Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Heading Toward the Holidays!!!!!

Another month has come and gone! I can't say that I hate to see summer ending! We've been WAY too hot here and I'm ready to welcome some cooler weather and get some added stitching energy rolling. Today was rather exciting as our ever smiling, "Cutie-Pie UPS Guy" brought us a heavy, heavy box! Was trying to remember what I might have ordered that was so heavy but as I slit the tape on the box and saw it was magazines I almost squeeled with joy!!! IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE !!! ~~ the 2010 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Edition!!! For those of you that signed up at the shop to reserve a copy, rush right in, pick your copy up and get busy planning those ornament gifts for the holidays!!! There's some REALLY great designs in here, you won't want to miss this issue!!! We have extras too so don't worry if you hadn't reserved a copy. "The Sunflower Seed" design is photographed on page 40. This is the second of a "new" series of ornaments for this magazine!!! Look closely at the beaded outer trim. I have to say it's pretty awesome!!! You'll have to come in to see the actual ornament when it is returned to us, probably very soon!
"2010 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Issue"


Okay, I think I've calmed down enough to go on now!!! I've recently released a few designs to the distributors and they're now available through the shop. My 2 daughter-in-laws were the inspiration for "Mothers Are". Seeing these 2 young mothers with their adorable little daughters, assures me that they truly will be the "Sunshine" their daughters will need to grow into bright, happy, children!!!
"Mothers Are"
Frame: Frame Warehouse

With Fall right around the corner comes, Thanksgiving . "A Harvest of Blessings" was very fun to design! I LOVE fall and everything about it. The earthy colors, the sounds and smells; everything! With this design you can almost feel the sunshine warming a cool breeze and hear the crickets croaking in the corn fields. Fresh pumpkins, squash and apples are spread on the table for the upcoming feast. You know these will be made into pies, casseroles and spicy apple butter to be lavishly spread upon fresh cornbread.........OH MY!!!...what could be better!!! These foods absolutely warm the soul! I hope you will enjoy this design as much as I did creating it!
"A Harvest of Blessings"
Frame: Frame Warehouse

"Sunflower Snow Woman" makes her debut as a companion to last seasons "Sunflower Santa"! She's one "spiffy" little gal decked out in her warm sunflower-adorned hat and matching jacket! She looks pretty warm and extremely happy in her little sunflower heaven!!!

"Sunflower Snow Woman"
Frame: East Side Mouldings
"Deck the Halls" is quite festive! You can almost hear some "waltzy" kind of music playing as these young ladies and lads are decorating their parlor trees for the holidays. Some pointsettias and snowflakes add to the ambiance of the season. There's nothing more beautiful than snowflakes on Christmas Eve!!!
"Deck the Halls"
Frame: East Side Mouldings
Here's a couple of pieces I've stitched lately. The blue version was made for my extremely amazing "Aunt Rena's" birthday. This woman taught me so much, needlework, cooking, and some valuable life lessons. She's truly the most amazing woman I've ever known. She is absolutely THE BEST!!! Happy Birthday E ~ Erina, L ~ Lorenzi, R ~ Ryan! This Blackbird design stitched up so quickly and I loved it so much that I immediately started one for myself, in red; Cranberry Belle Soie, yum!!! I love them both! The blue version is Thread Gatherer Finnigan's Fog.
OHHHHHH MAN!!!!.................. I just lost the photo with the totally finished gift for my Aunt. I guess I will just have to show it on the next post. Maybe by then I will also have mine "finished". I just HATE when that happens!



I've been busy framing lots of pieces for people at the shop recently. I wanted to show some of my customers great work and their frame choices. Here's the framed "Always and Forever" from my previous post commemorating our upcoming 25th wedding anniversary. Turned out great, I love it!!!

"Always and Forever" by Little House Needlworks
Frame: East Side Mouldings


This sweet little piece was stitched by Amanda, a very enthusiastic young stitcher. She's always excited about her stitching and is doing such a great job. She's a breath of fresh air confirming that there's some young women out there to continue on our love of stitching! Keep stitching Amanda, you're doing great!!!

"Sweet Land of Liberty" by Lizzie Kate
Frame: East Side Mouldings
"Battle Hymn of the Republic" was stitched by Nancy and we loved her choice of frame. This has been a really popular design here at our shop. The colors are soft and beautiful! Nancy has been stitching for many years and stitches very fast! Great job Nancy!
"Battle Hymn of The Republic" by Little House Needleworks
Frame: East Side Mouldings

Marcia stitched this beautiful La D Da design, "Bless This House". She stitched this on 40 Ct. linen and it's stunning! She stitches lots of 40 Ct. and is a pro at it!!! This photo (as most photos don't) does not do this piece justice. It's in a dark green frame and it's a luscious finished piece.

"Bless This House" by La D Da
Frame: East Side Mouldings

Last but not least is a little reminder that our Christmas stitching better be in the "works" by now!!! This little Santa is by Bent Creek. Kathy stitched it for a shop model on 7 ct. Sand Klostern. It's a quick stitch if you're needing a little "thank you" or "house warming" gift. Add a little rustic frame and you'll be a hit at the next Christmas dinner party!!!

"Littles ~ Santa" by Bent Creek
Frame: East Side Mouldings
That's it for this post! It's a lot, but it's all great!!! Thanks to all my wonderful friends and customers who stitch so beautifully! You'll be inspirational to all who read these blogs. You all inspire me! We're heading into a busy season of stitching so we need to get organized!!! Let us know if we can assist you with any of your stitching supplies; patterns, fabrics, fibers, frames, etc. Come by the shop any time or if you're not in our area, we do mail orders all over the country! Keep the stitch shops alive, support your local "brick and mortar" needlework shops.
Happy Fall and Happy Stitching............................Anita