Retreat!!!!

My friends and I leave for our Spring? retreat today. It of course is snowing... after all it is Alaska. We meet for lunch and then maybe some fabric store browsing and then off to stitch for 3 days of fun, food, a good movie (we always have a movie night) and stitching, stitching stitching. I am taking more to stitch than will ever see the light of day but then I always do. It all has to get stitched anyway. I may even throw in a new start if I get bold. You never know what will make the final cut.
I am taking tonight's supper and a lunch choice (we tend to graze for lunch) and everyone else will add to the mix. You never know what will show up but it never fails to be good stuff.
Stitching time, long periods of stitching time, good friends, good food, you gotta love it.
Hope you have some stitching time in your weekend as well. Marjo

Isn't he cute??

I have a weakness somehow for hedgehogs. I have a hedgehog pincushion and now I have a hedgehog beeswax. I just thought it was so cute and I really fancy the little touches beeswax adds to my stitching baskets.

I finally found the Hedgehog sampler by Sheepish Designs. I think he will have to move closer to the top of the new start pile. It should be a fun quick finish something that does not often visit my house as my favorite designs seem to be the truly large pieces.

Here is the stash that came from Hedgehog Handworks this week. It is the required AVAS for this sampler. Now to my fabric stash to find a piece of fabric to work it on. It calls for 35 count but I don't think I have any that size or even 36 count. Most of my fabric is 40 count. I love the colors in this.

Hope you have a stitchy day. Thanks for stopping by my cosy part of the great Northwest. Marjo

Questions answered

For those of you that had questions on my last post I wanted to answer them. I grew up in Macon, Georgia, went to college in Augusta, Georgia and lived in the Atlanta suburbs for 18 years before my husband decided he wanted to move to Alaska for  a better job opportunity. We have been here 9 years. I came virtually kicking and screaming and now don't really want to move away, at least not for a while. This is my view from the walking path next to my house. I have gotten quite accustomed to it over time.
Hope your day is full of stitches.
Marjo

Sunny Sunday afternoon

It took me, a southerner for almost all of my life, a long time to get used to winter in Alaska. The first time I tried to drive my husband to work in the snow I cried. He so thoughtfully shared that memory with me this morning as we were contemplating our plans for the day. It has snowed in spurts here the last couple of days and we have quite a bit of snow out and about. Where once I quailed at the thought of driving in it- convinced I would go off the road and be stuck forever and freeze- now I will drive in almost anything and laugh at myself and my earlier fears. Today is a beautiful day full of sunshine and still freezing temperatures. The blue sky and sunshine makes up for me the falling temps. I realized yesterday driving home from work that in Alaska (unlike Georgia where I grew up) you celebrate spring with the addition of light to your day as opposed to the blooms on the flowers or trees. Don't get me wrong, Alaskans are all about flowers and many people have greenhouses in order to be able to plant ahead as frost won't be gone until much later here but all summer long flowers there will be. Currently we are up to not quite 11 hours of daylight from a low where I live of 5 hours 27 minutes. Our peak daylight for the area will be 19 hours and 22 minutes. Other parts of the state will get more light and some less.
On the stitching front I have spent more time cleaning my stitching room up than I have with needle and thread but DH and the Kordog are out to walk through the white stuff and I am settling in for some stitching time. Hope your Sunday was bright and you got some stitchy time. Marjo

Stash is not always for stitching

In the mail today came some threads I had ordered when Hedgehog Handiworks had a sale on along with a book I have wanted for a while and I can't resist a book on sale. I have actually read this bok from our library but had long wanted a copy of my own. It is British Embroidery Curious Works from the Seventeenth Century by Kathleen Epstein. But for me stash is not always stitching stash. I seem to have taken to collecting tea as I collect needlework.
Every Thursday night my stitching group gathers for tea and stitching. Yes, we always have tea. I do not have easy access to the tea store in town due to the hours I work so I buy off the internet for my tea sometimes. While searching tea on the internet I came across the Queen Mary Tea Room in Seattle Washington. Now, I have never been to the shop but I have ordered their tea products and thus far have not been disappointed. Today several lovely tins of tea came in the mail and the hot water is on to heat to enjoy some of these lovely treats. I would like to make it to the shop as their tea menu, that came along with the order, sounds so fun. We really ought to take a road trip. I was pleasantly surprised to find free little tin of a tea called Orange Creamsicle they included in my order as it had been delayed. I wasn't worried and it was really nice of them to include the little freebie. This will have to go in the basket for retreat for something new to try. I love the packaging on their tins. So let's put the kettle on and stitch something. Hope you have a day full of stitching. Marjo