Sunday Stitch

Today was our one Sunday a month stitch-in at Inspired Needle. We have so much fun every time we get together!!! It sure is good for the soul! Above is the very talented Barb with her finished Midsummer Night Musings design that I absolutely love!! The frame is just fabulous also!
Below is Debbie's Jeanette Douglas project. Each piece is the page of a book. It is very labor intensive and is going to be a true work of art when finished. Gee, it is already a work of art really.
I went around snapping pictures of everyone's projects; either in progress or finished. This is a gorgeous work done by Cathy. It is on 40 count over 1. I was lazy and did not write down the name of any of the projects (actually I was so giddy to be there I just could not contain myself!). If you want to know the name of anything let me know and I will find out for you.
Below is Teresa's progress on Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow. She is way ahead of me!
Below you see Linda. I love the way she put her Hawk Run Hollow pattern in a notebook!!! Great idea!
Here is Pat's Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow progress. Stunning!
Speaking of Pat, she is on the cover of this magazine! She is the wonderful woman located at the left of the group. She won an award for being an amazing nurse! That is so cool!!!!! Congratulations Pat!!!!
Below are two of Barb's finished pieces. Both of them are by Carriage House Samplings. I know the one on the left is named "The Gilded Cage." I am not sure of the name of the other one.

This is the project that Nancy was working on! She is nearing the finish line and I love the greens in this piece.
Below is a finished Laura Perrin piece done by Cathy. Vibrant and great colors!

Here is another shot of The Gilded Cage with the frame that Barb picked out for it. Barb only got this chart about ten days ago. We joked with her that she finished it on the way home while stopped at traffic lights! She is a speedy stitcher and her work is always meticulous!!! I want to be like Barb when I grow up! I missed getting a picture of Jayne's work in progress because we all started acting up, walking around the shop, screaming about this or that pattern, and generally getting a stitcher's high!!!

You just can't beat an afternoon like it!!!!

Day Two on Cloud 9

The second day of the BBD (Blackbird Designs) retreat was just as much fun as the first one. I really would have liked a week long retreat.

One of the fun parts of day two was show and tell. Above, my buddy Pat brought in the quilt she made from a BBD design. She is showing the designers her work. Isn't that so cool!!! It is a truly glorious quilt and her first applique quilt. I believe we are seeing natural talent at work here people! Pat is on the left and Barb of BBD designs is on the right.

The rest of the pictures I took willy-nilly. I hope I am not stepping on anyone's toes because I did not really ask for permission, just went around the room snapping. If there are any pictures on this post that someone would rather not share please let me know and I will take it down (this excludes Pat and Teresa!).

Below is one of the new BBD designs (oh, I also don't know a lot of the names of things and am too lazy to go look them up. Please just enjoy the eye candy! We can all research the names of things later right?)



Below is a really cool basket square made by my buddy Teresa. She and Pat are making a basket quilt out of one of the new BBD quilt books; which by the way, I had a look at and even though I don't quilt I must obtain one. There are amazing photos and a way cool cross-stitch alphabet in one of them. I think the new one is named Country Inn. I am going to get it for my Mom for her birthday (but I will be perusing it myself too!!!)
Further show and tell brought in by ladies below; Shepard's Bush My Country. What a fabulous piece this is!
Below is one of the class pieces. It is a Quaker pin cushion. Love it!
One of the very interesting things at the retreat was Barb and Alma telling us about collecting antique samplers. Below is one that inspired a new design.
BBD Blessings Be Thine. Gorgeous!
More BBD and I don't know their names. For shame!

Oh, the one below is new. After seeing it in person I bought the chart. Love it. It is one of the Anniversaries of the Heart series.


Above is a start of the Anniversaries of the Heart on one piece. A house design will be issued each month. This is on 32 count linen. Katrina is doing hers on 40 count linen and it is stunning! If you can work on 40 count linen I highly suggest that you do this series on one piece of 40 count.

I am starting to come down from my BBD high. However, I have the class projects to look forward to and also, next Sunday is stitch day at Inspired Needle!!!! Yip and eeeeeeeeeee!

Cloud 9

Today was a wonderful day. I attended the Blackbird Designs retreat sponsored by Tomorrow's Heirlooms which is in Glen Ellyn, IL. Blackbird Designs consists of Barb and Alma, two friends; each of whom is a genius! They design cross-stitch charts and quilts. I love their work and it was quite an honor to spend the day with them.

Above pictured are my very cool friends, Pat and Theresa. They are showing off the boxes we started making. We received a bare box and then painted, sanded and waxed them. They are going to be the base for one of the cross-stitch pieces started in class.

