Can Spring finally be here?????

  Today the sun is out and the snow is finally starting to melt.....I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this time Spring has decided to stay.
My poor daffodils don't know what to do!  Every time they pop their little heads out, we get hit with another snow storm!!

I'm packing up to teach for Stitchville USA at a wonderful conference center outside of Minneapolis, Mn. and am hoping the snow will be gone by the time I get there...fingers crossed!!!!!  I'll share all the details when I get back.

In the mean time I have to share my progress on "Lucy Redd"..............I've been wanting to stitch her for years and then last year when Jean Lea of Attic Needlework came up with a silk color palette for her....it sent me over the edge!!!

I just love the soft colors....it's actually soothing to stitch.

I've been enjoying discovering all the little idiosyncrasies within her sampler.........apparently she didn't mind going outside of the borders to fit in a word or two or add one above if she missed it in the verse........she has provided me with many giggles in our journey together thus far!!

I'm hoping once I finish the alphabet and three dividing bands, all done in Algerian eye, it should be smooth sailing because I'll be getting close to my favorite part.......houses!!!


Now for some fun news........I'm starting up another "Club".....
.........this time with one of my favorite shops.......Old Mill Stitchery in Liberty Mo.  We're calling it "Seasons of Chessie"
and it will consist of 4 designs within a year, starting in May 2013.  Here's a little peek at the first one.  If you're interested in joining , you can contact Old Mill Stitchery and they can give you all the details.......

..........I always love to stitch on designs that match the season and this club should offer you that same incentive.  And of course, "Chessie" will make an appearance in each design.
Hope some of you will join us for this seasonal journey!!  It should be fun.

Until next time....enjoy your Easter holiday and may you find time everyday to take a stitch!!!

Back from Market

I'm back from the Nashville Market and still riding high!!!!

We had a GREAT trip down, avoiding most of the snow, and finding some great new shopping spots along the way.

It's always wonderful to connect with all of the designers and shop owners we've become friends with over the years.  I pretty much keep my nose to the grindstone when I'm working on new designs, so it's always interesting to me to see what everyone else has come up with.....and this year seems to have been very prolific for a lot of us.  

Here's a peek and what my booth looked like.

Thanks so much to all of the shop owners who showed up and bought and bought and bought........your enthusiastic response to my designs really  keeps me going !!!!

Over all, I think this was the most positive show I've been to in a long while.....the shoppers were thrilled with all of the great new designs......... the designers were thrilled with the over the top responses of the shop owners.......who could ask for more???

As usual, the time went much too fast .....we ate well, drank well, laughed often and tried to catch up with as many people as we could and then it was time to pack up and head home.

We lucked out again and beat the storm home .  Tuesday morning when I got up this is what it looked like out our back window.

It's amazing to me that as soon as John fills the feeders.....the birds appear like magic !!!!

I was happy to spend the day unpacking the van and doing book work while watching the birds with Chessa and Brewster.  Of course, both cats were glued to the windows ,watching their every move and periodically making little throaty sounds at them.

Chessa did manage to take a little time out to snag a "rummage" in one of the boxes I was unpacking, but quickly returned to the birds as they were far more interesting!!!

Hope you all get out to your local needlework shops and find some treasures to take home .  There's some GREAT new stuff out there!!

          KEEP STITCHING!!!!!!!

Packed up !!!

Well....the charts are assembled, kits are made, the van is packed and we're ready to get on the road to the Nashville Market....now if the weather will just cooperate...we'll be great.

Have to share a picture of my hubby John, in his "car packing" outfit......TOO FUNNY!!....and for some reason, packing went smoother than it ever has!!

The babies have a new nap basket and of course, they both have to occupy it at the same time.  However, they seem to have figured out a compromise!!

Here's a sneak peek of my new "stuff".  They're all being released at Nashville....so if you like them...check with your local shops.

"Birds & Blooms"

"Cheerful Spring"

"Buzzing 'Round Ewe"

"Hand of Friendship" Sampler

"Grande Olde Flag"

"Liberty Inn"  

kit with linen and silk threads

More info and a peak inside our booth at Market when I get back.......til then, get your stitching fingers warmed up........there will be lots of new projects coming your way!!!!

Where did 2012 go ??

I mean REALLY......where did this year go?????  Spent the day trying to tone down the Christmas look into a more general winter look around the house...except for the above tree, which Chessa has taken possession of and it's just hitting me that tomorrow is the end of 2012 !!!!!  Yikes!!  I guess it's another special "perk" of growing old !!

Since we don't have kids, we always do the traveling for Christmas.  Here's John and I with Nick, Jenny, and Jonathan (3 of our 13 nieces and nephews) on Christmas Eve at my brother's house.  Spent the afternoon with them, then dinner with old friends and their family and then Christmas Day with John's sister and family......and in between talked to most of the out of state family members while traveling the "Wisconsin Christmas Circuit".  It was a hectic, but really fun two days!!!!

