It's pouring like crazy right now!!!  Good for the garden and flowers, won't have to water tonight!

 

We have a new batch of the awesome "Sunflower Seed Mesh Bags"  that debuted during the Hop!!!  The Large ones sold out super fast so that's what we ordered in.  Sue Wild had a wonderful idea of stitching my "Kansas Xmas X" Sunflower on the front of hers!!!  Looks amazing and have sold several more just because of her model!!!  Come by and take a look if you haven't already seen it!!!  Thanks Sue, never even crossed my mind to do that!!!

 We received the "new" Little House "Song of the Seasons" Mystery Sampler very recently.  We have fabric and floss packs to go along with this design.  (At present, we are awaiting the arrival of more fabric but it has been shipped so any day now!) There are to be three parts of this "mystery" so if you're interested, please give us a call right away and reserve your goodies!  Everything this designer does is  beautiful, so, no matter what, the "mystery" is bound to be good!!!

We received our shipment of "My Name is Lidya" books but then there was a re-call, too many errors in the book.  Just got word the other day that our new copies should be shipped in the next week or two.  Again, if you want one, please call us to reserve a copy.  Oops!!!  UPS JUST DELIVERED THEM!!!!!  A lovely 68 page book!

We have Blackbird Designs Agnes Platt's Strawberry Sampler (Loose Feathers-Spring 2013).  BB always has such beautiful books and leaflets, they're a joy to browse through.  I especially like the small design in the lower right corner.  Lovely colors and charming theme!

"Two Bees and ABC's" by Rosewood Manor is a lovely floral design which we don't seem to get too many of.  I'm sure the photo does not do this piece justice.  Spring and Summer just radiates from this beautiful sampler.

Many of you dog lovers out there will want this "Devoted Friend" chart from Stoney Creek!   It pretty much says "it all"!!!  Our pets are with us such a short time that we truly OWE it to them to give them THE BEST LIFE POSSIBLE that we can.  I can't begin to tell you what Daisy means to me!!!  I just hope she REALLY knows it!!!  She really LOVES coming to work every day and seeing you all!!!

 "Silver Creek Samplers" has a couple new designs out that I just love.  Unfortunately the photo of my favorite one somehow got lost in the uploads!  It's verse is; "Life is quickly racing by, adventures fill the open sky, Do not wait to take a try, just be a bird and dare to Fly"!!!  Don't you love it!!!!  And below is "Sing a Sampler Series" Part 3 of 4.  So cute!!!

 Shepherd's Bush "Hive and Home" really speaks to me for some reason!!!  Guess it's because I've really gotten into my yard this past couple of years.  This design is on it's way to the shop as we speak!  Thought this was so adorable, done together or done one by one!!!  Add a little "outdoors" to your "indoors"!!!

 I love this little design made up as a shelf pillow or cabinet hanger!!!  "True Friend" by The Nebby Needle.  Surely we all have a friend we can make and give this to??!!!

 Once again, the garden speaks!!!  "My Garden" makes a fun relaxing stitch. Can't you hear the birds just looking at this piece!!!  This one will be in my "to do" stack!!!

"New York Dreamer" has released "America" which goes right along with the "Summer Time" that was posted on the previous blog.  So cute and right in time for the Independence holiday coming up!

Bits and Pieces:

**We have a couple of beautiful 32 Ct. Lakeside Linen cuts available here at the shop.  These will be sold as full cuts only.  Please come by or call us if you are interested; 785-228-0588.  They are gorgeous!
 

18 x 27 cut of "Lentil"

27 x 36 cut of Antique Gold

**We have "Sign-Up" sheets for the Just Cross Stitch Halloween and Christmas Issues here at the shop.  If you haven't signed up already, call us and we'll get your name down to reserve a copy.

 

**We've received a number of "returned" blog e-mail updates from the previous blog update.  If you are not getting the updates or you know friends that are not getting them, please check your "spam" folders to see if they are there.  If they are, please add us to your address book so you get them.  Or, call us with correct e-mail addresses.  Thanks!

