Cherry Blossom Biscornu and Just Nans

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

Ornaments finished

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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!

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.

Isn't he cute!

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

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

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!

What a day!

For some reason, I woke up this morning feeling far more patient than usual (might be related to last night's baseball game - or it might not). So, to take advantage of this unusual event, I decided to sit down and bead Giggles in the Snow - the parts that I would normally dread - all those little beads spread far apart from all the rest of the stitching. So - I did complete half of the beading. I wonder when I'll wake up in that mood again?

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. It still hasn't gotten cold here - which is unusual. I'm still pulling veggies - tomatoes, green beans, eggplant and carrots from the garden. My roses are even blooming! Since it hasn't been cold, even at night, it took a whole lot longer for the leaves to change and we didn't get as wide a range of colors as usual. But they did finally change - I think it was overnight somewhere between last Thursday and Friday. Its supposed to rain and be windy tomorrow so I wanted to get out there and see the leaves before they're gone. Here's our backyard and then a more distant picture of the ridge where we live.

I love Fall!!

Christmas Eve Couriers

Christmas Eve Couriers is the new series from Nora Corbett - the designer of Mirabilia Designs. Nora has released two designs for her new series - Dasher and Donner. She has also released two more designs for her Pixie Couture Design series - Rose and Violet. The reindeer designs are really cute and they're small - nice quick stitches. I can't wait to stitch the reindeer. There's a pretty interesting discussion going on about Nora's new designs on the Mirabilia bulletin board if anyone is interested in contributing (plus the board always provides lots of inspiration).

Here are links to the new reindeer designs -

Dasher	Donner

Another ornament stitched

I finished the stitching on my 'Daniel' name tree. I still need to add a star and beads and then I'll finish both of them into ornament/gift tags. I wish I had noticed that the Daniel ornament is significantly larger than the Chris ornament. At least now I'll be careful to check the sizes when stitching other name trees. Unfortunately, this is a pretty pitiful picture. I'll try to get a better one when the sun is out.


On the baby stitchable front - I still have a few bibs and sippy cups left. Please email me if you're interested!

On the store front - new Mirabilia and Nora Corbett designs will be going up tonight. They're so cute - you have to check them out!

Baby stuff

I've been reading a whole bunch of stitching blogs - and there are a whole lot of babies on the way. Which made me think about all the baby stitchables I acquired while waiting for my boys to arrive. Most of it is still waiting to be stitched. For the most part, the ones that were stitched were stitched for other babies (nieces and nephews and friends). I have tons of baby stuff. So, given the number of babies on the way - I have decided to give it away to other stitchers who can make better use of it than I can. I have booties, bibs, caps, bonnets - and tons of charts for baby designs - Alma Lynne, Stoney Creek and a bunch more. So, for anyone who is interested please send me an email - let me know if this is a boy or girl or unknown and the type of item in which you're interested and we'll put something together! I'll feel so much better having these things in the hands of someone who will use them!

Thanks!



Edited to add pics

Happy Dancin'

I'm happy dancing. Not that I actually accomplished much, it was more of an acquisition than an accomplishment. Last year, an acquaintance wrote to me about finding a Bee Skep Tassel Topper from Just Nan. She hadn't been able to find one in some time and I had one. I had been planning to stitch Barnabee's Quest but hadn't gotten around to it (it had already been a couple of years). Anyway, I agreed to sell her mine. A couple of months later, for my birthday, I got the embellishment packs for all three parts and was ready to start stitching. That's when I found out that the Tassel Toppers were no longer available. I searched so many stores. I searched eBay. I just couldn't find one. Anyway - fast forward to this past week. European Cross Stitch sent out a newsletter and mentioned that they had just one of a 'Tassel Topper'. What were the chances that is was the one that I was looking for? IT WAS! So, I ordered as quickly as possible and crossed my fingers. I tried not to get too excited because I've ordered before only to find out that whichever shop it was didn't really have them in stock. But now -- I got an email confirming that it is on its way!!!!! I am so excited!!

