tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10858284860724520432024-02-07T17:34:35.814-08:00hillcountrystitcherhillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-60657440402466985602013-04-25T13:20:00.000-07:002013-04-25T13:20:00.912-07:00I'm off again and new class scheduledI'm heading up to Dallas where I'll be teaching one of the techniques from my book to a group of shop owners on Saturday night and Sunday teach the start of a new Rebecca Wood Designs' Easter Series.<br />
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I'll be at the Enriched Stitch June 14-16, 2013 teaching <i>Noses, Roses and Other Fun Stuff </i>, Melissa Shirley's Rosey Cupcake and a one day embellishment class at the Enriched Stitch in Wilton, CT contact the shop at 203-210-5107 for more information. </div>
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hillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-61803129254740570662013-04-23T13:07:00.000-07:002013-04-23T13:07:53.510-07:00I'm a traveling foolJust got back from teaching Noses, Roses and Other Fun Stuff at Atlanta Needlepoint. What a delightful group of ladies. Can't wait to go back again. The class is based on my new book and is a notebook class. We had 2 full days of fun learning and getting to know each other. Here's a picture of some of the students working on their canvas. Denise, the owner of Atlanta Needlepoint, is talking about having me back to teach another one of my classes "How to write your own stitch guide" where we are going to learn about picking canvases, stitches and threads to develop your own stitch guide. I'll also be teaching a one-day project class so watch for more information.<br />
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I had a tough time at night deciding where I was going for dinner. Since I live in a small town with only a Whataburger and love different kinds of food, it was really hard to walk out of my hotel room and see a fish restaurant, Greek and two American restaurants within a block. Ended up going to Buckhead Dinner one night. I thought it was going to be a real dinner so imagine my surprise to see white coated waiters. It was tough making a decision but after telling the waiter to come back 3 times, I finally decided and it was delicious. Then back to the hotel where the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and popped popcorn tempted me more. Thoroughly stuffed I went back to my room to stitch. Needless to say I was one happy person.</div>
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Going to go up to Austin tomorrow for the Needlepoint National Facebook group Texas gathering. It will be fun to meet people whose name I've seen on Facebook.</div>
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Well off to pack my bags.</div>
hillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-77845012012335045302013-02-21T16:56:00.000-08:002013-02-21T17:45:30.360-08:00Thank you Robbin for catching my zip code error and telling me how to fix it. Hopefully, I've managed to contact everyone that I gave the wrong Zip code to. Haven't lived in Houston for 3 years, haven't made that mistake in a while. Must be all the excitement lately.hillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-9029930681295592062013-02-21T06:31:00.000-08:002013-02-21T17:41:39.448-08:00Blue Bonnet Studio and bookTook my new book <i>Noses, Roses and Other Fun Stuff</i> to Blue Bonnet Studio where Mary Alice was nice enough to sell it for me. It was very well received and I was even asked to autograph a copy. I'm really excited. I wasn't very sure how it would go over so I didn't have very many printed, but there should be more from the printer soon. I contacted everyone privately on Facebook, who inquired about the book.<br />
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Here's the information for everyone who is interested:<br />
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Noses, Roses and Other Fun Stuff will sell direct for $32 plus postage and handling of $4.00 for regular mail and $6.00 for priority mail. Residents in Texas should include $2.65 for sales tax.<br />
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Send to Cynthia Thomas, 408 Native Oak St., Ingram, TX 78025<br />
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Shop owners may contact me for wholesale pricing: needleartisan@hotmail.com<br />
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Starting to get things in from market for stitching, so I'll be sharing some of those things. <br />
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Had to include a stop at a favorite stop for a chocoholic Berdoll's Pecans, just outside of Bastrop. I'm so proud of myself. I didn't purchase any chocolate, just fresh tomatoes. (I won't mention that I already have two bags of dark chocolate covered toffee at home, that I'm rationing 1 per day limit).<br />
