Lo How a Rose - Another Update

Hello stitching friends! I'm sorry that I haven't been able to post more frequently; life gets busy sometimes and at the end of the day there just isn't enough time left for blogging!

Here's an update on Lo; as you can see, it is almost finished! I'm working on a couple of exchanges right now, so it may be awhile before I finish Lo, but certainly it will get finished in March. I've been contemplating what to start next.



Wish I had more time to chat! Have a wonderful weekend!

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Snow ...

...nor dark of night....would keep me away from a needlework class with Lori Markovic! Yes, my friend Joan and I traveled to Madison, WI yesterday to take a class from Lori at Stitcher's Crossing. I've always wanted to meet her in person; I absolutely love her designs, and so I snatched up this opportunity a few months ago as soon as I knew she was coming.
Now, realize of course that you never know what the weather is going to be like during the winter months in MN or WI. Traveling from the Twin Cities to Madison is a fairly easy drive, it's interstate the entire way, but as luck would have it, a winter storm hit the Twin Cities on Friday night. It was fairly clear here on Saturday morning and die-hard Minnesotans that we are, we decided that nothing was going to hold us back! Our four hour drive took five and a half hours; in places the driving was good, in other places not so good, but the important thing is that we made it safe and sound and with only seconds to spare!

We walked in the shop at precisely 1pm. The lady behind the counter said "Are you the girls from Minnesota?" We said, "Yes" and everyone in the class room cheered! We made it, woo hoo! What a fun group of ladies we met. A stitcher that I had met in the fall of 2007, Diana, was there. Leslie from the Legacy board was also there (I had met her at a Merry Cox class in the Twin Cities last year) - it was good to see both of them again!

Our class project was this little needle book called Pins & Needles. We had all done our stitching in advance of the class, so the next two hours would be spent assembling with Lori's guidance. The stitched piece was wrapped around two pieces of cardboard; then a piece of fabric was ironed to the inside to cover up the raw edges. There are grommets in the binding which hold the wool felt with the cording. As you can see, we also stiched up a strawberry pincushion. The two hours went by far too quickly!

Here's the class project:



Here's Diana, Lori, Cathy, and Joan:


P.S. Lori is wearing the "Star Pouch" that she designed and was available at Nashville this year. I am wearing my Miss Mary Mack necklace (stitched by friend Chris for me!)

If you are ever in the Madison area, Stitcher's Crossing is a great shop! They cater to both quilters and needlework lovers! Joan and I did a bit of stash shopping before heading home. By the way, our trip home was fine - it was still snowing around Madison, but once we hit the interstate and headed west, the roads were fine and it was clear sailing.

Teri & Tina from Shepherd's Bush last weekend, Lori from La D Da this weekend...I'm on cloud nine....

Progress Report on "Lo"

Just a quick progress report on "Lo" - this has been such a fun piece to stitch. After seeing Laura's progress on cream colored linen, I'm kind of second guessing my fabric choice ... hmmmm...I do love the mottled look though.

Before I go, here are a few more pictures from Temple Square in Salt Lake City - Here's a shot of the temple during the day. It took 40 years to construct the temple.

The leftover stone was used to create this chapel:
The organ inside the chapel is much smaller than the organ in the tabernacle:

Now we're inside the tabernacle - here's a closer shot of the Mormon Tabernacle choir rehearsing:
And just for my mom, here's a picture of the organ all by itself - almost 12,000 pipes!

Where Do I Begin? (Warning - Long Post)

Hello everyone, yes, I'm back after an awesome week in Salt Lake City. The trip's purpose was business related, but I had some free time here and there and stayed an extra day at the end of the week so that I could meet some online stitching friends and take a trip to the Bush.

Is it possible to fall in love with a place after just five days? Salt Lake is beautiful. No matter which direction you look there are snow capped mountains. Being from Minnesota, I don't get to see mountains like this everyday!

During the week, I had time to visit Temple Square and even slipped out of an evening work function long enough to hear some of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's rehearsal (what a treat to hear them!)


The highlight of the week though was meeting up with some Legacy Board stitching friends that I recently connected with online. Now, many of my co-workers were interested in knowing why I was staying an extra day in Salt Lake - you see, many of them flew out on the red-eye Thursday night or the first flight on Friday morning. How do you explain to a "non-stitcher" the significance of a trip like this?

I started by explaining that I was going to be picked up at the hotel on Friday morning at 9:45am by a friend -- the conversation went something like this...

"Oh, you have friends in Salt Lake, how nice - have you known them a long time?"

