Fully Finished Gallery - August 2025 🖼

Welcome to Rachel's 

Fully Finished Gallery SAL for August 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. 

Let's just say I'm early for next year!

I could still make this into a pillow, but I think I like it in the little frame.

Once again, I'm too late to add to Rachel's link-up, but this is also for my records!

A Jersey Girl visit and a birthday 🎂

Going a little backwards, in June, dear Amy came to visit ME for a change! 

I took her to Ellicott City as that is my go-to place, and thought she would like it.

Crossing the bridge, we saw a sweet family of ducks.

And boy was she happy in the E. C. Pops Shop!

This popcorn girl had a lot of tasting to do.

She found a few she couldn't leave without, but no Jelly Bellies!

This poor guy stands outside the shop and I think he's a little sick about it... he's green!

I saw this sweet little Fisher Price sewing machine in the antique depot while we were there. I had seen a photo of it on Instagram recently, so I grabbed it when I saw it! I even had the people at home to go with it. Maybe it will inspire me to pull out my sewing machine to finish some pieces? Or maybe she'll take care of it for me?!

We did get some stitching in, with some "help" from Mia and Maverick.

The last time she was here, I had her try our Maryland pizza at Ledo's. She loved it and here she is bringing some home for her and her husband. I guess it's a change from that NY/NJ pizza!

She gave me my birthday gift a little early since she had to leave. She had asked me what my favourite colour was and now I know why.

I said periwinkle and she went on a hunt for it. She said she had a hard time finding it but when she finally did, it was actually called periwinkle!

I love that one side has the stripes and the other has those lovely hearts.💜💙

Isn't it gorgeous?

Lazy kitties, those are MY blankets!

A few days later, Kerri came to celebrate my birthday and we went to see Sarah Millican in Baltimore. 

She was awesome! Let me just say, I think there were some very uncomfortable men in the audiance!

"I don't do rude jokes - I do honest ones. If they're rude, that's just because life is. I think there's bravery in talking about things that women are told to keep quiet." 

She is definitely NOT quiet! 🤣

Such fun together!

She was able to join us for my birthday dinner before heading home, more good times.

And yes, baby Nathan is now the tallest in the family!

Still so much more to catch up on...

Fully Finished Gallery - July 2025 🖼

Welcome to Rachel's 

Fully Finished Gallery SAL for July 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. 

I didn't see Rachel's link up for July, but knew I still wanted to post what I had done.

I stitched this sweet little butterfly for my MIL for her birthday. She loves butterflies so this was perfect.

And I remembered that I had taken this photo outside our fence a several years ago. A pretty good match!

This was taken back in 2013 and I still think it's funny! I even got one similar for our house at Halloween.

So when I saw this SPLAT Witch from Mill Hill, I had to have her. And I gave her bottle because she's drunk too! 🍾🤣

She also reminds me of ole Witchiepoo from H.R. Pufnstuf. Who remembers watching that as a kid? "Watch and learn, dummy!" Not a very nice witch!

We have a trip coming up, so I'll see what I can finish in mid August.

Fully Finished Gallery - June 2025 🖼

Welcome to Rachel's 

Fully Finished Gallery SAL for June 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. 

I know this is too late to link to Rachel, but this is also for my records. The past two weeks I've been helping out with the church's white elephant, and it was crazy busy! But that's another post.

This is a Hinzeit design that I personalized for Nathan's Band Teacher, showing the list of activities for the last four years of band.

There are shadows on the fabric, it was actually a very pretty colour blue.

Nathan giving his goodbye and view of his band years.

He said some funny things, wish I could remember what they were!

Mr. Blackman opening his gift, I think he liked it!

I know I'll have at least one next time,🤞maybe more?

Fully Finished Gallery - May 2025 🖼

Welcome to Rachel's 

Fully Finished Gallery SAL for May 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. 

I've had this one for a while, but I can't remember where it came from! Not the exact frame I wanted, but it will have to do.

It's found a home with the other busy bees and cross stitch pieces.

I have something I need to fully finish by tomorrow evening, but I still have a few things to add to it. At least I'll have a definite finish next time!

Please be sure to see what the others have finished. I know I'm way behind in my reading again, AND in posting. There's just too much going on, I really need to catch up on both. 

Fully Finished Gallery - April 2025 🖼

Welcome to Rachel's 

Fully Finished Gallery SAL for April 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 one has been stitched for years, and I finally officially finished it. I had a makeshift finish before, but I didn't like it.

I bought this little frame at our Joanne Fabrics store. I think it's one of the last ones to go in our area? It had a little mark on the upper left corner, but I decided to add these little buttons to represent Mia and Maverick and cover it.

You can find this pattern at Cross Stitch Happy

Mia doesn't seem all that impressed.

And Maverick tried to bite his representation!

Another sad month for finishing, but at least I did one!

Please be sure to take a look at what the others have finished this time.

A few lovely surprises!🥰

I still have to post about the Nashville Market, but here are a couple nice surprises I had there!

If you already follow Mary @Mary's Thread, then you know about this already!

I was in the Jean Farish Needlework room, when someone said my name, it was Mary, what a wonderful surprise! How great to see a fellow blogger there!

We got to chat a little bit, but I wish we could have spent more time together. If we both go next year, we'll have to set aside some time to really talk!

My next surprise was when Amy said hello/goodbye to Nicola as she was heading to the elevator.

Wait, Nicola, from Cornwall?! Yes!

She had a blog years ago, Stitching by the Cornish Seashore, and now you can find her at Hands Across the Sea Samplers. So that was cool!

My third lovely surprise was Rahenna @Crafty Rahenna gifting me her pattern for the Mill Hill Autumn Key. She finished hers and I had admired loved it! Here it is, looking great.

She even gave me some perforated paper and what was left of the kit, in addition to some extra pretty floss. Look at how organized she is with her threads! It will certainly make it easier.

I decided to try stamping it green, since I had seen it done before somewhere online. Not too bad!

So thank you so much Rahenna, for sharing this chart with me. After I'm finished with it (which might not be until the summer) I'll pass it along too, with a giveaway! 

Fully Finished Gallery - March 2025 🖼

Welcome to Rachel's 

Fully Finished Gallery SAL for March 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 is certainly an oldie, but a goodie!

This has been rolled up in my finished box for YEARS, and I finally decided to frame it. I'm still not sure about the frame, but it will do for now. And since Master Nathan won't have this in his bedroom 🙄, it will live in my craft room with all my other dragon treasures.

Dragon Dreams, Dragonlet's Birth Sampler

For our very own little dragon, such a cutie patootie!

So much for doing more this month, but it's better than nothing!

Be sure to see what the others have finished this time when you head to Rachel's blog.

Preqel to the Nashville Needlework Market 2025 🦫

And off we went!

Luckily, Amy came on Wednesday afternoon to spend the night before we headed out on Thursday morning, March 5th.

That took about 3.5hrs off of her drive, but we still had over ten to go!

Woot, woot, we finally made it to Tennessee!

With a stop before arriving to Market...

... to Buc-ee's! 🦫

If you've never been to Buc-ee's, you're missing quite a lot! On last year's band trip to Universal Studios in Florida, they had to take the bus (DH and I flew). The bus stopped there and ended up arriving late to the hotel because they spent so long there! The kids loved it and I just didn't get it, until now.

And hey, they had some cross stitch kits!

Here's a YouTube video about this location!

Did we go again on the way home? Yes, twice!!!

We finally arrived!

More to come, it was quite overwhelming. But in a good way! 😀