Mayte liked my exchange!

I just got an email this morning that Mayte loves the strawberry fob that I send her for the Blackbird Designs exchange.  I stitched a design from the Wild Berries lage of Joyeaux Noel.  It was the first time I tried coffee dying.  I think I was rather brave since I coffee dyed it AFTER I stitched it!  The linen actually started out white.  I wasn’t too worried about the threads though since this was stitched in DMC.  I did the strawberry leaves a little different.  I drew upon some of my quilting knowledge and used Steam a Seam which is used for fusible applique.  It worked really well!

It was really a fun little stitch and the first strawberry I’ve ever made.

BBD Exchange for Mayte

It’s snowing like crazy today so it’s a work from home day.  My animals will be happy.  They love it when mommy is home.  My own mother is out of town taking care of my grandmother in Charleston.  That means that I need to clear her driveway as well as the 89 year old woman down the street from her so I’ll be doing a lot of shoving.  I have a snowblower for my own house but I can’t get it down the street to work on my mother’s house.

I also have some GREAT news and a big brag.  I’m so proud of my little sister.  She has been going to school to become a Surgical Technician.  She’s almost done with the classroom studies (12 months) and she’s about to start in April her 3 month internship at a hospital.  She was told the other day which hospital she is going to.  She has been accepted at Morristown Memorial which is one of the top hospitals in the area and a trauma center.  Leigh is the first person EVER from her program to be accepted at this elite hosptial.  The hospital was told that they are getting the best of the best.  Leigh is beside herself with excitment and I’m so excited for her.  She’s worked so hard.  She has apirations of starting out as a surgical technician and then go back to school to be an RN.  I am so proud of my little sister!  I know Morristown is lucky to have her because she’s smart, committed, hardworking and serious.  I know she’s going to do great.

Well I have to finish feeding the crew!  Thanks for reading my blog!

Joey’s New ‘do… in a Lamb Trim this time

Yesterday was grooming day for Joey.  I did it again.  I quicked him and he tracked blood from stem to sturn in my house.  Thank goodness for the steam cleaner!  I need to be more careful about his back nails.  It’s hard since they’re black so it’s hard to gage how far I can trim.

I do all my own grooming with Joey.  Honestly it makes me feel good.  It’s a lot of work but I feel like it strengthens the bond between Joey and me.  He trusts me completely even when the grooming is uncomfortable.  I don’t even have to tie him on the grooming table.  I use all professional level tools and I have to say that my grooming jobs are just as good as what I’ve paid for in the past.  To get a Standard Poodle groomed professionally it’s between $85 and $150 every 6 weeks or so.  So I save a lot of money this way.  Plus he’s so darned good.  All I have to do is tell him to get in the bathtub and he does and he stays like a rock on the grooming table all the way through the high velocity blow drying (I have a Master Blaster) and the clipping.  I learned everything I know from a book on grooming poodles.  I wouldn’t want to do it for a living but I really appreciate my dog’s temperament everytime I groom him.

Lately I had just been putting him into a sporting cut where I shave the legs and body down to a half inch and then scissor the topknot.  This time I tried a Lamb Trim for the first time.  I scissored his legs so that they are longer and then blended his legs into this body which I clipped at a half inch.  I also made the back of this neck a little longer and blended it into his topknot.

I really like the results!  It’s more grooming upkeep which I need to be better about doing but it’s so cute on him.  I might keep him in a Lamb Trim at least while it’s cold outside and then since I will have the longer legs I can put him back into a Miami Trim (pom-poms on the ankles) at a later time if I feel like it.

I found that the real trick to grooming him is fluff drying.  It’s where you use a slicker brush in one hand and the blow nozzle in the other hand.  It cuts drying time and the hair dries straighter.  It’s a technique that I’m still working on but getting the hang of.  My scissoring isn’t bad.  I have a cheap pair of shears but they do the job.

Here’s my boy!  He’s also wearing  new collar made by my mother with little snowmen on it.  I love the collar!

