KSSG Weekend - day 2

Sunday was a big day for us.  We got up early and went to Palm Sunday services followed by a Panera breakfast.  Then on to the Kindred Spirits guild meeting!  I always enjoy going to this guild's meetings.  Everyone is so welcoming and inspiring.  Such a talented group!

One of my favorite parts of a guild meeting is always the Show and Tell.   There was so much to see this time that they had to go get another table to display it all.

Here are three pinkeep drums from Saturday's class already completed!  How about those turbo stitchers?!

 

I just about went nuts when I saw this one being shown.  This is the sampler that caused such a stir on Facebook recently.  It's called Speak to the Earth by Sandy Orton.  It's owner told us because of the power of the internet and the huge demand, it will be reprinted by Donna Kooler Designs soon!  Keep a "heads up" for this one.  It's amazing in person!

 

Since we were hosting Lori Markovic from La D Da, several folks brought their stitched and finished pieces to share.  What a treat!

I see Margaret Cottam up there!  She's on my "to stitch someday" list.

 



Here are some other charming pieces.  What's that tiny white circle there?

It's the treasure I alluded to yesterday.  I found this tiny child's teacup with a parrot handle at the antiques store.  The minute I spotted it I knew exactly who would love it.  It had Terri's name all over it.  She's coordinating the Snooty Parrots SAL that I'm stitching.  Isn't it just too cute?!  I couldn't pass it up.

Here we are together with Terri holding the cup.  See how tiny it is!  It's always fun to meet another blogger in person.  Terri and I always have the best visits when we get to see each other.  I really wish we lived closer.  We could get into so much trouble together.

 

Here's Lori's trunk show display without Terri and I in front of it.  Just look at all that wonderfulness.  Everything is so pretty.

 

I couldn't resist the Spring Hare.  I've seen several folks stitch it and it's so cute in person.

 

Here's Lori and I together.  Lori was the best teacher.  She made sure to come to everyone's table and check in with us while we were putting our nametags together.  She's got the best sense of humor too.  We were all giggling and carrying on.  If you get the chance to take class with her, do it.  You'll have a ball!

Here's my almost finished name tag.  Lori gave us all a handful of these tiny binder clips to use instead of pins.  I have to say, these things are great!  You need to get yourself some.  All I need to do now is some hand sewing.  Although, I'm still thinking I might swap out the wool I bought for the backing.  We'll see how ambitious I get.  LOL!

Well folks, there you have it.  My weekend adventure was so much fun!  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  My travel companions made it even more special and fun.  We had a blast!  I love getting together with my northern stitching sisters too.  I'm looking forward to seeing them next month for the guild auction.  Terri has details over at her blog.

Thanks for visiting and leaving me such sweet comments.  I'm glad you enjoy my ramblings.  Have a great weekend everyone!


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

All day stitch-in, progress and a finish

Last Saturday our guild hosted an all day stitch-in.  It was a really nice day to get out and go stitching.  We saw lots of beautiful things being worked on that day.  Our show and tell theme was spring and/or spring holidays.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves and chime in where I can!

Most of these were my buddy, Marsha's.

See our shamrocks!  I love the ric-rac on Marsha's pillow.

 

I love the "He is Risen" piece!  My friend, Nancy did that one. 

She said it's really old.  I think it's really lovely!

My friend, Meem did this one.  She said she had quite a time finding that hardware.

This is another one of Marsha's and I've fallen in love with it.

I watched Ms. Peggi work on this all last year!  It is Just Cross Stitch's anniversary piece.

This is one by my buddy, Linda.  You can't tell in the picture but the mermaid has a ruby in her belly button!

 

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Our guild is also doing an optional Quaker challenge.  We were asked to pick a Quaker chart and let the newsletter editor know our chart's name as well as fabric and floss choices.  Progress updates will be published in the guild newsletter throughout this year.  We've already had a few completions!

Ta da!  Our very first Quaker finish!  It's also by my buddy Linda.  She said she started this in January and worked on it during all those snowy days we've had.  It's so pretty!

This one was done by Pat A.  I've contemplated this one for years!  It's in my stash.  Someday!

Here's the progress I've made on mine.  I've completed the left side and am now working on the bottom section.

