hand dyed velvet  7X8"

 

 

We always enjoy our trips to visit our daughter in Brevard and this one did not disappoint. Our SIL, who is a chef, made a delicious dinner for us one night, we played games both nights  and even made it to a vintage flea market where I bought these items....a Cat's Meow house that says "The Needleworker", two linen napkins I think I can stitch on and can you believe they had all the letters to spell out "stitcher"??? I think I'll be gluing them on so they stay put!

And the piece de resistance.....an old sampler that I stumbled across!!! Sorry for the flash; I coudn't find a spot that didn't have a glare. This isn't in the best shape and the tree at the right side of the house was not completed, but the price was right and I couldn't resist.

We got home this past Sunday and I am frantically trying to get this blog done, along with two weeks worth of laundry, grocery shopping, bill paying, etc., etc.. And why you may ask? Because I leave tomorrow for OCMD for their stitcher's Jamboree. I'll be taking three classes and, hopefully, unwinding from my recent travels. I will post about that when I return next week. 

I wanted to end this post with some additions to my Stitch Stroll; I have been getting some stitching in since last time and while in the car traveling. First up are two gifts I made, 18th Century Pinwheel by the Good Huswife, for our dear friend Mary and Mini Band Sampler  by iStitch Designs for my sweet friend, Pam.

Sorry, Mary and RJ, I had to "borrow" your photo  as I forgot to take one!!!

I finished Scary Berry  by Erica Michaels on 40 count silk gauze and made my first stitched strawberry!

This ornament is called Winter Bluster by Glendon Place and was in the 2016 JCS ornament issue. Vonna from the Twisted Stitcher had done one of these "snow globes" last year and Sally from Salty Yarns kindly gave me one of the clear balls to make one. You only need half, of course, and it makes an adorable ornament. It took some figuring to finish it and the white beads add a snowy effect. Again, hard to get a good photo without glare.

Last but not least... I was not only happy dancing, I was happy jigging over finishing the last of the 48 Samsarah designs for the perpetual calendar. I started this in 2014 and it has been my car/doctor appointment project for almost 5 years. I have enjoyed it immensely but hope to never again do another black/white checkerboard border!!!! 

These are the last two from December and a St. Patrick's Day that I added in place of Veteran's Day. I figured I already had a flag  that could do double duty. I found the Irish design on Pinterest and want to give credit to the person who designed and posted it on her blog; I elongated it to fit the size I needed. It was called Irish Flag Cross-Stitch Chart by Kathleen Berlew, posted on 3/9/15 and her blog is kbbcrafts.blogspot.com.

I am not making these official Stroll pieces until I have them all finished on their little hanging tags.

I appreciate you hanging in there if you made it this far and hopefully you weren't bored to death. I am now off to pack for Ocean City and a new adventure to share. 

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi