August 2017 – Plum Street Samplers

Hello again! The calendar says it's August 3, but it feels like I just got back from Tulsa! Linda from Chessie & Me fame and I were invited by Lindy of The Silver Needle to be the teachers at the annual Summer Stitching Event, and it was absolutely fun-filled and energized and fabulous! And spending time with Linda was wonderful; she's a talented, lovely teacher, and I'm privileged to call her my friend.

And I didn't get one lousy picture of her project. But don't tell her.

Some friend I am.

Actually, I didn't get a picture of mine either, but that's because I knew what it looked like. But I did take a picture of it for the cover of the chart before I left, thank goodness.

In the last few blog posts, I included a tour of Lindy's shop, and today I'd like to share just a few pictures from the actual class with you. The class was held in an open space in the building around the corner from The Silver Needle shop. The temperature outdoors was at least 426 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was during high noon on Day One that Linda-from-Chessie and I decided to head over to the classroom.

It took us about a half hour to get there.

Not because were were enjoying each other's company so much that we had to shoot the breeze (there was no breeze) in the parking lot, but because we went in the opposite direction of where the classroom was, and ended up walking around the entire plaza before we got our bearings. Thankfully we were not eaten by coyotes, but I guess at high noon in an open parking lot in a super bustling part of town, that's not likely to happen. But you never know.

Anyway, we made it to class and as soon as our pulses returned, the retreat went splendidly.

If you ever get the chance to attend the retreat in Tulsa, come hungry.

The Silver Needle hosted a pincushion exchange to raise money for St. Jude's Hospital, and all of the pincushions were so beautiful…

This is stitched over one on 40, y'all…

Here are some of the attendees (hey girls!) discussing the finishing of the little acorn project I brought…

One of the ladies there was working on this breathtaking Scarlet Letter sampler… I was completely gobsmacked.

Here is Shannon, quite a prolific stitcher, working away…

The classroom had a mini shop set up with a trunk show of lots of Chessie & Me and Plum Street models…

Here is one of the attendees, working away on Linda's project, which was a gorgeous painted patriotic house box with a stitched flag mounted to the roof…

On Saturday afternoon, the attendees started packing up and heading back to their homes, and we all said goodbye. Lots of new friendships were formed, and it was so much fun getting to put faces with Instagram names, meeting FlossTubers, and watching Facebook groups reunite. If you ever get the chance to go to the Summer Stitching Event in the future, don't pass it up! I had so much fun, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have met all of you who attended.

After the classroom was broken down – trash out, tables folded, chairs stowed, charts and models boxed, tablecloths shaken out, and cars loaded, the staff and Linda and I headed to Lindy and Craig's house for a huge barbeque and lots of laughter. I did take one parting shot before I got in the car, of Lindy and Craig's fabulous front door. I begged them to let me take it home with me, but they politely refused me. Isn't it great? They certainly knew how to build houses and doors back in 1928.

Thank you for stopping in for the last leg of the tour. Hopefully you'll come back by soon to see the pictures from the Pioneer Woman Mercantile.

All I can say is swoon!

Oh, and before I forget, here is the picture of the class piece I did for the retreat:

And here is the little acorn project and pincushion for the welcome night… you can hardly see the little acorn, but it's there!

See you soon!

Good morning!

I used to be an early riser.

For years it was 5 am, and then I went through a phase of 3:45 that I didn't love much, but grew to. This year I suddenly joined the 6:30 club, which I also don't care for, because I generally feel that by 7 am, my day is half over. I am happiest in the zero-five-hundred-hours range.

This morning I woke up at my beloved 5:15, which has given me lots of ambition for the day. And that translates to another blog post, right on the heels of yesterday's post. That never happens!

(After reading over what I've written, I do realize that it's a sorry state when "ambition" is defined as one blog post per day for two consecutive days.)

So here I am, coming to you with information about my latest releases, as well as a chart error or two that I've been made aware of.

The new patterns I've just shipped to shops this week are these:

A Thousand Hills… I posted about this one on Instagram, bc I've recently fallen in love with bovines. Katrina Devine stitched this (as well as converted the DMC palette to beautiful overdyed flosses), and her little granddaughter Ellie seemed to enjoy watching her stitch it, which made me smile. It made me happy that Sophie immediately claimed the sampler for herself – which also never happens.

