Cute as a bugs ear!

NEW!

Tiny little book of needles,

each decorated with tiny X's that make up it's cover design.

 

Offered in 3 sizes of needles. 

 Each sweet little book is home to six nickel-plated,

 high quality,

 tapestry needles. 

 The needles of choice for cross stitch.

 



 

A little stitching sentiment

 adorns the backside of each booklet.

 



Offered in sizes 24 - 26 - 28...

your most often used sizes of needles for cross stitch. 

 

What size needle to use? 

 

My general guideline is:

14 to 16  count - size 24

18 count  - size 26

32 count or above - size 26 or 28

Size 28's are my favorite for working over 1 thread on small count linens.

The bigger the needle number, the smaller the needle.

Just remember, the higher the count linen, the higher number needle size!

 

This is just what works best for me, others may have their own favorites. 

Remember, you want the eye of your needle

 to be big enough

 to gently open the fibers, slightly.

  This allows more room

 for the floss to move through the linen

 and prevents the floss from fraying.

 

The little book of needles

 are sold exclusively through www.countrystitchesonline.com

and

 can be viewed under the NEW ITEMS category there.

 

And lastly,

 a couple of sneak peeks...

 

The book of needle cover designs have been charted

for stitching,

 



and

are currently being stitched

 for future pattern releases. 

The above piece, "The Sampler House" needs some frogging...

Can you spot my error?

I stitched the crow onto the wrong letter...{sigh}

 

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

 

Quacks Me Up!

Woofta, after a busy and hectic day at Country Stitches I came home to total critter craziness.

Our snow has melted, though the wind had a slight nip to it, at least the sun was shining.  It's been awhile since we've seen the sun, a very long while.    I felt like putting my feet up for a while and just sitting at the kitchen table and enjoying a peaceful cup of coffee.  I thought I'd warm myself in the sun for awhile before deciding what the heck I was going to make for supper. 

 

I'm drinking my coffee and looking out the window and I spot this duck.  Don't know what type of duck it is...seems to be something more then a mallard.  So it's a duck, but ducks don't usually hang out in my back yard.  The duck didn't move.  He seemed to have his head tucked under his wing....at least that is what I was hoping....I was hoping that the naughty hawk that frequents our yard didn't spot him first.....

I guess what I'm trying to say is,

I hoped the duck still had a head...

  

So,

 I did take a picture,

 you dumb duck,

and now your photo is all over the blog world.

  You have now gone viral,

what do you think of that? 

  Gack, gackgackgackgack!

By now my coffee has grown cold, cause the duck was distracting me and I forgot to drink my coffee.  So, I get up to put a splash of hot coffee into my cup and I am startled by a noise at my window.  I look over and all I see is this

and dirt hitting my window.

 

Visitor number 2...

The furry rat had the nerve to just sit there in my flower box and stare at me whilst I slurped my cup of coffee. 
  A window peeping squirrel? 
Can I call the cops?
  You do know,
 they only remember where they put there nuts 2% of the time... 

 

My next thought was...The cat? 
Where's he at?
  He usually knows where all the squirrels are at.
 I can't believe he isn't right here up in the window sill....
hmmmmm,
I better go find him. 

 

This is where I found him...

in.my.flossbox.

Now I'm really feeling a little disappointed....
this is WHAT goes ON while I'm away,
 hard at work??

Really?

So,
 you no longer do squirrel patrol?

No more kitty treats for you.

 

 

 

And your asking yourself,

can't she really find something better then an old Amazon box to put her floss in?

Yep,

 ask myself that too,

everytime I find this 12 pounds of fur in my box.

 

Thinking I need a box with a lid before I cough up a furball,
Brenda

Avry turns one!

I'm not sure where this past year has flown to, but it happened and our little Miss Avry is already one...

She was so cute in her little birthday outfit, just had to share some photos with you.  Mommy ordered it on etsy, just love those ruffles on the fanny...

 

Time to unwrap gifts...

We were all impressed with Avry's "gift opening etiquette".  She went for the cards first...

There were presents for big brother Beckham, too...

just because  :)

When Mommy came home with Avry's birthday balloons,

 Beckhams reply to Momma was,

"thank you Mommy for bringing me home balloons"....was so cute!

Avry helped big brother open his "just because presents" too...

And here we are,

still holding onto our birthday card...

 

hmmmm....

what is mom putting in front of me today to eat???

this isn't Gerbers,

this is good stuff...

and lastly,

after the party was over Avry and Momma looked at the birthday pictures...

was so cute...

Avry would look at the picture of herself and then look up at Momma and giggle...

