Did I Sew? And A Fair...

Hello, Dear Friends!

I mentioned on Friday that I would be attached to my sewing machine during the weekend. And I was...just not working on the things I thought I would be. I may have mentioned before that my Mom purchased a townhouse recently. She wants to use draperies she already has for the new place. They needed some hemming so that is what we did. I will share photos once they are laundered and hung.

It is fair season in the mountains. Last year, I got up enough courage to enter a cross stitch piece in the crafts exhibit and earned a third place ribbon.
                                        

Red Bird Sampler by With Thy Needle and Thread

This year, my family encouraged me to enter a quilt. My daughter selected the one she thought I should enter. It was Flea Market Flowers by Lori Holt.

Hubby and I went to the fair's exhibit hall where we found my quilt hanging SIDEWAYS! Apparently, men on a scissor lift were hanging the quilts and no one was providing guidance. They were draping the quilts over a cable and attaching them with clothes pins. You can see in the photo below that the clothes pins are on the left side...I rotated the phot0 so it would show properly.

We found the first place quilt...

Not my quilt.  Exhibitor AB.

I missed getting a photo of the third place quilt. It was cute, made up of bird blocks. And we couldn't find the second place quilt for the longest time. 

Finally, my husband stood at just the right angle to find the red ribbon attached to mine.

I was  excited to earn a ribbon at the county fair. But I think I'll try entering one of the regional fairs next year where they publish the judging criteria.

I hope you had a nice weekend and wishing you the best for the week ahead.

I'm linking up to Melva's Sew & Tell

See you soon,

Floss Friday -- September Stats, A New Start and A Few Plans

Happy Friday, Friends!!

September's stitch count is a bit higher than August's. I put 2,140 stitches in three projects.

Wilding Hill Manor by Little Robin Designs...
                                            
Red Letter Sampler by Threadwork Primitives...
                              
And last, which is also a new start, Merry Bouquet by Shakespeare's Peddler...
                                            
This is one of the kits I purchased at the Stitching in the Wild retreat early September. My friend Andrea and I are stitching this together.
                            
My fabric is 36 count linen Tin Roof by Weeks Dye Works, and I'm using the called-for Classic Colorworks floss.

Christmas stitching wasn't originally in my plan for October. Recently that changed when I won a chart from Priscilla and Chelsea's flosstube, Stitching with the Housewives. This is Pinkie Santa...
                                            
This will be a good project to work on at my next stitching retreat. Anabella's is hosting a retreat during our town's apple festival mid-October. The featured designer is Priscilla. I know, I know, I just saw her on the Alaskan cruise retreat. But when someone big comes to our little town...well, I have to go!

Not much, if any, stitching will happen this weekend. It is back to the sewing machine for me. I'm determined to make progress on quilt wips. Speaking of quilts, I have something exciting to share on Monday. Well, it is exciting for me anyway.

What are you working on this weekend? I hope it is something fun!

Enjoy and I'll see you Monday!

A Bit of Fall Decor and Baking

Hello, dear friends.

Our daughter, her boyfriend and their fur baby were visiting last week. We  enjoyed walks around the lake, a couple of trail hikes, lots of eating and relaxing. The week passed way too quickly and we were sad to see them go. But, we will see them in Florida next month and then they will be here for Christmas.

While I didn't get around to stitching or sewing, I did put out a few Fall decorations.

The Hoosier Cabinet
                                            

                                            

Mini Sunflower Stamp and Crows and Sunflowers Stamp
by Melisa at Pinker n Punkin' Quilting and Stitching

Harvest Jar from Hands on Design and Priscilla Blain

Tiered Tray Tidbit Gobble from
Stitching with the Housewives

The kitchen sideboard

Hello Autumn by Primrose Cottage Stiches

The dry sink

Give Thanks by The Proper Stitcher

The family room

                                 
                                 
                      Olga's Autumn Stocking by Plum Street Samplers
                                
                        Autumn on the Square by Scissor Tail Designs

The kids always request their favorite desserts when they are home, and I am happy to oblige.

First was my husband's Aunt Sarah's chocolate cake.
                                          
Next was Miss Lou's pound cake with caramel frosting.
                                             
                                            
Last, but not least, a cinnamon roll banana bread.
                                           

Everyone is back to normal routines this week and exercising a bit harder.

I hope you all have a great week and I'll see you soon.

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,