Gathering of the Guilds, Harrisburg, PA

9th Annual Gathering of Central PA Fiber & Needlework Guilds

The place to be this Saturday, February 26, 2011, is the Swatara Church of God Gym at 4860 Lindle Road, Harrisburg, PA 17111, from 9am - 4pm. The church is easily accessible from I-283, exit 2. Eighteen Central Pennsylvania guilds will be participating with displays of members' work, demonstrations and make-it/take-it projects available. The guilds include a vast array of handcrafts such as lacemaking, quilting, basket making, polymer clay, sewing, wheat weaving and embroidery. (I am sure I missed something in there!) Admission is a canned good donation for the Central PA Food Bank. Parking is available at the church and also in the WITF parking lot across the street. A shuttle will be running between that parking lot and the church. Soup, sandwiches and baked goods will be offered by the ladies of the Church of God.

I will be displaying my stitched models along with two other area designers, Brenda Kocher (Brenda Kocher Designs) and Mary Fox (A. Fox Originals.) Half Moon Handwerks will also be on hand with supplies for a large array of needlework, including gorgeous Chameleon Threads from South Africa. It should be quite a day!!! I hope if you live within driving distance of Harrisburg, PA you make the trip!!

All my Best,

Beth

Great Stitching News!

I am so excited, I just learned the ornament I submitted to Just Cross Stitch will be included in their 2011 Ornament issue. As a stitcher this has always been one of my favorite publications. If you have never picked up an Ornament issue, it is filled with wonderful ornaments designed by all of the industry favorites along with personal Holiday stories and recipes submitted by those same designers. I have always been able to find a chart for the perfect ornament that I need for a special gift. It will be such an honor to be included in this publication. I will definitely keep you up to date and let you know the publication date and a little preview of my ornament.

Keep Stitching!!

Beth

Nashville Release

Introducing Midnight Frost

I love snowflakes! My favorite are the kind that you can really "see." I think I have been fascinated by these frosty fractals my entire life. Their endless array of pattern is soul food. As a child, I used to decorate our livingroom walls, my bedroom walls and pretty much any other wall I could cover, with cutout snowflakes. With as much paper cutting as I did, I should be a scherenschnitte designer instead of cross-stitch. Okay, I admit, I don't like the grueling act of shoveling mountains of snow, but there is excitement in their downy freshness when they are newly fallen. Now onto the elements of creation. The gorgeous, gorgeous fabric is 28 count Cashel Linen in Mercedes from Picture This Plus. I really recommend a hand-dyed for this project, as it adds dimension to the overall look. The floss is DMC and the frame is Old Cupboard in Blue from East Side Mouldings. A hand-dyed floss would also be lovely for this. I will not be attending Nashville (hopefully next year!), but Hoffman will have Midnight Frost at their booth.

Frost Necklace

I love to show that these charts can be used in a myriad of ways, here is another idea for Midnight Frost. I created this necklace for a friend of mine for Christmas. Using a small portion of the Midnight Frost chart, I stitched it over one on the same Mercedes fabric from Picture This Plus. I then inserted it into a silver Patera from Nunn Designs, covered it with DG3 gel to protect it and added various beads and charms. (See my previous blog posting on the Patera's.) She absolutely loved it. I think I need to create another for me...

Thank You!!

A big thank you to all of the wonderful viewers and followers that have welcomed me into the "cyberside of stitching." Your response has completely overwhelmed me. I wasn't able to think straight the entire weekend!! I loved your comments, please keep them coming, as your responses help me get to know you and so, in turn help me to create designs that you will love.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Beth

My Stitching Heritage

If someone was to ask me about my most prized possessions, I would have to include this little piece of linen that my great-grandmother, Calisca Diana Hoy Corman cross-stitched on her 17th birthday. As a child, my Grandfather was sharing our family history with me, including some old family Bibles. As we were leafing through the pages, I discovered this little piece of linen. It is about 3.5 inches in length and 2 inches in width. We were both confused with the "f" in her name, which I later learned in German class was properly used for a double "s." The Hoy family by this time spoke and wrote in English, so the "s" must have just been a little leftover from their German ancestors. My Grandfather also thought the "7" was a "9," since she was married in 1875, it makes sense that she stitched this on her 17th birthday.

As a stitcher, I have become fascinated with how small the stitches really are. They are absolutely miniscule. I can't imagine stitching them, especially without very strong magnification!! I have no idea why she decided to stitch her name and date on this piece of linen, other than it was her birthday, but I am glad she did. I don't know much about her besides her basic statistics, but I know that she could stitch. I hope that someday my great-granddaughter can look at one of my workes and feel connected to me through the stitches as I do with Calisca.

All my Best,

Beth