Every few months I take all my plants, orchids and succulents over to the sink to give them a little extra TLC. I check and make sure that there are no ills or unwanted visitors hanging out on my plants. Sylvester thought he would see what is going on and maybe get a little drink from the faucet, which he loves doing!

So you are wondering why all this extra fuss and muss? well if there is a bug or a fungus amoung us, it could or would travel to more of the plants. Having the orchids is like having fresh flowers in my house all the time.

This orchid in the front is the latest one that had to come home with me. I was especially attracted to this one because of the variant color in the orchid…see they are not all the same coloration? See buying a new orchid I liken to finding a new canvas.

I did allot of baseball watching this weekend, some stitching and hung out with my bud, Brenda Hart, talking stitching and trying to solve all of life’s problems. Have you ever taken a class with Brenda? Well you don’t know what you are missing…speaking of Brenda’s classes…

Mary Alice, the creator of the Blue Bonnet tells me that Brenda’s classes are filling up fast!

So if you have ever wanted to take a class with Brenda, think about Blue Bonnet! Thank you to Designers Desk for this great picture of Miss Brenda.

The birds were driving AlleyCat crazy yesterday. Notice yet again she didnot clean up her face right after her mid morning snack? ooh you silly girl.

and until next time…keep on stitching

Now that the ANG seminar and the Fab Four class is but a memory…it is time to start thinking and planning my stitching adventures for next year!

First up on my calendar is the Blue Bonnet Studio Time Needle Arts Retreat, February 15th-18th, 2014. I had the best time last year just taking the 2 days, so this year I am staying for 4 days, doubling my fun and learning experiences!

I am going to do the canvas enhancement class… do I want to work on this new Laurel Burch canvas by Danji Designs?

or the October Basket by Melissa Shirley Designs? I am sure that she used AlleyCat to model for this! What do you think? Ooh such decisions!

So if you are looking for a little getaway with wonderful friends and amazing stitching, think about the Blue Bonnet Retreat. Featuring such amazing teachers as Brenda Hart with great stitch choices in her canvas embellishment classes, Debbie Stiehler teaching for probably the last time with her Imari Collage (before she retires!), Terry Dryden with her Pear Duet, Nancy Cucci with her Amazing Grays, Japanese Embroidery and so many more great classes and choices!

A visit to The NeedleWorks, a night of shopping in a boutique setting and an evening banquet all located in the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort. What could be better than that?

I discovered the quickest way to clear a room! Take out the vacuum…ooh you silly kitties.

and until next time…keep on stitching

In traditional skylore, a harvest moon is the full moon closest to Autumnal Equinox which is in just a few days. The moon waxes a bit larger each night to the full moon where it will shine brightly all night long.

The Harvest Moon always seems to be bigger and brighter than usual. That it is a result of the closeness of times of the moon rise, which way back when would give more light for the farmers. Doesn’t the Harvest moon seem to be the biggest of them all? Not! It is just an optical illusion.

Okay now what does the moon have to do with needlepoint? Read on…

One of my finishes is this canvas by Sharon G, entitled Cat’s Night Out with 5 cats sitting under the moonlight. It is not a full moon in this one though, but work with me here! The moon was done in a small balloon stitch which came from one of Brenda Hart’s books using Bijoux Glints.

The framers and I both fell in love with this purr~fect frame with the look of squares embedded in the black wood. Sort of mimics the little Scotch stitches in the canvas. Accented with a suede mat in a gorgeous rich deep purple…so dark that it looks black. The predominate use of Kreinik 002C that was used to stitch the border, carries over onto the mat where it was sewn into the mat and accented with brads. My framers are ooh so clever!

This was also the piece that I entered in the ANG exhibit this year. I didn’t tell anybody, didn’t say anything, just entered it with no expectations, no hopes, nothing. I just wanted to be able to share my work…plus I enter something every year, so why not? Well it was a ribbon winner and took home a first place ribbon in the painted canvas without stitchguide division. Maybe I need to do it that way more often!

Another moon on a Sharon G canvas. I really do love working on her canvases…can’t you tell? This moon was beaded. Was I crazy? or should I say what was I thinking? You know I love the way it came out! My framers got very creative and I absolutely love the results.

What are you stitching on these days?  It is time for me to get to work and get back to stitching what I should be stitching… no more goofing off for me! The baseball has been very good lately as we wind down to the last week of the regular season while teams battle now to be able to play on into October. So I have no excuses not to sit and stitch!

