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Remember.
I'd like to take a moment to thank every single member of our Armed Forces for their service to this beautiful country of ours. You have served and sacrificed, and to simply offer my gratitude for what you've given to protect what I have will never be enough, but I give it with all my heart.
Thank you to our Founding Fathers and to Those who served under them for their faith in God Almighty.
Thank you to Those who gave their lives for the freedom of their generations and ours.
And thank you to Those who would have given their lives. Praise God They are still here for us to honor.
I was privileged to visit Arlington National Cemetery last fall, and what an impact it had on me. I wish every American could walk those solemn grounds and remember what was given.
At the tomb of President John F. Kennedy…
A view of Arlington House, the home of Robert E. Lee…
This is the view from the porch of Arlington House…
Inside Selena Gray's quarters (a house slave of of the Lee's). The doorway to her family's quarters is to the far right of the above photo.
The gardens at Arlington House were beautiful…
The Tomb for the Unknown Civil War Dead, constructed in the rose garden…
The US Army rehearsed for a forthcoming funeral…
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier…Known but to God.
To our Military and their families, God bless you.
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If you would like to read a very interesting article on how Arlington came to be our National Cemetery, click here: The Beginnings of Arlington National Cemetery
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In 2011 I posted this free chart for Memorial Day. In case you missed it, here it is again… Please note that the color image you see below is slightly different from the chart, in that the words have been changed to blue.
To download the chart, click here: A Patriot's Sampler
And a very Happy Memorial Day to you!
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Inspired Summer Seminar
I'm so excited to be heading to Lemont, Illinois this June to meet all of the attendees of the Inspired Summer Seminar, hosted by Cathy of Inspired Needle! If you'd like any information on the workshop, scheduled for June 20th and 21st, go to the Inspired Needle contact page and send Cathy an email.
I can't wait!
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Dyeing to Stitch
I was rummaging through some photo archives on my computer last night and came across some pictures I took of the model-packed Dyeing to Stitch shop in Virginia Beach, kept by Ann Robbins and Pat Ryan of R&R Reproductions. They've been in business for 21 years now! If you are ever taking a beach vacation in that area, be sure and stop by.. they would be thrilled to see you! And you'll be thrilled with the inspiration you leave with.
You've probably seen many of the designs in the pictures below, and keep in mind that they'll be heavy on the autumn side, as they were taken in October of last year. But who doesn't love a little heavy on the autumn side? 🙂
Pat's favorite thing to stitch is silk gauze, and the front window is full of these tiny models!
Ann and Pat have the most amazing collection of antiques and their reproductions. I just love that Ann collects "Ann samplers!"
Mary Smithies is one of my favorites.. the stories behind the samplers are wonderful, and it's a joy to listen to Pat and Anne explain what they know of the histories of them. Mary, which is from the Utah Pioneer Museum in Salt Lake, is one that Ann painstakingly stitched the blue lines through, just like the original.
Those of you who know me know that I have a slightly intense love for coffee: Starbucks in particular. So of course I'm positively in love with this sampler! Here's a little information on it, as provided by history-buff Pat…
Sally Starbuck (her family helped establish Nantucket) is the daughter of the second Starbuck brother, Edward. Edward was the real coffee-loving first mate of the whaling ship Essex. Herman Melville visited the Essex and used Edward's name in his novel Moby Dick, and provided a real-life description of him in the book…
Fast-forward to 1971, and the Starbucks company used this name, borrowed from Melville's novel. Ever notice the coffee company's logo?
Fast-forward to 2014, and I really need this sampler:
Of course, the shop is most famous for its delicious hand-dyed linens. They were the first hand-dyed company, dipping their linens in colors that are suited to reproductions and primitives and all sorts of designs, and with inviting names like Espresso and Cappuccino and Olde Towne Blend… so many gorgeous brews to choose from!
(I'm not entirely sure why this photo is at this odd angle, but I couldn't leave it out! I love the beach themes so many of the models reflect in this area of the shop.)
The Reverend Gourdon Squashbottom by Notforgotten Farms is one chart that I left with that day (all kitted up for me, of course!).. I just couldn't resist him!
And here's his wee companion, from a Just Cross Stitch magazine…
Have you seen all the Beggars from Threadwork Primitives? Nan has such a charming way with these beloved black birds!
