Midnight Stitcher

Plans

2012-01-03T20:17:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!

Still no stitching to show. Way back at the beginning of November I injured a finger. After many bandages, antibiotic and tetanus shots and many weeks of healing it is much better than before. But strangely, it is still super sensitive. So sensitive in fact that it hurts to have 32 ct linen move across my finger. Holding the needle is very uncomfortable and as you can imagine, if I wear a band-aid while stitching the needle keeps slipping out of my fingers - very frustrating. I am grateful that my fingertip has feeling because the doctor wasn’t entirely sure how well that would heal. But this is a little too much.

So I have spent my allotted stitching time organizing my stash and surfing the internet for inspiration for when I go back to stitching. A little while ago Nora Corbett released Merchant Mermaid. As usual, some stitchers loved the mermaid in a commercial advertisement design and others hated it. But, like most photographs of stitched models, I think the photo on the front of the chart doesn’t do this design justice. Just looking at the material list tells me that she is just dripping with sparkle - she uses 9 different packages of beads from petite beads all the way up to pebble beads. In addition to all those beads she is decorated with a number of glass roses and amethyst crystals. Not to mention that she uses 5 skeins of beautiful overdyed silks from Caron Collection. How could she not be gorgeous?

Mirabilia Merchant Mermaid

I found Stitchitandie’s blog with her start on Merchant Mermaid and she really is beautiful. Please visit her blog for a better look. She is an incredible stitcher and her blog is just full of beautiful work and inspiration.

I am going to pull together the materials and do a floss toss and pick the perfect fabric. Hopefully I’ll be able to stitch soon and it will be all ready and waiting for me.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T16:15:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone celebrates safely and I wish for health and happiness for all in the coming year.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-28T18:13:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. It was great having my mother visiting for Christmas and we all had a great time.

Things are slowing down now and I hope to have time to sit and peacefully stitch this week.

Enjoy your holidays everyone.

No phone, no lights, no motorcars

2011-11-08T15:19:00.000-05:00

After a week without power, we finally have lights, heat, internet, phone and cable again. Since October 29 when we had a freak early nor'easter before the leaves fell from the trees, we haven't had power. And we've been lucky - twenty percent of the folks in our town still don't have power. The kids will finally go back to school tomorrow - but they have already had 8 snow days for this school year and it isn't even winter yet.

Unfortunately, I spent a good part of the week with a nasty cold - otherwise, there probably couldn't be better stitching time. Just before this whole hullbaloo Nora Corbett released her new mermaid - Merchant Mermaid. I know some people don't care for the new design but she has grown on me. I think maybe if the lower advertisement part were either bigger and more clearly in the advertising style or that the upper 'MILL Hill' were smaller so that the advertising portion could be completely removed, more people would be interested in her. The beads and treasures on her and the silk threads are exquisite. I plan to stitch her starting with the main part of the mermaid. I'll see how I feel about the emblem when I get there. In the meantime I'll keep an eye out for other Merchant Mermaid Works in Progress to see how I feel about her.

She really is beautiful.

Here's hoping that the rest of the folks still in the dark have there power restored today!

Happy Stitching.

What an artist can do with just six shades

2011-09-26T20:32:00.000-04:00

Isn't it amazing what an artist can do with just 3 shades of red and 3 shades of green? This is the Poppy Biscornu from Faby Reilly. It's actually really and easy and quick stitch but I haven't put much time into because I have some gift stitching to finish up. So really this is all I can show. I truly love the poppies in this design and I haven't even beaded or backstitched yet.

We're just starting to see some color in the leaves here. We've been warned not to expect too much red and orange this year due to all the "extra" rain from Hurricane Irene and the storms that came afterwards. While i hope the forecasters are wrong, it does look like a good number of leaves are just turning yellow and falling off the trees. Still, it hasn't gotten cold yet so maybe we'll get lucky.

Speaking of the forecasters, I've seen the squirrels running around with giant hickory nuts - some even bigger than the squirrel's head. I am thinking that this cannot be a good sign regarding winter. The squirrels always have a better handle on the season ahead and they seem to be busier than usual this fall. I better beef up my stash for those snow days at home. There's nothing like getting your cup of tea, your music and your project and finding that you're short one skein of silk or one package of beads and you won't be getting out or getting mail until you've shoveled out of the most recent snowstorm.

Here's to enjoying the warm weather this week and planning for the coming season. Happy Stitching everyone.

Cross stitch on a Pumpkin

2011-09-24T20:32:00.001-04:00

I came across this while surfing around yesterday - Cross Stitch on a Pumpkin from the StitchPunk blog.
Creative!

My Poppy Biscornu

2011-09-11T21:37:00.000-04:00

Here's an update on my Poppy Biscornu from Faby Reilly. I really like this design. The spiderweb roses came out nicely. Faby Reilly recently released some new designs - We'll get the Violet Biscornu and the Plum Orchid Needlebook up at NeedleartsGallery.com real soon. I just love these pieces.

Time to switch back to Moonlit Kitties or they won't be done in time for Halloween.

I know it isn't normal to get excited over fruit - but these pears are from our very own pear tree. This is the first year that the trees produced well. I knew I liked pears before - but pears from your very own pear tree are just soooo good. They won't win any beauty contests but they are mighty tasty.

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. The water here is receding. I wish we could send some of it (much of it) to places like Texas where it is so badly needed.

We saw many of the memorial services for 9/11 today both local and televised. I feel like I have spent most of the day in tears. My prayers still go out to all of the people who lost loved ones on that day and to the friends and families of those first responders who are suffering illness today as a result of their heroic actions on that day.

Back to Normal

2011-09-01T20:00:00.000-04:00

Phew! Back to normal. The kids went back to school this week - and only 1 day later than planned. Due to the visit from Hurricane Irene, a few schools were without power on the originally scheduled first day so it was postponed. Most people in town have had their power restored. We have been much luckier than so many other people affected by Irene. My prayers are with the folks who have lost so much from this hurricane.

I've been stitching away and kitting up even more stitching projects. The Halloween Collection book from Just CrossStitch has been out for a week or so now. It has some great designs from well-known designers.

My favorites so far include Knock Knock designed by Marie Driskell from Blackberry Lane Designs. It is the piece near the bottom of the cover picture stitched on the orange hand-dyed linen. You can't really see it in this picture, but there is a black cat inside the Jack O Lantern.

Another favorite is A Spirited Mandala designed by Tracy Horner from Ink Circles. This is a section of the design - I love the pumpkins, ghosts and spooky trees incorporated into the mandala.

And a must-stitch for me is the Penelope Pumpkin Witch design from Brooke Nolan of Brooke's Books.

I love the little broom made with Kreinik ribbon.

These will be fun to stitch.

Happy Stitching.

Poppies Poppies Poppies

2011-08-26T11:59:00.001-04:00

Hurricane preparations are complete. We have tons of tuna and chef boyardee, all the gas cans are filled, and we've got batteries. There was no bottled water to be had. We'll be brushing our teeth with seltzer if need be. The gas station ran out of gas - and the storm isn't supposed to be here for another 30-36 hours.

We pulled in all of the potted plants. I am thinking that we may have too many. But they had to come in because we don't want airborn tomatoes. I hope the lack of tomato plants will make the chipmunks pack up and go elsewhere.

We picked about 50 nearly ripe pears and nearly 50 nearly ripe apples. I'm not sure how they would have fared if we left them out in the storm but I couldn't bear to lose all of them. I think the pears were close enough to ripe that they'll soften up somewhat and if they aren't sweet enough, we'll poach them. The apples aren't as sweet as we would like but they should be good for pectin.

I needed a break from stitching on paper. I didn't realize that I missed stitching on linen so I started this little project. I'll go back to Moonlit Kitties in a bit.

This is my start on Poppy Biscornu from Faby Reilly. These designs are beautiful. We'll be adding more to the Needlearts Gallery website next week. I have not been able to find the little poppy button in the center of the biscornu model, but I would bet that I can make it with FIMO clay. I'll have to look for a good color match and give that a try. Here is what it should look like when it is complete.

Happy Stitching. Stay safe.

Ready for Beads

2011-08-09T23:01:00.000-04:00

So, I think my Moonlit Kitties is ready for beading. The stitching took a little longer than I expected. It's hard to see, but there is a good amount of blue stitching on the blue background which isn't difficult - I just didn't realize it was there when I looked at the photo of the model.

Moonlit Kitties Buttoned and Beaded kit from Mill Hill

It is finally raining here (without hail or tornado warnings) and cooling off. Tomorrow the boys and I will brave the giant weeds that have grown up near the tomatoes in the garden and have at them.

I hope cooler weather is in store for the countless folks who have been dealing with 100 degree days for weeks now.

Look! It's Hogwarts!

2011-08-08T18:13:00.000-04:00

It has been a big Lego summer at our house (and beyond). Both of my boys went to camps with Legos this year. My younger boy built Bash 'em Bots with Lego Technics while my older boy built a whole list of robots with Mindstorms. They both had a great time and it seems to have re-kindled an interest in their Legos. So, without further ado - Hogwarts.

It probably needs more mist and fog but it's hard to find that around here lately.

The Great Hall still needs building and that will probably happen on the next nasty hot day - likely tomorrow.

Stitching pics tomorrow.

Stay Cool as best you can!

A Little More Progress

2011-08-01T22:42:00.000-04:00

Here's a little more progress on Moonlit Kitties. I really like how easy it is to stitch on the perforated paper - especially if you need to grab your work and go. It has been really convenient - although I guess that will stop when I get to the beading. Otherwise, I envision tiny little beads all over the car.

While sorting through some charts today I found some Brooke's Books charts for Fauna the Fairy Witch, Trixie the Halloween Witch and Polly the Pirate Witch. I found an even older Gwendolyn the Great chart as well. I think I'll start on one of these next. They're all really cute though I'm leaning towards Fauna or Gwendolyn.

Kitties and a bunny

2011-07-27T22:21:00.000-04:00

I've finished the Garden Bunny Buttoned & Beaded piece stitched by my friend, Phyllis.

Once the piece is stitched, you have cut it out from the perforated paper square. I always dread this part. I am one of those people who tends to hold my breath when I'm cutting something. If there is a lot of cutting involved, this can lead to some serious light-headedness. I just have this feeling that I can really damage something when I cut it. It's not like stitching with the wrong floss where I can just frog my stitches. Cutting the paper - and even worse, a thread - is way more permanent than making a few stitches. You should see me working on a hardanger piece. At least I don't turn blue-ish any more once I learned that you can weave in threads if you make a mistake. But, it is still nerve wracking. Using a serger is likely to kill me. Sewing and cutting the fabric at the same time!

So, all that being said, I find that it is easier to cut while looking at the back of the piece. The distraction of beads and buttons is not on the back of the piece. I have also tried cutting the paper on my own pieces after the stitching is done but before the beading. It worked well on the pieces I have done, but I can see how it might make the beading tougher on some pieces where it would be nice to have a little extra material to hold on to.

Garden Bunny after going through the Xyron

The new cartridge for my Xyron finally arrived and I was able to get the back of the stitching good and sticky and apply the light blue felt. I stitched right through the felt to attach the little bowtie. Then I added a magnet to the back rather than the pin backing that comes with the kit. I think a lot of people are more likely to use these little pieces as magnets than as pins. Isn't he cute?

Garden Bunny all done

It's been a busy week so I've made only a little progress on Moonlit Kitties. Now there's a moon to go with my spectral kitties.

Moonlit Kitties

Still need to squint

2011-07-20T16:26:00.000-04:00

You still need to squint to see the cats, but I've made some progress on the moon.

I like this design. It reminds me of cool fall nights (or the cool full moon with clouds floating by that we saw after the Harry Potter movie this weekend). Given how hot it is here now, those cool fall nights are looking pretty good.