 

**Just a reminder that we have a variety of stitched "models" for sale.  If you need a gift or just want them yourself this is a great way to obtain some  needlework at a fraction of the cost and time to stitch them yourself!!!  Check them out next time you're in the shop.

 

Last but not least, we are offering a

15% discount on:

All IN-STOCK CHRISTMAS designs

AND

Packaged Fabrics

Now through July! 

 

That about does it for now!  It's too hot and humid to be outside so come on in and let's get to stitching!!!!!.....................Anita



 

Summertime Will Be Here Before We Know It!

 

SPRING is nearly over and hopefully the storms that have gone along with it.  We've been very lucky in this area and feel so badly for those in Oklahoma.  We cannot even imagine!

 

The final design of my "Mini" seasons series is now out and many of you have already purchased it and I thank you so much!  We have it in kit form and also chart-only.  If interested, give us a call and let us know which choice you would like!

Finally finished a design for myself  which I started shortly after my 1st Granddaughter was born.  I posted progress on it some blogs back and pulled it out again this Spring to get it finished.  Chloe is now 5 and Zoe will be 3 later this month!   The verse reads:  "The love and devotion I gave to my child I thought I could give to no other. But life held a lovely surprise for me the day I became a Grandmother" I made a few changes to the Wild Heart Design; "Blessings Sampler" as one band was not working out with the fabric I chose to use.  I left it out then added the band at the bottom with the girls initials, birth year, wrought by me and year in the center bottom.  I did change the color of the flowers in the large bottom band as I thought it needed a little more "punch"!  I LOVE how it turned out and can hardly wait to hang in at home to enjoy.  However, it will be on display at the shop for a time and if you are interested in the pattern, please let me know ASAP and I will order a supply in.  The cost of the pattern is $18.00.

"Blessings Sampler" by Wild Heart Designs

Listed below are a few designs that have already "arrived" or, "on their way" to the shop!  Anytime you see a design on someone else's web site or blog that you think you might like, please give us a call or come by and we'll be happy to order those in for you if at all possible.  Help keep us alive by patronizing your local businesses. 

Get ready for summer with:

"Summer Time" by New York Dreamer

I especially like this one as it

reminds me of my oldest Sister!

"Feed Them Well" by The Scarlett House

"Holiday Sweet Shop" by Little House Needleworks

"Faith" Sheep Virtue by Little House Needleworks

A little Summer sweetness!

"Blessings For All" by Designs by Lisa

Love the Witches, Scissors and Threads!

"Proper Sisters" by Pineberry Lane

Adorable Halloween kit!

"Who Trio" by Mill Hill

So excited!!! Additional kits for the

Nativity Set!!!!!

"Gloria" by Mill Hill

"Benjamin" by Mill Hill

"Luke" by Mill Hill

"Cool Quartet" by Mill Hill

"Village Inn" by Mill Hill

"Chickadee" by Mill Hill

"Holiday Memories" by Mill Hill

"Williamsburg Santa" by Mill Hill

"Jamestown Santa" by Mill Hill

"Plymouth Santa" by Mill Hill

"Shepherd Ornament" by Alesandra Adelaide

"Christmas Tree" by Alesandra Adelaide

 

 

A little fabric update:  After waiting 2 years we now have a supply of 10Ct. Sand Tula in stock!!!!  Guess there was enough grumbling to the manufacturers they FINALLY got the hint!!!  We also have 30 Ct. R&R Espresso on the way.  Other R&R fabrics also, but,  right now I can't remember what they were !!!  My bad!!!

 

It is June now so maybe thoughts of Christmas stitching are entering your mind.  If you're thinking of stockings for someone special, ya better get cracking!!!  Please let us know if there's anything we can do for you!!!

 

One more thing, we are now taking names for the upcoming Just Cross Stitch Halloween Issue and the Christmas Ornament Issue!!!  Come by or give us a call and we'll add your name to the list!  Reserve your copy now!

