Bush Blog

January

2012-01-16T08:59:00.012-07:00

Well, Happy New Year! I know, a little late, but what else is new? Really we are only a bit over 2 weeks into this new year, and I say let's make it the best one ever. I am definitely not one for New Year's resolutions because the minute I make one, I am simply compelled to break it and get it over with. So...I don't make them any more. But I have decided to try to be a little nicer, a little more cheerful--with Teri as my example--and a little more patient during 2012. I'll just have to let you know how that is coming.

I don't know about where you are, but Utah doesn't seem to be having much of a winter this year. We've had but a skiff of snow which has actually stuck around because it has been so cold, but weather like this always makes us worry that we will either have no water next summer or we will be suddenly buried in snow. Luckily, we don't get to choose. We just get to wait and see. Last night I went to bed at midnight and decided to read for a while. I know it was a murder mystery, so at first I chose to ignore the sound just outside my bedroom window. Finally, I put my book down and just waited quietly for the sound to return. I thought it might be a squirrel on the window sill, but that seemed unlikely during the night. Maybe an errant limb scratching plaintively at the glass. Then I heard it again, and it took me a bit to realize that it was the soft sound of footsteps on the ice-crusted snow. OK, that freaked me just a little, and I thought about waking Bob up, but then I decided to just investigate myself. Perhaps it was our neighbor looking for his dog or some other natural explanation. So I flipped off my lamp, climbed out of bed and opened my shutters. My eyes took a moment adjusting to the dark, and when I blinked I found myself face to face with a huge deer. He did not seem as surprised to see me as I did to see him and continued calmly to nibble on the bushes next to the house keeping an eye on a young deer nearby. No wonder my little beagle barks during the night.

How quickly December--and Christmas--went by. The shop was busy and my boys were home, and then all of a sudden it was January. I know that this is a great time to finish up on all of the projects you didn't get finished for Christmas, but just in case you are looking for something new to usher in the new year--we've got some great ideas:

2012 Scissors and Fob

Here are the new Tessa scissors by Gingher, and I think they are quite adorable. Bright and cheerful and filled with fun flowers, they just reminded me of a brilliant garden. I chose to design the fob to match and wanted to call it Peace Garden, because that is what I am hoping for in 2012--Peace, that is. And a garden would be nice, too. The fob runs $14.00 and comes with everything to complete it (except the batting.) The limited edition scissors run $45.00 and come with the date and Peace engraved on the blades. If you are like me, you have a thousand scissors, but I can never resist the designer Ginghers each year, and truly love my collection of them.

Sorry--these two items are not available to shops for wholesale

Black Snowman

kit: $30.00

This is the newest addition to our multi-colored snowmen kits. I have wanted to do one on black fabric all this year and have been thinking about it a lot. This one is worked on Gunmetal 30 count linen with a variety of wooly-hued silks. Just like the rest of us who like to do a bit of house cleaning in January, this little guy has washed his socks and stripes and is airing them out to dry. ( And don't you just love the mat and frame Jill put on this!)

Poor Robin's Pin Cushion

kit--$20.00

This adorable little pin cushion is stitched on 32 count natural linen with a variety of soft and subtle silks and over dyed cotton threads. The little snow girl is crowned and surrounded by sweet winter blooms and is bordered by an old english nursery rhyme The kit includes the hand-made button nose as well as hand dyed chenille trim. Whether you need it or not, you can bring a tiny bit of winter into your sewing room. Enjoy!

All My Love

kit--$14.00

This sweet kit will be the perfect thing to stitch for Valentine's Day or any other occasion. It is worked on 10 count Tula with luscious shades of over dyed cotton floss and includes a lovely little clay flower button in the perfect color. This will work up quickly and will definitely bring a smile to someone's face. And...another great frame from Jill!

And finally, you have to see these new pin cushions that we just unpacked from the Button Company. Honestly, these were so darling and easy to do that Teri had them finished before we were done pricing them. They are around $17.00 for each kit and it comes with everything that you need to complete the project from beginning to end. It even comes with the darling pins to place on your finished critter. OK--you've got to love these. And don't you think Teri is very clever in her photographing backdrops. You never know--maybe she will start making little movies next. She could become the up and coming star of the Sundance film festival. And we knew her when...

Penguin Pin Cushion

kit--$17.00 (I think)

Sheep Pin Cushion

kit--same price as penguin

sorry--spectacular back drops are extra

Well, it is late, and I have to go to bed--and read--and chase after mysterious noises. It is actually blowing and horrid outside so bed is sounding quite cozy right now. Maybe not the murder mystery tonight. Next week we will have some fun new Valentine's things to show you from the shop--where Teri has been extremely busy putting away Christmas and putting up hearts and a sneak peak at spring. Truly, we do wish for you a wonderful 2012 filled with peace, and gardens, and joy, and lots of stitches. Be safe in the storms and I will write next week.

fondly, Tina

2011-12-21T22:34:00.009-07:00

We wish you a very Happy Holiday

New Year’s Eve Party & Sale

Saturday December 31st.

11:00 AM- 3:00 PM

Come ring out 2011 and

welcome in 2012 with us....

yummy treats!

2012 engraved scissors and 2012 fob!

& a SALE in the front hall!!!!

Cheers

christmas party

2011-11-27T16:39:00.008-07:00

Happy Advent from Shepherd's Bush!

Here we are all decked out for the festive season. Our tree is pretty great I have to say, and when you come in the shop, it just smells wonderful.

Well, I promised to post our new things so here we go. You will see that we have been busy, and I hope you like what we have come up with. We had a blast doing them, so I hope you will have fun as well. Happy perusing....

Christmas Wishes

kit--$20.00

This darling kit is worked on 28 count Desert Sand linen with DMC and WDW over dyed floss. It is quick to stitch and is finished with little holly berry buttons. And...each kit comes packaged in a truly adorable little canvas stocking ornament complete with jingle bells. (Don't you just love Jill's fabulous mat?)

Hear Bells

kit--$16.00

This is our newest little box kit. It is stitched on 32 count dusty blue linen and is worked with a variety of silk and cotton over dyed threads. It is very easy to finish in the little box and would certainly make a great gift for anyone.

Good Cheer Pin Cushion

kit--$20.00

This sweet pin cushion is worked on 32 count vintage dyed linen. The kit includes lovely silk threads as well as WDW over dyed floss, a beautiful hand dyed silk ribbon and ruby beads. It was such a fun piece to stitch, that I would sort of like to do it again.

Christmas Joys

leaflet--$6.00

Teri's newest 9-pane pillow is super sweet. It depicts the iconic picture of Christmas Eve with a cozy mantel and cheerful stockings hanging in readiness. It uses a variety of over dyed cotton floss and features a wonderful stocking button hand crafted by Cecile from the Button Company. I promise that you will love it.

Stocking Button

$6.00

Merry Wishes

kit--$14.00

This newest 10 count kit celebrates not only the merry season, but also the long-awaited return of sand Tula. Yippee!!! Each kit comes with beautiful 10- count Tula fabric, DMC and over dyed threads, and a cheerful heart and star button. A perfect fast project.

Behold Sheep

kit--$20.00

Our newest sheep with hats kit shows a sweet sheep looking down on the tiny city of Bethlehem. This kit includes 32 count Willow Green linen, silk threads, and a very fun halo button made by our friend Diane. I hope you love it.

Here are a group of new pillows from Prairie Schooler. The one in the back is the 2011 Santa (closeup shown below.) Teri has had it stitched on 7 count Klostern using #3 WDW Perle Cotton and added an amazing assortment of buttons. It is fabulous!

The 3 pillows in the front are from Christmas Favorites, and the pillow stitched in black is from Santa's Night. We have tweaked the colors to make them all go together, and we have sets of the backing fabrics tied up with ribbons so that yours can look just like ours.

2011 Santa

One last thing is this splendid assortment of Christmas scissors. We have loved the larger scissors for the past few years and were totally delighted to see the little ones added for this year. They are all great cutters and the little ones will be perfect to add to your Christmas project or to tuck into stockings or gifts.

Big scissors--$5.00

Little scissors--$3.00

Happy shopping and give us a call if you want us to wrap up a care package for you. fondly, Tina

PS. The casserole was NOT burned, it was very delicious....Tina was exaggerating- Happy cooking- Teri

Shepherd's Bush Christmas Open House

2011-11-26T13:16:00.001-07:00

2011 Christmas Open House

2011-11-26T13:15:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas from all of us!

November 2011

2011-11-02T16:00:00.008-06:00

Almost Thanksgiving, 2011

Dear Friends,

I know, I have been sort of gapped out even though I promised to keep up better with my correspondence. Teri is almost hysterical that I haven't written to you yet, because she has taken lots of pictures and has a hundred things to tell you about. Most of all I am reminding you about our Christmas Open House coming up quickly on Saturday, November 26th. We will be open from 11:00-4:00 and we have a million fun and festive things planned for you. First of all, we have been super busy designing new things. Mostly, I think I don't have a life, so all I have done for this past month is stitch. So just be prepared for a bunch of darling new little kits and a sweet new booklet which will be ready for that day. I am quite excited. Plus...Teri has been decorating the shop like a mad woman, and it looks quite stellar. All we have left is the tree, and that means a hunt and search on Friday hoping for a tree stand to be open. We have all kinds of treasures planned for that day and of course lots of yummy and delicious treats. So please come join us on Saturday and share a cup of creamy egg nog, and greet the Christmas season.

It has been a busy Fall here at Shepherd's Bush. Certainly a highlight was our trip to the R & R Retreat in Virginia Beach the end of October. We had such a great time and loved spending time with dear friends and meeting new ones. And really how can you have enough of walking on the beach?

Here we are out for a stroll before the weather turned on us. Jeannette Douglas and Theresa of Shakespeare's Peddler, Teri and I walked all along the beach. What fun we had. It just went by too quickly.

Here's baby Oliver. Kari, who works here at the shop with us, had her baby in October, and he is such a darling. Here he is on his first visit to the shop and he found us so exhaustibly boring that he had to fall asleep. We are missing Kari and looking forward to her returning to us for a while on Saturdays.

OK here is a preview of some of our fun new things we have up at the shop. I am writing on Teri's computer while she is cooking for Thanksgiving. But mostly I am listening to her burning things, and when I try to help, she reminds me that I am writing the blog. (Honestly, there is some serious burning going on right now that has to do with a mushroom/artichoke casserole )

Isn't this new picture from Lizzie Kate just darling? I love the colors that Teri chose for it, and I love the frame that Jill put on it. Thanks to Mindi for stitching it so quickly so we could have it ready for the party on Saturday.

I think that this piece by Mosey 'n Me is quite fantastic. It is stitched on beautiful hand-dyed linen with rich and festive over dyed floss, so if you are looking for something unique to do for this advent season, perhaps this is the one.

OK, there is something definitely burned. She says it is the roux, but she is sure she can fix it with chicken stock. hmmm...

Nancy stitched this piece--Christmas Welcome-- last month, and we thought it was going to be quite small, but not so much. However, it is very pretty and really so festive for the season. And don't you just love that frame?

Now there seems to be burning and lumping going on and she has turned to lemons. Should I be worried?

Santa's Night (I am not certain of the name and I really can't ask her as she is waging a kitchen war at the moment) by Prairie Schooler turned out fantastic. It goes perfectly with our 2011 Santa pillow and is quite beautiful done on black Tula. This would definitely be easy to have finished for the holiday, and so much fun to work on during the coming month.

Here is the pin cushion that is part of the new La D Da mystery sampler. Everyone who is working on it has been thrilled. Nancy--who is rivaling me in stitching productivity this month--has already finished the first part and really it is wonderful. I think Teri is posting a picture of it, so watch for it to magically appear. We have it hanging behind the counter and it is very special.

Can't wait for her to keep going with the next installment when it arrives. It will be very fun to see how the design progresses.

Well, I guess I will go ahead and send this now. Watch for another letter on the weekend and I will put up all of our new Christmas designs. In the meantime have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. This seems to be a bit of a forgotten holiday, but I think it is sort of the quiet before the storm of December. So sit back and enjoy a moment between the cooking and the shopping, and may be take a stitch or two. Hope to see you on Saturday. fondly, Tina

ps--The casserole seems to have turned out a triumph--her best one ever. That is the thing about Teri, even burned food can't get her down. Happy Turkey Day!

Teri's Mushroom Artichoke Casserole

3 cups fresh button mushrooms--sliced

1/2 cup green onions--sliced ( use both bottoms and tops)

4 T butter

2 T flour

1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup chicken stock

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 ten ounce package of frozen artichoke hearts--cooked, drained, and coarsely chopped

( You can use a jar of marinated hearts if you drain and rinse them.)

3/4 cup soft bread crumbs ( 1-2 slices of fresh bread crumbs browned in a few tablespoons of butter.)

Instructions:

Cook mushrooms and onions in 4 T butter. Remove vegetables, add to artichoke hearts and set aside. In the pan drippings, blend flour, 1/8 t salt, and a dash of pepper. Add chicken stock, milk, lemon juice and a dash of nutmeg. Cook and stir until bubbly. Add all vegetables and place in a buttered casserole and top with prepared bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes--cover if the crumbs get too brown. Enjoy.

2011-09-29T12:52:00.006-06:00

Happy Autumn

Dear Friends,

Can you even believe that we are on the brink of October? Where has the year gone? Teri went to the Corn Man to buy corn on the cob for dinner and came back with this great pumpkin/squash. Bob said it was the most hideous thing he had ever seen and she should give it away. We have been laughing about it ever since. I think it is quite lovely, and Teri just keeps dragging it around and trying it in different places. I can't wait for her to go shopping again. I have an old rock wall that is now filled with various, mismatched flower pots that I dearly love all summer, but I think it would be fun to add odd pumpkins to them. Hmmm...I'll let you know how that idea turns out. I am so excited for this letter because we have great new things that we have been working on . Yay!!! So just read on and see what we have to offer for early autumn stitching. I keep getting asked by our customers here why we never include recipes anymore. Finally, I just decided it is because I don't cook anymore. Chris doesn't ask me what's for dinner every day, so I just don't seem to have the need to fix anything. Earlier this week I did barbecued chicken with Teri's fresh corn on the cob and my grandma's fried RED tomatoes, and Bob was just so happy. OK I guess I need to cook once in a while. Then perhaps I can put a recipe back on the blog. In the meantime, I will probably just stitch. Wishing the same for you.

Thomas's Stocking
Leaflet--$8.00 Charm Pack--$20.00

Our newest stocking is here!!! This is such a long process for us--well Lynnette and me--that it is almost like having a new baby when all is said and done. We are pretty excited about it and I am quite thrilled with how it turned out. I love the colours and hope that you will too. I have chosen a wonderful and warm mixture of DMC #5 Perle cotton as well as Weeks and Crescent #5 Perle overdyed thread. I know that the overdyed threads are considerably more expensive, but if you haven't tried them before, you just have to try them, because they are so very wonderful. Sharon dyed a colour--Smoke--just for this stocking and I love it so much. It is funny, but I stitch all of my own designs except Lynnette always stitches my stocking for me. And I am so grateful to her for this. Enjoy!!

This is a detail of the fence at the bottom of the stocking. Pat and Ann hand-dyed some of their new baby chenille for us and we strung it across the fence like a garland. The chenille comes in the charm pack, but if you need more help in sewing it on, we will have more detailed instructions on our web site under frequently asked question.

Santa's Flight

Leaflet--$8.00 Silver charms--$36.00

This new leaflet contains the last 3 ornaments which we did for the cross stitch magazine. I love the way Jill has framed them all together. The mats and frame are amazing! We wanted each of the 3 designs done on different hand-dyed fabrics, but you could certainly do them on all the same if you choose.

Creepy Pin Cushion

Kit--$20.00

Here is our newest pin cushion just in time for October stitching. I loved working on this and had a great time choosing just the right fabric and threads. It is worked on 32 count Willow Green linen with a mixture of silk and cotton threads. The kit comes with everything to complete except the backing fabric, and the hand-dyed silk ribbon which goes around it is fabulous for Halloween. The entire design is bordered with a little verse.

Get Scared
kit--$16.00

This newest addition for our box series is just in time for Halloween. This is also stitched on 32 count Willow Green linen and worked with a combination of DMC and WDW overdyed threads. It fits perfectly in one of the fun black trinket boxes which sell for $18.50. Honestly, I think you could do this in 2 evenings, so you won't have a problem getting it ready in time.

La-D-Da Mystery Sampler
available October 15--part 1

This is all that they will show us of the new mystery sampler by La-D-Da. The patterns will be released in 3 parts--Oct, Nov, Dec. They say it is an antique sampler with a La-D-Da twist, so that sounds both intriguing and interesting. The little pin cushion you see above is a bonus pattern--Oh, yay. We will be offering it also as a complete kit with a price of about $75.00 which will include all 3 patterns, fabric, and threads. You will have a choice of 30, 35, and 40 count fabric. The price may vary a little because the thread numbers seem to keep changing. If you would like to be on an automatic shipment from us, we will add $9.00 for postage. As always Teri will be arranging a little surprise in the first package. What fun!!!
Well, I have a lot of kits to make, so I have to go and get busy. I think I will be taking them home tonight. If we can help you with any of these new things, please just give us a call: 801-399-4546

Kari had her little baby boy this very morning, so next week we will include a photo. Plus...I promise to put in one of Teri's most famous new recipes. She has taken these cookies everywhere and everyone loves them! So be watching for it. In the meantime...ever fondly, Tina

2011-09-22T20:58:00.011-06:00

Autumn Equinox--2011
Hi friends,
Is there really a season more glorious than Autumn? I don't think so. In Utah our weather is perfect with plenty of warm sunshine cooling off with the sunset to shivery chilly. The leaves are just barely edging towards their new hues, and my fall flowers seem to have exploded in exuberance and color. Our rose garden is now bursting with a last showing of blooms mixed with the crazy tomatoes hurrying to finish ripening before the first frost, and we can't seem to get enough of the last of summer's bounty--cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, peaches, and berries. And of course Lindberg just waits for his evening walk past the grade school where the smells from the day beckon him to euphoria. Yet...how quickly we will be on to squash and pumpkins, fall leaves and jack-o-lanterns. But as much as I love the fall, a part of me hates it. There is always that edge to the air portending a winter that lurks around our corner. Teri and I used to tease my boys by humming It's the most wonderful time of the year as they prepared to go back to school. But this year they are both off to college taking with them a part of my heart. I know, I have told myself a million times that it is silly, this is the way life is meant to be, but there is still an emptiness in my soul as I move through this season this year. Bob doesn't seem to feel it the same way, or he doesn't show it-- so what's up with that. And then everyone says: oh well, you still have Teri. Like she is my little pet or something. Ok, then.
Luckily, the shop has been very, very busy and I simply don't seem to be able to get everything done in my day. We have also been working hard getting the new stocking off to the printer along with a fun Christmas book--Santa's Flight. They should both be ready the first part of next week. And I am finishing up 2 darling Halloween kits--one for the round boxes and a fun pin cushion. So....if I stick to it, I should have them ready next week as well. As a result, I have been stitching and graphing every minute and Teri has been loading up pictures for the blog which I have sadly neglected this past month. She has been gently reminding me that I need to get it written, so I finally suggested that she write it this time and let me finish my kits. So she did. Yay!!! So this time, you are getting a little of each of us, and in the end it truly is the most wonderful time of the year for stitching--Halloween, fall, and Christmas. How could anyone be bored. So continue on and see what surprises she has posted, and while you are doing that, maybe I'll take Teri out for a walk.

Spoiler Alert..... Here is a tiny bit of our newest stocking Thomas's Stocking. It is at the printers, Yippee!! We should have it in our hands by next week. Hopefully by Tuesday...our Birthday party. So if you are in the area, come by between 4-6 and we will have ice cream and cake. We will have our newest leaflets and hopefully some new Halloween designs.

I have been decorating the shop for Halloween. Our spooky tree has returned, and we have been filling it with fun spooky decorations. Paper jack'o Lanterns and moons hang from the ceiling and garlands festoon our windows. I love Halloween.

Here is a great piece from With my Needle and Thread, called Seasons- Autumn. We stitched it on a great piece of fabric 35 count and added buttons. It is the perfect fall stitching.

Almost Autumn is a darling new design from Drawn Thread. We have stitched it on 32 count linen and added buttons. It is a great Halloween piece.

Mindi Bruner was so sweet to stitch us this marvelous box from Blackbird's pattern, Morning Star. She painted the box and decorated the tiny boxes with color copies from the sampler. We just love it. Thanks Mindi

Our own Kari is so close to popping- sometime this week. She has worked for us since she was 14

and we have seen her grow up, get married and now have a baby. We are so excited for her and wish her the best. she has been a trouper and we will be sad to see her go. We had a fun work baby shower for her tonight, and here are a few of her gifts.

Can you believe this darling sheep blanket.

Mindi stitched and Jill framed this great pattern from Prairie Schooler (sorry no longer available). What a great keepsake for baby Oliver (that is the name we are hoping for).

All of us at the shop stitched Kari, Blackbird's baby sampler, we are still waiting to stitch the name and date....because some parents just won't decide.

A neighborhood coffee shop Cafe Villa Bella whipped up these delicious cupcakes for the party. He even made chocolate baby bottles and pacifiers to adorn the top. And if you think you have the best cupcakes on earth, sorry--we do. But you have to get there early or they are gone. He would kill Cupcake Wars.

