I  can not believe it is NOVEMBER!  My sweet Keyauna's birthday is this month as well as her lovely mother's, Andrea, and JUST today, my oldest son called to say they were headed to the hospital to deliver grandchild #5!  EXCITED to say the least!
The fall has whizzed by: The Shanty vended at the South Dakota Quilt Guild in Huron in September!  Fun group of ladies to work with!  Think about joining this great group.  They meet twice a year: spring (show moves from place to place and the fall (their retreat is always in Huron).  Yvonne Hollenbeck was the featured speaker for their show, if you ever get a chance to hear her speak about her family heirloom quilts make sure to attend!  Wonderful to see heirloom quilts that are 100s of years old but lovingly preserved for us to visit and marvel at their handiwork.  I think about that often, they 1) had NO spectacles to aid them with their fine work, 2) NO good lights like we are so accustomed too and 3) they had little time (hand washing clothes, lots of kids, no modern conveniences ) but they seemed to get stuff done! Her stories and quilts were wonderful!
At the end of September I vended in Sioux City.  Great show and fun to see the convention center full of people and quilts!  
This pas weekend was the last show of the season: Sioux Falls Quilt Guild hosted their fall show at the Arena in SF.  LOTS of beautiful quilts displayed from very talented women!  Again, so much fun to see all those quilts in one place to get inspiration and ideas for the next project.
I sure miss the The Sprit of Cross Stitch Festival that was held in Des Moines, Iowa a number of years ago.  I attended 3-4 times and it was row after row of vendors displaying their goods for us to drool over and count our pennies to make sure we had enough funds to STOCK UP!  I wish something like that would COME BACK to the midwest.  I would vend and attend!  It is SO INSPIRING to see finished work framed or displayed nicely in a huge setting like that!  The good olde days!
As I close I will hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving season!
Our annual Saturday BEFORE Thanksgiving Sale will be NOVEMBER 21
from 9 am till 4 pm (extended hrs).  Come check out the items that will be taken off the wall for sale!  See you soon!

Row by Row has started!  Are you IN?  The Shanty has seen strong support of the Row by Row!  Since this was South Dakota's first Row by Row experience, I was NOT sure what to expect!  But people are coming in, having fun and making it a summer project!  
Thanks for all the participants working around our HWY 46 summer project.  Road work is a necessary evil, a pain when going through but OH so nice when it is done!  We are seeing progress of them at least pouring cement--happy day!  But, they will do the other side when done with the west bound lanes.......hopefully most is done by winter!
Speaking of WINTER! a couple of "winter" time fabrics have arrived:
Winter's Song and Snowman Gatherings ii are in the shop ready for you to make that gift or "couch snuggle up quilt" for those cold winter days!

Today it seems like Winter is round the corner.....chilly out this am, too chilly for July 2.  But it has been a beautiful summer with many nice evenings.  I have been trying to get my 6 mile walks in this summer, but a little hard with 2 grand daughters playing softball in the evenings.  One at 6 and one at 8......and most times does not start till 8:30.  But going and supporting them is more important than an evening stroll.

I hope you and your family have a happy and safe 4th of July!

has reared her UGLY side the last few days with bitter wind chills and bone chilling frigid temps.  All I can say is UCK!
But on the other hand if you are lucky enough to be at home this is PERFECT stitching weather!

I have been reading a few blogs lately and the question I have is:  when preparing for your next stitching or sewing project do you "kit" everything first before starting? Threads, embellishments, fabric, pattern etc and put it all together before starting?
WOW, not me......I am a "winger" because if I can not find the specifics I am not afraid to substitute or add a few embellishments here and there.
Sometimes, I will even find the frame first then stitch to fit the frame.
Just curious.......
what kind of stitcher are you?
In this nasty weather mother nature is serving us, I hope you have a project to stay in, snuggled under the blanket or next to the fireplace and have plenty of time to stitch.......I will snap a picture of my current project and post later.  In the mean time:  STAY WARM

So of course I come prepared with my next project. I completed the Lizzie Kate Marriage last year but gave as a gift. I want it to hang in the store so am stitching it again. It might go as a gift again but at least it can hang in the store a bit before that happens. 32 cnt Weeks over dyed fabric and over dyed threads.

Vacation is over, makes me sad. But as the saying goes: so not cry because it is over be glad that it happened and was enjoyed!

While I was relaxing I was able to get a couple if pieces completed and hopefully I canget a picture or two uploaded.

I was about 1/2 done with each WIP when we arrived.

Let Them be Small: Lizzie Kate

Quaker Row # 11: Midnight Stitching ( appropriately named)

Both were done on 32 cnt linen

Summer is flying by fast, as it always seems to do. This week I am spending time I the Black Hills of SD.

We had the grandchildren with us for a few days over the 4th. The store will be closed on the 8th because if the trip. Jeannie will be at the store on Saturday the 12. I will be back to the store on the 15.

Take time to stitch every day but make time for summer fun too!