Joey in a Lamb Trim Side View

Joey in a Lamb Trim front view

So I’d say that my first Lamb Trim ever was successful!  It really wasn’t much different work wise from doing a Sporting Trim.  He sure needed a grooming though.  My poor boy was looking a little scruffy.  His face was curly and the hair on his feet was so long!  I tell you though…  he’s so good.  How many dogs put up with have their face shaved, even around the eyes, and toes shaved.  I have to get all the hairs off around the nail beds and everything.  It really is a lot of work.  I’ve been doing his face, feet and base of tail since he was a small puppy so he’s used to me doing it.  It was just the next logical leap for me to do the whole dog.  It takes anywhere from 3 to 4 hours from start to finish but he looks so good when he’s done!  He knows it too….

So today will probably be mostly eBay and then I plan on maybe actually stitching some!  Novel idea for me lately….

Blackbird Designs Exchange from Elisabeth!

Today I received the most beautiful exchange from Elisabeth of Lyon, France.  This is a picture of it all packaged up…

BBD Round 3 Exchange from Elisabeth

When I opened the package…  wow!  I love it.

BBD Exchange from Elisabeth in France

Isn’t it just perfect???  I received a French design from France!  Elisabeth wrote me a note saying that even though the Eiffel Tower is in Paris, the exchange came from Lyon.  I love it.

Her finishing is beautiful.  Here’s the back with her little note tucked into the pocket.

Back of BBD Exchange from Elisabeth

Otherwise not much is happening except I’ve been working REALLY hard at work.  I haven’t been in much of a stitching mood lately.  I think it’s because I’ve had a huge amount of anxiety lately.  I have OCD and this is just par for the course I think.

I’ve  been spending a lot of time on my eBay business which I can happily say is doing very well!  I even have a consignor from Canada who sends me stuff to sell.  It’s turned into a nice little business for me.  Plus it’s fun.  My customers are the best because they are all stitchers.

Today we got some snow but lucked out because just South of me, they got pretty slammed.  Poor Elizabeth is sick which always seems to happen when it snows and she’s in an area which got quite a bit.  If she wasn’t about 1.5 hours away I’d go shovel her out.

I’m getting the itch to go skiing….  I haven’t felt like skiing in a great while.  I found my ski pants and ski jacket.  I’m just missing one ski glove so I may need to buy new ones and new goggles.  Now I just have to find someone to go with me!

All that jazz…

It’s been ages since I’ve blogged.  I’ve really neglected this thing.  New Year’s Resolution is that I stop doing that!  Actually I don’t know what my New Year’s Resolutions are yet but I know they include staying smartish with my money, getting my Six Sigma Master Black Belt, stitching more, actually finishing a quilt, blogging more and doing less exchanges.  Wow!  I guess I really DO have resolutions!

Anyway, one bit of news.  My entire hard drive crashed.  Totally destroyed.  I lost everything since I didn’t have a backup drive.  My biggest loss besides all my precious photos (and tax returns) are my Martina Weber files.  I had most of the older designs.  Ugh…  I really don’t have the $1200 to see if I can restore old files from a recovery service.  Totally sucks.  At least I have this blog so not all my pet pictures are totally lost, nor are my stitching pictures…  like all the exchanges that I stitched and sent away!  Anyway…  it was BAD.

I have been doing some stitching and some finishing.  First I would like to share finishing on Honor Thy Needle.  It only took me a year to get around to doing it.  What I don’t like is that you glue everything together.  I don’t think glue has any business being anywhere NEAR needlework.  Also, the instructions weren’t great and my panels ended up mixed up order.  Oh well…  at least it’s done.  I did change the finishing on the inside though to make it more interesting and I made the cording from an hand-dyed silk perle.

Twisted Oaks Designs Honor Thy Needle

Close-up of the Tassle

Inside View of Honor Thy Needle

Pretty on the inside isn’t it?  It’s charted to have rather plain bands on all four sides.  I changed the design for the scissors to have a swan and placed a pair of Swan Etui scissors in them.  I also added floss rings and a piece of hand-dyed wool for needles.  I secured the hand-dyed wool with a mother of pearl button and added some purple marking pins.  I also thought that the mother of pearl threadwinder was a nice touch too. 

