Visiting another Texas needlework shop

On Tuesday I headed east to Spring, Texas, to visit 3 Stitches. The shop was all that I had heard and more!

Here is an enlargement of the signs on the door...sorry I couldn't make them clearer. When I told Pam, the shop owner, that I was going to be in the area, she suggested an open house. How much fun that was!! Thank you to all the stitchers who stopped by. I sure enjoyed meeting you and talking about our shared passion.

Pam opened her shop 16 years ago. You won't believe the vast array of things she has in her shop--fibers, linen, buttons, charms, charts galore!! Here Pam is amidst some of the fibers. She has "goodies" in every nook and cranny!!

Remember how I said the other day that we need to attract more young people to the world of needlework? Pam is certainly doing her part. Among other things, every summer she has a cross stitch camp for children. This year's camp started on Monday. Some of her former students have since stitched pieces that they have entered in contests and won prizes. On the wall were photos of two young girls. The nine year old won $2400 for her work. Her older sister won such a prize the following year. Both girls have put their winnings in a college fund. Not only are these two girls helping to save for their college educations, they have developed, thanks to Pam, what may well be a life long passion.

One of the needleworkers who stopped by the shop was Becky. Becky is a 27-year old mother and addicted needleworker. She said her addiction began when she was 17 years old. She lived near the shop and went in looking for a summer job even though she had never done cross stitch before. Pam took a chance on her (I think she told me that she didn't let Pam know that she had never done cross stitch before), and the rest is history. Ten years later Becky is still working in the shop. She is also trying her very best to attract young people to needlework. She told me that she recently went to an Etsy convention in Houston. While there, she tried to spread the word about our wonderful needlework art. With her engaging personality and enthusiasm, she certainly is a wonderful young needlework ambassador.

Here is Kay starting a new project on a lovely green linen. Can you guess what project she started?

Perhaps this photo will help you.

I certainly had a wonderful time at 3 Stitches. Thank you, Pam, and your wonderful staff! I was very impressed with all of them. Rarely does one see such camaraderie. It was abundantly clear that they love what they do and each other.

Do you remember in my Monday post how I was trying to figure out what Connie was saying to entertain the class? Well, it came to me the other day: She wasn't holding up her linen as I had thought, but a plastic storage container holding some of her mother's date bars. Connie told us if we didn't eat them all, then her mother wouldn't bake her any more.