Back From St Charles

Oh my, Oh my.........what a FUN market this year!!!

First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you, to all the shop owners who supported us......we came home with empty  cartons and I'm now assembling more kits and charts, so I can ship out the remaining orders !  WOW !!!

And another BIG thank you to Cindy,who traveled with me and helped in the booth all weekend...I couldn't have done it without you !!!!

Before I go back to shipping, just wanted to give you a peek at a little of what we saw at market.

First, a few pics of our display...since fall is my favorite time of year, its always fun to add a few autumnal touches!

If you check out my previous blog, you'll see MUCH better pictures of my new pieces.

Below is sweet Teri of Shepherd's Bush fame (Tina disappeared as soon as I mentioned taking pictures) with some of their darling new offering !

These are a few pics of the models at Blackbird Designs.......of course, I want to stitch every single one of them !!!!!

The sampler on the right is one of  the originals from the "Sisters" book..................................

............................and this is the other sister's original sampler.

And last but not least, I was thrilled to see Paulette from Plum Street Samplers, exhibiting at Market.  She always has wonderful pieces....all of which I want to stitch as well!!

That's about all of the "sight seeing" I got to do, because we really were busy during market hours, but believe me, I'm not complaining !

The whole weekend went way too fast, as usual, but we did manage to fit in some great drinks, dinners, and laughs with friends....and I've returned home renewed and ready to get back to work......

P.S.  I couldn't get a pic of John's latest "packing the van for market" outfit, but I will describe it to you.......he appeared in jeans, suspenders, and a BRIGHT yellow tee shirt with a hugh mosquito on the front that says "Wisconsin State Bird"!

Hope you all enjoy the new designs that are out there, and find time to stitch them...I'm hoping that for myself as well!

St Charles Market Preview

The charts are assembled and before I start packing the van for the trip to St Charles, I wanted to give you a preview of what will be released .  I know a lot of shops like to go to market with a preorder list.....so here's my contribution !!!

The first one is Janet Reid 1835 Sampler......I gave you a little peek awhile back........it's the reproduction that's stitched entirely in wool.  I reproduced it on 28ct vintage examplar from Lakeside Linen, which was a dead ringer for the original, and used Gentle Art's wonderful "simply wool " collection.  In fact, Gentle Art will be offering packets of the  wool threads for this piece at market, so if you're interested, let you shop owner know that as well.

Next, is a little Halloween piece.....Bubble, Bubble Toil and Trouble......stitched on 36ct vintage Pear from Lakeside Linen, using Gloriana silk floss.  I turned it into a large pin keep, but it would be equally cute framed !!

Moving on to the Christmas selection.......the above design in "Shepherd's Christmas" stitched on 32ct vintage tarnished silver linen from Lakeside Linen using silk threads......for those of you who love sheep, this one's for you !!

This one is "Thoughts of Christmas"....stitched on 32ct vintage Pear linen and is the Christmas version of "Breath of Autumn" and "Where Stitching Leads"......who knew I was doing a series.........

And last but not least , a little Christmas kit called "Noel House" , which comes complete with linen and silk floss.

     If you see anything you like, give your local shop owner a call...I'm sure they will be happy to bring them home from market for you !!

   Back to packing for me..........wonder what "outfit" hubby John will wear to help pack the van on Wednesday?.....if it's a good one, I'll try to get a pic!

Happy stitches,
       
          Linda

A Quick Peek

I'm busy assembling charts for St Charles......but I'm also working on a new piece to teach in Ocean City, MD this October and thought you might like a little sneak peek.

It's called "Tombstone Mansion" and so far has been a really fun piece to work on.  I am so delighted to be going back to teach for Salty Yarns.........Sara and Sally are the best and they treat everyone like "Queens".

The last time I spoke with Sara, she said there were still a few openings so if you can get away.......it's really a fun weekend.
(My favorite part is just sitting, stitching, in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch of the old hotel, while gazing over the boardwalk at the Atlantic Ocean !!!!!  It just doesn't get any better than that!!

Enjoy the "peek"........I'll be back with pictures of the designs to be released at the St Charles Market next week.

HAPPY 4TH !!!!!!!

The deck is done and we're ready to celebrate the 4th !!!!

John built me planter boxes on the outside of the deck and they are filled with herbs that I use for cooking.......it's such fun to run out and snip a little something to add to a salad or sauce.

As you can see, Chessa and Brewster have their own idea of celebrating !!!!

Hope you all have a sparkling Holiday ..........we are all so fortunate to be part of this great country.......WAVE YOUR BANNERS HIGH!!!!!

Grande Old Flag Gathering 2013

WOW !!!!!!!  What a time we all had this year !!

