Post cards from St. Michaels

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!