The Bunnies Are Back

The bunnies arrived home just in time for Easter. The finishing is just spectacular. I love the filled baskets and all the ribbon and trim. Ruth and her finisher did a wonderful job on them.

Rhett and Scarlett were all excited to be home and just hopped out of the box. They were all excited to tell me that they met their twins (Karen's bunnies) at the finisher and had a wonderful time together. I have to thank Ruth and her finisher for getting them to me in time for Easter.

They look perfect on my mantel and I will have to leave them out for awhile. They are just too cute to put away after Easter.

Happy Easter

Linda

First Flowers Calendar Club Canvas Completed

You might recall that I surreptitiously enrolled in a club a few weeks ago, a Flowers Calendar Club offered by A Stitch in Time. At the end of the club, if you do all the flowers in the series, you will get a perpetual calendar into which your canvases can be inserted. I am always intrigued by perpetual calendars; we used to have one when I was a kid, but I don't know where it ended up. You can see all the flowers here: http://www.needlepoint-knitting.com/raymond-crawford-flowers.htm.

I finished the first one last night. The shop's owner, Alison Hodges wrote a nice little stitch guide, & the kit comes with complete threads. I am wondering how I will mat all of these at the end, but I will cross that bridge when I get to it. At this point the next canvas just arrived on Wednesday; I am putting it aside for a little while.

I signed up for the Tony Minieri Safari Teapot class at Stitch by Stitch; you can see the completed project on their blog. This is the first project I've ever done on congress cloth; I think I was so intimidated by the thought of it; the reality is that it's fine & fun. I love taking classes with Tony, so of course I am thrilled to be taking this. And the teapot has a giraffe. And a lion. Oh my.

I also have a lot of other WIP's going; my last two Tony Minieri canvas embellishment classes; a collar for Mia (Cara's collar is completed); my last three stitches for my current stitching notebook class, Christmas Stitches II, Stitches For Effect; my push to finish last year's club from Fireside. Oh, and of course, my flag & my kimono.

Isn't this a hobby? Thank God I love to do this!

Best wishes for a Blessed Easter.

Denise

Halloween Apple #2 and Finds in Baltimore

I finished the second Kelly Clark Halloween Apple with stitch guide by Amy Bunger last Thursday night. Amy did such a wonderful stitch guide for this canvas. The composite stitch she picked for the icing was such a fun stitch. I am always amazed how complicated the stitches look and how easy they are to stitch. I gave the apple to Ruth to work her magic for finishing.

I cannot wait to see how Ruth's idea for finishing the apples comes out.

Here is the picture of my yellow Coach bag. I know that it is not needlepoint related but I just love the color of the bag. It does now show too well in the photo but it is the softest shade of yellow and the leather is so soft.

This is the stumpwork book that Kelly recommended. It just arrived and I have not had a chance to check it out. Will let you know what I think.

I always try to bring home a remembrance of my trip and chose to buy this cute tray from Ruth's. I use it every night when I stitch. I put my scissors and thread puller in it and they are always right within reach. Great stitching accessory.

The two topiary trees are from the Kelly Clark trunk show and since I love pink and green I had to have them.

The last canvas was purchased at The Waste Knot and I feel in love with it immediately and I just had to have. I was so happy to see that they carried the new Egyptian Cotton thread. The color line for this thread is just gorgeous. I knew that this was the perfect thread for this project just because of the colors. I have not stitched with it yet but when I do I will let you know how it is. The last thing I purchased for this canvas were little pink buttons from Ruth's. She has the absolute best selection in notions. I can always find a fun button to put on a canvas.

Karen's bunnies arrived today. I hope mine arrive tomorrow. If they do, I will post a picture of them.

Off to work on the sky for Creche. This is such a beautiful canvas and a feeling of peace and calm comes over me as I stitch it.

Happy Easter.

Linda

BIG MISTAKE

I am so sorry that in my haste to do this post that I forgot to give credit to Kelly Clark for her stitching of Elvira. The pictures of Elvira are Kelly's beautiful stitching. Sorry Kelly.
Linda

Wonderful Stitching Weekend

Karen and I started our trip at 6:30 A.M. on Thursday morning. We stopped in Arlington, Va at The Waste Knot. We both bought things for our stash enhancement (will talk about that tomorrow).

Our next stop was to Ruth's. Ruth has a beautiful store called Bedecked and Beadazzled in Lutherville, Md. Ruth was as happy and excited to see us as we were to see her. I bought two canvases from the Kelly Clark trunk show ( will also talk about that tomorrow). Our next stop was the hotel. We stayed at the Townson Marriott Convention Center. This is a great place to stay. We always get a two bedroom suite and it works out perfectly for us. For dinner we went to Cheesecake Factory. We had a great dinner and then went off to shop. Karen did not buy anything but I bought the most beautiful yellow leather bag from Coach. I have been looking for a yellow bag for over two year and finally found the perfect one (will post a picture for you all to see tomorrow).

