Happy hoppy from Sara and Sally

I realize it's odd for me to  blog twice in one day, heck in my case twice in one month, however, Sara
feels it's important that we put a good face on the day so here we are, hard at work and loving every minute of it.  Or perhaps we are just bored and looking for things to do.  Have a happy happy day and may you receive many blessings.

Sara's Special Easter Gift.

The piece was stitched in time, lucet cord made and everything put together to give Sara a very
special gift from me.  I picked the kit up while attending a retreat, Sherri Jones was there teaching,  several years ago and the kit has been languishing in my very large "to do before I die" pile.  Well, one more piece checked off my bucket list, but I'm not concerned about dying any sooner since I would have to live to be 500+ in order to get half of what I've got stored done.  Anyway, it's a needlepurse.  Isn't it cute?  I really did love stitching it and since it's so small it took no time to stitch, less time to put together (although of course I didn't do it exactly as I was instructed by Sherri because I was in too much of a hurry with my sewing machine...) but I loved it anyway.  The mermaid is on the front and the little fish is on the reverse side.  You can see the initial "S" done in white on the front and the year on the reverse.  This has become a limited edition as far as I'm concerned because while I finally got the lucet cord done....the anxiety over the amount I wanted,  length wise,  created too much stress for me, so I've decided one cord is all I'm doing.  But again, I can certainly do it if I have to and it really is easy to learn and easy to do.  I'm thinking this could be a good thing to do in the car, as long as you aren't the one driving.  Anyway, our Easter got off on the right foot...baskets all around, after Church of course. Speaking of church, does anyone buy an Easter outfit anymore?  I can tell you now, certainly no one at our church.  Back in the day, (Good God do I sound like my father) we use to wear hats and gloves and while I don't expect that I would think you would want to look a little nicer on high holidays of the church.  But as my mother would say, "Honey, God doesn't care what you are wearing, he just wants you here."   Unfortunately, unlike yesterday, it is overcast, windy and chilly.  No one is walking the boardwalk, but perhaps 11:00 a.m. is just too early for that today.  Our church had an egg hunt for the children out on the beach at 10:30 a.m. and there were about 100 kids there.  My little Solomon and Izzy were among the rug rats running for the eggs and they got quite a few...kudos.  Good crowd in town this weekend, which is usually the case as everyone has some sort of spring break around Easter.  Went over to Wockenfuss Candies yesterday to get the Monster Apples for everyone's basket and it was a mob scene as usual.  Oh, my there is a young man outside who is obviously in training for something and is jumping from the  boardwalk to the top of the sea wall in one fell swoop.  He's done it about 10 times.  Oh, my as Sara and I watched I commented that I couldn't have done that in my thinner years....Sara commented that she would pee all over herself...guess we won't be entering any training programs!  He then proceeded to do push ups on the sea wall.  Does it count as training for me if I watched him do it?  I cheered him on...does that count?  Well people are moving about now..a few dogs have gone by (I mean dogs, not people) with owners on a leash (in some cases it's the dog on the least and in others the dogs have definitely put their owners on a leash).  In any case, I'm ending here with a Happy Easter to one and all.  Hope you have a wonderful day full of blessings and family.

