I can't help myself...

We have a tale of two witches.  Can you guess which witch is the bad witch?  Actually, they are both good witches!  They are only giving me the evil eye because I made them sit still and pose.

Now this one...is the devil.  There's no doubt about it.

Happy Halloween!

South Carolina Part One

I'm back home from a wonderful trip to South Carolina.  I visited there over thirty-seven years ago, and I've had "Carolina in My Mind" ever since.  The first stop was Charleston, an incredibly beautiful and historic city.  We spent two days exploring almost entirely on foot, with the exception of a carriage ride tour.  When we were worn out, we escaped back to our room at The Meeting Street Inn.  It is a fabulous inn.  The rooms are furnished with amazing antiques.  Yes, those beds are high.  What you can't see is the step stool in between them.  It came in very handy for my short companion.  It was such an awesome place to stay.  I really hated to check out.

This was a cemetery that we walked through.  It was a peaceful and lovely place. 

The architecture captivated my attention the most.  I could live in any of the houses, and be perfectly happy.  I loved the shuttered windows, wide southern porches, gas lights, intricate iron work, and well...everything.  The gardens were beyond stunning.  Many were very English looking in their layout.  Wouldn't you love to be sitting in one of those rockers stitching away?

A highlight of the trip was a visit to The Charleston Museum.  I am very grateful to my friend, Carol for suggesting that we make an appointment to view some of the many samplers housed there.  I knew that the Ann Wragg Sampler below was there, but I didn't know that samplers aren't always on display.  The curator was very gracious and let us view several.  Seeing Ann up close was a thrill.  It is a small sampler, but the stitching is perfectly done. 

My other favorite was the Mary Bella Hopkins Sampler.  A large sampler with beautiful stitching in really nice colors.  Oh, how I wish someone would reproduce it.  I would be first in line to buy the chart.

In my next post, I'll tell you about the trip up the coast to Myrtle Beach.

Hobbling to the beach...

 I am finally ready to head to the beach bright and early tomorrow morning.  It's been a busy, busy week filled with all the last minute things to do before a trip.  If I can get my suitcase zipped, I'll be good to go.  The hobbling part is because I have a bad knee that has been acting up.  A quick trip to the doctor for a cortisone shot was necessary.  So, I might be limping, but it won't keep me from enjoying this "me" time with the girls.  To those of you who are going...I'll see you there.

I haven't painted in a very long time, but I did this week.  Out of all the sets I've done, I never kept one for myself.  I thought it was about time to do just that.  I love colonial stencilling, and I love silhouettes, so I was inspired to combine the two.  My dear friend Patti, brought me the sweet little bag back from Paris.  It's the perfect little accessory case.  Every time I look at it, I'll be reminded of my little boy back home who's really going to miss his mama for a few days.

On a side note, I've been getting emails about where to purchase my charts.  I am distributed through Hoffman, so any shop can order directly through them or me. 

Jingle

Here's my latest design, Jingle all the way.  It's a pin keep, but I like to use them in potpourri filled bowls.  I love the linen, it's called Swamp, and it's from PTP Colorscapes.  Not your traditional Christmas color, but it was fun to use.  My model is stitched with Belle Soie Mahogany and Icing on 36ct.  If you'd rather use cotton over-dyes, Cayenne and Toasted Marshmallow from Crescent Colours are good conversions.  I thought the bell was a nice touch, but it is charted with a snowflake if you'd prefer it that way.  The bell was found at Hobby Lobby.  The trim is jumbo Rick Rack from Wrights in the color Bark. 

Thanks again to the amazing Vonna for taking my visions and making them work. 

I'm still working on the model for Hannah Tingey, but I'm itching to get back to stitching for fun.  I'm thinking ahead to what projects to take for the trip to Myrtle Beach for the Pals 2011 Stitchin' At The Beach retreat which is coming up soon.  I'm beyond excited to see some old friends, and make some new ones.  I'm a surf and sand girl, so I can't wait to get to the beach.  We're spending a couple of days in Charleston before heading up the coast.  I've never been to that city, and I just know I'm going to love it.