Miss Bailey's Discovery

Hi Friends!

On Sunday afternoon I had just sat down on the back porch with a glass of ice tea after battling the ivy on the bank in my backyard (not done yet!!) when I heard a little squeak. Bailey loves to explore the bank and snorkel through the ivy and on Sunday, she found three little somethings...newborn bunnies. We promptly removed Bailey and put her in the house. She was not happy. I grabbed my camera to take a couple of shots and then very carefully covered them up again. Believe me, moving rabbit fur with sticks is not an easy process, but I didn't want to touch anything with my fingers. I just hope mama came back at some point to feed them. I learned from our vet that rabbits only feed their young once a day, the rest of the time, the mother tries to stay far away from the nest, so that she is not drawing attention to the babes. I will be on the look out for baby bunnies lopping through my backyard.

Happy Spring!
Beth

Completed Calico Sampler

Hi Friends!

I just realized that I had never posted this photo of the completed Calico Sampler design, so here it is! I backed it with a natural muslin that had a lot of natural flecks in it. I will eventually put tabs on the top, so it can hang from a dowel or most likely a branch, so it really has a nice primitive look. I loved doing this sampler and the many borders offer a myriad of applications, not to mention the alphabet. When I first played around with this idea, I was trying to create words with the alphabet, but I could not figure out how to use each of the letters, so I settled for the sampler idea, which definitely works. Someday when my stitching schedule allows, if that ever happens LOL!,  I would like to create M-E-R-R-Y C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S, all letters stitched and finished individually and then strung together on a piece of jute to create a mantel swag. Perhaps one of these days, I will get to that project. Please send me photos as you complete your version of Calico Sampler. I would love to see your interpretations.

As I was talking to my daughter about the "Dyslexic" Sampler that I blogged about earlier this week, she suggested it was stitched by a rebellious teenager that didn't enjoy stitching. I thought that idea was good for a laugh, so I thought I would share. As I have tried to do some research online about samplers with backward letters, I am finding that there may be just one letter backward, or that within a word a letter may be backward, suggesting that the schoolgirl may not have known how to form that particular letter or perhaps she was dyslexic, but I did not find any samplers that had the extensive amount of backward stitching as this example does.

Well, I need to get back to stitching!! I am really trying to make some progress on my next release. Sneak peak coming soon!!

All my Best,
Beth

Dyslexic Sampler?

Hi Folks!

While antiquing this past weekend, I happened along a strange sampler and I was hoping that collectively maybe we could shed some light on this particular sampler. Either way I thought it was an interesting piece to share. When I first looked at it, I thought, they have framed it backwards, perhaps to show the quality of the stitching. But then I noticed the second row of lettering is correct. Anybody have any ideas on this one, as to why it would have been stitched this way? I apologize for the poor photo, the sampler was up rather high on the wall with a pole in front of it, so this was about as good as I could get with my phone.

Let me know your thoughts.

Always,
Beth

The National Needlearts Association Survey

Hi Stitching Friends!

You may have heard about this survey from your LNS or another blog, but I want to put the information out there as well, because this survey is so important to our industry. This is the tool that shops and designers use to find out what stitchers are interested in. It helps us to better serve you. I go back from time to time to look at the results as I am planning new releases. I also look at past survey results to see where the trends are going. So please, if you have not already done so, take a few minutes to fill out the survey. The survey will only be open until April 30. TNNA is also offering a shopping spree to one lucky participant. Here is all of the pertinent information you need, including the link.

Please complete the triennial national Yarn, Stitching, and Weaving 2013 Survey athttps://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TNNAfiber.

The 10-minute survey asks about your experiences with the needlearts you enjoy: crocheting, cross-stitch, embroidery, knitting, needlepoint, spinning, or weaving. Let us know which types of projects you prefer, how you like to learn, and what you’d like to see needlearts shops do better. The needlearts community needs your advice and opinions, whether you are a beginner or an expert! This survey is conducted every few years by The National NeedleArts Association (TNNA). Your input is very important and will be included in a published national report.

Your answers are anonymous. No one will use your survey responses to market to you.

In return for your participation, you will receive valuable benefits:
· Gain a chance to win one of five $100 needlearts gift certificates.
· Ensure stores, manufacturers, and other suppliers provide what you want.
· Explore your needlearts interests.

Your valuable input will also help the needlearts community:
· Give guilds, associations, community groups, and others guidance to grow the world of needlearts.
· Help independent retailers and family-owned suppliers succeed by giving them the customer feedback they need.

The survey is sponsored by TNNA, an organization of businesses dedicated to supporting the needlearts community. Hart Business Research is conducting this survey for TNNA and compiling the results into a major national report, The State of Specialty Needlearts 2013. Please complete the survey right away at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TNNAfiber. The survey closes April 30, 2013.

Spring is erupting in my neighborhood. The flowering trees are absolutely gorgeous. I have forsythia cut and placed all over my house to bring the Spring indoors. My fat cat has come out of his winter hibernation and is back to all of his feline eccentricities. We were beginning to worry about him, as he was sleeping a good part of the each day away, but no more. He is back following us around the house and being very vocal. The pup isn't quite sure what to think of him.

Until the next time, happy stitching!

Beth

And the Winner Is...

Number 26, Terri Patterson!! Terri, since you left your email address, I will contact you for your mailing address and get these lovely garden samplers shipped off to you. Enjoy!!

I have been away all weekend helping my sister pack and move her household.  We were so busy that I really didn't have time to think about the contest or internet availability to check its status. Which was probably for the best, otherwise I would have continually checked on it to see what new comments had been posted. So, when I had a break on Saturday and checked my blog from my phone, I was so happy with your responses and the increase to my followers!! Thank you all for spreading the word and entering the contest, I greatly appreciate it!! I was so excited to see all of the people that were discovering my designs for the first time. That is satisfying as well, because I love designing needlework and sharing my artistic vision with all of you. Last night after we returned home, I started to  look at all of your blogs as well, it is gratifying and inspiring to see what we all accomplish with needle and thread. On that note, I would like to add a stitchers gallery to my blog, so when you have completed stitching one of my pieces, please send me a photo and I will share it with others.

The sun is shining at my house this morning and it looks like a perfect Spring day is in order. I need to get busy, as I have started stitching both of those new samplers that I recently designed. I hope you will love them. I will post a few snippets later this week as I get a bit more stitched on them.

Keep Stitching!
Beth

Blog Contest!!!

Okay, here we go with my first blog contest! I think you can guess from the photo what the prize is... the complete set of my Garden Series. I love these little samplers and they are so much fun to stitch. The motifs are very versatile as well and can be used in a number of applications. If you have been following my blog for sometime, you will have seen how I used the center motif of Autumn Garden to create a necklace for my sister-in-law. Here is a quick link to that post in case you missed it. All four samplers are stitched on 30 count Ligonier Latte from R & R Reproductions with over-dyed floss from The Gentle Art.

So, what do you have to do to enter this contest? I would like you to recommend my blog to one of your stitching buddies to follow. Then just leave your name in the comment section of this post and I will choose a winner using a random number generator. You have until next Sunday, April 7th to post and I will choose a winner on Monday morning. I can't think of a nicer way to start a Monday morning than finding out you are the winner of these lovely charts.

Good luck and Happy Stitching!
Beth