AlleyCat of course here to say Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Actually we both do!

Did you miss us? Well we sure missed you! So in the never ending saga of my new computer…I had it long enough to print some much needed stitch guides and do a blog! Then I realized during the migration of info from the external hard drive to the new computer that all of my pictures didn’t make the transfer. So I gave it to my crack IT guy at the shop and he was going to work his magic…adding no hurry really!

I don’t know if I told you a while back that I hung up my hat for Needlepoint Now. Elizabeth and I had this talk when I went back to the shop that one day I would no longer be able to do the magazine work. Well it was over 2 1/2 years later and I called her one day and said that this was it! It was too daunting to work a long day at the shop and then come home and work on guides. It was really a blessing in disguise especially since my computer acted up. I will still do new product reviews, but that’s it!

So back to my computer…my IT guy called me and said well we found about 3-400 pictures and I commented that maybe add a zero to that total. Come to find out there’s around 22,000 pictures! Wow! We wound up installing a new hard drive in the old computer, so I can leave one at the shop and the other at home. I will probably pick it up next week, but in the mean time I thought I would try the blog on my iPad. It works, but I don’t have many pictures…so all you get is me under the quilt and AlleyCat on top!

Blue Bonnett was great! It gave me a little breather before the Getaway, which was a smashing success! Thanks to my amazing team members… they are really my San Diego family and couldn’t have done it without them!

Now I’m enjoying a weekend off and spent the day doing some much needed housework! I will finish up tomorrow with the vacuuming, which AlleyCat hates of course…but for now it’s a little wine time and I’m baking a piece of salmon which is the extent of my cooking!

Did you miss me? did you wonder if I had fallen off the face off the earth? well I can tell you that being withoiut my Mac is sorta kinda like something I haven’t experienced in a very long time.

A funny thing happened on the way to… I needed to have a little work done on my car, nothing serious, just the time for maintenance based on my mileage! Well I thought I would bring my laptop, blog and work on some other things for the shop. Sounded like a good idea, right? Why waste the time, which is somethinhg that I don’t like doing.

Well my computer kept shutting off, and it kept shutting off, so I figured why fight it and I didn’t try to revive it. I got to work and it was fine, excpet for no internet…same thing when I got home, so whynot reboot it? well it would never come back on and based on my work schedule and when the Apple store had an opening at the Genius bar, it would be at least a week or more. So my time came and the verdict was that I would need to reinstall the software…and notice I said “I” as it was too old for Apple to do it. So basically my computer crashed, but I did have everything backed up on my hand dandy external hard drive, so not to worry! An 8 year old laptop, you served me well, so its was time for a change.

Came back from market and went shopping the next night for a new Mac! So between lots of interruptions of being sick, working, not feeling well and being locked  out of my new computer…I am finally up and running! The best thing so far about merging from the external hard drive is it seems to remember all of my passwords and settings. I am going to have an issue with pictures, but that is something for another day and am guessing that I will need to uninstall the printer and install a new one…not going to reinstall an 8 year old printer!

So no pictures right now. AlleyCat and I are good and am ready to leave her again for a few days as its time for Blue Bonnet stitching retreat…and then its my big Getaway retreat at the shop, so I will see you when I see you. The Olympics are here and soon it will be baseball season. I hope you missed me as much as we missed you!

If you’ve been reading my blog for any time now, you know that I love, love, love Mooch. Did I say love? Every so often I find a special one, one that makes me laugh out-loud, is poignant or just purr~fect…well those get framed to hang on my walls where I can enjoy them always! This makes me think that really is nothing wrong with taking a nap, right?

There were or should I say are a few things on my resolutions list. First and foremost was getting my stitching closet somewhat organized. Refreshing my memory of what I have. Now the shop was closed for a few extra days, so I did have time to work on it and was able to complete the task! I said nothing about getting threads organized, just projects and I was thrilled!

I picked out 2 pieces to be working on now as I promised myself for every new piece that I start, I want to finish something. I have 2 classes coming up this month, so there’s 2 pieces, right? Notice that I picked small things. Home Sweet Home will be a shop model as it was the finishing that I saw that made me track this canvas down.

The Tokyo ornament will be a remembrance of my Japan trip. Kathy Schenkel was kind enough to paint the Tokyo for me, so I would think that it’s in her line now?! Actually both of these canvases are from Kathy Schenkel!

Best thing about stitching? Well it’s all the proper supurr~vision that I get! She’s a good girl and doesn’t mess with my threads! I have used a Grip-It stand for years and it sort of just fell apart on me, so I’ve been using this Lowrey from the shop. Can I tell you how much I don’t like it? I’ve been scouring eBay looking for another Grip-It and hopefully I bought the right one!

