With My Needle

A Lady's Worke Box

2012-01-27T11:27:00.003-05:00

I debated what to show you today--my progress on Hannah Lancaster (from Threads Through Time) or my newest teaching project, A Lady's Worke Box. A Lady's Worke Box won out. Later I'll show you my photos of Hannah and the two new retail products.

A Lady's Worke Box

A sewing or worke box has long been a cherished possession of many girls and women because it is a safe place to store cherished needlework items. And, of course, both plain and fancy needlework played a very important role in female arts in days gone by.

When finished, our 5½ x 9 x 7-inch-high box is decorated with an embroidered panel on the front. Another embroidered panel covers the inside of the box lid. A hornbook threadholder with an embroidered panel, a Jacob’s Ladder needlebook with embroidered cover, a ribbon-embellished embroidered pincushion, and a three-sided scissors weight are stored inside. The box interior is lined with dupioni silk, and the lining has pockets for storing additional small items. The box comes decorated on the outside with a decoupage print matching the embroidered front panel. During assembly you can choose to cover the print with your embroidery or use the printed side as the back of the box.

Stitches Used: alternating double backstitch, backstitch, closed herringbone, cross, cross stitch over one linen thread, cushion (traditional and reverse slant), diamond eyelet, double-sided Italian, four-sided, herringbone, mosaic, plaited cross, Rhodes, Rhodes heart, rice stitch variation, smyrna cross, tent, tied half Rhodes, and zigzag.

Kit Contents: The kit includes the charts and very detailed stitching and assembly directions as well as 36-count linen, silk embroidery threads, DMC threads for the twisted cords and the whitework on the needlebook, hand-dyed silk ribbons, hand-dyed wool for the needlepage, dupioni silk for lining the needlebook and box, a wooden hornbook threadholder, a wooden ruler, a wooden box, two threadwinders, and printed covers for making a small notebook.

This class will premier in May in Canton, Ohio at the Inn Stitches Spring Fling.

You can click on the photo below to see a better view.

In a few days I'll post some photos of the other projects and probably some birthday celebration photos also. Today is our grandson Haiden's 4th birthday, and tomorrow is our daughter's birthday. My goodness! Where have the years gone?

WOW is all I can say!!

2012-01-24T18:54:00.003-05:00

I was filled with mixed emotions Sunday afternoon as I watched the auction on-line of Betty Ring's wonderful needlework collection. I was sad that her collection was being sold and that the pieces which Betty had so carefully and lovingly collected were being separated. On the other hand, it was good news that so many people recognized the value of the work of so many young schoolgirls.

You may have already heard that the items sold for a total of $4,389,503. About 54 items were not sold because they didn't reach their reserve bids. Most of these items were memorials and other silk needlework pictures.

There were several works made by sisters or multiple pieces done by the same girl. Sometimes the pieces were grouped together in one lot, and other times they were separated into two or more lots. I hated seeing this because once items are separated it is very difficult for them to be brought back together.

Thankfully, Martha Parry's three samplers, stitched at Westtown School, were kept together and sold in one lot. Beulah Passmore, who also attended Westtown School, was not as lucky. She had a pair of samplers (lot 635 and lot 636) in the auction, and they were sold in two separate lots. I sure hope the same person bought them so Beulah's samplers can stay together. According to the catalog, there was also a white darning sampler stitched by Beulah's sister Rebecca which was sold with Beulah's darning sampler. I couldn't find a photo of Rebecca's sampler in the on-line or printed auction catalog.

I had a hard time understanding why some of the pieces sold and others didn't. For example, Nabby Lord's 1765 sampler, estimated to sell for $15,000-$25,000, sold for $37,500. Yet her sister Elisabeth's 1764 sampler, estimated to sell for $12,000-$18,000, didn't reach its minimum and was unsold. I must be missing something because the samplers look so similar. Regardless, I was sad to see these two samplers separated.

The needlework piece which brought the highest price was a sampler stitched by Mary Antrim of New Jersey in 1807. The item sold for $1,070,500. This set a new record price for a sampler. The pre-auction estimate was $80,000-$120,000, so the final price must have been a big surprise to everyone. Perhaps you might enjoy reading this article about the auction in yesterday's New York Times.

Four other items fetched more than $100,000:

Betsy Gail's sampler, ca 1790, Marblehead, Massachusetts--$170,500

Sarah Cooper's sampler, 1792, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania--$170,500

Hannah Carlile's sampler, 1796, Providence, Rhode Island--$122,500

Matilda Filbert's sampler, 1830, Wolmesdorf, Pennsylvania--$122,500

WOW is all I can say!!

Did any of you watch the auction too? I had only meant to watch part, but I got totally mesmerized, especially when the bidding on some of the items soared so high. Even Tom ended up sitting down and watching the bidding. I now wonder where the items will end up—in private collections, in museums, or with dealers? I'm still kicking myself for not going to New York to see the pre-auction exhibition at Sotheby's. I can't imagine that there will ever be another exhibit anywhere that can compare to the magnificence of this one.

Over the past few days I've been reading in the back of the catalog the tributes written honoring Betty. I now have an even deeper admiration and respect for Betty and all the work she has done in the field of needlework. What a remarkable woman!! Thank you, Betty, for all that you have done!

Betty Ring and her incredible needlework collection

2012-01-18T15:45:00.004-05:00

As many of you already know, Betty Ring's incredible needlework collection will be auctioned Sunday, January 22, at Sotheby's in New York City. Perhaps like me, you have already purchased a copy of the catalog. What a feast for the eyes it is!! The photographs are so wonderful!!

If you haven't yet bought a copy, you might want to contact Sotheby's to see if they still have any remaining. The catalog will certainly be a wonderful addition to your needlework library. Sotheby's has put the catalog on-line.

In addition to the printed auction catalog, Sotheby's has made several of Betty's books available on-line, American Needlework Treasures and Girlhood Embroidery Volume I and Volume II.

Sotheby's has exhibited the auction items since January 14. There are 197 lots. The pre-auction exhibit will run through this Saturday, January 21. Can you imagine how fantastic it must be? I had really hoped to make a trip to NYC to see the exhibit, but unfortunately I won't be able to make it. Hopefully some of you will be luckier than I am.

I was very fortunate to have heard Betty lecture on several occasions. What a thrill that was! One of the most memorable times was when I asked her to lecture for my newly founded sampler guild, the Queen City Sampler Guild, in Cincinnati. I wrote her a letter and within a short time my phone rang. The voice on the other end said, "Ellen, this is Betty Ring". I almost fainted! So on October 5, 1996, Betty came to Cincinnati to lecture for our guild.

Betty was very concerned about the audio-visual equipment set-up. She wanted two projectors to run simultaneously, but she was very specific with her request that the projectors not be operated by remote control. She had had problems with such a set-up previously. Our programs chairperson, Debra, had quite a time finding projectors that met Betty's specifications, but in the end Debra was successful in not only doing that but also in finding us a wonderful auditorium for the lecture. Betty was certainly impressed with the set-up. She told us she even had a dressing room for the first time.

Sue Sudebaker, an Ohio sampler expert, offered to host Betty in her lovely home. I think the two of them had a wonderful time together. When Tom and I drove Betty back to the airport at the end of the weekend, Betty told me what a gracious hostess and wonderful cook Sue was.

Below are several old photos I found that were taken when Betty was in Cincinnati.

Betty signing books after her lecture

Betty and Sue Studebaker

Here I am with Sue and Betty.

You can read more about Betty here or here. What wonderful tributes!

PS By the way, I could never call Betty by her first name. When addressing her, I always said "Mrs. Ring".

I've been led astray---again!!

2012-01-15T15:27:00.001-05:00

Last Tuesday I finished Ann Rayner from Threads Through Time. I certainly enjoyed every minute I spent with Ann. I just wish my photo would show you better the pretty colors. Don't you love all the red?

On Friday, my friend Judy and I went to see our friend Carol who is a professional framer. After choosing frames for our pieces, we all went out for lunch. What a great time we had catching up on things!

Having finished Ann Rayner, I needed a new project for my early morning stitching sessions. I pulled out two WIPs (works in progress): Janet Gibson, a reproduction sampler, and Catherine Theron's Examplar III.

Well, that seemed like a good idea at the time. There's not much left on Janet--mainly buttonhole stitches on the swan and two sheep. However, I decided I wasn't in the mood to do those right now, so I put poor Janet aside once again, but I do plan to finish her this year.

Then it was on to Examplar III. Looking at it, I thought it wouldn't take very long to complete this piece. After all, I had already stitched the lovely border and most of the tent stitch motif in the lower right corner. Wrong again! The motif in progress is all petite queen stitches (queen stitches over two linen threads). Each petite queen stitch has only two long legs versus the typical queen stitch, which is over four linen threads and has four long legs to be tacked down. After three morning stitching sessions, you can see my progress. It was very slow, plus I was having a hard time both counting and seeing where to put the stitches. So this poor project is now also back in my basket for another day.

Now the dilemma...what to stitch during my morning stitching sessions. (Long time readers of my blog know that I usually wake up several hours before Tom does, and I use that time to stitch.) I wanted a relaxing piece. Should I chose another WIP or ????

Well, I decided that life is too short, and therefore I shouldn't fret between completing a WIP or starting a new sampler. The latter is what I did. For years I've loved the Hannah Lancaster sampler. Here's a picture from Mary, the designer.

I don't know exactly what it is that attracts me so strongly to this piece. Perhaps it's the very large girl in the bottom section. The stitch count for this sampler is 277 wide by 382 high. Yes, it's another biggie! Luckily, I had a large piece of linen on hand. I'm using the DMC threads that are listed on the chart. I figured if they were good enough for the model, then they should be okay for me. Do you ever rationalize choices like that?

This morning I began work on Hannah, and I'm pleased with my progress so far. I've completed only the the dark green part of the vine across the top, so I'm anxious to add some more colors soon. Perhaps tomorrow I'll stitch some of the flowers on the vine.

I imagine it will take me quite some time to finish Hannah because I have other stitching and designing commitments. However, I hope to spend most of my early morning time with her. We should be great friends by the time I'm through stitching her.

Here's some news on upcoming classes:

The Delaware Valley Historic Sampler Guild is now taking registrations for the April classes, A Needleworker's Sampler Huswif and Long May She Wave. More information is here.
We hope to soon post photos of my new class, A Lady's Worke Box. This class will premier in May in Canton, Ohio. Contact information is here.
Sue of Stitcher's Hideaway has opened registrations for her Sturbridge retreat in early July. I'll be teaching the Fruit of the Vine Sampler Huswif. Having taught before at one of Sue's retreats, I know it will be a great time for all. Sue has timed her retreat this year to coincide with the 4th of July celebrations at historic Sturbridge Village. The class begins on July 5, so you can come a day early and enjoy the festivities at the village on the 4th. Sue has also arranged a special program entitled Celebrating Patriotism for the afternoon of July 6. The program will be presented by Sturbridge Village staff members. It certainly sounds interesting. And if that is not enough enticement, Sue has also timed her seminar to be near the enormous Brimfield Antiques Show. WOW!! I can hardly wait. If you want to learn more about Stitcher's Hideaway, click here.

Settling back in...

2012-01-08T16:35:00.004-05:00

We are now settling back into a routine around here, although you may not have thought so from my few blog posts. I hope to start doing better soon.

Among other things, I'm very happy to have returned to stitching after having not done any for five weeks (yes, you read that right!) in November and December. In fact, I've stitched some each of the past 16 days. Boy does that feel good! My goal is not to miss any days of stitching during 2012, but we'll see now that goes. Sometimes travel is not very conducive to stitching between being busy and having poor lighting. (I've become pretty dependent upon my Dazor magnifying light.)

