Productive Weekend

Hello Friends! I've just returned from three days of stitching bliss! Some of my stitching friends have been getting together on this weekend every year for the last several years at the Belisle Ranch Retreat. This year, I was able to join them. The ranch is about a 1.5 hour drive, just across the border in Range, WI.

We arrived at "The Ranch" on Thursday afternoon at 3pm and stayed until about 11:30am today. We cross-stitched and ate and cross-stitched more. The meals were fabulous (not to mention the fact that they were cooked for us!) The accommodations were very comfortable. Here are a couple of photos of our stitching room; you can see that many of the stitchers were hard at work!




During the weekend, I managed to finish three projects; one is from my WIP basket and two are from the basket of smalls that you heard about at the beginning of the year. I also have one other WIP that I worked on extensively - it's not finished yet, but I put a really good dent in it and hope to have it finished soon.

Since it's late and I'm ready for some shut-eye, let's get right to the stitching photos! Here's the finish from the WIP basket. I'm sure you will recognize it; it's from the Cherrywood Designs Dictionary Series.

Scissors
Cherrywood Designs
28 ct WDW Blue Jeans/Natural Gingham Linen
WDW Kohl

From the basket of smalls, this LHN design from the Nashville Needlework show in 2011. I also purchased the needlebook and pincushion; I think there is some finishing in my future!

Fresh from the Garden
Little House Needleworks
30 ct WDW Straw
Cresent Colours Fibers

The third finish also came out of that basket of smalls; it's the 2011 Shepherd's Bush scissors fob! Can't seem to escape that finishing work!

2011 Scissor Fob "Passion"
Shepherd's Bush
Kit - 30 ct Aztec Red Linen/DMC & WDW

The other WIP that I spent a significant amount of time on is one I started back in 2005. It's the EGA Mystery Sampler and is done as a band sampler. I got about a third of the way done (back in 2005) and got stuck. I needed a little encouragement (okay, maybe it was a shove) to get this one going again. I'll share a picture of this one next time.

Before I go, let me share with you a picture of Buttercup - she was the resident cat at the ranch. She was super friendly and constantly monitored our work. Buttercup liked getting cozy on our laps and she especially liked napping under our stitching lights, but as you can see in this photo, Buttercup also took a liking to one of these stitcher's lap trays! What a silly cat!