Nashville, Leeuwarden and Zwolle
Topic: Bits and Pieces
Time passes quickly when you are having fun. Or when you are attending craft shows. Which, by the way, also was a lot of fun. Nashville was wonderful, we saw so many beautiful models, met wonderful people, enjoyed our hotelroom where you can have pizza delivered, even put in an occassional stitch and savored our freshly baked waffle in the morning. Too bad the coffee wasn't really up to our standards. But after one week of Starbucks coffee I doubt anything would have been up to that standard. Below are some pictures we took in Nashville. As some of you already know, it's not allowed to take pictures in the rooms of the designers, unless they give you permission (which we got from Weeks Dye Works). And to be honest, we forgot to make more pics. I am sure more designers would let us take pics if we'd only asked.

After Nashville we got everything together for our Nashville night. We had a lot of fun going over all the new leaflets, new accessoiries, threads and gadgets. One of our treasure finds in Nashville were the Hob Nob designs. These are little designs (50 x 50 or smaller) that are packaged in a 2,5 x 2,5cm see through box and the design comes with the cutest little button. This line of designs is called doodles and it means that you can use whatever thread you have left over. They don't give DMC numbers, just colors and the designs work up wonderfully. I don't have any pics at the moment, but we'll try to get some up. Since the little boxes are only ? 4,50, they make great gifts as well.

On Saturday we had almost everything in the car for the Sampler Day at the Frisian Museum in Leeuwarden. We were situated right by the entrance and boy was it busy that day! I don't think we have seen that many customers in one day before. And here people are telling that cross stitching is a diminishing hobby/art. Well, not according to all the ladies and gentlemen in Leeuwarden.

Sunday I spent most of the day trying to re-order everything we sold out of the day before so that we would have enough for the Handwerkbeurs in Zwolle. And thanks to some wonderful suppliers we managed to do that.

Then last week we were in Zwolle at the Handwerkbeurs. Thursday was spent setting up the stand. My parents do such an amazing job with that. As I had to work in the morning, they set up the stand all by themselves. Pics of how the stand looked are below. Once the stand is set up, we can start decorating, i.e. putting out all the boxes with the leaflets, arrange all the fabrics on the side table, put up the models etc.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday we met an incredible stream of customers, both well-known and new ones. I think that that is what I so much enjoy about these shows, the chance to meet customers. Saturday evening we were invited for diner by a special customer and we had a great evening. Sunday was still very well attended and at 5pm we could break down the stand and pack everything up. Fortunately the weather wasn't too bad driving back.

This coming weekend, the shop is open on Friday and Saturday and next week we will be in Rijswijk at the Patchwork & Quiltdays. It is always exciting to go to a new show. This time we will have a ready made stand so right now we are working on how to put up the models (you are not allowed to put nails in the walls LOL). We think we have the solution, now we just need to buy it. I will make some pics of the stand in Rijswijk as well.

Edited to add two pics of the Rijswijk stand.

Stitching wise I haven't done a lot these days. I am working on a Show Special that we started in Zwolle. It is a design by Hands to Work and we are offering it with either antique white or ecru 13 dr/cm Belfast linen and a skein of Gloriana silks of your choice for 10 euros. I need to stitch the hand, bunny and peacock on the top part and the alphabet below the saying. It is a very nice project, not overly difficult, but the handdyed thread make it so beautiful.

I put in a few stitches in my Pat Thode Santa. I don’t think I shared this before, it is a new canvas that I started in the US. While in the US my friend showed me drawings of the new ornaments and the new 2006 canvas and oh my gosh, they are beautiful. I think that they will be released around April and I can’t wait. I picked up another Pat Thode santa and plan to keep stitch at least 2 or 3 each year. Of course I need to go back to my larger canvas as well.

Well, this is a rather long update, but it was kinda overdue. With all the activities that are around the corner, my updates no doubt will be less frequent than before. I do hope to get at least one update per week done.

And to close off with a stitching picture, this is one of the newer models in the shop thanks to one of our customers. It is Birdhouse Row from Imaginating done on 36 ct. Edinburgh with Gloriana Bluegrass.

Gone for a while!
My suitcases are packed, my stitching projects selected, I just need to get myself ready and off I go. To Dallas first and then to Nashville. I can?t wait to see what Nashville has in stock for us this year. I?ll be back Feb15th and hope to have some exciting pics to share.