New models

Spring must be here because Renee showed up today with her 2013 Annual piece....it depicts the Dew Tour Bowl which has been here for the past 2 summers.  So I know summer is right around the corner now. I brought in my weekly finish .... Lizzie Kate "Chicks" piece...one nighter which I finished with the Nun's Stitch around the edge and then after backing it with heavy duty interfacing just used double sided tape and attached it to the little yellow bucket for Easter.  Soooo cute and such a cute gift for a grandchild, filled with sweet treats.  The piece is so easy you could knock out a few in a couple of days to decorate multiple Easter baskets or pails for next year.  Start today and get a jump on things.  The rest of my time has been spent on several projects.  I started the Jeannette Douglas Isle of Hope accessories....each piece is about a 1-2 night project so I've finished the scissor keeper and 1/2 of the needle book.  I should be done with this project next week and then it's on to finishing the suitcase box.  This could be my undoing as in my mind I see it one way and somehow it never ends up that way...but I'll keep the faith one more time.  I also started working on one of the Shepherd's Bush snowmen...love those guys, gave 3 to Sara a couple of years ago and she loves them.  I'm also trudging along on the Lucet cord....which I have personally started about 5 times and ended up having to unravel and begin again.  Last weekend I brought in my 4th start over and Sara and I managed to get about 8 inches done and when I got home there was a problem so I had to start over again two nights ago,  and this time I just kept at it until I had about 16 inches...but I need about 24 inches so I'm still going strong, except my finger hurts from the thread being pulled over it.  Boy, the needlework injuries I sustain for my love of the stitch.  I also finished "Blessed are the Mothers" from New York Dreamer which I started last May and after Mother's Day said to myself...why bother now.  So I was thrilled to get it back out (after finding it tucked away in a bag) and get back to it again.  Originally I thought I would just do the verse (Blessed are the Mothers whose sacred Arms Protect Us from a thousand harms), but it does look somewhat bare so I'm thinking I will do the border as well...so perhaps I'm not finished.  Oh, yeah, I just remembered I finished Erica Michael's "Seaside Squared" which I adore and loved doing, but I forget to bring the bag I stuck it in,  to work today (too many bags people)...so I'll bring it in tomorrow so Sara can take a snapshot of it for me to show.  I'm also thinking that this week I'll start Little House Needleworks "Needleworker".  For some reason I love signs that tell what I am as I have their "Home of a Needleworker" which was a gift done for me and a piece from Twisted Threads from 20 years ago that says, "Home of a stitcher"...  Yes, let there be no doubt in anyone's mind .... this is who I am.  What I am not is a bird watcher....O.K., I did keep an eye on the friggin' Seagulls that year at my house as they were the size of a dog and pulling stuff off my porch.  However, a few minutes ago a woman see's me outside and said, "Are you a local"...so naturally I thought she was going to ask me about restaurants to visit (that's the common question I get all the time)...but when I said Yes  she said, "Can you tell me where the birds are?"  I was staring at her so intently as I pondered what the hell she was speaking about that she decided clarification was necessary.  So she then says, "Pelicans, egrets,..shore birds."  Since I'm standing in front of Sea Trader I didn't know if she meant statues of birds or real birds so I asked her if she was speaking of real birds and she said yes, but I wasn't to send her to Assateague or back on the bay as she has already been there and there were no pelicans but she did see a heron.  This reminded me of the time the gentlemen asked Sara when they let the Dolphins out.  Apparently he thought the city kept them in a pen of some sort, and released them to swim by the coast every day at a designated hour.  I thought perhaps this was his wife coming to see when they released the birds.  Anyway, I had to admit that I had no idea about the birds.  I said we have seagulls and terns out year round but I haven't seen a pelican since last summer so I'm clueless as to where to send you.  That's a sign I should also stitch but then wear it like a badge of honor because that is really what I am anymore.  People talk and I am clueless as to what they are referring to.  But it's a state I'm more than happen to live in.   Usually I'm alone in the clueless state, but it doesn't seem to matter to me.  I have to tell you folks, the water this morning was twinkling and caribbean blue...the sun was shining brightly, people were on the boardwalk, some in coats and others in barefeet and shorts.  It's a shame you missed it.  This afternoon however, a little breeze has picked up and I believe it's a little cooler, the sea isn't twinkling anymore and it's no longer caribbean blue, but the sun is still shining, people are walking the boardwalk so it's still a good day to be here....just not as warm as this morning.  Anyway, I'm sure I'll be blogging again this weekend, but just in case...Happy Easter one and all!  Have a great weekend.  

The end of another week of stitching...

