Boxing Day Sale

On December 26 www.knowledgeandneedles.com will be holding a big 25% off everything in the store Boxing Day sale. E-mail me or drop in to get these great deals!!!

I finished Jeannette's Douglas's Page 2 of My Stitching Album and am very proud of it! Next I picked up a round robin that I told Carmen (last August!!!) I would work on for her...it will be arriving home in the mail soon Carmen.I did three rows of Jeannette Douglas's Northern Shield Sampler for Carmen. There are only 5 or 6 rows left to do. It seems to have been a JD kind of week for me.
Next I pulled out my Heart's Content piece, Splendor II, which hasn't seen the light of day since June and did a few motifs on it last night. I am going to try to continue on it till the end of the year and then I will treat myself to a new start which I think will be Long Dog's Froth and Bubble and I even have the GAST threads for it!

I must mention http://caroliensstitches.blogspot.com/ . Carolien mentioned me in her blog awhile back and tagged me with a Bloggie Goodness Award. Thank You Carolien!

I hope to see or hear from some of you on Boxing Day!

More ornaments

Well...there are ornaments following this picture of the Magnolia from "Pillows from Paula's Garden" that I stitched this month for my friend Luci for Christmas. I managed to do it in 15 days. I dropped it off this morning to be made into a pillow and Debbie has already called me to say it is finished, so I will pick that up tomorrow and my Christmas shopping will be finished! And here are the ornaments ... a woodpecker from one of the JCS Ornament issues...

These are also from various JCS Ornament issues...

I believe these came from "Gift of Stitching"...I usually finish my ornaments with glue and fabric backing but I beaded these and they have personalized backs...I am kind of proud of them.

Wendy!!!

Wendy was a knitter when she first came into my shop with her daughter Carrie a few years ago...but look at her now! We have made a convert! Okay she still knits upon occasion..this little pink sweater was commissioned by Marie Paule for her grandaughter....

This Santa is a Christmas gift ....

And these gorgeous tulips are also a Christmas gift...for Wendy's boss at work...I'd say once he gets this fabulous piece of work that he should give her a raise!

And last but not least this was Wendy's round robin which she is giving to Carrie...the animals were stitched by various Thursday stitchers... Judie, Judy, Barb, Angie, Beatrice, Kathy, Adriana, Lisa, me, and of course Wendy herself did one...and The original had a big colourful rooster in the middle but she has other plans for the middle...

Friday Stitchers

Our stitching group on Thursday has proven so popular that I have had to add another group on Fridays. These ladies are just as dedicated and produce some fabulous pieces. Here is Cheryl with her over one Sundlower. Angie, who is in Arizona right now, usually comes to stitch on Thursday but I found this shot of her with her gorgous stitched stitching bag.

Cheryl again with one of the two Boyd's Bears designs she is stitching for her best friend who is becoming the grandmother of twins in the New Year.

Fran is enjoying her L*K Christmas design...If you think Fran enjoys everything she does, I believe you are right...she has a very sunny personality

Generosity

I thought a few weeks ago that there were no depths that people could sink to, when I found that some of my models had been stolen.
Since then I am realizing that there are no heights that people cannot attain in terms of kindness and generosity...and this is a much better way of looking at the world.
You were all so incredibly supportive and that was so uplifting.
I told you about Marie Paule decorating my shop...because she is a good friend , and she loves doing stuff like that and she knows I am hopeless at it.
Here is another friend who has given me some wonderful gifts.

Melinda Medeiros of Medeiros Needlecraft Designs Has reluctantly decided that she will no longer be designing for her own cross stitch business. She is going to concentrate on free lance designing for magazines and other publishers.
She sent me these fantastic models that she stitched herself.
She knew I was intrigued by the blocks so sent all these priceless models to me as a gift. I am so overwhelmed and humbled and touched by this generous act. She also sent some patterns and charts. I phoned her to thank her and started blubbering on the phone. It is just as well I had to leave a message. I likely would have been bawling if I have spoken with her.

Two views of Sampler block.

Two views of the Alphabet blocks

And a sweet needle book, ornament and altoids tin.

I feel very blessed.

Dan says Thank You

Dan wants me thank everyone who gave him that fabulous buffet server. He was totally surprised and he is hard man to surprise. He is thrilled that you like his cooking. He finds it a pleasure to cook for you and the gift, while totally unnecessary is great appreciated. It just broadens the realm of what he can cook.

Stitching Getaway

Today I am havng a quiet day at home...of course all that means is that I have no plans to go anywhere in the car...I will still take the dogs for a walk...when it warms up outside a little bit...-5 out there right now... and I hope to spend some quality time stitching on page 2 of Jeannette Douglas's "My stitching album" . This page is called Milanese Moments and pictures will be forthcoming as I get something done on it!