The linen used for this sampler is 36 ct. Winter Brew by R&R Reproductions, and the threads used are Classic Colorworks in Tennessee Red Clay, Deep Fennel, Egg Shell, Sunkissed, Pea Pod (2 skeins suggested), Avocado, Hickory Sticks, Ye Olde Gold, Cinnamon Toast, Black Coffee, and Red Currant; Weeks Dye Works floss in Schneckley and Havana.

The stitch count is 156w x 194h, and it is mostly cross stitch over two linen threads, with the tiny black birds stitched over one thread.

THE FOLLOWING IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

Berry Cottage… This one is sort of a follow-up to A Red Cottage, released a few years back. At first I had this dubbed "A Plum Cottage," but something about it wasn't working for me – and that's when I realized it was the color. So I changed it to a rosewood color, added some berries, and found I liked it much better!

This model was stitched by the delightful Penny Houser, and the linen she used was R&R Reproductions' 36 ct. Patriot's Brew. The colors used were Classic Colorworks in Tennessee Red Clay, Used Brick, Bunny Honey, Weeping Willow, Muddy Puddle, Cinnamon Toast, Blackbird, and Red Currant; Weeks Dye Works in Sandcastle and Schneckley.

The stitch count for Berry Cottage is 112w x 83h, and it is stitched mostly in cross stitch over two linen threads, with the miniature cottage stitched over one thread.

Judge Not… I almost didn't release this one! I just wasn't sure if it was going to be a keeper when I sent it to Penny to stitch, but when I got the model back from Sherri (the Fabulous Framer at Total Framing in Fairfax, Virginia), I kind of liked it!

This was stitched on 36 ct. Stars Hollow Blend by R&R Reproductions, and uses colors by Classic Colorworks in Shabby Sheep, Muddy Puddle, Tea and Biscuits (don't you love that name?), Whatley Woodlands, River Rocks, Blackbird, Bunny Honey, Hickory Sticks, Cherry Cobbler, and Toasted Marshmallow.

The stitch count is 223w x 91h, and it is worked entirely in cross stitch over two threads.

Sampler House III… I've been asked how many will be in this series, and I'm not quite sure of the answer to that. I had originally decided on five, but when I decided to release them in pairs, that turned to six, and if I come up with any more ideas, then that will turn to eight, and if I find that I've awakened at 3:45 again one of these mornings, that will turn into ten, and so on. You get the picture.

Pat Ryan stitched this model on 36 ct. Stars Hollow Blend by R&R Reproductions. The threads used are as follows: Classic Colorworks in Antique Lace, Blue Corn, Hickory Sticks, Blackbird, and Ye Olde Gold (on the key on the chart, I accidentally forgot to indicate that those last three colors are by Classic Colorworks also); Weeks Dye Works in Lancaster Red and Garrison Green (my new favorite green); The Gentle Art in Schoolhouse Red.

The stitch count is 98w x 99h (all of the Sampler Houses will be approximately the same size, by the way), and it was worked entirely in cross stitch over two threads.

The finishing was done by the talented Joy Hayward of Finely Finished.

Sampler House IV… Katrina Devine stitched this fall-themed house, and I love the colors she chose to convert to for this one as well!

The model was stitched on 36 ct. Winter Brew by R&R Reproductions, and these are the threads used: Classic Colorworks in Olive Branch; Weeks Dye Works in Tiger's Eye, Havana, Terra Cotta, Caper, Grapevine, Charcoal, and Schneckley; The Gentle Art in Mulberry.

The stitch count for this is 98w x 99h, and the chart is worked entirely in cross stitch over two linen threads.

This one was also beautifully finished by Joy Hayward of Finely Finished.

And there you have it! Those are my releases for this month! I will be pre-releasing some new things at the Dyeing to Stitch retreat in September, as well as the Shepherd's Bush retreat class piece, Heritage Sampler. (Pat is busy working that onto a piece of 36 ct. Olde Towne Blend.) Then in early October, that set will begin making their way to your local shop.

Before I leave, I have one more chart clarification to make:

Thank you so much for stopping by! I'll return soon with more of the long weekend in Tulsa!

The Silver Needle Summer Stitching Event

Releases for July