On my recent trip to Texas my friend, Paula, from Lubbock suggested I visit the Texas Institute of Cultures in San Antonio. This museum examines more than 20 different cultural groups who settled in Texas.

With permission of the museum, I took some photos. Below are some I thought would be of particular interest to needleworkers.

The first photo is of a chatelaine. A chatelaine as many of you know typically consists of a clip attached to the waist and chains. Different items were attached to the chains depending upon the owner’s needs. Both men and women wore chatelaines.

If you are interested in reading more about chatelaines, here are a few websites you might find of interest:
http://www.creweljewels.com/What-s-a-Chatelaine-s/54.htm
http://dazzlingornaments.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-is-chatelaine.html

The next photo is of a beautiful American christening gown. I hope you can see some of the lovely workmanship. The main focus of the next photo is a Greek crocheted chair back cover. Look at the wonderful grapes! On top of the crocheted piece are an embroidered placemat and matching napkins. Other embroidery is in the background.

Below is another example of Greek embroidery. The piece is worked in cross stitch. There was no museum label so I don't know what this piece is. Judging from the size and the finished edges, I’m guessing this is perhaps a piece to go on a table. Perhaps one of our Greek needleworkers can let us know for sure the purpose of this piece. The next two photos are of a beautifully beaded Polish vest. The first photo is of the front and the second one is of the back.

Despite the temperatures of over 100 degrees each day, I’m continuing to enjoy my time in San Antonio.

Monday night I had a delightful time with old friends Connie and Anna along with their friend Helen and Anna’s mother. The steak house where they took me has been around for over 50 years.

On Tuesday morning, Connie and I met at Stitches from the Heart. What a nice shop with a vast array of charts, linens, and threads! If you are ever in San Antonio, make sure you check out this delightful shop.The shop opened in 2005 and is now owned by Sharon Taber and Jackie Kayser. Sharon was in the shop on Tuesday; Jackie doesn’t become an official co-owner until this weekend.

In the photo below Valorie C. (on the left) shows off her Quaker Turtles. To her right is Sharon, co-owner of the shop. Valorie did a beautiful job of stitching and assembling her turtles. For their “home”, she lined a wonderful box. Here is an enlargement of Valorie's turtles. The shop was full of stitchers. Most of them were there for a stitch-in so I got to see lots of lovely works in progress. What a friendly group.

I learned that a group of 20 plus are working on the Mary Wigham sampler. Here are Charlotte M., Cheryl N., and Valorie C. with their samplers. Charlotte is stitching her sampler over one linen thread! I wish that I had thought to bring my Mary Wigham so that I could have stitched with them. One of my “finds” at the shop was some new plastic mesh bags. The bags have handles and a small zipper pocket on the outside. The bags come in four large sizes ranging from 10 x 13 inches to 23 x 31 inches. Sharon had only received a partial shipment of her order, the 12 x 16 inches bag. This is a great size for my Mary Wigham sampler. The outside pocket is perfect for holding my scissors and other small tools.

After a fun time at the shop, Connie took me to her favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, Los Barrios. I had recently seen Bobby Flay (on the Food TV channel) do a puffy taco “throw down” at the “sister” restaurant, so of course I had to try this signature dish. It was as wonderful as Connie said it would be.

Later in the afternoon I went to the Institute of Texican culture and in a few days will share some photos with you of some of the ethnic needlework.

Meanwhile, I leave you with two more photos from San Antonio.

Look at the beautiful pleasant sunset mimosa. The photo doesn’t do it justice. Knowing how much I like blue and yellow, I guess it is no surprise I liked this mosaic on the Riverwalk. Until next time…

Greetings from sunny and HOT Texas! I’m afraid the weather forecast I read was wrong, and it has indeed been in the 100’s every day! C'est la vie!

My two classes for the Austin Stitchery Guild went well. What a terrific group of needleworkers! It was so great to see old friends and make new ones!