I'm now almost finished stitching Ann Rayner from Threads Through Time, and with any luck I can show you a photo in a week or so. I actually started stitching on Ann back in April. Unfortunately, with all our travels and family issues, my progress had been very, very slow. Ann has been a well-traveled sampler having gone with me to England and France and also on our many trips to Florida. Poor Ann never saw the light of day in France, and on our last trip to Florida (22 days) she never came out of my stitching bag. She probably thought she had been abandoned for good.

Yesterday a moving company delivered five pieces of furniture and three boxes from my father's home. (You may remember that we had already brought back a carload mainly of irreplaceable items such as photographs.) Today I've managed to unpack two of the boxes, but the third one (which is quite large) is still in the garage with the furniture. That box was supposed to go to my brother in New York, so tomorrow we will arrange to have it picked up. We still need to decide where in the house that the furniture will go. All the pieces we inherited have been in the family for several generations, which makes them very special. However, we need to make room for them by removing others.

They say that every family needs a "keeper" who will take care of family items and history. My poor children--I think both my parents instilled that passion in me. Over the years my mother would tell me (and have me write down) the family history of items. Both of my parents also gave me papers with family history. When our lives calm down some more, I need to go through those papers again, and also the containers of old photos I brought back with me from Orlando. I really want to get things organized. The reason I earlier said 'my poor children' is because I couldn't throw away anything that had any family connection. Perhaps some of you are that way also.

In addition to all the photos and papers I brought back from Orlando, I also brought back a bellpull my mother made. Although my mother did various forms of needlework during her lifetime, I think she cross stitched only two things—a stamped cross stitched sampler she made when she was 13 years old and the bellpull. She had it hanging in her home for quite a few years. When Daddy downsized after her death, he kept the bellpull. On my first visit to his new apartment, I was puzzled when looking at the piece.

Then I realized what had happened. The person who had hung everything on his walls, had hung the bellpull upside down. For months, no one had noticed. Doesn't this look better?

I'm thrilled that today both of Mother's cross stitched pieces hang in our home—her sampler is in our bedroom and her bellpull in our living room. What treasures!! I need to jot down the family history of the pieces for our children.

I leave you with some Christmas photos. The first two are from Christmas morning in Fort Wayne with Stephen, Michelle, and Garrett. Garrett is now 15 months old and is very, very active!!

Then last Sunday (New Years Day) we went to Columbus (Ohio) to celebrate Christmas with Carolyn, Greg, and Haiden who is nearly 4 years old.

A good time was had by all!!

Wishing you the best in 2012!

2012-01-01T09:18:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year! I had meant to send this greeting earlier, but somehow time has gotten away from me--again.

We have had a very busy time since my last posting on Christmas Eve. Shortly after my posting, we headed to Fort Wayne to spend a few days with our son, daughter-in-law, and 15-month old grandson. Then on Wednesday, Tom and I celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary. (That was a day of mixed emotions as it was also the one month anniversary of my father's death.) Then yesterday we went with friends to see the Boar's Head Festival in downtown Cincinnati and came back here for dinner. Wow--what a full week.

Today we are celebrating both Christmas and New Years with our daughter, son-in-law, and 4-year old grandson. We'll open gifts in the morning, and later in the day enjoy our usual New Years Day dinner--black-eyed peas over a bed of rice. (Eating black-eyed peas on New Years day is a southern tradition which is supposed to bring you luck during the coming year.) Several years ago Tom said he thought the black-eyed peas taste better on the second day, so I suggested he fix them the day before. That has now become our tradition. This year he did two batches, one with ham and the other without because our daughter is a vegetarian. I think we'll be eating black-eyed peas for a very long time this year! Many people also prepare collard greens, but since neither Tom nor I like them we don't include them.

The good news is that after having not stitched for five weeks I'm back in the swing of things. For the past four days I have gotten in a bit of early morning stitching. (Boy does it feel good to be doing that again.) I'm working on Ann Rayner from Threads Through Time, and with any luck (and continual stitching) I should finish her this month. I'll try to show you a photo of my progress soon. Poor Ann must feel abandoned--although she has traveled with me to quite a few places, she never came out of my stitching bag. The last photo I showed you of her was taken back in June.

We have also been busy working on the directions for three new projects--two for the retail market and a new teaching piece that will premier in Canton, Ohio in May. I hope to have photos of these projects soon.

In closing, I thought it might be fun to look back on my stitching goals for 2011 to see how I did. Although I didn't get as much stitching done as I had planned, I guess that I should be happy with my accomplishments, especially considering all of the travel and family trauma we experienced.

My 2011 list was:

complete Elizabeth Mears (Yes)
stitch I Sigh Not for Beauty (Yes)
complete at least one WIP (I fell short here--I don't think I did any)
design some WMN projects including one new teaching project (Yes--I have designed 3 new projects, down from the number in the past. We still need to get the directions done.)

Yikes, time is getting away from me once again, so I guess I'll have to wait until next time to list my 2012 stitching goals. Do you make a list of stitching goals?

I'd like to leave you with this verse from an old post card I found. (It was sent in 1919.) I think the verse really summarizes what 2011 meant to me and my wish for you.

Wishing you a joyous Christmastide!

2011-12-24T09:24:00.002-05:00

I first heard the carol, This Christmastide, a few years ago when it was sung by our church's girls' choir at our annual Lessons and Carols service. This carol has become one of my favorites so I've decided to share it with you today, on Christmas Eve. I hope you'll love it as much as I do.

Wishing you a joyous Christmastide!

We wish you a Merry, Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-23T20:40:00.002-05:00

Tom and I wish all of you a very merry (and joyous) Christmastide!

Thank you to everyone who sent cards and notes concerning my father's death. The notes meant more than you'll ever know. I wish that I was able to thank each of you individually.

Guess what? I stitched a bit this morning for the first time in 5 weeks!!! I can't believe that it has been that long! With all the stress and travel this past year, I haven't gotten much stitching done. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things soon. Hopefully 2012 will prove to be more fruitful!

Rest in Peace, Daddy!

2011-12-14T09:56:00.001-05:00

Little did I dream the photo Tom took just a few weeks ago of my father and me on Daddy's 90th birthday would be the last one we would take of him. Perhaps you remember it from a previous post. We had just put the cake in Daddy's lap and before Tom could take a picture Daddy took a lick of the icing. (The evidence is on his cheek.) How I cherish that photo!

Tom and I left the next morning to head back home with stops in Atlanta to see his brother and sister-in-law and then to spend a day at Shaker Village in Kentucky. We got home late on Monday, November 7.

The following week we got the word that Daddy was steadily declining, so on Friday, November 18, Tom and I drove back down to Orlando, arriving there on the 19th. During the next nine days we saw a steady decline with Daddy. The last few days he remained in bed, and I would hold his hand and play music. Although I played the music pretty loudly, I'm not sure how much he heard because of his hearing problems. It didn't help that he had recently lost one of his hearing aides.

Daddy died the morning of Monday, November 28. He always said that when it was his time he wanted to die in his own apartment. Thanks to help from health care aides and hospice nurses (who came in the last couple of days), Daddy had his way, and we are all so thankful for that.

Here is the link to Daddy's obituary.

Daddy's funeral was Saturday, December 3, at the church where he had been Rector for 28 years. The service was truly a celebration of his life! While we miss him terribly, we know that he is now with Mother and other family members, and they are all at peace. When my aunt called last night, she mentioned what a wonderful story teller Daddy was. Perhaps he's now telling stories and jokes to others in Heaven.

Tom and I stayed another few days in Orlando to help my sister and brother sort out the things in Daddy's apartment. We were surprised how much he had in his little apartment. Among other things, he had all of his tax records dating back to 1949 and lots and lots of photos. I must have gone through at least 40 albums and several bins of photos. What family treasures! We brought lots of photos back with us, but it will probably be spring before I get the chance to really study and organize them. We also brought back other family treasures, and next week a moving van will be coming with several pieces of furniture, including my mother's father's dresser. (I've promised Tom that no more furniture will come in our house until some pieces go out.)

Once we left Orlando, we stopped for a couple of days in Jacksonville to see Tom's father. Then on Friday, December 9, we drove home. Thankfully, the weather along the way cooperated, and we got home late that evening.

We're now trying to settle back in, but it will take some time. I figured that by the time we got home on Friday, Tom had been home only 16 days (and me 18), since September 28. In fact, Tom has spent nearly three months with family in Florida this year, and I was there only two weeks less. Add in other travel, and we've been gone well over a third of the year. This probably gives you an idea of the turmoil we've had in our lives this past year. (Would you believe I haven't even held a needle in nearly four weeks?)

Until things settle down, I've decided to cut back on my blog posts and also on my internet newsletter for at least several weeks. I'm also going to postpone the release of my two new designs, the Hannah Cummins reproduction sampler and A Quaker Needlework Box. I hope you understand.

Happy Thanksgiving Day 2011!

2011-11-23T18:21:00.007-05:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the US. Several years ago for Thanksgiving I published a wonderful article written by Debi Feyh, Marketing Coordinator at the Nordic Needle. Debi describes a typical Thanksgiving dinner using a "cornucopia of stitches". This special article was so brilliantly written that I asked if I could publish it here. Debi responded "yes", so here it is once again. I hope you'll enjoy reading this delightful article.

Many countries and cultures have a celebration giving thanks for their harvest and good fortunes. Canada has already celebrated their Thanksgiving Day which occurs on the second Monday of October. This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day for Americans. Abraham Lincoln had proclaimed the last Thursday of November to be the official holiday. That was later changed by Franklin D. Roosevelt to the 4th Thursday of the November.

While doing research on Thanksgiving, I found that the original meal was quite different from today's "traditional" dinner. According to Kathleen Curtin, Food Historian at Plimouth Plantation, their menu may have looked like this:

Seafood: Cod, eel, clams and lobster

Wild fowl: Wild turkey, goose, duck, crane, swan, partridge, and eagles

Meat: venison, seal

Grain: wheat flour, Indian corn

Vegetables: pumpkins, peas, beans, onion, lettuce, radishes, carrots

Fruit: plums, grapes

Besides food, people often associate the cornucopia with this holiday. This word dates back to 1508 from Latin, cornu copiae meaning a "horn of plenty". We often see it used as a centerpiece overflowing with fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

Okay, I know you are beginning to wonder what this has to do with stitching....we thought it would be fun to see if we could provide you with a CORNUCOPIA of CANVASWORK reflecting the menu from the first Thanksgiving.....here goes!

Let's start with the cornucopia. We know there were baskets used to gather and serve foods. Most of them were probably woven so these stitches come to mind: basketweave stitch and the woven stitch .

ENTREE
For our meat, I would offer up these possibilities-the Turkey, Herring(bone), and Shell(fish) Stitches.

The turkey on their table was much different from the commercially grown turkey of today. It had a very colorful plumage which Columbus associated with the peacock. He referred to the bird as "tuka" which means peacock in India. Another source said that the name came from the Native American's word for the bird, "firkee". Yet another source said it came from the Hebrew word "Tukki" which means large or big bird. I find that funny because Big Bird's costume from Sesame Street is actually made from white turkey feathers dyed yellow....literally making him a Big Bird! Back to our subject...turkey(work) and herring(bone).Shell (fish) of various types were part of the celebration. Let's add them (shell stitch) to our "menu".

VEGETABLES
Our cornucopia will have a variety of leafy vegetables and something the colonist called wild rice.

First let's explore our leaf stitches, which are very versatile.

