Valentine Dough Bowl

I got busy over the weekend putting up some Valentine decorations beginning with my dough bowl.

I hope to finish one more Valentine pillow this weekend.

I used some old Valentines that belonged to Marvin. His mother had saved them for him.

Old time Valentines were so pretty.

I liked this one...Its Time you are my Valentine.

The pink and red has brightened up my living room!

Saturday Stitching

Stitching Retreat was a lot of fun. I met some new stitchers from Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi and Tennessee. The Drury Hotel where the retreat was held was so nice. All the employees went out of their way to check on all the guests and I never saw a frown. I told one of my friends I might just run away every now and then to stay there over night and rest.lol

We had a snack table that was very tempting.

Mystery boxes and bags were also delegated to their own spot.

Ryan charted this cute book mark to commemorate out January Retreat.

We had a large room to ourselves. These are some of the ladies at my table.

This was my start and finish...now to fully finish.

We all took time to go to the other tables and visit  The sweet lady in blue is Chelsea who gave me my mystery box.  As you can see, lots of people brought their own lights.  Several brought along camp chairs to sit in while they stitched. I will say that sitting in the hotel chairs for two days did make my back sore in spite of getting up and moving around pretty often.  And I could not stay up stitching until all hours like the younger stitchers.

This is a portion of the shop that Katrina Boyd brought to the Retreat. She gave us a great deal on our shopping as a substitute for a swag bag.

Here is what I got...

I got this one to stitch for Kendall for Christmas. She loves owls.

I had never seen these Erica Michaels patterns so I picked up three of them.  I hope to make some strawberries this Christmas.

While I doubt I will become one of those stitchers who travels to retreats all over the USA, I will definitely come to the Huntsville Retreat again should it become a yearly event.

Friday Five

1. Hershey Lip Gloss

I forgot to post a picture of this in my reveal of the mystery box I received from Chelsea. This was Something Sweet and it is so lovely.  Just like putting a chocolate cherry on your lips.

2. ABC Cookbook

My you tube friend, Lynette Yoder, recommended this cookbook. It is packed full of good recipes. I hope it will give me some good ideas.

3. Caldrea Linen Spray

Oh this Rosewater Driftwood scent is just great.  I spray it on my linens and it makes them smell like I am staying in a luxury hotel.

4. Something Froggy

One of the ladies got this Froggy measuring tape in her mystery box at the retreat. It was too cute.

5. Baby Its Cold Outside

I picked up my latest framing from Slate Gallery and Framing.  I took a risk with the bright red frame but I love the way it turned out.

Thursday Freebies

My Saturday Stitching post will be a bit long as I am sharing photos from the Retreat, so I thought I would share the Freebies I picked up from the Freebie Table.

At most retreats there is a table set up for stitchers to bring charts they no longer need and it is a free for all as people look through the pile.:)

By the end of the weekend the pile was reduced considerably. One of our fellow stitchers had an accident stepping out of the shower and ended up with a black eye. We told her she should tell her husband she got into a fight over one of the free charts! She was fine...we all looked after her and she was able to stitch on.

Here are some of the great things I picked up....

I have always enjoyed the Cricket Collection and I had been eying the Be Ye Thankful on 123 Stitch.

Can we say Lizzie Kate????

Heart in Hand is another favorite designer of mine and this chart came with the button pack still attached. I was so tickled to get this one.

I also picked up some fabrics...

I am not sure what I will stitch on these pieces of fabric but I love adding to my fabric stash.

The Freebie Table was one of my favorite aspects of the Retreat!!

McCormicks Beef

In these cold winter days, a good hot dish at the end of the day hits the spot.

I found this recipe in our Alfa Magazine that we receive each month.

2 pounds beef stew meat
1 packet McCormicks brown gravy mix
1 packet McCormicks Au Juice mix
1 cup water

All you do is put all the ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. I just threw my stew meat in the crock pot frozen and it was perfectly done in 7 hours.

While it is pictured served over noodles, I served mine over Rice Pilaf. Add a salad and dinner is served.

PS...thanks to Gina, I found out that some of my comments were not being emailed to me. I am going to try to remember to check the moderation box!! So frustrating.

My Pretty Mystery Box

What a good time I had at the Huntsville Cross Stitch Retreat. One of my stitching friends said her daughter called us Thread Heads.lol  I guess that is about right.  It is always good to be with people who "get" your love of stitching.

I received this lovely box of goodies from my stitchy friend, Chelsea.  Chelsea is a young member of our North Alabama Stitchers group. She is an artist as well as a stitcher. Chelsea has designed some cross stitch charts too!

Isn't this a lovely box? Perfect for holding stitchy goodness.

What a great idea...a lanyard that keeps your scissors at hand. How much stitching time have I wasted looking for my scissors.  This is the stitching accessory that Chelsea finds a must have when traveling.

Something froggy!

Don't you love this steam punk alien needle minder??

Something cottony....Cotton Candy thread!

Something sparkly! The new DMC sparkle thread in Blanc.

Something Crimson or White....my favorite designer...Prairie Schooler.  I also received a beautiful blue and white chart for something Blue or Ornage. I forgot to snap a picture of it but it was lovely and you all know I love blue and white.

Perfect for a Huntsville Retreat!!  A model of the space shuttle and the Apollo Rocket were visible from our window at the hotel. We were very near the Space and Rocket Center.

When I thanked Chelsea I told her that I thought she must have known the box was going to me as it was full of all the things I love!

Mystery Box

I am sharing the Mystery Box that I prepared to take to my stitching retreat.

Since our retreat is in Huntsville, Alabama, there was a bit of a space theme. I thought this pretty blue and white box was a good one for holding all my mystery goods.

On tip is the Prairie Schooler chart I put in my box. You could put a favorite designer and of course I chose Prairie Schooler. To be honest I had purchased two of these by mistake. But it came in handy for the my story box.

Some I wrapped up....this holds a snagnabbit.

Something Spacey.....I chose to add a grime guard in a space theme. Thanks to Brenda of Brenda's Minders and More  for sewing this for me.  The stars glow in the dark.

This one is something froggy....I added a pair of snips to the package.

Something Sweet.....I had this pretty IPSY bag and I filled it with Dove Chocolate.

We had to do an orange or blue theme for Auburn.  I chose blue fabric.

We also had to do a Crimson or White gift for BAMA....I chose some crimson fancy flosses.

Finally something sparkly! I purchased this blingy snow lady from Brenda. She always adds a freebie so the maple leaf is a nice extra.

We also added a card that told something about us so the receiver would feel she knew the person who put her box together. I chose the card with hearts to add to the bottom.