On Friday morning we wereup bright and early to get ready for our big day with Kelly. Kelly is one of my favorite needlepoint designers and I was so excited to meet her. I was not disappointed. Kelly is such a lovely person. She is very a warm, friendly and caring person. Kelly was every thing I expected her to be, a wonderful person and great needlepoint designer. The first thing we did was pick our twig for the handle of the broom. We stitched Elvira's bodice and skirt next and before we had lunch we did (or tried to do) Elvira's fingers and hand. Ruth had the most perfect delicate fingers while the rest of us had fingers of all different sizes. Kelly told us of a good stump work book with excellent diagrams and directions (will tell you all about that tomorrow). Of course I ordered one for Karen and myself. After lunch we tackled the hat and brim. It is not hard to do but you could not really see what you were doing working with black velvet. Of course, Ruth's hat was perfect (even though she complained that she could not see anything) and the next morning she had a brainstorm of adding fuzzy stuff to the brim. I must say it was stunning.

On Saturday and Sunday, we worked on the Package Topiary, which is an exclusive design for Bedecked and Beadazzled. We started with the leopard package on Saturday morning and after lunch Kelly was going to teach us basket needleweaving. I did mine on a scrap piece of canvas I brought with me since I knew I wanted the feel of metal for the planter and did not want to do the needleweaving. The last picture shows my planter. Ruth picked out the threads and stitch for my planter. It is perfect and I am so happy with it. The stitching of the planter took up the rest of the day. That night Karen and I took Kelly and Ruth out for dinner. Kelly being the sharing soul that she is showed us some of the new canvases for the Columbus show and even showed us line drawings of future canvases. I was totally blown away. Karen and I were able to order some of the canvases and Ruth will get them for us. You are going to love all the new things that are coming out. I wanted to order everything but held myself back.

On Sunday, we discussed how to do the top of the planter and the idea of beads was being discussed. I am going to wait to see the stitch guide that Kelly and Ruth come up with before deciding how I am going to work that. Karen and I left early since we had a long drive back to New York.

It was a fun weekend and I came away meeting some wonderful new stitching friends, two beautiful canvases and getting the inside scoop on some of Kelly's designs. What more can a girl ask for.

Tomorrow I will post a picture of my completed Halloween Apple (which I left with Ruth), and all the things I bought.

Linda

John the Picture Hanger

Today, John the picture hanger came to hang the Ponza pictures. I was so excited for him to come over. He also attached lights to each frame, to highlight the picture. My friend Annmarie, who I consider to be my personal shopper, purchased the lights for me on one of her shopping jaunts. John was hesitant at first, he thought the wall was too big, & the pictures might get lost. I was impressed, John measured & measured & measured before he put a nail on the wall. If my husband & I had done this, we would have ended up divorced. Phil the framer knew this, hence he provided John's name and number.

I am terribly lonely without Linda, even though we've spoken frequently since she's been away. She will have a lot to talk about here on the blog; I hope that Jake is easy on her in Nana Day Care this week, so she has time for herself, the blog & her stitching (not necessarily in order of importance).

The weather here is just not so nice, so I am grabbing my stitching & settling onto the couch in the family room. I am going to listen to a podcast about ABC's decision to cancel two of its three daytime soap operas in favor of a reality show & a cooking show. They could have felt free to use the spots occupied by The View (which I despise) & Oprah (thankfully almost off the air). I don't even watch either All My Children or One Life to Live, but I think it's horrible that ABC cancelled these. I do watch GH & they better not even think about it.

Enjoy your Saturday.

Denise

Ready For My Great Needlepoint Adventure

My bags are just about all packed except for the last minute items and I am ready to go. Karen is picking me up bright and early tomorrow morning for our wonderful needlepoint weekend. We will probably stop at a few stores on our way to Baltimore and then we will go to Bedecked and Beadazzled to check out the Kelly Clark Trunk Show. I am so excited about meeting Kelly Clark and taking three days of classes from her. Kelly is one of my favorite needlepoint designers and I cannot wait to meet the person behind the canvases. I do not know who is more excited about this trip Karen or myself. We have been talking about and planning our trip for months and it is now finally here. After doing Nana Day Care for the last eight months, I am really ready for a break. I am looking forward to spending the day stitching, going out to dinner with friends and stitching again at night. I am just sorry that Denise will not be with us to enjoy this experience. I will try to post every day from my iPad if I can figure out how to do it. My husband is going to see if he can help me figure it out. You will have to wait until Monday for pictures since I do not think I will be able to post them from my iPad. The second Kelly Clark Halloween is just about finished and will be coming to Baltimore for finishing along with the Fall Tree and the first apple. I will post a picture of the second apple when I return from Baltimore. Linda

UPDATE FROM DENISE:

Linda probably did not master the blogging from a distance on her ipad. We will all have to wait until she comes home.

