Feels like fall

We had very late starts to both spring and summer in Wisconsin this year, and now we're already getting a taste of fall-like weather, so that's a bit disappointing. I could almost go out and get started on trimming/cleaning up the landscaping already, and I haven't even finished all of the indoor deep cleaning I've been trying to get back on top of since last year. 😬

Since I don't want to think about all of the chores ahead of me, I'll make stitching plans instead! I've been working on Any Town Tiny Town by Heart in Hand in between cleaning spurts, and should be able to finish it this week:

I've had some trouble really focusing on this one, I think because I've already stitched a personalized version in which I switched out three of the buildings for local ones, but now I'm far enough along that I know it will be done within a few days.

I have a couple of new starts lined up, one for me and one for a friend. Mine is going to be Nora Corbett's Indian Ocean Mermaid on this great fabric orphan from Ship's Manor:

I'd been looking for a mermaid to stitch on this fabric for a few years now and had even made a start on one that was the "best fit" for it that I had at the time, but then this mermaid was released and I knew she was meant to be on it. I spent some time this weekend removing the stitches I had made and pulling threads, and now this project is ready to go when I am. I might even be able to have it done by the time the Mirabilia retreat rolls around in October, depending on what work stitching comes in.

The other new start is going to be a black Lab design for my friend Stacy, who just picked up their new puppy this past Saturday. Ten years ago I made this ornament for her for her previous puppy's first Christmas:

Sadly, Cinder developed kidney disease and crossed over the Rainbow Bridge a few months ago. Stacy's husband is a duck hunter and fisherman and trains his dogs to be working dogs (as well as much-loved companions), so I've decided to stitch the puppy with the bobber from the same book that I previously used, which is "Lab Puppies" by Tara Moore for Green Apple Co.:

Hopefully I'll have time to stitch it and make an ornament before Christmas this year. I'm sure there will be sadness when they hang Cinder's ornament, so I'm hoping one for the new puppy will make it a bit less painful.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Latest model released

Last Friday, the latest Mirabilia model I stitched was released; MD201 Mira Fairy, The Dreamers Collection:

The Dreamers Collection is a set of designs that each have sections that can be switched around to create new designs; there are dotted lines on each chart that separate the heads, torsos and lower bodies and show you where to join up the individual parts. Nora talked about creating the set back at the 2023 Mirabilia retreat, and this is her concept art:

The painting in the top right corner is the only one that hasn't been released as a chart yet, and I am curious as to whether it will be or whether the set is complete at three; I've emailed Wichelt to inquire, so hopefully they'll let me know.

The beads I ordered for Geranium finally arrived last Monday, so she's now complete and ready to take to the Mirabilia retreat in October:

Also last week I was able to finish Heart in Hand's Wee Santa 2025, with his adorable little geese:

I used the recommended over-dyed threads except for the white; since it doesn't really have variegation, I switched it out for Anchor white. I also switched out the red for a different over-dyed red that was a bit more saturated and meshed better with the brighter fabric, which is an old Silkweaver solo on Newcastle linen.

The rest of my stitching time was spent on Heart in Hand's Any Town Tiny Town, on PTP Demoiselle Belfast:

I received a small Heart in Hand model last week, but a couple of the threads are coming from 123Stitch, so I'm going to continue to work on the Tiny Town while I wait for those. I need to get this one done so I can use the Qsnaps for Quilted Tiny Town, which I've already kitted up with threads.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

So frustrating!

I started Nora Corbett's Geranium on July 24th and as I was working on it I decided that I wanted to use size 8 instead of size 6 beads along the edge of her wing, so on the 31st I ordered some from an eBay seller, which was the only place I could find them in stock. The seller shipped them that same day, so I should have had them last week, but the USPS messed up (of course!) and the package wasn't scanned so I didn't know if I was going to receive it. The seller and I agreed that if nothing showed up by last Friday he would ship another package, so when the mail went and the beads didn't show up I checked the tracking (which still showed label printed, never accepted) and messaged him. Literally, right after I sent the message I checked my email and had a notice from the USPS that they had my package--talk about timing! It got from MA to WI with no tracking at all, then showed up at the PO two stops away and is out for delivery today. 

The frustrating part is that I would have been able to finish Geranium last Thursday if the beads had arrived when they were supposed to:

But at least she'll be done later today; she'll make my 117th finish of Nora's designs. 🌺

While I've been waiting, I worked up a little pre-stitch for Friendstitch next month, which will have a finishing segment for the piece:

I then pulled out Heart in Hand's Any Town Tiny Town, which I want to finish before I start another Tiny Town--the Qsnap is the perfect size for the towns, but I don't want to take this one off or it might disappear into the WIP bin! My plans were derailed a bit though, when Cecilia sent me her latest releases last week:

Since I can't/won't start the Quilted Tiny Town until Any Town is done, I decided to kit up and start the Wee Santa instead; my plan is to work on both as the mood strikes:

I'm using an old Silkweaver solo for the Santa, and it's obviously very different from the suggested fabric:

I think the little geese will look great on it, but only time will tell if the whole thing turns out like I envision--the worst that happens is I don't like it and end up stitching it again. 😅

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

My homework is done

Last week I finished up the last two designs for Cathy Habermann's finishing class, The Holidays Take Shape, so I am ready when September rolls around:

The individual pieces are Sweets for Santa:

A Vintage Rocker:

Plaid Tidings:

Light the Way:

The kit came with raw Belfast, which I used for the first three designs, but I stitched the candle on raw/gold Belfast, as I thought the shimmering metallic thread made it look like the candle was being seen through a frosty window. I am very excited to see how these will be finished, and hopeful that my skills are up to the task.

