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

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

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!

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

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

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

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