November - Lucy Beam

The rest of October flew by. Our little Griffin had surgery on his cleft lip in October and we were busy packing up the Mad Tatter as she decided it was time to move out of her home and into a smaller senior apartment. At the end of October I enjoyed a weekend with stitching friends at the Ranch.

In November we traveled to Blue Earth for a weekend with Becky Noland of Lucy Beam. We stayed at an Airbnb located above the shops on Main Street, just a few doors down from Welcome Stitchery. Our weekend project included cross stitch and embroidery stitches and we received kits for two pockets and a needleroll!

Had to stop and visit some of the Blue Earth residents while we were there!

Fun weekend with Welcome Stitchery and Lucy Beam!

October - Jacob Palooza!

In October, we traveled to London, Ontario for Jacob Palooza! The event was hosted be Evertote. Jacob was amazing. So knowledgeable! He brought several antique samplers with to share with us.

Jacob taught us how to do an open hemstitch and we also talked about Frisian letters. Our project for the retreat was a sampler that was stitched by both a mother and daughter. It’s a big one. “Go big or go home!” 

We had wonderful tablemates. Christine from Mountain Crafts Studio brought her beautiful box entirely stitched on the outside. Thanks to the box, we met everyone at the retreat!

Here are a few more pictures of Jacob’s samplers!

I seem to be having trouble with my photos, but if I can figure it out, I will be back soon!

Day Two - Quilter’s Station

There was more fun waiting for us on Day Two of the Quilter’s Station retreat! In the morning, Lady Dot (Lois) led us through the construction of a needlebook made with vintage Blackbird fabrics.

Most of us were able to have a good amount of it done by the end of the morning session. I just have a little bit more finishing yet to do.

Last but not least, Beth Twist from Heartstring Samplery shared her project with us. It was titled “The Americana Mamas” - paying homage to three ladies in American history - Lady Columbia, Lady Liberty, and Rosie the Riveter. All three could be stitched on one piece of linen or we could stitch them as three individual pin pillows.

And just like that, it was over. This was a fantastic group of teachers and we had the best time!

On the way home, we stopped in Lemoni, Iowa to grab a picture with our most favorite cows at the Amish Country Store.

Good times! Already looking forward to the next Quilter’s Station retreat in April!

Quilter’s Station Retreat

Time for an update! Shortly after my last post, my stitching buds and I headed south to Lee’s Summit, MO for the Quilter’s Station Retreat. This was the fifth QS retreat for my PIC and I, fourth for others, and a couple of our friends were attending for the first time.

We went early so that we could do some shopping the day before the retreat started. Our first stop was at C.C. & Company, another cross stitch shop in the area. I wish I had taken photos of some of their models. Many pieces were stitched over one. Stunning to say the least.

We also shopped at Quilter’s Station. They always have a nice selection of needlework linen. Of course, lots of beautiful fabric for quilting.

And then we headed to the antique shops in Greenwood, MO. One of them has the most delightful tea shops and that’s where we had lunch. I have to share a photo of my chicken salad on croissant and chopped beets. And for dessert, one of my friends and I split a delicious peach bread pudding with caramel sauce.

Now for the retreat! Our designers on Day One were Alma from Blackbird Designs and Linda from Chessie and Me. Great projects!

Alma designed a sweet little huswif based on motifs from a Welsh sampler she has in her collection. Linda  designed a Christmas pillow for us. Both will be so fun to stitch!

All of the designers brought trunk shows - here are some snap shots of Alma’s and Linda’s…

Before I close out this post, I want to share a photo of Linda’s project from QS Retreat in September 2022. Three of us in our group had finished the project!

Last but not least, a Griffin and Rosie update - both are growing fast! Griffin is four months now and Rosie will be turning six months soon.

Catching Up

It’s been a busy summer! My last post was in July. Holy smokes!

I spent a good part of July stitching on an Amy Mitten reproduction sampler: Forgery #14 Sarah Verrier 1737 Sampler. It was supposed to be a Sunday stitch, but truth be told, I was enjoying it so much, I worked on it most of July. The sampler is The Lord’s Prayer in French. I have put it away for a bit and will come back to it in a few months.

More recently, I’ve been on a finishing kick. My PIC and other stitchy friends and I will be heading to Quilter’s Station next week and I wanted to finish last year’s Chessie and Me piece before we went. Linda from Chessie and Me will be there again this year. Appropriately titled: Harvest Huswife.

Do you watch Lady Huzzah on Flosstube? After seeing her episode dedicated to Merry Cox finishes, I was motivated to finish one of my own Merry Cox pieces. This was a class I took through the Orange Coast Sampler Guild. The design is called 1871 Sewing Set. I stitched 1889 on mine; the year my maternal grandmother was born.

This past weekend I finished some smalls that go with the Birds and Bees Sewing Roll from Stacy Nash. Joy finished the sewing roll for me. I finished the biscornu and the scissor fob. The set is now complete!

My final finish - I popped this Prairie Schooler design into this simple frame! (I don’t remember the chart number, the name of it might be Autumn Leaves.)

Our two babies are getting big! Rosie is about a week shy of five months old and weighed in today at 36 pounds. She’s a happy pup and makes my smile every day. Lizzie has adjusted to having another puppy in the house too. They love their walks, they watch for the mailman every day (he has treats!), and they love to play in the yard.

Last but not least, and perhaps the most important of all, is Baby Griffin! Griff just turned three months and he is developing quite the personality. His mom and dad are going to be in trouble when he gets older!

That’s an update on what’s been going on in my world! Hope you are well and stitching to your heart’s content.