Next we have the wild rice. However, according to the International Wild Rice Association "Wild Rice is (not really a rice, but) an aquatic cereal grain that grows 'wild' in isolated lake and river bed areas located primarily within the continent of North America. This evolutionarily ancient grain has been found in layers of the earth dating back some 12,000 years." Just like the rice recipes we have today, the rice stitch has many variations.

BREADS

The Colonists had corn and wheat flour available to them for their baked goods. We use Indian corn today as decoration primarily because it is a very hard corn, taking a long time for preparation. The Indians at the First Thanksgiving were from the Wampanoag tribe.

The next two stitches are very similar in construction: the wheat stitch and the cornfield stitch.

SWEETS
Pumpkin pie would not have been on the first Thanksgiving menu. However, pumpkin soup was a staple on many tables throughout the year. A pumpkin is a member of the squash family, so does that make it a fruit or a vegetable? It is a fruit, which is defined as being a seed or containing seeds. Therefore, nuts, peas, tomatoes, and even beans are really fruits. Vegetables are plants that don't have seeds. They include leaves, such as cabbage or lettuce; roots, like carrots; bulbs, like onions; and tubers such as potatoes.

Not many sweets would have been present at that first meal. One reason is because sugar and flour were expensive and hard to come by. One possible dessert was a Betty which was a baked pudding where the fruit was layered with bread crumbs. A Cobbler was another probable offering where the fruit is put in a pot and biscuit dough was dropped on top then baked. Both of these desserts were baked probably in a Dutch oven. I was unable to find a "fruit" stitch so we will finish with the Double Dutch (stitch).

I hope you enjoyed our Thanksgiving Day twist. There is so much you can learn about that first Thanksgiving and about Canvaswork, with hundreds of stitches and variations.

Thank you to Debi and to Nordic Needle for allowing me to reprint this article in its entirety. If you don't get the Nordic Needle newsletter, you might want to sign up for it at their website.

As you gather with family and friends, take time to give thanks for all your blessings. Although we have had, and continue to have, a very, very trying and exhausting year physically and emotionally with some family members, Tom and I are still so thankful for our many blessings.

Shaker Village, Part 3

2011-11-22T22:16:00.012-05:00

I had no idea when we visited Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill earlier this month that there would also be a small quilt exhibit in addition to the special Shaker textile exhibit.

These quilts were made in the 1970's through the 1990's.

The famous Tree of Life, so ofte seen on Shaker items, appears on some of the quilts. According to one of the quilt exhibit signs, the Tree of Life is mentioned in the Book of Revelation: It bore twelve manner of fruit, and yielded her fruit each month. And the leaves of the Tree is for healing of the Nations of the Earth.

Here is another of the lovely quilts.

This quilt depicts a Tree of Herbs. Isn't the quilt wonderful?

Next we went to the Golden Threads textile exhibit. The current exhibit is the first one in over a decade. Some of the textiles and textile tools have rarely been seen.

Food, water, shelter, and clothing are considered man's basic necessities. "In the natural world there are four main fibers used for clothing—two from plants (cotton and linen) and two from living creatures" (wool from sheep and silk from the cocoons of silk worms.)

Here is a sampler and some needlework tools.

Next is a display of kerchiefs, scarves. and berthas. The early Shaker women wore cotton or linen kerchiefs or scarves across their shoulders. Later, checked scarves became popular. By the early 1820's, the Shakers at Pleasant Hill were producing their own silk, so brightly colored silk scarves became popular among the sisters.

Later in the 19th century, berthas replaced scarves and handkerchiefs in popularity. The bertha looked like a small cape or stole and was often made out of the same fabric as the dress. Many berthas were decorated with ribbon, braid, or buttons.

The photo below shows Catherine Allen's dress, bonnet, and scarf. Catherine's clothing was typical of that worn by many Shaker women in the late 19th to early 20th early century. The dress, which is form fitting, has no buttons so it was closed with pins. The quilted silk bonnet was designed to be worn outside in cold weather. The long, pink scarf was likely made at Pleasant Hill.

Here are some more bonnets and a bonnet form.

The Pleasant Hill sisters made hundreds of sheets, blankets, and coverlets.

Here are some more photos from the textile exhibit. Most of the items are marked with initials.

Most Shaker rugs were woven, braided, hooked, knitted, or crocheted into geometric or abstract designs. The rugs, besides being functional, were also a great way to use scraps of fabric that had no other use.

This horse rug is not typical of Shaker rugs because few rugs used images; most had geometric patterns.

These items, while not old, are reproductions of sewing items used by the Shaker women.

It has been so nice hearing from so many of you about how you enjoyed seeing photos from our short visit to Pleasant Hill. Just writing the last three blog posts about our visit there already has me very anxious to return.

Shaker Village, Part 2

2011-11-19T06:57:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are some views inside some of the buildings at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky.

First is a view inside our room, which was located in the Trustees building.

Here is a view of the hallway outside our room.

And look at this incredible spiral staircase! It would surprise me if the staircase isn't the most photographed thing in the village.

This is the Centre Building. Note that there are separate doors for the men and the women.

Now is a view of the inside of the Centre House looking towards the front doors. Notice how everything is exactly the same on both the right and left sides.

Most of the following photos were taken inside the Centre House.

I loved these tags. I sure never knew all those things for which lavendar is a remedy.

When I saw this HUGE cabinet, I couldn't help thinking how much needlework it would hold!

Then we were off to the Sister's House. Once upon a time, silk worms were cultivated on the top floor. This framed piece shows the stages of development.
1. silkworm eggs
2. a silkworm
3. a mulberry 1eaf
4. a cocoon
5. silk filaments
6. a moth which lays the eggs

On the first floor was a room with several looms and two women demonstrating weaving.

Tom has always been fascinating with coopers, so of course we also had to go to the cooper workshop.

Well, that's all until next time when I'll show you the quilt and a special textile exhibit.

Shaker Village, Part 1

2011-11-17T19:04:00.000-05:00

One of the places we love to visit is Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. Although Pleasant Hill is only a few hours away from our home in Cincinnati, we don't seem to make it there very often. ,

On our drive back from visiting our fathers in Florida a few weeks ago, we decided to stop for a long overdue visit. An additional incentive to stop this time is that there is currently a small needlework exhibit which runs until the end of the year. Perhaps some of you read about Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill and the exhibit in a recent edition of Early American Life.

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, with its 34 buildings, is America's largest restored Shaker community. The Shakers were the largest American communal society during the 19th century. The Shakers believed in living peacefully. They also believed in celibacy. Men and women were considered equal. You can read more about the Shaker here.

If you have the time, we highly recommend you spend the night on the grounds and eat in the wonderful dining room. You won't be disappointed!

We planned our visit this time in order to arrive in time for dinner, then spend the night, and tour the village the next day, and still be back in Cincinnati at the end of the day.

We could not have chosen a lovelier time to be at Shaker Village. Although we missed the peak of the fall foliage, there were still lots and lots of colorful leaves on the trees. The weather was beautiful--sunny with crisp fall temperatures. The other nice thing was that there were no crowds. Especially at night when we walked the old street, it felt like we had the place to ourselves. I really don't know of a more peaceful place to be.

Would you believe we took over 100 photos during our short stay? (I won't subject you to them all--I've chosen the ones I think you'll find most interesting.) I've divided our photos into 3 groups: outside views of the village, inside views of some of the buildings, and the textile exhibit. Today I'm starting with views of the outside of the buildings.

Orlando Treasures

2011-11-15T17:30:00.001-05:00

After spending time in Jacksonville visiting my father-in-law and teaching a class for the duClay EGA chapter, we headed south to see my father in Orlando. Daddy's family moved from Baltimore to Miami in 1928 when he was 7 years old. He has lived in Orlando for the past 53 years. Of course, Orlando has changed dramatically during that time.

We timed our visit to coincide with Daddy's 90th birthday. I saw him put his finger in the cake icing to take a lick, but I didn't realize he had icing on his face when Tom took the photo. (Tom later told me that he knew about the icing.) I also don't know why Daddy has a $5 bill sticking out of his pocket.

(Note from Tom: Could there be a family resemblance here?)

One day when Daddy was taking his afternoon rest, I asked Tom to take me to a cute little shop I had seen the day before.

And look at what all we saw inside! Lots of antique lace and linens!

I don't know what the connection is with the sign over the bed.

Perhaps it's just a vintage sign.

Some old purses and shoes!

And look at these wonderful old frames. I was so tempted to buy one (or two) , but I didn't know what I'd put in them. Hmm--maybe I should design a sampler that would fit perfectly in one of the frames.

There were also lots and lots of old Christmas ornaments. Check them out if you ever go to Orlando--that is, the real Orlando--after all, there's more to Orlando than Disney and International Drive. The French Nest is at 2300 Edgewater Drive in the College Park neighborhood.

Stitching on the St. Johns River

2011-11-14T21:46:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, October 29, I had the great pleasure of teaching my Long May She Wave class for members of the duClay EGA chapter in Jacksonville, Florida. It was so nice to see many old friends. Most in the class had been in my previous classes offered by the Azalea Sampler Guild, the Sarasota EGA, or Stitchers' Gathering.

I went to dinner with some of the participants on Friday night. Melody, who organized the class, certainly knows all the best places to go. We went to the Blue Fish. Everyone agreed the food was exceptional. I want to take Tom and my father-in-law there the next time we are in Jacksonville.

Our class was in the Bensel House where Melody works. It is a wonderful house, built in 1912 by Wilbur Talley. The house is in the beautiful Riverside area and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. From the front porch, there is a beautiful view of the St. Johns River, the only major river in the US that flows north.

Here are some photos from the class. I only took a few photos myself--I don't know where my head was. I had planned to take lots of photos and especially wanted photos of the ladies who had brought in WMN projects for show-and-tell. My apologies to those whom I forgot to photograph. Thanks, Melody and Kris, for sending me your photos.

Here is Melody welcoming the ladies. Melody made goodie bags for everyone. Perhaps you can get a glimpse of some of the pumpkin goodie bags on the table.

Carol R. was excited to win the door prize: a pincushion basket from Old Colonial Designs--perfect for the Les Cygnes A La Fleur chart that was in everyone's goodie bag. I thought you'd enjoy seeing Carol's reaction when she learned she was the prize winner.

Here we are, ready to start the class. (The projection certainly doesn't show up very well in flash photos.)

And here the ladies are busy stitching on their flag sewing cases. I wish we had gotten some close-up photos of their stitching.

Next are some of the ladies with their show-and-tell. First is Carol P. from the Orlando area. Here she is showing her Petit Carnet d'Ouvrages, Livre I.

Here is a close-up view of her Petit Carnet d'Ouvrages, Livre I (all stitched over one linen thread) and her Ackworth Friendship Book.

Next is Linda F. who is also from the Orlando area. Here she is showing the progress she's made on her Fruit of the Vine needleroll. I'm sorry the photo isn't good enough to show you Linda's wonderful grapes. I stitched the grapes on my model with tent stitches. Linda decided to stitch hers with Rhodes stitches instead. Linda was one of four ladies in the Jacksonville class who had also been in the February Fruit of the Vine class in Sarasota.

In addition to her Fruit of the Vine needleroll, Linda brought one of her Pair of Pinkeeps and two versions of Eliza's Pyn Pillow. She stitched one over one linen thread and the other over two linen threads. Wow--what a difference between the two! You can find this complimentary design here. Over the years, stitchers have found lots of fun ways to finish this little piece. To see some ideas, type Eliza's Pyn Pillow in the Google search engine on the left sidebar of this page. Linda also brought her completed Ackworth Friendship Book. I'm sorry I neglected to get photos of Linda's lovely work. Perhaps she'll send me some photos to show you.

