Awesome Giveaway to announce!

Ladies... Please go to this link and check out the GORGEOUS dog Rory... and also the wonderful giveaway that she is having!!!!!

http://kathystitchcomments.blogspot.com/2009/10/to-thank-you-with-special-giveaway.html?showComment=1256816035443#c1881535011561017974

The names for this giveaway is going to be chosen by Rory on October 31st.

Good Luck to all!!!!!

Wish list wants

Girls... I have to show you these cute little elves... I LOVE them and want one so bad!!!!
I hope I can get a job before Christmas to be able to get one to put in my house for Christmas. I wanted one for Halloween too but that is NOT going to happen!

Here is the link...
http://www.annaleegallery.com/product.html?t_q=502808

This is the one that I just Love!!!! But it is soooooooo hard to choose!!!! They are all sooooooooo cute. I see a lot of the girls that are displaying their cross stitch work with these little elves holding them! It is simply ADORABLE!!!!!!

Oh look at this one!!!!!
http://www.annaleegallery.com/product.html?t_q=502009

I hope one day soon to get one of these little guys!!!!

Giveaway News ... You have to look!

I am starting tonight girls by giving you a link to another blog that I visit daily and ask you to look. She is doing a give away and it is AWESOME! It is a Breast cancer Awareness giveaway... please go and take a look:

http://feathersinthenest.blogspot.com/2009/10/october-give-way-breast-cancer.html


FINAL RETREAT DETAILS...

OK girls... I have to tell you the stories of the WAY HOME from the retreat!

So we leave the Cavalier ON TIME just like we planned... and drive for maybe 45 minutes... and we are at a stop!!!! COMPLETELY!!! We sat in a Traffic Jam for 3 hours... and then finally found out that there must have at one point been an automobile accident! We traveled a little under 10 miles in almost 3 hours... WOW !!! Now we are behind...

The next even was in Virginia... where we were behind a truck hauling Cows... and was talking of COW subject... like "Happy Cows are in a Happy Trailer! " and What conversations they were having in the back of that truck... when all the sudden... out of the back of the trailer came this RUSH!!!!! and Gush!!!!! It was Cow PEEEEEE and was Spraying all over my car... SHEWIE!!!!! Oh we laughed so hard... What if our windows were down... that would have been so Gross... OK well about 10 minutes later a fella on a Motorbike...decided to get in behind this trailer... OMG... we laughed sooooooooo hard ... he had no bug guard... so if those cows decided to go to the potty again... he was in for a YUMMY event and some strange looks at the truck stop later that night. Oh we wanted to follow them to find out what happened but they both turned off together!!!! That would have been soooooooooo funny...

NOW... we are back in line and heading the course for our trip home... in West Virginia now... and all the sudden out of NOWHERE jumps out a BLACK BEAR... Yes... a BLACK BEAR... Looked to be fairly young... and a little thin... But he acted as if to Swat the car in front of us and then leaped over the back of the car... and over the guard rail as if it were NOTHING!!! OMG!!!! I have NEVER in all my years seen this happen. How cool was that!!!

As Dusk approached ... we saw all kind of deer... and even Coyotes that was as usual very fun... I love the wildlife.

In the darkness and winding thru the hills of West Va... many hours later... We are cruising fairly good beside a big truck with 2 carriers ... so it was a BIG truck. The front cab tires hit a Skunk... rolled him over into my lane... and wouldnt you know we hit him too... and he SPRAYED my car like crazy... Well goodness you would too... if you were just hit by a truck... rolled under a SUV and hit again... Poor fella... But now My car had Cow pee and skunk spray all over it! WOW!!!! what an interesting smell... when we stopped to get gas... YUCK!!!!!

OK then we hit Winchester KY and it is SNOWING!!!!! WOW ! We arrived at home around 2 a.m. and I was NEVER so happy to see our area!!!! What a trip!!!! But it is all good for some laughs!!!

Mor Pics and stories from the Retreat!

Ok Ladies... as Promised... more tales of the R&R retreat!

This is me and my DD on the Beach... the wind was blowing pretty good but the temperature is lovely... the waves and the water was awesome!!!!