My latest start is Carriage House Samplings Village of Hawk Run Hollow.  I had started it with Vikki Clayton silks but was unhappy with the conversion so I switched to NPI’s.  I am much, much happier.  My very, very, very good friend Elizabeth took pity on me and frogged everything that I had started with the other silks.  How nice was that?!?!  So I got re-started and I can’t put it down.  I’m now on the second block.

VoHRH Progress to Block 2

VoHRH Block 1

VoHRH Block 2 progress

I’m stitching it on 36 ct and although I’m using the called for linen, my linen seems to be darker than anyone else’s I’ve seen.  To be honest I’m thrilled!  I think my linen is beautiful.

What’s a blog entry without a pet picture….  this is just to prove that you really CAN have harmony in a house with 9 cats and a dog.  Here’s a picture of Kirby (black & white), Little Al (gray) and Zack (orange) all napping together on the same bed.  It’s actually Joey’s old bed from when he was a puppy but it makes the perfect multi-cat bed.  Al is so fat though that Kirby doesn’t have much room.  Poor girl has to lay on top of the bolster.  Al is gassy too so I’m not sure Zack is much better off to tell you the truth.

Harmonious Napping - Kirby, Little Al and Zack

Well, I need to run.  I have a DATE tonight that I’m very excited about!  I’ll be even more excited if it turns into a second date.  My track record in 2009 was pretty poor.  Hoping for an upswing in 2010!

A Bunch of Finishes and a Gift!

I’ve been so remiss about blogging lately.  Life is a little hectic.  If I’ve been on the computer lately I’ve been working on my eBay business (which has been doing very well lately).  On the plus side I have been stitching more!

I wanted to show some pictures of some finishes and a very special gift.

My very good friend Viv gave me a birthday present a while ago.  I am finally getting around to posting pictures.  It’s magnifiscent.  She stitched Where Stitchers Gather by Victoria Sampler for me.  Her finishing is just beautiful.  She changed around a lot of the colors and I have to say I think she really made it special!  I love it.

Where Stitchers Gather from Viv - Front

Where Stitchers Gather from Viv - Back

Isn’t it gorgeous?  It’s even more beautiful in person. 

So I actually finished Shepherd’s Bush Sail Away!  I finished it a little while ago but never posted the final picture.  I really love how it came out.  It was a fun stitch but I have to say that I’m not sorry to be done.  the chart was hard to read since it was hand written.  But the design is gorgeous.  I especially love the little landscape towards the bottom.

Shepherd's Bush Sail Away

Lately I have been getting back to some of my class projects.  I actually made a list of all of the class kits that I have.  I bought a few second hand and bought some of these directly from the teacher but a good portion…  I took the class and never finished the piece.  I have 44 class projects and up until recently I (believe it or not) have never finished a single class project.  Horrors…  I know.  It’s motivated me to start to focus on them on a bit.  Right now I’m working on Sherri Jones Rings of Roses Reticule.  I already finished the miser bag earlier in the year.  The smalls are stitching up quickly so I’ll be able to show another finish soon.

My first class project to finish was Catherine Theron’s Quaker Scissor Pocket.  I had the florentine on the back done and one of the over 1 motifs.  Once I got going on the over-1 I couldn’t put it down.  The finishing was a breeze.  It’s basically whipped together through a chain stitch.  I needed magnification to do it but it was very straightforward.

I took this class a couple of years ago at Celebrations in Nashville.  I was able to show my finished piece to Catherine just this past Saturday!

Catherine Theron Quaker Scissor Pocket - Front

The little letters scattered about mean something to me.  I took the first letter of all of my pets (including Jazz and Sandy who have passed) and added them to the sampler part.  It really made it mine.

Catherine Theron Quaker Scissor Pocket - Back

After I finished the scissor pocket, I moved on to  Betsy Stinner’s Love Is sampler.  I took this class at a retreat a little over a year ago.  I had the whole center portion done so I only had to do the side panels and the outside border.  It stitched up quickly.  I have to say I’m not looking forward to doing bullion knots again for a while.  I did find out that they are easiest in hand with a glass of wine.  Trust me on that.  It’s the secret….