Next is Joyce Anne S. with her Alphabet Samplings Book. Look at the book cover. Some of you may remember that my model had a plain cover, just dupioni silk. Joyce Anne decided to add beautiful embroidery to her cover. Wow!! It was stunning. I wish you could have seen it in person. Sitting next to Joyce Anne is Ruth C. Ruth is working on Adorn Thy Heart as a 25th wedding anniversary gift for her son and daughter-in-law. Ruth promises to send me a photo when she has the sampler finished.

Loretta T. brought her framed An Emblem of Love which was beautifully stitched and framed. Somehow I neglected to get a photo. Sorry, Loretta. I hope you'll email me a photo.

And look what I got! Henrietta made me this wonderful hornbook thank-you card. Each of the ladies wrote a note on the inside. I think you can see how thrilled I was!

And then, I also got this sweet little hornbook. Isn't it darling? I have it sitting on a table in my family room.

Thanks, ladies, for a great day. I hope you all enjoyed working on your flag sewing cases and learning some flag history as you stitched. I'm only sorry that I didn't take photos of all of you and your beautiful work.

And to my blog readers, sorry some of the photos are fuzzy.

More turtle fun!!

2011-11-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

What a treat it was to receive these photos from Texan Barbara M!

Barbara wrote that she and her friends had a Quaker Turtles finishing class recently. Here are two of the completed sets. She hopes to send photos of more turtles soon .

The green version was stitched using Weeks Dye Works Juniper thread and wool on 32-count Olive Green linen from Zweigart. The pink turtles were stitched using Weeks Dye Works Bubble Gum thread and wool on 30-count 18th Century Sugar Plum from R & R. Barbara described the two sets of turtles as Just too yummy.

Speaking of yummy, look at the other photo Barbara sent me. Aren't these cookies cute? They make me smile just looking at them. Barbara said that one of her friends brought these special cookies for the class attendees to enjoy. Some folks are just so clever! It sounds like Barbara and her friends had a fun time with their turtles.

Barbara, please thank the two ladies (I don't know if you are one of them) for letting me show photos of their assembled turtles. They look so adorable, and what a great job the ladies did!

I'm certainly looking forward to seeing more turtles as your friends finish them.

The language of flowers

2011-11-09T13:45:00.001-05:00

A somewhat chilly and drizzly day found us at Monet's Gardens in Giverny. Even in mid-October and with the drizzle, the gardens were spectacular. They were larger and more beautiful than I had expected. I can only imagine what they must look like in the spring.

I was fascinated with these unusual chickens that were on the grounds.

Did you know that you can attend a painting workshop in Giverny? We have friends from church who have done so several times and have always loved the experience.

Click here to read about Monet's Gardens and to see some photos taken by professional photographers.

More embroidery photos from our trip to France

2011-11-08T11:48:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry that I haven't been a better blogger recently. We have had a lot going on, and I'm not sure I know which end is up. Thank you for your patience with me. I'll try to do better with updating my blog in the future.

We just returned home last night from Florida where we visited our fathers. We timed the trip to coincide with my father's 90th birthday. I had hoped to update my blog regularly while we were down there, but I ran into internet problems in Orlando. So much for the best laid plans.

I have lots of photos to show you--a few more from France, my recent Long May She Wave class in Jacksonville, a wonderful lace and linen shop in Orlando, Quaker Turtles (and cookies), Pleasant Hill Shaker Village in Kentucky, and more. Perhaps before long I'll also have photos of two new With My Needle designs.

Meanwhile, here are some more photos highlighting the embroidery we saw.

First is a Millefleur tapestry, followed by a detail of some of the flowers near the bottom. Millefleur tapestries get their name because of the many flowers and small plants that are on the background. The term "millefleur" means "thousand flowers". Quite an appropriate name for this style of tapestry, don't you think?

Churches often have beautifully embroidered vestments, banners, and altar coverings. Here are a few that we saw.

We also went to see two very famous tapestries. First was the The Apocalypse Tapestry in Angers. It was created between 1375 and 1382--an amazing feat. This tapestry, the largest in the world, depicts scenes from the Book of Revelation. It was originally 436 feet long and 20 feet high, but only about two-thirds of it has survived. Photos were not allowed, but I found this website which has wonderful photos for you to enjoy.

Another day we went to see the Bayeux Tapestry. The Bayeux Tapestry is not actually a tapestry, but instead it's a cloth embroidered with wool thread that depicts the story of the Norman Conquest. The tapestry is believed to have been made around 1070 and measures 230 feet long by about 20 inches high. It is an amazing work of art.

Again, no inside photos were allowed, so this is all I have to show you.

If you want to see some photos of this magnificent tapestry, check some of the many websites that tell about it such as this or this.

I took quite a fall after (thankfully, not before) seeing the Bayeux Tapestry (and thankfully, after walking up St. Michel) when I stepped off a curb I didn't see. Yikes! My legs were really banged up, and luckily there was a doctor on our tour who took care of me. I was maxed out on over-the-counter pain pills and had to limit my activities for a couple of days. (I was really slow moving for those first few days.) However, I still have scars on my legs, and it has been over a month. It could have been much worse. I'm so thankful I didn't have any broken bones or damage my back again.

More French pleasures (a wordless blog post)

2011-11-05T06:47:00.008-04:00

Visiting Des Fils et une Aiguille

2011-11-01T08:22:00.000-04:00

While in Paris, I got the opportunity to visit a wonderful needlework shop, Des Fils et une Aiguille.

Elodie is the shop owner. She is so sweet, and I certainly enjoyed meeting her.

Elodie told me that Florent and Thierry first opened the shop in March, 1995. Then, in 2001, Marie and Chantal bought it. And then, on February 4, 2011, a week before the big needlework show in Paris, Elodie bought the shop.

Des Fils et une Aiguille is fantastic! Every nook and cranny is full of wonderful goodies. Elodie has lots and lots of charts, ribbons, fibers, linen, buttons, books, scissors, and more! I was particularly taken with the many different linen bandings. I've never seen such a wide variety.

Here is Elodie with her lovely smile, standing behind the counter. Look at the array of fibers behind her!

Here is a glimpse of just some of Elodie's many ribbons and linen bandings. Some items from Sajou are in the foreground of the first photo.

Of course, I had to check out all the wonderful goodies.

Look at all the linens!

How about the scissors?

And then there were the books!

Look what was in one of the shop's display cases--A Hornbook Examplar! It was so exciting to see a completed With My Needle project on display in a Paris shop. The stitcher certainly did a wonderful job. I particularly like what she did on the inside with the red wool needlepages--so striking, don't you think?

Elodie, I certainly enjoyed meeting you and seeing your fantastic shop!! I hope our paths will cross again soon!

If you're ever in Paris, make sure you visit Des Fils et une Aiguille at 1 rue Chabanais. The shop is very easy to find--just a short walk from the Opera House, which is one of the most luxurious and beautiful places I've ever visited!

Halloween greetings

2011-10-31T07:25:00.003-04:00

Batman

Our favorite puppy dog on two legs!

We're thinking of all those on the East Coast as you are digging out from Mother Nature's early Halloween trick. We hope that you are safe and sound (and warm!), and that Mother Nature will treat you well. (No more tricks!)

To market, to market to buy.....

2011-10-25T14:43:00.001-04:00

At the beginning of our trip we saw lots of wonderful markets everywhere we went. I think my photos tell it best, although somehow I neglected to get any photos of the cheese stands. Shame on me--we had even bought some cheese to enjoy while over there.

And then there were the shops. I think you could gain 5 pounds by just inhaling the smells from the bakeries and chocolate shops.

And how could I resist taking photos of these chocolate "works of art"?

And I guess most needleworkers would even welcome these frogs as long as they stayed away from your stitching, right?

More needlework from the Palace of Versailles

2011-10-23T12:34:00.002-04:00

Here are some more photos showing some of the needlework we saw at the Palace of Versailles.

First are photos of several chairs and also close-up views.

Next are some images from the King's Bedchamber. I decided not to crop the first photo so you could get a better view not only of the room but also of the crowds that were at Versailles the same day we were.

Then it was off to the Queen's Bedchamber. It was absolutely beautiful!! I guess others thought so too because this room and the famous Hall of Mirrors were packed. In fact, I told Tom I could understand how someone could be trampled by a crowd. It really was that bad. However, we waited very, very patiently until we could work ourselves up to the front for a good view, and then worked our way across the room. It was certainly worth it as these photos show you.

Yes, this sofa was covered with plastic to protect it from further deterioration.

The Palace of Versailles is incredibly beautiful. We took many more photos, but the ones I've shown you are of some of the needlework.

There were other buildings on the palace grounds, but we decided to save them for a future visit, hopefully when it's not as crowded as it was this time.

I leave you now with two photos of the exterior of the Palace of Versailles.

Often-missed glimpses into the Palace of Versailles

2011-10-21T09:15:00.000-04:00

In my last blog post I told you about my visit to Maison Sajou in the town of Versailles. We had a lovely walk there that began on this tree-lined street. Don't you love this view? It was truly as peaceful as it looks here, with only a few strollers and dogs along the way.

As we left this side street, look what was off to our right...

Could it be? Yes! There was the Palace of Versailles. WOW!! We took a couple of photos from the street knowing that we would tour the palace the next day and would take oodles of photos then.

This next photo doesn't capture all the beauty of the Palace gate. The gate was even more dazzling in person.

There are many wonderful photos and videos of the Palace of Versailles in books and on the internet. I've decided for the most part to show photos of interest to needleworkers which may not appear elsewhere.

In today's blog post I'm focusing on some wallpaper designs, a tapestry, and three paintings. Why paintings? Paintings often give a clear vision of what people were wearing. The paintings I chose are of women wearing embroidered clothing. (In my next blog post I'll show photos of some embroidered chairs and photos of the King's and the Queen's bedchambers, both of which were exquisitely embellished.)

First, are two photos showing wallpaper designs. Aren't they wonderful?

In this photo you can get a glimpse of the wallpaper and the goldwork piece which was just above a chair rail and around the doors. Just beautiful!

Here is a very large tapestry. I wish I had jotted down some details about it. I've tried to look on-line for information, but my attempts have been fruitless.

Next are photos of a painting of Élisabeth-Charlotte de Bavière. I've included an image of the sign which tells a wee bit about Élisabeth. Below that is a photo showing her entire portrait, and below that are two photos showing details of her clothing.

Next is a portrait of Françoise-Marie de Bourbon. Again I've included the sign that tells who she is, followed by her portrait, and then a detail of the lace on her sleeve.

And last, but certainly not least, is a portrait of Marie Leczinska. I neglected to get a photo of the sign about her portrait, but below her portrait are four photographic details of her beautiful gown.

If you want to see more photos of the Palace of Versailles and learn about its history, just check out some of the many websites, such the Palace's own website or this one which claims to have over 249,000 images. Or just google the Palace of Versailles (or Château de Versailles) to see the enormous number of websites devoted to this exquisite place. Many of these websites have much better photos and information than I can give you. Instead, I've decided to focus on items that are not photographed as often.

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into some of what we saw, and that this will pique your interest in what is to follow in a day or two.

Visiting Maison Sajou

2011-10-19T17:31:00.000-04:00

We've recently returned home from a wonderful trip to France! Over the next few weeks I plan to share with you some of the many photos we took--particularly those that are needlework related. (And yes, Heather and other "foodies", I'll have some food photos too.)