On to some more of the kits given at the Retreat... On the left of this Picture is the gifted kit that The girls from Blackbird Designs gave us. The first night we had a special get together and they talked of many different ways to finish our pieces and even crafty ways to take something that we had stitched and make more items out of it! It is a LOVELY kit and even has the lighthouse that we visited the day before that is at Ft Storey.

On the Left side of this picture is the kit that was given to us the second night as we all gathered for a "circle of friends" gathering... What a blast... finding out how all the retreats have been together... and how this circle of friends that we have been such a part of had grown and become the awesome group of people that it is today! Each person had helped with this... and it had a cute little acorn charm that Charland made for it! WOW is it cute!!!!

Below is the Retreat Piece that The Shepherd's Bush Girls brought for us. They also gave us a gorgeous hand made box and during the class they told us that theyhad brought us gifts...
They gave us the cutest little pair of scissors... with a beaded fob... Mine had a birdy on the bottom... and then they brought us a craft project... we made a little accorn pin cushion of wool... it is adorable!











This is a picture of one of the parting gifts from the retreat... Last year they gave us a Mermaid Necklace that Charland had made especially for us. This year the accorn with the circle of hearts in the center! Oh it is LOVELY!!!!!!

OK... so I have to put this little birdie pic in here... cuz he is a cutie Patootie... and also because He was probably standing when I started this post... and now is tired... and sat down!

This is the Welcome Sign of the Cavalier Hotel !!! see... Dying To Stitch! That was us!!!!

After going to the shop and buying so many goodies... we went across the street to Ruby Tuesdays and had the Best Lunch!!!! This is us as we first got there!

On the Beach There was a Ginormas (this is a word tonight! lol!!!) statue of Neptune with all kinds of sea life around him...

Here is my DD posing with one of the tiny little guys!
And Below is a Pic of us with King Neptune and all his creatures!

SHEW!!!!! I think that is it for today... I do however want to tell you all about our trip home still ... more for tomorrow's post!!!

Have a great night!

Keep Crossing those stitches!

Dying To Stitch Retreat Post 2

Ok Ladies... These pics are a little out of order ... but I am just wanting to get them on here so that you can share in the fun time that was had by all that were there! So here goes...

This is Barb and Alma- BlackBird Designs and they are showing the WONDERFUL project that they had for the gals that took their class... Oh I loved all of the projects so very much! These girls are a HOOT!!!! They are so funny and you can just see why they are as close as they are... Their stories are so wonderful... and the way that they take a piece stitched... and show you so many different ways to change it and use it and add this or that to it to give it a different look! It is WONDERFUL!!!!

This is my best Friend Debby and my DD stitching together at the welcome and make it take it time! The room was so awesome... the sun was out... it was bright... and you could see ocean from all around you! It was just Lovely!
The day before it all got started ... we went to the Dying to stitch shop... and bought some things that "wecould not live without!" giggle! If you have not been to their shop... it is a MUST SEE!!!!! They have so many models... and samplers Galore!!!! It is a very tempting and enabling place. Then there is a bead shop next door and a few doors down there is a Quilting and fabric shop that is just as bad... all those lovely Blackbird Stockings... well look no further... they have the PERFECT fabric for each one of them!
After the shop and some lunch at the Ruby Tuesdays... We went to the hotel and checked in and then was off to Fort Story... It was interesting getting in but worth the time we had in there.... This is a pic that shows the 2 lighthouses... the black and white one is the Newer on and is ran by the Coast Guard... you are not able to go inside of it... but can go up to it. The brick on is further out and you can go into it ... 6+ floors of steps and a terribly straight up ladder later ... the view is AWESOME!!!! The Brick lighthouse is the first place that the settlers stepped onto shore from their journey to the new world. It is very exciting to see. The small cross in this pic is a memorial site!
This is just a closer View of the Fully Functional Light house there at Fort Story!

OK... well this is the Horseshoe Crab that we Named Phillip. He was a good ole crab! and we had to take a moment of silence... and to memorialize his life! giggle... He was if nothing else very educational. He was a very pretty crab as far as crabs go!

