I'm still here...

but

there is just no time for blogging.

Sorry,

putting in long days
filling and packaging
your orders

and

getting them on their way...

Our Christmas cut off date of December 8th has now come and gone. We no longer can meet the delivery of in stock items in time for Christmas Eve delivery. And a friendly reminder...as our website and shopping cart states, please allow 10 - 14 days of time for delivery of your order during the months of September - December. With the brisk shopping on CYBER MONDAY it is closer to the 14 days, then 10.... This applies to domestic orders only, international deliveries can take 2 - 4 weeks.

ALSO...

For those of you waiting for either single skeins of floss #1101 Light Khaki from Weeks Dye Works or the complete floss kits for "Boughs of Holly", the floss arrived yesterday and those shipped yesterday, as well.

Til later,

Brenda

Snow in the Forecast

and these spring-colored

flosses
are screaming
at me...

The linen is now here,
flosses are chosen,
let the stitching begin on the Spring Sampler of the Season.

Now is my next dilemma...
do I stitch it myself
or
pass it on to one of my model stitchers?
I estimate 77 hours of stitching time on this piece (ouch),
yes it gets expensive to hire...
however,
I'm asking myself
when I'm going to find the 77 hours
to stitch this...

There is this little monthly
pattern series called
Word Play
that has us hoppin'.
Which reminds me, I need to put the finishing touches to
the February chart
and start the stitching (eekkk)
Too bad I require sleep...

Which also reminds me it is December,
Christmas is less then a month away (eeekkkkk again),
no gifts are bought, :\
however,
I have bought the gift wrap ;)
the trees not up,
the wreaths aren't hung,
the lights aren't strung,
I haven't ordered my garland yet,
we may just have to be this house...
I'm in a tizzy
can you tell?
Too bad I require sleep...

Sorry, got lost there in all that fretting...
The original release date was December 21st, however due to a delay in getting the linen, the release for the Spring Sampler of the Season will need to be pushed back...hoping for mid January. This sampler is not as seasonal as the Autumn and Winter's, it is really an everyday sampler, with just hints of Spring.

ALSO....
The Weeks Parchment 30 count linen for the Mansion at Fox Hollow is HERE! Yes, you heard me correctly...it's been a long wait. For those of you who have been so patiently waiting for this, we thank you for being so patient. The darling husband has offered to work at Country Stitches this cold Saturday, and guess what what he gets to do? He doesn't know this yet, but he gets to cut linen! We'll start sending the linen to those of you who have it on back order on Monday. If there is any left after the back orders are filled we'll re-list this as an in-stock item on the website for purchase. We also got a partial shipment of the 35 count Abecedarian and 30 count Iced Cappuccino too, those are now listed as in stock on our site. Still waiting for the 35 count Straw by Weeks...

Twismas Twees...

Beckham went Christmas tree shopping with Mommy & Grandma
and was adamant about the two tiny
"twismas twees"
coming into the house,
with him,
upon arrival...

Momma really bought them to put in a big pot for outdoor decorating...

but,
Beckham had his own plans for the twees...

no lights or ornaments needed...
Just Thomas the Train,
and a train track,
will do,
for this 3 year old.


Have a good night,
Brenda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mary, Mary & Mary...

FLOSS KEEPS
coming soon!

Choose from 9 different designs,
available November 1st. These will be offered in a very limited supply,
made by myself,
as time permits...
a Country Stitches online exclusive.

The 3 floss keeps shown
are color prints
of snippets
from samplers
from
my personal collection.
I have 5 Mary samplers,
2 being stitched by the same Mary!

Mary Murgatroyd 1842Floss Keep

This sampler happens to be my personal favorite. I'm lucky to own two samplers stitched by this Mary and they compliment each other beautifully. Both are stitched with lots of reds and faded robin egg blues. Both samplers are dated 1842. The age of Mary is unknown, but by the stitching/spelling errors, it is safe to assume the stitching was done by a young hand.

X X X X X

Mary Ann Moore 1833 Floss Keep

Lovely verse sampler, beautifully stitched on about a 45, maybe even a 50 count linen...need to get my magnifier out and count! The verse is worked over 1, with the motifs worked over 2. Lovely shades of mellow yellows, mossy greens, drab browns and pink flosses are used in this piece. Sampler was completed in 1833 by 11 year old Mary Ann Moore. In looking at the stitching on this piece, you get the feel that this Mary was a perfectionist at the early age of 11...her stitching is nothing less of perfect!

X X X X X

Mary Wrigley 1834 Floss Keep

This sampler was the beginning of my antique sampler collecting days. It was purchased from an antique dealer here in Iowa. The sampler was completed on April 13, 1834 by Mary Wrigley of Clearfield, PA. A full family history accompanies this sampler...this is always considered an added bonus...

X X X X X

Have a good week,
Brenda

Trick or Treat!!

Click arrow to play! Agassi's human mom here... Agassi has finally made his furry little mind up... yep, the decision has been made and PUL-LEASE, don't tell him witch's are of the female gender {sigh} And no this human mom hasn't been knitting cat costumes... LOL If you only could see me with a pair of knitting needles, you would think differently! These sweet little hats were purchased from the very talented skooterknits. Happy Halloween, Agassi & Brenda

Linen is here!!

The Confederate Grey 40 count linen arrived
and
I'm doing the happy dance!!!!!

Tis been a long wait,
and you are all
itchin'
to
start stitchin'
the
Stitcher's Purse pattern,
right?

It's quite a sickening feeling,
believe me,
when you release
a new chart
only to find
you can't get your hands
on the linen
to support the chart.