On to accomplishments (which pale in comparison to my acquisition) --

I finally have the beads for Mirabilia's Giggles in the Snow. So now it says Snow Angel. I still have to add all the scattered beads.

I also mounted my Scream Girls from Just Nan in its WhimZi frame. I like the pouff of orange hair on the ghost on the frame.

Goals for this week:

Finish stitching Daniel name tree

Beading on Snow Angel

find backing fabric for both name trees

Find Mirabilia Designs and Just Nan cross stitch designs on my website.

Flurry book cover

I finally finished the "Flurry" cross stitch freebie from Kreinik as a little notebook cover. I found these cute notebooks at the supermarket. The pink cover of one of the notebooks reminded me of the colors in the Flurry design so I decided to put it on the cover.

This is one of the few pieces I've stitched on Aida. I'm not really a fabric snob - but I definitely disliked the feeling of the needle going through this Aida. Although - its still not as bad as the feel of the needle going through some canvas. I need to stitch another of these little guys but I think I'll use Damask aida or maybe some hand-dyed aida with a different feel to it.

Unfortunately - no good pics of the finished cover. I'll try to get some more tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Christmas Biscornu

As part of my Christmas ornament stitching, I started on Just Nan's Christmas Biscornu design. The embellishment pack for this design has a whole lot of beads - certainly more than I expected. This will be quite sparkly. I still have some smyrnas to do and all of the beading on the trees side - then I'll start on the Snowflakes side. It stitches up pretty quickly. We have this design and Just Nan's other new Christmas designs available at Needlearts Gallery.

A quick note about the Mirabilia design, Seaside Kingdom. Silkweaver has, in the past, dyed an opalescent fabric just for this design - sand colored on the bottom and sky colored on the top. I understand from Tracy at Silkweaver that they will have more of this fabric soon - so if you've been waiting for it, keep an eye out on their site. The Seaside Kingdom design has been discontinued but we still have a couple of charts available. We don't have this design on the Mirabilia page of the site since we can't order more, but you can send us your request if you are looking for this chart and we'll be happy to help while we still have some.

Its finally cooling off here and feels more like fall. And its rainy too. Tomorrow will be a good day to make a nice soup and some hearty bread. I love sweater weather!

Gimme a 'D'!

Here's the D and the A and the N. Now I just need the I and the E and the L. This is my 'Daniel' name tree from Mary McLenon of M Designs. Even though its stitched over one, it stitches up very quickly. I'll finish this into an ornament/gift tag.



On the shop front, this has been an absolutely wonderful week for new releases and new additions to the store. Some adorable new designs from The Gathering Place - Michael's Tree House and Night Creatures. More great additions - we will be carrying a selection of Heaven and Earth Designs. We hope to keep expanding the number and variety of designs from HAED that we offer.


We have also decided to become a part of the Hoffman Distributing online merchant mall. This means that you will have the ability to order any chart offered by Hoffman Distributing through our site. While Hoffman offers a vast catalog with great variety and pictures, they do not present the additional information for designs such as recommended fabric and stitch counts. We will continue to update our site with this information for our most popular designers. We are really excited to be able to offer this service! Look for the Hoffman mall sometime this month.

Scream Girls

Here's a cute Halloween ornament that stitched up real quickly. Scream Girls WhimZi design from Just Nan. The WhimZi frame is Scarey Hairy. I just need to get some fusible web to get it mounted according to the directions.


You can get both of these from our online shop.

This stitched up really quickly. I'm planning to start Lady Scarlet's Secret Garden - just because its cute. I doubt I would actually use it - but its cute.

Happy stitching!

Poor Planning

Poor planning on my part. Actually, no planning on my part. I simply assumed that since I have a ridiculous amount of Mill Hill beads, I would have the beads I needed to finish this. Unfortunately, I was wrong. So, right now it says "SNOW" instead of "SNOW ANGEL" since the ANGEL part is written entirely in the beads that I don't have. On the positive side, the rest of the stitching is done. The beads should arrive this week.

