Block Update and Misc.

There has been some progress on Block 2 - VOHRH. One stained glass window is in and the base of one of the trees is in. The bottom of the tree looks like some kind of evil hand that should be a part of some Halloween decoration. It sure seems like this should go faster, but I keep plugging away at it. Have already run into a couple of snags. When ordering the silk for this block, I missed one color. You will notice the blank spaces on the front steps of the church, that is the missing color. Also I have run out of the dark green that is the grass behind the fence. The LNS will get them ordered for me along with other colors for the next few blocks. It won't be long before I have them all. However I seem to use a lot of thread to I might have to have more than one skein of more of the colors than I originally thought.

In discussions with others in the Village SAL, we might extend the month of October to include the month of November. I think we are all feeling the push to get some Christmas stitching done along with those that are participating in exchanges that are due soon. We also have a new member to add to our SAL - Kajsa. is joining us. She and Wanda are just joining us and do not have block one done, so our delay on block 2 will allow them to catch up with the rest of us. I should not say the rest of us because I am a long way from being done with block 2.

Has anyone figured out how to squeeze more stitching into a day? It seems like I cannot get enough done. Still have been working on a Christmas present and design model for The Sunflower Seed. This afternoon I pulled the thread for the last of the Christmas stitching. As usual I am missing one color. It never fails that you think you have every color and then you pull them and come up one short.

Yesterday (Saturday) was the day we traveled to where my dad lives (about a 2 1/2 hour drive to attend a Cousin's Reunion. This is the fourth year we have had it. My dad was the next to the youngest of nine in his family. He is 87 and the only remaining one. A few years ago several of my cousins decided that we needed to hold a reunion every year in order to keep in touch now that all the brothers and sisters were gone. There were 30 grandchildren (1st cousins) in the family. Yesterday, there were 13 of the 22 surviving cousins in attendance. We had a wonderful time visiting and eating. What else to families do? My dad really enjoys having everyone around him. Both of my sisters, my niece and my great nephew were there also. Plans were made to meet again next year. I was able to do some stitching on the drive down and back. However, it is difficult to get much done when the dog is laying in your lap too. She loves to go for rides, but has to be in my lap most of the time. Got home in time to watch my college team play on TV. It was at home and I sold my ticket so I could go to the reunion. I had missed the last two because of games and one cousin told me I was about to be excommunicated from the family. I have already looked at the schedule for next year and we don't have a home game, so I will be safe for another year.

This week promises to be a very busy one, but also one I am looking forward to. Monday I meet some people that I used to work with for lunch. My job required me to travel and work with people in various parts of the state. Some are coming to town tomorrow for a meeting, so I will meet them for lunch and catch up on things. Monday evening is one of my weekly stitch therapy sessions at the LNS. Tuesday has me working at the LNS and needing to prepare a dessert for my monthly church ladies meeting on Wednesday. Wednesday I will miss the afternoon stitch therapy session to attend the church meeting. Thursday, I and 2 of stitching buddies go to Oklahoma City for a stitching retreat sponsored by Heartland Needleworks. It is held at a church camp west of Oklahoma City. We have not attended this one before. I have attended lots of Stitch Camps so will be interested to see how this one is. We will be meeting my youngest sister that lives in Missouri at the retreat. She met us at Silver Needle's Camp Wannasew last year. We always have a great time. I can hardly wait. Need to finish working on my stitch projects to take along. That is more important than the clothes I need to pack. This retreat continues through approximately Sunday noon. I am not driving, so hopefully I can get some stitching done on the ride to and from. However, I do help navigate so will be keeping a watchful eye in areas that are new to us all.

As usual, I have been wordier than I had planned. Hope my long posts do not bore you. Thanks to all that stop by. The comments are great. Everyone have a great week and I will try to take some pictures at the retreat for my next post.

Keep those needles blazing.