PALS Weekend

I'm back from my first ever PALS Retreat in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It was hosted by Amy of Down Sunshine Lane.  (I know I've been back since Sunday.....Sorry it took so long to post this....I've had too much on my mind lately!)

The view from my balcony....

I went with a few friends and I met a few more while I was there.  I got to see Karen, whom I haven't seen since May 2010 when I went out to Arizona for a visit.  I also got to meet my Friends Stitching Through the Seasons partners, Faye (I send to her) and Diane (she sends to me).  There were many other friendly blogging faces including Michele of Just Another Stitching Blog as well as many others who I just can't remember at the moment.  I also made some new friends while I was there (Hi Chris!) and I even got to meet Paulette Stewart of Plum Street Samplers.

But, enough of that!  I know you don't really want to hear about all of that.  Instead you want to see all of my goodies.  I understand completely!

First off, this is what I brought with me to exchange.  Starting at the top and moving clockwise.....Scatter Sunshine by Shepherds Bush (stitched exchange), Noel by ??? (Christmas exchange), Pumpkin Stack by Chessie & Me (fall exchange), Autumn by The Stitcherhood (fall exchange) and in the center a stocking from one of the Blackbird Designs Stocking Booklets (for my Friends Stitching Through the Seasons exchange for Faye).

Thursday night was the Halloween/Fall exchange.  I'm not a Halloween kind of gal, so I just went for Fall.  All I can say is that whom ever got my pieces were pretty lucky since I was this close to keeping the Autumn pillow for myself.  Here's what I got.....

Turns out this was done by one of my Saturday Stitching Sisters!  I love it Darlene!

This lovely needleroll was stitched by Shery from Indiana.  I've made a few needlerolls for others, so I know how hard it is.  Now I finally have one for my own!  I love it!  Thanks Shery!

Friday we did the Christmas exchange and the grab bag exchange (and boy, you should have seen some of those grab bags!  Fabulous goodies of scissors, fabric and stitching tools to name a few.).  It was tons of fun!  I only managed to get one ornament stitched and finished up for the Christmas exchange, but I really like how it turned out.  In return, I ended up with Amy's ornament!

Thanks Amy!  I love it!  I can't wait to get up on my ornament tree!

This little Ott light was the only thing in the grab bag I "won".  It's a nice little portable light run by batteries.  I can't remember who said that they entered this bag because it didn't have a name with it.  Oops!  So, many thanks to whomever you are!

Saturday we had a stitching and a sewing exchange.  Here is what I got in the stitching exchange.

This lovely needlebook was made by Diane of GA.  The stitched area is actually a pocket to hold scissors or threads.  It's amazing!  Thank you Diane!  I love it!

I'm not great with the sewing machine (yet), but I saw a great tutorial and I made this for the sewing exchange.  After I was done I wanted to keep it for myself.  Good thing I have some leftover supplies because I'm going to have to do this little beauty for myself!

In return I got this...... (again, I can't thank the person because there was no card with it.)

There were two coffee cozies, but they were being coveted by Michele, so I shared my joy and gave her the other one.  But, isn't this one cute?

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post.  Next time I'll catch you up on what I was working on while I was at PALS.  Let's just say that I now have my eye on a Crazy January finish thanks to all my stitchy time last weekend!

Happy Stitches!

Crazy January Update

First of all, I must thank you for all of the wonderful wishes yesterday.  Hubby and I had a nice evening out at our favorite sushi restaurant followed by a stop at Skinny Dip.  Yum, yum!  We enjoyed our time together and we look forward to many more nights like last night.

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With all the quilting and exchange stitching going on, I've been a little (ok, a lot) slack on my Crazy January stitching.  However, I have managed to cut down my list of fifteen starts down by two more.

On May 14th I finished this doozy........(Sorry for the bad snap.  It is hard to take a picture of something so long.)

2008 Living with Charm Flip Its
by Lizzie*Kate

After that monster I figured that I needed a "quick finish".  I managed to knock this one out a few days later on May 19th........(The picture doesn't do this one any justice!)

Pumpkin Stack
by Chessie & Me

My current plan is to get back to Mouline Rouge and finish another section before I move on to one of my other projects in progress.  After all, we are now halfway through 2011 and I'm nowhere near halfway through my challenge.  I guess my eyes were bigger than my needle this year!

