Midsummer Night Musings

I've been so neglectful...

2010-11-19T13:26:00.000-08:00

I am still here, but it's been a busy time since mid August due to traveling and once again a computer breakdown that has lasted about a month. I promise to update very soon. Gotta get my email back to working but in the meantime I am really here to ask for prayers for Peggy, my friend with ALS. Her time is near and she and her family could use as many prayers as possible. Thank you so much and I will be back with more when I can.

Some antique samplers

2010-07-30T16:41:00.001-07:00

It's a lazy day and I thought I'd upload some unrelated photos of antique samplers. I think they are fun to look at.

I'm moving...

2010-07-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

Actually, I'm only moving my 100 Things in 100 Days over here.

I figured not everyone interested in needlework wants to read all about me, me, me so I'm setting up shop over there and I'm taking something to eat with me. Join me if you like and grab a cupcake too.

Day One--Antique Samplers

2010-07-08T16:55:00.000-07:00

If you know me or have been reading here any length of time, even five minutes,this is a pretty obvious and easy to guess love of mine, antique samplers. I don't know what first attracted me to them, probably many things, the history, the handmade crafting of them, the colors, the verses. I never tire of seeing a sampler whether antique or newly designed but the antique ones fulfill something within me. So I thought it was appropriate to start Day One of my 100 things I like in 100 days project with something obvious and a subject most here can identify with. I think they speak for themselves.

100 things I like in 100 days

2010-07-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

I realized recently that I made a mistake in my life's plans. Mainly, I didn't make a life plan. I merrily hopped along from one thing to the next doing what I thought was right and what I thought I was good at.

Journalism school was great until I graduated and realized journalists made crummy wages. That would have been a good thing to think about before I spent four years of my life getting that degree. However, my thinking is no education is wasted even if gainful employment is not forthcoming.

So I immediately enrolled in nursing school. Nurses were making 2 1/2 times what journalists made back then. I was proud of my realism, happy to know I could get a job anywhere and support myself if need be. I heard many times from my mother "you must be self-sufficient,you should never depend on a man to take care of you. You could get divorced, he could die and then where would you be?" Okay, lesson learned Mom. Interestingly, my dad refused to marry my mom until she had graduated with a skill where she could support herself and his reasons were the same. He really was a smart man.

Nursing was a decision I never regretted. I spent most of my career in critical care so the stress was constant. Burnout eventually happens to most nurses and I was no exception. But I would never do it differently. Nursing led me to many lifelong friends and led me to my husband and allowed me a very flexible schedule when my children were young. That is a lot of bang for the nursing school buck. Luckily, when the burnout was full-blown, I was able to quit working and concentrate on my family and that's another decision I will never regret.

So enter my "design" years where I jumped in with both feet and not much knowledge and decided to design needlework samplers. How ridiculous was I to start a business based on the assumption that just because I love needlework that I could offer up something other people would want to do? Well it wasn't ridiculous and I've had a good ride with designing. It's been one of the happiest and most rewarding things I've ever done. That doesn't mean I'm good at it, just that I've enjoyed it and am thankful for many of the people I've met online and off because of it. So no regrets from me with that chapter of my life.

What I do regret is my optimistic outlook that once my kids were gone I would sail smoothly through the empty nest because I have so many things I love to do. I have never lacked for a creative outlet,I always have some project in one or more mediums going, I have piles of books that must be read, I have friends to see, places to go and people to meet.

To my horror, I realized empty nest was going to be a little harder than I thought. Had I known then what I know now, I would have had a job lined up to keep me busier. Depression leads to loss of interest in things you normally love. I had a lousy four or five months of that but good friends and family have been saving graces to my mental health. But I still want to figure out what to do between the end of being a stay-at-home mom and well...the rest of my life.

My friend, Nancy, suggested I do a collage like a friend of hers did. This involves the process of thinking about and writing down 100 things you love or want to do or whatever makes you happy. It can be anything from nice underwear to climbing Mt. Everest. After figuring out what makes you happy, the next step is getting poster board and cutting out pictures to make a collage.

Up to the point of cutting out pictures to glue onto poster board I was getting into this idea. But the words "poster board and collage" reminded me of a little incident where I was into making collages as a teen. I was busy being creative and cutting pictures out of my Seventeen magazines and pasting them onto poster board and lettering or cutting out words to go with the pictures. I thought my artwork was very inventive until my mother got a view of one of them and hid it in the back of my closet so my dad wouldn't see it. Her thoughts were I was "learning" a little too much from my boyfriend and my dad wouldn't have approved. She was right but to her credit she just hid the most offending creation and didn't throw it out. I can still visualize her eyes bugging out.

So pasting and gluing and collaging are not in my repertoire of a fun activity anymore so I'm going to do this project in the virtual medium right here on my blog which has been woefully neglected for quite some time. Does anyone want to join me? If so, leave a note or email me and I'll check on your progress and ideas as I go along.

I'm off to figure out what my first post will be. Maybe it will be the start of what the next half of my life will be.

Mail!!

2010-06-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

Today I received this wonderful piece in honor of my mother from my good friend, Janet. Janet and I have known each other at least 10 years and have been through quite a few trials and tribulations together and I appreciate her gift and thoughtfulness more than she realizes. Thanks again gf, I'm always here for you just like I know you are for me.

July/August 2010 Just Cross Stitch

2010-06-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

I was happy to see I had two designs in the recent Just Cross Stitch issue.
It's hard to see but the ornament I designed is the one in the upper right corner with the small reindeer and the second piece is called "Summer Song" and is stitched on 28 ct black linen. I love the way JCS framed the piece. I wouldn't have thought of using a brown frame but after seeing it I can't imagine what other color would have looked as nice. Hope you enjoy them!

And finally, where have I been the last two months?

2010-06-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

The answer to that is mainly West Coast... Oregon, Washington, California and Nevada again. Oh and Phoenix too, not that being there is unusual for me but I may as well add it to the list.

I've been a bum, thinking only of myself and no one else, running around playing with friends and ignoring everything at home. It's been a way to relax, distract and give myself a chance to think. I've loved it and I've felt guilty but overall it was wonderful. And thank you dear, devoted David for being so understanding, smooch. I am blessed and I know it.

I started out with a trip to Oregon to visit my friend Laurel. I've known her since my son and her daughter were in first grade together. They are now 23 so it's been a while. One thing about Tucson, no one seems to stay for long. In the 20 years we've lived here, I've had seven good friends move away and Laurel was one. But like any good friend, the minute you reconnect, the time and distance disappear and it's like you never parted.

Laurel has a home in Oregon and one in Nevada. I also visited her in January, once again thinking only of myself and having a fabulous time. She mothers me, listens to me, pampers me and comforts me. She's like my husband but a better cook and doesn't work like he does so we can run around and do whatever we like.

This trip it was thrift stores! Goodwill, Savers, Salvation Army, Deseret Industries, and many little private charity thrift stores. I shipped home 6 boxes of stuff, good stuff I might add. Everyone is getting thrift store for Christmas this year.There's your warning, no complaints, no whining! My sister got a thrift store, specially-chosen-for-her item as a housewarming present. It's so her, so retro, so Brady Bunch, so...mushroomy? OK, you decide:

These came from Carson City, Nevada and are now on her stove for all to admire ;-) As I said, they are so HER.

I've never been to the Oregon coast so we hopped up to Seaside Oregon for a day and since the ocean is my favorite atmosphere I was in heaven. Big, broad, windy, chilly beaches...

After a bit of time in Oregon we drove to Nevada,

and did our usual rearranging furniture, decorating projects and I painted mirrors and all kinds of things black. I was picking black paint off my hands for days. Here's a before photo of one thrift store mirror, wish I had the "after" photo:

The idea here was to paint different shapes and sizes of mirrors black to hang on her dining room wall.