Below you see myself and Karin. I should have also taken a picture of Katrina! She is a friend of Karin's who came in from Colorado to attend the retreat. That is how great Blackbird Designs are; people come from out of state!!!
As you can see we lined the inside of our sewing boxes with some fabric that Barb and Alma designed.
Above is the table of great ideas that Blackbird Designs (BBD) have done over time. The great thing about Barb and Alma is that they have tons of ideas and lots of enthusiasm. If you get their book Joyeaux Noel you will find out lots of different things you can do with your finished cross-stitch pieces before you frame them.
Pictured above are the three projects we are going to be working on. We have a half day of class tomorrow! Yipeee!
Pictured above are Barb and Alma weaving a wonderful and interesting story.
Ooops, another picture of our project. Sorry, I am having technical difficulties this evening.
Above pictured is a pin cushion with a BBD design along with some cool hammered out vintage flatware with words metal punched in them. Cool!
Another mouth watering view of BBD stuff.
In this shot you can see the inside of my sewing box and the little stitcher's journal that Barb and Alma gave to each of us.
Above is a finished project by Pat. It is not a BBD. It is a Carriage House Samplings pattern that Pat was working on last Tuesday and is now finished! I loved it so much I had to get the pattern when I saw Pat working on it at our last stitch night.
The really inspired idea that BBD had was making color copies of your finished work and then using them in other mediums. Above is a journal page in one of Alma's journals. This is a great combination of stitching, journaling, stamping, etc. that I for one hope to embrace!
Another brilliant idea above and below; picture of finished piece reduced and put in glass with a fabric backing and words from an old book.....now it is a Christmas ornament.
Below is a silver tray found at a Goodwill. Look closely at the magnets.
Yes, pieces of finished project copied and cut down to make a magnet. I loved the Wuthering Heights pages stuck on this. So cool!
Love this old envelope that was put into a journal. Also, I like a part of a page of a chart (that you must purchase and not copy from anyone!!!) inked up and placed in your journal.
Below is an example of more inspired BBD!!!
Below are some darling little sachets with family initials. These were in a basket! So cute. The chart for these is in a new quilting book that BBD just put out. A must have even if you don't quilt. The pictures are gorgeous!
I had such a perfect day!!! There is nothing like spending the day with other stitchers and getting giddy over all of the ideas, designs, threads, gadgets, and talk of future projects. The best part is that there is another half day tomorrow!!!

The Young Victoria

I watched this movie tonight and cried my eyes out. The love story of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert was so touching. I loved the costumes and location shots also.
I love Queen Victoria's crown pictured above. I would love to see it in person. The music in the movie was wonderful too. In particular, they used Handel's "Zadok the Priest" which is an anthem that is used in all of the coronations in England. Here is a link to it on You Tube. This is one of my Mom's most favorite pieces of music so it had special meaning to me to hear it in this movie which I just loved.
I know have a great big crush on Prince Albert (and/or the actor that played him in this movie!). I am having trouble coming back to the real world!

Happy Birthday Mr. Schumann

Scene: Laura Duet having an anxiety "attack" on the way to work. You see, I had to lock our cats in the bedroom today because workmen are starting the rehabbing project of our bathroom. We are so lucky for that and I am thrilled; but locking the cats in the bedroom and then leaving them there with all of the scary noise and without me there makes me crazy!

While driving to work I was listening to NPR and there was a wonderful segment on the birthday of Robert Schumann. Follow this link and you can hear or read it.

I have not really been a student of his music but this story about him was so very interesting and really took my mind off of my cat anxiety. One of the ideas that the announcer talked about was that he often thought about what he would do if he had to evacuate the planet and there was only limited space for music; whose musical catalog would he bring. Of course, he thought it would be Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. I totally agree; I could be quite happy listening to just the three of them. But then there was a twist...who would he bring if he could not bring the music of those three composters? He went on to say that the music of Robert Schumann could satisfy him quite well. Listen to the story for the rest; but after hearing this one piece of music by Mr. Schumann I was completely charmed and must obtain this right away. It is called, Kinderszenen (Scenes From Childhood) For Piano, Op. 15: I. Von Fremden Ländern and Menschen. (Click on that to listen)
So, back to music to take upon evacuation. I would definitely take Mozart and Bach.
But who would I take if I was not allowed to take them????
Rachmannoff for sure; especially his Vespers. That is him pictured above. Also, I would take the music of Verdi and Wagner. If I could take all of the music of each composer mentioned here; along with The Beatles, I would be happy forever after!

