Hi Friends,

I seem to be having one of those days--or weeks. "Mom--I left my band tuxedo home and we have a competition in 30 minutes." "Can you just run me home to change?" "I have a math assignment that doesn't make any sense and I forgot my book." "I have a tennis meet after school, can you change my saxophone lesson?" "I have to make 2 posters and type a resume by tomorrow." "Mow the lawn? What lawn?" "Could you pick me up at Ben Lomond so I don't have to take the bus home?" "What's for dinner? I'm starved!" I guess that's why I am late writing my blog this week. I only hope I can get it done before my phone rings with my next command performance. Who ever said that cell phones made life easier? Sometimes I feel like a marionette.

OK, I have to make this sort of fast. Everyone is yakking all around me, and Kari needs to do the shipping at this computer shortly. I do have to tell you about the most darling items we have just unpacked. A sweet woman who was here on vacation offered to make us some things she uses with her Q-snaps. So Teri--who of course was very excited--sent her off some of our favorite fabrics to use with her own fun fabrics. Well, we just unpacked them and they are fabulous. They fit over your Q-Snaps to totally protect your stitching and hold the excess fabric out of your way when you stitch. I think Teri is adding some pictures and her own inimitable commentary at the end of this blog so that you can see what I mean. They really are ingenious and for only $12.00--at least for now. We have a huge variety of patterns and they come in 6", 8" and 11." If you want to order one, just call us and we will describe what fabrics we have available or just tell us whether you want bright, soft, cute, floral, etc. I think it is so much fun to run into brilliant women with such good ideas. Everyone who stitches with Q-snaps loves them, but worries about cleanliness and battling with excess fabric. Here is the solution. Teri has been dancing around the shop and has demonstrated them to me at least 5 times--hence my struggle with writing this blog. These little items are called Snap-Wraps, so scroll down and take a look.

Hopefully, I will write earlier next week. In the meantime, put on some opera, chill out, and enjoy your stitching. I will imagine that I am doing the same.

fondly, Tina

Here are the new "Snap Wraps" They are sooo great!!! They just fit around your Q-snap frames and hold everything in.

This is such a great idea!!!, If you have a project that has tons of extra fabric, like the Red Thread Snapperland, (It is 46" long) you can roll the fabric inside the Snap Wrap see below.

We have rolled the extra fabric up and tucked it inside the "Snap Wrap" to keep it under control. You can also slip in a small pair of scissors and a couple of skeins of floss if you are on the go. If you tuck in scissors, please make sure they are in a sheath.

"Snap Wraps" come in fun fabrics. They come in small- to fit the 6 x 6 Q-Snap, Med to fit the 8 x 8 Q-Snap, and Large to fit the 11 x 11 Q-snap. Call us to find out what is available, or let us pick our favorite. All sizes- small medium, and large run $12.00 each.

Hi friends,

I bought a new car yesterday. Well, actually we bought it a couple of weeks ago, but picked it up yesterday. You know how exciting that can be--as well as nerve wracking. Now, there are certain streets I just can't drive on, I must avoid Jake's Shakes, and I am taking great risk maneuvering through the Ogden High parking lots. Yikes!! I have come to realize that to every good thing, there is also the hesitation--the first scratch, the first spill. I know it is inevitable and sometimes even memorable. The last time we bought a new family car was almost 12 years ago--Peter was 8 and Christian was 3. I remember that before we drove our car home, Peter and I had our picture taken by it, and the dealership made a calendar for us. We had the picture up for years. I remember how much fun we had in that old Outback--trips to Bear Lake loaded to the roof with bikes on top, as well as Lindbergh looking out the windows barking at cows. Pre-school field trips with 3 car seats strapped across the back seat. A crock pot filled with hot fudge that mysteriously tipped over on the back seat while 2 boys were holding onto it. Cub Scout camp outs when I wanted to abandon tent, crawl into the car and turn the heater on. I remember teaching Peter to drive in this car--stick shift and all--and traveling for hours along the least used roads we could find listening to a special tape he made filled with music we could both agree on. As Christian says--"Good times." So as we drove home last night--Bob elatedly played with every button and programmed radio stations on our 3 free months of X-radio. And I looked out the window and thought about the Subaru with tears running down my cheeks. Today, I am mostly over it. I just gave myself a reality check by remembering that I can still visit it often--now filled with college text books, bags of dirty clothes, guitars, and amps. OK--maybe I'm not missing it quite so much.