Thanks for allowing me to have a little "grandma brag book moment"

with you all!

 

Have a good day,

Brenda

A new discovery and stitching...

However,
the two (new discovery & stitching) have nothing to do with each other...
Gotcha' didn't I?
You were thinking this blog posting was going to be about a new stitching gadget or something, right?

{My New Discovery} Really the word yum doesn't do these justice.  They are yummy, scrumptious and delicious, but my plate wasn't long enough for a longer word....and have you ever tried making a word with nuts?
 Not the easiest thing to do,
so yum it is!

You are thinking this just looks like almonds...

but folks,

 these aren't just ordinary almonds,

they are flavored almonds!

To die for...

 

The dh brought home a bag of raspberry flavored ones on Saturday,

it was gone by Sunday.

I was feeling a little low in Vitamin E and foods rich in antioxidants,

so a trip to the grocery store was in need on Sunday.

I didn't tell the dh what the trip to the store was for,

nor did he tell me there were flavor choices of nuts...

 

There are raspberry, blueberry, strawberry,

hold your breath....

mocha, caramel macchiato and roasted coffee.

So, I spent Sunday stitching and snacking on almonds.  It was a nice mix.
   I made good progress on the Summer Sampler,
 and emptying my bags of almonds, too  :) 

A little peek at the Summer sampler,
tis full of green leafy things,
 all green and growing...

 

While stitching, I was distracted by  pieces of paper spread out around my feet on the floor in front of me,

(future designs and luscious silk flosses that are screaming, stitch me)

and

 urge to try the coffee flavored almonds... 

{sigh}

 

I have this problem when I'm stitching.

I always want to be stitching something other then what I'm stitching...

Anyone else have this problem?

But,

being the disciplined person that I am,

 I told myself that I would treat myself to the coffee flavored almonds

 in celebration of the finish

of the

Summer Sampler. 

 

Now,

 off to eat some almonds...

I figured since I fingered all the ones for the photo shoot,

 I had better eat those, right? 

It wouldn't be right

 putting them back into the bag for the dh to eat
after I touched them....
Nope,
that would not be right.

 

Hope your week isn't too nutty,

Brenda

Floss Keeps!

For those waiting,

we now have a good selection of floss keeps in stock!

 You can find them here.

Get 'em while the pickin's are good!

 

Have a good day,

Brenda

Catching Up!

It's been awhile! Time to check in with you all and let you know I'm still here!

  This posting will have this, that and the other...so bear with me!

 

The dh and I escaped to the Florida gulf coast for a few days of relaxation and the warmth of sun.

We also took in a couple of Minnesota Twins baseball spring training games.  Ladies, this is how you get you guys to get away...you entice them with a baseball game or two!!

 

 

The day time temps were high 70's - low 80's, cooling down in the evenings to jacket or sweater temps.

 

 

This was our view. 

The sunsets over the gulf waters are spectacular.

 

 

Not sure of their name, but these little shore birds were so cute.  They ran along the waters close to shore, just always in front of the crashing waves...sort of like me in the water!

 

 

Our last morning there, was after a nighttime high tide.  

  We enjoyed a morning walk up the shoreline.

 

 

The hightide deposited all sorts of goodies...

 

 

Shells and creatures that this Iowa girl isn't familiar with!

Such as this....

Plant?

Animal?

I have no idea....just know I wouldn't want to step on it while swimming! 

 

 

If you look real hard at this shell, you will see a living critter in it. 

Such a perfect shell, but you are not allowed to take any shells with living critters in them.

I'm totally okay with that, trust me!

 

 

This "thing" scared the "bejebbers" out of me...

Jellyfish? 

Cow's tongue?  Just kidding, remember I'm from Iowa!

 Help us out, you Floridians....

what is this!???

 

 

and, another shot of those cute shore birds...

 

 

I came home rested and re-energized. 

 Worked a few days, playing catch-up,

 and then these two little darlings

 and their parents arrived for a long Easter weekend.

 

  Here we are at the water park. 

 Can you hear Beckham's teeth chattering??

Purple lips ='s water that could be a tad bit warmer!

This was Avry's first water park visit.

 

You can't have Easter without dying eggs... 

 

 

 We used the traditional dissolve tablets, and tried Kool-Aid also this year.

   We decided that we liked the brightness of the Kool-Aid eggs best.

 Did you know grape Kool-Aid gives you brown eggs? 

 

 

In our jammies with our Easter baskets!

  Love this picture...

