Stitching Retreat

What a fantastic weekend! Ann (of Knowledge & Needles fame) organized a stitching retreat at Timber House in Brighton, just off the shore of Lake Ontario. And this place is gorgeous, huge windows 3 stories high, with tons of stitching room with beautiful natural light. Of course we all still came armed with assorted Ott lights and magnifiers as you can see from the pictures, that is all 18 of us! The bedrooms were lovely with big comfy beds when we needed to rest up for the next day of stitching. And food - well there was lots of it and it was all delicious. I neglected to take my camera to Ann's house where hubby Dan cooked up a scrumptious feast for us on Saturday afternoon. And of course a quick trip into the shop for some must-haves followed that.

I have lots of pictures of the stitching retreat to share....so here goes!
This is a shot of the great room, that I took from the upstairs dining area~

A shot of the dining area upstairs~One of the lovely bedrooms~

Awesome windows~And in case you are wondering what I did during this fabulous weekend~
This is Flock of Birds by Blackbird Designs. I started it on Friday shortly after we arrived at Timber House and finished it up last night. A quick, very sweet little design :-D

What a great weekend! Thanks Ann for organizing such a fantastic weekend for us all, its no wonder your next 2 retreats are already booked solid!

Blackbirding

I have some finishes to show ... finally!

My latest beauty, hot off the needle, and beautiful she is, even if I do say so myself. This is Sweetheart Sampler, a Loose Feather pattern from Blackbird Designs. Its an oldie but a goodie. I stitched this on the recommended fabric, 30 ct Kansas City Blend by R&R Reproductions, but once I started with the large alphabet, it looked far too chunky for me. So I switched to stitching over-1 thread and I was much much happier with it.
Uh, if you note at the bottom, it says Valentine's Day and I'm only just over a month late for this lovely occasion, or even better really, 11 months early for next year!

Next its pincushion-y time!
This is Buttons & Pins, also by Blackbird, finished on 40 ct remnant and finished into a pincushion. I found the crushed walnut shells recommended for filling these (bird cage litter in real life) and I love the weight and substance this filler gives these.

Small Tokens, one of the Nashville releases for Blackbird Designs. This is finished on 32 ct antique white linen with some very sweet crocheted trim. This one made a wee gift.

This Friday I'm going to a Stitching Retreat with ladies from Knowledge & Needles! This is my first weekend retreat and I am so excited. I just have to figure out what to pack. I think its time for a new start or two! My excuse is that I'm not taking my Dazor magnifier, so I will need some larger-for-my-old-eyes fabrics, and since most of what I have on the go lately is 32-and-up, well that's just as good an excuse for a new start as any I can think of.

I'm still offering up my contest (see last post) for a new phrase for finished-finished. The winner will get a lovely little something that has been finished-finished.

Meanwhile I better get back to working on my PhD (Project-half-Done) - a new phrase I learned last night!

What's the word for.....?

'Eggs' by Shepherds Bush, stitched on 32 ct antique white linen, with GAST and DMC

I finished up a quick little Shepherd's Bush piece last night ~ Eggs for Easter. Sometimes its just easy to pick up something and finish is in 2-3 days, I needed that quick finish. And shockingly for me, its actually done well in time for Easter. I am notorious for being on the back end of holidays. I start something before a holiday comes but never get it finished in time. I'll do a fabric dive later and see what I have to finish-finish this.

Speaking of...is there a word for finishing that I can't think of? I call something finished when I'm finished stitching it. But then there's the actual 'finishing' of it, that is making in into a finished piece, that I think I need a proper word for.

May be I could start a contest - whoever can come up with the best word for the actual 'finishing' of a stitched piece into something - needlebook, scissor fob, ornament, whatever. I'll gift a 'finished' object to whoever comes up with the best word.

Marj and I drove to Ann's Knowledge and Needles Open House on Sunday to see all the latest goodies she brought back from Nashville. It was so nice to see her and Dani and Christin and a few other ladies there. I was very very good and kept well within my budget.
Quakers & Quilts by Rosewood Manor, which calls for Valdani threads, which Ann also had but I didn't indulge in. And Celtic Cross by M Designs which I have coveted for a long time now.

And check out this lovely piece of Graziano gingham linen Ann had in stock - its perfect for this new Blackbird Designs piece called A Flock of Birds which is in the newest My Heart is True book. Ann is carrying several different colours of this and I was so happy to get it. Now I can't wait to start this lovely design - its my favourite in the new book.

