Friendships

"True friendship multiplies the good in life and

divides its evil.

Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life

on a desert island, to find one real friend in a

lifetime is good fortune, to him is a blessing."

Baltasar Gracian

 

I was truly blessed at a retreat in New Hampshire years ago to truly find a stitching friend in Pam. We have become much more than stitching friends but the kind of friends you can not only laugh with but also cry with. We are grateful we can meet up at retreats to strengthen our friendship even more.

Visiting retreats is a time to relax and be away from the real world for a bit but also a time to meet new stitching friends. This retreat we sat next to Anna. I do believe a new friendship was kindled.

 

These girls really had a unique story.

 

 

I can't tell you their names or even where they are from. None of their other stitching friends at home knew they were there. They were so funny telling us the story of where they were all supposed to be. We called them in the stitchers witness protective program.

 

 

I took this Mill Hill ornament for the Christmas exchange. I won this lovely one done on a old spool. I loved that it was red, white and blue.

 

 

I did enjoy the exchanges and meeting new friends. There were several vendors there where you could purchase more stash then any of us needs. This retreat was what I say a "no frills" one. No special goodies bags or treats. We did get this little necklaces with a group picture in the end. 

 

 

I will tell you about my after retreat journey on another day.

 

Always keep love in your stitches,

Teresa







More on relaxing at the beach.

"Relaxation means releasing all concerns and

letting the natural order of life flow through ones being."

Donald Curtis

 

 

I have had no troubles releasing all concerns. Days of stitching with no schedule to live by is the true meaning of relaxing.

 

To help us prepare for sitting and stitching while looking out into the ocean I made these items for Pam and I. We decided we would have a sea theme to our stitching area and you can't stitch without something hot or cold to drink. Of course you need a mug rug for them to sit on and you never know when you will need some tissues.

 

 

I ordered the By The Bay stitch an inch when they first came out and of course needed the holder, not one but two. When they arrived I put them aside to stitch at a later date. When going through my stash for sea theme stuff they were found again and now I know why I ordered two.

 

 

 

We each had the mermaid needle minder to help us not lose our important stitching tool. Well we now needed something to put our Orts in so this was between us to share.

 

 

Sorry it came outside ways. I also needed an extra pair of scissor and of course they needed their own fob, so here was my extra.

 

 

Friday night was a stitching goodie bag exchange. You were to put at least 25.00 worth of stitching items into a creative container. My was a sea themed sewed tote bag filled with many fun items. My theme was a gift from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

 

 

Boy was I spoiled with the Red, White and Blue themed bag and goodies I received.

 

I will post next about the Christmas ornament exchange and some of the friends we have met.

 

 

Always keep love in your stitches,

Teresa











Relaxing and Stitching

"Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation,

for when you come back to your work your judgement

will be surer.

So some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in a glance

and lack of,  harmony and proportion is more readily seen."

Leonardo da Vince

 

Well I guess you can say I have gone some distance to find some wonderful relaxation. I am now 2559 miles from home. After my flight into Atlanta I was picked up at the curb by Pam, Confessions of a Southern Stitcher, and off we headed. Our first stop was Augusta, Ga where we dined at my favorite Cracker Barrel. We decided that was also a good place to stay for the night. After much talking and catching up we woke up to start again on our journey. About four hours later we arrived in Myrtle Beach for the Stitching Pals Retreat put on by Amy of Down Sunshine Lane.

 

Here is the wonderful view from our sea side room. If you open the balcony door we can hear the waves crashing against the shore. Pure heaven.

There are several exchanges you can participate in. Last night was the fall one. I stitched this little pillow.

 

 

This was the cute pillow I received in the exchange. I think the turkey with his long neck is so fun.

What fun for Pam and I to meet fellow bloggers. Here is Faye, Carolina Stitcher and Karen, Karen's Handiwork. They both are just as sweet as can be with all the southern charm. Faye brought some of her finished stitching and believe me as nice as it looks on the blog in person it is just beautiful. She really does a wonderful job.

 

 

Karen passed out these cute little homemade goodies. Cute to look at and also filled with wonderful treats. 

 

 

Off to do some more stitching. Will let you know what tonight's exchange brings.

 

Always keep love in your stitches,

Teresa



My bags are packed

"Vacation is what you take when you can't take

what you've been taking any longer."

Arthur Unknown

 

My bags are all packed and just waiting until morning when I can fly away. I leave bright and early for my first destination, Atlanta. Pam will drive from Alabama and pick me and we will both hit the road. Not sure where the first night will take us but on Wednesday we will arrive at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I can't wait for a relaxing retreat by the beach hosted by Down Sunshine Lane. Not to mention meeting some bloggers. That is always exciting to me.

I will post from our sea side room and let you know how things are going.

 

A while back in a comment some one suggested I change my profile since adding my niece to the family. To be honest things were not going that well and I just wasn't ready. My son was home a bit this summer after leaving the Air Force after over eight years before he started his new adventure of going back to school. We took this rare opportunity to take a new family picture.  Things have been going well at home now and so I am now at a point to add my niece to the family picture so you will notice I have now changed my profile picture to include us all.

