Market Open House is Tomorrow!

Whew! What a week! Between catching up with framing, pricing all the new goodies, getting everything in the computer and being sick since Tuesday, I need a vacation! We finished putting things out for display at 5:45 this evening and I am working feverishly (literally) to finish up a shop model for tomorrows Open House. I had a hard time finding places to display everything but I think we managed to spread it out enough that browsers shouldn't have a problem with, well, browsing! LOL!

I still have 2 paintings to stretch and 2 more cross stitch pictures to frame, plus a golf layout and then I am officially caught up! Should get that finished Monday and then the rest of next week should be cake.

Don't have anything to share stitching wise as I don't want to post the shop model until it's finished and it still needs to be mounted.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and if you live in the area stop by between 10 and 4 tomorrow to see all the stash we brought home!

Take care till next time,

Julie

Back from Market

Happy Monday Everyone!

Got back from market last evening. Had a great time, met some wonderful designers, brought back some great new things! I even went out of my box and am going to give some different techniques a try. Gonna be a busy week getting everything priced and in the computer not to mention displayed so if you are in the neighborhood, we are having a Market Open House this coming Saturday. The shop opens at 10!

Have a great day everyone!

Take care till next time.

Julie

Retreat! Warning, long post lots of pics

Hello Everyone!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I was extremely busy getting everything ready for our fall retreat which occurred this past weekend. Along with all the stuff to get ready I also had some family things come up so stitching and blogging got pushed down the list of things that needed doing. Retreat is over and some of the family stuff has been resolved so hopefully life will settle back down to a somewhat normal routine.

Retreat was awesome! I can't speak for everyone else but I had a great time. Well except for the last night and morning...my stomach and I weren't getting along at the time so it wasn't as much fun then. MaryAnn and I were to leave for retreat Thursday morning around 11:00 so we could get there in plenty of time to unload everything and get set up for the stitcher's who were to arrive after 3:00. As usual things didn't go quite the way they were supposed to. My phone rang about 8:30 Thursday morning. An unsuspecting me answered only to hear this tiny little voice saying, Mom, I'm dying. I hate phone calls that start out with that sentence. I've gotten quite a few of them in my 26 years of motherhood and by now I realize it's usually an exaggeration but it still causes my stomach to drop into my feet. Not as long a drop as it could be since I'm short but still enough to give me that sick feeling your get when you hear those words. That morning it was Amy that was dying. I asked her what the problem was and she responded by saying she had been throwing up all night. She had a fever, couldn't breathe, was shaky and wanted to come home. There are 2 things Amy likes to have when she is sick. Her dog and her mama. In that order. So the fact that I was going to be in Lincoln where she currently was didn't deter her from wanting to come home. Her dog was here. I told her I could come and get her and could be on my way shortly but she nixed that idea. She has a class at 2 in the afternoon on Thursdays with a no absentee policy. Let me tell you what I think of no absentee policies. Stupidest thing I have ever heard in my life. Why on Gods green earth would you as a teacher want someone with the freaking stomach flu in your class room spreading the virus to all and sundry? Were you at the end of the line when common sense was handed out???? I know I as a fellow student wouldn't want you sitting next to me shedding virus. I asked Amy if she were to email the teacher and explain the situation whether she would make an exception. Apparently that was covered the first day. No absence means no absence. Period. You miss, you are out of the class. Okay then. Plan B. MaryAnn and I will drive down as scheduled with a slight detour to the college. I would bring with me the left over anti-nausea pills from Abby's tonsillectomy which would hopefully get Amy up off the floor of her dorm room, to the shower, to class, and finally through the drive home. We only had 2 pills. Timing was everything. Dan would pick her up at 4 and bring her home. After that her dog was going to have to take care of her. MaryAnn was called to make sure this would work for her and at 11:00 we were on our way. Amy looked pretty rough when I got there. No color in her face whatsoever. I gave her the pill (dissolves under the tongue) and after about 20 minutes she started to look a bit better. At 30 minutes she sat up and finally at 40 minutes she felt able to shower. This was a very good thing as she didn't have time to put her hair in a pony before throwing up the first time and she was smelling a bit nasty. I left her to it and headed out to the car where MaryAnn was waiting. We arrived at the B & B, got unloaded, set up chairs and even had time to relax on the front porch before our first stitcher arrived at 3:00 pm on the dot, followed shortly by everyone else. Retreat was officially in progress!