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hillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-24042288379523416802012-06-17T17:20:00.001-07:002012-06-17T17:20:33.019-07:00Off to TNNA MarketIt's been a fun day kitting everything up for the TNNA market. The problem with teaching 3 classes is that's a lot of kits. I'll be doing Jolly for Princess and Me; Snow Night for Melissa Prince Designs and the December Baby Cakes for Rebecca Wood.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jolly</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowy Night</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Cakes - Christmas</td></tr>
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I've been busy finishing up the stitch guide for Melissa Shirley's 866 - 12 Days of Christmas Angels stitch guides. Can't decide what angels is my favorite. Maybe 3 French Hens. The idea was to have the paint on the skirts show through to provide shading.<br />
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I'm busy working on another set of canvases for Melissa I'll post more later.<br />
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I sent off a Christmas stocking stitch guide for Elizabeth Turner Collection, so I'm interested in talking to Meredith at market and see what she though.<br />
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Shelly Tribbey tells me that the skeleton canvas made up into a really cute pillow. I can't wait to see it at market, she has the greatest finisher. The beading on the skulls on the outside took over 1 night each but they were well worth it. I guess they made up for how fast the stitching went on the rest of the piece.</div>
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Finished proofing the copy for my stitch guides to appear in Needlepoint Now in the July/August issue. They are Rebecca Wood Baby Cakes.</div>
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Well, time to go stitch.</div>
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<br />hillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-82332767476675022092012-04-27T08:43:00.000-07:002012-04-27T08:43:27.285-07:00Goofy Ghouls - old draft<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMy7DCJ5sP_BaZpu-pjpoxNPhgSdoRFHdG36z9fSs9zAo02x_qE8GpNZaqK-Crvb2oQk2CJTy6r3lI3mvM7V7ZWRi0Iz6NWzlRB8esQ2SfejL77QqponSLJwM5GQ5setHq1Kjx_C1v5-A5/s1600/goofy+ghouls+-0001.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644791171770066882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMy7DCJ5sP_BaZpu-pjpoxNPhgSdoRFHdG36z9fSs9zAo02x_qE8GpNZaqK-Crvb2oQk2CJTy6r3lI3mvM7V7ZWRi0Iz6NWzlRB8esQ2SfejL77QqponSLJwM5GQ5setHq1Kjx_C1v5-A5/s200/goofy+ghouls+-0001.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 184px;" /></a><br />
This is one of the old blogs which I left in draft form. I'm going to go ahead and post this because she is one of my favorite pieces. The series in out now and you can see it on Rebecca's website and sign up through you participating shops. I really liked the witch but the other pieces were great fun also.<br />
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I got permission from Rebecca Wood to post a picture of this fun series we are working on called Goofy Ghouls Halloween Club. It is going to consist of 6 pieces and we'll introduce it at the January TNNA market in Phoenix. I've only got 3 of the pieces so far. Wackie Witchie is the first piece. I think the nose and the spider are my favorite parts but I thought her hat brim was interesting also, it is 3-d.<br />
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I knew when I saw the piece that I wanted those two elements to stand out. Sometimes it's really tough to wait until the piece is finished to add those little touches.<br />
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Cindyhillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-18089810938499623562012-04-27T08:37:00.000-07:002012-04-27T08:40:52.704-07:00HiPlease don't faint! I know it's been a while since I posted. To be really honest I find that I would much rather stitch than work on the computer, I guess some of that is a hang over from my job when I use to spend up to 14 hours a day working on a computer. I keep trying to be better.<br />
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I've been stitching away, I had 48 stitch guides come out at the January market. You can see a lot of them on Rebecca Wood's website. I really like the way they did the Nativity in the basket. <br />
