Souveniers

I've been a bad, bad blogger. My apologies, but I've been a busy one lately. Still no stitching that I can reveal, but I'm making progress on the model. I'm excited to say that the plan is to release the chart at market in September. I'm stitching as fast as I can. Hopefully, we can show a sneak peek here soon. I just returned from a quick trip to Minnesota to see family and do a little antiquing. We attended this show. It was simply amazing. Row after row and building after building of the most wonderful things. If I hadn't been flying, plenty more would have come home with me. My favorite finds were the samplers, the tons and tons of crocks, and the many weather vanes, just to name a few. We walked for at least seven hours and probably missed some things. I spied this guy, and had to go back and get him. I've always wanted a Hubley Boston Terrier doorstop. He certainly weighted down my luggage. The TSA went through my suitcase and I'm sure they were surprised to see him. Well, maybe not...they probably see lots of unusual things. The real Bostons weren't quite sure what to think. I caught Henry chewing on the ear. The cast iron had to have sharpened a tooth or two.

No trip to the Midwest is complete for me without buying another crock. It had to stay behind until I drive back there next month. I think I got a great deal on it, especially after seeing one priced at $4,700 in a shop. It was a 5 gallon jug, with a nice leaf design in mint condition. I've never seen one that expensive before.

This silhouette was too cute to pass up. The same dealer had the sweetest spinning wheel with the original blue paint. I'm kicking myself for not getting it.

I came home to some exciting news. We are going to be blessed with another grandchild in February. What a homecoming...I'm thrilled.

Out of the blog loop

Wow...I rarely go this long between posts. Like my title says, I am out of the loop. I haven't had time to update mine or read many either. I have no sampler progress to show, at least none that I can share at this time. I put aside Country Life a few weeks ago to begin stitching a model. It's a wonderful reproduction sampler, and I was absolutely smitten at first sight. You'll just have to take my word for how awesome it is. I've also been working on the charting, in fact, I just finished it today. So, now my focus will be in finishing the model. I'm finding that I love the whole process, so it might lead to me attempting some designs of my own.

I was asked to make a journal for a gift. Here are the photogenic Beagles. It's a nice little break from stitching, and I love making them.

Awhile back I posted some photos from a bathroom remodel. The last project was to replace the existing mirrored medicine cabinet. We finally finished it. You can see pictures of the punched tin door that we made here.

I've been riding my bike like a woman possessed. I try to get out early in the morning before it gets too hot. On the weekends, we take longer rides and recently went to this park. The trails were great, we saw plenty of wildlife including huge jack rabbits. Thankfully, no snakes crossed my paths.