Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  

May your blessings outweigh your troubles, and may you find peace in your heart on this Thanksgiving Day!  I'm thankful for all my friends and family!

I have a finish!!

I'm still participating in the challenge being offered at my LNS The Stitching Post in Baltimore Maryland!  This month I have been working on Take Me Out To The Ballgame by Little House Needleworks.  I don't know why I've had such a hard time working on this one, I didn't use the suggested fabric,  I'm working over two threads instead of only one, with two strands of floss.  I'm sooooo out of my element.  When I finished you couldn't see the stars or some of the spectators because of the color of the floss and the background being too close.  So I decided to outline...and I didn't really like the effect.  And there were French knots, and while they don't usually bother me, because of the thinner threads in the fabric, they kept slipping through to the back.  Grrrr.  But despite all that, it's finished.  I changed some of the colors to reflect the Orioles colors...and voila!  I've had this hanging in my stash for years (and I do mean YEARS) so it's good that it now sees the light of day!

I've also finished a few little ones I'm hoping to get made into ornaments for gifts.  Whew...the fun never stops!!

I'm off for a dinner date with the family!  Happy Stitching!!

November Gifted Gorgeousness

Whew....what a wild ride life has been since the last Gifted Gorgeousness.  You probably know the drill by  now, if you want to participate you can sign up and read the rules on Jo's blog.  Here is the link.  If you want to see what everyone else is doing who is participating, you can visit Jo's blog here and click on the participants.

It's been a busy month since the last GG.  I've been working on some gifts so I can't show everything here, but hopefully by  next month I'll be able to show some things.

First off is a Christmas exchange I had with Friendly Stitchers.  I signed up to exchange with two people.  The first was the lovely Ms. S.  I have actually met Ms. S in person when we were in Seattle.  We had a lovely afternoon sharing a meal and some laughs.  Her husband and my husband are Veterans so they too, had a lot in common.  Here is what I sent to her...

The ornament was a free pattern I found back in 2012 that I had saved and always wanted to stitch.  I thought, because she is from the Pacific Northwest she might like more of a nature pattern.  I also made a scissor fob and a needle nanny.  I hope she likes them!

Next is the lovely Ms. D.  It's fun having an exchange partner as you get to know a little bit about them.  I would love to meet her in person, we have so many things in common, and she sounds like such a lovely person!  Here is what I sent to her...

The ornament was a freebie called Connie angel from the Victoria Sampler website.  Dusty told me she likes angels so her scissor fob has angels as well.

And here is what she sent me...I tell you, I was truly spoiled!!

I am participating in a 12 days of Christmas exchange.  She won't be opening her packages until December so I won't show her things until later.

I'm still working on Marie Antionette's Caleidoscope.  I love this pattern, but because it is on black, it's hard to stitch on during evening hours and dreary days....so it's coming along slowly but it was an Anniversary gift from my husband a year or so ago.  He's such an enabler!!  Haha, but I'm spoiled and I know it!!  I didn't get too far during the challenge, it was a busy month, as you know, but here is how far I've been able to get...

I have some more things in the wings, I just have been too busy to get stuff finished.  I'm sure I'll have more to show next month!  Till then, Happy Stitching!

Best Week in a long time!

I'm sorry to report I haven't done any cross stitching in a long while.  So this post will be a little life update.

Many of you know my birthday was last month.  It's been a pretty exhausting year so far, and my very dear husband decided I needed a break.  We also learned that a show I've been wanting to see since the last time we were in Las Vegas was ending in November so we planned a trip to see Donny and Marie at the Flamingo in Las Vegas.  We found a deal on the internet that included airfare, hotel, and transportation to and from the hotel and the airport.  We knew we were going for a week, we knew we were staying at the Luxor, and we were going to see Donny and Marie.  So what do you do when you are in Vegas with a week to play?  We found something to do every night, found fun restaurants to visit during the day, and walked our little tushes off!!  haha  We literally walked 10,000 steps plus EVERY DAY....and the day we saw Donny and Marie we walked 15,000!  I have to admit, my feet are TIRED!!

So....we stayed at the Luxor...and as we were getting on the elevator the first day, we noticed signs for Blue Man Group.  I've heard of them...and my sister-in-law had been to see them and raved about them....so we decided we would give it a try.  They were playing at the Luxor, so we thought...why not?  I never laughed to hard in my life.  Such a fun show, if you ever have a chance to see them, GO!!  I hear they started in New York City...so you might find a show there.

Those are marshmallows in his mouth, nearly an entire package that he caught as they were being thrown to him!!

