I can't believe it's May already! I sound like a broke record, but it's true. This year is flying by at an unbelievable rate and I'm desperate to find time to stitch. Those days are few and far between. Anyway....here it is time for Gifted Gorgeousness again. If you don't know what that is, I invite you to take a look over at Serendipitous Stitching to find the rules for this challenge. Click here for the rules......and click here for the others who are participating and you can see what everyone has been up to.
From the previous post you'll see that I made a trip back to Maryland to attend our annual St. Michaels retreat. I just couldn't resist being with friends, laughing and sharing our passion for stitching. Now that I've been I can show you the two items I stitched for gifts for the retreat.
Take time to stitch by Jeanette Douglas
Spring Messenger by Ellen Maurer-Stroh. I love her designs, and I've stitched this one twice. One of these days I'll have to stitch one for myself!!
I've also stitched a few more Christmas ornaments that were from a Disc my husband gave me for Christmas one year.
Here is Julia Lucas' Home for Christmas from the JCS 2001 Ornament Issue
Here is Threads Through Time Joy To the World JCS 2001 Ornament Issue
I've been working on a SAL my husband bought me, and the SAL has finished now, but I'm still pretty far behind. Here is Quakers in Holland by Tempting Tangles Designs.
Last is a gift I received at the retreat. I'm not sure I'm spelling this correctly but this is Woolomena by Plum Street Samplers. I love how she finished this off and can't believe I was the lucky recipient!! Didn't she do a lovely job?
I'm going to throw this picture up here too. As I said I've been going through boxes in the attic at my Mom's house. I came across this piece that was the first one I ever cross stitched. It was a stamped piece, and looks pretty rough, but then I was only 7! haha I am amazed when I see the antique samplers that young girls stitched hundreds of years ago. They were so talented at such young ages. It's kind of fun to find something I stitched so long ago, more than half a century ago!! I guess you could say it is part of gifted gorgeousness since my Grandmother gave me the kit to stitch all those years ago.
Off to get some shuteye, tomorrow promises to be another busy day! Happy Stitching!
It was our annual stitchers weekend in St. Michaels last weekend. I can't begin to tell you how much fun we have, and how relaxing, and special this weekend is for us. We've all been friends for many years, have shared the exciting times and the sad times. We pray for one another, we lift one another's spirits, and most of all we laugh til our sides hurt. It's special and very rarely do we add to our group.
The last four years we have stitched a themed item that we then exchange. This year our theme was spring. It's so funny because we all leave excited to pick a pattern. I changed my mind several times over the course of the year. I (very luckily) stitched this early on in the year before all the stuff happened in NY. Here is my contribution this year... Spring Messenger a freebie offered by Ellen Maurer-Stroh which has since been taken down from her group page.
And the rest of the items we exchanged.
Next year we are picking a stitcher's theme....darn, I should have saved this next one for next year!!!
Since the beginning we have had a Yankee Trader exchange. This is a game where we can steal from one another, but it's all in fun. I had no time for shopping this year, and since I had the pattern, fabric and floss for this piece, I stitched it quickly again a few days before our weekend. Here is what I made... Take Time to Stitch by Jeanette Douglas
And the rest of the Yankee Trader gifts.
I did pretty well this year, although my head is not where it should be, I did pack enough so I had enough to stitch. I packed fabric, floss and embellishments for some Christmas ornaments, but forgot most of the patterns!! haha Thankfully I had enough to finish these two.
When Cardinals Appear by Blackberry Lane was a piece for the Stitching Post challenge for the month of May.
5 golden rings is for the other challenge I'm participating in as part of the 12 Days of Christmas from the Cross Stitch and Country Crafts magazine from 1989.
On May 4th I started this Mystic Stitch pattern. I'm stitching it on 28 count over one. Yes I am crazy. No I haven't lost my mind yet, or at least I don't think I have.
Marsha even made an appearance hanging with her peeps!!
Just a candid shot of the table we were working on....so many varieties of things we are stitching, shows a little bit about our personalities.
And here is our group. I hope the others don't mind that I caught them at a candid moment. But if you knew each one, you would see that their personalities are shining through in this captured moment. I can't express how much these ladies mean to me or how much our friendships have carried me through some very dark times. I love these women!!!
I hope you all have some wonderful stitcher friends that you can hang with!! They are priceless and I count myself very lucky to be a part of their group! Thanks for a great weekend!! And I'm counting the days til next year!
Happy Stitching!
