Retreat Re-Cap, Stitch Stroll Additions (500-, 502-504) and Win Opportunity (if you stick to the end)

Life is Good!!! I don't know where to begin but am going to dive in with my latest news....hard to believe my last post was right after Mother's Day and Father's Day is this weekend!!! If you stick with me to the end, there will be an announcement for an opportunity to win a free chart. Be prepared, this may be a jam packed post! :) 

To begin, I got my Quilting Bee (#500) by The Blue Flower back from the framer. Patti Nicolosi did a fabulous job and I am so excited with the outcome. I had seen the frame, but in the wrong size, at Salty Yarns and Patti was able to source it and custom make to fit my piece. 

 Next is what I've been working on the last few weeks. I am caught up, except for the current section, on the Amethyst Band Sampler SAL. And yes, mine is not purple...I'm a green girl!

Then I've gotten the top and two sides of Carre' a' Abeilles by Jardin Prive' stitched. 

I finished April and started May in the Year of Celebrations series. I stopped filling in the background on May, and will hold off on that and any others I start, until our trip to Yellowstone. I figure it will be a no brainer and space saver to wait and do that while traveling. These were worked on during our drive to visit our younger daughter in NC over Memorial Day. I even had a little creek side stitching time!!!

I was also quietly working on some gifts for friends..two birthday presents and one for a visiting friend. They have been gifted now and I can reveal! :) First up is My Pinkee(502) by Marie Suarez. I had already stitched one of these for me a few years ago, but was lucky to find another on the second hand market. I used banding for the bag instead of linen.

Next up is the thread keep from Blue Elegance Sewing Bag (503) by Mani di Donna. The wooden pieces came with the mini kit.

Last, but not least, is Lankford Memories (504) by The Purple Thread. This was a special kit that Sharon did to honor the Lankford Hotel, which is where we stay when taking classes at Salty Yarns in OCMD.

Front

Back with photo of The Lankford printed on fabric

Inside

Beaded Edging

Finally, I made a new project bag for myself and one as a gift for a friend. I saw this fabric at the Prim Stitchers retreat last year and tracked some down. It is called Save Our Bees by Studio E fabrics. Here is mine:

So that's what I've been doing stitching-wise, but I've also had the pleasure of another stitching retreat. Salty Yarns hosted Betsy Morgan this past weekend and I was lucky enough to take two classes from her, Bee Contained and Tooth Fairy Boxes.  Here are the photos of the projects. Betsy is a fabulous teacher and designer and sadly will be retiring at the end of 2020, but I have been blessed to take a number of her classes, all of which I adore. I will tell you something that Betsy shared with us and that is that Inspirations magazine is coming out with a book of Betsy's designs in the fall. There will be 7 of her past projects and one new one---how exciting is that???

Betsy also announced that I..... yes, little ole me..... was the inspiration for her Bee Contained piece!!! Betsy knows of my love of bees and even has a blurb about it on her chart. I am thrilled and humbled by this honor--thanks Betsy from the bottom of my heart! I'll 'bee' getting to work on that piece soon! 

Here is our goodie box from the weekend, filled with lots of useful items. Sara and Sally always spoil us!!!

I have met many wonderful ladies at these events, who have become my friends (and I have the opportunity to meet new ones...Hi Kelly). We sometimes exchange little "memories" of each other. Here are some of the gifts I received...........Lots of fun "bee" items!

Close up of bee hive button

 And then we have my gift from Paola. Some of you may know Paola, as she travels to the US from Europe to take classes. She and I met in 2011 at Betsy Morgan's Toy Chest class at Salty Yarns. I offered to drive her to the airport, since it was on my way home, and we quickly bonded on that short trip. She is a delight to all that know her and I am proud to call her my dear friend. She made me this fabulous cartonnage box with a silk gauze insert. It opens like a buckle and is AMAZING!!! The precision and "fit" is unbelievable. Thank you so much Paola...I will treasure it always! Oh, and inside, it was filled with beautiful trims and a couple seahorse sewing aids. 

These were the things I gifted to others:

Is this not the cutest needle holder???

Bee needle minder from Rovaris

While there, I was invited to visit Patty Yergey's (Samplers Revisited) house to see her sampler collection. What a feast for the eyes, both reproduction and originals samplers abounded.  Patty had one with bees on it and had reproduced it from the back side where the original colors could be seen; they were pink of all things! Vickie, I know you'll love this!!!

I did some minor stash enhancement at Salty Yarns, a few charts and some fabric. 

The fabric on the left is 46 count...am I nuts??? And thanks to Carol at Stitching Dreams, I got some black fabric to try my hand at. She does the loveliest Prairie Schooler and Little House Needlework ornaments on black fabric over one..again, am I nuts???

 We also made a quick visit to Serendipity Quilt Shop in Dagsboro, DE. I swore to myself I would NOT buy anything, but these three pieces came home with me.

Finally, one day we went to Berlin, MD for lunch and a little antiquing and I found a fun, tiny pincushion shaped like an iron.... it even has a measuring tape that pulls out..and an old Whitman's sampler box from 1976. All the motifs are stitched and of a patriotic nature..Betsy Ross, Independence Hall, the USS Constitution, etc.. It's pretty beat up but I love it!

After this long recounting,  a conversation from a movie/TV show just popped into my mind. I don't recall the who or where but I remember the lines as one person said to another in a hypnotic trance, "you can say no more" and they in turn responded "I can say no more".

Except...in celebration of my #500 Stitch Stroll project, I am going to have a drawing for the Quilting Bee chart. You must be a follower (if you aren't already, please add your name to the list of followers at the bottom left side of my of my posts) and have the word "bee" in your comment. I will draw the name and announce the winner on Sunday, June 30th. Good luck!


Thanks for hanging with me and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi