Somebody was in the shop the other day and commented how much they miss my mostly daily musings on my blog… and I answered “all I’ve been doing lately is working at the shop!” No travel… no road trips… not much stitching… no trips with my BFF, blah, blah, blah. It would be quite boring just to share with you the goings on of everyday life in the shop. Anybody who thinks that all we do is sit around all day and stitch, well you are sadly mistaken!

But now I have a road trip ahead of me! This Thursday I to head to A Stitch in Time in San Marino, CA with 4 days of stitching bliss with The Embellishment Squad.

and this is the canvas that I will be working on by The Elizabeth Turner Collection. I need to find the proper magnet to fit with my canvas!

Embellishment Squad you say? you know Tony Minieri, Suzanne Howren, Meredith Willet and now Debbie Steihler makes the fourth. Beth Robertson could never ever be replaced, but I can’t think of a better person to join the group! Debbie, do you realize that you have very, very, very big shoes to fill?

Beth is on the right with her BFF Suzanne, cutting up and having fun. Today would be her birthday…and you are missed today as much if not more since the day that you left us way, way, way too soon. I hope that your life in that big stitching room in the heavens, where you never misplace your scissors, drop your needle, miss a stitch or have to do reverse stitching is keeping you out of mischief.

We will remember you fondly along with a tear or two during class and with a toast of your favorite 14 Hands Merlot.

AlleyCat loves empty egg containers…but not the one from a dozen and a half…it has to be this one! or Starbucks carry containers and often I find her sitting or catnapping like this. Silly girl, don’t you think?

I am taking my laptop with me, but not sure if I will have time to blog while I away…but I will have lots to share with you, trust me! Along with changing the windows at the shop, a new piece that I stitched that will be in the next Needlepoint Now and soon enough will be time for the Dallas Trade Show and ANG seminar in Myrtle Beach!

Today we celebrate Black Cat Appreciation Day…but trust me, I appreciate them each and every day! Canvas by Labors of Love…and that’s my AlleyCat! I had tried to start stitching this a few months ago with my sistah in black cats, Ms. Meredith, but it wasn’t meant to be.

At one time Meredith and I both had 3 black cats and that’s when we became sistahs! Do you know that black cats are the hardest to adopt out at the shelters? Also that those same shelters will not let any black cats be adopted in the month of October?

Look at that face…how could you not love it?

Watching her favorite kitty tv channel…

well Sylvester is almost a black kitty?!

Actually any day filled with stitching and needlepoint is another day to celebrate!

So what exactly are we celebrating? International Left-handers day! Now even though I am not a leftie, I have been told by many a teacher that I stitch…especially basketweave as if I am a left handed. Go figure!

These are new scissors by Premax, which is a centuries-old company of artisans in the mountains of Italy. These scissors are primo cutting implements—sharp, smooth, quality, long-lasting.

I love my Premax and have since added to my stash with Carnivale, which is the scissors on the left. Then there is Purple Haze, which sometimes comes out blue and Spring Dreams.

Even those these scissors are not specifically designed for a left hander, Premax does design many for the leftie!

Is she sticking her tongue out at us?

International Cat Day? Simon the Cat says it best here!

Will you be stitching? This was a collection of new canvases that I had earlier this year… the 2 underneath have been stitched for others and for models. The one on the top is by the Elizabeth Turner Collection btw, which will be for me, myself and I, which is probably why I haven’t started stitching it yet!

Just basketweave with Pepper Pot silks…nothing fancy, no beads, just beautiful basketweave!

or maybe this one… I am so excited to be starting this amazing canvas with Tony Minieri in November when he comes to teach at the Needle Nook of La Jolla!

It is a new design by Tapestry Fair that will be introduced at the January 2016 Winter Market here in San Diego. It is entitled “On the Nile” and will compliment Bastet and all the other Egyptian cats and dogs that is part of their line.

Thank you so much Peggi for painting this canvas and for your generousity!

This is my reason to celebrate! AlleyCat and Sylvester as we were chillin’ the other day!

Well yesterday actually, but I figure better late than never! Mooch never fails to just make my day and even though this strip was from 10 years ago, he reminded us that yesterday was National Watermelon Day. Now how could I have missed that?

I absolutely love, love, love…did I say love watermelon and have ever since I was a kid. I can easily eat a large, did I say really large? piece for breakfast, lunch or dinner. There are only about 300 different kinds of watermelon in the US & Mexico. Me, I will just take mine red and sweet!

You can find red, pink, white and yellow in various shapes and sizes. I have enjoyed watermelon grilled, in savory salads and with lime and cayenne pepper splashed on it. Did you enjoy some watermelon yesterday?

This got me thinking of all the wonderful needlepoint canvases of watermelon that are out there. Here is just one…

 

The second full moon of the months will rise tomorrow-so celebrate this rare lunar event! Even though this moon is not blue in this canvas, there is quite a large moon in this new Pumpkin March by Melissa Shirley Designs.

What is a Blue Moon?

