Move Successful....A Freebie

Well, we have now been in Montana for 6 weeks.  It has gone very fast, and we have accomplished a lot around the house and getting settled into a new community.  We are slowly meeting people, and my new job is working out well.

The stitching, however, has had to take a back seat.  I have not had any time for my hobby which is really annoying, but we really want to get the house settled. 

In the meantime, here is a link for a really cute Halloween freebie:

http://gazette94.blogspot.com/2014/09/halloween.html

Until the next update....Enjoy your stitching time.  Be sure to share your updates!
 

So much time.....

Wow!!  I just thought about my blog this morning, and felt I should update a bit.  It's a good thing, too, since my last post was in May!!  So much has been going on, and I'm sorry to report that it hasn't involved a whole lot of stitching.

Personally, my position at my last job was dissolved, and there was no negotiating with them for a future job.  The good news, I found a new position quickly, but it is in a different State, so I have spent the past few weeks frantically packing up my house, and preparing my family to move a few states away.  Nothing like a little stress to keep you going, right?  We are hoping to head out this weekend, but we'll know more as we hear from the lender on the house we purchased.

The only stitching I have managed to get done is a little bit here and there.  I have been working on Halloween still, and I had so hoped to have it done and then finished into a flat fold by the season.

Every little chance I get, I'm stitching on this.  It hasn't been easy to keep finding time with everything else that needs to get done right now, but stitching is such a stress reliever for me!!

 My big escape was back in June.  I attended the Chicago GTG again, and once again, I had an amazing time!  I met new friends and visited with the ones I met last year.  It has to be said (again), if you can ever attend a Get Together - DO IT!!    Here are some of the highlights:

 Genie is the woman who puts this on, and she is just a DOLL!!  I love the ladies I meet and get to talk to, and I'm looking forward to the 2015 adventure!!

And the verdict is.....

San Bernardino County has the longest lead time I have ever heard of for a Fair entry.  My items were turned in for judging at the end of April, and the Fair did not begin until May 24th.  Factor in that it was Memorial Day weekend, and I didn't find out how I did until last night.

So, the results are:

TWO BLUE RIBBONS!

Yep! That's right - both pieces received First Place.  I entered my Songs of the Season sampler:

And I also entered my Nora Corbett Easter Fairy.  Because the Fairy went along with the Fair's theme of BEE-lieve in Fair e-tails, I also received a ribbon for Fair Theme:

Overall, I could not be more proud of myself!! Last year, I received a second place ribbon, and this year I received two first place ribbons.  Hmmmmm, that means that I need to figure out how to get Best of Division or Best of Show for next year, right?

Working on Halloween

Well, my local Fair has quite a huge lead time, so Easter Fairy and the Koehler Family sampler were taken in last month for judging.  The Fair doesn't begin until Memorial Day weekend, so I still have some time before I'll know how I did.

In the meantime, I have numerous projects that I would like to finish, but I seem to be traveling a lot more than usual.  Between doctor appointment, orthodontist appointment, and the girls' schedules, I am not able to stitch at home.  I have my traveling piece in my bag, and it's Happy Halloween by Silver Creek Samplers.  So far, I'm not doing too badly:

The piece called for Weeks  Dye Works floss, but I didn't have enough of them on hand, so I used the alternates in DMC.  It's still really cute, and I love how it looks on Stephanie's Witch's Brew fabby.

Done in time for Easter

My triumph for this evening was to put the last bead in Easter Fairy. She is completely gorgeous, and I'm so glad that I swapped out the linen from the kit with a hand-dyed fabric.  She took me just over one month to complete, and now she will make a trip to Michigan to be finished by Lori.  I should get her back just in time to enter her in my County Fair.

Here is she with just the stitching:

 And the first beads go in....

I chose Playful Sprite in 28 ct Opal Lugana by Hand Dyed by Stephanie and stitched her over 2.

Easter Fairy

I started Easter Fairy by Nora Corbett while on my trip to the frozen mid-west.  She is absolutely fun to stitch, and I did have quite a bit to frog since I spent a lot of time talking rather than paying attention to where I was.

It's a bit hard to see what is going on here, but she has taken some great shape.  I am using Playful Sprite in 28 ct Opal Lugana from Stephanie.  The masquerade fob was a wonderful surprise gift from Gina Lantis-Figueroa.  

Stitching Friends

I took off for Columbus, Ohio. Nikki Loans (middle) was on an airplane for 27 hours from Cape Town, South Africa, and we met Tina Bush and stayed with her for the week. Nikki wanted to see snow, and she got a LOT of her wish.

While here, we had the pleasure and honor of seeing Nora Corbett, the designer of Mirabilia and the Nora Corbett pixies, etc. We loved having brunch with her one afternoon followed by some shipping. Today, we enjoyed going to see her again.  Not only did we have the privilege of seeing her studio, but we got to spend more time with her having drinks and supper. Nora is absolutely a doll, and we loved spending time getting to know her. It's official, we love her as much as we love her art.

Tina drove Nikki and me to Michigan where we got to see the talented Stephanie Bishop, and she was awesome enough to let us stay with her.  During our trip to the frozen tundra, we were able to see some incredible LNS's as well as Stephanie working her magic on some fabric.

 Did I mention - Frozen Tundra?

 This is The Rocking Horse.  What an amazing store!

 Lori Curtis, Stephanie Bishop, Tina Bush, Nikki Loans and me

 Nothing like a GTG

 The amazing Amy Abler

This is a piece of fabric that is now known as Frozen Freckles because of Stephanie's daughter, Izzy.  

What a great way to spend some time away! My next trip will be for the Chicago GTG, and I will see some of these great ladies again.  We will keep Nikki in our hearts.  If you ever have the opportunity to meet with her - I highly suggest it.