Village of Hawk Run Hollow

Happy Saturday! I never shared this with you. At the end of December, I finished the Village of Hawk Run Hollow from Carriage House Samplings. Stitched on a piece of 40ct Lakeside Buttercream with DMC.

Weekend Framing

We had an extra long weekend here in the U.S. Today is Memorial Day, a day in which we honor all those who have served in the military. God bless them.

I had a little extra time this morning. These frames were purchased in March and were just waiting for me to stretch and pin the needlework. No time like the present!

First up is TLK 1834 from Needlework Press. This was a Quilter’s Station retreat project last fall. I replaced the initials with my grandmother’s and added the year of her birth.

Next up is a piece I stitched last year. It’s from MoJo Stitches and it is called the Humble Sampler.

Tonight, I’m trying to finish a long time WIP. I left all the over-one stitching for the end. Wish me luck!

Welcome Stitchery Retreat

Last weekend we were in Blue Earth, MN for the Welcome Stitchery retreat with Teresa Kogut and Chantelle!

We were serenaded with live piano music while we waited for the retreat to begin.

We had the best food while at the retreat. Check out those cinnamon rolls from the Farmer’s Daughter, a local restaurant in Blue Earth.

Lots of shopping and trunk shows. Michelle’s Quilting had some quilt kits available using Teresa Kogut’s fabric.

Chantelle had brought several wood pieces with Teresa Kogut designs finished on them.

Teresa Kogut brought a wonderful trunk show too!

The room was spacious!

Our retreat project was amazing!

All made possible by Justine and her wonderful staff.

I think the Jolly Green Giant approved!

More Stitching

This is another catch up post. Earlier this year, I finished Festive Forest from The Blue Flower. This was a Jingle Ball project. I loved stitching it. The colors were wonderful!

Now I’m working on Bees in the Greenhouse. 

Both will be finished as oversized pincushions. I seriously need a finishing day!

Jenny Bean For the Parlor Series

I started this last October in support of a stitching friend who was going through chemo. She was planning to stitch this while going through her treatments.

It’s a large and long piece; a stitch or two longer than “And They Sinned.” I’m currently working on Part 4; there are a total of 8 parts! This was designed by Theresa Venette of Shakespeare’s Peddler.

Here’s Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Part Four:

I have a little bit more to go at the bottom of Part Four, but I got tired of stitching the grass, so I’m putting it away until May.

And everything stitched thus far!

About halfway done. I’ll keep plugging away at it; a little bit every month!

Eliza Guy Pillow

Remember my Chessie and Me post the other day? The samplers on the left, were the Eliza Guy sampler, both the reproduction and the antique. Last summer my PIC and I traveled to Primitive Gathering in Wisconsin for a weekend with Linda from Chessie and Me. This was our project that weekend. It includes elements from the sampler. 

Linda finished hers as a pillow, but I framed mine. I love it! It was a joy to stitch.

Monthly SAL With Willow Tree Sampler Guild

I’ve joined in on a monthly SAL with the Willow Tree Sampler Guild in Texas. Last month’s design represented 18th and 19th Americana and included the Lora Standish stitch. It’s the block with the house on the right.

This month’s block represents Scandinavian 17th century. Love the red and white.

These designs are from Bey Morgan.

A Weekend with Chessie and Me

The Needlework Guild of Minnesota held its annual meeting the first weekend in April. Our special guest was Linda Lautenschlager from Chessie and Me. We had three workshops with Linda, all based on two antique samplers that were owned by one of our members. When she passed away in 2021, I was able to purchase the samplers. Shared some pictures with Linda and the rest is history!

Here’s a picture of the antiques in the middle and the reproductions on the outside.

On the left is Eliza Guy, stitched in 1845 when she was 10 years old. On the right is Mary Ann Simmons stitched in 1848.

This small needleroll was designed by Linda; she was inspired by the motifs on Mary Ann’s sampler.

Linda brought a lovely trunk show (sadly, forgot to take pictures) and many of our members brought their own Chessie and Me finishes to share!

It was such a special weekend!

Quilter’s Station Retreat

Last weekend, my PIC, other friends, and I traveled to Lee’s Summit, MO to attend the Quilter’s Station Cross Stitch Extravaganza Retreat. It’s an easy drive for us, only about six hours by car. We made two stops enroute; the red barn as we crossed into Iowa (bathroom and cute gift shop), and Hickory Park in Ames, IA for lunch.

We like to go a day early so we have time for shopping, not only at Quilter’s Station, but also at CC and Company, another local cross stitch shop, and antique shopping and lunch in Greenwood. The antiques mall in Greenwood has a tea room. They have the best food and amazing desserts!

The retreat is two days with four designers. We had an awesome lineup this time - Cathy Habermann, Hands on Design; Beth Seal, Summer House Stitche Works; Linda Stolz, Erica Michaels; and Lois from Lady Dot!

Look at the trunk shows! Lots of yummy eye candy!

Erica Michaels:

Hands on Design:

Summer House Stitche Works:

Our class projects were wonderful! Linda kicked off the event. Did you know that she is celebrating her 25th year of designing? She talked a lot about her strawberries. Our project included motifs from an antique bookmark on perforated paper. We received the chart and supplies to make a pillow, a berry, and a small tag on perforated paper.

Lois was up next. She is such a hoot and full of energy. No cross stitching involved. The pillows were pre-made using some 100 hundred year old linen from a barn in Germany, and then embellished with some lace flowers. Lois did most of the hard work for us! Definitely an “out of-the box” project but we had fun assembling them.

On Day Two, Cathy Habermann was up first, and it would only be appropriate that we do some “Hands On” finishing! We made some bolster pincushions using fabric. The seam had been stitched in advance, so all we had to do is close one end, stuff, close the other end, and add buttons. The design can be finished in a similar way, or it can be framed.

I guess I didn’t take a picture of the finished project! Wait until the end of this post…

Last but not least, Beth Seal from Summer House. A beautiful small pillow and a wool applique pin keep to “expand our horizons.” 

Here are all the teacher projects together and the teachers:

Fun weekend with friends, fun projects!