A little kitty tv for Sylvester. and until next time…keep on stitching

Seriously, there isn’t a Charley Harper canvas out there that doesn’t speak to me in some way! This one is called Cat O’Nine Tails….now if you say well there are only 7 tails, can’t you count? well the cat’s tail and the mouse’s tail round it out to make it 9. This had to come home with me from the trunk show at Needlepoint of La Jolla. I have some great ideas wandering around in my head for it. But first I need the time!

Another one is Cleopetria as you look at this sleek obelisque looking black cat! AlleyCat you are not. She stands in the shadow of a Sphynx. This one had to come home with me from the trunk show at A Stitch in Time.

Charley Harper’s unique minimalist approach is unmistakable. From his groundbreaking mid-century illustrations for Ford Times Magazine and Golden Books, his impeccably composed posters to his whimsical serigraph and glicée prints, Charley Harper’s art is a beloved treasure and inspiration to an entire generation of artists and generations.

His canvases are wonderful for stitches! Large expanses lend themselves to amazing techniques with all types of threads, beads, Turkey work and ooh so much more.

This was my first Charley Harper that I did years ago called Fishful Thinking. Do you see the cats face behind the fish? My amazing framers freshened it up and gave it a new look…

If you really need to add a CharleyHarper or 2 to your stash Needlepoint of La Jolla is having their trunk show right now! Give Michelle or Bill a call at 858-454-0082

and I would stitch any, did I say any Charley Harper and it doesn’t even HAVE to have a cat as the subject matter

AlleyCat is chillin’ and looking like the sphynx. and until next time…keep on stitching

Back to the wonderful class with the Fab Four at A Stitch in Time. Since I took all my pictures this time with my phone…which by the way is not an iPhone, I have been slowly emailing them all to myself little by little. I really should have done them every night but sometime what you should’ve done and what you really did are not one and the same!

Meredith is working with the 2 sisters (on the left) who both selected Charlie Harper canvases. The one that is to the left of Meredith lives in Switzerland and comes here to take classes with her sister, who is to the right of Meredith. They had both been at seminar just before this and I have been in classes with them previously.

Know what really amazes me? There are no duplicate canvases! This is the 4th or 5th time I have taken this class and only ONCE has there been a duplicate canvas in 1 class. That is pretty amazing. Usually it’s Leigh or Lani canvases that are the most popular, but this year it was a very good mix, with Sharon G and Melissa Shirley canvases taking the most popular vote. There were some custom one of a kind canvases too!

This must have been the first day as I notice that the Christmas March by Tapestry Tent is just beginning…watch this canvas as it develops as she actual sews the tree.

Belly up to the bead bar! and ooh there’s that Christmas March again.

This was the upper section of the shop, which is normally the knitting section, and was turned into a classroom for the weekend.

Beth (in the purple) was working with Bam on her beautiful Sandra Gilmore canvas.

One of the Sharon G canvases that was being worked on.

The cats are chillin’ and the weather has been just purr~fect.

and until next time…keep on stitching

For those of you who get Needlepoint Now magazine…and if you don’t, what are you waiting for? well I digress! This is our featured canvas that we are working on in 3 issues. The 4th of July March; designed by Ashley Dillon of Tapestry Tent and distributed by Susan Roberts. You are thinking Ashley? shouldn’t I be saying Liz? well it is her daughter and it has been a pleasure watching her grow up over the years and it is so true what they say…”the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

The amazing stitch guide is by Susan Portra and there are 5 of us that are stitching it in tandem for the magazine. We email, text and call each other with what we did and what we are doing, while of course following Susan’s guide. Sending pictures back and forth and all that fun stuff that is made so easy through the world of technology that we live in has made this a great project to be involved with.

The current issue takes us through the stitches of the 3 little figures, the drummer boy, the little girl that is in the wagon of firecrackers…or is that a little boy? and is that Betsy Ross?

The feather in his cap and that amazing hair do! and ooh the side of the drum. My canvas has the drum painted differently, so I will just add another twisted cord around the edge of the drum, rather than satin stitch it.

The bonnet is a very fun stitch and gets so many compliments. Oops I think that I see a cat hair on the botton of her dress…and since it is white, I guess I know who it belongs to!

Another twisted cording will be made that will go over her dress and attach to the wagon. Thank you to Susan Portra who helped me many of these areas.

We all happened to be together at the Fab Four class where we really compared notes and handed out the homework for the next issue. Elizabeth is working on the feathers for the bald eagle, Nancy is working on the gray and white feathers, Joanne is doing George… his coat and his hair and I am working on the eagle’s hat and his tummy feathers.

hmmm…just realized that Pat didn’t get any assignment?! Pat how did we miss you?

I stitched his hat and now I am ready to bead the band. Meredith had reminded me about these samples of beading needles that we had gotten at the Summer Market…so I am going to try them. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it!