The modern day definition of a Blue Moon is when there are 2 full moons in one Month. A full moon occurs roughly every 29.5 days and on the rare occasions when the full moon falls at the very beginning of a month there is a good chance a Blue Moon will occur at the end of the month. According to this definition the next blue moon will occur on July 31, 2015, which is tomorrow!

Depending on the exact time of the Blue Moon it is possible that some places in the world don’t technicly have a Blue Moon. As an example the Blue Moon on August 31, 2012 occured exactly at 13:58 UT. The Blue Moon will occur on August 31 for South America, North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, India, and Austrialia but New Zealand will just miss out. For New Zealand the Full Moon occurs just past mid-night on September 1st. For exact times of the Full and Blue Moons see the Full Moon Calendar.

Original Blue Moon Definition

The modern definition of a Blue Moon was derived from an earlier idea of what a Blue Moon was. This earlier definition says a Blue Moon is when there are 4 Full Moons in a season rather than the usual 3. The Blue moon is the 3rd full moon out of the 4. This definition gets a bit complicated and it’s origins are murky. One school of thought has to do with the naming of the full moons. Many cultures named the Full Moons each month to reflected the times for planting, harvesting or seasonal conditions. When an extra full moon was thrown in it was referred to as a Blue Moon to keep the Full Moon names constant throughout the year.

Another origin could be from the Christian ecclesiastical calendar. This one gets even more tricky but basically has to do with the idea that there are usually 12 full moons in a year. The full moons on this calendar were important markers for determining curtain dates such as Easter. When a 13th Full moon was thrown into the year it made things messy so giving it a name allowed the calendar to stay on track.

The idea of a Blue Moon being the extra full moon in a season (or when there were 13 in a year) was widely used in 19th and early 20th center Farmers Almanacs and the more modern version seems to have come from an article written in the 1930’s that misinterpreted the Farmers Almanac definition. The article was names “Once in a Blue Moon” and from that point on the term became part of popular culture.

and until next time…keep on stitching

According to the urban dictionary, Cowboy Up means…when things are getting tough you have to get back up, dust yourself off and keep on trying! I remember Cowboy Up was the Boston Red Sox’s mantra that year that they made the improbable comeback against the Yankees to win the World Series that year…when was it? 2004?

Sometimes that is so appropriate in our stitching. When the stitching gets tough, we try and try again, it is necessary to get back up and keep trying till you get it just right.

This is a canvas by What’s the Point? and makes into these darling little bags for the holidays or anytime for that matter. I have made several of these over the years with many more to work on one of these days…and glad I have them as they are no longer being painted.

So you are thinking…and yes I can hear you. You are saying to yourself, what has she lost her mind or what? What’s the deal about Cowboy Up and cowboy boots? Yes she has really gone off the deep end now.

Well don’t you know? today is National Day of the Cowboy! A way to preserve the rich heritage and culture of the American cowboy. So of course I think about cowboy boots, John Wayne, cowboy coffee and all things cowboy.

So join in the spirit of the National Day of the American Cowboy… a Melissa Shirley Design

Or if your like me, you just Cowboy Up! So that’s me these days as I stitch away and I am almost there and I can taste it… but nothing that breakfast at The Cottage and a little retail therapy won’t cure!

and so if you don’y hear from me daily, you know that I am buried in threads and stitching. AlleyCat found what she was looking for as Sylvester was in that bag!

It’s 5 months to Christmas? Where has the year gone to already? So while I am in a holiday thinking mood…

Time to think about finishing up your Christmas Stocking and ornament stitching if you are going to have any hope to make it for the finishing deadlines!

This was a new canvas Christmas Stocking introduced by Melissa Shirley Designs at the summer market. See I really like this as first the bricks would be like a comfort food of stitching (easy) and secondly there’s a cat in the window!

I still haven’t been doing much if any stitching. I need to remedy that this weekend for sure. I see lots of baseball while sitting and stitching. After all the Baseball Hall of Fame Inductions are tomorrow and our tv announcer Dick Enberg is going to the Hall!

AlleyCat’s wondering what’s in my stitching bag?

and until next time…keep on stitching

“Picture this: it’s mid-July, the sun shines and you rest on a hammock, completely relaxed. This is the essence of Hammock Day.

Today’s reason to celebrate reminds us to slow down, breathe easy and enjoy these beautiful summer months. Though its exact origins are unknown, it is said that hammocks originated hundreds of years ago in South America. Allegedly, the journals of Christopher Columbus provide the first documentation of the hammock. However, some sources attribute this invention to the Ancient Greeks. One thing is for sure—hammocks have always been symbols of leisure.

Today, take a few minutes to sit back and unwind on a hammock. Don’t have one? No problem! Just grab some sturdy fabric and rope—you can make yourself one in no time. Happy Hammock Day!”

Canvas by Sandra Gilmore entitled “Hawaii”

Even Mooch and Earl want to get in the hammock… well Mooch is there and looks like he is not sharing!

and until next time…keep on stitching