Oh For the Love of Friendship and Stitches

They say that friendships can never be truly be broken, but that sometimes we just lose touch with one another, and must find our way back to them again, to mend the threads of friendships and make them new once again.  And so it is, dear friends, that I have found myself missing you, and now I have come to find you once again.

Would you care to spend some special time with me, and we can share a cup of tea? Maybe we'll share our needlework and some sweet words with one another, of times gone past and new times here and those yet to come another day.

At long last, after a year and a half, Quaker Christmas II is finished and framed!  This was a true labor of stitching love, as I stitched each one of these beautiful Quaker motifs.  Janet and I have been working on it as a SAL.

Another work in progress is 'Giovanni's Alphabet', by Tempting Tangles Designs, another SAL with Donna (no blog) from Tennessee.

"Buckleberry Sampler" is my newest love, by Rosewood Manor.  It is done in all DMC threads, and is a lovely design.

I find it nice to be able to switch off with the various pieces that I am stitching.....makes it more relaxing and fun.

 A few weeks ago, my husband and I went on a roadtrip to Pennsylvania, one of our favorite places in all the world to go.  We call it "God's Country" there, and enjoy visiting the Amish farms, shops and restaurants, where we love the homestyle meals.

 I alsolutely fell in love with these cute little fluffy chicks!

The goat family was so sweet, and this little fellow was quite a character!  He had everyone laughing at his antics!

 This fabulous old fashioned candy and soda fountain was in a wonderful old historic shop in Stausburg, Pennsylvania.  It reminded me of a shop in the little town where I lived when I was a little girl.  We even had the delight of watching the staff make fudge right before our very eyes.  Yummy!  Delicious!

 On the last day of our trip, we went to Winterthur, tucked in the beautiful Brandywine Valley of Delaware.  Here are a few of the gorgeous pieces of needlework that we saw in the incredible Dupont Family House of Winterthur.

 I would love to be able to interpret the German words stitched inside of the beautiful heart.

 Each of the large letters are all stitched in Queen Stitches.  Imagine all Queen Stitches!!

 This antique lace is all handmade, and each stitch is every so beautifully placed.  Imagine the patience required to make it!

Oh dear, this post is ever so long, and I so much want to share with you one of the big highlights of visiting Winterthur.......The Downton Abbey Costumes Collection is on display at Winterthur, and wait until you see the costumes I photographed.  We were able to get right up close to them and see every detail of each one.  It was thrilling!!

It has been a lovely time with you dear friends.  I hope to visit soon with you on another day, and sip some tea and share a thing or two.

Blessings in Friendship & Stitches!