We hung out for 10 days and drove back to Oregon, spent 3 days in Portland and I then flew to Seattle and met up with my husband so we could visit our daughter pictured below with hubby at the Japanese Gardens in Seattle:

It was wonderful to see Maggie and her boyfriend and meet his parents. We happened to be there during mid-terms but still had fun seeing her life, friends and college life in Seattle. One of the highlights of the trip was looking outside our hotel window exactly a month to the day my mother died and seeing a rainbow:

If you have followed some of my recent posts you'll realize that for me it was an important sign that my mother made it "home".

We were back in Arizona for a week and then went to Catalina Island for our 25th anniversary.

Another two weeks and Nick arrived home, tired and dirty after spending the night in the Atlanta airport but it is wonderful to have him home. We've missed both our kids this past year.

And in a week, Maggie will be home for a week.
And that's the update from here, in a house with air conditioning kaput and an over 100 degree day. If I don't move around too suddenly I can stay cool. The a/c man can't get here soon enough tomorrow...

What lurks behind the refrigerator?

2010-06-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

I have no shame so I will show you:

Yes, I will stand and be counted among the nameless many who are sneaky housekeepers. If you can't see the dirt, it doesn't get cleaned until absolutely necessary. Along those same lines, the clutter may be picked up, but don't open a closet door or you could receive a severe head injury.

So the necessity to clean under the refrigerator was due to painting our kitchen and family room 2 months ago. I love it now that it's done and am thankful hubby and I had an easy time doing it. Sometimes divorce threats hang heavily unspoken when we do these kinds of projects. Here are the finished family room walls, that color is called "Sagey":

And now for no reason at all other than to show why we live in Arizona and love it:

Some designs

2010-06-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

Hello all, long time no see. I am feeling the guilt of not posting anything and will update the needlework stuff in this post and move on to another post with just a plain update. I'll start with 2 designs I had published in the current issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine.
Here are two small photos I snagged off their site:

I have a couple other pieces to be published this summer I believe.JCS has had one on hold since I sent it to them last summer so it will be as much a surprise to me as to anyone when it is published. This is a sneak peek of one in progress that should be in the magazine soon.

Sadly, that is the last and about only thing I have designed and stitched this year. My mind has been away from the needlework world and is having a hard time reconnecting to that part of my life. I have a few different hobbies this year and I know I'll return to the world of stitching, after all, I have stitched since I was a kid and it will always be a part of me. I like to think of this stretch as a simple break or a rest while I adjust to a new stretch of my life.

Mom

2010-04-01T10:19:00.001-07:00

Does everyone think they have the best mom in the world? I know I always felt that way. My mother was a loving, caring mother who had a magnetic personality and the best sense of humor. She died on Saturday after a long struggle with dementia and though her passing is sad, I am very thankful that she is free of that struggle now. I have grieved and missed her so much the past 5 years and more, so I look upon her death as the culmination of what my siblings and I have been wishing for her, a release to a better place and very much a blessing. The worn-out phrase "she is at peace now" has never been my favorite but I now realize how true it is.

There are so many things about my mother that can't be captured in words, though she loved words and phrases and taught us from the time we were young all kinds of crazy things to say. One is now a family phrase that has been passed on to the grandkids too: "no thank you, I've had an elegant sufficiency, anymore would be a superfluity to my obnoxious capacity". In other words: "no thank you, I'm full".

My mom was a mom to so many others too. There were four of us and we all had friends who loved visiting and talking to her. I used to swear some of my friends were only interested in coming by and chatting with my mom, to heck with me, I was just the vehicle that led to her. Her favorite years were when we were babies and again when we were teens. The middle years of childhood were most likely a lot of work but she loved it when we finally became old enough to be more interesting.

My mother had an instinctive sense on how to handle people. She was charming, to put it mildly, and she could get people to happily come around to her way of thinking. It came in handy for many reasons but especially because she worked as a nurse after we were grown and gone. Her patients loved her. She had a caring attitude but she never took herself seriously and was able to get the most unhappy or obstinate patient to have a new and better attitude by the time her shift was done. They would always ask to have her back as their nurse. She looked on difficult patients as a challenge that gave her much joy to conquer. Patients that other nurses felt were too much trouble, she'd ask to have and would have them eating out of her hand in no time flat. It was a gift.

She never met a stranger. She'd talk to everyone,she never picked a fight,she hated dissent and worked hard to turn dissension into peacefulness. She made it look easy. I was never embarrassed by her, funny thing to say because most children and especially teens at one time or another are embarrassed by their mothers but in retrospect, she never gave us reason to regret or complain about who she was or what she did. Whatever she did or said was always just right. She never made herself out to be more important than anyone else and she respected where people were coming from and was not judgmental. That doesn't mean she didn't have judgment but she never used it maliciously which is a rare quality. Somehow she was always able to rise above pettiness and would often say it wasn't worth wasting time on worry or being unhappy. She was a bit like Scarlet O'Hara in that she'd "think about that tomorrow". It worked for her.

There is something sacred to be said of the quiet hero mothers who cook, clean, take care of their kids, keep them safe, attend their functions, love them when they aren't loveable, rejoice in their happiness and give their hearts to them in their failures and sadness. My mother had her heart out waving unprotected in four different places in the world and she was one of those motherly heroes. She was a mother, a friend,a sister, a daughter, a wife, a nurse and she felt her most important contribution to the world were independent children who had a core foundation of love. I'm sure I never said thank you enough when you were alive Mom but I hope you can see and feel it in me now. I'll miss you Mom and only hope I can live up to your wonderful legacy.

Finishes from Stitchers

2010-03-01T16:19:00.000-08:00

I am so ashamed of myself for holding onto these photos for over a year! Yes, there is something wrong with me but I don't know if it has a name. Please forgive me Kathy! Kathy wrote me an email last year and enclosed the photo above and below of my design "Deftly Wrought":
I completed the project and submitted to the 2008 Maryland State Fair in the sampler category. I took second place and have attached 2 pictures of my finished project. I did not use a mat when framing but still think it is great. It was a fun project and I am happy to display in my home.
Thank you for such a wonderful design. Kathy Wissmann

And below is the framed finish of "Peaceful Paradise" from Kyri Fuss in Adelaide, South Australia. It's interesting that I received the photo from her today as I just took my model off the wall to move it to another spot over the fireplace and I've been looking at it all day. Kyri wrote: (please forgive the flash spot in the middle, I couldn't get a good
photo without it - it's an overcast day)

I fussy-cut the thread for the orange flowers in the centre, so that
they all went from dark to light from centre out, which was an
exercise in obsessive-ness but the result was awesome :)

I can't stop looking at it, hanging on the wall opposite where I stitch.

Thank you so much for an absolutely beautiful design. I've had so many
compliments from stitchers and non-stitchers while working on it and
after :)

Thank you so much for sending the photos. One took me a year to put in the blog and the other I got up within the day so maybe I can work on a happy medium next time!

Adam and Eve Samplers

2010-02-28T08:34:00.000-08:00

One of the favorite themes in antique samplers is Adam and Eve. I thought I'd put up a few of the photos I've collected of these samplers and hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do.

Rainbows

2010-02-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

My sister and I have been discussing rainbows for the past year and a half. We live in Arizona, not exactly the rainbow capitol of the world, yet have seen more rainbows in the past 18 months than we have ever seen previously.

Rainbows have always been a big deal to me, they are just so magical, a little gift from God saying hello. So believe me when I say, I might see a rainbow once a year here in the land where we get maybe 10 inches of rain per year, but never once a month which has been happening since Thanksgiving 2008. The last rainbow I saw is in the above photo, taken last month in Nevada.