Here's a pic -

Then, I was going through a pile of WIPs. I found one of my folders marked "cherub" from sometime in 2005. Inside I had a collection of freebie Mirabilia cherub charts and one started cherub. Of course, its going to take some time to figure out which cherub I started. I don't know what I was thinking. Now I have something to do this weekend ;-)

We have a couple more of the Giggles in Snow charts in the shop. Be sure to stop by our Mirabilia page if you are looking for this design.

Have a great weekend everyone!

More snow-stitching

I've been stitching and finishing up Giggles in the Snow. I've been bringing it along to stitch in the car while waiting for school to get out - the sunlight makes it so wonderfully easy to see everything. (If I'm ever going to stitch on black Belfast, it should be midafternoon in the car!) Unfortunately, somehow in its travels this week and last weekend, it has gotten pretty badly creased. Bummer!

My younger boy has continued to ask for a knitted afghan for Christmas. I've had the Great American Aran Afghan book and the yarn for a while. I think I'll pick a few of those squares. I love the square that has an aran sweater on it. I'll use patterns from my favorite sweaters for the other squares. Not sure what I'll make for my older boy. Still thinking about that one.

We're still waiting for the leaves to change. It was 89F today and we haven't had rain for a while now. I hope the rain doesn't all come when the leaves do start to change. Its sad in those years when a couple of rain/wind storms knock down all the leaves in just a a day or two after they change.

Our apples are just getting ripe and so are our pair of pears (all we got this year). DH and the kids have great plans for apple pies, applesauce, apple dumplings and who knows what else. This is the first year we'll actually get some nice apples. I wish we knew what we did differently so we could do it again.

Off I go to finish the snow!

When is Fall coming?

Well, its supposed to be 85F here today, and it was yesterday as well. It had been cooler, in the 60s and 70s, for about a week. I know we usually get an Indian Summer, but generally that is after the leaves have turned, and usually after they have even fallen. So far, our leaves haven't really turned at all. I hope they don't just all turn yellow and fall off the trees overnight like they did last year (some sort of fungus or illness). Except for pumpkins in all the fields around here, it still looks like and feels like Summer.

No stitching pics today. I'm working on finishing up the Giggles in the Snow boy from Mirabilia. Its hard to show progress when you're stitching snow on white fabric. I should be done stitching this weekend and then a big finish-a-thon.

Items to finish:
Chris name tree - ornament
Kreinik freebie snowman - mirror case
Trick or Treat band - wrap for basket
Sweetheart Tree Rosebuds and Hardanger - not sure yet
Thistles kit from Victoria Sampler - not sure - maybe a needlebook?

Christmas stitching still to do:
Daniel's tree ornament
Golfing Chick from Valerie Pfeiffer
Another Kreinik freebie snowman (the recipients are sisters)
Brooke's Books Cherry on Top

And now my son would like me to knit a nice warm, soft afghan. I'll have to think about that one.

And there's some Christmas sewing to be done as well. Time to give the sewing machine some exercise.

Have a great weekend!

It feels like Autumn!

Its gorgeous out! Its about 65 F, not a cloud in the sky, a nice breeze and nice and dry. Just beautiful. Now that the nights are getting cooler, the leaves will start to turn as well. And, of course, fair season is in full swing. The Big E - (for non-New Englanders - that's the huge state fair for all of the New England states at once) starts this weekend. It sure feels like Fall. And best of all - both kids will be back in school today!!!!

We always have folks call to visit in the second of half of September that we only see once a year - due to our convenient location near the Big E. I suppose if we didn't live near it, we wouldn't see some of these people at all. This year, the littlest ones who stop by are going to help plant daffodil bulbs. Kind of keeping with agricultural theme of a trip to a state fair. I hope to get about 400 bulbs in the ground over the next few weeks. Can't wait to see them in the Spring.