This Moonlit Kitties kit and a whole bunch more are available at NeedleartsGallery.com

You have to see this! Cross stitch iPhone case

2011-07-16T11:32:00.000-04:00

I just had to pass this along. It's a cross stitch iPhone case - the back is much like plastic canvas so you can personalize your iPhone case. They refer to it as the iPhone 4G case so I am pretty confident that it won't work with the older iPhones, but someone out there can probably figure out a way to make one that works with other phones. It does come in other colors besides pink.

If you squint...

2011-07-14T16:43:00.001-04:00

If you squint, you can just about make out my two Moonlit Kitties. This is another Buttoned & Beaded kit from Mill Hill. There are a lot of beads in this design so the image won't look complete until the beads are added but it is coming along nicely. I love how easy it is to stitch these designs - stitching on the perforated paper doesn't require a hoop and it is easy to pick up and stitch a couple lengths whenever I get a few minutes. I have the navy blue frame ready and waiting for this when the stitching is done.

Here is what the piece will look like when it's complete. You can see more of the Buttoned & Beaded designs at NeedleartsGallery.com.

Yep - another rabbit

2011-07-12T18:25:00.001-04:00

This time the rabbit is French Country Rabbit from JBW Designs. This is also stitched by my friend, Phyllis. I'll get this one finished off as well. We have to work out whether it will be a pillow or an ornament. Either way, it will have some nice coordinating dark red fabric as a backing and some cording or trim of some kind.

Isn't he cute!

Happy Stitching

Lots of bunnies this year

2011-07-10T18:24:00.000-04:00

This is a Mill Hill Buttoned and Beaded kit stitched by my friend, Phyllis. Phyllis is one of those incredible people who manage to work during the day, raise a family, remain active in community activities, and pursue incredible crafting projects. She crochets at incredible speed and produces the most wonderful blankets, shawls and other adorable items as well.

She stitched up this little bunny this past Spring and I will get it finished for her as a magnet. He just needs his little bowtie and then I'll put him through the Xyron, attach a nice felt backing and a magnet rather than the pin backing.

It looks like Phyllis's son has shown some interest in some small stitching projects as well. They are from a very musical family so I think I'll send over one of this year's Mill Hill releases - Music from the 2011 Autumn series of Seasonal Ornaments.

Happy Stitching! Stay cool.

Rain - and lots of it!

2011-05-17T13:23:00.000-04:00

It is raining. It has been raining on and off since Sunday. That isn't so remarkable. The remarkable part is that it is supposed to keep raining for another 5 days. And when it rains - it doesn't joke around. It comes down in buckets. And it still hasn't warmed up. I guess it's a good thing that I didn't get the pea seeds into the ground last weekend. I think they would have rotted.

I have a photo of my son's Brandywine tomato plant. He wants to document it's life and how much it produces over the course of the summer. So far so good. Not a great picture - remember it's raining outside. But we do what we can.

From Garden

Plants don't smile but this one looks pretty happy - especially compared with some of our indoor seed-starting efforts in past years.

The rain this week is discouraging mostly because we had great plans to be outdoors building raised beds. At this point the kids are trying to figure out a way to still plant the seedlings this weekend in high hills and then build the walls of the raised beds around them.

On the stitching front, I hope to do some more work on Mirabilia's Fairy Idyll today. Maybe not on Mr. Rabbit, maybe some more dress sections. I also need to start Poppy from the Pixie Couture collections for a little girl's birthday coming up. And - I really want to stitch the fruits from Samsarah designs for myself. They're really cute.

April 22 came and went

2011-05-12T10:37:00.000-04:00

April 22 came and went and Mr. Rabbit still isn't done. I did make progress but not as much as I'd hoped. And due to a whole bunch of goings-on, I haven't picked him up since Easter. Hopefully, things will start to calm down soon and I can get some stitching done.

From Midnight Stitcher

Even baseball isn't conducive to stitching this year. We have so many games that we aren't having practices and the games are actually interesting and fun to watch - so no stitching then either. There has been at least 2 fields trips a week between the two kids since the middle of April. Plus, we're dealing with broken bones (not my own) and a terrible accident involving local teens. It has been hard to focus on something like my stitching. (I am so ready for summer vacation.)

So, not that I've been able to work on it, but I did finally choose a piece to work on during baseball season. It is a nice small piece and I chose it in honor of the baby birds who took up residence by our front door. A nest appeared there in April and the little birds spent their days flying to and fro and working on their nest. Then we noticed that the little female bird didn't leave during the day. Aha! There must be eggs! She stayed there for days - almost two weeks. Then, one morning I checked and I didn't see her head (the nest is up high so I can't look down into the nest). A few minutes later, the male came swooping in and bunch of little beaks popped up. It was so fascinating to watch them that even when the school bus came and went, no one moved. It was also amazing how quickly they grew (and what a mess they can make). From the time that they hatched until they flew away earlier this week was only about 3 weeks. Our little bird neighbors were a type of finch rather than chickadee, but I chose to start on Chickadee - a Little Friends design from Valerie Pfeiffer. It's really cute and I should be able to finish before school's out.

Our seeds have all sprouted and are coming along nicely. The garden itself is a wreck. We've been invaded by mugwort which has been impossible for us to control. And, somehow over the winter, an ornamental strawberry seems to have spread over a large portion of the garden. Their bright pink flowers are really showy and pretty, but they're hanging out where the tomatoes are supposed to be. But the asparagus is wonderful and the rhubarb is on the menu for Friday night. The peach, pear, apple and cherry trees are in full bloom and overall it is just gorgeous!

So, it's too bad about Mr. Rabbit, but I won't put Fairy Idyll away this time. I think I have a little girl in mind who will really love it when it's finished. So there's a little incentive to keep going.

Prayers for those being affected by the historic flooding along the Mississippi and its tributaries. For the rest of you, enjoy the sights and sounds of Spring!

School Vacation and ...

2011-04-20T10:11:00.000-04:00

Rain. I am guessing that in June when it's 95 degrees and we're sweltering through a little league game this week might look more appealing. But right now it just looks soggy and chilly.

I haven't made much more progress on the rabbit in Fairy Idyll but I do have plans to work on him today - a lot. Easter will be here in just a few days and I would really like to have him done.

We did spend yesterday planting seeds and a few plants. The soil is still really cold but some things have started poking through the ground. The daffodils are already up but even some perennials are showing signs of life. I have a terribly invasive "weed" that has already started spreading even further. I know some people intentionally grow mugwort but I am open to any suggestions as to how to get rid of it. Even the family of rabbits that were out in the garden yesterday haven't kept up with it.

So far this spring we have planted parsley, tomato seeds, pepper seeds, eggplant seeds and potatoes. We have big plans for the garden this year and we were so looking forward to working out there this week. Instead we're inside testing just how important it is for the soil to be warm for a seed to germinate, what happens if the soil is too dry or too wet, and do the seeds need lights over them to germinate (some do, some don't). And, we are very impatiently checking each day for signs of asparagus.

Thanks for visiting.

Good stitching weekend

2011-04-11T13:24:00.000-04:00

It was a good relaxing weekend and I had a fair bit of time for stitching. The rabbit on Mirabilia's Fairy Idyll is still coming along. Now he has part of his belly and most of the gold ornament in his hands. I think I'll work on some of the green garland that he's holding just for some variety.

After stitching that gold ornament for a while, I remembered how awkward it is to stitch with #8 braid on 32 count linen. I guess I'm used to stitching with #4 braid instead. If I hadn't already started with the #8 braid, I would have used #4. Since the fatter braid is well, fat, and the metallic in it is abrasive, I don't want to frog it. I'm afraid it would really damage the linen. Note for next time: Use #4 braid on 32 count linen.

For Christina who asked if this is the chart that was discontinued by Mirabilia - This chart is still available. We sell it at NeedleartsGallery.com if you are interested. I think the chart that you mentioned or were thinking of might be Seaside Kingdom that had a boy and a girl building a sand castle. That chart has been discontinued which is very sad. It was a beautiful design and one of only a few with a boy in it.

Thanks for visiting.

Slowly but Surely

2011-04-08T15:45:00.000-04:00

Well, little league baseball has started in earnest now. Fairy Idyll is really a bit large to take with me and stitch while waiting during practices. I still want to finish the rabbit before Easter - and with school vacation coming up I should be able to do that.

I do need to pick a new project to work on during practices. Something that isn't too big and doesn't required beading as you go. It is way too difficult to manage the beads while sitting behind the steering wheel. Beading at home after the regular stitching would be ok. And, it really can't be a huge project. Last year I did the Boo! Club from Lizzie Kate and that worked out well (It seems I never posted those photos - put it on the To-do list). I'm considering Christmas Rules from Lizzie Kate or maybe Keys to the Kingdom from Rosewood Manor. I also want to stitch Poppy Pixie Couture from Nora Corbett. Hopefully I can pick one this weekend.

Here's my Mr. Rabbit as he stands today. The parts of the fairy that are complete were stitched some time ago.

Thanks for visiting!

A Little Progress

2011-03-15T12:58:00.000-04:00

I've made a little progress - very little - on Mr. Rabbit. I've had a sick kid home with me for nearly a week now. It's hard to stitch with a little boy (not so little) on your lap. I did get to see lots of Phineas & Ferb episodes though.

Here's where we were this morning.

From Midnight Stitcher

Slowly - very slowly - but surely. I better hurry up though. The snow is melting and I know I'll be outside as soon as I can work in the dirt. Then there will be no hope for Mr. Rabbit until it rains.

Mr. Rabbit

2011-03-10T13:31:00.000-05:00

So, here I am again. It's been a long time.

I am working through my UFO's and my current focus is Fairy Idyll. I do really love this piece. I think I keep getting hung up on the fact that I have no idea what I will do with it when I finish stitching it. I don't have any little girls around - which is a pity because this would be perfect in a little girl's room.

My goal is to have all of Mr. Rabbit in this piece done by Easter. I figure if I post it here I'll feel a little more accountable. And if I meet my goal, I'll be on a roll and will want to keep going.

So, without further ado - Here is Mr. Rabbit. - Yes, he's very small so far.

From Midnight Stitcher

Organizing cubes

2009-09-22T14:09:00.004-04:00

Here are pics of my huge work area constructed from the cubes meant to organize scrapbooking materials. These are the cubes that you can get at Michael's and I think I have even seen them at Target. They are made by a company called Jetmax.

So far (it has only been a week) I love these. The finish is really durable. The kids' glitter glue came off easily and the finish didn't mar when I accidentally dropped one cube on top of another.

There are only a couple of drawbacks so far and they really are very minor. The first one is that they aren't really "cubes". If they were cubes, they would be the same size on each side - but they aren't. That is really only an issue if you try to arrange a large table like I did and different cubes are facing different directions - eventually, the sides won't match up.

The only other challenge I had with them is that the back side of the cube is not MDF like the other sides - it is much thinner board. Since the backs are thinner, you cannot attach the desktops to the backs of cubes, only to the sides. So, as you can see, I had to fill the center of my table with more cubes instead of just using desktops. On the other hand, now we have even more storage.

These pics were taken before I shimmed the all the cubes to make a nice level tabletop. As you can see, the kids started moving in their stuff right away.

Stitching pics next time! Thanks for stopping by.

The best laid plans

2009-09-15T14:19:00.002-04:00

I never actually said the words "I'm on the wagon" but I kind of kept it in the back of my head that I have more stuff than I can possibly use in my lifetime - but even worse, I have run out of space to put it all. So, I have really been pretty good for the last 7 or 8 months. I have tried not to purchase anything if I didn't already have a place for it - storage-wise. I even spent weeks this summer cleaning out and organizing my pantries and linen closets. The shelves are even labeled to prevent anyone (mostly me) from stashing something else in a temporarily open spot.