This was our first trip to France. True, we've been in the Paris airport twice, but that was only to change planes to go somewhere else. At last, we were able to get out and explore. Our trip was a tour of the Loire Valley, Brittany, and Normandy followed by some time in Paris.

Our first hotel was in the town of Versailles, which is slightly northwest of Paris. What a perfect setting for, of course, exploring the Palace of Versailles (Château de Versailles) and also Maison Sajou.

Before heading overseas, I had written Frédérique Crestin-Billet, owner of Maison Sajou, about visiting her. We had the afternoon of our arrival in France free, and very happily that was a good day for Frédérique. So, within less than half an hour of arriving at our hotel, we were off to take a leisurely walk to Maison Sajou. (Our walk took us by the Palace of Versailles, but more about the palace another day.)

Maison Sajou is located in a very old building. In fact, Frédérique told us the building is about the same age as the palace which dates from the late 1600's. Frédérique had also told me that the door wasn't accessible from the street, but rather from a courtyard. We weren't sure we were in the right place, but there was an open window and a lady working inside. I introduced myself and was told that Frédérique was expecting us.

We then went inside the building, and my mouth dropped open. Here is a bit of what we saw.

Just some of the goodies!

And more goodies!

Look at this curtain!

Here is a close-up of one section of the embroidered curtain.

I knew that Frédérique had written several needlework books because I have a few of them (Ouvrages de Dames and La Folie des Ciseaux) in my needlework library, but I was also interested in learning when and how she started her business, Maison Sajou.

Frédérique told me that she had a collection of Sajou pattern albums and found herself wondering what had happened to the original Maison Sajou company which was started in the 1838 by Jacques-Simon Sajou. She researched the company and discovered that they had long since gone out of business. So in November, 2004, she registered the company name of Maison Sajou, and six months later opened her website.

Over the past six years Maison Sajou has flourished, and Frédérique continues to add new products. She is very proud that her products are made in France. She uses a wide variety of companies to manufacture the items. For example, she uses three different companies just to make her many kinds of embroidery scissors.

Here are a few more photos and some of the goodies I brought home.

Here I am with Frederique. I think that I was pretty brave to have this photo taken after having not slept since leaving home the previous day.

Here is Frederique with Carolyn, one of her employees. Carolyn is originally from the London area, but now lives in Versailles.

Of course, I had to check things out. I'm looking forward to trying these threads soon.

Look at this cool bag!

Here are some of the goodies I found!

This is what's inside the thread box.

Frédérique, thank you very much for you very warm hospitality. I loved being able to see all your beautiful products in person--what a special treat that was! It will also always be a wonderful memory that our first meal ever in France was with you. Thank you!

A Petit Sampling Etui times 4!!

2011-10-09T00:39:00.000-04:00

Some of you may remember that the Delaware Valley Historic Sampler Guild members have been stitching A Petit Sampling Etui as a guild project.

Lynn D. is the guild secretary, and she sent me some photos of four of the ladies and their completed etuis. I really love it when I get photos of stitchers with their projects because I can put a face with a name.

Here are Pat L., Lynn D., Jane G., and Stacy S. with their finished etuis. (Poor Stacy! I sure hope you're not right-handed.)

Here are Pat's and Lynn's etuis.

And here are Jane's and Stacy's etuis.

This is a view of the inside of one of the etuis.

The design for this needlework etui was a collaboration of four design companies: Cherished Stitches, Praiseworthy Stitches, The Stitching Parlor, and With My Needle. There is a different sampler on each side. You can either make the designs into an etui, as the members of the Delaware Historic Sampler Guild did, or frame the samplers individually.

This special project was limited to 2000 charts. When these charts are gone, no more will be available.

Ladies, you are to be commended for your outstanding work. As you well know, this project has lots and lots of stitching. I hope you enjoyed stitching your etui as much as my friends and I did designing it. Thank you for the photos.

I'm very excited about teaching for your guild next April. I hope all of you will bring your etuis for me to see in person!

You can see more photos of the members of the DVHSG working on their etuis by typing Petit Sampling Etui in the Search This Blog box on the left sidebar of this page.

Sylvie's luscious Fruit of the Vine Sampler Huswif

2011-10-02T12:14:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of meeting Sylvie R. earlier this year when I taught some classes at Fobbles in Gubbergill, England, near the Irish Sea. Sylvie is from Deal, which is a seaport village in southeastern England.

Recently Sylvie sent me photos of her completed Fruit of the Vine Sampler Huswif. What a beautiful job she did with both the stitching and the finishing!

Sylvie wrote, At last I have finished "Fruit of the Vine". I so enjoyed it. I have done the grapes in Rhodes Octogon, and it looks so effective. Thank you for your design. You are a clever lady!

Here is Sylvie's huswif, needleroll, and scissors weight.

I rotated and enlarged the previous photo so you can get a better view of the top edge of the huswif. You can also get a glimpse of Joshua and Caleb holding their massive bunch of grapes.

Here is the huswif inside with its thread rings, pockets, and mattress-style pincushion.

This is a close-up of the pincushion.

And last, here is the inside of the needleroll.

What an incredible job Sylvie did with this project! Thank you so much for sharing photos of your beautiful work.

If you want to see more examples of Sylvie's beautiful work, click here to see her with her Mrs. Waddelow's Huswif and Mrs. Waddelow's Stitching Basket.

Fruit of the Vine is a class project and is not available as a retail project.

A pyn pillow from Finland

2011-09-26T23:14:00.000-04:00

Recently I received these photos of Eliza's Pyn Pillow from Daniela in Finland. She used this complimentary WMN design in an exchange. Isn't it wonderful how our love of stitching and the internet have connected needleworkers worldwide?

Daniela's pyn pillow front

Daniela's pyn pillow back

Eliza's Pyn Pillow is a complimentary design. You can find it at my website. Go there and print it.

You can see photos of other items using the design here. Maybe this will get your creative juices flowing. Please send me photos if you stitch this sweet little piece. I'd love to see how you decide to finish it. Enjoy!

Carol spends time in San Antonio with her Friends in Stitches

2011-09-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

How thrilled I was to learn that Carol B. of Baltimore, Maryland would attend my Friends in Stitches class last year in San Antonio! I first met Carol when I taught several years ago for Rae Iverson at her Stitchers' Gathering in Louisville, Kentucky. Over the years Carol and I have become friends, but unfortunately we don't see each other as often as I would like.

Carol recently sent me photos of her completed Friends in Stitches project. She wrote, I actually was able to purchase "Friends in Stitches" as an “Away Swan” several years ago but it ended up in the “to do someday” pile. “Someday” arrived in July 2010 when I was invited by some of my dearest friends to come and stitch with them and you in San Antonio. I’ve always enjoyed stitching your designs, and with a chance to visit with my friends, this trip to San Antonio in July was a “no brainer”.

Once I got started on the stitching in class, it was hard to put down. I loved all of the specialty stitches and just a small taste of each of them was great. The project is a quick stitch once started so probably within 2 weeks of returning to Baltimore I had the piece stitched and ready for finishing. Finishing though took much longer – not to do the actual finishing itself, but to get around to doing it.

All of my friends know that I put off finishing as long as possible! This project was no different! Finally after reading through all of the instructions several times, I just sat down and tackled it! Ellen’s directions are so good – if you follow them step by step the finishing is a piece of cake! I am so pleased that the set is now done! It is a wonderful addition to my collection.

Thanks Ellen for such a fabulous piece, and thanks to my Texas friends for inviting me to come stitch with you!

Here is the front of Carol's sewing case.

And here is the back which is designed like a small sampler.
It is personalized with the name of the event and the class date.

This shows both the front and the back of Carol's case.

This is the inside with a pincushion on one side and a divided pocket on the other side.

The next three photos are a bit blurry, but I'm including them so you can see Carol's needlebook.

Carol's name may sound familiar to my regular blog readers because she has completed quite a few of my designs. Just type "Carol B" in the Search This Blog box on the left side of this page to see more of her beautiful work.

Before long, I think I'll be able to show you her Work'd Pocketbook, the piece with all those queen stitches! Carol has told me she has completed all the stitching. How's it going with the assembly, Carol?

Friends in Stitches is a class project and is not available as a retail project.

Tying up loose ends

2011-09-22T10:55:00.000-04:00

Thank you to everyone who has left comments over the past few weeks. I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to respond to all of them. I truly appreciate every single one--more than you can possibly know! Thank you!

I'm going to use today's blog post to follow up on previous postings and comments.

First, here are a few more photos from our weekend with our grandsons and their parents. The photos I showed a few days ago were collages I made using Picassa. The portrait studio where we went took 92 photos. From those we chose the best ones to purchase. The studio gave us a cd with all 92 photos to do with as we please. The photos on the cd were uncropped and are in low resolution and are not suitable for printing, but they were perfect for my collages.

Here are a couple of the photos we chose to purchase. In reality, they look better than these images color wise and the way they are cropped. I took these images off the cd. (For example, the top of little Garrett's head is not really cut off in the photos we bought of him.)

Since we couldn't get a good photo of the two boys together, we had the studio put individual photos of the two boys in one composite photo. We chose the first photo (from above) of each of the boys, and it looks like they are facing each other. The bracelet on Haiden's right arm is the one they put on him a couple of weeks ago when Tom and I took him to Entertrainment Junction. He doesn't want to take it off.

Someone asked about a whole family photo. Yes, we got one of those also--I just didn't show it to you. If you think it was hard getting our two little ones by themselves, try getting them with six adults.

After lunch and before going to the birthday party, Haiden wanted to play Batman. By now, most of you know that is one of his favorite activities. However, he chose someone new to play Robin other than his mother, Tom, or me. (You may remember that various people get to be Robin, but we always have the same Batman.)

Do you see Robin in the background? The cape was a bit too big for him.

Look who got recruited to be Robin.

Thank you for all your notes about my Elizabeth Mears sampler and my huge frogging experience. "She" is now with my framer. The frame was already assembled the first time around, and I've even already paid for it. Perhaps that was part of my motivation for not procrastinating any longer on getting her fixed. My counting mistake was too big and would be too obvious once the sampler is framed not to have been fixed.

Also, thank you for all the notes about yesterday's copyright infringement report on EBay. I guess that like most of you I'm amazed at the acts of some people. We reported the incident to EBay so they can take action. I would like to ask the seller what on earth was she thinking? Sadly, copyright infringements are multiplying like rabbits.

Ine asked if we have considered making note cards using With My Needle images. I must admit Tom has been trying to encourage me to do some for years, and I haven't investigated. I want good quality at an affordable price, and then there is packaging. Perhaps I'll seriously look into this once I get out the charts for my Quaker Needlework Box and the Hannah Cummins reproduction sampler. Both models are completed, and the rough directions and charts are done, but there's still a lot more to do. Wish us luck!

Again, thank you very much for spending a part of your busy day with me.

You won't believe your eyes!

2011-09-21T13:27:00.001-04:00

I was getting ready to do a blog post when I received an email from Kim H. You won't believe what she found on EBay!!

Someone had the nerve to make note cards of my designs using my copyrighted photos! Yikes!! Can you believe that??

The four samplers on the left are mine. In fact, one has my initials and another has my entire name! The sampler in the upper right corner is one of Catherine Theron's teaching pieces. I'm not sure about the one in the lower right corner; it looks like either a Joanne Harvey or Essamplaire reproduction sampler.

If the samplers look distorted, they are indeed so that the culprit could get them to fit her note cards.

I think that everyone who reads my blog knows how wrong this is.

Looks like as a designer I have a new battle to rage. Not only do I need to stop pirated charts but now photographs that others are making into products. Thank you very much, Kim, for making me aware of this.