And to commemorate the end of another week,  I've brought in my latest finish.....Amy Bruecken's "I have Issues" and boy do I ever.  I finished this last week, had an unfinished frame I bought for something and thought I'd just paint that frame and put this piece in it.  Well...that took me
3 days....3 days to get my fat rear off the sofa and do the job...but I'm thrilled with it and can check that off my list of things to do.  Now I have to paint the suitcase box for the Jeannette Douglas piece...oh, my...I do hate finishing.  It always looks so good in my mind but then something happens between my mind's view and my hands actually doing it.  I'm more of a stitcher....speaking of which I continued on with Seaside Squared...and I finished the bottom half, am working on the middle band which I should have done tonight and then I'll start on the 2nd half of the top...the mermaid and then I'll be done...Check!  I can't wait...I love these over one gauze pieces...even though I have macular degeneration going on I can still do these with my peepers, clip on magnifiers on them, and great lighting...thank God!!!!  I've been eyeballing the new ones we picked up in Nashville and I just love the Thorns piece, but then America is also calling to me...don't know who will be following me home tonight, but I'm pretty sure one of them will be jumping into my bag when Sara's not looking.  Stitching is not the only thing I've been doing at night...Sara taught me how to use the Lucet and after finishing my "special Easter" piece for Sara I found that it called for a Lucet cording.  So I asked Sara to show me how to use the lucet Friday and she willingly showed me how.  When I got home Friday night I worked on it for about 1 hour when I realized that the cord we  cut wasn't nearly long enough for what I needed so I figured I would just start over again...no big deal.  Three "start overs" later I gave up on it and decided to wait until Saturday.  I brought it with me yesterday and explained to Sara that I found an easier way to pull the cord tighter, showed her and she then practiced and did about an inch of it for me....so I went home last night and worked on it until I had about 5 inches done and then stopped.  I can see this is going to be a 4 night project at least....I get bored with it and keep thinking it just doesn't look tight enough so I want to start over, but refuse to again as I've got so many inches done at this point, so I'm just going to keep going and make my decision after I've got the length I need.  By that point I should have this down pat.  Now that I'm almost done with Seaside  Squared, I can't wait to start on Jeannette Douglas' Isle of Hope accessories....my fingers are just itching to get needle in fabric.  Today is rather over cast and gloomy.  Yesterday was gorgeous with the sun shining and people all over the boardwalk, walking, jogging, walking dogs, biking, etc., but today it is bare...either everyone's gone home or they are preparing for the upcoming storm.  Many of you will see snow, we will see rain...again.  I can't believe Easter is coming up next Sunday and we're talking about snow.  Usually for Easter I'm trying to figure out what to wear to church since I only have Sunday clothes for winter....as I am unable to make it to church in the summer due to the hotel and shops being open so many hours.  So I don't have what I called church clothes for warmer weather and I always panic until the 1st of May over what to wear.  (one would wonder why I don't buy something ... but that would mean I wouldn't have an issue)..Anyway, this year it won't be a problem...just another cold day.  It's odd because very few people dress up for church anymore...they wear blue jeans, etc and I don't have a problem with that but can't bring myself to do it.  Back in the day we wore gloves and hats so I'm just thrilled I'm not stuck back there again.  I won't say never, but I plan on wearing my church clothes until the end.  (Mom and Dad would be proud) Got to run...will keep you posted on my progress...hope you are getting some stitching done as well...have a great day.

It's been a busy week......

At least at my house....I was a stitching maniac. We all love those quick one night projects..or anything less than a week project...well I was all over it this week. I finished 3 of Amy Bruecken's new pieces, "Whatever" which will be made into a pillow, "Bad Words" which is going to be a pin cushion (I figure I say more bad words during finishing which is  usually when I use my pin cushions) and "I have Issues" which I've framed..but we're painting the frame so I'll get it up asap.  I also finished SamSarah's "Happy Easter Bunny"...shown on the right...  (while the stitching is fine I got lazy with the finishing and didn't finish it ...so I jerry-rigged it on the new metal display pieces which are also for sale). I love these new metal hangers...you can get a couple of different toppers for the stand so you can switch out the needlework and keep the stands up year round....always a good thing. I worked some more on the Erica Michael's "Sea Squared"...loving it as I cheated and started on the bottom half...but I do make myself go back and forth and not just work on the bottom, but mix in some of the difficult borders (not difficult really but color changes in small areas). Hoping to have this done next week...fingers crossed. I also finished the Pine Mountain "April" pillow....so I now have enough pieces to change out our monthly counter display...pressure's off for April...but now I have to start on May. I also worked on a surprise piece but couldn't finish it because I need to make a cording with the lucet...so now I have to learn how to use that..ugh!!! But it's exciting when I work on surprises because the biggest surprise is this is a kit that I purchased when I went to the Hilton Head retreat probably 6 years ago and it's been sitting here ever since along with a multitude of other kits purchased there and on-line that I keep looking at but manage to get distracted by shop pieces and just don't get to them. So to actually take one out of that pile and work it is next to a miracle, and so exciting. Plus this happened to be a one-nighter as it turned out...over one, stitched in one night and put together the next day...a win win people. But now I have to turn my attention to some new samples for the shop for next week....my work is never done but fortunately I love to stitch so I really don't mind. But it's picking new projects that gets difficult...there are too many to choose from and I seem to want them all.  The
sample you see on the right is actually a gift to me from Renee a few Christmas' ago.  It's a leather wristlet with a needlepoint insert.  I loved it, but won't use it, of course, for fear I'd get it dirty so when we started bringing in needlepoint we purchased this particular canvas because we already had a model.  Win Win...thanks Renee.  While I'm a fast Counted Cross Stitch stitcher, I'm slower than Moses when it comes to needlepoint.  I have to think too much if I'm using specialty stitches, although we got in a couple of great books in Nashville this year, which tell you which stitches to use for different elements so perhaps I'll be able to speed up.   Update on Colby....she's hanging in there...goes to treatment up in Baltimore every Friday.  The news is encouraging and we presented Colby with her prayer purse and her mother with her prayer shawl last week.  She sent Sara pictures with Colby holding her prayer pocket and she wore her prayer shawl while Colby was getting her treatment.  Please keep them in your prayers.  Got to run to get tickets done....have a great day and stay tuned for more finished models, and news of the fun we are having here.  The sun is out, people are strolling on the new boardwalk...and we're excited to be here even if it is only in the 40's.  Springs coming I hear...we can't wait.  I'm still not putting on a winter coat so that's a good thing.  Have a good night and keep your needles moving. 

