• Market,  Travel

    Market Off My List

    Okay, so I don't exactly have a list to mark anything off of; perhaps if I did, I'd have posted these market pictures ages ago! Although they're not exactly new releases any more (most of them were released in August) maybe you'll find one or a few that are new to you… (And get a head start on next fall's stitching!)

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    I regret that I couldn't make it to all of the rooms to get pictures of everyone's things – there was so much to see! – but I hope you've enjoyed this small glimpse into how market went in St. Charles this year. I am so excited for the new Nashville market in February of next year! I think it's going to be so much fun, and I can hardly wait for the buzz of it to begin!

  • Market,  New Designs,  Sneak Peeks,  Stitching

    At Last!

    Welcome to the opening day of market! I can hardly stand the excitement!

    As promised, for those of you who are still with me, here is my final fall market release:

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    A Ghoultide Welcome

    Stitch Count: 332w x 176h

    Linen used: 36 ct. Vintage Sand Dune by Lakeside Linens. A great substitute
    would be 36 ct. Lingonier Latte by R&R Reproductions.

    Threads used: Needlepoint Inc. silk (with their DMC equivalents in parentheses):

    903 (435)
    964 (645)
    962 (648)
    692 (677)
    245 (730) (2 skeins suggested)
    241 (733)
    981 (822) (2 skeins suggested)
    954 (611)
    694 (833)
    767 (975)
    316 (830)
    976 (3021)
    588 (3371) (3-4 skeins suggested)
    721 (3830)
    124 (3772)

    Please note: while each stitcher's floss usage is different, I've included what I think would be best for you to have on hand, in case you run just a little short. If you choose to use a lower-count linen, please know that you may need more floss, just as you may need less if you use a higher count. However, since these are not overdyed threads, you will most likely be safe if you don't have all the skeins you need on hand right away, as dye lots for these silks don't vary as much as an overdyed silk or cotton would. It's possible that you've had a different experience, but mine has been one of color consistency among these particular threads.

    The frame for A Ghoultide Welcome is extremely complimentary to the piece, and was chosen by Sherri Berkman of Total Framing in Virginia. I never see my pieces before she sends them to me, as I like to be surprised. I trust Sherri implicitly, and she never disappoints! If you'd like more information on this frame or any others used on my designs, please give her a call at 703-426-0660.

    There is a small area of personalization on this chart that will require either a tent stitch (basically a half stitch, or a stitch that hasn't been crossed) or a full over-one-thread stitch, whichever you choose to do. An alphabet chart has been provided for you to graph out your own name, or you can certainly fill the area instead with a motif from elsewhere in the chart.

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    I hope you've had fun looking at the previews this week! I'm very excited to get back to the drawing board and see what comes out of the mouse. It almost never matches what is in my mind, but that's okay. I'm always up for surprises!

    Happy Market to You!

    P.S. A patriotic-themed "Welcome" is brewing…

     

  • Market,  New Designs,  Sneak Peeks,  Stitching

    A Sneak Peek…

    It's almost time for market to open! It's open early tonight for the designers who have Early Bird Specials or Limited Editions they're selling. But I generally don't participate because I'd be dying to get out of my room and into their rooms to see what wonderful creations they've come up with! Isn't that just awful? Every year I say, "Okay, Paulette, you're doing a Limited Edition for Friday night, next year." Then along comes Friday-night-next-year, and all is dark in the Plum Street Suite.

    Crickets… crickets…

    I can usually be found bouncing from room to room, trying not to look like a regular Peeping Tom if the doors are shut. I just can't help myself. Market is just so exciting!

    Instead of a preview of my last release, I've decided to do a sneak peek instead. The reason for this is because some shops have told me that they actually do like a surprise sometimes! So I really hope I'm not frustrating those of you who may have stopped back by to see what the last release is, but I'm sure by this photo, you'll be able to figure it out quite easily…

    Hint: It's a companion to a sampler released at last year's St. Charles market.

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    I will definitely have it posted tomorrow, along with all the information you need if you'd like to stitch it!