Happy Stitches!

Serial Starting

I have to say, I love this "Crazy Challenge".  It just fits right along with my M.O. of being a serial starter.  At least I have reined in my craziness with these two starts since they are much smaller than the projects that I have already started.  After all, a girl has to have a sense of some kind of satisfaction in finishing a project or two.

Here's start #5.......

Pumpkin Stack
by Chessie & Me

And start #6......

To Light the Way
(Harvest of Friendship Retreat)
by Blackbird Designs

I'm so glad to hear that you all are enjoying this challenge as much as I am!  Thank you so much for all of your wonderful comments on my starts.

Happy Stitching!

Snowy Progress and What's Next

As many of you are aware, we east coasters were subjected to a huge snowstorm Christmas weekend.  We got over 14 inches of snow where I live.  It ended up being the third largest snowstorm on record!  That much snow cripples an area that is not used to getting more than about an inch or so per year. 

Of course, that enabled me to have a little bit of "numb butt" on Sunday and Monday.  Here's a peek at my snowed in accomplishments.....

Yuletide Hornbook Snowman
by Milady's Needle
Stitched with kitted supplies

Noel
by Log Cabin Needleworks
40ct French Vanilla by R&R Reproductions
Belle Soie:  Sister Scarlett and Weathered Vine

Then, since the snow allowed me to have an early dismissal from work on Tuesday, I was able to start this......  Don't you just love that sheep?  I'm hoping to finish it up tonight.

Joy to Ewe
by Chessie & Me
Stitched with kitted supplies

As the year winds down I'm having a hard time finding things to stitch.  I've decided that I don't want to get involved in any major stitching projects since I'm going to be participating in the 2011 Crazy January Challenge.  Instead I'm just digging around in the stash and picking up smalls until the new year rolls around.  I guess that is one way to boost my finished count for the year!

Happy Stitching!

Tons of Goodies and a Market Giveaway

I promised pictures of the goodies that I was lucky enough to pick up while I was at market.  While this is not everything, most of it made it into this picture.  (Sorry if it is a little dark, we've had rain for the last four days and also got caught in the Tropical Storm Nicole remnants so my lighting is less than desirable.)

Not pictured are some additional charts from Raise the Roof, Miss Crescent's Crowne and Sam Sarah as well as a Jenny Bean T-Shirt from Shakespeare's Peddler.  I also came home with some Crescent Colors Cottons and Belle Soie.  YUMMY!!!  (Thank you dearest Sharon!!!!  Kisses!!!!)

Lately, I've really been into Lakeside Linen and I've got quite the stash to prove it.  However, I've seen many of you using linen from Picture This Plus.  So, since I was unlucky lucky enough to have them just down the hall, I took a quick peek.  After seeing all of the delicious colors I knew I had to give it a try.  I was good and I came home with only one stitcher's half.  I don't remember the name of it off the top of my head, but it is a lovely shade of lilac in 36ct..... (I know, it looks a little grey in this picture, but the color in the picture above shows up a little better.)

This is one of my favorite pieces from the show..........

It is a birth sampler from Chessie & Me.  After I read the saying I knew I had to have it.  It says "When you were born, you cry and the World Rejoices"  "May you live in such a manner that when you leave this earth, the World cries and You Rejoice".  Quite lovely, don't you think?  I thought it was a perfect sampler to add to the stash so that I'll have it on hand when the time is right.

Speaking of the time being right, I think that it is time for another giveaway.  I picked up a couple of goodies from market just for you.......my dear blogging buddies.  It will be a surprise as to what it is, but I will say that I did buy duplicates because I had to have it for my stash as well.  I'm also going to include a few bits of fabric and a chart or two from my personal stash since I had to make room for my new goodies.  (Hubby's orders!)

So, if you would like to join in on the giveaway, please comment on this post only.  To earn a second chance in the giveaway, feel free to post about my giveaway somewhere on your blog.  Please be aware that you must comment a second time to get this second chance since I usually use a random number generator to pick my winner.  Followers only please, as I would love to reward those who faithfully read my blog.

This giveaway will end at Midnight (EST) on October 10th and I will draw the winner on Monday, October 11th.  Good luck to everyone! 

Happy Stitching!