One of the gals brought in three of her little stitched booklets for me to see! She had done all three in a beautiful red and now "only" needs to assemble them. I wish I had asked her to let me take some photos of her amazing work.

Texas is known for its barbecue. The photo of the cowboy boot was taken outside The Salt Lick, one of the best known barbecue places in the area. I thought the boot was very appropriate for Texas.

I learned Austin is also famous for its bats. (Who knew?) Over 1.5 million roost under the Anne Richards Congress Bridge, which is in downtown Austin.

At dusk each night, the bats take off to search for insects. As you can see from the photo below, quite a crowd gathers on the bridge. Many others watch from the ground and also from boats in the river. Today I headed south to San Antonio. For years I’d heard about the lovely Riverwalk, so I was delighted to finally be able to see it in person….walking on the sidewalks that edge the river and also taking a boat trip. Before I leave San Antonio, I hope to make it to the Alamo and to a local needlework shop.

Tomorrow night I’m having dinner at a steak house with friends. My friend, Connie, says this is the best steak house around. It should be a real treat as Texas is certainly known for its great beef. Connie is also going to meet me for lunch one day at a terrific Tex-Mex place.

Connie is a very proud Texan and anxious to show off her state. She has also told me where to find some cowboy items for little Haiden. I'm tickled pink because I believe every little boy needs a pair of cowboy boots. I left plenty of room in my suitcase for some special goodies for a very special young man.

Knowing I'm very busy getting ready to leave on Thursday to teach in Austin, Tom brought home Chinese food last night for dinner. I thought that the "fortunes" in my cookies were quite interesting and relative.

The first one read, "Focus on the color purple this week to bring you luck." I usually am not a "purple-person", but my newest teaching piece with all the grapes and dupioni silk lining does indeed have lots of purple on it. Will that project bring me luck? (Thank you to everyone who left comments or emailed me about the project.)

The second fortune read, "An unexpected event will soon make your life more exciting." At first I thought, something great must be going to happen while I'm in Austin teaching. Oh goody! Then this morning, I thought...something exciting??? The fortune doesn't say if it will be something good or something bad. Please hope it is something good and that the trip to Austin goes smoothly. Air travel continues to get more and more challenging.

Please don't think that I'm obsessed and really believe in the "fortunes" stuffed inside the cookies...I just get a kick out of them.

When our son was little, I would make up "fortunes" for him. I called it "reading between the lines". I would make up things like "little boys who listen to their mothers are very fine indeed" or "he who drinks all his milk will be very strong". Stephen enjoyed my versions so much that after reading what was really written on the little paper, he would ask me to "read between the lines". Ah...memories!

My teaching suitcase is packed and ready to go, and once again my Call of the Sea model is in a plastic bag so that the airline security people can clearly see the fish bodkins without having to handle my embroidery. (Remember my posting from June 25, 2009?)

After Austin, I'm looking forward to spending a few days in San Antonio and seeing some old friends. I checked the weather down there, and it's supposed to "cool off"--the high temperatures will be in the mid 90's and not in the 100's!

Adorn Thy Heart by Anita

I was delighted to receive photos from Anita of Staten Island, New York who stitched Adorn Thy Heart, a band sampler with 22 different stitches. If desired, you can use cross stitch for the majority of the special stitches.

The first photo shows Anita's sampler before framing. Anita was so proud of the back of her sampler that she sent me a photo of that too. Anita says that she likes to be an enabler--not only of cross stitch.

Years ago I got to meet Anita in person when my husband and I were in NYC. Anita met me at our hotel and took me to the garment district where we spent hours looking at beads, buttons, trims, and dupioni silk. I still have such fond memories of our day together. Thanks, Anita, for that day and also for sharing the photos of your beautiful work.

The photo below shows how Adorn Thy Heart can easily be made into a wedding sampler by replacing the text on the original sampler with the couple's names, wedding date, and location.

