It finally feels like FALL! *Edited*

Hello Blogging Friends!
I'm making a big effort to try and post more often!

Since my last post, I went with my husband to one of his annual engineering meetings.  It was at the Beau Rivage, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast--a beautiful hotel/casino.  We've stayed there several times, just for something to do and a place to get away for a night. Anyway, one of the spouse activities is always BINGO.  They budget money for lovely gifts, and a door prize or two.  Various committee members go and select the gifts.  There are usually really fun prizes and it all works out great.  Except, sometimes I haven't won a prize......and that's not so much fun!  Hahaha!  This year was different, however!  The stars were aligned, or something, and I did manage to make a BINGO!  You go to several gift tables and select what you want!  In reading all of your blogs, I see that many of you have Vera Bradley bags of various sizes and styles.  I didn't have one, so I was lucky enough to capture this one:

It's a wonderful tote bag and the color is perfect for Fall!  I'm so pleased to be a winner!!! YAY!  Then, at the end of BINGO, they draw for door prizes, which can be anything.  This year there were three and the big one was a spa session at the hotel.  There were also two $100 bills.....and I won one of those, also!!!  I have never won the door prize there! So I can keep my $$ in my Vera Bradley bag!  This made it a fun little get away!!!

Below is another photo of my new kitty, Omar....he loves to sit on this rug!  Isn't he a pretty boy?

I think I have told you that I have a designer coming to help me get my house in order.  I have been frantically cleaning out and purging.  It is hard to do, but is really getting easier!  I am so glad to see things shaping up!  I didn't think I was going to do any re-upholstery, but I guess I am!  haha  These are my fabrics, all of which I love!  I can't wait to get it done and finished!  It has been a lot of fun.

I finally got my Halloween tree put up, and I love it!  Halloween ornaments are fun and cheerful!  (At least the ones I get are--I don't enjoy the scary ones!!)  This is one thing I edited!!!  I kept looking at the tree and thinking it looked ok, but something was different. THEN, I found the orange and black bow that I put at the top--so, I removed the other photo and put this one!!  haha

I have a good selection of cross stitch and bought items.  It's such fun, and this is a fun time of year.  Thanksgiving and Christmas follow, and I even have some New Year's ornaments that I made after January 1st.  That will be a new one for 2016!

 

My other edit is that I went in and tried to identify the various ornaments, and added a few other phtotos.  In the left photo, the top cute owl is designed by our friend Jacquie and was a freebie on her blog at one time.  The sweet "BOO" black cat is a Waxing Moon chart called #129 Black Cats' Halloween.
In the right photo is a cute little freebie called Halloween Delight! by La Chatelaine Designs.  It is so cute with the little black cats and beaded edge. I love the little "if the shoe fits" freebie.  It is several years old and I cannot locate it anywhere--does anyone recognize it??  The purple and black ornament is by Lizzie Kate "My Other Car is a Broom"!

On the left is a freebie from The Sisterhood--Boo! It's done on lavender Aida and I used Purple bat fabric and ribbon.  The cat and pumpkin is a French freebie from Nathalie and found on her blog.  It is backed in black velvet and the bottom features flat sequins.  Next is a sweet freebie from Homespun Elegance and I used some printed Halloween ribbon and backed it in the same fabric you see on the front.

                                          

Here's another freebie--but I can't find it online.  I have had some of my freebies for a while!!!  Sorry!

                                             

This cutie was in 2010 Just Cross Stitch Annual Halloween Issue,  It's by Casey Buonaugurio and is stitched on orange linen.

                                            

This little pumpkin freebie is by Judi Utter and can be found at Cyberstitchers.  Isn't it cute??


I have one little thing I'm working on for Halloween!  I must get on it fast--I don't have much done!!! I'm using a hand-dyed scrap of linen for a different look.   It's a little Prairie Schooler freebie card.  So cute, and working up sorta fast! I have a lot of those little cards and should make all of them because they are fast and too cute!

Thank you for stopping by and please come visit again soon!

Frances

Was I AWOL??

It seems like the past few days/weeks have flown by and were busier than usual!  I have missed blogging and am glad to finally take the time to make a post!

I have been checking your blogs, and it seems like everyone is moving along, having good days!

Much has been going on and I have tons to tell!  I even have stitching to show!!!

But first, I am so sad to read that Prairie Schooler is closing up--they are retiring!!!  I just caught a glimpse of the the final charts they've released--lovely, of course, but I hate to see them leave!  I think they're my favorites!