If you should ever see any item which you think is illegal, please let the designer know so she can handle the situation. Thank you on behalf of everyone!

I'll try to do another blog post once I cool down. Please bear with me!

What a difference a year makes!!

2011-09-19T15:42:00.018-04:00

Last year at this time I was in the midst of my back problems. In fact, I was actually bed-ridden for the week before my surgery on September 22nd. We were also awaiting the arrival of our grandson, Garrett, who was due on September 20th. Perhaps he felt sorry for his poor grandmother because he waited until September 23rd to make his appearance to the world. We now have 3 birthdays (my son Stephen, Garrett, and Tom) within a two-week time period.

One of my daughter-in-law's good friends offered to host a first birthday party for Garrett here in Cincinnati. Knowing that our daughter, Carolyn, and her family would also come into town for the party, I decided to take advantage of the situation by having some family photos made. I particularly wanted a professional photo of our two grandsons together. It sounded like a good idea at the time.

Things didn't go quite as planned. I tried to work around nap times, lunch, and the party, so the only time we could go was 10:30am. Unfortunately, little Garrett, who is normally very happy and a ham for the camera, got a little bit grumpy because he missed his morning nap. Then, for a while, Haiden didn't want to cooperate. He had also refused to wear the outfit our daughter had chosen for him. (Carolyn and our daughter-in-law, Michelle, had tried hard to coordinate the boys' outfits by emailing photos back and forth.)

I made some collages of some of the photos to show you what we faced.

First is Haiden. What a bevy of faces he made!

Next, here he is with his parents, Carolyn and Greg.

Next is little Garrett, ready for nap time, but what a trooper he was.

And here he is with his parents, Stephen and Michelle.

We tried several times to get photos of just the two boys, but it was impossible to get a decent one of the two of them together as you can see.

We ended up buying individual photos of the boys instead of ones of them together! (I think you can see why.) Perhaps we can try again next year when they are older.

Then after lunch and an attempted afternoon nap time for the boys, it was off to the birthday party. The theme was little monsters. I asked a friend to make the cake. We were all blown away with the spectacular job she did with the "main" cake. She also made a "smash" cake just for Garrett. We were all so surprised that Garrett didn't make a big mess. Perhaps he was too tired from all the other activities of the day.

C'est fini--AGAIN!!

2011-09-16T15:08:00.000-04:00

Early this morning I finished stitching the Elizabeth Mears sampler, a reproduction by Barbara Hutson of Queenstown Samplers.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may be scratching your head and asking, Didn't Ellen show us this sampler months ago? Yes, I did. Back on February 15, I showed you this photo.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), when Carol started to frame the sampler she found a major faux pas on my part! Would you believe that when I stitched the eight motifs and the fence at the bottom I had them in the wrong place!! I started with the small bird on the far left and instead of placing it under the "F" in "Front", I stitched it under the "r". I then proceeded to merrily stitch the motifs and fence using the "misplaced" bird as my reference point. Egads!!! My small counting mistake meant that the entire bottom section of the sampler was now 10 linen threads too far to the right! Neither Carol nor I noticed my mistake until she put the sampler in the frame. Yikes!!

For months, I tried to ignore my mistake hoping that it would go away. But alas not! So several weeks ago, I pulled out Elizabeth again and began a major frogging session, or rather sessions.

Here is Elizabeth once the frogs visited her. (Please excuse the lousy photo.) Do you see the large empty space? Do you feel my pain?

And here is Elizabeth as of the morning. So you see, Elizabeth Mears is finished AGAIN!! (I hope to take her back to Carol later today.)

More"eye candy" from Anke (Part 2)

2011-09-15T18:50:00.005-04:00

On September 14th, I showed you several of Anke's lovely projects. She also has completed Strawberries So Faire. In fact, Anke stitched the project twice!!

Anke wrote, Had the "Strawberries So Faire" Sewing Rolls stitched there for a while and was waiting for the right satin ribbon. Eventually I used green for the one backstitched with #8 644 and red for the other one -backstitched with a slightly variegated lighter green floss. Both are stitched with "Examplar Spinach Delight" -2 plies because I didn’t like the coverage of a single ply- and "Gandy Tango"HDF silk floss on Summer Khaki Belfast linen. Used the Herringbone stitch for the fruits the way you charted it and love the interest it adds!

Anke continued writing, First time I used Dupioni silk fabric and got a taste for it. (Don’t know whether my wallet will thank you though. Just kidding!)

There is just one thing that had me wondering -the assembly instructions regarding the pocket. They are very precise and clear as how to prepare it, place it and attach its sides. Attaching its bottom end however is never mentioned. Of course the only thing necessary is logical and obvious -sew/ladder stitch it to the lining. Still it had me re-read the instructions several times. -Got my copy of the chart towards the end of 2005, I think.

The cap was where I almost met my Waterloo -the ruched ribbon was a messy scrunched up something quite unlike the illustration in the instructions and even numerous attempts to arrange it on the strawberry later, it still didn’t look right and I was close to conceding defeat. Gradually I came to understand the inner workings and then it was hard not to shout out loud: brilliant, ingenious way to create the caps from ribbon!!! (It's the one at the back that had me excited.)

I’m tickled pink how the sewing rolls turned out. Very special design this one.

I absolutely enjoy the variety of your designs and your detailed, easy to follow finishing instructions. Thank you!

Important Note from Ellen

Yes, Anke, we goofed on the directions by not telling you to sew down the bottom edge of the pocket. Yikes!! We corrected the charts October 2005 once we learned of the omission. If you bought the chart before the correction was made, you can find it at http://www.withmyneedle.com/errata.htm. Please accept our apologies for our faux pas.

Thank you very much, Anke, for all your photos and your note. I'm very happy you persevered with your ribbon strawberry caps and are happy with your results. You should be! You did a lovely job! Also thank you for your kind words about my designs and our detailed assembly instructions.

I hope to see your completed Acorn Sampler Sewing Case sometime in the not too distant future.

LOTS of "eye candy" from Anke! (Part 1)

2011-09-14T12:33:00.003-04:00

Oh my goodness!! Look at the photos Anke from Australia sent me of some of her needlework!! In this post, I'm showing you photos of her Busy Bee Sewing Case, Maidens of the Sea, and Quaker Turtles. I'm saving her photos of Strawberries So Faire Sewing Cases for later in the week so that you aren't on overload.

Anke wrote, I came to realize that by now I’ve stitched -and finished!- a few of your designs. A bit of a surprise as it is either the design itself or the way it's finished that makes me choose a project and not its designer. But then again your "Acorn Sampler Sewing Case" was one of the very first charts I bought when I started cross stitching back in 2005. Daunted, I put it aside, and now even with some finishing experience and a few projects that incorporated specialty stitches done, I’ll savour the chart some more.

Loved doing the "Busy Bee Sewing Case" -not only because my grandfather kept bees. Did it in 2008 using a mix of over-dyed and DMC threads; stitched the bees because I don’t like charms.

At the beginning of 2010, it was the "Maidens of the Sea" turn. Used HDF silk floss on 32 ct linen tinted a light antique blue. The needlepage is made from flannelette tinted grey and it’s closed with a freshwater pearl. The mermaids got eyes -didn’t add them to the "Busy Bee"women and find that without eyes they look somewhat soulless.

Got a very soft spot for tortoises, terrapins and turtles; add to that a love of stitching smalls and one cannot possibly go past your "Quaker Turtles". Stitched one set using the recommended materials and, as I liked the design so much, stitched it again over 2 -gives the design room to breathe. While I like the petite finish working over 1 effects, to me it sometimes blurs the finer details. The other set is worked with ‘Imperialosity’ HDF silk floss over 2 on tinted ~40ct unevenweave. I adapted the backstitch pattern to be worked over 3 threads -wasn’t brave enough to even consider picking up regular backstitches.

Remembered a stitcher cum lover of these ancient reptiles and made another scissor weight from scraps left over. In case you’re familiar with Dr Suess' "Yertle The Turtle"… click here.

Oh my goodness, Anke! So many wonderful pieces! I love the extra turtles you added to your set! Looks like you have quite a bale of turtles. ( I have to admit that I had to look up what you call a group of turtles.)

Part 2 of Anke's beautiful needlework will be in my next blog post.

A Day of Remembrance

2011-09-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

Another feast for your eyes from Chizue!

2011-09-06T13:20:00.000-04:00

Chizue, who is from Japan, stitches (and finishes) so many wonderful projects! I'm always excited when she sends me photos of some of her beautiful needlework.

Here are photos of her Miss Trenner's Needlework Academy. Look what she did to the lid! Instead of putting the design on the inside of the small box lid like I did on my model, she put it on the outside where it could be more easily seen. What a great idea!

Chizue, I hope that you are finding your needlework boxes and the accessories very useful as well as decorative.

Thank you for once again sharing photos of your lovely needlework. Your photos show what a truly talented needleworker you are! I'm looking forward to seeing what masterpieces you create next!

Batman Visits Cincinnati, Part 2

2011-09-02T10:46:00.001-04:00

Here are some more photos of Haiden's Cincinnati adventure. I don't know who had a better time--him or us.

Outside of Entertrainment Junction

As you can see from the blur, Haiden is in perpetual motion.

All aboard!

Boy, did he like to shovel coal. I think he'd still be there if we hadn't said we had to leave.

Playing with Thomas the Tank Engine is always so much fun!

Look at this fun ride!

Riding the train!

It was lots of work to make this little car go!

Whew! Almost there!

We also played Batman alot. Tom and I never knew who would be Robin and who would be the "bad guy". Of course, we always knew who would be Batman!

Robin and Batman are planning how to capture the "bad guy".

I have an idea, Robin! Let's go get him!

Here I come! Robin, are you with me?

Now for a change of roles...I'm now Robin, and Tom is the "bad guy".

Help me, Robin!

And then, all too soon, it was time for Batman to leave!

Batman sure doesn't travel lightly, does he?

Even Batman sometimes needs to take a nap!

Batman visits Cincinnati, Part 1

2011-08-31T11:21:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, we had a very special guest! This was Haiden's first time spending the night with us. In fact he spent two nights here while his parents went back to Chicago to meet with the movers. In a few days they'll be moving from their temporary apartment in Columbus into a house.

We had so much fun playing games (mainly Batman), building things, going to museums, playing in the yard, eating on the deck, making cookies, and more!! When we played, Haiden was always Batman, but Tom and I never knew which of us would get to be Robin and who had to be the "bad guy".

As you can see Batman certainly doesn't travel lightly when he comes for a visit!

On our way to the Children's Museum, we stopped to see one of the large squirrel figures in Glendale. Besides liking Batman, Haiden is also a big fireman fan, so we thought this squirrel would be a big hit.

Then it was off to the museum. The Children's Museum is just one of the museums in Cincinnati's historic Union Terminal.

Union Terminal was completed in 1933 as a train station. During World War II, it was a major transfer point for soldiers and served 20,000 passengers a day. However, by the 1950's, railroads in the US were in decline due to the expansion of highway and airline travel. In fact, by 1970 there were only two trains a day, and then in 1972 train service to the terminal stopped completely.

In an attempt to save this historic building, the city of Cincinnati bought Union Terminal and ran advertisements in the Wall Street Journal that read, "World-famous Cincinnati Union Terminal for lease $1 per year." In 1980, the terminal was converted into a shopping mall, but that didn't last long. Again the building sat empty for a couple of years.

In the mid-1980s, the administrators of the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and the Cincinnati Historical Society developed plans for a joint museum project in Union Terminal. The large size of the terminal and its rich history certainly made this a wonderful idea!

