One event down, one to go

The Silver Needle's summer event was amazing; I'm really glad I signed up, even if I can already tell that stitching events two weekends in a row is going to be a bit much. 😅 I arrived at my hotel in Charlotte last night and I've gotten a few grocery items and have now settled in, so hopefully I'll recuperate a bit before Thursday.

The last time I went to The Silver Needle, I didn't take pictures of the shop at the start and then ran out of time, so this time I took some right away. No descriptions really needed, it's all just eye candy!

Cecilia from Heart in Hand and Elizabeth and Marsha from Bent Creek were the featured designers, and they were so fun to listen to. I've been friends with Cecilia for several years now, but this was the first time we actually met in person, so that was very special.

The event included two large and two small stitch kits from each company, as well as a little appliqued Sneedlebook (SN for Silver Needle 😄). Here's my finished Sneedlebook, along with some adorable pins that we got:

Here are the models; some were included in the event and some were new releases that I bought, including the HIH 2026 Wee Santa:

Even though I know that I have most (if not all) of the threads used for the Santa, I ended up buying all of them because I really wanted to start him and I won't be home for another week. I don't even regret it, because I was able to work on him while sitting in the airport yesterday with a flight delay:

And here's my stitching spot for the next few days while I wait for the Chatelaine retreat to start:

I waited too long to book my hotel for the Chat retreat, so I couldn't get into the Marriott where it takes place. I'm in a Hilton about half a mile away, but this hotel is actually a better location as far as being closer to the dining choices. It might not be good walking over to the Marriott later this week though, because there's a lot of rain in the forecast, but at least I remembered to pack an umbrella. And this is right across from the hotel entrance, so that definitely weighs heavily in its favor!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Two more sleeps before my big adventure

My flight to Tulsa leaves at 6:20am on Wednesday, so it's more like one and a half sleeps because I'll have to get up in the middle of the night to get ready to leave for the airport by 4:30am--ugh! Not looking forward to that part of the trip, but I will definitely be happy to be able to stop obsessing about packing for it. 😅

I was trying to pick out a couple of travel projects that would be easy to work on in airports in case I end up with delays; I chose a Jim Shore Mill Hill kit on perforated paper and a Laurel Burch kit on linen that I started probably 10+ years ago. I wanted to put in a length of floss on each just to refamiliarize myself with them before I left, and then this happened:

Oops, I finished Feathered Friend! I still have the Jim Shore kit, but I pulled out another one from this set of Laurel Burch kits and got it ready to go as well:

I figured the larger blocks of color would be easy to work on in non-ideal stitching conditions, so I still have two to choose from if I need to, though 🤞🏻 that I won't need to!

I'm trying to make myself wait until tomorrow to get my suitcase out, but I'm having a hard time settling down to do anything else so it might come out today. I'm excited for both events, but also nervous; I'll know some of the people at the Chatelaine retreat and already have plans to sit with at least one friend, but I'll be on my own for the Silver Needle event. As an introvert that's always a bit nerve wracking, but I know it will end up being fine.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Miss Apple Blossom is done

I was able to finish the adorable Miss Apple Blossom by Nora Corbett last Wednesday, and she is as sweet as she can be:

I have Miss Cherry Blossom ready to go, so I'll probably take her along on my travels in case I feel like making a start on her. The next two in this series probably won't be released until September, so I should have her done well before that; it would be nice to finish each set of two before the next sets drop.

On Thursday we received part 2 of Welcome to the Circus by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, and I finished it this past Saturday:

The hippo is awfully cute, but I get the biggest kick out of those little seagulls! I'm glad I signed up for this SAL, and am looking forward to seeing part 3 early next month.

I spent my stitching time yesterday working on IMAKE's Aster Courtyard, slowly working through the specialty stitches in the top portion:

It's pretty much impossible to work with any speed on this design, so I'm finding it very relaxing to just focus on each small area without trying to race to a finish. 

I've already started my pre-travel packing countdown, which will constantly be on my mind for the next week--I'm always really relieved to head to the airport on the day I leave, just so I can quit obsessing about preparations! 😅

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!