Boxwood & Berries 2016 ~ Part 3 and a little giveaway...

I thought I would share my shopping...

At Country Sampler I found some great repro cottons, velvet, and trims.

And some wonderful hand dyed linen and patterns, too.

They had some great French General variety packs that I couldn't resist after all the French General inspiration ;) I was thinking this might be great for some EPP hexagons...

The Bittersweet Sisters took a little trip to JJ Stitches after I had to leave.

They were so sweet and generous

- they bought me the Bounty turkey kit!!! Love it! Thank you Sisters!!!

I did a little antiquing on my way up.

Love the hexagon shaped jar filled with vintage threads and two antique pin cushions - too sweet to pass up.

Thanks for joining me on my quick little trip. Here's a little giveaway that I picked up:

A fat quarter with matching chenille trim and a lace trim I bought at Country Sampler and two skeins of Japanese thread from French General.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post or email me at pgagliardi9@hotmail.com with "B&B Giveaway" in the subject line. And tell me what do you like to look for in your travels?

I'll pick a winner on Saturday, November 26th.

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy

~Psalm 65:8

Blessings, Patti

Boxwood & Berries ~ Part 2

Day Two of Boxwood & Berries and we were greeted by this pretty sight at our seats.

Our day with Stacy Nash!

Our project - an entire sewing ensemble.

Love this wee sewing basket and persimmon fob.

The three part tray features my favorite summer fruit - strawberries.

Sew many sweet details.

Love them all.

In the evening, our group headed over to Frank Lloyd Wright's Talesin Visitors Center.

Where we dined in this beautiful room.

And here is the entire Boxwood & Berries group. 

Day 3 and we are ready to start our day with Maggie Bonanomi.

Our stunning project!

I just love the wonderful colors.

And all the awesome details.

I was able to stay for instructions before the calls came with two simultaneous medical emergencies for two different family members in two different parts of the state and I was off and running.

I may have missed the second half, but I am so grateful to have spent time with my Bittersweet Sisters at our favorite needlework gathering.

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,    God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.

~Psalm 65:5-7

Blessings, Patti

Boxwood & Berries 2016 ~ Part 1

In September, the Bittersweet Sisters attended Boxwood & Berries.

A beautiful time of year to be at the Country Sampler in Spring Green, WI.

Our talented teachers.

It was a five day event, but I was only able to attend for 2 1/2 days.

I was so grateful to be there, even for that amount of time.

It was a wonderful respite before the stressful days ahead.

The schoolroom is always so inspiring.

Beauty surrounded us.

Gorgeous needlework that made your fingers itch to create...

Kaari Meng of French General was our first teacher.

It was so interesting to hear her story and to see how she goes about curating her fabric collections based on antiques.

So many beautiful antique fabrics!

At each place setting we found these lovely bags.

Filled with neat notions.

And here was the day's project.

Traditional Japanese Sashiko embroidery on antique French fabrics 

mounted on our French General linen bags.

Oh what a thrill to go through all of these beautiful antique French fabrics, choosing just the right pieces for our own bags.

Kaari and her friend Mogul.

Here you can see how far three of the Bittersweet Sisters got on their projects that day...

Mine is in the middle. I'm sorry to say that it hasn't been picked up since, but I will definitely complete it as a souvenir of that lovely day...

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call on me, and I will answer him;

    I will be with him in trouble,

    I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him

    and show him my salvation.”

~Psalm 91:14-16

Blessings, Patti

Winners!

Yes! I am talking about the Cubs!

I couldn't resist heading down to Wrigley Field on my lunch hour the day after they won!

Then on Friday, the festivities really began!

First in true Chicago tradition the Chicago River was dyed, but for the first time ever in Cubby blue.

The plumbers union uses safe natural dyes.

It was hard to show how blue it really was, 

but I found this great photo online.

These guys really made me nervous! The five construction workers walked up to the end before they could attach their safety harnesses. So fun to have their "W" flag with them.

(If anyone has a tip for getting photos right side up, please let me know. I used to use Picasa, but that has been shut down.) 

The crowds were deep and I was so happy to watch from the comfort of our offices.

Kyle Schwarber is on this bus - towards the back on the far side.

Cutie patootie Anthony Rizzo was on the back of this bus.

And here is Travis Wood  holding the trophy and flanked by John Lackey, everyone's favorite David Ross, and Jon Lester.

The crowds were absolutely phenomenal. My youngest son is out there somewhere...

We were lucky early in the baseball season to sit in the first row behind the dug out at Wrigley Field and enjoy a game close to the players:

Jake Arrietta

Javier Baez

Dexter Fowler and Jason Heyward

and of course Joe Madden.

I'm a fourth generation Cubs fan and know that Grandpa and Great-Grandma are celebrating in heaven!

Of course I stitched while watching the World Series. 

I made a lot of mistakes lol! 

But I decided that since this is a primitive piece, I am going to leave them as is - each time I look at it and see the mistakes, I'll remember those nail biting evenings watching the Cubs ultimately win the World Series!!!

In other winning news, thank you ever so much for the 34 entries in my little giveaway!

The winner is #22 Sheila P.! Sheila shared a fun story about exotic flowers -

"I got married in PA in October. Was supposed to have orange mums on the altar but instead there were Birds of Paradise, quite exotic for my little town. The florist just made a substitution since I had only specified color. Anyway my husband and I were at the altar and I am nervous anyway and started whispering to him about the flowers." 

What a fun memory!

I'll be back next week with another quick trip I took in September - to Spring Green, WI.

and I will have another giveaway before Thanksgiving as well.

"If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”

    and you make the Most High your dwelling,

no harm will overtake you,

    no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

    to guard you in all your ways;

they will lift you up in their hands,

    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."

~Psalm 91: 9-12

Blessings, Patti