In just a few hours it will be a new year…which you know already, so why am I telling you THAT? Wow where has this year gone to already? and we all seem to say the same thing. But really where does the time go to? It slips by all too fast. I normally keep very busy and never let myself waste much time… there is just way too much to be accomplished, too many places to visit, new needlepoint shops to discover, new books, new threads and stitches to fall in love with and new canvases to find. Another stitching venture to relish and ooh just so much more!

I had a wonderful holiday, how about you? I am home now with AlleyCat and she has been meowing her displeasure to me that I left her! The shop is closed for a few days for the holiday and I have been busy around the house. The Japanese tradition is cleaning for the New Year, sort of as we do in spring time.

My other plans for this weekend are ready, which will be stitching the New Year in…how about you?

Have you missed me? Did you think that I ran away never to show my face again? Well I was ready to, but thanks to my fearless webmaster LZ, she talked me down off the ledge.

See after the last post, someone asked me how to register for updates on my blog? Well I have no idea I said, but let me ask Laura. Well I did and discovered that I was #1; using a very outdated version of WordPress and #2; I needed to renew my domain and blah, blah, blah. Poor Laua, but thanks to her perseverance and after almost 2 months I’m still here!

So what better way to start out than with AlleyCat? She was very mischevious last night! She kept burying her face in this bag as I am sure that she was convinced that something was in there for her. I had to get rid of the ribbon and the wrapping paper as she just would not leave it alone!

Some fabulous finishing from Marlene. The first canvas is Debby Mumm for Melissa Shirley. I love the way that Marlene finished it. I had originally asked for a standup and she called me saying that you are “too boring!” and I answered “okay Marlene, surprise me!” and she didNOT dissapoint!

The other one is a mouse from Danji Designs. Too cute!

My Christmas Cactus, tiny that it might be is in full bloom. I had asked Santa last year for a purple one and even though that this is not purple, I do love the color!

Well I hope that everyone has been having a fabulous Hanukkah while the rest of us are getting ready for Christmas. I am headed to my sisters tomorrow for Christmas cookie baking and the Feast of the 7 Fishes, a very Italian tradition.

So answer my question, “Do you believe in Christmas miracles?” well yes I do! how about you?

Are you as crazy about Halloween as I am? Do you know that it is the second most stitched holiday right after Christmas? Well it is! I had stitched these a few years ago to teach at TNNA Summer market. They are canvases from the Meredith Collection where they had painted single doors from their “door vignettes.” I chanelled my inner Susan Portra and gave the door some steps so they wouldn’t totally look like they were floating in the air. They were fun to stitch!

They had been languishing in my stitchy closet when I came across them over the summer and sent them off to be finished at Marlene’s. Check out the skulls that she used in the bow on the left one. The other has spiders, but they don’t show up quite as much!

I am sure you were thinking where the heck have I been? Very busy! The other needlepoint shop in La Jolla has closed (I am sorry to say) leaving us the only shop in town. So my days off are few and far between between regular business, getting ready for classes and my special projects. So I will take you backwards in my needlepoint life starting with the most recent adventure!

My latest special project has been redoing the bead spinners, especially after Sundance introduced so many new colors this year!

I snuck out of the shop a few weeks ago to take a class at Absolutely Needlepoint with Susan Portra (and more about that later) and saw that this is how they had hung their beads. It’s a 3-prong hook that holds 15 tubes across. Well I took a picture and when I got back to the shop and looked at mine, there were only 8 tubes hanging.

I ordered some hooks right away and have been working on it a few hours each day. This side that you see are part of the size 11’s.

We had a little casualty with this tube! But this project has been an eye-opening experience about how many beads we don’t have! Especially when I get to the matte beads and the size 14’s. So a big bead order is in my future!

So back to my 2-days at Absolutely Needlepoint and this is my beautiful class kit! And you ask me why I go to other shop to take a class? Well I get to see other shops, meet the amazing team members that work there, pick up wonderful new ideas…such as how they hung the beads and get to know another shop owner a bit better. Thanks Lu for making me feel so welcome. Looking forward to coming back again!

A very full class with Susan Portra teaching her interpretation of Melissa Shirley’s Red Bird Santa. and ohh did I mention that I can stitch and learn without any interruptions!

Susan is demonstrating how to make a tassel on a canvas.

Speaking of tassels, look at this one that Susan makes for one lucky student!

AlleyCat is still the only spolied child in the house at the moment and it will probably stay that way till next year. It had been extremely hot this last week and she is sitting under the lamp with her eye on a moth. Couldn’t you find a cooler spot you silly girl?

