I'm heading out of town later this week to present a workshop at the Sampler Guild of the Rockies (so excited!), but before I go I wanted to let you know what will be releasing soon after my return. I finished them yesterday (which happened to be Martha Washington's 282nd birthday), and I hope you like them!

Each stocking is approximately 33 x 130, and they're stitched on 36 ct. Vintage Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens. The threads used are by Weeks Dye Works in Kohl, Pea Coat, Bright Leaf, Light Khaki, Kudzu, Crimson, and Sand.

Here's a little extra information, in case you'd like to stitch a particular stocking over the other, and not all three: Kohl is used only in about 20 stitches or so (and not at all in the Land of the Free stocking), so you may prefer to use whatever black thread you have on hand. (I just find Kohl to be a gorgeous shade of black!) In addition, the color Bright Leaf is only used in the stocking with the birds.

I'll see you all soon! (And thank you so much for all of Sophie's birthday wishes! She really enjoyed reading your comments!)

Hi there! I've been so madly getting things prepared for the Tudor Rose Sampler Guild in early May that I almost forgot I've got a new release coming on the first!

Hopefully this is being released in time for those of you who would like to stitch it for Memorial Day or Flag Day or Independence Day. Here is Betsy's House:

Stitch Count: 98w x 90h
Fabric: 36 ct. Vintage Examplar by Lakeside Linens
Threads: GAST
Shaker White
Old Covered Bridge
Wood Trail
Aged Pewter
Grecian Gold
Endive
Espresso Bean
Brethren Blue
Cherry Bark
and
WDW Baked Apple

I made an embarrassing omission on the back of the chart and forgot to give credit to the fabulous Sherri at Total Framing in Fairfax, Virgina for her perfect framing of Betsy! She used a gorgeous combination of moulding to create a double frame, and I'm in love with it! If you'd like this frame for your Betsy (or any other type of moulding), give her a call at (703) 426-0660. Total Framing has a very fast turnaround time, and they do hundreds of cross stitched pieces each month. (I was shocked at how quickly I received Spring Jack back from them as well!)

Another important bit of information I left off of the chart (I'm forgetting so many things lately!) is the stitch count. As you can see above, it is 98 x 90, so it's not an overwhelming project at all. Rindy Richards did a gorgeous job stitching the model, and I can't thank her enough!

Today I'll be giving things the final inspection for packing and mailing off to Dallas for the Tudor Rose Sampler Guild retreat. I'm very excited to be teaching there this year, and it's a huge relief to know that my head is attached to my body so it doesn't get left behind.

Enjoy your day!

By now most of you have probably seen some market release buzz from different designers. I get so excited each year to discover new things by my favorites that I simply must have. 🙂

Here are the releases I've got coming out in Nashville in just a couple of weeks!

Nantucket Girl's Sampler… this design was inspired by the book "The Heart of the Sea" by Nathaniel Philbrick. In it, he relays the dramatic events that took place in 1821 when the Essex was rammed by a sperm whale, and what the survivors went through to live to tell the story. (These events inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick.)

I love stories of the ocean – especially true ones – and when I read the excerpt from Eliza Brock's diary in Mr. Philbrick's book, I knew it must be stitched into a sampler. What a clever little song it is! (Although Mike wasn't convinced it was after reading the last stanza.)

In case you're having difficulty making out the verse, here it is:

Then I'll haste to wed a sailor
and send him off to sea,
For a life of independence
is the pleasant life for me.

But every now and then
I shall like to see his face,
For it always seems to me
to beam with manly grace.

With his brow so nobly open
and his dark and kindly eye,
Oh my heart beats fondly towards him
whenever he is nigh.

But when he says, "Goodbye, my love,
I'm off across the sea,"
First I'll cry for his departure,
then laugh because I'm free.

By the way, the verse and the rest of the sampler is stitched over 2 linen threads, except for a few places of long-stitches.

Next up are the new friends of Olga, Boris, Sergei, Max, and Zoya. Meet part of Viktor & Irina.. I say "a part of" because I don't have the official photo yet, as the frame is on order. If you've seen Viktor & Irina in its entirety, you've only seen the scratch photo of it  (I needed to get a photo out quickly for the shop newsletters)…

Thank you to Nicole Neville for stitching the model in about 11 minutes! And thank you to Katrina Devine for her neverending supply of names for me. 😉

As soon as the frame is in, I'll show the "real" photo to you all. Thank you for your patience!

Lastly, I've been working on a new line from Plum Street Samplers called Plum Street Antiques. I'm so very, very excited about this! With the gentle shove from my good friend Tany Brockmeyer of The Scarlett House, I purchased Peggy Shorrock's sweet little sampler and immediately got to work reproducing it. Paula Sibbald of Kelmscott designs did a perfect job of stitching the model, and I'm so in love with the blues and browns in it! And of course, the ships and ladies with their walking sticks and their little hooligans. 😉

(The scissors are there for scale.)

Here is Peggy'as original sampler, stitched 210 years ago!

And here is the reproduction!

I hope you like my new releases, and that you find lots of others that you like too! Market time is always so much fun, and I'm going to have to make room for all the new goodies – the charts, the linens, the fibers and accessories… so exciting!

Now… I'm wondering if my family will ever try to figure out what the message in the bottle says…

I'm so excited for what this new year will bring! In all the bustling days ahead, I hope you find and take some time to relax with a cup of coffee or tea and pick up a stitching project. A little handwork a day keeps the doldrums away – especially if you're using red floss.

I hope you enjoy my first release for 2013. Happy, Happy New Year!

A Red Cottage

Stitched on 36 ct. Vintage Meadow Rue
using Gentle Art Sampler Threads.

List of Threads:

Old Covered Bridge
Wood Smoke
Shaker White
Mustard Seed
Piney Woods
Raven
Mulberry

Stitch Count: 98 x 91

Special Note: The miniature cottage and the flower next to it are stitched over one linen thread using a tent stitch.

This is my last release for the year, and it will be out some time in the middle of this month. I hope you all like it! Because I'm always sending out my patterns to model stitchers at the eleventh hour, there is often too little time to have things framed. But I do love this as a little pillow, as the model stitcher suggested it be made into (thank you, Rindy!), along with its charming rusty bells sewn along the bottom. (My mother has decided she'll still be framing her piece, however, as soon as she's finished stitching it!)

Here is some information you'll need, should you choose to stitch Farmstead Christmas:

Stitch count: 132 x 116

Fabric used: Lakeside Linens' 36 ct. Vintage Wood Smoke

Threads: Needlepoint Inc. silks in 993, 966, 334, 208, 203, 346, 974, and 991.

I hope you're enjoying the Christmas season so far. I'm usually just beginning my shopping at about this time, but believe it or not, I'm finished! This is a first for me, and I can't believe it! But knowing how I am, I'll spend the month basking in my own glory for having finished my shopping early, so that by the time Christmas Eve rolls around, I'll suddenly remember that it all still needs to be wrapped!

An early Merry Christmas to you all!