The results of a wonderful weekend

 When we took our trip, we stopped at Cottage House Primitives in Lodi, Wisconsin.

I hadn’t been there in ages and the store was as wonderful as I remembered.

I bought a piece of SJ Pottery to add to my collection.

I tried to be good at Country Sampler,

But these two patterns had to come home with me. 

There was a model of the sampler in a Country Sampler color conversion and it was amazing!

I bought some fat quarters of linen that I needed 

And this ribbon was too beautiful to leave behind.

We stopped at Lynn’s of Madison and I found some more linen on my list.

We shopped at Odana Antique Mall, but I behaved myself.

We happened to be there when Jeanne Horton, the owner of Country Sampler, 

was having a garage sale at her home.

That’s where I made my big purchases 😉

  

I fell in love with this beautiful quilt.

The lighting wasn’t very good when I took this photo.

I just love this dense quilting!

And I found a second quilt too...

Here’s a close up

And here is the full quilt with my helper, Leia.

As I was checking out I happened to see this amazing box, so it came home with me too.

A local man, Bill does a fabulous job on antique boxes. I have several of his.

I was so sorry to hear that he passed away at the beginning of the pandemic,

 making this final treasure even more special.

It will be perfect for storing threads

My sister found two wonderful quilt runners at Jeanne’s

And she had the perfect spot for each of them.

It was such a special weekend spent with Mom and my sister and our treasures will remind us of our time together. 

I hope to share a few other special things that happened while I was away.

I’ll be back soon.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

~Romans 12:12

Blessings, Patti

Hello stranger ;)

 

Can it really be six months since my last post?!

I’m not sure where the time has gone

Life, work and the pandemic just got in the way.

Posting on Instagram is fun and easy, but I miss my blog.

And I am having trouble with blogger on my desktop computer,

So I am posting from my iPad

Unfortunately, I can’t seem to figure out a way to reorder my photographs, 

so I am sorry that these are all out of order.

If anyone has any tips, please share as I would love to hear them!

My mom, sister and I were blessed to be able to get away for a quick overnight trip for Mother’s Day weekend. The perfect thing for us - spending precious time together 😊

Have you guessed where we went?

Country Sampler in Spring Green, Wisconsin 

With all my favorite stops on the way there and the way home.

And meals in my favorite restaurants, too ;)

And as luck would have it, 

Jeanne, the owner of the Country Sampler, was having a garage sale!!!

So glad that we are fully vaccinated and that we were able to do it all safely too.

This spool cabinet was amazing, but it did not come home with me.

I’ll save my purchases for another post

It felt so good to be in my happy place and to be inspired by all the beauty

Doesn’t it make you want to stitch as fast as you can to stitch all the things?

I apologize for the mishmash of photos,

but hope that you enjoyed them nonetheless.

I promise I’ll be back soon with my purchases 

And to catch you up with a few other fun things that I did while I was away.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

~Philippians 4:6-7

Stay safe and be well!

Blessings, Patti

Until We Meet Again...

As you have probably guessed,

the Bittersweet Stitching Sisters will not be gathering in 2020

due to to the pandemic. 

 

We have been together for over 10 years now and look forward to spending time together each autumn.

We've been on many adventures each year

Throughout the Midwest

We've taken classes with our favorite teachers

at some of our favorite places

Although we hope and pray to be together again in 2021,

it won't be the same

We lost one of our dear Bittersweet Stitching Sisters this summer.

Our dearest Nicki passed away

We were blessed by her amazing faith, her endless generosity, 

her boundless support and constant positive attitude.

Nicki was always thoughtful and inclusive

She was talented in all of the various mediums that she worked in

from cross stitch and quilting to rug hooking and wool applique and knitting too

We are blessed for having known her

She is greatly missed!

Until we meet again...

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 

I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

~Psalm 91: 1-4

Blessings, Patti

Stitch from my Stash projects ~ June

My projects this month are all about finishing WIPs.

“Bountiful Harvest Sewing Tray and Sewing Basket”

Designed and kitted by Stacy Nash

These projects were from Boxwood and Berries 2016 

at Country Sampler in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

I have a good start on both projects and it’s time to finish them up!

“Hanging Sewing Pocket and Chatelaine”

Designed and kitted by Stacy Nash

This was a project from Stitch Camp 2018

At Country Sampler in Spring Green, Wisconsin

Once again I have a good start, but I want to finish it up and enjoy the final product.

I also have these two strawberry projects all stitched, but they need to be fully finished.

I’m oh so close!

I do have a wool project that is close to finished.

"Step into my Garden"

design by Maggie Bonanomi

originally from the Country Sampler 2016 Maggie Girls Club

and now available in Maggie's book "Pure & Simple"

I did a lot of this last year on our "unplugged" vacation week in the north woods.

I just need to finish some decorative stitching and small wool details.

Speaking of finishing -

I have three cross stitch projects that I stitched in May, but didn't fully finish.

Here's hoping that June is a month of finishing with many fully finished projects!

 and that the Messiah would make his home in your hearts through faith. 

Then, having been rooted and grounded in love, you will be able to understand, 

along with all the saints, what is wide, long, high, and deep - that is, 

you will know the love of the Messiah - which transcends knowledge, 

and will be filled with all the fullness of God.

~Ephesians 3:17-19

Blessings, Patti

Bittersweet Sisters 2018 Trip ~ Part 6

The final part of the Bittersweet Stitching Sisters annual trip!

Be sure to read through to the end, it will be worth it ;)

I bought several kits at Country Sampler - two cross stitch and the fabric kit for the star that I shared on an earlier post.

At JJ Stitches, I bought these two patterns along with the kit for "So Beholden". 

I'm thinking of doing a mash-up of both patterns...

At JJ Stitches, I also bought these three wools - thought they would make great evergreen trees 

and this pattern that I haven't seen before.

At Lynn's, I increased my Hands On Design stash with a few patterns.

 And a sweet kit (Autumn Skies) that is currently exclusive to Lynn's of Madison.

And Plum Street Samplers' "Scary Two" is all  kitted and ready to go!

I forgot to share this sweet gift from Carla!

She is a lace maker and actually made lace for each of us! 

Isn't the entire display lovely with the antique buttons and bobbins?!

She also created some wonderful daily kits for us!

I'll share once I make some progress on them!

Finally what you have been waiting for: 

A little giveaway!

I'm sharing some of the wool that I purchased.

In addition, each year we bring patterns and supplies that we no longer need and share with the rest of our Bittersweet Stitching Sisters. This year we agreed to share some with you. So we're including two Blackbird Design charts for the November and December stockings.

Simply leave a comment on this post and tell me: do you decorate for Thanksgiving?

You can also email me at pgagliardi9@hotmail.com with "Thankful" in the subject line.

I'll pick a winner using random.org on Monday, November 19.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: 

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

~Psalm 100:4

Blessings, Patti