The reason it took me so long to get the car was the fact that we have been working almost non-stop on the retreat. As most of you know, we put up the brochure last Thursday, and the fax and phone have been going ever since. It is always so much fun to hear from friends who are returning, and we always look forward to meeting those who are coming for the very first time. At this point, it is pretty much filled up. We are now taking a waiting list, so if you are wanting to come, do sign up right away and we will hope to work you in. We are planning so much fun.

In addition to the retreat brochure and sign ups, we have also finished 2 darling new pieces for mothers. We have a sweet 10-count kit called Dear Mother as well as a smaller count linen kit called My Mom's Garden. I think there will be pictures at the end of this blog, so be sure to take a look. Both pieces were a lot of fun to do. The larger count kit will work up very quickly and be a perfect gift for the mother in your life. My linen kit--My Mom's Garden--is worked with gentle colours of silks with a few Quaker motifs and places and instructions for personalizing it for your family. I stitched it for my own family. It has my own mother's initials as well as the initials of each of my siblings. I just love it and need to do another one to hang in my bedroom. You know, it is part of that whole nostalgia thing.

Dear Mother

My Mom's Garden

We have had wonderful new designs arriving at the shop in the past few weeks. On Saturday, Teri and I spent a long time picking new fabrics and threads and getting them ready for stitching. I am excited to see them.

Well that's the news from Shepherd's Bush. I hope your spring is warming up and you are getting a chance to go out in the sunshine. In Utah, we can't seem to decide whether it is spring or winter, but that's OK. I know it will be 100 degrees before we blink. Have a safe week.

fondly, Tina

June Baubles--Darling, as always!!!!

I have been hanging up some wooden flowers around the door garland. They look so springy!!

Hi friends,

Just this very week, Teri has won 5 awards--from me--for her mechanical genius. First, she fixed the barbecue grill, then she fixed my I-Pod and the computer, and I can't remember what the other 2 things were, but they must have been great because I gave her an award for them. Me, on the other hand, not so good. All morning so far, Teri has followed me around fixing the messes I have made. Then Christian left his saxophone music home on the table where he was practicing, and I needed to get it to him. I left a message on his phone, but I didn't think he would listen to it in time. I decided to text him since I knew he would check his texts at lunch. So I tried to send a message. It began with wwww...which happened on my way to find a y. I tried to get rid of this and couldn't, so I continued on rather successfully with mussic at home and that's where it all fell apart. I tried to skip a space and ended up with a new word for home didn't look very nice at all, and in trying to correct that, I ended up with cajkkk***?? I finally sent it and thought I would explain later. Pretty soon I got a message back which I was more successful at opening. He was very happy, told me he would meet me at the door and never mentioned the message he had received. When I asked him about it, he wasn't rude, just said--Oh, I knew it was you. I thought the last word meant we were having cake for dinner. I have to come up to the 21st century, but I'm not sure texting will be my thing.

This has been a busy week here at the Bush. We are trying to get the brochure for the upcoming retreat posted on the website by Thursday, so we have spent the better part of 2 weeks working on it. Teri has been engrossed in a wonderful project for the retreat itself and has been working at it quite steadily--and sort of ignoring the brochure. I have been ignoring it as well, but finally put pencil to paper to get it ready. Now I have to get Bob to sit down and help us with some of the graphics, AND I asked Teri if we could file for an extension. (On the brochure that is.) She looked so hopeful and relieved at the suggestion, but everyone at work says--NO. So, I guess Thursday it is.

If you go onto the website, you will see that we have updated the tour and added more current pictures. Teri noticed that we still had a lot of Halloween pics on the tour, so she has been flying about taking new pictures. OK, here are 2 darling new things we have in the shop. One is--Love Me--by Hands to Work. It is very fun and unusual and Teri has used such great colours on it. There is a place for 2 names and would make such a sweet wedding or anniversary present--even for yourself. I am hoping she will put the picture on at the end of this. Then the new June Baubles is all finished and is being made into a pillow. Its theme is strawberries, and Teri has picked the perfect backing fabric for it to be made into a pillow. I think she changed the colours a little as well. Anyway, watch for a picture of it, because it is fantastic.

I am supposed to go out and look at the bird nest which has been built in the garland above the door. I hope there are eggs. How fun. Keep your fingers crossed for Thursday. Have a great week.

fondly, Tina

Love Me, by Hands to Work, is a new addition to our wedding samplers.