I really look forward to another trip soon! I keep threatening to crash in on them one day and just be an honorary employee. I think it would be great fun, although if I really were on the payroll, I'd never make a dime; I would, however, have a massive collection of new projects to be started. 😉
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To Market, To Market.
I'm headed to Nashville tomorrow! I'm so excited for market! I'll see you all very soon!
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George and Martha’s Place
I never showed you my pictures from Mount Vernon! What a perfectly grand time I had when I visited with the ladies from the Dyeing to Stitch retreat. They all know what a crush I have on George, so they made sure to add his home to our list of places to visit when we were in DC in October. It was one of the few places unaffected by the government shut-down, as the estate is privately maintained by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. And what a beautiful place it is, even under cloudy skies!
Here were my companions for the day: Sybil, Norma, Pat, Ann, and Jeanette! What a super fun bunch they all were, and they were very good about putting up with my never-ending search for the ladies' room. (Which, by the way, was affected by the government shut-down, but not on the actual Mt. Vernon property, thank goodness.)
Speaking of ladies' rooms…
Goodness, there were three seats inside, all situated next to each other. I'm afraid I would have had stage fright!
These were Martha's gardens. They were huge because of all the entertaining the Washingtons did, and they needed to be able to have their own produce aisles to pull from at any moments' notice. Back then, it was considered rude to inquire as to how long a guest would be staying, so they never knew if they were to have visitors for 6 hours or 6 weeks!
I loved the sheep!
This was George Washington's horse stable, and I loved it so much that when Pat and Ann invited me to name a new color of R&R linen, I chose the name Plum Street Paddock.
Here's the inside…
This absolutely fascinated me! That a tree George Washington himself had planted would still be there boggled my mind.It had clearly grown like a weed over the centuries…
Every so often my Canadian sister Jeanette Douglas would whisper, "Hey Paulette," and point to something she wanted me to take a photo of. In this case it was the lantern in the foreground… here you go, Jeanette!
All throughout the many gift shops on the property are weathervane ornaments duplicating the extremely large one on the house's roof that George had commissioned in 1787. (Actually, the one on top of the house is also a replica, as the original needed to be protected from any more elemental damage.)
A storage shed on the grounds to the right of the house…
There was a nice long walk down to the original tomb for the Washingtons…
As I said in the beginning, the day was cloudy, but as we walked around, we noticed it got darker and darker outside. Within minutes we were all dashing into any building we could find, and oh how I laughed at how positively soaked through Jeanette and Ann were! I took the most wonderful photo of them, but lest they set the mob out after me, I won't post it. 😉
The rest of the photos I have were taken on my phone inside one of the buildings, just snapped here and there. I wish I could have taken a photo of George's dentures, but there were signs in front of it that strictly forbade any photo-taking, so I decided I wouldn't even attempt it with my phone. 🙂 You should have seen them though; I have no idea how he could stand wearing them, as they looked to weigh about 3 pounds.Here is one of his telescope and pistol (which is believed to have been used during the Revolutionary War)…
George loved horses, and was considered an excellent horseman. Two horses he used primarily during war were Old Nelson (a brown horse) and Blueskin, represented below…
I love what was written in a letter by an English visitor to Mt. Vernon in 1785:
"When dinner was over, we visited the General's stables, saw his magnificent horses, among them 'Old Nelson,' now twenty-two years of age, that carried the General almost always during the war. 'Blueskin,' another fine old horse, next to him, had that honor. They had heard the roaring of many a cannon in their time. 'Blueskin' was not the favorite on account of his not standing fire so well as venerable 'Old Nelson.' The General makes no manner of use of them now. He keeps them in a nice stable, where they feed away at their ease, for their past services."
This was quite an interesting quote by George, so I had to post a picture of it, below. And with it, I'll say goodbye, and I'll see you all soon! Thank you for stopping by and letting me share with you all the fun I had that day in DC. And thank you to my Dyeing to Stitch friends for making it that much more a wonderful experience!
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After the Retreat…
I never showed you the photos of what we did after the retreat was over!