 

 

I just have to mention our dear blogger friend Cathey, most commonly known as Pumpkin. I was sadden to hear of her passing. She saw in a post once I got my first ornament magazine in an exchange and she had a few extras sitting around and shared a couple with me. To thank her I sent her a monkey to stitch his bib and some monkey burp clothes. It was so exciting reading her posts of the upcoming birth and later the monthly photos of her adorable little "Junior". Many prayers go out to her family and friends.

 

 

"Blessed are those who mourn,

for they shall be comforted."

Matthew 5:4

 

Always keep love in your stitches,

Teresa



A bit of the past

"Memories are to remember the past

and dreams are to predict the future.

If you don't have dreams you don't have anything."

Arthur Unknown

 

 

My daughter loves any thing from the past. She is a true vintage girl. Every Sunday at church you will find her in a pair of old gloves and a vintage hat. She has a lot of fans from the older generation.

 

At church we have a group that meets on Monday mornings called "Crafts for Christ". We make prayer blankets for any one in need and also small beaded ornaments that we hang on small Christmas trees for those that are shut in and don't get out. Many of the church members donate craft items for us to use like yarn and beads. Well we received a box recently from a women cleaning out her mom's old crafts. Mostly it was scrapes of material but in the box was a very old envelope. The envelope was from a craft a month club. For a mere dollar and 24 cents for postage you would receive a new craft each month. This particular one was from 1968. After opening it and reading the letter to the girls they all said you need to make this for your daughter Jennifer our sweet vintage girl.

 

The letter that came with it described it as wildly gay. It was a stash bag to store your curlers or many other things.

It also reminded you to pre-pay your membership to avoid the 60 cent C.O.D. charges. When was the last time you saw some thing come C.O.D. ?

 

 So I  followed the pattern and laid out the net material on top of the white vinyl (that frankly reminded me of a old shower curtain) and sewed  the two together. After finishing all the steps I ended up with this delightful stash bag.

 

It even had that vintage smell to it. Needless to say my daughter was absolutey thrilled with it. Not bad for $1.25 spent back in 1968. It was a fun pattern and I might do it again but not with the old shower curtain material.

 

 

I must have gotten this pattern a few years ago and finally got around to stitching it. Not sure how I will finish it. I have been doing some other stitching but can't quite show them yet as they are for exchanges at the retreat. Since I already know a couple of bloggers attending the retreat next week I will wait and show them after the exchange.

 

Most likely I won't post again until after I arrive at the retreat next week, but who knows miracles can happen.

 

Always keep love in your stitches,

Teresa







My last get away retreat.

"If a man insisted on being serious and never allowed

himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go

mad or become unstable without knowing it."

Herodolus

 

Last April when I flew into Alabama to meet with Pam, "Confessions of a Southern Stitcher" to attend a retreat in Arkansas. It was a time in my life when I really needed relaxation. Unfortunately the relaxation only lasted so long and then I had to go back home. That was when life got in the way of blogging and I stopped for a bit. On my last post I said I was looking for the pictures of the retreat. I was able to find them and now I will share them with you.

 

 

This is the Red Apple Inn where the retreat took place. It was a perfect place to run away from the real world and just sit, stitch and meet new friends.

 

 

This was the beautiful view we had from our breakfast table each morning.

 

Pat ran the shop that hosted the retreat. Unfortunately her shop is now closed as she and her husband moved to be closer to family.

 





 

Her friend Tracey helped with the retreat. It was Tracey that taught the class I attended.

 

 

Several times at our workplace or table at lunch we found a little goodies.

 



 

I admit I have not stitched this one yet. It was a tea towel and floss to stitch a design along the bottom edge. How cute it was stuffed in a canning jar.

 

 

 

At one lunch this little bag was at our seats with a kit inside.

Tracey taught beading and there was a wonderful selection of beads to purchase.

This was the kit that was inside and Tracey helped me to complete it. I have to say it is one of a kind never to be done again.

 

It was a beaded band to go around a small flashlight. Of course since it was hearts I had to give it a try.

 

The class I attended was making clay buttons. Tracey attended a class given by "Just Another Button Company" and she tried to pass on her knowledge. These are my attempt at making heart buttons. They started off to be a heart with a white center and pink around the outside, by the time I was done they were marbled instead.

 

What I really wanted to make was some star buttons. I have a special project I am working on and really wanted to had a homemade button. Look for this project in the near future.

 

I purchased this kit at one of the many shops we visited. I got it thinking I would do a "T" in the stitching but after opening the pattern I didn't care for the "T" and saw that a heart pattern was included and knew that was what I had to stitch.

 

 

 

It was a wonderful trip and I really enjoyed spending some time with Pam. The morning I left her house I looked out into the back yard and saw all her azaleas in full bloom. Pam was a wonderful hostess and really showed me a wonderful time.

