The Adventure Begins!

We breezed through baggage check and security and now we’re waiting in the gate area. We have a two hour wait, but like I told my Mom, better to be waiting and relaxed rather than rushing and stressed.







The Mad Tatter doesn’t waste any time. She’s busy tatting ice drops!








Our first stop will be Detroit for a quick plane change. Then over the water we will go!

Going on an Adventure

Dear friends, those of you who have followed this here blog for a very long time, will remember my posts from 2011 when the Mad Tatter and I traveled to Austria to visit our relatives. Remember this picture?




Well, the Mad Tatter and I are going again. We leave tomorrow and will be away for 11 days. I’m sure there will be lots of stories to tell when we return!

Tadten is located in Burgenland, Austria. My grandmother was born there. In 1906, at 16 years of age, she left her family and traveled to America. She married my grandfather in the U.S., he was from the nearby village of Wallern. They had ten children. My mother is their youngest and the only one who is still alive.

I feel such a strong bond with my grandmother. She worked very hard to provide for her family. She cleaned houses and washed laundry for the wealthy homeowners who lived on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. She was an excellent cook and she crocheted beautiful pillowcase lace. I never knew her though, she died nine years before I was born.




I’m looking forward to returning to the village where she was born. It’s a special place!

Hillside Sheep Needle Book

I have a finish! I wish you could see it in person; the pictures really don't do it justice. This is a design from Chessie and Me.

Front:




Back:




Inside:




Front and Back:




And this is the yak and the alpaca that I visited with on Sunday!







Until next time!

Today's Stitching

Blue Band Sampler from iStitch Designs (except mine is in red because I have to be different!). Through week 16...several more rows to go!

A Few More Photos

It truly was spectacular seeing all these samplers in one place!
















Beautiful setting, beautiful day. Love the wood-timbered farmhouse.







Also home to Smoke Ham Farm...




It was a lot of driving for a couple of hours of sheer bliss, but so worth it! If you ever have the opportunity to visit...just do it!

More Samplers

I only took pictures of a handful of them. How about if I let the pictures do the talking tonight?





























More tomorrow!

Bucket List Day

Three weeks ago I was settling into my hotel room in Atlanta and noticed the newsletter from The Scarlet Letter in my inbox. In the newsletter Marsha explained that she was planning an open house for Sunday, September 10 and that it was limited to 50 people. Without hesitation I shot off an email requesting two spaces. I wasn't sure if my calendar was open, nor was I certain if anyone would be available to go with me, but I knew that if I could secure two spots I would make this happen. Within minutes I received a response and that brings us to today.






The Scarlet Letter is tucked away in rural Wisconsin on a farm with llamas, chickens, at least one turkey, some peacocks and lots of bees.


















The view from the farm is spectacular. That's pure Wisconsin farmland in the distance.













Of course, we were there for the samplers, and samplers we did see.































Of course, I ran into a few friends! Here are two of them (with a third looking on in the background!)







We had a great time looking, oohing, ahhing, and shopping of course!







We bid farewell to the llamas in the field as we headed back to the main road.







More samplers tomorrow...

On the Road Again

I know that I have been missing for several weeks. A few people have checked up on me. The Mad Tatter has given up on me and this blog. Too many out of town trips for work; too many other responsibilities. Very little stitching time...

This weekend, my stitching friend Chris and I hit the road. First stop, Studio Workes of Scattered Seeds Samplers located just outside of LaCrosse, WI. I've followed Tammy's blog for years. When she announced last year that she was opening her shop, I knew I wanted to visit. Today was the day.

It was a beautiful day for a drive down the Mississippi River. After a short stop in Lake City, we continued on and easily found this shop tucked away on her farm in West Salem, WI.







Lots of cool antiques and collectible needlework tools. Some older patterns to peruse through and many new patterns from Scattered Seeds.













Check out the samplers behind the check-out counter.







Made a few purchases....a couple older charts...







Some newer charts....the bonus was that we were able to see the original samplers for these two reproductions.







And two tatting shuttles. The black one is for the Mad Tatter.







The bonus of this stop is that we ran into some of our LaCrosse stitching friends when we arrived at the shop!

Wait until you see what we have in store tomorrow!