Communities

I have not been present in the blogging community much at all in the last month or so. Don’t know why. I have been having lots of wonderful thoughts and things to blog about, but have not been able to muster up the energy to do so. Today, Sunday morning, I finally have some time to let my mind roam.

I have been part of lots of communities lately though. Communities that fill me with joy and communities that filled me with something else I can’t quite name; deep thoughts and sadness perhaps. Let me tell you about them.

There is the community of my friend Diane and I. She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and had a lumpectomy. She also had a scare with a possible gynecologic cancer which turned out not to be present, thank goodness. As I mentioned in an earlier post Diane and I recently reconnected after not being in close contact for several years. We have been friends since grade school and lived a block apart from each other. I am so thankful that we are back in touch and I can be a bit of support for her. She has to go through radiation and chemotherapy in the coming months; I am hoping that I can do something that helps her.

I remember being part of a geriatric community when I worked as a nursing assistant in several nursing homes in my 20's. This memory was really strong when I watched a documentary on PBS this week about art therapy and Alzheimer's patients. It was so wonderful to watch people with advanced dementia come alive through creating art and viewing masterpieces at museums. It really made me think about how much I enjoyed working with the geriatric set and how I long to have a job where I feel like I am making a real difference in the lives of others. Have to keep working on that goal!

As I watched the movie I felt so alive and full of possibility.

Community also came into play on Memorial day weekend when the community of my Mom and myself went to New Carlisle, Indiana to place flowers on family graves. I think the mother/daughter community is such a wonderful place to be. My mom goes to the cemetery at least twice a year to place flowers. This year it really struck me what a beautiful beautiful gesture this is. We placed red geraniums on my Great Grandparents' graves, my Grandma and Grandpa Bates' and my Uncle Bob’s graves. This cemetery in this little town in Indiana is one of the places on this earth where I can really feel my soul reverberating inside my body. I felt so close to my essence and the essence of all that is beautiful and loving. Just knowing that all of these graves were joined by the red geraniums meant that this family was once again all together in our thoughts. I like to think that if I flew over the cemetery in a plane I would be able to see all of the red geraniums scattered throughout the cemetery and know it was a sign of joining loving hearts together again.

Cross stitch community has also been a big part of my life lately. I have been lucky enough to find some very wonderful women through this lovely craft and have been able to spend time stitching (and shopping) with them through many evenings. It is just such a blessing to be able to share a passion with others.

Community also takes place at my workplace with my friend, Jane. We are a community of two making it through the absolutely crazy days that transpire. We are a community of two going through the ongoing pain of her divorce and the happiness of her finding her own way through this time and on to a better life.

I am in a community of dear friends that I have not spoken with in some time; many of them are going through very difficult times. I love them so deeply yet I do not get on the phone to them. What is wrong with me? I know I hate talking on the phone but there is no excuse for this. I am going to have to get on the stick. However, I am always thinking about Noreen, Lorie, Bertha, Dorothy and Julie.

I am a community with my dear husband. We are readying ourselves and our house for some major remodeling. New bathroom and kitchen!!! New windows! Landscaping! I got a new cross stitch chair! It is exciting and anxiety provoking. On top of that our dear little cat Pal had a bladder infection and obstruction. He had to spend three nights in the animal hospital. I missed him and I could feel it in my body (the missing part). He came home yesterday and things have felt good around here. I even managed to give Pal his pills by mouth after watching a video about it on the community of the internet! I cannot leave our home community without mention of our cat, Buddy who took it upon himself to sleep by my side when Pal was in the hospital. He must have known that I was upset and needed some feline closeness! He usually sleeps by Mike.




I am part of a community of friends that includes the lovely Sharon and Melissa. We get together every so often for dinner and soulful conversation which helps us carry on. We met last Friday and had a very big conversation about vegetarian diets and how they each evolved into that life choice. I definitely learned a lot and have a lot to think about.

Oh yes I whine and moan many times about things that happen in my life; but I truly know how blessed I am and am so thankful for all that I have. The community of blogging is such an important part of my life.

Give-Away Time (edited for winner information)

Happy Sunday! Happy May!!!

It is time for a give-away!

Please leave a comment on this blog post to win a chance to win the inaugural issue of this magazine - Flea Market Style. It is a fun magazine; especially for all of you people who love all things vintage.

I will pick a winner on Wednesday. By that day of the week we will all need a thrill!!!!

EDIT: Well, I put everyone's name on a piece of paper, mixed them up, went over to Kelly's office (I am doing this at work! naughty!) and had her pick a name.......and the winner is KATRINA!!!!!! Katrina, I will get your address from Karin and put the magazine in the mail this week!!!!!! I wish I was rich and could send a magazine to all of you!!!