Something really has her attention! you know they just cleaned the outsides of the windows, but being that I probably had them opened, mine didn’t get very clean.

and until next time…keep on stitching

Why you might ask? I’m so confused because when I look at my Christmas Cactus…I ask myself, is it the holidays already? The plant is aptly named because it does definitely bloom for Christmas and has done so every year especially once I moved it outside. But my confusion comes from…why is it blooming now?

I am even deeper into the state of confusion as I still have so much more to share with you from our Fab Four class. I am not sure where I left off! I have not even loaded all the pictures onto my computer, so let me begin with what is still more from day 1 when Tony was working with our group. There were 2 tables and we were really just getting settled in and warmed up!

This was the wonderful window display at A Stitch in Time. Not only is this an amazing needlepoint shop, there is knitting and a gift section. I have bought some absolutely great Halloween decorations here over the last few years. I wonder what I will add to my collection this year!

Tony was working with Pat on her Valentina Heishman canvas of all these wonderful fruits. We saw it develop over the next 4 days and she did start every single fruit!

Tony was working with Chris with her beautiful floral canvas. The blue canvas that you see is Elizabeth’s Winter Tree of Life by Zecca.

Okay it’s my turn!

In between turns it was always time to shop! A beautiful selection of Vineyard Silks selected for another project.

Our other table and they were working on a Christmas doll house by Peter Ashe and a tuxedo kitty by Maggie.

I kept thanking her for stitching that kitty canvas for me!

Maryellen is working on the 5 Halloween Witches by Melissa Shirley.

Checking into see what Suzanne was working on with her group! and there is still lots more to come in the days ahead about our class…

My magazine work is all finished for the November/December issue of Needlepoint Now… well except for the proofing, but that won’t be for a few weeks. I have been working on some projects around the house and stitching. No I don’t have time to work on my 2 class pieces as first comes my homework on the 4th of July March for the magazine. We all have sections that we are stitching to make sure that we understand Susan’s dictated stitch guide so that you will understand it too.

My assignment starts off with the red velvet hat and the beaded headband on the Bald American Eagle. I was almost finished with the beading, when I realized that I wasn’t pleased with my work… what was I to do? luckily I hadn’t just vacuumed that day…so the beads were cut out as I would never give that to be photographed for the magazine. It was so hot those few nights that I was beading, plus I worked with the canvas upside down.

Beads were redone and I am so glad that I did that. You know I have learned over the years, if even think for a second…should I rip or shouldn’t I? well you should! You will never ever be happy with that section and your eye will go right to it.

My other section of stitching was the tummy on the Bald American Eagle and I finished that up without incidence. Next in the stitching queue is the red door by Annie Lane and other top-secret projects. I just got some new canvases for models for the TNNA Winter Market and rumor has it that another project is on the way to me.

AlleyCat got a new egg crate, since she tore the other one apart. I just realized that today is Friday the 13th…guess I am not

Superstitious

Time to get to work and until next time…keep on stitching

For some of you the most anticipated piece of mail that arrives every other month has been showing up in your mailboxes… a little bit earlier too, yes? Elizabeth has moved up our deadlines and publishing dates so that they would get to you earlier than before!

We were lucky enough to get some advance copies while at A Stitch in Time for the Fab Four class. It is funny…or I should say you are funny as even with early copies, many people didn’t want to really read it yet. You know that special sit down with that cup of coffee or for me it’s tea, devouring every page from cover to cover, talking about the new canavses and all of the clubs. You don’t want to read it early or even glance through it as it is such an experience and you don’t want to spoil it!

Many stitching friends call each other and say “did you get your new Needlepoint Now? and many text up a storm, burning up the cell towers as Elizabeth talked about it in her editor’s letter. My comment was ya think they burned up the cell lines then? wait till they read about themselves in the magazine! Well luckily for Verizon or AT&T as most of them were all at the Fab Four class, so there was no crazy texting going on.

I was fortunate again to be at the Needlepoint Now studios for the last cover shoot a few months ago. Of course I would never share the pictures until the magazine came out… and there really isn’t lights, camera, action in a photo shoot…but work with me here. This time I even got to help arranging all the props. Fun stuff!

It is very quiet and the lights are off. Move this a little and tweak this and then move this. Even more of it is done with the computer and through the magic of Elizabeth’s fingers.

Then we set up for the product shoots of new tools, threads and all the goodies that you will see in up and coming issues.

Shawnee, one of the four poodles that are part of the Poodle Plantation was wondering what was going on!

Meet Shawnee PP2 or perfect poodle 2. and until next time…keep on stitching