Suzane Howren, Tony Minieri, Beth Robertson and Meredith Willett…4 amazing minds for 5 wonderful days! what stitches and techniques we are going to learn from them this week.

Our class began on Monday with 52 anxious and bright eyed stitchers ready to learn! There was a slight dilemma though, Tony was delayed on the East Coast by one little problem, Irene had caused the cancellation of his flight. Suzanne, Beth and Meredith did an amazing job keeping everybody happy and the stitches flowing.

This is my canvas that I am working in on class, the House of the Sacred Bells by Leigh Designs. I am sitting here thinking that I must be absolutely out of my mind to be starting another canvas right now! But how can I pass up not being in this class? I took this same class last year at seminar and loved every minute of it! Actually last year, there were 4 of us from our stitching group that took the same class and worked together on Lani’s Wine Collage. We had such a grand time with this and we were quite the talk as we got lots of attention… and no mine is not finished yet. Lani’s Wine Collage is making a repeat performance in this class. Beth commented that they are trying to make it different from what we did last year.

I must confess that I played hooky yesterday from class.Yes I know that I was a bad girl, but a few of my friends kidnapped me and we had a road trip to The Needle Works in Austin. Loved every single second of misbehaving!

This your Texas welcome as you enter this mecca of threads, canvases, books and toys. Lots of shopping and looking at canvases and all the temptations abound. Yes I know that I missed most of the day of class, but I am this close, how could I not go? Besides I had to go as I needed to “purrfect” the threads for Deco Kitty. Finding a little bit better color, maybe change the type of thread, a different size Kreinik and all that important necessary had to find threads. One picture does not do this shop justice whatsoever!

Thank you Colleen for such a delightful morning and all of your assistance and attention in assisting us in that quest for just the right thread and just the right stitch. I am sorry that I didn’t get a chance to meet Medici, who is the shop kitty. He was given the week off as with all the extra shoppers visiting this week, he might not deal with it too well, as after all is he over 20 years old! I did get to meet Chance, the shop puppy and what a cutie.

The day ended with some time at the ANG auction and strolling along the Riverwalk enjoying Margaritas and a little Mexican food. The flavor of the evening was a Pomegranate Margarita. and until next time…keep on stitching

P.S. I promise I am going to class today

And Jonathan sure did it in style! I remember walking by his piece in the exhibit Sunday afternoon and seeing it, but not really seeing it? do you know what I mean?

Jonathan and Jane-Beth are from Scotland and travel to the ANG seminar every other year, sightseeing and taking in the seminar. Absolutely delightful couple and amazing stitchers too! I first met that in 2001 when we were in Washington DC and we all do miss them when they are not attending.

Well Jonathan was the winner of the Princess Grace Award Sunday night which is a piece solely executed in tent stitch. It can have nothing else in there, no French Knots, no beads, no outline stitches, nothing but basketweave. I think that he was just a wee bit thrilled by the smile on his face! I think that he is still walking on Cloud 9 and deservedly so!

Now you are looking at his stitched piece entitled 4.30.1836 and excuse me Jonathan if I didn’t use the punctuation properly… and I am sure that you are wondering what it is all about?

Every good Scotsman knows that there were 4 from their country that came here looking for a good fight as Jonathan tells the story. They found it as they gave their lives defending the Alamo. That is the significance for the number 4. Then 30 additional Scotsman followed them later and of course it was in the year was 1836.

He researched their families and their plaids and designed a pattern where they all meshed together. Do you see when they come together, how flow into together and they take on the shape of the Alamo? The lines are perfectly symmetrical and the stitching with Soie d’Alger silks is beyond perfection. I am so impressed with the thought and the research that went into this project.

My class was wonderful as I embark on a 5 day class with 4 teachers in canvas embellishment. They are 52 students in the class and absolutely no duplicate canvases as so many canvas designers are represented from Leigh to Lani to Melissa Shirley to Ewe and Eye and so many more! and until next time…keep on stitching

p.s. I am sorry for not remembering that Jane is Jane-Beth

and what a way to start off the seminar week in San Antonio! I landed around noon where the mercury was already reaching triple digits…I know they said hot, but after leaving a cool and balmy San Diego it was really hot!

The Marriott at the River Walk is a wonderful facility and I am know that I am going to enjoy every minute that I am here. I checked in, registered for seminar and found my room on the 29th floor with a beautiful view of the city and quickly headed back downstairs to check everything out. The store is beautifully stocked and ran by the Needle House of Houston, the book store held a few goodies that I had to get and then I ran into Raymond Crawford in the boutique! Nancy is having all the Texas canvas designers for guest appearances each day. Today I hear it is Janet of A Collection of Designs and tomorrow will be Debbie of Painted Pony fame. I think this is a wonderful idea as these canvas designers are truly the stars of our industry and normally we would never get a chance to meet them.

