More about the retreat.....

Greetings all..... I pray so many of my blogging friends have sought shelter and are in a good place.... This storm is massive and we are safe here in the Carolinas with only heavy rain and high winds to deal with....Nothing compared to many of you.... I pray for your safety...

 

Also, I will not be shipping any finishes this week due to the crippled delivery options to many of you...Rest assured, all of your items are safe here and my turnaround time will be delayed by about a week.... Better to be safe, than sorry ,not losing any mailings....

 

**************

I will be honest, when I first saw Isabella at the PALS retreat, my knees got a little weak...Not only have I adored her designs since the beginning of The Primitive Hare, but to actually meet her in person was a dream come true~~ Isabella has the most beautiful smile and is truly as beautiful from within, as she is on the exterior....

I splurged on myself...(it IS my birthday month...) These gorgeous scissors were just too nice to pass up.....The 30 ct Salem Linen is stained to perfection...And I got the most petite rusty bells...

all from Italy!!!

 

It was such a hard decision of which of her charts I wanted...., "Lady Basket" and "Autumn Needles Queen" ended up coming home with me. All her models are breath taking...

And, of course, I HAD to have these fantabulous new charts by Tanya Brockmeyer of Scarlett House..

"Christmastide at Holly House" and" Ann Priest 1841"...Even though Tanya is from Arizona, she is REALLY a Carolina Girl...as of last year, we adopted her!! Waving at you GF~~

 

 

And, I just HAD to treat myself to a few charts by With thy Needle & Thread... The charts and fat qtr of LL Vintage Pecan Butter was efficiently delivered by Amy of  Down Sunshine Lane....Thanks Amy!!! I can't wait to get started on these~~~

I fell in love with a new-to-me designer...Nouveau Encore Designs... I was able to get "Beagle" and "Pals" tree designs.....She will do any custom design  just as you want it... It was amazing to see her work..She even autographed my charts!! 

And, I just had to buy a few more of Victorian Motto Sampler Threads beautiful new shades of overdyed threads.....She had SO many colors to choose from...and so reasonably priced!!

 

Everyone on the planet knows Nicole.....I happened to sit right across from her during the entire retreat....Believe me, she DOES have turbo needles and is a hoot! YGG!!!

 

Speaking of nuts, most of you have heard me mention some of the Carolina Girls....Here is....

A few of the Carolina's finest.....(notice how fast Lynn's hand is stitching! Another Turbo stitcher!)

 

**********

 

I'm sure the storm has churned up the sand and shore line....two weekends ago, this was the view...

 

and, just 30 miles down the road, this  was the view from the condo at Cherry Grove Beach SC...

...the suns reflection, as it is setting, always casts the most beautiful mirror image on the lagoon channel water.....so peaceful then...I am wondering what things look like right now......

 

Peace, 

 

Faye

 

 

 



PALS retreat and treats.....

Hello....hello.....

What a retreat!! And, what a week at work after the retreat!! Sorry it has taken so long to post about the PALS retreat, but when I got home, work seemed to consume every minute of my time! If you are an educator, you know what I mean!!!

 

First off, the retreat was awesome....As you have already seen on a few blogs, fun was had by all...The weather was perfect and I am SO glad it was last weekend and not THIS weekend..... Talk about chaos for those trying to get flights out of SC to north bound destinations.... If you are in the path of this powerful storm, I sure do hope all goes well for you!

 

Back to the retreat...It was so much fun sitting and stithing with friends....Old freinds sharing  lots of hugs....Meeting new people and forming those new lifetime friendships.... And, for me, I was able to actually meet 3 of my customers...Nothing like putting a face with a name....!! I cherish every memory made....My cheeks are still sore from laughing so much!!!

Tanya of The Scarlett House was SO generous by designing a retreat freebie...I wanted to stitch it the miute I saw it.... Here it is completed...It will be a pin pillow just as her model was.

 Luckily, I had carried some 25 ct Country Mocha with me...And, sweet Nicole shared her DMC flosses... Isn't it darling?

Hopefully soon I will have time to finish this into a crushed walnut shell filled pin keep...I know each time I use it, fond memories will fill my head.....

 

 

There are always many exchanges you can participate in.....I went for the grab bag exchange and ALL of these wonderful goodies were my winnings..... LOVE them all!! Ironically, my BBF Linda brought this grab bag in..... Yippeee for me!

 

A very sweet lady named Jeanne was the recipient of my grab bag....This project pouch with linen and few more goodies enclosed..... She seemed to be thrilled.....

 

 

I managed a finished stitch while there....This Blackbird Designs "Waiting for the Harvest" had been in my basket for a while now....I added 2012 on the side so to remember this was stitched fall 2012 while at PALS....