    In the mean time, I'm going to look forward to pressing my face up against all the suite windows to try to see what goodies await in exchange for what's in my pocketbook. I'll try to take lots of pictures for you, too, so you can experience a little of what it's like as well!

    It's almost market day!

     

     

     

  • Market,  New Designs,  Sneak Peeks,  Stitching

    Market Preview #5

    By the time you read this, I'll be way up in the sky, happily awaiting my tiny bag of airplane peanuts while I'm making a bee-line to St. Charles for market.

    (By the way, I read on www.phrases.org.uk that the phrase make a bee line came from the "waggle dance" that forager bees perform for other bees in order to tell them where a good source of nectar can be found. Apparently, the angle and length of the dance denotes how close and in what direction the bees should fly, and as soon as it's communicated, they "make a bee line" straight to the appropriate flowers. Hopefully I won't break out in one of these waggle dances as soon as I de-plane.)

    The next release has nothing to do with bees, believe it or not. But it does have to do with wiener dogs.

    First there was Halloweenies, and then there was its companion Winter Wienerland. The next in the accidental series of Doxie-designs is a Thanksgiving-themed one:

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    Turkey Sausage

    Stitch Count: 200w x 60h

    Linen used: 36 ct. Vintage Pearled Barley by Lakeside Linens

    Threads used: The Gentle Art (with their equivalents in DMC):
    Mulberry (300)
    Heirloom Gold (610)
    Toffee (680)
    Endive (830)
    Cinnamon (975)
    Wood Trail (3021)
    Espresso Bean (3371)
    Country Redwood (3777)
    Terra Cotta (3826)
    Old Red Paint (3859)
    Weathered Barn (3858)
    Oatmeal (Ecru)

    Thank you once again to Nicole Neville for stitching the model for me!

    I'd like to take a moment to thank all of you who have received this little series so warmly, whether or not you actually own a Dachshound. I've never owned one, but I find them to be the most hilarious of the little dog sort, and the few that I've met have been the gentlest creatures.

    Stop by tomorrow for a peek at my final market release, and don't forget to let your shop owner know as soon as possible if you see anything anywhere online that you'd like for her/him to bring back to you! I'm very, very excited to see what is being offered this time around from some of my favorite designers and thread and linen dyers!

    I'll see you very soon!

  • Market,  New Designs,  Sneak Peeks,  Stitching

    Market Preview #4

    One of my very favorite rooms at market to go into is Lone Elm Lane's, because it feels like I'm walking straight into a Country Living magazine; oh, for the love of stitching, how do they take a simple Dixie cup and sweet tea and turn them into a veritable goblet of country goodness?

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    Their Shaker boxes are absolutely gorgeous, and if you've ever seen them at your local needlework shop, you know that they're beautiful, high-quality boxes, made in the same traditional way that the Shakers made them.

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    Please pass the smelling salts.

    It's so hard for me to choose one favorite, because really, I see the sampler-potential for every single color! But if I had to choose one or three, I'd say my favorites are the Wooly White, the Shepherd's Bush Plum, and the Robin's Egg Blue.

    Which brings me to my next release…

    As I said in my blog post yesterday, I absolutely love love love the traditional colors of autumn – the burnt orange, mahogany, chocolate, gold – they're all so cozy! But I also love the unexpected, cooler colors – which can actually mingle quite well with the deeper shades of this glorious season.

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    This is Autumn Posy, and I've chosen the 6" Robin's Egg Blue box to mount it onto.

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    Autumn Posy

    Stitch Count: 97w x 95h

    Linen used: 36 ct. Vintage Pecan Butter by Lakeside Linens

    Threads used: Weeks Dye Works (with their DMC equivalents in parentheses):
    Mulberry (154)
    Kohl (310)
    Sea Foam (504)
    Whiskey (729)
    Sanguine (754)
    Havana (830)
    Hazelnut (975)
    Kudzu (3011)
    Bark (3021)
    Putty (3046)
    Icicle (3756)
    Schneckley (3829)
    Terra Cotta (3830)

    Trim used: Cinnamon Rick-Rack by R&R Reproductions

    Thank you so very much to Nicole Neville for her stitching talent! I'm so appreciative of her taking time to stitch this for me, considering she's got a full-time job and a housefull of very active (and handsome) boys!

