Exchange finishes!

Before my vacation trip I managed to get two pieces completed for a couple exchanges that are coming up soon.  I can show you both of them since they aren't secret.  First up, my exchange piece for the Tiara Club's retreat exchange.

 

Design:  Acorns and Leaves Scissor Fob freebie

Designer: xstitchhappy.blogspot.com 

Fabric:  28ct. Natural

Floss:  DMC as charted (words 1 over 1)

Started:  8/27/12

Finished:  8/29/12

Completed:  9/1/12

I chose fall as my theme.  You could choose between Fall, Halloween or Thanksgiving.  I did change this a little by adding the word "Fall" instead of initials and I stitched the date in over one instead of backstitching.  I also personalized the back with more over one stitching.

For this exchange we will put our smalls into a bag and each person will be given a number/ticket.  When your number is called you get to go pick a bag.  It will be a secret as to who's item is in what bag!  Last year we had an awesome selection of things.  I can't wait to see what everyone makes this year!

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Design: Holiday Sprinkles #112

Designer: Hob Knob Design's Doodles for Leftovers

Fabric: 32ct. Lambswool

Floss: DMC 221, 728, 934, 3051, & 3865

Started: 8/23/12

Finished: 8/31/12

Completed: 9/1/12

A special thank you goes to Chris of Tot Hill Farm Stitches for gifting me her chart when she was finished with it. I fell in love with hers and knew I had to stitch it for myself at some point this year.  The theme for the Shepherd's Bush retreat this year is Christmas and seemed to be the perfect reason to stitch it!

The exchange is going to be different from most in that you pay $5 to put your ornament on the tree and the money goes to buy a farm animal from heifer.org. The Shepherd's Bush girls are hoping to buy a needy family some sheep. I'm sure we will raise enough money to buy a flock! That's my hope anyway.

Speaking of Shepherd's Bush and the retreat, I can hardly believe I'll be leaving a week from tomorrow!  I've looked forward to this all year and it's finally here.  I just know the travelin' peeps and I are going to have a blast!  You can look forward to a full report when I return too!

Well folks, that's all I have for today.  I hope everyone had a great weekend and I hope you have a good week too!  Thanks for stopping by to visit with me.


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

P.S. I'm going to try turning off the word verification for a while and see how it goes.

TUSAL September

(I'm trying this again today.  My post yesterday disappeared into the ether.  Go figure!)

 

Once again it's TUSAL time.  Where did the last month go?!  I swear this year is just whizzing past!  Here's the ORT pile for this month and the ORT report follows below.

 

This month's contributors to the pile o'ORTs were:

• “Holiday Sprinkles” #112 by Doodles for leftovers (DONE...more later)
• “Acorns and Leaves Scissors Fob” by xstitchhappy.blogspot.com freebie (DONE...more later)
• September’s assignment for the EMS SAL (DONE!)
• Gift for my Secret Stitcher (DONE...I'll have to show this later this year)
• Glory House by Chessie and Me (still in progress)

It doesn't look like much and compared to other months it really isn't but then again, I have been traveling!

 

Well folks, that's it for this month.   I've been on a finishing kick today so I'll have more to share later.  I just love it when I get in the finishing mood.  Hope your weekend has been good!

 

 

More later,

 

The Inspired Stitcher

Vacation day 5

Friday came and it was the last day of our trip.  It also happened to be our 16th wedding anniversary!  We were finally going to get to see one of the main things we came to see.

My long time readers know my husband is a motorcycle enthusiast and by default so am I now.  When planning our trip we searched to see what motorcycle related places we could find and saw that Motorcyclopedia Museum was having a Cannonball Run that kicked off on our anniversary!  It was a given we had to be there for it no matter what!

For those not familiar with what this is, there are 70 pre1930s motorcycles that are crossing the US in approximately two weeks starting in Newburg, New York and winding up at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco with riders from 13 different countries!

This is the line up of motorcycles waiting to head out that morning!  They are like rolling works of art and history. 

Some of them looked a bit questionable as to whether they would make it off the parking lot though.  I loved this one's sign "California or bust!"

The rider/owner of this one is from England!  We had a great visit with him the night before.  He's an old hat at these kinds of rides.  He says they do it all the time where he comes from.  Love that!

