John Foster...DONE!

You may have seen my sneak peek in yesterday's post.  Folks, I'm pleased to say I have completed John Foster!  Now, I know I'm a month ahead of schedule but I couldn't help myself.  I present you with my completed John Foster!

Design:  John Foster 1885 Sampler

Designer:  Historic Stitches

Fabric:  40ct. Parchment

Floss:  My own NPI and Belle Soie conversion

Started:  1/1/13

Finished:  10/12/13

 Just for fun let's take a retrospective look at the birth of my version of this sampler.

January

 

February

 

March

 

April

 

May/June

(completed in May)

 

July

 

August

 

 September

 

 October and November

(completed in October)

 

I worked on the bricks a lot in the car on the way down to Alabama and in the hotels in the evenings.   Yes, 40ct. in the car...it confirms I'm crazy.  Seriously though, I actually completed October's installment at the Barber Festival while my honey perused the swap meet.  When we headed home I noticed I really didn't have that much more to do so I just finished it.  It was the perfect way to end a wonderful getaway.

 

I can't wait to see the others as they are finished! We've already had one person finish and I'm hopeful there will be more soon.  Now I need a visit with my framer.  Yay!

 

Special thanks goes to my dear friend, Ellen for inspiring this whole adventure and for her kind advice.  I really enjoyed my time spent with John this year.  Thanks for stopping by today and sharing my finish!  I'm so thrilled with it.

 

Until next time,

 

The Inspired Stitcher

On the road again...part 2

Thanks for all your sweet comments on yesterday's post.  There's just something about the ocean that soothes my soul!  I'm so glad we got to spend some time taking it all in.

After our Florida beach excursion, we got back in the car and headed back toward Alabama only to notice on the map that Mississippi wasn't that far away either. This time it was only about a half hour!

The next morning we got up and made our way to a stitch shop in Ocean Springs and of course, the Biloxi Harley shop for another t-shirt. We've got priorities dontcha know!  State number seven...day three...check!

The shop in Ocean Springs is called Thread Needle Street. She specialized in both cross stitch and needlepoint. It was just blocks from the ocean front too.  Yes, ocean and stitching!  Be still my heart!

There was a little bit of everything in here!  I found her prices to be extremely reasonable.  I finally found my GAST Wood Trail floss for my Mary's Sampler SAL at this stop. I still can't believe I had to go all the way to Mississippi to find it. LOL!

I crossed a couple things off my wish list at this shop. One was the GAST floss and the other was the Brittercup stocking chart.  The little dogs remind me of my Shelby.  I found an OOP Brightneedle called Key West. I'm going to stitch it as a remembrance of the trip.

You may be wondering what that black and white piece of fabric is in the lower part of the picture. It's actually something the shop owner makes to help you see the holes in your linen. You lay it on your lap while stitching. I'd never seen or heard of that before. I couldn't pass it up. This was a fun stop and the owner was so friendly.

All the way down I-65 we kept passing hot rod and classic cars.  We wondered what was up with that.  The stitch shop owner solved that mystery for us.  Come to find out there was a huge car cruise set to kick off in Biloxi the day we were there. Who knew?!

We got behind this homemade hot rod on the bridge from Ocean Sprigs to Biloxi and followed it into town.  I've never seen so many cool old cars in one place before. Love when we stumble onto things like that.

As an aside, I was surprised how close this area is to the ocean shore. There wasn't even a seawall or at least I didn't see one! No wonder they were really hard hit when Katrina blew through here. Wow!

We left Biloxi around lunch time and headed back north to the Barber Motorsports Museum in Birmingham. People, this place was my honey's version of heaven.  He was on cloud nine. 

We stitchers have ornament trees, motorcycle enthusiasts have motorcycle trees!  How about that?! This place was really interesting. There were cool old motorcycles everywhere you looked!  We spent a good couple hours in there.

 The next day we came back to the Motorsports Park for the actual festival.  There were several exhibits, a swap meet and a fan zone to check out.  This is the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club's exhibit space. These are my honey's peeps!

They had a road course and there were all sorts of racing practices going on all day long.  We even got to see sidecar racing!  Talk about acrobats or should I say daredevils!  Those sidecar riders really have to be physically fit.  Wow!

This is the Wall of Death.  It was in the fan zone.  Now these guys were really daredevils!  There's a mezzanine at the top of those stairs where we stood to watch the show.

This is the view looking down inside.  There were three guys that rode these machines around inside this place using the centripetal force to keep them going.  At one point there were two of them going around at the same time.  One of the fellas could even snatch dollars right our of your hand as he was doing it.  Crazy!

 

My honey and I made a pact when we got married that our trips would have things he wanted to do, things I wanted to do and things we both wanted to do together.   My honey has always been very supportive of my stitching and this was my opportunity to return the favor.  It was a really great getaway!