     By the way, I just have to share with you one of my favorite Bible verses that seems as if it was made specifically for autumn:

    Psalm 65:11a – "Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness." (KJV)

    How perfectly poetic and true!

    (Two more days!)

  • Market,  New Designs,  Sneak Peeks

    Coming Soon to Market…

    Well goodness, I can't believe I'm leaving in just a few days for the St. Charles market, and I haven't even gotten a blog preview posted! As some of you know, I've been madly in love with bees lately… so much so that three of my six new market releases will be honeybee-themed!

    I just can't help myself!

    So to start out the preview-parade (ahem), the first sampler I'll show here is one that features a verse by Isaac Watts… and who hasn't wanted a pet rooster?

    Anyone?

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    Gathering Honey

    Stitch Count: 222(w) x 161(h)

    Fabric used: 40 ct. Espresso by R&R Reproductions

    The Gentle Art threads used (with DMC equivalents in parentheses):
    Mountain Mist (523)
    Tarnished Gold (610)
    Old Hickory (642)
    Endive (730) (2 skeins suggested)
    Grecian Gold (832)
    Lambswool (950)
    Wheat Fields (3045)
    Brandy (3046)
    Roasted Marshmallow (3047)
    Wood Trail (3781) (2 skeins suggested)
    Old Red Paint (3830)
    Oatmeal (Ecru)

    The absolutely gorgeous frame was done by none other than Sherri Berkman at Total Framing in Virginia!

    I'll be back soon with another market preview. In the meantime, I hope you're finding lots of other previews and sneak peeks online that you're calling your shop owner about… I tend to show a few things and hold a few things back, just because I never know if people like the pre-order with their shop, or if they simply love to be surprised! I may end up just showing them all on Friday night though, just before the early-bird portion of the market opens. 🙂

    I can't wait!

  • Market,  New Designs,  Stitching

    Market Again!

    When we last visited, I was in Lone Elm's gorgeous suite. And now we'll enter the Needlework Press room, where I was quite charmed by this Adam and Eve sampler:

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    I love the two little girls under the tree that the stitcher added. She must have had quite the imagination! And as usual, Vicki and Megan had so many lovely things in addition to their reproduction samplers….

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    My next door neighbor this year was Claudia of Dutch Treat Designs. I had never met her before, and what a lovely, loveley person she is. She invited me in to see her antique Bristol sampler by orphan Emma Sanford, which Claudia has kindly reproduced for those of us who are fascinated with the history of George Müller's orphanages…

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    I loved reading about George Müller when I was a young teenager, so to be viewing a real sampler from one of his faith-built orphanages was quite surreal for me. Thank you, Claudia, for sharing your time with me, and for all of the lovely designs you have!

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    Stacy Nash's room was a real pleasure to visit… the spring flowers – as well as her new designs – were gorgeous, and quite the talk of market!

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    Bonnie Woomer of The Nebby Needle was on the other side of me at market, and she had a room full of fun girls with her! This was Bonnie's first market, and I hope to have her as a neighbor at future markets. I love her things – these two, especially:

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    Stepping out of the elevator again…

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    …And now we're at Threadgatherer's room! Cece has the most luscious silks!

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    And she always brings along her scrumptious lip balms and other natural products…

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    Pam and Bob of Olde Colonial Designs are some of my favorite people. And their suite was full of all the beautiful wooden treasures they create for our world of needlework…

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    Look at this tiny antique perfume bottle and stitched topper:

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    So sweet…

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    Praiseworthy Stitches' room was fabulous! They have the most spectacular seasonal samplers…

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    One of the ladies I was most looking forward to meeting was Niky of Nikyscreations. What a talented artist she is (and several of us agreed that we could spend all day listening to her beautiful Italian accent)…

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    Her tables were scattered with the most delicate little items, crocheted, stitched, and even wooden…

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    I so wish I had gotten to visit more people! Perhaps next time… but until then, I leave you with some of the sweet, fresh daffodils Sharon of The Purple Thread brought to me. Daffodils are my very favorite flower, so I was very happy to have them brighten up the little table right next to the doorway…

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    (Behind the daffodils is the Crowned Bird Sampler, which will be coming to a shop owner near you later this spring or early summer.)

