Floss Organization System?

The question has been asked.

You've all read it or been asked it...

How do you organize your floss?

 

Under that 12 pounds of fur

 is organization,

 really...

Kitty loves my system!

 

Signed Brenda,

who wonders why there is " kitty fluff" on her floss...

 

 

P.S.

a few days ago I was visiting Paulette Stewart's blog

and she shared this cute video for all the cat lovers...

 In case you missed it,

here it is

Helping hand?

My helper...

 

 

Typical. cat.

Decides to take a nap in the midst of my what I'm working on.

{sigh}

I'm working on & scheming a finish...

A pillow?

Maybe.

Can't decide...

 

 

He's been asked by his human dad if he is supposed to be laying there. 

He just gives him the "sleepy kitty face" look...

 

and

quickly falls back into a slumber,

 

Sweet kitty dreams.

Dreaming of a new "kitty duvet" finish!

 

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

Hanky hem?

I've been practicing! 

 Practicing on, what I call, the "hanky stitch".

  Remember Grandma's hankies?

 The ones that had that little delicate hem with holes in it?

  Often times,

 crochet edging was then attached to the hem along this open and airy hemline.

 

  So delicate...

 

I've been practicing on a little bit wider hem.

 I think I'm ready to move onto a narrower hem,

 and then maybe even onto working a corner. 

 

I'm not going to be making hankies anytime soon,

but I love old samplers that have been finished this way.

   I've always wanted to finish a piece with this method,

so I'm practicing,

 and at the same time,

working on bravery.

 

 

Brave enough to make that cut

and pull those threads...

 

Here is one of my antiques that has this sort of finish to the edges.

  See those little delicate holes around the edge of the frame?

 This is one of my older samplers,

 Ann Lamploughs, 1793.

It is worked in vibrant colors of wool threads.

  I  intend to have it re-framed in a more age appropriate frame.

 

Until then,

I sit and admire it's "hanky hem"...

it's my inspiration!

 

Happy Valentines Day everyone,

Brenda



I'm here!

Pardon. my. absence.

It's been busy,

orders need filling,

stitching needs stitching,

 and

 I'm trying to dig out...

I do think I see daylight just ahead!

 

TNNA is quickly approaching and we all know what that means!

 

 In the evenings and early mornimg hours,

 I'm trying to get my ducks in a row for that. 

  I've been stitching,

 all three model stitchers have been stitching,

 and if everything gets done by the February 22nd deadline,

 there will be 5 NEW cross stitch charts releasing at the show.

 

 

Once finished work starts to trickle in from my model stitchers,

it is then time to decide on a finish for the piece...scary part!

  I always hate making that cut into the linen....so, so scary!

 

  Framing is always the easy route,

 but,

 I've been known to not always take the easy route...

 

To frame, or not to frame...

that is the question of the day.

I have an idea for a fun finish,

 but fun finishes sometimes don't

 turn out how we want them to...

{sigh}

 

 

Do you prefer a frame finish,

 or a fun, outside of the box, sort of finish???

 

  If you are like me,

 I am running out of wall space,

 and prefer to tuck finished pieces

 here and there,

 and move them around

 from place to place

as my heart desires.

 

decisions.decisions.decisions.

 

 X X X X X

 

To those who are attending TNNA,

 be sure to stop by Norden Crafts

 to be the first to view models

of the following 5 hopeful titles...

(that is if everything gets done)

 

~ The Candlestick Maker Sampler ~

~ The Bee Keeper Sampler ~

~  Crumpets & Tea ~

~  Three Tulips ~

~ Basketful of Springtime ~

 

Off to work I must go,

Brenda

If you need a laugh....

just please, pardon the ape...

A Snowy Sunday

The weather outside is telling me it needs to be a lovely, lazy and  "stitchy" sort of day.

 

 

The furry folk are wearing a dusting of snow...

 

 

and

 our

 feathered folk friends

are in sort of  a feeding frenzy today...

 

 

 The birds had pretty good manners this snowy morning...

they waited their turn

and

didn't seem to mind sharing,

for the most part...

 

all

 but

the big red boy...

 

 he's spent his morning chasing off other big red boys...

he is territorial

and this is

 HIS

 buffet! 

 

 As you can see,

our ground is pretty barren,

an unusual site for mid January...

so the morning's dusting was somewhat welcome.

 

Can you spot the fat bunny?

 

 This boy comes out at night

 to feed on dropped bird seed.

