Couldn't Resist a New Start......

 Wow...the last day of August...where has the summer gone??? I was in Hobby Lobby yesterday and they were packed with fall/autumn decorations and putting out Christmas. Fall is my favorite time of year; it re-energizes me after the dog days of summer. I'm ready to pull out my jeans, socks and sweaters! Oh wait, I live in Richmond now...it'll be a while longer before I can do that!!!

So, all the fall colors at Hobby Lobby yesterday prompted me to start this new project, Got You Cornered by Amy Mitten. Here you can see why:

This is gong to take concentration...some of the back stitching is over three and I need my vertical thread!!! So I count and recount.

Tomorrow is the first day of Hands on Design's Costume Party SAL. Anybody else joining in? It's a mystery SAL so we will see the first part of the design tomorrow, followed by two more sections on the 3rd and 5th and then a finishing tutorial on the 7th. I did not buy all the accoutrements ahead of time; I think I have a piece of fabric that will work in my stash and will wait to decide how to finish after I complete the stitching. I did make the floss drops that Kelly provided the images for and a Halloween themed project bag  (check out my post on August 8th).

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

Stasi

I Made a Couple........

 ....project bags yesterday!

 

Check out the cute zipper pulls. I had some 1" embroidery hoops and just cut a piece of the bag fabric to put in them.
 

I participated in a fall stitchy exchange and got my partners piece in the mail yesterday. I received this sweet pillow and a matching mini project bag, along with a bag of my favorite M&M's.

A funny thing...hubby saw the bag of M&M's , opened them, shoved his hand inside and pulled out a handful of melting M&M's.....that's what he gets for sneaking into my stuff!!! They are now in the fridge after spending the day in 90 degree heat!

Hope it's cooler where you are...I am so ready for autumn!!! Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi 

A new week.....

The birthday dinner went very nice..hardly any leftovers....even managed to squeeze in a game of Ticket to Ride afterwards. Should have taken a photo....I'm not good at remembering to do that in the moment!

Managed a bit more on Mrs. Claus's Knotting Shop  ......she's in the picture now as well as a little elf climbing a ladder!

 

Were you checking out the new designs from Expo this past weekend? I checked some sites and saw some cute things from a new to me designer, Pansy Patch Quilts. I think the idea from Cottage Garden Threads was fabulous.....they came out with four lovely fall colors of thread and had a bunch of different designers come up with charts that used those four colors. Top design by Liz Matthews, bottom by Tiny Modernist. Participating designers have that Autumn Garden image on the chart. Great marketing!!!  

 

 

 

However, my favorite new design wasn't part of Expo; I saw the finished pieces on Vonna's FB page as  Vonna did the finishing for these adorable ornaments by Lila's Studio....I ordered them right away!!! Not often I love every design on a chart,  but in this instance I do!!!

 

While checking out Lila's Studio's website, I found some sweet freebies here:

Lila's Studio

Did you find any "gotta haves" from the Expo? With Nashville being the only in person  wholesale market these days, it's nice the designers/vendors have another opportunity to sell/promote their wares via the internet.

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

Stasi

Inspiring Times.....

 Yesterday's stitchy events were great! I always enjoy meeting up with the ladies from the DVHSG; they are always full of ideas, suggestions and enabling. I am thrilled they are planning to continue zooming after they start to meet in person this fall. This is what I worked on during the stitch-in.

Mrs. Claus's Knitting Shop by Living on the Rainbow

 The on line class with Jessie Chorley was very interesting. Her style is totally out of my wheelhouse, but I hope to give it a try. I did have lots of ideas start fermenting while listening to her talk about the project....we shall see! Here is an example of her version of our project:

We're celebrating Rich's birthday today with my daughter's family....hot milk cake is in the oven and  Cincinnati chili on the stove...it's smelling good at my house!!!

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

Stasi

The Year of Turning 70............

 Today is my hubby, Rich's 70th birthday.....I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this.....and I'm not too far behind!!! We've been together over 50 years, been married 48 and I can't think of anyone I'd rather have traveled all these years with. He is my rock...and I'll leave it at that or I'll get all mushy. Happy Birthday Babe and many more!!! (Darn, I am missing my birthday tag for the calendar...lent it to a friend to try to figure out the size for one she wants to make)

On the stitching front, I worked on Harriett a bit more last night. And this is what I worked on during two stitch-ins recently.....Honeybees and Blooms  by Honeycomb and Threads. It's stitched on 36 ct. Maritime White by Lakeside with GAST. There are two because one will be a drum and one will be a pinwheel.

 

I have two stitching opportunities today...the DVHSG stitch-in this morning and a class with the OCSG this afternoon. That should be interesting since the project is a little out of my wheelhouse. The teacher is Jessie Chorley, from England, who does fun embroidery projects along the lines of a funky crazy quilt. You can check her out here: Jessie Chorley  You gotta love Zoom.....I can take a class through a group in CA from a teacher across the pond...all in different time zones

I hope you have a nice weekend as summer wanes down. Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi 

I'm Seeing Red.......

 Here is my progress on Harriett Salt by Hands Across the Sea. She is going to be a big girl......approx. 21X21 on 40 ct over two. I have a long way to go!!!! She will be coming and going...as much as I like alphabets, this starts to get a little monotonous!