And speaking of Blackbird Designs, Sue started a new blog for Blackbird lovers. Be sure to visit to see everyone's gorgeous stitching!

Cuba

Warning - very picture heavy!

What can I say about Cuba other than we had a perfect time! Beautiful country, beautiful weather, beautiful people = wonderful vacation. Although we seemed to spend most of our time at the poolside, we did get for a wonderful hour-long walk each morning along the ocean, spent a lot of time in the various restaurants, bars and buffet, and we did get in to Havana for a day trip. I wish I could go back tomorrow!

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking...The main building
Poolside~
View of the first pool
The hottub...come of my favourite spots!
Ahhh, the ocean!

The next hotel had a lighthouse!
Havana~
...with such cool cars from the 50's.
On a side street - looking into a courtyard.

Gifted!

Gasp - look at this treasure trove of knitting loveliness! I was blown over the other day by getting all these wonderful gifts from dear Nancy, a wonderful stitching/knitting/quilting friend.

The knitting/stitching bag at the top is the most gorgeous bag, with all kinds of extra pockets for slipping in a little sustenance to keep a knitter/stitcher going strong! There is a lovely book of knitting stitches, and to the left, an ingenious worm binder, yes, that's right, a worm binder. Its perfect for holding all our circular needles (which are my favourite, uh circular needles, that is, not worms). Some new sock patterns which are my most favourite thing(s) to knit and an absolutely gorgeous purple/blue/green flat of wool called Flat Feet. Its been hand painted after being knitted by machine. The idea is to start unravelling as you knit so come up with your own unique pattern. How cool is that? No more balls of yarn to get tangled ... or played with by not-so-innocent little puppies. I am still in awe of all this lovelies and have had the most fun by taking everything out of my new bag and playing with it all. Thank you, Nancy!!!

Stitching-wise....I'm still at my CHS alphabets and I expect I will be happy dancing very shortly. But meanwhile I couldn't resist a little detour, with one of my new favourite designers, Blue Ribbon Designs~
Valentine Wishes - stitched on 28 ct Blush Pink Cashel, with GAST threads.

Sorry for the dark pictures - its endlessly gloomy around here - with another day of rain....yes, that's right rain. It has turned our snow into glops of messy disgusting piles. But the cold air is returning tonight and I'm sure it will turn everything back into a skating rink.

Fine by me....I'm on the final countdown because a week today hubby and I will be vacationing in Cuba - hot sun, white sandy beach, stitching in one hand, and a mojito in the other!

Moving on!

Thank you all for the encouragement to keep with my CHS alphabet. Seriously I was ready to toss it aside for greener (actually snowy) pastures, but with so many ready to do some happy dancing with me, I felt I couldn't let anybody down. So the alphabet made its way back on the stitching hoop and W for Willow got finished off last night. Then I moved right on over to 'X'.

Lookee what the mailman brought home this week - my Quaker Friendship RR, completed! Isn't it gorgeous! Everyone did a fantastic job stitching on it. I used a DMC variegated thread for the centre motif and asked everyone to chose one of the matching threads to stitch their section. I really wanted to see the change-over from each person who stitched on it and I think it turned out beautifully. This poor RR group has had some issues with someone who left the group and absconded with 3 people's pieces and threads! Unbelievable to have someone drop off the face of the earth and keep others' RR's. We were so lucky to have lovely Valerie step in and take over and unfortunately then get swamped with RR's. Thanks Rowyn, Edgar, Donna, Carol and Valerie for stitching on this beautiful keepsake for me!!
And finally ~ I've been tagged by Melissa to name 5 addictions. And if you haven't dropped by Melissa's blog, be sure to swing over that way and check out her gorgeous stitching (and knitting :0D)

5 addictions (well, I'll name the top 5, or we'll be here for a while)
1. Stitching ..... of course!
2. Quilting.
3. Blog reading.
4. My doggies.
5. and my newest downfall ~ Honey Ginger Green tea (President's Choice brand).

Have a great stitchy weekend!

January Stitching

What have I been stitching on this year? My Carriage House Samplings Alphabet series....started (gasp) in 2006. I am determined to get one of my BAP's out of the way this year and I have been plodding away at this lovely series since the new year started and making some great progress. Until the past week that is...and I feel my resolveto finish this first hedging, and more and more I have been eyeing my lovely pile of stash waiting impatiently for just the first few stitches.

