November 2025

What a wonderful month I had.    I am forever grateful for this wonderful life I have with my family, friends and hobbies!

The last weekend of October I participated in a  one-day class with Theresa Vinette/Shakespeare’s Peddler.    What a delight.   The retreat was organized by Stitches Unlimited in Lancaster, PA.  It was well run and Theresa was a joy.   She is so down to earth and relatable and her patterns are lovely.  This is the class piece we got.   Theresa was onboard about rearranging the layout, stitching it on a bell pull, doing it horizontal or turning it into 9 ornaments.   You never know how a designer will feel if you change their design.  (Not my photo/work - from Stitches Unlimited website)

The first week of November I was off  to Tennessee.   My friend Pat and I flew to Chattanooga to spend time with a mutual friend.   Pre-trip tension/worry of possible flight problems was needless.  We lucked out with no delays.   The three of us went to Stitching in the Smokies for a three-day stitching retreat.   Months ago this became Smoking in the Rockies when I had a brain hiccup and typed it wrong in a group text.   Since then I have had to pause and think of what the darned retreat was called.    We stayed in a Hilton Tapestry in Pigeon Forge.   It was such a great time.   So much laughing and some stitching.  Made a bunch of new friends and meet some Floss Tubers too.  I did buy two patterns at the event.   Teresa Kogut’s  Holiday Stroll  and Brenda Gervais’ Sweater Weather.    Brian and Stacie of Thread The Needle Stitchery did a super great job at having a successful retreat.  

 

Hilton Tapestry

We were home for one day of rest and then  off to our DVHSG Semi-Annual Retreat.   It was another great time.   This is always a fabulous time with old friends and new.   Just so  nice to sit with fellow stitchers, talking, stitching and catching up with each other.   What a wonderful community we have.   Of course I had the most minimal of shopping lists when I went.   And you will never guess what was waiting for me at the Retreat.     My pocketbook.    The whole point of  our trip to Tennessee was to be able to drive back with Diane when she was coming north for Thanksgiving.   We had her house left Tennessee at 3:15 a.m on Tuesday.  When we stopped for breakfast at 7:30 I realized I didn’t have my pocketbook.    Thank goodness Diane has great neighbors and those great neighbors have a key to her house.   Her neighbor shipped it to Salty Yarns and it was waiting at the counter for me when I arrived.    I’m thinking my husband could be right when he threatens to get me chipped!   I’ve got nothing. 

I also purchases Winter Moon from Plum Street because I caved to a SAL.    I got Basket of Joy by Stitches by Ethel.   I love her designs. 

Lastly, the 2025 Collectors Heart from Heart in Hand.   This is going to be my Blessings Sampler for January 2026.

Not too much damage to the credit card considering I was at a retreat with a pop up shop, a quilt store, a side trip to a cross stitch store and a retreat AT a cross stitch store.  

Here is one thing I did that took all of 10 minutes, if that.  Found an 8 x 10 frame from my stash.   Opened it up.  Secured a Loran magnet board with “Yes Paste” to the backing piece.  Cut a piece of scrap booking paper  to size to put over it.  Put the frame back together.   Added my needle minders.    I am sure there are more needle minders lurking to be added.   And this is not an original idea.   I think it was from Instagram.

Quilt progress was nil.  With being away for half the month and then having the kiddos here for three days, I didn’t get any quilt work done.  

 I was able to finish the Jeannette Douglas Christmas Box.  I am super happy to have it done.   Now fully finishing is another story.  I can say I wasn’t really fond of stitching the peppermint stripe stitching around the larger stitched section.    I was able to complete this in just a month.  It is a small piece and not like I was burning up the needle.  

I got Cabin in the Woods back from the framer.   This is a new framer for me and I will use her again.  I love the colors in the trees and it just looks like a snowy winter’s night to me.  Maybe that cabin should have had a chimney with smoke coming out!  Now I think of it.  

I took Cornwall Cottage to both Tennessee and Berlin, MD hoping to make fantastic progress.  Overall, I am not disappointed.   — Before

After

Even though I have let this one languish in the time-out basket longer than I should have, I haven’t lost my love of this piece.   I am amazed that with just 6 colors it is so vibrant.  This is the biggest WIP I have left and I had put off working on it all year.    I plan to focus on this for the rest of the year and I hope to have finish early in the New Year.  Projects are already lining up in a queue for me to work on in the New Year.

 

When in Tennessee, Diane helped me finish my peyote scissors fob.   I had a wrong color bead in one place and I knew Diane had a  trick to replace it without undoing the  whole thing.   Ta-Da!   It was corrected and completed in one afternoon.  This is Home of the Brave from Fern Ridge.
 

Fellow stitchers, please don’t feel you fall short.  I am retired, I am project driven, I am all over the place project wise and I do tend to blather on about myself.  Years ago a friend told me  I must have had more hours in my day then  she did.   IDK.  It is the internal perfectionist I think.   I am just a doer.  Everyone shines in their own way.   I’ve been on a two year craze to finish up my WIP’s so it appears that I am getting more done and actually all I am doing it tying up loose ends.  Next year……after I swore off SAL’s, I have two looming in the wings.   I have no willpower.

Happy Thanksgiving my USA friends and followers.  Tomorrow I will have a houseful and it will be great.    I was supposed to be a guest at my son’s but a busted dishwasher and new to be sink installed - still in the box - caused a change in venue.   It’s all good because I have two little helpers today.   I secretly am happy it is back with me.  45 years of hosting Thanksgiving Dinner for everyone is hard to change.    May you all be blessed with family, friends, good food and happy memories.

   A time to be grateful and to not eat too much pumpkin pie!     Keep on keeping on my fellow crafting friends, thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching.