The Kentucky Get Together Stitcher's Retreat

This past weekend I went to the Cumberland State Park in Jamestown, Ky.  I attended a long standing retreat, but it was the first time for me to go.  It was about a 5 hour drive from my home and I took a pit stop in Nashville to pick up my friend and retreat roomie who lives in Texas.  She had flown in and we went to the LNS in Nashville and lunch before hitting the road to drive to the Pumpkin Lodge in the Cumberland State Park.

I took a lot of pictures that I'll share ~ I'll just give a brief explanation of the pics and if you have any questions or want to know more, just let me know in the comments.  Also, this post doesn't contain pictures of every person there and every WIP.  I only took pictures one afternoon and some were out to lunch and I only took pictures of those who were there to give permission.

This is Pumpkin Lodge.  We had the place to ourselves.  Meeting room, two kitchens, restroom, and large living room here in the front and then our personal rooms were in the same building around back.

These three pictures was our view at meal times.  It's the Cumberland Lake and it's the largest man made lake in the country. 

You could see the marina through the trees just outside mine and my roomie's room.

This is the bead table set up by Cole Godby of The Cole Collection.  She makes gorgeous needle threaders and froggers.

I purchased two threaders from her and I am in love with them.  I think I've found a new obsession.

Our fearless leader/hostess for this retreat.  

:0)

Sweet friends...

Here I am with three of my charity members.

We had a gift exchange and I got a really nice bead box.  It's pictures like this that give me a jolting reminder of exactly how red my chosen hair color is, lol.

There were several other vendors there as well.

Needle minders sold by Mandy Adams.

Crossed Threads was representing.

One of the stitchers sells these bags and gives the proceeds to charity.

The above items were from TrulyN2Stitching.  I purchased two Qsnap covers and one zippered bag from her as well as getting a pillow case for a tuck pillow from her freebie pile.  I love, love, love the things she makes.  I wish I had her talent with a sewing machine.

These are pictures of the van belonging to the owner of Crossed Threads out of Pigeon Forge, TN.  The van was affectionately named, The Thread Box.  :0)  It's basically a traveling LNS.  Quite the sight to behold!

Here are some of the WIPs and finishes that were there.  There were more, but these are the ones I was able to get during the time I was taking pictures.  Some people had stepped out to lunch and I only took pictures of those who were there and could give me permission.

This is really just a small taste of the weekend.  I really enjoyed seeing all of my friends and we had lots of laughs and also lots of stitches put in place. 

Until next year...

:0)

When your borders don't meet up...

Well poo.

I've been working away at a Tangled/Rapunzel piece for my daughter's birthday.  I've worked on it off and on since late last year, but the past 2-3 weeks I've really given a push to see some progress made.  

It's a fairly innocent looking piece....it lies.  

As you can see, it's Rapunzel done in stained glass.  My first intention was to have it done by Christmas last year.  Nope, that didn't happen.  This pattern is so chock full of 3/4 stitches.  I swear that for every three whole stitches there is a 3/4 stitch.  And of course I chose a fabric that doesn't like to split.  So it's been a real challenge that I have put down several times just to save my own sanity.  

But I decided the week before my last retreat I would work on it exclusively for that week - just to try and get to the point where I felt like I had made progress.  Because up until that point, no matter how much I worked on it, it felt like trying to run through mud.  But, working on it and only it for that week did the trick.  I got past my mental block with it and could actually, for the first time see and feel progress.  So that made me want to work on it even more.  So after I got home from retreat, this is all I've been stitching on.

My plan for the past few days was to work my way down on both sides before finishing the middle, just so I could make sure my borders would meet properly.  Every step of the way, everything was coming out just fine.  Or so I thought.  Last night I got to the bottom point on both sides, just certain they would meet.

Except they didn't.

You see where the purple ends on the left?  Right next to the blue?  Now you see how far down the purple goes on the right?  Those should fall onto the same line.  They are one line off.