Here is what the snow looked like...it's moving now to hail.

Honestly, we're now in a hail zone, although thankfully it looks like it's about had it with that...so we've had snow and hail so far today and I think rain is still out there and coming to us.  Interesting...

Mom and I playing!

Oh, My....it's in the 40's with overcast skies and so dreary...it's a little depressing...well that and the fact I'm still pricing Nashville stuff....last dribbles and I'm so bored that I'm playing more hearts on the computer than generating tickets. Boredom has created an opportunity for Sara to play with her phone and get me a picture of my latest finish...JBW's Beach Bag.  Love it....one night people...I'm on fire here.   Last night after finishing the JBW I was too lazy to go back into the sewing room and pull colors for Honey Bunny so I pulled out an oldie but goodie..."over one gauze piece by Erica Michaels "Seaside Squared" and while I still love it...it's a challenge with so many color changes in one of the areas...but I'm getting through it. Got the lighthouse square finished...whoppee and can't wait to get to the sea creations at the bottom because that will go quickly. But to give myself a break I'm going to mix it up by adding Amy Bruecken pieces...such fun...and I'll stitch a while on the Seaside piece and then stitch on Amy's piece for a while. Amy's pieces are always different and fun so that should make up for the stress on a 40 count piece. Sara is also on fire posting to facebook so if you have facebook...go to Salty Yarns and see what all we're doing. It will have to suffice until I figure things out here. In the meantime I'm generating tickets and playing hearts. Sara's caught me numerous times playing...oops!!! Stacy Stinson just stopped by to say Hello. We haven't seen her in the longest time as she has been concentrating on getting her pre-stitching done on the Sherry Jones pieces. But we are all fighting over what we're going to stitch next.  Sara's busy cutting fabric for my pieces as I'm too busy playing hearts to do it...but I'm sure she'll be posting my finished pieces in the next couple of days....not sure by tomorrow, but who knows.  I also started an April Pine Mountain pillow...14 count aida so that should go quickly...although their newer pillows have a little more design on them so what use to be a one night project may turn out to be a two nighter.  Oh, My God...it's snowing here.  I just looked out to see if it's raining and the biggest snowflakes I've ever seen are falling.  They are so big it looks more like seagull poop than snow, but snowing it is.  And we're already here so we can't even take a snowday....darn!!!  Back to hearts

We're Home.....