This is the Armadillo bar, located outside of the shops where the frameweights are residing until they are claimed by their new owners. They were designed and made by the local chapter…too clever these girls!

The exhibit was amazing as always and held allot of beautiful pieces graced with ribbons. My Santa riding the Panda won a 2nd place ribbon, but being that there was not a first place ribbon awarded in that division…Susan said “well you really won a first!” Well I guess you are right Susan, but I still would rather see a blue hanging from it. Two of the judges were very gracious and spent allot of time with me explaining where I could have stitched it just a little better. I will save that discussion for another day.

The Fanciful Fish purse that I stitched for Needle Deeva took Honorable Mention and the Needle Deeva Triangles Purse won 3rd place…see I was competing against Ms Amy Bunger in that division with her Halloweenies that won 2nd place. Ooh but wait the icing on the cake was that Triangles won they Wearable Art Award when the special ribbons were announced last night at the banquet.

The margaritas are flowing as I embark upon my quest to enjoy the different varieties! Starting off with the Apple Margarita in the late afternoon which was blended with ice into a delicious slushy style. I moved onto a Blood Orange Margarita while we were being serenaded by an all woman mariachi band. These ladies were amazing! Their voices, their smiles…I could have listened to them all night.

This is the row of fame with some of the special award ribbons. Wish that I could share them all with you as they are quite a sight to see! and until next time…keep on stitching

just a little more rearranging to get all the stuff that I need to or want to take with me! Do you think that I can make room for Sylvester & AlleyCat in my bags? I sure wish that I could take them with me, but these kids don’t travel well…so they will be better off staying at home. Anyway someone needs to be keep Rose company when she comes over to feed them, love them and play with them.

My thoughts and prayers continue to be with all of our friends and family on the East Coast as they ready for a visit from Irene. I am always the optimist that it will not be as bad as they fear it to be. I lived in hurricane country one year while working on South Padre Island Texas and I was fortunate as there were no hurricanes that came our way that year. Again I pray for your safety…

My stitching time was shared between stitching on Deco Kitty and pouring through more books looking at other stitches. In my quest for “purrfection” I just wanted to reassure myself that maybe I shouldn’t have used this stitch here or that stitch there. This is the quickest way to get a phone call from Ms Brenda Hart, text her a picture with your cat sleeping on one of her books!

I plan on staying in most of the day to totally finish my packing, watching a little baseball and stitching away. My flight is at 7am tomorrow, so I won’t be seeing you for a few days, until I get settled in and find the hot spot connections in the hotel. and until next time…keep on stitching.

well my boot is ready for our trip to San Antonio! I was just a busy bee yesterday as I greeted day break with needle in my hand and again was stitching at the bewitching hour with allot accomplished in between.

This is a darling little canvas designed by Whats the Point? After the finisher works their magic, they look like little Lands End canvas bags…too cute! another special Texas canvas that was designed for us for seminar and you will find this at Expo Night!

A stitching friend of mine has made several of these with designs that are special to each of her family members. She hangs them on her tree and inside will be tucked some green stuff from Santa or maybe a gift card. What a great idea! Maybe I should make one for Sylvester & AlleyCat?

I started out the morning yesterday working on Deco Kitty. I tried out a few stitches, took a few out, put a few more in and did a little more beading on it. I really did want to finish up the beads that were in my beading tray, but I figured I could do that later in the evening when I wanted to stitch, but not have to be too brilliant…should have listened to self as I will now be vacuuming up those beads from the rug.

Took care of some errands as I needed a few supplies for my table at Expo Night. Cat food, cat litter and a quick stop at the bank was on my to do list along with a haircut and a little gas for the car. Shudder the thought that I would run out of gas on the way to the airport Sunday morning!

When I got home I decided that it was time to start packing! I never start this early, even though all my stitching stuff has been gathered together for ages now. I just wanted to get an idea of how quickly my canvas suitcase will be filling up, just in case I need to go to a Plan B for packing. So far everything is coming together like clockwork. I have all my necessary paperwork close at hand along with some reading material to keep myself occupied for my 3 hour flight Sunday morning.

This is how the feline children spent their day…Sylvester is giving me the one eye look during his afternoon cat nap.

AlleyCat was in her own space…which they usually don’t share. Well there’s not enough room anyway!

To all our friends and family on the eastern seaboard…please stay safe and dry. Hopefully soon we can sat “Goodnight Irene” as she changes her mind and turns away from the east coast

yes it is! and one of these days I will learn how to take a “purrfectly straight picture!” ooh this is driving me nuts! Elizabeth tells me it is my lens and not me. If I straighten it on one side with my Mac, then the other side or the top or then the bottom is crooked. I will have to pursue perfecting this picture taking thing.

