Wednesday, July 9, 2014

We're Back!

Hello again everyone! We're back from our mini vacation. I'm always sad to come home, but I missed my cat & my bed. :)

We went to Denver, CO to visit some friends and I'm very happy to report the friend who just had brain surgery is doing wonderful! He was looking so good we were really impressed. He has to go back down to Huston, Texas for radiation for 6 weeks, but all in all they were able to remove 95% of the tumor and are very hopeful for his recovery. :D

In other news, my husband & I went to two stitching shops while in Denver (and like 7 breweries). First up is "A Stitching Shop" in the Lakewood area (Morrison Avenue). We went on Thursday after we arrived because they were only open until 5. Well, I called around 4:10pm to double check that they were open and the lady said "How late do you want me to be open?" and I thought that was wonderful. I mean, I was on my way before they closed, but I didn't want to impose if she had somewhere to be! As it turns out we stood there chatting after I checked out for another 45 minutes at least! It was a great time and I HIGHLY recommend checking them out. She's working on listing her 40,000+ items on their website and per usual she can order anything you may want.

They tote themselves as the "Thread Mecca" in Denver and it is 100% true. They had everything! Some things I'd never even heard of. :) AND she carries Cosmo floss (for those of you who do the Frosted Pumpkin's patterns you'll know what I'm talking about). AND she mails!


Here's my haul from A Stitching Store: 


I purchased:
  • 1 Lizzie Kate Flip It (with charm) #F17
  • 1 Mill Hill Reasured Diamond Bead kit (Royal Plum)
  • 1 Glendon Place pattern: Plum Pudding
  • 1 4" hoop (my mom has mine, so I just bought another)
  • 1 Thread Heaven
  • 7 skeins of Weeks Dye Works
  • 3 skeins of Variegated Cosmo thread
  • 18 skeins of Cosmo thread (for a Frosted Pumpkin pattern & some purples & greens)

The second shop we went to was FanciMats as it sounds, they specialize in custom framing but they are also a cross stitch shop. I didn't like this shop as much for a few reasons, there's nothing bad, just my personal opinion! First, it's pretty small, not tiny, but not even close to as large as A Stitching Place, which is not a bad thing! But secondly, the lady wasn't very nice, she wasn't mean, but I relaly had to track her down when I wanted to check out and she barely said hi. I'm a chatter, and I understand that others aren't, but if you own a store you would think that you would be more chatty if only to encourage more purchasing. Oh well. A huge perk is the ice cream store next door (and there's a knitting shop if you're into that too!)

Here's my haul from FanciMats:


  • 4 skeins of Weeks (for the pattern purchase, she didn't have all the colors needed though)
  • 1 Jolly Jack pattern
  • 1 bundle of scraps (a nice variety of fabrics, colors & shapes)
All in all I got a ton of things and I'm totally ready to complete some ornaments!


I also brought a Mill Hill ornament kit with me to work on. It's a good thing I did because the president came into Denver when we were scheduled to leave so that disrupted all air traffic and we couldn't leave until 8:45 for a 6:20 flight.  Needless to say we didn't get into bed until after 2am. I'm lagging behind this morning!

Here's what I managed to get done:


It's my frist time beading basically. I've done some small designs with a few beads years ago, but I haven't' done anything since then. It's kind of exciting!

I almost missed the best part! I met another cross stitcher (from a forum I belong too) when I was up in Fort Collins. We met over coffee and seriously chatted for 4 hours. It was pretty great. If anyone has a chance to meet another lover of cross stitch in their travels I highly recommend it! It was a very nice experience and if I go back to Ft Collins we will totally meet up again!

How was everyone's fourth weekend (for those of you who are American)?

4 comments:

  1. What great purchases you have made - looks like Halloween will be a busy time for you! I also adore those Mill Hill kits, I really need to get a few myself, if only they weren't that expensive :(

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    1. My husband's favorite holiday is Halloween (and my birthday is just days before) so as a result I tend to gravitate towards them for him. :)

      And I know! They are expensive. :(

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  2. I see you were in my neck.of the woods! I have had the worst customer service at Fancimats! I've been there twice and the owner is nothing short of rude.....I refuse to go there again..However, Christine at Stitching Shop is a gem :)
    I just checked out your blog and I love all your Halloween stitching. I've been getting the itch to stitch everything fall/Halloween related as well!

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    1. Oh yeah! I 100% agree! Christine was sooo nice. Even my husband enjoyed the experience. :D

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