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One of the fun projects I did for January (although they were all fun) was a butterfly for A Collection of Designs. Since I didn't have to write a stitchguide for it I kind of went crazy. I had great fun attaching flatback Swarovski Crystals for the "eyes" on the wings setting them inside Jessica stitches. I did learn you have to keep the canvas flat until the glue dries or the crystals slide, also learned that you can remove the crystals without damaging the canvas but it was a scary process because they don't come off easily. At least now I don't have to worry that they would fall off at the slightest touch. Janet used it as an insert in a purse, the lights at market sparkled off the crystals.<br />
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One of my new projects for the June market was this Shelly Tribbey skull. Seems like Day of the Dead canvases are going to be popular this year. It's hard to tell from this picture but all of the skulls around the edge are beaded. It took a while but I think it was well worth the effort. The beading made up for how fast the rest of it went, the skull in the center was done in Kreinik #8 032 in a Kennan stitch and let the gray paint show through for the shading. My students always look at me funny when I tell them to forget shading snow and let the paint show through the thread. I find this works well on Kreinik, Crystal Braid and Caron Snow. <br />
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Cindy</div>
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PS Just realized I had written some blogs which I left as a draft so I'll review those and maybe post if they are still of interest.</div>
<br />hillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-4530218828390146792011-08-25T06:19:00.000-07:002011-08-25T06:43:39.871-07:00finished pieces<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVE1fB-4485ufjeaOunXr-KP3hky4VWo1IQKL96-3Sztz_hrMX07QZBILoOhAz2rmNg5vF8Yd6uqDpZ5S00qJO3tXD9F9nj3VPCHJP3QSR4zT-5dURZOhHSmT7IsF83Gt2bbGB5FvjVojr/s1600/pink+candy+cane+and+stocking0002.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVE1fB-4485ufjeaOunXr-KP3hky4VWo1IQKL96-3Sztz_hrMX07QZBILoOhAz2rmNg5vF8Yd6uqDpZ5S00qJO3tXD9F9nj3VPCHJP3QSR4zT-5dURZOhHSmT7IsF83Gt2bbGB5FvjVojr/s200/pink+candy+cane+and+stocking0002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644784945872511586" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJvM_08Hm-2sVcITpNf2jg7W7ceCG5E-PffXotYRUjLeIZFtSbH2X8zqnY-a_jJckodPpToM-HMRBgMZ2js-Niuysvw3lUG9B0fB1PHmKNgsHVWdE7E4OmPrT9EVvAlQaOZ1Iel9W23b7/s1600/pink+candy+cane+and+stocking0001.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJvM_08Hm-2sVcITpNf2jg7W7ceCG5E-PffXotYRUjLeIZFtSbH2X8zqnY-a_jJckodPpToM-HMRBgMZ2js-Niuysvw3lUG9B0fB1PHmKNgsHVWdE7E4OmPrT9EVvAlQaOZ1Iel9W23b7/s200/pink+candy+cane+and+stocking0001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644784495600578562" border="0" /></a>
<br />I promised I would post the two pieces I just finished stitching for A Collection of Designs so here they are:
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<br />They were fun to do and worked up really quickly, I started one night about 6 and finished the next night about 11. Don't worry, I didn't sit there the whole time stitching on these. Janet wanted the same colors used in both these pieces since they are a set. The circles on the candy cane were a challenge especially the gold ones. I used Kreinik 002v which is very stiff and had a hard time making the outline stitch lay very well. You can see that the green circles which were also Kreinik look better because it was a softer twist. Actually, the red Flair was my favorite for the circles because it did exactly what I wanted it to and looked good. I know some people don't like Flair but it's one of my favorite threads, it spreads out and covers the canvas for straight stitches but you can pull it tighter and it gets smaller for other stitches. I don't do any of the melting it that some people do, I cut it on the diagonal and just watch for any little threads to appear when the end starts to ravel and then cut it again. I also use a larger needle to open up the hole so the canvases doesn't tear up the thread as much.
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<br />Next project for Janet is to finish the very first one I started for her and then got stuck trying to find all the color of beads it needed. I'll post a picture when I'm done and you'll see what I mean. The first thing I saw when I looked at the canvas was beads for the letters, I got so hung up on it that I couldn't see beyond that even though I have had trouble finding beads. It would help if I could find my entire Sundance line but some how they have disappeared in the move. If the beads don't work, I'm not sure what I'm going to do.