I'm not going to comment on all the pictures, I'll let you guess why I took them and what was so exciting about them all.

We also went to see Piff the Magic Dragon.  No, I didn't misspell that.  His name is Piff and his little doggie is named Mr. Piffles.  He was funny, in a non-obnoxious way.  We first saw him on America's Got Talent, and while I thought he was good, my husband didn't think so, until he saw him in person.  We really enjoyed his show that was also showing at the Flamingo hotel.

We saw Ka', which is a Cirque de Soliel show.  If you've never been to one, they are amazing!  There is so much going on all around you, it's hard to keep track of all the acrobatics.  I wish I could show you pictures, but they weren't allowed.  This "floor" they were using for their stage went in all directions.  Tilted to the right, the left, forward and at one point perpendicular to the floor!  They were swinging off the side on poles that stuck out from the platform.  AMAZING!!   We saw this at the MGM Grand.  What a fun place to wander around in....so many things to look at.  It's so different from the first time we saw it shortly after it was built.  The center of the lobby looked like the Emerald City with the yellow brick road winding along the floor.  It's still a neat place to visit!

We saw Shin Lim too.  He was also on America's Got Talent and is a magician.  He does close up magic but there were big screens up so you could see his illusions.  There was audience participation as well.  It's amazing the things that he does!  We REALLY enjoyed his show and I hope we could see him again sometime.  He had another entertainer with him who performed kind of like mind reading.  His personality was great and I enjoyed him as much as Shin Lim.  This was playing for a limited time in the Terry Fator theater at the Mirage.  That is a lovely venue!!

And last, but not least, we saw Donny and Marie.  And yes, I squealed when he came on stage.  I mean let's face it, he is a heartthrob, don't you think????  I have always loved their music.  I enjoyed watching them on Dancing with the Stars.  They are true entertainers, with wise cracks about each other and such talented singers and dancers.  It's sad the show is ending after being headliners at the Flamingo for over 11 years.  I know that part of the reason they are ending the show is because Marie will be appearing on The Talk now as one of the regular women hosting the show.  I wonder what Donny will be doing next?

We enjoyed visiting the garden at the Flamingo while we were waiting for shows to begin.  They have special heating under the flooring so the birds stay warm in the winter months.  I thought these flamingos were gorgeous!  There were other birds there too.

We found this Buddha there....and the plaque said to rub his tummy for prosperity and luck.  It must have worked!!  I only gambled with $20.00 and after two spins in a slot machine, I won $58.00!!  We aren't big gamblers, but when in Vegas...ya know?  We had to try at least once!

Our last night in Las Vegas, Mike HAD to see a Golden Knights hockey game.  My goodness what an arena!!  I don't think there is a bad seat in the house!  The upper section where we sat is at a very steep angle, which is good for viewing (we felt closer to the rink) but not for the faint of heart when it comes to heights!  Still it was an exciting game, one that went into overtime.  The Maple Leafs scored a goal in the last few seconds of the game, then another goal a few minutes into the over time.  The showmanship from the arena sure fits with the vibe of Las Vegas.  It's a rather vibrant presentation before the game.  They even have Terry Fator in a video before the game talking about how to be a good fan at the game!  haha  Just the show was something worth seeing, let alone an exciting team to watch.

Vegas is so beautiful lit up at night, you might even forget you are in Nevada...

Shopping is pretty phenomenal  there too!  I had to take a picture of all these hats, as Jo over at Serendipitous Stitching has been asking me if I've found my had for my son's wedding yet.  There are a lot to choose from here!  haha  

I've been told the ones in this photo are not appropriate for the wedding though.....

Unless Elton John is attending?

I have to show this picture....and try not to laugh (I'll admit I wasn't too successful).  

We were talking as we were shopping and I pointed out these suitcases.  I thought I had even tapped the glass with my finger.  I guess Mike didn't see me do that...haha...so he quickly walked  forward to check out prices and ran smack dab into the glass.  With a loud THWONG that echoed down the corridor...and several people turning heads....he started falling backwards and I had to catch him.  He had a knot on his forehead for a couple of days and a small cut on his nose where his glasses cut him.  Of course I had to stifle my laughter (and felt a little guilty because I drew his attention to the suitcases) until I was sure he was ok.  Good thing the glass was about an inch thick....I shutter to think what might have happened if it weren't!!  

And that is the end of our adventures this week.  The challenge for this month has ended at my LNS and I'll be starting the new one for this month which is Take me out to the ball game by LHN.  I started it last night, but I don't have pictures just yet.  I'll save that for the next post.  Until then, happy stitching!