A Little Stitching & A Retreat

Greetings to all my faithful followers: Thank-you from my heart for all your lovely comments about my Fair ribbons, you are so sweet and kind.
I am going to enter into the Sate Fair this Month, if I get any kind of ribbons I will try the State fair next year, I have the Fair bug all of a sudden.

I am working on a Jackie Du Plessis Saturday Morning, she does not give a good photo of the items to be stitched, I will show you a few from the finishing directions.

Next is the Needlebook and button page, I am not sure why she did not give good photos on the cover page.
 You can see by her fingers how small the book is.

This is the Pin cushion, it will be filled with crushed walnuts, I love the walnut filling.

 

This is the very small needlebook, I am not sure why I stitched so close to the salvage, it will not effect the finish.

 

 

This is the needleholder and Button Page.

 

 

I do like this design and what it will look like when finished, I am not so sure about the finishing directions they are a little different and missing some information, I heard from a couple of people that take her classes that she does this for what reason I am not sure.

 

I have been doing lots of home improvements with Michael, we want to do so much but its has been raining so much here, we tore out the two corner gardens with the dogwood bush's only because the dear are eating them, I had a golfer ask once why they looked so nasty and sad, we decided to take them out and just have grass.

Michael finished the floor on the deck and now wants to put up new railing, when will he slow down?

His hand is almost healed it has been almost 11 months since he burned his hands, what a healing process, he still has tremendous pain but thankfully it is getting less of the pain.

 

I am going to the Minnesota Needlework Guild retreat next week for one week, I really love all the women who go, I really look forward to seeing them, we have many who come from different states, it is a fun time, we do have one couple Mike and Karen who come but this year they are skipping it.

 

We had horrible winds and rain last evening, it was horrible the same for today but not so windy and very little lightning.

Well its time to pack and do a little stitching.

Thank-you from my Heart for visiting with me.

I will send out thank-you's for your comments this weekend.

 

Catherine 

Some Ribbons Won At The County Fair And A Finish

Greetings to all my dear friends in Bloglane: I hope you can forgive me for not sending thank-you's for your comments, it is so busy here with such a short season of warm weather, we try to get loads of stuff done, plus some things going on with my father in law.
Well I entered five items in the County fair last weekend, I did well at least I think I did.

I won First Place Grand Champion with my stitched With Thy Needle And Thread Birds Of A Feather, I did not expect to win anything above first or second place, I cried a little I was so happy.
One other Lady won Grand Champion but in a quilting division, her quilt was positively amazing.

I won first place  for With Thy Needle And thread Cutting Paper Snowflakes. I won this ribbon in the senior division.

I also won first place for two beaded crystal balls, one in the  Senior division and one in the regular division.

I won a first place for a purple bracelet, this was also in the regular division.

I will enter the two beaded Crystal Balls into the state fair and the two stitched pictures also this year.

I did have a finish I stitched the very small 40 count  Tiny Treasures from Jeannette Douglas, ( it is a mini and I mean mini) last weekend, I bought a vintage looking chain to put it on.

Well tomorrow we are hosting a Priest from Iringa  Tanzania Africa, we host him every two years, he comes to raise money for the School, Dorms for Boys and Girls so they may go to school, a clinic and a small hospital, we are very lucky to have him as a guest, Father Augustine Mbeche.

Well folks its time to walk the dog and get to bed.
I hope you are all having good weather.


Catherine

Stitching Done Now Crunstruction Starts

I hope all who celebrate the Fourth of July had a beautiful Day, we had rain but it stopped just in time for the parade, then more rain after parade and stopped just in time for the fireworks, yahoo.
I want to thank-you all for your lovely comments, it touch's my heart, I would send out emails with thank-you's but it has been very busy here.
Mike and his sister had to put their step father into memory care, it is heart breaking, he is an inventor and has such a mind near an IQ of 140, an amazing man.
We have been doing lots of home improvements and lots of outside work, it is such a short season here that we need to get trees bush's and other things trimmed and replanted.

I did finish the stitching on my Jeannette Douglas Class Project, I am excited to get to the construction.

This is what I finished last Friday evening, this is the scissor case, the buttons I used are from RJ and Mary over at: http://stitchingfriendsforever2.blogspot.com, I won the buttons in a giveaway.

This is the finished stitching,   I used buttons fro  RJ and Mary on the pin pillow and the needlebook, I turned the button over on the needlebook because it had a beautiful brownish color just perfect for the  design on the pillow.