Upon their arrival, everyone was given a little present. I had been shopping at Hobby Lobby in August and had seen these small paper mache boxes and thought they would make a cute little gift to give to our stitcher's. Unfortunately, they only had 3. I needed 14. So I called Dan. Hey, can you check out the Millard HL store for these boxes I need? Not only did he check the Millard Store, but he also went to every other HL in the metro area. Sadly, we were still short several boxes. Lucky for me, he was picking up Amy from college that weekend and after I called the Lincoln HL to confirm that they had some he picked up a couple from there too. But still we were short. Enter Linda, one of our stitcher's. She lives in Iowa, not too far from Omaha and she said she would check her HL for boxes. She was able to pick up a couple too. But would you believe we still needed 1 more box???? Now it was MaryAnn's turn. She texted her niece in Sioux City who went to that HL and she got the last box that we needed. Actually she bought 3 so we ended up with 2 extras. MaryAnn already had a trip planned to Sioux City that week so she was able to bring the final boxes back. Now all I had to do was figure out what in the world I was going to do with them!! I searched and searched for a freebie pattern that was small enough to fit on the top of the 3" x 3" box but unless we stitched it over one it just wasn't going to happen. Not all of our ladies like over one on 36 count fabric so I rejected everything I found. Finally I came up with the idea to chart an initial for each person and put a border around it. After painting each box, then antiquing it, I applied the stitched piece to the top of the box and added a piece of trim to finish it off. Here's what mine looked like.

Here's a side view showing the embossing and antiquing.


I would have liked to get a picture of everyone with their box since they all finished them while at retreat but I was unable to do so.

Thursday night we all went out to Lonestar Steak House for dinner. We had a great time and then returned to the Roger's House and stitched till 11 or so. Some stayed up later but I was tired so I took myself off to bed.


Friday we enjoyed breakfast provided by the B & B and then everyone sat down and stitched the day away. Our last 3 retreaters arrived Friday afternoon.

We also had the pleasure of getting a massage Friday afternoon. MaryAnn and I wanted to see if this would be something people would be interested in for the spring retreat. The general consensus was Hell Yes!! Most everyone said they would pay twice what was charged for the massage. This was my first time getting a massage and all I can say is WOW!! I'd do it again in a heartbeat.


Supper that night was lasagna, ham, rolls and a veggie plate plus apple crisp for dessert. MaryAnn and I provided the meal this time. We were up stitching till almost midnight that night. I think it was also that night that we planned MaryAnn's wedding to Jim, her significant other. It was hilarious some of the ideas that were thrown out there. The laughter was flowing freely and loudly for quite some time that evening. In fact we were so loud for so long that when we did finally quiet down the night time inn keeper came out of the office to make sure we were okay. Guess we got too quiet and she was worried!! There is only one little hitch to the whole wedding plan thing, Jim has yet to propose to MaryAnn!! We're prepared though if he ever takes the big leap!

Saturday was a cool and rainy day, just perfect for staying inside and stitching. Breakfast was again provided by the B & B. We stitched until lunch and then I showed everyone how to finish their boxes. Later on, Nebraska had a football game on TV so some of the stitcher's went upstairs to watch the game while the rest of us stayed downstairs stitching. Ruby Tuesdays catered dinner Sat. night. It was not what we had been led to believe it was going to be so I was somewhat disappointed in the meal but I didn't eat anyway because my stomach was not feeling good at that time.




Sunday after breakfast, again provided by the B & B, we stitched for a while before it was time to pack up and head home. All in all I think it was a great time. We received several emails from the gals thanking us for hosting a wonderful retreat. We're already planning for next fall. We might try someplace new for a change of scenery. Or we might not. Only time will tell.

