Woodlawn!

Guess where I was today....come on...give it a little guess...you can do it I just know you have it in you! If you said Woodlawn...you were correct! Today four of my stitching buds and I drove to Woodlawn, the former home of George Washington's wife's granddaughter, Nelly. Not only was the setting lovely, and the home beautiful, but it was decked to the nines with all kinds of needlework in the 48th Annual Needlework Exhibition.


And what lovely stitching there was too. I'm still in shock and my mind is reeling with all the ideas of things I've seen there. I can't wait to go back next year! We roamed the house for quite a while, and some rooms we hit more than once, but still saw something we hadn't seen the trip before. I can't even begin to tell you all that was there...you would HAVE to experience it yourself! The tea room was up and running so we had a lovely lunch when we were finished being mesmerized by all the stitching, topped off with a yummy lemon tart. I'm going to have such wonderful dreams tonight!

One of the wonderful things I saw today was this little beauty! http://plays-with-needles.blogspot.com/2011/02/becoming-queen-part-ii.html I just learned that the lady who stitched this lives not too far from me...and I have to say... this picture is beautiful, but the finished artwork is a sight to behold! I am in awe of her creativity and her expertise with a needle. Her blog has become a "must see" each time I visit the net. I would love to learn how to do some of these stitches!!

And as if THAT wasn't enough, we headed off to "In Stitches", a little needlework shop within a few blocks of Woodlawn. I looked high, and I looked low, and I found nearly all the patterns of some of the projects I drooled over at the exhibit. I'm still looking for one final one...and I probably won't sleep tonight until I lay eyes on it on the net somewhere tonight! LOL


Thanks Alice, Pat, Sonya and Wendy for an incredibly fantastic day!! (I put you all in alphabetical order because I don't want any of you to think I love any of you more than the rest!!...LOL) Pat took a picture of us in front of Woodlawn, but when I said..."I'm putting THAT on my blog!!" I heard a collective groan...so you guys are safe. I won't put stuff on here without permission!!

Another piece of news....Gillie was my partner for the Spring Pincushion exchange. She has received her pincushion, so I'll just pop a picture of it up here on my blog. I sent along some silk thread as part of the exchange and a little kit for her birthday. I'm sorry it was so late, Gillie...if you only knew how hectic things are on this side of the pond you'd understand!! I hope you liked the pincushion!




I've been stitching...and I actually realized I don't have all the pictures here just now, but that's ok. I'll post them later when I have even more stitching done on things. I've been visited frequently the past week by the dreaded frogs...but even so I was able to make some progress.

Here is my Spring SAL found on this website http://novalee02.over-blog.com/ I've finished part 4...YAY) This is such a lovely relaxing stitch!


I've also worked on my UFO last Thursday. I am working the Rose Quaker over one linen thread...and I can't tell you how many times I miscounted and restitched...but I finally finished the darker red motif near the bottom. *Whew* I am so close to the end that I can nearly taste the finish....but after ripping and restitching, I will be glad I don't have to pick this up again for another week!!


The next little bit I'm going to show you is another SAL I am working up really fast. This is small, and a little piece that is supposed to teach us hardanger. I'm working on this first, so that when I start working on another project later that has some hardanger in it I will have had some practice in some of the stitches. Forgive me, Mouse, I will feel more confident after I've practiced a bit on some of these stitches first...ok? This is stitched on 25 ct Jobelan Lambswool using Caron Watercolors/Wildflowers Pale Lilac. I love the way the colors look on this fabric, and I have to admit, I'm having fun stitching this! This is being offered on The Stitch Specialists Yahoo group.



I just learned that I was chosen to participate in a PIF (Pass It Forward) on Mouse's blog!! Mouse chose three people to stitch something for each of them in the coming year. The rules are that I have to choose someone to participate in the PIF. I will stitch something for them within the next year, and they must have the same contest on their blog and pick someone to stitch for and so on. I think it's so much fun, but I'm not as ambitious as Mouse...so I'll only be choosing one! If you would like to participate, please leave a message on THIS POST ONLY, and I will choose a winner on Saturday, March 26th. Remember, you must be willing to stitch something for someone else in order to participate!

And that, Dear Friends, is the end of that. I'm going to have an incredibly busy week next week, and if I don't get some sleep sometime soon, I'm not going to make it to next Friday *grin*. So....I'll try to keep you updated on my stitching, but if you don't see me for a little while, don't worry! I'm just "socializing" with my not so favorite people...I have a TON of medical appointments next week. Wish me luck in the paper chasing department, in the bloodwork stick department, and in the lab results department. It's going to be an interesting week. Take care, and hope to see you back here soon! *Hugs*