I guess I will send this now and post more next week. We will put pictures of our new things up as soon as possible, so keep watching. Have a wonderful week end. fondly, Tina--and Teri

2011-08-01T14:04:00.017-06:00

Bear Lake summer 2011

This past week was our annual summer week at Bear Lake, a lovely desert lake on the Utah/Idaho border. My parents bought lake front property the year I turned 5 and we have spent so so so many happy weeks there since that time. As I was growing up, we always camped on our land. But the same year that my Peter was born, we finally built a wonderful cabin. For children of all ages it is always the highlight of the summer. It is still the best part of the summer for me, but I seem to face my week with a modicum of stress. I get to that point and think that I have too much to do, or I can't leave work, or the kids have too much to rearrange...maybe we can't go this year. And yet....we always do set off with our cars packed for a 3 month stay, and my dog happily panting in the back once he realizes that we are heading to the lake and not the kennel. Of course Teri has to bring her own car because it is filled to the brim with hundreds of projects which she fully intends to finish during our stay there. (And mostly she does.) And once I am there, I can mysteriously forget about work, and markets, and upcoming stockings, and every other schedule on my calendar at home. It is a place of absolute and utter peace in which my soul simply soaks up the calm and joy. Unlike Teri, I accomplish nothing except a bit of reading and a lot of staring at the water. This year, the snow blessed us with a much higher lake along with little snakes, frogs, and a beautiful flock of Canadian geese. My biggest effort this time was helping Christian wrangle the little sailboat. Teri did that--as well as 50 other projects.

But now I am back and very excited to finally be ready to show all of our new things for the summer. We have been working hard, and I hope that you like our new designs as well. Teri and I are not going to be able to go to the market in Baltimore next week. We had totally scheduled our Fall around the St. Charles market, and just couldn't rearrange August to work around Baltimore. I am very sad not to be going and seeing all of our friends and our darling shop owners. And mid-August is back to school time in much of Utah, so that's what I will be doing with Christian. Ohhhhh......So in the end, we are doing market from here this year and will look forward to going to Nashville in February.

...Now just pretend that you are at the market and have just entered our little room, and this is what you would be able to see--minus us, of course. (Maybe you could put on the music from Pride and Prejudice to make it really seem like you are there.) OK, are you ready...

Her Blessings

kit-- $80.00

Her Blessings is a wonderful larger piece that we are very excited about. The design measures about 8" by 14" and is worked on a beautiful peace of hand-dyed 32 count linen. I like to think that it is a sampler within a sampler, so it was like doing two pieces in one. I had so much fun working on it, and loved the calm, quiet feeling that it gave me the entire time. It is worked entirely with silk and overdyed silk threads and includes a little packet of buttons to embellish when you are finished.

Simple Joys Pin cushion

kit--$20.00

This sweet little pin cushion was designed to go with Her Blessings. It is worked on 32 count linen with a lovely palette of cotton, silk, solid and overdyed threads. It is embellished with a specially hand-dyed purple heart button as well as an antique smoke mother of pearl button. As you can see, it has a few odd little stitches on it which are so much fun to do, and it is finished with the most beautiful hand-dyed ric rac which Pat and Ann have created for us and variegated glass beads which perfectly compliment the little cushion.

Bee Extraordinary

kit--$16.00

This darling 10-count kit is the perfect project for a lazy summer day. We use these kits for all ages here in our shop, and there is just something fun about working on a project that is easy to see and complete. Teri worked this on 10 count sparkly white fabric with the most beautiful overdyed shades of hibiscus, melon, and purple. When you are finished, you can add the little clay bee button to finish off the whole picture.

Tiny Garden Needle Roll

kit--$16.00

Ok...do not faint! It is indeed a new needle roll, and it is just darling. Teri has designed this to go with the Tiny Garden Fob, and we all think that this is probably one of her best. You will just love it. It is stitched on 32 count Smokey White linen with gorgeous hues of overdyed floss. The whole piece is embellished with a hand-tinted flower button, tiny glass beads, curly overdyed ribbon, and hand-dyed light purple ric rac. It is truly just so beautiful.

Live Life
kit: $16.00

Here is a new addition to our little box series, and I think it might be my favorite. It is summery and sweet with such beautiful colours of silks, and solid and overdyed cottons. We put ours on the antique black box, but it would probably be equally darling on the white one as well.

Sweet Stitches Scissor Fob

kit: $16.00

We have been having so much fun in our shop with the new polka dot scissors, that I just had to design a fob to go along with them. It is stitched front and back on Antique White 32 count linen with a variety of solid and overdyed cotton threads which I have spent hours trying to match to the 3 colours of scissors--candy pink, citrus green, and sea blue. When you are finished, you can embellish with a tiny mother of pearl heart and edge with sea blue ribbon and white polka dot beads. Your hardest task will be to choose which pair of scissors you want.

Well, are you inspired? I hope you are. I think that everything will be ready to ship by the end of the week, so just give us a call. Try to be a little cool, a lot joyful, and full of stitching hours.

ever fondly, Tina

2011-07-23T21:54:00.017-06:00

Late July, 2011

Dear Friends

July usually means that summer has finally arrived here in Utah, and along with our long hot days and short cool nights, it also means that it is Rodeo time. As the month creeps to its middle, Ogden embraces its yearly Pioneer Days festivities. Oh, yay! As predictably as the calendar flips from June to July, the hand-painted horses begin to trot and rear their way down our city streets where they will pose tirelessly until someone corrals them up and hauls them away in September. Teri and I spent our childhood summers at unending rodeos, and indeed learned to ride our little Shetland ponies about the same time we learned to walk. We spent our long summer vacations riding with our older brothers up in the mountains behind our house, and oddly enough, I spent a number of my very young years in Junior Posse trying to wrangle my stubborn pony into the elaborate formations that the other children seemed to maneuver with ease. I actually still have several trophies which I mysteriously received, although I suspect my dad must have paid someone for them, as I can hardly imagine I truly won them. Diamond and I did much better racing after my brothers than circling barrels or forming elaborate stars. So each year about this time, I experience a brief nostalgic longing for those days from my past, and I get the urge to go to the rodeo. Bob and the boys are sometimes amenable, but Teri is always a flat-out NO. A couple of years ago, I pestered her into coming with us to watch the calves tied, the bulls bucked and the queens crowned, and on the way home she said that she would rather burn her hair than ever go again. I guess that really does mean NO.

I will say that the Horse-days of summer have been busy and fun at the shop--where it is deliciously lovely and cool. We have lots of wonderful new things some of which I am going to tell you about in this letter, and many new things coming which I will tell you about next week. We are just finishing a great group of new designs from Shepherd's Bush which we were hoping to have ready earlier in the month. But you know how that goes. Next week they will all be ready and I will have beautiful pictures on my blog. I can't wait. So....be watching.

We do have fabulous new things here at the shop, so I will try to show you a taste of some of them in case you are too far to drop by. Jacqueline from Needleprints has just published an awesome new book: The Feller Needlework Collection. Honestly, this is truly a wonderful book. She puts together such a beautiful volume that it is hard to put it down. The photos are fantastic as is the information written within the pages. I know it is a tad on the expensive side at $85.00, but truly it is a great book. Plus the hidden prize is the huge reproduction sampler that you get on the inside cover of the book: a beautiful 17th century sampler. I have pored over it and would love to stitch it. I just invite you to come take a look. But plan to spend the day.

Here is a photo of the large sampler whose graph is included.

Here is just one of a hundred amazing pages to peruse. How can you resist?

Halloween!!!

Teri has been having a blast getting out the beginnings of our Halloween display. I sort of think that this is becoming everyone's favorite stitching holiday. I know each season has its joys, but Halloween just gets to come so early that it makes it especially fun. Plus the darling patterns, crazy fabrics and intriguing colours. Who can really resist. Here is the first table that Teri has filled with darling pieces for that wicked holiday.

There are so many amazing pieces that I am just going to highlight a few and then add to this each week--some old and some new as we get them.

Halloween Branch by Bent Creek is finally finished and framed and it is quite adorable. It is busy and fun and looks like it would be very fun to stitch. It is one of those with multiple parts, or we also have it kitted up with wonderful threads and fabric so that it is all ready to begin.

Hare's Autumn by Plum Street is a continuation of her sweet Hare's series. This one is irresistible with the little Hare family out raking autumn leaves. I love the frame that Jill put on it.

And of course another fab Halloween piece from Lizzie Kate: Halloween Letters. (ok, I hope that is its name. I think it should be, but I am usually confused.) This whimsical alphabet includes great colours, spooky words and darling embellishments. I think it would work up quite quickly and be a lot of fun to do.

These new little pieces from Jeannette Douglas are simply adorable. They are small but exquisite and would be wonderful made into little pin cushions if you prefer. I also think that we just received the next 2 or 3 in the series from her earlier this week. If you want a quick summer project, give them a try.

And finally, a wonderful series of new books from Leisure Arts. Lori from La-D-Da designs, has designed 2 books for them which are quite delightful. Each one has 25-33 pages and is filled with her darling designs. What a great deal. Plus the covers are gentle and sweet and just make you feel happy. I know, but I am a book cover kind of person. Words to Stitch By has many of her darling sayings--some old and some new, or maybe some I just hadn't noticed before. You will love them all. And All Creatures has six animal oriented pieces: cats, dogs, Noah's ark, the elephant and the tiger and a forest creatures design. Each book runs $10.00 which is quite a bargain even if it is just to add to your collection.

And now the weekend is waning and this letter is still not posted. So her it goes off into space to you. Watch for a new letter in about a week with all of our new things on it. Have a great end of July with plenty of time to stitch and a breath of cool air--whether from your air conditioner or from the trees outside your window. Be safe and remember that we will be closed on the 25th for our Utah's founding day. You know--parades, and fireworks, and barbecues. See you on Tuesday. fondly, Tina

2011-06-27T16:49:00.013-06:00

End of June, 2011

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Glacier National Park! Here is a lovely picture of us crashing Bob and Charland's family reunion in West Glacier. They were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and we just showed up--since we are her Utah sisters. We had the best, best time and were only sad at how quickly the week went by. I hadn't been to Glacier since I was a small child, and it was just so beautiful. Of course the weather was the same as we had been having in Utah all spring which meant it was freezing and rainy almost the entire week. But that didn't stop us at all, and we had a great time traveling through the park, hiking, shopping (much to my boys dismay), and taking pictures. And the true bonus was getting to spend a week with our friends from Canada. I loved the fact that the park was still so much like it was in the 1920s. There does not seem to be a lot of construction or change. The lodges are still so charming, we just wanted to cozy up by the fires and relax. And the beauty was simply awe inspiring. Even my boys were amazed. What a great trip. Wish you could have been there.

Just one of a thousand fabulous views in the park.

...and...
My happy crew in front of the Glacier Red Jammers.

So now we are back from our grand adventure and busy at the shop. We are working on a group of very fun new kits that I hope we will have ready mid-July, so I will tell you more about those in a week or so. I have many projects going right now, so every night I have to decide what I am going to work on. Sometimes I stitch and many nights I just sit and draw--happily anticipating choosing fabrics and threads.

Our little mountain creek behind my house has turned into a raging river as the abundance of snowmelt makes it way down into the valley. I just love sitting out by it and stitching in the evening, listening to it make its frantic path past me, and kind of happy that I don't have to worry about toddlers getting too near. My Christian was horrible about getting into it as soon as he could break the ice on its surface. At the end of Winter it was always calm and slow and Chris would sneak out and play in its icy pools. But, come run-off time, I had to be vigilant and never let him out of my sight. This is definitely one of those years. But honestly, as big as he is now, I am not sure he could get in and out of it the way it is running right now. So, since I don't have to worry about him, I can just design and stitch to my heart's content. Be watching for fun new things to come.

The picture below is of the Jenny Bean Friendship Sampler. We have loved it since it came out a few months ago and we finally had our friend, Marilyn, stitch it for the shop. Isn't it just darling? The colours are sweet and I just love the way the alphabet is sprinkled around the entire sampler. Whether you stitch it for yourself or for a friend, I think you will just love working on it.

Teri just ordered in some darling new scissors which seem just perfect for summer projects. Aren't they wonderful? I think they run between $10.00 and $12.00 and most of them are sweet pinks and purples and greens. But the ones in the very center are great patriotic scissors in traditional red, white, and blue. We are always looking for that kind of scissor, but they are not always easy to find. So if you are in the market for them.

We have just received our new polka dot scissors and they are super sweet! I am hoping to do a little fob to go with them. They are only $5.00 and they are a very nice pair of scissors. Big finger holes and very sharp. They come in pale blue, pink, or lime green all with white polka dots. I know you will love them. We have all bought many colours because we can't decide our favorite.

And finally Teri included a picture of an upcoming class here at the shop. Our local guild did a wool felt applique class in May and we all had such a great time. So now we are having the same teacher--Terri from In Your Bonnet come to teach her bucket class which everyone was very excited about. The appliqued bucket is fabulous, but I also think that the little squares would be wonderful made into a little wall hanging as well. Anyway, we will be having it here at the shop on August 1 and September 12 from 5:00-9:00. If you are interested, just give us a call and we will give you any more information that you might want. I know that we will have a blast and would love to include you in it.
So...here it is Saturday, and I haven't sent this off yet. Hey, have a wonderful 4th of July. Did I mention that aerial fireworks are legal in Utah this year--who knows why. So one person in my household is excited. Be safe over this long weekend, don't shoot off too many fire starters. But mostly find a quiet, cool spot to stitch and just be calm. fondly, Tina

2011-06-03T11:16:00.012-06:00

Early June, 2011
Dear Friends,
Graduation Day!!! Sue's Mary and my Christian have gone to school together since kindergarten, and here they are on graduation day--both of them graduating with honors. I could cry just looking at them. Sue has been so brave all year, and I have been just a mess. But, I have to say that we were both a bit of a wreck last week. My friend, Tammy, told me this would happen and she was right--I spent the whole last school year thinking: last swim meet, last debate meet, last dance, last... I even thought--last parent/teacher conference and I always dread slogging through those, so that tells you how pitiful I have become. I think I am just not ready to be done with this part of my life. I still long to lie out on the grass with my little boys and find constellations, or take their kites to the school and try to launch them, or ride our bikes to the university pond to feed the ducks. Well, I guess we could still try the bike ride thing, but Chris would probably be there and back 5 times while I would be peddling along. I know that all parts of parenthood have their own joys, and now it is my time to celebrate new ones. I can take great joy in the fact that Christian had his hair cut into a mohawk with steps at his school's all night graduation party, and I can take even greater joy that it is quickly growing out and he thinks he is a little tired of it. (Of course Mary just had darling, wispy bangs cut.) Ok, I am going to be fine with the next great adventure. (Besides, Bob told me to get a grip. So grip I am going to get.)

Birds of a Feather Mystery Sampler

(If you haven't joined us, give us a call and get going on this perfect summer project. )

Well, as you can see, Teri is speeding right along on her mystery sampler. Actually she is finished with the first part, and it looks quite fabulous. In truth, everyone at the shop is stitching quite quickly, and now we are sort of anxiously awaiting the next part which should be arriving sometime towards the end of next week. Hopefully. I think that we have all had a great time working on it. Even I--who rarely finishes anything--have been using up all my nervous, graduation energy in stitching, stitching, stitching. Unfortunately I have made many mistakes, but I don't even care. I think I have forgotten about most of them, anyway. One thing that some of our friends who are stitching this are struggling with is some of the colour symbols. We stitched the 2 outline borders in Sage, but quite a number of others are using the blue. So now that I look closely at it, it is hard to tell whether the symbol is an up-arrow or a plus. It does look very pretty in the blue as well, but who knows which it is supposed to be. If you haven't done that part yet, maybe look at it under a magnifying glass. As soon as we receive the 2nd part, we will send it off to you. For you locals, I think we will be having our get together on the 21st around 5:00. But you are welcome to stop by earlier if you need to. Can't wait.

I have to admit that I am ready to start putting up Halloween, but Teri reminds me that ' to everything there is a season.' So, I guess this is Bee Season. Here is her wonderful Bee display with such darling pictures, that you won't want to resist. I am a little more leery of this collection because it was the very day she put it up last year that we got our swarm of bees in the shop. Here's hoping. And you just have to see the newest felt pin cushion from Just Another Button Co. It was inspired by the button that they made for our Summer Flies pillow, and it is simply darling. The kit for this one runs $55.00, and includes all the fabulous embellishments that you can see on the model. Teri wants to take it home and use it, but we are making her leave it here.

Well, Teri must have read my mind, because look at the last picture that she gave me to write about. Halloween! We just received this one from our stitcher and isn't it amazing? It is called For Thine is the Trick and the Treat by Prairie Moon. We have all spent many minutes just staring at all of the fabulous motifs, and everyday I still see something that I hadn't noticed before. I do think it is quite wonderful and not too, too big. We had a fabric specially dyed just for it, and it is perfect! Pattern: $14.00 Fabric: $15.00

And finally, you have to see these darling sewing cases that we ordered at Quilt Market. I think that they are really quite darling--sweet colours, super useful, adorable. I think that they would also make such great graduation gifts for someone who is venturing off to college. But then again, it would be useful for me who can never seem to find any of my simple sewing and mending supplies. Only $8.00

Well, somehow this day has just zipped away. Time to go and meet the dinner, dog, and evening routine head-on. I am hoping to post this before I go. I hope that you are having sunshine and a few June minutes in which to stitch. Be safe.
fondly,

Tina

2011-05-23T23:15:00.013-06:00

End of May (March), 2011
Dear Friends,
I know--I don't really think it is March, but I believe that Mother Nature does. Here we are in the middle of the desert, and we are practically floating away. We have a little mountain creek that runs through our backyard, and every day we monitor the amount of water going down it. To say the least, it is simply roaring along right now. Periodically, Christian has to swim in and fetch out various items which have washed down before they get caught at the bottom of my neighbor's yard. Happy Spring! Other than the flooding, our constantly rainy weather has not hurt my feelings as far as yard work is concerned. I am happy to do it in June. Teri has been planting her box gardens in the rain, and I actually think they are looking very good. She had this brilliant idea to plant 2 artichoke plants this year and we were laughing when we looked on the tag and it said the growing period was 120 days. Last year we only had about 60 days of summer, and this year isn't looking much better. So...I'll let you know how our yummy artichokes are coming along. On the flip side, Teri harvested carrots all through the winter whenever it thawed enough to dig them up.

The weather is great for stitching, and we have been taking full advantage of it. Teri has been like a stitching maniac going from one project to another all in the course of an evening. Each day when she brings her projects in to the shop, I think that she must never have gone to bed the night before. We have all been having a great time with the new Mystery Sampler--Birds of a Feather. The border--which is all we have at this point--is just beautiful and has been a lot of fun to work on. I think that the colors are quite special, and I can't wait to see what will be on the inside of the sampler. Not that I have even come close to finishing the border, but you know--always looking ahead. Teri has just been whipping on hers and it is a good thing that I am not a competitive person, or I might have an ulcer. But here is a picture of her sampler so far to give you an idea of how lovely it is--even though she is way further than this by now. I stitched with her over the weekend on this project while we were watching a Doc Martin marathon, and it was an interesting experience. She seems to have enlarged and chopped up her border pattern into small pieces which is quite ingenious as she can pin it to her fabric and sail right along. So the whole weekend, I was the constant recipient of a shower of tiny bits of patterns which seemed just a little confusing to me. But the truly funny and disconcerting part was every so often she would quite cheerfully moan--Oh, dear, I seem to have stitched the wrong thing here. Oh well, So my suggestion for you is that if she offers small bits of border to you---run!

Here is Teri's sampler in progress along with the darling bird scissors and fob which we give you when you order the kit from us. So, if you are inclined, just jump in and join the fun. It isn't too big, so you will have no problem catching up.

Last week we had a great time going to the International Quilt Market which was in Salt Lake City. It was great not having to fly across the country to go to market and even better being able to see a lot of friends who were also here. Teri and I never get to shop a market together, because one of us has to always stay at our own booth. I know that we spent too much, but we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of many wonderful new things. Friday night, we all got together at Bucca for lots of food, laughter, and chatting. Here is a lovely picture of us as we were leaving the restaurant with the girls from Jabco, SamSarah, Crescent Colours, Hillcreek Buttons, and Silver Needle.
Then on Saturday, Lindy and Mona from the Silver Needle and Sharon Crescent of Crescent Colours took the train to Ogden and rode the little trolley to our shop where we spent the whole day together. Honestly, it was so much fun, and we all talked about a million miles a minute. The weekend just went by too quickly, and we were both sad to see it end. Sorry the picture of us at the shop is up above and I can't get it to move.

We have just received a group of very fun new stitching treasures from our friend, Lady Dot, and everyone here at our shop has been going nuts over them. They arrived just in time for our Mystery Sampler kick-off party and everyone loved them. I know that they are very limited in numbers, so if you see something you love, just give us a call while we still have them.

Here is a picture of Leah's Heart, ($14) Wild Rose Scissor Keep, ($12), and Paper Roses Thread Cards, ($12). As you can see, everything is very old-fashioned with beautiful fabrics, pearl buttons, and silk ribbon

We also have a wonderful basket full of these darling treasures. They are real acorn caps shellacked (sorry about spelling) and rimmed with a dusting of sparkle with tiny wool balls for pin cushions. Honestly, they are so adorable, everyone has been choosing colours to match their current projects. ($1)

And here is a lovely little set of 2 emories and a needle book that are as useful as they are sweet. We still have a few of each left, so don't wait too long to snatch yours up. ($30)

Well, I guess I have to go and post this off to you . Stay safe in our crazy weather, and I hope you get plenty of time to put in a few stitches on your favorite projects. ever fondly, Tina

2011-05-11T21:49:00.000-06:00

Spring 2011

Dear Friends,

I am just sitting here on a beautiful May evening writing this letter to you and watching the sun and black storm clouds shift and alternate places across the almost-dusk sky. The garden has never had so many spring blooms--tulips, ranunculi, and pansies. And Christian and I were just noticing how abundant and huge the grape hyacinths are this year, and reminiscing how he loved to play with them as a toddler. He never picked or touched them, but he identified the King and Queen and outlying kingdoms and spent hours outside watching them grow and flourish and die off as the season waned. Oh...where has the time gone. This has been such a crazy, busy month for me that it has been hard to get this written as quickly as I wanted. I have to go quickly and get it posted before we are involved in Quilt Market activities the rest of the week. How fun! Kristin's computer is down so we haven't been able to put up our new Shepherd's Bush designs, so I am hopefully going to be able to get them up on this blog. Well--at least Teri may be able to. We have had fun designing some new things for Spring, and I would love to share them with you.

