Winter, 2016
In the bleak Midwinter.....
This is one of my favorite Christmas carols, but oddly it always weaves its way through my mind more in January than in December. Perhaps because this month is definitely bleak out here in Utah. Skiers might not agree, but I look out my windows and all I see is snow on snow on snow. Oh, sorry, sometimes I also see ice on ice on ice. This has been a wintry winter for us--life in a snow globe. I know, we need the water so it is all good, but it is also just a bit bleak. Our garden is quite miserable right now. Some of the herbs persevered valiantly until about Christmas, but now they have just given up to the unremitting cold. Oh well, Spring will come...
Our great bright spot of the season is Sundance. It is always fun to anticipate, read up on the movies and then line up for our seats. We saw some fabulous movies this year, each one very different from the other, but so interesting. That is the thing about Indy films--whether we liked them or not-- they give us something to talk, argue, and rant about for days and days.
One of my favorite movies we saw at Sundance last year and it has finally come to the theaters here---Brooklyn. If you are looking for a great film--just go and see it. Quiet wonderful.
Of course each evening involves getting to the theater early and waiting in line for an hour and then in our seats for another 40 minutes. I can be perfectly happy--in a cold and exhausting sort of way--to just stand there and veg out. But Teri is only content if she has gotten to know each of the 10 strangers on either side of us...where they come from, what they had for dinner, what movies they have attended...Wow, how would that be to have that outgoing, friendly nature. Nah....maybe not. Plus...she has to be busy every second. There is no chill-out for her. She brought baskets of her hand-dyed ribbons with her and wound them for hours. I think that her new friends on either side of us were a bit surprised to watch her. She is very fast and never takes a pause. To be fair she did get a lot of them done for the Nashville market especially when she enlisted the kind, unsuspecting woman next to her to help her out. (And I don't mean me.)
Well, it has been a while since I wrote and I am not sure where the days--over 30 of them, actually--have gone since New Year's. We have been busy at the shop stitching and getting ready for the upcoming market next month and meeting lots of wonderful travelers visiting the shop who are here for Sundance and skiing our super snow. My Christian is working this winter for a ski rental/delivery business in Park City, so if you are planning a ski vacation up there and need to rent skis, I know a darling young man who will bring them right to your hotel and get you fitted and set up.
Shepherd's Retreat 2016
October 13-15
Here we go again..the retreat is well on its way. Teri and I have been working hard in the planning stage of our next retreat and may I just say it is going to be fantastic!!! The dates above are the actual dates of the retreat in Park City, but remember that we will also have an open house at Shepherd's Bush in Ogden on October 11 and 12th. We have a wonderful group of teachers who will be coming, and we have lots of fun plans for our time together. We will post the brochure--which will give you all the needful information--mid-to end of March, and by the end of this month, we will let you know the exact day and time. Just be ready to get the registration form filled out and faxed back in. You could always scan it and email it back to us as well. Such fun. I almost can't wait.
2016 Fob and Engraved scissors
Fob Kit: $16.00
Engraved Scissors $46.00
Here are the new Gingher Scissors and 2016 Fob for this year. I love these scissors. Of course the fact that they are purple does help. They are sweet and simple and a beautiful color. The fob which is shown here as 2 pieces, is actually showing the front and back of the design. It is stitched on a beautiful Lakeside Linen fabric with over dyed threads and Lady Dot's lovely hand dyed ric rac. Unfortunately the scissors are very limited, as Gingher doesn't make many of them. So...don't wait too long if you are a collector or just an admirer.
Love is In The Air: by Shepherd's Bush
Kit $12.00
Red Box $30.00
I know Valentine's Day is right around the corner, but this sweet little piece is so much more than a Valentine. It works great in the little red box by Doodlin' Around or in a darling frame by Jill. I think it would also make a nice little pincushion for the one you love.
St. Patrick's Day Trifles: by Shepherd's Bush
Leaflet $8.00
Complete available
Teri loves St Patrick's Day, but what is there not to like--cool accent, leprechauns, and pots of gold. She always whips up a great batch of Irish soda bread, and she has been nursing her shamrock plant for a whole year--just for this photo. It is the sweetest little plant, the leaves close up each afternoon and when we arrive each morning, they are all open waiting to greet us. She keeps it out on the table in the front hall... I think she talks to it too. Have fun stitching this sweet group of pincushions. They will be the perfect way to greet March.
Supplies in the complete kit include the pattern, 3 lovely pieces of linen, 2 backing fabrics, 3 hand dyed ribbons, beads, hand dyed cotton threads, and a great set of buttons from Just Another Buttons Company. Definitely time to get started.
Ribbons ready to be packaged for St. Patrick's Day Trifles. How fun!
