The anxious moments of waiting and hoping and pacing the floor waiting for my finishing is coming to a fruition! Hoping every day that the man in the brown shorts will knock on my door and hand me a package came to pass. The Figgy Pudding, canvas by Kirk & Hamilton came back from the finisher yesterday! I am thrilled!

This finishing was done by Funda Scully, who has recently started writing for Needlepoint Now. I am thrilled that she has joined the team and hope someday that she gets to meet Elizabeth! Funda assured me that I would have this back in time and she did not disappoint either in not making the deadline or with what she selected.

I would like to thank Kirk & Hamilton, Access Commodities, Kreinik, Rainbow Gallery and Sundance Beads for their contributions for our classes. Colonial Needle too! well we do need needles to stitch our canvases, don’t we? I was making a final check of the threads yesterday, counting out the Swarovski crystals and taking dozens and dozens of pictures. I need one that is just purr~fect for the cover of the stitch guide.

The stitches are drawn, the guide is written, has been proofed and now I just need to combine it all into one document. Thread kits need to be assembled and then I will be good to go! Class is next Thursday February 1rst and I believe there are still a few spots left if your interested! I am not sure when the cutoff is, but I know that you can register for the class when you get there too. I thank everyone who has signed up already as I know that it is a commitment to arrive a few days early…but with the firgid temperatures all over the nation, wouldn’t you rather be in Southern California?

I am stitching on a piece for Raymond and I am so close! I promised him that it would be ready for market. Also a few more of the Christmas Hearts are on the horizon…but guess where I am headed today? well you guessed it, I need threads! Might be allot of extra traffic since the The Farmers Insurance Open Golf Tournament starts at Torrey Pines today. Wouldn’t you know it, there is rain in the forecast and I think that it has started already!

I think that I have a cat in my sink. Sylvester has this thing now that he likes to get in there. He’s never really done this before. Whats with you old man? Well he is 16 and something. and until next time…keep on stitching

Not talking about the stock market! Market Watch is the time leading up to the start of The Winter TNNA Market in Long Beach. The National NeedleArts Association that is. The start of a new year and lots of new canavses are introduced, along with threads, accessories, books and so much more. It is an exciting time and I can’t wait to see what’s new and wonderful items that I just have to have to enhance my stash with!

Needlepoint Now, you know that magazine that we love and wait patiently for days when we know the newest issue is in the mail! When will it get here? It seems like it is taking forever! Did my mail person take it to read it first? Where is mine? Even though I get an advanced copy, which is just before they are all mailed, I have these very same thoughts all the time!

Needlepoint Now will be at market in booth# 1142. Yes! Stop by and meet Elizabeth, the owner, the editor and driving force behind the magazine. Sherrie will be there too. She is the one that puts all those amazing ads together for the magazine.

Stop by for advertising information, just to say hello and have any questions answered that you may need to.

Even though you have just received your January/Februaury 2013 Issue, hours upon hours are being spent right now working on the March/April issue. I just finished up my work for this issue, but that doesn’t mean I have nothing to do! I will be finishing up my stitch guides for Sample It! and getting my thread kits put together for my 2 classes and stitching as much as I possibly can fit in!

AlleyCat is being quite the brat as I told her that she needed to do a better job cleaning her mouth after her morningsnack, so instead I think that she is sticking her tongue out at me. No respect! and until next time…keep on stitching

You know as the saying goes… “the clothes make the man” or the woman as the case may be. For us needlepointers, the finishing makes the piece. Start with a flat canvas that has been fantastically designed and painted, add a few threads and beads. Well to be honest many threads and beads, a few stitches with a little artistic license and then it goes off to the finishers. You hope and pray for that “OMG, that is gorgeous!”

This is Barbara of Barbara’s Needlepoint located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota working her finishing magic on the Thanksgiving pieces. A penny for your thoughts Barbara!

Canvases by NeedleDeeva and lovingly stitched by moi.

All is I can say is WOW! Barbara really outdid herself…

and I have yet to see them up close and in person…

Rumor has it that they will make their debut at the TNNA Winter Market in Long Beach.

I can’t wait to see them!

Thank you Barbara!

My trip to the Pacific Northwest and the studios of Needlepoint Now was as wonderful as always! Playing with the growing up way too fast poodles, a trip to Mindy’s Needlepoint Factory, dinner at King’s Estate Winery and an escape to the mountains of Oregon for  blissful days of nothing but stitching! What could be better than that? My return home took a little longer than originally planned and you know who definitely let me know that she was not pleased with me.

and until next time…keep on stitching

Okay what do we have here? Trust me…I was really seeing red in more ways than one.

