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A little blog about my big loves; family, friends, stitching and yep, chocolate!

Chocolate Loving Followers!

Friday, October 16, 2015


Dear friends,
So, it’s been a busy couple of weeks.  
I’ve been stitching, I’ve been traveling and I’ve been shopping.  
This first picture combines stitching (not mine) and shopping.  
I saw this sweatshirt in a shop in Traverse City, Michigan last week and picked it up to buy it because, why wouldn’t I, right?  
It is perfect – the stitching is lovely, the design is pretty.
Yeah, the sweatshirt color itself isn’t one of the prettiest shades of gray (LOL) but the colors pop on it and I could live with it.  
Until.  
Wait for it.  
The price.
Can you see the ticket?
 No?

The sweatshirt was $189.00 US$.  Yes, I'm serious.
I mean, it was a SWEATSHIRT.  Not, a sweater. 
GRAY sweatshirt.  
The cross stitch was pretty, and I can imagine that some poor girl in a horrible environment got less than $10 (that’s being optimistic) to make it but I couldn’t buy it.  
Would you have bought it?

I finished this sweet, little Santa and reindeer from Plum Street Samplers.



The pattern is Merry One.
The fabric is LL Green Pear and it is much more green than the photo is showing.  
The darker fabric means I had to change some of the fiber colors.
Nothing drastic, just a tad darker in shade and randomly pulled from stash.

I don’t fancy myself a finisher but I’ll give it a go this weekend and maybe, I’ll let you see how it turns out.  Maybe.  



Rob and I took a mini vacay and visited Mackinac Island,
Traverse City, Petoskey and several other small towns and wineries.
Lots of wineries and micro breweries.  There are a lot of them in Northern Michigan.
We visited a few.
Mmm hmmm.

Here are a few pics from our trip for you to gander at.

Some antiques from a beautiful store owned by a beautiful woman from France (is there any other kind?).  A little, wooden piano and baby bank (never seen anything like it),  an antique sampler that was very inexpensive but it wasn't the finest work and the colors are a bit bright and an old game.  


At the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. 



In Petoskey and biking around Mackinac Island.



Stone piles all over the island, in town for dinner, a selfie (you can see why I hate them), and our beautiful room.

We had a grand time.

Have you seen Paulette's  THE SUNDAY MYSTERY SAMPLER?
Paulette is doing another Christmas SAL!  
And, guess what?  

It’s free.
Yep, free.  

And, it’s the 12 days of Christmas.
Twelve, TWELVE little ornies, stitched together or separately
all free and all designed by Paulette.

What’s not to love?
I'm so excited!
 Clich HERE for all the details.

I can’t wait to do this one and now I have the perfect thing to hang them on!  You see, a last stop store in Petoskey was having a closing for the season sale.  

This was a display item but I just knew I needed it forSOMEthing so I asked if they'd sell it to me.  The gal working in the store called the owner and she said I could buy it.  For $12.  Score!!!
  

Serendipitous, don’t you think?  
There are 14 little hangers on the tree but I’ll do something to make it work.  
Maybe hang a couple of antique ornaments on it, or something.   
Oh, gosh.  
To make this work, I have to stitch AND finish 12 ornaments.  


Finish them.  
That means sewing.
Uh-oh.

Maybe they’ll all be done in time for next year.

Will you stay tuned? 

Pictures of Petoskey borrowed from Google

Most of the stores in the quaint towns in Northern Michigan, like Petoskey, close for the winter but we got there just before they all closed for the season and between those and the wineries and the lovely dinners, I had a blast.

Can you blame them for closing?  Brrrrr….

Finally, since this IS October.  
This is my kitchen table.  

The two cheese graters were found at an estate sale a couple of weeks ago for a quarter a piece.

I love them and how they glow with a candle.

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a note, when you can.



Be well,
Peace,
Terri


17 comments:

Robin in Virginia said...

Great post, Terri! It looks like you and Rob had a fabulous mini vacation. I would love to go back to Mackinac Island. Maybe someday! I like your ornament tree and I look forward to seeing it filled with your version of Paulette's ornaments. Enjoy your weekend!

Robin in Virginia

Mouse said...

ooooo elloooo .. love the photos of you .... and looks like you had a blast ... the wee ornie stand if you don't use the middle one at the bottom it will work out .. use it to hang something else christmassy on it ...
re finishing why not back stitch all the way round and do a matching "back" piece then all you have to do is whip stitch together ... that way you can sign and date each one :) if you need more instructions squeak away :) love mouse xxxxx

Margaret said...