Union Terminal then went through massive renovations to restore it to its former glory, and in 1990 it reopened as the Cincinnati Museum Center. The Museum Center has about 1.5 million visitors a year. If you are ever in the area, make sure you check it out. The museums are wonderful and have something for everyone.

In addition, just touring the building is a special treat. Union Terminal is considered to be one of the best examples in the world of Art Deco architecture. Perhaps you have seen photos of it in books and in magazines.

Here are a few photos Tom took of the inside.

a view of the rotunda and one of the mosaics

And here are some more views right inside the front doors of the building.

Of course, Haiden was ready to explore and have a good time! He is in perpetual motion, so it is a real struggle to get a photo of him not moving and looking at the camera. In fact, it is ~~almost~~ impossible.

Boy, did he like the ball room! He especially liked it when the balls would drop on his head!
I think he'd still be there if we didn't tell him it was time to go.

Then to try out the little fire engine. He was no sooner on it, than he was off and on to the next thing.

Hmm--perhaps it is time to build something with Grandpa!

Hmm--I wonder what else is here to see and do?

Ahh--a sandbox!

And then, all too soon, it was time to leave and get someone home for his naptime.

Stayed tuned for Part 2 of Haiden's Cincinnati adventures.

I'm glad that you all enjoyed seeing one of my sampler walls in our family room in my last posting. Several of you asked about the names of the samplers. I'll try to get Tom to take a better photo in a day or two, and I'll try to remember the names of the pieces. You can see a few other of our sampler walls by clicking on the words "sampler wall" on the left side bar under "Blog Topics".

First an earthquake, then a hurricane--what's next?

2011-08-30T21:27:00.002-04:00

What a week those on the east coast had with first an earthquake and then within a matter of days Hurricance Irene!! I've been seeing lots of photos not only on the news but also photos taken by friends and relatives. I hope that if you were one of those who suffered damage that your life will soon be back to normal.

Last week, I finally hung up my I Sigh Not For Beauty sampler that I showed you earlier. I think I got it hung in record time--only did a wee bit of rearranging. The most notable part of the move was moving Amy Eliza Herbert into my downstairs bathroom and hanging I Sigh Not For Beauty in her place in the family room. I also moved an old Darlene O'Steen sampler from a hallway into my family room. Here is one of the sampler walls in my family room. This view is above the sofa. I'm sorry that the photograph is not better. I have a friend who says she is not a photographer, but rather a picture taker. That sounds like me too.

Pirates in the needlework industry?

2011-08-26T14:05:00.001-04:00

A note from Tom

Several days ago, Ellen showed me an internet site with a scanned version of one of her products. This was a full-sized scan that even included the copyright declarations. A stitcher had found this site and had kindly notified Ellen. Clearly, the "pirate" was motivated to enable other stitchers, but such action is actually disabling.

The needlework industry is amazingly interdependent. Designs are created, produced, distributed, and offered for sale. Paper, printing, packaging, shipping, and retailing are required. Piracy hurts designers, but every owner, worker, and stitcher in this chain suffers when a chart is illegally copied. Where will the chart pirates get their fibers and fabrics when the local shop closes? Where will the honest stitchers get their supplies when the local shop closes? Who will you talk to when your colonial knots or queen stitches don’t look just right? And what happens to the framers and finishers?

In some circumstances, it is permissible to reproduce a copyrighted document you purchased if the copy is for your personal use. For example, if you want to cut out a template or customize a chart for yourself then it makes sense to do this on a copy instead of destroying the original. If you are vision impaired or if you can’t quite see a detail in a chart you purchased, then making an enlargement would be helpful to you and does no harm. The key test is this: if you purchased the original and a copy will aid you personally in your work, then it’s fine to make a copy. But if it enables or aids someone who hasn’t purchased the product, then harm will be done and copying is not permitted. In no case is it permissible to copy a product to circumvent a sale.

So, please think again if you’re ever inclined to scan, copy, print, post, or distribute any copyrighted material. Please don’t accept copies offered to you by other people or download copyrighted material from the internet. And please report illegal postings of charts to the copyright owner.

A note from Ellen

Tom wrote the note above last week. I have since learned that Cynthia of The Drawn Thread has posted a note on her blog about the same sort of thing. Sadly, the posting of pirated charts has become rampant with more and more sites popping up. Almost every designer I know has been affected.

Another issue that affects designers is the posting of photos that are so large and clear that you can see all the details on a piece. Of course, it is so much fun to post photos of your stitching for your friends to see, but please take care as to how large and clear they are. Sometimes other stitchers are stitching from those photos. I've even heard of a designer who mistakenly posted a very clear photo of an upcoming product on her website, and a needleworker stitched the project from the photo before the chart was released. Can you imagine that?

Also, please don't post photos of the assembly process unless it is your own technique or a generic one. We spend a lot of time developing what we consider to be excellent assembly directions, often with lots of figures. All too often I've seen stitchers assemble my projects and show the step-by-step procedures in photos. It makes me wonder why others would want to buy the chart if someone is showing them exactly what I did. I know a few other designers of three-dimensional projects who have had the same experience.

Also, as Tom wrote, if you see any pirated copies on the internet or in person, please let the designer know so that she (or he) can handle the situation. We all need to work together to keep the needlework industry strong so that it can successfully continue to thrive.

Thank you.

2011-08-23T17:54:00.004-04:00

Last week we stopped by Keepsakes, a needlework shop just a couple of miles from our home. The owners are Barb Hils and her husband Joe. Every nook and cranny of this old house is filled with cross stitch goodies.

Approaching the front door via the sidewalk, we passed the cutest cat nestled among the flowers.

Here is Barb, with her beautiful smile, and with My Favorite Things Stitching Basket, Quaker Turtles, and Mrs. Waddelow's Huswif, which she stitched as shop models.

Now here is a close-up. I wish I had taken the needlework accessories out of her stitching basket so you could see them.

Next is a close-up of her turtles.

And last, here is the inside of her huswif.

Barb told me that one of her customers made a wonderful rendition of Mrs. Waddelow's Huswif using beautiful reproduction fabrics for the lining. She is now working on the basket. Hopefully she'll send me photos to show you.

On the home front, our kitchen is now back in order. This time, we went with a glossier floor finish than in the past, and I love it! The dust wasn't too bad--the refinisher told us that thanks to new improved equipment they are able to eliminate most of the dust.

2011-08-19T10:05:00.005-04:00

I certainly enjoyed reading all the comments to my last post.

Thank you for the kind words on my framed I Sigh Not for Beauty. It was such an enjoyable stitch. For the most part, I stitched it as it was charted with only minor changes.

I used 36-count Pecan Butter linen from Lakeside Linens and DMC thread. DMC 738 didn't show up very well on my linen, so I replaced it with other colors everywhere except on the sawtooth border. I goofed and used DMC 500 for the over-one text instead of DMC 3021. I decided to keep it in. I also changed the color of the flowers in the personalization cartouche. I made a few other very minor changes.

Unfortunately, the sampler is still resting on the floor in front of the fireplace in my family room. With the kitchen floor refinishing, I can't get into the basement to get a hammer.

The floor refinishing is coming along, and today is the last day of workers in the house. We are managing okay without having use of the kitchen, but I do miss the refrigerator. I hadn't realized how much I use the water and ice dispenser on the door. I'm making coffee upstairs, but am waiting each day until Tom gets up. When the grinder starts up, it sounds like a plane is taking off (no exaggeration)! I didn't want to give Tom a heart attack. On Monday, we'll be able to move the furniture back into the kitchen and reclaim our family, living, and dining rooms. That certainly will be nice. Of course, we'll also be attacking the dust....hopefully it isn't too bad inside the cabinets.

Yesterday was a good mail day! I got some reproduction threadwinders that I'll be including with my newest teaching project. Aren't they gorgeous? They are made from horn and bone. I'm favoring some of the bone ones for the kits.

And here is another teaser for the class project. Isn't the box wonderful? I think it will make a wonderful worke box to sit next to you on your stitching table.

There will be a stitched panel on the box front and also on the lid inside, and the box will be lined with dupioni silk. In addition to the box designs, there will be a three-sided scissors weight, two pincushions, a Jacob's ladder style needlebook, and a walnut hornbook threadholder. I'm hoping to also find a waxer and some marking/counting pins. I'm also trying to find a perfect name--the working title is A Lady's Worke Box.

Perhaps you caught a glimpse of the sampler in progress under the threadwinders. This is my newest reproduction sampler, Hannah Cummins. Hannah stitched her sampler in 1828 in Stockton when she was 9 years years old. I've been trying to learn more about Hannah, but so far I haven't done very well. There are quite a few Hannah Cummins in the right time frame, but I haven't given up yet.

Framed at last!!

2011-08-17T10:56:00.000-04:00

It has been a long time coming, but here at last is my framed I Sigh Not for Beauty. This beautiful sampler was designed by Fran of C Street Samplers. I love it!

Now to figure out where to hang it...my walls are becoming very full. (I never thought that I would say that.) There are already at least 27 samplers in my family room so I'm going to have to play around with things. I think the last time I hung a sampler it took well over an hour because I had to move several around to get the new one to fit.

What a state we are in today! Our wood kitchen floor is being sanded, stained, and sealed. I'm not sure what I've been dreading most--the noise and disruption or getting things back in order afterwards.

The workers have been hard at work for nearly three hours already, and I still hear the ~~loud~~ machines at work. It's rather hard to ~~concentrate~~ think. It will be 4 days until we can go back in the kitchen, so things may get interesting around here. At least we were able to bring our coffee pot and two mugs upstairs.

2011-08-09T09:55:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry that I don't have any stitching photos to show you...yet.

I'm still working on my new teaching project that will premier in May at the Inn Stitches Spring Fling. As a teaser, I can tell you that there will be a wonderful painted wooden box with ball feet and a lid. Some of the items that will be inside are a pincushion, a three-sided scissors weight, a custom-made hornbook threadholder, and a very special needlebook. There are 19 different stitches on the project.

My stitching time seems limited these days. This past weekend our son, daughter-in-law, and 10-month old grandson were here. As you can see from the photos, Garrett is quite a character.

Boy, does he like to entertain us! Such a happy baby and so full of smiles and laughter.

I need to get back to working on my model, but hopefully I can show you some stitching photos soon.

Remembering fun times spent in the midwest

2011-07-30T15:06:00.000-04:00

How much fun it was to recently receive these photos from Arlene of her completed Long May She Wave sewing case! Arlene took this class with the Santa Fe EGA in Kansas. This was one of my first classes and was with a wonderful group.

As you can see in the photos, Arlene chose to stitch the 50-star flag, our current flag.

Here is the front of Arlene's case.

Now here's a view of Arlene's case opened up to show the outside front and back covers.

And now here's a view of the inside of Arlene's case which shows the pinkeep, needlepage, and pocket.

Thanks, Arlene, for the photos and the note. I'm very glad that you enjoyed the class. You certainly did a lovely job completing the project. I think this is such a fun piece, don't you?

I'm glad that you all have been enjoying our summer mini-trips. (And, Kathy, what a shame we didn't know you live so close to the covered bridge. Had we known, we could have met you for a nice cold and refreshing drink.)

This week's summertime adventure took us to Columbus, Indiana. Last week, Tom said he would like to go to Zaharakos for ice cream. (Zaharakos has been in business for over 110 years--pretty amazing). I suggested that if we were going to drive that far, we should check out other things in area.

We decided to take an architectural tour of the city. Columbus, with a population of under 40,000, is ranked sixth in the nation for architectural innovation and design by the American Institute of Architects. It is ranked right behind Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington, D.C. We didn't take very many photos, so if you're interested in seeing photos of the Columbus architecture, click here or here for a video.

