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

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


 



      



   

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.

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

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

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