Over 12 weeks or so I have been purchasing those modular storage cubes from Michael's so that I could build a big desk/storage area and get back the cabinets that were being used for the kids' arts and crafts materials for the last 10 years. (It takes a long time if you keep waiting for the coupons). Anyway, it is done! The kids now have a huge (56" square) area for their projects, puzzles, whatever plus a ton of storage space. And I got two kitchen cabinets back. That's when things went downhill.

See, I figured I had new space to fill - because you certainly can't have empty cabinets. So off I went enhancing stash and getting lots of cool little tools. Now - of course I don't keep my stitching stuff in the kitchen, so I had to kind of rotate stuff from other places. Wouldn't you know it! Once I moved all the placemats, tablecloths, and other kitchen-y thing from their various places all over the house into the newly-freed kitchen cabinets, there really wasn't any space freed up anywhere else in house! How can that be? Boy did I mess this one up.

Now I think I need to stitch a few extra hours in the day to free up some stash space. I wonder how that idea will go over with the family.

Anyway, I do love the cubes from Michael's. One cube came without the required hardware and their customer service sent it out to me. I had it in 3 days. None of the cubes came with any chips or dents and they were all easy to put together.

I did get some stitching done - but not a lot. I do plan to have the Boo! Club finished this week.

And a little more...

Thanks for visiting!

Unofficially Fall

2009-09-08T15:54:00.005-04:00

I hope everyone had a pleasant, safe Labor Day weekend. I think nearly everyone in the U.S. is back to school now. The local private schools started today. Most of the public schools around here started last week - a few even started the week before last. The leaves are already beginning to change, the pick-your-own apple orchards were all busy this weekend - and its only going to go up to 68F by Thursday. Its un-officially fall.

We had a relatively laid back Labor Day weekend. The kids have been in school for 4 days and already one of them was sick. I guess he picks things up quickly! I hope that applies to everything else at school as well. So, the kids and I stayed home for the weekend.

I did get some stitching done - but I also had to do quite a bit of frogging. Complete lack of focus. Hopefully, I'll get my act together again soon. I really like the Crescent Colours floss.

Here's one of the last hurrahs from my garden. I believe this is Champagne Elegance - a reblooming iris. This is the first time it has ever bloomed even though I have had it for 4 years. I'm not sure I love it - but this year I am happy to see anything doing well in the garden. It definitely seemed like the summer that wasn't.

It sure feels like Fall

2009-09-02T21:32:00.002-04:00

It really does feel like fall. The temps have been in the 70s during the day. It was actually 49F at night this week. The kids are lucky - they started school this week with perfect weather. Given how chilly the first part of summer was, we were worried that everything would start to average out now and it would get really hot for the end of summer. Instead, it feels more like October except that the leaves haven't changed yet.

With the kids back in school I thought I would have all this extra time on my hands. Instead, I seem to have jumped headlong into the various projects that I had hoped to get done over the summer but didn't. I think I'll have the basement all cleaned up and organized and well-lit just in time to drag out all of the Christmas decorations and make a general mess of it again. Then there's the huge box of daffodil bulbs that will arrive here early next week. I forgot I even ordered those until the shipping email came. Then there's the conversion of the "living room" (really just another room to dust) to the kids' work/play room. That's my current project. And I can't wait until its done.

I've been falling asleep too early at night to get much stitching done. I did finish the "Black Cat" design on my Boo! Club piece. Hopefully I'll get some stitching time tomorrow.

Have you seen the new Victoria Sampler house?

2009-08-30T21:25:00.002-04:00

Have you seen this new Gingerbread Stitching House from Victoria Sampler? Plus - there's a coordinating scissor pocket design that will be in the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments issue.
This is definitely on my list of must haves. Of course, I stitch so slowly that I wouldn't have it done for this Christmas - but I could have parts of it done. Even just the scissor pocket for the JCS Ornament issue is adorable.

Merry Christmas to me!

Jordan (Julia) all done!

2009-08-29T14:45:00.003-04:00

I finished the finish work for Jordan (which is actually a gift for Julia - so I call her Julia). I finished it as a journal cover. It covers the journal book just like the bookcovers that we had made back in school only without the grocery bag or scotch tape.

I took these pics with the cover on a different book so I could press it without melting anything important. This project definitely made me appreciate having a great iron and a great little detail iron. On the real journal, the cover fits more snugly and everything blocks out a little better.

This is a pic of the journal cover open before sliding it on to the book.

This is the cover on the "pressing book". So, off I go to press it off one last time and then get it wrapped up for the birthday party (nothing like finishing at the last minute).

Thanks for visiting.

Summer Project for Halloween

2009-08-28T20:56:00.002-04:00

This is my summer project for Halloween. If I get it finished quickly, I should have just enough time for a small Autumn project for Halloween. I've been eyeing some designs from the Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue from last year that I never quite got around to. Actually, I really love the new Sleepy Hollow design from Glendon Place - but that's not my idea of a small Halloween design.

This is the Boo! Club series from Lizzie Kate. Each design seems easy to stitch. Once I have them all stitched, I'll finish them into a banner.

Tonight I need to finish up the finish work on my Letter J. I'll be making a journal cover and using the Letter J on the front of it. The stitching is all blocked and stabilized and has its border applied. The rest should go pretty quickly. Pics tomorrow.

Thanks for visiting!

I'm back!

2009-08-24T17:35:00.000-04:00

Hello out there! I'm back. I feel like I temporarily fell off the face of the earth. Climbing back on has been a lot of work (I suppose its good exercise though - or character-building, or something.)

In the last few months I have been to countless Little League games, practices, fund-raisers and other baseball-related activities. I have driven to and from various camps on countless days. And I have stitched.

Also, I have worked on the website (no, don't rush over there - you can't see the changes yet). I've been working on new navigation, new color scheme, and just overall update. I'll be making those changes live in just a few weeks. Be sure to stop by when they go live - I'd love to hear your feedback and there will be a celebratory sale as well!

I have also started a blog entirely dedicated to the New and Newsworthy at Needlearts Gallery. It will be updated with some of our most popular new releases. Be sure to stop by or subscribe in your RSS reader -

Subscribe to News at Needlearts Gallery

As far as my stitching goes - you know what they say about the best laid plans ...

Hopefully, I'll have my Halloween project stitching completed in the next week so I can get it finished. I've already purchased the fabric for the backing, I just need to finish the stitching.

First, I need to finish a birthday present before this weekend. The stitching is finished, I just need to get into the finicky, thread-counting part of the finishing, and then the rest of it should go pretty quickly.

I don't remember taking the picture at such an extreme angle - but apparently I did.

So welcome to my stitching blog. Thanks for visiting!

P is for Princess

2009-03-05T15:10:00.002-05:00

Isn't this design adorable. I think it would be perfect in a little girl's room. Maybe in a box top or a little pillow. Of course I have little boys. Actually I have one little boy and one medium-sized boy.

This design is P is for Princess from The Sweetheart Tree. It is the most recent design in the French alphabet series. I was thinking of a young-boy inspired French Alphabet - can you picture D is for Dragon and B is for Baseball done in this style? It would be interesting.

P is for Princess from The Sweetheart Tree

The best part of these designs (besides being adorable) is that they come in a kit. The kit includes everything you need except for a hoop or frame AND the materials are quality materials - DMC floss, Summer Khaki Cashel linen - not the inferior materials that you get in some kits. AND the kit comes in a little clear plastic box which is so handy. The box holds everything so you can just drop it in a bag making it the perfect little travel project - especially since this design doesn't really have too many beads. I stitched Blackberry Jam a couple of years ago which came in the the same box and now I use the box for a travel sewing kit. I have wished for more of those boxes at least a dozen times for all sorts of purposes.

I think I'll stitch this when I finish Letter J. It looks like it will be a quick stitch.

Happy stitching everyone!

More Jordan

2009-03-03T14:55:00.000-05:00

Letter J - Jordan - from Nora Corbett. We had a pretty good snow day yesterday - hopefully the last one for this winter. We got lots of snow but it should melt pretty quickly with the sun being higher in the sky. I did get a bit of stitching done on letter J. I wish I could figure a way to show all the sparkle on this. There are a lot of beads!

J - Letters from Nora

Keep looking for signs of Spring!

A little glass and a little thread

2009-03-01T18:06:00.000-05:00

Isn't it amazing what a huge difference just a little thread and a little glass can make? I did some backstitching and some beading on Letter J. It was really very little stitching and beading yet it made such a huge difference.

I've been working on lots of finishing for customers for the last week. I just love finishing pieces for other people. So many times I don't finish my own pieces because I am tired of looking at them by the time the stitching is done. Finishing other people's stitching gives me a chance to look at a piece from a new perspective and frequently I get to finish pieces that I wouldn't have chosen to stitch myself which makes it even more fun.

Looks like we're getting a ton of snow tonight which means no school tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have time to stitch some more on Letter J and Boo! Club.

Happy Snow Day folks!

February Vacation

2009-02-22T12:43:00.002-05:00

It's been a vacation week. Kids at home. Day trips. Play dates. Not a whole lot of stitching.

I did get a little bit of Letter J done. She's a joy to work on and an easy stitch - I just haven't been able to dedicate any time to her. I stitched even less on the Boo! Club. Hopefully I'll have something recognizable to show this week.

Then Shepherd's Bush released Scatter Luck - I just have to get this one and get it stitched by St. Patty's Day. Preferably this St. Patty's Day.

Fairy Toes

2009-02-11T16:22:00.003-05:00

J - Letters from Nora

Yes, those are fairy toes - and fairy knees too. And those fairy toes and knees are stitting on the swirly part of the letter 'J'. This is coming along nicely. I like the colors more than I expected and I really like stitching with the Crescent Colours. The other nice thing is that this piece is relatively small - it should just fit in my 8" Q-Snaps so I can even bead as I go. Now I'm looking forward to the other letters even more.

So much stuff!

2009-02-09T13:57:00.006-05:00

I'm back - finally. I feel like I have been held hostage by an overzealous internet security package that wouldn't let me post to countless blogs, read most of my RSS feeds or even visit countless completely "safe" sites. I've learned my lesson and I will be sticking with my tried and true software.

So, in the past month, I've had lots to say and no one to say it to so I'll try to catch up in the next few weeks. Plus, this past weekend was the Nashville Needlework show so there are tons of new releases to drool over.

Here's an update on my January project. This is Dizzy Busy Bees from The Sweetheart Tree. It was (at first) a quick stitch. But then, I miscounted and had to frog an entire bee skep. Then, I finished up all except the charm in the center. I had already decided to finish it as a needlebook. But then I received these wonderful counting pins - from DebBee's. I love the colors and I had been wanting a set of counting pins for months. So I decided that my needlebook would instead be a home for my counting pins. I took my stitching with me to the quilting shop to choose some fabrics and somehow during that trip, I decided that I didn't care for the red beads. So, out came the red beads. I still need to replace them - possibly with honey colored beads. Then, I must have been in a perfectionist mood, and I couldn't find the perfect fabrics. So this dragged on for a couple of weeks. I now have the perfect fabric and I'll be testing a few bead colors today. Hopefully, I get this finished in the next couple of days so I have a home for my counting pins.

Right now, my counting pins are getting lots of use. I have started Lizzie Kate's Boo Club and I plan to start the Living with Charm series and the Christmas Spirit with Charm series as well. The counting pins are coming in handy with that border.

I also have Nora Corbett's Letter J started from her Letters from Nora series. Unfortunately, I don't absolutely love either the letter J or the letter K (for myself), but that may be for the best. I may have to push myself a little more to finish up the letter J (for a gift) but at least I won't be tempted to do the letter K for myself. My boys have told me that I'm a little too old to have fairies in my room anyway. I really hope that the letter M knocks my socks off when it comes out because I'll be stitching it twice! (also for gifts)

As far as Nashville goes - I was unable to attend due to a family emergency, but I am still drooling over a number of new releases. I am in the process of adding them to the website, but here a few of the notable releases:
From Sue Hillis designs:

Stitchers Days of Christmas - really cute.

