Super Bowl Retreat 2026 🏈

Although I wasn't planning on going to the retreat this year, I changed my mind and thought a stitching getaway was needed. 

 Thankfully, I was feeling much better after spending several days doing nothing but getting over pneumonia.

I didn't take as many photos as I normally do, too busy chatting, shopping, stitching I guess!

This was my set up, I worked on my Welsh Dragon the first day.

Mary made me the wooden dragons and I bought the bag from Annette - I love them all! I'll make the little ones into needle minders. Or rather, they'll be displayed in my craft room since I mainly stitch in hand.

And Mary shared her favourite drink - it was delicious!

Since we were so close to Amy's shop, Born To Stitch, I took some of the girls for a visit. We had a great time, we all found treasures we had to get! She's close to getting her online shop open, I'll be sure to post when she does.

 Even though I was there two weeks before, I still found a few things I didn't know I needed.

These all hit just about everything I love, just missing a mermaid!

I won the Awesome bag and the rest were table gifts from friends. A sweet haul!

There was a freebie table, and I found a few things. I already stitched my DIL, C, a set of Bride Tree ornaments last year, but I hope to need two more in the future!

We were at the Patriots table and lost in the "stitching" football game. Oh well, it was still fun!

And then before I knew it, it was over and I was home once again. I think these two little stinkers missed me!

Fully Finished Gallery - February 2026 🖼

Since Rachel @Ten Hour Stitcher is on a hosting/posting break, I created this little guy until she returns. 

A slow month for finishes, but I do have a couple.

I bought this over the summer while we were on our British Isles cruise. It's a coaster, but I might hang it up instead.

Our first stop was in Dover, so we went to Dover Castle.

It was nice to see that they had some stitchy things!

This has been finished for a while, but now is fully finished in this frame.

A Clean Up! 🧹

Part of my craft table is cleaned up!

I love the tiered shelf I got at IKEA, more room for important stitchy stuff.

And although it's not shown, you can actually see the floor... for the most part. 😝

Maverick loves his Mousy, I've had to stitch him up several times. Luckily, I do have another one that isn't as bad. I've been looking for more to replace them, but can't find them anywhere online.

We still have snow, but at least it's finally melting with the warmer temperatures we're having. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, slim chance of slushy snow. I think I'm ready for spring at this point!

My sweet cousin is almost finished with her octopus. She just needs to add the French knots and shell charm, she opted not to add the beads. I think she's done a great job and she enjoys it! Too bad she lives so far away. 😞

Next up - full finishes, a retreat, and Olympic stitching!

I'm sick of tea! 🫖😷

 Wow, I never thought I'd say that!

It happened before the snow/ice storm, I had a cough/cold/congestion, but finally went to the dr's after the storm. It's nice to have your doctor just down the road! So, I ended up having pneumonia and have been hunkered down at home. Just as well, it's been freezing all week. I've had enough tea (PG Tips and multiple flavoured ones) and honey, to be swimming in it! I'm still coughing, but slowly feeling better. One cup day at a time!

We ended up getting 10.9" of snow/ice, but I wonder if it was really that much.

DH had gotten the snowblower out before the storm, and it worked fine.

Until it didn't! The belt broke just after he started. Our neighbour had an extra belt, but it didn't fit. Oh well, it looked pretty out there.

That didn't stop us from having a visitor that evening.

It also brought the wind, which gave us this nice little snow pile on our deck.

We were nice and warm inside, and I had Mia and Maverick keeping my spot warm - even though I didn't ask them.

A funny before the storm - to be prepared, we put water in the tubs just in case we lose power. Because if that happens, no toilet flushing with having a well.

I was getting ready for bed and Maverick decided he wanted to go for a swim, by accident. He was freaking out and was having a hard time getting out. Luckily, he got himself out before I was able to get to him. Water was everywhere! I dried him up the best I could, although he was still a bit damp. Even though there's no more water in there now, he's still leery of it!

Obviously a doctored photo of silly Maverick!

I'm thankful that I've still been able to stitch, inbetween coughing! I've been working on this free chart from Primrose Cottage. It's so sweet! You just need to subscribe to their newsletter to get a free chart every month and to see all the goodies they offer! 

I changed up the colours a little bit, I didn't like the way 963 looked, so I chose Crepe Myrtle that I had in my stash. I also added a darker teal, you'll see later!

I hope you're warm wherever you are.

I'm happy that we're missing the next snow!

January's Antics 🌬❄

So sad, I saw this cute little piece at a thrift shop last week. 😕

Once again, I'm attempting to clean up my craft room. It's been a hot mess for quite a while and has only gotten worse with the holidays.

My power source? Peanut butter M&M's and tea helps.

Maverick and Mia were allowed in after I cleaned up a bit, no loose threads or needles!

I had to stop cleaning because I was going to visit Amy at Born to Stitch in NJ.

I stopped at IKEA on the way so see what I could find to help me with my table mess. I saw this tiered tray and thought it might help, we'll see.

