My happy place

Was at my happy place this week

Enjoyed every minute! Had to leave a few days early :( but don't feel too bad for me.

 Now I am enjoying a warmer climate down in Florida. 

Will share a detailed report of Boxwood and Berries upon my return. (When I don't have to blog from my phone :)

Blessings, Patti

Garden's Last Gift & Away I Go...

My Indian Corn is dried and ready to hang.

I love how the colors come out as it dries.

Late in the summer we replaced a clematis that didn't make it this year. 

I thought I would have to wait a full year to see the flower on this new variety.

But I was pleasantly surprised one recent morning to see this:

I love it!

What a lovely surprise.

Well, my homework is done, I'm just about packed and I will soon be on my way.

Boxwood & Berries, here I come!

I'll be back with a full report as soon as I can...

"Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still.

Let this be our song, no one stands alone.

Standing side by side,

Draw the circle, draw the circle wide."

~Mark Miller

Blessings, Patti

Amish Country ~The End

On our last day, Aileen went out for her morning coffee run and found that a lot of Amish people were heading in the same direction - on their way to a flea market.

She picked us all up and away we went. 

What a wonderful experience! The flea market was half Amish and half English.

I was mezmerized by all the animals for sale.

My oldest son loves ducks, so I texted him this photo and asked if he would like a souvenir.

His response ~ "Yes, please!"

He was a little disappointed when I brought home cinnamon rolls and peanut butter instead of a duckling... :)

My favorites were the turkeys and the peacock.

Look at that face :)

There were lots of puppies and bunnies too. 

I chose not to think if those bunnies were for pets or for dinner...

 A bit out of town we stopped at a Mennonnite fabric shop.

I've never seen a cleaner and more organized fabric shop!

It was immaculate!

I tried to be good, but did end up buying a few things from the fabric shops that we visited.

On our way out of town, we couldn't resist taking this photo (while still trying to respect their culture.)

A mom and her 9 children.

We did get caught, when the little girl tried to see where her dropped juice box had gone...

And in a few short hours it was back to home sweet home.

"And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God."

~Micah 6:8

Blessings, Patti

Amish Country Part 2

Shipshewana is filled with shops. One of my favorites - A Thankful Heart.

I love the name and this sweet shop is filled with primitives and handmades.

There are also several nice antique shops

Rebecca Haarer Arts & Antiques

and Fisher's Antiques

Don't you just love their sign?!

This item caught my eye in a glass case. I wasn't sure what it was, but knew that I had to find out.

So glad that I asked to see it!

It's a needle case! The outside is a super soft leather that you see at the top.

There is a little place for your thimble and the two ends are velvet pincushions.

I'm so pleased with my treasure and found a bone stiletto and crochet hook as well.

I also bought this 1858 Mason jar - I love the bubbly, wavy blue glass.

And this Bennington, Vermont jug. It's been cracked and glued in many, many places, but the price was definitely right. The painted crocks like this are usually out of my price range and I really appreciate the effort that someone took to save it...

Soon after we were married, my husband and I took a long road trip to Bennington :)

My final purchase has a story...

Last year at a primitives show, I found this incredible piece. I was mezmerized as I had never seen anything like it. It was out of my price range, but I admired it for quite some time. 

They called it stumpwork. It reminded me of punch needle, except that the loops are sheared off and sculpted.

Fast forward to Shipshewana, where I found this:

Here is some of the detail.

All done with wool thread.

The edges have three layers of tongues and the backing is solid red.

I am so happy with all of my treasures, especially my stumpwork coverlet!

I'll have one more post of Amish Country Fun...

"Trust in the Lord forever,

for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal."

 ~Isaiah 26:4

Blessings, Patti

October Offerings...

 

Greetings!

          We have officially arrived at my favorite season of the year ~ Autumn!

My offerings this month reflect my favorite bounty of the season.

 

My first offering this month is a lovely autumn table runner that can take you from September right through Thanksgiving. I’m so sorry to say that I have misplaced my pattern and therefore can’t give the designer her proper due… once located, I will mention it here on my blog. This 12 inch by 31.5 inch runner has some lovely unique components.

 

A penny border on the two ends, loose sunflower petals that add a bit of movement, and a bit of embroidery on the petals, pumpkin and leaves. This runner is made of hand-dyed wools and is backed with a coordinating tweed flannel. As with all my creations, it is completely hand stitched.

