It's almost Halloween...

...so I threw a big party on Sunday night with my Hattiesburg friends. On the menu was chicken salad sandwiches on croissants (I put chopped pecans, granny smith apples and grapes in my homemade chicken salad), hot spiced cider, cheesy potatoes, pumpkin dip with apples and gingersnaps, and lots of food contributed by my friends.

I used to dress up every year, even as an adult, but hadn't done it for a while. Originally, I had thought about being a witch (not very original, I know), but then decided on a vampire after finding out my friend Sharon was going to be a witch (two witches at a party is nothing but trouble!) A vampire is, sadly, also not very original, but it was fun anyway. Steve was a punk rocker, Harrison was a Bavarian, and Graham was a zombie (although he didn't want any face paint.)

I wanted to come up with a cool centerpiece for the table for the party, but not spend a ton o' money on it. Paper boxes were on sale at Hobby Lobby last week, so I bought three hat box style boxes to paint like a Halloween cake (maybe $10 or so total?) Sunday morning I took a couple of hours and painted like crazy, not caring if I was sloppy (because this was supposed to look folksy.) Black and chartreuse and tangerine and grape paint and lots of Halloween motifs and patterns were topped with a dry-brushing of black and then a spray of glitter paint I found in the cupboard.

I think it really turned out cute, and as you can see, Ruby (who went to the party as a black cat, naturally) was all tuckered out the next morning after all the ruckus.

In other news, I bought a sewing machine. I've been inspired lately by a lot of the small craftsy projects that are out there (I just picked up a copy of Prims magazine last week -- so cute!) Alas, my sewing machine is 20 years old and gets all grumpy when I stitch (knotting up the thread, clogging the bobbin, stomping it's presser foot.) My mom has a Bernina, which she loves, and I wanted to get one that will last me another 20 years of happy sewing (and no foot stomping.) Very exciting -- I know these machines are high quality, and so although I will not be quilting (I don't do that sort of thing well), you will see some designs of mine for fun-finished projects now, as well as my framed pieces. Next on the agenda -- I want to learn how to make ruched ribbon for edging.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween week -- before you know it, we'll be singing Christmas carols!

A Japanese Maple

A good while back, Steve and I were walking through Baker Nursery in Fargo, North Dakota, looking at plants. Near a door was a beautiful and delicate-looking tree in a large concrete pot. The leaves were an ethereal purple-red, and almost translucent. "Japanese Maple," the tag said. "$150."

An employee walked by, and we stopped him to ask about the tree.

"Do these grow here?" I asked.

"Oh, no," the employee said. "They'll never survive the winter."

"Then why are you selling it?"

"Well, we have some people who buy them kind of like an annual. They plant one, it eventually dies, then they just come replace it the next year," he said.

Hm.

I was thinking about that tree again this week. A person's first reaction might be: "What kind of fool do you have to be to plant a $150 tree, knowing full well it's going to die in a few months?" I must not be in a tax bracket where this kind of logic makes sense.

But imagine if instead of planting a doomed tree, the person had planted a crabapple tree, or a lilac, or an oak, all of which love the northern climate. Eventually, the shade and beauty of that tree would be enjoyed by an entire neighborhood. Birds could nest there. Flowers could be gathered. The fall flame of leaves would signal the beginning of winter, and the buds...the promise of spring.

How often we try to be who we're not. Are you flowering in the constraints you've given yourself? Be yourself! Wear jeans and tennies. Eat a big old cookie for lunch. Spend the entire weekend reading. Adopt a few dogs. Throw your hair in a ponytail. Laugh at lowbrow jokes. Go to a few garage sales.

There is definitely a time for doing the things you SHOULD do. But for sure make time to do things you WANT to do and things you're naturally good at. (End your sentences with prepositions!) Who cares? Be interesting, because life is short like summer.

Oh, you've got a little food on your face...right there. No, there. Never mind!

Post Market Report

We didn't take many pictures (we were so busy), and then the few I had of me, I look so dreadful and tired. I found this one of my booth, and by making it black and white and stepping it back a bit, I don't look too awful.