Betsy Stinner Love Is Sampler

What’s a blog post without some pet pictures?

I’ve always posted pictures of Joey post-grooming.  I thought it would be nice to post a picture of him pre-grooming.  Here’s a picture of him just out of the bathtub.  Soggy Poodle….

Soggy Poodle... Joey just after his bath

And of course the finished product…

Joey Clean and Shiny!

One more pet picture.  My cat Phoenix…  what a hoot.  I guess she was listening to my advice on the bullion knots.  I had a glass of wine.  (Pink of course and out of a box) in my office with me one evening.  Phoenix is apparently a lush.  I couldn’t keep her out of it.  She would actually put her whole face into the wine glass to try to drink from it.  I snapped a picture with my phone.  The picture is a little hard to see but I have to share.  I’ve never heard of a cat wanting to drink wine before.  I couldn’t keep her out of it!  I had to quick drink it of course…  And yes…  there are ice cubes in my pink wine.  I don’t have a palate at all.

Phoenix in the Wine

I’ll try not to wait so long for my next blog post…. 

Ahhh….  one more week of work then some time off for the Holidays….  I can’t wait.  My tree and my lights are up.  I still need to shop though!

Happy Holidays!

Exchanges and a Gift!

I have goodies to share…

First of all I want to thank my friend Anne-Marie who lives in Sweden for the beautiful card she made for me.  I had sent her one of my quilted needlebooks and she returned in kind with a really lovely hand-stitched card.  It was just the thing to brighten up my day!  Anne-Marie and I became friends after she bought some magazines from me on eBay.  Little did I know that I would make a friend at the same time.  I love her emails and pictures of all of the wonderful things that she does, her home and of Sweden.

Card from Anne-Marie

 I also want to share the most beautiful exchange that I received.  This was for the BeCAUSE It’s Pink Exchange with HOE.  It was a Breast Cancer Awareness exchange.  Lucky for me, Nicole got my name because she made me the most beautiful needlebook.  It’s the Ink Circles freebie called Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon Mandala.  Her finishing is just gorgeous.  Nicole says that this was her first needlebook finish but you would never know!

BeCAUSE It's Pink Exchange from Nicole

Inside the needlebook from Nicole

Pink goodies from Nicole

I also heard from Lisa that she received my Lizzie Kate exchange.  I stitched part of Halloween Sampler on light purple Glenshee linen and then turned it into a little thread pouch.  I’m no totally happy with the finishing technique yet…  I just started trying thread pouches.  Lisa likes it though so that’s what matters.

Lizzie Kate Exchange to Lisa

Back of Lizzie Kate Exchange Thread Pouch

20% Sale on Stash!

I just wanted to let everyone know that all items in my eBay store are 20% off until November 15 (auctions excluded).  I have a lot of inventory that I would like to move so if you are interested in seeing what I have check out my eBay store at http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Stitching-and-Stashing

I have about 70 items in my store currently on sale.  While you’re there, check out my new auctions too.  Today I’m listing some very special things like JD Pomegranate and Pears with accessory pack and a Friendship Collaboration kit (Shepherd’s Bush, Charland Designs, Just Nan) and some others.

I also added a new page to my blog explaining my consignment service.  I sell stash, how fun is that????

Major Blogging to Do

Oh my gosh do I have major blogging to do!  So much has happened.  I’ve neglected my blog because I’ve been so busy stitching exchanges and so busy at work.  I have all my exchanges behind me now at least (well I’m waiting for one to arrive but that’s all).  I was nuts.  I had 4 exchanges due about the same time.  I think I’m going to take a break from exchanges for a while though because I need to stitch on stuff for me.  So this blog entry is going to be about my exchanges, my stitching progress and goals, and my Spooky Stitcher’s Hideaway retreat that I went to!

First off…  my exchanges…

I already posted about the beautiful fob that Carol made for me.  That was for the HOE Halloween Exchange.  For that exchange I decided to stitch the Blackbird Designs piece from the JCS Halloween issue.  I turned it into a floss tag.  Erin says she really likes it!  Floss tag finishes are kind of new to me so I’m not entirely sure how to do them.  I have a set of grommet pliers which I used to do the finishing.  Here’s my finished piece.

