sweet, sweet, sweet . . .

Lots of lovely little tidbits from the past week.  First up, my daughter-in-love, has created a *sweet* home business called "Madelyn Mae's Bake Shop".  She makes the loveliest, tastiest cookies! How do I know they're tasty, you may ask?  Because she sent me some!

Tea cups, tea pots, and quilt squares! And in purples, no less!  It was a fun snail mail package to receive! She's so talented!

And I know autumn is on its way, because I've started to feel the pull of all things pumpkin . . .

Picked up this sweet Benartex metallic pumpkin panel.  I have some thoughts; we'll see where (and when—haha) it goes.

But I'm not totally living in the future.  I found the cutest little sunflower cross stitch on Pinker n Punkin, Summer Ewe.  So I wasted exactly zero time and got busy.  Here's what I ended up with:

Isn't that fun? I finished my off with a little wool and a grosgrain ribbon.

She looks right at home with the rest of my sunflower decor! By the way, that series of patterns (Betsy Ewe, Erin Ewe, Haze Ewe, Priscilla Ewe and Summer Ewe) are all sweet freebies on Melisa's blog.  Very cute!

Todd found a not-so-cute black snack curled up at the bottom of his ladder.

Todd went to pick it up to use, and did a double take. Who thinks the base of a ladder is a good place to take a nap?!  LOL! 

As our guild year wraps up this month, the incoming president has been soliciting folks to fill positions. I can't believe I did this, but . . . I signed on to chair our 2022-23 HQH Challenge.  <gasp>  I've already put together a fabulous team, and theme.  All the ideas!  It'll be fun (I'll keep telling myself that)! I'll share more on that when I'm able!

And I leave on this very happy little note . . .

I adore it when the local crew comes to visit me at work!  Sweetness!

:)

pumpkins and acorns . . .

So far, so good!  I headed out Thursday, along with some of the other Essential staff wives, for a retreat/conference in Dallas, Georgia; Cultivate 2020.

It was a LOT of fun!  I love road trips in and of themselves, but this retreat was really intended to pamper and encourage the participants and a great job was done of it!

I mean, wow!  Our lunch Friday was served in high—tea time—style! Each of us got our own tiered tray, that then went home with us. We went home with a ton of swag, including the gorgeous (and yummy smelling) soy candles.  We did a little coaster craft project, and even the tables were just set so prettily.  I'm very serious when I say that I would give this retreat a 9.5 out of 10.  From presentation to program and all the little details in between, it was the best!

It's always nice to get back home and sleep in your own bed, though! Saturday I woke up feeling refreshed in body, mind, and spirit. We've been enjoying the sounds of young (and not so young) boys in the camp all weekend, and the smells of campfires. Yay!  After unpacking and house work chores were done, I knew I needed to find something to stitch.  After a short search, I found this simple design:

Yep, used my trusty printer to do the hard work.  Picked my floss palette . . .

Then took a break to make a treat!

Angela over at Tea with Friends had shared a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Shortbread cookies earlier this month, and I wanted to give them a try. I used my pumpkin and acorn cookie cutters, though when (not if) I make these again, I'll go all acorn (and probably a smaller sized cutter).  For the pumpkins I dusted a little edible orange glitter on the creases. With the acorns, though, I went straight up crystal sprinkles on the caps.  Too cute!  And very delicious (especially with a cup of chai)!

As Todd and I sat and talked about the upcoming week and relaxed into the evening, I did manage to get a little work done on my pumpkin . . .

So maybe I'll finish it up this evening when I sit down for some quiet time! 

Linking up with the slow Sunday stitching post on Kathy's Quilts.  Y'all enjoy a lovely day!

:)