• Needlework Shops,  Retreats,  Stitching,  Summer,  Travel

    The Silver Needle Tour – Part 2

    July 31, 2017

    My goodness, where have I been?? I'm so sorry to leave you hanging like that! If you haven't given up on me just yet, let's continue our tour!

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    If you are ever able to visit The Silver Needle. you'll be greeted by a very sweet staff and hopefully the Head Proprietress Herself, Lindy…

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    The shop is huge! It's full of pretty much anything you'd need to fill your stitching hours with…

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    (In the usual paparazzi fashion, I stalked Linda from Chessie and Me while she shopped for flax outerwear…)

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    (One of my guest rooms – formerly Sabrina's room – has been slowly evolving into a Farm Suite. I'm not sure I meant to do that, but evidence of my love for cows and sheep have made their way into that room, so perhaps I should add a bit of pork to the decor with Stacy Nash's design below…)

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    I hope you enjoyed this brief second half of the Silver Needle Tour! I'll be back soon – I promise this time! – with more photos from my five-day-weekend in Tulsa, which includes a visit to the Pioneer Woman Mercantile in Pawhuska. 

    Thank you so much for stopping by! 

     

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  • Needlework Shops,  Retreats,  Stitching,  Summer

    The Silver Needle Tour – Part 1

    July 20, 2017

    Last week I was in Tulsa, teaching with my sweet friend Linda from Chessie and Me at the Silver Needle Summer Stitching Event, and what a fabulous time we had! Lindy and her team did a wonderful job, and I was really overwhelmed with how welcoming every single person was. What a huge group of attendees! And we all had fun chatting, stitching, eating, laughing – all the good stuff!

    Just around the corner from where we were gathered was the Silver Needle shop itself, and I thought I'd give you a little look-see, in case you've never been! (And if you're ever passing through the Tulsa area, you have just got to stop in and visit!) I took a lot of photographs last week, so I'll need to break up the blogging into a few different posts. 

    If you see something you like, give Lindy a call, and she'll be happy to help you out!

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    I'll stop here for now, but I hope you enjoyed the first part of your mini tour! I'll try to get back here soon with the rest of the shop pictures and a few from the actual retreat itself. And by the way, Sabrina drove up from Dallas and arrived during the last half hour of the fun – just in time to help tear down and clean up! But afterwards, she and I spent the next couple of days doing a few things around Tulsa, and then driving up to the Pioneer Woman's Mercantile. And let me tell you.. I was in caffeine heaven!

    Until next time!

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  • Autumn,  Friends,  Needlework Shops,  Retreats,  Stitching,  Travel

    Shepherd’s Bush! (Part 2)

    October 19, 2016

    ETA: This post was written this morning, as my greeting suggests, but my computer was being ornery with me, so it didn't get uploaded. Sorry about that!

    Good morning!

    Let me go pour another cup of coffee and I'll be right back…

    Okay, I'm back! (I really did go pour another cup of coffee.)

    Yesterday we left off in the middle of the Shepherd's Bush shop in Ogden, Utah, and today we'll finish our brief tour (I say brief, because you have no idea how brimming the shop is until you've been there!). After that, we will step out onto 24th Street and head to Rensel Art Studio, about 5 minutes away!

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    You would not believe all of the stitching embellishments in the shop! This is just one tiny section…

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    When you look up into the rafters, you see lots of beautiful baskets hanging there…

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    And perhaps a pair of ice skates…

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    I actually fell in love with this little Mosey N Me design, and bought it just as Shepherd's Bush had stitched it – which is a bit different from the original.

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    And now we head to Jill's, as it's fondly referred to by shop patrons. If you are not familiar with Jill of Rensel Art Studio fame, she is the one who mats and frames all of the Shepherd's Bush designs, as well as all of the models displayed in their store. Cross stitchers all over the country (the world?) have mailed their pieces to her so that she and her partner-in-art, Amber, can work their magic! I don't have too many photos to share, as I mostly spent time visiting, but here are just a few…

    Brenda and I loved the saying on the wall, which is accented by the enormous gilded frame beneath:

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    These are the little welcome gifts Jill and Amber were passing out.. they went with the Shepherd's Bush retreat theme of Embrace the Journey, as each little capsule also had a travel charm attached to it:

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    And finally, the lovely ladies themselves! (Jill is on the left, and Amber is on the right):

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    Tomorrow, if you come back, we will head up to the mountains of Park City for the retreat itself! What an absolutely perfect time it was. I hope to see you soon!

