I know everyone must feel such sadness with the situation in Newtown. How sad for all of those families- I know we are all grieving along with them. I love the suggestion of performing 20-26 acts of kindness to honor those taken. I am working on mine already. Love this idea- hope you will consider doing it too.

Pat is finished with the Stacy Nash piece. The colors are just gorgeous- this one is a beauty. I know lots of you must think so too as we are shipping the fabric out as fast as it comes in. We are getting Pats back from the framer tomorrow. I can't wait. Great job Stacy!

The prim club is filling quickly. Nan posted a sneak peak this week so the excitement can build! Feel free to mail your applications in if that's easier for you as we can NOT take the information over the phone- you must sign the application. We are hoping to keep the cost between $30-45 per kit and will ship 5 kits this year. I know lots of you are excited too- it will feel like Christmas with a surprise coming to your house every 8-10 weeks!

The winner of the fabric and trims is Joan. Please call the shop 757-366-8740 and we will make arrangements to get your goodie package to you. Stay tuned I plan on doing this often!

We are planning on releasing the information about our retreat in October 2013 by January 1st. This will just be the info- not the application. Many of you are calling with questions already- don't worry I am hoping to try and keep to my time frames this year!

We enjoyed our annual Christmas party on Thursday the 3th. The goodies were fabulous and the ornaments were all so adorable. Maggee will be posting pictures of all of them on our website. We even received flowers from a special friend to brighten up the table. Thanks Nan- you are the sweetest!

It seems that Christmas blew past in a matter of seconds. Such a lot of prep and then whew- it was done. A good time was had by all! I think my daughter might have received the most unusual gift- a baby hedgehog. Yes, she really, really, wanted this. Can anyone top this?

Here's hoping that all of you had a very Merry Christmas. The national events of the past week have taught us to cherish every day with family and friends. We love our Dyeing to Stitch family- Merry Christmas..................

It's hard to get in a Christmas mood when the weather is 75. The weather here in Virginia is up one day down the next. I am not wishing for a blizzard by any means but a little cooler weather would be a blessing!

Every year we try and pick one special event to attend at Christmastime. Last year we went to the Symphony Pops concert. This year we went to the Nutcracker. I haven't been in many years . Both of my daughters were dancers for years and we always went when they were young. My favorite production was one in Savannah, Georgia. My daughter told me that the local production was wonderful and she was right!

The patterns for the Christmas sampler from Stacy Nash have arrived. We are getting many calls each day so they won't last long. Its a beauty and Pat has the border done and is working on the center section. This is a gorgeous sampler. We have also received the two new ones from Threadwork Primitives- Merry Winter and Merry Christmas. They came in on Saturday and Pat had them both completed by Sunday afternoon. These are quick stitches. Nan is always so clever with her finishes!

We have posted the information for the Ladies Prim Society on our website. Download the application and get yours in today! We have decided to limit how many members we will accept so don't wait too long to sign up.Many of you have asked and we are hoping to keep the cost to $30-40 per kit. You will also need to pay tax and postage but thats the basic cost. I am overwhelmed with how many of you have inquired and already signed up. This is going to be FUN! I think Nan might put a sneak peak on her blog soon.......

This Thursday is our annual Christmas party for our Thursday night group and ornament exchange. This is always so much fun and of course you want to run home and stitch up all the ornaments you didn't receive. With each submission I say, " I am going to have to rig this" but then I end up wanting all of them so I just take my chances! Its always something wonderful.......

Haven't decorated much this year and only baked a little bit. That is not like me but we are so busy at work that the time is just slipping away. I hope all of you are having better luck. I haven't even watch a zillion Christmas movies as I usually do- maybe thats going to happen this coming week.....hope so.

I think we will have a drawing this week for a package of hand dyed fabrics and some trim. Leave a comment and we will select a winner next Thursday. ( maybe I will be able to get some pics up here by then!)

Peace................