 

Until next time......

 

"Stay Calm and Stitch On" !!!.........Anita

Are You Ready to "HOP"??? !!!

 

Doesn't seem possible but....we're about 2 weeks away from the "12th Annual Heartland Cross Stitch Shop Hop"!!!  Gather your "gal pals" and head out for some fun!  Don't forget to pick up your passport wherever you start your journey!

 

We just got word yesterday afternoon that "Two The Point" will not be participating this year so I've included the updated hop flyer with the participating shop addresses for your convenience.  Never fear, our grand prize and drawing certificates will be the same as always!

 

Each shop will have their own "special promotions/door prizes".  Along with our "specials" shown below (might be a couple more if I can "get it together"!) you will also receive a "free" gift bag with the purchase of $10.00 or more!

 

A few "sneak peeks"  for ya from The Sunflower Seed !!!  Below, a cute little finish idea for your hop freebie from us!  If time allows, we may have some supply kits for you to purchase so you too can have this cute remembrance of your 2013 Hop!!! 

 



 A special little kit will be available which is a separate "new" design that any book lover will want!!!  Kit comes with graph, charm, perforated paper and plastic sleeve.  All you need are the threads!  Limited amount, so make sure you get here early!

 Here's something we're really excited about, our very own project bags!!!!  Again, they're sure to go fast so......you know what to do, right? 

 

Julie, Julie, Julie.....just for you!!!!!  Thanks for keeping after me, as many others have too!!!  I won't have a model stitched but at least the graph will be available.  We know the size and colors from the "dog" chart so hopefully that will suffice for the time being.  Just wanted to have it ready for the Hop!  Hope you all like it!



Time is running out!!! I have a few things to finish up so, I had better kick it into gear PDQ!!! 

 

Hope to see you all

May 2,3,4!!!  ...............Anita

 





We're Just "Marching" Right Along!!!

Today is Granddaughter Chloe's 5th Birthday!!!  Where does the time go???  I sang "Happy Birthday" to her over the phone this morning (now her mother will have to take her to a hearing specialist!!!).  She informed me that she was 5 now and that this is her "actual" birthday!  We will celebrate together on Sunday!!!

Market was this past week end in Nashville so there are new things trickling into the shop now.  I did not go this year as I spent the week before in Oregon visiting my oldest sister.  I did however release 2 small designs in time for the market.  "White Winter"  and "Spectacular Spring".  These are stitched on 25 count Lugana over 2, easy to work on and quick to stitch!  "Awesome Autumn" was released previously. 

 "White Winter"

 "Spectacular Spring"

Our February drawing winner isssssssss.......   Denise Creech!!!!  Denise has won a "Sunflower Seed" gadget block!!!  It includes a beautifully turned laying tool, a magnetized needle slot and the front slot is for stitching scissors!  Congrats Denise, hope you enjoy it!!!



 

St. Patty's Day is almost here but not too late to get a little design stitched up for your celebration!  We have a number of small designs to get you in the "Irish Spirit"!!!  Come check them out!

 A few of the "NEW" designs have arrived from Prairie Schooler, Little House, Country Cottage, Crown and Thistle, and Homespun Elegance.  New Lizzie Kate will be coming very soon too!!!

We've gathered several "Stitch-In" questionnaires and compiled the results of those.  Everyone please look this over and if you have other ideas please let us know.  If there are no other suggestions we'll make our decisions and post them in the next blog or two.  I think this would be a very fun event.  Tell other stitchers that may not be on our mailing list too!  The more, the merrier!!!

 

Think that's it for now.  Hope you all have a "Happy St. Patty's Day"!!!......Anita

 



January 2013 !!! Happy New Year to All !!!

January is nearly gone already, it's hard to believe!!!  We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years with our beautiful granddaughters Chloe and Zoe.  They are growing so fast and developing into quite the little characters!!!  I made them Mickey Mouse hats this year and here they are modeling them for you!!!  The hats were a little big but kids grow so fast they'll be snug in no time!!!