Happy Halloween to all! It’s almost time to change the store displays and Tony Minieri will be at the shop in less than 2 weeks…

Where oh where has the last 3 weeks gone to? It seems like in a blink of an eye another month has gone by! I’ve been to the American Needlepoint Guild Seminar in Anaheim and then to Dallas for the Cash & Carry Trade show with the latter being my favorite market destination! which we will save market talk for another time.

We had been here a few years ago, so it was almost like going home! And for me it was just a quick drive up the freeway, well quick in So California terms. This was going to be a short trip for a 2-day class, 1 day to play and then back to the shop in case we were busy with visitors from seminar.

There was a little beach theme going on!

A cute little shop!

At noon the exhibit opens where you can view the ribbon winners and also have a look see at what classes will be offered next year in Washington DC. I have my class picked out and I am just waiting for the registration to open up!

I had entered 2 pieces, one which I stitched a few years ago and the other was recently stitched to enter. I was told by a wise judge a few years back, never stitch to win a ribbon, which is exactly what I did and needles to say I didn’t win…at least for the time being.

The opening banquet and a great little favor to mark the occassion!

and then the dessert.

There are some welcomes, some introductions and then the announcement of the special ribbons, which for me was the real dessert!

Wearable Art! and I was totally floored when they announced my name. Little Feet by Red Thread Designs and this is the one that I stitched as I chase after that elusive (to me anyway) Princess Grace Award for basketweave. So many people I tell me that I do a pretty mean basketweave, so I keep trying and I will keep trying…but you need just the right canvas.

Then the next award was Small Masterpiece and they called my name again! Doubly floored for sure. Tibetian Boy by Amanda Lawford that I stitched a few years ago, taught in Dallas and was in the Needlepoint Now magazine.

and here they are hanging in the shop!

I need to start thinking about what I’m going to enter next year… decisions! decisons!

oh… my class! MacIntosh Rose with Toni Gerdes.

and I need to master these oval Jessicas! I started off great, but didn’t finish so.

You haven’t seen my only child AlleyCat in a while…here we were chillin on the couch as I was watching baseball. It’s a very good time of the year now. and may the best team win…

Shortly after I came back from Japan. I snuck out of the shop and from AlleyCat for a few days and flew to Dallas to attend a class at Creative Stitches and Gifts!

Great shop! and so much room. I have been there before, but not since Carol Eix had purchased the shop.

It was a class with Patricia Sone with Melissa Shirley’s Wintergreen House. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it stitched on Facebook.

We had a great gift of this co-ordinating Snap-Tray made by Carol…well she used to be the one that made these and marketed them. Now she just does it for her shop.

I really loved, loved, loved the class and Patricia too! This was a canvas that I needed to get me back in my zen of stitching everynight and Sundays too…and it worked. This was my stitching progression!

I was beading and was really convinced that no way was I going to have enough beads, but it was plenty! The tube of beads can really fool you to how many are really in there. So sorry to have doubted you Carol!

Finished! And now its off to the finishers to be made into a pillow for a shop model.

This is my supurr~visor! She really is a good girl and never ever bothers my threads…

Even in here where I usually keep the threads for that project… I know that when I do bring a kitten home, that will all change!

It’s been too hot for stitching this week as 100+ for San Diego is unheard of! Headed to Dallas again next weekend, so it’ll be a few before I see you again.

until then… keep on stitching

Really, this is it! Our last night here and we were headed out for our special evening. Midori had one last suprise for us as we walked our way to dinner and took a little detour through this narrow alley that led us into this beautiful garden!

You can see some of us that were nose to nose in this tiny little shop that sold hand made needles, pins, scissors and more.

We just innudated the shop owner and there were some locals that came in right after us.

You can really see in this picture how packed we were in and buying everything in site! All of a sudden a helper showed up which made paying much easier.

Very, very nice and they spoke English too which was quite a treat! It was time to head to the restuarant as it was almost time for our reservation.

It was a cool cloudy evening that was warmed with sake, wine, great food and even better conversation. We were treated to a Wagyu steak, which was probably the best I ever had!

Our last group picture! Many were wearing clothing articles that were bought along the trip.

Our walk back to the hotel through the streets of Kyoto. Back to packing and getting ready to leave tomorrow. We had the entire morning, so a few of us did a little more shopping including going back to the needle shop whereas we would have the entire shop to ourselves, which we did! Picking up a little lunch as we had a 2-hour drive to the airport at Osaka before we would catch our flight.

All checked in and ready to go through security. I am sad to leave, but on the other hand it will feel good to be home, sleep in my own bed, see my AlleyCat and have some tacos!

Thank you to everyone who has followed my experiences through Japan, which was really the trip of a lifetime! It probably felt like I was there for ever.

Sayonara my dear Japan, but I will be back!