Christmas may be near, but we had Stitchin' Witches on our mind.

Had to show you Vera Mean's "show and tell" from this weekend.  This  was a Tangles retreat weekend which started with the first attendees arriving on Thursday.  This is not one of our sponsored retreats but the Tangles themselves schedule 2 retreats a year and this year they added a third, this one in December, which is perfect because we have time at this point to really focus on them.  Vera Means always brings in some show and tell to show me.  For those who are unfamiliar with the design, it's a Victoria Sampler design, "Stitchin' Witches!"  I've always loved Thea Dueck's designs for the detail she includes and she did a fabulous job on adding wonderful details, especially to the dividing bands.  I loved the spider webs you see under the first scene, and the lace on the bottom band is so striking.  But her scenes are also beautiful because of the detail.  Her attention to detail and the way she shows it is what makes all the difference.  Her trees are delicate, but still show that ominous feeling you want in Halloween pieces. Bats are usually done a little oversized in stitching, but Thea does a small bat which is so fitting with the design and I also love that each panel has the witches doing hand work, although the middle witch is actually trying to get her silk thread back from the crow so she can continue stitching.  But the best designs have to be stitched well and Vera rose to the occasion.  While I loved the design when it came in, this weekend it went into the stash bag and hopefully I will have it on our walls by next Halloween.  (I can't seem to stitch on Halloween at Christmas so it's got to wait until summer for me to get to it).  Right now I'm still on Christmas gifts.  Tonight is our Stitch 'n Bitch dinner so I will have the gifts bagged and tagged and tomorrow I can work on getting Renee's and Pat's together, and perhaps a little something for Sara.  Anyway, hope your stitching is coming along well and you will get what you need finished done in time.  It's often a struggle but just keep at it.  And a big "Thank You" to all the ladies in the Tangles group for coming by and shopping and a big "Thank You" to Vera for bringing the Stitchin' Witches in.  You did a gorgeous job on the stitching and the framing was perfect.