I also had a finish! I worked on this at the stitch-in and finished it up on Sunday morning.  This is La D Da's Name - Tag class piece.   I loved stitching that bottom section.  The floss that came in the kit is called Planet Earth Silk.  I really liked working with it.  It didn't shred or fuzz at all.  Very nice!  Now I'm ready for next month's class!

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Well friends, we've officially made it to spring...at least the calendar said so yesterday! So far the air is still cold and the sun is warm.  I have seen green leaves poking up in my flower beds and that gives me hope.  Have a good weekend everyone!


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Class with Catherine Theron

I didn't mean to go all quiet on you last week.  I've been busy stitching on a private exchange for a blog buddy and a gift I'll tell you about in a minute.  So I have been stitching, just nothing I could show yet.

Sunday my peep, Marsha and I drove to Michigan to the Kindred Spirits Sampler Guild's "Hidden Magnolia" class taught by Catherine Theron on Monday.  We both fell in love with our guild friend, Janis' sampler and decided we'd go anywhere to be able to stitch it too.   Thankfully we didn't have to go too far...only four hours away!

The class was held in the Spicer House.  This is the same place where my other KSSG classes were held.  (See here and here.)  It was fun to see the gardens adorned in fall finery this time.  Love that maple tree!

Left to right: Catherine, me, PW, PF, Marsha, ES, and LK.

Marsha and I were also joined by another car load of local peeps that wanted to take the class too.  The southern contingent was well represented. Here we are with Catherine and the sampler! 

This is a better look at the sampler.  There is a lot more detail to this sampler than meets the eye.  With the exception of a couple places, every single stitch in this one is a specialty stitch.  I sure didn't pick up on that from looking at the picture.  These stitches really give it a lot of dimension when you see it up close.  I have a new appreciation for Janis' sampler and what a feat it was to finish it!

Here's the huge ring of silk that goes with this sampler!  We were given a floss supply list before class.  We provided 32 AVAS and 4 NPI and she gave us 11 colors in class.  Just look at all that juicy goodness!

I especially like these three Gumnut 'Stars' flosses she gave us in class.  There's just something about these colors that I find really pretty!  I've never stitched with Gumnut before so that should be an interesting experience.  Have any of you used it?  I'd be interested to know what you think of it.

We were also given this super cute flower pincushion that sits atop a golf tee!  It was handmade by Nancy B. who took care of all the arrangements for the class.  What a sweet souvenir from the day!  I picked this one because it reminds me of my birth flower, the narcissus, which happens to be one of my favorite flowers.

Here's Catherine teaching us how to do the padded satin stitch that will be used on the entire house!  It is really effective in making the house look like it has siding on it.  I love the elastic bands attached to the stretcher bars she's using for the example. Clever idea!

This is my progress at the end of class.  The brown line is done in stem stitch and will section off the left side's floral vine.  The beginning of the pine tree is part of the center section at the top.  It's worked in smyrna cross.  It sure does have a nice texture when you run your finger across it!

These are a couple of Catherine's other teaching pieces.  I dearly love the one on the right called "A Stitcher's Envelope!"  I'd take that class for sure.  I've got a thing for Quaker style alphabets and flame stitch these days.  Love that mini hornbook too.  You knew I'd say that didn't you.  LOL!

This is the back of the "Alphabet Primer Pocket" on the left and the inside of "A Stitcher's Envelope" on the right.  Both are amazing!  Just look at all that over one on the village scene.  Impressive!

This is another teaching piece.  It's called "Travel-sized Quaker Sewing Roll."

This is the inside of it.  I love the soft muted colors in this one.  I'd love to stitch this one too. 

Catherine is such a talented designer and a very good teacher too.  She made sure to come around to each and every one of us checking to make sure we understood what we needed to do.  After each part of the lesson, she brought the original sampler around so each one of us could get a closer look and take pictures too.  If you ever get the chance to take class with her, I highly recommend it.  You'll be pleased you did!

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Design:  Sneak Peek - Summer

Designer:  The Trilogy

Fabric:  32 ct. silver-blue

Floss: DMC as charted

Started:  10/21/13

Finished: 10/25/13

Completed:  10/26/13

This is the gift I mentioned earlier.  I stitched this for Marsha as a thank you for ordering the floss for me while I was away in West Virginia.  It was so helpful for her to do that since I was out of town.  I truly appreciated it!