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<br />Time to start packing for Seminar. I decided I didn't want to make the two hour commute every day so I'm staying in San Antonio part of the week and then will come home on Wednesday and go back for the rest of seminar.
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<br />Cindy
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<br />hillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-2452755888704172592011-08-22T10:25:00.000-07:002011-08-22T10:50:17.063-07:00Another hot day
<br />Well it's going to be another hot day in the Hill Country, temperature is suppose to get into the 100s again and no sign of rain.
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<br />I spent a big chunk of my day yesterday trying to organize my Kreinik stash. What a mess.
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<br />I just finished the stitch guide for the Alamo for the Yarn Barn in San Antonio. The canvas is from Squiggee <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6QJcJZngf7HEVw9cx5NlX6zHypz4sC1duwq8DXT4a3CwJZ9MOq2ko7jmZ6xSBHtEp86xXPfqsZ1aYr3rJgVsJlXqLUGKYwHgKjVpb9Pj1C0AkcWDbRQ_W7swz_NjfN-SS5YctXRROQV_/s1600/alamo0002.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 144px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6QJcJZngf7HEVw9cx5NlX6zHypz4sC1duwq8DXT4a3CwJZ9MOq2ko7jmZ6xSBHtEp86xXPfqsZ1aYr3rJgVsJlXqLUGKYwHgKjVpb9Pj1C0AkcWDbRQ_W7swz_NjfN-SS5YctXRROQV_/s200/alamo0002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643738408704882898" border="0" /></a>Designs and will be available through the shop starting with seminar. I took a little liberty with Gail's design and made the columns in the front look more like the actual Alamo. If y'all are coming to seminar or go to the Riverwalk, you can tell people you know someone who has been in the Riverwalk. I did an archeological dig there for 2 years. We found lots of interesting stuff but no sign of the Alamo cannons which was our main goal. The dig was sponsored by NUMA (if you are a Clive Cussler fan, you might not know that this is the real name of the organization he sponsors that does marine archeology). Regretfully, I never got to meet Clive because he always came just after I left.
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<br />Speaking of seminar, tomorrow is the big day when we move all the exhibit pieces down to the the hotel. From the few pieces I saw when I was there one day helping check stuff in, it's going to be a fantastic exhibit.
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<br />I'm shipping off a bunch of models to A Collection of Designs today and got the background on two done last night so tonight I'll work on the glitz stuff. I'll try to post pictures later this week of some of the pieces.
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<br />Time to run errands.
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<br />hillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-716142064789305002011-08-17T08:40:00.001-07:002011-08-17T08:59:58.250-07:00Finally, BaltimoreAarg!! Someday I'm going to figure out why it takes me forever to get signed on to this blog. It's taken me over an hour just to reach this page. Okay, now that I've vented on to the fun stuff.
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<br />I just got back from The National Needlearts Association (TNNA) market in Baltimore. TNNA is the organization for retailers and wholesalers in the needlework industry. I was meeting with Jeremy from Kirk and Hamilton who had flown over from England to attend the show regarding a project we're working on and to talk to Rebecca and Brad Wood from Rebecca Wood Designs. As a side benefit, to fill up on Maryland Crab Soup and Crab Cakes.
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<br />I delivered the canvas and stitch guides to Jeremy for the Midnight Sheep Heart and got a new project for the Dallas Market from a new designer they just introduced.
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<br />I had a great time even though it poured rain most of the time we were there and I filled up on crab cake. Saw some great new designs from Melissa Prince Designs, I'm in love with her Halloween banner and it was great to see Wooly Dreams back.
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<br />Need to go run errands but will try to get back on this afternoon and post some pictures of things I'm working on.
