Stitching Friends and Goodies!!

How does one keep busy on a beautiful, but warm, October weekend.  With baseball of course!  The boys had games and practices both days that kept us running all over the place.

For other events in my life, let me go back a few days.  On Thursday, Brett, Anna and myself were able to meet up with Peggy Lee of the Kentucky Sampler.  We started with a two hour session at Starbuck's.  The rest of our day consisted of shopping at the Strawberry Sampler and Kohls, then off to lunch.  We had a ton of fun!

Here we all are at the Sampler.

Here's Peggy Lee at lunch - did you see the name of that BBQ sauce? 

This tote bag is from a general store in Kentucky where Peggy Lee is from.  The back tells the story of the store and the front shows the picture.  A girl can never have enough tote bags - thanks Peggy Lee!  I love it and I know it will enter the rotation of bags I use to carry my stitching.

 

How appropriate to find a package waiting for me when I arrived home that contained the traveling pattern that originated with Peggy Lee!  The blue shown under the pattern is the journal where each stitcher is documenting their project details and leaving special notes for Peggy Lee to read when it finally arrives back home.  The fabric at the bottom is what I'll be stitching on - 32count Antique Gold by Silkweaver.  My thread choices will remain a secret until I finish.  I put my other projects aside and started working on this Thursday evening.  The perfect way to finish my day.

 The following are some goodies that I won from June at Butterfly Wings.  I may have to stitch up a few of those motifs from Anchor for some Christmas ornaments!  Thank you so much June!

I want to take a moment to say hello to my new followers!  Oh, and Ned the Gnome has done some more traveling.  To see what he's been up to, click the picture in my sidebar!

Thanks for stopping by!



Summer Exchange

I am finally able to show the Summer Exchange hosted by Lainey at the Stitched With Love Exchanges.

I had to create a package for Christina from Whilst Iris Naps.  We were to create a stitched item based on a summer vacation/travel theme.  As soon as I heard the theme, I knew I wanted to stitch this BBD piece.  We were to also include some other goodies.  I know the Halloween pattern and threads don't fit the theme, but I also know that Christina loves Halloween - so in they went! 

 

I just had to include this mermaid scissor fob.  I was happy to hear from Christina that this was her first fob! 

I received a wonderful package from Barb of Barb's Ramblings - Stitching 'N Things.

The first thing my boys found was this box.  Needless to say, it did not last long!

Then there was this beautiful fob and pair of scissors.  Love it! 

Look at the cute charm on the back!  If I ever travel over the pond, I am told I have to visit the Abbey!

She also included this wonderful Summer Needleroll.  A first for me!! So pretty! 

A lovely lace bookmark for my summer reading. 

A package of needles - it is always great to have those extra needles.  See those little seashell charms?  These were attached to the ribbons on the packages.  They will no doubt find their way onto a future piece of needlework.

And finally, this beautiful candle holder.  I love it! It is even more special, since it was made by her husband!!  Isn't is great?

When you look at it from the side, you can see that going along with the summer theme, this was made to remind you of the sea.  See how the bottom has the coloring of the sand!  My boys thought this was pretty cool.  One of them even tried to take it to his room - I put a stop to that, this one is mine! 

The note card is a scene from her town, as is the postcard.  Definitely a place I would love to visit one day! 

 

Thank you so much Barb for your wonderful and generous gifts!

The current exchange theme is Fall/Halloween.  I opted out of this one.  This is such a busy time of year for us, adjusting to back to school, along with scouts and baseball starting up again.  I've barely had time or energy to put in any stitches lately. 
Lainey will be putting up info soon for the Christmas Exchange.  If you'd like to participate, keep an eye on the exchange blog, the link is at the top of this post.

Don't forget to keep an eye on Ned the Gnome's Adventures.  Just click the picture on the side to see what he's been up to. 

Thanks for stopping by, Happy Stitching!

Check Out the Giveaways!!

Just a quick note to remind you to check out the Giveaways listed in my sidebar - just click on the links to see some wonderful goodies up for grabs!!

Also, check out Lainey's new exchange.  Sign ups will be close on July 11th.  I have now participated in two of her exchanges and say that I have been totally spoiled by the two partners I have had!
Visit the Stitched With Love Exchanges site if you wish to sign up!

And Ned the Gnome has reached his first destination.  He's even started his own blog so that the boys can follow his adventures and leave comments for him!  You can check it out here:
Ned's Adventure

Thanks for stopping by!

What a....

Whirlwind!!  That describes the last week or so.  The end of the school year picnics, plays and loads of papers being brought home!  Not to mention the end of the regular Little League season, the start of tournament play for the older two boys, baseball camp and the upcoming scout camp.  And summer is just starting!!

Saturday we decided on a bit of an adventure.  We took the train into Philadelphia to visit here:

The Reading Terminal Market.

What a place!  The fresh foods, eateries and other vendors.  If I lived in the city, I would definitely shop here.  Here are some pics from inside:

 

 

 

We had some cheese steaks, meatball sandwiches and this:

One scoop of dark chocolate and one scoop of banana. 

Then I felt like I should buy this:

Can anyone else relate?  I know of at least one reader that I spoke with this week that might want one of these too!!

My oldest trying to look cool on the train.

The other two goofing off. 

And see that big gaping hole?  Two teeth lost this week, one while eating his meatball sandwich.

 

Our family day ended with this view from our front porch.  The city is a great place to visit, but the country views are the ones I love best.

Father's Day began with breakfast at Cracker Barrel, followed by a visit to Longwood Gardens for a quiet walk, an old fashioned ice cream stand for a treat (yes, I just admitted that I had ice cream twice in one weekend!) and then home for family time.  It was a wonderful weekend.

There has been some stitching too.  I managed to get my exchange in the mail today - just in the nick of time!  I can't show that yet, as this is a secret partner exchange. 

 I did manage to get the latest Truly Thankful edition stitched.  I love this piece!  We have been harvesting berries from our berry patch, so this motif is perfect!

I managed to squeeze my initials in here:

And the date over here: 

And since we live near Philadelphia, I think the eagle and the Liberty Bell are wonderful!!

I'm now working on the May Flowers Truly Thankful - I got a little behind with the crazy schedule we've been keeping.

Tomorrow is the first day of summer, so I switched out my Spring PS piece for a summer one. 

Aren't the colors pretty? 

And who doesn't love a bunny?   

I love the leathery look of this frame. 

And finally, I'd like you to meet Ned.  Ned the Gnome.  He's our indoor gnome and he gets jealous that the others are outside in the gardens and he's stuck in the house.

He usually resides here: 

Well, Ned has decided that this summer, he is taking a trip.  He let me take this last picture while he was waiting patiently for the mail lady to come and give him a ride. 

Stay tuned to see where he ends up and what he gets into!

Thanks for stopping by!