I've had a foot in the road recently--I already told about my trip to Fargo for my Music Convention!!  Here are a few photos I never shared.  I'd never been there before, so we took a tour and got to see a few sights around the city. We visited The Heritage Hiemkomst Interpretive Center, where we saw a Stave Church and a replica Viking Ship.

 

We also attended a wonderful piano recital at the Presbyterian Church.

My favorite was probably the Fargo Theatre, complete with the Mighty Wurlitzer.  A lovely man demonstrated the organ, and then accompanied a silent movie--one with Buster Keaton!!!  It was so silly but very funny!

I guess I never said that I was elected to national First Vice President, and will serve that for four years.  Then I'll step up into the National Presidency!  A big honor!!

Here is a poor photo of part of the installation, and also the lovely roses from my state, that were left in my hotel room!!!  So sweet!

I headed back to Memphis for a quick trip, and did my fun visit to Stichers Inc!!  I always pick up a few things, but didn't get them photographed yet!  I bought a few lovely threads from a friend on Facebook.....

And, I went into a wonderful fabric store, that had little shopping bags full of fabric scraps for $6.50!!  Well, I have never been one to walk away from a bargain!  There was one full pound of fabric in the bag!  I couldn't see in the bag, so that made it even more enticing!! THEN, when I got home I grabbed it and I LOVE my new fabrics!!  These are perfect sizes for little ornaments.  Most were Moda Fabrics--so cute!

 

My husband had an annual meeting in Destin, FL. It was at the SanDestin Golf & Beach Resort.  We drive there almost every year.  It's so pretty there--we love the place--but it was terribly hot!!  Oh well, it was a nice change of scenery.  Now he had a Saturday night meeting.  I needed to get back home so I didn't have to miss church because I'm the organist and it's hard to get a sub!  Our city has just gotten an air service--I mistakenly thought it was jet service.  I really did!!  So my husband took me to the airport in Destin to fly back alone to Madison MS.  Can you imagine the look on my face when I was told to get in this contraption????

It was an 8 passenger prop plane, and we had nine passengers, so a cute little 9 year old girl sat in the co-pilot seat and off we went!!!  What an experience!!!!  Very loud.  Very not luxurious!  Very much NOT what I was expecting!  It did bring back many memories of flying with my father in a 4 person plane--as a child!  Well, the good thing was that it took 1 hour/20 minutes to get home, and it takes about 6 to drive because the traffic is so bad!! Below is a photo of the pilot flying....this was my view!  You can barely see a little hair bow in the co pilot seat!!!

I just got back last night from Brevard Music Center in Brevard, NC.  It's about 30 minutes from Asheville.  We flew on Delta--not the above-mentioned air service!!  LOL!!!
We spent one night at the Grove Park Inn--one of my favorites!!  So beautiful and up in the moutains!  The left photo is the Inn--the right photo is my view from my breakfast table!  Gorgeous!

 

I found this so unique--the various donut flavors are on dowels, stuck in a section of a cut tree!  Isn't that different??

Then it was on to Brevard Music Center.  They have an open-air amphitheater and the music just flows around the mountains....so lovely!  This photo shows the orchestra getting ready for a performance.

We had our meetings and meals in a lovely room, overlooking trees and a lake with geese!  They had  beautiful Steinway in there!

I've gotten quite a bit of stitching done!  I will have to show more as I can get it collected up!  I desperately need a finishing day!!!  I don't want to ever have a stack as tall as one I had about a year ago!!  I stitched this sweet little BBD St Patrick's stocking on the plane. Isn't it cute??  It's on a hand dyed 30 ct. linen.  So fun!  I will show more finishes later--and I did stitch all 3 of the Lizzie Kate Sled Dudes!  I showed a finished one previously, and I've got to finish the other 2 on the sleds!  I really like those!

When I got home from Brevard, there was a wonderful envelope from England waiting for me!!  It was from sweet, sweet Jacquie, and I just knew I would love whatever it was!!  She sent a precious note to me, written on this beautiful lavender-themed note card.  A little package wrapped in pink tissue was in there--and it contained a wonderful handmade lavender sachet!  I LOVE IT!!!  Jacquie stitched some pretty lavender on it--TINY count--very lovely!!  And it just smells divine!  Thank you so much for thinking of me, Jacquie!  I have enjoyed our friendship so much!  I think of you when I walk by and catch a delightful whiff!!  I will put it somewhere that I want to smell sweet, but right now I have to leave it where I can enjoy looking at it!!!  Many thanks, friend!

Well, this was a LONG post, but I have been out of pocket!  I will post some finishing soon, I hope!!  I really want to jump into that stack of fabulosity!!!!  