It took a village to get this shop moved to our new location. We could not have done this without our many friends. Many. many thanks to: Sybil, Mary, Debra, Norma, Wendy, Joe, John, George, Donald, and Mr. Gates. It took many long days in an unheated shop to get this project completed. Pat spent many hours on the ladder rehanging over 400 models and we spent long hours prepping our 40 foot fiber wall. BUT - It's done and it looks fabulous if I do say so myself. We did manage to get some new things in the shop even though we were moving. We have all the new Shepherds Bush kits and Pat has both the little stockings already stitched- just darling. I am working on the new WTNT Santa pillow. I managed to find the red ticking and hope to have it made up quickly. Next week we will have new Lizzie Kate and the new Christmas sampler from Stacy Nash- fabulous! I hope you all enjoyed your holiday. I love Thanksgiving- from the decor, to the food, to the parade, to the gathering of friends and family. My daughter and her boyfriend came and we had a great time. We cooked enough food for half this city, laughed ouselves silly over many episodes of Duck Dynasty,and watched a multitude of football. We didn't do any Black Friday shopping - too many last minute things to do so we could open the shop on Saturday. We had our reopening on Saturday. It was so busy and people seemed to love our new space. If you haven't come by- please do. We can't wait to hear what you think! We are hoping to post the reservation form for our Ladies Prim Society by next week. This is an exclusive club through DTS featuring Threadworks Primitive and Blackbird Designs. Every 8-10 weeks you will receive a complete kit including any finishing supplies needed. Maybe a sneak peak before the end of the year. Love this first one- you will too! This is going to be FUN! Don't forget to mark your calendars for our retreat Oct 3-5, 2013. We will be posting full info by January 1st- teachers, tracks, etc. We are so excited about this retreat and are coming up with more ideas than we can possibly accomplish but its great fun picking the ones we will complete. If you are looking for that special gift for a stitching friend- we have lots of fun things to pick from or a gift card is always a welcome choice. These can be purchased in person or by phone. We are happy to mail it to the recepient of your choice. We will be accepting framing and finishing until December 8th for Christmas delivery. Please drop your projects off as soon as you can. Next week I will post pictures of the new shop! I know this is such a busy time of year. As we go about our preparations for the upcoming holidays lets remember the true meaning of Christmas- Peace, goodwill towards men......

What a great birthday celebration we had! So many people, so much fun! Many thanks to Nan Lewis for coming to share the weekend with us. People were lined up to meet and talk with her. The goodies were goobled up- especially the whoopie pies. We had over 50 models for sale and there's not many left. Thanks to all of you who came to help us celebrate.

Our time with Nan and her husband Bill was a blast. I am not sure we ever stopped talking. Nan's friend Ivonne and her husband Kevin, from the Crackling Crows, also made a trip to see us and what a pleasure they were. We took everyone to our favorite restaurant- Primos for a fabulous Italian meal to top the weekend off. Thanks, Nan for everything!

We received all the new With thy Needle and Thread charts last week along with the new Drawn Threads. Ugh- now what to stitch first. Oh- I think I will just start two or three and see where the spirit moves me...... Pat just finished  Be Thankful from Little House and it is framed and up in the shop. She is zooming through Santas Night from Prairie Schooler on black and has a basketful of Christmas projects that will probably get done before Thanksgiving.

Starting Friday we will be closing the shop for a week so we can move down the street. This is a major undertaking and we are so grateful for all the folks who are helping and have offered to help. We are excited to change things up a bit and redo some things - what a way to energize everyone.  Hope you will come by and see how it turns out beginning Saturday, November 24th which just happens to be Small Business Saturday! Perfect!

Today is Veterans Day- I am so grateful to all who serve and have served especially my grandfathers, my dad, brother, uncle, husband,  my business partner Pat, and many, many friends.. Thank you so much for your service.

Can you believe its almost Thanksgiving? This is my favorite holiday. Somehow it seems to get lost in the shuffle sometimes which makes me sad. Its such a great day- a time to give thanks for all we have, the people we love and the many blessings in our lives. When we found out we were moving the shop that week I stated that I guess I wouldn't have time to cook and that was loudly vetoed. So I am cooking for family and friends.  That's okay- its my pleasure.......

We are still accepting framing and finishing for Christmas. You still have time to complete that last minute project and get it in here. We have had multitudes of ornaments come in these past few weeks and I suspect the stockings will be flying in here next.

I hope to show pictures of the before and after at the new shop. Its always fun to see the transformation! The new shop is painted and has brand new carpet- they are waiting on us to start packing and moving things on Friday. It should be exciting..............

