Wednesday, February 24, 2016

A Needlepoint Love Story Chapter Three Starts Today!

This year's needlepoint exhibit at Thistle Hill in Fort Worth officially kicks off today with a champagne reception at the mansion! I'm hoping that all of the needlepoint angels who bring this event to life will be there sipping bubbly and receiving many, many accolades for all the hard work they have done already and all they still have left to do.  They will be presiding over the show all weekend, and come Monday, they have to carefully re-pack all those treasures and get them safely back to their homes again.

Here's a look at the commemorative ornaments available for sale this year. All proceeds go to Historic Fort Worth to help with the preservation of these beautiful properties.  

This ornament commemorates last year's snowstorm that nearly cancelled the show:


 

This year's ornament shows the beautiful front gates:


The inaugural year's ornament showcases the front doors of the house:


Hope you can make it to this year's show, it's the biggest one yet with almost 800 pieces on display!  See you there!



Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Well That Was Fast!!

Can you believe that my friend and stitcher extraordinaire Pat W. has already stitched the free chart I offered last Saturday?  And she sent me the photo on Sunday, so I expect she completed it probably before the ink was dry on the print-out!  She said she whipped it up with stuff she had laying around, which totally sums up what a fun stitcher she is, I think.  This is the kind of great stuff that's laying around at her place:


So elegant I think!  Perfect for a black and white themed Christmas tree or it totally works for a Halloween ornament as well. Love it, thanks so much Pat for sharing!  Anyone else who stitches this please send a picture my way, I'd love to see!

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Bonus Bargello Chart Available For Download!

Hi everyone!  I am super excited today because I am finally able to do a couple of things that have been on my wish list for a while.  Firstly, magazine editors and stitch guide users everywhere will be doing a happy dance because I have finally entered the modern age and have started charting my designs on a computer!  No more graph paper charts, yay!  The trick was finding charting software for the Mac.  Ursa Software makes Stitch Graph, the only charting software that was created originally for the Mac. It has been a breeze to use and the tech support is fantastic!

That brings me to me second wish list item, being able to share the occasional free Bonus Chart with you on my website.  This part, I believe, has all the bugs worked out.  When you click on the title of the photo below, you should be taken to the Bonus chart section of my EyeCandy website where you can download and save a PDF of the graph.

So here is my free gift to you, a small Bargello ornament.  This is a companion piece to the four Bargello ornaments being published this year in Needlepoint Now magazine.  I hope you will enjoy it!



Wednesday, February 10, 2016

New Online Group For Stitch a Falling Star!

If you are on Facebook you can join our group for the Stitch a Falling Star club!  Group members can share their photos and stitching progress and more!  I look forward to seeing you there! Click on the title below to be taken directly to the group page:





Saturday, February 6, 2016

Oh So Trendy!

I love it when I discover that I am "on trend" with something!  I am a regular follower of Jane's Chilly Hollow needlework blog and read her posts on the current "elf trend" with avid interest!  Elves, and elves with packages were a common sight at the big January needlepoint market.  My elf collection dates way back to two years ago, so I guess I was ahead of the game for once on this one.  So what's old is now new again, may I present to you my Kringle Belles!

Gift Delivery Elf:


Candy Gathering Elf:

Tree Decorating Elf:

All three little gals also come in a smaller stand-up size and an ornament size too!







Hope you've enjoyed seeing these little girls again, I hope to introduce some new pieces to this collection soon! 




Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Coming Attractions!

Thought I should give a little update of what's new and upcoming!  The second design in my Stitch A Falling Star series is the Fox Star, he will make his debut later this month.  Here's a peek:



Looking further ahead to May 2016, my Uncle Sam's Happy Fourth of July will be taught at Fancy Stitches.  This is the third in a set of four of my seasonal banners that they have taught.


My Happy Haunting Grounds canvas will be Sandy Arthur's newest Mystery Class starting in July:



And here are a couple of new canvases I expect to arrive to me soon, a new Texas Sayings Ornament:


And this one that I'm calling "Peacock Party":


And there's more, but that will be next time!  Thanks for stopping by!