I started stitching another of the St Patrick's stockings, because it was the most convenient thing to start then!  I am going to recycle some old stitching, and I have some great ideas for those things.  So, keep in touch and I will share all of that soon!

Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon!

Frances

A finish & a tiny giveaway!

Hello dear blogging friends!  It's been a while since I've been able to read your blogs or post on my own!  But I am trying to catch up and see what you've been doing!

I actually have a finish I want to show.  It's really small, but oh so cute!  While I was stitching this, I thought it looked rather small!  When I was about half finished, I looked at the chart again, and saw that I was using 18 count fabric, as recommended, but the chart said "over two"!!!!  Oh well, it's really cute as a "MINI" since mine is over one!!!

I had this darling snowman fabric in my stash, so I will use it for finishing.  I think my dear friend Janie gave me this fabric!!  I changed the floss colors to coordinate with the fabric.  You can also see that the button wheels aren't sewn on yet, either!  But they will be!

This is the cute little chart--Snowman "Zippie" by Bent Creek.  I received this chart from Chris at Tot Hill Farm Stitches.  She was giving it away, and now I want to pass it to someone else.  So, if you are interested in stitching this cute little chart, please leave a comment and I'll draw a name on Wednesday of this week.

I've been busy with handling my mother's affairs, but it's all falling into place and I hope things will be a little easier/quieter soon.  It's been very tiring and very busy, but starting to slow down now.

Thank you for stopping by, and please come back soon!  Don't forget to leave a comment if you'd like to have the Snowman Chart!
Frances

A visit to a real store!

I went to Memphis this week with my husband.  His office is headquartered there and I dragged along for something to do!  We had a good time.  We stayed in Tunica, MS, because he had a free room at a casino there--aren't we thrifty!?!?!?  Then we got up and were in Memphis in less than an hour.  I dropped him off so I could go do something. AND, I was able to find a real cross stitch store!!!  It was heavenly!!   Stitchers Inc. is the name and it was so much fun!  I stayed in there for a couple of hours, looking at everything in the store!  I bought quite a few things and some were even in the sale bin! That just makes it even more fun!  The employees were so nice and I plan to go back soon!  My husband goes pretty often and I've never even thought of going with him to look for a stitching shop!  Oh well, I know about it now!
I've been stitching on some little New Year's ornaments, so I'll be ready for next year!  I stitched this cute little freebie in the car, and it's pretty cute!  I found it here and I will finish it soon with some sparkle and glitz!

It hasn't been ironed yet...sorry!  I think it will finish up really cute.  This is on a small scrap of Cobblestone Aida and I used Crescent Colors Apple Fritter.  It's much prettier in reality.
I have almost finished two others, for a grand total of four!  That will be a good start and I can hopefully add some during the year!  I also got a cute little Snoopy New Year's ornament at the Hallmark Store and some glittery stars in gold and silver!  What fun!
Today I ran by the local Hancock's and grabbed several shiny fabrics for finishing these. Of course, while I was there I had to go through the stock quickly to see if there was anything I couldn't live without....I found several!  And the beautiful new fabric store in my town is having a big sale, so I intend to be in there on Monday to check for necessities!
Thanks for stopping by and do come back soon!
Frances

Glorious fabrics!

Well, I still don't have much stitching to show.....it's the end of the semester...I've had papers due, but I'm turning in the last one tomorrow!!!  YAY!   Then there's only 2 classes in the Spring and I'm through!  What a great feeling!
There are no cross stitch stores anywhere near me.  BUT, a new fabric store opened close to my house, and it's just lovely!  My dear cross-stitching friend Janie was down for a visit (from IN) and we checked out the store!  WOW!!  We were both in heaven.  Janie also quilts, so she was really looking and familiar with all the designer names!  I just looked and admired!
I bought a few pieces of BEE-related fabric!  Janie had been to a quilt retreat and brought some gorgeous squares someone had left there "for the taking"!!!  I love all of them and will be able to use them in finishing for little strips or edging, etc.

Look at all this lusciousness!!!!

I feel like Christmas came early!!!  This has me in the mood to stitch SO BADLY!  I have to finish my Christmas trees today and hopefully can stitch for a month or so before school starts back!  Won't that be wonderful!!!

Thank you for all your suggestions and help on my no-reply status!!!  That makes me so unhappy because I went through this before.  I changed and did all of the recommended stuff and folks told me it was great!  Then recently, it's not great!  Well, in my reading it seems that your account can flip back with no notice.....it's something to do with Blogger and Google +    Anyway, I have hopefully fixed it.  PLEASE let me know if it's not.  (so I can fret about it some more!!! LOL!!)

Thank you for stopping by and please come back soon!
Frances