I hope each of you has a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving. Isn't it a wonderful thing to be with family and friends? I can't wait....................

We're back! What a trip it was! The first five  hours not even a flake of snow. I finally sent my daughter a text and said" Where is the snow?" Then we went around a big curve and whamo, there was the snow. It was piled up 3-4 feet in some spots. It became very foggy and it was just us and the snow plows on the interstate. This road I-68 had been closed on Tuesday and was opened up just a few hours before we got there. The last hour was pretty nerve wracking but after my hair going even greyer if that's  possible we arrived.

Can you indulge me in a proud mom moment.?  I have such an amazing daughter. She should open a bed and breakfast! She cooks like Ina Garten and her home is magazine worthy. It was pretty heavenly! She also has two adorable dogs- Norman and Lucy and two crazy cats. She not only was the most incredible hostess but she allowed a friend of ours that she did not know to spend several days in her home so our friend could attend our lecture. I am a lucky, lucky mom! Thanks Jennifer!

The lecture went very well. Thanks so much to all of our friends who came from afar for this event in the horrible weather. Thanks to Linda, Lori, Rabbit, Rita, and Diane.Pat even did a bunch of research on West Virginia  so she had tons of interesting facts to relate.

We sure enjoyed our time in Morgantown. We were treated to a tour of a stone house built   there in the late 1700's. The tour was very special and we were so delighted  to be included. We also had a chance to speak at length to a history professor from the college who gave us tons of background on the area. You know that stuff is right up our alley!

 The football game on Saturday was awesome.. It had been many, many years since either of us had attended a college game.The only drawback was  how cold it was. We were  outside in 40 degree weather with winds blowing at about 25 mph for over 6 hours. We went to a tailgate party first and then the game. It was a blast but its been years since I was that cold!

Don't forget about our big  7th birthday party bash this Saturday We are so thrilled to have Nan Lewis from Threadwork Primitives coming as our guest. She is bringing  models and will be available to sign  charts . I hope you will have a chance to come by to meet her.  We have wonderful sale items and TONS of models on sale. ( we don't want to take everything to the new store!) I will be busy baking lots of yummy treats too.

For all of you interested in coming to our retreat in 2013 we have the dates: October 3-5. I will be posting more information soon. We have our teachers, the hotel, the theme and the dates. Here's a hint: we have some teachers who have been here before and some who have not!  We are very excited about it- its going to be the best one yet!

Please don't forget we will be closing the shop on November 16 and will reopen Saturday November 24 in our new location. New address: 5312 Kemps River Drive.  We will look forward to seeing all of you then.

n

Big storm coming......if you listen to the weather channel it sounds like the storm of the century is coming. I hope not. We will plan for the worst and hope for the best.   We have batteries, non perishable food, water, dog food, and ice. I think we are ready.Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those in the path of the storm. Be safe. On a happy note - if you don't lose power think of all the stitching you can get done.

So excited about the new With thy Needle and thread patterns. Brenda- you never fail to excite us. Those should be in the shop next week. I love the letters to Santa. That will be my first stitch! Love the ticking and am hoping to have that here as well.

Don't forget about our birthday bash on November 10th with Nan Lewis. Lots of folks have mentioned that they will be coming by and helping us celebrate. We are working on some terrific deals and having a model sale as well. I am cooking up some treats too so it should be FUN!

Last night we had our annual Halloween party. The ladies are always up for a good time and the costumes were hysterical. We had: Eeyore (twins), pumpkin pie, a witch, Honey Boo Boo ( this was unbelievable), a serial killer, a dyer, a pig, Paula Dean and a sugar skull.Thanks ladies- you were all great.

Pat and I leave next week for West Virginia. We are giving our lecture at the university on Thursday night. They are expecting snow- hope not too much- we want to get to the football game next Saturday.  Morgantown is a gorgeous town and the university is fabulous. If you haven't been there its worth the trip.

WE have some BIG and exciting news. Dyeing to Stitch is moving. Yep- right down the street. Our new address is 5312 Kemps River Drive. We will be next to Super Wok.( former home of Tidewater Folk Art)
We are closing November 16 and will reopen November 24. This is going to be so great. Hope you will come by and see the new shop.

We now have two finishers for the shop. So get your Christmas projects in and have them turned into spectacular treasures for Christmas.

