Happy Halloween!

Even Murphy got into the Halloween Spirit! In case you can't tell, Murphy is dressed as William Shakespear for the big day!

First Ornament Exchange

This is a picture of the ornament I received from Suzie in the very first exchange I was ever in. It was 2003, and I forgot what I stitched and sent to her.

We were talking about this exchange last summer when we finally met in person, and Suzie couldn't remember what she stitched. I have been meaning to post a picture of it for some time so that she and the rest of you can see this cute little guy!

Thanks again, Suzie. As you can see, I still have it and still treasure it!

A Framing Finish

I stitched the Ellen Maurer-Stroh Rose Sampler last year, and really enjoyed stitching it, but when it was finished I didn't really know where I was going to hang it, it turned out a bit big!

Since Sue's house is done in lots of reds and she loves samplers, I sent it to her for her birthday last year. This is how she framed it.

August Cup 'O Tea Finish

While is was in Lancaster, PA, I got quite a bit of stitching done. I finished the August tea cup by Just Another Button Company that weekend. I should have finished October by now, but I am hopelessly behind in my stitching schedule!

Lancaster County, Day 3

Our last day in Lancaster County was again rainy, but not quite a gloomy as the previous days. We spent the day visiting two quilt shops in Denver PA that were recommended by other stitchers and quilters.

The first was Burkholder's Fabrics where we found some lovely fabric and some instructions for some very cute Dresden Angel ornaments. Some of the people in our group just pulled up a chair and made themselves comfortable while others shopped.

Our second stop was at Sauder's . I must say, it was quite an experience. The very large store is in the basement of a house, and there is no public restroom, just an outhouse out back. The bulk food and spices that are also sold there were a bit of a puzzlement, but the prices for the fabric were very very reasonable.

After stopping for lunch at Miller's Smorgasboard again, and checking out their quilt shop, we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon and evening of stitching.

Of course there was a session of show and tell so that we could all admire each other's purchases.

Thanks, Barb, Carol, Elaine, Lynn, Pam and Sue, for a great weekend!

Lancaster County, Day 2

Day 2 started out bright and early at the crack of 10 with breakfast at Friendly's. By the time we got the eggs we ordered, they were cold and it was time for lunch, but we laughed and drove on....

Our first stop was at the Log Cabin Quilt Shop in Bird-in-Hand PA. It was a lovely shop with lots of quilts and fabric and gifts.

There were lots of little shops in the town, and we especially like the little hardware store! So many fun gadgets to look at!

Next, we were off to Intercourse and more quaint little shops. It is a lovely area, but the constant rain prevented us from enjoying it to the fullest.

The Kitchen Kettle area was especially fun, fillle with lots of cute shops. The lemon merangue pie was yummy! Among the shops there were lots of quilt shops, and we especially liked the quilt shop which housed a quilt museum on the second floor. The quilts were amazing!

Just a few purchases for me that day.

A Fall Get-a-way!

Very, very early Thursday morning, I took off for Lancaster PA, via Washington DC. I was meeting some friends at the Stitching Jubilee and we had also planned to spend some time in Lancaster County to see what kind of trouble we could get into....



At about 1:30, Sue and I arrived at the Lancaster County Convention Center. It wasn't too easy to find, we had gotten some sketchy directions from our hotel, and my GPS was having trouble finding the satellite. But we did find it, and quickly found the rest of our group, Carol, Barb, Lynn, Pam and Elaine. The 5 of them had already finished their shopping, so I had some catching up to do.



The shopping mart was not very impressive as a whole. There were less exhibitors than I expected, but I did manage to find a few charts that I couldn't live without.


After examining all the booths, we settled down at a table and to look at each other's stash acquisitions, and then stitched for a bit before heading out for dinner.


The destination for dinner was Miller's Smorgasbord Restaurant. It was yummy! After dinner we headed back to the hotel and stitched before heading off to bed.

Singing with Ms. Viki

This is where I can be found many Friday evenings, rehearsing with the children's folk dance group. Here they are singing with my lovely and talented daughter, Viki. The kids love singing with her!

For Marguerite!

Recently, my friend since college (and that's a really, really long time ago) Marguerite and I were chatting and the subject of my Pope John Paul II stitched piece came up. It hangs at work (I work for a Catholic Church) and she has never seen it. She asked me to post a picture, so here it is.

It was stitched right around the time of his death from a chart in a Polish magazine. Stitched on 28 count antique white Jubilee with DMC floss.

Kit up a Freebie!

I recently participated in a "Kit Up A Freebie" exchange on the Threads of Life board. It was kind of fun searching for just the right freebie to send my partner. I sent "Snow" a freebie from Wichelt to Norma and since she notified me that she has received it I can show you what I sent.

I received this biscornu kit for the exchange from Darla and can't wait to stitch it for Christmas.

A Long Overdue Visit to Welcome Stitchery

My stash shopping list had become very long, and getting longer every week. It was obvious that I hadn't been to my favorite LNS, Welcome Stitchery, in a long time. When Michelle e-mailed me and asked if I wanted to ride up with her I jumped at the chance.

We walked in the door late Saturday afternoon, and ran into Ilona, who I hadn't seen in almost two years. It was great catching up with her. As I walk a few more steps, I almost tripped over Eileen, who was sitting on the floor inspecting all the new charts that had been brought back from the St. Charles market. It was great catching up with her also!

It didn't take Michelle long to make her purchases, but it took me considerably longer.....I got almost everything on my list. One pack of beads, one spool of Kreinik and one piece of fabric were not in stock, so I will get those when they come in. Meanwhile, I managed to spend quite a bit of my children's inheritance. But....I have things kitted up and am good to go for awhile.

The Culprit!

Here is what Murphy looks like now. He is about 8 months old right now, and still growing.

This picture is of Murphy at about 2 1/2 or 3 months. He was a lot smalled and affraid to jump off the couch.

He is still very sweet, and loves to play.

Murphy's Mess

I arrived home on Friday evening to find this on my kitchen table. Murphy, Tony's 8 month old puppy (who is almost the size of a horse) found a ball of #8 perle cotton.

Tony tells me that he must have run around the entire first floor with it as it unwound. Murphy managed to wind it around every single piece of furniture and Tony had quite job getting it cleaned up. Dear boy tried very hard to wind it up nicely but eventually gave up and cut it a few times. I wish he would have taken a picture of the mess before he cleaned it up. I would have liked to have seen it.

Lucky for him, perle cotton isn't very expensive. If he had gotten into my silks, I wouldn't be laughing!