HOE Halloween Exchange to Erin

I think it came out okay!  It was really a fun stitch.  I stitched it on a piece of Lambswool Jobelan.  Usually I can’t stand Jobelan but I think it worked well with this piece.

My Lizzie Kate exchange is still en route to a faraway land so I can’t show a picture of what I stitched yet.  But, I can show what I received!  I’m so lucky.  Mary Jo stitched By Golly Be Jolly OVER ONE.  Holy Cow.  It’s gorgeous.  It will go on my tree this year but in between it’s going in my curio because it’s too beautiful to put away.

LK Exchange from Mary Jo

I’m still waiting on the BeCAUSE It’s Pink exchange to arrive.  Waiting very impatiently…  I can’t wait to see what I’m getting.  But I heard from April that she received the floss pouch I made her.  I’m quite proud of the finishing on this one.  I chose a freebie design from Romy in Austria and I stitched it using Carrie’s Threads on Carnation Pink Cashel Linen.  A wonderful lady from my Sampler Makers guild group gave me some Breast Cancer awareness fabric that I used for finishing.  Wasn’t that nice of her?  The floss pouch closes with velcro.

BeCAUSE It's Pink Exchange for April (front)

Here’s the back.  I attached two bows as decoration.

BeCAUSE It's Pink Exchange (back)

My fourth exchange that I stitched was for the Spooky retreat…  I stitched a little freebie design that I found and turned it into a scissor fob.  The design was stitched on light purple linen.  My friend Cherie got my fob and I really hope she likes it!

Spooky Exchange Scissor Fob

For that exchange I received a really gorgeous pin.  It was made from a Brightneedle design.  Very fitting considering Ann Petit was teaching us at the retreat!  Isn’t this gorgeous?

Spooky Retreat Exchange

I have so many things in my curios now.  I thought I’d share a picture.  There are some baskets and boxes and such that I still need to do the stitching on.  Otherwise it’s full of mostly wonderful things that people have made for me.  There are some things that I’ve stitched in there too.  I need to stitch on some of the things that go in the boxes to make it complete.  For example I have all 3 of the Primitive Stitches chests.  I also have Abigail Colby that I need to stitch and Jeannette Douglas’s My Stitching Treasures.  I have a total of 3 curios and they are pretty jammed.  Not sure where I could fit a fourth but if I get my behind in gear and do some of my class projects I’ll need another curio.

The two tall curios are in my dining room.

Dining Room Curio #1

Dining Room Curio #2

The Dining Room curios have lights in the top but I need an eletrician since I don’t have outlets there.

My third curio is smaller and is in my stitching room.

Stitching Room Curio

Notice the empty box for My Stitching Treasures in the bottom!  Yikes…  I need to stitch my stash.

So I think I’ve decided to take a break from exchanges.  That’s been most of my stitching this year.  I have decided instead to finish two designs I’m working on then focus on finishing up class pieces (guess in that case I’d need another curio!  but I’ll wait until I finish some stuff).  I’m so close to being done on Shepherd’s Bush Sail Away and I’m a third of the way through Mirabilia Sunflower Fairy.

Here’s Mirabilia Sunflower Fairy.  I’m using the Valdani threads as charted and stitching it on a pretty piece of Sassy’s Fabby (can’t remember the color though).  I have a little to do on the bottom and then the Fairy. 

Mirabilia Sunflower Fairy WIP

I just realized I left the needle in the picture.  Oops!   Here’s a picture of my progress on Shepherd’s Bush Sail Away.  I’ve been doing this as a SAL.  The SAL is over and I’m almost done.  I have to stitch the little boat and lighthouse and then do a couple of bands on the bottom.

Shepherd's Bush Sail Away WIP

It’s been a wonderfully fun stitch.  I love seeing the house on the hill appearing.  I changed the colors of the large flower stems and the color of one of the fishes so that they would show up better.

Loraine from the SAL made beautiful needlebooks for us.  It was so sweet.  She is so creative!  It was sewn with a sampler fabric and she hand appliqued a little boat on the inside.  This SAL was so much fun.  I hope Terri and Loraine run another.