And now that my sister and I are attuned to seeing rainbows, we are seeing them everywhere. Last month I was talking to her on the phone with the TV on in the background. We were talking rainbows (again) and a commercial appeared where a leprechaun carried a pot of gold over to a cardboard rainbow and set it underneath. I don't even remember what the commercial was advertising. I was just so stunned to see it while talking with her.

My daughter's dance recital this year was "The Wizard of Oz" and my sister was with me. Again we were talking rainbows and like idiots weren't even thinking that the ultimate rainbow song is "Over the Rainbow" until the whole cast came on stage in multi-colored costumes and danced to the song. We looked at each other with wide eyes and OMG mouths. One of our mother's favorite songs was Judy Garland singing "Over the Rainbow". So one connection made, these rainbows have to do with Mom.

I have been re-reading the Bible this year, my only new year's resolution, and turned to Noah's story to see what is said about rainbows. This is Genesis Chapter 9 verse 11:
11And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

12And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

14And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

15And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

17And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

So another puzzle solved. My Dad's birthday was Sept 11th. Chapter 9 verse 11...

My feelings are my Dad is showing my sister and I that he is with our mother. He is saying his covenant with her has not broken since his death and neither has his covenant with his children. She has dementia and except for a few devoted friends and her children, her life is extremely limited. To know he is with her while she lives out the last bit of her life is extremely comforting. I think the rainbows will stop when she does. In the meantime, thanks Dad, we have needed to see these and we have always known you are still with us and your love for Mom is endless.

Long Overdue Update!

2010-02-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went, children came and went, I went and came back and stitched a little in between. The last 6 weeks have been a storm of emotions, happiness and sadness, full house and empty nest. Today is quiet and I have time to update here.

I had a wonderful experience a couple days ago on the 2nd anniversary of a good friend's death. One birthday, she had given me a small pitcher from England and I began finding them when I traveled and shopped. One from Mexico, another from Poland, you get the idea. Then I stopped finding them even though I purposely would search for them. The 2nd anniversary date, I was in Nevada with a friend and we came upon a clearance rack at a store and the small white pitcher pictured above was on sale for $1. When I looked at it closer, what I thought were little stars on the belly of the pitcher turned out to be X's, as in cross stitch X's and important in my mind since needlework is a love we shared. It wasn't until I bought the pitcher that I realized it was the 2nd anniversary of her death. I've changed and learned through the years and something I would have considered a coincidence years ago, is no longer a coincidence in my mind. Rest in Peace Anne, I miss you.

I received this Engish Cottage Sampler by Chessie and Me for my birthday last year and immediately started working on it. I was so tired of only stitching my own designs and made relatively good progress until Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday seasons began. I just pulled it out again today and think I'll continue stitching it ASAP, the colors are gorgeous.

As mentioned above, I was visiting a good friend near Lake Tahoe and what was supposed to be a week long trip turned into a month due to various factors including a snowstorm. She taught me how to force bulbs so yesterday I planted four Paperwhite bulbs and can't wait for the roots to start growing around the marbles in the bowl.

It turned out to be an excellent idea to stay a month as I feel much better emotionally and physically than I did after Christmas when it got quiet around here again, my kids went back to college and I was sick with pneumonia. Now I feel ready to tackle new projects and get my life back on track. My intuitive daughter told me the other day that we are going through the same problem at the moment. How is that? She said she has had to find a new identity at college as her old identity from high school is gone. She is no longer the Japanese speaking, viola playing, black belt girl. Well, yes, the Japanese is still there as that is her major but she is one of many now and the viola is stored in our hall closet and her black belt is languishing until she finds a group that she feels comfortable working out with. As for me, I've devoted over 20 years of my life to raising kids and suddenly they are gone so I'm rummaging around in my mind, shuffling through ideas and trying to forge a new identity beyond motherhood. I'm still a work in progress.

And now to the good part, this is Nick on Christmas Eve. We were so happy to have him home from Thanksgiving until right after the New Year. He's funny, gentle and artistic and we couldn't ask for a more unique, creative son.

My daughter, Maggie, brought home her boyfriend Noel from college. He stayed with us a week until we put him back on the plane to Seattle Christmas afternoon. Maggie stayed on another week until she too had to return to college. We loved finally meeting Noel, he was all we imagined and hope to get to know him even better in the future and maybe stay in one place for a bit. We hit all the local attractions plus spent 2 nights in Mexico, not to mention Christmas. It was a whirlwind but a fun ride nonetheless. BTW, that's our oldest cat Snowflake in the photo, looking appropriately catlike and cranky.

I'm stitching an ornament for the 2010 JCS Christmas issue plus one for their preview Christmas issue. I'll get back to work now.

Update before Christmas

2009-12-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

I feel like the I'm the person in the sled in the above postcard. I'm careening down the hill towards Christmas and it's been a fun ride this year, I just hope my sled doesn't overturn. Busy is not even the word to describe the past month and the next few weeks ahead.

Our son, Nick arrived home from Savannah at the end of his fall quarter in time for Thanksgiving which we spent in Mexico with my husband's sister,her husband and my mother-in-law. Here's my husband, David, fishing on Thanksgiving Day:

Maggie wasn't with us this year and spent her first Thanksgiving away from home in Seattle.After that nice peaceful Thanksgiving we arrived home to do a dedicated purging of clutter,excess junk,clothes and assorted you-name-its that always seem to get put aside "in case we need it someday". Well someday arrived and we didn't need any of it and probably 30 bags later, Goodwill was happy with us. The garbage men weren't. I have to say that even though cleaning is not high on my priority list, the results make me realize how worthwhile it is. It's like a new lease on life.

Maggie will be home in a week with her boyfriend,Noel,for winter break. He is also a Japanese major, like her, and we think they make for a really cute couple and are excited to meet him. We are planning another 2 night trip to Mexico and all the usual Tucson tourist attractions such as San Xavier Mission and a whirlwind tour of Maggie's childhood places (should take 30 minutes tops), preschool, grade school, high school, dance studio? 19 years worth in record time.

I was asked to design a piece for Mother's Day for Just Cross Stitch and I'm almost done stitching it. I was having a designing block and it was just the inspiration I needed to get going again. Now I have ideas for a few more things but they'll have to wait until after New Year's since I am devoting the rest of the month to family and kids. Having my children gone has been one of the hardest episodes in my life but also one of the happiest to see them blossom and grow.

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope you have a blessed New Year. Oh, thought you might enjoy a photo of the state park near our home.

Some more designs

2009-11-15T10:48:00.001-08:00

Me & You Sampler

Her Majesty

Gentle Thoughts 2 (next 2 designs in one chart)

Heart's Peace

Question?

2009-11-15T10:15:00.000-08:00

And a close-up...

Does anyone have an interest in my releasing this design? I call it "Seven Sins & Seven Virtues". It's stuck on the hard drive of my old computer and I can retrieve it but I don't know if it is worth the hassle. Let me know if this is a design that you might collect or even stitch. Thanks!

WOW!

2009-11-04T06:45:00.000-08:00

I'll say it again, wow! Olga has these and more photos posted in her blog here

This is my Stitching Treasures piece from the October issue of The Gift of Stitching magazine. I think the pink gingham fabric was inspired, sure wish I had thought of it and I love the little sunflower pincushion. Thanks Olga so much for sharing, you did a fabulous job!

Two new designs

2009-11-03T13:37:00.000-08:00

The above are 2 new designs. The first 2 are in one chart packet and I'm calling them "Gentle Thoughts". They use 32 ct Antique Ivory linen. The scans look different but in person they are the same fabric.