 

I'll leave you today with something stitchy.  Yes, I finished John Foster at mile marker 28 on I-71 at 3:18pm on the way home.  Yay!  I'll share the whole finish reveal with a retrospective tomorrow.

Thanks for visiting with me today.  I've enjoyed sharing my grand adventure with you.  Hope your day is good.


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

On the road again...

My honey and I went on another grand adventure last week.  This one covered seven states in three days but was a week long.  This trip we headed south to Alabama for the Barber Vintage Festival.  We decided to make a week of it so the first part of the week spent doing whatever caught our attention.  The actual festival was the end of the week.

We made a couple stops on the way down.  The first was here at Stitchin' Post in Nashville, Tennessee!  I suspect this building was once a doctor's office or maybe a vet's office because the rooms are off a central hallway that makes a loop around the inside.  It's a super nice shop!

The first room you enter is where this notions wall can be found.

 

Then you enter the floss hall!

The first room on the right is the fabric room.  (sorry for the craptastic pic)

At the end of the hall you make a left and it's frames galore!

 

On around the corner you find the chart room where I found some of this stash haul.  I liked that this shop had "vintage" charts in a special section of the chart room.  That's where I found the "vintage" Prairie Schooler chart!  If you find yourself in Nashville, stop and check this place out.

After the stash enhancement, we hopped back on the interstate and made our way to Alabama!  Our main destination for the week was Birmingham but I convinced my honey that we were really close to the ocean and I needed to see it!  We live in landlocked Ohio dontcha know.  Besides four hours isn't that far to go...really!  So we kept on movin'.

Now you folks who live in the south are going to think I'm a total nutcase and you might be right, but I got to see cotton growing!  Yes, actual real cotton plants!!  It looked like it had snowed in one section of the field but I knew it hadn't since it was 82 degrees.  No, I didn't get a picture or I should say one that you could tell what it was....you'll just have to take my word on it.  Yes, I squealed and my honey gave me the "woman-you-are-crazy" look.  Just had to share that.   LOL!

This also made me squeal!  Yes, palm trees made my day.  We don't have those at home either.  It's the little things people...seriously!

We got to looking at the map at a rest stop and realized we weren't that far from Florida!  My honey said he didn't have a Harley t-shirt from Florida and I needed to see the ocean so off we went. State number six...day two...check!

Now just look at that!  I finally got to put my feet in the ocean.  Squeals again!

 

We spent a couple hours walking the beach collecting seashells and just generally taking it all in!

Here I am with my sea treasure!  Two handfuls of beautiful seashells.  Just look at how clear that water is!  It was a lot deeper than I thought because I got my shoulder wet trying to pick up a shell.  Did I care?  Are you kidding me?!  No way!  I was lovin' every minute of it!

This was the highlight of our beach time.  You'll have to use your imagination a bit here but that splash you see in the picture is actually a pair of dolphins!  They were playing just off the shore.  Yep, this sent me over the edge to crazy woman land again.  It was so awesome!!!

After our beach excursion, we headed back toward Mobile and got a room for the night.  We'd had a big day and the next day promised even more fun.

Since this post has gotten lengthy, I'll save the rest of the fun for tomorrow.  I hope you enjoyed our grand adventure so far.  Stay tuned!

More next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

TUSAL - October

 

Click on the picture to learn more!

Here we are, TUSAL time again!  It feels like September was a blur.  We had September, right?  I'm pretty sure we did.  I'm hoping the rest of the year doesn't fly by like this.  I have a suspicion it will though. October is off to a roaring start and there's been a lot of stitching going on this past month.

That's a pretty respectable pile o'ORTs there!  Let's take a look at the contributors this time:

"H is for Hart" from the Hornbook Bestiary (Done!)
Boxes in row #3 from the Hornbook Bestiary (Done!)
"K is for Kitten" from the Hornbook Bestiary (In progress)
"Leaves" from the booklet Winter Circles #142 by Cross Eyed Cricket (Done!)
"Autumn" by Lindy Jane Designs (Done!)
"Bee Happy" by Homespun Elegance (Ornamentified!)
"Merry Christmas" freebie by Threadwork Primitives (Needs ornamentified)
"Tin Toppers: ABC Sampler" by Samplers and Such (To be finished)
October installment of the John Foster SAL (In progress)
"Mary's Sampler Mystery SAL" freebie by Plum Street Samplers (In progress)

As you can tell from the list, my needles have been smokin' this past month!  Yeah!  It helped that last weekend I spent three glorious days at a stitching retreat too.  LOL!

I find that when I get mired down in a BAP (Big A$$ Project), this year I've got two of them going,  I don't have as much time for smalls.  What I've learned from this is that I really do like doing smalls.  I actually miss doing them so I'm glad I got to squeeze some in this month.