On the stitching front, I'm working on Giggles in the Snow from Mirabilia Designs again. I still have the snow to complete and some more backstitching on the boy. I wish Nora would create some more boy designs. She does such a beautiful job on them, but she has only had a few and those - Giggles in the Snow and Seaside Kingdom - have been discontinued. Speaking of which, we do have a few more of the discontinued designs from Mirabilia Designs but, due to the limited quantity, they are not on our site. If you are interested in these, please feel free to send an email or fill in the request form on our site. So here's my little boy Snow Angel:

Cooling off

Its cool and rainy today. Yesterday was hot and rainy and Saturday was just wave after wave of thunderstorms. The good thing about being cool and rainy is that I can turn on the oven and we can have a more substantial dinner than usual. Some roast beast and potatoes will be a nice change from salads, burgers and sandwiches.

Rainy weather also means that I can get a little more progress done. And, when the little one starts school this week, I get even more done!!!!

I was able to finish my trick or treat band. Now I just need to line the back with my Halloween fabric so no stitches can be snagged by any canes sticking out from the basket, a little velcro on each end to secure the band and it will be done. Next - onto another name tree ornament, some more time on Mirabilia's Fairy Idyll and Giggles in the Snow, and then a big finishing marathon. Here's my Trick or Treat from Cross Eyed Cricket stitched on linen banding:

Each letter is really cute - a tree, a candy apple and caramel apple, a haunted house, Indian corn, a spider, a broom. Really neat!


Just a little shop note - the newest ornaments from The Sweetheart Tree will be up on the site this week. These are for days 5, 6, 7 and 8 from the Twelve Days of Christmas series. Really cute.

Halloween and Fairy Idyll

Just a quick note - for those of you who were unaware, Wichelt Imports, a major supplier for the cross stitch industry experienced major flooding in the floods that hit the mid-West last month. We wish the folks at Wichelt and the surrounding areas the best during their recovery.

Just a little stitching in the last week. Stitching time should improve now that the kids are in school and everyone has a regular schedule once again.

Here's a quick update on my Halloween stitching. This is the Trick-or-Treat banner from The Cricket Collection. I picked out a nice autumn fabric for the backing and I have the perfect basket to be dressed up with the finished band.

I did finally get some stitching done on Mirabilia's Fairy Idyll. The rabbit statue's head is done. I'll keep this piece out to work on whenever I have a few minutes waiting for the school bus or other stitching time that is likely to be interrupted at a moment's notice. That won't be easy since its so large, but I can't really work on holiday stitching for kids projects if they might walk in any minute!

I hope to finish off the Trick or Treat banner this week and then get to work on some smalls. I also have pile of pieces to finish off and I've been reading lots of blogs this week seeking finishing ideas. Its amazing how much talent is out there - and, thanks to blogs, we get to see so much more than we would have before the "blogger movement".

Back to School sale

So, Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend as we begin our transition into fall - soccer, baseball, juggling schedules, homework, football games, harvesting and all the other great things about Fall! Don't forget to make time for stitching - you owe it to yourself (I keep telling myself that). And stitching now could really lessen the stress at the holidays. (I keep telling myself that also.)

Our Back to School sale will begin tomorrow and continue through the holiday weekend. Please be aware that Wichelt Imports, a major supplier for the cross stitch industry, experienced major flooding as a result of the storms that came across the mid-West last week. They have delayed shipping orders until they are able to recover from their floods. So, in some cases, orders may take a little longer than usual to ship - but we will keep you updated on the situation.

No pics today - but this is even better. I learned about this designer on the Mirabilia Bulletin board. A Mon Ami Pierre is a French designer with wonderful designs. Cute fairies and wonderful alphabets! The site is in French but with some translations. We won't be able to carry all of their designs, but we are hoping to carry some. In the meantime, they do accept Paypal via their site.