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<br />hillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-45327933191557038382011-07-21T05:36:00.000-07:002011-07-21T05:48:49.091-07:00Mystery Needle Arts Retreat and ANG SeminarI had a long but uneventful plane ride to Columbus, Ohio to attend the Mystery Needle Arts Retreat. If y'all don't know about this stitching experience, it's great fun. There are four teachers who over the course of a year design and independently stitch sections of a canvas. They trade instructions so each one ends up with an entire piece but done in their own colors. The instructors are Mary Hartman, Mary Knapp, Linda Reinmiller and Debbie Rowley. You sign up for the retreat without seeing the piece. They post their canvas colors and threads on line and you pick the color you like. <br /><br />When you get the retreat at the reception they show you the piece, this year has lots of sparkle and to be honest I love them all. They also are getting better and better every year. If you want more info. go to http://needleartsmysteryretreat.com. We've only been coming a few years but they offer the chance to take the prior year's piece before the new piece and I've caught up and have all their pieces at home (unstitched of course).<br /><br />Last night they told us that next years will be in Portland, Oregon. The nice thing is that it is a smaller group and is held in a smaller and less expensive hotel than the big national seminars. This year the hotel is in Grove, Ohio just outside of Columbus and is a really nice Drury Inn.<br /><br />Well, my stitching is calling and I better get going.<br /><br />More later.hillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-40749647290680458292011-07-19T19:42:00.001-07:002011-07-19T19:56:32.406-07:00So much for good intentionsI said I was going to post more often, but as you can see the month got away from me. I've been stitching like crazy and trying to keep up with other stuff in my life. I decided I needed to add some exercise to my life (moving your fingers just doesn't burn that many calories) so I've been doing water aerobics three days a week and between the heat and the exercise, I've had to take a nap in the afternoon so it's cut into my productivity. I know it's good for me, so plan to keep it up. It does get better, naps are getting shorter. <br /><br />I sent off 4 proposals for classes at The National NeedleArts Association, which is the trade organization for the needlework industry. Now I have to finish the stitch guides. I'll need to ask the designers I'm stitching for if it's okay to post pictures of their pieces. If they give me permission, I'll put them on the website so y'all can have a sneak peak of what's coming.<br /><br />The Yarn Barn where I work part-time is getting ready for ANG Seminar in August and we've had lots of canvases painted with San Antonio inspired designs. One of them is a 3-d Alamo by Squiggee Designs which I've stitch and am writing a stitch guide for. I'll post a picture in the next couple of days. It came back from the finisher and is just darling, if I do say so myself.<br /><br />We got this strange wet stuff that fell out of the sky today, it's been so long since we had rain I'd forgotten where the windshield wipers were in the car. It wasn't much but it was the most we've had in months. <br /><br />I'm off to a class but will try to add more next week.<br /><br />Cindyhillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-4069576465565470522011-07-04T05:40:00.000-07:002011-07-04T05:45:04.787-07:004th of JulyI'm taking a short break from unpacking more boxes so I thought I'd just update my blog for today. <br /><br />I finally got the shelves set up in my studio so now comes the fun part of unloading all the boxes (ugh). It is kind of interesting to open a box and find a needlepoint canvas you forgot you owned, sort of like Christmas morning, but it's also discouraging to see how much you have.<br /><br />I did some stitching yesterday on a Princess and Me proposal for The National NeedleArts Association, the trade organization for shops. I need to get them all done by the July 21st since that the deadline. I'll post some pictures as I get time.<br /><br />Well, back to the boxes.hillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-71721839735473980462011-06-29T14:34:00.000-07:002011-06-29T14:43:04.735-07:00stitching<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPs9m0AenC8fymsexOXbHuKG-PlRaqB0FN8jPZRj_O59T2GdQvrZk_oGIQx8-cwBUZ_clT4gaDy7MdkJtLoHHIn_A9xBBFCWSdCte4Hiqwkaa8f9wtnBxHw1I5KMdWp4nNeAj1KcfKX06v/s1600/acod+snowman0001.