Vacation Finale and a little giveaway

Of course I spent time stitching on our vacation.

I enjoy stitching in the golf cart while my husband golfs :)

Lakeside Cabin design by Jan Mott of Crane Designs 

Kitted by Gail Grassel Of River's Edge Antiques and Quilt Loft

A start and a finish on vacation!

A perfect souvenir!

I bought the kit last year on vacation and this year I made it - a two year souvenir lol.

I think it really captures the feeling of the North Woods.

And reminds me of an all-time favorite picture that I took near the cabin:

This photo brings back so many wonderful memories from over the years 

and is even more special because...

it appeared in truncated form on the inside cover of FOLK magazine in the March/April 2012 issue. 

I walked out of River's Edge Antiques and Quilt Loft with a rather large bag this year.

Unfortunately I'm not sharing most of it as it is for gifts and/or things to make as gifts ;)

But here are the items that I bought just for me.

We attended a Pow Wow this year of the Lac Courte Oreilles

Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

It was a beautiful and meaningful evening.

The Lake Superior Chippewa Indians are known for their beadwork and their work with birch bark. 

I was delighted to purchase this pair of raw abalone earrings and a dreamcatcher key ring,

which I think might make a great scissor fob.

While the fishing wasn't great this year, I did catch a 17 inch small mouth bass that made my day. My oldest son was happy to know that it was successfully released after we took a quick photo.

I did bring a few things home from our antiquing. 

The most intriguing was this treen container.

I've collected several over the years and was happy to add it to my collection:

Here is my collection including my newest addition.

The intriguing part came when I opened it up. All the other containers were empty when I bought them, but not this one...

It all looks original and is a perfect fit for:

Madame Louie hair crimpers complete with instructions dated 1902!

I wonder if all of these containers once contained hair products?

Well thanks for letting me share my vacation.

Now it's your turn for some fun:

A giveaway for a few little things from my July travels:

from Country Sampler - a magnet/needleminder and

from River's Edge - the Lakeside Cabin pattern (I have two!),

a fat quarter of French General fabric and a ball of Valdani.

 Simply leave a comment on this post or send an email to me at pgagliardi9@hotmail.com with "Vacation Giveaway" in the subject line and tell me - Where did you spend your summer vacation?

I will pick a winner on Monday, August 28th. Good luck!

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

~Psalm 16:8

Blessings, Patti

Northwoods Quilt Shop and Antiques

No trip to the northwoods is complete without some shopping at River's Edge Antiques & Quilt Loft!

So beautiful outside and inside just like Gail and her husband.

It was a beautiful day and I didn't have a lot of time, but I made it count!

I love these succulents outside their shop!

And the inside - oh my!

So much lovely wool applique!

A wonderful selection of Crane Designs by Jan Mott.

I love the old chicken coop used for display.

And rows of lovely quilt fabrics up in the loft.

It was stitch in day at the shop, but unfortunately I didn't have the time to join in.

Next year for sure!

My husband and I did a little antiquing too on our vacation...

So many things caught my eye.

This thread cabinet was stunning!

Such a fun graphic display!

These display cases complete with all the antique collars were amazing!

But the item that knocked my socks off was:

This thread display WOW!

Here is a close up.

Loved this old wool tongue rug.

And a gorgeous spinning wheel with original paint.

All were out of my budget, but I enjoyed seeing them nonetheless.

I will have one more vacation post with a little giveaway.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do.

~Ephesians 2:8-10

Blessings, Patti

Vacation Memories... revised

Oops! I hit "post" after loading the pictures, rather than "save"!

Mom is out of the hospital and staying with me for a bit. Hopefully these complications are just a blip on the journey to be cancer-free.

I think my favorite vacation activity is the daily kayak adventures.

Always armed with my camera and sometimes a fishing pole, too.

You never know what you might see.

There are always loons - diving for food. You never know where they will resurface.

One day we were able to spend a delightful half hour watching an otter feeding.

(S)he would dive to the water's bottom, find some delicious morsel, come up to the surface, flip on to its back and dine. Then would do it all over again.

We've seen otters before, but this was a first!

Then there was the family of mallards that decided to join us one day.

I told them that they could jump in my kayak for a rest, but no one took me up on it.

The waterlillies were blooming ~ always a pretty sight. They made me think of our oldest son who couldn't join us. He graduated from college and is working at the Chicago Botanic Gardens in Aquatic Plants.

Another day we had the pleasure of watching a Great Blue Heron fishing for his lunch.

We were happy to see him catch one.

He swallowed it in one gulp.

He was a magnificent bird and it was a pleasure to watch,

With my son's new job, I was more cognizant of the aquatic plants than before and thought this one was pretty as well.

Spending days on the water moving at a slow pace with the beauty and sounds of the outdoors and only the quiet splash of the paddles restores my soul.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Revelation 3:20

Blessings, Patti

Still here...

Thank you ever so much for all of your prayers and positive thoughts! Mom spent 5 days in the hospital, went home for the weekend, and then went by ambulance back to the hospital. I've been with Mom here at the hospital for the past five days. On one of the good days, we did a bit of English paper piecing layout. Continued prayers and positive thoughts are gratefully appreciateed!

Blessings, Patti

I'm back... a quick note & request

We are back from our week of unplugging and recharging

and as always it is just what we need.

Time to put down our electronics and focus on us 

and the beautiful nature around us.

A time to catch up on sleep 

and to rediscover how to rest and relax. 

Mom has been hospitalized this week and will undergo a procedure tomorrow.

Prayers and positive thoughts are greatly appreciated. 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

~2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Blessings, Patti