"Well, no - I just met them a few weeks ago."

"You just met them? Have you been to Salt Lake before?"

"Well, no - I posted a note on an online needlework board asking for more information on transportation options to a needlework store."

"So you are meeting up with people you don't really know?"

"Yes, there are going to be five of them and me!"

"Are you sure you are going to be okay? Where are you going with them?"

"We're going to a needlework store in Ogden."

"You're doing what?"

"We're going to a needlework store in Ogden. This shop in Ogden is world-reknowned for its designs. The owners are two sisters -- they are like 'rock stars' in the needlework industry. They are the 'Mick Jaggers' of cross-stitch."

"Oh, well have fun. If you're not at work on Monday we'll contact the state police."

"No need to worry, these ladies only travel with needles and designer scissors!"

I guess you have to be a stitcher to really understand the significance of this trip! Yes, I met up with some wonderful ladies from the Legacy Board - Alice, Lynn, Laura, Brenda, and Cheryl - we first stopped at the Craft Center for some stash shopping and then we headed up to Shepherd's Bush where I met Teri and Tina (rock stars in my world!)



After more stash shopping, we had lunch at the Red Rooster in Ogden and hit one more shop, the Needlepoint Joint, before heading back to Salt Lake. They dropped me off at the airport in plenty of time to make my evening flight home. It was a fabulous day and I have some wonderful new friends in Salt Lake!

Before I go -- while I was away, Carol received the ornament that I stitched for her. February is her month to receive from our group participating in this exchange. This is a design from Val's Stuff; it was in one of the JCS Ornament preview issues.


Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Couldn't Wait...

Now that I have the appropriate piece of fabric (see previous entry) I was just itching to start stitching "Lo." And here it is....

To see a finished and framed "Lo" visit Vonna's blog here.

I am going to be away this week with no access to blogs or email. I'm traveling to Salt Lake City to attend a conference for work. I've never been to Salt Lake before so I am excited to see it. The highlight of my week however will be Friday -- some of the ladies on the Legacy board are picking me up at my hotel and we're going to spend the day together. They have the itinerary all planned and it includes a visit to Shepherd's Bush! I can't wait to meet these online stitching friends!

Vonna's Recipe

After seeing so many others working on "Lo How A Rose" from Brightneedle, I decided this would be the project I take with me when I go out of town next week. I didn't really have the right color fabric on hand though and I'm determined to stitch as much from my stash as possible. Then it hit me -- I could create the right color fabric simply by following Vonna's basting and baking instructions. A pot of coffee and 4 bags of tea later - voila! I have fabric that is perfect for this Brightneedle project. Here are a couple of photos to give you some idea as to what I ended up with (I started with a cream colored Cashel - the last photo started out as Potato Lugana!) The first photo is the piece I will use for Lo...



A lovely ornament arrived from Julianne yesterday - check it out! I believe this a Prairie Schooler design, is it not? Beautifully stitched, nicely finished - it's going to look wonderful on the tree! Thank you Julianne!

Exchange Catch Up!

Sorry -- the past few days have been kind of busy. I've had pictures to share but just haven't had time to post them.

First up -- my HoE Lizzie Kate exchange from Maria. The pictures really don't do this piece justice. It's a bag for transporting stitching projects or anything really. The stitching is nicely done and the bag is beautifully finished (the inside is lined - I can't quite figure out how to photograph that for you!) Anyway, the bag, along with the goodies that Maria sent, brightened my day! Thank you Maria!



Two exchanges that I recently sent have also been received. Nic emailed me on Monday to say that the HoE Valentine exchange that I had sent to her arrived. Now, those of you who have followed my blog for a long time have seen this before, but somehow when it's for Valentine's Day I can't quite help myself. Yes, I stitched the Hardanger Heart suncatcher and made a matching fob for Nic. Aren't they sweet?


Finally, Kerstin emailed me to say that she received the Winter exchange that I sent to her. As you can see, I stitched this design from The Drawn Thread and finished it into a pillow. I thought it turned out pretty good! Hope you enjoy it Kerstin.


One more item of business -- about three weeks ago I sent two of my Gingher scissors (the one's I use for Hardanger) off to Gingher to have them reconditioned and sharpened. One of these scissors had been sharpened before through a local sharpener; it wasn't quite the same afterwards. This week I received my two scissors back and they are functioning as good as new! This service is only offered on Gingher scissors, but I highly recommend it. You can find more information about it on the Gingher website here: Gingher Repair and Maintenance

Thanks for stopping by!