Interesting :)

In the US, when driving on many of our roads or highways, there is usually something to look at, whether it is a bunch of business-- retail or office buildings, shopping malls, restaurants, even houses.... Sometimes there is vacant land for what seems like hundreds of miles--literally just farming, desert, grass fields with animals grazing, trees, what else can you think of on nothing??  LOL.  But in the US, we often have a variety of what some may call ART.  In Amarillo, Texas; there is a strange place called Cadillac Ranch where you can pull over on the side of the road and in the distance maybe several hundred feet off you see this:

10 real Cadillac's buried nose first in some vacant land.  Created in 1974 on a different field and relocated.  It is a variety of different years.  You many walk up to the cars, take your picture next to them; but it is now customary to mark your visit with spray paint, you may sometimes see the cars covered in solid pink, or white.  Just kind of fun!  (photo borrowed from RoadsideAmerica.com- I have been there but cant find my own pics as of this minute!) 
While in Florida I spotted something similar on the side of the road near Tampa. These Airstream trailers also buried nose first in a field on the side of the road.  You may not pull over and spray paint on these (private property) but it also resembles a variety of sizes, years and styles.

I cut the small Bambi off on the left side, but you can see it in the top pic, also, pretty good while riding in a car going 70+ mph right?!!  I think its pretty cool, that we have these crazy things on the sides of our roads.   Gives us something to talk about to our friends all over the world right?  Has anyone seen either of these 2 things?
What is the strangest/interesting thing you have seen on the side of the road?  I can think of sooo many different things!!!

On the stitching front, I have filled in the church on SDW German Band sampler!  On Jane Tindall, I spent forever filling in the grass located on the bottom of that sampler and I knew I didnt look forward to filling in the church on SDW but it has to get done.  Unfortunately I knew I had kicked all of my stitching elves out of my house so it was not going to get done without me :(.

I am soo close to being halfway with this piece it is very exciting!  It should start flying now that the solid filling in is complete :)))  YEAH!!!!!  LOL.  I cant wait to start stitching again later tonight. 
A while back I had a birthday and I wanted to share a very special gift I received from my good friend :)  She did such an amazing job that I had to share it with all of you!

Tiny little pin cushion with a patchwork back on 40ct. You can see how sweet it is next to my scissors, soo stinkin cute!!!!!  Thank you so much, it means the world to me having this from you :)  I love it!!
Still a bit chilly, but I think we are in for some spring like weather, alot of rain has been coming, but its better then snow right??!!!!!  Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic week!!

Its going to fast

My adorable nephew is already a month old and today the announcement of the royal baby, along with so many exciting things happening.  Well, the cross country trip went off without a hitch and we saw a tremendous amount of great things.  So many things have taken place over the last month, it is almost too much for me to think about.  (This post is picture heavy!)
Starting out in NY, ending in OR.

 

Vanderbilt mansion in Hyde Park, NY.  One of several mansions owned by the Vanderbilt family.  I have been on a tour in this magnificent home on the Hudson river years ago but this time, we passed.  It is well worth it if you have time.

 We stopped at the Heart of Ohio Antique Mall, which I believe is the largest in the country.... being 116,000 square feet (yes, there are that many zeros!) and I was afraid we might have to spend a week there.  But, we often antique, so we know what we are looking for, and know how to look fast.  There are 8 wings if you will to this massive compound, and all but 1 was good, being antique items.  The 1 that wasnt, was all that crap--repros, or yankee candle booths, etc., etc., etc.  VHS tapes are not antiques, and neither are things made in China last year.  It does bother me that these dealers are allowed in these places.  If you want that crap, go to a flea market.  I did run into this scale, no, I didnt buy it, but I thought it was hilarious.  My husband said those were popular in the 70s.  I wonder how many of you had one!!!!  LOL... and did they come in different colors??!!!!  This dealer wanted 50 bucks for it :)

 This thimble display would be perfect for my friend, but with a firm price of $1895.00 it isnt that perfect for her--- Sorry!! But it is very cool to see.

Love this gorgeous coverlet, and I am not sure if it is a good price at 1200.00, (too much for me) but it was near mint.  Rich navy and creme and love the bird detail around the border.

We did run into an amazing amount of storms and watching the front come in on this one was awesome.  Feeling the wind pick up, and the dust blowing, then an amazing amount of water streaming down the streets.  Before you know it, it is over and dried up.  Love summer storms, you almost dont believe they exist!

 Stopping in Watertown, WI and had to see the famous Octagon House.  I think there is something like 57 rooms in this place.  8 sided, 5 floors built in the 1850s of solid brick.  I am not sure how long it would take to clean this place, but it would be a fun place to stitch right??!!! No, we didnt tour this either, just the grounds because the last tour had just started.  So much for timing!! 

If you look close at the above pic, there are 2 racoons peeking their heads out of the tree.  Not sure if this was a good thing or bad thing to see them during the day, but I thought it was great fun anyway.

What do you think of this gorgeous rooster??  Stunning red and shades of grey make this bird very handsome :)  Friends of ours own him and 2 hens...... Free range eggs are delicious!!!!!

 

There were 2 stops planned for Minnesota, one being the Mall of America, which is beyond me in size for a mall and this amusement park in the center of it, but more importantly,

Stitchville USA!

This is the newest location for Stitchville USA and wowza is all I can say.  It is a must stop for anyone who loves stitching and needlepoint.  So many things to look at you might need a week just to look at all the stash on hand!!!! 

Have you ever seen or been to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota??  Each and every year the entire palace made of corn is stripped of its shell and replaced with fresh corn.  It is a famous place, however one would be surprised to find inside the palace, a gymnasium?!  I sure was!!

