Hornbook Bestiary...more progress!

As I mentioned in my last post, I had another mini-finish at the retreat!  I'm so pleased with this one.  This square is one I've been itching to finish.  Let's have a look!

Progress as of 11/12/13

Progress as of 11/16/13

I started the outline for the Mermaid on the 12th.  I began the fill-in on Saturday afternoon after we came back from the stitch shop and ate lunch.  Around 11:00pm, I put the last stitch in it!  It was a good thing because I was starting to get bleary eyed but I was determined to finish it up before bed.

I'm just so thrilled with this block.  It was one of the ones that drew me to this sampler.  Isn't she pretty?!

Now there's only one more block in this row left to stitch.  It's a very special block. It's the "N is for Nightingale" block and I like to think of it as Nicola's block.  After all, she is the reason I'm stitching this sampler.  If it weren't for her Scarlet Letter Year, I wouldn't have even gone looking in Marsha's catalog!

So this next block is dedicated to Nicola!  I hope you enjoy seeing it when I'm done, my friend.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my mini-finish!  More to come...hopefully soon!  Have a great weekend.


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Auburn, Indiana Getaway

Last weekend eight of the Russellville Retreat girls got together for a fall retreat in Auburn, Indiana.  We decided that the New Mexico/Texas group gets together for a spring retreat so why couldn't we "easterners" get together for a fall getaway?!  Seemed like a good plan so we did!

Now those that know me will tell you that I can sleuth out a stitch shop wherever I go and this trip was no exception!  We stopped at Stitch N' Frame in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, on the way to the B & B.

As an aside, do you Hoosiers see the Indiana "institution" next door?  Gotta love Pizza King!  Since moving to Ohio, I don't get to eat there nearly enough.  I love this stop already.  Okay, back to the stitchy stuff.

 

Here's the fabric/floss wall.  This is just part of it.  I couldn't get it all in the picture.  This shop carries all the Weeks, Gentle Arts, Crescent Colors and a few silks.  Lots of nice fabric too.  There was a wonderful scrap basket that wasn't nearly as full when we left.  Yep, we hit it pretty hard!  The prices couldn't be beat!

Oh yes, we rightly enhanced the economy too!  Now normally I'd show you my stash haul but I can't this time since a good bit of it is for Christmas presents and exchange gifts.  You'll just have to trust me on this one.

After our shopping show and tell later at the B & B, the other girls wanted to visit the shop after breakfast on Saturday.  Yes, I even made a second trip here the next day with the rest of the peeps. Yes, I was bad the next day too.  There were a couple things that were haunting me that I just had to go back to get!  I know you've had that happen too.

An interesting tid-bit about this shop, they do all the framing for Just Cross Stitch Magazine!  Yep, go get your latest issue and look at the index in the back.  How cool is that?!  The shop also hosts stitch gatherings so if you want to come for a sit-n-stitch, you are welcome to do so!

The shop's owner told me she is working on getting a web page by the first of the year but for now they have the Facebook page. That's how I found them. It's amazing what a Google search will return! This was definitely a worthwhile stop and I'll be back next time I'm up that way.

Here's where we stayed, at the lovely Inn at Windmere B & B! Now I have to confess, I'd never stayed in a B & B before but I could definitely get used to it! We were so spoiled all weekend long. We never wanted for anything. Every detail was taken care of for us. I've never eaten so much delicious food. Oh. My. Goodness!

We were even treated to a song played on this harp by one of the inn keeper's daughters after dinner on Friday. What a talented young lady. This was also another first for me. I had never heard a harp played in person. What a magical sound!

 

The stitch room was in the lower level of the home.  It's where the couple home schooled their eight children!  Yes, I said 8!!!  I'm giving them the Wonder Woman and Super Man capes.  Holy smokes!

 

 

The Inn regularly hosts scrapbooking and quilting retreats.  We were their first group of stitchers!  Needless to say we've already booked our weekend for next year.  We truly had a wonderful time here!  Even Fiona and Senior Frog had a good time at the Inn.  See them photo bombing my pictures up there?!

 

 

Here's our group in front of the fireplace in the great room.  We have a pair from Michigan, one from southern Indiana, one from northwestern Kentucky, two from northern Ohio and two from southwestern Ohio.  We missed our pair from Missouri and the other pair from southwestern Ohio.  Hopefully next time!

 

We all departed before the ugly weather set in on Sunday.  We drove home straight into some pretty ominous clouds and mighty gusty winds.  Thankfully everyone made it home safe and sound before the storms blew through.  One of our Michigan girls had a tree down across her driveway but no real damage.  We were all being looked after for sure.  I am thankful!

 

Special thanks goes to Sandi and Judy for discovering this gem of a location and putting it all together for us. Also special thanks goes to Susie and Paul for hosting us in their lovely home. I can't wait until next year!

 

I had a mini-finish while at the retreat but I'll share it in it's own post!  I'm super excited about it.  Stay tuned!