Okay back to the stitching stuff. For everybody who thinks that I have been totally out of my mind or having way too much fun stitching round the clock, there really is a method to my madness…yes believe it or not. The girls at BeStitched have been wanting me to teach for them ever since we first met in Dallas, but we were never sure exactly what, but just that I would teach. Deco Kitty showed up on my blog and sooner than later that became the one! Okay class is less than 2 months away, how would I ever get it all stitched in time? I embarked on a few shopping trips for threads and also looked through all the beautiful Gloriana and Belle Soie that I have here. Selected some beads, some Kreinik and I was ready to start.

I normally select more than one possibility for an area, just in case. Even though it might look perfect in my mind, it looks far from that when it is on the canvas. For example I was absolutely convinced that I had to bead the green and gold stripe down the column that the cat is perched on. I had 2 great colors of olive green beads that I could try, the correct color of beading thread as I have been known not to use beading thread from time to time…and I was all set to bead. I beaded some and just as quick they came out as the beads just didn’t have enough life for me. Okay lets try something else as I dug through my bag of goodies.

After working on the green architecture of the building, I realize that I probably should just start the area and not necessarily finish it so that I can move about the canvas. The stitch in the pink columns behind the kitty is not totally completed yet as something else is planned over that. I may restitch it too as in a way I am trying to cover up the purple dots and yes they are purple! I just am not happy with the quality of my pink stitches. I am thinking that the stitch in the ceiling with this wonderful overdye that I am using needs to slant in the opposite direction too.

I was pouring through my books last night looking for just the right stitch for the teal area and I have a few possibilties in mind both with stitch ideas and thread choices to try out today. The class at BeStitched will be one with a little different twist…those girls are way too clever…you will just have to go to their website and read all about it!

Thursday is a great day for early baseball, so I will stitch away with a game on and when it is over I will then take care of other things. Oooh this house is such a mess! and I have a few errands to take care of too.

My stitching assistant Sylvester had a tough day on the job yesterday. and until next time…keep on stitching

So much to do! such little time as the days count down to the start of the ANG Seminar in San Antonio. For starters, I am just adding the finishing touches to these ornaments that were designed just for this seminar by What’s the Point? I am writing a little stitch guide to go along with them too as inquiring minds always want to know what thread is this? what stitch did you use?

Needle Deeva is sending some of her hearts too, the ones that I stitched and have written stitch guides. I was busy packing those up yesterday under the careful supervision of the feline children. I have a few others from Deeva that are coming along too and I just need to print the guides. Maggie’s and Ewe and Eye canvases need to be priced and I will be picking up a few Laurel Burch canvases too before I leave. Anybody want to come by and help? Please, pretty please?

Laundry is high up on the to do list along with packing and more packing. I have piles all over the place, very important needlepoint related items which always seem to get packed first, clothes and assorted sundry items that also need to come with me. Even though I have been to seminar many times, I am especially excited about this one! What a great destination along the River Walk and close to the Alamo. The Margaritas! The Mexican Food! ooh the main reason for going…my class for 5 days with 4 awesome teachers. I hear the shops including but not limited to The Yarn Barn of San Antonio, The Needle Works in Austin and Needle House which is setting up the shop at the seminar have been busy planning and getting ready for us for months.

I have allot of stitching that is calling my name with Deco Kitty consuming most of my time right now. The Halloween Hearts are patiently waiting for me to get back to them and oh the Needle Deeva Easter Egg House, but I still have a few months for that. Two new projects for different destinations await my flying fingers. There will be lots of files in my inbox for me too for the next issue of Needlepoint Now when I get back.

The plants need to be watered and the orchids tended too along with a little housework. Kids I am sorry to say that we will need to vacuum later today as I need to clean up a pound or two of cat hair that clings to the rugs. Other than that, that is all I have to do…phew!

Hands down this is AlleyCat’s favorite spot for her catnap! this box has been hanging around for a few years, as I don’t have the heart to recycle it. and until next time…keep on stitching

I am sort in a kitty cat mood, in case you haven’t noticed! and so color co-ordinated too, can’t you tell? This is a new stitching toy called a snap tray that I spotted on Bestitched website. It was calling my name, well after all is has cats on it, so I had to have it! Jeannine and Lisa actually delivered to me in person at the Baltimore show.

I first saw these snap trays while taking classes with Brenda Hart…a snap tray starts out flat, so it is great for travelling…

and then when it is snapped together it looks like this! I always keep one close at hand to keep my laying tool, extra needles, another pair of scissors, a tube of beads, a pen or whatever else strikes your fancy all in one place.