We had to go into town to post something and oh my, it was flippin' cold! But we found some love. ❤

We stayed at her sweet Mom's house and little Lovie wasn't letting anyone do any crafting. Spoiled, cute little miss!

I can't believe I didn't take any photos while at the shop, but Thursday was a great day with five other ladies coming in to stitch and shop. Amy was busy all day! Sadly, I had to leave on Friday with the snow/ice storm coming. I needed to get things done at the house and do the laundry, just in case we lose power.

But before I left, I helped a young man pick out something for his girlfriend's birthday. (Her shop used to be a flower shop, so that's why he came in.) He was interested in getting something crafty, so we thought Mill Hill kits were the way to go with everything in there and with good instructions. He actually got two, one for him and one for her! I thought that was the sweetest thing! And Amy's close by to help them out if they need it. 

I think I was missed, they actually tolerated each other enough to both sleep with me last night.

I'm getting another cold, I had one last week too. This one is more coughing and congestion, it sucks! But I'm still stitching. I'm going to start this one tonight, it's the freebie from Primrose Cottage for January. Although maybe it should be snow or ice related since that's what we're getting after 1am. 

Originally, it was supposed to be 8-12" of snow, then snow and ice. Now it's 3-5", with snow and ice 3-5". So who the heck knows?! We'll find out by tomorrow night.

Hopefully we won't lose power, even with gas fireplaces, it gets cold in here!

My charger is charged, my electronics will be charging tonight and I have at least one light charged. We have water in the tubs so we can use the toilets, and water for drinking the important stuff - coffee and tea! And thankfully, we have a gas stove top for cooking.

If you're getting any of this mess, please stay safe and make sure your hands stay warm enough to stitch!

This was taken ten years ago when we had our last big snow. I don't think Nathan will be interested in playing outside tomorrow, works for me!

Fully Finished Gallery - January 2026 🖼 (And family stuff!)

Wow, it's 2026 already?

I'm not quite sure what happened to 2025, but I definitely dropped the needle on posting!

I've still been stitching every day, just not blogging about what I've been doing.

This will be my 8th year of stitching every day, some days were definitely more productive than others!

I have a few posts I'd like to finish, mainly about our family trip last summer, and our Christmas holidays. Not only do I post for stitching, but also for me to look back on for memories. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to my blog to find something I've stitched, finished, or a photo I've wanted to see again. And that includes things I've done or places I've been. I want to make this year a better year for blogging, and even though I know it's old school, I still enjoy it.😂 

So let's go!

Since Rachel is on a hosting/posting break, I created this little guy until she returns. 

This month was a good finishing month, only because I didn't have these pieces finished before Christmas!

We had an extra special Christmas this year, my cousin and her family came to join us from Germany.

Which meant I wanted to make each of them an ornament, included her step-daughter, who wasn't able to be with them.

The last time C and little H were here, H celebrated her second birthday. This time they added the boys, her husband and baby B! He turned seven months old while they were here and even got his first two teeth!

This is for little man B, I thought it was cute and appropriate with his name.

This is for C's step-daughter, F, who I have yet to meet. I hope she likes hot chocolate!

I thought this was perfect for C and her husband, M. There was no way I could fit their names on it, so I added their initials.

It was wonderful to have them join us and such fun with the little ones!

I had something else in mind for Miss H, but found out she LOVES the Grinch. I had the perfect pattern from Brookes Books, so I had to stitch it. She chose for him to hold a little bell instead of the stitched small ornament.

Maybe next year I'll have to stitch her Max.

BIG smiles! Isn't she adorable?!

And of course, I had to stitch a giraffe for my daughter-in-love, C. 

I guess this was more of a birthday present or even could be considered a house warming gift. They just moved into their new house at the beginning of January.

They're only about 11 miles away from us, and the house was move in ready. It's so lovely, with lots of room to grow! 😉

That's it for this month. I hope I can be as productive next time.

I think my next post will be more of my cousin's visit with us, we were pretty busy!

Fully Finished Gallery - Sepember/October 2025 🖼

Welcome to Rachel's 

Fully Finished Gallery SAL for September & October 2025.

This is a great way to make sure I actually fully finish my stitched pieces! 

Please consider joining this monthly SAL, it just might inspire you. 

This was made for our cousin's baby, due in December.

This was at the baby shower in September.

BUT, little Naomie decided to come early @33+ weeks! Both Momma and baby are doing fine, but they're not quite sure how long she'll have to stay in the hospital.

We had fun decorated onesies and this is the one I chose!

In October, I finished this fun one.

It's with my other Halloween stitching, but the Mill Hill tree is in the other room.

I found this kit online and thought it was cute.

For only $10, it came with the wood pieces (four of them!) floss, needles, a threader, a pair of scissors, and felt for the back. It was for a beginner, but I love the pumpkin!

I decided to stamp paint the pieces, I was happy with how it turned out.

Mia approved, but she did try to bite it earlier. 😖

Christmas is coming up fast, I hope to be finishing some ornaments next!