Baltimore Market Recap

I had an absolutely fantastic time at the Baltimore Fall Market! My mind is still reeling with all of the new ideas I have for Summer House. I learned so much and meet so many great people. The needlework industry is full of the nicest people you would ever want to encounter. Since it was my first time to exhibit on the national level, I was a little apprehensive about how long it would take to set up, etc. Brenda Kocher and I shared a suite, which worked out great. She is such a fun person and we were laughing all weekend long. We were not laughing when we initially looked at our room though. It was so much smaller than we imagined and the hotel stipulated that none of the furniture was to be moved. So, after an ice cream treat from Megan at Needlework Retailer, we decided on a plan and had our booth set up in about an hour's time. Here are some photos of our booth and the Hotel.

The "Summer House" side of the booth.

We shared space on our make shift table display across the couch.

Brenda's side of the booth.

The atrium of the Embassy Suites.

I released three new designs at Market and I can tell you that Autumn Garden was very well received. It is stitched on R & R Reproduction linen in Ligonier Latte with Sampler Threads from The Gentle Art. I had a chance to meet Kristi and Nancy from The Gentle Art and you will be seeing more of my future designs featuring their thread. I was also able to see their wool floss line and I loved the feel and stitched look of it.

As a promotion, I did a drawing for the Autumn Garden model. Cathy Habermann from Cherry Wood Design Studios drew Cathy Roginela from Inspired Needle in Lemont, IL as the winner. We laughed, because when Cathy R. filled out her ticket for the drawing, she wrote down her room number, as she was positive the model was going home with her! Congratulations Cathy!!

I also released the second design in the Fathers of Freedom series, American Ambassador, featuring Benjamin Franklin. It is stitched on Sandstone/Tea-dyed linen by Wichelt with DMC floss. The beautiful frame is from Valley House Primitives.

Detail of the frame graining pattern. MCD moulding in Lamplight with Hairpin graining.

Last, but not least is Svetlana's Biscornu. This piece was inspired by a display of Ukrainian cross stitch at Hand Dyed Fibers Needlework Exhibition in June. I love the contrast of the vibrant colors with black. This was my first attempt at creating a biscornu and it was not a difficult process at all. Finishing instructions are included in the chart.

I hope you enjoy my newest designs and I am already making plans for Nashville's Market in February.

All my Best,

Beth