Floss Friday -- Retreat and Cross Stitch Progress

Happy Friday!

Stitching in the Wild 2026 is in the books. It was a great time stitching and laughing with friends that I only see at this retreat. As I expected, there aren't a lot of photos to share but here are a few highlights.

I made these small zippered bags filled with treats for my tablemates and a few other friends.
                                            
I received some nice gifts but didn't think to take photos until after everything had been put away.

The retreat attendees got candy and a little green duck from me. We played a game where I hid many of these ducks around the hotel common areas and in the stitching room. The person who found the most won a gift certificate to the retreat store. It was a lot of fun and several folks asked if I was going to do it again next year.

The charity raffle raised $4,079 dollars for St. Jude, Shriner's and Wounded Warriors.  I had donated two items for the raffle. Here are the winners.

My haul from the retreat...

36 count linen in my favorite colors from Fabrics by Stephanie

Pins for pillow finishes from Puntini Puntini
                                            

Lori Holt reading glasses, Romy's Creations floss and pins, needles
                                               
Goodness and Light chart by The Proper Stitcher
                                            

The Goodness and Light kit (fabric, floss, velveteen and ribbon for finishing)
                                          
Merry Bouquet chart by Shakespeare's Peddler 
                                                
Floss, fabric and the finishing board for Merry Bouquet
                                            
And last but not least, Give Thanks Sampler Pillow by Mani di Donna
                                                
What did I stitch while there? Well, it wasn't Wilding Hill Manor as I had planned. I brough out Red Letter Sampler instead.
                                                
Here is where I left off when I last stitched on it.
                                                 
Here is where I got to during the retreat.
                                                

There isn't much left to do so I will make this a focus piece over the next week or so.

I noticed when I returned from the retreat that my Blogger Reading List had not updated since September 9th. So, I am slowly making my way around to everyone. I'll apologize in advance for all the comments you will get from me. Do not feel obligated to respond to each one.

My daughter, her boyfriend, and our grand fur-baby will arrive on Saturday and be here for a week. There are a lot of things planned but I'll also be stitching and catching up on Sewcialites 3...maybe another flimsy?

Enjoy the weekend ahead and I'll see you soon.

Fat Quarters by the Dozen - Your Opinion, Please

Hello, Friends!

Hope everyone is doing well and that you had a nice long weekend. We drove to Nashville on Sunday for a concert and returned on Monday. I didn’t want to go anywhere on a holiday weekend, but it ended up being worth it.

I am having difficulty finding border fabric for the Fat Quarters by the Dozen quilt. I used scraps from various collections of Lori Holt fabric to piece the top center. Per the pattern there should be a skinny inner border and wider outer border. Even though many of Lori’s collections work together, I really do not want to purchase any more fabric for this. However, I will if I must.

It currently measures 54 ½” x 63 ½”.

I was thinking I could make a scrappy binding out of 2 ½” x 6 ½” strips from the fabrics in the quilt and call it done.

What do you think?

This project and Sewcilites 3 will be my quilting priority when I return from the cross-stitch retreat. I’ll try to share a bit about the retreat on Friday. No promises because I don’t know how crazy it will be. Sometimes I get so busy having fun that I do not take photos.

I hope you have a great week ahead and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on FQBTD.

See you soon,

 

Floss Friday -- August XS Stats, Progress and Two FFOs

Happy Friday, Friends!

August was not a good month for cross stitch. I only put in 956 stitches on one project.

Wilding Hill Manor by Little Robin Designs.
                                                     
This is where I left off in July.
                                              
Here is today's progress.
                                            
I cannot, for the life of me, figure out settings to photograph linen without it looking wonky. It doesn't look like that on the phone nor my laptop :(

I'm hoping to finish this at next week's retreat.

Doing a little happy dance over here with two fully finishes. I picked these up from the framer this week.

Salute to Abigail by Blackbird Designs

                                              
I went out of my comfort zone when selecting this frame but I am so happy with it. The photo doesn't do it justice. The frame works so well with the thread colors.

Fabric:            36 count linen in the color Frappucino by XJudesigns
Floss:              My own conversion of Valdani Cotton (0507, P7 and 031)
Stitch count:  147w x 149h
Start date:      11/1/25, End date: 5/30/26

This was a stitch along with friends.

The next framed piece is Meek & Humble by Teresa Kogut
                                    
The model was stitched into a pillow but this is a gift for my mom and she prefers frames over pillows.

Fabric:            40 count linen in the color Vanilla Latte by Fabrics by                                 Stephanie
Floss:              My own conversion of DMC 3866 and Gloriano Silk in                             Cranberry
Stitch count:  142w x 56h
Start date:      7/10/26, End date: 7/22/26

This was also a stitch along with a friend.

Sewing is at a stand still until after the retreat. I'll get back to Sewcialites 3 and I'm going to need your opinion on the finishing for Fat Quarters by the Dozen. That will be next Tuesday's post.

We are helping mom move into her new place through Saturday. Then Sunday is another quick road trip.

What is on your agenda for the weekend? I hope it will be filled with all good things.


See you soon,

Freshly Picked Table Runner, Upcoming Plans and A Bear

Hello, friends!

It has been just over two weeks since my last post. We returned from a fabulous time in Philadelphia and I just got busy with work and real life.  There hasn't been any cross-stitching to share and the sewing projects I have are retreat gifts. Those things have taken up much of my time. I'll share them in a future post when I recap the retreat.

