Trunk Show at BeStitched Needlepoint

I hope many of you will be able to make it in to the fabulous Bestitched Needlepoint in Scottsdale, Arizona for my trunk show.  Check out the photo below, isn't it one of the cutest stores you have ever seen?  Whether you can stop by or not, the good news is they are offering a trunk show discount and they do mail order as well-- score! 

More New Designs!

As you may recall, I recently relocated to Texas.  I am very happy to present to you the first designs in what will be an ongoing collection of Texas-themed canvases. 

To start things off, I have a series of state-shape ornaments, each one is 5.5" at the widest point.  These would also make a great centerpiece to a Texas-shaped throw pillow.

Each design is emblazoned with a word or slogan-- here is "Hey Y'all" (that's our favorite greeting, don't you know!)

And "Big & Bright", a phrase from the song "Deep in the Heart of Texas":

And simply, (for me anyway), "Home":

This one is "Love Texas" and would be a good addition to a tree of state-themed ornaments:

I have some state flag ornaments too-- these are 4" x 7", making for a Texas-sized ornament or a center for a pillow top.

"No Place Like Home", a sentiment I take to heart:

And something for the holidays, with a little Texas twist-- "Jingle Y'all the Way":

That's it for now, but there will soon be more to come in the Texas line (including a new owl for your favorite cowboy) and a new set of the latest "It" critters, namely, foxes!  (In EyeCandy colors, of course!)  

New Designs Now Available!

I am very proud to show you the first of my new designs for 2014!  For all of you who enjoyed my "Joy" Cardinal design and were hoping for some companion pieces, I have three more for you!

This is "Love" Chickadee:

And "Bright" Bluebird:

Last but not least, "Merry" Robin:

And in case you haven't seen it before, the first design in this set, "Joy" Cardinal:

All four are painted the same size to make a nice set of ornaments for your tree, expressing the best sentiments of the season-- Love & Joy and Merry & Bright.  

I'll be back next week with the rest of What's New, see you then!

So Many Models!

The gals over at Fancy Stitches in Cleburne, Texas sure do get a lot of stitching done, and boy, have they stitched a lot of my canvases!  Thanks so much ladies, I was perusing your terrific website and was floored not only by the sheer volume of stitched models you have on display in your shop, but how many I recognized as my own designs.  

This is my Witch's Accessories Biscornu, which they have cleverly finished into a box top instead, complete with the cutest little handle!  

This is my Harvest Puzzle, mounted onto a gorgeous tote bag:

Pumpkin Patch-work finished into a very cute little bag:

These are two of my Seasonal Trees that they did as a shop series a couple years ago, I have pictures of the whole set over on my website.

My Witch Hat Scissors Case finished up as a stand up ornament with cute little feet:

I absolutely love how this shop's very talented stitchers have put their own creative spin on everything, making them even better than the originals!  Thanks so much to the team over at Fancy Stitches, be sure to visit if you can or check out their website.  Keep up the great work over there ladies! 

Hearts Hearts Hearts-- Happy Valentine's Day!

Hearts are very sentimental to me, because they were among my earliest designs.  My very first canvas collection included two heart designs-- Alpine Heart and Tropical Heart, named for their color schemes.

Alpine Heart:

Didn't this one finish up beautifully?

Tropical Heart:

This one is finished as a bag that I still carry around today!

My favorite of all though is still Floating Hearts, it was my first design for Needlepoint Now, published in the May/June 2010 issue.

There were four heart shaped ornaments in my very first club series, Tickled Pink.  This one is the Flip-Flop Heart:

My favorite of the four was the Tropical Heart:

And several other, yet to be stitched hearts are in my line too:

Pink Plaid Heart:

Hugs & Kisses Heart (named for the little X's and O's in the center):

And the latest (and largest in size), Pattern Party Hearts:

Hope you have enjoyed this avalanche of hearts!  Stay warm and cozy my Valentines, and Happy Stitching! 

Canvas of the Week: Holiday Star

Am I caving in to this seemingly endless winter by making "Holiday Star" my canvas of the week?  I hope not!  While it is certainly winter-ish in theme with all those little snowflakes, aren't those bright pinks, greens and gold pretty summer-y and warm?  This is a design that can both warm up your Winter and cool off your Summer-- hope you like it! 

Stitching Games February Clue "Samba"

I finished stitching my clue for February in this year's Stitching Games pretty early in the month, for me anyway! I usually end up posting at the last minute on the last day of the month.  But this one was a no-brainer to me.  For the clue "samba", what else to stitch but the sparkly dress and shoes?  As usual, I cannot wait for next month's clue!

This is a photo of the whole canvas, my Witch's Garden Collage:

For last month's clue, I stitched the cats:

Have you noticed that nowadays we stitchers are so spoiled for choice for materials and accessories that in addition to embellishing your stitching with the latest threads and stitches, there is a whole range of goodies for accessorizing each canvas? 

If I can, I always pick a needle magnet that coordinates with the theme of the canvas. I have also discovered Washi Tape.  It's a decorative masking tape that is very hot among paper crafters right now.  It's slightly less adhesive than masking tape, but is archival quality and acid free, so I taped the edges of my canvas with this fun black and white damask pattern.  It works great and adds another fun touch to the whole stitching experience.  

It's not too late to join in the fun over on Stitcherie.  We have had a  new batch of stitchers come in this month and they are busy stitching their January and February clues.  Click here to go directly to the Stitching Games 2014 page.  

Canvas of the Week - Floral Fantasy

Hope this warm floral canvas will help take the chill off these cold winter days!  Spring and Summer are on the way! 

Stitching Games Progress

Is it really February already?  I just barely made it in time to get my canvas entered in the Stitching Games 2014 over on Stitcherie.  I posted my unstitched canvas "Witch's Garden Collage" in the Enter the Stitching Games forum, then got to work stitching for January's clue, which was "straight".

I'm one of those literal types with the clues, so I thought about stitching the straight elements on my canvas, in this case the flower stems.  But I really wanted a bigger start than that, having learned from last year's Games that only stitching teeny areas each month leaves you with a LOT of stitching to do come November's finish date!  So I decided to go "straight" to the area I really wanted to stitch, which was the kitty cats panel:

Those were an easy job of Basketweave in black Neon Rays, while the background is T-Stitch in Vineyard Silk.  

February's clue was announced today and it is "Samba".  My thought is that skirt and those shoes will be perfect for Samba dancing once they are stitched up with some fancy stitches and sparkly threads!  Hopefully, I might even get that stitched up today and posted, making me one of the monthly "McGraws", as in one of those "quick-draw" stitchers that get their clues stitched right away.  I'm almost always one of the last-minutes, posting my work on the last day of the month! 

This is not my only Stitcherie project right now, as we have a Challenge going on now called "What Does the Fox Say?" and it is an opportunity for all to bring out any animal-themed canvases that may have been languishing in your stash and get to work on them as part of a group.  I just happened to have this brand-new fox canvas on my drawing board so I finished him up and will be stitching away on him soon!  

 It's not too late to join is the Stitching Games if you want, as you can start at any time.  The Fox Challenge just started also, so there is time for that too-- hope to see you there!