Harvest Gourds is one of a bunch of new Autumn designs from Glendon Place

http://stores.needleartsgallery.com/-strse-5722/Harvest-Gourds/Detail.bok

There are also some beautiful new designs from Just Nan, a new monthly series from Brittercup Designs, some great designs for stitcher's tools from Cat's Whiskers, a traveling stitcher's pocket from Little House Needleworks, and some fabulous new designs from Jeannette Douglas. These will all be up on the website in the next few days. Also, we are delighted to be carrying Seba Designs and Giulia Punti Antichi designs. The Seba designs are already on our website and the GPA Designs will be added this week.

So much to stitch - so little time!

Organization

2009-01-12T08:59:00.002-05:00

Since it is January, and we've had lots of indoor time, we (mostly I) have been organizing the house. It started with organizing all of the Christmas decorations - then the toys (just so we could put away the new ones from Christmas) then it spread. The laundry room, the pantries, the linen closets. My family is praying for a thaw so that there is an excuse to spend the weekend outside instead of organizing something. They're worried that "organizing" might last all the way to "Spring cleaning".

My evening organizing has been stitching. I have found tons of charts that I purchased more than ten years ago. I absolutely love some of these. I'm really bummed that quite of few of the designers of these charts stopped designing needlework years ago.

I love this one. It is called Lunar Harvest from Danelle Marie Classics. The copyright is 1992. I can't even find more information on this designer. The stars are stitched with metallic blending filaments and braids. I'll be starting this design this month. It is stitched on Navy fabric, so it will be good practice for the dragon I plan to stitch on black fabric this summer.

I did start a quick little piece yesterday. This is a Teenie Tweenie from The Sweetheart Tree - Dizzy Busy Bees. If I had stitched it on a larger count fabric, it would have been larger and I probably could have made a nice biscornu from it. As it is, it will probably be a needlebook. Its really cute and is stitching up really fast.

Thanks for stopping by!

End of 2008 stitching

2009-01-03T14:49:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone's holidays are progressing wonderfully.

I, for one, am happy to have some stitching time again - especially since I received some wonderful new stash for Christmas. I got a wonderful Permin chart called "Garden Tools". This chart has been discontinued and I have been looking for it for months. I can't wait to start on it. I also received the finishing instructions from Judy Odell for the Designing Ladies 2006 Stitching Leporello project. Now I just have to decide which design to stitch to finish into my leporello. I also received the finishing instructions for The Ultimated Needlebook, also from Judy Odell.

Here is one more heart that I finished for a gift for Christmas. This is another design from Christmas in My Heart from Cross n Patch.

I did finish some other pieces just before Christmas that were (and still are) intended for gifts. Unfortunately, due to some nasty winter weather, my get-together with the intended recipients had to be postponed. Hopefully we'll see each other soon. I'll post pics when my friends have received their goodies.

As part of the new year review, I've been looking through my various "stitched but not finished" pieces as well as my WIPs and my "I really want to stitch these designs" drawers. In my stitched but not finished piles I have Emerald Dragonfly from Nora Corbett, Christmas Biscornu from Just Nan and Rosebuds and Hardanger from The Sweetheart Tree. I'll have to think about those. In my WIP pile I have Indian Summer Reflections from Martina Weber, Fairy Idyll from Mirabilia, a couple of Celtic Knotwork designs from Teresa Wentzler, one of the Cherub freebies from Mirabilia Designs, and Witch Way from Just Nan.

Then there are the designs that I really want to start - Garden Stars or Sea Stars from Ink Circles (I can't even decide which), Barnabee's Quest from Just Nan, Mermaids of the Deep Blue or Mermaid of Atlantis (probably Mermaid of Atlantis) from Mirabilia, and, from Lizzie Kate, Christmas Double Flips and the Boo! club Double Flips. That's just the list of designs that have already been released are are in my stash (except for the Boo Club). There are always more wonderful designs released during the year that are completely unexpected as well as the ones that I am impatiently awaiting - like letters J, K and M in the Letters from Nora series. Plus, there are those designs that I've seen before but haven't jumped out at me - and then I see them all stitched up somewhere I just have to have them.

I'll have to think about my PLAN for the year. I've never been good at rotation stitching, but since all of these projects are large, I may give it a go again this year. I am taking pics of all of my WIPs this afternoon and hopefully I'll be able to see progress on all them in short order.

Happy Stitching everyone!

Happy New Year

2009-01-03T14:23:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! Here's hoping for a new and prosperous new year for all of us.

As part of the new year goal setting process, I have my look back to last year's goals and the look forward for the coming year. Last year wasn't too bad as far as goals go - of course, I didn't explicitly set too many. Some expectations may have been a little too high (what made me think I could get everything in the house cleaned, repainted, updated and redecorated as well as work out and do the grocery shopping all while my son was in half-day kindergarten?). Some expectations may have been a little too low (we should have taken long family vacations much sooner - we were all able to handle it and enjoy it).

Reading the year-in-review from some famous stitching bloggers, I have incorporated some of their successes into my goals for the year. For instance, I recognize that I have lost the "pep in my step" as I have gained pounds. My first goal is to adjust my lifestyle to incorporate healthier habits. Hopefully, in the process, I will lose 10 of the pounds that I have found in the last five years by June. More importantly, I hope to have more energy and feel better about myself and the world around me.

Another goal is to be even more involved in the education process for my children. We started off with lots of ambition and activities and they dwindled as the year progressed. My plan is to really cultivate their observation skills and to promote more contemplation of the world around them.

I, myself, plan to read more - more often and greater variety. I need to incorporate a greater variety of opinions, genre and topics into my everyday life.

I need to remember to enjoy every single day. I need to revel in the wonder of small children. I need to regain their excitement about the world around them.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all behaved like 5 year olds? Do you remember when a box of crayons, some construction paper, glue and a bunch of old buttons, pom poms, macaroni or glitter would have kept you happily occupied for hours? Do you remember really concentrating on the snowflakes falling outside your window? When is the last time you were interested by moving around the magnets on your refrigerator for an entire hour? Have you really watched ants go about their business? (I have boys) How about the birds outside your window? Or even the people outside your window? Can you be perfectly content, if not thrilled, with a bowl of mac n cheese (from a box, of course) and a clementine to carry you through the afternoon? Can you happily read the same book for twentieth time and just be wonderfully comfortable with that repetition? I have all of these things on my list of possible activities this year - and I am looking forward to all of them.

Ornament from Ulla

2008-12-30T17:17:00.003-05:00

Just in time to hang on my Christmas tree, I received this wonderful ornament exchange from Ulla. The ornament is beautiful and I love all the goodies as well - especially the little stocking buttons. Thank you so much!

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays.

We are have pretty much recovered from all of the Christmas excitement - all of the wrapping, unwrapping, hugging and kissing relatives that we only see a couple of times each year, eating, playing in all the snow - followed by playing soccer outside in 60F only a few days later. Its turning out to be a wonderful holiday time for us. I hope that everyone else is enjoying the comfort and joy of family and friends as well.

I am, however, looking forward to the quiet of January to sit and stitch quietly wrapped up at home. I received lots of stash (pics next time) and I can't wait to pick up some unfinished pieces and start some new ones.

Have a safe, healthy and happy New Year!

Christmas Ornament Exchange

2008-12-10T20:19:00.003-05:00

I heard last week that Goldie received the ornament I stitched for the Christmas Ornament Exchange.

Christmas in My Heart 2005

Cross 'N Patch

I hope she likes it. I really enjoyed stitching this. I also stitched a few more of the Christmas hearts as well as a couple of Angels.

By the time I was done with this fat quarter, I had filled it with various hearts and angel dresses and wings. Now, I just need a Saturday to finish them all up.

Need even more time to finish up the Christmas tree. So far, it has lots of lights but only a few ornaments. I'm waiting for everyone to be home at the same time (which could be weeks from now) to put the rest of the decorations on.

I hope everyone is finding their way to a wonderful holiday season.

Seasonal stitching

2008-11-23T14:12:00.003-05:00

Well, the temperature has swung from above normal to way below average around here. The cold weather definitely makes it easier to get in the Christmas spirit. I don't know what I would do if I lived somewhere in the south. You know how some plants need a certain amount of darkness or light to do their thing? I need a certain amount of cold to get ready for Christmas.

My Christmas stitching and finishing have been progressing (no pics though since they're gifts). We've had more than our usual time at home due to various illnesses so I've been making the best of it.

I found a new trick to stitching the ornaments from the Christmas in My Heart leaflet. Since I kept finding myself mis-counting on my buttonhole edges, I tried stitching two ornament borders next to each other. Since they are pretty much the same size, it becomes evident pretty quickly if I have mis-counted and I can fix it before I get too far. Once I stitch the borders, I fill them in with all of the cross stitch and kloster blocks. I don't start any cutting until all of the stitching that requires a frame is completed.

These have stitched up pretty quickly - at least when I count correctly. I really like how they have come out.

I also started on one of the new Nora Corbett pixies, Holly. It would be nice to finish her before Christmas, but I don't think that's realistic. I really like her though.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gingerbread Friends ornament

2008-10-29T20:43:00.006-04:00

So, here's my Gingerbread Friend - the design from Brooke's Books. It is stitched on 14 count perforated paper. It stitched up relatively quickly. This is definitely one of those designs that benefits from the backstitching. I was a little concerned about some of the shading, but the backstitching really made a difference. Oddly enough - the toughest part of this one was cutting the paper around the outline around the stitching. Of course, I forgot to add a hanging loop when I put the backing on the ornament. It is really cute though. For the next one, I am planning to stitch Cherry on Top.

Here's our page for designs from Brooke's Books Publishing. The design that I stitched is Gingerbread Friend from the Elf Babies series which contains four patterns. The second design from Brooke's Books is Cherry on Top from the same series. Brooke's Books has a lot of cute designs for baby announcements, Easter and Halloween decorations, as well as Christmas decorations.

Happy stitching everyone!

Blank Canvas

2008-10-26T21:02:00.003-04:00

Blank canvas! Look at this!

I've been working on a few of the ornaments from Emie Bishop's Christmas in My Heart. I just finished the buttonhole edge on another ornament and took a new look at the piece. What a great frame. I could fill this with all sorts of different designs. Motifs from countless different samplers would fit beautifully in this little heart. More hardanger fills. Anything.

I think I'll start with borders on more pieces. There are probably tons of possible combinations out there that I never even considered. Once I have a border to work with, I have a smaller canvas to work with. Somehow, that makes it so much easier to use my own creativity to fill the space. I can't wait!

More Gingerbread

2008-10-24T11:45:00.000-04:00

Halloween Exchange for Becky

2008-10-14T17:09:00.002-04:00

I have received word from Becky that she has received her Halloween Exchange. I stitched the Kreinik freebie, Happy Jack. The design uses lots and lots of #4 Very Fine braid in Vintage Colors. Somehow, I didn't notice that it was so full of #4 braid until I had already started. I was a little worried about the amount of metallic thread but I think it turned out OK. I finished it as a stand up for Becky. She has much better pictures on her blog. I really enjoyed this Halloween Exchange. Thank you so much Becky.

We are having the most beautiful Fall weather. The fall foliage is at its peak. The nights are clear and cool and the days have the most beautiful blue sky. I hope everyone is enjoying autumn.

Gingerbread Friend

2008-10-08T14:19:00.004-04:00

Here's an update my Gingerbread Friend from Brooke's Books Publishing. I need to get the stitching completed before the weekend so that I can work on the finishing with the Girl Scouts. As you can see, he will definitely benefit from some backstitching which I'll do when the cross stitching is complete. When I've actually had the chance to work on him, the stitching has progressed pretty quickly. I should be able to finish the little girl before Saturday.

