My Weekend

I had a busy weekend! I went to a Stitchers get together which was so much fun. We shopped at  The Stitch and Frame Shop in Rock Hill SC. Love this shop! If you haven't yet visited this shop, oh it's a must! The staff are so wonderful and helpful too. After shopping we all had a wonderful lunch at Bonnie's. We stitched, ate, laughed and went through stash too. It was so much fun!

Here we are as a group in front of the shop: can you spot me? 

This is what I decided to purchase. I had a rebate that came in from my contact lenses, it could not have come at a better time!

Love Brenda Gervais designs!

I also came home with more stash....not as if I really needed it! Give-aways I didn't want to pass up....I need a million more years to stitch everything!

So lucky for me, a bright needle design in the bunch!! Woohoo!!!

I did good this time and didn't get lost driving. Sadly even with a GPS I can get lost :/

Upon arriving home I was so excited to see my hubby painting our bedroom a pretty color green. It is such a gorgeous green!

Cannot wait to decorate :)

I finished part 3 of Mary's Sampler from Plum Street Samplers.......

Someone so graciously is mailing me "Dashing" by Birds Of A Feather on loan so I can stitch this up for Christmas. I am anxiously awaiting! This is a very hard to find OOP chart. I am so thankful someone is willing to loan it to me!

Isn't it adorable! After I saw it on Pinterest..well, I just had to get my hands on this chart. I feel so blessed that someone would send it my way. I hope to stitch it fast enough as to not have it too long away from her!

Thank you my friend!

Maybe this time I will actually not have a UFO..and will have a finished piece because the chart is due back to someone else! lol

I should do this with all my stitching :)

Oh, and one more thing....the cutest freebie popped up today from The Little Stitcher! Perfect for Harvest Time!...If you would like to check it out... Mother Of The Harvest

I just might be stitching this one too :)

I wish you all a Blessed day today!

Louise XX

Stitcher's Get Together and RAK's!

What a wonderful day was had by everyone that joined in our get together this weekend in South Carolina! Stitchers met at The Stitch and Frame Shop in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where we spent some time meeting up, browsing and shopping in this wonderful store! Here is a group photo...I am the one wearing my flowered purse cross shouldered...

I purchased one chart that I fell in love with...after seeing so many bluebirds when our Son left for the military, I have been keeping my eye out for charts with bluebirds in them...I thought this one was pretty!
This is "Bluebird Sampler" by Threadwork Primitives. I picked out a really pretty Weeks Dye Works thread for the "Bluebird" in the color "Blue Bonnet"...

After shopping we all went to Bonnie's house for a wonderful lunch made by her husband...delicious chicken salad, and afterwards there were plenty of desserts provided by everyone to fill us to the brim!

The chocolate chip cookies I made that I dipped in chocolate :)

More desserts that were provided....just delicious!!! Fudge and Orange Juice Cake...

 

We then all sat and stitched..I brought along charts and magazines I wanted to give away and share...I am starting to downsize a little bit...little did I know others were doing that too...so ...I then came home with more.!! lol

This is the lot I came home with for free...such giving sweet friends!  :) So much fun sharing!
I had recently received some surprise goodies in the mail. Additions to my Raggedy Ann collection!
My sweet dear friend Jackie in PA sent me such a beautiful new "Annie" in a little purse type bag..she will fit in just perfect in my new sewing room! I love her already!
And Linda in CO sent me the neatest Raggedy Ann and Andy Greeting Card..another wonderful addition to our collection. It looks very vintage. Just perfect! Thank you my dear friends!!

I received some very WONDERFUL news!!! It looks like our Sailor will be able to come home for Thanksgiving Holidays!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am one happy Momma :)

He will be able to see our new homestead and I get to cook him a Thanksgiving dinner. I am so excited, and a little nervous, although that might sound odd...I just want it to be so PERFECT for our Son!! I miss him so much. I cannot wait!

I wish you all a Blessed Sunday.

