A Few Fall Finishes

"A Bowl Full of Scaries - Scary Two"

by Plum Street Samplers

I had such a fun time stitching this piece and 

I think it looks great with my black squirrel by Lori Ann Corelis of The Spotted Hare.

My grandfather had black squirrels living in his neighborhood

 and we enjoyed watching them together.

This piece and Lori Ann's squirrel bring back those sweet memories...

"Harvest Chalk  Full"

by Hands On Design and Priscilla Blain

Another fun stitch! I loved Priscilla's finish, so decided to follow her lead...

So happy to have these two fully finished. I have a few more autumn pieces that I finished stitching and hope to fully finish before Thanksgiving.

Well, I am now caught up to the Bittersweet Sisters annual trip and will begin sharing that next week!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

    for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

    for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

    for they will see God.

~Matthew 5:6-8

Blessings, Patti

Late Summer in Seattle

In September, we traveled to Seattle for a long weekend.

We took the ferry to Whidbey Island for the day.

The island was much larger than I envisioned and we spent the day exploring

I loved walking the beach

The tide was out - a perfect time to explore.

This was a first for me!

Live sand dollars!

(this is the bottom side)

and here is the top.

you had to be careful where you waded as they were everywhere!

along with anemones/barnacles

It was cool, but thankfully no rain while we were there.

We spent some time in Coupeville a wonderful town 

with a historic waterfront district from the 1850's

We also spent some time at Deception Pass

The views were amazing!

And of course you have to walk across Deception Pass Bridge

It's hard to capture the immense scale

but here is my group walking back...

such an amazing feat of engineering

such a peaceful way to spend the day

I could have spent a week ;)

We didn't have much time, but did spend an evening in downtown Seattle

and visited the famous Pike Place Market even though it was shutting down for the night

and we visited Seattle's Gum Wall

which is pretty gross if you think about it.

We also spent a morning antiquing in Historic Downtown Snohomish

we saw some lovely antiques, but I behaved myself :)

the entire purpose of our trip was to attend a wedding

it was truly lovely and the rain stopped just in time

it was a chock full long weekend, but we thoroughly enjoyed it!

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

    for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

    for they will inherit the earth.

~Matthew 5:3-5

Blessings, Patti  

Happy Halloween!

Leia and I wish you a Happy Halloween!

This Rae Dunn mug is perfect for my house - it looks like Leia dressed up as a vampire :)

"Witches Night Out"

by With Thy Needle and Thread

my latest Halloween finish!

 I had to have this Rae Dunn mug too ;)

My favorite Halloween shelf.

The little silhouette in the upper left corner is an antique from 1913.

The Spells pillow on the bottom shelf is an original from Stacy Nash from 2007.

"The Goode Stitching Witch"

This was a Stacy Nash kit from a few years back.

 I just bought the black strawberry waxer that Stacy's daughter Taylor made and I think it looks perfect with this sewing tray!

It looks sweet with a few antique sewing tools.

And here is the full vignette.

Here is an oldy but goody by Blackbird Designs.

The linen color is truer in the first picture, but here you can see the frame better.

Another Blackbird Design from the same book, stitched in the same year.

and a teeny tiny vignette with a piece I stitched even longer ago.

The black spool of  thread is just a regular size spool to give you an idea of the scale.

This was back in the day when I stitched everything over one.

and my favorite Schneeman Folk Art pumpkin head doll sitting amongst some antiques.

He makes me smile!

Well here in Chicago we are having a cold Halloween with up to 6 inches of snow in the forecast.

I guess if we don't get many trick or treaters, we'll just have to eat the candy ourselves ;)

Happy Halloween!

and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the darkness,

    and your night will become like the noonday.

~Isaiah 58:10

Blessings, Patti

Remembering Summer Days in the North Woods

Gosh, where has this month gone?!

I'm back from my fabulous trip with the Bittersweet Stitching Sisters.

I can't wait to tell you all about it, but want to catch up from my summer first. 

while in the north woods, we did some antiquing

I had this fabulous bonnet in my hand, but decided to leave it for someone that could display it well.

I didn't have room for these great pieces either...

but these buttons did come home with me

as did these embroidery cards

some fabric samples

needles from the Columbian Exposition in Chicago and a great pin disc.

We visited Copper Falls. We haven't been there for several years.

Love those roots

It's hard to capture the grandeur

and the sounds of the rushing water really makes it.

we went golfing

There were warnings that this was a steep hill.

Oh my! I felt like I was on a roller coaster!

Of course I stitched ;)

but tried to watch for the good shots to add my congratulations.

I spent as much time as I could in a kayak

enjoying the peaceful surroundings

I love watching the eagles

soaring above. And once when rounding a bend I startled

a loon bringing up his lunch

he decided I wasn't a threat and continued his fishing, bringing up the fish to eat.

I wish that I could do this every day...

such a stunning area.

Of course I had to visit and shop at Rivers Edge Antiques & Quilt Loft.

and I had to buy this pattern, because while on vacation I finished this:

"Summer Wild Flowers"

designed and kitted by Wooden Spool Designs

I love the wool and the backing / binding fabric is absolutely perfect!

I'm so happy with this finish :)

It's as pretty as my zinnias :)

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth.”

~Psalm 46:10

Blessings, Patti