 

 

More next time,

 

The Inspired Stitcher

Hornbook Bestiary Progress

This past weekend I decided it was time to give the Hornbook some attention.  I've been pretty bad about not working on it since the Tiara Retreat.  I knew I'd have some uninterrupted time at the guild's stitch-in on Saturday so I made it a priority to take it with me.

Progress as of 9/28/13

This was my progress from the Tiara Retreat.  I managed a start on "K is for Kitten." This is pretty much where it sat for a while too.  I worked on the background fill two Saturday's ago and hadn't picked it back up until this past weekend.

Progress as of 11/9/13

Here's where I left off at the end of the day Saturday.  I got the last of the Kitten's fill finished and began the start of "L is for Lion."  That's the lion's feet you see there in the corner.  Let's have a better look at that Lion!

Progress as of 11/12/13

I got on a roll this weekend and finished up "L is for Lion" too.  Actually, I've even got a start on "M is for Mermaid" already.  I finished up her outline last night and started to fill her in before I had to quit and go to bed.

Here's a closer look at these two cuties!  I really enjoyed working on these blocks.  They truly are like mini-finishes.  I can't wait to show you the Mermaid block.  I wish I could only work on this sampler but Christmas ornaments must be stitched too.

This sampler has definitely been a test of patience and perseverance for me.  I can say with confidence that this one will not see the WIP pile!  I am going to press on until the very last stitch.  I know I will be rewarded with a stunning sampler when it's finished.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my progress so far. I wish you all could see this in person. My pictures really don't do it justice as those who have seen it can attest.  Thanks for visiting with me today.

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Secret Stitcher

Last Friday was the LNS First Friday Stitch-in.  When I got there I found a bag waiting for me from my Secret Stitcher.  She spoiled me rotten again!  Just check out all this fall themed goodness! 

Do you see my photo bomber up in the right corner? Yep, Miss Shelby was just itching to get that nose all over everything. I'm sure she could smell the apple candle. It's really fragrant and I haven't even lit a match to it yet. I love that silly pup!

Love the apple tea too. Of course I love the M & M's. Those didn't last long. Yum!

How did she know I'd just used up my purse size hand sanitizer?  This one is extra special since it has Hello Kitty on it!  Love that! 

Then there was the orange bag stuffed full of trims! I'll show you those in a minute. The metal oak leaf and acorn holder and the crow with it's harvest sign are super cute too. The nail file has candy corns on it and I'm always needing one of those. Especially this time of year when my nails seem to crack and snag so easily.

 

Here's a closer look at the trims that were in that little bag.  Lots of black ric-rac, buttons, and ribbon.  Some grey and orange buttons along with some brass charms.  Then some ric-rac in shades of orange and some chenille on bobbins!  It's all so festive and seasonal!  I've never seen anything like it.

This is the chart she included.  I love those tiny stork scissors and actually have those very ones too.  This chart is extra special to me because I've actually visited the Sunflower Seed's shop.  How cool!  I'm sure she didn't know that.

Check out this super cute scissor holder too!  We were teasing at the stitch-in that all the "in crowd" has one of these.  Actually there's a stitcher's necessary that the shop owner sells that includes these in it or you can get one separately.  This one is in my colors and has a really cute print.

Thank you so much Secret Stitcher!  This was a fun package to sort through.  Next month we'll get to "meet" each other at the Christmas party.  That's going to be a lot of fun!

I'm looking forward to the weekend.  Our guild is having an all day stitch-in on Saturday.  The theme for this meeting is Thanksgiving.  I'm sure the show and tell will be awesome.  I also suspect there will be some completed Foster brothers there too.
 
Well folks, that's it from this side of the screen today. I hope everyone has had a good week so far.  Thanks for stopping by.


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

TUSAL - November

 Click on the picture to learn more!

Here we are again at TUSAL time!  Only one more this year.  Wow, where did this year go?!  I know, everybody is saying that right now but really...November already?!  Here's a look at the ORT pile for this month.

Not too bad a pile.  The jar is really full now and I had to smoosh it down to add this month's addition.

As you can tell by the tree in the background, fall is in full swing around here.  That tree just changed color in the last couple days.  It's been raining leaves all over the place.  The air is nice and crisp too today.  Just right for sweatshirt weather and an extra quilt on the bed.  Let's have a look at the contributors for this month!

This month's contributors were:

 
"K is for Kitten" from the Hornbook Bestiary (In progress)
October & November installment of the John Foster SAL (Sampler Finished!)
"Mary's Sampler Mystery SAL" freebie by Plum Street Samplers (In progress)

"Sweet Thoughts of You" by Blackbird Designs (In progress)

Secret ornament exchange with a blog buddy (Done!)

"Sneak Peek - Spring" by The Trilogy (Done!)

"Hidden Magnolia" by Catherine Theron (In progress)
Stitch, Create, Exchange piece (In progress)

Again, it's been a good month of stitching.  I'm thinking this next month will be spent doing Christmas ornaments.  Tis' the season for them dontcha know.  I plan to spend the afternoon working on today's installment of the Mary's Sampler Mystery SAL and when I finish that I'll move onto something else.

Hope your day is good.  Thanks for visiting with me on TUSAL day.

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher