cross stitch · Knitting · Mirabilia · New stash! · Uncategorized · yarn

Near To a Finish and Some New Stash!

My Time Stitching

It’s been a busy couple of weeks.  And I have been working pretty hard on Aphrodite.  Her hair is amazing, but is taking me so long to finish!

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Just look at that gorgeous hair!  There are many gorgeous colors in that hair.  I’ve worked on it the last 2 nights and I am hoping to finish that hair tonight and get to the backstitching and hopefully to adding some beads!  She is going to be Fabulous!!

So this last weekend, hubby and I took a day trip to Port Huron in Michigan.  We went to a craft place that I have been wanting to visit for years!!!  Mary Maxim.  Have you ever received one of their catalogs in the mail?  I have, for so many years.  And finally, I went to see the store.  Love their sign out front.

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Isn’t that just the coolest sculpture to hold their sign?  Love it! I spent quite a bit of time in there.  Looking at yarn and afghan and baby blanket kits.  I couldn’t decide what to get! Lots of other craft items there, too.  But I was obsessed with all the yarn 😉

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Look at that long aisle of yarn!!  So many skeins to feel and squeeze and so many colors!  This is what I actually ended up getting:

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2 skeins of a scarf yarn (yes I am addicted to scarf yarn) that I have never tried before.  They will be fun to knit.  A skein of Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball and pattern.  Maybe I can actually knit this one up since I am still at a stand still with the other 2 shawls I started.  The Knit Pink book really caught my eye 😉  It is full of fabulous patterns (yes in pink) and I fell in love with a knitted  afghan that I want to make for my younger son and his girlfriend for X-mas.  I couldn’t find a tweed yarn at Mary Maxim, so I ordered some this morning from LoveKnitting.  I also LOVE the scarf on the cover, but can’t find the yarn called for…yet 🙂 I think it is an Italian yarn. But if I can’t find it,  it is a bamboo yarn, so I may find something else I like.

I also found some scrapbook paper and a small bobbin box for my cross stitch threads.  Can’t seem to find the little boxes at the craft stores anymore.

After leaving Mary Maxim, hubby took me to Fort Gratiot, where I saw my very first Lighthouse, Ft. Gratiot Light.  It is actually the oldest lighthouse in Michigan, built in 1829 and stands 86 feet tall.

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The light was automated in 1933 and still guides ships today on Lake Huron into the St. Clair River.

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Beautiful Lake Huron.  This was on Saturday, and the temperature was a muggy 98 degrees.  There were lots of boats on the lake and the beaches were packed.

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This is the St. Clair River.  The bluest, most beautiful water I have ever seen!  It actually took my breath away.  This river flows under the the bridge from Michigan to Canada, rightfully called the Bluewater Bridge.

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My sweet husband.  Posing in front of the beautiful blue waters and Bluewater Bridge.

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Just a stone’s throw away from our neighbors in Canada.  I love this photo.

So, if you are still with me, thank you for re-living my weekend to Port Huron.   I hope I haven’t bored you.  It was a wonderful day and I have some great memories and some fun new stash.  So now I am going to go work on Aphrodite and hopefully have a finish to show you next time.  What are stitching today?

Published by My Time Stitching

I am a wife to a wonderful man and mother to two terrific sons. I love cross stitching, knitting, stamping and scrapbooking. I have decided to start a blog as a way of documenting and sharing my love for cross stitching, knitting, crocheting and anything else I may be up to ;)

36 thoughts on “Near To a Finish and Some New Stash!”

  2. Sounds like so much fun! And any road trip to a craft store is worth it! Love your Aphrodite — she definitely has a good head of hair. Can’t wait to see your finish on this one. I’m still working on Ophelia. Beading at the moment, then maybe a finish for me!

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  4. Love the photos – this is a place I may never get to, so I appreciate the beauty!
    And the store…Oh My Gosh. That’s something we miss a lot over here, there’s really a big division between needlework and other handcrafts.
    Do you flip Aphrodite around so you’re stitching “upside down” for the top half?

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      1. Not really, no – lots are needlework & quilting combined with a little something else, but not to that scale.
        Yes – if I need to I flip chart & design, but I confess I usually measure & start in the top right.

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      2. I thought I might be missing out on something with the flipping the chart or stitching 😉 I always start in the middle and work my way down to the bottom and then from the middle to the top. Unless it is a mystery chart and I have to start somewhere else. But always in the middle. I always feel that if I did the face first of one of Nora’s beauties, I may get bored and not finish. This way, I can’t wait to get to the end to see the face appear. Then I know I am done.