Why, oh why, can't I just see this one through to the end? I'm so close, just a couple more letters and then the 2 signature areas...and the border. But February is looming and some lovely Valentine freebies are out there aching to be stitched. Its like starting a diet for me, and that goal to see it through quickly gets sidelined by the lure of sweet goodies just around the next corner.

Well here it is Monday and I made it through the weekend, with the help of my Saturday afternoon Quilting Club start and something fresh to brighten up these dreary cold winter days.

So I'll leave you with some pictures of my CHS alphabet

As of January 2007 - stitched on 40 ct antique white Newcastle linen, using a combination of DMC and GAST threads.

As of January 2008 - a little more done.



And the latest scan in January 2009 - down to the bottom!

And a couple of pics of Bella modelling her new coat, lovingly sent to her by her doggy nieces, Maddy and Maisie (Kelly's doggies)!

More Christmas stitching....late I know :-D

More Christmas stitching??? I know the season is well and over as the deep cold outside is reminding me, but I didn't get a chance to update my blog very much last month, so I'm going to force a couple more pics. Well these were actually Christmas presents so I couldn't show them beforehand anyways.

This is Prairie Schooler's Winter Wind, on 32 ct Antique white linen. I made this into a flatfold for a Christmas present for Kelly. My first flatfold, using the lovely Vonna's detailed instructions!

And 2 days before Christmas I put the finishing touches on the set of Shepherd's Bush ornaments, 8 of them from the JCS Ornament issues. These were really fun to stitch and so quick too. I used some brushed cottons from my stash to finish them up, and simple jute for hangers. These were a present for Carrie! Bella is settling in very well at home, and becoming my little shadow. She teases me when I'm coming down the stairs by taking little nips at my legs, to remind me that she is there. But by far her favourite game is to race about the house as fast as she can. She will race up the stairs, run about the hall to our bedroom and then back again around and down again. She does this about 5-6 times before she collapses in a heaving little ball on the floor, waits until she catches her breath, and then she's off again. If only I had a little of that energy.

Until next time!

Happy New Year!

Sorry I haven't been around much! But where has the time gone? Why is it when I have time off work, that it just passes by so quickly? We had a wonderful Christmas and had all my family in for Christmas dinner - 18 of us! It was wonderful, if only I could have made Christmas last about 3 days, it would have been perfect.

I have a very special Christmas present to share, well not actually a gift from anyone, but one we had been promising ourselves, since we lost 2 of our dogs last summer. And here she is - she arrived on Boxing Day, little Bella!

Isn't she adorable!!! What a cute little puppy face. She is a Schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle mix) and 3 months old. She has currently become the Diva-Miss of the couch and chair and won't let any of the others get any attention while she is around. What others might you wonder? Well I have been dogsitting for Nick's friends the past 2 weeks, a Chihuahua named Mason, and I have Stu and Kelsey, Maisie and Maddie. That's a lot of dogs!

The kids are all off to various parties tonight and we are having friends over to help bring in the New Year... and yet another dog.

Just to get in a little stitchiness, here is a pillow I finished off in time for Christmas. Its hardly timely to show Christmas stitching but I thought the sentiment appropriate for tonight!

Happy New Year!

Love my new Santa!

Isn't it so nice to get lovely little packages in the mail ~ and this is what the mailman delivered yesterday - this sweet Prairie Schooler Santa ornament from dear Harmien! I love him! He's not taken his place on my Christmas tree just yet, I have him on my desk so I can look at him during the work day.

And I'm not just counting down to Christmas, I'm counting off those work days left. Luckily for me, the clinic that I work for is closing down between Christmas and New Year's and that means time off work!!! So holidays for me start on Christmas Eve!

Do you know about the new blog that has started for a Prairie Schooler exchange? Of course I couldn't resist signing up for this. And there is also a blog starting up for a Peppermint Twist SAL. I'm thinking of joining that one too! I love the New Year coming with so many great possibilities.

A Christmas tree

Not the bestest picture, but I took it with my cell phone, actually I took several, feeling very touristy, of the Swarovski Crystal Tree at the Eaton's Centre in downtown Toronto. It is truly gorgeous and could be seen from almost all areas of this huge mall. I wish I knew how many crystal snowflakes were hanging from this tree, it was awesome!