Woke up this morning to bright sun and a sparkling cover of frost on all the trees......the pictures don't do it justice, but trust me, it was truly SPECTACULAR!!!! 

Spent most of the day "simplifying " to a look that will get me through to Spring.

My favorite part is that I actually got my paper whites to bloom at the right time.......they just add such a fresh look to a room!!

 Every time I see them, they just makes me smile!!!!

And the entire time I've been changing things around, hauling stuff up and down two flights of stairs, my normally VERY curious kittens have been in the same spot and nearly the same position...as evidenced by the following pictures!!

These were honestly taken over the course of the day.

As this will be my last post of 2012......I'd like to thank you all again for your loving support and encouragement and wish you a very happy , healthy and Blessed New Year!

Finally, it's looking like Christmas!!

Last week, my BFF Jeanne and I made our annual trek in search of  "Christmas".......which entails a trip to Monches Farm (outside of the Milwaukee area) for fresh greens and other wonderful goodies.

Even without the snow, just walking about all the tables of outdoor gift ware and greens always puts us in the holiday mood.

There's always a lovely bonfire going where they sell Xmas trees , so we alternate between scooping up arm loads of treasures and warming our numb fingers.

This year I even got into a conversation with a rooster who felt free to make editorial comments on my purchase pile.

And FINALLY , yesterday it SNOWED!!!!!!

A view out into the back yard.............

the back deck.............

and out our bedroom windows (yes, I sometimes feel like we live in a tree house).  It was absolutely wonderful!!!!

Now I'm ready for the holidays!!!

Chessa spent the day watching the birds swoop in and out of the feeder and finally settled on a small piece of bunny fur in the laundry room .  It's positioned over the heat duct in the floor near the wood burning stove and is the warmest spot in the house.......of course!!

When I could finally tear my eyes away from the falling snowflakes, I did manage to pull out my Christmas projects and get some stitching accomplished .........ahhhh, yes, life is good!! 

Turkey Coma

I know Thanksgiving is officially over.....but I still wanted to add my 2 cents worth of thanks!!!!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday........lots of cooking, spending time with family, reflecting on the past year and the blessings it has brought, and just generally taking a "breath" and appreciating all we've been given before the "Christmas crazies" kick in !!!

We always have company for the rest of the weekend as well, so we get to stretch out the holiday as long as we can.......which is why that it's taken me until today to come out of my "turkey coma" !!!!!

As you can see, some of us are still in a "coma"......but at least they're snoozing on an appropriate pillow!!

I'd just like to take a moment to say thank you to all of you!!

  It's been a great year for "Chessie & Me" and I truly feel blessed by all of your support!!

Now, I must get back to working on new stuff for Nashville...hope to see a lot of you there.  I'll try to post some "peeks" along the way!!

Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgivings and were able to fit in a stitch or two in the process!

Last Retreat of the year

Soooooooo....... I just got back from teaching at my last retreat of the year.......and what a great way to end !!!!!!

I taught for Old Mill Stitchery in Liberty, MO again and it always feels like "going home" for me.  Mary and Barb invite me back every year and for the most part, the same wonderful group of ladies show up to share another class with me !!!!

We decided on a Christmas theme this year ...here's a peek at the two pieces I taught.  On Friday night we started with the smaller piece which could be used as a little pin keep or finished as an ornament.

Just had to share these serious stitchers with all their lights.  It looked like they were all stitching in a cave.

Two new gals from Colorado joined us this time...Judy and Theresa.......and they brought the project they've been jointly working on lately........."Ann Dale" from Shakespeare's Peddler......and we were all in awe of the progress they had made !!!!

Theresa's is on 36ct and she's stitching it in silk........

.........and Judy's is on 40ct using cotton floss.  Both are absolutely stunning !!!!!! 

Saturday , we worked on the main project...the larger sampler in the previous picture, and everyone seemed  to enjoy the piece.  

Everyone looks so serious.........which was hardly the case.......there was lots of teasing and telling tales on each other.....in between all the "stitching".

The next couple of pictures are of my favorite part....."show and tell".  

It's always so interesting to see what everyone is stitching and to see how they have finished them.  It  inspires me to see the amount of projects these ladies actually accomplish!!!!

We had a great, although much too short weekend...........lots of food , laughter, stitching and of course GREAT shopping!!!!!!  Mary and Barb always fill the shop with tempting treasures.  Can't wait till next fall !!

I've returned home with a renewed spirit and eager to start working on new projects!!!!  

Thanks again ladies, from the bottom of my heart, for your continued support, it really means the world to me!!!