I am exhausted! You people have no idea how much work it is getting ready for market, and I am so much more than pleased to do it for you. The previous eight weeks or so have been almost nothing but needlework...designing, stitching, framing, graphing, printing, packing, kitting. And I had eight new designs (between Shakespeare's Peddler and Raise the Roof Designs) and a t-shirt project (see below.) I missed having Sue along with me this time, but Harrison stepped in and stepped up to the challenge, packing orders like a pro.

And the cool thing about having Harrison there (see him above in his nifty Jenny Bean T-shirt), was that he got to see first-hand what I do when I go away twice a year. And the distributors and other designers said, "Your mom is so awesome," and "Did you have any idea how hard she works?" and "Your mom is super-talented." It made me feel good, and Harrison was proud enough that when we got back home, I got a big hug.

I just finished updating my web site's Theresa's Basket section with almost 100 new things that I brought back with me. Others are forth-coming. Since I wasn't able to start leaving the booth until later on Saturday, I missed some items that were really popular.

I also have a few other designers who have been invited to join in on the Jenny Bean & Friends club...won't post names until I know for sure, but they all gave me a tentative "yes." Lizzie Kate, SamSarah Designs, Primitive Needle and Chessie & Me all said their Jenny Bean Friends charts did well, and there are other samplers already planned in the series.

I want to give a huge thanks to all of you who attended market...shops, designers, distributors and the like. It's wonderful to see everyone, and the weekend always goes by so quickly. TNNA has asked me to teach at the Nashville show, which ought to be cool. I'm not going to even think about designing stuff for that and my retreats next year until ... oh, gosh, I don't know when. I can't even think straight anymore.

I am not needleworked-out, but I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home with a cat on my lap (while I nap? Please, while I nap!)

St. Charles Market Post

I was up at 5:30 -- there are always a hundred things running through my head during this time of year, and it's just as well to get up and get a few things done.

Market so far has been awesome! Everyone has been loving the new Jenny Bean Sampler, especially, and my This is Christmas piece I designed for Raise the Roof Designs. Also, there has been loads of enthusiasm about Jenny Bean's friends. Linda from Chessie & Me, Patti from SamSarah Design Studio and Linda from Lizzie*Kate have all already said their friends are going to design more samplers. Yesterday I talked to Amy from AB Designs, and she is interested in joining the group, too.

Yesterday morning I was up early, showered, had breakfast, and worked on getting the booth finished up. I had a line outside my door before market opened, and I thought, "Gee, I was never this popular in school. You like me. You really like me." Harrison described the first four hours as "intense." He worked on getting orders packed into bags, and did a great job. By the end of the day, he said he knew the inventory like the back of his hand, and had even done some rearranging for better efficiency.

We went to historic Main Street St. Charles and had dinner at a place called "Quintessential." It was a hip bar & grill where we were able to eat dinner on the roof and listen to live music. We both had this really great chicken dish. We thought it was your typical chicken breast with sides, but it turned out to be three small chicken breasts on a tri-sectioned plate. Each one was done in a different style: one jerk with pineapple salsa, one with black beans and cilantro, and one with a curry rice. Yum! After such a long day, we opted for dessert -- he had cheesecake, and I had an apple galette.

I always like to rearrange the booth a little bit on Sunday, because people see things they missed the first day. I'll go grab breakfast, and get ready for another big day. Market always gets me so rejuvenated. All the weeks/months of preparation have been worth it.

I'll post again later, hopefully with pictures.

Just the facts.

The wait is over. Here is what will be available at market this weekend designed/reproduced by little ole me. Special thanks go out to Kathy Krause and Jennifer Regan for helping me with my stitching. You can click on any of the pictures to see them a little bigger and better.

This is Christmas (Raise the Roof). Frame by Crescent Colours and button pack available through Just Another Button Co. Fabric is 32 count Natural Belfast. Threads are a mix of Sampler Threads/Weeks Dye Works/Crescent Colours. A DMC conversion is provided. Stitch count is about 110 by 180.

Winter & Christmas (Raise the Roof). Fabrics are Parchment and Denim Blue Gingham by Weeks Dye Works. Fibers by Weeks Dye Works. A DMC conversion is provided. Button pack and pins available through Just Another Button Co.