I am a little sad not to be home for Halloween this year. I usually dress up and I try and dress  up all three of the dogs. .None of them act too thrilled. I had a Scottie who has now passed away but he thought Halloween was inven ted for him. When the kids approached the door and yelled" Trick or Treat" all he heard was Treat which he thought meant he was getting a treat. I would put on his pirate costume and he would wait patiently for each little goblin by the door. Halloween will never be the same without you Duncan.

  I hope this storm passes with minimal damage and everyone stays safe. My wish for you is that you have lots of stitching time this week!

This has been a week of visitors..Last Sunday, Stacy Nash and her mom came down for the afternoon and evening, They wanted to visit the shop and we worked on some projects together with them. I'm not sure any of us stopped talking or laughing the entire time they were here. Had a great dinner together and were so sad to say goodbye. I think we could be BIG trouble together if they lived closer! Hope they will come back soon...........

Starting Tuesday we had lots of visitiors all on their way to the Pals weekend in Myrtle Beach. It was great to see so many familiar faces and meet some new friends. Thursday several of our buddies from upstate New York  came for our Thursday stitch night as they were in town for a wedding. It was great fun to see them and to show them everything new we have been working on in the shop. Thanks Diane and Rabbit!

We are gearing up for our huge Birthday party on Saturday,  November 10th. This is our 7th birthday and we wanted to do something special. We feel very privledged to have Nan Lewis from Threadwork Primitves coming to join us for our party. She is bringing models ( ones we don't have stitched) and  will be available to chat with all of you  and to sign charts, etc. I hope you all will come out to meet Nan and see what wonderful work she does. We will have refreshments, a model sale, door prizes, and great bargains! Happy Birthday, Dyeing to Stitch!

Are you gearing up for your holiday stitching? There are so many new and fun Christmas projects to stitch, and lots more on the way. Have you seen the new Drawn Thread things for Christmas? I can not wait until they arrive. I will be starting one ( or two or three) the day they arrive. We have the new Shepherds Bush stocking with charms and have been trying to keep the Pearl cottons in stock for them. Its such a popular stotcking we are struggling to keep all supplies in stock !I know Threadwork Primitives has something new and wonderful coming soon for Christmas too. You'll have to come to the birthday party to check it out.

Our frame sale is going on for one more week. It ends next Tuesday the 30th. Its time to get your holiday projects in for framing while you can receive a 20% discount on your framing costs!

I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful fall weather. I love the crisp morning air, the fall colors, pumpkins, the entire fall package!

 As a lot of you know I love to cook. My friend brought me 50 pounds of apples from New York and I have been diligently making at least one batch of applesauce  each day . This sounds like so much applesauce but it will last us almost an entire year. Love it! I love to cook things from the Barefoot Contessa and now I am beginning to be addicted to Pioneer Woman. Great cooking and simple recipes that are fun to make and delicous to eat.

We are having our annual Halloween party with our Thursday night group this Thursday night. We have refreshments, and give prizes for the best costumes. Last year the costumes were outstanding and I can't wait to see what the ladies have dreamed up for this year.

Have a great week- stitch a lot and love what you do!   Ann

Yeah.....fall is finally here. There is a nip in the air and the leaves are falling so we can tell that fall is coming. It always seems to get windy in Virginia during the fall and facilates  from warm to cool from one day to the next. Usually we go from air conditioning to heat in the blink of an eye.( My closet is jammed with summer and fall clothes since I never know what to wear from one day to the next)

We are getting ready for our annual fall frame sale. Its a chance to bring in your Christmas projects ( either for you or a gift )  and get them done before you have even said," Trick or Treat".  There is no limit on how many projects you can bring and you will receive a 20% discount on both the frame and the put together costs.

People have been calling the shop and asking about our trims. We dye the trims to look aged- not bright colors but subtle aged colors. We have 12 colors: Cocoa, Smoke, Fudge, Christmas Wreath, Candy Cane Red, Dried Roses, Norfolk Pine, Vampires Cape, Nautical Blue, Kelp, Cinnamon, Beach Roses. These come in baby and regular chenille and 1/4 " and 1/2 " rick rack. These are a quick way to finish off an ornament, a box top, a pin cushion or a multitude of other projects.