This is a design I stitched a few years ago, it was from a pay it forward group, I love this design, it is a Stitcher's Hideaway  class piece.

I am now going to eat ribs and relax a little before starting on the construction of my Jeannette Douglas project.
Have a beautiful week.

Catherine

Lots Of Yard Work & Some Stitching

Welcome to all my flowers and visitors: Happy First Day Of Summer to you all.
Thank-you all for your past comments, I am sure some of you cannot comment due to Blogger, someday I hope they get things fixed.
I have tried to comment on a few Blogs to no success, I am so sorry about that.
I have had to comment as anonymous which helps on some blogs but not all.
Anyhoo, it has been very busy around here, we have such a long cold season that we need to get lots done before  the cold and snow with ice come.
With Mike being in charge of the Church cemetery it has been busy a big and I mean big tree came down in the oldest part of the cemetery, we have been hauling big branch's I am so sore.

I have been stitching when I can, I did finish the stitching on the cube of my Jeannette Douglas design class project, I am almost done with this project, yahoo. Not sure why I cannot rotate this photo.

 

I will be stitching some more this evening on the scissor sheath, I hope to have the stitching done by Sunday, hopefully, I will post a update photo of my stitching tomorrow or Friday, I have to work at the Foodshelf this evening so not much stitching today.

 

We also have to have a new water heater installed  today, the one we have now is only two years old, that is what happens when things are made in other countries no quality control.

 

Happy stitching everyone.

 

Posting Comments

Hello to all my Dear Friends, I seem to not be the only one who cannot post comments on some blogs, I have posted as anonymous instead of through Google, I do add that it is Catherine from I love to Stitch so that the person knows who I am.
 All but one comment went through, the one that did not go through was Marti, so sorry I tried Marty.
I hope this crap goes away soon, some of my followers I am sure are trying to leave comments but cannot.
I also want to tell you I have deleted a post by someone named dono solo they had many links added after there post to me they were all sick  links, be careful people with bloggers like her.
I hope all is well with you all and I hope to post the progress on my stitching this evening.

Catherine

I Have Been Stitching And A Beautiful Gift

Hello to all my followers: I want to thank-you all for your continued following and comments, for some reason Blogger is giving many of us a problem since they changed something in the European Blogger World.
Welcome to all my new followers,  I am so sorry I have not sent out thank-you's to all that have commented, I will get to it soon.

I received a beautiful gift from Gracie over at http://needlespinsanddragonflies.blogspot.com please stop over and see what Gracie has going, she is a very talented Lady.
She sent me some beauties. So sorry about the photo not being the best, it has been cloudy and rainy off and on. Aren't they beautiful, Thank-you Gracie I love them.

I have been stitching I finished the needleroll and started on the box top for my Jeannette Douglas class project, I finished it on Monday night, I did a big happy dance, I am working on the cube now, I think I may enter this set in the County Fair, if I do well enough at the Fair I will enter it into the State Fair.

                                                                From Here To Here

I made many bracelets for my cousins shop yesterday, I was so busy, I enjoyed a different pace of day.

I love the leather bracelets they are so simple but so pretty.

The beaded bracelets are simple and looked better on then off, they were suppose to have button closers, I find they do not last long when taken off and on so a lobster claw closer is better.
So as I was taking photos today of the bracelets I had a brain storm, I have all these old vintage pins, (I have more then this) I want to make them into bracelets, I hope they turn out okay.

 

 

Her is a photo of the first deck board going down over the old deck boards.

 

We have a 52 foot deck on the back of the house, this is a long big job, at least I can stitch, I asked Mike if I could help, he said do you want me to stitch on your project? nope I will stitch instead of helping you, I think I made a good choice.

 

It is 09:30 time for a cuppa joe and some serious stitching.

Have a pleasant day.

 

Catherine

 

Cannot access my Blogger account until today

What the heck is going on, I have tried to comment on some blogs and not able to I could not get into my own account, had to create a new password, what the heck is happening, does Blogger or google want us all to go away???????????

It has been a trying time around here, my father in law was diagnosed with lung cancer, my dear friend from Church is dying from a very rare form of cancer, a few more friends here on blogger are ill, I am sad this is happening.

I want to show you what I won from Stitching Friends Forever, on their Blogaversary I won a wonderful package, I am so excited.

