March 18, 2008

I was determined to finish In the Land of the Free before I went to bed. I put the last bead on at 4:30 this morning. That's my 8th Challenge finish for the year, and my 12th finish overall! I'm trying to force myself out of the stitching slump I've been in and think I've made great progress towards that goal.

This evening was the Heirloom Stitchers meeting at Provinces Library. Carol Boyer invited me to join their group back in December, but I got sick. I was in the hospital for the January and February meetings, so this was the first one I was able to attend.

Uncle Wes drove with me, because the meeting was from 6-8:30 pm and I can't drive after dark. He dropped me off at a few minutes before 6:00 and went to Arundel Mills Mall. There were six of us stitching and one member even brought two grocery bags filled with stash she wanted us to go through and take home what we wanted. So here are the charts I picked up:

Terra Australis by Dinky-Dyes Designs
We Gather Together by With Humble Heart
To Thine Own Self be True by With Humble Heart
Meow by Angel Stitchin
Quaker Mini Treats by Samplers and Such
Ladybugs and Bumblebees by Country Cottage Needleworks
Morning Berries by Little House Needleworks
Kathleen by Indigo Rose
Praise Sampler by The Sampler House
Mother & Child by Forget-Me-Not in Stitches
Stitch Sampler by Charlotte's Web Needleworks
Women are Like Teabags by Sweetheart Company
Queen Mary's Garden (Kit) by Liz Turner Diehl, Inc.
Keychain kit by Creative Vision Design

I'm most excited about Terra Australis, because it's part of the Quilt Block Series by Dinky-Dyes. I just received Southern Stars, which is part of the same series and plan on stitching them as soon as my Challenge is completed.

I loved sitting around with other stitchers and chatting about our pets and families. I've never stitched with anyone before and it was a very nice interlude. I worked on Pocket Sampler: Dad until I ran out of my strand of floss. I forgot to put the flosses back with the chart after I finished making my stash list, so I didn't have any other floss with me. DUH!



Luckily, I stuck a couple kits in my stitching bag so I worked on Lavender Luminesence by The Sweetheart Tree. Time seemed to fly, though, because 8:30 arrived without us realizing. There are a couple of us who plan on taking our own unwanted stash to next month's meeting, so I'm sure I'll come home with more goodies, but I also plan on giving away some of the things I'll never stitch.