Speaking of the retreat, I mentioned in a previous post that I am donating a table runner for the charity raffle.  I finished the runner last week.
                                            
Freshly Picked is a project from a Fat Quarter Shop Sew Sampler Box. I was a subscriber many years ago. Most of the Sew Sampler projects that I knew I would never make were sold on a destash FB page a long time ago. I saved a few favorites for myself and charitable donations.
                                            

                                            
The focus fabrics were from Good Life by Bonnie & Camille for Moda. I did the quilting on my embroidery machine using a design from Designs by JuJu called Vines and Flowers. The overall measurement is 19.5" x 57". All fabrics were from my stash.

I'm also donating a lap-sized quilt but do not have any good photos of it yet. I may try to get a photo with the raffle winner at the retreat.

We've been in our NC mountain home for 3 years and 4 months. We frequently have deer and turkeys on the property. Last week we had our first bear visit.  We've had them on the road but never in our yard...much less our garage. Hubby was cleaning the upper patio deck furniture. He left the back garage door open as he went in and out. A bear came from somewhere, entered the garage, drug out a bag of birdseed, made a mess and then left. It was so cute how he walked down the paver steps to our lower lawn.  I'll try to attach a video at the end of this post but if it doesn't work, you can find it on my Instagram.

My goal for this week is to finish all of the things I have to do for the retreat which begins on September 10th. I'll be driving to Montgomery, AL on the 9th. Also, my Mom bought a condo so we will be helping her pack and prepare to move. The timing on that is dependent on when the flooring people finish. She's had a lot of renovation going on since she purchased the property. While I am thrilled for her, the timing is awful. I'm committed to the retreat but also want to be here for her.

During my two week break, I've missed visiting my favorite blogs. Hoping to do some catch up reading over the next few days.

Enjoy your week ahead and I'll see you soon.

If you've followed me for any length of time, you know I have been discouraged by linky parties. But, since I've started following Melva, I'm encouraged to give her Sew & Tell a try.

Floss Friday - Cross Stitch Update, Turkeys, Basil, Peaches and A Fail

Hello, dear friends!

Here we are at the end of another week. This one was quick. I didn't cross stitch at all this week...which is unusual. The little bit of stitching I have to share is from last Thursday.  After we arrived in Ft. Walton Beach for my aunt's funeral, I needed to relax. I put 130 stitches in Wilding Hill Manor after checking in the hotel.

I finished one of the trees and started on the cat's tail.
                                            
We've had visitors almost every day.
                                              
The turkeys enjoy eating underneath the bird feeders.
                                                

                                                
I've encountered the swans a few times while on my walk around the lake as well. It is rare for me to see them out of the water. They stay to themselves.
                                                
I also had to harvest the basil as it was getting so big, even though we've been using it a few times a week.  I froze two ice trays worth.
                                              

                                              

                                                        
And still have this much left. There is already new growth forming.
                                                        
We are still able to get fresh South Carolina peaches so hubby made ice cream. I need to get a photo. And there is still enough for me to make a cobbler. 

We will be away again this weekend so I hope to get more peaches next week to freeze.

Some of you may remember Miss Lou's Pound Cake. Well, I attempted one this week and was shocked when it failed.
                                            
I've made this cake many times and this was the first time it came out like this. I know it was level in the oven. Hubby is going to check the calibration of the oven to see if the temperature is off. The only other thing I did different was I used a different brand flour. By the way, it still tastes delicious.

That has been my week. We are off to Philadelphia for a few days. It's been a few years since we've been and I want to see all those special places like Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, etc. during our country's 250th birthday. And since it's baseball season, we can't go to Philly without attending at least one game.

Before that though, I will be sewing the last block of the Sewcialites 3 quilt-along. From what I can tell, it is going to be another time consuming one.

Not sure when my next quilty update will post. It could be Saturday or next Wednesday. Either way, I hope to see you then.

Playing Catch Up

Hello, dear friends!

Since returning from Ft. Walton Beach, I've been playing catch up on housework and sewing.  The housework part is boring so we'll skip right to the very little bit of sewing I've done.

Sewcialites 3, block 24 was released last Friday. Star Light Block by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings.
                                
This was not an enjoyable block to piece and it took me for - ever!

The last block will be released this Friday and then the finishing instructions next week. I'm looking forward to bringing this QAL to an end.
                                        
I still need to find two border fabrics for Fat Quarters by the Dozen. Then both 2026 QALs will be finished.

Sewing plans for the remainder of the week are to work on gifts for an upcoming cross-stitch retreat. I'll have a cross-stitch update on Friday.

I hope your week is off to a great start. I'll see you soon.

Sewcialites 3, Block 23 and Table Runner for Charity

Hello, dear friends. I hope you had a nice weekend. It was rainy on and off here but we still made it out to get fresh veges from a local farm stand.

The Ten Acre Garden is a family owned and operated flower and vegetable garden. It is a U-Pick business but they also have packaged products available so you don't have to go into the gardens yourself.

They have a sunflower maze you can walk through.  They will have a corn maze in the fall. It is a great place for family's to visit.

The dahlias were stunning.

A couple of stations for doing different crafts

A tic-tac-toe board played with painted rocks

In the sewing room I finished Sewcialites 3, block 23.
                                          
With Love Block was designed by Jackie MacDonald of Sweetfire Road.
                                            
I also assembled the first table runner for the charity raffle I told you about in a previous post.
                                                    
Freshy Picked is a flimsy. I'll share more details once it is quilted and bound.

That will not happen until possibly next weekend. As I mentioned in Friday's post, we were expecting to make a trip to Ft. Walton Beach for a funeral. My aunt passed away Sunday morning and we are waiting to hear about the arrangements. My mom is doing very well...considering.

I want to thank all of you who sent well wishes.

I will try to post a cross-stitch update on Friday. It will depend on whether we are home or not.

Enjoy the week ahead and I'll see you soon.