I love ribbon, this will be used for the ornament I will be stitching soon.

Mary and RJ picked the loviest fabric for this design.

Look at the backing material they sent, RJ and Mary have wonderful taste and know how to coordinate colors and fabrics.

Oh my red fabric, I am in love, this is such a pretty color red, it does not look at beautiful here as it does in person.

I am in love with this stitching design, Homespun has such sweet designs, this will be my next design I stitch after finishing what I am stitching now.

Look at this beautiful handmade card I am sure you all know Mary is very talented at card making, I am not sure if RJ makes cards or not, I hope she does.

Now you all know I am a lover of lace, just look atr how lovely they are, lots of plans for them floating around in my head.

Buttons are one of my favorite accessories to have around, I plan on making a button bracelet and will be using some of these little lovelies.

Thank-you RJ and Mary you both are so sweet.

I had a class a couple of weeks ago, the class teacher was Jackie Du Plessis Its finally Finished designs, I am so in love with this design, Saturday Morning, there was also a companion piece, The Traveler, I will be working on them after I finish my class project from Jeannette Douglas and then after the design from RJ and Mary.

I love both of these pieces, I think I am done with class retreats till next spring, its expensive and I need to use my money for other things at this time, I save all year but still its expensive to go, some of my friends do a lot of classes, I am a lot more conservative with my money.
I am not knocking them I am kind of envious.

I have been stitching, not a lot but some, with summer here there is always some kind of work to be done, we are expanding our front porch, redoing the flooring on the 52 foot deck and extensions on the back of the house, along with yard work and other things, I have not done much beading or stitching.

Here is the progress on Jeannette Douglas Class project:

I uploaded both, today it is storming, the lighting is not good, so sorry, this is the needle roll, I love all the different stitch's.

Well its time for a walk with the dog, I somehow have gout I usually get it every three or four years not sure why, walking helps a lot, so off we go in between storms.

I hope your summer is a good one to you.

Blessings
Catherine
 

Happy Spring

Greetings everyone: spring has finally sprung, as I sit here with my office window open, I can hear the gentle rain falling a train horn and birds singing, something I have missed this past winter.
We have been busy working on the house, I did get my spring cleaning done along with a garage sale with my dear friend Cheryl, we had a blast, it was two days long with lots of people shopping.
I met a lady who was shopping she was from a town two small towns away, she told us about trying to raise money for a new library,  in the small town of Kimball,  Mn. they are having a breakfast to raise some money one of many things they will be doing, they are having a silent auction, I am making twelve different colored beaded ornaments for the auction.
This is what I have done so  far last evening and today.

I have been stitching a little and want to get more done, this is from my Class project from Jeannette Douglas last month, not much progress. This is the Needleroll.

I hope to finish this whole set before May is over, good luck to me.

I bought flowers and hope to get them in pots by tomorrow evening, its raining now, looks like a little break for tomorrow, maybe then.
I wish you all a great spring and hope you are getting things done inside and out with your stitching.

Catherine

Missing In Action

Hello to my dear followers: I have been very busy, I have been to a weekend Retreat from Stitchville USA, Jeannette Douglas was the Teacher, she is an amazing Lady, so much fun and makes you giggle so much.
We worked on a scissor fob on Friday night the night the big hateful snowstorm hit us, I am so glad I arrived on Thursday many women come from around the U.S. to this retreat.
The class was a box and accessories to make to put in the box.

This is only the second class of this box and accessories, I feel so lucky to be able to attend this class.

I will be starting the stitching on the box top this evening, hopefully I will have the top finished this weekend.

I would show you all the gifts from Stitchville but they are numerous and will add some during my next post.

This above kit was gifted to me from Larue my Dear Friend, she is an amazing Lady and very sweet, I love being around her she is so warm and friendly.

This is from another amazing and wonderful Friend Sue, she makes a new music CD for some of us every year, some of my fav songs are on this.

I am doing the happy dance I finished the Little Snowy Blue Church, I did make some changes, I changed the big snowflakes to a shiny white, the blue snowflakes just did not do it for me, ( so sorry about the wrinkles )  I am going to frame this Saturday, I will post a photo.

I want to tell you it has been hard this past month, I get allergies from the mold under the snow, so went to retreat with a migraine and allergies, it was awful and the room I had the heat would not go above 62 degrees, I am a warm weather person so this was cold for me, plus I had to stay Sunday evening because the roads in our area were frozen with ice and snow on top, Mike did not want to chance getting into an accident, hence one more night with the cold and I found mold in the heater vent, the hotel was so sweet about it I got Sunday night for free.
There were several women that had to stay, it was fun having an extra evening with them.