   He just minds his own business,

quietly eating in solitude under the moonlight. 

He then can be seen for a short while

 in the early morning hours

 and

 then he disappears for the rest of the day.     

Isn't he nicely camouflaged

with this morning's

 snowy surroundings?

 

 

He looks well fed,

doesn't he?

 This morning I caught him do a little pruning nibbling on my Viburnum bush. 

{sigh} 

I'm okay with a little pruning,

 just hoping he doesn't get too carried away!

 

I hope you all are enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon. 

 The dh treated me to a late morning breakfast

 of

 griddle cakes and oven-baked Apple smoked bacon.

  Pot roast and veggies for an early dinner is the plan...

 I'm set to stitch the day away.

 

Have a good week everyone,

Brenda

NEW Floss Keeps!

There are a couple NEW additions

 to the floss keep line!

  Of course,

we couldn't resist

 offering the

 new Valentine Sampler in a floss keep,

for your stitching pleasure...

 Isn't it sweet? 

Perfect little Valentines gift for that someone special!

And lastly,

ABC Sampler Floss Keep is the other new addition... 

The Floss Keep inventory

 has been replenished

 once again,

take a peek here to see them all.

 

Have a good evening,

Brenda

Coming Tomorrow!

Printing, collating & packaging has begun!

 

Now that the chocolates are gone,

it's time to tempt your needle

with the new

"Valentine Sampler" pattern...

 with it's 6 sweet, quick-stitch projects!

  Chart includes patterns

 for a

 needle/scissor roll,

 pinkeep,

 spool thread winders,

scissor fob,

 thimble box

 and a

 sewing box.

 

X X X X X

 

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

Elizabeth Clark, 1822

My New Year's Day start,

meet

Elizabeth Clark, 1822.

 

This is an antique reproduction

 that is currently in my hoop,

and

 I'm having a hard time putting her down...

 

The original is from my personal collection

 and

 is heavily faded.

I love faded samplers.  

I'm always intrigued

 with how beautiful

 a faded sampler

 can still look...

 

 When Elizabeth Clark arrived,

she was glued to a piece of wood.

  Over time,

 the glue had hardened,

 and the sampler

 pulled away from the board

 with ease...shew!

  I turned it over,

 and to see the sampler

 in her un-faded state

 made me gasp...

she is beautiful!

 

Sharing snippets

 of some of my favorite motifs...

 

Look real hard,

and you'll find a sweet little man

in the corner.

 

 

a large grape vine

stitched in a somewhat quirky fashion...

&

a lovely brick house

{sigh}

 

X X X X X

 

And here's where

 I am,

stitching row upon row of

 tiny clay bricks...

 

 

 

The verse on the sampler reads,

"with humble heart and tongue

my god to thee I pray

o make me learn whilst I am young

how I may cleanse my way" 

 

The sampler originates from Everthorp, England

 and may have been

 Elizabeth's second piece she stitched. 

  From my readings,

 most girls often stitched two samplers. 

 The first being more simplistic,

with the alphabet and a few motifs.

  These samplers

often times

 did not get displayed in the homes. 

 

 Their second sampler

 was much more

 detailed and elaborate.

  It was this sampler that was often hung

 by the parents

 in the parlor to enjoy.

 This sampler

 was somewhat of  a status symbol...

  one must remember,

that this was the only formal education

 these young girls had,

 at about a cost of $2.00 a day.

 

 

A Sneak Peek...

at the upcoming

 new pattern release,

            "Valentine Sampler".    

 

Pictured is the "Thimble Box" project from the chart. 

The pattern will include patterns

 for

 6 sweet, love-themed cross stitch projects

 that just hint

Valentines

 and are suitable

 for keeping out year-round.

   All for the price of $12.00.

   One payment,

 6 patterns in one,

 and no club to join...

so everyone

can take in the fun

 of re-purposing their spent

 Valentines

candy boxes. 

  Are your chocolates gone yet?

 

My story....

After purchasing

 my two boxes of  Russell Stover's

 heart sampler chocolates,

I broke into the small heart box first...

just because it was so small,

 and so cute...

just 3 pieces of candy. 

 

  Inside was a milk chocolate caramel (love these),

 a coconut haystack (love those, too),

 and some other creme-filled candy

 that I'm not too fond of.   

 I opted for the coconut haystack first,

 saving the caramel

 for the next morning

 to have with  my morning coffee.....mmmmmm.  