With those completed, my stitching time is once again open to whatever I feel like working on--yay! I was finally able to make a start on Nora Corbett's Geranium, on Polstitches Carnival Queen opal Lugana (which I thought was a perfect name for a SAL for the Queen City Retreat):

I had to scroll back through my blog to see when I last worked on a Nora Corbett/Mirabilia design, and found that it was back in January. The flow of colors in her designs is such a pleasure for me to stitch and I'm hoping no new models come in for a few weeks so I can work on this as much as I want.

My last post was a bit long, so I ended up not adding some progress photos of the Chatelaine mandala. Since I started from the outside edge, I thought it would be fun to document the progress on one corner as the layers started to grow:

Someday I would still like to go back and finish Mystery X (Secret Victorian Garden). I started it when it was a mystery SAL back around 2007, and then stitched on it again for a day or two in 2017, so maybe 2027 will be the year I pull it out again! 

I could have sworn I was further along than this... 😅

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

It took me a week to recover from the Chatelaine retreat...

...but it was totally worth it! It's hard to know where to start, so I guess I'll begin by saying that I was able to finish Little Tuscany Mandala with 90 minutes to spare on the last night and was able to ring the bell--woo hoo!! 🔔 Of course, about half of the attendees had already left, but that doesn't diminish my happiness at finishing in time, because I was uncertain all day whether I was going to make it. I completed all of the stitching right before the room closed on Friday night, so all I had left to do was add the beads on Saturday, but as the day wore on I really started to think that I wasn't going to have enough time; I ended up skipping lunch and dinner and just took a few small snack breaks throughout the day, and my efforts paid off--phew! Here it is in all of its sparkling glory:

The trip did not get off to a good start, as my non-stop flight from Appleton to Charlotte was cancelled four hours before it was supposed to depart, and they rescheduled me for the next day (the day the retreat started) with a stop in Chicago. I booked with a different airline (though paid almost double because it was so last minute) and left on Wednesday as planned, but a ground halt due to weather in Chicago and then one in Charlotte meant I arrived at my hotel at 2am Thursday morning; what should have been about a five-hour travel time ended up being about 12 hours--ugh! The trip home was better, though I got delayed in Chicago again, so now I'm kind of dreading the trip back to Charlotte in October...😟

However, the retreat itself made up for all of the travel hassles; Maggi and Amy, the organizers, do such an amazing job, and they only get better as they gain experience. This was the awesome goodie bag they put together:

If you know anything about ClaybyKim needle minders, you know how difficult they are to get as they sell out almost instantaneously as they get listed in Kim's shop; Maggi and Amy and their husbands spent several months snagging one or two each week so they could put one in every bag--a seriously impressive feat! I also love that the fabric the bags are made of has a mandala design, and even the zipper pulls look like little mandalas; such thoughtful little details that make them so special.

I had a great group at my table, some new to Chatelaines and some not (Kay has finished eight of the large mandalas, including Rainforest, which she completed at the retreat), and received some wonderful table gifts as well as some goodies from people who brought them for the whole group:

One of my table mates, Becky, made these sweet little needlebooks, using parts from various Chatelaine designs; I guess I might need to step up my gifting game!

There were a couple of games, one of which I won along with another attendee, so we split the prize of 10 pieces of fabric; these are the ones I picked:

Amy is also the owner of a dyeing company, Oak Crown Studios, and along with two pieces of the special retreat fabric that I had pre-ordered I also bought a couple of other pieces from her pop-up shop:

A couple of attendees came from the UK and one came from the Philippines, so it was truly an international retreat:

For the inaugural year they had about 50 spots, but next year they will be opening up more space and will host up to 144 people in July. The brag tables were already amazing, so I can't imagine how much more impressive they'll be with that many people bringing pieces to share! They also announced that the October 2026 retreat will focus on Teresa Wentzler designs. If you're ever looking for an awesome retreat to attend, I would highly recommend one by Queen City Stitch Retreat.

The day before I left for Charlotte I was able to pick up my pre-stitching kit for Cathy Habermann's finishing class at Primitive Gatherings in September, and so far I've completed two of the four ornaments, with the third in progress:

I'd like to have them all finished by the end of the week, then the plan is to start Nora Corbett's Geranium, as it's one of the SAL designs for the Mirabilia retreat in October:

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!