I wanted to make a floss tag since my thank you was related to floss.  I think it turned out really cute.  I might have to do one for myself sometime just because those bees make me smile.  I just love their little eyes. They just made me crack up when I saw them. Besides that, Marsha loves bees as much as I do...maybe even more! 

These bees remind me of my greeting card rule.  If I find a card that makes me laugh out loud in the store, that's the one I buy!  I've even been known to buy them with no recipient in mind just because they make me laugh.  I'm like that dontacha know.

This is the back.  I had to personalize it.  I also altered the finish after I took this picture.  I put a flower shaped grommet on the tab so the tag would lay flat against the floss bags.  It stuck out weird before I did that.  Maybe Marsha will show a picture of that on her blog.

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Overall, it was a really enjoyable weekend!  I spent it in good company and learned a ton of new things.  I got to see the beautiful Michigan landscape wrapped in autumnal glory.  The many miles we traveled seemed to move along quickly as we laughed and shared stories on the trip to and from.

Special thanks goes to Catherine for the wonderful class piece.  Thanks goes to Nancy B. who arranged a wonderful meeting place, meal, made the super cute flower gift for us all, and I'm sure took care of a million other little details I'm unaware of.  Also, thanks goes to my travel buddy, Marsha.  I appreciate you girlfriend!

It was so nice to see some of the same ladies who were in class with me earlier in the year too.  Waves to you all!  I only wish I lived closer so we could get together more often.  There's always next time!

I hope you all enjoyed reading about my trip.  I'm hopeful to have a couple more posts this week too.  Real life has gotten busy and it's been hampering my blogging time.  Never fear, I still find time to stitch.  It's my sanity saver and I don't know what people do that don't stitch!  LOL!  Have a great rest of the week!

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

"Summer School"

I've enrolled in "Summer School."  Well...sort of summer school.  Actually, I'm doing my first online class with the Shining Needle Society.  Our teacher is Jackie du Plessis of It's Fine-ally Finished!  Our project is called Buttons A Bounty.

I've always wanted to take class with Jackie! I had the opportunity to take class through our guild but the class didn't make enrollment. Bummer! About the time that class canceled this opportunity came up. I took it as a sign that it was meant to be. Although I won't get to meet Jackie in person, I'm enjoying the online format so far. I really think we'd get into some fun trouble if we ever got to meet.

 

Photo credit.

(click on online classes to the left)

 

This is what it will look like when it's done.  Can you see why I just had to take this class?!  Yep, 42 awesome acorns are worked into this piece.  Plus, it's an etui and it has a place to keep your special buttons.  Both things that make my heart sing.  There will even be acorn scrims that will come later.  Swoon!

 

Here's where I stand as of lunch today.  I've actually started on the queen stitched acorn caps.  I managed to get one done before I had to go back to work.  I think I'm going to love this!  I don't mind queens but I know some folks will avoid them at all costs.  LOL!  They are going to be so cool!

So that's what's been occupying my time this past week and kept me from posting.  Sometimes I need to spend my time stitching and not posting on the blog.  This is one of those times.  I want to keep up with the class.  I enjoy knowing there are 100+ others out there stitching this same piece with me.

Speaking of stitching along, I'm doing a mini stitch-a-long with a blogging sister in between stitching on this.  We started last Friday.  I'll post more about that another time.  It was a fun weekend spent stitching.  Hope yours was good too.  Better get back to those acorn caps!


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

 

Michigan weekend

Last weekend I took off Friday and road tripped to Michigan to take another class with the Kindred Spirits Sampler Guild.  Since class wasn't until Saturday morning, I decided to take my time getting there and made a couple stops along the way.

First stop was a return trip to In The Patch Designs.  I needed some wool for a huswife project I want to start soon.  Just look at all those yummy wools!

Here's the stash that came home with me from this stop.  I'm going to use the cream herringbone wool for the background and the two black fat quarters will be for the inside.  The pink was a "just because" purchase.  I'm sure you've done the same.  The tube is a glue stick the shop owner said she uses to adhere her applique pieces.  I've not used it before so it should be interesting to try it.