That takes a lot of discipline,

 you know...

saving a piece of candy

 until the next day.

 

  Woke up,

 filled my coffee cup up,

 and off to find my little box of chocolates,

 specifically thee caramel...

no caramel.  

 Thee caramel is gone!

 So thoughtful of him

 to leave me the creme-filled candy... 

I think I might have said a naughty word... 

 The dh beat me to my caramel,

how dare him!  

  Now,

 dh usually stands for "dear husband",

 but,

 when he starts messing with my caramels,

 I'm thinking

 the d

in dh

could stand for something else........

you can be the judge!

 

Have a good weekend,

Brenda

 

A New Find!

I imagine there are a few of you,

 like myself,

 where your local Wal-Mart

 is your only source for craft supplies,

specifically craft paint.

  I've used their little bottles of craft paint

for years,

 and have problems

 with my paint drying out,

and

 locating just the right color.

    I don't feel like the craft paint companies

 have done their best

to kept up on color trends...JMHO.

 

   So,

 I wandered down the house paint isle,

 while perusing my local Wal-Mart,

 and

 found these...

Cute little paint tester jars in gobs of colors. 

 Even varying shades of within a color! 

My paint dilemma

 has been resolved!

And,

 you know what is my favorite part of these little 2 oz. jars?

Looky!  

A paint brush is even included! 

 No paint brushes to wash,

 how nifty is that?!!

Now,

 I know you aren't going to be able to paint much detail

 with this size of brush,

 but

 for large surface background painting,

the brush is ideal.

 

As you can see,

 I am readying my heart-shaped boxes

 for the upcoming

 "Valentine Sampler"

cross stitch chart. 

 After buying an ivory, red and brown paint,

 I've decided upon the Ground Nutmeg Brown (#WGN32) paint,

making the boxes look like a milk chocolate heart. 

If you would like to step outside of the box,

and paint your boxes a different color,

paint colors Cranberry Zing (#WGR32) or Whispering Wheat (#WGN30) also match the floss selections very nicely.

 

 

Wishing you all a fun-filled winter weekend,

Brenda

 

It's that time of year again!

 

Time to wander down the candy isle!

This year

 I'm even going to give you reason

to treat yourself

 to

two boxes

 of chocolates!

 

Hurry up,

 and

 sink your teeth into

 the chocolates,

cause we are going

 to be re-purposing

 the

heart-shaped boxes

 into

 cute little sewing/ditty boxes,

with

 cross stitched

embellishments!

 

This year you will need the 4.75 oz. Red Foil Heart

and

the teeny little 1.75 oz Photo Heart

 

Valentines candies

are now showing up

 in the candy aisles,

 check your local retailer!

 

  If not available for you locally,

you can purchase directly

 from

 Russel Stover. 

 

Click on red hyper-links above,

 to take you directly

 to the correct heart-shaped boxes. 

It is very important that you use the correct sized

hearts, to fit the cross stitched work.

 

For those of you who didn't partake

 in this annual

 Valentines event,

here is last years chart...

 

 

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

 

Mmmmmm.....

Momma's fresh-from-the-oven Spritz Christmas Cookies...

I'll take these over peas and carrots any day!

 

Little Avry gets her first taste of Christmas cookies and from the look of her face,

I think she gives them a thumbs up!

 

Hope your having a sweet cookie sort of day,

Brenda

 

 

 

 

 

Just waitin'....

Been up since 5 bells.

Couldn't sleep.

I'm giddy,

 because Frances is framed!

So pretty.

Been just waitin' for the sun to rise...

Waitin' for dawn to break

 into a nice partially sunny morning sky (hopefully),

and then it's outside for Frances and I.

Time for a little morning photo shoot session.

After 30 or 40 photos are shot,

then a little photo editing.

 I'll then drop the photo into the pattern cover template,

 that I've created

 especially

 for Frances Pool.

 

Then, 

I'll digitally send the photo to my big printer at work,

and let the printing begin! 

 

 What did I do before modern technology?

  When I started designing patterns 25 years ago,

 I was typing on an old fashioned typewriter,

 using white out,

 when the font of choice was Courier...

because it was the only font of choice!

 

 I really felt like I had something

 when I upgraded to a new typewriter

that had the built-in correction tape!

 

  And then,

 came along the digital camera,

best.invention.ever.

I use my Canon everyday. 

 

Lots of hard work and long days

 go into a chart from beginning to finished product.