I made this sampler for my son and daughter-in-law. I wanted a sampler that was not so "wedding-ish" that it would be relegated to the bedroom. I am delighted that Stephen and Michelle have their sampler hanging in their living room. It is hard to believe that they celebrated their 6th wedding anniversary in June. Where does the time go?

Others have adapted this sampler as an anniversary sampler and as a birth sampler for a girl.

Fruit of the Vine Sampler Huswif (a new teaching project)

Today I posted photos at my website of my newest teaching piece, the Fruit of the Vine Sampler Huswif. This project has 28 different stitches. It can be framed as a sampler or made into a huswif—the embroidery is the same on both versions.

The folded huswif, resting on its silk closure band, is in the upper right corner of the photograph below. The folded needleroll is to the right.

Just below is the huswif opened to show the inside. There are three pockets, a mattress-style pincushion, and heart-shaped threadrings. The scissors weight and needleroll are on top. The needleroll is open to show the inside.

To the left of the open huswif are the outside of the needleroll and an enlargement of three scrimshaw items that were specially commissioned for this project.

Lots of beautiful over-dyed silk ribbon is used for embellishment—in fact, nearly 4 yards. Several people have described the silk thread, ribbon, and dupioni silk colors as luscious.

A larger photo and detailed description are at my website.

I’m delighted that this class has already been booked in 2010 for Kansas, Ohio, and Georgia!

This week has been busy getting ready to teach in Austin and working on a new teaching project. (I'll post photos at my website shortly.) It's now Friday evening, and time to relax...perhaps with Mary Wigham and a cup of tea.

I decided to clear away the things on a table in my family room and put some of my blue and white teacups there along with a cute teapot and a wonderful pitcher that my parents gave me a few years ago when they downsized to a retirement home. It seems some of you are also partial to blue and white.

The walls in my family room are a lovely golden color which is wonderful as a background for my samplers. (I haven't counted in a while, but I think there are around 30 samplers in the room.) The golden color is so wonderful that I used something very similar for my office where my framed models hang.

The lace on the table is from my dear friend Giulia in Italy.My parents brought me the small Delft teacup from the Netherlands. Behind that cup is a fairly recent addition to my collection--the pattern looks like toile. The teapot has a large matching teacup at the bottom--that explains the two handles.

I find yellow and blue another wonderful combination. The window treatments in my kitchen have a golden yellow background and large blue roses. The walls are a deep blue. And look at these wonderful plates I found! I love the colors and the pastoral scenes.
I hope you will take time this weekend to relax, perhaps with a cup of tea and some stitching.

Ackworth Friendship Book by Marjan

Marjan from Great Britain recently sent me photos of her Ackworth Friendship Book that she completed several years ago.

Marjan wrote, "At the first Ackworth event, Ellen very generously gave all attendees the chart for the Ackworth Friendship Book. I was determined to stitch at least one medallion at Ackworth, and managed to finish stitching the front of the book with Ellen's initials on it.

"I stitched the entire book myself (I know that some fellow attendees sent pages out to friends to have them stitched), and included the initials of friends from The Sampler Guild who were also at that Ackworth: Ellen, Linda, Laura, Bertie, Britta, Charlotte, Beryl, Katie, Wendy and me. Everyone apart from Ellen and me got to choose which panel they wanted their initials stitched on. I really enjoyed stitching this as it brought back memories of the event (we were put into a separate wing from everyone else as we laugh so much!) and I think this is really special because I managed to stitch one of the panels at Ackworth."
One of my memories from the Ackworth 2006 symposium was seeing Marjan stitching on her book. She had ample linen and thread with her to begin the project at the symposium. How's that for being prepared? I've seen Marjan stitching not only seated but also standing! No wonder she can get so much done.

It was fun for me to find Marjan's friends' initials on her book since I have met them all in person. Marjan, I am greatly honored that you chose to include my initials also. Thank you.

Marjan is an incredible stitcher. At the 2008 Ackworth seminar, she was putting the finishing touches on the Sharon Cohen stumpwork mirror surround that was in Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly. Wow--what a masterpiece that is!!