The 2nd design is the "Singing Bird Stitching Pocket", once again finished by the fabulous Deb Hunter of Artistic Needle. Instructions for assembly are included and the threads are from The Threadgatherer's Silk 'n Colors line. This piece uses 32 ct Antique White linen.

I have a couple more designs to release (including Gentle Thoughts 2) plus the promised family record sampler. It's totally ridiculous that I have stalled on getting that piece finished and it's all due to stitching my dad's name under the willow tree. I seem to be having a mental block about doing that but it will be done very soon, just have to bite the bullet and get stitching.

These are fun

2009-10-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

I saw these recently and thought they were fun. I wonder if it was common for cross stitch to be used on postcards? I imagine these are early 20th Century. Anyone want to stitch one?

Stitching Treasures

2009-10-01T09:57:00.001-07:00

I'd completely forgotten about this until I got my email this morning. It looks like Kirsten did a great job with the finishing, I'm so please with how it turned out and the step by step photos for the finishing job are great.

Joy

2009-09-29T06:33:00.000-07:00

This was my design for the Just Cross Stitch annual Christmas Ornament issue this year. Now I'm trying to think of ideas for next year. If you have any, just leave a comment, thanks!

I found this and am not sure who stitched it but it's my design from the 2008 issue, I love how Deb finished this piece.

Vintage needlework graphics

2009-09-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

I love these.

Antique Sampler Verses

2009-09-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

I've collected sampler verses for quite a while now and thought I'd share a few. Do I know where they came from or what year or what sampler, no I don't. I just collect the verses and not the particulars. Enjoy!

"Fragrant the rose is but it fades in time. The violet sweet but quickly past the prime. White lilies hang their heads and soon decay and whiter snow in minutes melts away. You whose fond wishes do to heaven aspire who make those blest abodes your sole desire. If you are wise and hope that blest to gain...use well your time live not an hour in vain. Let not the morrow your vain thoughts employ...But think this day the last you shall enjoy."

"His Purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour,
The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower."

"The Lord is just in all his ways
And holy is his works each one
He is near to all that on him call
Who call in truth on him alone"

"All our gaity is vain
All our laughter is but pain
Lasting only and divine
Is an innocence like thine."

"Do you wish to be rich: be industrious and frugal
Do you wish to be healthy: be active, sober, and temperate
Do you wish to be happy both here and hereafter: study
your Bible and do what it teaches you. God is my friend
My son if sinners entice thee, consent thou not."

Sampler theme box of drawers

2009-09-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

This is an idea I was excited to try though in the end my execution of it is only so-so.

This is a Countdown Calendar from Karen Foster Design You can do a google search to find a place to buy one if you are at all interested in doing something like this. They are about $20 but I've seen them a bit lower on some websites. I have seen these made for with Christmas and Halloween themes to help children countdown to the holiday. You can insert little treats and trinkets in the drawers.

I thought I'd make one with a sampler theme and maybe keep charms and buttons and any other small item in the drawers. So here are my warnings if you decide to try this yourself.

First, the box is made of slick white cardboard. It took me 3 days to get the piece painted because unlike regular flat cardboard, the paint needed many layers of coverage. Very frustrating when you want to get onto the fun part. The tiny edges in between the drawers do not take paint well at all and I finally said "enough with this, it will have to do". Thus the coverage isn't perfect.

Second you need to paint the drawer fronts or else have a bit bigger template for the paper coverings as the white will show if you don't paint them. The drawers are equally as frustrating to paint as the box.

Third, you need to notch the paper to bend it around the half circle drawer pulls. I was advised to buy a circle punch but unfortunately it is very, very difficult to figure out where exactly to place the punch so that a half circle forms rather than a full circle so I ditched the punch and did the notching. However, gluing the little ends of paper to the back proved difficult as there wasn't much to work with. I would cut the top of the paper larger next time in order to have more to work with in order to make the half circles more regular.

I plan to try another little box piece but using small matchboxes, 8 sets of 3 stacked in a pattern and I will post it when/if I get it done. I do know the regular cheap matchboxes take the paint much, much better than the slick surface of the countdown calendar. My other thought for the calendar is to cover the side and back surfaces with paper instead of paint but that could present a whole new set of problems.
Good luck, I would love to see any that you might produce!

Teach Me Samplers

2009-09-18T06:02:00.000-07:00

I love comparing antique samplers that have the same verse. The samplers above all are stitched with "Teach me to feel another's woe To hide the fault I see That mercy I to others show That mercy show to me".

It's interesting to see how each stitcher illustrated a verse to their own liking. If you like looking at old samplers be sure and visit Needlework Antiques where they have a gallery of antique samplers.

~Good luck Nick~

2009-09-17T05:59:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say good luck to my son who has gone to Savannah to finish up his BFA as a transfer student at Savannah College of Art and Design. We are so proud of him but will miss him very much. He thinks he'll like the humidity after years of the Arizona "dry heat" but I think the next picture makes me wonder about that assertion, he looks a tad bit miserable,lol.

On another note, how would you like to have an historic lighthouse in your backyard? This is the front of the house, you can see the base of the lighthouse through the trees.

And look what you see going around to the back of the house. Those trees are in their backyard. Unfortunately, it is not a lighthouse open to the public and is surrounded by a fence on US Coast Guard property. This is Amelia Island in Florida and we stayed there a couple days for a little getaway. It's a lovely little place with an historic downtown.

A small preview

2009-09-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd show you a small piece (and the only over one part) of my new Family Record Sampler. I've done it all in pale greens/browns with a hint of pale pink, purple and yellow. It has a house, a willow tree, birds, some flowers and of course an area to write in all your family info, names, birth dates etc. I've made it without an elaborate border so that it can be adjusted to fit as many names and dates as you wish. I have a very small amount left to stitch and then I plan to release it. Thanks for looking!

Blessed Harvest

2009-09-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

Here's another new release, Blessed Harvest. Well, as you can see by the date, it's not THAT new, in fact, I've had nothing but problems releasing this in a timely manner the past few years. I couldn't seem to coordinate it with a fall release or else I'd forget about having it on hold. So finally, it's out with a corrected date on the actual chart.

We've been busy this past month taking DD to Seattle to start her freshman year of college. She seems to be adjusting very well (knock on wood) and we were impressed with the city, it was gorgeous and we loved the fact that getting into a car didn't involve getting burned on a steering wheel or driving miles before it would get cool inside.

Nest week it's Savannah to deposit our son and then empty nest reigns! So far, so good.

Cottage Pinkeep Sampler

2009-08-05T07:08:00.001-07:00

First I would like to say thank you to all who have participated in the Angel in my Pocket project as seen below. I so appreciate each and everyone's donation. I have not yet sent everything off to Peggy yet but will be doing so this week.

Next, I have another new sampler I'm calling Cottage Pinkeep Sampler. Bascially, each of the 9 squares in this sampler can be made into a little pinkeep as seen above. The piece uses 32 ct Antique White and all Anchor threads. I hope you enjoy it.

Simple Pleasures and Friendship Pocket

2009-06-29T16:40:00.001-07:00

The above is Simple Pleasures stitched on 32 ct Antique Ivory from Zweigart. Below is Friendship Pocket on 40 ct Vintage Examplar from Lakeside Linens. They are off to the distributors this week. Can anyone spot the cat hair? LOL

2 new designs and more to come

2009-06-20T12:38:00.001-07:00

The above design is "Garden Angels" and is stitched on 32 ct Antique Ivory using Gentle Arts floss. The one below is "Strawberries for Ewe" stitched on either 28 or 30 ct Korty's Special Blend from R&R and uses Crescent Colours threads. I'll be sending these out to the distributors next week.