I make my hubby a Deer ornament each year.  This years design is from Prairie Schooler.  It turned out nice and he has enough ornaments now that we've started his own small "Deer Tree"!!!

My Granddaughters got Mill Hill Santa ornaments.  These are the "Snow Drift" Santas.  I decided they should be identical so they wouldn't think one was better than the other!  I really love making these kits, they're soooooo much fun!!!

As you may recall, last month we had a drawing with all the coupons that were turned in.  Sorry we didn't get the winner announced earlier, but, better late than NEVER!!!!  Our winner is Sue Wild!!!!!!!  She has won a very handy-dandy "Portable Foot Rest"!!!  These are wonderful, I use mine all the time!!!  They fold up flat and you can drop them in your stitch bag and off to a retreat you go!!!  They relieve stress on your lower back by raising your legs just enough to keep you comfortable during long stitching jags!!! Congratulations Sue!!!  Hope you will enjoy it!!!

January is usually my time to get things cleaned and organized but this January has been something of a "frenzy" at home AND here at the shop!!!  Things have been moved around and reorganized and cleaned out!!!  My new attitude is "out with the old and in with the new".  After 13 years, I needed a little change in here! 

The cutting counter is now in the center of the shop and...

the seating area is along the wall toward the back of the shop.

 

The front windows are all open now and the sunshine can come in and, we can see out much better!!!  Daisy likes the extra "sun spots" to bask in!!!!

Along with the New Year a few changes are being made.  Everything seems to be going up; rent, insurance, utilities, product and supplies. 

I've never profited selling DMC floss.  The chain stores buy in bulk therefore get discounts which I cannot do.  Basically, I have been selling my DMC at cost for the past 13 years in order to stay consistent with the other stores in town.  Our DMC will now be .63 per skein, still NOT what I should be selling it for.  I'm sorry to have to do this but in order to stay in business this is one change that has to be made.
 

Also, fabric cutting may be another area where change will be made.  We have an incredible amount of waste with the fabrics which are very expensive, and MUCH harder to get these days.  Instead of cutting to size needed we may be switching to fat halves, fat quarters, etc.  It saddens me to throw away a 2" x 18" or more of these wonderful fabrics.
 

With that said, I'd like to offer our pre-cut/packages of fabrics at a 25% discount for the remainder of January.  As said earlier, "Out with the Old, in With the New"!!!  Please present this coupon to purchase these fabrics and also enter into a new drawing!!!!!

 

If anyone is interested I have decided to sell a portion of my Longaberger Collection.  I just have too many and I doubt that my kids are going to want them all!!!  Here's a few that I have on the shelf at the moment and I will add to this periodically as I come across them.  They are priced but also have "OBO" (or best offer) on the tag!  There's a lot more where these came from!!! 

 

 

 

The subject of a "Sunflower Seed Retreat" has resurfaced again recently so I have compiled a little questionnaire that you can fill out and return to us so we can get a better idea of what type of gathering you would be interested in.  We will also have some questionnaires printed out here in the shop if you'd like to stop by, fill one out and discuss your ideas.  You could also

e-mail me at sunflowerseed3@gmail.com with any suggestions or ideas that you may have.  We thought we might start with a "one day" event and see how that went before we jumped into a full week-end type of thing.  I know there are a lot of "seasoned" retreaters out there with good ideas!  Tell us what you liked or disliked about other retreats.  We've never done one but think it would be lots of fun if we have enough interest.  Also, if there are any of you that might like to help us get this rolling please let us know.  Your input is greatly appreciated!   If you left click on the picture below then right click you should be able to "print picture" and get a full page questionnaire.

 

This is a little lengthy but lots to think about!  I wanted to get it all down before I forgot something!!! 

 

May your New Year be filled with lots of stitching projects!!!  Come see us soon!!!...............Anita