Here’s the beautiful needlebook that I received.

Sail Away Needlebook Inside

Sail Away Needlebook Outside

Getting ready for the retreat entailed lots of stitching of exchanges and lot of SEWING!  I made my little sister a tote bag for her birthday.  I used Marcus fabrics in a color scheme I knew she’d like.  The totes are getting easier now that I’ve done a few.

Tote Bag for Leigh

I need to try another pattern soon.  I love working with charm squares though.  I have more patterns for totes…  I just haven’t tried them out.  I also want to try some wallets since I have fusible velcro that my mother found for me.

For the Spooky Stitcher’s Hideaway retreat, my group of friends decided that we were going to make something for each of us going.  There were 8 of us!  I made something for Marcia too since she had to pull out last minute and was disappointed that she couldn’t go.  I decided to make everyone ort bags out of Halloween fabric.  I made one for myself too because out of all of the ort bags that I’ve made this year I don’t have one!  Here’s a tower of ort bags…  I think they came out cute!

Tower of Ort Bags

I don’t think I want to make another one for a while…  LOL…  I got kind of orted out.  I think most of the fabrics were Moda.  I had a bunch of fat squares so I got to put them to good use.

Elizabeth and I arrived in Mystic really late on Thursday so we all decided to do gifts in the morning.  I was in an awkward position where I was sitting so I wasn’t able to get good pictures of everyone.  My pictures look like only JLee got presents!  That’s far from the truth.  LOL.

This is a picture of JLee (left) and Denise K (right).  Denise is opening a sweatshirt that Denise B made.  Denise B has an embroidery business and she gave us all sweatshirts and a great tote bag!

Opening Spooky Presents - JLee and Denise K

Here’s a very excited JLee holding up presents.  She excited easily.  LOL.  Gotta love her.

JLee with some presents

Okay…  so another picture of JLee…  see I told you!  She was in front of my camera.  I had to take this one though since she’s holding the ort bag I made for her.

JLee and her ort bag

I swear!  The rest of us were there too!

I do have to show pictures of all of the wonderful gifts.

Here’s a picture of everything together that I received from my friends.

Spooky Gifts

Look at that sweatshirt! It has a frog on it!  The tote bag came in hugely handy because I put my new stash in it.  It says Spooky Weekend 2009.  The basket is from my friend Maryann.  The liner is so great…  it has pockets!  I used it all weekend.  I kept my needle packages in the pockets and everything else fit so perfectly.  Here’s the inside of the basket.

Basket from Maryann

And here are better pictures of the sweatshirt and tote bag from Denise B.

Spooky Sweatshirt from Denise B

JLee started the gift giving idea by telling everyone that she was going to make fobs for each of us.  Yeah!  I brought my black Dovos with me for her fob specifically.  She changed up the Just Nan design from the JCS Halloween issue.  Now the spooky frog has an S on it for my name.  She is a wonderful finisher too.  I have several things that she’s made and I love them all.

Spooky Fob from JLee

Patti made us each a needlebook.  She used a pattern from Colonial Designs.  It came out so cute!  I think she is probably sick of the design by now though.  The inside has little felt pages and it ties with orange and black cording.  She stitched it on yellow linen (her favorite).

Needlebook from Patti

Denise K also chose to stitch something for the exchange.  She made us each a pincushion.  I used it during class so that I wouldn’t lose my needle.  She filled it with crushed walnut shells.  Apparently you can get about a 5 or 6 pound bag pretty cheaply on the reptile row at the local pet store.  LOL.  Hey, it works!  It has weight to it and feels like a beanbag.

Pin Cushion from Denise K

Elizabeth made us each a fabric covered box.  I LOVE it.  It’s covered with purple Halloween fabric.  I don’t know how she got it to fit so perfectly either.  The top just slides so neatly on the bottom.  Elizabeth is a master finisher though.  Isn’t the box just the best?  It has a scary spider on top.

Fabric covered box from Elizabeth

And here’s the ort bag that I ended up with.  It was very handy during the class!

