A "Share" and a "Peek"

 Just got these framed pieces back and I had to share them with you....yes, I actually do get to stitch other people's designs!!!!!  These are both old but I still love them.

The piece above is "Women of the Mayflower" from an old Fine Lines magazine and I just had to stitch it since I had relatives on the Mayflower.

 And this one is an old Examples from the Heart titled The Green House Sampler (I think)

 I've been doing a lot of designing lately.....which as you can see really excites Brewster and Chessa...but at least they do stick close by while I'm working......and I much prefer this location to when they drape themselves across my work space ...just to make sure I notice that they're around.

I'll be teaching at the Country Sampler in Spring Green WI in a couple of weeks.....I think June 7-9.......and I told Jeanne I'd give you peek at what I'm working on.

 The piece is patriotic and will be mounted on a primitive horn book which we will finish in class.

Stacy Nash and Maggie Bonanomi will be teaching projects as well...can't wait to see what they come up with.

"It's a Grande Olde Flag Gathering", I'm told, still has a few opening and if you're interested, you can find all the details at, www.sgcountrysampler.com

I know it's going to be a fun weekend.....I hope to see some of you there!!


As soon as I get this piece done.....I've got to start working on more new stuff for other teaching "gigs" later this summer.....no rest for the wicked, I guess...... but I'm not complaining.....teaching in different areas of this great country of ours really give me wonderful inspiration !

Until next time , may you all find a little time to take a stitch or two preferably curled up with your favorite pet....it's just the BEST!!

Heartland Stitch Camp

 Spent the past weekend in "Stitcher's Heaven".......I taught for the Heartland Stitch Camp again which was held in the quaint old town of Excelsior Springs MO, at the beautiful renovated Elms Inn & Spa.  What a TREAT !!!

 The classes were all held in the ball room with a bank of windows on the one side that looked out over the pool and spa area.....not that these dedicated stitchers looked up from their work that often.....but it was a beautiful setting none the less!

 Kathleen Murphy has been organizing this event for 19 years and I was thrilled to be asked back for a second time.  There were 64 in attendance this year and the whole weekend is a combination of stitching, shopping (Old Mill Stitchery sends up a fabulous boutique on site every year) laughing, stitching, eating, relaxing, stitching, renewing friendships, and did I mention stitching?  These women stitched night and day......unbelievable!!

These are a few  of the pieces they brought to be judged and believe me, my pictures don't do them justice.

These two pieces(above) were stitched entirely over one!

The only bad part of this weekend for me ......is having to judge these pieces.  On top of it being an impossible task, comes the knowledge that Kathleen has designed and hand stitched (over one) beautiful ribbons for each of the winners!!
YIKES!!.......but with the help of Mary and Barb from Old Mill Stitchery, decisions were made. 

 After all the awards were handed out , each person that had entered, came up and talked about the piece she'd entered and why.......the stories were fascinating!

These are all the ladies that kept the weekend running flawlessly with all their hard work and still managed to participate in every activity.  Kathleen is on the right in lavender ....and if you look closely you can see the two projects I designed for this event.  They will be published next spring.......probably by the Nashville Market.

The weekend was over much too soon but I want to thank everyone for allowing me to spend time with all of you.....it's such a treat to be with so many wonderful and dedicated stitchers.
I can't help but return home with a renewed spirit and eager to start work on new projects!!

Thank you all.......may you find time to take a stitch or two everyday!!

OOPS !!

It was mentioned that some of you couldn't get the video to work...actually I mistakenly downloaded the video instead of this picture of the darling chair cushion......so here's the correction.  And again...I'm obsessed with the chenille ric rac around the border !!!

Spring Fling to South Carolina

 Last week I had the privilege of teaching for the Birthwistle Sampler Guild in North Augusta , SC.  A few of the ladies are pictured above with the "Unfinished Sampler teaching piece".

 Friday night after a lovely dinner, I taught a small piece I had designed from the sampler motifs to be mounted on a mini hornbook.

 Friday, Pam Schmidt, the organizer of this weekend (and a fellow Wisconsinite) took me on a tour of the area. We went to the History Museum  where we were able to see the actual sampler of Isabella Birtwhistle, the Guild's namesake, as well

 as a visit to her gravesite.  It was such fun to be able to absorb all this local history as well as take in all the gorgeous
blooming foliage that abounds in that area.  I have never seen more beautiful dogwoods, redbuds or azaleas then I have this weekend.  Quite a TREAT for this "northern girl" !!!

 Here are a few of the finished projects some of the ladies brought to show me  during the Saturday class.  The trim around the little chair cushion is giant chenille ric rac!!!  I'm obsessed with finding it!!!