I don't know why, but spring always makes me a little sentimental about my family Perhaps it starts with Mother's Day and then ebbs towards the end of the school year and all the changes that it brings about each year. You know--I don't like change, and as each May pushes my boys ahead to new grades and new changes in their lives, I sometimes just want to grab hold of them and make time stand still. So..our new designs reflect our family mood as you will soon see. Sophie's Pin Cushion is a new little piece that I just love. It is stitched on 32 count Sandcastle Jobelan, and it was quite lovely to work on. The kit runs $20 and comes with a variety of hand-dyed silk and cotton threads, fabulous hand-dyed silk ribbon, and tiny glass beads and buttons dyed to match the piece. The verse around the cushion is written for my Mom, but really is a tribute to the caring and nurturing hearts of all women. I hope you love it as much as I do.

Family is a piece that Teri has designed to go with her Friends piece that is so popular. We dye the 32 count linen for this little piece in our back yard at the shop, and it is stitched with a lovely array of over dyed threads that perfectly compliment its sweet nature. The kit runs $20 and comes complete with 3 darling little charms.


 Come Home is a new addition to our little box series. 
 It is a darling piece depicting a home with a boat 
sailing towards it.  Worked on 32 count Lambswool
 linen with a variety of silks and over dyed cottons, 
it fits perfectly in the little round boxes that we have 
been using.  Only $16.00 for the whole small kit 
plus $17.00 if you want the little creme box as well. 
 You know, I told you that I am turning sentimental 
and missing my boy who is staying to work at school
 for the  summer.  But I think all of us live our lives 
yearning to come home or bring someone home to us.
         And Teri's new 9-pane leaflet--Mother's Hope--
is fabulous.  I think that the colours as so sweet, 
and the design is just perfect for a quick springtime
 project.  Cecile at the Button Company made this 
wonderful heart button of a mom's garden to go in 
the center of it. Don't you just love it?  The leaflet
 runs $6.00 and the button also runs $6.00, and 
we are happy to send you just those or send 
you the whole kit with the windowpane fabric 
and the over dyed cotton floss all packaged up
 in a darling bag.  For a while we even have the
 beautiful backing fabrics to go with it.
          Here are just a few other fun things to tempt you. 
 We are totally into pin cushions here at the shop, and
 Pat and Ann have been  dying scrumptious chenille
 to go around the edges of your cushions.  It is 
beautiful to use and easy to attach and finishes them
off perfectly.  Teri and  I have been couching it on a
 wool appliqué project that we are working on and 
it is so much fun to use.  Just take a look at the 
delicious colours.  I think it runs $5.00 for 5 yards.
        And just take a look at the darling mini ric rac that they 
are also dyeing.  Can't wait to use it on a project.
        And speaking of pin cushions, I have to show you this
 picture of a piece that we designed for Chris Stott.  It is in 
a leaflet that just  came out in her memory, and I think that 
it turned out quite fun.  Anyway, it makes me happy seeing
 it and thinking about our friend, Chris.  We have this leaflet 
available at the shop and all the supplies to make this as well..
        I know that I need to finish this up and enlist Teri's help in
trying to post it on our computer.  So...I am going to leave you 
with a few pictures from our Royal Wedding Celebration.  
We had a party all day on the day of the royal wedding and 
it was so much fun.  A few good sports wore their hats and 
crowns, although none of them really measured up to what 
showed up in London I think.  That was quite amazing.  As  
you can see, our tea was quite spectacular!  We had stayed
 up most of the night before--well pretty much until the actual 
wedding began--making our treats which we served all the 
next day.  We had used my grandmother's recipes and I think 
even she would have been pleased:  cucumber sandwiches,
 lime curd and shortbread tarts, profiteroles with vanilla pastry 
creme and chocolate ganache, and princess cupcakes--which
 we didn't actually make but ordered from a  local cupcake 
shop.  All was very yummy.  And in spite of everything, I think  
you  had to be pretty hard-hearted to not sort of get into the 
spirit of  that beautiful wedding.  And so I will just leave you 
with these darling pictures and  wish you the happiest of
 springs.  Be happy...hugs, Tina  
PS: The Mystery Sampler is on its way to us as I write and we 
are very excited,  If you have pre-ordered it, we will send it the
 first part of next week.  We will also be having little get 
together on the early evening of the 17th- Tuesday- if you live 
close by.   I will write next week and give you more info on this 
 fun new project, in case you want to join in.  Until then...T


PPS. I know this has posted weird... but it is now very late and
 I can not figure it out, maybe a fresh look tomorrow.... or some 
help from Kristin who usually does this blog- so just think of it 
as a puzzle... and we will figure it out soon- good night- Teri

2011-04-06T16:50:00.003-06:00

April, 2011

Dear Friends,

I would love to say Happy Spring, but I am not really sure which season we are in. Here in Utah, we seem to be caught in a continual loop between spring and winter--sweaters one day and hats and gloves the next. Only Lindbergh seems to be content with a walk in whatever weather comes his way. Well, as some of you have figured out by now, we have taken that great step known to the 21st century inhabitants as Facebook. OK--I should clarify--the we part is a little inaccurate since my only venture into this adventure was to watch The Social Network with Christian. So I guess Teri is now on Facebook and having fun tending to the Shepherd's Bush page when she gets a chance--or thinks about it. It is definitely a mind-set. She seems to like adding things to her wall and corresponding with friends who have posted on it. I think I am not really a social network person. (I guess first of all I would have to be social.) I can never quite get past messages with spelling corrections for her. Really? You just have to accept that about Teri--she spells only according to her own mental dictionary which simply has nothing to do with the rules or suggestions from Oxford. Heaven knows it seems she has spelled her own name wrong her whole life. Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Sometimes it can be quite fun like solving a crossword or suduku puzzle. Well, anyway, if you are a Facebook person, I'll invite you to look our shop page up once in a while and see what we have going.

I have some fun things to talk about in this letter and I hope you will catch our excitement for some new things that are coming our way. First of all, Teri has been on a felt pincushion kick the last little while. We have 2 friends who are doing new pincushions--different from each other--and we have been having so much fun with them at the shop. Patti from SamSarah is doing a fruit and vegie group of cushions and I told you that Teri was working on the watermelon. Well she has finished it and it is so darling! She loved doing it and I think is moving on to the carrot next. She said it was fun to stitch and easy to finish.

Now another friend, Cecille from Just Another Button Co., has a daughter, Rachael, working in the business with her who is making a series of felt pincushions. We had her make us two of them and they are simply darling. I love the little blackbird and would love to make one of these for myself. Yeah, right.

But the strawberry is also very darling and might be easier to make. We have had several customers making them, however, and they said that they are very easy and have great instructions. Plus there are other darling ones that we carry but do not have made up yet: an adorable snowman, a carrot, ice cream sundae, and a box of chocolates that is amazing. Oh and Teri just told me that the newest one is a sheep--fab!

Now here is something fun that is coming of this month. In celebration of Prince William's marriage to Kate, Paula, at Kelmscott has designed a darling little commemorative set to mark the day. I know, that sounds a little odd, but it is very sweet and what a little, dear treasure of a part of our world's history. Growing up with a British grandmother, we have some memorabilia from the Royals that I have always loved. We have a tin with Queen Elizabeth's portrait on it made to commemorate her becoming Queen that we always stored our Christmas cookies in every year. I have always loved it and every year, we bring it out and lovingly wash it and put it away after the holidays. I also have a tea cup celebrating another event in her life that sits in my china hutch that I have always treasured. Someday William and Kate will be the King and Queen, and you will have these hidden in your stitching box as a remembrance. Or if you are like one of my many friends who are anxiously awaiting April 29th and planning to watch the entire grand proceedings from beginning to end, you will definitely want this.

There is a pincushion with their initials and a crown which she has paired with one of her cameo crown magnets and a tiny pair of gold Elizabeth I embroidery scissors. I just love them. The pattern--which comes with silk ribbon for the edge--runs $7.00, the magnet--royal purple of course--runs $9.50, and the scissors--$11.50. We are stitching it right now, and of course Teri has done her own colours. We will be offering a kit with the fabric, silks strands and a suggestion for a matching fob. I am not sure of the price of the little kit, but you could call us and we will know. We also have another commemorative pattern coming this week from Sampler Girl which is very different from this one, but is also very darling--a little more whimsical and colorful. So if you are into the whole royal family--and secretly, who isn't--don't miss out. Plus, on Friday, April 29th, we will be serving cucumber sandwiches and lime-curd tarts all day if you want to stop by and share the Royal fever. I know it won't be quite the spread coming out in London, but it will be very fun. Hey, bring your pincushion with you and we'll all work on it. See you then.

Now, I have some very fun news which we have just found out about this past week. With Thy Needle is starting up a new sampler experience called Birds of a Feather Mystery Sampler. We are very excited about it and hope that you all will be as well. Of course, because it is a mystery, we are not privy to very much specific information about it, but we think it will be a very fun spring and summer project to work on. If you are familiar with her things, you will know that she does lovely designs, and this one sounds sort of in the traditional sampler style. ??? I have no idea if this will be a limited thing or will continue to be available, but here is how we are going to work it if you are in from the beginning. The first portion will come out sometime around mid-May and will include the border pattern. Then the remaining sampler will arrive in 2 separate parts in June and July. Here are the details of the actual project:

Patterns only--to come in 3 parts--$21.00

Complete Kit: includes all patterns, fabric, threads--$75.00

Partial Kit: includes all patterns and fabric (no threads)--$37.00

If we will need to ship these to you, it will be an extra $9.00 to cover the 3 shipments.

I don't know what the colours will be like, but I do know that many of the colours require more than 1 skein so beware. If you would like to customize the threads, that will be possible if you are purchasing the complete kit. The fabric will be available in your choice of 30, 35 or 40 count. Also, we will include a fun little stitching gift to go with this sampler if you purchase the complete kit from us. So...if you are as excited as we are..just give us a call to sign up and we will be sure that you are included in the initial order. We will take down all your information, but we will not charge your card until we are ready to send the first installment which will include the border pattern and the fabric, needle, and threads. And, if you happen to be close by, we will be doing a potluck stitching night here at the shop to kick off the sampler. We will let you know the date when we find out. Just watch the blog for any updates, and give us a call if you have questions.

Well, I have to go and I have to send this off to Kristin to post before Teri has my head. She is excited about all of this and wants you to get excited as well. So... until next week--or the next--I am sending you hugs.

fondly, Tina

PS--I am mystified by those of you who mentioned laughing your heads off at our downspout dilemma. Did I make it sound funny? Hmmm... Did I also mention that the perpetrator is now living next door to the shop? I have to wonder what happened to the concept of jail.

2011-03-22T10:42:00.004-06:00

The Spring Equinox, 2011

Dear Friends,

This world never ceases to astonish me. Teri and I have had our shop for 25 years and were little more than children when we opened it-- both of us just out of college. And through the years we have had many odd and funny adventures. Certainly one of our grand experiences has been living in a hundred and thirty year old carriage and blacksmith shop where we have encountered many of the joys that an old building shares with its resident people. So...why was I at all surprised when we arrived at work recently and stopped in front of the door to lament that Sebastian had removed our Christmas lights. Then I hesitated thinking that something else looked odd. And odd it was, since the 40 foot copper downspout had vanished off our building. Teri and I simply stared truly wondering how a person removes such a thing on a busy, main street in the middle of the downtown--one block from the police station. I know, I have sat through many heritage meetings where we heard about the growing thefts of copper wiring from old buildings, but my downspout? Really? So after a quick and singularly unsatisfactory call to the police, Teri's super sleuth mode set in convincing me that her childhood obsession with every Nancy Drew book ever written had finally served her well. Within an hour, she had found the unfortunate fixture hidden in a veritable Dickens-esque warren of unsavory characters and activities, where we looked in dismay at our downspout flattened and chopped into 1 foot lengths. I am happy to say that we did turn it over to the police at that point, after I convinced Teri that I was drawing the line at tracking down the chief suspect ourselves. Unfortunately, in spite of the day or two of excitement, we are now left with a front porch slightly reminiscent of Niagara Falls on a rainy day, and the almost constant job of guarding the matching downspout on the other side of the building.

In spite of being very busy chasing suspects and look-alike suspects, we have actually been working quite hard inside of the shop. For better or for worse, Teri has taken down most of our snow things and brought out Easter and Spring in all their glory. Of course that means that we will undoubtedly get snow this weekend. But in the meantime I promised to show you some of the new, fun things that we picked up at Market. If you are a person who loves little darling sewing implements, you have to take a look at the sweet needle books and quilting tomatoes.

The tomatoes come in several colours and run only $5.00 with an adorable stick pin and $4.00 without one. ( Oddly, some colours come with, and some without.) I love the little needle books. They are sweet and small and would fit in your box perfectly. They come in gold, green and rose and run $6.00 each. Plus--when you purchase one, we will put in a new, gold needle.

Here is a little pattern that we had at market and I have finally gotten it put together in a little kit with everything you will need to complete it. It is called--Tiny Bee Garden pin cushion. It goes with the Tiny Garden Fob and is part of a series that Teri is going to be adding to. The price for the little kit is and it includes everything needed--including the silver bee charm-- except the stuffing.

If you haven't had a chance to see the new SamSarah books, we are sending you a picture. They are super sweet and very fun for spring. Harried Hare just makes me smile with its picture of a rapid rabbit on egg delivery. The colors are fun and cheerful, and if you are more into a quicker project, you can do what Teri is doing and just stitch the darling carrot pin cushions that go along with it. She spent yesterday afternoon gathering supplies to come home and stitch them up, so I will keep you posted as to her progress. I know I am much better at gathering the perfect materials, than I am at stitching the project.

She has also been busy stitching one of the darling totes from the Spring Totes book and said it was a lot of fun to do. These mesh totes come in different colours and are the perfect thing to carry your projects in while you are on the go.

And finally Market Fresh is a series featuring fresh fruits. The first one is Watermelon and I thing Teri has secretly gathered supplies to make the pin cushion on that book. Hmm...we'll see.

I also promised a picture of the new Blackbird books. A Stitcher's Journey is fabulous and filled with wonderful projects. Lynnette is quite quickly working her way through many of them and they are fantastic. She just picked up 2 from Jill and they are wonderful. I am sure they are hanging in her house by now.

And here are the series of Rewards of Merit pieces that I thing are so dear. They all vary in size and theme, but are truly so endearing. Did I mention that I have almost finished Dear Friend. Maybe I can show it next time I write.

The new limited edition sewing accessory pack from Little House is very fun and we still have a few left before they are gone. Fresh From the Garden is a pattern booklet and threads which funs $23.00 and the pre-finished Accessory pack includes a darling stuffed tomato and needle book in sweet, sweet fabrics for only $28.00. I think these were a one-time thing from market, so be sure to get them while they are still available.

Finally, you just have to see the darling new sampler that our friend Marilyn has stitched for us. It is a wonderful Long Dog piece, From the Hand of Friendship. I just love the colour Teri has used from both the linen and the thread, and I can't wait to see what Jill does with it.

OK, I have to finish this up and get it off to you. My family is restless and whining about dinner, so I guess I have to get it going. I think we are going to have Chicken Cacciatore--I only hope I can fix it better than I can spell it. Enjoy the rain if it is coming your way, and otherwise I hope that you have a crocus blooming in your garden.
ever fondly, Tina

end of February, 2011

2011-02-28T16:34:00.002-07:00

Dear Friends,

Here I am home from the market and finally getting back to some sort of normal. We had such a great time in Nashville that I can hardly believe it is all over and we are back in Ogden again. There were many times in the frantic rush to get ready for the market, that I had to stop and really wonder if it was all worth it. Teri and I were stressed, and we seemed to pass that frenzy and fatigue onto all the girls at the shop who were also desperately doing their best to help us finish up and get rid of us for a few days. In my nighttime wakefulness and worry, I thought how much easier it would be to simply post our fun new designs on the website, click a button and call it good. I hate to fly and seem to dread it even more the nearer it comes. But then I sat in the window of the plane on Thursday evening and watched the lights of Nashville growing closer as we descended towards them, and I found myself surprisingly eager and excited, as though I were a child getting ready to land in Anaheim. We got our rental car, had a lengthy fight with Ms. Garmin, who insisted on speaking to us exclusively in German thanks to a whim of Christian's from last summer's road trip, and slowly made our way to Cool Springs snatching a much needed dinner and cache of Diet Coke on our way. By the time we finally made it to the hotel, cranky and tired from our long day of airborn metal captivity and dragging our 4 large suitcases wearily behind us, I just wanted to be back home. We rounded the corner and headed for the elevators, when I heard our names called out. Looking up, I saw a line-up of friends on the 6th floor balcony waving and shouting--and I almost cried. But a part of me laughed inside and thought--silly--you are home. And thus began a few short days of visiting and laughing and enjoying each other. Of course our floor of the hotel was filled with friends whom we love and see so rarely. We went to breakfast on Friday morning and sat at the bakery and talked forever until someone finally said that we really had to go and set up our room for the market. And even then, it was hard to just stay put and get it all done instead of looking outside the door for each new arrival and then starting the hugging and visiting all over again. In the end, we spent the long weekend seeing the many darling shop owners who leave their own shops and come to the market, and we had a chance to catch up with the other designers who set up their own booth-like rooms with their lovely treasures. We were slammed busy the first day and sold out of everything that we brought with us to show. But in the midst of our own craziness, Teri just kept hankering to get out there and start her own gathering frenzy for the shop. And what a blast she had! She and Ann from R & R spent both days sneaking out and flying around the hotel buying fabulous things for us to bring back home. (I have to admit that there were a few times when I was a bit worried.) But each time they would sail past dropping off more bags and chattering about their wonderful finds, the more I would catch their excitement. And at the end of a day of visiting with shops from all over the country and some overseas, we would head off to dinner where we would talk for hours, and then come back to the hotel and travel from room to room visiting and laughing until the not-so-wee hours of the morning. I know that I needed my sleep, but how can you waste much time doing that when the weekend goes by so quickly. This week I am making up for it in a zombie-like manner, and Teri has spent every evening calling Sydney and Pat and Ann to chat and compare notes on the market. Now that it is all over--the flight and the frenzy, the stress and the sweetness--the one thing that I have decided is that the best computer in the world could never begin to substitute for the laughter and joy and excitement of this brief time at market. So come with me for a minute or two and let me share with you some of the delights of the weekend.

On Tuesday, we all worked like crazy unpacking our suitcases and getting everything out and ready for our own Nashville afternoon. We had punch and cupcakes and the most darling friends and customers dropped by to catch the excitement. I had as much fun as anyone else looking over the tables which were brimming with fabulous new things that Teri had gathered up. I wish you could have all been here all week to share some of them with us. Oh well...I will try to tell you about some of them anyway. We had our own darling new things if I do say so myself. You can see the pictures of them on our website by going into the New from Shepherd's Bush link. Teri's new books--Irish Heart and Love is--are sweet and perfect for early spring stitching. Both have great button packs to go with. Pink Snowman is a new addition to our coloured snowman series, and I think it is quite cute. Stitched on Red Pear linen which Weeks dyed especially for us, she is just happy not to have melted yet. Teri's Tiny Garden Fob is going to be the first of a new series of implements. It is just as cheerful as Teri is, and quick and easy to finish up. PLus we have 2 new kits for the boxes: Hold Hope--the perfect spring scene--and Keep Love--a sweet heart great for any loved one. And finally, my favorite kit is Little Eggs Pin Cushion--a dear little piece finished with hand-dyed silk ribbon. Good luck choosing what to do first.

Pat and Ann from R & R had the most wonderful new chenille trim which they have dyed in scrumptious colours perfect for the Blackbird pin cushions. You just have to see it and you will want to get started on the perfect project. We have sold tons of it already and are looking forward to using it ourselves. Speaking of Blackbird--Barb and Alma had a wonderful booth brimming with fun new designs. I just love their Rewards of Merit and since Teri let me price all of their things before we came home, I had lots of time to just sit and look through them. Each little project is sweeter than the last and I would like to do them all. I have the materials pulled together to stitch Dear Friend while I watch the Oscars--if I finish my own homework first. I will let you know how it is coming. And if you haven't seen their big book--A Stitcher's Journey--you must! It is beautiful and filled with lovely photographs and projects that will make you yearn to do them all.