I have several more new designs including new stitching pockets coming out soon. Thank you to all who read my blog, I appreciate all the comments.

A few more offerings

2009-04-24T13:42:00.001-07:00

Well, I don't know what got into me but I've been a stitching fiend for the past few weeks and have produced some new designs. The first is hot off the iron as of an hour ago and I don't have a name for it (any ideas?) but I absolutely enjoyed every stitch! It only took me 3 1/2 days to stitch and I love the colors if I do say so myself. I used a bunch of new Gentle Arts Shaker threads.

The second piece was finished for me by Deb Hunter and has the oh-so creative name of "Remember Me Stitching Pocket", lol. Deb always does such a fantastic job of finshing and I highly recommend her. You can contact her at artisticneedle@swbell.net

The third piece I'm calling "A Patriot's Sampler". I like to do a patriotic piece each summer and this one grew and grew, too many good quotes out there! I hope you'll like them and they should be out within a couple weeks.

Primitive Wizard of Oz finished

2009-04-13T09:26:00.001-07:00

Finished! This is my primitive Wizard of Oz that I talked about below. It scanned a bit light but you'll get the idea, lol. Hope you like it.

Primitive Wizard of Oz

2009-04-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a little sneak preview of my flying monkey. I just designed and am currently stitching a primitive Wizard of Oz sampler. My daughter is off to the "Emerald City" for college this fall (Seattle) and is also playing Oz in her annual dance recital which has the Wizard of Oz theme this year so I thought it was an appropriate time to do an Oz sampler. Stay tuned!

Sheep's Paradise

2009-04-06T07:47:00.001-07:00

Just a quick note and photo of my latest design, "Sheep's Paradise". It's done on 40 ct Sandstone with Crescent Colours cotton floss. It was so nice stitching with the bright colors at this time of year and I hope you'll like it.

Jesus Permit Thy Gracious Name samplers

2009-03-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

One of the more popular verses on antique samplers seems to be "Jesus permit thy gracious name to stand as the first efforts of this infant's hand" and variations thereof. I thought it would be fun to post a few of the images I've collected of these verses as I find it so interesting to see how each needleworker chose to illustrate their sampler uniquely.

I don't always remember where I find these images but if you like browsing antique samplers as much as I do then M.Finkel and Daughter have a wonderful website showing all kinds of antique samplers.

Good news

2009-02-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

The above painting is by Jerome Rozen and is something I came across while on my travels across the internet. I believe it's an oil painting and I loved the colors and mood of it.

Well, good news for me in that I've recovered my designs except for the last couple that I have not yet released and there is hope for those, even if I just have to chart them again. So yippee! Just waiting to find out if the family photos can be recovered and there is a good chance that they will. I do have backup but not for maybe the last year though many of those are on various photo sites around the 'net so not completely lost.

I'm busy designing again now that I've got another computer to do it on. I've just designed and am almost done stitching a pouch with a sampler look and also a piece I'm calling Sheep's Paradise which is sort of a Peaceable Kingdom with sheep. I'm also releasing this piece called Remember Me.

Cool!

2009-01-30T12:14:00.001-08:00

I love looking at old samplers and I'm always on the lookout for familiar names. So I was pleasantly surprised to find this pair of English samplers with my last name THORPE!!!! One worked by Eliza Thorpe and dated 1822, depicting Ticehurst Asylum; the other worked by Charity Thorpe and dated 1834, depicting Queen's Palace.

Hearts for Thee

2009-01-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

This is a new design coming out very soon called Hearts for Thee. It might be the last one for a while as my hard drive gave up the ghost and is now in the shop. I have little hope of recovering much but am trying to think positively. Luckily, I'm in the middle of stitching a new design and can rechart it without a problem. It's about half of the designs that I have out now that will most likely be "retired" so get what you want while there are still some out there.

Edited to add: the valentine pendants I put up here yesterday are sold but I did find a sheet I had printed before Xmas and will make a few more so keep an eye here in the next few days for a new post.

As far as the computer troubles, I know I should be much more upset to lose so much but strangely I'm not. I think I realize this is going to be a year of big change in our family and that is more on my mind than my designs. I've had a good run with them and plan to continue but am not buying a new computer until February 1st which is after mercury retrograde leaves. If you know anything about astrology you know that the 3 week period about 3 times a year of mercury going retrograde is not a good time to buy electronics, machinery, cars etc. I'm not taking any chances!DH gave me one of the new cute little laptops for Christmas so there is no hurry as far as being able to connect to the internet and get email. The tiny keyboard causes me a number of typos though. I do miss my mouse!

Speaking of change, DD graduates from high school in May and has applied to 8 different colleges, all on the west coast (except her safety school, University of AZ which is here in town). She's already been accepted to four of them and is just waiting to hear about the California schools. However, her number one choice was University of Washington in Seattle and she heard last week, to her delight, that she has been admitted. She also got her Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do last week so we've been celebrating.

DS just got back from a trip to San Francisco to check out the Academy of Art University and it looks like he is very excited about the place so I know the empty nest is finally here come fall.

On another note, I am discontinuing my webpage because I can never get it updated since DD is my over-busy webmistress and it just seems ridiculous to pay for it. I do much better here as I can update easily on my own.
Whoa, sort of a long post but I guess I had more to say than I realized. I hope everyone has had a great start to the new year. Thanks for reading.

Happy New Year 2009!

2009-01-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! I've woefully neglected blogging during the holidays. Too much decorating and cooking and cleaning and all the other stuff including trips to Phoenix and cancelled trips to Sedona (due to weather) and Mexico (due to logistics). I wish everyone a blessed new year. I've accumulated some random photos to post here from our holidays.

Above is our big ol' tomcat Smokey after a nice meal on Christmas day. He lives for his food bowl in case you couldn't tell.

And this is Snowflake. He's sweet and quiet and loves "his" chair. We've piled it with comforters and pillows and he spends a good part of each day napping there.

Above is my daughter posing with her friend and our big pink sheep "Sheila" in front of the snowmen we put in our entryway each year. This was a few days before Christmas and they made a beautiful cake that day:

YUM...

Above are the kids on Christmas Eve, a little blurry but the light was low.

And oh yes, I had told friends I'd post the lemon ornament I wrote about in the 2008 Christmas issue of JCS and here she is in all her glory. My grandmother gave it to us years ago when I was a kid, no doubt bought at a Christmas church bazaar and I LOVE my lemon ornament. My siblings made fun of it every year we brought out the ornaments which made me love it even more, that plus the fact there are very few ornaments left from my childhood.

And the above photo was taken yesterday in Romero Canyon near our house. A nice 3 mile hike in some beautiful Arizona winter weather. That saguaro cactus is a couple hundred years old I'd guess.

And found in the back of my closet is my snowman vest that still had the tags on from FOURTEEN YEARS AGO! Daughter wanted to pose in a "Fugly Christmas Sweater" and this is what we dug up. Yep, quiet day, no school, something to do on a winter afternoon before Christmas...
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and the new year brings joy to everyone.

Christmas projects

2008-12-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

I made these yesterday and thought I'd post them mainly because I thought you'd enjoy the Santa holding the sampler. Yep, that's what I want for Christmas, a nice antique sampler!

Creative idea...

2008-12-03T08:46:00.001-08:00

I saw this in Cathy B's blog. Barbara used one of my pendants to create a scissor fob for Cathy and I thought it was such a great idea, thanks for posting it Cathy.
If anyone is still interested in pendants, just email me: dsthorpe@comcast.net

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday

2008-12-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late but we were in Mexico for Thanksgiving, I guess that's a bit ironic but I can say I'm thankful to be able to go there.

Ranger portrays how we all felt after a nice Thanksgiving feast. Looking at him makes me want to take a nap right now.

