Stash Enhancement!

Yesterday, my buddy Lucky and I spent the whole day and evening together - 12 full hours!!! We began with a trip to our local needlework shop, Cross Stitch Cupboard in Fort Lauderdale - the cupboard had called me the night before to let me know that all the Nashville Needlework show goodies were ready for viewing. Naturally, I called her and we high-tailed it over there. We spent two hours browsing about, chatting with everyone, oohing and ahhing over all the goods and selecting our purchases - here's a photo of the goods.

As you can see, I made off with some charts, including a beehive house to be traced on fabric and embroidered in stem stitch, french knots and satin stitch. A stitching sampler on 40 count gauze with a tiny frame, Cackle & The World Cackles With You - for the witch wall, The Queen Bee (I JUST had to) and ANOTHER pair of scissors - I could not resist these, copper handles, antique style, oh well! A little box for my scissors & needles and a little zippered bag in a cute country pattern just because. Blackbird Design's Bird In Hand Reward of Merit Pincushion chart - another just had to and a little wooden box with a chart - Button Box from Olde Colonial Designs finished my stash.

After those two grueling hours of shopping we were in need of sustenance so off to Friday's for a nice lunch with a sweet waitress who took very good care of us. Then... on to Bead and Art in Lighthouse Point. We had been there a couple of weeks ago to take a class - we learned rosary wrap with wire. Below is the combined stash from both visits. The bracelet is pretty neat - you unscrew one of the balls and slid on a selection of beads, bingo! Instant bracelet - which you can change whenever you like. Carnelian, wood, bone, dragonscale agate in teal and orange red, fire agate, aquamarine, snakeskin agate as well as a sample of my rosary wraps.
After the beading shop, naturally we required coffee, so we stopped for that, then headed home. Of course we had to look through all our stuff, but then we finally got down to some stitching. We were interrupted by Mike, if you can believe it, because he was hungry for dinner! The utter nerve, LOL! Off he goes to pick up barbecue takeout, which, after all that stitching, we appreciated since, once again, we required sustenance to keep us going - which we did - stitched until Lucky decided we should read tarot cards. Well, I'm always up for that so we spent a good while at that mystical endeavor. Finally, after eleven, twelve hours after we began, we called it a night.

I can't leave these goodies out.... on Friday I received a shipment from The Scarlet Letter with something I have been wanting for a while - a chart and kit to stitch a reproduction of Jane Rees 1869, A Bristol House Orphan Sampler! Beautiful. I also received the book, Stitched in Adversity, Samplers of the Poor by Whitney Antiques - of course I am already reading this and the photos are wonderful - lots of detail - of this beautiful collection of samplers. Lastly, my first kit of four from Country Sampler's Stacy Nash 2010 Primitive Handwork Club, a heart shaped needlebook to go along with all those scissors.
And so, with the the full moon to celebrate, music to play and a little cooking to be done along with all this stitching (never mind all the freebie patterns I've found online!) I had best get to it!!!

Blessings Nine!