~*Sold. Thank you ever so much!*~

 

Vintage Velvet Pumpkins are created from unique vintage hand dyed velvet ~ they have a wonderful sheen and feel! They are hand stitched and stuffed and feature a real pumpkin stem. They measure approximately 4 inches across by 3 inches tall including the stem. “Vintage Velvet Pumpkins” are offered at $20 each plus shipping.

Please specify: Peach or Gold.
~*Deep Orange is sold. Thank you ever so much!*~

 

 

My final offering is “Harvest Moon Pocket Watch Necklace” This unique necklace is based on several Stacy Nash motifs including a black cat, lantern, the harvest moon and several stars. The Pocket Watch case measures approximately 2 inches across and hangs from a 30 inch vintage look ribbon. If you prefer, the ribbon can be shortened and you can use it as a scissor fob. The wee stitches were done “over one” for a very detailed petite design. “Harvest Moon Pocket Watch Necklace” is offered at $24 plus shipping.

 If you are interested in purchasing anything, just send me an email at pgagliardi9@hotmail.com 

I can send a paypal invoice or I also accept checks and money orders.

 

Enjoy the splendor of autumn…

Blessings, Patti

 

 

A trip to Amish Country

My stitching girlfriends and I spent last weekend in Amish country ~ Shipshewana, Indiana.

I think it has been almost 20 years since I was there last. I had an Amish friend, Leanne, who lived outside this town that I would visit frequently. Unfortunately, after the birth of her fourth child, we lost touch as life became too busy.

Not much has changed in all those years, thankfully. 

On our way, we stopped at House of Stitches in LaPorte, Indiana.

A very nice large shop with a great inventory and a very helpful staff.

Here is our group, except that we are missing two - Gladys was in Japan and Kim was in Louisville.

You were both missed and thought of often!

Here are the treasures that I found there.

Linen for Heartstring Samplery's newest projects and some great linen scraps for small pinkeeps. I stocked up on magazines and that sweet little mother of pearl rabbit floss winder.

Our next stop was this fun quilt shop - the fabrics were inspiring and the staff so friendly and helpful.

We finally reached Shipshewana where we visited a store like no other.

A store that you can spend an entire day in with interesting sights down every aisle.

Clearly a shop that has both Amish and English customers.

Beautiful oil lamps and replacement shades

A huge selection of cookie cutters

Have you ever seen so many?!

As a frequent baker of cutout cookies, I had to quickly leave this aisle, before temptation hit as I already have dozens of cutters...

Where else can you shop and go home with such a variety of purchases from just one store???

In a household of men, it was such fun to shop with my girlfriends. 

Susan is especially talented at helping me step out of my fashion comfort zone :)

A hounds tooth cape and red shoes?! Oh my! 

I love them and hope that I will be brave enough to wear them soon :)  

And a wool applique pattern and hand dyed wools from the same store?!

What fun!

 I have much more to share and will return soon...

"Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus."

~Phillipians 4:21

Blessings, Patti

Excited to Share this Finish!

I feel like I've been working on the Country Sampler Stitch Camp Sewing Tray by Stacy Nash for the longest time. But today it is finished!

This is a peek at the bottom. I tweaked it a bit by changing the centers of the flowers, adding an extra bird because they are so sweet, and switching the bottom motifs to my favorite Stacy horse and my ever present Orion, the dachshund.   

And here is the grand reveal:

with inside lighting

and outside lighting

We had put together the sides at Camp and afterwards, I was thinking that since the inside was linen that I should have cross stitched on them. Since they were all put together it was too late for that, so I decided to wool applique the same flower motif instead.

I went through all my wool and found that I had a pretty close match to the flowers and the stems / leaves.

I wanted to add something to the short sides as well, but thought the flower would be too busy going all the way around, so...

I added the same flower to the outside of the tray on the short sides.

That way the "vine" goes all the way around while not making it too busy.

I really wanted it to look like a set with our other camp projects, so I added the same little velvet berries  to the four corners of the sewing tray.

I think that it makes a pretty sweet set :)

On the bottom, I added another ticking tag like in the book.

as if I could ever forget Stitch Camp '14 :)

I love the way it looks surrounded by real flowers :)

Lantana - a favorite flower of mine and also of the butterflies.

Thank you so much for letting me go on about Stitch Camp with Stacy Nash at Country Sampler.

It was a magical time with heartfelt projects and finishes.

If you ever have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it.

"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."

~ 2 Corinthians 13:14

Blessings, Patti