    Thank you so much for joining me "at market!" I'm already excited for the next one!

  • Friends,  Market,  New Designs,  Stitching

    Market!

    I'm a little late in getting this posted, but here I am with just a few of the gorgeous things that were found at the needlework market in Nashville this year! I'm so sad for the shops and designers that couldn't make it because of the weather, but it was sure wonderful seeing those that could be there. Thank you so much to everyone who came out and supported the designers; each one of you is such a blessing.

    This year I brought along my dear friend Katrina Devine to help me in my room. Katrina is exceptionally organized and kept everything running smoothly (which I was extremely grateful for), so I was able to get out and visit a few rooms and take a few photos! I didn't get to nearly enough of them, but here are the ones I did get to:

    First stop was The Purple Thread… everywhere one looks, one finds a new treasure. Sharon is such a talented friend, and I love her displays…

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    And then there's my Canadian Sister Jeanette Douglas… Such exquisite details in her samplers!

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    And aren't these the sweetest tags? I love them! Jeanette has such a lovely way with color and elegance…

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    There are only two companies I trust with my coffee beans: Starbucks and R&R Reproductions. The ladies at R&R offered the most beautiful linens, and I came home with a venti-sized cut of Espresso. 😉

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    I loved this pillow by Threadwork Primitives, in R&R's room. It was such a pleasure meeting sweet Nan!

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    Shepherd's Bush never ceases to amaze me with their beautiful color palettes. Nobody designs like Tina and Teri, and they've been a favorite of mine since I learned my x's.

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    This one was a favorite of Katrina's and mine:

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    Samplers Not Forgotten had the most stunning samplers! Kim Nugent has reproduced several from her collection, and believe me when I tell you these samplers are huge! I was quite stunned to see them in person, but couldn't get a good photo because she was a good girl and had them all glassed in. 😉

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    One of my favorite stops is always at Chessie & Me's room. Her things are such a pleasure to look at, to photograph, and to stitch…

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    I absolutely love the saying on this: Pursue the pleasures of a peaceful life.

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    Beautiful as usual, Linda!

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    Stephanie and her gorgeous family (of Lone Elm Lane) were my next-door neighbors at the last market in St. Charles, but this time we were stationed a few doors down from them. Their room puts me in the best mood! It's like walking into a Country Living magazine, and the welcome is always so warm and friendly!

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    I have lots more to show you, but I think I'll end this post right here. I'll be back very soon with the rest!

    It was truly a fabulous time at market…  There were so many rooms I missed, either because of timing or crowds, but hopefully you'll be able to visit lots of blogs from those who attended to see what else was there.

    See you soon!

  • Market,  New Designs,  Stitching

    Just Released

    Market was so much fun! I'll be back soon with some photos from some of the suites I visited so you can get a peek into what was on display this year at Nashville. But first, in case you haven't seen these last three releases of mine posted anywhere, here is all the information you'll need if you're interested in stitching them. Just contact your online or local shop owner, and they'll get you everything you need!

    Welcome All Hearts Home…This design could pass as a Christmas piece, but it was really inspired by my early morning walks in the spring and summer at the lake near my house. I pass a lot of different flowers and deer along the way, and the paths cut into some of the most beautifully-fragrant evergreens. The fresh scent of the trees is breathtaking, and the deer are always just as surprised to see me as I am to see them!

    Welcome All Hearts Home tp

    Stitch Count: 225w x 141h
    Threads: Gentle Art in Espresso Bean, Old Red Paint,
    Lexington Green, Wood Trail, Antique Lace, Old Brick,
    Endive (2 skeins needed), Clover, and Mulberry.
    Linen Used: 36 ct. Vintage Lt. Examplar by Lakeside Linens.
    Suggested Alternative Linens: Olde Town Blend by R&R
    Reproductions, Parchment by Weeks Dye Works, or any
    other neutral linen would work nicely.
    Stitches used: All cross stitch, using one strand over two linen threads.
    Framed by: Total Framing in Fairfax, VA
    Model Stitcher: Rindy Richards (who stitched the grassy field vertically,
    to have the variegation go in the direction that grass grows!)