Sampler Roundy (Shakespeare's Peddler). Available as a kit (limited edition), and a graph. Fabric is 32 count Vintage Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens (not included in kit). Kit comes with limited edition threads, reproduction antique brass button, chart and instructions for making the pincushion base. I also am making pincushion bases for sale (if you don't want to bother with it.) Graph uses limited edition Harvest pack by The Gentle Art. I have these for sale to shops and stitchers.

Spanish Mystery Sampler (Shakespeare's Peddler reproduction). Fabric is 40 count Vintage Light Exemplar by Lakeside Linens. Threads are Belle Soie, Needlepoint Silks and Gloriana. Conversion to DMC and Sampler Threads is provided. Stitch count is about 500 by 320. Frame is by Valley House Primitives.

Jenny Bean's Friendship Sampler (Shakespeare's Peddler original design). Fabric is 40 count French Vanilla by R&R Reproductions. Threads are Sampler Threads, and a conversion is provided to DMC. Frame is by Eastside Mouldings.

Jenny Bean's Christmas 2010 Ornament (Shakespeare's Peddler original design). Fabric is 40 count Vintage Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens. Threads are by Crescent Colours (Belle Soie). Conversion to DMC provided.) The ornament base was something I found at Hobby Lobby and painted. Then I strung a chain through it. Easy-schmeasy!

Halloween Towne (Raise the Roof). Crescent Colours is distributing this. All four parts come together as one piece with the Belle Soie silks. Button pack is by Just Another Button Company. Fabric is 32 count Vintage Pearled Barley by Lakeside Linens.

Father Sail Home (Shakespeare's Peddler original design). Fabric is 40 count Vintage Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens. Threads are a limited edition thread pack by The Gentle Art, but a conversion to their regular line and DMC is provided. Pencil box by Olde Colonial Designs.

I hope you like all of my new designs. These are available from me, they will be at market this weekend, and you can most likely get them at your local shop (bug them to get an order in, would ya?) A lot of hard work goes into designing, stitching, framing, charting, organizing, printing, stuffing, and just getting these babies ready for your hands. If any of you asks me "is this all you've got?" -- you're going to get a knuckle sandwich.

Happy stitching!

Spanish Mystery Sampler: Finished

I just put this beautiful sampler in the frame, and oh my, it's a stunner. I wish you could see it in person -- delicate blue, golds, white and pretty repeating bands and interesting alphabets. The frame is by Valley House Primitives and will retail for $130.00 (this is for the 40 count linen frame size).

The linen is Lakeside Linens Vintage Light Exemplar with a mix of Gloriana, Belle Soie and Needlepoint Silks (not too many colors.) Thank you so much to my good friend, Kathy Krause, for her many diligent hours spent stitching this for us. She did a wonderful job, and said it was a fun one to do.

The charts are available for pre-order now through me, or ask your shop to get them at market. If your local shop won't be attending, they will be able to order this in several weeks from Norden Crafts, Yarn Tree and Hoffman Distributing. The chart will retail for $20.00, and comes with the graph and writing about the original sampler.

Just for you guys...

I finished working on this last night, and as a treat to my loyal blog followers, you guys get to see it first. This is "Sampler Roundy," and it is being released as a graph AND a limited edition kit at market. I was just going to do the alphabet in a circle, kind of clock fashion, but then started moving letters around, and my Boggle mind (no one will play with me, the master), started seeing words. If you like word puzzles, or know someone who does, wouldn't this be fun to put on a desk?

The kit will come with the antique reproduction brass button and the limited edition threads (in a round tin.) I am not including fabric -- everyone likes a different count or type (I stitched mine on 32 count Vintage Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens, but you could use Aida, evenweave, hand-dyed, make it small...bigger...whatever!) Both the graph and the kit will come with instructions on how to make this pincushion base (that cost me maybe five dollars all told) and finish it into the pincushion you see here. I used three different-sized round plaques from Hobby Lobby, some Arlene's Tacky Glue, some paint, and a little rick rack. Oh, and adhesive cork for the bottom, so as not to scratch any of my already-scratched furniture.

This sort of reminds me of a cake stand, and was a really fun little project. Plus, I am super-pleased with how it came out. Ask your shop to pick these up at market. I'm only making around 250 of the kits. You can also pre-order the kit or graph through me.