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

Stasi

A Little Bit Country.......

 This post is not about stitching so, if you want to pass 'er by today, it's okay.

I am not usually a 'complainer' (except about hot weather)  but yesterday's outing was a little disappointing. We left early to drive to Charlottesville for our concert because we heard there were lots of cute shops and restaurants. What we found was that most were closed!!! So we wandered, found a spot for a bit that had a little breeze and waited for a restaurant to open at 5:00. After we ate we headed to the outdoor venue and waited to get in. It was hot, seats were close and were basically folding chairs......darn I'm sounding like an OLD lady!!!! There was a local opener, who was very good, then my girl, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, came on.  She played a 90 minute set that was great!!! But, it was still hot and sticky, even at 9:00PM! We took advantage of intermission to find something to drink and found my savior! 

 

 Whatever these bottles are made of holds the "cold" for a loooong time. I could drink and roll it over my face and arms to cool down...... I know...a little goofy....but it worked! Worth every penny at $3.50 a bottle!!! Now I KNOW I'm sounding old!

Anyhow, we made it through less than half of Emmy Lou Harris and decided to call it a night...still had a bit of a drive home and Rich had not been able to confirm if he had jury duty today, or not. 

That is all!!!  Hope to be back with some stitchy news! Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

A Little Stash Enhancemnt......

 

I thought I'd share the goodies I bought at Notforgotten Farm on Saturday. This is not a full blown needlework shop, but Lori has the materials for her designs and a selection of other designers. It's more an "experience"!!!

 So...a couple of Lori's charts, some Lady Dot pop-pom trim, waxers, and some hand dyed Osnaburg fabric. I also got two skeins of GAST Vertigris which I forgot to include in the photo. 

We are going to a concert tonight in Charlottesville....seeing Emmy Lou Harris and Mary Chapin Carpenter. I can't wait....I especially love MCC!!! We were planning to spend the night but Rich is on call for jury duty (which came about way after we bought the tickets) and won't know until 6:00 tonight if he has to report tomorrow.  

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

Stasi

 

A New Week.......

 School starts today and we now have two high schoolers and two middle schoolers. Really...where does the time go??? I'd post photos but they'd probably disown me!!!  We have to now begin, again, to plan our days around the schools start and end times. We live about 1/2 mile from the middle and high school, then factor in we also have three elementary schools on that same road within 2 miles of us. So, there are HUGE back ups on the two lane road that leads to our neighborhood.  Last year parents were asked to drive their kids to school due to a bus driver shortage, but it still seems like a large majority of parents prefer to not use the district  bus system. My grands could walk to their elementary school, but now my daughter is in numerous car pools. If there are issues on the way home, we told them they can always walk to our house and we can get them home.

 On to stitching.....I worked on Harriett Salt a bit last night. 

Where I was on 8/18

As of 8/21

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

Stasi

So...this is where I was yesterday..............

 And this is who was there too!!!

 

What a wonderful time I had at Notforgotten Farm. It was a treat to meet up with Robin (Robin in Virginia) there and meet Lori and the regular gang of needleworkers. Everyone was so welcoming....and funny! There was a LOT of laughing and banter that I happily sat and absorbed. We had a number of different techniques going on...cross stitch, punch needle, crochet, yo-yo's and surface embroidery...lots of talent in one room! The only downside is that it's a 2 hour drive, one way, for me. :(   But, I hope I can make it again, sooner rather than later.

Lori has a studio area and a shop area, both filled with inspirational models and supplies.  I will let the following photos speak for themselves.....

 

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

Stasi
 

A New Start......

 I've started, or should I say restarted, another ornament from Living on the Rainbow. I began this months ago on aida thinking, since it's full coverage, that aida would give a more substantial base. But, after I started, I realized there were quite a few 1/4 stitches and pulled out some belfast linen....works much better. This one is Mrs. Claus's Knitting Shop. 

I'm off an adventure today....be back tomorrow to fill you in. Have  a great weekend!

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

Stasi

A Little Bit Vintage......

 After all the smalls finishing I thought I'd work on a larger piece for a bit.....so out came Harriett Salt. I work right to left and am about halfway across that top section. I'm using AVAS 100/3 for the first time, #2646. I bought a number of spools when I thought I would do this over 1, but now that I decided to do it over 2, I need more. They evidently changed the number to #335, so I'm hoping it will be a match. 

I came across a couple trade cards at an antique store Sunday..aren't they sweet?

And, I was doing a little purging/organizing yesterday and came across something I thought you'd get a chuckle out of. This belonged to my great aunt, Tante. She was an old spinster and somehow I absconded with this when she passed. Here is what the note says: "This was my chemise...I wore this at 16 yrs age with long dresses. We all did as 'teenagers'. Ha! Ha! Now they wear nothing." (Maybe I need to take better care of this)

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

Stasi

A "Sweet" Finish.....

 I finished the stitching on The Sweet Shop by Living on the Rainbow. I can't wait to FFO this one..it's an adorable finish and I plan to do it as the designer did. You will have to wait and see!

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

Stasi