Meanwhile here are some shots of the getaway to add to those Dani
and Beatrice have already posted....
Chef Dan preparing..

Chef and Sous Chef in the kitchen...I am impressed with how clean everything is after they prepared food for 18 people!

The stitchers waiting for the feast.

Anne

Beatrice, Dani, Judie

Joyce, Rebecca and Sylvia

Marie Paule

Judie and Nan

Just glancing at all these pics makes me think I should e-mail them all to the Ott light company...good advertising for them.

This has been at least the 6th or 7th year for the Getaway...the participants keep coming back for more and we keep on eating and stitching and staying up late...a good time was had by all.

What a week!!

First of all we go back to last Thursday when this article appeared in the local newspaper. Needless to say, you cannot buy publicity like that!

Then on Friday evening I gathered with a bunch of my closest friends and stitched my brains out for the entire weekend. Well OK we stopped every once in a while to eat well and to laugh heartily but mostly we stitched. I will post some pictures in my next blog. We also had a fabulous meal on Saturday prepared by my dear husband and served by he and his excellent helper Amanda...more about the meal and the of course more pictures along with the getaway snaps...in my next blog.

This was where I started on my Kappie Originals landscape on Friday...

And this is where I stopped on Sunday. I had hoped to finish the page and get it backstitched but alas that was not to be....maybe this week.
And if all that wasn't enough good stuff I received an e-mail on Sunday from a member of the Cataraqui Guild inquiring if Knowledge and Needles was interested in having a Boutique at the annual EGA Seminar which is being held in Kingston this spring! Am I interested?....I would have written her a cheque on the spot! and said so in my return e-mail.

So to all of you who were so sympathetic and comforting when I had the shoplifting incident I have to say thank you because I am sure that all the postitive vibes and good thoughts that you all sent my way paid off with all this abundance of good news.

Good friends

In my last blog I promised to show you the beautiful gift these friends bestowed upon me. These ladies are Lousia and Marie Paule who showed up last week to decorate the shop. Marie Paule knows what a klutz I am at decorating and she decided that this was something she would do for me and here are the results.

Ribbons and bows and baskets of twigs decorated with my ornaments, table cloths and covered urns......I would never have been able to come up with such a creative look. It is just beautiful and incredibly festive.

I am so humbled by the kindness of my friends....

Thank You Marie Paule and Louisa...

Just for the record...all the stitched pieces are now pinned down and the pillows are tied into the basket...sad but necessary!

They're fired!

In all honesty I cannot recommend this Security service to anyone...see my previous post!

This is how they usually can be found...it is either a clever ploy to trick thieves into a false sense of security...not so false as it happens...or else they are always just lying down on the job.

In any case they have been fired and Mollie and Paddy will just have to find other jobs to earn their Christmas money this year!

Here are some of the ornaments that Dani and I finished on Saturday...

Cardinal from JCS magazine 2007.
Celtic Beasties from Ink Circles
Wishing you...Happiness, prosperity , inspiration and friendship from Blue Ribbon designs in last years Gift of Stitching magazine.

I also want to thank you all for your supportive comments and your friendship over this shoplifting incident. You have all been so kind and sympathetic to the situation. I really appreciate everyone!

In my next post I will show you pictures of an incredile gift I received this week from a good friend. You will all be suitably impressed by the generosity of time and effort and spirit of this person. It will make the small mean-spirited shoplifter fade from memory and it will restore our faith in human kindness.

Disappointed

This is not a happy blog...On Thursday I had a relatively new stitcher in the shop who wanted some ideas for Christmas presents she could stitch so I told her about the little red striped towels I had made which I planned to give to someone in my family at our Christmas bash...and I went looking for them....nowhere to be found...but I had some others a blue one and a yellow one also stitched with pots of herbs which would give her an idea...also nowhere to be found...I tore the shop and house apart...finally on Friday I came to the grim realization that they had all been stolen!

Today I was going to show someone a little JBW design I had stitched and made into a pillow....it's gone too!

Heaven knows what else has been taken... one thing for sure that is gone is my trust!

I really thought in my very naive little mind that stitches were not thieves... now I will not paint every stitcher with the same brush but there are people out there who are not to be trusted....

These were Christmas presents and somebody stole them....

Maybe it means my shop has really arrived...someone thinks I am doing so well that I can afford to let them take stuff!