Snow Display
When Teri was rearranging the shop after Christmas, Lynnette suggested she leave our branch tree and decorate it for winter. So they scurried around and gathered up darling winter ornaments, and doesn't it looks great? Will there be a Spring tree????
Valentine display
It always seems that on Christmas Eve someone comes in shopping for Valentine's Day. So this year Teri was ready for it. She started putting her heart collection together and has built on it ever since.
We have so many fun heart pieces, perfect for Valentine stitching. I know the time is short, but these pieces are always perfect.
A fun wall display
Because January is sort of a letdown after all the great end of year holidays, we chose to make a wall with some of your simply favorite pieces. Anyone looking for a lovely winer project would find it hard to choose among these splendid pictures.
Top left: The Token, top right: Little Sheep Virtues,
bottom left: Vintage Stars, center: Quaker Au Clefs, right: Scarlett's Summer Sampler.
Love Mini Quaker: by From the Heart
Pattern $8.00
This is a darling little piece is designed by Wendy at From the Heart. We have tweaked the colors for spring, and I think it is so sweet. It could be a wedding sampler...
Blessings Be Thine: by With Thy Needle
Pattern $12.00
I just love this new design from Brenda Gervais. It is so sweet and the colors are beautifully soft and muted. Reeta has already stitched it, so I will try to add a photo if she brings it in tomorrow. Honestly it took her almost no time at all. The colors are very soft and muted. Lynnette is stitching hers in pinks and purples, so it will be fun to see them both.
Garden Club: by Blackbird Designs
Each pattern $9.00
This is such a gorgeous new series from Alma and Barb. We have had a great time waiting for each new installment to arrive. There will be 12 different garden themed samplers, and they will all be stitched together into a big sampler. This is a picture of the first 3 leaflets--the top row of the sampler. Nancy is stitching our samples, and she has loved stitching them. If you would like to join our Garden Club, just give us a call. We offer 32 and 36 count fabric, you can get the threads and fabrics--or whichever parts you would like. Teri keeps track of the threads, so you don't get duplicates. There is no timeframe for the other parts of this sampler--they will arrive when they arrive. We have an automatic with Blackbird, so we will send them to you as soon s we received them
Here is part 4 of the Garden Club. It will be stitched below part 1. I just love this one and I kind of want to stitch it into a little pin cushion. hmmm...good idea.
Snow Story: by Lizzie Kate
Each pattern: $5.50
complete kit $47.25
This fun little snow design has been such a lot of fun. It comes in 3 parts and stitches up quite quickly. We stitched ours on a wonderful 32 count hand dyed linen by Picture This Plus and added a few darling buttons. I think it would be very fun stitched on a bigger 10 count fabric as well.
Snapshots: by Pine Mountain
Patterns $ 9.00
This is a great new series from Pine Mountain. There are 12 of them--one for each month. Here are two of them stitched by a darling customer.
Heaven and Nature: by Kathy Barrick
Pattern $ 14.00
This was such a favorite new piece in the shop this Christmas. Isn't it just gorgeous? We have such fun watching Reeta stitch this sampler and are very proud of her when she finished it this past week. It really is just lovely. There is a companion piece coming and she can't wait.
French Advent Calendar
pattern $ 15.00 (Includes white buttons)
wooden buttons $ 11.20
When Teri and I were in Paris last year, we found some fun wooden buttons at a little needlework shop and were anxious to track them down for our shop. Then a distributor here started to import them and we are thrilled. You won't believe how darling they are. Our friend Nathalie from Jardin Prive has designed a wonderful Advent Calendar for the set that you see above. It is just fantastic and not super expensive.
French Wooden buttons
$4.40- $5.40
Here is a little assortment of some of these buttons. Not all of them come with patterns, but any of them would be delightful worked into one of your pieces. I know that Teri is busy working on a darling new design for some of them. I don't know if she will have them ready for Nashville, but just keep your eyes out.
More fun buttons and frames. These pieces come with little patterns...so cool
Ribbon Popsicles
We usually take hand dyed ribbon with us to Nashville, but our weather this year has been so foul that we have not had even one day warm enough to go outside to get this done. So...we had to do it in a snowstorm and single digit cold. I helped Teri hang and harvest them with my wool coat and mittens--but Teri was tougher and removed the frozen strands with bare hands. She did say that the colors of the cold were the prettiest ever. They truly are quite lovely.
So..this turned out to be rather long. Sorry about that, but there was simply lots to tell you. Next time we will have more info on the Retreat as well as some possible sneak peaks for Nashville. Remember, if you see something out there that you would like us to bring back for you, just give us a call and we will be happy to do that. In the meantime, stay warm and dry and just keep on stitching.
ever fondly, Tina