Denise

A Little More Tony, & A Little Christmas House

Here's a few more photos from Monday's class. I always love to see what people are working on, & the ideas Tony has come up with for bringing those canvases to life. We had a nice mix of students in this class, & some really nice canvases. Our new friend Chris was working on this top canvas, the vase, & mastered a number of new techniques in a few days. The second canvas, called (I think) Kitchen Ballet, is just too much fun, AND it has a cornice that goes over it that's a separate piece. Oh. That one seems quite interesting to me.....

Tony's intensely working on this Moose canvas, & calling for a needle, I think, in the 3rd photo. My daughter, a LaSalle alum, loved the 4th canvas, of the Philadelphia Boathouses.

The last photo has nothing to do with the Minieri class, but was last night's completion, the little Melissa Shirley that will be made into a music box. I haven't worked on a Melissa Shirley canvas in a while; this one had a lot of detail & packed a lot of punch into a small space. I think my niece will love it.

I am bracing myself for Linda's absence for 4 days while she is at Bedecked. There will be whining on my part.

Denise

A Day with Tony

Today Linda & I had a canvas embellishment class with Tony Minieri at our LNS, Stitch by Stitch. As expected, it was a wonderful day. I sent a Liz canvas to Tony to work up a guide; it is a cute canvas of mice playing amongst the books. I really love it, & I knew Tony would do an amazing job. Of course, he did not disappoint. You can see my canvas with the guide & the threads.

The only section of the canvas I actually got accomplished was a section of the book where the mouse's tail comes over the book. Tony has the tails done in a technique called Repousse', where you wrap thread over a diminishing core. It is quite effective.

The side of the book under the tail is done in an outline stitch; I think it does look like pages, don't you think?

Linda will only be able to take the first day of the class; she will not be in class tomorrow. She could not get a day off from her day care duties. She submitted a cute Shelley Tribbey witch; Tony did a great guide for her, too; the background will be a pumpkin face darning pattern. I could hear Linda's gears turning, trying to figure out how to rearrange her stitching lineup to fit this one in. Here's the link to Linda's canvas; it's number H308.

http://www.shellytribbey.com/otherseason/Halloween/pages/H308.html

I will try to get a little bit more stitching done tonight, so I can be sure to ask Tony all my questions tomorrow.

Denise

So Many Things To Stitch

The Halloween Tic Tac Toe Canvas is a Tapestry Tent canvas by Liz. I ordered this canvas in September when I was at Ruth's for a Brenda Hart class. Ruth was having a Tapestry Tent trunk show while we were there and I ordered this canvas. I also ordered the playing pieces. The pumpkin and witch are just perfect for this piece. I am thinking of sending it to Amy for the November Cook-Up Class that I am going to. I can only imagine the magic that Amy will work on this piece.

I finished the Witch's Hat Halloween Apple by Kelly Clark that Amy did a stitch guide for. This was so much fun to stitch. The stitches and threads Amy chose for this canvas were spectacular. I especially love the beading around the bow. It was done on wire and was really easy to do. Amy always surprises me with something new that I have not done before. I am now stitching the Candy Corn Halloween Apple and hope to have it done by next week. I plan on taking the two apples and the Fall tree down to Ruth for finishing when I go down on April 14.

The Creche arrived on Wednesday and is going to be a spectacular backdrop for the Nativity. I hope to get it started before I leave on the 14th. I will not take this piece with me since it is to big to travel with and I will probably only get to stitch on it on Thursday night. Having done the Nativity pieces already the sky (which was the background for all the Nativity pieces) for the Creche will not be difficult for me to do. Once you get into the rhythm of the stitch it goes fairly quickly. You just have to be careful with your counting.

Karen and I will be leaving on Thursday, April 14, at 6 A.M. to head down to Baltimore. We will be stopping at needlepoint stores on our way down. We always like to see new places and can always find something new and fun to buy. I am so looking forward to this trip. Karen and I have a great time together and are both easy going and basically just go with the flow. We are so excited about the three days we will be spending with Kelly Clark and are looking forward to seeing all our needlepoint friends. I am sure that I will have lots of pictures and stories to blog about when I return.

Hope to post a picture of the finished Candy Corn Apple before I leave for Baltimore.

Linda

Half Dozen Completed

I've now completed the sixth of twelve ornaments in the Fireside club. Each one of these is more fun than the one before. Honestly, doesn't this one just remind you of a circus! Marina Ketterman of Fireside writes all these guides, and for me they are just the right blend of stitches & threads to keep me interested.

I am going to take a little break from these for a bit. I want to do that Melissa Shirley canvas, & then I want to do the first canvas from my calendar series. I am taking a Tony Minieri canvas embellishment class next weekend at our local store (I am SO excited, Tony is so much fun & I learn so much). And then right after that (Wednesday!) I am also doing another class with Tony at our local store, it is my first project on congress cloth. I will post a photo as soon as I can.

I'm sure many of you are like this, with the list of your projects, canvases and schedule cycling through your heads! It's a good thing I have a job to blame for my time spent not stitching.

This weekend a good friend's son is getting married, and we are all looking forward to the fun ahead. There will be little stitching though! All of you keep your fingers busy for me!

Denise