 As you can see, these women are all accomplished stitchers!!
My pictures don't really do them justice, but at least you can get an idea of the type of projects they like to tackle.

It truely was a privilege to spend time with so many ladies who love samplers and their history as much as I do !

Home Again !!

 Well.........Sharing pictures from my ipad while at Market  obviously didn't work!!!!  Think it was an operator (me) error.  So I'm back to the regular way and guess I'll just be grateful to manage this much !!

 We're back from the Nashville Market and as promised, here are a few pics of my booth.

 This is for all my cat lovers.......Chessie's Alphabet Needlebook........the inside is finished in wool with a little linen needle leaf with another cat on it .

 Needlebook of Stitches......... is a little wool book with 2 linen "pages" on the inside.  There are 15 or 16 of my favorite speciality stitches on the pages and it's meant to be used as a reference guide as well as a needlebook.

 Lulu's Flock is named for my sister, Mary Lou, who loves sheep.  This design is kind of a follow up piece to my "Three Sheep Sampler"  It's stitched on 32ct vintage Meadow Rue from Lakeside Linen using all Crescent Colours overdyed cotton threads

 "Glory House" is a little patriotic kit that comes complete with linen,  silk floss, and a needle.......so there's no excuse not to start stitching it immediately !!!  Ha, ha......don't we think those same thoughts with every kit we buy?

And last but not least..........Scarlet's Summer Sampler.......the lastest addition to the Scarlet Pomegranate series.  This is the one I teased you with last time.  It's stitched on 36ct vintage Pearled Barley from Lakeside Linen using Belle Soie and Gloriana silk threads.

Thanks to you  all for  your well wishes for Market......they must have worked....because I sold out pretty much all of the new "stuff".  It was a really wonderful market this year.  Everyone was very upbeat and eager to take new  product home to their stitchers.  I didn't get out to look around much (which is a good thing really), but Jeanne from "Country Sampler" gave me a peek at some of the goodies she brought back for her shop and they all looked wonderful!!

We had a great time catching up with old friends and even got to antique along the way....so all in all the trip was a huge success!!

Now........it's back to "earth"......I have to assemble more charts, get out a few stray orders and start working on new designs.

Hope you get out to your local shops , pick up some new "goodies" and get stitching !!!!!

We're off to Nashville

The van is packed .......hopefully nothing forgotten....and we're ready to head for the Nashville Market ......but before I leave, I just wanted to share what my little "helper" does while I'm trying to put all the charts together.

 She really gets very insistant about about being part of the process....so I've learned to allow her to find a spot to settle and observe, otherwise she literally will stretch out across as many charts as possible and stare at me ...daring me to move her!!!!

One quick peek at "Scarlet's Summer Sampler" ......sorry it was the only picture  I could put me hands on since every thing is packed......I'll try to take some shots of everything in the booth with my ipad and post from the Market.  Wish me luck......just when I think I've got this blogging thing down.....something goes HORRIBLY wrong !!

I'm really looking forward to seeing old and new friends at market and catching up with what's new in the industry.....can't wait !  Also looking forward to getting a little stitching in while we're on the road......my stitching bag is LOADED with project !!!  I know I'll never get to all of them,but like every other stitcher I know, we always have to have "choices"

Hope you all fit a stitch or two in to your day!

Belated,belated,belated Happy New Year!!!

 YEA !!!!!!  The snow is back...and actually just the right amount.  All the winter "ugly" is covered up and my back country roads are navigable.

 And as you can see I still haven't gotten "Christmas" taken down yet.  The greens are all gone, but I was still enjoying the rest of it, so I've left it up, and now I'm knee deep in working on new designs for the Nashville Market, so it will just have to wait !!!  Hmmmm...maybe if I add some hearts here and there it will help !!  One can only hope !!

 I also am still obsessed with" Hannah Tingey"........my Christmas present to myself (the best kind of course).  It was the December Sampler of the Month from Attic Needlework and I ordered the silk thread package as well.  It's a gorgeous piece and I'm having trouble putting it down.  Here's my progress so far...as you can tell, I'm a "border first " girl.  I guess that must come from my design mentality.  I also believe that if you get the border right, then you can make any mistake you make in the middle "work" !!

Last, but not least, I had to share a picture of my little "box kitty", Chessa........she's never happier then when she's snuggled inside of something...when I took this shot, she was purring like crazy!!

Happy Belated New Year...can't believe the month is half over already.......hope you all can find a little time to fit in a stitch or two each and every day......I know it just makes me feel better about EVERYTHING when I do !!