 

Our retreat goodie bag was LOADED this year!!! Here is a portion of what was in the bag... Gentle Arts overdyes...NPI in a gorgeous array of purples,,, An entire goodie pack of Victorian Motto Sampler trims, buttons, threads, chenilles....Ruler/thread keep from The SilverNeedle... corner gauge from Down Sunshine Lane....

 

oh, there was more in that wonderful goodie bag.... Charts galore, 2 fat quarters, pen, bookmark and note pad....and....

 

 

the commemorative PALS needle minder magnet....isn't it just wonderful??

 

 

Giving gifts to stitching buds is always popular....I was tickled to receive these goodies....left to right they were gifted from Charlene of Needle in Hand, Michele WA and Pam Iowa....Thank you ladies for making me feel special.....

 

 

Isn't this alot of talent under one roof???? Most all the attendees were there for this photo.... I am wwaaaaayyyy in the back....And, Amy of Down Sunshine Lane is on the front row, fifth from the left. This was her 15th year putting on the PALS retreat!!!!  Thanks Amy~~~~ from all of us.....

 

Well.....I do have many more photos to share....The vendors there were absolutely stocked to the rafters with goodies.... I will post about my purchases next....

 

In closing, I hope everyone has a safe and happy week.....My brother and his family, along with my mom live near the Hatteras area where the storm is reeking havoc...and my sister and her family live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where there will most likely be flooding.... To all my family and many friends who are in the path of the storm, I pray for your safety and am hoping you be spared devastation.

 

Peace,

 

 

Faye

 

 

 

.



PALS Retreat......Here we come~~~

Honestly, I am SO excited about the PALS retreat this year.....I can hardly wait for Thursday to get here!! Seeing old friends, making lots of new friends, stitching, LAUGHING, eating....This year will have a large attendance also.....Get ready.....Lots of photos will be coming up on blogger by lots of stitchers.....I'm so excited!!

 

I have been busy in the craft room sewing up many an exchange item and gift for many customers.... Some for the PALS retreat, some for Christmas....Promises were made to hold off on the photos..so... Trust me, you stitchers have been super busy!!! Love it!!!

 

I, myself, have been experimenting a little with inserting tiny stitches into the front of the project pouches I make.... Here is an example of what I mean...

 

The three spools and stork scissors are stitched on 25 ct Lugana Country Mocha and then I insert it the fabric so it shows nicely on the front of the pouch..... I think its a nice touch.... (photo is clickable for a close-up of the stitched piece.....)

 

Additionally, I stitched another small Christmas design....Need to find a whisk brush now....

Sweeping Snowflakes

With thy Needle and Thread

1 over 1 25ct Country Mocha

dmc threads except Faye's Red SPP by Victorian Motto

 

Lastly, I'd like to challenge each of you to donate an auction item to The Attic's Breast Cancer Awareness Auction... It is a wonderful event and the proceeds go to Cancer Research.... You will find details here, or by calling The Attic at the phone number listed on their web page... There is even a list of all the items donated in the 2011 Auction and the money each item brought....Amazing!

I will be showing a photo of my item in the near future.....

 

 

Need to sign off.....Hope everyone has a great week....And, if you hear a little noise coming from the East Coast of the Carolinas....Its all the 100+ stitchers at the retreat at Myrtle Beach SC.....!  Having big fun!!!!

 

Blessings,

 

Faye

 

 



Ahhh.... Its finally Fall.....

Although we are still having somewhat of an "Indian summer" here in the Carolinas, I long for the soon to be cool days.... Its coming.... I just know it is.....

 

I've been a busy lady here of late.... I had time to either stitch, or post. As you can see from the lack of posts, I chose to stitch.....Are you like that sometimes????

 

My most recent LOVE was this stitched up piece which will soon become a crushed walnut shell filled, chenille embellished pin pillow....

 

I absolutely loved this stitch!!!

Coverlet Houses

The Scarlett House

40 ct LL light vintage exemplar

specified npi threads

 

 

 

And, I have gotton carried away a little bit with ornament stitching.....When the Just Cross Stitch ornament issue hit my hot little hands, I went to kitting up like a crazy woman..... And, I had a few others kitted up as well....So, I figured, Why not crank out a few ornies....

 

Here's my collection so far...........

 

Most of these are in the JCS magazine....see if you can tell which designers "spoke" to me first....

 

So, I leave you today with good wishes, a "Terrific Tuesday"...and of course, lots of stitching!!!

I guess I'm a little happy today....Its finally my birthday month~~~

Oh, hello from my

B4LF (Best 4 legged friend...)

 

The Princess....Ms. Truffles....

 

Peace,

 

Faye

 



Sarah's House and some fall goodness.....

Hello all....