 On the upside of doing all this "stuff" myself

 (photo shoot, graphics and printing product),

I can pick a framed sampler up one day,

 and by days end of the next,

 I have charts! 

 

 

"Thank You" to all who participated in our Cyber Monday shopping event.  So many loyal customers, we are glad to be your source of stitchin' goodies...thank you, thank you!

 

Have a good day everyone,

Brenda

Cyber Monday Savings at Country Stitches!

Pssst,

 tell Santa it's

Free Shipping Cyber Monday

at Country Stitches...

 

  Then,

   show him your wish list

filled with these NEW goodies

and

it doesn't hurt to remind him that

you've been awfully good

this year too...

 

FRANCES POOL, 1832

Chart for a lovely antique English sampler, reproduced just for you! Design is worked on 30 count linen over 1 and 2 threads, using hand dyed flosses throughout. Chart - $16.00  (*Note - please pardon the digitally framed Frances sampler, I am picking up the framed Frances from the framer today, will show you a photo of her when she is all pretty in her "real" frame!)

 

X X X X X

 

 

FRANCES POOL FLOSS KEEP

A lovely little stitching companion, featuring the Frances Pool sampler, to keep your flosses organized and at your finger tips! The FLOSS KEEP category on our website has been updated, view them all here.    Be sure to check out the other 2 new floss keeps,  Elizabeth Harrison & Sarah Taylor.  These make great Christmas gifts! Hurry, this will be our last shipment of these until after the holidays.

  How fun would it be to use a Frances Pool floss keep

 while stitching

 the Frances Pool sampler?!! 

  $25.50

 

X X X X X

 

SNOW SPARKLE

Pattern for a sweet little holiday collage. The canvas for the piece is the cover of an old book. The snow angel is a little bit of punch needle, a little bit of wool. Vintage paper scallops and angel wings adds extra detail to the piece. Vintage glass glitter snowflakes and halo adds just the right amount of sparkle. A tiny bottle brush tree finishes the piece off perfectly. Place finished piece on top of a stack of old books and you have a very interesting winter holiday vinette.  Pattern includes the weavers cloth and tracing template. Pattern - $12.00

 

X X X X X

 

And lastly, can't think of an idea?  Have a hard person to buy for?

Buy a Country Stitches gift certicate...

the color is always right,

 and it always fits!

  Give a  gift certificate,

 or put one on your wish list!

   Available in the $15.00, $25.00, $50.00 or $75.00 amounts.

 

  Enjoy FREE SHIPPING on Cyber Monday between the hours of 9:00 AM - 10.00PM central standard time.  Applies to in stock items only.   The free shipping offer applies to internet orders that ship within the United States, no phone in orders please.

 

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

December 7th - to ensure delivery in time for Christmas gift giving, orders must be placed by the 7th.

 

December 15th - January 6th, 2013- Country Stitches will be closed. No order taking or shipping will occur during this time frame.

Happy Cyber Monday shopping to you,

Brenda

Happy Birthday Beckham!

and out go the candles...

 

It's official,
 today Beckham turns 4!

  We enjoyed a house packed full of Beckham's little neighbor friends and their parents,
great aunt & great uncle,
 2nd cousins,
 and grandparents,
to help Beckham celebrate his birthday,
 this past weekend.

It was loud,
 and a little chaotic at times :-)

 but

 oh,

 so,

 fun!

 

Happy Birthday Beckam!

Love,

Gma & Gpa Gervais

Chalk on the fingers...

We had the excitement of helping Beckham create an art wall in his playroom this past weekend.  Mommy & I painted, while Daddy & Grandpa worked on the mill work to frame the chalkboard and art wall. 

 

Have you tried the chalkboard paint? 

 It is pretty cool,

 two coats and three days of waiting

and  

wa la

 you have a chalkboard!

  I think the three day wait

 was harder for Mommy

 then Beckham!! 

 

This little chalkboard "thank you" note

 came via email

 last evening.

  It's a little grainy,

probably taken with Mommy or Daddy's phone...

but so cute, I had to share!

 

The blue half of the wall is where Beckham and Avry's artwork

 from daycare

 will hang.

  Mommy is still working on that side

 and

will add wall words above the crown moulding

with a verse about children and art... 

I had to laugh. 

 The 3 days of waiting were up

 and it was time to write on the blackboard

 and

 Beckham told Mommy

 that he wanted to write on the blueboard...

oh, no,

 I was worried about that!