So I've thought about what to do.  If I work my way up from the corners, that's going to push the mistake up into her body area and I don't want to have to try and fix a mistake there.  But if I stop where I'm at on the corners and work my way down from the middle, I think I can probably fix the issue easier at the bottom.  There are a lot of flowers there and I can hopefully add a line in the blocks of color there.  So for now at least (unless I come up with something better) that's the plan.  I've worked on this so much lately that I'm starting to burn out and a part of me wants to put it down again.  But at the same time, now that I know there is a problem/issue I *really* want to make sure that gets fixed, so I'm going to keep pushing through.

I have until August before her birthday, so it's not like I'm under a time crunch.  But I still really want to see this one done.  It's been a challenge the whole way.

And one quick finish to share.  This is a Victorian Motto mini sampler and I finished it a few weeks ago.  This was a very different kind of stitching for me.  But I love the finished product.

Well, let's have a little catch up, shall we?

So.

I've been busy.  Lots of boring, real life stuff going on.  But nothing troublesome, thank goodness.  Just...stuff.  I'm sure you can commiserate.

So I'll just jump in here and catch you up a bit here and there and bring you up to speed on my stitchy happenings.

Most interesting is that March of 2016 is a red letter retreat month for me.  I was at retreat in Nashville for Nashville Market weekend last week and next week I will be tucked away at the Pumpkin Lodge (cutest name ever, am I right?) in Kentucky having another wonderful stitchy weekend.

Last weekend was *ever* so much fun.  (*I find that I must make one disclaimer about this retreat so that I don't cause any angst to it's hostess.  She is a shop owner and as such, was allowed to attend the Nashville Market.  But the rest of us at the retreat were simply stitchers - so *we* did not go to the Market.  Only the shop owner went. There was a tad bit of kerfluffle when certain folks thought she was going to allow us/sneak us (lol, seriously folks?) into the Market.  Didn't happen.  All was above board and we stayed cloistered away in our extremely lovely hotel and conference room during the days while she was at Market doing the shopping.)

We stayed at a hotel that was about a block away from the hotel where Market is hosted.  So our hostess was able to easily come and go between the two.  The really special thing was - since she was purchasing as a shop owner, at night when she was done with her wholesale shopping ~ she was able to bring things back to us and we could shop Market goodies from her right then and there, technically while the Market was still happening.  Which we all know, isn't something that's been an option for lay people, at all -ever.  So that was very exciting.  

I did really good and I stayed on budget.  (Major happy dance!) But I love (read: love, love, love) the items I purchased.  So without further ado ~ here are the Market goodies I bought!

The first thing I got was this patriotic thread keep from Priscilla's Pocket.  Super cute and I wasted no time in turning it into a needle minder.  :0)

Next in line are the very first Glendon Place and Ink Circles patterns I've every purchased.  I've admired their charts, but always thought they just didn't quite fit the style of things I like to stitch.  But then I saw these two and very quickly fell in love.  The Glendon Place is called Simply Love and I can't tell you how gorgeous this chart is in person.  It has some beading, but not over the top.  I love the colors, which are Dinky Dyes.  I already have some pink fabric in my stash, so I'm going to buy the threads next weekend and do a floss toss on my fabric to see if it will work.

Equally impressive is Tapestry by Ink Circles.  This also uses specialty threads but has a, "DMCish" conversion chart on the back as well.  I will probably just use DMC on this one.  I'm sure it will still turn out beautifully.

Next is Rosewood Manor's Friendship Quilt.  Love this.  It's part cross stitch and part blackwork.  So lovely.  You should click on the picture to get a better view of the details.  I have a few other Rosewood Manor patterns in my stash, but I'm sure that this one will be the first of those that I'll pick up to stitch.

Lastly is Jardin Prive's Ciseaux & Bobines. ~ Scissors and Bobbins.  :0)

This was a Market exclusive.  Which means that only store owners who attended the Market and bought it there, can sell it.  There were a few other Market exclusives, and some of them were this same brand and a similar theme.  I just fell in love with the pretty way the scissors are charted and the little village houses atop the bobbins.