Pat and Ann, Norma and Sybil, and Jeanette and I headed into Washington, D.C., and despite the government closings of many of the places we were hoping to see, we had a fantastic time. (Except for the part where I desperately needed to find a public restroom, and after what seemed like hours of searching, finally found one… only to be greeted with the same sign we'd encountered too many times that day: Due to Government Shutdown, this facility is closed." Bah!)
The first place we visited was the National Cathedral. What a breathtaking structure it is!
One can't fathom all of the details; even the spires are covered in acorns. Hundreds of them!
And the downspouts were fish…
Even the street signs in front of the building have gorgeous accents…
There are over 200 stained glass windows…
The needlepoint kneelers were so beautiful, each one different…
I love this picture; everyone would become mesmerized when they caught sight of the incredible detailing over this particular entryway….
My camera settings were way off, but at least you can see one of the little bird creatures that everyone was staring at in the photo above…
On our way out, I noticed that every single column had a different animal etched into it. And of course, this one was my favorite:
If you'd like to learn more about the Washington National Cathedral (officially called the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul), visit here: Washington National Cathedral.
I'll be back with more photos soon, so if you'd like to see what else we did, come back! Jeanette Douglas also has a fun synopsis of our week after the retreat, so check out her blog too!
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Twenty!
Bean, Bean, the Party Machine.
That was the nickname given to Sabrina at summer camp one year when she was in middle school, and she's definitely still living up to it at twenty. But in a good way, mind you; she loves to have fun wherever she goes, despite the new nickname given to her in college: Soberina. 🙂
This past weekend we headed to Kansas City to celebrate Sabrina's twentieth birthday by heading to the USA – Jamaica World Cup Qualifier. This was something we knew Bean would love to do, because when she was an exchange student in Germany, one of the highlights of her visit was getting to go to a Public Viewing, which in this case refers to the public's gathering to view a football game; her host family was quite proud of her for donning the colors of Deutschland!
This time, however, she was wearing her patriotic colors, joining the throngs of American Outlaw crazies who were there to cheer the USA on to victory. What a party!
I'd be horrified at all those cameras pointing at me…
After the game, the USA members walked the perimeter of the field, which was really fun for the specatators…
What a fun time that was! The next morning we headed to IHOP for Sabrina's birthday breakfast, and she insisted on bringing her unopened gifts into the restaurant to open them there. 🙂 (Didn't I say she loves to have fun wherever she's at?)
After our pancake breakfast we headed to Worlds of Fun and spent the day riding rides and going into haunted houses…
I love this picture of Bean and Soph trying to take a selfie on the Fjord Fairlane ride…
We sure missed having Bre with us… I think it was her first year not being able to celebrate her sister's birthday with us, but her job wouldn't allow her the time off. 🙁
Happy 20th birthday, Bean. We love you so much! Now let's see if you can hang onto that Soberina title for one more year… 😉
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Dyeing to Stitch Retreat, Part 2
Welcome back! Here are some more pictures from our retreat weekend, which was an absolutely wonderful time! My classes were so much fun (perhaps I'm only speaking for myself! Ha!), and it was a fabulous time chatting with lots of familiar friends and newly-made ones.
I'm sad to say I didn't get any pictures of the class pieces that the other designers taught, which is surprising, since I had several opportunities to get some. (How did this happen?) But the truth of it is, we were having so much fun laughing and being silly that it didn't occur to me to take any class piece photos, and I didn't have my camera when we were revealing them to those in attendance.
The only ones I have to share with you are mine, which sounds awfully selfish, but I don't mean for it to be. 🙁
The theme for the retreat was It's A Celebration! So I decided to combine two things that I love to celebrate in October: the gorgeous orange of jack o'lanterns and my sweet Sabrina's birthday.
This is Jack's Bash:
The verse reads:
Here in the rust and autumn bower,
the knobby gourd and bitter flower,
We merry-make and sing Hooray!
to our friend Jack on his birthday.(The word "rust" contains an old-style letter s, which looks like a half-crossed lower-case f.)
Nicole Neville stitched the model beautifully and in record time, and I love love love the moulding that Sherri at Total Framing used for it!
The kitted piece that the class actually worked on is called Jack's Birthday Tart, and it accompanied the larger sampler, using all the same threads:
Jack's Bash will be released next fall, and most likely Jack's Birthday Tart will be also. (The tart will probably have a companion or two to go with it.) I thought it was a lot of fun to make, and very easy!