Our friend Jeanette, from Jeanette Douglas Designs, was in the room right next to ours so I had a few brief chances to dash in and see her lovely new things. Her Quaker Stitches is just beautiful and I am sure you will love stitching it up. Good luck deciding whether to work in in just one color or several. It is quite wonderful both ways. Her long Royalty ABC Sampler is also exquisite with its soft colours and pretty old stitches. There were so many fun new books, that I can never tell you all of them. Rosewood Manor had 2 new ones that our customers fell in love with. Past and Present is a great sampler filled with different stitches that I think would be a blast to stitch. And Emily Munroe Quilt is lovely and sort of Amish in nature--perfect for a new, big project. Then on a different note, Little House's Fresh From the Garden is simply adorable. The sampler itself is quite wonderful worked with great garden colours of Crescent Colours floss. And then, if you are lucky, you will also pick up her Exculsive Set which goes along with the sampler and includes the quilted needle book and tomato which are all finished and ready to go. Honestly, it is darling. Oh...and we also have Heirloom Sewing Tomatoes which are also already made in soft Blackbird fabrics. You will love them for sure. Then you have to try out Plum Street's newest offerings. Her brand new The Flood is fantastic. It is a rendition of Noah's Ark and it is just very fun. In our shop, we just love her Hare series. Her two newest ones--Hares Autumn and Hares Winter are very sweet. There is just something about them that makes me happy. I guess it just reminds me of those days of doing everything with 2 little boys in tow. Super sweet! And I forgot to mention the Ann Grant Sampler from Shakespeare's Peddler. We have had a few customers waiting for this to come in and everyone has been very happy about it. Teri has had fun this week laying out threads and helping everyone choose just the perfect linen for this project. Sorry, but you just need to come in and see everything.
We are also very happy to carrying something new for our shop. Namaste Boxes seem to be popular all over the country since our friends who own shops couldn't wait to go on and pick up their orders. They are beautiful little leather boxes lined with matching suede and magnetized to keep all our sewing implements safely in place. I can't wait to choose one for my stitching table so that everything will be right where I need them. My problem will be to choose the colour I want. They come in such heavenly hues--pinks, lime greens, eggplant, and red to name a few. You just have to come in and take a peek.

Oh...I could just go on forever. But, I promise to write again next week with new ideas for you. I think that Teri is going to post a picture or two of our Nashville displays, but if you want help--just call us, and Teri will give you a personal, over-the-phone tour. We are in a snow globe here, so I hope your weather is just a bit more spring-like. Nashville spoiled me since I got to pull out my shorts and flip-flops. Anyway, have a wonderful, and safe week.

fondly, Tina

ps: Our hearts and prayers go out to all of our friends in Australia and New Zealand as they try to deal with their own nature catastrophes. I just want you all to know that we are devastated for you and are sending our very best thoughts and wishes for your health and safety as you try to pick up the pieces of your lives. a million healing hugs, T

2011-02-17T09:00:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends,

Remember me? I hope so, but then again, maybe not. I know that it has been quite a long time--as all of my friends are happy to remind me. Actually I think around Thanksgiving. Well that sort of says it all doesn't it? I really couldn't tell you what has happened with the last 3 months, except that things have been busy and crazy. We were very busy preparing for our shop Christmas open house the weekend after Thanksgiving, and from there it seemed like we were just in a continual whirlwind spinning through Christmas and January in no time flat. I think that is good. The shop has been extremely busy and we have had a blast making and shipping all of our Christmas designs. And now, we are on the brink of the Nashville Market having spent the past month diligently designing and preparing fun new kits and patterns. I think that we might almost be ready--at least I hope so. Of course, yesterday, we all worked hard finishing up everything as Ray,our printer, would deliver the patterns. We just turned the music up and tried to keep up with it. And surprisingly enough, by the end of the day, we seemed to be pretty much finished. We left work at 5:00--still on our winter hours--and I went home to fix dinner and finish helping Christian with some college app stuff. As we left work, I said to Teri--Yippee!!! we don't have any "homework" to do tonight--since we have spent the past 6 weeks either stitching or preparing kits. Honestly, I was very happy. Teri looked sort of sad and answered--what are we going to do? I knew she was off to a youth church activity, and then stopping back at work to finish packing a suitcase. That should have been my danger signal, so I was only mildly surprised when she called at 9:30 to tell me that she was just a tiny bit bored and had thought up 1 more project for us to work on. Oh, yay! I, of course, had happily put myself into slug mode and was zoned out on top of my bed staring at a wall. Her 3-hour project was fun, though, and now I think we are ready to go to market.

She is armed with her lists of things to gather for the shop, so if you are looking for something, be sure to call the shop and we will pick it up while we are there. Next Tuesday--February, 22nd--we will be having Market Day. We will be closed until noon, and then open from 12 to 5 for a super fun afternoon of Nashville treasures. Teri has ordered tiny, fabulous cupcakes from Vintage Cupcake and she will be making her friend, Ruth's world famous punch, so how can you not want to come by. We will hopefully have our own new things out as well as all of the wonderful finds that Teri scoops up at the market. I know that all of our friends are very excited about the new Blackbird books--as are we--and I can't wait to see the new books from Plum Street--Hare's Winter, Hare's Fall and The Flood. I don't know what else she is looking for, but I do know that she has been making a list, and she will be most impatient to get out and go shopping on Saturday. So...mark your calendars and try to stop by if you are close. We will leave the market things up all week if you can't come on Tuesday, but I fear that the punch and cupcakes will be long gone. I might try to post a blog at market, so watch for it. But don't be too surprised if I am confounded by technology. I will write again as soon as I get back.

I know that there will be a lot coming up on our website in the next week or so. Maybe a blog from market, and Kristin is going to try to post our new things on the main page of our web site on Saturday, so be watching for it. Then, next week, we will post some of the fun things we have found at market on the blog, so that should be fun. In the meantime--here are 2 new things which we have gotten back from Jill:

Bent Creek's St Patrick's Row is very darling. I love what Teri did with it. Good Luck!

Everyone here is enchanted with this little sampler--Clara Ellen--from Blackbird. Teri had it stitched for our mom, and honestly, it is just beautiful. Don't you just love what Jill did with the mat and frame?

Are you now a little bit excited. Well we certainly are. I am just hoping that the good weather lasts for the market. In the meantime, stay safe and stay tuned...hugs, Tina

Almost Thanksgiving, 2010

2010-11-19T10:34:00.005-07:00

Dear Friends,

Teri took a picture of pumpkins on the front wall. I love how it looks--so Autumnal. Of course we have to set them back up every day because Lindbergh seems to have a need to nudge them off and roll them around the yard every day. They make me happy because that means that we are still languishing in a beautiful Indian Summer here in Utah with only a slight nip in the air to remind us that Snow is on its way. We have actually had a few little blizzards already, but always followed by plenty of sunshine. I am still wearing flip-flops and am counting on the snow staying well up into the mountains where it rightfully belongs. Teri, on the other hand, has happily embraced the coming season by making a great and important purchase. She always peruses the little cookbooks that reside next to the cash registers at the grocery store, and generally purchases many of them as Christmas approaches. This year however, she made an emergency trip to Rite Aid where she found an excellent full size magazine of holiday cooking. She has made many of the recipes to serve at work, and I have to say that they are very yummy. We have had a good time picking things to try, and luckily enough for us, they have all worked out so far. The truly magical thing about this magazine is that when you go to the back cover and turn it upside down--you know, Martha Steward-like--there is an entire section of recipes to use with the pouches of sugar cookie mix. How lovely! So...if you are up our way on a Saturday, just stop by and see what the recipe choice for this week is. Yumm!

I know that Thanksgiving is only a week away, but I always feel a little bad that stitching for that holiday gets a little lost in the enthusiasm for Halloween. But we have some absolutely darling pieces and everyone has been excited with them. Here are a few to share with you. This is one of my favorite tiny pieces. Waiting For the Harvest is a wonderful pin cushion from the Blackbird girls. I just love how Teri has it stitched on the hand-dyed grey check with the dark thread. Isn't it quite cool? And of course it is finished perfectly.

And here is a fabulous little piece that Naomi-- a sweet customer of ours--brought in to show us and ended up leaving for a couple of weeks for us to display. It is Uber Turkey by Bent Creek. She worked it on a 14 count instead of the really big fabric and I think it is adorable. Just makes you smile.

But then so does the Lizzie Kate Thanksgiving Quick It. We have it stitched on a 10-count and made into a sweet pillow just perfect for the coming holiday. Plus, the added bonus is that you could do it before Thanksgiving. How fun!

And finally here is a picture of one of Teri's Autumn displays. I think we have some really lovely pictures even if it is for next year. Have fun looking through them.

I know that we all have a busy week ahead of us getting ready for next Thursday. I am hoping to write sometime next weekend, so keep your eye on the computer. We might be putting up some recipes for the holidays--if we ever stop cooking out of the new magazine. Oh and don't forget that our Christmas Open House will be on November 27--the Saturday after Thanksgiving--from 11:00-4:00. Teri and I just planned the treat menu this morning on our way to Salt Lake and it sounds quite delicious. Plus we have many fun holiday things ready for the day. Plus, plus we will have several new things that we have designed. Maybe a new book from Teri and I will have hopefully 4 new little kits--if all goes well. I have been having so much fun stitching this past month. So here is your personal invitation to drop by and enjoy our festive table and look at all our new Christmas offerings. Fa la la--see you there.
fondly, Tina

October, 2010

2010-10-15T12:23:00.015-06:00

Hi Friends,

Autumn Grace

Somewhere in the busy craziness of our last month, Autumn has crept upon us. I woke up earlier this week and noticed that the ivy which clings to my bedroom windows has turned completely and beautifully yellow. It's dark when we get up in the morning and the bite of Fall is suddenly in the pre-dawn air. Our massive crop of tomatoes has finally come into its own unaware of the first frost quietly lurking around the corner, and our Japanese lanterns--in their brilliant orange hues--are boldly peeking out from the foliage along my driveway. Sometimes in the early evenings I can smell that sweet, musky smoke of a woodburning stove somewhere in the neighborhood, and gone are the lazy strolls of summer as our walks with Lyndbergh have become brisker and more purposeful. Our conversations at work now revolve around stuffed peppers, cobblers, and meat loaves as we embrace the final vestiges of a late summer harvest. Only, this morning I left Teri happily wrangling a large, blue squash, and I happily anticipate the joys of baking up that sweet, golden meat. I love Fall in all its loveliness, and always look forward to the holidays that come right on its heels, but I must say that there is a bittersweet aftertaste in its splendour. Once it is here, there is no pausing its progression, for just as surely as the leaves change their colours, Winter snows will follow and one more year will have quickly spent itself before our very eyes.

Well, our Retreat is over, and what a great time we had. It is hard to believe how quickly the week goes by. We have prepared for a year, and spent the better part of the past 4 months doing just retreat projects, so when it is over Teri feels sad and at loose ends, and I just try to pick up my house and do the wash. Christian claims that I haven't cooked real food in a month, and he knows his food. But...what a time we had. I just wish that you all could have been with us. Perfect weather, perfect hotel, perfect teachers, and perfect participants. Wow--onto planning for 2012. Here are a few pictures that Teri put together of our time:

Tina, Charland, and Teri at the Birthday party

Mindy Brunner, Jeannette Douglas and Charland help Sue  assemble our new leaflets.
They were so great to help!!!

The welcome project at the Retreat was a stitched button to add to their bags.
Everyone finished their buttons.

Charland's Project was a beautiful stitching purse with lots of different parts and
pockets.

Alma is showing the blackbird project was a wonderful stitching tray. What a great idea.

Jeannette Douglas shows her amazing piece My Story. It is fabulous!

Pat and Anne of R & R stitched a darling sampler on a bag. It is very neat!

Tina and I show our project... well Tina's project. A sampler within a sampler.

Our other teacher was Cece Stricklin of the Threadgatherer, She showed us how to make the most amazing books out of needlework. Why don't I have a picture of her books???? They are fantastic!

All the classes were so much fun!

Some of the teachers poise by the autumn displays at the Canyons Resort.

We relaxed on Sunday at the Park Silly Market. I think Charland is getting a set of stilts for herself!

It was odd not going to the St. Charles market, but no matter how much pleading and begging we did a year ago could tempt them not to schedule it on the very same weekend as our retreat. Having booked our hotel almost 2 years ago, we didn't have any way of doing both. We did do a lot of shopping the market over the telephone, and loved having so many wonderful new things for the weekend as well as into October. Gosh there were so many new patterns for Halloween that we have been totally busy getting them stitched. Our stitchers have been working like little angels to get everything done quickly. A million thanks to all of them. I am sure you have seen our new books on our main page. First of all the new stocking is Sadie's Stocking. She is sweet and ready for Christmas stitching. She uses a mixture of DMC Perle cotton and overdyed perle cotton, and I hope you love the colours as much as I do. Sharon Crescent dyed Nutmeggie specially for us to use on her dress. Then you must see Teri's 2 new nine-pane pillows: Hallow's Eve and Autumn Gives. I think that they are such quick and darling projects and Teri always chooses the greatest colours and backing fabrics. She and Cecile--at Just Another Button Co.--worked back and forth on designing the most adorable buttons for them. You will just love the little smiling moon and autumn garden buttons. And finally, we have a new shop exclusive kit Halloween is Creeping which comes with a darling hand-done mat by Jill. If I have a picture of it, I will put it up right here for you to see.

We also have some wonderful new designs out in the shop as well. Our friend Marilyn stitched Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow for us and as you can see below, it is unbelieveable. Teri went through and changed all the silk colours to overdyed floss and it is amazing. The overdyed colours give it such a dimension and joy it truly takes your breath away.

Another darling picture that we have framed and ready for this year is Shakespeare's Peddler's Jenny Bean Halloween sampler. Isn't is gorgeoous? I love this piece which is definitely on my to-do list.

New for the St. Charles market were the various patterns from the friends of Jenny Bean. A number of designers have created pieces as friends of Jenny Bean and they are very darling. Some of them include: Bell Pepper--a darling Christmas sampler done by Little House. I think my friend, Judy, just stitched it for us, so I will put up a picture when it is ready. Winnifred Gardner is a truly beautiful sampler designed by Pat and Ann at R & R. This is a sweet reproduction-like sampler that comes with a little story about the children. I would also love to stitch this piece. I know you will love it.

Here's another sweet piece by Plum Tree: Hare's Halloween. It is new for us this year and it is quite darling.

Oh, and I can't forget Candy Corn: isn't this just the cleverest little piece. We made it into a stand-up with black ric-rac along the edge. Fabulous!

And then there are so many new books that we received from market, that we might not even get stitched for this year. But I will mention them and maybe Teri will take a picture--or maybe not. Primitive needle's Halloween Garden and Hoodoo Voodoo are charming and hilarious--respectively. If you have older boys, you will love the voodoo piece. Prairie Moon's Thine is the Trick and the Treat is a fabulous little Quaker Halloween piece that I know we will stitch for next year. And there are a zillion more. Oh well, Halloween comes again every year. Finally, don't forget to take a look at Lizzie Kate's Halloween fob. The thing I love most about this little kit is the pair of scissors you get--half green and half purple. Darling!

OK, I have to go--you know I am still working on my wash and Christian will be starving.

Hopefully I will write next week, so until then be safe and well.

fondly, Tina

2010-07-22T10:33:00.009-06:00

Mid-July, 2010

Hi Friends,

My summer has reached a low point. I know that sounds like a drastic thing to say, but it's true--my emotions are shattered. And it all happened because of a movie. I love to go to the movies--especially when it is hot outside with a long, lazy evening stretching out before us. I am not even super picky about what we go to. I love sci-fi, chick flicks, period pieces and even sometimes a shoot-em-up for Bob. My only thing is that I hate cry-er movies. I like sweet or touching, but I just don't do out and out crying. I would never go to a Nicholas Sparks movie, and I am completely over films like Terms of Endearment. So...when I mentioned Toy Story 3 and both boys were enthusiastic to go, I was very excited! Wow--a family activity. That just doesn't happen very often for us anymore. Well it was a wonderful movie, and we all laughed throughout the whole thing. I especially loved Barbie and Ken, and of course those films are written as much for adults as they are for kids. But I knew I was in trouble from the very beginning when Andy was getting ready to leave for college. Somehow it just hit too close to home for me. Andy and my Christian are both 17--although Chris is still in high school. I remember when the first Toy Story movie came out in the late fall, and all he wanted for Christmas was Woody and Buzz Lightyear. We spent 2 months on a frantic quest for the impossible-to-get toys, and Teri finally found them by accident on Christmas Eve. Peter and Christian played with them like crazy, and I had to remove Buzz from Christian's bed every night because he was so hard and pokey. At some point Buster joined the crew, and all the toys and trains in our house galloped about on him necessitating many little mends and patches. So, anyway, by the end of this absolutely darling movie, even my boys were discreetly wiping a tear or two away, and I was just out and out sobbing. You would think that I was watching Steel Magnolias. I kept thinking--come on, get a grip, you have to leave this theater. But it is true. So---even if everyone tells you it is the best movie of the summer--beware! If you have a 17 year old boy receiving a plethora of college advertisements, and if that same child still has a much-the-worse-for-wear Buzz, Woody and Buster sitting at the very top of his book shelf, may I suggest you just go and see the rodeo.

Gosh, where is the summer going? I sort of hate to see July wind down because I know that school and fall is lurking behind the corner. Ugh! However, I do love the thoughts of Fall holidays and getting ready for them here at the shop. Teri has already put up a little teaser Halloween display, and it is darling. I love her little sign: Halloween is creeping up. Clever, Teri.

I just love how she has pulled out some of our favorite pieces and so look forward to the new ones that will be coming. Jack is Back is such a fun piece, and the new Pumpkin Kat from Mosey and Me is fabulous. Don't you think that it will be a fun one to stitch and have ready from the holiday? Also, Jolly Jack is a very fun new piece that just makes you happy with its merry pumpkin and crows. I also love Charland's darling Halloween stocking. And this is just the beginning...

July in Utah is patriotic through and through. We seem to start our celebrating for the 4th and continue on until the 24th when we celebrate Mormon pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley. I guess summer is somewhat patriotic everywhere in the United States. So...it isn't too late to stitch this darling new piece which we just got back from Jill. Flag Day is such a sweet, sweet picture. (Of course I have quite a soft spot for peasant women and sheep anyway.) The colours are very soft and muted, and I love what Teri chose to stitch it on. If you are still in a flag-y mood, here's your piece.

Thanks for our friend Cathy, we are now carrying a line of wonderful oil cloth bags. We have a variety of Zipper bags as well as totes in many different fabrics. There is something just fun about the oil cloth rage that makes me want to have some of each style. Whether you are into cherries or polka dots, or more into retro florals or chic black and white prints, there is something for everyone. Just try and make a choice.

Teri discovered the Stitch Happy series at a recent market, and we have had so much fun with them. My favorites are the clear shopping bags which are perfect for a big project--or, indeed shopping. Teri likes them because she can see at a glance which project is hiding within. The mugs are fun and cheerful, and everyone at your house or office will definitely know whose mug it is. We also love the journals which are perfect for keeping track of stitching or threads. They are a bargain at $6.50 and I can think of so many fun uses. They even have neat sticky notes which would be handy at all times.

Well, we are on the brink of my favorite holiday here in Utah--not. We celebrate our founder's day on July 24th complete with rodeos, painted horses, parades and fireworks. We will be parading tomorrow, so don't come shopping as we will be closed for the day. The rest of the day we will be enduring the heat, avoiding cooking and I will be thinking of a good reason to come back to work where it is cool. Happy Summer! I think we are planning a nice, cool movie for the evening. But, guess what, it won't be Toy Story. Have a fun rest of July and I will write again shortly. Be safe and cool.

ever fondly, Tina
PS--eat ice cream.

2010-07-07T16:34:00.006-06:00

July 4th weekend, 2010

Dear friends,

My Mom often told me--be careful what you wish for.... Well, of course she was right, and it all started with a sweater that Teri insisted on buying. You know, she is quite crazy about bees anyway, so when Pat and Ann told her to go to the mall and buy this shockingly vibrant bee sweater, she couldn't wait to get there. With June well underway, she arranged an entire bee/beehive display here at the shop and took great joy in pointing out some of her favorite pieces to enthusiastic customers. The pictures did look very appealing both inside the shop and through the front window. The next morning--I think in celebration of her excellent work at the shop--she donned the yellow sweater, and we set off for work. Upon arriving, we were greeted by Lynnette and Sue who reported that we seemed to have a number of bees in the front window. Hmmm...how odd. They were right--there were a number of bees and their numbers were growing by the hour. Upon investigation, we discovered that we actually had a small swarm of honey bees who had flown in through a tiny, tiny hole in the brick near the front windows. I can only think that they were searching for their queen amongst our plethora of stitched hives. We then spent most of the day carefully transporting bees from the front window to a box in the backyard. We talked ever so quietly to them as we were moving them--so that they would stay calm--and stopped just short of singing to them in case our customers would think we had completely and collectively lost it. But, you know Queenie sings to her bees and they love her. All day long, we instinctively brushed embroidered bees off of the famous sweater. We were sure that we had saved hundreds of our little friends, but when the beekeeper came to fetch them, he just snorted. It was a bit of an adventure after all, and we had a laugh remembering a number of extremely odd adventures that we have had at our shop over the years. In the end, I think that some good things come from strange circumstances: I no longer feel a need to procure a beehive for my back yard, and Teri hasn't worn the cheerful sweater since.
Besides beekeeping, our June has been busy. We have several new designs ready. I think that the pictures might be on the homepage now, but I am going to put them up here as well. Our Summer Offerings are gentle and sweet--filled with our own love and gratitude for the many, many friends who are part of our lives. For truly, what would life be like without them...