Marjan, I'm greatly looking forward to seeing you and other friends from The Sampler Guild when I'm back in England in October 2010 to teach for your guild. You all are terrific stitchers and so much fun to be around. You all keep me "in stitches"! We're going to have a wonderful time!

Maidens of the Sea by Claudia

I don't know if it is summertime or my recent trip to the coast of California that has me longing to once again be near the water. Somehow it seems appropriate today to show a nautical project. Today's photos are of Claudia Ciceri's Maidens of the Sea. Claudia is from Bareggio, Italy.

Claudia wrote, "I've attached pictures of my latest finish, your gorgeous Maidens of the Sea. I love the sea.... and it has been a pure pleasure to stitch this pocket! So tiny but so detailed too... And the finishing is so smart! Just one piece of linen that folded can reach this shape... Gorgeous!

"As you can see, I had to change little things on it: no light blue seahorse wool piece and no seahorse golden charm on the fob... But I found the way to substitute them having the same lovely final effect!!! "

Claudia's first photo shows her case closed along with the scissors weight and the two fish threadwinders that come in the chart package. The wonderful fish on the scissors weight tassel is something that Claudia added herself.The next photo shows the inside of Claudia's case. Instead of the wool seahorse needlepage shown on my model, Claudia decided to add a third heart-shaped ring. Her fish threadwinders are peeping out of the pocket.The next photo shows the pocket. Claudia's hand in the photo gives you a clue about the size of this small sewing case.The final photo shows the sewing case opened to reveal both the front with the mermaids and the back with a ship and lighthouse.

I think you'll agree that Claudia did a beautiful job both with stitching and finishing her case and also with her wonderful photography. Don't you love the way she's staged her photos? Thanks, Claudia, for sharing your lovely work.

Swan Stitcher's Etuis and Petit Carnet d'Ouvrages, Livre I by Catherine

It seems only fitting on Bastille Day, July 14th, to share some photos with you from Catherine ("Catherine abc" as she is known on the internet) from France. Those of you who know Catherine know what an incredible stitcher and finisher she is.

Over the years, thanks to the internet, we have become friends. I was so excited when I was finally able to meet her in person two years ago at the Ackworth seminar in England. Catherine is such a lovely person, and her works are more exquisite in person than in photos.

The first photos are of Catherine's Swan Stitcher's Etuis. The word "etuis" is plural in the product title because there are charts for two different etuis in the same package. You can see photos of both versions here.

This photo shows the front of Catherine's etui and scissors weight.

Look at the swan threadholder, scissors, and waxer that she found.

This photo shows the back of her etui and scissors weight.

And this photo shows the inside with the needlepage. Isn't the

toile lining fabric Catherine chose perfect for this project?

Catherine wrote, "I've used the recommended Bordeaux Weeks Dye Workes thread on sand linen and absolutely loved it. It was my very first project stitched from you years ago, and after I had stitched it, it took me at less two more years before being brave enough to try to figure out about the finishing. But thanks to your excellent instructions, it's been a fast finish and I told myself it was a real pity that I waited so long to sew it all together ! :-)"

Next is Catherine's Petit Carnet d'Ouvrages, Livre I. Catherine wrote, "As to the Petit Carnet d'Ouvrages, Livre I... it is a VERY special project for me, and a memory that I'd always cherish. As a fan of yours, I was thrilled when you asked me to be your "test stitcher" for it before its release. I think that is still a major moment in my stitcher's life... I was free to choose my color and I used the Cranberry Luminescence thread from Gloriana. My first try with Luminescence thread, but not my last one, I loved it !"

Didn't Catherine do a beautiful job with both her stitching (all over one linen thread) and the finishing? I love the Lady's Companion on the left of her little book and the threadwinder on the right.

Here are two views of Catherine's book opened.

As you can see from the photos, Catherine likes red as much as I do blue.