This rider and his wife were from Australia!  They both were riding in the race.  He at the helm and she in the basket side car!  Now that would be fun and I bet I could stitch in there too.

The excitement was growing and you could feel the energy in the crowd that was forming.  The size of the crowd finally spilled out into the street and the police had to shut the street down!  It was so fun!

Here we are after the riders were on their way and the crowd was dispersing.  What a way to celebrate our 16th year together!  My honey was in the height of his glory.  It always makes me happy to see him happy.  I enjoyed being a part of this event too.

After seeing the museum's exhibits we got on the road to head home.  There was one more stitch shop I wanted to visit along the way in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania called The Village Stitchery Shop but it was not to be.

As we pulled into the parking lot we saw a hand written sign on the door saying they were closed for vacation.  Imagine that?!  I laughed so hard.  The stitch shop was on vacation on my vacation.  Too funny!!!  I guess we'll just have to go back sometime.

However all was not lost.  On the way through town we passed a building advertising a quilt show!  So we turned the car around and went back into town to the Packwood House Museum.  Their exhibit is on until October 13th!  There were close to 200 antique quilts displayed throughout the Museum.  Unfortunately they didn't allow photography.  There were certainly several I would have loved to have photographed!

We pulled into our driveway later that night at 11:30pm in the midst of an incredible thunderstorm with lots of lightening and thunder!  We left in the rain and we returned in the rain.

We'd traveled a total of 2,077 miles in five days on this trip.  It was so good to get away, see some fantastic sights, meet some interesting people and recharge our batteries!  Most of all, it was good to get to spend time together.

I recently found this quote that I think pretty much sums up my feelings on travel.  I highly recommend it!  Getting away from the everyday of life definitely soothes my soul.

***

Thanks for hanging with me through this post even though it really wasn't all that stitchy.  I appreciate your visits and I hope you have a great weekend!


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Vacation day 4

Day 4 we woke up in Newburg, New York.  This was the other main stop on our list for this trip.  This was the sight that greeted us from the hotel parking lot as we packed up for the day!

 

Little did we know we spent the night right across the freeway from the Orange County Choppers' shop!  This ties in with the big event we came to see but it was to take place on day 5. More about that later. 

We didn't actually have any set plans for this day so we decided to see what we could get into.   After consulting the map, (yes and old school paper map) we set off for Frederick Vanderbilt's Mansion!  This home is part of the National Park Service and was donated by a family member for $1 after the urging of their neighbor, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

We got in on the 10 am tour.  Wow, what a place to see.  I tried taking pictures of the interior but they came out pretty dark since it was dimly lit.  We learned this home was owned by the "frugal" Vanderbilt child.  Seriously?!

This is the back porch!  It's amazing.  Can you even imagine?!  I can't!

This is the view of the Hudson River from the back porch!  At one time the Vanderbilt family owned this entire valley as far as the eye could see!  This sure was an interesting place to visit.  I'm so glad we stumbled upon it.

After we left the mansion, we headed over to Deer Hill Farm Cross Stitching.  A huge shout out with thanks goes to Margaret for recommending this treasure trove to me!  Oh. My. Goodness!  It didn't look like much from the outside but the inside was a completely different story!

This is the front of the store!  I barely got two feet in the door and was in pure heaven!  Iswear they have every single bead Mill Hill makes as well as a plethora of stitching gadgets.

This one of many walls of floss!  Just look at those juicy colors just begging to be turned into something breath taking.  I could have spent several hours in here pawing through all the charts and fabrics too.

 

The shop is separated into six separate rooms.  Each containing so much goodness it was overwhelming.  I finally had to just focus on the list I brought with me for time's sake.

 

This was the find of the trip for me!  It's been on my wish list forever.  I'd almost given up hope of finding it and then there it was in the discount bin!  Can you believe my luck?!  I almost let out a squeal when I saw it there.  I snatched it up and immediately went to the floss wall to pull the floss so I could start on it in the hotel that night!  Swoon!!!

 

Here are the other things I couldn't live without!  I couldn't believe I found a couple Mary Beal charts in the discount bin too!  It was my lucky day for sure.  I also found a couple other charts I'd been wanting, some charms and some fabric pieces for a couple smalls I want to make.