If you're wondering what it is that I stitched on for all those days, it wasn't what I had planned. I had chosen a new project to start but it didn't take me long to fling it aside in frustration and pick up an older WIP. Much less frustrating to work on and I quite enjoyed my stitching after that. Which WIP you say?
My Chatelaine! I got quite a bit done too all things considered. Here's a pic of it the last time I posted it.

And here it is now. I didn't stitch the whole thing this weekend, just the upper right corner. I love the colors in this piece. So bright and beautiful! Why have I not stitched on it in over a year??

Also have a finish to share with you...



This is the first pillow I have ever made all by myself. The pattern is a freebie that I found here
For my first attempt it turned out pretty good but I think I could have stuffed it a bit more.

This post is now a mile and a half long so I think I will call it done. Hopefully you enjoyed hearing about our retreat and remember, we are having a spring retreat next April. If you are interested in attending, check out my sidebar for more information.

Tomorrow MaryAnn and I leave for the St. Charles Market. I'll tell you all about it next week!

Take care till next time.

Julie

Stupid is as stupid does!

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

Hard to believe it's already Wednesday! Gotta love a short work week!

I'm glad everyone liked Hare's Christmas. Thanks for the compliments and thanks also for the lovely comments on Abby's art. I showed them to her and she was quite surprised that people liked them.

So I think I did a stupid thing Monday. I was browsing Craigslist when I spied a listing for 2 antique chairs. Clicked on the listing and up came the picture. The first chair is somewhat unique in my opinion and I knew Miss Abby would love the shape of it. The second chair was perfect! I've been looking for a chair to fit in the corner of my bedroom and I could see it in my minds eye all spruced up with a throw tossed carelessly over the arm. The price was great too, only $20.00 for both! I quickly emailed the person selling the chairs and got an answer back before too long, the chairs were still available and we could come look at them any time. I grabbed Dan and quick like a rabbit we hopped in the car and headed down the road to Bellevue. Arriving at our destination we rang the bell and were shown to the basement where these beauties were being stored. The young couple that was selling the chairs had just recently moved from Wyoming. With an infant and new jobs they just didn't have the time to clean the chairs up so they decided to sell them and get them out of their basement. Dan and I sat on them, turned them upside down, hemmed and hawed, discussed if we wanted one or both and the gal pipes up and says you can have them both for $15.00. Fifteen huh, well I guess if we can get them in the car we'll take them. I gave her the $15.00 and we carried them outside and lo and behold they fit just fine in the car. And that right there was where the stupid part came in. If I had a lick of sense in my head I would have pretended that they didn't fit, got my money back and got our happy asses out of there. But no....I brought these chairs home and chattered all the way about how awesome they were going to look re-done.





















I have to blame my friend Becca for thinking these chairs would be a good idea. Mostly because I don't really want to take the blame for being stupid but also because she just finished a chair similar to the red one and it turned out beautifully! But, and this is a big BUT...she has a friend that knows how to upholster and said friend was happy to help her learn how to do it. I do not have such a friend. Becca lives in Dayton. Ohio. She isn't going to come to Omaha anytime in the foreseeable future to teach me how to do it. So what in the sam hill was I thinking buying these chairs????? I certainly can't afford to pay someone to reupholster these beauties. I don't want them in my house the way they are and I would really like to park my car in my garage this winter instead of harboring this disreputable pair of chairs!! But the deed is done so I need to come up with a solution to the problem. Did I mention Abby wants Zebra stripes on the pink chair? Nothing like adding stripes to an already difficult project! I'll keep ya posted on their status but if you know anyone in my neck of the woods that would like to teach me the craft of re-upholstery, have them look me up. I'll be the one beating my head against the wall repeating Stupid stupid stupid over and over.

Take care till next time!

Julie

Hare's Christmas Pillowized!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!!