Red Wonder Ribbon…red Frosty Rays…red beads and beading thread…red Memory Thread and so many more that had already been eliminated and sent packing. Needles of all sizes and a tekobari too. I was trying to find the perfect red ribbon for this little guy, for the bow.

Such a little canvas and so many bad words!

The Wonder Ribbon was way tooooooooooo heavy. The Memory Thread wasn’t giving me a really smooth turn in such a small area….plus it added too much bulk to the center of the bow.  Should I string some beads to create the bow tie? well I beaded the mouth and didn’t think I need beads there too. I tried the red Frosty Rays and that didn’t work. I tried chain stitch, I tried this and that and before I knew more than 2 more hours had flown by. It was all of about 27 stitches give or take, what was my problem? Well after my patience was wearing thin and the cats were hiding from me as they didn’t like what they were hearing, I settled on French knots. I like it and was able to get it out in the mail for finishing!

Okay Round 2…I made 4 stops, count them 4 stops one day looking for white Memory Thread for the antlers and some black Artic rays for the eyelashes. Never did find white but found an off white. Too much bulk again and it was tough to get the curves smooth and purr~fect in such a small area. Tried chain stitch, outline stitch, wrapped back-stitch, whipped back-stitch or whatever, but the small curves just weren’t co-operating. I tried every white Kreinik that I had in my stash…which are many and in many different thicknesses and nothing was working. When in doubt… bead! These are white hex beads for a little different look.

Then I was thinking that reindeers with antlers wouldn’t necessarily have long eyelashes as he was a he and not a she and the red on his head is probably a little hat and not a bow! I thought about hanging something around his neck to really make it a wow, but couldn’t find anything to the right porportion.

These are the other 2 hearts that will be available at Sample It! at TNNA on Friday night. I am not sure how the Deeva will package which 2 together, but they will be there along with the stitch guides! But please come for a visit on Friday night Februaury 1rst. We would love to see you, even if it is just for a hi and a look see!

The 4 hearts are finished and are in the hot little hands of our wonderful finisher Kristine Kingston. She assures me that everything will be back in time for market. I thank you so very much for your quick service! I know that they will be mahvelous!

Sylvester is sleeping on the job…you know the job of supervising my packing. I have an early morning flight tomorrow to Oregon, so the blog will be taking some time off. See you when I get back. and until next time…keep on stitching

Sample It! my favorite part of the Needlework Market. An hour of fast and furious shopping  on Friday night before the market opens. Knitters and needlepointers both scramble to get the best of the best from maybe 100 vendors. A small sampling of what is to be offered on the sales floor and usually packaged in a way that you won’t see in the booths.

This is one of the 4 Christmas Hearts by NeedleDeeva that will be available at Sample It. I love these little hearts as they really are a quick stitch…1 or 2 nights. If my ideas all come together with the threads and stitches behaving then it really does work up quickly.

He was mostly done before I went home for Christmas, except for his scarf, mitten and his nose. I had originally just stitched the nose and then brick beaded the snowman. I realized when looking at it from a distance, that he was going to need a nose job as the nose was lost. Well I will get to that when I get back…and after studying the back of it realized that I would make a big mess if took the stitching out…so I just beaded over the stitches using a clear white bead and orange beading thread. Actually it worked great as it makes the nose a little higher as it should be.

This is my favorite…a candy lovers delight and talk about a fast stitch! Wow! Thank you to Susan Portra who empowered me and enlightened me with this one. I remembered that I never took a real picture of this one, this was a working picture with my cell phone that I always take either to share or check my work.

These hearts will be available in packs of 2 at Sample It! If you would like this, just ask your FNS (favorite needlepoint shop) or LNS (local needlepoint shop) to shop for this if they are coming to market. They will come with the stitch guides too.

What is wrong with this picture? This is San Diego you know. And for all of you that want to say “ooh that is not cold!” well yes it is as remember nights like this can ruin or totally wipe out crops of avocados, citrus and all the other wonderful plants and produce that is grown here. Melinda that writes Living the Good Life blog talks about their weather and how it is in the high 70’s in Atlanta!

So I will think warm thoughts and put on a heavier sweater and as Colleen from The Needle Works says “cold Sundays mornings are a great excuse to stay in bed and sleep in. It is also great snuggle time with the kitties.” I agree!

I am headed up to the great state of Oregon in a few days to spend some time at the Needlepoint Now studios, see the puppies and have some quality stitching time. Yes I know that it will be cold and could even snow, but there it is supposed to do that, not here!

I have to laugh at the kids when they sleep like this. I think that it is time to wash all of the cat hair off the bedding, but that means a trip to a place where they have bigger machines than here. and until next time…keep on stitching

That phone call came a few weeks ago, you know that one that we wait with baited breath for days or weeks “You framing is ready!” I love it, love, love it. Did I say love it? Unfortunately that phone call came before the holidays and I had to wait, wait, wait and it was killing me that I had to wait to go and pick it up.