You may recall when I blogged about my sign going missing last year and how it was subsequently found in the field across the road...snipped off and flung there by joyriding yahoos who likely did not even know me....bad enough ...but these things were taken by someone who actually would have had a converstion with me...someone who looked me in the face and made off with my stuff in their bag when my back was turned or I was in the other room cutting fabric for them or something...pretty bold I'd say!

Ornaments

Where does the time go???
I have a few ornaments to show and not much of anything else...so here they are..Joyful Blessings and Glad tidings. Both are Blue Ribbon designs from the recent JCS Christmas issue and the preview issue. I seem to be a sucker for these over-one designs.

This next one is a Sue Hillis design also from the above mentioned magazines. It is to match the one in my previous post.

And lastly, I have been knitting a sock. I had told my father-in-law ages ago that I would make him a pair of socks for Christmas so I finally go around to starting them. So far so good. As you can see I am down to the heel.
Today I will be heading out in the pouring rain, to pick up Joyce and we will proceed into the city to see "The Sound of Music". Her two daughters and two grand daughters have seen it already and reported that it is excellent so we are looking forward to our day. We'll have lunch out and see the matinee...As good a way as any to spend a rainy windy yucky day.

Happy Thanksgiving

Finally I have some stitching to share wth everyone. Here is Sue Hillis' ornament from the JCS Ornament issue. I am also partway through the companion piece that was in the previous issue. And...here is Jeanette Douglas' Mosaic Muse, the first page of "My Stitching album" As you can see I used my own colours and altered the pattern only at the bottom where I left out my initials and added some medallions instead. There are 10 of us working, sort of together on this album and I think everyone is pretty much enjoying it. It certainly is fun to pick the colours and fabric and go crazy. The stitching was addictive (but then when isn't it?) and I could hardly wait to finish the page complete with beads and sparkles...
The next page should be out within the month and I am looking forward to starting it.

We have a long weekend coming up to celebrate Thanksgiving and of course we are having friends and family in to help celebrate. In spite of the financial crisis which seems to be worldwide now, we have much to be thankful for...if nothing else than to have heard on the news last night that Canada's banking system is the strongest in the world...kind of encouraging I'd say!

It will be fun to have the grandsons here tomorrow and to be surrounded by good friends and loving family members.

Edited to add... for those of you who were interested to know where..the Mother who read to me pattern came from...I will look and try to find the magazine where I found it...I stitched the piece a couple of months ago and the magazine has been put back in the box...but which box? I do know it was a Cross stitch and Needlework mag from a few years ago but I will get the complete information and post it soon, or e-mail it to you , if that was your request.

Flatfolds

Today was a busy day for me...It started with a drive to Tweed....yes Tweed. I had not been in that part of Ontario...north of Belleville...almost at highway 7 for probably years and today it would likley not have been my first choice of places to drive to but the compressor needs fixing NOW and Dan is working and I was free...so off I went driving north to Tweed. It was a beautiful sunny fall day and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the drive and I enjoyed Ontario's glorious fall colours all the way there and back. The people behind me on the twisty two lane road tended towards impatience but heck I was going the speed limit...and the trees were gorgeous! (I did pull over a couple of times to let them pass)
Once there, I found the repair place with no difficulty and thought I would mosey through town to see the sights...I was almost out of town and thinking I had found the only other place in Ontario (besides Brighton) which does not have a Tim Hortons...but...there it was just north of town near Highway 7... a cup of tea and a bagel later I was on my way home again....


This afternoon I was joined buy a few friends and with Barb's guidance we made flatfolds. It was a hurriedly planned gathering as Kathy had to get hers made since she is leaving very soon for Arizona...we'll miss you Kathy....and Angie too will be going soon to Arizona as well...also she had to get hers in the mail asap for Halloween...can't have those little granddaughters miss out on their witch for Halloween....We'll miss you too Angie...

Below are the flatfolds made by me (Mother who read to me), by Adriana (pansies) and by Barb (Sparky and friend)
Angie's Halloween witch for her grand daughters
Close up of mine...
The gang, Beatrice, Adriana, Kathy, Angie and our teacher Barb, and some of the flatfolds.


Beatrice's pumpkins and witch, Kathy's Boo, Beatrices's Fall is fabulous, Kathy's PS, another one of Beatrice's and Angies's witch. (M-designs)

Below is Narine, one of my loyal customers who happened in on Friday to show me her finished Mairabilia Santa...isn't it great? Narine is an exquisite stitcher who favours Mirabilia and Lavender and Lace designs...she has done many. Also her husband is suffering from cancer so if you could keep both of them in your prayers, I would really appreciate it...we stitchers have to stick together and support one another...and we always seem to! Thanks