This shop is one of the better ones in my opinion.  It's probably a good thing I don't live closer because I could get into some serious trouble if I had more time.  LOL!  Thanks again Margaret!  You are one lucky girl to live close enough to visit this one.

After leaving the cross stitch shop, we had lunch at the Eveready Diner.  My honey saw it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  Guy Fieri recommended the mac and cheese so that's what I had.  Yep, it was as good as it looked on TV.  Yum!

Since we had plenty of afternoon left, we went for a drive to Woodstock Harley so my honey could collect his T-shirt.  That's the deal with the two of us, he collects Harley shirts and I collect stash.  We both go home happy.  It's worked for us for the past 16 years!

 

***

 

Again, this post has gotten way longer than I thought it would.  I'll come back tomorrow and finish up my trip tales.  I hope you enjoyed what you've read so far.  It's been fun reliving it though these posts.  Thanks again for stopping by.

 

 

More later,

 

The Inspired Stitcher

 

 

Vacation day 3

We woke up on day #3 just outside Philadelphia!  The next stop was one of the places I wanted to see on our trip in West Chester, Pennsylvania!  My friend, Ellen  recommended this to me and I'm so glad she did.

Chester County Historical Society - West Chester, PA

We went to the Chester County Historical Society to see their needlework exhibit. Even though this was my request, I think my honey secretly liked it too.  LOL!

They didn't allow pictures of the individual objects to be posted on blogs so I'll show you some room pics instead. To say it was amazing is a complete understatement.  I'm so glad I got to see this!

Just look at all this stitchy goodness! Can you even stand it?!

There was so much to see in these rooms! I absolutely fell in love with the pin balls and pocket wallets. So many Queen's stitches and flame stitches to be seen. It was almost overwhelming! I can truthfully say there was more stitching in this place than I've ever seen anywhere. W-O-W!!!

***

After leaving the exhibit we drove up the road to find some lunch and then on to one of the Harley stores my honey wanted to visit.  After that we ventured just up the road to visit with the girls at The Strawberry Sampler!  Molly and Beth always make you feel so welcome when you stop by!  I can't believe they remembered me from my visit last year.

I had a great visit with the girls and they loved the EMS sampler.  I think I shocked them when I told them I was stitching this piece in the car. LOL!  I promised to send them pictures when it's done.

We also talked dogs.  Turns out Molly loves dogs as much as I do and even had a Shelby of her own once.  Of course like a good dog-mom, I had to share pictures of my girl with her.

Here's what came home with me at this stop.  I got the waterlily fabric for the Drawn Thread chart I bought the day before and some Kreinik filament I'd been looking for too.

I also found a couple charts that have been on the wish list and some fabric just because.  Speaking of fabric, they really do have a nice fabric selection and lots of 40ct. too!  I could have spent hours in there.

***

Since we were in the area and still had some time before "rush hour," we decided to take in some historic sights in downtown Philly. Both my honey and I love history so away we went!

Liberty Bell Center

The Liberty Bell

I have to tell you it was a bit surreal seeing this historical artifact in person. I'd heard so much about it and read about in history class...then there it was! We did have to go through security before getting to see it which was a bit strange. No, we didn't fix the crack in it or get to ring it either!  I was surprised by how close you could get to it though.

We also walked around and saw some of the other historical sights that were close by and right downtown Philly! I can foresee another trip there to do all the historical stuff we missed seeing.

We decided we'd better get on the road soon to avoid the traffic. Well, a wrong turn took us right across a bridge straight into New Jersey!  At this point we were in the beginning of the dreaded rush hour traffic.

Our ornery GPS decided to try to route us to the New Jersey turnpike and straight up through New York City!  Oh no!  So we decided to outsmart the GPS and programed in a different route that was slightly more miles but less stressful and still got us where we wanted to be that night.

We finally made it out of the traffic and made our way to the next stop on the trip.  For our final two days we wanted to be in the Newburg, New York area for the finale of the trip.  More about that next time!

Thanks for stopping by again today!  Also, thanks for the sweet comments.  You all just make me smile and I appreciate your visits.


More later,

The Inspired Stitcher

Vacation - Day 1 & 2

I'm back as promised with pictures and tales to tell.  We left on Labor Day, in the rain we so desperately needed, and drove as far as we could which ended up being Syracuse, New York, and spent the night.