My Ort Bag

The class that we were taking was Ghoulies and Ghosties by Brightneedle (Ann Petit).  I have been wanting to do this class for some time.  You make a little etui, all over-1 of course.  As a freebie, Ann included a matching chart for a petite biscornu and a pin cushion.  I think I might have to stuff my pin cushion with walnut shells.

Here’s the design that we were stitching.

Brightneedle Ghoulies and Ghosties

For class I was all prepared with my new goodies from my friends!

My workstation in class

Doesn’t the scissor fob go great with my scissors?

My new Spooky Scissor Fob

The other ladies in class were all so nice.  There was a group from California who were especially festive.  They all showed up in wigs with cool bags that they handmade.

Spooky California Girls & Sue

That’s Sue on the left.  She ran the retreat and I have to say is a PRO at retreats.  Not to mention she is really fun.

I took some pictures of the bags that the California girls made.  They sewed the totes together and then used fusible applique to add spooky accents.  The best parts were the battery powered lights and when you open the door, it plays spooky music.  For the spooky music, they used cards from the Hallmark store.  How creative is that?  Here are some pictures.  Go ahead and drool…  I did!

Spooky Bag Front

Spooky Bag Back

Spooky Bag Side

Spooky Bag Other Side

I sat in back which was fine with me!  I had an outlet and the table was bigger.  Here’s a picture of the rest of the class.

Spooky Class

The lady right in front of me with the light turquoise shirt was the one who stitched my exchange piece.

We stitched on the piece for two days.  I didn’t seem to get a whole lot done though.  I decided to work on the pin cushion.  Here’s my progress so far.

Ghoulies and Ghosties Pin Cushion

Elizabeth finished her pin cushion while we were there for the weekend but then again she has turbo needles.

Here’s a picture of the little biscornu that Ann gave us (hers is finished of course!)

Ghoulies and Ghosties Biscornu

Throughout the two days, Sue handed out door prizes left and right.  I ended up with 4 door prizes.  What really impressed me is that Sue includes an addressed and stamped thank you card with each door prize so that you can send a thank you to the donor.  How great is that?

I ended up getting Victoria Sampler Fall Seasonal Bitty Buttons with thread pack, Blue Ribbon Designs Six Bats and a Witches Hat (signed by Belinda) and two Stitchy Kitty designs… Meowy Halloween and Halloween Kitty Moon.  I won one of them because out of everyone in the room I have the most cats.  LOL.  Yes, there are 9.  Yes, that’s a lot of litter boxes.  But a retreat means a vacation from litter box scooping so the weekend was extra special!

My Door Prizes

Ann also gave us freebies.  This picture doesn’t do it justice but she gave us a little kit called Good for the Gander.  You stitch the design and tuck it into the prefinished tuck pillow.  Ann also passed out charts.  I got House on Booberry Lane.  yeah!

Kit from Ann Petit

I did take advantage of Ann being there since she was selling some class kits.  I was able to buy Long Leggitie Beasties (companion to Ghoulies and Ghosties) and London Cool Cats.  I’m really excited!

Brightneedle Long Leggitie Beasties

Brightneedle London Cool Cats

Brightneedle Kit Contents

I also did some stash shopping although I was pretty good in the shop.  I didn’t go overboard.  I got Shepherd’s Bush Scaredy Sheep Fob kit, Milady’s Needle Halloween Rules, Blackbird Designs Midnight Watch, Blackbird Designs Joyeaux Noel and Barbara Ann Designs Bootcornu (comes with fabric and is SO cute).

My New Stash from the Spooky Weekend

The evening of the first night we went to a mystery spooky enactment at the Mystic Seaport.  I was worried it might be too scary but instead it was more role play and a lot of fun.

The second night we did our exchange.  I already showed what I received but I wanted to show pictures of all of the beautiful things that all the stitchers made.

Spooky Exchange Gifts

More Spooky Exchange Gifts

In all there were 20 stitchers who participated in the exchange.

In all it was such a wonderful retreat.  I love being with my friends and we had the best time.

Here’s a picture of us all with Sue and Ann Petit.

Group Photo!

