March 2024 - my own kind of March Madness

 March was a month full of travel for me again this year. I started March in Franklin, TN (just south of Nashville) for the Nashville Needlework Market. This was the second year my mom and I went as buyers for Persnickety Stitchers and we had a great time. It's hard work deciding which patterns and notions to bring back to the shop but it is also a lot of fun to meet designers and see people who we met at Market last year. I tend to be more of a "make memories" vs. "take pictures" kind of girl, so I don't have many from the weekend. 

Ready to shop!
Mom by the welcome sign
A view of the banners advertising the location of different designers/shops

I had the next weekend at home and got in some stitching time which also included my one stitching finish for the month. This is S'more Summer berry from the Erica Michael's Summertime berries chart. It's always hard to capture the linen color, it is a little darker in person than it looks in this picture. I add this to the Summertime berry I finished last month so now have to work on fully finishing them as shop models. 

S'more Summer berry stitched on Blue Weeks Dye Works
linen with called for DMC and fancy floss

The middle of the month landed me in Charlotesville, VA with four of my girlfriends from college. We went there to see the one who lives there in a musical (Anything Goes) and we had such a great long weekend. Lots of late night and (not so early) morning chats and some sightseeing. The food was amazing on the trip and I look forward to returning to the town in the future. 

Five life long friends in Shenandoah National Park
Big Rock hard cider flight - I am not usually a fan
of cider but did enjoy the two dryest ones. 
Lovely view from a nearby orchard
A beautiful sunset on our last night 

It was a quick turnaround for the next trip - I got home on Tuesday evening and left Saturday morning to meet my daughter in Chicago for her spring break. We had a very fun couple of days doing touristy activities and chasing the landmarks from her favorite TV show, Chicago Fire. We even got to see them film a bit of the show - it was very fun. 

Bridge near Daley park with city in the background
It was a great day for the views of the Lake from Willis Tower
Museum of Illusions - this is half her and half me - we really are twins!

Firehouse where they film the outdoor scenes in Chicago Fire

After our few days in Chicago, we enjoyed a few days home together before she headed back for the last 6 weeks of her freshman year. She's really happy with her college choice and is enjoying her studies there. It will be nice to have her home for the summer but I am also really happy that New York is treating her well. 

After all the travel (phew!), I did get one FFO completed - it's one I'd started in a prior month and I needed to sew it closed and make and attach the trim. I had a chance to sit down on Easter Sunday and finish it up, just in time for the end of the month! 

Snow Love by Country Cottage Needleworks
Stitched on 32 ct. Petit point linen in 2018
using called for colors (as well as I can remember!)  

You may not be surprised to learn that I didn't spend any time quilting all month - I had the best laid plans on the weekends I was home, but didn't get to it. I have a couple tops ready to go so hoping to get in a little quilting in April. 

All in all, it was a great month filled with friends and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am happy to have stitching that travels with me so that I can continue to stitch even when away from home. 

Here are the stats for the month: 
Stitching time - 25/31 days = 81% of the month with stitching time
Stash report - no changes, still at 3 1/8 yards used for the year
FFO Challenge tracking
Stitching projects: +1 finishes, -1 FFOs =  36 projects waiting to be fully finished
Quilting projects: +0 new quilt tops/projects, -0 finished quilts = 9 quilts waiting to be finished

Hope you enjoyed see a few pictures from my travels. April is slated to be a much quieter month, with "only" a cross stitch retreat and a quick work trip. My plan is to focus on finishes for April so that I will be ready to go with 5 WIPs for StitchMaynia in May. 

Comments

March sounded fabulous from Market to Charlottesville (so close) to Chicago, Jennifer. Glad you got to spend time with your friends and your daughter! Hard to believe her freshman year is just about over. Have a fantastic April.
Carol said…
Even though no quilting was done in March, you have so many wonderful memories of those special trips. I'm sure it was great to catch up with your college friends in such a pretty part of Virginia. And what a nice trip to Chicago with your daughter, Jennifer. I'm so glad she's happy with her college and major! Your time at Market looks wonderful--so nice that you and your mom could go together. Very cute summer finish and your fully finished piece is darling. I bet that wasn't an easy one to finish! Hope your April is going well--how can it be half over already?! ♥