Riding Out The Storm

Well it seems as if the worst is over with Hurricane Sandy. My office was closed both Monday and Tuesday so I was able to enjoy some time at home. Hubby stayed home with me Tuesday and we cuddled up on the couch with blu ray movies and Netflix. We managed to not lose power during the storm, but we rarely ever do so I wasn't worried.

Saturday, before it got rainy the postman brought me my latest order from 123stitch.com. I ordered Mirabilias new pattern Sleeping Princess with beads. I'm excited to stitch this design and have it framed for baby girls room!

I finished stitching all four sides for my BRD ort box and decided to start something new. I started stitching Lizzie Kate's Snow Belles on 32 ct jobelan (I think). I really like the color. It's a hand dyed piece called clay. I forget which company it's made by. I purchased all the threads, patterns, and fabric at jamboree a few weeks ago.

Hope everyone in the area has remained safe from the storm!

Just One More!

I've been working this work on stitching the sides for my ort box. I love the designs by Blue Ribbon Designs. The "Baltimore" block is one of my favorites! Just one more side to stitch and then I can start putting it together!

Baby shower and stitching

This past weekend was our baby shower. My mom hosted at her house but i did the majority of planning as I'm kind of a control freak like that. Hubby and I were very excited to get together with friends and family to celebrate our little one. We planned a gender reveal and gave our mothers picture frames with sonogram pictures. Both were excited to find out its a girl! Our theme was mustache or pearls and had a great time incorporating it into the party. When guests arrived, if they thought it was a boy they got to wear a mustache and if they thought it was a girl, they got "pearls" (silver party beads).

I got alittle creative and made a cupcake stand with some super cute scrapbook paper I found at michaels and also a diaper wreath. I just used cardboard cake circles and plastic cups for the stand. Super easy and i didn't feel bad about throwing it away after the party. For the wreath, I used diapers I already had and attached it to a wire wreath frame with floral wire and ribbon.

It was a really great shower and I'm so thankful for all the generosity from our friends and family that were able to attend.

On the stitching front, I finished my scissor from from jamboree and started stitching the sides for my ort box. I'm counting down the days until my next day off work so I can enjoy a day at home stitching!

More Jamboree

Last post I blogged about the two classes I took on Saturday. Sunday, was my last class of the weekend. It was with Donna from By the Bay. It was also my first time working with stump work. It was a bit of trial in the beginning, but I enjoyed it. First pic is Donnas model, second pic is mine in class.

After its all finished it makes a very cute little bag.

Of course, I can't leave a retreat without getting some stash! I've been on quite the stash diet lately as I've been preparing for little one and there just hasn't been anything that I've seen lately that I just had to have. Plus, I've been trying to work in wips. There are just too many.

For this trip, though, I just decided to get it if I wanted it!

I got all six of the Lizzie Kate snow belles charts plus thread and fabric to go with it, only later realizing I only bought one skein of whitewash and I need FIVE. I found this cute project bag with the sweetest sampler fabric sewn in. Love it! I also picked up Shepherds Bush green snowman (oops, no picture). And wow, they had so many SB charts/kits I've never even seen before! The five skeins of linen weeks thread I need to stitch barnwood buttons. Not pictured is the secret yarn I bought to make the baby something special. Not quite time for that reveal yet! Meanwhile, I'm searching for just the right pattern to use for my baby yarn goodness.

I'm off work tomorrow for a dr appointment an to get some finishing items for our baby shower on Saturday! Hope you all have agreat weekend!

Ocean City Stitcher's Jamboree

Hi all! Well, I've been back from my stitching weekend for a few days. I left Friday afternoon and arrived at the hotel around 3pm. After settling in my room, I went down to the Salty Yarns shop and ran into my friend, Denise. We did some browsing and shopping then settled down in the lobby to do some stitching before dinner. After dinner, a friend of Denise's joined us for more stitchy time. After a long day, and with the belly, I was definitely ready to call it an early night.

Our first full day included two classes. My first class was with Belinda from Blue Ribbon Designs. I really love taking classes with Belinda! She is super organized and provides a wonderful binder with all the charts and instructions for the projects she designed. For our class she designed a framed sampler with matching scissor fob and ort box. The classes were only three hours so there wasn't much time to get a lot of stitching done in class, most was learning finishing techniques and I also got the cord made for the finishing on my scissor fob.

After lunch and a nap, I had class with Theresa from Shakespeare's Peddler. I really enjoyed the creativity that she encouraged in class. Theresa designed a pincushion for class and gave us all the materials to get started in class. It is definitely a project that anyone can do anywhere! With just a few basic materials and some of your favorite cross stitched motifs, this can easily be done at home. After getting some basic starting instructions from Theresa we were able to spend the rest of class making the project our own.

This is the model that Theresa brought to class. Then my pincushion in class followed by a picture of some things I added when I got home. Some of the ladies in my class had some trouble with the project as there was not much direction for the piece. It was more about "thinking outside the box" and really making it your own. I really loved it though, it was alot of fun and a really good use of the short time that we had to work on it in class. After the class, I even went down into the shop and pick additional charms to add to my own pincushion; a seahorse and a scissors charm.

I didn't get a picture of Belinda's projects in class so I borrowed this pic from BRD's Facebook page. So far I have one side of the scissor fob stitched and am almost done the side with the house. Belinda designed this piece exclusively for the retreat so it will not be available for sale until about another year or so.

After classes were finished for the day, we walked the boardwalk and enjoyed pizza for dinner. The we went back to the hotel for more stitching. After awhile, I went back to my room for some quiet time, SNL on tv and more stitching.

More to come about the rest of my weekend!

Long Weekend

Just back to work after a long weekend. Yesterday, it was Columbus Day here in the u.s. I'm still having a hard time understanding how I get off for this day and not Easter....or other more important days of remembrance.

This past weekend was nice. Saturday, I went to a baby shower at a tea house for one of my friends. It was nice to have some girl time and to see my friend who was visiting from Ohio. I made her a cute diaper cake topped with a little elephant toy.

Sunday was football day. My husband had a friend over and we flipped through the games rooting for our teams.

Yesterday, I enjoyed my day off by sleeping a little bit late, then lounged on the couch with some stitching and a Netflix marathon.

I have three days of work this week followed by another long weekend as I am leaving Friday to go to the Stitcher's Jamboree at Salty Yarns in Ocean City. I'm really excited to get some quality stitching time to work on a few projects and learn from three great designers!!

Catching Up!

Posting from my new shiny iPhone 5! It's been alittle bit of an adjustment from my android phone, but all good!

Matt and I were away last week on vacation with his family in NagsHead, Nc. My mil and her bf are lots of fun, but I would not recommend going on vacation with your spouses 90 year old grandmother. What a nightmare! Highlights of the week included days of not working, time on the beach with the family dog, and seeing a baby sea turtle released into the ocean!

I am 23 weeks prego now. I have a sonogram on Monday. I have off work that day for Columbus Day so I'm really forward to having a three day weekend. Hubs and I will probably start the process of decluttering our spare room for the baby. There is so much stuff in there! I know there is a lot of stitching stuff that I just know I will never get to or was given to me that is just not my taste. More than likely, my friends here in blogland will benefit because I've been thinking it will be the perfect time for some giveaways!

Hope everyone is well and has a great weekend!!