And no post about Mexico is complete without the requisite photo of sunset over the ocean.

And Happy Birthday today (18th!) to my dear daughter Maggie, shown here with her brother who hates this photo, sorry Nick!

And finally, the photo of the eating of the meal. We celebrated with my husband's sister and her husband and their dog Ranger. It was a lovely, relaxing time with some of our favorite people. I hope everyone will have wonderful memories of their own Thanksgiving.

The Attic's 2008 Silent Auction for Breast Cancer Research

2008-11-18T11:26:00.000-08:00

Here is my contribution to The Attic's Christmas ornament silent auction and was a really fun, quick stitch. It is in the current 2008 JCS Ornament Issue and was designed by Blackbird Designs. The auction will take place this Saturday, November 22nd. This auction never disappoints with many, many lovely ornaments up for bid. All proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

As Jean states in her newsletter, "We know that many of you cannot participate in person, so all of the donated items received thus far will be photographed today (Nov. 18) and put in e-mails to you tomorrow ~ and uploaded to our Web site just as soon as our Web master can get it posted. Through Friday you may bid by e-mail. Please use this e-mail address (jeanlea@cox.net) to do that and put AUCTION BID in the "Subject" line.

Because there will be no one reading e-mails on our busy Saturday while we make final preparations for the evening's event, beginning on Saturday please submit your bid by calling our toll-free number prior to 4 p.m. MST, 1.888.94-ATTIC (1.888.942.8842)". Here is The Attic's website.

My thanks to Deb Hunter for a beautiful job of finishing this piece.

A few Christmas ornaments

2008-11-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

I was thinking ahead to Christmas today and realized it's really not that far away. I wondered what else I could do with my ice pendants and came up with these 3 heart ornaments. They would look better hanging straight on a tree rather than laying flat but it's a bit too early for the tree yet! Let me know what you think!

Christmas Cheer

2008-11-07T08:41:00.000-08:00

I just released a new design called Christmas Cheer and I hope you'll like it. This is a bit better photo than what is on the chartpack which was a roundabout mistake but I went with it as I didn't want to waste all the prints I had! Anyway, enjoy!

2008-11-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

This is from Carol, I love the finishing.

Congratulations Mylene, your finish looks great!

The Sociopath Next Door

2008-11-02T08:15:00.001-08:00

I've been doing a lot more reading than stitching lately and have been particularly interested in books about personality disorders. This was one of the best of the group. Basically, sociopaths are people without a conscience, people who can do anything and not have guilt or remorse. But contrary to what many think, not all sociopaths are making lampshades from human skin, nor are they only dictators of small countries. There are many shades and flavors of sociopaths and the one I wanted to talk about is the "covetous sociopath". Oh my, I've met her! In fact, I'd swear one of those pairs of eyes on the book cover are hers.

THE COVETOUS SOCIOPATH

Sociopaths do not always have a covetous nature, but when they do, a fascinating and frightening picture emerges. Since it is simply not possible to steal and have for oneself the most valuable possessions of another person ie: beauty, intelligence, success,or perhaps a strong character the covetous psychopath settles for besmirching or damaging enviable qualities in others so that they will not have them, either, or at least not be able to enjoy them so much. Here the pleasure lies in taking rather than in having.

The covetous sociopath thinks that life has cheated her somehow, has not given her nearly the same bounty as other people, and so she must even the existential score by robbing people, by secretly causing destruction in other lives. She believes she has been slighted by nature, circumstances, and destiny, and that diminishing other people is her only means of being powerful. Retribution, usually against people who have no idea that they have been targeted,is the most important activity in the covetous sociopath's life, her highest priority.

Since this clandestine power game is priority number one, all of the covetous sociopath's deceitfulness and tolerance for risk are devoted to it. For the sake of the game, she may devise schemes and perform acts that most of us would consider outrageous and potentially self-destructive, in addition to cruel.

And yet when such a person is around us in our lives, even on a daily basis, we are often oblivious to her activities. We do not expect to see a person direct a dangerous, vicious vendetta against someone who in most cases has done nothing to hurt or offend her. We do not expect it, and so we do not see it, even when it happens to someone we know or to us personally. The actions taken by the covetous sociopath are often so outlandish, and so gratuitously mean, that we refuse to believe they were intentional, or even that they happened at all. In this way, her true nature is usually invisible to the group. She can easily hide in plain sight among genuinely intelligent, professional people.

When people do not provoke in the sociopath a desire for something they have, or for something they are, then she does not target them. To the contrary, she may be especially charming and courteous when she believes that certain underlings, as she thinks of them, are useful in maintaining her sheep's-clothing disguise, a disguise that includes a presentation of herself as an extraordinarily nice, caring, responsible, and pitiably overworked person.

Sound like anyone you know? Beware...

Another finish!

2008-10-31T09:02:00.001-07:00

This is from Shari
I love how she finished with the felt backing, thanks for sharing!

Three more finished!

2008-10-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

The above is from Mylene

The above finish is from Petra!

And this solid color piece is from Joann. She used Sister Scarlett Belle Soie on 40 ct One of a Kind from Sassy's Fabbys. Thanks for sharing ladies!

First one done!

2008-10-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Mel in Dubai was kind enough to email me that she finished Jingle Sparkle Joy last night. Looks great, thanks so much for showing me! I like the year stitched around the cardinal's tail, cute! Update, Mel has finished her piece into an ornament, I love the jingle bells!

Freebie!

2008-10-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

This is Jingle Sparkle Joy and I hope you like it and would love to see any photo of a completed piece since I only just designed this piece today and haven't stitched it. I thought I'd get it up on the blog though for those who like to get their Christmas stitching done in a timely manner, lol. Enjoy!

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

2008-10-11T09:23:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities

Actually, not me! That's DD. This is such a fun site. You upload a full face photo and it will find celebrities with similar features using face recognition software.

Halloween!

2008-09-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

I just released a new design called Halloween. I wish I could have thought of a more catchy name, oh well! The fabric is 30 ct Witches Brew from R&R Reproductions which makes it 15-5/8w X 3-1/8h inches. There are only 2 overdyes used in this piece and they are from Weeks Dye Works, Whiskey and Okefenokee.
Thanks for looking!

A zipper pull!

2008-08-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to make a zipper pull to match the fabric on my Vera Bradley stitching bag. I think it turned out pretty cute!

Cookbook Project

2008-08-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure what came over me to start this project other than my mother has dementia and it seemed like a nice way to preserve her memories. So I decided to put together a cookbook with about 2 dozen of her favorite recipes. I wanted it to have a vintage 50's feel and scoured the internet for '50's cookbook graphics. I think I was successful with the graphics but it was harder to find proper paper and so I just winged it. I scanned and printed many of her handwritten recipes and reprinted many old photos of her. Each of the books is different, though they have some of the same photos and also different photos in each. I personalized a bit for each recipient.

I've never done any scrapbooking and I was exhausted by the time I finished putting these together this morning. But they are off in the mail tomorrow to my brothers and sister plus I get one too. Sorry, photos were taken rather quickly and not very well. If I'd had more energy left I would have done better!

Nick's Deviant Art

2008-08-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

My son is a digital/graphics art student and complains now and then that no one visits his Deviant Art page. I tell him with millions on that site, not everyone is going to find his. So here is a little plug for others to please go have a look at his artwork. It's unique! http://fezguy.deviantart.com/

My favorite is Crazed Writer Quitril because every doodle on the wall he did by hand.

Macro setting on my camera!

2008-07-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

On my last trip to Phoenix I found this sweet child's sewing basket and look what was inside! Isn't that thimble the tiniest you've ever seen?