The Journey is a new kit which I hope you will love as much as I do. It is a gentle reminder of the joy of dear friends. It is worked on 32 count French Vanilla overdyed linen with soft and beautiful overdyed silk threads. Tiny charms and buttons complete this sampler. $50.00--kit

Our Hearts Pin Cushion and the Safe Keeping Fob were designed to go with the Journey piece. Both of these kits come with everything you need to complete them except the batting to stuff them. Both are cross stitched with silk threads on French Vanilla 32 count linen. The fronts and the backs are stitched and the edges are adorned with beautiful hand-dyed silk ribbons. Pin Cushion--$20.00 Fob--$16.00

This sweet piece--Friends-- is worked in soft silks on a hand-dyed linen fabric. It works up quickly and would be a perfect gift for your very own soul mate. kit--$20.00

And at last, Summer Flies pillow. Worked on the 9 pane fabric, this summer piece goes with the rest of the series which Teri has been working on. It is darling and shows off a beeskep button in the center square. Worked with overdyed cotton threads, it is quick and easy to get stitched and put together for your warm summer days. book--$5.00 button--$6.00

I guess I am going to try to get this off and hopefully up to you before the firecrackers have fizzled. Enjoy a wonderful July and try to keep cool. Aren't these the perfect stitching evenings. I think so. I am planning to write again next week, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. Until then--hug a friend and be careful what you wish for.
fondly, Tina

2010-06-08T14:52:00.004-06:00

Early June, 2010

Dear Friends

Gosh--how did it become June? Is it just my age, or is time truly spinning faster with each year? All I know is that if it is June, then summer must be right around the corner. Here in Utah, we still seem to be stuck halfway between winter and summer. I am not sure what happened to spring. It doesn't seem to be a Utah occurrence anymore. I just keep telling myself--don't complain, soon it will be creeping on to 100 degrees. But I have to admit that I am imminently going to be able to hire Teri in her gypsy garb and open a poisonous apothecary shop next door when I harvest the plethora of ominous mushrooms which seem to be covering my front lawn. Just beware at my house if you find Chicken Marsala on the menu. My weekend was full of crazy emotions for me. My oldest child graduated summe cum laude from college, and my baby left for a month in Germany on a student exchange. Talk about wanting to cry. Where did my little sword wielding pirates go? Christian spent the weekend spiraling between excitement and terror, so we have imparted many little tricks to ward off homesickness as well as lots of reminders of how much fun it will be. I suggested that when he was worried or lonely, he should just text and tell me all he has been doing. Well...it's 4 days later and except for a blurred photo of a sign reading Welcome to Frankfurt (I guess to let me know he was there safely,) I have heard nothing. Finally, after my own somewhat threatening text with a list of at least 25 extremely important questions that every mom needs to know, I got an answer on my phone. I grabbed a coke and went outside at the shop so that I could enjoy his reply with no interruptions. I clicked the text open and read--I'm great! Oh....this will be a very long month.

We are very busy here. We are just finishing a group of wonderful new kits and patterns just perfect for summer stitching. I hope we will have them on the website in the next week or two and I will definitely put them on my next blog. Yay!!! We are also crazy getting ready for our Retreat in the fall. I hope you are coming, because it's going to be the best one ever. We are almost completely full, so if you are still considering it--now is the time to act.

We have the most darling new pieces which Jill has framed and sent back to us. Just wait until you see them. Lizzie Kate's Green

is fabulous! Of course Teri has tweaked the colours and chosen a wonderful fabric-- and it is perfect. This pattern is actually a series of 6 little patterns and when you buy them, you get the free border pattern. We also added buttons to the ones that come with the booklets. Then, when you see the little cut-outs that Jill has added to the frame, you will just weep. Truly darling.

Another new picture which we have just gotten back from Jill is With Thy Needle. I love to look at this piece. It is very rustic and sweet. I love the colours Teri chose for it, and would really like to stitch it myself. You just have to look at all the detail like the circles and swirls. The over-dyed linen and the weathered thread make it appear like a piece that your great-grandmother might have stitched. Perfect for summer stitching?

And don't you just love this whimsical new little piece called: Dandy Dreams? It is sweet and nostalgic, and the colours we've used are so soft and comforting. It is such a darling. And the added bonus to it is that I have become more tolerant of the dandelions in my own yard. Every time I see one popping up, I just think about this piece and decide that I don't really mind them so much after all. You could argue, however, that stitched ones are significantly better than live ones.

Well--I have been working on this tiny blog for several days now, so I am just going to send it off and hopefully write again next week. I hope that your week is filled with flowers, and sunshine, and happy stitches.

ever fondly, Tina

Mid-May, 2010

2010-05-20T14:19:00.005-06:00

Dear Friends,

Do you just love this picture? We met our siblings in Salt Lake last week for dinner and Teri spent our entire walk taking photographs of the spring flowers--in between torrential rain showers. I think that the tulips in my yard have sort of fizzled out this year. My neighbor claims that all of the deer that seemed to spend the winter in our yards dug hers up and ate them, but I am a bit skeptical of this. Do you think deer can dig up bulbs? I am not so sure. Bob says it is because I didn't plant any new ones last fall, and I think he is right. He is always so diligent about planting fall bulbs, and I only love them in the spring. I don't seem to have the patience to put in the work. This year I will be better, because I think they are so lovely. Or perhaps if I buy them--he will plant them. Anyway, in spite of the beauty of the spring flowers, Winter is in no hurry to leave us this year. Our mountains are still covered in deep snow, and we have had plenty of snow and rain even this past week. I don't really mind it so much, but Teri is mostly distressed with her wardrobe. I am always cold, so I just keep wearing sweaters. But Teri puts on a summer frock at the merest hint of sunshine and by noon--in the middle of a little blizzard--she is freezing. Oh well, tall shoes, summer dresses. Next week, if it warms up, I will send you a picture of our lilacs.

May is such a busy month for me. It seems like the month that school ends is filled with all kinds of things. Plus Bob and the 2 boys have birthdays within 2 weeks of each other. That is always fun. I am on for the 2nd birthday cake for tomorrow, and I am just plain bad at cakes. If I make a cake from scratch--it is dry and strange. If I make a cake from a box, it is oddly shaped. In the end either cake usually cracks, tilts, and slides. I could blame it on my ancient oven, but truly I think more responsibility belongs to the baker. Good luck to me.

At the shop, we are very busy getting ready for summer as well as preparing things for our Retreat. We have many sort of ambitious projects going on for that, and it is a lot of fun. We are not going to the market in Columbus this year because we promised to do the store for our EGA regional seminar in Salt Lake. However, we are coming out with a wonderful group of kits and patterns that will be ready the first part of June. So watch our website in a couple of weeks for more information on that. We have some very fun things coming for perfect summer stitching.

We also have fantastic pieces that we have just finished stitching for the shop. I am just going to put up pictures of them as they come back from Jill. You are going to love them. Here is Bee Story, a pattern we brought back from Nashville. Isn't it just the most darling thing. Plus the way Jill framed it with little matching cut-outs. I love it.
Of course Teri is putting it in the center of her bee display--newly up for Summer which might be around the corner. I am sort of surprised she isn't including a picture of herself in her new bee sweater that Pat and Ann told her about. It would fit right into this cheerful display.

Here is another sweet piece that we have just had finished for summer. Hare's Summer is so darling, it will make you smile. It is one of a whole series of Hares that are very clever and fun.
Another neat patriotic piece that we have just ordered in is One Nation. OK, if you love cool Americana pieces, this one is definitely for you. The blue part of the flag us filled with Quaker stars and the red and white stripes are made up of the names of the fifty states plus a few extra sort of Quaker motifs sprinkled in here and there. It is truly fantastic!

Now that's a great summer project.

I am now on my way to a Heritage meeting for Preservation month at our old city cemetery. We are having tours of historic grave sites and it should be fun. And wet. I just looked outside and the sky is literally black with thunder clouds. O, Joy. Here is just a little bookkeeping detail. I think we will be closed for the whole Memorial Day weekend---Saturday and Monday, that is. My Peter is graduating on Saturday, so I just have to go as well as Teri. I really can't believe it. Where did those 4 years go? So....have a happy May, and I will write again next week. Be safe.

fondly, Tina

2010-04-17T13:57:00.007-06:00

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Hi Friends,

Can you even believe that we are almost to tax-day? I'm still having trouble writing 2010, and soon we are going to be half-way through it. I don't know how it is where you are, but Spring is coming very reluctantly to my home. As you can see in my photos, the Easter weekend gifted us with a lovely blizzard bringing almost as much snow as we had all winter. That's Utah for you. Oh well, we so need the water that I can hardly complain. I think it will make 100 degrees in July that much sweeter. Not! I was surprised when I went into the back yard at the shop to see that the lilac bushes are well into bud. Now that is exciting. My trees at home look positively dead. I wish Teri could share the joy since lilacs are her favorite flowers, but we are trying to keep her from venturing out back in her tall shoes for fear that she might fall off them and become injured. We might not find her for days. If they bloom quickly, she might be safe because she has been forced to put them away for a week due to their sever pain-inflicting properties. Yesterday our printer, Ray, stopped by and began to bemoan the painfulness of his new shoes, so we are beginning to wonder if it is something going around in the shop. Hmm......just as I was contemplating a new pair of shoes myself.

This has been a busy couple of weeks here at the shop. The Retreat is nearly filled up, and we are so excited for September. We have all enjoyed seeing the names come in on the registration forms. It is always wonderful to see all our friends coming back for the weekend and also fun to anticipate meeting those coming for the very first time. This one thing I know for sure--we are going to have the best time ever. Who knows--you might get to see Teri's great shoes.

She has been busy re-arranging the shop and it looks just perfect for spring. I think that you will find pictures of her new displays towards the end of this letter. We are just waiting for the new Blackbird leaflet--A Wish for You--which is the third in their new house series. I think we have a picture of the first 2 houses already stitched by our friend, Mindi Bruner. I think they are just sweet and the third one is darling. Wait until you see it--you will just love it.

Here are some of Teri's fabulous wall displays.

This is our side wall. It is full of weddings, hearts and sweet sayings.

Here is a small sheep display for Spring.
This is the beginning of our Mother's Day and family display.

This is our center display, sweet sayings and a bit of spring. Please notice the great lunch bags in the top left corner. They come in green or rose stripe and a free pattern comes with that says, "Recycle."

Teri tells me that we are also getting a planner/calendar from Blackbird sometime this week. I am excited about it, but I can't really imagine what it is like enough to tell you, so I will re-visit this next week. Can't wait!

Another sweet picture which we have just gotten back from Jill is Plum Street's Hurray Spring. Isn't it just darling? I love how Teri put it together and how Jill framed it. I kind of want to take it home and put it on my kitchen mantel, but everyone here says no. So I have to just enjoy it here.

Another fun piece that is new for us is Count Your Blessings by Shakespeare's Peddler. It isn't very big and would work up quickly. Certainly a perfect sentiment for these days.

And finally, we are at last putting up a picture of our sweet little pin cushion--Joy. It features a little sheep--what else--perched in a heart and standing next to a silver tulip charm. This was a piece that Teri did for Nashville, and I just love it. It is a free pattern with the purchase of the tulip charm, or we also sell it as a complete kit including the overdyed silk ribbon around it.
Oh--one more thing. I don't know if you know that Carriage House designs is "closing her doors." I am so sad. I love her designs, and had a good friend call last week to order a bunch of patterns from them. When she told me, I felt bad. I have to admit that I had fun going through all her patterns looking for the ones she ordered and finding many for myself. Anyway, if you are in need of any of those patterns, let us know. I think we can get them for a couple of more months.

New mugs!! We have been able to find a few more of the sheep pin cushions! They are all $11.00.

Well, I have to go. Kari is ready to do the shipping for the day and it is almost time for me to head home. Have a great week--rain or shine--or snow. Be safe and be stitching.

fondly, Tina

PS--Here is a recipe that Teri has discovered and refined that we have all been enjoying at the shop:

Happy sort of cooking

S'More Bars

In a sauce pan heat 1/2 cup heavy creme until bubbles form around the edges. Add 1 3/4 cups milk chocolate chips. Stir until smooth and silky (off heat) and add 1 t. vanilla. In a large bowl place 3 1/2 cups mini marshmallows and 3/4 pkg of chocolate covered graham crackers broken up into smaller pieces. Pour chocolate mixture over this and stir to combine. Put into a 9 x 9" pan lined with saran or parchment. Let cool until solid again--overnight. Cut into bars. The last time she made it, she added toasted almond pieces and I liked that even better, but Teri claimed she didn't like the nut addition. So you try and see what you think. Yumm!

2010-03-26T16:18:00.003-06:00

Dear Friends:

Here is the important information that we have all been waiting for:

THE RETREAT BROCHURE AND REGISTRATION FORM WILL BE POSTED ON OUR WEB SITE ON MONDAY, MARCH 29, AROUND 3:00 pm--in the afternoon. We are very excited and hope that you will be as well. We have such fun plans already well in the works and the teachers are very very excited. We all got together last month and had such a great time sharing ideas and getting revved up. So...heads up watch the web site on Monday and be ready to go. We want to see you here in September. When you see the brochure on the website, you need to copy off the registration form, fill it out and fax it back to us. Seriously, I don't think there will be time for you to mail it back to us.

We are hoping for no glitches like last time, so keep your fingers crossed. Hooray!!!!

In the meantime--we have been busy here at the shop. Retreat preparations are in full swing and we are happily anticipating warm weather when we can go out in the backyard behind the shop and work on more projects. We are not going out there today since there is a full-blown blizzard happening outside our windows today. Oh well, we'll take them when we get them this year. Teri has been busy with her new tall shoes. She bought new shoes recently and when she brought them in we thought they were quite tall. Sometimes we all worry that she will fall off of them. They are very cute, but after about 14 minutes, she is sort of hobbling. Each day we ask if they are more comfortable and she always says the same thing--no, not at all. She always perseveres in everything she does, so I'm sure you will see her in September still breaking them in. I think they are a little like Dutch wooden shoes because I can always here her coming from anywhere in the shop. It is handy.

I know this is a little late, but we have 3 darling new patterns stitched for this Spring season. Teri found them in Nashville and has been working on them ever since, and now we have them finished and back. First of all is Briar Rabbit from La-D-Da. This is such a darling little piece with a sweet bunny and alphabet as well as a tulip border. And don't you think that Jill did such a wonderful job framing it with its perfect mat. I love it because it isn't Eastery at all and would work all year round. Darling!

Then there is this sweet pillow by Sam Sarah--Hip Hop Hare. I love this piece as a pillow and I think that the colours and backing fabrics are just so pretty. I think that Teri did a great joy figuring out colours and threads for it as well.

And finally, we both fell in love with Uber Egg by Bent Creek. Our friend, Judy stitched it on the big Jute fabric for a wall hanging and it is fabulous. We have it hanging up over our center display and it is so adorable you can't keep your eyes off of it. So if you are still in the mood--there is plenty to choose from.

Well that was to get you in the mood for the beginning of Spring and the start of Easter week. Have a fun and safe holiday next week, don't forget to take a peek at the Retreat Brochure and I'll write sometime next week.
Until then,
fondly, Tina

2010-03-02T10:33:00.006-07:00

Last days of February, 2010

Hi friends,

I'm back from Nashville and we had a great time! Mostly, I am not a very good traveler. I love being other places...I just don't necessarily enjoy getting there. I think I would like a good road trip, but living in Utah, we just never take the time to go by car unless it is Las Vegas or California. Then my Peter was dreadfully car sick as a child so that put paid to long car trips. So Teri has to put up with my crankiness on airplanes. I don't like going through security, and I don't really want to sit by anyone on the plane. I always try to get a window seat and then I just watch the maintenance crew outside the window and ignore everything else. Of course this time, we watched them loading luggage in Phoenix and saw that one of our suitcases --filled with kits and models--didn't make it on. Oh joy! Teri wanted to tell someone, but I restrained her. Lucky us--it didn't make it to Nashville until 2:00 the next morning...but at least it made it. Did I mention... Oh well, the rest of the trip was great. I love the most getting to the hotel and all our friends are waiting for us. We were so busy talking and laughing and going to little parties that it was after midnight when we faced setting up our room. So...waiting for an errant suitcase wasn't such a big deal. And, really, who needs to sleep anyway. Then, the time we are there is very busy and how fast it all goes by so now we are home missing everyone else.

NASHVILLE NEWS:

Well, here goes the first chapter in Fabulous Finds from the Market:

Now, don't think that I am omitting our own designs. We have them up on the home page of our website as well as the link to all the new things. I'm not going to put the pictures here so just go onto the link for new things to see them. We were very busy the whole time, but on the first day we were really too busy for Teri to go out shopping for the shop, and she was rather anxious. About 4:00 in the afternoon of Saturday, I noticed that she was helping customers with her purse over her shoulder. I guess she was ready to get out of our room. Sunday, she rarely returned to me. I think she was afraid I was going to make her stay and work. When she does make a very brief appearance during the day she always pretends to be out of breath to make me think she has been working hard, but I know that there is a lot of visiting as she goes along.

Now, just to entice you, we have a new group of patriotic things--My Land, a darling sampler with the words to My Country Tis of Thee around the border, and the Liberty pin cushion and fob are very old looking and wonderful. I think they look like they came out of a sewing box from the Civil War era. Our new Blue Snowman might just be my favorite, and Lucky Sheep is a sweet offering for St. Patrick's Day. My friend, Pat from R & R, stitched it in 3 hours on Sunday morning. Let Your Light Shine is fun and quick on 10 count fabric--very cheerful. And don't forget to look at the 2 new 9-pane pillows--Snow Blows and Spring Blooms. These come as leaflets or full kits, whichever you yearn for.

Now for some very fun things from other friends:

Barb and Alma from Blackbird Designs were darling as always and brought fantastic things for stitching and enjoying. Honeysuckle Manor is a wonderful new big book brimming with beautiful projects. Two of the samplers are reproduced from antique ones and then it is full of smaller, wonderful projects to tempt us. How on earth to choose what to begin with. There are several patterns in this book to go along with their darling wooden pin cushion bases which they have hand made. Very sweet. They also have 2 additional new books. Snow Garden and Valentine Rose are the first two patterns in a series of 12 called Anniversaries of the Heart. They would be wonderful as individual pieces, but they also suggest stitching them together on one large piece of fabric. At market, Pat showed us the piece that she is stitching them on and it is quite lovely. Teri is finding out all the particulars so that you can do it this way as well. (Did I mention that there is space to be left on the fabric for bonus patterns to be completed near the end of the year. How exciting!) Oh, I almost forgot--they also have 2 adorable little bird pin cushion patterns--Bluebird and Bird in Hand.

Carriage House released their new Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow at Nashville and it is fantastic.

This also has 12 squares--like their other Hawk Runs--but it is laid out in a vertical piece. It is in rich fall colours and each little square is more darling than the last. The whole thing is topped with pumpkins and birds. How can you resist the witch flying, the little cemetery, the splendid Tom turkey, or the trip to grandma's house? We definitely have to stitch this one.

The Workbasket always has great designs, but this year Teri was so so excited about their new Memory Keeper. She came back to our room thrilled with this beautiful envelope stitched with various Quaker motifs, alphabets, and sayings. It is to keep your treasured papers--love letters--in and is very cleverly constructed. I know that you will love it.

Our room is always right next to Charland and Sydney, and our hours together are just too short. We spend every minute together, and are still never ready to leave at the end of the weekend. We dragged them back into old Franklin with us for a stolen hour of shopping before our plane home on Monday. We had been waiting all weekend to go to a cupcake store there and ended up with the last few cupcakes for the day. Hence we were labeled cupcake stealers by others.

Leaving them each time is truly my soul's sadness. They, too, had lovely new things for the market. I could spend hours just looking at the silver charms and anticipating the beauties that they will bring to the Retreat. Her new Quaker Heart Needle Case is just fantastic. The silk threads and ribbons are in quiet shades of rose and greens and complement perfectly the sampler lining fabrics. It all folds out in sections and then comes back together again to form a simple and lovely heart. It runs $75.00 for the kit, but it is filled with everything wonderful to finish this project.

Another fun implement case to stitch and cherish is new from Little House. Needle and Thread

comes with the pattern and threads to make a darling scissor fob which Teri stitched on the way home from market. It also comes with the pattern and threads to stitch a little sampler to wrap around a little premade pillow and pin cushion. When completed it provides a place to tuck your scissors and rest your pins. The fabric is a sweet ,very old fashioned deep blue floral and dot that also looks like it came from a long ago time. The whole set runs $36.00 and is as sweet as pie.

Now I want to mention a few fabulous books and charts that we brought back and are getting ready to stitch. Teri has already chosen threads and fabrics for Little by Little's Bee Story. This darling little sampler has a bee skep and bees in a meadow with words and unending charm. And their Quaker Faith in a very odd little sampler with alphabets and numbers and Quaker motifs. I just love it and want to stitch it as a wedding sampler for myself. I know that is a little after the fact, but I love it so much.

We also love the samplers from Shakespeare's Peddler. Their new Love the Spring is quite wonderful with a sweet saying that seems like it came right from Shakespeare himself. We also love her Jenny Bean samplers. The newest one--Humble Servant Sampler--is very beautiful. It is worked in grayed, soft hues and is just sweet. I know Teri will want to be stitching this one. It has bees on it of course.

