Bittersweet Sisters Trip~Part 3

When sharing our visit with Ewe & Eye Woolens and Such, I forgot to share my purchases there!

Two lovely counted cross stitch kits and some gorgeous hand-dyed velvet.

Some pretty wool that just had to come home with me (and some went to Mom's house).

Some great textured wool - the one in the upper left had just come in and I had to have some ;)

And lots of little pieces of wool too.

The sisters decided that we should work on WIPs (works in process) during our trip... although a new project or two may have been started ;) Here are some of the items worked on and/or finished:

Nicki shared two gorgeous finishes by Heartstring Samplery.

This one is kitted up in my stash somewhere - I think that I need to unearth it...

Wendy started quilting this year - I love these "in process" stockings made from mini charm packs. 

A beautiful quilt top of Wendy's.

And a table runner too - love the colors!

Wendy also made this wonderful needle book by Nan Lewis of Threadwork Primitives.

A gift for Carla, her chauffeur for the trip - how sweet!

Linda started this quilt top while in Osage.

I couldn't get over how much she accomplished!

Carla worked on our Boxwood & Berries project from last year - stunning!

I love her addition of red velvet berries and beautiful stitching on the leaves.

Kim was quite prolific with her finishes!

Two cute little pincushions/pillows.

A framed punch needle piece ~ the kitty has cute little glass beads for eyes.

A sweet scissor fob by Shepherds Bush

So pretty I'm not sure which side is the front!

I finished "Warm Autumn Days" a Maggie Bonanomi club kit for Country Sampler.

I added a few little buttons to a flower.

I backed it with a wonderful brushed cotton purchased at Rivers Edge Quilts in Hayward, WI.

And added an antique ticking tag to commemorate the finish.

I also finished this Blackbird Designs pinkeep drum from the Country Sampler Star Party a few years back.

I love it as it combines all my favorite mediums...

wool applique, cross stitch and English paper piecing.

And these were only the projects that I remembered to take photos of! There were several other projects going that I forgot to photograph.

There will be one more post to wrap this trip up and also a little giveaway.

I'll be back soon!

"For you shall go out in joy,

    and be led back in peace;the mountains and the hills before you    shall burst into song,    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
~Isaiah 55:12

Blessings, Patti

Bittersweet Sisters Trip~Part 2

 

One of the high points of our trip to Osage is the day we spend with Marge & Beth of Ewe & Eye Woolens and Such!

I look forward to this with such anticipation!

 

When I see the screen door, my heart beats faster with the knowledge of the treasures inside...

 

A bit of wooly heaven here on earth.

 

 

Look at the sweet chair pads on all of the chairs.

 

 

Can you see how happy the Bittersweet Stitching Sisters are to be here?!

 

 

Marge and Beth are so kind to us, that we wanted to bring them a hostess gift. We realized the night before that we didn't have any tissue or wrapping paper, so we had to improvise with some crafting items on hand. The packaging turned out rather sweet.

 

I think that they liked their "stamp" pincushions.

 

Each of the sisters added some bits - cross stitch, wool, knitted and tatted.

 

and a few little charms, buttons and bits for fun.

 

This year I had the pleasure of meeting Barb Albrecht from the Prim Stitchers' Society Facebook group. Behind her are all the lovely models that she has stitched for Ewe & Eye.

 

When we needed to stretch our legs, we were able to experience the delights of Marge's husband, Ray's garden.

 

So well kept!

 

With happy surprises tucked here and there.

 

a lovely place to spend an afternoon.

 

I loved the folk art tucked here and there to discover.

 

Beautiful

 

and peaceful.

 

and full of hope.

 

It restores the soul and is so hard to leave.

 

Thank you Marge and Beth for another lovely day.

We are already looking forward to our next visit!

You can find their blog here and their Facebook page here.

 

I'll be back with some WIP's that we finished on our trip and some that we just made progress on...

"As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

~Isaiah 55:10-11

Blessings, Patti

Bittersweet Sisters Trip~Part 1

 

The Bittersweet Stitching Sisters annual trip may be over, but we had a fabulous week that will live in our memories for years!

 

This year it was back to Osage, Iowa!

You may ask, why Osage? How many towns do you know that have a cross stitch shop, a quilt shop and a wool shop all within walking distance of my favorite retreat center?

It is heaven to be sure!

 

 

The Stitchery Nook is our home base - a wonderful shop with a fabulous retreat center right upstairs! You can go down and shop in you slippers :) (Believe me, I did it daily lol!)

 

It's a huge shop set up in an old Hallmark store - perfect fixtures for charts!

 

Aisle after aisle of cross stitch.

 

 

Tons of models.

 

A huge wall of linen

 

An entire aisle of fibers and my favorite part this year:

 

The entire collection of DMC perle cotton!

Perfect for wool applique and penny rugs.

 

They even have a separate scrapbooking supply room and custom framing.

 

You can visit their Facebook page here and their website here.

 

Among my purchases were:

 

 

Charts and perle cotton.

Waxing Moon Designs is a local designer and they had so many models  - I fell in love with the silhouettes.

 

And of course a variety of linens in such beautiful colors!

I also kitted up a rather large project, but forgot to take a picture...

 

 

Time to take a stroll down the block to Debbie's Quilt Shop.

 

 

You know that you will have fun inside when you are greeted by this pretty window.

 

 

Another large shop with a wide variety of styles.

 

 

So very organized and fun to wander through the aisles.

 

 

and the best fabric storage I have ever seen!

See a fabric you like? The fat quarters are stored right above - genius!

 

So many wonderful notions!

I had fun with mini charm packs, buttons and the cutest patriotic scissors ever.

Oops! Forgot to take a picture of my purchases - will need to add an update later!

You can find Debbie's Quilt Shop on Facebook here.

 

Thank you ladies for being so incredibly helpful and making our visit so enjoyable!

You know we will return!!!

 

I'll be back with more - next up will be Ewe & Eye (wool shop).

 

"Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon."

~Isaiah 55:6-7

 

Blessings, Patti