Is it so Hard to Press a Button?

Yup apparently it's very difficult to even remember to bring your stitching project with you to work, let alone find a couple of minutes to get to the copier to scan an image of it. But I finally did. This is my other completed project from the stitching retreat. I can't believe it was just last weekend!

Another Great Stitching Retreat!

This past weekend was the annual A Stitcher's Garden  retreat. This year is the 10th Anniversary of the retreat and my 5th year attending. There were more attendees this year than any other retreat I've been to. It was a pleasure chatting with and stitching projects by Lori Markovic of La-D-Da and Linda Ebright of Lizzie*Kate.

As usual I left the retreat with more things than I can possibly ever stitch and a HUGE smile on my face as a result...

I also got to see a friend or two that I haven't had the chance to catch up with in a while...

And of course I did a little stitching and finished a couple of projects...

(note I'll add the photo of my other finish as soon as I can get a good quality version).
And I met a number of new friends!

Of course now I want to spend all of my time stitching and thinking about next year's retreat! Instead I'll do what I can to get this year's stash cataloged and get back to work. But I'll be sure to make some time each week to let my needle fly!

Quietly Plugging Along

In between karate, dog classes, work, food and sleep I've been doing a little stitching here and there. After finishing Sudden Showers I decided I should get to work on the Quaker Gameboard that has been languishing and also finish off a few smalls that were lurking. I'm trying to get through the WIPs and UFOs floating around the house so I can start a HAED project.

First I finally finished the pieces for the Polychrome Palooza project. I still need to assemble everything, but I figure that's something to do on a day i'm home sick from work and looking for something to stave off the boredom.

Then I FINALLY did the commemorative sampler from last spring's stitching retreat.It was a quick piece. I whomped most of it out while I was sitting at the car mechanic's garage waiting for my car to be winterized.

Then there was the nametag for the upcoming stitching retreat. But you can't see that one yet because it's a surprise for the retreat in March.

In addition to all the little things I've been assiduously working on the Quaker Gameboard. Here's the last WIP photo from the end of October:

And here's where I'm at as of 10:30pm last night:

This week I'll be heading to Portland, OR for the holidays. I'm planning on taking this project with me and also "Merry and Bright". I'm hoping to get a decent amount done on each while I'm on the planes and also hanging out in the airport. I have a nice 4 hour layover in Chicago that will allow some quality stitching/people-watching time.

Oh and.... I had a lovely attack of the greedies and ended up getting a number of new stitching patterns (like I really need them). Moon N Starz Cat, Rottweiler, Whimsical French Bulldog and Purple Dragon. And at the end of October I ordered more Silkweaverfabric (again, like I need it). Due to a rush on the limited edition colors it took a little while for me to get it, so I had a nice mail day recently when it all came in. I didn't get a photo of it all but here's the list of what I picked up and some images following from the website:

Cnt	Color	Fabric	Size
28	Solo - slate blueish	Linen	18x26
28	Solo - lt blue/purple	Lugana	18x26
28	Solo - tan/lavendar	Lugana	18x26
28	Solo - pinkish coral	Linen	18x26
28	Solo - deep blue (midnight)	Linen	18x26
32	Splash of Brandy	Linen	26x36
32	Autumn Leaves	Linen	18x26
32	Frankenstein	Linen	18x26
32	Harvest	Linen	18x26
32	Hocus Pocus	Linen	26x36
32	Witches Brew	Linen	26x36
32	Flighty Fairy	Linen	18x26

Check(ers) This Out!

I love fall! It's finally a comfortable temperature outside for me and the dogger, the air smells crisp and clean in the morning and people start to wind down so I have more time to stitch :-D.

After finishing Sudden Showers I pulled out my Quaker Game Board project that I had done a little stitching on before I started the other project. Now I'm starting to make decent progress on it. It's difficult to see the letters that I've finished as they are white on the light tan and washed out with the flash, but you get the idea...

I've done a bit more since this was taken over the weekend. Is started the inner borders for the empty squares on the fabric. I'm organizing a dog event this weekend, so I'm not likely to be getting a lot done on it this weekend. I'm hoping that I'll be able to do more next week during the week.

I've also been sporadically working on a knotwork project. Mostly this has been my morning before work project. I posted the finishes for the scissor fob and the needle book cover. I'm now working on the scissors case. I also made progress beyond the photo here over the last week. I'm now just about finished with the first row in red...

I volunteered to provide awards for dogs passing the event this weekend from the "herding group" and forgot to get items. So... I'm frantically trying to get some little projects finished so I can hand out some ornaments to the successful dogs. I'll get photos of those once they are completed and handed out to the winners. Wish me luck - time is short!

Sudden Showers

It was quite fitting that I finished this project last week during a day of showers. It felt great to finish one of my larger projects finally. I haven't been able to stitch nearly as much as I would like over the last year or so and I missed that feeling of accomplishment :-D. So here is... Sudden Showers:

Today I'm planning to get back to working on my Quaker game board. Yay!

Serenity

It's been a great couple of months for me. My pup is getting older and more responsible and is a joy to live with. We've been taking and teaching a lot of doggy classes. The kitten is also growing up and makes a great companion for the pup. I have been enjoying taking karate lessons and will be testing up to yellow belt very soon. I'm hoping to move up to orange by the new year.

Between all of this stuff I've even been able to get a decent amount of stitching in. I've been working on a couple of large projects, a medium project and a small one. So I'll post from small to large :-).

For a thank you gift, I've been working on First Bass from Ink Circles. It's a lovely little project. I also have the other two pieces in the series, but I don't know if/when I might get to them. I'm almost finished...

I've also been working on a knot work project from Theresa Layman Designs. One of my favorite things is color and this one fits the bill with bright rainbow colors. It's Polychrome Palooza. I've finished the needle book cover and the scissor fob. I just need to finish the scissors case...

Every so often I feel like doing something light. I found a great pattern, "Merry and Bright", to stitch for Christmas. It's so Jetsons! I love it. I can't remember the designer right now (EDIT: Monsterbubbles), but I'm sure I'll post that information in the future...

Finally, I'm closing in on the last part of my year long project. I always think I'm going to get done fast than I do, but then when I finish I think to myself "well that really didn't take all that long". Interesting how time warps and twists. Maybe I'll finish this by the end of the month, maybe by the end of the year, who know!

I signed up the the annual A Stitchers Garden retreat. I'm really looking forward to March and my weekend of stitching, chatting and spending money I don't have on STASH! Now I just need to wrap up my outstanding projects and design my name tag so I'll be ready for the big event!

Dogs and Starting a Little Business

I received another 3 mini projects for the dog club's obedience trial awards. These are cute little 1 hour projects. I did a corgi, a westie and a yorkie.

I've only done a little stitching otherwise because I've been splitting my time between training my dog for an upcoming trial and also working on getting items ready for the BMR Acres Shearing Festival yesterday. I started making a couple of little scented items to help cover my dog training and vet costs. I'm partnering with my vet/breeder/friend, Karen, who does wood burning and painting. We're slowly getting it ramped up. The first of the information is getting out to the web at... Winkin' Hound Crafts. I'm pretty excited about our little business. We're not looking to become a super store - just to keep those hound costs under control ;-).

Today however, I'll be stitching! I have a design I've been working on. More info to come on that later :-).