blooms and berries

autumn's come in pretty quickly this year, hasn't it? it sure feels that way to me - and i think my inspiration is being influenced by the oncoming chill and shorter days. i've come up with a new pattern + kit for the season:

i'm pretty sure that the berry shapes were inspired by those that i found a few weeks ago. and the dark garnet red on grey is a color combo that i've had in mind for quite some time.

the pretty dove grey aida cloth is not so easy to find these days -- i think it's actually been discontinued, so the kits in this exact colorway are going to be limited.

they're up in the shop - hop on over!

custom in blue and red

Here's my latest custom order:

I'm positively thrilled with the colors, which were the choice of the sweet wife who commissioned it as an anniversary gift for her husband. (Their friend, who married them, flubbed their names during the ceremony, instantly creating these sweet new terms of endearment; cute, eh?)

Here's a behind-the-scenes fun-fact about this piece: as I was stitching the birds, I was watching The Birds, by Hitchcock. !!!!

feeling blue...

...in a very good way.
Remember that post just last week when I was freaking out over the color of those blue berries? Well, the day or two after that, I inherited my grandmother's Blue Nordic dishes -- and they are THAT blue color.

Aren't they great? (I do understand that you cannot see them fully in this photo....I forgot to get one of *just* the dishes...) I have so many wonderful memories tied to these dishes. I'm pretty sure they were the only plate set that my grandmother and grandfather ever had, while I was around. I remember eating grilled cheese sandwiches, and English muffin pizzas off of those dishes.(My Nan made the *best* English muffin pizzas - to this day, I have never been able to replicate them.) I remember Sunday night spaghetti dinners with all of my mom's family seated around the table. (And tasting super dry Chianti and thinking it absolutely disgusting.) I remember my Poppi carving turkey and putting it on the serving platters of this set. (Way back in the day when I still ate turkey!) And then I remember setting the table with those same dishes years later when Nani and Poppi retired down in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
My Nan moved out of that house in NC years ago and since then, the plates had been packed up in a box - and for a time, thought to be lost or donated. And then they were found! Hooray! Hooray! I wanted these so badly... So many good memories tied to them and I just think they are absolutely stunning. So now they've become inspiration.

I'll soon be putting in my order for the towels that I use for my monogram tea towels and this holiday season, I'm limiting the color range slightly. Last year I offered many different color options, and I liked giving that choice, but honestly, it was a bit too much for me in terms of keeping track of inventory and running out of colors and having to replace/reorder so many. This year, I'm going a little more simple... This blue will definitely be on the list, though.

making props to get props

It's getting close to fall and winter market season and I made these guys up to use in my display for the new produce bags. I'm kind of really really loving them. I'm trying to figure out whether or not to make some to sell...
So far, the only market event that I have on the books is Clover Market, in Ardmore PA on October 14th and November 4th. (Please note that I will not be doing the September market.) I'm working on filling the calendar with more sales/events/dates; I'm even thinking of doing some traveling for holiday shows.... ooooooh.
Are there any markets in your area that you know of that you think I should do? Please let me know!
Have a great weekend, friends! I'm heading out in a few minutes for fabric shopping - that's always a good time!

classes and bike boxes

Hello friends!
I've got two little bits to share with you today. They're both long overdue, actually...

One: I'm getting back into the classroom! I'm teaching a beginner cross-stitch class on Saturday, October 6th at the Creutzberg Center in Radnor, PA as part of Main Line School Night. I'm pretty excited about this. With the class, students get a Little Owl Love kit and we'll do the project together. It's really the best way to teach/learn cross-stitch - by going through a project together from start to finish. Afterwards, students will have the opportunity to purchase other kits at a mega discount price. Sounds fun, right?

I know this is only good for those of you who are in the Eastern PA area, but the info is here. If you do happen to be local, even if you're not interested in learning cross-stitch with me (I know most of you reading this probably know how already....) there are a lot of other really fantastic classes being offered by Main Line School Night. I know if I lived a little closer that I'd be taking one or two! Check them out here.

Two: Friends of mine are working on a really cool project -- they're making canvas covers for milkcrates that you can then use as a bike box. They're calling them Boova Boxes, which is a little nod to the mennonite culture that inspired the design. (These friends and the Boovabox project are based in Kutztown, PA.) Taking steps towards getting the project off the ground and into full-scale production for a wider audience, Paul and Giles have set up a kickstarter to help generate funds. If you like riding your bicycle and the idea of a new cool bike box, maybe you could check it out - the page is here. And if you click, you'll see the design that I created for them! (I stole this little preview image from their site...)