It's been a very relaxing weekend so far. All the kids are home, the weather has been awesome, the food good...can't ask for more than that! Amy has had tons of stories about college life, Adam has had tons of stories about work so most of our time together has been spent talking and catching up. Today Amy is upstairs doing homework, Adam is off at a Fantasy Football draft, Abby is working and Dan is in the garage working on Amy's headboard. I'm doing laundry, getting stuff ready for supper and even stitching a bit. We had to watch an action movie as part of Amy's homework so we sat and watched Die Hard this morning. Can't get much better than Bruce Willis in a die hard movie for action! Tonight the kids are all going bowling. This is a strange and unusual occurrence in this house. Never have the 3 chosen to do something together. Willingly. With no fighting. Still trying to wrap my mind around that one!

Stitching has been scarce this week. I've been busy working on a little project for our fall retreat. It does include stitching but it's not done yet and I couldn't share it right now anyway since it's for retreat and some of the ladies read the blog. Everyone will have to be patient for 2 weeks and then I can show you.

I did get my Hare's Christmas back from the "pillowizer". It's so darn cute I can hardly stand it! Those rabbits just make me smile! I backed it with the fabric it's laying on.

I wanted to share some of Abby's artwork with you. She's been bored at work lately. Last week she took her sketch pad and pencils with her and this was the result:

She volunteered to do the bulletin board at school too. The radiology students wear blue scrubs and they get to dress up for Halloween this year so they decided to be Smurfs. Abby took that idea and drew a Smurf for the bulletin board and then added the lead apron and thyroid cover that the patients use.


I think it turned out really cute but I'm her mama so I might be a bit biased. Just a little.

Guess that's about it for today. I hope you all are enjoying your weekend as much as I am!

Take care!

Julie

Stitching updates, general updates and a sunset

Hello!!

Another month has flown by and fall is just around the corner. I am thoroughly enjoying laying in bed in the morning instead of getting up at the crack of dawn to take a child to school. Now instead of the crack of dawn, I get to lay there until 7 which is nice, very very nice. I should still get up early and go walking but really, why would I want to do that??? Now if I could only convince Abby that slamming into my room at 5:45 in the morning to use my hairdryer and root lifter is going to lead to her untimely death, (because I am going to kill her if it doesn't stop) I might get to sleep until 7 instead of just laying there.

I am happy to report that the sickies are now almost well again. Abby came down with bronchitis last week but the antibiotics are taking care of it and she is back to eating normally again. Dad is doing okay. He has several Dr. appointments yet but so far things are okay. He seems a tad disoriented and forgetful though. Not like I have any room to talk! I can't even remember my own name these days without wearing a name tag!

Amy came home from college last weekend at the last minute. This meant I had to drive to Lincoln to pick her up. For most folks that would not be a big deal but for me it is. I do not do the interstate. It's too fast and there are too many other vehicles on the road for my peace of mind but as there was no other option, I begged my friend Eloise to ride along with me and we made it there and back with no problems. My entire body hurt the next day though from being so tense the whole trip. It'll get easier I'm sure the more I do it. Kallie was so happy to see her mama...at first anyway. Her tail was going a hundred miles an hour and the tongue was all over the place. Then it was like a switch was flipped and she remembered her mama had left her for over a week, she started to struggle to get down and you could see she was mad just by looking at her. It was pretty funny! Gradually she warmed back up but when Amy started packing again on Sunday the ears started drooping and the tail was tucked between her hind legs. Poor puppy. Gonna be a long year for her. We had a very nice visit while Amy was home and we heard all about her classes and the interesting people she is meeting.

Adam is coming home this weekend for the holiday. He's anxious for some good home cooking and he has all kinds of plans already for his brief visit.

I have been stitching quite a bit. I finished Hare's Christmas but don't have a picture of it yet as it is being pillowized as I type. I have mostly finished The Stitching Lady. Need to find some buttons for it, no way am I paying the price they want for the recommended buttons. I found a large mistake in my stitching as I was stitching the border on the right side. My lady is one row too close to the right so I had to remove the purse that is supposed to be hanging there from her floor stand. I suppose I could do something to make it fit but quite frankly, I don't miss it being there so I'm not gonna bother. The stitching police can come and arrest me if they don't like it.