Rather than finish the back as instructed, I think I will embroider a name on a piece of felt and use it for backing the stitching. Then I'll have an ornament/gift tag.

How is everyone's holiday stitching going?

Autumn House Exchange for Susan

2008-10-08T14:01:00.003-04:00

Susan has received the Autumn House Exchange that I sent to her. Here is the needlebook that I stitched for her. The design is the house part of Cider House Garden from Liz Turner Diehl.

Here is the whole piece from Liz Turner Diehl.

I have seen stitched models of this piece and it is really gorgeous. I am pretty sure that I have also seen it on a stitcher's blog as well. I have it in my stash to stitch the entire sampler someday.

Fall is really kicking in around here. The leaves are finally changing and we seeing some frost in the morning. Pumpkins and Halloween decorations are everywhere and we've been making lots of apple picking trips. I hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather.

Autumn House Exchange from Joan

2008-10-06T17:14:00.003-04:00

Look at this wonderful exchange I received from Joan. This is for the Autumn House Exchange. Beautiful cross stitching and sewing as well - Joan made the little chicken too. I love all the goodies too. Its hard to find ribbons and trims around here since we don't have a fabric store nearby anymore so the ribbons are doubly appreciated.

Sorry about all of the shadows on the picture. The sun is setting already.

Just wonderful. Thank you so much Joan.

Strawberry from Gaby

2008-10-03T14:06:00.002-04:00

I received the cutest little strawberry emery from Gaby for a Make a Wish Exchange. Isn't this adorable? Thank you Gaby.

My Autumn House exchange is on its way and my Halloween Exchange for Becky will be on its way this weekend. Then it will be lots of projects for the holidays.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Halloween Exchange from Becky

2008-09-29T21:16:00.004-04:00

I received my Halloween Exchange from Becky today. Isn't this just perfect! The inside of the box is lined as well. Thank you so much Becky.

It rained from Friday all the way through Sunday so I had lots of stitching time. Finished up my Halloween Exchange, made some progress on my Gingerbread Friend and I even worked on a near UFO - Mirabilia's Fairy Idyll. So, I'll have more pics as soon as the sun stays out long enough to take some pictures.

Thanks for stopping by.

Fuzzy Little Friend

2008-09-22T21:57:00.003-04:00

No stitching pics today. One exchange going out tomorrow and another exchange going out the end of this week. Still have my happy gingerbread man too - he has a head and shoulders and a face. He just needs his little companions. I need to get moving on him to finish him up before the beginning of October - but first I need to finish up my Halloween Exchange.

I do have a pic of a fuzzy little friend. I'm not sure what variety this is, but I found him moving pretty quickly across my front steps.

Stitching pics next time. Happy Fall everyone.

Yuko's Birthday

2008-09-12T09:07:00.006-04:00

I just found that Yuko has received her birthday gift for the Stitching Bloggers Birthday Exchange. Her birthday is on Sunday so it arrived just in time. Happy Birthday Yuko! I hope you like your Needlebook and needles and the JBW Designs.

Here's the cool needlebook design - this is the Folding Cross Needlebook from Indigo Rose. I changed the colors to pink for Yuko. The original design called for midnight blue. You can see (and purchase) the design here. We'll be adding more Indigo Rose designs to our website this weekend.

Each leaf of the needlebook has numbers to specify which needles are stored there and the center is a pincushion. Then the whole thing folds up neatly into this little square. Each leaf has button hole to button to the little tulip bead in the center.

The design was fun to stitch. I think I may join the cyberstitchers of the EGA just so I can take the reversible blackwork class. I had never done anything like this before and I am quite sure that there is a more correct way of starting and finishing and being sure that everything looks just so. But I am very happy with how this piece turned out. I will be stitching another one for myself when my holiday stitching is complete.

Have a good weekend everyone. Prayers for those who are in the path of Hurricane Ike.

No Gingerbread smile yet

2008-09-08T13:33:00.008-04:00

Well, after Tropical Storm Hannah passed through Saturday night, Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day. So, my little Gingerbread Friend still doesn't have a smile (or shoulders or a head for that matter). And given that today is absolutely gorgeous as well, things aren't looking to promising for him today either. Maybe he'll have better luck tomorrow; its supposed to be stormy. I do have to finish him up though because the new Sweetheart Tree biscornu kits are calling to me. I really love the Blackberries on Gingham Biscornu, so I'll do that one first. Followed by the Holiday Holly design.


Blackberries on Gingham Biscornu	Holiday Holly Biscornu

I mailed out a couple of pieces this weekend for gifts and exchanges so I'll be able to post pics soon. I really liked working on these pieces. Can't wait to show them.

This is a pic of the piece I did with the Brownies this weekend. This is a VERY old Mill Hill kit. Each of the girls picked a kit from this Summer or Fall's releases and started work on them. The beading parts of their kits will be much easier - they won't have to manage loops of beads. This little pin turned out to be cute. I hope they enjoy finishing their kits.

Gingerbread bellybutton

2008-09-06T14:45:00.003-04:00

Now, there's a title for a post. I'll bet you expected more crumbs!

This little guy is Gingerbread Friend from Brooke's Books. It is stitched on perforated paper which is sooo easy. I think he deserves to at least have a head by the end of the weekend. (With all the rain and wind to come, I don't think I'll be doing much else) I plan to stitch a few more of these cute little Brooke's Books designs and use them as gift tags at Christmas.

I pulled out the Brooke's Books designs because most, if not all, of them are stitched on perforated paper and I needed a refresher on the perforated paper. I'll be teaching a group of Brownies some cross stitch (this afternoon, in fact) and I thought that the little Mill Hill pin kits would be a great place for them to start. The kits include everything. They are stitched on perforated paper, which is remarkably sturdy. They include beads so the girls get to work with beads and floss (and they're sparkly which doesn't hurt). And they are small enough that they won't be too tough to finish. So, hopefully, I'll finish the Gingerbread Friend before the next meeting in October with the Brownies and I can show them what else they can do stitching on perforated paper. I get to work with the girls again in the spring and then I'll bring small projects on fabric for them.

By the way, if you ever get the chance to work with the Brownies, I highly recommend it. They get so excited over new things. They're a blast to watch. And, you'll always know for sure when its time to order those Thin Mint cookies.

If you're interested in the Brooke's Books designs, you can see them on our website.

Enjoy your weekend!

Little House Needleworks

2008-09-03T20:13:00.002-04:00

We are happy to announce that we will now carry Little House Needleworks designs. These popular designs really celebrate simplicity. Check out the great variety of LHN samplers on our website - NeedleartsGallery.com.

To celebrate this new addition, we will offer 10% all Little House Needleworks designs for blog readers through September 15. Just enter code NEWLHN during checkout.

Stitching pics next time!

Have you seen...

2008-08-30T14:55:00.002-04:00

Have you seen the Hawaiian Garden mandala design from Chatelaine Designs? It is really outstanding. I could send you to the picture on the Chatelaine Designs site, but it really doesn't do justice to it at all. It is just a computer mock-up so you don't get to see the texture of the beautiful stitches or sparkle of the braids and beads. I recommend you see the pics on the Yuku forum - here. Look at the detail - the volcanoes, the pineapples, the beaches, the waterfalls - and it isn't even finished yet.

For those who don't have experience with Martina Weber's designs (Chatelaine Designs), Martina generally releases her designs online over a period of time. Some of her designs are "mysteries", you get a piece each month and you won't know what the final piece will look like until the last month. Other designs are "online classes" in which you can see pics of the complete piece but the design is released in parts over the months. You download each part in an Adobe Acrobat file and you use a password to open the file. She releases her designs in chartpacks to shops approximately a year after the online period is completed. Her designs are truly impressive - lots of different fibers, embellishments and details.

We carry a number of charts from Chatelaine Designs and we will be adding more as they are released. We'd also be happy to special order other designs if you are interested.

I highly recommend going to the Chatelaine bulletin board on Yuku (the link is in my 'Important Links'). The bulletin board has sections for each of the current mysteries or online classes. Under each of these is a topic showing current Works in Progress. There is also a general topic with a gallery of completed pieces. These pics are really stunning. The next time you are in need of inspiration, I highly recommend checking out the Chatelaine forum.

Feels like Fall

2008-08-27T08:45:00.002-04:00

It feels like Fall. The nights have been going all the way down to the fifties. The days are in the seventies. Clear blue sky - all day. And no humidity. Some of the leaves are even beginning to change. Summer flew by.

I have lots of stitching going on but nothing that I can show yet. Right now all of my stitching is for a few upcoming exchanges.

The new Just Nan designs should arrive today. And, of course, that just adds to my new dilemma. - When we were finally able to get Mirabilia Designs again and lots of stitchers were re-invigorated and inspired to finish their Mirabilia WIPs, we all had a chance to see lots of newly finished pieces. While I have really liked a few of the smaller fairies/pixies that Nora Corbett has released in the few months, I don't really have a place for them in my home. I also really don't have any little girls for whom to stitch. But, in addition to the pixies, I really love a few of the Mirabilia mermaids. Now that I've seen more and more of them recently, I soooo want to stitch them - specifically Mermaid of Atlantis and Mermaids of the Deep Blue. How many people stitch large designs knowing that they have no place for the finished pieces? I still have Fairy Idyll only partially completed and I have no place for that either. Will these pieces be an excuse to re-decorate my office? Will this mean that I will just simply have to have a room dedicated to stitching? (I rather like that last idea). Am I just crazy?

Keep stitching!

New Designs

2008-08-15T14:01:00.002-04:00

Yay! New designs!

Mirabilia Designs has released its first large design since being acquired by Wichelt Imports. Athena - Goddess of Wisdom is now available.

Lavender & Lace has also release a new design - Fallen Roses.

Keep an eye out for new Just Nan designs at the the end of the month - including Christmas designs as well as the next installment of the Over the Top and In the Tin series.

Pinkeep for Vonna

2008-08-12T09:44:00.003-04:00

Vonna has received her pinkeep for the Make a Wish Exchange so I can post a pic of it now. Vonna wished for a flatfold or pinkeep in a patriotic or Americana designs. I stitched the Liberty Heart Freebie from Trail Creek Farm and finished it as a pinkeep.

Trail Creek Farm is the company that makes those adorable pillows in different shapes. Here's an example of one of the pillows that they make in the shape of a star. They have a large selection of others including a bunny, a carrot and even the placemat for one of JBW Design's pieces from last Christmas. These pillows are a great way to quickly finish off your stitched pieces. They even come with coordinating covered buttons.

I am continuing work on one of my exchange pieces and while it is coming along well, I am beginning to see the need for counting pins. Gridding this fabric really wouldn't have worked very well, but the counting for this design is a bit tougher than usual. Time to look into some of those pretty counting pins. I always thought they were pretty but I wasn't sure how much use I would get from them - now I can see how helpful they would be.

Keep enjoying these last days of Summer. For those who have already returned to school or who have already sent their kids back to school, Welcome Back!

Twinklings I

2008-08-11T15:45:00.006-04:00

Here is one of of the ornaments I finished last week. This is Twinklings I from the Twinklings pack from Just Nan. This was a quick stitch and I love how easy it is to finish them off in a WhimZi frame.

The Cherry Blossoms Biscornu and fob from my last post are from The Sweetheart Tree. This year, Sandie is releasing biscornu kits that coordinate with some of her most popular scissor fob designs. Over time, she has said that she will release designs for various other stitching smalls to coordinate with these designs and create whole sets of stitching goodies.

I have some other stitching in the works but it is all for exchanges. I can't wait for one particular exchange to be sent and received. I am really enjoying stitching this piece and I can't wait to show a picture of it.

Must be off before the thunderstorm causes another power outage. Have a great week.

2008-08-08T09:08:00.004-04:00

Wow! I can't believe its been over a month since my last post. Its been a really busy month too!