Thank you, Catherine, ma chère amie, for sharing photographs of your beautiful work. Also thank you for test stitching some of my designs.

I stitch all of my own models, but sometimes I like to use a test stitcher also. Catherine has done this on several occasions. I find this step particularly important if I know that a project is going to use multiple skeins of one thread color. We all know how important it is to have enough thread in the same dyelot. For example, this project required 3, 40-yard spools of Luminescence thread. I am not always good at keeping track of how much thread I use on a project, and that is why Catherine's input was so valuable. Merci beaucoup, Catherine!

An Emblem of Love and Quaker Samplings I and II by Lori

Lori Davey from Victoria, British Columbia has stitched An Emblem of Love and Quaker Samplings I and II! It look like Lori is partial to blue, like I am.

Lori stitched An Emblem Of Love on 36-count Light Examplar linen from Lakeside Linens & Designs using Brethren Blue Sampler Thread from The Gentle Art.

She stitched Quaker Sampling I and II using 36-count Maple Syrup linen and Milady's Teal thread from Crescent Colours. Thanks, Lori, for sharing photos of your lovely work. I hope you've found some special places to hang your samplers.

What a wonderful weekend we had with this very special young man!

Saturday we took him to a park, and he loved the randomly squirting fountains. The first two photos show him trying to catch one before it quit squirting. Poor thing...almost every time he got to one, it quit! He would throw up his hands, and then run gleefully off to find the next one. He finally ended up being able to catch some before they quit on him.

How much fun it is to see the world through the eyes of a child!

"Chilling out" at West Elm while Mommy shops.

We were so sad to bid little Haiden good bye today and are already counting the days until our next get-together.

My next posting will be about stitching, I promise, but today I couldn't resist showing photos of Haiden enjoying summertime.

Edited 7/12/09--10:18 pm--Several people have asked about Haiden who is 17-1/2 months old. He is our one and only grandchild and is the "apple of our eyes". His birth sampler was the impetus for a series of Family Record Samplers.

Thank you for taking the time over the past two months to visit me at my blog. I have certainly enjoyed reading the comments and the notes in the guest book. Thank you very much! Please continue to leave notes. I love reading them!

I wish that I could have you over for a cup of tea so we could visit. I'd let you pick the cup that strikes your fancy. The photo below shows some of your choices.

We could also sit and stitch a bit. I'd be working on Mary Wigham. What would you be working on?

I hope you have a nice weekend planned. Little Haiden arrived earlier this evening and is now in bed. Tomorrow we're off to the park!

Quaker Turtles by Nathalie

More Quaker Turtles!!

Each of these four little turtles is a unique needlework “treasure”—a needlebook, a pincushion, a pocket, or a scissors weight. Both the upper (carapace) and lower (plastron) shells feature a Quaker motif. Just as the shell protects the turtle, these turtles will protect your needlework tools.

Nathalie sent me lots of photos of her turtles. I've chosen the best ones to share with you. From the photos, it looks like Nathalie stitched her turtles over two linen threads instead of over one thread like the model. The larger turtles give her more room to store her needlework tools.

Nathalie's turtles look like they are anxious to escape their basket.

Here are the turtles turned over so

you can see their lower (plastron) shells.

This turtle has a pocket for a thimble or a very small pair of scissors.

This turtle opens up to reveal a needlepage.

It looks like Nathalie's turtles have left their basket and have settled

in her new glass-topped display table. Isn't that a great table?

I hope that you can see in the photos Nathalie's wonderful stitching and finishing! Wow, Nathalie!! You did a terrific job! Your lining fabric is perfect.

You can see more images of Quaker Turtles by clicking on Quaker Turtles in the sidebar on the left side of this page or clicking here.

Tomorrow my daughter and her family are arriving for a short visit. I need to start child-proofing the house for Haiden who is nearly 18 months old. I think my Quaker Turtles will be too tempting for him. I sure don't want Haiden around needles, pins, or scissors.