 

We got up the next morning and did a little shopping.  He went to the Harley store and I went here!  A Stitcher's Garden in Fayetteville, NY (just outside the Syracuse beltway).

 

A Stitcher's Garden - Fayetteville, NY

 

 

 

What a great shop this is!  A great selection of charts, fabric and surprisingly, wool!  Too bad I couldn't remember what colors I needed. I wasn't expecting to find that in a stitch shop.

 

 

We arrived just as the shop was opening and I spent a good hour or so browsing around.  I had a nice visit with the owner while I was shopping. She told me she does a retreat in the spring! Another road trip? Hmm...maybe!

 

Here's the stash that came home with me from this stop.  I found a couple things that have been on my wish list for a while now. Bonus!

***

While I was inside shopping my honey was outside plotting our course for the next leg of the adventure!

When we planned our vacation we wanted to have things we both wanted to see and things each of us wanted to see.  The next stop was one that had been on both our bucket lists and we didn't know it... the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum!

Baseball Hall of Fame - Cooperstown, NY

 

Most folks probably don't know this about me but I'm a Cincinnati Reds fan from way back.  Actually since I was a kid.  It was something my Grandpa and I did together.  I can still see his old brown leather recliner chair sitting next to the bookcase where his transistor radio sat.  I'd climb up into the chair with him and we'd listen to the Reds on the radio.  Sweet, sweet memories!

I've always wanted to go the the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  It wasn't high on my list but it was there.  Recently I found out it was on my honey's list too.  So it was a given that we had to go visit.  If only my grandpa was still alive...he would have loved this place!

Pete Rose's jersey exhibit

Now folks, don't judge me here, I know Pete Rose gambled on baseball and all that.  Yes, we all make poor choices sometimes but you can't take his accomplishment of "Hit King" away from him no matter what.  This sight made me cry!  Yes, real tears as in "streaming down my face" tears.  To think that someone felt that accomplishment worthy of a display case just grabbed me by the heart.  My honey asked me if I was going to be able to pull myself together...I did and it was a fabulous visit!

If you are a baseball fan, this is the holy grail!  You simply must go there!!!  Okay, moving on...

***

 

Our next stop was the Farmer's Museum also in Cooperstown.  I neglected to get many pictures there.  You'll have to click the link to see more.  I think I was still reeling from the previous stop.  LOL!

 

Cardiff Giant

 

We did see the Cardiff Giant.  I saw a story about it on History Detectives one night.  We also got to see a blacksmith forging a pair of shears/scissors!  I really should have taken a picture of that too!

 

***

 

Once we left there we headed south to find a place to stay for the night that was close to our next stop.  I'll give you a hint, it was in the Philadelphia area!  As you can tell we road trip by the seat of our pants.  We never have a set place to be on a certain day or even a reservation.  It's fun and we see some pretty interesting things that way.  LOL!

 

I think I'll wrap this up for today as it's getting a bit lengthy.  You'll just have to come back again to see what else we got into!  Thanks for visiting with me today!

 

 

More later,

 

The Inspired Stitcher

BAP Update September Edition

 Started: 9/1/12

Finished: 9/9/12

Hi all!  Did you miss me?  I've got lots to tell since we last visited.  First, here's my progress on the EMS SAL.  I can hardly believe I'm at the bottom edge already.  It is really coming together now.

  September's "assignment"

This is a close up of the berries and pansy row.  Love that pansy!

 Here's a close up of the rose basket corner and the beginning of the bottom border.

I worked on this while driving along in the car last week!  Yes, I stitched 40ct. without magnification while riding down the freeway.

You see, my honey and I just celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary on Friday!  We decided to make a week of it by taking a road trip to upstate New York and Pennsylvania.  It was a wonderful trip and I'm sad to see it end.  We saw so many awesome things and had a super great time together.

I'll have more pictures to share and tales to tell later.  For now I'm still collecting my thoughts and easing back into the everyday.  I can tell you I visited three great stitch shops on our grand adventure (waves to Molly and Beth at the Strawberry Sampler.  The close up of the rose basket is for you, Beth!)

A huge thanks goes out to all who gave me suggestions on things to do and places to go.  Thanks also for stopping by today.  I always enjoy our visits together.

More later,

The Inspired Stitcher