While I was at this retreat, I managed to get a finish.  I signed up for a Love Quilts USA square at the beginning of the year.  The quilt I signed up for is for a little girl with a heart condition - if memory serves, she had a heart transplant - so it's only natural that she wanted a heart themed quilt!  :0)  I decided to use Durene Jones' pattern Heart of Mine for my square.  I did have to make a lot of changes though, because this quilt had a strict color scheme of pink and red with only two other accent colors - period.  So I had to leave out the flowers across the bottom and ended up changing the skin color a bit.  But it all worked out in the end and I'll be mailing this off soon.

I'll be back with more updates soon.  ~And~ I'll be at another retreat next weekend and I'll share with you all about that after I get back.  Happy stitching everyone!!

:0)

2015 was a red letter year for finishes for me!

I had more finishes in 2015 than in any year I have stitched yet ~ and there have been 31 years!  I'm going to list out all my finishes for the year here, if for no other reason than to keep track of them in my own mind.  ;0)

#1 ~ For Love Quilts USA

#2 & #3 ~ The first two ornaments in the T'was the Night Before Christmas series

#4 - #8 ~ 4 Baby bibs & 1 blanket for The Legacy of Dorcas Stitching Charity

#9 ~ A Harry Potter Stitch

#10 ~ Plastic canvas tote

#11 ~ Lemon-Aid kitchen towel

#12 & #13 ~ Bluebird pillowcase pair

#

#14 ~ Monogrammed needle book

#15 ~ Honey Bee Happening

#16 - #19 ~ Cherry napkins, donation to a raffle

#20 ~ Coaster set for Legacy of Dorcas project

#21 & #22 ~ Towels for Legacy of Dorcas project

#23 Plastic Canvas wall hanging for Legacy of Dorcas project

#24 - #27 ~ Napkin set, donation for a raffle

#28 ~ Pillow ornament for Legacy of Dorcas project

#29 ~ The Beekeeper

#30 & #31 ~ Ornament made twice, one given away, and one for me to keep

#32 ~ Plastic Canvas, The Grinch wall hanging

#33 & #34 ~ Ornaments for our tree

#35 ~ Edwardian Lady Victoria

#36 & #37 ~ Pillowcase pair for Legacy of Dorcas project

#38 ~ Needlepoint eyeglass case

#39 ~ Frosty Friends

#40 ~ A UFO project, gifted to me partially finished.  I completed the stitching, did the backstitch, and signed both of our names to the piece.

#41 ~ A quick little stitch on the last day of the year

#42 - #44 ~ Halloween coasters

#45 ~ A stitching rescue, from a thrift store for .25 ~ I finished it into a coaster.

45 finishes!!!  I can't quite wrap my head around it.  It didn't feel like I did that much.  I had no clue it was adding up to that number.  I guess I can stop giving myself ANY grief at all for not stitching enough, lol!

Needle Arts Snobbery

This is something that seems to come up from time to time in the world of needle arts.  Now, I know I may be throwing out a few blanket statements with this post, so don't think I mean this for every single person in the needle arts world.  I don't.  Most of us have manners and can appreciate the time and effort and talent it takes to make something with needle and thread or yarn, even if it's a type of stitching that is not our forte.  But then....there are others...

Embroiderers who look down their nose at cross stitchers.  "It's no different than painting by number."  ~  "That's just a craft, not an art." ~ "It's just X's, not real stitches."

And then there are the cross stitchers...

"I like all stitching.  Well...except for those stamped pieces."  (Said with a look of disdain.) ~ "I would never stitch on Aida."  (And nothing wrong with that, but a little more stitching and a little less attitude would be nice.)

And then it seems as if many from all forms of stitching look down on plastic canvas work.  

"Oh, I remember doing that.  

When I was 10."

Over the years I've seen and heard some things in groups that just astound me at the disrespect of other's work, effort, and yes - TALENT.  One person shared a finished piece - a large nude that obviously took a long time and someone comes in to take offense and say she doesn't like having to see nudes and it should be removed - and this wasn't an admin, it was a new member no less.  Somewhere else there was a discussion of making the backs of pieces neat and one person piped up to say that when they received a stitched piece as a gift, they literally take it apart - no matter if it was framed or finished into a pillow/ornament/etc - to see if the back was, "neat enough to meet my standards." 