This is Jeanette Douglas... and she is a HOOT and a Half... I just love her dearly! She had a Beautiful Kit for the girls that took her class and also had an exclusive accessory chart to go with it. LOVELY things... and in this accessory kit was a sissor fob... I thought this was soooooo cool... She included a Canadian Quarter... and you were to place an American Quarter in it too as a weighting system... that was the Circle of Friends Continues!!!!! WOW how smart!

OH and she showed us how to make FREE Fireworks... HOW FUN!!!!! 1...2 ... other side... 1...2... up above ... WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

See ... Fireworks!!!!

This was one of my projects... I took the track that Had Charland and Shepherd's Bush... so on the Second day I had my class with Charland and Sidney(her daughter) as usual... Charland is a WONDERFUL teacher... She tries to remove all anxieties that a stitcher might have. She is so comforting and I feel as if I have sat with a loving mother and learned so much each time I take her class.

I nearly Cried when she showed her project at the reveal... This is so perfectly what I am into at this time in my stitching cycle! I love the Colors... the fabric... the flosses used... the way it is finished and of course I love the charm. I took several pics and none really do it justice! Thank you so much Charland for this LOVELY piece... I am stitching it and will cherish it always! What a treasure to add to my collection!

This is just the other side of the piece...

This is the Package that it came in and shows the pieces all together! Isnt it lovely!

Finally for this post I wanted to show the Group picture of the Designers and the Dying to Stitch Girls... and to be able to thank them...

BlackBird Designs- Barb and Alma

Jeanette Douglas

Charland and Sidney

Shepherd's Bush- Teri and Tina

Dying To Stitch- Ann, Pat, and Bindy

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

Thank you for your hard work... for the many calls... the planning... the dealing with the hotel that could not have been more perfect... the kitting... the designing... the sewing... the boxing... the behind the scenes issues that were dealt with and taken care of so that we had this wonderful time. Thank you for all the thoughts that went into this lovely retreat.

Thank you Teri and Tina for the many extra gifts that you gave us in our class...

I just can NOT thank everyone enough for this awesome retreat!

I must also add that there were MANY girls in the Dying To Stitch shop that assisted with getting things completed... Fabric cut... and the little boutique ready and staffed for this event! Thank you to them also!

First Retreat Post

On Wednesday we left Kentucky around 6a.m. headed for Virginia Beach, VA and a Retreat with the R& R girls at Dying to Stitch. Myself, my daughter my best friend Debby, and a close friend Patti hit the road. We arrived in the Va Beach area almost 900 miles and many hours later... that evening around 6 p.m. We stayed a few miles from the Dying to Stitch shop the night before to get sleep and get started on this wonderful retreat... I will post more about my goodies in another post... and also about the beach and the findings and the excitement that happened while we were there. This is just a start and would be WAY to large of a post if I did it all in one post! so here is the start of the postings...

Upon arriving at the Cavalier in Va Beach... this welcomed us...

(there were 2 weddings that same weekend... and WOW were they lovely! Congradulations to these 2 couples and their families. They looked like they were having a BLAST!!!!) When we signed into the retreat... this was the bag that Ann, Pat, and Bindy gave us. It had out opening project, schedule, and another cute little project with it! I LOVE this bag and would gladly buy more of them! They are so nice with a handle on the top and zip closed! Thank you ladies for thinking of this WONDERFUL greating bag!
This is the View of our hotel from the beach... YES... ON THE BEACH... I am standing in the ocean taking this picture! If you look at the building our room was the 2nd room from the end towards the beach... on the 4th floor... it was WONDERFUL!!!!! we woke up to the sound of the waves... we were able to clearly watch the dolphins play in the ocean... they would hop and bob up and down. It was adorable!
At the end of our opening make it and take it project the designers came in and displayed the weekends projects... this is Blackbird designs showing their project.

This is the view from our stitching table... it was a GORGEOUS Room... hotel and view!

Here is Patti working on her Make it and take it! Beside her is one of our new friends made ... that I hope to keep in touch with and see again soon!

Will post more later !!!