My second stop was actually just around the corner at Tapestry Angel.  The last time I was up that way this shop wasn't open for the day yet and we needed to keep moving.  I'm glad I got to visit this time around!

This shop is packed with wonderful things.  She has a very nice selection of all the over dyes and beads.  She even had the Gentle Arts wool floss!  There are lots of charts to tempt you and a nice variety of fabrics too.

Here's the shop cat, Meow with her pillow!  Isn't she sweet?  She kept giving me love the whole time I was there and even greeted me at the door.

Here's the stash that jumped into my hands at this stop.  I've had that Cricket chart on my wish list for a while now and I really wanted to find the fabric for the JBW Alphabet Hearts chart my secret stitcher sent me last time.  The flosses are for the JBW chart too.  The green fabric is for a WIP I picked up at a charity sale recently.  It was a good stop!

Our class was with Margriet Hogue who owns The Essamplaire in Alberta, Canada.  Our class piece was a Mexican sampler worked by Maria Antoni.  The picture above is the actual reproduced sampler!  I've wanted to do this one ever since I first saw it on Margriet's website.

Here are all the juicy silks that came in the kit!  I ended up filling three thread cards with them.  Oh swoon!

 

Here's Margriet telling us about a specific spot in the chart.  I am very impressed with her instructions and the chart.  It's all very detailed and she even gave us a color copy of the actual size stitched piece for later reference.  I'm sure this is going to be most helpful!

Here's the part I got done in class!

 

Here it is close up.  I got into a real rhythm once I got going on it.  I'm so pleased I got this section done.  Now I can just fill in the colors!   I have a feeling this is going to be a fun sampler to stitch!

Here's the trunk show Margriet brought with her!  Needless to say there were things I couldn't live without.  Besides, you've got to support the teacher...right?!  Just say yes and nod in agreement! LOL!

Here are a few I really liked.  This is Elizabeth Russell.  I loved these little squirrels.  They are so cute.

This is Isabella Carter Maclean-1799.  I really liked this one but someone had already grabbed the pattern for it.  I may have to order it online.  It's much prettier in person than the online picture.  Love the colors!

 

The same goes for the colors in this one called Elisabeth Timms-1730.  I was lucky enough to get one of these charts!  It is really lovely in person.  I love this rendition of the ten commandments too!  The chart says it's English. It's just so pretty!

Here's the rest of the new stash from the trunk show.  The second chart is called The Butterfly Spot Sampler - circa 1650 and it's also English.  It's worked mostly in queen stitches too.  I know, I just heard the collective groan from the peanut gallery.  Really, queen stitch isn't that bad!

The book is from the Netherlands and it's on Dutch orphanage samplers.  It even came with a large chart inside!  The little wooden thing beside the book looked like an acorn to me and well, you know me and acorns!

 

During each of the classes I've taken with this guild, they always give you a little souvenir from the guild to take home with you.  Isn't this the sweetest little jeweled mirror?  I love the decorated box and card too!  Such talent this group has!  I really enjoyed my time in class with Margriet.  It was a wonderful class!

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Since I was already in town, I decided to stay another night and go to the guild meeting on Sunday afternoon.  Margriet gave a lecture on Rhode Island samplers that was really interesting.  I think I'll definitely be able to pick one out now if I see one.

Here's a peek a a couple show and tell pieces!  I really liked this Birds of a Feather Rooster!  My friend Linda has it hanging in her kitchen.

 

One of my classmates from the Barbara Jackson class got her strawberry done and brought it to share.  She also finished this sweet little slipper too!

 

The guild also had a completion ceremony for those that completed the Margaret Cottam sampler.  This one is done by someone we all know but I'm not going to spoil her reveal.  You'll have to wait for it to appear on her blog!  I know, the suspense of it all.  LOL!

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So there you have it, the whole recap.  If you've stuck with me this far, thanks a bunch!  It was a fun trip and I always leave wishing I lived closer to my new friends.  It's such a wonderful guild!  I truly enjoyed each and every minute of the weekend.  I can't wait for my next visit!  Waves to Terri, Suzanne, Sara, Lynn, Tina, Nancy, Julie and all the KSSG gals!

 

Thank you all too for stopping by for a visit with me.  I hope you have a great rest of the week too.

 

 

Until next time,

 

The Inspired Stitcher