Productive weekend
Topic: Cross Stitch
I have had a very productive weekend so far. I got quite a bit of work done on CA and think I will have her finished by the end of the month. I worked on the alphabet and the ribbon above the letters and will continue to work on the corner motifs. I have yet to decide when I?ll do the cutwork on the Hardanger blocks. Might be next weekend as I definitely will need good light LOL.

And I got myself the perfect pair of scissors to do the cutwork. These are by Gingher and from the limited edition series Sophie. I just love these. I tried them when I was with a friend and think they are the best. A bit on the pricey side (? 32) but then I think you can better have one pair of really good scissors instead of dozens of cheap ones.

I finished the February complimentary chart and after much deliberation on how to actually finish it, I decided to stitch another rectangel of cross stitches on a seperate piece of linen and whipstitch it together. I found really nice beads to use on the sides and since I wouldn?t be able to use those if I sewed the scissor fob together I decided to go for the whipstitching. It sure feels good to not only have stitched it but finish it as well.Below you can see my finished heart as well as the new pair of scissors.

Then I also got some more background done on my canvas piece. I will concentrate on getting this one done and take the snowman with me on the plane. I love doing needlepoint on the plane as you don?t have to read a pattern. You just fill in the spaces LOL.

And finally I did the finishing on Tiny Tim Turkey by Bent Creek. This is the second of the series that I stitched, I did the santa one earlier. I want to kit up the bunny from last year for my trip to the US. These are easy projects and I just like how they turn out. I used two pieces of batting and a piece of skirtex for the filling as it was too tiny to use fiberfill.

So far that makes 3 finished stitching projects and 2 finished pieces for January. Not bad at all. I think I can get CA done this month as well and hope to get my own design stitched up too.

Slowly news about Nashville market is going around. I can?t wait to see what the designers will have in stock for us. I just love the frenzy of Nashville market. With it being a cash and carry market it is a little more hectic than a order only market. Add to that the fact that it?s held in a hotel and you can just imagine dozens of women (and some men) going around the hallways, checking out suites, pulling along their little carry on to hold all the goodies that they bought. Unfortunately, we?re not allowed to take pictures but I?ll try to snap a few before market begins.

Lots of catching up to do
Topic: Cross Stitch
It's been a while since I had time to update my weblog, but now I have a blas of pictures to share. Not all are finishes, but I am working towards that.

First of all I received a wonderful package from Isabelle for our Adopt a Stitcher programme. She totally spoilt me with a self sewn pillow (Snowcat), a showergel, silk fabric and threads, a French design with an autumn and winter pattern, a teddybear to make me smile, some charms and a lovely cat card. What a great way to start the weekend.

Then last Saturday I visited my friend Ria and she showed me her finished needlepoint canvas I gave her last year. It was adorable and this caused me to start my own canvas on Sunday. I actually started two canvases, one is a Halloween Cat and the other a Silly Snowman canvas both by Melissa Shirley Designs.

The one on the left is what I'm working on, but you can see the colors better on the canvas I stitched last June:

I did stitch on Catherine Agnes for a wee bit and this is how far I am now:

And of course there is the second canvas that I got started. It's a bit hard to see but I stitched the stocking and the bowtie. Next will be his hat and cuff.

And finally a picture of Jo's Christmas package that was returned to me by claims of an incomplete addres. I checked everything, doublechecked it and cannot find the missing element. So I printed out a label this time and popped it in the mail this afternoon. Hopefully it WILL arrive this time.

Now as for this weekend I firmly told myself I would have to pick up CA again and get more done on her. It would be wonderful to have her finished before I leave, so I'd better put the canvases aside. But they are sooooo tempting so I can at least do one thread on each every day. Filling in the background on the cat takes a while and spreading it out is nice.

This morning I finished the complimentary chart for February. I think it turned out really nice, but then Mosey 'n Me do a great job on hearts. At least they always appeal to me. This one has a two specialty stitches and is perfectly suitable for 5 colors within one color family. I'm sure this'll make more sense when I post a picture tomorrow.

I'm back to my stitching on CA now. The worldchampionshop speed skating is on TV and I love to watch that.

Quiet day in the house
Topic: Cross Stitch
The shop was open Friday and Saturday and we had a great time. Ria came over to help on Saturday and we discussed some new models for the shop as wel as a few of my own new designs. We'll see how far we'll get before we leave for Nashville.

I didn't work on CA these past days, I need a clear head when I'm working on her. I did finish the snowmen ornament from M Designs. It was such fun to stitch and I loved picking the threads. I already have an idea for February, but need to go over my file of complimentary designs one more time.

