11.29.2011

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

To our loyal customers who shopped online with us on Cyber Monday!
We like keeping you in stitches and your business is truly appreciated...we enjoy serving you!

Also,
have been receiving emails about when will there be more floss keeps. We are waiting for supplies... Once we have the supplies, more will be made and listed on our website.


Have a good day,
Brenda

11.27.2011

Cyber Monday $avings

Save 10% store-wide
on Cyber Monday
at
www.countrystitchesonline.com
(sale ends at 10:00 PM Central Standard time)
CYBER MONDAY EVENT HAS NOW ENDED

Enter discount code
CYBER MONDAY
in the discount coupon box,
upon checking out,
click recalculate tab
to receive
the discount on your online order.
YOU MUST DO THE ABOVE TWO STEPS
TO RECEIVE THE 10% DISCOUNT.

This applies to in stock items only, no back orders.

&

the January Word Play chart has released...
a few days earlier then originally planned.
Just in time for Cyber Monday Savings!

Full and partial floss paks are available for the January Word Play.

Have a good week,
Brenda

11.20.2011

Three years ago today...

This little ISU Cyclone fan was born.Who would have ever guessed
it would be
so much fun!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY BECKHAM!!
There are no just words to express how much we love this little guy...

3rd Birthday pictures to follow...
We are waiting for Uncle Matthew to come home,
for a visit,
and we'll all celebrate
Beckham's birthday
together next weekend.

On a side note,
about the first picture above
of Beckham in his little
Iowa State Cyclone Hat and Booties...

This photo just had to be the one
to choose
for this posting...
You see,
rumor has it,
that Beckham's Daddy
still has not come off cloud nine
after his ISU Cyclones handed
the number 2 team,
in the nation,
their first loss
last Friday night...
GO CYCLONES!

Have a good week,
Brenda

11.18.2011

Gift Certificates...

Country Stitches online is now offering gift certificates...
just in time for your holiday shopping!

Certificates will be offered in the following dollar quantities,
$15.00
$25.00
$50.00
$75.00

The certificates are being printed and here is a peek at my final printing proof.
Sorry it's so small, but it will have to do until the real ones arrive next week.

These will be real paper certificates, mailed to you in the mail. Yes, we choose to support the struggling USPS! Certificates will not be offered as e-certificates. You have the option of us sending them to the recipient, or we can send them to you, so that you may gift them to the recipient yourself. These are a one-time-use certificate, credit balances due not carry over. So therefore, whole dollar amount of certificate must be used at once.

So...
if there is a floss keep,
or a pair of little scissors,
or a new pattern or book
that makes your heart go pitter patter,
put
Country Stitches Gift Certificate
on your wish list this holiday season...
you're dh will love you!

A few holiday shopping deadline dates to keep in mind...
To ensure delivery of orders for holiday gift giving, please have your orders to us by December 8th. This applies to in-stock items.

Country Stitches will be closed for Christmas family gatherings, year-end duties, and just time to rejuvenate and work on a new design or two from December 23 - January 2nd. No orders will ship during this time frame. You are welcome to shop online during this time, however. Orders placed during the shut-down will ship in the order received after we open again on January 3rd.

Orders placed after December 19th will not ship until we get back from our December 23 - January 2nd shut down.

Please keep these dates in mind!

Have a good day,
Brenda

11.16.2011

Turning cartwheels...

about my new find!

I have this small collection of these...
antique linen grain sacks.

I.LOVE.THEM.

Not sure why, but probably because they remind me of the good old days. Days of when I would sneak into the granary to play,
pretend,
and make conversation with myself...
Did any of you talk to yourself when you were young? I think I would get the award for this, seriously! I would lock myself in the bathroom, stand on the stool, fling open the mirror on the medicine cabinet, and talk to myself in the mirror!
Yep, secret is now out of the bag!

The granary that housed the feed mill. This is where Dad turned his harvested corn into meal for the pigs. I loved playing in the corn, running freshly ground corn through my fingers, it had such a nice cool feel to it on a hot summer's day. Then there was the smell thing...loved that smell of corn grinding. This is also where I would find baby mice...tiny pink mice with no fur. Eeeekkk, you're thinking right?

My collection started out with a couple sacks with blue stripes and then I added a couple of gold stripes.
not sure why...
Am thinking it may be a subconscious thing...these were our high school colors.

But back to the cartwheel that I turned.
I was excited, beyond excited about this new find...
a grain sack with my initials stitched upon it!
It's red,
I love red,
but it sort of messed up
the whole gold and blue thing I had going...

Can't wait to used this piece in my Christmas decorating...won't it look wonderful sitting on an old bench as a table-topper with a few sprigs of fresh pine greenery, tucked inside my big ironstone pitcher and a Christmas ditty or two?

And lastly, I must mention...
we have some fabric on order that has the look and feel of these antique linen grain sacks.
and you can even cross stitch on it...
Will keep you posted.
Be patient,
sometimes the wait for fabric can seem like an eternity!

Have a good day,
Brenda

11.14.2011

Did you know...

that snow goes "nigh-nigh"?

According to soon-to-be 3 year old grandson Beckham,
when snow melts
it goes "nigh-nigh"...

Yep,
that is what he told his momma yesterday,
upon going outside
and
finding that their snow cover had melted.

Grandma loves it
when momma phones her
with these sweet little comments.
It makes being 50 not so bad...

Speaking of snow,
sharing just a little sneak peek
at
January's Word Play...

the stitching is done
and
just waiting to be sewn and stuffed.