 

 

The Easter bunny also hid eggs outside in the yard.  After the initial egg hunt, we had three more egg hunts at Beckham's request.   So we just hid empty eggs!    He was more about the hunt, then the candy inside!  We also took the eggs to great grandma and grandpa's house and enjoyed our 4th empty egg hunt there!

 

 X X X X X

 

Moving onto some stitching news...

 

The beeswax bars and needle keeps are now back in stock. 

 

 If you haven't seen these, these two items feature the "Bee Keeper's Sampler" on their labeling. 

These can be decorative or some use beeswax to condition their thread.  With time the beeswax will develope a dull white surface...I like it best that way!  This is normal for beeswax and is called, bloom. 

 The wax is supplied to us from an Ohio beekeeper and the cute little bars are then assembled here at Country Stitches.

The wooden needle keep comes with 6 cross stitch needles. 

Perfect for when you need something little for gift giving or the need to just say, "thank you".

 

The Elizabeth Clark antique reproduction made the trip to Florida with me.

Here she is...

 

I made nice progress on the piece while on vacation.

 

 Love those grapes and the little man in his pink pants!! 

 

And lastly, the Summer sampler charting is completed.  I am working on finalizing floss selection and then stitching will begin on it.  For those inquiring minds, it will release just as soon as it is stitching and framed, completing that seasonal series of samplers.

 

Happy Wednesday,

Brenda

 

 

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Wishing you the best today

 Matthew

on your 30th Birthday! 

30 years, how did this happen so fast?!!

 

Enjoy your day!

Love,

Mom & Dad 

 

 

{Photos were taken during Matthew's visit home last summer.  He and a couple high school friends participated in their first half-triathlon.  The above photo was taken by me.  All my photos from this day are a bit fuzzy...mother's nerves, you know!    The above photo makes me laugh... at the time I was taking this photo, I didn't even realize that his dad was on the other side of the path taking a photo too!  A two fingers up gesture to his Dad, must mean it's a piece of cake, right?

 

Have a good week everyone, tis a cold, windy and snowy day here,

Brenda

Framed!

Framed & all done!

The lovely frame for "The Bee Keeper's Sampler" arrived yesterday.   I snuck home, earlier then normal, to get the piece pinned, finished, framed and photographed while the natural lighting was good for picture taking.  Was feeling really good about meeting the March 15th date, that I anticipated the patterns would be ready.

After the pattern cover layout was completed, and I was about ready to start printing, I screamed "oh nuts!"...I actually might have said more then "oh nuts!", but where is the N?  No N?  We can't have a sampler with no N!!!  We can have J's missing, and the U or V (whichever it is...can't remember which it is), but not the N!  How would I explain this!  So, after a sleepless night, I awoke early and started frogging...the sampler now has a N and printing of the charts will begin today.   Everyone that has the pattern pre-ordered, it will ship Monday.  If you ordered just linen and the chart, they will both ship together on Monday, as well...we've had your linen set aside and saved for you.

The frame I chose, is a beautifully hand-grained frame from Valley House Primitives.    The specifics of the frame are as follows:
Front opening measures 8 3/8" x 10 1/4".
Profile: MCN
Color: Tavern Gold  
Design: hairpin/corner fans. 
Take note, this opening size accommodates 40 count linen, working over 2 threads.  If you are interested in finishing you frame with this look, contact Janet at Valley House Primitives to purchase your frame.  Her contact is valleyhouseprim@aol.com    Their frames are meticulously handcrafted, and Janet is wonderful to work with.

Short post today, have lots and lots to do....will be a working weekend for me.    The dear husband and I are sneaking off to the beaches of Florida for a few days for a little R&R.  My sketch pad and stitching will travel with me...I just can't seem to ever leave them behind...vacation or no vacation!  {sigh}

Enjoy your weekend,
Brenda 

P.S.
The cute little wax bars are back in stock...we have a few matching needle keeps left too!  Check them out under the NEW ITEMS category.  New charts are arriving daily and the website continues to be updated with new goodies!

From X's to loops!

Conversion...

 

I've had some requests for the "Three Tulips" cross stitch chart

 to be offered in punch needle. 

For those inquiring minds, I'm working on it!

I was worried about those little bluebirds getting too small for punch needle....

 but,

 I think they'll be okay! 

 The little flitting bluebirds are only about a scant 1/2".

They'll look more defined,

of course,

when the background gets filled in. 

I'm done with the main design area

 and will move onto the letters & background area

 this evening.

 

What do you think? 

 Do you like light backgrounds or dark backgrounds? 

 It can't be too dark or the leaves won't show up,

 and yet,

 it can't be too light or we'll lose the bunny...

this is always a dilemma when selecting thread choices...