We've actually been home since Tuesday....I was just too lazy to get the computer up and running...hell I never got off the sofa.  But today I decided to take a shower, get dressed and get a move on.  We had an uneventful trip home, made it in 2 days and were thrilled since Wednesday was suppose to be the monster snow storm.  For us it was a Northeaster' and we got the torrential rain and flooding with the added lightning and thunder which isn't usually part of our northeasters but it proved to be an ugly day outside, but I was warm cozy and finishing a project on the sofa so I really didn't care.  And today, Wednesday, I woke up to the glorious and beautiful sun.  A good day which meant in celebration I worked on the web site and the blog.  I'm energized.  Anyway, the show was a good one, we brought home lots and lots of good "stuff".   We love, love, love Jeannette Douglas new pieces and of course Shepherd's Bush's new sampler.  Oh, what fun we had running the halls...well, perhaps I was hobbling, but Sara was running.  And the last day of the show Sara came back with a basket of Wichelt Mill Hill Kits that she won.....a good day!  We visited with all our favorite designers, at least the ones that were there.  Linda (Chessie & Me) caught me to ask why I hadn't been in to see her, but we're on her automatic so I tend not to take the time to visit with designers who send to us automatically because there is just no time.  This was a relatively small Nashville, due I think to the timing of it.  Next year it goes back to February.  Anyway, we still had around 90 designers or distributors there and the show is only 2 days....so we're moving our butts along.  We were able to start this year on Friday night...more and more designers are opening then to give us a head start and we love that.  So we had 2 days and one night to get it all done.  That included Sara going back to Priscilla's Pocket and having them show her how to use the lucet.  So she is now our resident lucet expert.  I've decided to break down and get her to show me how to use it as well so perhaps by the time you stop by I'll be a use, not an expert, but a user of it as well.  I'll be putting the things we brought home a little bit each day so keep looking.  Or if you are in town, stop on by.    Anyway, we are glad to be home and found that the boardwalk in front of Salty Yarns is at last finished....Yea!!!!!!  It looks beautiful.   We are looking forward to seeing Cynthia and Crystal two of our favorite stitches from New Jersey,  who will be retreating here for the weekend, so that will be fun for us all as we haul in our Nashville Market stuff and try to get it all put away(not an easy task with all of us trying to get a look at it first).  This is always such fun, with Sara and myself stuffing our totes with charts and kits we just feel we have to have.  Sara and I also stitched while we were on the trip.  I am thrilled to announce I finished the prayer shawl for Colby's mother, and I also finished last years Nashville piece from JBW...Monogrammed Mini Tote and the accessory piece that went with it.  A year late, but I finished it!  Anyway, I'm back to working on my 2 Word Play samplers which have been sitting unfinished in my bag...drat...I've got to get those done or I won't allow myself to start any of the new Nashville pieces (at least not until we unload them tomorrow).  Anyway, I'll try to blog a little more and update you a little more on what we're up to.  But stitchers, it's fun times down here after Nashville and we look forward to seeing each and every one of you.  Sara and I both  pray that you all make it through the latest snow storm safe and sound.  I worry about those in New Jersey, New York and all of New England.  It just seems to be one punch after another, and without the time to repair all the Sandy damage I can't imagine how you handled this latest punch.  You will remain in our hearts and prayers, and we hope this is the last disaster you folks see.  I'm signing off as I want to play a game, just one of hearts before breaking out the needle.  Have a great night and a great weekend.  Keep on stitching people....there's a lot to get done.

We're here and we're working....

We actually arrived in Franklin, 20 miles from Nashville, where the show is taking place on Wednesday afternoon.  It was a rather, thank God, uneventful ride....just one bathroom incident, but we won't discuss that.  Anyway, according to the weather when we left home, it was suppose to be in the 40's and sunny here....well as usual they lied.  It started around 40, 38 and the snow forecast has gone from a possibility to a reality of .5-1 inch today...not such a happy camper.  We took yesterday as a shop hopping day.  With Sara into knitting we shop hopped knitting shops.  We were thinking of doing needlework shops today, but to tell you the truth....I'm too tired and I'd rather just sit in the room and stitch.  I've managed to finish the prayer shawl I've been working on for Colby's mother, well, finish isn't exactly true.  I finished the main shawl, and one pocket, but I still have a second pocket which I'll do today and that means I will have finished the entire project...whoppee!!!  I've also almost finished the scissor sheath for the Sue Hillis Mermaid piece....it's exciting.  In fact tonight I will finish that inbetween running to any designers who are opening their rooms tonight.  That gives us a little head start which we so desparately need as I'm so desparately slow.  Honestly, you would think I'd turn 100 instead of 64 in 2012....I'm moving at a tortoise pace.  But, I'm still moving so I'm focusing on what I'm still doing and trying to let go of what I use to do.  Sara has been busy casting on and ripping back down, but I think she's finally gotten it right as she's now got about 1 1/2" on Michael's knit cap for his birthday.  Let's hope she doesn't have any misfortune since Michael's birthday is the day after we return from Nashville market.  Had breakfast this morning with several of the designers.  They didn't actually know we felt we were having breakfast with them....but we were all in the same room, so I'm not lying.  We did sit next to Linda, Chessie and Me, and had a conversation with her and we ran into Patricia Eaton, who we know from our retreats...she's actually here helping her shop owner with the buying.  We also ran into Sharon of the Purple Thread so the games have begun.  Of course when we went to pick up our registration packet....there wasn't one for us.  I could just scream.  Usually they charge you when you sign up late, but I knew I had signed up so I said I'd get the e-mail and come back.  Honestly, I actually had to contact them in September after registering to make sure we were signed up and thank God they e-mailed me back to say we were all set.  To bad they didn't make a packet for us because now we have to go back and go through this all over again...but at least I'll be able to prove that we were signed up back in January, since I have the e-mail.  Oh, brother...not a good beginning....or maybe because I can prove we were signed up it is a good beginning.  Anyway, today is another free day for us to do whatever we want before some of the rooms open tonight.  We had thought about going to Memphis, but due to snow forecast we've decided to stay closer to home.  I'll keep you informed as we go through the day, now that I've figured out how to get on Hilton's website.  Me and a computer...well it's just a crapshoot.  Anyway, have a great day.