    A Friend Loveth… I originally released this design at the Reflections retreat a few years ago. The lovely ladies at that shop (hello, Mary Ann, Julie, and Connie!) put on the most relaxing retreat in the spring, where attendees can come and stitch to their hearts' content, eat lots of good food, and even get a massage if they'd like. The theme that year was A Recipe for Friendship, and they mounted this piece on the most gorgeous black pedestal. (I wish I had a photo!) Mine was framed by the lovely Sherri Berkman of Total Framing, however, and as usual, she did an outstanding job.

    A Friend Loveth tp

    Stitch Count: 88w x 61h
    Threads: Gentle Art in Tin Bucket, Faded Rose, Brandy,
    Lambswool, Garden Gate, Mountain Mist, Wood Smoke,
    Dried Thyme, Antique Rose, Brethren Blue, and Oatmeal.
    Linen Used: 36 ct. Vintage Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens.
    Suggested Alternative Linens: Espresso by R&R,
    Straw by Weeks Dye Works, or any other neutral linen.
    Stitches Used: All cross stitch, using one strand over two threads.
    Framed by: Total Framing in Fairfax, VA.
    Model Stitcher: Karen Decker (Thank you for coming to my
    rescue, Karen!)

    True Friendship (Pat's Sampler)… I first met Pat Ryan at the Shepherd's Bush retreat in 2012, where I was rooming with her, as well as the darling Ann Robbins and Jeanette Douglas. Pat and I would sit in the early mornings with our coffee and stitching and just chat away until the other girls joined us for their morning coffee as well. I'd sit there with my mother's Christmas exchange piece in my lap and pretend to stitch, but mostly I'd just drink my coffee and marvel at the speed of Pat's work. When all of us visited Mount Vernon the following year, Pat was our tour guide, as she can put the History Channel to shame with her vast knowledge on literally any subject – including my beloved George Washington. 🙂 When I spotted this quote by George in a gift shop, I knew I had to put it on a sampler for Pat!

    True Friendship tp

    Stitch Count: 91w x 95h
    Threads: Gentle Art in Raven, Brandy, Piney Woods,
    Endive, Sable, Wood Smoke, Pomegranate, Sea Spray,
    Terra Cotta, and Oatmeal.
    Linen Used: 40 ct. Olde Town Blend by R&R Reproductions.
    Suggested Alternative Linens: Lentil by Lakeside Linens,
    Parchment by Weeks Dye Works, or any other neutral linen.
    With a few adjustments to the threads, I think this would also
    look lovely on black!
    Framed by: Total Framing in Fairfax, VA
    Stitches Used: All cross stitch, using one strand over two linen threads.
    Model Stitcher: Kathy Krause (Thank you so much for re-stitching
    this for me in record time, when I wasn't happy with how my particular
    variegation was turning out!)

    I also want to show you all the depth of this fabulous moulding that Sherri chose… I'm in love with it! My partner at market, Katrina Devine, also suggested it would be great with glass and used as a little tray.

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    It was so lovely seeing all of the shop owners at market! They are just the sweetest bunch of ladies who work very, very hard to support we designers and to encourage us with their warm reception of what we place on our room tables. I'm so sorry that there were many who were kept away because of the weather extremes plagueing the roads and airports. I hope you all will be able to make it to the St. Charles market in August! I'm already excited for it!

    Again, if there is anything you've seen from Nashville's market that you're interested in, contact your shop owner! I'm thrilled to say that the Norden exclusive The Beekeeper has sold out, but upon Norden's request, there are some shop owners who have posted in the comments that they may have extras, so please let your shop owner know to head over to Norden's Facebook page if they didn't get the opportunity to purchase any kits. Thank you to all of you who had so many lovely things to say about it.. I really enjoyed working with Norden on it, and Katy did such a beautiful job on the kits!

    Until next time!