It can be quite tricky
to have everything
come together
at the same time...


We thank you all for your patience!

The linen is beautiful
and
I'd like to say,
it's worth the wait!

We started shipping all back orders
of this linen
yesterday
and
should have every ones
filled
and on its way
to them
by days end.

We're hopeful
that the 30 count Parchment linen
will follow
very soon like
for those of you
that are waiting for it.
We have another shipment
of the
35 count Abecedarian linen
due to arrive
any day as well.

And more news...
New stitching goodies are now posted on our website
NEW buttons
NEW scissors
NEW needle minders
NEW patterns
with more
NEW goodies arriving weekly!

And lastly,
a shout out to those of you who are stitching our monthly
Word Play series...
the December pattern releases on November 1st
along with some other NEW arrivals!

With thy Needle & Thread,
Brenda

Is it me...

or am
I just getting
hot
in this
pumpkin hat????

Hot,
as in
physically hot...

So the consensus is,
from all you
human and feline readers,
that I rock in this hat!

Why even one of my feline readers
thought that the pumpkin
stem enhances my male
qualities,
if you know what
I mean...
{ah-hem}

Maybe
I'm just blushing...
do cat's blush???

* * * * * * *

Agassi's human mom here...
boy let me tell you,
I have one cat with
a big ego!

He's still a bit indecisive as to what
his costume should be though...
Rumor has it he's
found something different
to wear...

geesh,
I've raised a cat that can't
decide what to wear...

He must have learned
that from his human dad.

Have a good day!

Where is the cam-corder when you need it???

Boy you missed
quite the scene folks!

You should have seen myself,
being chased through the backyards,
of our neighborhood,
by my human mom,
with her camera
flopping around her neck.

Chasing me,
in this hat,
I must add...

She was laughing
so hard
she almost had
tears rolling
down her legs...

If only I could have caught that on video...
It was "Funniest Home Video" material,
believe me!

She was running,
yelling at me
to stop,
and
I just kept
a runnin'
with my little punkin' stem
just
a floppin'...
Do you have a visual yet????


Sorry,
got a little side tracked there,
and
I'm just catching my breath from
that chase
{sigh}

But I need your help...
it's the costume thing again.

I'm not quite sold on the dinosaur look.
It makes me look old...

like ancient,
or maybe even extinct...
if you know
what I mean.

I think I need a costume
a little bit more
age appropriate...

Any ideas?

Maybe I should just be a pumpkin
for Halloween...
what do you think?

Seems appropriate,
right?
I've always thought I looked
good in orange.
I'm just a little nervous though...
I just hope
the female felines
in my neighborhood
like it...

And,
if any of the guys
in the neighborhood
dare
call me
a punkin-head,
well,
this is what I'll do...

stick my tongue
out at them
and
no treats
for them!

Hoping your day was purr-fect,
Agassi

If you were me...

what would you be for Halloween?

A dinosaur?

A purple dinosaur
with lime green
osteoderms?

Yea,
I know,
that's a big word
for a cat...
my human mom
helped me with that...

What do you think?
Do you like?
It doesn't make my head look too big,
or anything,
does it?

It seems to fit okay,
I think my ears
are right where
they're
supposed to be...

Is the color okay
on me?

Any advise would be appreciated,
Agassi

Diagnosis...

SADD
(stitcher's attention deficit disorder)


One morning I'll pick this up
and
put a few stitches in it...
the next morning
I may be feeling a little punchy,
so I pick this up
and
punch a few stitches
before heading to work...

and then
some evenings
to unwind
before I turn in
for the evening
I may stitch
a couple letters
of the alphabet
on this piece...

I heard that the best medicine for SADD
is to just start
another
fun
new project...
This is what makes
us with SADD,
HAPPY!

One can never
have too many
things
going at once!
Right?

You are all with me on
this, right???

With thy Needle & Thread,
Brenda

I think of him

and laugh!

To be more specific,
I think of him
in this episode
and I laugh.

I've been living the part
where it just keeps coming & coming...

You may remember
I took a few days off,
a vacation if you will...

But when you operate
a business
on the world wide web,
you are
really
never
closed.
You are
never
really
on vacation...

You may be gone,
but
the orders keep
coming
&
coming
and they begin
to pile up
while you are away...

Note to self,
do not ever let husband
and
son plan a vacation
leading up to the release of new patterns.

So long story short,
I am still paying for taking a few days off.
I am digging out from the bottom of the
clip-board full of orders
and
should be caught up
by weeks end.
THANKS FOR YOUR PATRONAGE & PATIENCE.
IT'S GREATLY APPRECIATED!
AMEN.

Off to work I go,
Brenda

Calling all eagle-cam lovers...

The new cameras/microphone, etc
have been installed
and the Decorah, IA eagle cam is rolling folks!

I've been enjoying my morning cup of coffee watching Mother eagle (I think)
perched upon the famous branch with the famous white barn in the background. She is just taking in the morning sun on the beautiful Iowa autumn morning.

The parents have already begun to ready their nest for their next set of young. Dad has started his construction process,
&
you guessed it,
putting branches where Mom doesn't want them!

Here is the link if you want to take a peek
or even,
perhaps
spend the whole weekend watching eagles.
Like we've never done that before,
right??!!!

The above photo is D1,
or the first hatched, from the past years nest....so beautiful!
The eagle is banded with transmitters and
this photo was shot near Yellow Lake, WI.

And here's a fun YouTube link to some of the nest
re-constructing going on!

Enjoy the eagles,
Brenda