Yesterday morning I worked on my Pat Thode canvas. It is such a great canvas to work on. I finished one of his quilt blocks in his coat and did a bit of work on the next one. This was all done in DMC threads, and it works up nicely. Somehow I have combined canvas work with specialty threads, but plain old DMC works well.

I thought I had some time to work on Catherine Agnes' alphabet. But while going through my stitching drawers I found a gingerbread canvas that was finished except for some beads and his nose and cheeks. So insted of picking up CA I decided to get this gingerbread ornament done. Now I can take it with me to Dallas where my friend will make sure it's finished into an ornament. I can do finishing for cross stitch projects, but canvas is beyond my capacities. Anyway, here's the gingerbread ornament all done.

I also planned to work on Moulin Rouge from around 7pm and see if I couldget the first page finished. I did receive however a very pleasant phone call from a friend and ended up being on the phone for almost an hour. Afterwards I installed myself on the couch and stitched away. I didn't get my motif finished, I made a mistake and had to frog a little. Next week I should be able to get this motif all stitched up. Then page 1 is finished, quite an accomplishment for someone who doesn't stitch such large projects as a rule. I have stitched bits of other pages, but this will be the first page that is completely stitched. A picture will follow next week as well.

As for this week, I will work on CA and hope that by the end of next weekend I'm done. And I'm going to start stitching one of my own designs. Then there's Snapperville that I would really like to get stitching on again. And I hope to do some finishing work before I get on the plane to Dallas.

Good intentions
I am not a big fan of good intentions, especially not ones to start on January 1st. I really believe that if you want to do something, you can start any moment. But this year I made one good intention for 2006: I plan to put away 10 things every day. With all the stuff from the shop, the design business, my personal belongings and me not being the most organised person (some friends and family members will start laughing real loud now), I need to declutter my house.

Ten things may not seem too much, but it does make a difference. That's 310 things for January. Already after 3 days I can spot the difference. This is my coffeetable before I started and the second picture is how it looks every night. I make myself clean this coffeetable before I get to bed. Last night I also cleaned up the corner table where quite a few stitching projects had gathered. Everybody who is familiar with Flylady will recognize the babysteps.

Stitching wise I have been working on my Snowmen ornament. I really enjoy it, it's quite easy to do and the metallic threads really make it special. And for those who are interested PB stands for Petite Treasure Braid by Rainbow Gallery. Also got another motif done on Catherine Agnes. At least I'll have all the spots done by Friday. Just that last spot with the bullion knots kinda scare me.

I also got some projects organised yesterday evening. I kitted up Winterberry wishes by Heartstrings, got all the necessary threads for my Pat Thode canvas together and put away some threads for projects that I'm not going to start for a while.
Once I have my ornament done, I will pick up another small project. Catherine Agnes is a priority project and I think that once the spots are done, it doesn?t take that much longer. It would be quite exciting to have two finishes this soon in January.

Canvas work and ornament
Today I received some more threads for my Pat Thode canvas. It?s a good thing I have such a great supplier in Dallas. And since I received those threads I thought I needed to put in a few stitches as well. I worked on the bottom of santa?s coat. It?s so much fun to do all the stitches and work with the different threads.

I also have progess to share on my M Designs ornament. It?s a complimentary chart that customers will receive in January. Since I?d like to finish it before Friday, I am spending some more time on this than on other projects. The chart doesn?t come with DMC numbers, and I think it?s fun to just select your own threads. I used PB 19 (red) and PB53 (green) to add some sparkle to the design. The remainig colors are Venus and pretty obvious LOL.

And finally a picture of the threads used in Catherine Agnes. The colors work so well together and I think because of the brightness of some of the colors, the project really comes alive. I will work on CA tonight, hope to get all the spots done before Friday so I can show it in the shop.

Stitching ideas for 2006
Topic: Cross Stitch
Well after giving it some thought LOL here is my stitching ideas list for 2006.

