Great Lakes Retreat

Wow! My summer has zoomed by, but I was so glad that I could make it to Aury and Stephanie's first stitching retreat. 

The 1st Annual Great Lakes Retreat took place last month in Dundee, Michigan, and it was a blast!!

For any of you not familiar with these two, here you go:
 

Aury is on the left and Stephanie on the right

Aury is AuryTM Designs and Stephanie is Hand Dyed by Stephanie fabrics. Both are very talented ladies, and they not only put on a great retreat, but there were many goodies to be found!

There were designs from Aury and fabrics from Stephanie....

 As well as many other great stitching items from Stitches and Things - Deb brought her store to us!

Here are some of the highlights from this retreat:

If you are able to make it next year, you should! Stephanie and Aury are still looking at June or July for a summer retreat, and they are trying to find a new venue so the stitching room is larger.  Yay!  

There is so much fun when you spend time with others who enjoy the same hobby.  There was much laughter, camaraderie, stitching, and new friends to make!

Emotions Run High

Two weeks ago, our dog was hit and left for dead.  It's a horrible way to open a blog post, but it's what we have been facing in this house. We thought it was just a small fracture on her front leg and a hip that wouldn't go back in, but it turned out to be way worse. We have been fortunate in that people have donated to her care so we could afford it better, and the surgeon is working with us so we can bring her  home and give her a good quality of life.  Here is Addie:

She's a great dog, and she really helps my husband. We never put her through Service Dog training, so she isn't official as one, but she really keeps him going on his bad days.  We have had to figure out a whole new budget, but she is worth it all. Addie should be home by early next week.  The poor thing made it through her hip surgery today, and she will undergo surgery on her front leg tomorrow.  

In order to keep my sanity, I returned to stitching. I allowed Life to get in the way, and I found myself not doing something I love in order to meet the expectations and needs of family and friends.  So, this past week, I pulled out a WIP and got to work on it.  Today, I have a finish!!

I used a conversion that I found on a Mirabilia site on the internet and changed the wings to a gold color and backstitched in brown.  I think this gives her a more "autumn" look to go with the sunflower.

Now, I will put her aside and get busy on the wedding sampler that a friend made for me last year.  We are going to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary this year - better late on the sampler than never!

New Ventures!

Boy, have I been busy, and it wasn't even for stitching!!  The new location, the new job, and a new business venture have all taken their toll on my time. (Not to mention having the hubby and three teenage girls in the house!).

So, I have a new website which is up and ready to go!!  Check it out at www.3kcrafting.com! Right now, I have patterns, embellishments and some fabric.  My hope it to finally get the floor stand finished and ready for production.  Yes, it's been a few years since I started talking about this, but it is a great stand, and I think Montana will allow me to create it and do a great job.

There have been a number of glitches to my new website, but I believe that all of them have been found.  I have a monthly newsletter that goes out which highlights the current items, and there is usually a coupon code to be found.  Be sure to subscribe and stay informed!

As for my personal stitching, I am actually very close to being done with the Sunflower Fairy by Nora Corbett.  It is my hope that it will be done before I head back to teaching in August!!

Scarlet Tanager

I have my first Finish of 2015!! It took me forever, but the Scarlet Tanager for Lori's Round Robin is finally done!

Again, this is being completed on Stephanie's Snow Drifts fabric.  There are some colors from the pattern that were left out - all of the background, and one of the reds was changed to Kreinik to give it some sparkle.  

I will be getting everything boxed up and ready to ship to the next person for this round robin.  It was great fun to work on this and to participate.  I look forward to seeing Lori post it when everyone is done. 

The Montana "Crud"

Yes, that is really the name of whatever this virus thing is around here.  I have had it for three weeks and counting, and it's seriously annoying.  I have been too tired to stitch for a while, but I managed to get some sanity time in yesterday.

Scarlet Tanager is coming along nicely!  I really hope to have this done by this weekend and send it off to the next person.

Scarlet Tanager

My plan to finish this little guy quickly has been moving along quite well.  Here is my latest update on Lori's round robin:

 He looks great!!  I know that the Kreinik that Lori chose for him is going to make him pop really well.  I'm going to concentrate on the bottom tree and leaves before working with the Kreinik and sending him on his way.

Just a Bit

I have said it before, and I'll say it again - this having to work for a living really cuts into my Stitchy Time.

Despite being busy at work and at home, I did manage to get the leaves done on Scarlet Tanager for the Round Robin.  
 

21 January

26 January

I am focusing on this piece so I can send it off to the next person to work on it rather than holding it hostage at my house while I work on the 15 Miras.  I am happy that I'll get to start working on the bird next.  Lori, the owner of this piece, does not want the background stitched, so I'm leaving that off.  She has made a couple other changes to the pattern to include using some Kreinik as well.  I love how she set this piece up, and I enjoy working on it for her.

So, my plan was to work on this until my sale items arrived from Stephanie which will allow me to start the last three Miras.  However, I have to say, that more planning is necessary before I can start.  In the meantime, take a look at these gorgeous fabbies:

Oh, I have fully fondled these lovelies since they arrived.  My husband completely thinks I'm nuts, but he knows how much I adore them.  He always loves the finished pieces as well, so he doesn't complain.  Oh, and yes, that one in the top right is not able to fit in one of Stephanie's little baggies.  It is a full yard of Opal Snow Drifts.  This will hold two of the Miras that I am planning to do next.  Any guesses??