Wednesday, May 19, 2010

An Introduction

I am very pleased to introduce you to the next reproduction sampler by Shakespeare's Peddler. I am working on charting this, and have a model stitcher/friend lined up (and anxious) to stitch the piece. This will be my second "Ragamuffin" sampler (the first was Anne Harrison, my first reproduction). It's a Ragamuffin, because at some point, someone CUT OFF the bottom of the sampler! Who knows how much bigger it was? Maybe it was just the name and the date? Maybe it was cut in half? But it's still lovely. I purchased this for around $200.00 online about a year ago. (You can click on the picture to make it larger.)

Now here is the other mystery. Looks kind of Quaker-ish, don't you think? Some nice primitive birds, and keys, and hearts. Stars. Cursive alphabet. Colors are plum, pale teal, a few beiges/browns, and a gold or two. Actually ... I believe it's either Spanish or Mexican (or was stitched by someone with that heritage.) The alphabets have the ñ and ll! Anyhoo, the colors are lover-ly, and I know it'll be a fun one to stitch, and an even more beautiful one to hang. Let me know what you think about it.

Also, here's a picture of my "little" Graham. He's 13 and came to work with me on Monday for Take Your Kid to Work Day. While some of his classmates were watching open heart surgery and drug busts (I am NOT kidding!), he was working in a needlework store. We painted, organized, re-hung a bunch of pictures, took out garbage, cleaned, ran errands, and had a delicious lunch. He thought it was fun. And so did I!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Magic Garden Sampler Finished


Summer isn't here, but summer is here, you know what I mean? We've been living in air conditioning already, and even though our pool isn't open yet, you can feel the change of seasons. Humidity. Bugs. Heat. Storms. And flowers (that's one of the best parts.) Just in time for garden season, I've finally finished my Magic Garden Sampler, and hey, I love it! It was fun to stitch with all of those little motifs. You can order the chart through me now -- the distributors will all have it soon (but if you're a shop and can't wait, go ahead and give me a call.) I hope you like it.

If you don't follow me on Facebook, a few weeks ago, I asked everyone about his/her oldest UFO (UnFinished Object.) Seems like a lot of people are harboring projects in the bottoms of drawers and backs of closets. Will they ever get finished? I'm trying to come up with a way to host a UFO Adoption Agency online. If you have any ideas for how this could work (and be fair), let me know!

A lot of you write and phone and ask about my cats. I will report that they are all doing just fine. Ruby (she's our black kitten we adopted in April) has a new trick. If I'm in the kitchen, and she wants to see what I'm doing, she takes a running jump, climbs me like a lumberjack climbs a tree (only FAST!), and perches on my shoulder. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but for sure it's putting holes in my legs and back. Good thing she's very cute and I find the whole thing so darn funny! (The other cats just kind of roll their eyes. KITTENS!!)