I need to do a couple more ornaments too.  Christmas will be here before you know it!  I heard you all groan.  Yep, it's true.  Check the calendar!  There's only three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.  Yikes!  Get thee to the stash and start those ornaments.  I'm with ya!

Well, enough of my silliness for now.  I hope everyone has a good weekend and gets to spend some time in the Happy Chair doing what we stitchers love to do best!


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Secret Stitcher

Last Friday as I was packing for the retreat, I heard the mailman pull up to the box.  My Secret Stitcher had sent me a surprise!

Just check out all that fun stuff!  I could tell her theme this month was Back to School.  Love that!

Here's a closer look at the chart.  I really like Hawkins House.  I've got another one of their charts in the stash.  This one has some really nice motifs in it!

This is probably my favorite part of the package...well and the M & M's too!  I loved the zipper pouch.  It's very me.  The owls are really cute too.

There's a funny story about the floss in this picture.  I took my package to the retreat to show the girls.  Christie sat next to me and at one point in the retreat she got a Secret Stitcher package too.  Guess what was in her package?  Yep, these exact three flosses!  She said she thinks our Secret Stitchers must shop together.  I'm thinking she might be right.  LOL!  How funny!

Thank you Secret Stitcher!  You gave me a giggle and didn't even know it.  I love everything you sent me and have really enjoyed receiving your pacakges this year!  I hope you are having a good year too.

Well folks, its a short one today.  Thanks for stopping by today.  It seems to be feast or famine from me post-wise lately.  I'm glad I've had a lot to share this week.  Hope you are having a good week and looking forward to the weekend.

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Tiara Retreat Weekend - part 2

I'm glad you enjoyed yesterday's post.  I'm back today to share the exchange pieces with you.  There are some really talented stitchers in this group!   This one is going to have you drooling.

 

Here's Marsha at the exchange table.  We put our exchange pieces in brown paper lunch bags so they would all look the same and nobody would know who's was who's.  I really like doing the exchange this way.

 

I'll do my best to remember who made which one and who picked what.  Let's check out all the stitchy goodness.  Go grab a bib! Here we go!

 

 

This one was stitched by my friend, Donna and picked by Christie.  Love the two sides.  There's a lot of work that went into this one!

Christie made this one and Donna picked it.  How funny is that?  They got each others and it was completely random.

Marsha made this one.  I love the alphabet trim around the edge.  She said it was her first time doing this finish.  It's awesome!

Anna Mae got this one.  It's not as little as it appears.  It was actually too big to fit inside the brown paper lunch bag!  The fabric has gold sparkle threads running through it but my camera dosen't show that very well.  Amy made this one.

I don't recall who made this one.  My birthday twin, Dottie picked it.

 

Isn't this one just too cute?  I love the gray fabric!  I think Tiffany or Sue might have gotten it.  I don't recall who made it.

My friend Tiffany made this one.  I don't recall who picked it.  I think Amy might have.

Meem got this one but I don't remember who made it.  I love these stockings.  I've never tried to make one though.

Amanda got this one.  Again, I don't remember who made it.  Marsha, do you remember?

This one was made by Judith and picked by Marsha.  It's a Bent Creek Littles!  I've wanted to stitch this one for a while and seeing it in person makes me want to do it even more now.  Love the tiny frame!

I think Barb picked this one but I missed who made it.  I'm not fond of spiders in general but this is a cute idea.

Again, I wasn't paying attention who made it but I think maybe it was Pat who got this one.

I saved my personal favorite for last.  This is what I got in the exchange! It is from my friend, Pat and was stitched by my friend, Nancy. It's from the Prairie Schooler chart #41 called Still Life. It's worked on 40ct.  It is so awesome! I've always wanted to stitch this one. Thank you both!

Design: "Leaves" from the Winter Circles #142 booklet

Designer: Cross Eyed Cricket

Fabric: 28ct. Summer Khaki

Floss: DMC as charted

Started: 9/7/13

Finished: 9/22/13

Completed: 9/22/13

This is the one I made!   It was hard to give it away. I think it turned out really cute.  The fabric behind the pillow is what I used for its backing.  I didn't know the person who got it but I hope she enjoys it with fond memories of the weekend.

I stopped at this farmer's market on my way home to pick up a jar of my honey's favorite blackberry jam.

As with all good things, they eventually come to an end. It was a perfect fall weekend spent with some of my favorite people! I'm already looking forward to next time.

Many thanks go to Marsha and Amanda for all their planning and hard work.  It was a most enjoyable retreat.  I'm still giggling over our silliness and am inspired to start more fall/christmas stitching. 

 

I hope you all enjoyed seeing all the lovely exchange pieces today.  I can't wait to share the fun Secret Stitcher gift that was in my mailbox Friday before I left.  There's a funny story I have to share with you about it.

 

 

Even more next time,

 

The Inspired Stitcher