I was ready for my monthly routine of breakfast at Julienne’s…it is scary when they know my usual order. A stop at A Stitch in Time, the framers and then the bead shop. I found 2 new awesome bead books and some colors of Nymo in size 0 that Meredith says we should be usuing for beading. I think I understand now why I struggle with some beading threads, they are too thick!

As usual the girls at New Creations Picture Framing did not disappoint. I had seen this frame on a Halloween piece earlier this year as it was there waiting to be picked up. It was black with orange accents and the frame really spoke to me…so I asked “do they make it with greens?” “well yes they do, but it is being discontinued!” ooh the story of my life! They were able to order some molding samples and as soon as we saw it, we knew that it would be just purr~fect. And well it is. Luckily they still had some of it left to be ordered.

The phone is awesome, still learning all the new features that it has. Of course I needed to make sure that the basics of phone calls and texts were able to be handled. Then came the alarm clock, calculator, emails, Facebook and taking pictures. You can see your stitching in a different light with a picture, especially when you are questioning your choice of thread colors and stitches. I also like to take pictures and either text ’em or post it to Facbook.

See I need to able to catch these 2 in their daily antics. Yes there are 2 there…

you don’t see AlleyCat?

are you sure?

It’s cold in here! Please put the covers back on. What are you thinking? and until next time…keep on stitching

Ruth, you are killing me! I have loved, loved, loved this canvas…did I say love? since you started working on it. See your pace for this for moi would be just purr~fect. Just a bit every few months. Come on admit it, how many of us have a single project that we are working on?

Okay you sent me over the edge with this last fashionista that you designed. OMG she is wonderful! I know those are beads that create that stole, but just what magic did you do to have them seem to float aimlessly in the air? I just might have to sign up for this after all. I say better late than never. If you are like me and are on the edge and want to see more of this high fashion lady, just check her out on Ruth’s Blog It’s Not Your Grandmother’s Needlepoint Anymore. Do you know that she has a stitched banner in her shop saying just that?

It really was a sad, wild and crazy weekend for me. Not only did my dear friend Pat leave us, but my old restaurant where I left a big chunk of my life is closing down. Not the whole company, just this one. It was the 2nd one in the chain of Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus Restaurants that opened 44 years ago. I worked for the company almost 25 years when my needlepoint career came a calling. Lots of dear friends made over the years, lots of

blood, sweat and tears left behind. This is one of the updated logos that I think is way with it. Well the landlord decided that he was not going to renew the lease, so it is closing down and will become a Sonic…a fellow needlepointer is a big fan of Sonic, so I will get to check it out. I worry about the employees that are loosing their jobs, but most of everybody is transferring. Through the power of Facebook, the word was out out that we were saying goodbye to the restaurant and there was a party going on. What a party it was! It was great seeing old faces and reminiscing on old times. The good old days.

If that wasn’t enough, I found out that a wonderful little bead and knit shop located in Old Town San Diego called the Shepherdess closed too!

I am getting the itch to go to Spring Training this year. One of my very first GM’s with Black Angus…well we go way back when, and okay I digress. I saw him at the party and he was very smug rubbing it in about his team, Those San Francisco Giants! He goes every year for Spring Training and I have been wanting to for awhile now. Should I or shouldn’t I go this year?

I bought a new cell phone…had to order it and wait a few days to get it into my hot little hands. It was more from need and not from wanting to buy a new one. I am like once I learn the one I have, why do I want to do all that work to learn how to use a new one? Well the old one was acting up too much.

A new tv too as the old one is over 16 years old and has been misbehaving…you know sort of like my AlleyCat. Well I need to get lined up for baseball season. That too had to ordered and will be here today. Do I see a pattern here?

See what I mean about a wild and crazy weekend?

And then I come across this…okay I get it now why you are so scared of vacuum cleaners. be ready as it is coming out later today.

Is Sylvester waking up thinking…is she touching me? OMG is she? and until next time…keep on stitching

Pat was so special to me that I thought I would share some of the notes that I have been getting…

a note from a dear friend says it beautifully..

“Vicky don’t  worry about it. We had her for awhile but in the end she went back to Phil.  And that is the way it should be. She knew we loved her with all our hearts and she knew Phil needed her.”

and another note from SuZy Murphy….

“I wondered what that noise I heard in the night was. Now I know it was Pat and Jean Hilton hooting it up in heaven. I did not have the chance to see Pat often, but I loved every chance I had. She was a delight to know and spend time with always!”

I agree SuZy!

Judy commented “she was the only one who had enough patience to teach me to needlepoint!”

