Greetings...and a couple spring Stroll Additions (498-499)

I hope each and every one of you had a pleasant Easter with family and/or friends. Ours was very low key....I spent the weekend working on an order for project bags and Q-snap wranglers for Salty Yarns. 

Then dinner at my daughters, followed by an evening of Call the Midwife, Les Miserables and Killing Eve. 

I have been getting quite a bit of stitching in the past couple weeks and hope to have a marathon stitching weekend upcoming (more about that later).  We had driven to Baltimore to pick up my parents and bring them here for a visit...that's two days, one up and back, of 6 hours in the car. I worked on my A Year of Celebration, March and April. If you recall, March is a do-over as I didn't care for it on the 18 count fabric. So, I decided to do them all on 14 count perforated paper. March only needs the background stitching finished and April is about half done. They are much smaller now and will work better on the box I have in mind for finishing.

Here is March on the 18 count

Here they are on the perforated paper

 I've been working on Quilting Bee and am down to the last few motifs on the bottom edge. I can't wait to get this finished and framed.

I saw a kit for sale on FB that I jumped on and am so happy I did. It's The L.H. 1818 Quaker Sewing Pocket by The Good Huswife. It is much larger than I thought, but I love the simplicity of it. There are only two colors called for, both browns and I toyed with the idea of changing that, but think I'm going to stay with them...again, I love the simplicity. So anyway, I had to put in a few stitches; the bag is pre-made and there is a slit on the back where you stick your hand to work .... it's a little awkward but I'm trying to do the sewing method and keep the needle on 'top' as much as possible.

 

 I've been working on A Stitch in Time at my Tuesday morning stitch group and here's where I am with that. Yes, I've had to stitch the same motif twice...once for the needlebook and once for a pinkeep.

I'm up to date on my iStitch SAL.......

 

.....and managed to make two project bags for me. The fabric for the alphabet one was given to me by a friend and the bee one just makes me smile! The little bee was one of a set of knitting gauge counters but works perfectly as a zipper pull.

I did manage to squeak in two finishes for Easter/Spring. The little bunny is Spring Frolic by Homespun Elegance and was forwarded to me by our friend Vickie who had received it from our friend Robin. What kind and thoughtful friends we have here in blog land!!! Thanks ladies...and I have forwarded it on to a friend who expressed interest. I stitched this on a 32 count mystery dark green fabric and changed all the colors to work. I added the button for the tail and finished in a heart shape with pop-pom trim.

Now this next finish was inspired by Janice Wright Greene on FB. I had seen her version/finish of one of the 'rows' by Bent Creek and loved the idea. You unfurl for the holiday/season to display, then wind it back on the wooden spool to store....doesn't take up much storage space and looks so cute spread out. I had the right size spool to work in my stash and found the most beautiful shade of blue banding at Salty Yarns in March. Here is Easter Row done on 27 count banding with added JABCO jelly bean buttons. I did change all the colors, again, to work on the banding shade (it's a dark robin's egg blue) and sewed it onto the spool. The large egg on the end was a pin JABCO gave out at one of the Markets. I see more of these in my future!!!

And as Bugs Bunny would say...."and that's all folks" !!! 

I am off to Salty Yarns tomorrow for the weekend; it is the Delaware Valley Historical Sampler Guild semi-annual retreat. Since I am an away member I can attend and I have wanted to go to one for years. I have met many of the ladies at events at SY and they are the nicest, and very talented, group of stitchers. I am looking forward to an enjoyable weekend of stitching and sharing with them in the lobby of the Lankford Hotel. Now, I'm off to pack!

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

Stasi