Golden Ice is also progressing although I don't feel like it. Dan says I'm moving right along and getting a lot done but I feel like I am standing still. When I compare pictures I can see that progress is happening but just not fast enough for me I guess.

My friend Doreen and I have a bad case of I wannastartanewprojectitis. I made her promise to finish a couple she has almost complete first and I made the same promise to her. By finishing Hare's Christmas and The Stitching Lady, I have fulfilled my promise so technically, I could start something new and I have my eye on something but I also would like to finish Golden Ice before Fall Retreat. What to do, what to do??

Speaking of retreat, we are having a great response so far. Thanks to all those that posted about it on their blog and helped me spread the word. Mary Ann and I really appreciate the assist!

This past Saturday was our Last Saturday Stitching and there were a few finishes by our ladies so I thought I would share them with you since none of these gals have a blog. First up is Sandy. For as long as she has been attending our LSS group she has been stitching on her Beatrix Potter piece. She has finally got her finished and what a beauty it turned out to be! I have this chart in my stash. Someday....

Next is Linda, showing 3 of her finishes with a little help from Connie.

And then Linda with a framed (by moi) finish and again a little help from Connie!

Finally we have Eloise with her Nativity finish. Eloise bought this chart several years ago at a shop in Des Moines and it wasn't until she saw the model of it on loan from the old owner of said shop that she remembered she had it in her stash. She stitched it up real quick then and is in the process of getting it stretched for framing.

I'm going to leave you with a picture I snapped in the parking lot of Hobby Lobby the other night. It was beautiful, far more so than my photography skills could capture. As I was standing there taking the picture I heard a lady in her car say to the other person, what is she taking a picture of? By the time I turned around she had pulled her camera out and was snapping away too!

Have a great week everyone! Thanks to all my followers, both old and new. I really appreciate the prayers and comments from everyone. You all are the best!

Take care till next time!

Julie

And the winner is...

Drum roll please...

Oh, wait I have some things to say first! Wouldn't want to end the suspense this early in the post, what would be the fun in that??

First I would like to say thank you to all the wonderful ladies that left comments on the give away post and offered prayers for Dan and Abby. I am very sorry I haven't posted since Abby's surgery but life has been a bit weird for lack of a better term. I meant to post last Wednesday but the shiz hit the fan that day and today is actually the first time I have had a chance to sit down and collect myself.