UFO
Finish Drawn Thread?s Sanctuary
Finish Heartstrings Bittersweet Season
Finish Heartstrings Strawberry Season

Canvas work
Do one Pat Thode santa
Finish gingerbread ornament
Finish house ornament
Finish Halloween ornament
Stitch second Halloween piece with Burmilana wool

Stitching
Stitch 3-4 pages of Moulin Rouge
Stitch 3 Brittercup Designs as one piece
Stitch 6 ornaments
Stitch 10 smaller pieces
Work on my Pat Thode Christmas wallhanging
Stitch the Collaboration piece
Finish Catherine Agnes
Finish Bent Creek?s Snapperville
Stitch some Prairie Schooler designs
Stitch a few more of Pat Thode?s santa?s/ornaments
Stitch one or two projects by Little House Needleworks
Stitch 4-6 blocks on my Lizzie Kate Flip It project
Stitch my For the Cure kits
Stitch my hemstitch blocks piece

Finishing
Finish at least 10 already stitched ornaments
Get 5 pieces framed
Get 5 pieces finished in one way or the other

That is about all I can think of right now. I am pretty sure that during the year some projects will get neglected and some will be added. I haven't narrowed it down to specific projects for some designers as I know that I will either change my mind or they will come out with something new that I simply "have" to stitch.

Last night I picked up Moulin Rouge after 2 months and once I got started, it was a pleasure to work on it again. I am almost finished with the first page of the designs and I have already stitched a bit of a second page. Here is the before picture:

And this is what I got done, not very much I must say, but I had to do some things in between LOL.

And this is how far I am on Catherine Agnes, she is coming along so nicely. I really enjoy this piece, though it has been nice to do some simple cross stitches in between.

Today I will get some work done for the shop and make sure we have a new complimentary chart to give away on Friday and Saturday when the shop is open. Then I hope to get stitching on my first For the Cure project, it's by Lilybeth Designs and it features a small house and flowers. Really a cute scissor fob.

Last finish of 2005
Topic: Cross Stitch
This is my very last finish of 2005. So far I have stitched 55 projects, most of them rather small. I think I am most proud of The Bookshelf by Little House Needleworks and Winter Circle by Cross Eyed Cricket. In 2006 I hope to get a few larger projects done that I have been working on for some time. Sanctuary by The Drawn Thread for example. Has been in my drawer for over 3 years. I can tell that I worked on it every single year, just never stayed with it long enough to finish.

Anyway, this is the 2005 ornament from Brittercup Designs. I just loved how the kitty came to life while stitching it.

I definitely hope to get a few more of her kitties done in 2006, they are very addictive to stitch.

The fireworks are going off here, the clock just struck 12, so HAPPY NEW YEAR to everybody. May it be a peaceful, healthy and productive year.

Two finishes tonigh
Topic: Cross Stitch
I spent today taking inventory at my parents?. A friend of us came over to help and we got so much done, I think that on Sunday it?ll take another hour or two and we got everything counted. Of course I still have to get it into the computer, but at least the counting is done.

The weather here is pretty bad at the moment. Here in the north it is not so bad right now, but it?s snowing and in the western part they had snowdrifts and very scary roads. All things considered, it is a great time to do stitching LOL.

I picked up BC Little One - Santa which got released at the beginning of December. It?s the second I have stitched from this series, I did Tiny Tim Turkey before. It turned out that the symbols are messed up with the threads, so I converted everything to silk threads and Whisper for his beard and hair. Here is how he looks in my version:

I haven?t yet decided on the finishing. I may follow Danielle?s example and turn him into a tassled little pillow. I?m not sure if my tassles will be just as neat. Or I might do another beaded ornament type of finishing.I think that gold beads would look really good around the edges with red silk thread for the backstitching.

Then I also got in the final stitches on my ornament. It still needs two buttons, two tiny holly leaves, but of course those are still at my parents?. I took out the initials, just in case a friend might visit here.

Tomorrow I will work some more on Catherine Agnes. I have some spider web roses coming up and I really like to do those. And tomorrow evening I will do a bit more work on my canvas. I have another new project in the wings waiting to get started.

And then there is of course Moulin Rouge. It has been neglected lately and I need to pick it up. So Mieke, I will be working on MR on Sunday evening again and will make sure to get a pic to show on Monday.

I haven?t finalized my list of ideas for 2006, I will do that tomorrow. At the last day of the year I always get a bit melancholic, it seems that every year passes so quickly, that there is never enough time, that the world seems to become harder every year, that bad things happen, that good things happen, that you meet inspiring people, that you see your friends (and some of them more often than you used to, which is wonderful), that your family is healthy, that you loose quite a few pounds (and gained only 2), that the shop is doing so well, that you loose people and that you gain new friends.

A new year always fills me with anticipation. So much seems possible, there are 365 days waiting for me to make the most of it. That?s quite a challenge but one I?m happy to take on.