 

As a kid,

 I loved chalkboards.

The sound of the chalk on the board,

the chalk dust on your finger tips...

  

Being a farm kid,

I was always envious

 of the town kids

 that got to stay after school

 to wash the chalkboards...I so wanted to do this!

 

I did get to be the eraser monitor once...

anyone else? 

 The monitor was in charge of taking the erasers

 to the janitors room

 to be cleaned. 

 There was a big and noisy machine just for this. 

Remember?

 

   And then there were the naughty kids...

who had to stand with their noses against the chalkboard.

Mom, if you are reading this, I wasn't one of those kids.

 

Oh dear,

teachers probably aren't allowed to do this today.

 

Shoot,

the newer schools probably don't even have chalkboards...

 

A few weeks ago I was with my the two sisters in an antique shop in Minnesota

when I found this...

I think I might have screamed out loud,

 with excitement,

 when I found it...

 

An item I had forgotten about,

but yet,

remembered

 how much I thought these

 were

 so

 cool.

 

 Do you remember these?

 

 

 

 

 

Now do you?

I may be dating myself here,

but for you younger readers,

these were used by the music teacher to draw a music staff on the chalkboard.

 

I can hardly wait to draw music staffs with Beckham on his new chalkboard

and with any luck at all,

I might get to stay late to help wash the chalkboard!

 

Have a good day,

Brenda

 

 

To answer your question...

I'm getting quite a few emails in regards to some out of stock items on our website and if we will be getting more of these items back in stock.

 

To answer your questions...

 yes,

 these items will be restocked as they become available. 

The linens (Fine Ariosa & Cafe Kona), twill tickings and flosses are all in transit to us.  There were some internet orders that got through before the items were pulled as out of stock.  For those of you waiting for orders with these items, they will be shipping as soon as we get theses items (late this week/early next).  For those of you wanting to order the linens, flosses, or material kits for the newly released cross stitch charts, we will get these listed, as back in stock on the website, as soon as we take care of the orders that are being held for the items.

 

 

And in regards to those of you looking for the below chart on the website or inquiring about release date on the Christmas Sampler...

This piece is going to be my winter project, it will take me most of the winter...look for it's release date in early autumn 2013.

 

Some new charts arrived, a couple quick stitch holiday charts from Pineberry Lane and a lovely sampler from Heartstring Samplery...check them out!  Also, the Christmas issue of the Folk magazine is here! 

 

Have a good day,

Brenda

To be glitzy or not to be glitzy...

is currently the contemplation of my day.

First off let's set this straight,

I'm not a glitzy girl.

A few Christmases ago,

the faux Mercury ornaments and decorations

started to showed up in stores

like Pottery Barn

and such.

 

I was intrigued,

but didn't know if they were "me"...

 or if they would fit in to my type of decorating.

I liked them though. 

   I plan on using some of my old silver bulbs to add a little sparkle to little vignettes around the house this holiday season.

 

Faded old silver tree bulbs

have become my new favorite tree bulbs.

 

See those silver sleigh runners at the top of the photo?

 

They belong to this guy....

I treated myself to him a few days ago....

He is sort of old,

and

sort of silver and glitzy

 all at the same time.

It reminded me of the faux mercury decorations.

I plan on filling him with fresh cedar pine,

and

dried red berries

this holiday season.

Maybe even a few clementines

studded with cloves....

we'll see.

 

With my reindeer purchase,

I think it could be official,

I'm starting to like a little glitz,

a little sparkle,

in my life...

 

So much so,

that I thought

 a little sparkle of  metallic floss
would add a nice touch

to a Christmas sampler

that is currently in my hoop.

 

I'm thinking just a small hint of sparkle and glitz would look lovely...

Don't you?

Do you like to add a little sparkle,

a little glitz

to your stitching?

I've done the test run on the metallic floss. 

 I need to get my beeswax out...

hoping a little wax will keep this slippery thread in my needle.

 I've stitched one snowflake in metallic onto the sampler and I love it!

Makes me think of a cold winters evening after a fresh snow

and you see an occasional snowflake sparkle in the moonlight.

It will be the perfect touch to this piece.

 

  Before I had one snowflake stitched,

I  begin to think

 how lovely a whole piece

stitched in

 mostly metallic floss could be...

silver metallic and winter white flosses,

 

I might just be

goin' a little glitzy

on myself...

 

Have a good week everyone,

Brenda