Driving out and about in the middle of no where, is very peaceful.  Growing up in a cement city as I am told often, it is hard to imagine the beauty that does exist in our country.  Although, you are often enamored by things you dont see everyday, so seeing cows grazing next to wind turbines is pretty cool!  I am often told I do not get out much :)  I have been more appreciative of the things we see in life, as you get older, things you thought were once corny when you were 15, are pretty cool at ??.  LOL.

It is hard to imagine this is Sturgis, South Dakota.  Being famous for its annual motorcycle rally and to see no one on main street is strange.  But, its only a matter of time before this small town is hopping with bikers from all around the world, cruising the streets with their motorcycles.

My hope is not to bore you with these scenic pictures that I have posted here, but only to give you a better sense of what we saw for miles and miles.  Amazing beauty was to be seen everywhere.  I love the contrast of the bright blue sky to the bright reddish rock, to the sharp edges of the mountain.  To the beautiful lakes.
My last trip pic to share is of Multnomah Falls in OR.  One of the highlights on the Columbia river drive.

The 620 foot cascade of water is the 5th highest waterfall in the US.  Impressive right?  There is a bridge near the bottom you can stand on and of course, take more pics, but to see it from afar is also amazing.  It was definitely worth the stop.

So all good things must come to an end :)  My grandfather would always say, "Home again James".

And by now I hope you know that there wasn't much time for stitching on this road trip I was on!!  LOL.. Nope, you guessed it.  Not much took place but I did work a bit on Jane's border.....

  I have started the words as well on the top right.  Stopping at another great stitching shop in Portland, called Acorns and Threads---also an amazing cross stitch shop and a must stop for any stitcher!!!!  Super friendly staff too!!! Sorry, no pics but I did get the newest Blackbird designs Wild Berries and here is my progress

And, I chose to stitch this series in the called for cottons.  Yes, pick yourself up from the floor.  Close your mouth that has hit the desk.  YES, cottons.  LOL!!!!!  After talking with a few of the ladies, converting these small beauties into silk wasn't a practical option.  I did change the linen, choosing a 40ct Lakeside Linen makes this Wild Berry a mere 4" square.  Super cute right?  I think choosing a different color linen for each piece is going to be my agenda for this Loose Feathers collection.  I am also thinking these are great fill in pieces in between my samplers, and no, I will not hang them all together.  Terrific pieces overall though!!

So, enough of a novel today, but better going to see about stitching more BBD tonight.  Thank you for going on my cross country trip and I hope you enjoyed it :)

Enjoy your week, and happy stitching!!!!

Mutilple items

A few things that need to be updated since the last time we talked about stitching.  First off though, my new little nephew is already almost 1 week old already!!  Amazing how time flies.  I remember watching my clock last week and announced that he was already 1 day old.  My sister and brother in law dressed him in this super cute little grey stripe outfit with a giraffe on it and took him to coffee hour at church yesterday.  Everyone was just thrilled to meet the little guy just 5 days old :) 
Today I wanted to share with you some stitching projects I have been working on.
First up is the La Da Da Stitchers Roll Kit; I have completed the stitching, now onto the wonderful finishing part.  I cant tell you how fast that will be complete-- I am not the best finisher, but we shall see.  Depends on how quick I want if off the pile!  (sorry for the wrinkles)

Next up is Birds of a Feather Le Printemps

I am enjoying the filling in of her dress, love the color I chose for her :).   I am looking forward to finishing the skirt soon.  I did notice that the bottom bands are more spread out and there are less of them.  The top ones are a bit compressed.  Although they are wider on the bottom....... I am looking forward to finishing with this color and using some of the other fabulous and bright colors I have chosen soon :)  I am so tempted to cheat and use them, but I feel like it will be a reward for sure!

Since the stitching is finished on the La D Da Stitchers roll, I needed another new travel project.  I managed to dig deep into the basement and stash dive for a bit.  What a hard choice!!!  There were so many beautiful options, but looking for the perfect 40ct linen project wasnt the easiest.  I was looking for something that wasnt quite as simple- or small, and something that would last a bit longer (however I am not sure how long it will last because once I really get into it, I might want to finish it asap--like with Elizabeth Mears)
So, wanting to stitch this next sampler has been in the top section of my basket next to my stitching chair for like 2 years, I decided to start stitching Jane Tindall from Needlework Press. 

Using the called for AVS and Florimell Silks along with 1 other addition a Ltd Edition Hankalicious from Gloriana (the dark red), I have started a new travel project.  Or what I call a driving project.  Call it what you will, it is only worked on while in a moving vehicle.  That all may change in the future, but you never know, there are so many others I want to work on while sitting still!!!  LOL.

Since hearing the horrors of running out of the specific grass color, I bought a few years back a hankalicious of it.  You never can have too much, however you might run out at any time.  I HATE this, and about 7 years ago, decided this had to change.  It wont go bad!

I wanted a specific shade of grey for Jane and I have had her kitted up with (what I think is) the perfect color from the old Birds of a Feather linen-- Sandpiper.  WOWZA is she looking good so far!  I cant wait to hit the road again.

Speaking of hitting the road, how many of you have ever done a United States cross country road trip?  East to West, West to East?  See anything that was so fabulous??  Any cross stitch shops that are a must stop?  Quilt shops? Antique Malls?  Landmarks?  Museums?  State Parks?  Restaurants?  Packing up the old car or truck, motorcyle, 5th wheel or Motorhome? Pack a lunch or hit famous road-side diners? How many stitching projects do you actually take???

I would like to know!!!!  I am just curious as my Husband and I are getting ready to pack up and head out!!