Welcome to Cranberry Samplings

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Some Cool Things and Tusal

I don't think that I will get this done before November arrives. It's PS November. It's going a little slower than I would like but I think that it has to do with the colors. They are all very similar. The other reason I don't have it done yet is because Joanne, Sammi and I went to Vermont for a short vacation. It was beautiful weather, the colors were pretty well gone but we had a great time. We stayed at an Inn that was dog friendly. They had a beautiful breakfast included. Very nice. Went to King Arthur's Flour Store. A wonderful place if you love to bake. I came home with some great items. Spent time at the Vermont Country Store. Very nice. Went to Quechee and had the most wonderful lunch. There is so much damage from Irene. The people of Vermont are working hard to get it back in shape.
This is the dessert that Joanne had at the Simon Pierce Glass restaurant. They have a seasonal menu and the food is wonderful. The dessert is walnut meringue cookies with whipped cream in between and a strawberry sauce. I am not a lover of meringue but I tasted these and wished that I had ordered them, Yummy!
We stopped at Yankee candle in Deerfield,MA on the way home Sunday. This is where it all began and the place is huge. This is part of the yard on the side of the building. They sell much more than candles here. They had many activities for kids, places to eat and great stuff to buy. I bought some Christmas presents.
We stopped at some shops somewhere in Vermont and I found some treasures. Is this not the cutest flower frog? Love the pink color and it has little feet. So cute. Perfect for the short little scissors. In perfect condition and under $10.00.
Went to a fabric store just to look and this is what I found. A small table mat and 4 very cute pot holders. Cheryl will be getting the pot holders on the right this Friday when we get together.
I found these candle holders at the same place as the frog. The picture does them no justice. The orange color is beautiful and the edges have a beautiful design. They will look great on the table for the fall holidays. Again, perfect condition and both for $10.00. It was a relaxing 4 days and was much needed. Glad we went when we did because snow is in the New England weather this week. Yes, I said snow! We may even get some flakes in Southern MA.
This is my Tusal this month. A bunch of dull colors from November. Thanks for sticking through this long post. As always, I appreciate your reading and commenting on my posts. Until next time....Happy Stitching! Deborah

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

An Addition to my Stitching Group.

We had company today at my stitching group. Fellow blogger, Teresa from Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches, came to join us. She had spent some time doing 2 of the New England retreats with Belinda of Blue Ribbon Designs and Thea from Victoria Samplers in New Hampshire. When I heard that she had an extra day in the area, I invited her to join us. We had a great time. Teresa fit right in with the group. Those 4 hours just went by so quickly. We saw all her projects from the retreats. She is almost done with Belinda's project. Just beautiful. Hopefully she will be back in the future. Of course, I didn't take the picture until Cheryl and Nataly had left. They both could stay for just a short time. Teresa is in the orange shirt. Next to her is Emma and Phyllis and Nancy, in front is Ellen and Diane.
Before we left, Teresa gave me the cutest goody bag. Below is all the goodies in side. She made the tissue holder (so cute), candies from See's and the tastiest almonds called California Crunchies. Thanks again, Teresa!

On the stitching front, I did DT November (no pic) and it's being stretched. I started November by PS. Hope to get it finished by November. We will see.
Took this picture of Sammi this morning. I think she wants me to turn on the heat. I am going to be away from the computer for the next few days. I will miss all of your blogs. Thanks for all the great comments. I appreciate them all. Until next time....Happy Stitching! Deborah

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Another Busy Week!

Hope everyone in the US had a great 3 day week end. We sure did. The weather was warm and sunny. Saturday Cheryl and I went to a cranberry harvest festival. It was great fun. They had wonderful food, showed a wet harvest on one of the bogs, lots of stuff for kids to do, crafts and everything cranberry. I bought the cutest towel for Thanksgiving and a beautiful table runner. The prices were cheaper than I could have made them. We also bought fresh cranberries for chutney and apples, that I made into a crumble. Yummy! Went to the movies with Joanne, we saw The Ides of March with George Clooney. I wouldn't really recommend it. Had Chinese food. Did some yard work. A busy but really nice week end.
I finally finished Rubie Owl. I need to thank Nicole of Nicole's Needlework. I saw that she was working on Rubie and I feel in love with the design. I loved every stitch even though I thought that I would never finish the grass. I did her on 32 ct Day's gone By. I really love this material. You can see some of the shading. Beautiful. I used the Belle Soie silk, as well.
I am crazy for these word plays by With Thy Needle. They are fun and fast. I did the finishing today. It came out ok.
Now I have to finish November's word play. The turkey is so great. I do have a thing for turkeys. Wild turkeys visit my neighborhood frequently. You can click on any of the pictures for a better view. I want to welcome some new followers to my blog. Thanks for visiting and leaving the best comments. I appreciate them all. Until next time....Happy Stitching! Deborah

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

What a Great Week!

This past week has been very busy with a limo stitching shop hop, cataract surgery and some wonderful mail! Rubie Owl is coming along nicely. I love everything about this design and have enjoyed every stitch.
I won Theresa's giveaway(giraffexing.blogspot.com) and look what I received in the mail today. A beautiful needlebook, scissors, floss, lace and some beeswax. The little scissors are beautiful and I didn't have this pair. I love to use lace in my finishing and will put it to good use.
Isn't the fabric just so happy? Behind the felt are two pockets where the scissors and floss were. It is a beautiful and generous giveaway. Thanks Theresa, I love everything.
I also won the By The Bays giveaway. Donna was very generous because I really won the Halloween stitch an inch designs but I had already bought Halloween so she sent me the fall ones and the pendent. How great is that! I love these stitch an inch designs and I believe that fall is my new fav. Thanks, Donna. I love it.
On Saturday, my Wednesday stitching group (Diane,Ellen, Nancy, Phyllis, Dottie, Liz and myself) were treated to a stitching shop hop in a limo by Diane's husband Carl! How great is this guy? We had the best time. We went to 2 shops in western MA. First up was Bush Mountain, who has moved to a new store front. The new store is much bigger and layed out very well. The picture is the charts that I purchased along with floss. We moved on to lunch. This time we didn't eat in the limo. Had lunch at a pub in Strubridge MA. It was delish. Then we moved on to Chris's Collection, who stayed open for us. Her store is small but packed full with stitchy goodness. We all fared well here. I bought fabric and the greatest little box that will fit one of the fall stitch an inch design. When we got back to Diane's home Carl had pizza and salad. The end to a perfect day. We did miss the 2 women who couldn't make the trip. Hopefully, next time we will all be together. In the last 2 weeks, I have had cataract surgery in both eyes. I am in my 50's and the cataract surgery made me feel kinda old. But wow can I see so much better. It was worth it. The surgery is so easy and except for the day it is done there is no down time. Amazing! Thanks for taking time to read my blog and for all the great comments. I appreciate them all. Until next time...Happy Stitching! Deborah