O gosh, there is just still so much more. I am going to have to tell you more things later this week. But this is a good start leaving still so much to relate in a few days. I am facing the end of the Olympics with mixed emotions. I have spent quite a bit of time watching and I seem to get drawn into every event--well, except hockey. But the good thing is that I have stitched like crazy. But I am ready for them to be over so that my household can go to bed at a decent time and get back to a more productive life. I hope that you have gotten lots of stitching done as well, and if you need a wonderful new project, just let us know. Have a safe and blessed week.
ever fondly, Tina

2010-02-18T09:56:00.005-07:00

17. February, 2001

Hi friends,

Unlike the rest of the country, Utah is trying hard to turn into spring. We have had a lot of snow this year, but not nearly as much as we need to propel our desert reality through the hot, arid summer. We have been slogging through our grey, drizzly days watching the snow blanket the East knowing that it ought to be us, but still a little relieved it isn't. Our house sits on the north side of the street under many trees, so our front yard has melted down to the bare, winter grass while my neighbors across the street still have a foot of snow. One late afternoon last week I was outside cleaning up the lawn after several months of the joys of a dog in the winter, and across the street, my friend was shoveling her walks. That's Utah. For the past six weeks, we have had a little pack of deer who have migrated down from the mountains living in our neighborhood. Many times lately we have found them clustered in our front yard or ambling up the street and then Lindbergh barks for hours as soon as he goes outside. The other night, Christian was coming home when they walked out in front of the car and just stopped and stared at him. THANK GOODNESS he was going slowly and could stop. He thought they were very large dogs so he had stopped to look at them and then one of them put his face in front of the windshield. (Now I don't want him to drive for fear of hitting one and ruining the car. Bob and I have already done that one.) Ah...the joys of the season.

Time has gone by so quickly since New Year's that in a way I can't believe that it is mid-February. We are leaving for Nashville the end of the week so everyone here at the shop has been going like crazy getting ready for it. We have shipped 14 huge boxes and I am a little worried about getting into our room when we get there. I have tried to talk Teri into going in early and getting it all set up, but she isn't so enthusiastic about that. I am wishing for good weather for all those who are traveling and an uneventful flight for us. I hate flying. We do have lots of great things for the market, and in spite of everything we have finished and sent, we are still waiting for printing to return to us. I think Teri is still stitching on something, but I am ignoring it because I want to be done. It will be so much fun when we get there. The problem is that we should spend all of Friday night setting up our room, but what we will really do is visit forever with friends and then zombie through the wee hours of the night. I am going to have to get lots of sleep on the plane to power through. Teri seems to need no sleep and runs on random excess energy flowing through the cosmos. So.... next week we will have lots of things to tell you about. Watch our web site for all of our new designs, and we will tell you all of the fun things that we have brought back for the shop. It will be fun. (once it's over),

Oh--I am supposed to tell you that on Tuesday the 23rd we are going to have a Nashville Afternoon. Come by in the afternoon and share some yummy treats with us and take a look at all the fun things we have brought back from the market. Of course we will have our new things ready and lots of other treasures that Teri finds back there. So come by for the fun.

In the meantime, we do have some fun pieces that we have stitched for spring. Lizzie Kate's Time for God quite lovely and calm for a busy year. We haven't sent it over to Jill yet for framing, so it is just perched on our front counter.

We added a few buttons and have stitched it on a fun fabric with grays, blues and mauves.

Another darling new design of hers is Easter Sampling. We have made it into a darling pillow, and I think it looks very charming. The backing fabric matches the stitching perfectly. It will make you think spring is around the corner.

This is Lizzie Kate's newest Quick-it, "Easter Sampling." We have stitched it on 10 count Buttermilk and finished it with a darling fabric that just matches. We added a few buttons and have all the supplies available--just in time for Easter stitching.

This is one of our Spring Displays--brimming with sweet and cheerful pieces!

Teri has been rearranging quite a bit lately keeping up the the seasons and holidays and I thought it might be fun to show you a new spring display she just finished. We have been working at finding wonderful little spring pictures that are sweet, but not so cute. I think you will agree that these seem to fit the bill. I hope you are most inspired.

And finally, in the spirit of Vancouver, we have pulled out our own Shepherd's Bush Olympic pin. It makes me wish I were there and could see all of the fun pins they have for 2010.

We have Olympic fever here. We love to watch the skaters and the skiers. It reminds us of our Olympics in 2002 in Salt Lake City. We have a few of our official Olympic pins from the 2002 Winter Games. It looks like a cross stitch sampler and comes with a chart to stitch. Each pin is numbered.

Well, I have to go. Everyone is lined up for the computer, and I think my time has expired. I hope you are having fun watching the Olympics. I am. But mostly I am totally enjoying having the excuse to stitch, stitch, stitch. A warm blanket, great television and a wonderful project. What more could you ask for. OK--a diet coke. Perfect.

Have a great rest of February. I'll write next week. Stay warm and safe.
fondly, Tina

Wednesday, January, 13, 2010

2010-01-15T08:54:00.004-07:00

Hi Friends,

I had to put the whole date in because this is the first time this year that I have gotten it right, and it felt really fine. (Mostly because I can backspace and correct.) I am sure that I have written a hundred checks so far this year at work, and I am beginning to get a complex because I just can't get the 2010. The first day, I complained and complained at work to Lynnette and Sue, and they just stared at me and remarked that they rarely even write checks. Oh, great! I have discovered that the first thing I do when I write a check is write the 0 in 01, 02, 03....09. Everyone was laughing when every pay check had the 09 crossed out and 10 written in. This week I have been a little better at stopping at the 0 and then squishing in the 1 in front of it. Oh well, maybe by February.

2010---Can you even believe it. It seems like a year ago that we were in a huge panic over the turn of the century. Remember Y2K, computers crashing, mountains falling, the world collapsing? And here we are a whole decade later. Actually a decade and 2 weeks. Time certainly must be speeding up. Perhaps it's all those growth hormones in our food. I always used to tease my boys that I was going to have to put bricks on their heads to stop them from growing. Now I am going to have to put bricks on the year. Well, Happy New Year to all of you. For me, the holidays went by too quickly, but they usually do. By the time we lock the door of the shop on Christmas Eve, I am ready for the great day itself to arrive. Peter was home for almost the whole 2 weeks and it was so much fun. This past 9 months he has been so busy at school that we just sort of see him in passing now and then on a Sunday. Mostly for groceries and clean clothes. I think for him it was sort of nice--though he won't probably admit it--to come home for a bit. He cooked with us, he put up Christmas lights, he fixed my vacuum and several other things, played music, and even went to Christmas Village with us. One night he drove Teri, her friend Joanne, and me around looking at Christmas lights and even let us play carols on the radio when we weren't humming the song from Driving Miss Daisy. If it weren't for the fact that he could still bring Christian to tears in 30 seconds, I began to wonder if he was a Stepford child. When he packed up to go home after New Years, I cried and was reminded of a line from Pride and Prejudice about " nothing so sad as parting from one's children."

But now, we are headlong into January and a new year. We have the new engraved Gingher Scissors and 2010 Fob ready--the one thing that I accomplished for work during the holidays. I love them! The scissors--Elena-- are pretty and vibrant and remind me of an Impressionist painting. I really had to think about how to design the fob to go with them. Finally, I chose the old-fashioned flower basket because I think it worked so well with all the lovely, rich colours. I had the front part drawn and stitched by mid-December, but I was just so stuck on the words. I had been making a list all through last year in anticipation, but when it came right down to it, I just couldn't decide. I had several of you write or call in with suggestions, which was fun, and I had all the girls at work with their favorite they were pushing for. My sister even called me every day for a week with her suggestions--some quite interesting. The favorite at work was: Swearing off men in 2010, which was tempting, but then we would have to hide it from husbands and male children which is pretty much my household. I even stitched one that I quite liked: Let worries end in 2010, but then every time I worked on it, it reminded me of things to worry about. So...I pulled it out. I finally--on New Year's Eve--settled on my personal favorite: Find your Zen in 2010 because it just made me happy. Teri and I are always laughing about our Zen from our past Yoga classes, and when Kari mentioned it, it just seemed right. I hope you like them. The fob is one of the favorite things I design all year, and I just love having it and the matching scissors, so I hope you do too. If you are thinking of getting a pair of the scissors, remember that this year Gingher has manufactured only a limited number of them, and I think we won't have them throughout the whole year. So don't procrastinate. Scissors: $43.00 (with engraving), 2010 Fob: $14.00.

Find your Zen in 2010 is our new scissors fob for this year. It is a perfect match with the beautiful scissors from Gingher. Do not wait too long to get a pair of the scissors, they are already sold out around the country, but we have a small supply. The Fob will be available all year, and the scissors for as long as they last.

I did a lot of drawing for next year over Christmas, but not really very much stitching. There just never seemed to be time. But I am making up for it now. It is like I missed it so much during December, that I just can't get enough of it now. I am working on the new Snowman, and it is very, very fun. I love it. Then our local needlework guild is starting a Quaker Sampler project that Teri and I are spearheading--a word?--and I have suddenly taken off and I am having a hard time putting it down. So I have just been alternating between my 2 projects and watching movies: Glee, Julie and Julia, Cranford and Larkrise. OK, I thought last night--I have found my Zen for this week.

Even though I have been a bit of a slacker, others have not. Our friend, Nancy, from Nevada dropped by with her fantastic Quaker Virtues picture finished and framed. It was so beautiful, it has inspired me to really stick to my quaker project.

Our dear friend Nancy Stokes brought in this amazing picture. "Quaker Virtues" is so gorgeous! Thanks Nancy!

Teri has been crazy, busy in the shop changing it over from Christmas to not-Christmas. You have to come by and see. It all looks very clean and simple and inspiring. I love having our Christmas decorations up at the shop and hate taking them down. But now it all looks so fresh and lovely, that she deserves a pat on the back. She has darling Valentine things, spring things, and just quiet, sweet pieces on display. On Saturday I just kept finding things that I wanted to stitch.

This is our Valentine display, full of hearts, flowers and sweet things. Isn't the "Hearts For Thee" sampler by Midsummer on the top left great? "The Token" next to it is one of our favorites!

This wall is full of samplers that make me happy. Please notice our newest addition on the far right The A & E sampler. It is a darling version of an Adam and Eve sampler. The beautiful "S" on the bottom left, is available in all 26 letters, Nancy has stitched them for everyone in her family. (lucky family).

I am starting Easter and spring early.... I love these darling pieces. More spring will be coming later. Top left to right: "Easter Peep," "Ah tis Spring," and "Whimsical Heart" Bottom left to right: Spring egg kits $ 14.00 each, "Hide and Seek" chart and egg button, "Spring is Blooming" kit, $12.00, " Eggs" chart. "The Beehive Wooden Puzzle" is available in a very limited quantity $36.00.

OK, I forgot to mention the new Jenny Bean Christmas Sampler which we just received back from Marilyn, who stitched it for us. Isn't it fantastic? We have had it on our front counter in Q-Snaps waiting to go out to Jill, and everyone has flipped over it.

Finally, I need to mention some housekeeping information. Because it is cold, and snowy, and icy, we are continuing to close at 5:00 during January. We all like it, but it kind of drives Teri crazy, so I'm sure we will be back to 6:00 by February. Of course she is having to put up with me begging to take every day off so I can just sit home and stitch. Also, everyone has been calling about the Retreat. No it isn't up yet. Honestly it won't be up until later in March, hopefully. But we are busily making wonderful plans for the very best one ever. I will keep you updated every couple of weeks, so you don't have to worry about missing out. The dates are definitely: September 23-25, 2010 with our shop openhouse on the 22nd.

And finally here is the chex mix recipe I promised before Christmas:

1 1/2 cups Lt. Karo

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1 1/2 sticks Butter

1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla

Mix above ingredients and bring to boil stirring. Boil for 2 minutes. Pour hot mixture over a 16 ounce box of Chex cereal. I use either Rice or Corn and sometimes mix them together. I am sure Wheat would be healthier, but no one in my family likes them. Oh, well. Add 1/2 package of coconut and 1 cup of slivered almonds. (Sometimes I toast both of these items before adding.) Let cool and then store in airtight containers or Ziplock bags. This is the basic recipe that we use all the time. You could experiment and add anything you like or think sounds good such as dried cranberries or M & Ms. Enjoy.

Sorry, I have to go and pick up Christian from the swimming pool before his hair flash freezes. May 2010 be the best year ever for each of us. May it be filled with great love and joy, simple pleasures and peace, quiet moments and laughter.
fondly, Tina

2009-12-31T21:31:00.001-07:00

Christmas Week, 2009

Dear Friends,

Here we are to the final week, and Christmas seems to be rushing towards us. To some, December seems endlessly long, but to me it just flies by. I never really seem to be ready, and I never have taken enough time to just enjoy the moment. LIke the rest of the country, December weather never seems to cooperate with our needs to be out and about shopping and working and partying. Here in Utah we had a week or more of frigid weather hovering near the 0 mark in the mornings and evenings, and my soul longed for blankets and books. Teri and I chose this time to take wreaths and wire stands to the cemetery. Truly could there be a more bleak time to be there than in mid-December? We arrived on a Sunday evening about five o'clock, abandoned the car at the turn of the road and headed off across the frozen snowy ground. There seemed to be a brisk canyon wind tunneling down the cemetery as we set out causing a wind chill of at least 50 below-- (Teri says 250 below)--and reminding me not a little of a scene from Doctor Zhivago. We were part laughing and part crying as we made our way to the first set of graves, little thinking that in this cold the ground beneath the snow was harder than a rock. We hammered, pushed, dug and jammed trying to get the wire stand into the earth at least an inch. No way. So we set the evergreen wreath on the rickety stand--Teri even apologized to heaven and air--and started to run across the ground to the next spot. When we got there we saw the the stand and wreath had blown over, so we ran back and set it back up then returning to our final destination where we had to guess the approximate place to set up our pitiful offerings. By then we really were sort of crying--and laughing--and headed back to the road to make our way around and back to the car. By the time we got there all wreaths and stands were flat out on the ground. Teri's suggestion was that next year we get to the cemetery before Thanksgiving. Good idea.

This past week we have had a little break from the cold, but lots and lots of snow. Still not that conducive to shopping, so I am still no further ahead. We have cooked a lot, which is sort of unusual for us. Normally, we just think about cooking a lot and never actually do it. This week we have been making snack mixes --chex, cheerios, etc.--for all the delivery guys who come to us. Every night Teri gets busy and makes a new boat load of munchies and then packages them up into big and little bags to give away. We have to give large bags to the UPS guys and the Post men, and little bags to give to customers on Saturday as well as for our family party. Peter came home this week from school and was happy, but a little bored, so she has enlisted him in her cooking projects which is sort of nice for me, because it lets me off the hook. She and Peter have made many successful things, and I can just hang out and watch without having to help much. She really does have a large number of darling gift bags filled and ready riding around in her car with her. Imagine my surprise when we pulled up to the gas station window to get her bi-daily diet coke and she pulls out a large bag of treats and hands it to the folks inside. Well,OK then.

Here is a recipe for the sweet Chex mix that we made. It is a little soft and very yummy. Just make a big bowl full of it and munch your way through the holidays. OK, sorry, I have to send you this next week. I keep forgetting to bring it from home. Oh well, perfect for January.

Now you might think that we haven't been stitching, but that is not exactly true. I have been working on a tiny tiny fob for New Year's. I should have had it done in 2 evenings, but it has taken me most of December. Maybe that tells you the quality of the piece. Teri has been stitching ornaments. The one that I think is so darling is a new one from Homespun Elegance. She is giving them to friends and has them all finished with darling red silk ribbon. They are very, very sweet! Now she is working on a little snowman one that is a companion. It is so darling.

Well, as you can see, Christmas week has overtaken me. I fully intended to get this off on Christmas Eve, but we've been slammed at work and at home and Christmas arrived. So I am hoping that your holidays have been filled with peace and joy. As the New Year approaches, my wish is for you to have a safe, healthy, and happy new year. We are frantically getting ready for our New Year's Day sale on Friday from 1:00 to 3:00. It will be a blast. I am also frantically working on the new scissors and fob for 2010. I am just finishing packaging the fobs and need to be at the engraver's before he closes. It has turned out so darling. Next week I will include a picture just to tempt you.

Happy New Year!!! If I don't see you tomorrow, I'll write next week.
many hugs,
Tina

2009-12-08T06:24:00.004-07:00

December 7th, 2009

Dear Friends,

Happy Advent! I love December. I love seeing Christmas lights in people's yards and homes. I love little lighted candles in windows. I love Christmas music and movies. I love having time to enjoy all of these things and still squeeze in a little shopping. Cheryl and I were just talking about this and wondering what it is about it all that is so comforting. I am not nearly in shopping panic mode yet, so I am perfectly happy to just sit back and enjoy all of these things. Teri and I have actually been doing a fair bit of cooking, and we have had a lot of fun. It sort of started with the shop open house. Normally we just buy everything that we serve, but this year we were just in the mood to look up old recipes of our mom's and nana's and try them out again. So--for more than a week, we have spent a few evenings making toffee, fudge, date balls, Christmas bread, and cookies. We turn on the Christmas lights, and find a movie to put on in the kitchen and get going. I mostly watch the TV and read Teri the recipes--some things never change--but I do have to pitch in in moments of distress when hot candy is cascading off of our inordinately tiny marble slab. The boys usually drift by: Bob to disparage whatever movie happens to be on, Chris to linger and catch a bit of Elf, but mostly we ignore them and continue with our project. No one comes in when we watch the Muppets' Christmas because we like to sing along and they just roll their eyes. In a moment of complete insanity, we even tried making fondant for chocolates that we had learned several years ago from Judy, the candy master. Of course we started just minutes after completely ruining a batch of toffee, so that should tell you something. But undaunted, Teri forged forward. I have to admit there were a few dicey moments when it became truly apparent that we had no idea what we were doing. But Teri, in her unfailing optimism, continued on and may have salvaged the lot. I was extremely busy following her around the room cleaning up unbelievable amounts of sugar sloshes when she announced that: "a good 2 weeks in the freezer ought to remedy this." I am only a little worried that she will want to try another batch. Actually, I think the food for the open house was a stirring success, so it seems that the downward spiral happened after that.

OK--now I am including an old recipe of my mom's that is very delicious--if you like the flavour of dates. It sounds extremely weird, but try it. I think they are quite yummy in an old fashioned way. We made these last year when Charland and Sydney were visiting us, but they seemed sort of stunned that we cooked them in an electric frying pan and had to run to the store at least 4 times to gather supplies.

Date Crispies

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups dates chopped---just buy them that way

2 eggs--well-beaten

2 TBS milk

1 teas. salt

2 teas. vanilla

4 cups Rice Crispies

Now here is the thing: use an electric frying pan. ( I suppose a pan on the stove would work, but I have never done it that way.) Melt butter, sugar and dates. Before they are very hot, add eggs and stir well. Add milk, salt and vanilla and cook until mixture leaves the sides of the pan. This takes a while--10-15 minutes? My mom writes: "this is very obvious," but for us--not so much. When you think this has been accomplished, turn off the heat and add the rice crispies. Stir well. Scoop out little balls and roll them in coconut or powdered sugar. They might also be good rolled in chopped, toasted nuts. Eat right away, or store in the fridge. Enjoy, Let us know how you like them.

If we cook something else successful, I'll send on the recipe next week.

We had a very fun surprise this week. As you know we are sort of food network junkies here at the shop, and the Ace of Cakes is one of our favourites. Well they aired a Christmas episode where they made a cake like one of our stockings. A woman had stitched over fifty of them for her family, and her husband had commissioned them to make a cake like Teri's Stocking. It was so much fun to see the painstaking process--the cake looked cross stitched--as well as the darling finished product. So watch for it on your TV. Teri spent most of the next day corresponding with Mary Alice, and all in all it was very fun.

Who would have thought...

Now, back to the shop. Everything is decorated and lighted and it all looks very lovely. It is super cold and snowy here, so the shop looks especially inviting. Our temps have been down in the teens, but taking wreaths to the cemetery yesterday with a bleak wind blowing, it seemed about 40 below. Oh well, the perfect time to snug up and stitch.

Finally, I think we have the picture of our new 10-count kit: Seek and Ye Shall Find

I think it is very sweet and certainly still do-able for the big day.

Teri has had several darling ornaments stitched and finished and I think that they are very sweet. The Stitching Santa by Homespun Elegance is very old-fashioned and adorable. I love the little things he is holding.

And another darling ornament/pin cushion from the same designer is this little Reindeer Joy. I just love all the little parts of this piece: the stars, the bird, the reindeer and the joy. It is in my pile to do this season. I even think the odd colours are quite sweet. This is actually just a small part of a larger sampler--not too large, which is also very sweet. I haven't decided whether to do the bigger piece which has a great holly sprig and very cool ABC on it. Hmm.... I'll let you know.

And finally, Teri has taken pictures of our 3 main Christmas displays in the shop to give you some holiday inspiration. The shop really does look very festive and nice and inspiring. I might have to leave off my recipe reading and stitch, stitch, stitch.

I actually have designed quite a lot, but they are going to have to wait for next year now. Besides the new Christmas things I have been drawing, I am just getting ready to stitch the scissor fob for 2010 to go with the Gingher Elena scissors. Oh boy, we are in a bit of a state here trying to decide what it will say. I'm not even sure myself. The new scissors are very pretty and very different from last year's. Remember, if you haven't gotten your Roberta scissors or the 2009 fob yet, the time is drawing short. Let us know if you need them for Christmas. We do a fabulous wrap job and can always help out a weary

husband.

Well, I guess I have to go. It is almost time to close here and we will soon have to face the bitter cold. We are closing around 5:00 for the rest of the month, so if you are coming to us, drop by early. Until next week--stay warm. fondly, Tina

2009-11-28T11:58:00.006-07:00

Merry Christmas from Shepherd's Bush!!!

