Well another fabulous weekend with Jackie DuPlessis

A huge Thank You to all the stitchers and Jackie DuPlessis for the fabulous weekend we had at Salty Yarns.  It's always exciting for us when events are coming up.  There is such a flurry of activity with Mary getting the rooms and apartments ready (with a real lack of workers as most of the foreign staff have returned to their home countries), so Mary has to help housekeeping and of course Sara has been on high alert for a month getting supplies for goodie bags, making sure the shop is fully supplied and the men....well they are on stand by in case we need them.  And then there I am, home stitching like there is no tomorrow and finishing to get new models in the shop.  Friday finally arrived, with temperatures in the 90's making it hard to breath and function, but the stitchers started arriving in high spirits because they knew Jackie was going to be teaching them fabulous new projects.  While I was told to stay home, I wasn't needed (this was just a tad hurtful, since I have been at every event working we have ever done) Shiela Fitzhugh and Bud were here all week (she was not an attendee for the event) and she sent me a text asking if I  was going to be at the hotel at all as she wanted to see me and show me what she had been working on.  She always does such beautiful work and large projects...I wouldn't want to miss seeing what she had completed,  so I told Sara I would be there on Friday but not to work just to see Shiela and then I'd go home.  So Shiela and I rocked on the front porch and I wish you could have seen her projects, well as a matter of fact I'll take a picture of 2 of them because she left them for us to display in the shop.  Thank you Shiela..you are a gem.  But the project I'm most fascinated by is her Heaven and Earth Nativity.  Over one on 25 ct., the detail on this piece is unimaginable.    I seriously don't know how she deals with the constant color changes.  Forget parking the threads you would never be able to untangle it from the back to stitch.  This is a masterpiece if ever there was one.  I started a Santa a few years ago and gave up after about 1 day.  It's making me rethink that and I plan to tackle it again this winter.  Anyway, Shiela informed me that Sara told her she wished I would show up so that the stitchers could see me as they were asking for me. (Thanks ladies...otherwise I'd be sitting home all weekend wondering what you were doing.)  So I came up Saturday and Sunday.....stayed out of the shop so I wasn't bothering anyone and chatted with the stitchers.  I love to see what others are working on and hearing their stories.  I didn't get a bit of stitching done at all during the entire weekend.  Anyway, Thanks to one and all who came to support the shop.  we  love you all!  Now, for my show and tell....first thanks to Cathy, Hands on Design, for deciding to do a general release of Wild Salt Air (formerly an exclusive called Dream of the Sea.)  The original kit came with an aqua scalloped tray that is no longer being made but Sara researched this and found they still made the scalloped trays in other colors and there was a light blue and a white one which would go with it.  So here is my finish using the light blue tray....it is missing the spool because I have to paint it to match the tray, but the stitching is done so now it's just finishing before it joins the rest of the project.

Sorry this is so dark but you still can see it a little

Front of the piece and the stitched pin cushion.  She does give you directions for making the wool pumpkin shown on the chartpak, but I haven't made it yet.  I also did a fob with the flower you see in the center of the vase, but I haven't actually assembled it yet.  

This is the back, obviously, and while there is still blank space it doesn't seem to bother me plus it would have been hard to do a design in that space for me.  I am so use to transferring her designs to 18 or 20 count over 2 to make pillows and banners it was strange at first to be working on 28 over 1, but I loved it and will now start on Summer in Baltimore. 

And the final show and tell which I had ready for Jackie DuPlessis weekend were  3 of the Stranded Jacks, a nautical set of Halloween ornaments from Plum Street Sampler (actually released in 2012 but I just got around to it).  

I found the mini fall milk can at Michael's and had an excuse to assemble the ornaments on dowels.  Such a cute way to use an ornament if you don't have a  year round tree.  I had seen a Halloween mini milk can just like this but decided I had spent enough at Michael's but when they went to 70% I decided I could afford it and went back.  By then the Halloween was gone but the fall was still there so I went for it.  The ornaments were stitched on 36 ct. Weeks Confederate Grey using the suggested fibers.  Since I've already done 8 of these types ornaments for Noah's Ark Christmas by Plum Street I can whip them up quickly, thank God!  So that's my show and tell for now.  I'm busy working on more fall for the Delaware Guild retreat.  I'll keep you posted.  Hope those of you who are in the path of the hurricane stay safe inside and have lights to stitch.  I've made sure I've got batteries in my clip on lights so I'm covered and hopefully we are all safe and this bugger just knocks itself out.  Now back to stitching for the Delaware Valley Sampler Guild.  I think I have enough time to do a few more smalls.  Fingers ctossed!  Have a great week, and for those of you anywhere near the path of Florence, keep your head down, stay inside, I'll be praying we all stay safe while she swings by.  Don't forget batteries for you clip on stitching lights.