And this morning I ran around taking photos of my samplers on the walls because I finally figured out the Macro setting on my camera! It makes close up photos so much easier, even in the dark wall of my staircase. So I went a little overboard but thought it was fun and wasn't sure what to do with the photos so this is always a good spot to put them, lol.

The above photo is a little sneak peek of a sampler I'll be releasing soon...

A couple new designs

2008-07-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

Since I stitch all my own designs I can point out my mistakes. It wasn't until I picked up a batch of framing, (this above "Angel Sampler" included)that I realized I'd not stitched the "o" on the word "oh" in the verse. Oh well, makes it that much more mine. I was very pleased with this pale pink frame that I got on clearance at Marshall's for $3.99. I've had it sitting around about a year and finally, something fit in it!

This one is called "Remembrance". A woman emailed me several months ago and gave me the verse which she had found on an Irish headstone. I hope she'll re-email me as I'd love to send her a copy. In the computer confusion that has been happening with me since June (including a trip to the computer tune-up place) that email has been lost. I just want to say thank you very much as I love the verse and hope it brings comfort to those who read it.

Maggie's Yokohama Adventure

2008-07-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

My 17-year old daughter Maggie just returned from a homestay/high school exchange to Yokohama, Japan. Last year she was in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and she compares Tokyo to New York City and Yokohama to San Francisco. Here she is with her class on her last day there:

And a close up:

A shot of the empty classroom. High school students stay in the same classroom and the teachers will rotate to them vs. the opposite with the American system.

Her good-bye message to her class, don't ask me what it says, I can only read 3 of the words!

With her little "brothers" from her host family:

In Yokohama's Chinatown, which is the largest Chinatown in Japan:

more with classmates:

She was able to buy a summer kimono and attend a festival. Here she is trying to catch goldfish which I guess was not easy to do:

Photo of how her obi is tied so we can hopefully replicate it at home:

Some things are universal:

One of the things she loves about Japan is how they love "cute". She said these pigs are fish paste and very tasty:

Another example of "cute" with an everyday object:

The Yokohama Costco, just as overwhelming in any country:

One difference is there is kanji on the cakes:

Finished! My neighborhood round robin...

2008-06-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

I decided four years was too long to let this piece sit unfinished. I had to do the borders and a few additions to the inside of the piece so I started up a couple weeks ago and finished it this afternoon. I just love this piece and the friendships I made while stitching it. It's next up on my framing list and then I'll repost a photo of it when that is done.

In Memory

2008-06-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

I just came in from the mailbox and was so excited to see one of my designs in the July/August 2008 issue of Just Cross Stitch. This is called "In Memory" and I stitched it for my grandmother who died in 1980. I had wanted to do a sampler for her in 1999, sort of a 100th year tribute to her but never could find a design I wanted to do. I'm so happy with how this turned out. It uses Belle Soie silks from Crescent Colours and I loved stitching with them. I see JCS is offering a kit with the supplies. I hope you like this piece as much as I enjoyed creating it.

2 new designs

2008-06-08T07:05:00.000-07:00

This is "Bloom"

And this is "Patriotic Summer"

A 10 year old UFO finished!

2008-06-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

This is Summer Sampler from Butternut Road. I think I started it in 1998, yikes! Finally finished it last week. I did the version which was 18 count fabric with Watercolours threads. Turns out I didn't enjoy using either the fabric or the threads and that is why it sat unfinished for soooooo long! One change was taking out the backstitch alphabet (mine always look so messy) and inserting a verse instead.

Two New Designs

2008-04-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

This is Immortal Bloom

This is Be Ye Kind

In Memory

2008-04-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

I designed this little case for a retreat but it was different. It was supposed to commemorate a get together at the ocean in California. When my friend died, I re-did it in her memory. It was finished by Deb Hunter and can hold photos or small items.

Virtue

2008-03-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

Needlework samplers were popular in the 19th century and some of the most common verses on samplers had to do with Virtue. Virtues are character traits valued as being "good". The Catholic church taught the seven deadly sins which are: Pride, Greed, Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Envy and Sloth. The corresponding virtues are Humility,Charity,Chastity,Temperance,Kindness and Diligence

A typical sampler verse about virtue:

"Virtue's the chiefest Beauty of the Mind
The noblest ornament of human kind
Virtue's our safeguard and our guiding star
That stirs up Reason when our sense err"

Women in the 19th Century were regarded as very different in character from men. Men were perceived to be dominant, assertive and materialistic. Women were thought to be religious, submissive and domestic.

Another typical sampler verse:

"The rose is a flower that fadeth away but
a virtuous woman will never decay"

19th Century women were expected to be the "Handmaids of the Gospel" and to help direct the course of sinning men. Women were thought to naturally possess traits of goodness, simplicity and piety.

" A good conscience is both the testimony
and reward of a good life.
Virtue is the foundation of honour and esteem
and the source of an order and happiness in nature"

Purity was expected before marriage and women had the role of maintaining her purity against the assault of the dominant and aggressive male. A book entitled "The Young Lady's Friend" (1837) advised women to "Sit not with another in a place that is too narrow; read not out of the same book; let not your eagerness to see anything induce you to place your head close to another person's."

On Virtue
"Would you the bloom of youth should last
Tis virtue that must bind it fast
A pleasing carriage wholly free
From proud reserve or levity
Goodness & sense, an open heart
And looks unskilled in vice or art
These are the charms which ne'er decay
Though youth & beauty fade away"

Stitching verses about virtue were designed to help young girls learn what was important in their society and what was their role and duty in life.

On Virtue:
"Go on dear child and still what e'er you do,
With steadfast steps fair Virtue's path pursue,
In each event her still small voice attend,
And let her be thy first thy dearest friend,
Follow her steps,and she will tread the road,
That leads thro Nature up to Natures God"

"Learn by the Bee from each event to find
Some hint of use or profit to your mind
Nothing so small but you may draw from thence
Improvement for your Virtue or your Sense
Honey like this life's evils will assuage
And yield you sweets in your declining age".

Lovebirds!!

2008-03-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a sweet little pillow from Patty

I can't believe how many people have actually stitched and finished "Lovebird" Here is a gorgeous piece from Katrina in NZ

This beautiful pinkeep was made by Florence

This amazing hornbook is from Yuko
This is from Petra

Thank you everyone who has sent me a photo, I love seeing all the different things that are being done with this freebie.

She Gave Me alphabet

2008-02-24T06:47:00.000-08:00

It has been brought to my attention that JCS did not print the alphabet for She Gave Me, so I am posting it here in case anyone needs it. So sorry for any inconvenience this may cause!

She Gave Me

2008-02-12T10:59:00.001-08:00

I was so excited to see my design yesterday in the April 2008 issue of Just Cross Stitch

Lovebirds!

2008-02-12T10:54:00.001-08:00

From Carla, love the finishing!

From Mercy

Mourning Samplers and Paintings

2008-02-12T10:41:00.001-08:00

2008-02-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

I found this sampler here and it perfectly expresses my feelings. Today is a cloudy, very rainy day in Arizona and it matches my sad mood at finding out about the death of a very dear friend. A friend who will be missed more than she would ever have believed possible. A wonderful mother, wife and stitcher and I'm proud I could call her my friend. She was genteel, kind, a little mischevious but had a very gentle spirit and calm aura. She was a pleasure to be with and I don't have a single bad memory of her. She was so special and was taken too soon but I like to believe that when someone we love dies that there is an angel in heaven looking out for us. I'll close with a poem I recently used in a memorial sampler I designed. I hope all who loved her will be comforted and find peace.

When on my day the evening shadows fall,
I will go down to where a quiet river flows
Into a sea from whence no man returns
And there embark for lands where
Life immortal grows.