End of Summer already

Boy did Summer fly by! Back to school next week. Running from store to store to get the "perfect" school supplies. It was bad enough to have to shop for the "perfect" school clothes, but now apparently, basic school supplies aren't so basic anymore either. I'll pull my hair out if the kids get to school and the teacher says they can't use what we bought (which is what happened last year).

On the stitching front, I finally got to work on Mirabilia Designs' Fairy Idyll (and still am). That bunny's ears didn't seem quite so long when I looked at the picture. But they really are long. I'll post an update pic when I get a little further along. I forget how much I enjoy stitching this design.

Also regarding Mirabilia Designs - we have finally been able to get a bunch more of the Mirabilia Designs cross stitch charts listed on the online store. They have always been available through us by phone or email - but its so much easier when they are online . We also still have a few of each of the discontinued charts but we did not put them online. Be sure to drop us an email if you are looking any of these designs.

I did do a little work on my Halloween cross stitch project during the week. Here's a quick pic. This will be cute wrapped around a basket of candy for the big night.

Remember our Back to School sale will be over Labor Day weekend. 10-15% off nearly everything. Be sure to stop by - Needlearts Gallery

New Halloween designs!

Look at these cute Halloween designs from The Cricket Collection. These will be available at the end of the month (just in time for the Back to School sale).

Our Back to School sale will be over Labor Day weekend. 15% off nearly everything. Be sure to stop by!

A Halloween Start and an UFO

In my Christmas planning panic (an annual event), I managed to skip Halloween and Thanksgiving. So, I started a little Halloween project. From the Cricket Collection, this is Trick-or-Treat. The chart also has three bears dressed up for Halloween. Hopefully, I'll finish this in a week or so.

Then.....since its just about back to school time, I've been organizing and planning and figuring and such. Of course, this includes planning stitching time in between soccer, baseball, PTO and shop time. For the last 9 months (rather embarrassing) I have had a particular goal on my stitching list and have made absolutely no progress on it. Mirabilia's Fairy Idyll has been a UFO for some time now. My goal has been to get to the rabbit. I really love this design, but I've always known that I really don't have anywhere to put it once I finish it. Anyway, my Christmas present to me (rather early I admit) is to spend 12 hours on a weekend in August stitching on Fairy Idyll. I desperately want to get to the rabbit!

My next motivation is Indian Summer Reflections. I really love this design and I love stitching it. So, I've decided that there will be no more stitching on ISR until I have finished stitching the Daniel name tree from M Designs, the golfing chick from Valerie Pfeiffer, Be Thankful from Shepherd's Bush. Then I have to do the ornament finishing for these and a few others.

For shop news, keep an eye out for our Back to School sale. I know that lots of us are awaiting the start of school to keep moving on some projects. The Back to School sale will be at the end of August and beginning of September - so be sure to keep an eye out.

New Just Nans

See the new Just Nan designs. This year's Christmas Ornament is a Christmas Biscornu. There are options for silk or DMC and the chart includes finishing instructions. The embellishments include lots of gold and silver crystal beads as well as garnet flowers and Swarovski crystal buttons. The new Just Nan designs will ship after the third week in August.

Stay tuned for more new Just Nan additions in the next few days.

We heard from lots of new customers for our Christmas in July sale. Its always great to meet new customers. We will have our Back to School sale over Labor Day weekend. Be sure to make a note of it and stop by!

New Crescent Colours

Just a reminder - tomorrow is the last day of our Christmas in July (and August) sale. Be sure to stop by and get your Christmas stitching projects kitted up.

We have also added Crescent Colours hand-dyed cotton floss to our offerings. Crescent Colours are available in a wide range of colors and there are an increasing array of designs using these beautiful threads. We will soon be adding the Crescent Colours silk as well.

Here is an update on the Rosebuds and Hardanger from The Sweetheart Tree. This was a great little piece to stitch. There was more than enough floss to complete the project (possibly even a second piece). There are just enough of the crystal paillettes for one piece, however, additional paillettes can be purchased separately.

We hope to hear from you at our Christmas in July sale!