Friendstitch 2025

The Friendstitch Winter Gathering took place this past Saturday and it was very enjoyable. The event is put together by Cecilia from Heart in Hand and Elizabeth and Marsha from Bent Creek, but unfortunately Cecilia was ill this year and couldn't make the trip from Ohio to Georgia to share the hosting duties. She was missed, but Elizabeth and Marsha did a great job. Teri and Tina from Shepherd's Bush were guests, and it was fun to get a walkthrough of their shop in Utah--makes me want to visit someday! They provided a chart to be stitched on a mesh bag, which I haven't tried yet, but that looks like it should be pretty easy and quick.

Here are a few photos from the event box (which I kept without peeking for a few weeks):

This bag is from a previous event, but we got a couple more buttons this year, to add to those that have come in two other boxes (if there were any before that I would have missed them, but I don't think there were):

I did the pre-stitching for this one, but I didn't try to do the finishing along with Mona Bost's video segment. We got everything we need to make an easel, which I am excited to try so I can add that skill to my somewhat limited (but lately rapidly expanding) finishing repertoire.

I stitched three of the models this year, including the two versions of the same design, Winter Gathering Hillsides, which the ladies named Bright Bluffs and Pastel Peaks. Here they are side-by-side:

Here is the framed model of Pastel Peaks:

I also stitched the framed model of Snow Folk, which is really cute. Here are my photo and a photo of the framed piece that Elizabeth sent:

They also showed Snow Folk stitched on blue linen and finished into a drum, which was adorable; if I stitch it for myself, that's probably the way I'll have it finished. If I stitch the Hillside, it'll definitely be with the bright palette, as I always prefer bright over muted.

Sadly, they announced that there won't be a Friendstitch next year, but they plan to be back in 2027. There is a LOT of work behind the scenes for these retreats that goes on for months, so I don't blame them for stepping back and taking a breath next year. Maybe that means 2027 will be even more awesome than usual, as they hit it totally refreshed!

Last Monday I did end up finishing the final Hands on Design ornament, but I think I'll wait to share close up photos of the finishes until next week, so I have something to post. I've made some progress on the first Nora Corbett model and it will be my focus for now, so I won't have any new stitching photos while I work on that.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

I got hands on with Hands on Design

Last Friday and Saturday I attended the Elves Ornament Workshop - The Holidays Take Shape with Cathy Habermann and I had a wonderful time. It was held at Primitive Gatherings quilt shop in Larsen, WI, and it was so nice to have an event like this only 20 minutes away from my house. Primitive Gatherings consists of two buildings--the storefront and a retreat center with rooms for out-of-town attendees, a kitchen that provides breakfast for those staying in the center and a homemade lunch for the class members and a beautiful, large space for the class. I took a few photos of the space, moving in a counterclockwise direction:

Towards the front of the room, Cathy had set up a small trunk show, with a lot of her designs that were finished as ornaments; she showed us how the shapes that we worked on at the class could be altered to make other shapes, using the same techniques that we learned. So fun to see all of these adorable designs all together like this:

We spent the first day learning how to lace the ornaments, based on the different shapes. Here's my workspace at the beginning of the day:

And here it is at the end:

That circle in the middle is the laced back for a bonus chart that we received right before we left for the day. I only worked on it for a couple of hours Friday night, so it took me most of the day yesterday to finish stitching it:

Saturday was spent assembling the ornaments and embellishing them; this was at the start of the day:

I was able to completely finish three of them during class, but it took me another couple of hours at home to get the rocking horse done. Here they are in all their glory:

I'll be assembling the last ornament later today, then I'll take some individual photos that I'll post next week. I feel like I really learned a lot by taking this class, and I'm excited to use my new skills going forward. I just need to try to finish at least one thing about once a month, so I don't forget everything!

I was also excited that Cathy had brought her newest releases, because I am absolutely in love with Murder in the Garden! It's finished like her Philanthropic Pumpkin (which I had her sign for me), and now that I've taken this class I feel like I might actually be able to get a decent result when I try to finish them:

I'm planning to start one of the Nora Corbett models tomorrow, which reminds me that I squeaked in a finish on her Indian Ocean Mermaid last Thursday night--yay! This was stitched on an orphan fabric by Ship's Manor, with a slightly darker skin tone than charted:

I was a bit torn when using the Distant Hills Waterlilies on the tail, as I wasn't a fan of the way the green and purple made streaky lines, so I ended up working it in small sections to eliminate the streaks. I kind of like the way it turned out, almost like water is flowing over it and being refracted into shimmers.

This coming Saturday is the online Friendstitch event, so I'll also be able to share the models I stitched for that next week--stay tuned!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Disaster!!

Last Friday evening I was trying to adjust the nose pieces on my glasses and one of them snapped off--the metal arm broke right near the base. I have sensory issues that make wearing glasses difficult enough, but having one nose piece is making it so much worse! Today I went to the eye doctor to make an appointment, because this prescription is two years old and probably needs to be changed by now, only to find out they have no openings until mid-November. 😭 I asked if there was anything they could do and they suggested going to a jeweler who might be able to solder the arm back on; she was willing to try, but she would have had to pop the lens out and she couldn't guarantee that the lens would go back in or any of the work, so I decided not to try. To make matters worse, I just received two models from Wichelt and they want an update in November, so I'm going to have to stitch even if it's difficult. Totally bummed right now!

On a happier note, my class with Cathy Habermann is this Friday and Saturday, so hopefully by Saturday night I'll have four finished ornaments. Cathy posted a couple of photos from her worktable as she prepared the kits:

For now, I'm going to continue to work on Indian Ocean Mermaid; I made some hard-fought progress this weekend with my damaged glasses:

I don't think I'll be able to finish her this week, but hopefully early next week, then I'll start one of the models.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day to those in the US! While it's nice to have a long weekend, this one is always bittersweet to me because it means summer is almost over. I do love autumn weather, but I'm not particularly fond of winter. 🥶

I was able to finish Heart in Hand's Any Town Tiny Town last Wednesday, on PTP Demoiselle Belfast:

Now I have two of these, as I stitched a personalized version a couple of years ago:

I'll put it away for now and when I have more Tiny Towns finished, I'll send them to Faye Riggsbee to be "drummed". Quilted Tiny Town is next on my list, but it will probably be a while before I start it because I heard from Wichelt last week and they are going to be sending a couple of Nora Corbett models to be stitched.

While I wait for those to arrive I'll continue to work on Nora Corbett's Indian Ocean Mermaid, which I started last Thursday:

I'm using a darker skin palette, both because it seems more representative of the geographical region and because I think these tones mesh better with the other colors in the design. I am really enjoying working on her and hope to get enough done in the next few days that it will be feasible to finish her before I make a start on one of the models.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!