Two More Lovebirds...

2008-02-04T08:03:00.000-08:00

This one is from Terri
She changed the colors to Vikki Clayton silks and they look beautiful. Thanks for sharing with me Terri.

This one is from Tanya I love that she already has it framed!

Two more Lovebirds...

2008-02-04T08:01:00.001-08:00

New designs

2008-02-02T05:56:00.000-08:00

I have two new designs, the top photo is 'A Small Sampler' and the bottom is 'Little Cottage', hope you like them!

And more!

2008-02-01T08:03:00.000-08:00

This is from Crossstitchbee

I can't believe the fast needles, this one is from Nicole

Another finish!

2008-01-31T16:14:00.000-08:00

I love it Janet, thanks for sharing!

A finished Lovebird!

2008-01-28T08:49:00.000-08:00

Harmien did a wonderful job changing colors on the Lovebird freebie. I have to say I like them better than what I chose so give her a shout if you are liking the colors as much as I do!

Lovebird Freebie

2008-01-24T07:13:00.000-08:00

- 159 Gray Blue-LT
2 310 Black
* 522 Fern Green
+ 612 Drab Brown-LT
/ 793 Cornflower Blue-MD
dark forward slash 794 Cornflower Blue-LT
heart 3688 Mauve-MD
0 3689 Mauve-LT

The above is DMC floss. I used 32 natural linen (Cafe Mocha) when I stitched this piece but feel free to choose whatever you like.

New Designs

2008-01-24T06:42:00.000-08:00

This is "Fair Kind True". I originally designed this for a challenge with a friend and thought it would be perfect for Valentine's Day.

This is "Our Souls" which I did a couple years ago for my wedding anniversary and decided to finally release. Hope you like them!

A Christmas Exchange

2007-12-16T06:18:00.000-08:00

Something fun

2007-12-15T04:35:00.001-08:00

My son is a digital arts student and a talented illustrator. He has been exploring comic strips. Here is his latest:

Happy Birthday Maggie!

2007-12-03T11:55:00.000-08:00

We love you!

Fear Not

2007-12-01T09:07:00.001-08:00

This is my latest release "Fear Not" and I have to thank Deb Hunter for the wonderful job she does with my finishing.

I also wanted to add that my website has not been updated in quite a while due to problems with the host which I'm trying to get straightened out so please bear with me, thanks!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

2007-12-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

This has been such a busy month, first taking the Merry Cox class "Flowers in the Fall". This is her photo and I will post my piece once I'm finished! I did change a few things which I think is always fun to do to make it my own.

Immediately after that I went and visited my friend Laurel who lives between Reno and Lake Tahoe. I was so impressed with the area and we had a great time without husbands or kids. We ate, talked, rearranged furniture, talked, shopped, talked and talked some more. Very relaxing and revitalizing for me.

For Thanksgiving we did our traditional trip to Mexico along with my husband's mother, sister and her husband and a huge yellow Labrador Retriever. It was windy the whole time but always beautiful. Another very relaxing time. Here are my kids acting goofy on the beach and posing below in the wind.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday!

A Christmas Sampler

2007-11-02T05:19:00.000-07:00

This is my latest release "A Christmas Sampler". It uses 40 count Bittersweet from Lakeside Linens and the threads are all DMC. Hope you like it!

Halloween Exchange

2007-10-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

Worlds Above

2007-10-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

This is my latest release, "Worlds Above". The verse is from an old Quaker sampler and I used vintage Tundra 40 ct from Lakeside Linens to stitch it. We just returned from San Francisco where the weather was delightful and I was able to celebrate my birthday and my daughter was able to visit with one of her friends from Japan. The photo of my son was taken at Golden Gate Park.

A couple finishes

2007-10-08T16:25:00.000-07:00

I've actually finished a few pieces that aren't my own and am getting ready to start a Merry Cox piece for a class in November. The top is from Birds of a Feather and is for my sister. The bottom is from Ewe and Eye and Friends and is call "Christmas Sampler".

2007-10-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

It was a busy September and it's about to get busier so I thought I'd post a few photos before I take off again. The big excitement for me was a trip to Utah with friends. We had a great time in Salt Lake visiting all the sites, the needlework and quilt shops and getting in the mood for fall since the weather cooperated and was beautiful. We spent the first day visiting the Temple, the Tabernacle and Brigham Young's home (bottom photo). I was pleased that the president of the SWANs made time to meet us for lunch and it was great to get to meet her and know her. The next day we made a trip to Ogden and visited Jill Rensel's studio and Shepherd's Bush where I was pleased to see a model of my design "Heaven Above". The witch photo was taken at Gardener Village, a site with restored Utah homes turned into fun little shops. Overall, it was a nice, relaxing getaway with good friends.

A new designer...

2007-09-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

Have a look:

This is Annie's first venture into the world of cross stitch and I love what she has produced with her first 3 designs. Have a look at her webpage, she's very accomplished with stitchery and dolls also. http://www.anniebeezfolkart.com/intro.html

Thanks...

2007-09-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who comments in my blog. I usually try to answer everyone but I have failed miserably at that this summer and I wanted everyone to know I do appreciate all you have to say and love looking at your blogs also.

Just Cross Stitch ornament issue

2007-09-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite times of the year is when the new Just Cross Stitch ornament issue arrives. And I am especially excited this year as I am in it for the first time! I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Birds and Butterflies...

2007-08-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

This morning in the pool, a yellow butterfly came and landed on a bush near the water. I smiled. His wings were the happy color of a child’s crayon and he was very familiar to me. Last summer when I was having a difficult time with my dad’s death, these same yellow butterflies surrounded me wherever I went. Thousands of yellow butterflies. Driving in the car, they’d follow alongside. They’d greet me whenever I went outside. I felt protected, as though little angels were hovering near me.

Around that same time, someone sent me a code I could put into the url of my web page. My web page features a drawing of a girl stitching (me?) My web page also features butterfly graphics you can click on to get to another page. When adding the code to the page, the butterflies flew around the stitching girl. It almost made me want to cry. Was Dad saying hello? Saying I’d be fine?

So this morning in the pool, when I saw the familiar yellow butterfly, I said “hi”. And he circled around the fence and came back and sat on the bush. I said “hi” again. He circled and came back to land on the bush. Again I said “hi” and off he went over the fence and a different, smaller butterfly took his place, looked at me and flew away.

Ten minutes later a dove came and sat on a rock by the pool. I said, “I saw the butterflies, thank you”. Then another dove came to sit on the fence and the first dove started inching his way towards the second smaller dove. Mom? Dad? Strangely, I didn’t feel silly telling the second dove to take the other dove’s wing and fly away. I told her it would be OK, just take his wing… I looked away because the yellow butterfly came into view again. When I looked back, the doves were gone. I smiled at the yellow butterfly and said “thank you” and went inside.

Peaceful Paradise

2007-08-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

This is my latest release that I've named "Peaceful Paradise". It's stitched on 40 ct Vintage Examplar from Lakeside Linens. The stitch count is 343 wide x 296 height.
Here is the list of colors:
DMC
676
758

Weeks Dye Works

Whiskey

Gentle Arts Sampler Threads

Hyacinth

Gentle Arts Shaker Threads

Fragrant Cloves, Old Blue Paint, Raven, Dungarees

Crescent Colours

Desert Mesquite, Black Coffee, Cherry Tomato, Eve's Leaves, Khaki Mocha, Blooming Crocus, Wild Berries and Old Oak Tree

Summer Exchange Projects

2007-08-17T17:09:00.001-07:00

We just finished a summer exchange and I think all the projects were great!

A small animation from my son...

2007-08-16T19:59:00.000-07:00