Thinking this one,
is my personal favorite to date...

The charting of February's was started
over the weekend
and
this one of course,
will have a Valentines/Love theme.

I'm really enjoying stitching these
and
love that fact
that they can be completed
in just a week's worth
of casual morning coffee stitching...

Charting and floss selection
is also now completed
for the
Spring Sampler of the Season.

I'm getting a wee bit nervous,
as I don't have the linen needed to start,
and
may need to push the release date
for this pattern to after the holidays.

Also on the sketch pad
is a design
I'm working on
for the Piecework Magazine, March/April 2012 issue.

This issue will focus on
tools of the trade...
How our needlework tools
have evolved and their origins.

Should be an interesting read!

One of the tools/forms of needlework focused upon
will be punch needle.
I've been invited to supply the pattern design
for this particular topic.

Also, are you a pincushion maker?
If so, hop on over to Interweave to
enter their pincushion contest.

Have a good week everyone,
Brenda


11.06.2011

Computer woes...

I've been somewhat absent from blogging the past few days...
sorry
but
life has been busy
and
a little hectic.

I've been getting
to know
a new hard drive.

My computer died.
A relatively new computer in my mind...
just 4 years old.

The mother board
went out on it.
Mother board,
sounds pretty important
doesn't it???

This is the computer
that I do
all my
cross stitch charting on,
graphics work,
pattern layout
and
blog postings.

Yep, that computer!
Dell & I
were basically joined at the hips,
if you know what I mean.

So 800 some bucks later
and
5 hours of data file transferring,
I'm back up and running,
locating files
and
getting familiar with this Windows 7
operating system...

and thinking of the many other many things I would have
rather spent this 800+ bucks on...
like new ditties for the house, new shoes, new winter sweaters,
etc,
etc,
and
maybe even
some linen and floss...
{sigh}

Everything looks different,
even just old Microsoft Word
has a new look...

Let me stress,
that this whole process
was not done without
sprouting a few new gray hairs
and
there may have even
been a few curse words
flailing from my mouth...

I'm not good with change.
never.have.been.

So after a few stressful long days
of this stuff,
I treated myself
to some quiet time stitching time
last evening...
Time for some therapy.

The January's Word Play
is now in it's very early stages folks!

You just never know
what may inspire the next cross stitch chart...
A bundle of rose hips?
I brought back a bunch of wild rose hips
when visiting our son
in Denver...

I love rose hips.
Not the scented ones,
the ones still on their stems
and
still out
in the elements.

Anyone else?

I actually find them just as
beautiful as the rose...
only thing missing is their
lovely scent.

I especially love
finding them in the winter time,
blanketed
in drifts of snow...
cold,
but still hanging on.

Mother natures gentle reminder
that for everything
there is a
time
and
a
season.

Hoping for a smoother week,
Brenda


11.01.2011

NEW Christmas Patterns have arrived!

DECEMBER WORD PLAY
First off is December's Word Play! If you haven't joined in on this monthly series,
don't fret, it's not too late! All twelve of these will be worked on the 35 count Abecedarian linen, this linen is just now back in stock. Floss paks, vintage seam tape trim and rusty bells are also available! Watch for January's Word Play to release on the 1st of December...let the stitching fun continue!!

X X X X X

BOUGHS OF HOLLY
The BOUGHS OF HOLLY pillow is worked on the Fine Ariosa (22 count) over two threads...11 count! The bigness of the cross stitches on this loosely woven cloth is a mix to die for. The cloth is first distressed before you begin and it totally changes the texture and feel to this cloth that has a Rayon fiber content. We sell this cloth in 18" squares, you will need to purchase 2 squares if you choose to back the pillow in the same cloth. We have 4 bolts of this cloth in stock...as you know cross stitch cloth can be a hot commodity at times...feelin' pretty good about that!! Floss pak for this pattern is also available.

X X X X X

RUDOLPH
Rudolph is first punched, then sewn and stuffed into a fun tree ornament! Rudolph is sporting St Nick on a snowy Christmas Eve on his belly. A tiny red bell gets sewn on for his nose and twiggy antlers and legs adds extra texture and detail. A quick stitch!

X X X X X

YULETIDE STOCKING
A simple star-clad angel, holly vine and winter snow bird adorn this Christmas stocking. Woolly penny tongues and antique mother of pearl buttons finish this piece off nicely. Dried Sweet Annie and vintage candy-cane pipe cleaners are carefully tucked into the stocking. This will look so sweet hanging from a cupboard door knob.

X X X X X

TREE FARM
You may recall the Wool Farm and Pumpkin Hill patterns released this fall...due to their popularity, we decided we needed a tree farm...a Christmas Tree Farm! And just in time for the holiday season, too! This cupboard hanger features Rudolph & Santa out on a snow December eve picking the perfect tree. Can't you just hear the snow crunching and smell the smell of fresh pine? Rusty jingle bells are stitched to the bottom of the piece for added holiday charm.

X X X X X

And lastly,
the floss keeps have been posted! I thought they needed their own special category, you can view them under the FLOSS KEEP category tab on our website. You can take a peek at what is left...these were selling faster then I could mark them sold out...there were some early bird shoppers keeping watch as they were being posted!! I will be making more of these, when more frames arrive, and as time allows. No advance orders will being taken for these.

For more information on these new goodies,
visit us online
at
www.countrystitchesonline.com...


Have a good day,
Brenda