My family and I had a wonderful trip down south. We took the Auto Train from Virginia down to Florida and it was wonderful. It was far cheaper than flying for the three of us and that doesn't even count what it would cost to rent a minivan while staying down there. Even better, you can bring all of your stuff - whatever you can pack in your car stays in your car. No limitations on bags to check, bottles of liquids or gels or whatever. We were able to travel with all of the comforts that we usually have in the car, (games and snacks and such) plus I was able to bring a huge amount of the most popular stitching supplies for filling orders while we were away.

We had beautiful weather while we were away and we spent most of it outside and sightseeing so I didn't complete a whole lot of stitching. I am just now (a week later) finishing all of the laundry and cleaning. I'm not sure how long it will take to finish the garden. Apparently three weeks with lots of rain is just long enough to grow the strongest, heartiest weeds ever.

I did manage some stitching and I have packaged up a few items to mail out today for exchanges (no pics yet). I also finished my travel stitching project which came out nicely. I originally finished the Cherry Blossoms fob with the beaded edge, but I found that threads kept becoming caught on the beads. So I removed the beaded edge. I did finish it with the twisted cord and tassel.

I am waiting on some specialty threads for nearly all of my other Works in Progress. Hopefully I'll have some more pics of those once my braids and silks arrive.

Happy Summer everyone. Enjoy it while its here.

Happy 4th

2008-07-04T21:34:00.004-04:00

Happy 4th of July everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. Lots of summer activities - followed by lots more relaxation.

We're getting ready for our summer trip - taking the train all the way to Florida. Should be quite an adventure. My boys haven't been on a train before so even a short train ride would have been an adventure. Plus we get to take the car. The nice part of traveling this way is that I don't have to worry about all the limitations on liquids, gels, etc. for carry on luggage on an airline. There aren't as many limitations on my stitching projects either - so in honor of the trip, I am gifting myself a new project (both of my boys and my hubby have their birthdays within this week and I'm feeling left out). I'm deciding between Slicker Parade from Xs and Ohs and a design called "Magi" which is an old Janlynn chart that I have always loved but haven't had a chance to stitch.

I have made some progress on my 'travel project' - Cherry Blossoms fob. So far it is going more smoothly than I anticipated - possibly because it is such a small project. I have finished the stitching on one side and I have stitched all of the ThreadWorX thread for the second side. I wanted to start with the ThreadWorX on the second side just to be sure that I had enough. If I was going to come up short with the overdyed thread, I wanted to frog it without messing up any other stitching. Up until now, I haven't brought the beads with me. They would be way too easy to bump and knock over in the car.

On the shop front - stay tuned for the Christmas in July sale details. Lots of fun stuff!

Exchange Received!

2008-06-27T10:44:00.003-04:00

I received a wonderful little package in the mail yesterday. Here is my needlebook from Terry for the Make A Wish Exchange. Isn't it wonderful! I love the colors. Now I have my own needlebook.

Thanks Terry for your beautiful work!

New Additions

2008-06-24T14:39:00.008-04:00

We have lots of new additions up on the website. Here are just a few of them.

The new Gilded Dragonfly Scissor Purse from Just Nan is on its way here. This design is only available as a kit and it is a very limited edition. We only have a few that weren't pre-ordered so if this is one of those designs that you just have to have, you definitely want to order now because we won't get any more of these.
There are some new designs from Rosewood Manor. And a Garden Grew is a beautiful sampler with a large and varied collection of flower and animal motifs. The chart is a full 22 pages long and is in nice large print.
We also have a few new designs from Shepherd's Bush including Scatter Freedom and Scatter Sunshine. These are absolutely adorable with their cute little buttons from Just Another Button Company. Great Summer projects.

Be sure to stop by and pick up your Summer stitching goodies.

Cherry Blossoms

2008-06-24T14:20:00.005-04:00

I was pulling together my materials for my new travel project, Cherry Blossoms Fob, and I decided to go back and check my pics of my Cherry Blossoms Biscornu. Strangely, I couldn't find the pics of the finished biscornu anywhere. I could have sworn I had some pictures up here but I can't find those either. So, new pics of my finished biscornu with the materials for the matching fob. The Cherry Blossom biscornu was a kit that included everything. The Cherry Blossoms Fob is a Teenie Tweenie chart that comes with the little pearls. The fob chart calls for Weeks Dye Works overdyed floss but the biscornu used ThreadWorX floss. I have a good length of the ThreadWorX floss left from the biscornu kit and I am hoping to substitute that for the WDW. Hopefully there will be enough and then the two pieces should match perfectly.

Of course, I took so long to get my materials together for this that I won't be able to start on the new biscornu kit right away. The new biscornu kits have arrived and I am looking forward to stitching the Baby Shamrocks Biscornu. And then, of course, I need to stitch the Baby Shamrocks Fob. The Cat Lover's biscornu is adorable too. I have a few cat lovers on my Christmas list who just might appreciate that cute little design.

Sandcastle birthday cake

2008-06-18T15:02:00.004-04:00

So - I finally finished the sandcastle cake. There was a good deal of seaweed but no black bubbly things (I think those are egg cases for some sort of sand shark). The kids had a great time at the party and when it came time to have cake and ice cream - they ate all of the cake decorations. They weren't too interested in the actual cake. They were thrilled that they actually got to eat "rocks".

Lessons learned from this include:

Fruit roll ups dissolve into something that looks like swamp tar when the humidity level is high.
You CAN eat those realistic looking candy rocks.
Gummy fish stick together nicely when the humidity level is high.
Kids will even pass up chocolate if they think they can eat rocks instead.

Sandcastles

2008-06-15T19:55:00.002-04:00

My young son will be having his birthday party this week. He has requested a sandcastle cake. I already had the sandcastle bundt pan and thought I could just make a sand-colored cake - Spice Cake - and it really wouldn't need too much decoration. The cake pan has quite a bit of detail. Of course, my son had a different idea - he feels that all cakes need to be decorated. So - I pictured a nice sandcastle like Mirabilia's Seaside Kingdom - nice bright sand, some sparkly beads, a few shiny shells, some ribbon flags. Yeah. That's what I thought. My son looked at it and said, "Yeah Mom, there isn't nearly enough seaweed and those bubbly black things that we find on the beach." So I drew some seaweed on the picture. Still not enough. Drew some more seaweed. Still not enough. Finally I got enough seaweed and "black bubbly things" on it. Now it looks a whole lot more like a mud pie. I'm thinking I might just make a huge batch of brownies and mash them up. This should be interesting.

Helen (Stitchingranny) commented on my last post about her method for taking projects with her when she's out and about. I'm going to take some of her suggestions and keep a project with me. I'll take something small - the Cherry Blossoms Fob that goes with the Cherry Blossoms biscornu. Its nice and small so I won't cry too much if I do get something on my fabric and have to start over. I have some of the over-dyed ThreadWorX floss from the biscornu kit left so I can make the two pieces match well. Thanks for telling me how you travel with your stitching, Helen.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads.

My Grand Plan

2008-06-08T20:54:00.003-04:00

So here's my Grand Plan for Summer stitching. I need to get two name trees done for Christmas ornaments. I also want to finish 3 Twinklings WhimZi ornaments to keep on hand for those "surprise" gifts (you know, when you hadn't planned on shopping for a person and they arrive with a gift for you). I also need to do one of the Sweetheart Tree nutcracker ornaments as a Christmas gift (can't say here which one). I have an exchange due at the end of the Summer and I will probably sign up for one other exchange during the summer. I think that's all for obligation stitching. However, I do have a huge amount of obligation knitting.

Then - the items I would like to stitch just because I want to stitch them. First, the new Gilded Dragonfly Scissor Purse from Just Nan. Also, I really like Slicker Parade from Xs and Ohs. And I want to do one of the Mini Mandalas from Chatelaine. At some point, I would really like to try my hand at one of the HAED designs. AND, on top of all of that, an email from Mirabilia this week hinted that the company re-organization may be completed soon so the Mirabilia charts will be available again.

Baseball ends next week so I think I'll start off with stitching the Sweetheart Tree nutcracker. This week I'll get everything kitted up. How do people bring stitching with them when they're out and about? I can bring knitting and I have passed time waiting for practices or appointments knitting, but I don't think I could stitch. First, I'd be worried about getting something on my fabric. Second, how do you keep track of your threads and chart? How many places do you go that you can lay out your chart and pick through your threads to get any stitching done? I'm really curious how people achieve this. I would love to figure this out. Any thoughts?

Nora Corbett Designs

2008-06-06T21:58:00.006-04:00

A new series of designs from Nora Corbett - Letters from Nora. The first three designs in this series have been release and they're really cute. These designs are all stitched on 32 ct Waterlily Linen with Crescent Colours threads. You can get more information on the materials for these designs on our Nora Corbett page.

Happy Summer

2008-06-04T17:04:00.004-04:00

It's been a long time without a post!

In the last 6 weeks, I think I have been to a dozen school concerts, plays and award ceremonies and I feel like I have attended 100 little league practices, scrimmages and games. Needless to say, there has been little stitching going on. I've really only had time to finish a couple of exchange pieces, do lots of planning for Summer stitching and kit up my Summer projects. I can't wait to stitch.

I did finish off a biscornu for Kate for a Make a Wish Exchange. I based the piece on a design from Elizabeth's Designs. My pictures were pretty poor, but you can see pics on Kate's Blog.

There have also been some really great new releases in the past few weeks. The Dragonfly Scissor Purse from Just Nan was really very popular and sold out months ago. Nan has designed a new scissor purse - a limited edition kit. This piece includes beads, pearls, swarovski crystals, and is trimmed with metallic gold cord. The really neat feature on the scissor case is a thread called Gilt Sylke Twist. This is a thread with a silk base that is wrapped with the thinnest gold threads. Imagine the shimmer and shine of this thread!

The Gilded Dragonfly Scissor Purse and fob are stitched entirely with Au Ver a Soie silk - no conversions are given. We hope to have the silk packs available by the end of the month. The silk packs will be approximately $69.00 (they include the gold twisted cord). We will only have as many silk packs as we have Dragonfly Scissor Purse kits. The estimated release date for the Dragonfly Scissor Purse is June 25.

The new shipment of Barnabee's Bride kits is expected sometime next week. We will only have a couple more that have not been reserved so be sure to order soon if your heart is set on having one of these beautiful boxes.

For those of you who haven't yet started When Barnabee Met Bella, we will also be getting the silk packs for this design. The colors of the silk really pop on the lilac and blue backgrounds.

We also have a couple of new Christmas Eve Courier designs from Nora Corbett - Cupid and Vixen. These are the fifth and sixth reindeer in the series. Two reindeer left - unless she does Rudolph too!

Off I go to put my Summer stitching goals in writing! Can't wait to start!!!

Thank you Lynn

2008-04-19T09:54:00.002-04:00

Thank you Lynne! This is my birthday package from Lynn for the Stitching Bloggers Birthday Club. Look at the chart from HAED - its called Celtic Butterfly One and its a quick stitch. I've never seen it before but I really like it. And I always like overdyed threads!

Thank you again Lynn!

Flower pics

2008-04-14T08:14:00.005-04:00

Not much stitching going on here - and what little stitching that is going on is for an exchange so I can't show anything. But I do have pics of the flower fields in Carlsbad, CA. This farm or "Flower Ranch" grows ranunculus and they were in bloom when we visited. They also had beautiful poinsettias, lots of African Daisies and a Sweet Pea maze.

Stitching pics next time!

Flowers and biscornu

2008-04-02T18:57:00.002-04:00

Long time no entry.

I've been away on vacation. Not a lot of stitching - although I did finish the stitching on both sides of the Cherry Blossom biscornu - just need to finish and stuff it. I did get to do lots of other fun stuff.