Here is a photo of our bird's nest. I was redecorating the front door garland for spring today, and found this darling nest. . . . The birds have brought twigs from the back yard, and all sorts of great nest stuff. If you come to visit, look up before you come through the door.

Sophie and Brett came to visit on Saturday with their parents. As you can see the excitement of visiting his "favorite" place has worn him out!!

Dear Friends,

I am actually starting this blog on Monday for a change. I am sure that in the end it will be Tuesday or Wednesday before it makes its way out of my computer, but you will know that my intentions were good. Here is my problem with Mondays. We have been separated from each other for 2 whole days and everyone is busy catching up from the weekend. You have to remember that many of us see each other at work more often than we see our own siblings, so we have just become our own family. And after 2 whole days apart, there is lots to talk about.

Here is a typical Monday:
Chyrl only comes to us on Mondays--except today since she is home sick--so everyone has to visit with her for a bit and catch up on life. Teri works with Chyrl out in the shop, and they always have a million things to share: what happened at church, newest quilting project, and family. Mondays always go quickly for them helping customers, taking inventory, and ordering for the week.

Lynnette is always in between the front and the back on Mondays--often helping the front girls with their first-of-the-week projects or cleaning up whatever mess I have left on her desk from Saturday. I truly have the best of intentions to keep it as pristine as I found it, but sometimes the weekend lures me off too soon. I think that sometimes the front is an escape for her from the eternal stack of fabrics to be cut and kits to be assembled. But then, everyone knows that the back is the most fun--which is why they accuse us of not working.

Sue is always busy with the phone on Mondays which is both a challenge and a joy. I always leave her a table full of orders from Saturday, so finding a small, clear spot to even write out a message is difficult. Her Mary is the same age as Christian and they go to the same school, so we always have something to chew over about high school life.

Kari comes late from Jill these days, so she is busy getting caught up on all of the things she does. I always know when Kari arrives because she turns on our music in the back and it seems so nice.

Poor Nancy, Leslie and Lonni do not have the pleasures of working on Mondays, so catch up for them happens later in the week. We only wish they worked every day with us.

And that just leaves me. I try to get the blog written, which you know may or may not happen. But just remember if you don't read this until Tuesday or Wednesday, too much is going on on Monday to get it finished.

This week, we have fun, new things here at the shop. Diane, who has been making the Thread Spinners, brought some new ones in on Saturday. All of these come on either big or little hearts and they are so darling! There is a beautiful cross, a sweet angel, a fantastic moon and stars, sweet little pets, and a cute bird. I think Teri and Kristin are putting photos underneath here so you can see them. Truly so pretty. Teri and I worked on the new June Baubles on Saturday. This one is strawberries which look so luscious that we had to go to Costco and buy some--real ones-- for dinner. Judy came right down to pick it up to stitch for us, but we don't have it back yet so watch the web site for the photo later--maybe next week. Of course Teri picked out very cool colours and as soon as we have it back she will pick out the perfect buttons and backing fabric for it. If you want to be on an auto for these darling projects, just let us know and we will send them off to you. Oh, which reminds me that the new Loose Feathers is here. It is very fun and should work up quite quickly. I can't wait to get started. I wish I had the last one completed.

New Thread spinners: Cross small only, $14.25, Moon Large only $14.75

More fun thread spinners. Pets -top left, come in large and small hearts; bird- top right comes in both large and small hearts; butterfly comes only on the small heart; and the angel comes on both the large and the small heart. Large hearts run $14.75 and the small ones run $14.25.

OK here is my other problem with Mondays--we are out of change so I have to go to the bank and then the plant man will come in for a check, and I'm pretty sure the window washer will show up as well. I guess I am just going to move on and leave you all until next week. I am also supposed to be working on the Retreat Brochure, but it is coming along about as quickly as this blog, so please don't hold your breath.

Have a wonderful week with perhaps a hint of spring. Until next week, fondly, Tina

PS--still snowing!

Here is a close up of a fabulous piece, "Curly Q' Ewe" by Cottage Needlework . Amy stitched it over 1 thread on 28 count fabric it is amazing!!! we added treasures and it is wonderful!!

"Sam's Socks" is the latest one we have stitched from Raise the roof. We have stitched it on a great blueish fabric and added different buttons.

This sweet display shows a few family and Mother's Day projects.

I have started bringing out bee things for spring and summer...I love bees things!!!