Merry Christmas from
Tina, Lynnette, Sue, Chryl
Nancy, Sophie, Teri, Jillian, Kari
Elisabeth, Kristin and Reed

Thanksgiving Week, 2009

2009-11-27T10:45:00.003-07:00

Dear friends,

I woke up one morning this week, and Winter had arrived outside my bedroom window. Perhaps it was Sunday, the only day I don't stumble up in the dark, or perhaps it was the slightly heavier than a dust of snow on my back lawn, but I thought somewhat sadly that Autumn had left us behind. Ogden still wants to pretend that it is fall, and the sun is trying valiantly to fool us with its weak resplendence, but nope, I'm just not buying it--it's winter. I can tell by the sudden burst of light in my bedroom where the windows are no longer sheltered by cheerful ivy and maple leaves, I can tell by my shivers--and groans from a sleeping Bob--if I climb into bed too long after the heat has shut off for the night, I can tell by my Christian's frozen swimmer's hair as he dashes home at dusk. Ugh...I guess I've turned old because I find myself dreading the thoughts of the icy season ahead. We've had several good snow storms already this year, but this week I noticed that the leaves are gone--victims of the rake, the mower, and the wind, and the trees which seemingly yesterday provided a verdant cave around my home are bare and scratchy leaving us open to the world around us. Don't get me wrong, I'll happily take any sunny, warmish days the earth wants to offer up, but I shan't be fooled, and I know I must shortly give up my flip-flops.

Wow, here we are at Thanksgiving, and I think we all must wonder where this year has gone. We have been busy here at the shop getting ready for our Christmas Open House which always falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Teri and the girls in front have been busily working all month towards this as they lovingly put away the Halloween pictures and bring out the Christmas ones. If you are nearby, don't forget to come by on Saturday, November 28th between 11:00 and 4:00 and have a bit of fun with all of us. We have lots of new things stitched which you will love, we will be completely decked out for the Advent season, and we have prepared fabulous treats to serve for the day. So if you are in the mood for home-made mint brownies, scrumptious date crispies, crunchy English toffee, creamy, chocolatey fudge, and Teri's famously delicious egg nog, you must drop by. Yumm! Of course it is supposed to snow, but won't that just make it ever the more festive. Oh--I am trying a new artichoke dip recipe, so you won't want to miss that. (OK, perhaps you will.) There should be lots of fun for all, so don't miss it. Plus-- we have very cool gifts and ornaments for Christmas. Those of you who were lucky enough to get some of the Halloween figurines that we had, we absolutely love the Christmas ones that are waiting. See you then!

One of the fun new things we will have is a book and kit by Shepherd's Bush. Santa's Coming is a sweet leaflet that will work up very quickly for you. If you need a quick gift, this would be perfect. I think that the santa face button is darling as well.

Then a new 10 count kit of Teri's is Seek and Ye Shall Find. Ok, I confess, I might have the name wrong and I am not sure she has a picture ready for this blog--but it is very special. It shows a little Bethlehem village with the stable, star and grazing sheep. I know you will love it, and it will also work up very quickly.

Ok, we finally have Lizzie Kate's Letter By Letter Christmas sampler finished and framed. Isn't it fabulous! We have a wonderful button set available if you are in the mood. I think that Jill did a lovely job on the frame. It suits it perfectly.

Another darling piece which we just finished and framed is Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room. This is a sweet piece that would work up quite quickly, and I think that the cool green fabric which Teri chose is quite stunning. If you think you don't have time for a new project, I think this would be a pleasant surprise.

Oh and you cannot miss one of Prairie Schooler's new pieces: Santa in a sleigh--Christmas Eve. As always, Teri just has a knack for choosing the perfect threads and fabric for these projects and in the end it is quite wonderful. What do you think? Of course by the time Jill adds her finishing touch, we all want to just take it home with us. So, if you are in the mood for a piece to enjoy for many years, come and take a look at this one.

I love to stitch for Christmas, but I am never really in the mood until the first snow has arrived. So I guess I am sort of toast for doing projects for the coming Christmas. Thus, I always have to choose either smaller pieces that I can get done in a month, or work on something for the next year. This year's pick for me is Miss Snow Fairy. I think I might be safe with this one, because it is more of a snowman so I could use it in January and February. Anyway, she is so unusual and sweet, you are sure to fall in love with her. We have tweaked the colours a bit, and I love her so much. I have to get busy.

I have to go. People are whining that I am not helping. So have a truly wonderful and safe Thanksgiving with plenty of turkey and pie to go around. And....hopefully I will see some of you on Saturday. hugs--Tina

2009-11-09T16:54:00.007-07:00

November 4th, 2009

Box Paintin' Blues

Hi friends,

I'm back. I know it is hard to believe, but I really am back. I think I wrote you last just as I was leaving for market the middle of September since then we have been to St. Charles and back, celebrated our shop's 25th birthday--complete with homemade ice cream, cake, and new t-shirts--been to Virginia Beach and back, battled a semi-losing battle with a leaky roof and painted hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of black boxes. All in all this has been a funny fall. Market was wonderful. We took a Mrs. Backers cake on the plane with us and were laughing our heads off the whole time. Teri had a framed model for Holy Night which was too big for our completely giant suitcase that she was trying to juggle on board and stash, and I had my lovely cake box which actually worked out pretty well. And the best part was that we had lots of cake for lots of people. We were crazy busy during the market and loved chit-chatting with tons of friends. However, because of the chit-chat we didn't really get a lot of sleep.

We returned home Monday and on Tuesday we had a birthday open house all day for our 25th birthday. If I had not been on some kind of life roller coaster, I might have waxed nostalgic. It is hard for me to believe that we have had the shop for 25 years. Teri and I were just kids then--not that we thought we were. She had just finished college and I was just back from grad school when we embarked on this singular adventure which included renovating a hundred-year-old building. We opened our doors with almost nothing in the shop and had a big party to celebrate. It was fun and scary. I nearly gave myself an ulcer with the worry of the venture and Teri never even looked back. What amazing times we've had here, and truly how quickly the years have gone by. And through it all, what wonderful customers we have met and befriended during this time. what wonderful friends we have been lucky enough to work with throughout the years. Blessings.

From there, we packed our things for Pat and Ann's retreat in Virginia Beach and flew out on Thursday. We had a great time there with Charland and Sydney, Jeanette Douglas. Barb and Alma. All of the women at the retreat were darling and great stitchers and it was such a pleasure meeting old friends and new. I know that I am a mountain girl at heart, but there is something about the ocean that just stirs the soul. We walked the beach hundreds of times and laughed until I thought I had cracked my ribs. The weather was perfect with plenty of sand and sunshine. We designed a little sampler called The Journey as well as a sweet pin cushion to match, and Teri showed everyone how to make a very clever acorn pin keep. I hope that everyone in our class liked it. We had a great time getting it all together, and plan to release it next summer. Watch for it.

October has been totally swamped at work. Everyone has been excited to be stitching for Halloween. Between dealing with the roof--which my boys and the girls here at the shop heroically fended off rivers of water while we were gone-- and shipping market orders, the month has flown by. When we designed our little Halloween box, Here We Go a Haunting, we painted like insane people to get plenty of them painted. Well, they were gone within the first few minutes of the market and we took many more orders. That's where the Box Paintin' Blues comes in. That is pretty much all we have done at night for weeks. My family thinks we are insane, but I have to say that it became rather therapeutic the more that we painted. You sort of enter a zen-like mode and it restores your soul as you paint. One Sunday evening while we were painting, my boys wandered through with guitar and harmonica and jammed for us. It was really quite beautiful, and I am always amazed that they can just improvise together on 2 different instruments and make it sound so perfect. Unfortunately the rest of the nights, we have had to revisit hundreds of hours of Jane Austen.

OK, I know that this is way more than you really wanted to hear. I promise to return next week and show you all the things Teri has done in the shop. Sadly, Halloween is down and Thanksgiving and Christmas are going up. We have some fabulous things to show you and I will hurry along. Just one little teaser of what is in store comes from Ruth Merrill. Her Thomas is so fabulous. And this is just the beginning.

One more thing before I go. Our website has experienced a tragic crash which has caused its demise. So---eventually we will be completely re-doing it. In the meantime it is still there with lots and lots to look at. But if you are wondering why we haven't updated it since summer, it is because we can't. So just be patient and enjoy it as it is and click on our Blog to keep updated on everything. I promise, I won't let you down.

Until next week--ever fondly, Tina

New Stuff!

2009-10-02T18:28:00.005-06:00

Our website is having technical difficulties, so we are posting all our new Market stuff here on the blog. Enjoy!

Jeffrey’s Stocking
Leaflet: $6.00

This is our newest stocking. Reed Jeffery is the brother of Sophie, Elisabeth, and Jillian. He was a darling to photograph and was so excited by the treasures he found in the stocking. Take a look at the stocking pattern, and you will see what I mean. We have charm packs available for $20.00 retail.

Holy Night
Leaflet: $6.00

A sweet verse meanders down through this pattern of the nativity, Holy Night is stitched on 19 count linen with cotton overdyed floss. We have a great set of clay buttons that will finish off the piece.

Holly And Ivy Sampler:

Kit: $ 40.00

Stitch this beautiful sampler with silk floss on 32 count hand-dyed linen. Kit comes complete with fabric thread and charms.

Scaredy Sheep Fob:
Kit: $16.00
A spooky fob to go with the Halloween box. Kit comes complete with all materials needed to complete it. Witch scissors are not included, but we sell them separately.

Halloween Grins
Leaflet: $5.00

This pattern will make you smile. Fabulous Frankenstein button is available from Shepherd’s Bush.

We Will Go A’ Haunting:

Kit: $40.00

This new kit comes packed inside a rustic Halloween Box. What a treat! The kit comes complete with 32 count linen, overdyed cotton floss, and a spooky tombstone button.

Spooky Night
Kit: $14.00

Pumpkins, bats and a full moon, stitched on 10 count tula. Quick and perfect for Halloween.

2009-09-26T14:54:00.003-06:00

Dear Friends,
I am just writing a quick blog as we leave for the St. Charles Market I have wanted to write before now, but honestly we have been doing preparations for market pretty much 24/7. As a result, I think we have fabulous new things. I can't wait for you to see. We will have them up on the home page on the weekend, but I do have a little teaser right here. First of all we have our 2009 stocking book ready. It is such a huge process that it is a relief to have it to this point. Sophie, Ellie, and Jill's little brother, Reed Jeffrey, is on the cover and you will see what an angel he is. He truly was a wonderful little trooper. You would think that he modeled all the time, he was so good. I hope you like the stocking, too. It is one of my favorites.

Holy Night is a beautiful new Christmas book. We have loved watching Teri designed and stitch this pattern. She had such a blast doing it and I think it is very lovely. Enjoy.

Well, I have to go catch an airplane. This is just the tip of the iceberg for the new things we are taking to market. Hopefully I will write next week with more details, but this is an insane, crazy 2 weeks for us. We come back from market and turn right around and go to Virginia to teach a class. I am hoping October will be calmer. Yeah, right. Stay safe and stitch, stitch, stitch.
Ever fondly, Tina

2009-09-01T11:21:00.004-06:00

Dear Friends,

When I was a very young child, my parents bought a piece of beachfront property on Bear Lake up on the Idaho border. I still remember that very first summer when they rented a tiny little trailer and we camped for a week on the edge of the lake--all seven of us squished inside. I was only about 4 and my mom set up a tiny table and chairs on the beach for my brother and I to color on. It was so much fun and the lake--in my memory--was as big as an ocean could be. For all of my growing up years we spent many days and weeks up on this property, however never again right on the sand. We could never seem to gather the money to build a cabin, so we stayed in the most amazing assortment of shelters over those years. We weathered rain, and hail, and heat, and bats and loved every minute that we spent there. Just after I got married, our family finally built a cabin under the massive cottonwood trees that had sheltered us for so many years. We hung a huge wooden swing on one branch and a hammock on the trunk and scattered Adirondack chairs on the lawn in front of the lake, and it has become a small corner of heaven. Last week, my little family and Teri finally made it up there for our annual summer trip. We ended up with tremendous night storms and cool, cloudy days, but we enjoyed every second of our time. The boys swam and coaxed Teri in under the guise of a game of bocce balls. We stitched, and designed, and did puzzles and Scrabble. I curled up in a blanket on the hammock and read for hours. And we walked Lindbergh along the quiet beach for miles and miles, our toes and paws splashing through the icy mountain water. And finally I returned to reality with my soul refreshed.

Now I still want to be in summer mode--as does the weather evidently--but school is well under way and fall is fast upon us. We are busy, busy at the shop, and everyone is stitching Halloween. As you can see by Teri's pictures below, she has darling things on display and her biggest challenge is keeping the books in for more than 1 day. We just received the new Blackbird Halloween book, and it is very wonderful. It is not only filled with their tiny stocking patterns, but it has a pendant and a pin cushion that Teri is setting out to make this weekend. Fabulous!!! Now's the time to get going. And if you are not ready to get going on Halloween, check out this lovely new Ackworth sampler--Mary Busby. This pattern is part of the Acworth School, but not printed by Needleprints. You will love it. I am so tempted to try it out, but really I have so many started I have to finish something first. Besides we are busy getting ready for the St. Charles market the end of September. Can't wait.

Finally, as September approaches swiftly, here are some dates to keep in mind. First of all we are always closed the Saturday and Monday of Labor Day. This year will be no different. We will be open on Friday the 4th and closed on Saturday the 5th and closed on Monday the 7th of September. Soooooo don't plan to come by on that long weekend. The other fun date to keep in mind is September 29th--a Tuesday. This year marks our 25th birthday party here at the shop and as always we will be having an open house. We will be open just in the day--up until 6:00 and in the afternoon we will be serving homemade ice cream and cake. Yippee!!! We will have just returned from market the day before, so we should have lots of great new things for you as well as a few surprises. Hope we see you then.

Well, I have to go and think about what to fix for dinner--always my nemesis. Have a wonderful and safe week.
Until next week--ever Tina

2009-08-24T13:01:00.004-06:00

We have have had a great time this year with our Halloween display, I just get it all up and suddenly we are out of patterns, Everyone here is starting early, so I am posting the things we have displayed, to get you excited about Halloween too ( we should have all the patterns back in stock). There is something about Halloween colors and the great dyed fabrics that makes me so happy. Here is the main display, some old patterns and some new. I do have a few pictures below, so you can see up some of our favorites up close. Sorry I don't have the prices, I am writing this from home, feel free to call and ask Sue. She will tell you anything you want. (801-399-4546)

This is the center display, decked out for Halloween.

Here are three of Samsarah's pearls stitched and finished into tombstone shapes. We have a fabric set of one of each color tied together, and we edged them with ric rac.

Here is a great Halloween addition to our collection, Hocus Pocus by Waxing Moon, It looks great on this purple fabric.

Cat VS. Spider is a fabulous piece by Prairie Moon. We just got it back from Jill the framer and she did an amazing job, don't you think???? It was new last year, but we only had it up on Q-snap frames. It totally had to be part of the center display!!!

This is a crazy crazy pattern from the Button gals. (JABCO) We have stitched it on a hand dyed purple linen and used their colors. The mummy is hilarious!!!! The best thing is the pattern is free with the purchase of the buttons. Great!!!

This is a small card called a Quick-it from Lizzie Kate. I think it is called Halloween sampler- Quick-it. We stitched it on a brownish 10 count fabric and it makes a great pillow.

This is the side display, be sure to notice the J is for Jack O Lantern bauble in the bottom left. Jill has out done herself with this frame.

This is the side of the main display and has some great pieces on it. One of my favorites is the Eyes Have It, by Cricket top right under Costume what Costume (another favorite). The smiling 4 faces are so happy, and they even glow in the dark!!!!! So darling! Can you tell I LOVE Halloween. I wish I could get the girls here to dress up... maybe this year they will! I will start hinting early......

Well I have a few more Halloween pics. to show you next week that are at Jill being framed. We should have the new Blackbird Halloween Stocking book in our hands by then, hooray!
Until then, take care and happy stitching- Teri

2009-08-10T18:42:00.004-06:00

Dear Friends,
How did it get to be August, let alone almost the middle of it? Why is it that summer seems to go by so quickly we hardly notice that it is whispering past? This weekend I noticed the crickets in full voice, and it made me notice how fast it is going by. Near the end of May I face the next, long three months in dismay. But by this time in the year, I face the beginning of school with the same sadness. Once we get into the rhythm of things, I love the lazy, hot days without homework or early mornings. I love to grill outside and eat out by our creek in the early evening instead of rushing through every moment to our next scheduled event. I love sitting out on our Adirondack chairs with my little dog at dusk soaking up the hoped-for coolness of the early evening air. So when I think about the school year starting, I feel sad. In Utah--or at least in Ogden--there is someone who thinks that school should start the middle of August, and I want to know who it is. We have to hurry, hurry to get out in cool May so that we can hurry back in the heat of the summer. The lovely, old high school where my Christian goes will be around 105 degrees for at least the first 4 weeks of school, and I have to wonder who is learning there. Oh well, my mother used to tell me to just enjoy each and every day as it comes instead of worrying about those that haven't even arrived. I wish I were better about that. Perhaps it is our generation of planners--paper and electronic. We spend so much time looking towards the future, that maybe we forget to just enjoy today.
This past weekend, we had an unusual cold front come through, so perhaps our bad heat will be done for the summer. A little group of us took the opportunity to go see the movie Julie and Julia, and just as I thought, it was delightful. I have read both of the books that it is based on during the past few months, so I was surprised and excited to see that a movie was coming. I was drawn in from the very first minute when the Child's Blue Flash arrives in France. I even clapped, which annoyed Bob greatly. So------if you need a great, feel-good movie, I would urge you to go this very night and enjoy. The movie will also make you want to cook, cook, cook. Boef Bourgonion--sorry about the spelling--has long been on my list to make, but I will definitely have to wait until cooler weather for this.
July has been too hot to really cook much here. I have enjoyed grilling and trying to think of cool dinners and a few cool treats. We had a little work party on the patio a week or so ago and Sue taught us how to make fresh mozzarella. It was so much fun and unbelievably delicious. I am somewhat indifferent to buffalo mozzarella, but this was utterly different--creamy, milky and scrumptious.

Then Teri found a recipe for a frozen pie and we tried it. It was very yummy, but one night in our heat and boredom, we tried changing it around. We came up with this new pie and it was very good. Here's what we did, so if you are bored and hot--give it a try. I hope you like it.

1 pint heavy whipping creme--whipped
1 can sweetened, condensed milk
1 14 ounce--large--can of Minute Maid Limeade--thawed in fridge
1 large, pre-made graham cracker crust

Whip your creme and gently fold in the milk and the limeade. Pour into the crust and freeze. When ready to serve, let sit out of the freezer for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve with any fresh fruit. Enjoy.
( Next time, I am going to try an Oreo cookie crust)
The shop is very busy, hence my difficulty getting this blog written. Teri has been putting out Halloween and all of out customers have gone crazy. I have to say, it does put you in the mood. Next week we will show you her new displays and some of the spooky new things. So be ready. Here are some very fun new things from this week.

Here is a great new Country French sewing series. There are three things in the series, a pincushion; a sewing roll, complete with buttons and pins; and a set of tape measures, one is wide and the other one is narrow. They are very nicely made and would be a great addition to a sewing box.

This little lamb is a find from the Columbus market this summer. She is sweet and will work as a pincushion, but that is not all, she has a ribbon where her tail should be to hook onto your scissors, She can sit beside you while you are stitching and you will always know where your scissors are.

Here is the start of the pin cushion display.
I found a fun shelf on a scavenge in Salt Lake City and
brought it home to display our great pincushions.

Here is a close up of Miss Merry Mac's Pincushion and "I will stitch you in my heart" Great, aren't they.

This is a table full of treasures. Bees wax sticks, Ort Boxes, the blackbird pincushion... their new pincushion is here and Judy is stitching it for us. I will put it up as soon a I get it finished with the ribbon edging, maybe next week.

Well, I have to go home. If you need something to inspire you besides your stitching, might I suggest going to the movie--J and J--and having a freshly frozen Limeade pie waiting for you in the freezer when you come home. Enjoy each and every day of August and try to soak up and cherish the heat for next winter. Just don't let it go past too fast.
ever fondly, Tina

2009-07-28T12:38:00.004-06:00

Dear friends,
I think that July is that quintessential patriotic month for all of us in the U.S. We all look forward to July 4th and get out our flag shirts--for Teri it is an entire closet of red, white, and blue wear--and prepare our barbeques. This year in Ogden there were so many fireworks that we ended up going up to the foothills behind us and watching the display spread out all over the entire valley. It was pretty neat. Then we came home and Christian did street fireworks with neighbors out in front--lots of fountains and screamers--but also plenty of applause. In Utah, however, the fun does not end there. We also celebrate July 24th as sort of our state's founders' day marking the entrance of the early Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley. There is still this continuation of patriotism oddly mixed--at least in Ogden--with Pioneer Days which seems to encompass everything from week long rodeos, western shoot-outs--which can come upon you downtown at any unexpected moment--parades, and of course more fireworks. Our 24th of July parade has always been the high point of Teri's year. She and Nancy go to her favorite spot 2 days ahead of time and block off our area, and then she drives past it hundreds of times in the next few days to make sure no one has moved it. No one ever has yet, and by the 23rd, all of downtown Ogden is covered with tape, and blankets, and chairs. On the morning of the parade, we congregate early and Teri brings tons of treats and cold drinks. Then everyone comes and brings their friends and their friends bring friends--and it is so much fun. Beyond the 100 degree plus heat, the parade is somewhat frightening, but that is part of the true joy: everything from fire trucks, school marching bands, elderly Pioneer Queens, Shriners on motorized magic carpets and always a plethora of horses. Everyone shouts and claps and the kids scramble for candy. And then we all go home for a nap. Baby Reed was the star this year arriving in his cowboy get up.

