Two New Designs

I've just spent a few hours updating the website and have moved two designs from my Teaching Portfolio to Designs for Sale:  Winter Frost and Stripes Galore.  Pictures are shown here so if one of them strikes your fancy, the links will send you to their pages for more details.   But, if I've missed anything, please don't hesitate to email me with questions, or comments.

 WINTER FROST

Over the next few days I also hope to add new Workshop Description pages for the three new teaching designs I've recently talked about.  It seems many groups and guilds are planning for 2010 and 2011 right now, so if you are one of those groups and need information now, please let me know and I can send you more details.  I will be traveling a bit over the next few months, but can usually reply within a day or two.   Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 STRIPES GALORE

Shorebird Stitching

Announcing SHOREBIRD - AVOCET

This past weekend was our second Stitchers Retreat and it was great fun! We all actually got a bit of stitchng done, when not chatting, catching up and snacking...not necessarily in that order. The project for this event was the Shorebird - Avocet. It's another small take-along project....just 3" X 6' and includes some interesting threads such as Sea Grass and Oriental Linen. I plan to have it ready for it's kit debut by April 1st and it will be available with options, just like Bargello Button, including stretcher bars and threads kit on Twitchetts cards and thread ring to add to the colorwashed 18-count canvas and wire-bound 1/2 size instruction book.  So be on the look out for it!

Now back to preparations for my next workshop.....Whirlygig........in just over two weeks!  Lots to do before shipping the "kit box" on Monday. 

Happy Stitching.

Primroses Tea Cozy

I was recently sorting through some old flower sketches and cross stitch interpretations,.  I'm looking through design files in preparation for creating those new designs I spoke of last entry.  This tea cozy has always been a favorite of mine but I'd not thought of re-imagining it as part of a needlepoint design before now.  When I stitched it originally I decided to use mainly complete cross stitches with only a very few 1/2 or 1/4 stitches so it seems as though it would translate well to canvas. 

It's funny how you remember things.  I remember carefully uprooting the whole primrose plant and temporarily bringing it inside to sketch....even where I was sitting.  But can I find those original sketches?  Not now....but I'll keep looking.  It's always interesting to see how things translate, whether it's from sketch to cross stitch to needlepoint or from older works to a new style!

But now that I think about it I wonder if these pre-made tea cozies are still being produced.  It was so easy to stitch the pattern then just whip the lining fabric over it and voila!

Well, I'm going to keep looking for that portfolio of drawings in hope of finding the peonies, but who knows what else I'll find.   If anything else really interesting turns up I'll post some photos if there's interest. 

Have a great week!