After the tour, it was lunch time so off we went to Zaharakos, just a couple of blocks from the Columbus Visitor's Center. Then Tom indulged me with a trip to a huge antique mall just north of Columbus in Edinburgh. I enjoyed looking around, but didn't find any treasures to bring home.

We decided that it would be nice to come home along the Ohio river, stopping for dinner at a riverside restaurant in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. What a nice day trip! We are both enjoying these so much and don't know why we didn't start doing more of them earlier. It is amazing how many wonderful places are in your own "backyard". I wonder where our next adventure will take us.

Enjoy your weekend!

Summertime fun!

2011-07-22T15:30:00.001-04:00

Heaven knows where the last week has gone! I think this is the longest time I've gone between blog postings other than nearly a year ago when I had all those nasty back problems.

I don't have any stitching photos because I've been busily working on a new teaching model, but I do have other photos I hope you'll enjoy.

Last Friday I talked Tom into heading north a couple of hours to do some exploring. My main target was an antiques/country store that I had read about on a blog. However, I thought if we were going to head a few hours away we should find some other things to do. Thanks to the internet, I was able to discover a few other things in the area.

We first stopped at the Preble County Historical Society in Eaton to pick up a map showing where the area's covered bridges are. (I don't know why I'm so enamoured with covered bridges. Perhaps I should put one on a sampler.) Unfortunately, the historical society was closed, so we were on our own. The main bridge I wanted to see was the Roberts Bridge. I had chosen it because it is Ohio's oldest and is one of only six double-barrelled covered bridges remaining in the United States.

Thanks to some detective work on my phone, we were able to find it.

I learned that the bridge had originally spanned Seven Mile Creek, but in 1986 it was burned by arsonists. The fire destroyed most of this historic bridge. (Why on earth would someone ever do such a thing?) The remaining part of the bridge was dismantled, sandblasted and then reassembled and restored at its current location on South Beach Street in Eaton, Ohio.

We next headed on to the object of my journey--the antiques/country store. Unfortunately, the shop was a disappointment, so I'm very glad that I had chosen other places to visit along the way. At least we were able to have lunch at the adjoining cafe.

Our next stop was Fort Recovery. Not being originally from Ohio, neither Tom nor I know much about Ohio history, so this was a chance to learn something new. Two significant battles in American history took place at the location of the Fort--the Battle of Wabash, in 1791, in which the army of St. Clair was defeated by native Americans, and then in 1794 the Battle of Fallen Timbers, in which the U. S. Army of the Northwest, led by "Mad" Anthony Wayne, defeated the native Americans led by Blue Jacket. This battle led to the "Greenville Treaty", which opened up the Northwest Territory for settlement. (All this happened before the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expidition, so this frontier territory, which includes today's "midwestern" states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconson, and Minnesota, was northwest of the United States at that time.) There really wasn't much to see at the Fort other than an informative film and two reproduction blockhouses connected by a stockade wall. We did come away with a mini history lesson about the opening of the Northwest Territory.

I had had some other ideas for the day, but after seeing the fort we decided that was enough to do on our day-long vacation. We both had such a good time that we think we'll plan more of these day-long adventures.

This past Wednesday we decided to visit our daughter in Columbus. You may remember that she and her family moved there just a few weeks ago. Since Carolyn is not yet working and Haiden isn't in school, we thought a mid-week visit might be good.

As much of the US, Ohio too is having very, very hot temperatures. What to do when it's SO hot? Cool off in the water.

In the morning, we took Haiden to a water park in downtown Columbus. He certainly had a fun time.

Then after lunch (and naptime for a certain very tired young man), it was off to the pool for more fun!!

Looks like someone is ready!

Catch me Papa!

Here is our daughter overlooking the scene from the hot tub.

And then before we knew it, it was time to head back to Cincinnati. How great it is to have our daughter and her family so close that we can do day trips to see them!

Of course, how could I not show you photos of our other grandson?

We think he's going to be a real character!

Hmm...I wonder where our next adventure will take us.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and that you can squeeze in some stitching time.

A very special Multiplication Table Examplar

2011-07-16T10:54:00.003-04:00

A year ago when I taught at the Inn Stitches Spring Fling in Canton, Ohio, I got to meet Denette E. from Massillon, Ohio. What a delight it was to recently hear from her when she sent me this photo of her Multiplication Table Examplar.

Denette wrote, I love, love, love my multiplication table. I think that the reason I chose this pattern was because I remember drawing my first multiplication table so many years ago. I can remember my dad helping me with math as he is/was such a wiz with numbers. Thanks again for inspiring me and helping me create a wonderful memory of my dad with such a wonderful pattern.

I used Gentle Arts Cherry Bark for the numbers and Gentle Arts Old Red Paint for the remaining. A dear friend of mine made the frame out of natural walnut. He is very talented. I think the frame looks really amazing.

I must say that I LOVE all of your patterns. I also love that you put amazing stories and backgrounds to them. You bring them to life!

Oh my goodness, Denette! How wonderful! The red threads are beautiful, and the frame is too wonderful for words. It really blew me away!! You are indeed right that your framer is incredible.

Thank you very much for your very kind words about my designs. I can now understand why you were so taken with this particular one.

I'm looking forward to seeing you next May at the 2012 Inn Stitches Spring Fling. I'm sure Kim is planning some fun activities for the weekend, and I'll have a brand new teaching project.

Marilyn's round robin project, the Ackworth Friendship Book

2011-07-12T10:26:00.000-04:00

Marilyn F. from Wisconsin recently sent me photos of her wonderful completed Ackworth Friendship Book. She stitched it along with 8 friends from around the world. Each person stitched her own front and back cover and had her friends stitch the other 8 pages.

Marilyn wrote, I used 32 count Ice Blue Lugana, with Soy Luster floss in Egyptian Lapis. The floss has a nice variegation to it. The book is lined with the same fabric as the bag is made out of, and the inside pocket is the same material in a reverse color, a darker blue with light-colored vines. Sorry the pictures are kind of dark and/or blurry, but I just LOVE the colors together, as blue is my favorite color.

My book was worked on by the following people in a group Round Robin: Myself (Wisconsin), Cheryl M (Iowa), Marianne M (Kansas), Sue T (Michigan ), Lavon M (Pennsylvania), Amanda L (Australia), Mo B (Wales), Lynne M (Scotland), and Kathy N (Canada).

I enjoy opening the pages and reading the notes tucked inside the pockets from the members of the Round Robin. My book went all the way around the world!!

It was a joy to work on and a big finish for me. I love it. Thanks for a great design, and thanks for looking at my finish.

Marilyn, it sounds like you had a great time working your stitched book as part of a round robin. I also sent my pages around the world. Three friends in Cincinnati stitched pages for me along with friends in Florida, Kentucky, Arizona, Germany, and France. I'm glad you liked the idea of putting special notes in the pockets. It's been a while since I've read the notes my friends wrote me. Perhaps I'll do that this afternoon.

This certainly has become a popular project for friends to make. As you discovered, it's so easy to give or send a small piece of linen and thread to each person. Some people have stitched the entire book themselves and put photos or special momentos in the pockets.

As you probably have guessed, blue is one of my favorite colors also. I've stitched most of my monochrome samplers in blue. Our kitchen has deep blue walls and is decorated with blue and white china. What is it about the color blue that is so soothing?

You did a wonderful job with the assembly, and the fabrics you chose for your bag and lining are perfect! (How terrific to find two coordinating fabrics!) Thank you very much for sharing.

On May 9, 2009, I showed three other Ackworth Friendship Books from Marilyn's round robin group. Click here to see the stitched books Kathy, Lavon, and Cheryl made. Kathy recently told me we'll soon see two more books from their group. Terrific!! I'm looking forward to that.

Meet Frieda

2011-07-10T15:25:00.002-04:00

Someone recently asked me what I meant by "frogging". I figured there might be others who aren't familiar with the phrase, so here is an explanation.

"Frogging " is a slang term used by stitchers to refer to removing stitches--when you take out a stitch out you have to rip, so you rip it, rip it, rip it! (Get it? A frog says ribbet, ribbet, ribbet.) I don't know who first coined the phrase "frogging" when referring to ripping out your stitches. Some people instead refer to this process as "reverse stitching".

Below is a photo of Frieda, my cute stuffed frog. At the time I took the photograph, Frieda was sitting on the love seat where I stitch, but she is now upstairs on a shelf in my office. As long as she stays out of my stitching, I don't care where she goes.

We have just updated the teaching page of my website. Classes are scheduled in Florida, Delaware, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Colorado. You can see project photos, detailed descriptions, and contact information on my website. Several of the hosts haven't yet decided on their projects. I'll update my website when they have made their decisions.

I'm currently working on a new teaching project that will premier at the Inn Stitches Spring Fling in May 2012. I'll also be developing a new mini-project for The Sampler Guild of the Rockies in April 2013.

Summer musings

2011-07-06T22:02:00.004-04:00

I had hoped by now to show you more progress on the lovely Ann Rayner. However between frogging part of the house (28 rows!!) and traveling to Florida to see our fathers, I've made little progress.

I was able to stitch some in Jacksonville, but I didn't do any in Orlando. Then we had a two-day drive home. Bumpy roads certainly aren't conducive to stitching on linen, so instead I knitted on prayer shawls for our church. I finished one and got half of another one done. I don't seem to knit at home, so I've decided to keep my knitting basket in the car. That way I can stitch whenever we're in the car. For example, I've found I can knit two rows on the way to church and another two on the way home.

Here is the large red house on Ann's sampler. It's an interesting looking house. I've never seen one quite like it before.

Here is another view of the house and some of the surrounding motifs.

Last night I stitched the basket of fruit. The bottom four rows of the basket may look strange. That is because you had to stitch the first half of each stitch with one thread color and then cross it with another color.

I'm curious as to what fruits are in the basket. The red ones are probably apples, but what about that pink one at the top? (I've not seen anything like that before.) Perhaps the fruit at the center bottom is a piece of citrus. Guess those are my Florida roots showing.

Since returning home, I haven't been able to get a childhood song out of my head...I want to wake up in the morning where the orange blossoms grow. I remember singing this song in elementary school. Thanks to the internet, I was able to find the rest of the words.

The first verse is:

I want to wake up in the morning where the orange blossoms grow,

Where the sun comes creepin' into where I'm sleepin',and the song birds say hello.

I love the fresh air and the sunshine, it’s good for us you know.

So I’ll make my home in Florida, where the orange blossoms grow.

I read many stories from people reminiscing about singing this song in elementary school. (The version we sang talked about blue birds, and not song birds.) I wonder if children in Florida are still taught this song.

Since returning home, I've stitched a bit more on Ann Rayner, but I'm now focusing on a new teaching piece. I've also started French lessons in hopes of a trip to France. Years ago I took French lessons, but that was SO long ago. In January, I bought the Rosetta Stone lessons, but with all that happened the first half of this year, I just started them. Wish me luck. Each morning I do a lesson.

We had a quiet 4th of July. Our children spent the holiday with their in-laws, but they sent photos of our grandsons who certainly seemed to have a good time.

Haiden learning how to "skip" rocks. (That looks like a pretty big rock to "skip".)

Yum yum--chocolate ice cream!

Garrett in a "big" pool for the first time.

Guess who just learned how to clap. He sure looks excited about that.

Since my last blog post, I've scheduled a class with the Azalea Sampler Guild in Jacksonville. I'll be teaching Long May She Wave on October 29th. I'll soon be posting class contact information on my website. You must be in class to get the kit.