 

Happy Hump day...

it's all downhill from here,

Brenda

Announcement, please take note!

The time has come to make this announcement, as things have really started to get a little out of control... I'm asking for your help with this.

 

Once you place an online order it can no longer be added to, or combined with other previously placed orders.    If you want all items shipped together, then PLEASE order them all on the same transaction.   

 

These situations cause re-work, re-entering of data, waste of paper, thumbing through stacks of orders & PayPal transacations to locate the various mulitiple orders, and issuing the shipping refunds.  This all takes valuable time that could be spent filling/shipping other customers orders.   These situations causes confusion and shipping delays.  It's one step forward, two steps back....none of us like these kind of days.

I'm asking that you take your time & shop carefully, making sure you aren't forgetting anything!!   Thanks a bunch and I appreciate your help with this.

 

That all... I'll fly away now, on my broom ;)

 

Have a good evening,

Brenda

New Patterns!

Greetings,

 stitching friends

 &

 folk!

After several months of planning, designing & stitching,

I'm happy to show you all

 whats been keeping me busy ~

 

"The Candlestick Maker"

A sweet simple little sampler featuring the candlestick maker and his wife.  Each are holding tiny candle sticks.   With a close & careful look, you will find tiny candles burning in a few of the house windows.  Sampler is worked in muted, colonial times, floss colors of mustards, brick reds, tin blues and smokey blacks.    Design is worked on 40 count linen over 2 threads.

 

Below is the companion piece

 to the Candlestick Maker Sampler...

"The Bee Keeper's Sampler"

This design didn't quite" make the bus" to market, but will be released around mid- March.  I have it just digitally framed above.     I will be finishing this sampler in a beautiful hand-grained frame from Valley House Primitives.  This sampler too, is worked in wonderful muted shades of mustard golds, faded rusty reds, and tinflashing grey-blues.  We will be taking pre-orders for this design, with a mid-March ship date.    There will also be two NEW Floss Keeps featuring these two companion samplers!

  Sampler beautifully stitched by model stitcher, April Taylor.

 

 X X X X X X

 

"Three Tulips"

Alphabet, rabbit, urn and three tulips...simple, yet a stunning "Spring-time" sampler.   I'm thinking this tulip-filled urn may have had more then three tulips at one time....what say you?   I chose an antique picture frame for the finish on this sampler.    Design is worked on 40 count linen over 2 threads.  

 Sampler beautifully stitched by model stitcher, Suzanne Garber.

 

 X X X X X X X

 

"Basketful of Spring Time"

A unique and quick-stitch pillow for your spring-time decorating.   I like the "neutralness" & "simpleness" of this piece.    Springtime motifs are worked on a piece of linen that gets turned into a flower basket and then hand-appliqued onto pillow top.  The pillowcase is also cross stitch linen.  Use of vintage silk ribbon bow and antique button flowers, adds extra charm and simple detail to this pillow.  I'm hoping to design other seasonal basket pillows....keep a watchful eye out for future designs for Summer, Winter & Fall.

 

X X X X X X X X

 

"Crumpets & Tea"

A pillow featuring my version of a poem written by Jessica Nelson North.  Jessica was born in Madison WI, in 1891, she was a children's literature writer.    Her original version of this little saying was published in 1912.  It's a verse that I find fitting for myself.

  I love to start a early summer morning off outdoors,

 enjoying the gardens & the songs of birds,

 while sipping my morning cup

and

 enjoying a sweet.

 

"A garden tea party of three...

twas me, myself & I...

I ate all the berries & cream,

myself ate all the crumpets,

twas also I

who ate the pie,

and passed the tea to me."

Design is worked on 40 count linen over two threads.  I chose to finish it into a pillow trimmed in ruched vintage seam tape.  The pillow will sit in a chippy painted antique child's chair

 in my kitchen

 and it will remind me

 of those quiet summer morning hours

that I so enjoy. 

Sampler beautifully stitched by model stitcher, Susanna Baker.

 

 

X X X X X X X

 

 

"Tending the Tulips"

A cheery spring-time ditty pocket,

 featuring Mrs. Cottontail... the tender of the tulips. 

Pocket has hand dyed wool penny tongues with antique buttons for added texture and detail.  I chose to fill the pocket with viburnum berries that wintered on the bush.  It was so nice of the robins to leave me a few!  Pussy willows would be equally charming tucked into the pocket.

 

Watch for these new releases to be arriving in your LNS shortly.  These designs have been added to our website, plus a few other new goodies!  Linens, floss paks and supplies for these items also available.

 

Enjoy your weekend,

Brenda