Looks like a fun trip you two had. Excellent! Love your Merry One finish too. I have that waiting for me to work on. $189 for an embellished sweatshirt? Yikes!!!! That is just too much! I hadn't thought too hard about Paulette's stitchalong, but I would like to do it -- I will at least collect the patterns. We'll see if I actually stitch them. lol!

Prims By The Water said...

First Terri I would have put that gray sweatshirt down in a heartbeat. I love the towns up North. Suttons Bay is gorgeous too! That stand was meant to be yours for sure. Thanks for sharing Paulette's upcoming SAL. Will look her up. Have a great weekend and stay warm. Janice

marly said...

Looks like you two good lookers had a lot of fun. Hope your parents are doing well. As for the sweatshirt, this cheapass doesn't pay that for a winter coat!

Carol said...

I've always wanted to visit Mackinac Island, Terri! You are so lucky to live nearby... It really looks like a lovely place for a long weekend away.

Your little finish is darling--and I have full faith that your finishing of it will be darling as well. You can do it!!

Vickie said...

What a fantastic getaway! That sweatshirt is soooo fabulous. But no way!

Annie said...

That was one pricey sweatshirt! I wonder if they will find a buyer at that price.

Love your Merry One piece. It deserves a finish finish!

Really fun fall excursion for you. Are you expecting snow this weekend? Winter seems to want to come knocking a bit early in parts of the country.

Enjoy your new ornament tree. now that was a bargain!

Jackie's Stitches said...

I think you'll see that sweatshirt there next year!

Loved seeing pictures of your trip away. One day I'm going to make it to Michigan to visit! The pictures I see are always so pretty.

SCORE on the tree fixture! I also have no doubt you'll do a great job finishing those ornaments. Don't sell yourself short!

Annette-California said...

Oh what a gorgeous design on that sweatshirt! I would have stopped admired then kept on shopping - lol! LOVE all your beautiful photos of your trip. I fell in love with
Mackinac Island from the movie "Somewhere in Time" with Jane Seymour & Christopher Reeves. Never been but have seen lots of travel shows. Congrats on Merry One finish - so beautiful! How lucky are you finding & bringing home that fantastic tree display. OH yes I just learned of Paulette's Mystery sal. I do plan to stitch them.
Loved her one last year. I know you can do the finishing on them too!
love Annette

Brigitte said...

Oh my, what a wonderful trip you had visiting Michigan and Mackinac Island. Looking at your pictures were like going down Memory Lane for me. Great scenery and great places to visit there.

Joanie said...

LOVED the sweatshirt but wouldn't have been able to pony up the cash for it. A little too rich for my pocketbook!

And Merry One, you lucky girl, I didn't get one (sniff!)cause they sold out before I could purchase it. Looking forward to your finish, and the design of course is darling and expertly stitched.

Nice mini-vac!

As always, you provide lovely eye candy!

Joanie

The Inspired Stitcher said...

You two are so stinkin' cute! Love all the pics. I couldn't have bought that sweatshirt either. It was pretty though. Loved the ornament holder...score! Good luck with the finishing. Have a good week!

woolwoman said...

loved seeing all your photos Terri and hearing about your adventures in the UP of Michigan. I'd like to see it one day. Yes I would like to do Paulette's 12 days of Christmas - I need to go right now and print it all out. I love your Merry One - I haven't gotten mine yet but it's coming this week I think. I hear it sold out quickly so I'm glad I got it too ! Of course I'll be with you again and always my friend - take care Mel PS love your spider web table cloth !

Melody said...

It looks like you had a great trip! I would love to go back to Northern Michigan again. We were there a few years ago. We did Mackinac Island, and then went across the UP. Saw lots of beautiful scenery. What a great find for the 12 days of Christmas display!! Congrats~now all you have to do is stitch them. :-) The sweatshirt sure had a hefty price on it... I remember stitching on sweaters and sweatshirts in the early days of cross stitching. No more of that for me. LOL.

Alice said...

That ornament display hanger would motivate me! (And I've never even made an ornament). The only thing holding me back is the fact that my cats would have a field day with the ornaments, so I guess I'll just have to live vicariously through you and enjoy your eventual display.
Just for the record I wouldn't even buy a sweater at those prices!

Bine said...

Hi Terri, I wouldn't have spent the $200 on a sweatshirt either... Sorry, but no, no, no. Especially since you are right that the person doing the work likely didn't even get $10 for it. Don't you just love the wineries and micro breweries? I am always excited to try something different :) Have to add the little Santa and reindeer to my wishlist. They are so cute!
Thanks for your visit and comment on my blog :)