Of course being Friday afternoon/evening, there were hoardes of people about, but that made it part of the fun. Hubby and I finished up our Christmas shopping, found a place for dinner, and then went to the St. Michael's Boys Choir concert. What a great evening!

This and That

Where have the past few weeks gone? Work has been deadly recently - owing to the fact that we have gone from 3 full timers down to 2 - so much for a slow ease back into work. I honestly feel that I can't see the end of the tunnel. I have spent so much time on the computer, that once I finish up with work, that's it for me and the computer. Needless to say, I am very behind in my blogreading :-(

But it didn't stop me from taking Friday afternoon off so that Carrie and I could head down to the One-of-a-Kind Show in Toronto. I love this show - its absolutely the best show around and we love the Christmas show. Its so fantastic to see Canadian artisans and handmade items. I had thought to find myself a new coat, but didn't see anything that struck my fancy. I did get some wonderful smelling body butter, smelling of oatmeal and honey, yummm, and honey lip balm, which is so necessary for these cold winter days. Plus some delicious Christmas cranberry pot pourri and herbal tea. But the best was the new tea set that I had a hankering for - hand made stoneware - in a gorgeous shade of blue. I indulged in the teapot, cream and sugar and a small matching bowl. I did run out of money! May be the tea cups can come next year. You'll see some glimpses of my teapot in the pictures......

I received this in the mail last week from sweet Jenn (Sweet Pea) . She has been playing around with dying her own threads and has done a fantastic job with the colours. I was so lucky to have won this skein from her!! This skein is called 'American Girl' but she suggested we change it to 'North American Girl' for me! Thanks Jenn, I'm going to look for a special project to use your thread.
Here's a little finish from last month - Little House Needleworks Wool Needlebook, stitched on a 32 ct remnant (note shiny new teapot!).

And another small finish - Blackbird Designs Buttons & Pins, on a 40 ct remnant.

I started some Christmas ornaments - this is the Shepherd's Bush series that has appeared in the JCS Ornament issues, starting way back in 2000. I got the first 2 stitched already this week. I've been using a mixture of DMC, WDW and GAST threads and instead of using the silver charms, I used Kreinik #4 cord to make the cane and trumpet. Looks pretty good I think! Only 6 more ornaments to go.....do you think I'll have them finished for Christmas?

On looking at these pictures, I really think the finishing fairy is long overdue at my house!

One last shot of my wee Christmas tree. I have a sweet collection of handmade angels that I have found over the years at local craft shows and the smallest of these I have hanging on this little tree, along with a few ornaments that I made about 10 years ago.

We're off house hunting this afternoon - with the newlyweds Carrie and JF!

A Winter finish

Another finish - one I actually got done a couple of weeks ago but I don't think I posted a picture of it! Its not finish-finished.....I would really like to try making a flatfold. I have a couple other small finishes to show too, but I've got to get pictures first.

We decorated our house for Christmas yesterday - the tree is up and sparkling and the house is looking very festive - just in time for another snowstorm with a prediction of 20 cm. Luckily it ended up being mostly rain with some sleet and this morning the streets are fine. I'm so glad really - its too early for snow!

I feel like tossing all my stitching aside to make Christmas ornaments! Is it too early to start Carol's 2009 Christmas Challenge?

A new start

A new start - that's right, I couldn't resist the lure of this lovely Mirabilia design any longer. For some reason, I kept thinking about it the past couple of months and having an irresistible urge to start this design. Its called Elizabeth and the Lavender Sky and its #10, so a very early design by Nora Corbett. No beads, no Kreinik or specialty fibres, just good old DMC. I'm using a 32 ct antique white linen. You know it feels really good to work on a design like this, its been a while for me since the lure of Prairie Schooler and Little House Needleworks and Blackbird Designs has had me mesmerized.

On Sunday, I hosted our stitching group for our potluck lunch and get-together. There were 5 of us, unfortunately 3 couldn't make it but Marsha's sweet 3 month old future stitcher helped to fill in the gap. The time always flies when we get together, although not a lot of stitching usually gets done, but lots of inspiration fills the room! Sorry, no pictures, I didn't think of it until too late.

And I have been knitting a little more on my sock which has been a long time in taking the shape of a sock! I'm ready to start the toe decrease. And after watching Nancy give us a demo on Sunday with her new spinning wheel, I signed up for Ravelry. So may be there will be a little more knitting in my future!