I spent a week with my family in southern California. I got to visit my sister and her husband and my two little nephews. We had such a wonderful week. We visited Legoland which was a blast - especially for the little ones. We checked out Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo! We all loved the zoo. We got to see Polar Bears up close and personal and we got to identify each Zebra by name via his "rump print" (don't get to do that every day).

Of course, the weather was beautiful - pretty much by anyone's standards. Sunny, in the upper 60's during the day, a little cooler at night. I really couldn't get over how bright everything was. The flower colors are so bright they seem to be electric. We even had a chance to go to the flower fields in Carlsbad. They have acres of ranunculus all in bloom and they allow the public to come in and view the fields up close. Absolutely gorgeous. (Pics are coming as soon as the camera gets unpacked.) All those flowers everywhere just make me itch to get out in my garden. Unfortunately, my garden still has patches of snow on it.

I did get the Weeks Dye Works fabrics for my birthday for Just Nan's biscornu, When Barnabee Met Bella. The colors are wonderful and I can't wait to start it.

Happy Spring everyone!

Cherry Blossom Biscornu and Just Nans

2008-03-15T09:51:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, I did finally choose (randomly from a bag) which biscornu to do first - I started on Cherry Blossoms Biscornu from The Sweetheart Tree. It stitches up quickly, here is my progress after a couple hours - even while watching various basketball games. Its too bad that you can't see that the fabric is opalescent. There are also lots of beads to put on each side of this design - I added one so far. I need to finish stitching this today or tomorrow so I can start on the Just Nan biscornu.

The Just Nan shipment arrived this week. The Barnabee's Bride box is so cute. I'll get some better pictures of it today (before it gets cloudy out again). The biscornu design is wonderful as well. When Barnabee Met Bella is stitched on Weeks Dye Works hand-dyed linen and in light blue and lavender colors and also has lots of shiny beads - which you just can't see in the picture. We still have a few When Barnabee Met Bella designs left. We don't have any more of the Bella Bee box left for March delivery, but you can pre-order one for May delivery.

I hope everyone is having a Spring-like weekend (at least up here in the northern hemisphere - and a nice Autumn weekend down under).

So much to stitch

2008-03-05T20:08:00.003-05:00

I finally finished part 4 on Indian Summer Reflections - at least as finished as I'm going to be for now. I didn't love the way the dew drops from the branches were coming out. I'm not sure how I'm going to proceed with this one - I'm keeping my eyes open for some lighter colored blue-gray overdyeds. I didn't love the backstitched leaves on the other branches either. I don't even have another idea for that yet. As for the spider webs which are currently missing, I am going to stitch a couple of samples - one with a pearl blending filament and one with a silver blending filament and decide which one I like better. Then, I'll put this piece away for a bit. There are so many things calling to me!

The biscornu kits from The Sweetheart Tree have arrived. Since I couldn't decide which to stitch, I'm just going to grab one out of a bag. Its so nice to have these come all kitted - and kitted with good fabric and fibers. Then its not so bad to be indecisive until the last minute - you can still start as soon as you decide. I need to get going on this because the new biscornu design from Just Nan - When Barnabee Met Bella - will ship next week. I already have the fabric and floss ready for that one. Then I kitted up that cool dragon design from Xs and Ohs. That one will have to wait until I am brimming with patience - I don't love stitching with Kreinik braids for long periods of time. I have to get moving on Scatter Eggs as well - there isn't much time before Easter.

I think Spring might be coming! We've had lots of rain in the last couple of days and its been really warm - close to 50F. Our snow is down to 4-5 inches deep in places and it is supposed to be warm for the next few days as well. I saw robins and bluebirds today - the robins are a good sign - I'm not sure if the bluebirds leave for the winter or if they've been here all along. I can't wait to see daffodils poking through the ground. Happy Spring!

Arrivals from Nashville

2008-02-29T19:56:00.002-05:00

Lots of boxes have been arriving here this week - full of items ordered at Nashville.

The biscornu kits from The Sweetheart Tree have arrived. I can't tell you how cute these are. Sparkly and detailed - really nice. I can't wait to see the other designs that Sandie selects for the rest of the biscornu series - and even more, I can't wait to see the other needlework goodies that she creates for each series. I am personally hoping for the Blackberry design, the Holly design, and the Shamrock design. Sandie has already shown us the Catnip kitty fob which was adorable. Wait til you see that one. She has also mentioned Cherry Blossom and American Star.

My Easter project this year will be Scatter Eggs from Shepherd's Bush. This is stitched on 20 count Cork linen so it should be a quick stitch and it has adorable buttons from Just Another Button Company. I'm just going off to the fabric store tomorrow to find a nice coordinating fabric for a pillow finish.

Up on the website this weekend - new designs from JBW Designs. Here's French Country Amour.

There's a great picture of a beautiful scissor fob done with this design on the JBW Designs website.

I'd love to show you some of my stitching - but there isn't a lot to show. :-(

A Dragon and a Moose

2008-02-23T10:13:00.003-05:00

How's that for a title? The Dragon is from Xs and Ohs and the Moose is from Stitchworks. First the moose.

The moose is Malcolm the Moose. These are a series of designs on 4" x 6" cards from Stitchworks. These aren't new, but I saw them at the Nashville Show again and then I noticed a few of these in a local school. They are adorable all stitched up. There are monthly designs as well as occupational and sports designs. Each design either uses buttons (which are absolutely adorable) or Mill Hill treasures. Here's a pic of the Surfer Moose for June. The buttons are the cute little inner-tube and the fish. We'll be getting these up on the site this weekend.

Then, the dragon. Here is another design that isn't new but really struck me when I saw a stitched model. It was really stunning stitched on black linen. You can't tell from the cover picture very well how beautiful this design really is.
See all those yellow speckles on the dragon? They aren't really yellow speckles in real life - that's just the was the camera picked up all the sparkle. Yep - that's all sparkle. The design uses 19 spools of #4 Kreinik braid but its all worth it because the final piece as really stunning.

As the days get longer and there is more light available at the end of my day, I'll be stitching this dragon for my son. I'll keep you updated on the progress.

Lastly, on the shop front - we will be carrying hand-dyed fabric from Picture This Plus. I'm sure many of you have seen these fabrics - they are really incredible. While we have loved the hand-dyed fabrics we've carried in the past, we just couldn't handle the backorder times (sometimes 3 months or more!) Picture This Plus produces fantastic fabrics with wonderful service. We probably won't have all of the fabrics that PTP creates on the website, but we'll be happy to order any that strike your fancy.

Have a great weekend! Remember - get the most out of these last few weeks of winter (wishful thinking?) Spring is coming!

More new products

2008-02-13T16:31:00.003-05:00

Here is an update with some more new products. These are from Twisted Oaks Designs. First, Honor Thy Needle Etui. The finished model for this was really exquisite. The chartpack comes with the graph, excellent finishing instructions, die cut matboard and wood beads.

We have also added the designs in the French Monogram Collection to the website. In all, this collection includes an eyeglass case, a bookmark, a biscornu, a needlebook, a scissor fob, a bourse bag, and an album cover.

We have also added Coq au Pins and Merry Noel. Both of these designs are from the Chicken series and they're awfully cute. Be sure to stop by and see them!

Stop back tomorrow for another update.

Back from Nashville

2008-02-12T09:05:00.000-05:00

We're back from Nashville and we had a great time. It's great to be able to faces with names and voices and to meet lots of new people!

Here are a few highlights from the show. I'll do a few more posts on special things from the Nashville show during this week. You can see all of the new items as we put them up on the site on our What's New page. For now, here are a few special things.
- You can click on the pic to go to Needlearts Gallery and see a much bigger pic.

Barnabee's Bride - Bella Bee from Just Nan. This is a new enameled box from Just Nan (remember Lady Scarlet's Secret Garden). This is really adorable. The kit includes the box, which is decorated with crystals and even has a little magnet to hold your needle, the graph and instructions for the needleroll which fits neatly inside the box, finishing instructions, opalescent white Belfast linen, fusible interfacing, overdyed silk, overdyed wool, snap, the little beads and the mother-of-pearl flower, Swarovski sequin, and Gold Bee. You'll need to supply your floss, perle cotton, and kreinik braid. This is definitely one of those times where a picture just can't do justice to the actual item. This is a limited edition and we will only be getting a few - so be sure to order early if you don't want to be disappointed.

Nan's been incredibly busy. She also released a wonderful biscornu design, When Barnabee Met Bella. The details on this piece are really wonderful. Lady Scarlet even makes an appearance! You can't really see all of the sparkles and embellishments in these pictures, but, trust me, this piece is exquisite!

Then, in addition to these beautiful pieces, Nan is beginning a new series called "Over the Top". These are little tins whose bottom portions have been decorated on the exterior with art paper. There will be a series of four tins released during the year. These are also a limited edition series. The top is all ready for you to complete with your stitching. The first one is "Hop", a great Spring or Easter design. The kits include the tin, the graph for the design, a die cut chipboard circle for mounting the stitching to the lid, fleece, fusible interfacing, coordinating ribbon, embellishments and finishing instructions. You'll need to supply the linen, floss and twisted cord.

Then, as if that weren't enough - there are limited edition kits to create little projects that will fit inside the tin. This limited edition series is called "In the Tin" because they fit "in the tin" - how clever. Each of the project in this series will coordinate with a tin and each will be a different little needlework "goody". The first is "Hop" - a little needlebook fob. The front shows a little bunny in flowers and the back is a pretty little viola. The kit includes the graph and instructions, finishing instructions, embellishments and snap, wool and fusible interfacting. You'll need to supply the linen, floss and twisted cord. This will fit nicely in the tin with a 2 1/2" pair of scissors (which are not included, but we'll be happy to recommend a pair for you).

Click on the pic to go to Needlearts Gallery and see a much bigger pic!
Another highlight of the show was the Sweetheart Tree releases. Sandie has started a new biscornu series. The designs for these pieces will coordinate with the most popular of her scissor fobs. The first releases are Rhodes Butterfly biscornu and Cherry Blossoms biscornu. These are kits that include everything you'll need except for the stuffing. Then look for a Catnip Kitty biscornu kit and a Baby Shamrocks biscornu kit this Spring. Add, to add even more excitement, Sandie plans to continue designing coordinating needlework tools - releasing coordinating needlebooks, scissor cases and finally Bourse bags to hold the collection of needlework tools. Definitely looking forward to each of those.

Another Sweetheart Tree highlight is the Sparkling Forget-Me-Not Sampler. This is another limited edition sampler kit and is just as beautiful as can be.

Stop by our website often to see the new additions. February is always a big month for new releases, both for Nashville exhibitors and many other designers.

Frogging

2008-02-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

So - is frogging a skill or just a necessary evil?
That pretty much sums up my afternoon and pretty well takes care of most of my progress for the whole past weekend.

Sniff. Sniff.

ISR part 4 still - Again!

2008-02-01T13:52:00.000-05:00

I know this looks suspiciously like the photo in my last post - but its not! First, I did actually get some stitching done on this. But, as for the photo, I finally found out what some of those buttons on my camera are for - at least sort of. My camera is at about four years old. It usually just takes pictures of the kids as they zoom from one activity to another. It has lots of settings that I've never used - and I vaguely remember thinking "I'll never use that" as I was reading the manual (4 years ago). I always knew that my photos of my stitching were awful but I always had a scanner to fall back on for the really important pics. But when I look at some of the beautiful pics in stitcher's blogs, I started to think that I need to sign up for remedial photography classes.

It turns out that the remedial photography class doesn't start until April. I thought I should have a clue about my own camera before I go to this class and started trying out all the various buttons and dials - and lo and behold - some of them actually do wonders for my pics.

For the last two days I have chased around my kids and various squirrels taking their pictures. Today, we're having a bit of an ice storm so I can't wait for the sun to come out afterwards so I can take a picture of the sun hitting the ice on the trees. I don't think I have ever looked forward to an ice storm before.