 

 

Weekend Vacation

 My husband and I took a three day vacation, just the two of us! We went a bit further north, and enjoyed every minute of it. I surely did not want our time away to end. We visited with dear friends I met through a stitching board, (Hi Bonnie and Mike!). They had the most fabulous lunch for us with homemade chili. It was nice to chat, eat, and enjoy each others company.

 I had brought along homemade peanut butter cookies to share, with a special stitched pincushion for Bonnie:

We stayed at a beautiful hotel that accommodated our every need.

Breakfast was a wonderful treat each morning, with homemade waffles, fresh fruits, cereals, bagels, pastries, juices, coffee and teas of all sorts. A wonderfully great start to each day! YUM!!

We drove around each day, looking at different homes. Starting to think about our retirement and where we will finally land one day..perhaps sooner than later! We saw many beautiful homes...this one looked nice, but needed some work:

Not sure if a house like this would work for us (ha ha) :)...we searched a little further, and then we found a castle!:

When they say "absence makes the heart grow fonder"...I guess it might work in this house..how could spouses even find each other? LOL!~ A beautiful castle indeed.
The weather was absolutely fantastic! The Fall foliage was outstanding:

 We saw Cows peacefully resting:

And we saw Birds:

 Not really sure what type of birds they were...but they were big and interesting looking!

A cemetary we passed along the way:

We stopped at a Taco place for some yummie lunch one day..I decided to get the taco salad. It was delicious!

We attended an elegant party for a close friend of my husband. Many people turned out and it was a big hit. A great Saturday night! We had many laughs and enjoyed ourselves immensely. On the way home Hubby wanted to stop for Dairy Queen...when he looked at his chocolate dipped cone, this is what he saw! 

We were so happy the whole weekend long, it even showed in the ice cream cone! :)

We looked forward to spending this time together and it was even better than we have ever imagined. Enjoying every minute, just the two of us!

It was lots of fun looking at different homes and spending time in such beautiful weather, along with special friends!

We spotted a stitch shop along the way, and of course my husband (the sweet man he is!) stopped and waited in the car while I shopped. This is the lot I came home with. Many charts on clearance!

Bonnie was so sweet and offered up this beautiful Linda Meyers chart to me when she found out that I love Amish Designs.

We will be traveling again soon, until then, I wish you all a Blessed Week!

Louise

Special day and a Vintage find!

I had the most wonderful day today!
I met with a girlfriend today. She surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and cute little daisy solar flower. Sweet housewarming gifts! :)
We decided to head on over to Bono's for lunch. If you live in Florida, you will know this is one of the best Barbeque restaurants to dine in. It is my favorite!
We laughed about old times and really enjoyed ourselves.



Our next stop was the Avonlea Antique Mall .
I absolutely could spend hours, upon many hours browsing all the wonderful Items and amazing trinkets in this store!
I have never seen so many vintage items jam packed into one place. It is an antique treasure trove.

A while back while visiting Florida I had spotted something that I really wanted to purchase, but at the time, I didn't. You know how that goes!
Well, I couldn't stop thinking about this item..and now that we have moved back to Florida, I decided to see if that item was still in the same spot I left it.
Surely enough, it was!

The vintage item I had fell in love with was an antique, 1920's cast iron Corn Bread Mold! It is so neat looking, I just had to get it!
Here it is:




As you can see by the imprint on the back, it is an authentic "Wagner Ware" Mold.
It is very heavy in weight, and well seasoned. It just needs some TLC with some cleaning up and it will be ready to use!
So excited about this find! :)
I have researched this item on the internet and very happy to say that I purchased it for half the price that it is worth. What a deal! ;)


Yes, this was a good day indeed :)
It is so wonderful to be living back in the state of Florida,
Have I told you how much I love it here?!
:)

Raggedystitches,
Louise

Stitching Friends Meet!

