January

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

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

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 Christmas Open House

Merry Christmas from all of us!

November 2011

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.

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