To some of the people that comment on my Blog and do not have email addresses or a way to contact you, thank-you for leaving a comment it means a lot to this old lady.

Blessings
Catherine

 

Some Very Exciting News

The lovely Jo over at http://serendipitousstitching.blogspot.com has a Blogger Of The Week, you must stop by, click on the Blogger Of The Week Icon on the right side of her main page.
I have visited all the Bloggers Of The Week, I have to say this has put a big I want new stash in my pocket book,  I see so many designs I have never seen before and want to stitch, what a great way to view other Stitcher's work, I love learning what they are all about and see their work.
Jo has been gracious enough to ask me to be a Blogger Of The Week, I consider this an honor.
I have had my blog since March 28th 2009, I am almost ten years with Blogger, I feel very Blessed to have met so many beautiful and lovely people through my Blog, I have been able to meet with a few of them in person when they visit Minnesota.
One I have to tell you about her name is Mama Joan she can be found here http://stitchingsquad.blogspot.com please stop over and see what she is into, her work is immaculate and so perfect, she is a great finisher and framer.
I was at a Stitching Retreat and she was at another table, I still did not know who she was until the third day of the retreat, I was so excited to meet her, when I read her blog she made me smile she was watching her daughters cat and could not fine it, it was up on the fridge, I have been following her ever since.
I have to say that another stitcher that is way to busy is Chris, over at Tot Hill Farm Stitch's, sadly she is too busy to post on Blogger anymore, I miss seeing her lovely work.
I have been slowly working on my Little Snowy Church, not much work being done on it, I have been busy making neck warmers and beading ornaments for the Santa sale we will be having at Church the first Friday of December, I know I am way ahead of the game but want to make so many items I have given myself a budget of 50.00, I still have 25.00 to spend.

I love this little Church, I did change the color of the roof, I did not like the silver thread it called for, I plan on adding white beads on the roof like snow flakes are dropping.

So as I am typing this post I ask Mike for help on rotating a picture, I go out to the kitchen and see my dog chewing on the roll of Kreinik thread  that is the color of the roof so now I have to order a new roll and wait to finish this, it has given me a headache a few times but I will get through it.

We have had a bit of snow, I am so sick of winter, I leave you with this photo.

Thank-you all for stopping by and to all for leaving comments.

Blessings
Catherine
 

He Is Risen

A Blessed Easter to all during this,  the  Most Holy Day.
Our Lord Is Risen!

Michael & Catherine

Some Stitching And A Construction Finish

Happy Spring my dear friends, it chilly today but not cold, as the ground warms the air seems warmer even when it is a balmy 36 degrees, the snow is almost gone but who knows what will come in the form of moisture, I am hoping for rain not snow.

I have been busy playing suzie homemaker I cleaned the fridge/freezer yesterday, surprising I only had to get rid of two items, I use baking soda in my fridge and freezer and change them every three-four months, you never know what smells that will appear in there.

I have also done very little stitching but have a construction to show you, this is a class project from Betsy Morgan Willing hands class from 2015, Paper Pieceing Bristol Bag, I love this even in all its redness on white, I usually do not do monochromatic projects.

I did get some stitching done on my Little Snowy Blue Church, I am still waiting for the Krienik thread to get to my home.

My next construction project is a Blackbird Designs Class Project, I hope to have this barrel finished tomorrow evening. I took this class last year in Chaska Minnesota, Stitchville USA has a Spring Fling every year.

I was reading on some  designers sites they like to back their pieces with lite weight fusing, it sure does help keep the wrinkles away, I would have done the same for the top of this barrel but that would have made my needle and pins dull so only the lower barrel is fused.

This evening Mike leaves at midnight for Adoration until 01:00 a.m. I then go from 02:00 a.m. until 03:00, unless the person replacing me does not show up which has happened before, I will be tired but do not have to work at the food shelf tomorrow, we will be delivering meals on wheels on Monday.
We will be serving dinner here on Easter Sunday, we are expecting a small group, we used to take everyone out for buffet but since so many have left this world we feel it is just as good for me to cook dinner which I am looking forward to.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate and Happy Passover to all who celebrate.

Catherine