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

Bittersweet Sisters 2018 Trip ~ Part 3

One day a few of us went on a shopping road trip.

We stopped at Mill House Quilts in Waunakee.

Then it was on to:

JJ Stitches in Sun Prairie.

It's been several years since I've had the opportunity to stop here

 and it is as wonderful as I remember.

Inspiration the moment you walk in the door!

A wonderful selection of wool.

Darling patterns that I haven't seen before.

And kits for their delightful models.

This kit made me want to learn to quilt!

The colors and quilting were absolutely fabulous!

And everything wasn't just for fall...

They have a beautiful Christmas and Winter room.

So much inspiration everywhere that you look!

All too soon, we were on the road again, heading to:

Lynn's of Madison!

Here they were hosting a phenomenal trunk show of Hands On Design!

I think I started hyperventilating!

Sew many designs I have been admiring online, available to see in person!

One more beautiful than the next!

Lynn's had hosted a class with Cathy Habermann recently.

I wasn't able to attend, but I was so thrilled to see these all in person!  

I would have loved to buy all of the patterns :)

How do you ever choose?

I was especially thrilled to see this model as I am stitching it right now.

This is a bigger than usual piece for me, but seeing it in person inspires me to keep stitching!

We made one more stop, but I'll save that for the next post.

 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. 

Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, 

the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:

“He is good; his love endures forever.”

~2 Chronicles 5:13

Blessings, Patti

Boxwood & Berries 2014 ~ The Journey Begins...

This year the Bittersweet Sisters returned to Boxwood & Berries at the Country Sampler in Spring Green, Wisconsin where we met several years ago.

Before class started, we had to make a few stops:

JJ Stitches in Sun Prairie.

Don't you love the antique cheddar quilt with the matching antique children's chairs?!

And Cottage House Primitives in Lodi, WI where we had to visit the ducks.

We had a delicious lunch at Coffee Grounds right on Main Street and I definitely recommend it.

That evening Jeanne hosted a meet and greet for the class.

As always the Schoolroom was lovely

With inspiration all around.

We had a great time. Jeanne's friend Ruth had an antiques booth filled with treasures (as you can see behind us) and there were many quilt shop samples for sale.

The next morning we were all excited to get started.

I had my supplies all ready in an old wood box I bought a few months back. 

An old velvet pincushion fit perfectly in one of the sections.

At each of our seats, we found this:

A fabulous vintage brazing dish / tray with the date stamped in the bottom - mine is dated 1952.

A sweet little journal for taking notes

Boxwood and berries in a paper cone

A Country Sampler corner gauge and needle minder

and Our first Maggie project!

  

It was hard to get a photo of the entire piece.

I just love this design and couldn't wait to get started!

Later in the day, Maggie gave a trunk show of all the wonderful items in her new book, "Thistle Down Moon". All of the projects in the book are wonderful, but seeing them in person I soon realized that they were even more divine! How is that possible? :)

We were all struck by this wonderful project and Maggie's unique framing.

The best news was that Country Sampler has it kitted!

I made some good progress during my time at Boxwood & Berries and this is how far I got before heading home.

Well, this is just the beginning... I'll be sharing more in the next several posts.

Stay tuned until the end, when I will have a giveaway of some little treasures accumulated along the way...

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."

~Ephesians 1:3 

Blessings, Patti

On Winter...

"Live Simply BOM - January"

design by Buttermilk Basin

I joined this BOM with JJ Stitches and am so happy when the package arrives.

I switched out the pretty binding provided for red velvet and am happy with the results.

You can read more about this BOM here.

It has been a long, hard winter. I think that everyone is about done with it.

I am tired of the frigid sub-zero temps and I know the coldest is predicted to arrive on Monday.

I am tired of all the ice that I am fearful of falling on.

But I have a confession to make...

I love *SNOW*

I love the quiet and peacefulness that it brings as it falls.

It brings a hush to the landscape even in the City of Chicago.

I love the crunch of it underneath my feet.

I love the clean bright sparkling white that it brings to the barren winter landscape.

I love *SNOW*

I have two other little snowy projects that I am working on, but I will need to set them aside temporarily. February 1st is creeping up and I must finish a few Valentine offerings that I will be offering for sale on February 1st.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

~Philippians 4:8

Blessings, Patti

On my way to the party...

I decided to head to the Star Party at the Country Sampler in Spring Green, WI a day early so that I could make some stops along the way...

My fist stop was J.J. Stitches & Co.

Such a warm and inviting shop.

A wonderful selection of wool displayed in great antique wood crates.

And fat quarters displayed in antique graniteware pans - be still my heart!

And so my shopping begins: 

Some fat quarters of repro fabrics, flannels and wools, a pattern, some great linen by the yard and the best vintage trims. A piece of vintage trim will be included in my giveaway goodie bag (that still hasn't occured yet)

Next stop was to a town that I had never visited before - Lodi, Wisconsin

There were several sweet shops, my most favorite of which was Cottage House Primitives,

where I bought the most wonderful frame.

Another big draw for me was discovering that Lodi is home of Susie the duck.

This sweet little town has a babbling brook that runs right through the center of town and under Main Street.

A peaceful little spot with vending machines that dispense duck food to feed to Susie's descendants.

This sweet little fellow took to following me around hoping for a handout.

He quickly got bored with all the picture taking.

Then I realized it was time to move on to my favorite area antique mall where I found this treasure:

This little worn velvet ladies shoe. When you pivot the back of it, you reveal...

a little sewing kit with compartments for scissors, needles and a thimble. I didn't even hesitate and knew that it was coming home with me.

I love the faded green velvet, but when you open it you can see that it was originally a striking royal blue velvet.

Another item that I couldn't resist was:

This sweet, very worn and loved mohair bunny with shoe button eyes. He makes me smile to see how well loved he was - so well loved that much of  his mohair is simply worn away.

And it is hard to get perspective in this picture, but I also purchased a rather large pair of stork scissors. 

Before I knew it, it was time to finish the drive to Spring Green and let the Star Party begin!

"Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks to the Holy One

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"

Let the poor say, "I am rich

Because of what the Lord has done for us"

Give thanks"

~Don Moen

Blessings, Patti