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 306px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPs9m0AenC8fymsexOXbHuKG-PlRaqB0FN8jPZRj_O59T2GdQvrZk_oGIQx8-cwBUZ_clT4gaDy7MdkJtLoHHIn_A9xBBFCWSdCte4Hiqwkaa8f9wtnBxHw1I5KMdWp4nNeAj1KcfKX06v/s320/acod+snowman0001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623760185966468258" border="0" /></a><br />I'm doing some blogging that is being posted on Janet Burnett's blog and decided to go ahead and add them to my site also. I keep saying that I'm going to do a better job of blogging but to be really honest, I'd rather stitch than type. If you don't know Janet is the owner of A Collection of Designs. I love her canvases and was really excited when she asked me to blog about what I'm doing. Please bear with me as I learn to post pictures, etc. to this blog. <br /><br />Here's what I sent Janet today about the stitching of her design ACOD 2614. I'll also be posting about other things I'm stitching for other designers.<br /><br />6/27/11<br />It was late one night earlier this week and I was in the middle of a movie, when I finished the piece I was stitching on. I didn't want to run around and find another piece to stitch and this was sitting there on stretcher bars just waiting for me to pull threads. I ran into the stitching room during the commercial and pulled two DMC Flosses for the border, thinking that would keep me busy until the end of the movie and I would pull the rest in the morning and then blog about what I was doing. I finished the border just as the movie ended.<br /><br />The next morning I got up and just didn't want to go to the computer, so I thought: Okay, I'll just stitch some and then blog about it later. I went into the stitching room and pulled a few threads (my threads are semi organized, with Elfa drawers holding Rainbow Gallery turned on their sides, so I can see the colors and the Kreinik in a big drawer, I actually have a DMC spinner rack with the entire line of DMC Floss on it). So my pulling consists of going through those drawers and looking at the rack and basically, just putting things that I think might work in a bag with the canvas. I sat down to watch stuff on tape. Well, the next thing I knew the piece was almost done, I only needed the trees and the purple. I borrowed the Neon Rays from the candy cane with the light bulbs I talked about earlier. I wanted to use Flair for the purple stripes, light bulb and triangles but didn't have any in the stash. I did have Frosty Rays that was purple. I used that and removed the inside core. I've done this before and actually used the core thread and the outside as two separate threads in one piece.<br /><br />I love his knit scarf and gloves. I don't know if you can tell from the picture but I have this thing about noses on snowmen. If the snowman is facing you the nose should stick out, like a carrot would on a real snowman, so I came up with a stitch that gives some dimension, it's a pistol stitch and then you come up at the outside and go down through the middle on at least 3 different sides to make it stand up. The nose at least sticks out some.<br /><br />I had so much fun with this piece, I finished him in about 6 hours. I thought my broom handle came out pretty good, I blended the two flosses from the borders to make it. Hope you'll have fun looking at him.<br /><br />I really wish we had some cooler weather, these 99 degree days are awful. We need rain really bad. One of the ladies in my water aerobics class was saying that she is having to sell off the last of her cattle because her spring has dried up. People here are leaving buckets of water for the deer because our pond is almost gone.<br /><br />Well, back to stitching. I'll try to post more regularly.<br /><br />Cindyhillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085828486072452043.post-46832307408502091562011-02-22T06:06:00.001-08:002011-02-22T06:10:37.733-08:00MovingWow! It hardly seems possible that I'm finally retired and moving to the beautiful Hill Country. I've been stitching up a storm and as I get settled in and have more time I'll start building this blog.<br /><br />Right now I'm busy packing, unpacking and trying to keep track of everything so nothing gets shoved in a box that I'll need to be working on. <br /><br />It can get a little frustrating when the pillow you want to get to the finisher is in one location and fabric to complete it is 200 miles away.<br /><br />Back to the boxes.<br /><br />Cindyhillcountrystitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436523984374350302noreply@blogger.com0