The Grande Old Flag Gathering sponsered by Country Sampler in Spring Green , WI has just ended and I'm still on a soulful high.........it literally was six days of fun, lots of laughter, some tears, great food,lots of work, and most of all a celebration of what women can achieve when they put their minds together !!!

Jeanne and her shop girls worked tirelessly to give all who attended a truly wonderful experience.  Their attention to detail was unbelievable !!
 

The theme this year was the Civil War.........the two quilt teachers design civil war fabric and patterns, and I was thrilled to have a reason to research that period of history.

Above are the teachers.....Carol Hopkins, Me, Paula Barnes, and our host Jeanne Horton.

One of the evenings we spent painting our book boxes for one of my projects and enjoying old fashioned rootbeer floats and smore's.  For a while we all felt like little kids again !!

Here's Carol teaching one of her quilt projects......I never did get a picture of the quilt projects, but I'm sure if you check Jeanne's Blog on the Country Sampler website, she'll have them for you to see.

Here's the whole group....and what a fun group they were!!

Here are the two projects I taught......the sampler was dedicated to the travellers on the undergroung railroad ....and the othe was a little stitching book.

Just a few pictures of some of the food we shared.....this night was a Taste of Wisconsin........

.......and as you can see, even the deserts were artistically displayed.......almost too good to eat....but of course we did!!!

On Saturday our lunch was a lovely lunch of hot prime rib sandwiches with all the fixing and a final send off desert of red velvet cupcakes!!  Just too cute!!

 

 

We all shed a few tears  and a lot of hugs and vowed to see each other again next year.....I know we all left feeling we had made new friends and strengthened old bonds!!

 

WHAT A WEEK !!!

 

Where has the month gone????

Where has the month (and I mean May ) gone ???  Hate to admit it, but I know it's a sign of getting old.  It just seems that time is zooming by and as much as I try dragging my heels, it doesn't seem to help one bit !

We've been expanding our back deck and discovering that knees don't work as well as they used to .  John was just going to put new wood over the top of the old deck....... and I had to open my big mouth and say.......wouldn't it be nice to have it a little bigger ??  Before we knew it, the small project had turned into a hugh project and we were knee deep and sore kneed in the middle of it !!  We ended up having to rip off the entire old deck, add extra footing and foundation beams......which is no easy feat, since our back yard is a steep slope .......

Then the problem is how to remove the existing railing while he works on the addition........

John, of course, was up to that challenge.......he just built a make shift contraption out of his gorilla ladder, chain winch, a length of metal scaffold and a garbage can filled with water as a counter weight.  I think building that was his favorite part of the whole project!!!!

Hopefully next post will be of the finished project !!

In between getting kits made for the Grande Olde Flag Gathering for Country Sampler in Spring Green, WI........I've been working on another reproduction sampler....Janet Reid.....and wanted to share a little sneak peek.

It's all stitched in wool and has really been fun to work on .  I can't wait to introduce her to you......hopefully that will happen at the St Charles Market ....just in time for you to start some fall/winter stitching !!

Until next time........hope you all find time to take a stitch each day !!!

It's FINALLY Spring !!!!!

I think it's FINALLY Spring ........ HURRAH !!!  The Grosbeaks, Orioles, and Finches are all bombarding the feeders and as fast as I put out seed, oranges and grape jelly, it's gone.

Things got a little intense at one point yesterday, when a nosey grosbeak decided to introduce himself to the cats !!!!

Chessa, in particular, carried on quite an extended conversation, and was very put out that I wouldn't let her out on the deck to deal with the bird in person!!!

I've been busy working in the yard, getting all the flower beds cleaned out and adding new mulch before it gets too over grown and or hot!!!!  I love working in the garden this time of year, but as soon as it gets too hot I'm DONE!!!  This year, I actually got everything done before that happened, so now I can sit out on the front porch in the morning with my cappuccino and enjoy the view!!

I've also finished my two projects for the "Grand Olde Flag Gathering" at the Country Sampler in Spring Green, WI.  I know Jeanne has already put up pictures of the little stitch book, so I'm safe to post them here as well.   The last time we talked, she said she could still take a couple more students for the cross stitch portions of the gathering...so if any of you are interested, please contact her for the details.......www.sgcountrysampler.com.........

This project will be completed in class......and if you have time to do the prestitching, you will be able to go home with a totally finished piece!!!!

I'll also give you a sneak peek of the sampler that I just completed....not sure Jeanne wants the whole thing revealed yet, but maybe this will wet your appetite .........

And lastly, here are a few views of some much awaited flowers around the yard and in the woods.

Hope you all are enjoying the same beautiful weather and will find a few minutes to sit outside ....hopefully with stitching in hand......and enjoy the day !!!!!