     

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  • Autumn,  Needlework Shops,  Retreats,  Stitching,  Travel

    Shepherd’s Bush!

    October 18, 2016

    I'm home from what was the most wonderful time in Ogden and Park City, Utah! As many of you know, the lovely sisters of Shepherd's Bush fame hosted their every-other-year retreat, and it was nothing short of perfect. Everything from the cozy warmth of the blacksmith-turned-cross stitch shop to the breathtaking view of the autumn-covered mountains made this gathering one to be remembered.

    As usual, I took my camera along and clicked a time or two in the hopes of sharing with you just a fraction of what we all got to see and experience. I'll break up the retreat into a few posts, as it would take far too much of your time to post them all in one sitting!

    Here we go!

    This is what greeted the shop visitors as they walked through the doors to the shop…

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    Just past the entryway door, to the left, is the shop counter…

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    Immediately to the right, in front of the shop's expansive windows, is a virtual Christmas shop, brimming with every Christmas model and pillow and ornament and bauble imaginable! (The photo below barely gives one an idea of what yuletide wonders are to be found there.)

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    I fell in love with the newest Prairie Schooler Santa, which the girls at Shepherd's Bush made into a pillow. Of course, I left with one of their kits, as I picture mine finished just as they have it, to be propped up in one of my guest rooms for the holidays. We shall see! 😉

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    Over the shop counter that I mentioned earlier is their collection of pillows from years past..

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    As we move throughout the shop, there are autumn pieces in every place your eyes rest!

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    I think we'll stop here for now. But grab a cup of coffee or tea and let's head back into the shop together soon!

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  • A Colonial Gathering Club,  Needlework Shops,  New Designs,  Stitching

    Pennsylvania Fraktur

    March 29, 2016

    Hello again!

    I just wanted to share with you the newest Colonial Gathering Club piece that will soon be shipping from Dyeing to Stitch!

    I love fraktur art, and it was the inspiration for this piece. You'll find the Pennsylvania state motto along the bottom of the piece, as Pennsylvania Germans (also called Pennsylvania Dutch) were the ones to introduce this beautiful art form to America.  And of course, PA was one of the original thirteen colonies!

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    If you're interested, you'll find all the shop info if you click on their website link above. Thank you to everyone who has participated in Pat and Ann's shop clubs! They are so much fun!

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  • Friends,  Needlework Shops,  Stitching

    Reflections

    March 28, 2016

    Happy Monday Morning to you!

    I recently visited my local cross stitch shop, Reflections Framing and Stitching, which was re-opened a short time ago after moving locations. What a lovely shop it is! Julie and her crew have done an outstanding job of creating a bright and airy-yet-cozy stitching place for anyone in need of a handwork respite. I took my camera along, and here are some things I loved from around the shop…

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    Julie not only frames her customers' stitched pieces, but is quite creative and talented for those who need different types of framing done..

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    Here's a closer look at Julie's beautiful arrangement of Little House Needleworks' Little Sheep Virtues…

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    A different view of what's in the case in the first photo…

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    As I looked around the shop, my eyes beheld the most beautiful sight.. as a matter of fact, everything else melted away when I saw it…

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    Ahhh… the magical marriage of stitching and coffee… do you know how much stitching I've gotten done on that combination?

    Not a whole lot, because I have difficulty sitting still, but that's beside the point.

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    I hope you enjoyed my little tour of Reflections. If you're ever in the Omaha area, stop by! The door is almost always open, and there are always new stitching friends to be made. And if you aren't in the area, check out their gorgeous website!

    Thank you so much for visiting, and I hope you all have a fantastic day! It's sunny and bright outside, albeit chilly, but Martha and I will head to the lake anyway. The success of my magical combination is in peril if Miss Mary-pants doesn't get her daily sniffy field trip.

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