 

It sure is good to see so many folks gearing up for the fall season stitching! And, how about some of the new designs just coming out???? Oh my goodness!!! I know my heart skipped a beat when I laid my eyes on  The Scarlett House's newest goodies... lookie here... and how about Plum Street Samplers newest designs... shown here....my mental list goes on and on.....

 

I have been finishing quite a bit here lately ...if you'd like take a gander, you can visit Edgar's blog  and Andrea's blog  just to name a couple....  I love the finish work.... so, thanks again for those of you trusting me with your gorgeous handiwork.....

 

I have had a chance to give Sarah's House a proper construction.... I love stitching samplers that I know young school girls stitched... Plus the color palette of this particular design just kind of "spoke" to me....

 

Sarah's House

Blackbird Designs

36 count Abeccedarian Linen

Cotton overdyes

 

 

(hmmmmmm...please excuse the string that I somehow missed seeing before photoing...sheesh.....)

 

 

And, I dressed up my breakfast room table with a few goodies to display in my dough bowl...

 

I just love the fall season....don't you???

 

 

 

I have always loved this Stacy Nash design called "Pears and Strawberries Sampler"...found here..

It was actually intended to be a sewing bag, but I wanted a table scarf....  The colors make me smell apple cider on stove right now!!

 

Well, its late for this ole teacher....Tomorrow is our last day with the children for three weeks.... So, me and my kitted up ornaments will be heading to Cherry Grove for a short while... still sewing and finishing of course....just a little further south.....

 

Here's hoping you all have a fantastic week!!!

 

 

 

Faye

 

 

 

 

 



Building Sarah's House....

Hello fellow friends and stitchers....

First, I would like to thank everyone who takes the time to comment on my blog or email me...It really warms me up inside to know you even like to read my ramblings....And, even if I don't email you directly, please know I truly appreciate your words of support...It IS my inspiration..!!

 

I would love to share with you my latest endeavor....I wanted to branch away from Hannah Jackson for a bit and I went straight away to "Sarah's House" by Blackbird Designs...Kitted and ready to go, I have given her attention for about a week or so...

 

Sarah's House

Blackbird Designs

36 count Abeccedarian Linen

Cotton overdyes

 

I experimented with the alphabet a bit....Notice the top 2 lines are the Rice stitch and Algerian eye stitch....I thought it looked nice as Sarah had stithched her original...With the uneven vine and the incomplete alphabet, everyone knew Sarah had stitched it...She evidently was "known" for such...

 

Cute that Sarah stitched her "J" a little backwards.....And, aren't the GAST Cucumber and GAST Burlap overdyes beautiful together???

 

I am now on to the bottom of the sampler to work on the brick and mortar of the house... More on that in the next post.

 

****************

Poor ole Sarah has not been totally neglected this past week..... She's a monster of a piece and with that being said, I just have to interject other stitches along the way....When you  last saw her she looked like **this**...and now, she's expanded a tad to this....

 

 

Hannah Jackson 1826

Reflets de Soie

36 ct French Vanilla Edinburgh

Au Ver A Soie silk threads

 

As you see, the alphabet stretches out quite a bit.....

 

 

 

 

This bottom portion is what got stitched this week....I see somebody's got their hands on their hips... That can't be a good thing...tee hee....

 

More stitching on both the ladies this week....Sarah and Hannah both are wonderful stitches!!!

I am getting a hankering however to stitch some of the wonderful Halloween smalls I have been finishing for folks.....Wow!! You guys are stitching machines...And, sending them to me to finish!! I thank you so much....Keep 'em coming....

 

I leave you with a peek of what I spent alot of my day doing .....I had 7 pouches to finish and mail tomorrow.....Here's a glimpse of one of them.....I just love red and creme together....

 

As we say at school each day, "Smile,so you will make someone else smile....And, always try to do your best...!!!"  I tell ya, when you hear another first grader say something like that to another child, it makes you grin from head to toe....Thumbs up....

 

Have a great week everyone....

 

Faye

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



A few things to share...

Well, its finally September and the leaves will be turning...falling...football season to look forward to... nicer weather (hopefully)...

 

Here are a few finishes that I sewed up for Andrea....She agreed to have them shown on my blog and I wanted to show off her AWESOME stitching talent...

 

 a small Halloween envelope....

to hold all kinds of small goodies....

 like a witchy needlebook....

 

 

she thought it was spook-ta-cular....

More finishes of Andrea's will be showcased soon....

 

I also have been stitching away on Lori of Notforgotton Farm freebie finish challenge piece..

Mr Pumpkin Head turned into a small table hanging in my craft room....

 accented with hand dyed wool applique on nice quilt fabric....

 

there were so many nice entries....with very creative finishes....

 

Quick post tonight..... College football is coming on the TV and my K-cup along with my newest project is calling my name....

 

Happy first of September everyone~~~

 

Faye