Years ago I joined in on a secret Pals cross stitch group. I was paired up with a very special person. Little did I know how much our friendship would grow over the years!
When her name was revealed, I was overjoyed to remain friends with her and we continued to keep in touch regardless of the many miles that always were between us. There was in instant bond of friendship. I believe God played a hand in pairing the two of us together!
We must know each other at least 13 years through emails, letters, cards and phone calls. All this time, getting to know each other and our friendship has grown. Sharing milestones with each other, happy times and sad times.
It is always such a special treat receiving a package from Jackie in the mail!
She always sends the BEST stuff!! :)
Well, the day has finally arrived.
Her husband was traveling with his job, and it just happened to be in a location not too far from our town. I was delighted to know that there was that possibility that we could finally meet after all these years!
I couldn't wait for the moment to arrive.
It was like family was visiting me :)
That is really what Jackie and her family is to me.

We had a wonderful time. I had invited them for dinner and dessert.
Jackie surprised me with the most beautiful gifts that she made on her sewing machine. I couldn't believe my eyes!
They are the most beautiful table toppers that I will treasure forever.
She gave them to me as a housewarming gift for our new home. They will look absolutely perfect in my new dining room. Thank you so much Jackie!

Jackie, I look forward to when we can be together again one day. You are so very special to me and always will be. I am so glad that I was able to meet your husband too. What a great guy!
You must tell him "thank you" for bringing you all the way here to meet me :)

I don't have to ask how long I will be friends with Jackie...for the answer is "Forever" :)

Friends are truly the family you choose!

Raggedystitches,
Louise

Busy Day

Today will be a busy day.
I am helping out someone who has been ill recently. I baked this morning and will be cooking dinner for their family tonight.
I will pick up some flowers for her to cheer her up. She is such a sweet person, and I am so glad that God gave me this opportunity to help her out as much as I can.

This morning I will head out to my church to help volunteer for a luncheon for a funeral. I have baked goods that I will bring along.
I think it is such a wonderful thing the church does to help grieving families out during their time of need. I am glad I can help be a part of the volunteer committee. Seems as though it is such an easy thing to do, but I am quite surprised that it is usually the same people that always show up. Wish others would think more like the volunteers do.

God wants us to serve him. He wants us to live our lives to do his will.
To help others in their time of need. It is such a good feeling to know you have given time of yourself. We do all have a little bit of time, even in our hectic lives. Just a moment or two can mean so much to someone who is grieving.

After volunteering at the church today, I have to head out to pick up some craft items to help my daughter to make wigs for her group project for Social Studies.
I hope I can fit this all in tonight..but I think I will.

I have started sewing the vests for her group to wear.
They will be doing a video on the Declaration of Independence.

I let Peter Rabbit out of the cage to run around the house this morning a bit..
I had trouble catching him! He was a wild rabbit on the run!
He was chewing on anything his teeth got a hold of.
Silly ole' rabbit!

Time to get ready for church,
I will leave you with this lovely picture of me,
like my dress?
Found it at the thrift shop!
(Just kidding) lol
I wish!

I love dresses like this..always have.
You can put your image in a picture like this too at
Faceinhole.com

:)

Raggedystitches,

Thanksgiving

My husband and I



Our Family

Our thanksgiving day was absolutely wonderful!
We had such a great time. :)
It was so nice to be all together sharing this wonderful day. We have so much to be thankful for.
We went to our friends house for a big feast! There was turkey and all the fixings :)
and many, many desserts. They have the most beautiful home I have ever been in, it is absolutely stunning!
I snapped some fantastic photos yesterday, and some were taken of us..I think we have our Christmas card picture for this year!
The family always puts up such a fuss over taking the picture, but this is one thing that is so very important to me. I am proud of my family. We usually only do a picture of the kids every year for our Christmas card..but the kids are getting older now. I think a family photo is so nice to have..(although they might not agree with me!)
I guess I have taken way too many pictures over the years and have worn them out. ;)

I was thinking of starting a new cross stitch today..a Christmas design.
Perhaps maybe! :)

I know for sure that I am staying far away from any store!

With Raggedystitches,