The top row from the left is Ann, me, JLee, Elizabeth and Denise B.  In the front from the left is Maryann, Denise K, Cherie and Patti.  That’s Sue in the front.

I can’t wait for another retreat!

Catching Up

I haven’t blogged in ages it seems.  I’m having huge computer problems with my internet connection so I hope I can even finish this entry.  Of course I’m writing this when I SHOULD be getting ready for work!

I have so much to catch up on!

First of all I wanted to share what I got in the mail yesterday.  Carol sent me a beautiful fob for the HOE Halloween Exchange.  I’m so excited that she got my name because I’ve always admired her stitching.  It’s funny…  I stitched for her in the Christmas in July Exchange!  Carol stitched the Just Nan piece from the new Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue.  I absolutely love it.  Her finishing is beautiful, down to the little charm on the fob.  She also sent me a gorgeous pair of scissors that go so well with the fob and some other goodies as well.  Part of the goody part included a fabulous pair of socks.  Since I’m going on a Halloween stitching retreat next week, these will HAVE to come with me!

Halloween Fob from Carol

HOE Halloween Exchange from Carol

I also wanted to share a birthday gift that I received from my friend Janis.  Since there are so many of us in my group of friends we decided to draw names for birthday gifts this year.  I’m very lucky that Janis drew my name!  I haven’t been able to see her in person so she mailed me her gift.  She sent me a beautiful whitework biscornu.  Her finishing is just stunning.

Biscornu from Janis

Aren’t I lucky?  My curio is being filled with the most wonderful treasures…

Oh yes…  I’m making progress on my Mystery Quilt!  I’m on part 6 now where everything turns into a quilt.  Everything has been pieces and the blocks now just need to be attached to the sashing and the borders.  I might get to this this weekend if I’m lucky.  The weekend will be full though because I need to do the finishing on all of my exchanges, sew my sister’s birthday present and make my ort bag gifts for my friends for the Spooky retreat.  The quilt may have to wait!

Anyway…  it’s looking quiltish!  There are 12 of these blocks.

Mystery Quilt Part 6 in progress

The other weekend, my town had a town wide yard sale.  My favorite charity Feline Urban Rescue and Rehab uses my front yard for their charity yard sale.  At the same time, lots of other houses are having sales too.  I picked up some really great finds.

Here’s a dresser I picked up for $20!  I needed a dresser badly and this one is old.  It’s been finished with dovetail joins.  Not bad for 20 bucks.

New Dresser from Town Wide Yard Sale

I also found a gorgeous coffee table and end table set.  They need glass on top but otherwise they are perfect.  I haven’t really furnished the family room yet (can’t afford a new couch right now) so I’m putting these in the attic until I’m ready to use them.  I love the carved wood.  They are just so unique.  I got the whole set for $45.

Coffee Table from Town Wide Yard Sale

TGIF!!!!  And hopefully I can get my computer problems resolved.  I’m going to swap out my cable modem with the cable company tomorrow and I ordered a new router off of eBay in case that’s the problem.  It’s been very furstrating.  Everything for my eBay business needs the internet.  I can’t even scan right now since I use wireless for my scanner and the signal is so weak.  I’m tearing out my hair over it.  I can’t really post any new auctions right now though since I’ll be going away next Thursday for a long weekend but these problems need to be resolved and soon!

Mystery Quilt Part 5

I’m moving right along!  I finished up Mystery Quilt Part 5 on Sunday.  I’m so excited!  One more part and I will have a QUILT.  Well a quilt top anyway.  I haven’t started Part 6 yet but I will soon.  It’s going to be beautiful.

Mystery Quilt Part 5

Mystery Quilt Part 5 - more pictures

Mystery Quilt Part 5 - even more pictures

All of these pieces are actually going to be used as sashing.  The half blocks from Part 4 will be the main blocks.  Part 6 includes the rest of the pieces of the main star blocks and the remaining sashing pieces.  I can’t wait until it’s all put together.  I’m adding the optional extra border to make this a Queen Sized quilt.  The borders are going to be a small gold border on the inside with a larger wide border of the dark blue as the main border.  I can’t wait!