By the way, this was the sunrise that greeted me every morning from the balcony of the hotel room:
And as the sun rose higher, the beach grew more crowded…
On Saturday evening we had a huge banquet, and each person dressed in something that denoted the era in which they were born. The food was beautifully presented, and Ann and Pat (despite the challenges of the elevators being inaccessible for the better part of the day) did a wonderful job as our hostesses…
And the winner of the costume contest was…. Barefoot and Pregnant!
What a crazy good time that was! The door prizes were amazing, the cheering was raucus, and the whole room was full of stitchy friends who were relieved that the elevators started working just in time for the party, as the banquet was held on the 11th floor. 🙂I'd like to thank Ann and Pat and Sybil and Norma and all the wonderful people who helped pull this retreat together. You all are the best!
I'll be back soon with Part 3, which isn't so much the retreat as it is what we did after the retreat was over. See you soon!
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Dyeing to Stitch Retreat, Part 1
What a fantastic weekend the retreat was! If you've never been to a Dyeing to Stitch retreat, you've got to plan to attend the next one! It was so much fun, and the time spent with friends will always be a cherished memory for me.
I took lots of pictures to share, so if you can play a soundtrack in your mind of lots of oohing and aahing and clapping and laughing, you'll get an idea of how it all went. What fun we all had!
Here's how it started out, at least for me:
The retreat was held at the Cavelier Hotel on Virginia Beach, which was lovely! Here are some pictures of the boutique that was set up for the attendees to shop:
Stacy Nash Primitives…(what a sweetheart Stacy is!)
(I have to include a photo of her Halloween at Hollyberry Farm to show you what the linen really looks like. For those of you who ordered it kitted, it isn't as gray as the photo appears, but that's the curse that designers deal with – the digital print! The model was fabulous to see in person, though, and I can't wait to get started on mine.)
Here's a photo of the gorgeous designs of Bonnie Woomer/The Nebby Needle:
(I actually just discovered Bonnie's blog, which will give you a far better idea of how the retreat went than mine will!)
The Purple Thread… (Sharon is an excellent teacher, by the way)(and her boutique table had so much to look at, you saw something different every time you blinked!)
Olde Colonial Designs… (this was my first time meeting Pam and her sweet husband Bob, and I loved every minute spent with them)
Jeanette Douglas Designs…(my way-too-much-fun Canadian sister, who was also my roomie; I'm still recovering from our 2 am designing-brainstorming session!)…
I love Jeanette's imagination, and her new A Most Suitable Name series is so sweet! Alphabet Annie is my favorite, I think…
And of course, Shepherd's Bush has always been a super favorite of mine…(Teri and Tina are a hilarious duo when they get in front of a group, and they're so much fun to spend time with!)
There was so much to look at, all around the room…
(Love, love, love Pat and Ann's hand-dyed trims; the mini rickrack in Cinnamon is my favorite!)
The first night of the retreat was spent learning how to finish a beautiful stitched booklet in our Evening with Friends, taught by Sharon of The Purple Thread. I don't have a photo of the book, but it was absolutely stunning! Each page featured a different design from each designer, and the theme of the book was a celebration of life – from friends to marriage, and everything in between. I'm hoping Pat and Ann will show a photo of it on their blog soon!
I'm not sure which night our Evening with Stacy Nash was, but I believe it was the second night we were there. The weekend went by so fast, it's a blur! Stacy had the sweetest project for us to work on (is there anything of Stacy's that isn't sweet?)…
I think this is a good stopping point! I'll get the rest uploaded soon, so if you'd like to check back, I'll be here! 🙂
I do want to end today's post with saying how much I enjoyed meeting each one of you. I loved spending time at the tables chatting, looking at your photos and your beautiful stitching, and swapping pet stories. It's so much fun to get together with those who are so sweet to sign up for my classes, and I can't thank you enough for your always-warm welcome and kindhearted support. I hope you were all pleased (even if the fabric for Jack's Bash ran out before some of you even knew it was there!), and I especially hope I see you again at a future retreat.
And of course, a huge thank-you to Ann and Pat for the many months they spent putting together such an amazing retreat. It was one of the best weekends ever!
Original Designs by Paulette Stewart