The cat on Deco Kitty, which is AlleyCat of course…has been beaded so she will really stand out and be noticed. I haven’t had much too stitching time over the weekend due to previous plans and commitments, but I plan on spending most of my stitching time on this canvas until I leave for San Antonio. I may even take this with me, for the late night forays in the stitching room that is usually set up for us.

Another new toy! I can’t take credit for this and I need to thank Pat, Chris and Elizabeth for turning me onto this… on our shopping trip to the Container Store, where we probably wiped out their inventory of these ribbon spool stackers.

They are perfect for holding Rainbow Gallery cards! you could organize by color, or all Splendor or all Neon Rays or… well you get the idea. I am not sure exactly how many cards it will hold as I have not had a chance to set mine up yet…and the cards only fit in one certain direction.

AlleyCat is working on her suntan as she gives me that look “you are really not going to take another picture of me!” and until next time…keep on stitching

well not Maggie herself… just her wonderful canvases! and Ewe and Eye will be there with me too! On Thursday night the ANG Seminar has a fun filled evening planned called Needlework Expo, which is 2 hours of extremely fast and furious shopping for all kinds of needlepoint related merchandise. Canvases, bags, threads, new toys and just everything you can imagine. There are a few of these canvases that probably have my name on them…but I need to remind myself of all this stitching for others that I have to get done.

This is Maggie at the Baltimore TNNA show stitching on her Mary Engelbreit rug, which is almost finished I might say. Very impressive and such beautiful stitching. She was gracious enough to pose for us. I think that it must be rock star status when people in the industry know you by just your first name! Her very newest canvases that were introduced at the June market will be making the trip with me for Needlework Expo as I will be there to tempt you with a new must have canvas!

and you knew I had to get at least a cat or two in here!

and a sampling from Ewe and Eye… and do you see on the top the snowman skiing on the candy canes? It is a smaller version of Candy Rush and OMG you need to see it finished and framed in the Bestitched August newsletter…every single stitch is amazing!

and speaking of cats AlleyCat and Sylvester are hanging out with “the bag” and until next time…keep on stitching

I am soooooooooo excited! next Sunday at this time next week I will be winging my way to San Antonio for the American Needlepoint Guild’s annual seminar. I know, I know I can hear you saying “you have been such a gadabout this summer from Columbus to New York to Portland to Baltimore…and now this?” Yes I know and soon my feline children will disown me and then there’s the fact that I have enough commissioned stitching right now to keep me going non stop for months! and soon Elizabeth will be sending lots of files for the November/December issue of Needlepoint Now. Can you please make the days longer for me?

Oooh but the seminar is so special! I have been attending since 1996 when it was at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, with those ducks. Those special ducks that parade through the hotel lobby at precise times following the Duck Master either up to their penthouse or back downstairs. Seminar is an amazing week and such special friendships have been grown through this annual get together about the United States. Fair warning, once you go…you always want to come back!

This is my canvas, Hall of the Sacred Bells by Leigh Designs that I will be stitching in my class The Long & Short of Canvas Embellishment, taught by Suzanne Howren, Tony Minieri, Beth Robertson and Merdith Willett. A few months ago, a color copy of the canvas was sent in for them to come up with some suggested threads and stitches. A shopping list of threads was sent, which you see here. I will probably look for a few more colors from the threads that I have in the house such as red and whatever else looks good. Then there is the shop that is set up for us in the hotel, where frequent shopping trips during class are the norm and ooh so fun!

I took this class last year and loved every second of it! To have 4 teachers in the room at one time, each teacher working with a set group of anxious students each day and then rotating through the room over the week. We are to bring doodle canvases, extra stretcher bars as we are taught a new technique every day. I have a feeling that we are going to have a lesson on stitching on silk gauze! My hope is that some of the other stitchers will allow me to photograph their canvases with that special magic that has been created to share with you.

There is so much to do and see when you go to seminar. The hotel is located on the River Walk in San Antonio and close to The Alamo which will allow for some great sightseeing and shopping! Lets not forget the Mexican food and Margaritas! There are numerous events such as the opening banquet, the auction, life patron luncheon, teachers showcase, silent auction and the ever popular merchandise night…which I will explain more about that as the week goes on. Then there are must see shopping trips to The Needle Works in Austin and the Yarn Barn. Oh did I mention sleep? well there is no time for that!

I should be home stitching today but I have a very important date at a baseball game…a game in which one of the most beloved players of our San Diego Padres, Trevor Hoffman, will have his jersey retired.

Sylvester thought he would sleep on the bag too! these silly kids of mine. and until next time…keep on stitching