 

I had such a wonderful time, Pam and I will be at it again. This time Pam will be picking me up at the Atlanta airport and we will be driving to Myrtle Beach, SC to attend another wonderful retreat. This retreat is hosted by "Down Sunshine Lane". I have already found a couple of bloggers who will be attending and look forward to meeting them. Who else out there in blog land will be attending?

I hope to see you there in less than two weeks.

 

Always keep love in your stitches,

Teresa











I have missed our time together!

"Though we drifted apart in distance

I still think of you as being right there.

And although we have many new friends,

it is our friendship that means the most to me."

Arthur Unknown

 

All I can really say is that I have missed by blogging friends so very much. Reading your blogs and keeping up with you was always a high light in my day. I started blogging after my two kids were out of the house, my husband was semi-retired and life was the slow pace I had always imagined my life to be at this age. I enjoyed meeting new stitcher's and crafter's through my blog and theirs. I joined the "Stitched with Love Exchange" and was so excited not only sending a package but receiving one from far away places. If you had asked me  a couple of years ago I would have said my life was near perfect. I say near because I was not a mother in law so I couldn't be a grandmother, then life would have been perfect. But God had other plans for us and gave us our niece to raise. Boy I can say I was not really ready for all the challenges that held. I can say life is starting to have a normal feel about it, even if she did start middle school this year. Any mom out there knows middle school is a strange age anyways much well for a girl who has lost both parents and moved in with a aunt that now had rules and church and school came first.

 

I last left blogging right in the middle of a retreat with Pam. Many may have thought I ran away from home and never returned. Well I did come home but life just got in the way. I did have a wonderful time at the retreat and am looking for the pictures to show you. I did have them on my computer but shortly after I got home my computer of less than six months crashed with no warning. I had not really gotten use to that computer when I had to take it back and trade it for a new one. So when I locate the pictures on a old drive I will show you. Meantime I have been stitching and sewing, I had to so I wouldn't lose what sanity I still had.

 

My mom wanted a purse with a sewing theme. I found this cute material and made it for Mother's Day.

 

 

I love to do the house in apple theme for September. It reminds me of back to school. Of course we use to start school right after Labor Day. Anna started school August 12th so September doesn't have the same back to school feel it use to. I had this piece to stitch for years, don't even remember where I got it. It came with the little red buttons across the top to make the apples. A shop this summer was celebrating their one year opening and had some fun specials. I bought this cute frame on sale not knowing what would fit in it and they gave the stand away for coming during the anniversary. I was so surprised when I finished the piece and it fit. 

 

 

I have never done a mystery piece but decided since I like Little House designs so much I would give it a try. I can't say I liked stitching a piece not knowing what the whole thing looked like. I am happy with the piece except I am not a fan of the alphabet that is stitched on so many pieces. So I stitched in the title of the piece instead. Not sure how I am going to finish it off.

 

 

I am sure I have lost a few followers but for those who are still out there, a big THANK YOU for those hanging in there. I hope to post more often as I try and get a normal life back.

 

"Friendship is like a glass ornament,

once it is broken it can rarely be put

back together exactly the same way."

 

Arthur Unknown

 

I pray our friendship is not broken but can come back even stronger. I have thought about you all so many times and looking forward to keeping up.

 

Always keep love in your stitches,

Teresa



Being with a friend.

"Friends are most important ingredient

in the recipe of life."

Author Unknown

 

Friends are so wonderful to have and what a blessing it was to get off the plane after a long flight and be greeted by a wonderful friend. Not to mention a stitching friend, they are just the best. After Pam picked me up the first place she took me was to my favorite "Cracker Barrel".  Yum, was that ever good. When we arrived at her house she made me one of my favorite pies, pecan.

 

 

Sorry I didn't get a picture of it before I got a hold of it. Pam is a wonderful cook and it was delicious.

 

When I went up to my room you can not believe the greeting basket she had for me.

 

 

It was filled with so many goodies from a southern cookbook, some wonderful teas, stitching needles and lots more. She also made me this cute pillow.

 

 

One of the items I brought Pam was this beaded and stitched piece. It was a piece she saw last year and said this could be the two of us sitting at the lake house.

 

 

Pam took me to the lake house and here is the beautiful view from the deck.

 

 

After a couple of days playing around in her cute town we headed off on Tuesday morning for the retreat. What really should have been about a 6 hour trip took us 2 days. We really took our time and visited about 4 stitch shops, a couple of quilt stores, a tea house and not to mention a antique/flea market.

 

Here are  just a few of our stops.

 

 

Erma Bombeck said "the odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are three billion to one". Well the only thing on my list was a couple of thread colors and believe me I didn't come out of those shops with only my thread. I will have to get pictures of my stash another day.

 

We finally arrived at our retreat destination and have been having a wonderful time meeting new stitchers. And yes we have been getting some stitching done.

 

Just in case we didn't have enough stash one of the girls took us to her local shop. Yes we added even more to our stash. I can't believe how each store has something new I have never seen before.

 



 

 

Well it time to get ready and head over to the stitch room. I will try and get some pictures of my new stash and what we are stitching. The most important part is we are having a very much needed relaxing time away from our everyday lives.

 

Always keep love in your stitches,

Teresa