Retreat....

Oh boy where in the world do I begin???

We had our retreat this past weekend for our

Sampler Guild so I will warn you this

is a picture heavy blog update

How about if I start here?

This is the view I had from the window

of the room I stayed in for the weekend.

It is absolutely gorgeous - and so peaceful.

No phones, No TV, No distractions.

Allowed for a wonderful weekend spent

with my stitching friends.

I arrived early and helped set up when the

participants arrived they were welcomed

to tables loaded with bottles of

water, flowers and bookmark with

the design from last years project.

and then the ladies began to arrive

and before you knew it 30 women

with all of the required stitching paraphernalia

were set up and ready to go.

as you can see we are very serious when it comes to

stitching, chatting, eating and buying.

Friday night included time to shop!

what retreat isn't complete

without the ability to buy stitching supplies?

Show and Tell

We have some very talented ladies in our group!

Saturday was project day

The wonderful ladies who put the retreat

together continually amaze us with

the creativity of the projects they come

up with for us to work on while there.

I am happy to report I was able to complete both!!!

Project Number 1

The boxes were already painted with photos of

last years project decoupaged to the lid.

We had to cover the inside with the fabric and

then we made the tomato and attached the bead

and ribbon to our scissors to make a fob.

The ladies had completed all the prep work

we had to finish the items off.

Project Number 2

Sorry this photo is so blurry.

I tried several times but my

camera would not cooperate.

We had our choice of two designs.

I selected the pumpkin because fall is

right around the corner and I thought

this would be cute to have for Halloween.

As I said this was a photo heavy post

but I hope you enjoyed it.

It arrived today...

I received the beautiful blog giveaway today

from Faye. She packaged it up very

sweetly with a ribbon and card.

I love it - thank you so much Faye!

Here is a photo of the package.

I took this in front of an antique trunk

I have which seemed to set the

package off perfectly.

Here is a photo of the back, from this angle

you can see the linen and floss colors - gorgeous!

I love the two year planner included as well.

It includes quotes to remind us what

life is all about.

Once again Faye thank you so much!

It is so great to get to know other

stitchers through their blogs.

Just had to share this....

I usually do not post giveaways on my blog,

but I had to share this one.

For some reason the story of Marie Antoinette

has always enthralled me and the

creativity of this giveaway blew me

away just as much as the history

behind Marie Antoinette does.

Here is a link to her website with more

details on how she created the various

components of this giveaway and how

to enter if you are interested in entering.

http://www.happinessiscrossstitching.blogspot.com/

I won....

Imagine my surprise when I read that

I won a blog giveaway from Faye.

I never win anything so this is a real treat.

If you have a chance take a peek

http://carolinastitcher.blogspot.com/

I love this design - how exciting!!

Time is flying by....

I am stitching I just haven't had an opportunity

to take a recent photo. This summer seems to be

flying by and has been pretty busy.

I just had to share this picture though.

In the morning when I get up we have a visitor on the patio.

This is not our cat. I am allergic to cats. I can walk into

someone's house that I have never been in before, not know they

have a cat or even see a cat. Within 5 minutes I know there

is a cat somewhere in the house. The watery eyes, difficulty

breathing are usually my clues.

I personally would love to have a cat. We actually tried to adopt

a cat when we first got married and unfortunately it did not

work out and we had to give the cat up. I have no idea who this cat

belongs to but it appears every once and a while and it does not

like people. This picture was taken thru the glass of the back door.

I tried the previous morning to take a photo by opening the door.

I don't think I have ever seen a cat move so fast.

The little pond...

Across the street is host to several canadian geese and their babies.

This morning they were all enjoying their breakfast

and being together. I decided to sit on the front stoop

and take some photos. You have to be careful if they

notice you they will start to take flight.

You would think by now they would be

used to people living around them.

Has it really been over a month?

I can't believe it has been almost six weeks since my last post.

Where does the time go???

I have made some progress on my Long Dog Sampler.

Here is my progress so far. I will stitch on it some and

then some smaller projects.

My husband finished my cabinetry in the laundry room

My attempt at organizing the space...

we will see how long it will last

Here is my little guy very intent on

his creative endeavor

Playdough

what's not to like???

Here he is notice something missing?

The one rare moment he would sit still

and smile for me

He has actually asked me to show him how to stitch.

So that will be our next project.

I remember when John my middle son asked me

and he worked on a piece a couple of times

and then lost interest.

I still have it tucked away in my stash.

It's the little things that we always

remember and cherish.

He would be mortified to know

I still have it and that I smile every time

I see it and remember his attempts

at stitching "like mommy".