And Anna and Ellie share the shade from an umbrella.

Teri thinks I am a spoil sport, but I confess, I am not so sad to see July waning. I don't mind--after 30 days of mind-numbing fun--bidding goodbye to the horses, the cowboys, and the heat.
On the other hand, it is nice and cool here at Shepherd's Bush and we have loved welcoming many a traveler into our tiny sanctuary. We have been busy getting our new market stuff put together and sent off, and we have been busy re-decorating the front of the shop. Teri has had a great time making her various collections for the main displays and we have gone through a wonderful patriotic display, a darling bee/beehive display, and a sweet summer collection. Now we are on the brink of starting on Halloween. Yippee!!!
A wonderful new piece from La D Dah is Live, Love, Laugh. We used 3 beautiful colours of overdyed silk to stitch this with, and I think it is a treasure. It actually works up quite quickly, making it a perfect summer project.

Speaking of quick and simple projects, Nancy's Lord's Prayer by My Big Toe would not be one of those. However it is simply spectacular. She brought it in to show us after she picked it up from Jill, and we have been lucky enough to keep it for a few days. Don't you think that it is such a beautiful piece. I love the colours she chose to use, and I think that whoever gets it is going to be thrilled.

I think that super stitcher Nancy has also finished her Lizzie Kate Boo Club as I saw her and Teri picking out buttons. So be watching for us to show it to you when it is finished. I have to say that it is fabulous. But speaking of that, I have to mention L.K's newest Double Flip Series--Merry Christmas--which our friend Judy is working on for us. I know that the original cheerful colours are darling, but when you see the more quiet, old-fashioned colours that Teri has chosen, you will faint--so be sure you are near a couch. I just can't believe how lovely it is turning out and I know that she is choosing a different set of buttons for it as well. She has also picked out a perfect hand-dyed linen to stitch it on. I actually have no idea what the fabric or the colours are, but if you order any of it, I know she will change it for you as well.

Our friend, Diane, has some new things to go along with her popular thread spinners. Everyone here at the shop has loved them, so I need to share them with you. Her newest collection includes: Needle Nannies, Thread Winders, and Scissor Minders. Each one is exquisitely hand-crafted and lovely and serves such a delightful purpose in your sewing box. I am sure you will enjoy them.

I know that there is more I haven't told you, but I am just sending this off to you and I will write again next week. I hope that you can find a way to stay cool this week and that your evenings are pleasant. Be safe and stitchful.
fondly, Tina

2009-07-09T09:30:00.014-06:00

July 9th, 2009

Hi friends,
My good friend, John, was in the shop yesterday and gave me a good dressing down about the blog. I did feel sad because I haven't written for a while, but it made me happy that he watched it all the time. OK, John, I'm going to be better. I had planned to write from market in Columbus, but the week just flew by and every evening I was busy chasing down stuff I had inadvertently left at various restaurants and credit cards I left in machines at Kinkos. It was all very exhausting. Actually market was a blast, and we did fulfill one goal of eating so many times at Jeni's Ice Cream that even Christian was done in. Unfortunately after we returned home, half of us here at the shop were taken with a grave and cranky pestilence. Three of us were just down and out leaving the others walking on eggs for fear of catching it. Happily, no one else has succumbed--knock on wood--and the rest of us are almost well except for the lingering cough. It is surprising how that can set you back. I haven't even had a cold for several years, so I was determined not to really be sick. But unfortunately, I spent a week moving from bed to lawn chair strewing blankets wherever I went and feeling like I was in a tuberculosis sanitarian. I believe I have had an inkling of what lepers of ancient times felt like--you know--wild eyes and crossed fingers whenever I approached anyone in my family. My one consolation was that I read a lot. After having read the Julia Child book earlier in the year and LOVING IT, I found the book Julia and Julie that Bob had given me last year and I had forgotten about. It was funny and darling and totally brought me through my personal plague. I can't wait for the movie, I think I will go on opening night. But now I am back and the shop is going to be well for the rest of the year.

We are starting to ship our market orders this week, so be watching for fun new things at your local shop. I hope everyone is as excited as we are. Teri--who has not been ill happily--has been moving and nesting here at the shop. It started 2 days ago with finding a new spot of all of our wonderful Americana things, and the next thing I knew everything was off several walls and there was enthusiastic talk of re-painting. You have to realize that we could never re-paint the whole shop at one time unless we closed for a few weeks, so we just paint a wall or two at a time. As you can see below Teri chose a cool colour--rambling rose--and away they went. It looks so different, that it startles me every time I walk past. Today she has been hanging our Americana display up and you wouldn't believe how fantastic it looks. Fun--smart, Ter.

Teri: "I started to put the 4th of July display away, and decided to give it it's own section. So I started rearranging all the pictures, which is always a bit of a puzzle deciding where to put everything, when I discovered the wall I wanted to use, had more nail holes than wall. Kari and I decided to spackle and paint. Two tubs of spackle later, we are ready to roll."

Teri: "Christian came down to help, and between the three of us, and a busy afternoon in the shop we were finished. The color seems a bit brighter in the photos. It is really a wild berries sort of color."

Teri: "I am sorry to say this was the last wall with stenciling.
When we first opened the shop, we sold stenciling supplies, and
taught classes.   We stenciled all the walls, and the shop looked
great. Over the years, we have repainted and covered all the
stenciling. A part of me still hankers to pull out the flat topped
brushes, and stencil swirling leaves and flowers. but I know
what Tina will say..... I'll just leave it at the lovely
rose-colored wall."

Here are some fun new things that we have in the shop this summer. Our sweet customer, Joanne, wins the prize for being the first of all of us to finish her Boo Club. And of course it is utter perfection. I am not sure how Sue and Nancy are doing, but I know that they are not too far behind. Now that the new Christmas one has started, we have to sit down and decide how we are going to do it. I'm sure Teri will have a wonderful idea. She always does. So keep watching.

Something very fun that we got at market were the new pins from Just Another Button Company. What a clever idea. We have them on our counter and they are quite irresistible. They come in a pack of 5 pins for $14.50 or we also sell them separately for $3.00 per pin. I think Teri has a cute picture below so you can see them. I love them just poking out of our little pin cushions.

Something else that Teri found at market were scissors. I don;t know what it is about scissors, but we all just love them. She stumbled upon the most darling Americana Gingher scissors and bought everything that they had--which wasn't many. These are similar, but a little different, than the Glory scissors from a couple of years ago, and they look darling with our Glory Fob. I know that we don't have very many, but while they last we will be pleased. $36.00 Then she also found these sweet little plastic scissors in fun jelly colours. They come with a nifty protector and are only $7.00. You can't beat that. Plus they are sharp enough for Hardanger. I think she was a pretty good shopper.

Thanks to Lori who has taken over sewing bags from Loni for us, we finally have Envelope Bags back in stock. We have not really had these for a long time, and I had forgotten how darling they are. There is a pinkish red set that it so sweet--I have my eye on it.

Finally, we have something fun from Access. They are starting a series of stitching implements based on French hand workers. The first one is here and is very darling. It is worked on beautiful dower linen with elegant black silk. It is a little needle case with a picture of a Victorian bird and a letter with a space for a wreath and monogram. It comes with wonderful, antique lining fabric. All you have to provide is your initial or monogram. I am excited to see what else they come up with.

Next week watch for new pictures. It is now late Friday afternoon and I have got to send this off or I am toast for the weekend. I have been doing Sue's job while she is gone on a family reunion, and I think it is hard. I have loved talking to people on the phone, but I am not doing so well keeping everything straight and no one here seems to feel my pain. Come home, Sue. I hope that wherever you are your nights are cool and you are enjoying a perfect summer weekend.
I'll write next week--promise.
fondly, Tina

Bee Sampler is a new Little House pattern. We stitched if on a great fabric from Lakeside linen and added a button. I am working on an entire bee display , I will post a photo next week.

Here is our From Sea to Shining Sea. This comes in 6 individual kits with the silk floss.

Here is one of our summer displays.

2009-06-24T08:50:00.005-06:00

June, 2009

Hi friends,
Just a quick note to say that we are back from market in Columbus. I will have lots of fun new things to show later next week. We had a great time in Ohio. Teri and I lived in that strange indoor space between hotel room and convention hall for 4 days, coming out for breath only in the evenings. Bob and Christian came with us but mostly did their own thing driving around the state while Bob argued with the GPS woman.

Market is always fun and we loved seeing everyone who was there. We were in a little area with other cross stitch companies who are friends which is the most fun. We usually are across from a little open space area which is set up to look like a little park, and we love it because it becomes a gathering space. This year the convention folks had made the "park" with black carpeting and black, spooky street lamps. Interesting. It didn't deter us from having great chats on the park benches. I started a new project while I was there, and I was quite consumed by it. So whenever I wasn't helping someone, I was busily stitching away. I tried to talk Teri into just staying in the booth and working while I sat and stitched and chatted, but she insisted that she needed to shop the market. Oh well. I even tried bribing her with Jeni's ice cream. Here are some of Teri's Pictures:

Tina and Charland loading in some of Charland's and Syd's booth.

This is what our booth looks like when we arrive at 9:00 am to start the set up. All our treasures have been sent ahead in a trunk and a large box. I always hold my breath that they are there when we arrive. Over the next 7 hours we transform this little "room" into a corner of Shepherd's Bush.

As we finish up, the boys came to do the lights (my least favorite part.) Christian was happy to help Bob string up the lights we send. They are so tall!!!! It is great!

Unfortunately Columbus is a Pepsi city.... no Diet Coke, Yikes!!! Here is the booth almost all done. We just have to clear away the trunk and the box, and organize the table.

Charland Garvin, Sharon Crescent, and Tina taking a few minutes for lunch in our scary park area. We love visiting with shop owners and venders. We were near Charland and Sydney of Charland Designs, Sharon of Crescent Colors, Patti of Samsarah and Just another Button Co. John and Miranda Weeks of WDW threads were around the corner and Ceci of the Thread Gatherer was on our other side. Also near us were the Nordens and the Nordic Needle girls, what a fun group!!!

Christian relaxes in the booth as we finish up.

It seems like we left Utah in the rain, enjoyed Columbus in the rain, and returned home to---more rain. I am definitely not complaining because it is still quite cool here and we can barely keep our windows open at night. Our front lawn was a veritable hay field and it has taken Christian 2 days to get it mowed---and a lot of complaints. I love the sign at our local pizza shop---Spongy. I'll take the cool rain over 100 degrees any day.

I know that our new offerings are up on the main page of our web site, but watch the blog next week for new stuff at the shop.
Summer joy--Tina

PS--Chris at the Nordic Needle--whose booth was kitty-corner from ours at the show--sent me her recipe for lemon bars. I can't wait to try it.

2009-05-31T15:59:00.016-06:00

End of May, 2009

Can you even believe how quickly the year is flying past? As usual, Spring has hurried right past us, and I already feel summer in the air. I sat out in my back yard 2 nights ago and wondered at the perfect evening. I love it when the days are warm, but the evenings implore a sweater. I watched the squirrels skittering through the oak and listened to the deafening roar of our little creek swollen with last winter's snow melt, and I thought--Summer is really here. Of course there are other signs as well. I see Peter a little more often--at least when his band is playing in Ogden. We get to sleep in, and Christian and I are already arguing about lawn mowing techniques. But how truly blissful to have those long, evening hours to stitch and read. I also know it is summer because all the spring birthdays are behind us--many cakes eaten, ice cream slurped and present unwrapped.

I know that I am a little slow with this blog, but honestly I have just been so very busy making lemon bars, that I haven't had time to get back to it. Actually, I did come up with one very good batch. I had to do it on my own, because even though many friends told me they had the best recipe in the world, no one really came forth with one. Oh well, this one was delicious, so I can't complain--a crumbly crust, thick custard and very lemony. Hmmm--what next? I was going to put the recipe up, but I have to confess it belongs to the Barefoot Contessa and I found it on the Food Network on line. So, if you are inclined, look it up and try it out.

The shop is busy right now with all of us getting ready for the Columbus market. We leave in another week or two and we are quite crazy getting everything done. Besides a lot of new things for this market, we are coming out with several new things this week to celebrate summer.

This darling pillow is worked on the windowpane fabric and finishes up quickly. The leaflet is $5.00 and the hand-made button is $6.00.

Flag Bag is the newest addition to our little burlap bags. The kit comes packaged in the little pre-sewn bag, and includes all the floss and instructions plus a little button to complete your project. Lots of fun and quick to do. Kit: $12.00

Wave is a new kit which was so much fun to do. It worked up quickly and seems the perfect thing for a good Americana summer. It is worked on a 30 count hand-dyed linen with lovely silk threads. Cecile, at Jabco, has made us a darling green fish to swim in the ocean. Kit: $24.00.

Home is the newest in our sheep with hats series. I have been asked a lot to design a new patriotic sheep as the first one I did--Oh Say--didn't actually have a hat. I love the muted tones of the silk threads in this kit, and it simply made me happy to stitch it. It is worked on 32 count flax linen with all silk threads and a sweet striped hat made by our friend Diane. As I finished it up, I just wanted to put Home instead of a more patriotic word. And if America isn't your home, just leave the flag off or change it to a fun striped, or bright coloured summer flag, and let it remind you of your own home. Kit: $18.00.

So there are our fun early summer offerings. I hope they inspire and beckon. But keep watching for our new market things because we have some fabulous designs we are preparing. We also have some wonderful new things here at the shop. Most exciting are the armloads of new stitching bags which we have just received from 2 friends who are now sewing them for us: Lori and Mavis. Teri has had much fun out in the backyard of the shop hanging them on the clotheslines so that you could see them. Sadly it has been high school baseball playoffs in the stadium behind us, so she had to be sharp to avoid getting his by foul balls speeding over our fence. Don't hesitate to call us--Sue is back now--and we can describe any other bags that might not be in the picture.

Here is a darling picture which Judy just stitched for us here at the shop. It is called Bless this House and it is designed by Mosey 'n Me. It is sweet and simple and makes you just feel good.

And here is a snapshot of a darling customer, Linda, who brought this Prairie Schooler sampler in for us to see. It is one of their monthly series--July Brings--and was simply fabulous. She had stitched it on a larger count linen and it made such a statement. Everyone at the shop loved it.

I am sneaking this letter in on a Saturday morning, and I know that they are busy out in front, so I guess I have to sort of wind up. It just seems so long since I wrote and it is fun to be back with you. Oh--I almost forgot to mention that some of you called about the Blackbird's pin book after we had run out of them. Teri was able to get 6 more, so if you are still interested---give us a quick call. I know they won't last, but for a few days we should have them. And finally, Teri and I are in the midst of working on a new Shepherd's Fold. I think it is going to be quite wonderful, so we will let you know more in the fall. Just be savouring the deliciousness of this prospect. Have a lovely, safe summer. If Bob will take his laptop, I will write again from market--if not before.
Many hugs--fondly, Tina

2009-05-20T20:25:00.007-06:00

May has flown right by. I know Tina is really working on her thoughts for the blog, but I thought you might like to see a few of the pincushions we just received from Nancy the felt lady. . . . They are so fun and springy.

I have been on a pincushion wave length. I designed an Americana one for our class in Chicago and had such a great time; I am working on a few more to come out this summer. The Liberty pincushion ( from the Chicago class) won't be available until next summer. Here are some great reproduction pincushions from the Civil War. The original one was filled with cotton, buck shot and sawdust. They are made out of interesting solid fabrics and are filled in the same manner as the one made in the 1860's. They look like stars. I fell in love with them at market a couple of years ago, and we have carried them ever since. They run $38.00 and are very cool.

This is a sweet Blackbird pin cushion we have stitched and added silk ribbon around the edge. The pattern is available for $ 7.00. The fabric we used is $3.10 and the silk ribbon runs .50 cents per yard; I used about a yard. and added tiny beads to anchor the ribbon in place. I just love stitching the ribbon on like that.

I have just sent out Miss Mary Mac's pincushion to be stitched and it is going to be wonderful. I even bought a little shelf to display them all on. I will keep you posted. Take care and happy stitching.

Teri

PS-I am still waiting for Tina to make her famous lemon bars.....

2009-05-05T20:13:00.003-06:00

Friday, May Day, 2009

Dear Friends,
Spring has finally--tentatively, shyly--arrived in my yard. I have been watching its progress out of my bedroom window, which is still mostly shut against the chill April air. The yellow daffodils which Bob planted in the fall are up and quite cheerfully competing with the sudden and impossible greenness of the grass. My trees are more sluggish to awaken. Only the Cherry has committed to her blossomed glory while the Oak and Maple seem still stuck in their winter slumbers. Even the Virginia creeper on my window refuses to unfold its leaves despite my watchful coaxing. Be patient, I tell myself. Our creek, however, in its noisy tumbling torrent shouts Spring as it thrusts down the barely melted snows from the mountain behind us.
I wonder each year at the beauty and joy of this time, so much surprise and colour after the endless grey of Winter. And yet, Spring also makes me oddly sad. Perhaps it is the continual switching from sun to rain, but I think it is more likely the understanding that Spring is a harbinger of change. I don't really like the end of the school year always with its progression of grades for my boys. My soul simply longs for things to stay comfortably the same, and Spring just quickly pushes everything on and on--from grass, to water, to children. Christian turned 16 this week and has been been the beaming owner of his driver's license for about 48 hours. During the past year, he has always driven with Bob or me--usually me, finished Driver's Ed at 6:00 in the morning, possibly completed double or triple the required 40 hours of practice--yet still I am in a panic. Of course we had to go the the DMV the minute school was out on his birthday, and that evening he asked if he could drive around the block--alone. Sure..OK...I guess, I answered, and then plied him with instructions for getting out of the driveway. When he returned 47 seconds later, I was nonchalantly waiting on the curb. Last night, he asked if he could meet us at the restaurant we were going to for dinner--about 2 miles away. I called him three times before he left the house to give him advice, admonitions, and instructions, which he took in good humor. When he reached the destination, I was waiting on the sidewalk. This weekend, he has asked if he could drive to a friend's house to watch a movie. I said--perhaps--and that seemed to satisfy, but a minute later he asked if I would be waiting in their driveway. Ah...16.
I have decided to overcome my spring blues by finding and mastering the perfect Lemon Bar. I am going to start this weekend and I shall keep you apprised of my progress. If you are even now in possession of the perfect recipe, let me know. If I actually get a good one, I will send you a picture of it and include the recipe. Teri also tells me that I should stitch her new pillow, Be Happy. This darling piece fits in with our other Be-attitudes and is the perfect answer to our current times. As if the economy, the war, and global warming weren't enough, now we have the swine flu to worry about. So might I just suggest a few quiet days stitching--Be Happy--to remind us that we can't really do much else. So we might as well...be happy.
Now here are a few very fun things from Barb and Alma at Blackbird designs which our friends--as well as me--are thrilled with. They are doing a series of sewing implements through Moda, the company who prints their fabric. I don't know if any of you bought one of their sewing rolls a few months back, but I did and I love it so much. I hang it from a lamp where I sometimes stitch and it is supplied with all my stitching necessities. Well now we have received several new things in this sort of series. I am pretty sure that Teri has a picture down below of these things. There are 2 darling pin cushions which are machine made, but look like they were hand made. They are so adorable. One of them is in creme, green and odd purple and the other one is in blue and browns. I love them both and I might have to buy them both so I won't have to choose. Take a look at the picture and see what you think. They each have buttons in the corners. I know I won't be able to order them again, so choose quickly. Then, my even more favorite thing is their little pin pocket. It is very old-fashioned and darling in soft cremes and sea blue. As you can see in the picture it is made out of a soft, sort of homespun linen and folds up with a button. The front has a little cross stitched picture and the back has a sweet button-holed and buttoned pocket for storing. When you open it and unfold it, it has a little fabric loop to secure your scissors, 2 pieces of button-holed wool felt for pins and needles and a tiny partial pocket for tucking threads or fabric. It really is very sweet and I already have mine well stocked and sitting on my table at home. And finally--they have been very busy--they have a new book out and ready for stitching. It is the April stocking book and it is wonderful. We have ha d so much fun with their little stocking series, and this one--designed just for April--is the perfect thing. I am not sure if Teri has a picture of this one as we have had a hard time keeping it in stock, but if you are collecting them, it is ready, and if you haven't been, now is a great time to start.
Remember, it is almost Mother's Day and gift certificates make wonderful presents. So if you are looking for something for that fantastic wife, mom, or grandma in your life, think about a beautifully wrapped gift certificate from the shop. Teri says that they make a lovely gift for that special aunt in your life as well.
We are busy here at the shop and it has taken me all day and then some to write to you. Today has been both fun and crazy, and I love seeing everyone heading home with fantastic projects to work on. It makes me want to start something new. Teri and I have been busy designing and stitching some new things, so I will tell you about those next week. Be safe this week, use plenty of disinfectant wipes and don't get sick.
fondly, Tina

Be Happy was the first of the Be-Atitudes... We have stitched it in  
soft spring colors and finished it with a gorgeous floral fabric that  
just arrived in the shop.  It is so nice to finally  have flowers in  
my yard to use in photographs ( not the lilies).  The pattern was  
released this week and we have all the supplies available.

Here are a couple of wonderful stitching accessories from Blackbird Designs. They are already finished and all you have to do is enjoy them. We have 2 pincushions shown above. They are larger than you think, about 5 inches. They are made of a woven fabric, the letters are woven right in. I think they are very sweet.

We also have a very few of their sewing cases (shown above). They all come in soft sage green and cream fabric they have a sweet house on the front with the words "Pins ands Needles." The inside of the case has a pocket and a place to put your needles. Both of these would make a great addition to your sewing basket.