Pat taught many people to stitch! I think my favorite story of teaching someone to stitch was with Dr A., a pediatrician in San Diego. He came into the shop one day and says “my wife has sticthed stocking for everyone in the family, but she doesn’t have one. I want to stitch her one” he selected a Tapestry Tent stocking and never having stitched before, Pat patiently worked with him. Well Dr. A stitched that entire stocking by himeself, on his lunch breaks and inbtween seeing his patients and without his wife every finding out. What a Christmas it was that year!

There are so many stories and even though Pat’s desire is for no services, I would love it to get together, us stitchers that knew here, celebrate her life and share tidbits about Pat! I know that she would love that.

Allot of wonderful comments were posted on Facebook and I thank you for those. I will need to share them with her daughter and Vivian…

Goodbye Pat, my buddy, my dear friend, my mentor, my friend. Yes my friend. You left us all too soon.

You will be missed more than I can say. Everyone will miss you. The keeper of the best stories ever, the mischief maker at the shop and with more knowledge of needlepoint than anybody that I knew. And your compadre Vivian, the trouble you used to get in together as little kids and then as big kids.

We had the best times…remember when you drove me all over San Diego to get my car after it had been towed? when you and Brenda and I would would sit out back at night and talk and talk and talk? when we would walk the streets to go out for dinner? Remember dinner at The Spot when we bought you that duck butt for your birthday? Well that’s what you wanted! You always made sure that I had someplace to go for the holidays when I couldn’t get home for Christmas.

You taught me stitches and started me writing stitch guides. You just knew it. You amazed me. And your stories, we could all listen to them for hours. You taught us all about life.

You are with Phil now, the love of your life. Be happy in your ever after life, but know that you will be missed more than I can ever say…

a note from a dear friend says it beautifully..

Vicky don’t  worry about it. We had her for awhile but in the end she went back to Phil.  And that is the way it should be. She knew we loved her with all our hearts and she knew Phil needed her.

and another note from SuZy Murphy….

I wondered what that noise I heard in the night was. Now I know it was Pat and Jean Hilton hooting it up in heaven. I did not have the chance to see Pat often, but I loved every chance I had. She was a delight to know and spend time with always!

I agree SuZy!

Judy commented “she was the only one who had enough patience to teach me to needlepoint!”

Pat taught many people to stitch! I think my favorite story of teaching someone to stitch was with Dr A., a pediatrician in San Diego. He came into the shop one day and says “my wife has sticthed stocking for everyone in the family, but she doesn’t have one. I want to stitch her one” he selected a Tapestry Tent stocking and never having stitched before, Pat patiently worked with him. Well Dr. A stitched that entire stocking by himeself, on his lunch breaks and inbtween seeing his patients and without his wife every finding out. What a Christmas it was that year!

There are so many stories and even though Pat’s desire is for no services, I would love it to get together, us stitchers that knew here, celebrate her life and share tidbits about Pat! I know that she would love that.

The 12th day of Christmas is celebrated today on January 6th and the holidays are already just a memory. The decorations have been packed away, the holiday stitching finished up and already it is time to start exciting new canvases with fun threads and great new ideas.

January 6th is also the Feast of the Epiphany, when the 3 Wise Men finally completed their trip to deliver their gifts. Many people think of the 12 days of Christmas leading up to the holidays, but it is really the 12 days after Christmas! Growing up, we usually took down our decorations on this day, but today my house has long been undecorated!

 

As I decked the halls this year, I realized that I have no nativity, no creche’ set, no manger, none of that, wether it be a stitched set or something that was purchased. I really would like to stitch a set for myself.

Colleen of The Needleworks fame is starting a new club with this most amazing Nativity designed by Brenda Stofft. Ooh I would love, love, love to do this series! But the million dollar question is would I ever have the time?

On Januray 6th in Italy it would be the day of La Befana, a lovable good witch who brings presents for all the children. In New Orleans as they ready for Mardi Gras it is King Cake that is plentiful during this day. A little treasure is tucked inside and if you are lucky enough to find it, it allows you certain privileges and obligations.

In Mexico it is Dia de Reyes or Day of Kings. When I worked in the restaurant the guys would bring in Rosca de Reyes or King Cake. A sweet bread braided and loaded with fruits and if you were the lucky one to get the little baby hidden in the cake…well you were lucky enough to host the party! As the host or hostess, you are the one to bring the tamales to the party traditionally held February 2nd which is Dia de la Candelaria. This is the day that candles are brought to the church to be blessed. February 2nd is also the midway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox and if you are anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring training as I am…you know that it is only a few short weeks till pitchers and catchers report! Rumor has it that I will be making the trip east for my first experience with Spring Training. I am so excited!