Oh. My. Gosh.

People.

I just don't believe that snobbery should have any place in this wonderful, cozy little world of the needle arts.  If anyone should be getting along, it's us.  Even if our tastes are different in what we like to stitch and how we like to stitch it, there is room for all of us and there should be respect given in all directions.  No one form of needlework is better than another.  And yes, they are all art forms, not merely a childish hobby.  Both cross stitch and plastic canvas can be and are just as filled with as many specialty stitches as embroidery is.  And the vast majority of beautiful embroidered pieces couldn't be done if the stitcher wasn't working on something stamped.  And for that matter, there are many gorgeous cross stitch works that start as stamped pieces.  Linen is wonderful, but Aida will always have a sure and secure place in the world of cross stitch.  As a matter of fact, if you do charity stitching, there are some charities that require you to use 14ct Aida - period.  The back of one person's piece may be a perfect replica of the front and the next person's a hot mess - but it's all ok and good and we're all at different places on many different learning curves here.  So let's always give others the wiggle room they need on those learning curves without discouraging them or making them feel like their work some how isn't as good as someone else's or as another form of needle art.  

Needlework in all it's forms is a beautiful thing and there is room - and should also be respect - for all of them in our stitching world.

Well, this kind of snuck up on me...

In 5 weeks I'm headed to a retreat in the Smokey Mountains.  It's a trip that's kind of traditional for me and one that I look forward to all year long.  There are two gift exchanges at this retreat.  One is a gift box full of stitchy type notions and the other is a stitched ornament exchange.  So I know all year I have to stitch something for this retreat.  But for some reason, this year it slipped my mind until now.  When I stitch an ornament for giving, I like to stitch two so I can keep one myself.  So my stitching schedule grew by two ornaments, lol.  The pattern I chose for this year's ornament is a dove inside a circle with a filigree, leafy type of border around it.  It's charted in blues and roses but I'm changing it up to Christmas colors.  I'm going to give them a simple finish in the clear acrylic ornament frames that 123Stitch sells.

I have a little finish!  :0)  I finished up Frosty Friends a couple of nights ago.  I want to "finish" this into a no-sew cube, just not sure when I'll have the time to do that.  But it's going to need to be before Christmas, lol.  Although truly, this design is appropriate for the whole winter.  One thing kind of perturbed me about this pattern though.  On the picture of the finished product that comes when you buy the pattern, it shows two different ways of stitching it up.  One is like I have done it and the other shows it larger, finished into a pillow.  This one has a border all the way around it, that obviously "goes" with the pattern, as in, it's a style that is consistent with the look of the pattern.  But after you buy it and open it, you find the border is no where to be found.  You don't get the pattern for that.  I just feel like the way it's represented on it's packaging is misleading.  Because it obviously leads you to think that you can stitch it with or without the border, but then it doesn't provide or even address the fact that there is no border pattern.

I'm still working on Lady Victoria as well.  I hope to have her finished soon.  I can't wait to start her silk ribbon roses.  Sorry, no pic.  :-(

I took a Christmas stitch that I did last year and turned her into a pillow.  My intention was always to make her a pillow for Christmas this year, so after stitching her last year I just put her away in a project roll.  But this week I got her out and finished her up.  I am **super** pleased with how this turned out as I've never done anything like this before.  I can't "sew," not in the traditional sense with a machine, so this was all done by hand.  But it wasn't difficult or even terribly time consuming.  I started one day and finished the next.

And one more little extra I want to share. ~ Earlier this year, I stitched and made this little pouch.  It had been sold as a cosmetic case, but there is no way it would work for that.  It doesn't even close up in a way that would work for that and it's rather tiny.  So I put it away (procrastinating) with the intention of turning it into a needlebook at some point - which it's the perfect size and design for that.

So I finally took the whole 5 minutes needed this week and stitched in some felt and added in my needles.  I really love it.  A filled up needlebook makes me terribly happy.  :0)

That's about all I have for now.  Happy stitching everyone!  :0)