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    1. Thank you, Susanssnippets. I did some backstitching last night! So excited! May start the beading tonight! It was very hard making a decision. I put things in my basket and took them out for something different many times. Most of the time I use the yarn that is called for in a pattern. Since they didn’t have the yarns for 2 patterns I fell in love with, I just came home with the 3 balls of yarn. But I do plan on going back, so I am sure I will be better prepared next time 😉

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  7. Yay! Aphrodite is almost done. Can’t wait to see her finished! 🙂

    And Mary Maxim’s looks like a needleworker’s heaven 😀 I’d have to be dragged kicking and screaming from the store 🙂 You’re so lucky you have a patient hubby who indulges your hobbies 🙂 And so sweet of him to surprise you with the rest of the trip 🙂

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    1. I did some backstitching on Aphrodite last night. I hope to get to beading tonight 🙂 It won’t be too much longer before I have a finish. It was hard leaving Mary maxim, but I did spend a lot of time there and knew if I didn’t, hubby may have stretched out and napped on the big couch he was sitting on, LOL. Not really, but when we arrived there, there was a guy who was stretched out with his hat over his face, so he may have been catching some zzz’s while his lady shopped and shopped and shopped….LOL It was nice day trip and I am already looking forward to the next one or even go back to Port Huron.

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      1. Haha… I so know what that guy you saw was going through. That is exactly what my husband goes through every time he takes me craft shopping 😀

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  8. Aphrodite is looking good.
    I’m a little green that you got to go to Mary Maxim. 😉
    Looks like a great store, right up my alley!
    You picked up some nice yarn stash too.
    Thanks for sharing the pics of Lake Huron, so pretty.
    Love the pic across the lake of Canada.
    I’m working on a Halloween needlebook for a friend for an upcoming B-Day.
    She loves Halloween, like I do.
    Marilyn

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    1. Thank you, Marilyn. I am hoping to start the beading tonight as I have just about completed the back stitching last night. Can’t wait to finish her 🙂 Mary Maxim was a very nice place to visit and I’d love to go back. I would definitely go to the lake and river again, too. Very pretty. What a sweet friend you are! Sounds like a very nice gift you are making for your friend.

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  9. Wow, she is a beauty. Just look at her hair. I am looking forward to seeing more of her.
    Your Shawl in a Ball yarn looks great. I know you will have fun with it.
    Love lighthouses. The one you visited looks amazing and huge.
    Thanks for sharing your trip photos with us, as always I just love seeing what others see when out and about. 🙂
    Have a good day, and happy crafting. 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Joey. Her hair is really awesome! I just love it. So different from any of Nora’s other mermaids. I am on to beading tonight 🙂 I can’t wait to get back to some knitting. I did knit on a scarf on our road trip, but didn’t get much done. I am getting anxious to get back to it. I would love to get knitting on a shawl and actually finish one. Maybe the shawl in a ball is the one for me 😉 I am glad you enjoyed my trip photos. I too enjoy seeing where others visit, too.

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      1. 🙂 I always enjoy your photos so much. Thank you.
        Indeed, her hair is stunning. Looking forward to seeing the beads you are working on. They must be pretty tiny. 🙂
        I agree, I think the shawl in a ball is the perfect shawl knitting. All done for you, you just have to knit and enjoy. Yarn suppliers are amazing these days.
        🙂 Take care.

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  10. I have gotten Mary Maxim catalogs in the past, and always thought if I ever go to Michigan, I am going there, you have reinforced that this is a good idea. 🙂 Sounds like a wonderful trip – glad you got to see your first lighthouse!

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    1. You should definitely plan a trip to Michigan. I am hoping one day to get to the New England states. I’m sure there are many lighthouses there that I would love to see. I would love to sit on the beach and knit and watch the waves and listen to the water rush up on the sand. Ahhhhh.

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      1. There are loads of lighthouses just waiting for you!!! Not so much the sandy beaches here in my part – are you OK sitting on a rock and listening to the waves pounding below? It’s also quite nice… 🙂 Love to have you come for a visit any time.

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  11. I love seeing your trip photos! Looks like a lovely spot. That store is amazing. Your hubby is sweet and patient to go craft shopping with you! 🙂

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    1. I’m glad you enjoyed my photo’s, Fawn. We had a nice time and I am hoping to go back before fall. My hubby is so very sweet and the most patient. I try not to take too long when we are together in craft stores, but it is so hard. I think he understands.

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  13. what a lovely trip, especially stopping by the local needlework shop to pick up some lovely items.. 😉 I adore the lighthouse.. 😉 did u by any chance go inside to take a look?

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    1. It was a nice day trip, Angela. We didn’t get to go into the Lighthouse as when we finally found a place to park and walked up to the gift shop, it was 5:00 and they were closing up shop. I’m not sure I would have wanted to go in. It is quite narrow and I am afraid of heights. I am sure there is just enough room for the staircase and changing my mind about going up would not have been an option. So it’s probably good that it was closed.

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