Let me start with Abby and her surgery. She came through just fine, her tonsils were necrotic and full of infection so it was a good thing we did it when we did. Recovery has been a bit harder. It was like having a newborn that you had to get up to feed several times a night only it was a 22yr old needing meds every 3 hours which led to a severe lack of sleep and a complete inability to think straight on my part. I could type out everything that occurred during her recovery but lets just leave it at, she wanted to die and kept repeating that while tears were running down her face. Broke my heart. Then last Wednesday, while my sister and I were picking up a mirror for my mom's bathroom, and mom was babysitting my sister's kids...my dad disappeared. Mom got home from Mel's house and no dad. Anywhere. Mel had her look in the closets. Nope not there. Billfold was gone but cane was there and mom had the car so he didn't drive anywhere and without the cane he couldn't walk very far. We called our other sister and our brother thinking they might have come over and taken him somewhere. Sis had no clue and we couldn't reach my brother. We checked with the guys he plays chess with thinking perhaps they came and got him. Nope. Time is passing as the phone calls are flying and finally we tell mom to call the neighbors, see if perhaps an ambulance had been there. Mom argued the point, but finally called. Yep, the neighbor said, the ambulance was there at about 1:30. It was now 4:00. The neighbor thought mom had gone with them. We called around until we located him in the ER of a local hospital. He was stable but that is all they could tell us at that point. I hopped in the car and picked up mom and Mel and off we went. First thing mom asked was why weren't we notified that he had been picked up and where he was. Come to find out, Dad was passed out when the paramedics got there and when he came around as they were leaving the house he told them we would know where he was and they didn't need to leave a note. The hospital said they would have called eventually. Now how in the world we would know he had called 911 and been taken to the hospital is beyond me and why would they listen to an old man that had been unconscious? They couldn't tell us anything at this point except they were going to admit him. By 8 that evening they still weren't saying anything. Dad told us he had suddenly gotten dizzy, nauseated and was having trouble breathing so he took a nitro pill and laid down before calling 911. He doesn't remember much after that till they were leaving the house. Some of the tests showed a thickening in the blood in his lungs so they gave him extra blood thinners, said that was all they were going to do that night so we headed home. Because we weren't home to give Abby her meds she got off schedule that day and was feeling poorly when we got home. Got her situated and then addressed the issue of Amy needing to be taken to college the next day. It was decided we would wing it in the morning. Got up at 3 to give Abby her meds and went back to bed only to be rudely awakened at 4:30 by Abby slamming my bedroom door against the wall and announcing she was going to throw up. Which she did.
Both of us were worried it might break open her scabs and cause bleeding so I kept an eye on her while she went back to sleep. By 8 that morning phone calls were flying again. Mom was up at the hospital, Dad was doing fine, they were planning a stress test and an ultrasound of his legs to look for blood clots. If both were fine they would either release him or keep him for more tests. The Dr.s were split on what they wanted to do. Abby was doing okay, no further vomiting, no bleeding and she decided to stop taking the big drugs and drop down to tylenol so I made the decision to go with Dan and take Amy to college. And might I say what a freaking zoo that was!! OMG!! Cars and kids everywhere. I saw kids taking love seats in, 45 inch TV's, tables, rugs...you name it they were carrying it into the dorm. Amy traveled a bit lighter and we got everything into her room, unpacked and put away before our 1 hour time limit for the up close parking was over. We then took her out to lunch, picked up some groceries and dropped her back off at her dorm before heading back to Omaha. Dan cried half the way home. I had to distract him to get him to stop crying. I hate to see a grown man cry. I was surprisingly okay. I cried a bit but I think my mind was on so many other things at this point and functioning on very little sleep and then to have to get Dan's mind off of things that I don't think I had time to process that my baby was off at college. I miss her and I have talked with her almost every day. She is having a blast and joining all kinds of clubs and meeting all kinds of people. Loves her classes and is getting a tan from having to walk all over campus. I'm thrilled for her. Back to Thursday...we went straight up to the hospital when we got back into town. The stress test was good, the ultrasound showed no clots, so they decided to release him that evening. They don't know what it was, they haven't ruled out a heart attack or a blood clot. The Dr. that released him, and I use that term loosely as the man was a complete dweeb, when Dad asked if he should call 911 if this happens again told him he should just lie down and see what happens, it wasn't necessary to call 911. I about crapped my pants and so did Dan and mom. The nurse waited until the Dr. left and then told Dad that he should ignore what that azz just said and call 911 as soon as he feels any similar symptoms. Got Dad home about 8 that night and then went home to see about Abby. I had been in touch with her throughout the day and she seemed to be doing better. She was still sick to her stomach and worried about vomiting again. I stayed home from work on Friday so she wasn't alone just in case but she continued to improve as the narcotics left her system. I was practically the walking dead at that point so the weekend was spent doing absolutely nothing but sitting and resting. By Monday I felt almost human again and was back at work and now here I am. Ready to announce the winner of the giveaway! Are you still with me??? It was a long saga. But I swear it is all true. Mary Ann, my boss, says she has never seen anyone with as much drama as my family has. Let's hope for a good long stretch of calm now.

I guess I will go ahead and announce the winner and save all the other stuff for another post. So Congratulations to PegC of Lightening Fingers, you are the winner of the giveaway! Please send me an email with your snail mail address and I will get that mailed out just as soon as possible! If I don't hear from Peg within the next 7 days, I will draw another winner and announce it at that time.

Thanks again everyone for participating in my giveaway. I wanted to post on everyone else's blogs but...well...life happened and I didn't get it done.

Have a great evening!

Julie