Of course, the other positive aspect of an ice storm is some uninterrupted stitching time!

Have a great weekend everyone. Start cleaning out some space in your stash area - the Nashville Needlework Show is next weekend and the designers have already been showing off some wonderful new designs and products!

ISR part 4 - still

2008-01-21T21:48:00.000-05:00

Still working on this beautiful design. I really love it, but I don't seem to get nearly enough time on it. I'm trying to decide if doing the beading on this now instead of waiting until the stitching is done will keep me a little more focused on finishing this design. I already have three other Chatelaine mandalas kitted up and ready to go.

But, in my defense, I have finished one more square for the afghan.

Hoping for a major snowstorm in the near future. I am even prepared with movies for the kids, food in the freezer, a stack of seed and flower catalogs about 2 feet high - and a very full stitching bag! (Just not the weekend of the Nashville Needlework Show!)

Snow! Snow! Snow! and resolutions

2008-01-15T08:55:00.000-05:00

Lots and lots of snow! Sorry for the long time between posts. Now that the holidays are over and inventory is done, I'll have more time to stitch and keep up with online friends.

Shop News first - our next sale will be for Valentine's Day. The sale will start on Valentine's Day and continue through the weekend. (This will be right after Nashville, so there should be lots of great new stuff available).

I didn't get much cross-stitching done over the last few weeks but I still kept busy. I finally tried punchneedle. It was cute and my son really liked it but I think my primary stitching focus will remain cross stitch. I have spent lots of time knitting since my son wanted an afghan for Christmas. It was a VERY small afghan for Christmas, but it is knit in squares and I'll add more squares as they are complete.

I was lucky to receive a new computer for me- personally, not business - for Christmas. Thank you hubby. I have been busy setting it up over the last week. In my past life I was a system developer and architect. Over the last few years, I have had no contact with the programming world besides some limited website development. I can't believe how much my brain has slipped! It was so frustrating having to concentrate so hard on tasks that I could have done on autopilot just a few years ago. So, first New Year's resolution: Sharpen the Sword as they say. I feel that I need to keep up on emerging technology much better than I have in recent years (and no, the Wii does not count).

Second resolution - no starting new projects if my "To Be Finished" drawer has more than six projects awaiting framing, or other finishing. I have seen some the most wonderful finishing techniques lately - especially little stitching books. I really want to commit to trying them out instead of just ooohing and aaaahing over other people's blogs.

Third resolution - teach three new stitchers all the way through a project this year. There is a lengthy thread on the Mirabilia bulletin board about the scarcity of materials available since so many LNS have closed and the large chain stores have stopped carrying cross stitch supplies. Much of this is due to the decreased demand for supplies. This is not entirely due to online shopping. It is also due in part to former stitchers switching to new forms of creativity like knitting and scrapbooking and in part due to a lack of time for activities like stitching. The more we share our passion for stitching, the more we can increase interest. The more interest we create in cross stitching, the better we can support designers and manufacturers of the products we love to use. So, consider finding local community groups that are looking for new acitivities to offer, or a son, daughter, niece or nephew, or neighbor, and teach them to create something wonderful. You never know, you could find your best new stitching buddy. (stepping down off my soapbox now).

New starts this month -
Exchange piece
Barnabee's Quest
Thank you gift

Impatiently awaiting -
New biscornu series from The Sweetheart Tree

Happy New Year everyone!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T21:19:00.000-05:00

Here's wishing everyone health, happiness and enough peace and joy of the Christmas season to last the year. Merry Christmas!

Ornaments finished

2007-12-10T16:40:00.000-05:00

It has rained and snowed and iced. Mostly rain and ice. The kids still had school - except for the sniffly one. But yesterday and today were pretty productive.

I ended up finishing my Golfing Chick as an ornament as well as the 'Chris' name tree. They both came out pretty well. Lacing is not fun on funny shapes.

My younger boy has asked for a knitted afghan for Christmas. Here's my start on block number 2 of the Great American Afan Afghan. I finished block 1 last week but I really don't like it at all. Its not like I have tons of time before Christmas, but I won't be using my first block unless it becomes absolutely necessary (and it probably will).

Also, I finally found a way to finish the ends of my braid so that they don't look crummy and they don't continue to unravel. Remembering back to my mother's macrame planters and such, they usually had this knot at the top where all of the cords were wrapped. I tried this on the ends of the cut braids with Kreinik braid and it worked out pretty well. I can't seem to get a good picture of them. It kind of looks like a sparkly version of the doodads on the end of shoelaces.

Golfing Chick

2007-12-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

Finishing weekend! Lots of ornaments to finish. Especially now that we have a tree to put them on!

Here's my Golfing Chick again. Slightly better picture this time. I wasn't sure exactly what to do with it since the recipient doesn't usually have a Christmas tree big enough to hang ornaments (she's usually gone for the holidays). I needed to get something done with it so I decided to lace it - who doesn't need practice lacing? Now I can decide what to do next - flat fold, frame, box, something.

Still have to finish off 3 name trees, 2 teenie tweenie kits, and 2 tins. Busy Sunday ahead for me. Then it will snow/ice or something into Monday - might get another finishing day on Monday!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone!

An addition to the flock

2007-12-05T20:34:00.000-05:00

Here's a new chickadee for my flock. This is the Golfer Chick from Valerie Pfeiffer. Kinda cute, isn't she? She'll be part of a Christmas present for my favorite "golfing chick". Not a great picture (actually an awful picture) but she's really adorable in real life.

I decided to work on one of Brooke's Books Gingerbaby ornaments. These are stitched on perforated paper and really cute. My son has decided to give it a try too (lots of early release from school days this week). Hopefully I'll be able to finish one or two of these and use them as gift tags/ornaments for some of the younger kids in the family.

I hope everyone is getting a chance to enjoy the season.

And Happy Hannukah!

My snowman collection

2007-11-30T20:30:00.000-05:00

I am so excited. Sometime ago, BeckySC had a drawing for a snowman box that she had finished - and I won the drawing! Her box has arrived just in time for my Christmas decorating. Its wonderful. She does such a fantastic job stitching and finishing. Here's a pic with some of my little snowmen.

Thanks so much Becky!

Black Friday sale!

2007-11-23T10:19:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is surviving this big shopping day. So, when you've come home and hidden your purchases and have your nice cuppa, relax and shop for your favorite stitcher. We have a couple of hundred items on sale including fabrics and designs from a number of favorite designers (including some discontinued designs). Be sure to stop by and have a wonderful weekend!

Black Friday Sale at Needlearts Gallery

'Tis the Season

2007-11-18T20:26:00.000-05:00

No stitching pics. Not much stitching this weekend either.

Getting ready for Thanksgiving - cleaning, planning the menu - re-planning the menu - un-planning the menu. I think I'm just going to wing it. As long as there's turkey - I've done my job.

On the shop front:
I'm not known for being patient. I've been searching the "leaked" Black Friday ads for weeks so that I can make sure that I plan accordingly. Once I got my whole plan down, I realized that I don't have any Black Friday planning to do this week. Somehow, I felt a void there - so - - I thought, Let's have our own Black Friday sale. ('Cuz heaven knows that we wouldn't want any time to relax during Thanksgiving week - that would break with tradition)

The outcome is our Black Friday sale - which, given how impatient I am, starts now rather than Friday. I have a few really great deals that won't be available until Friday. I also have some limited quantity items on the list - some of the Out of Print Mirabilia Designs. You'll want to stop by early if you're interested in those.

So stop by the shop and stock up on those designs you've wanted this year - or pass your wish list on to your nearest little Santa. Black Friday sale at NeedleartsGallery.com

Giggles Wall-hanging

2007-11-15T19:22:00.000-05:00

Here is my finished Giggles in the Snow wallhanging. I think it came out pretty well and I have the perfect place to hang it.

This design is one of the discontinued designs from Nora Corbett of Mirabilia Designs. It is one of very few cute 'boy' designs around. I wish Nora would do a few more boy designs - before my boys grow up. She does a beautiful job with them. My next big Mirabilia will be Seaside Kingdom - also discontinued. I've seen a WIP of this piece where the stitcher converted the girl into a boy as well and I will try to do that as well.

Off to stitch some more Valerie Pfeiffer chicks!

Isn't this gorgeous!

2007-11-10T15:25:00.000-05:00

This is a design called Brandon from Stitchin'spiration. It is a beautiful blackwork piece created by Sally Rudkin. I wish I could really show you how intricate and detailed it is. Guess I'll just have to stitch it! Be sure to click on the pic so you can see the larger version. In the larger version you can see the little pineapples and urns around the perimeter of the garden and the intricate fills of each section of the garden.

This is one of the designers who exhibited at the Online Needlework show. We'll be adding her designs to our website as well as those from Cindy Valentine, Twisted Oaks (remember the cute box with the otter?), Haberdashery Designs, With My Needle, and Whispered By the Wind.

In case you need to kit this one up right away - the model was stitched on 32 count Waterlily Linen with 2 skeins of #153 Distant Hills Waterliles silk from Caron Collection. I'll be starting this one as soon as I can - my first Blackwork piece.

Fairy Tales

2007-11-09T20:30:00.001-05:00

I just picked up my Fairy Tales (from Mirabilia Designs). It had to be re-framed because the lacing was coming loose for some reason. It had only been about 7 years so I was surprised when it seemed a little saggy. Anyway, the shop that had framed it is still in business and they re-framed it for me. It came out pretty well.

This design is still available if anyone is interested. It makes a great gift for a new mom and baby. You can see Mirabilia Designs here at Needlearts Gallery.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Isn't he cute!

2007-11-08T21:12:00.000-05:00

Isn't he cute! This is Valerie Pfeiffer's Christmas Chick. I knew I liked him (I'm pretty sure he's a him and not a her). But he came out really nicely. I like him better than the other Valerie Pfeiffer chicks because there's more color here. I still have to stitch the Golfing Chick for a gift.

Next starts will be an ornament from the Just Cross Stitch ornaments issue and either Dasher or Donner from Nora Corbett. We know there will be eight reindeer designs and can assume that they will all be about the same size, but I can't decide how I want to do them - all on a large piece fabric or each individual reindeer on its own square of fabric. I suppose if I choose one way, I can always stitch them again if I change my mind later. Here are Dasher and Donner if you would like to start your own.

New Christmas Designs

2007-11-07T09:36:00.000-05:00

Just a very quick update to let you know about some wonderful new Christmas designs that have been released. The Nativity is the second in a series from Glendon Place. (Remember the We Three Kings Design?)

There is also a beautiful new design from Victoria Sampler - Heirloom Nativity Sampler with lots of beautiful threads and specialty stitches.

Be sure to stop by Needlearts Gallery to see more new releases.

Giggles done

2007-10-29T13:12:00.000-04:00

I should have known that feeling like stitching something that normally would drive me crazy didn't bode well. While the beginning of my beading day last week started with quiet beading time, the next part was for sleeping. I just couldn't keep my eyes open. That's a problem when the kids are wide awake! It was the beginning of a nasty cold - the kind that slowly gets passed around the entire family.

So for the last few days, I've had sleepy little ones curled up on my lap while I finished beading. My Giggles in the Snow Boy from Mirabilia Designs is done. I found some nice blue fabric for a backing and I will finish it into a wall hanging this week. He came out nicely I think - but it will be a while before I start the girl.

I have a bunch of ornaments to get stitched and finished in the next few weeks. I have some Valerie Pfeiffer chicks - specifically Christmas Chick and Golfer Chick. Then I saw a Mirabilia fairies Round Robin on another blog this weekend (I'll add the link when I remember which blog it was). The blogger had stitched Lilly's head on her pillow and she looked great. So, now I'm checking out each of the Mirabilia ladies to determine which heads are suitable for ornaments. I also need to do one more of the Kreinik freebie snowmen.

And I just received my Christmas Eve Couriers charts! Must start them too!