Seems there's lots of excitement about our new Ladies Prim Society Club. The first design will be from Threadworks Primitive. If you aren't familiar with Nan's work check out her blog. She has fabulous primitive designs and great finishing techniques. The always incredible Blackbird Designs  will be doing something spectacular as well so this should be a year full of fun surprises and fabulous things to stitch!

For all of you who live near or close to Morgantown, West Virginia, Pat and I will be giving a sampler lecture at the University on November 1st. This is open to the public and is absolutely free. Check out the website for further information. www.mountaineerweek.wvu.edu/events.

Those of you who love With thy Needle and Thread will be thrilled to know that Brenda is coming out with another pillow like Hildas brew for Christmas. Those pillows have been so fun and quick to stitch. I can't wait to see this one!

The new Blackbird chart- Feast of Friendship is due in the shop next week too. Pat stitched the model and the colors are spectacular. Its done on 30 ct Abecedarian Blend. We stocked up!

FYI- an Abecesdarian is the keeper of the sampler books. Go ahead and dazzle your friends with that piece of trivia!

Have all of you experienced Pinterest? I admit I am totally addicted- so many cool ideas, recipes, photos,etc. I think I am the first president of Pinterest anonymous. I am working out the twelve step program! Let me know if you want ( need) to join!

Next week I will post information on our big Birthday Bash coming up in November. Until then, keep those needles flying..............Ann

In the beginning......Yes, this is the start of our blog for Dyeing to Stitch. Occassionally I will post some R & R news as well. I am very excited about this.  I hope to keep you posted on shop news, special events and our retreats.

It's been a terrific summer at the shop. So many of our out of town friends have stopped by to see us and lots of stitchers from afar managed to find their way to us.  It was wonderful seeing so many of you and helping you fulfill your stitching wishlists!

Cuurently we are getting in fall mode. Lots of fun stitching projects for Halloween are done and ready for you to see. I just completed Hilda's Brew from With thy Needle and Thread. She turned out so cute and we have the trim and ticking to complete her in the shop. I stitched her on 28 count hand dyed Lugana- really, really fun to stitch on.

We found some new companies this summer that we are so excited about- Threadwork Primitives and Abby Rose Designs.  Threadwork Primitives has many fun  designs and they are quick to stitch.  Nan's finishing ideas are wonderful and give you lots of ideas for future projects. Abby Rose  has a series of small samplers that are really lovely.  The series consists of four: Care Deeply, Love Generously, Speak Kindly and  Live Simply.

I know a lot of you are finishing up Christmas projects already. Don't forget our fall frame sale which will begin October 16th. This sale runs for two weeks so you can get your projects completed  way ahead of the busy holiday season.

We are very excited about a new program we are sponsoring here at the shop to begin in January 2013. Its our first shop club: The Ladies Prim Society. We will be shipping a kit to you every 8-10 weeks. Kits will be complete and include finishing materials as well. The deisgners for this club are Nan from Threadwork Primitives and Barb and Alma from Blackbird Designs.  We will begin taking sign ups November 15th. We will have a sign up form posted on the web site.

We are also expecting a fun new Halloween prim from Liberty Hill the second week of October.. If you are interested in receiving one of these  please let us know right away as they go quickly and there are only a limited number.

When is fall arriving? I am sick of the hot weather and the rain. I know we should be grateful for the rain but honestly- enough already. I am ready for fall clothes, fall decor, fall food! We usually have a taste of fall here in Virginia in September but its not really beautiful fall weather until October. I can't wait!

Pat and I  just returned from the Shepherds Bush retreat. Each retreat is more fabulous than the last one.The theme this time was Christmas. All the projects were so different and each one so special- can't wait to start some of them. We spent three days resting in Ogden- visitng the Shepherds Bush shop, Jill Rensels, searching out those Mormon muffins and shopping. Then- on to Park City. It was truly beautiful there with the trees in full color and a crispness to the air. Pat and I roomed with Jeannette Douglas and Paulette Stewart. What fun. Never talked and laughed so much in my life.  It was great seeing all the stitchers- feels like a family reunion after 16 years of coming. We came home exhausted but  thrilled we had such a great time with such terrific people.

Now we will begin working on our retreat which will be held next October 3-5 at the Cavalier Hotel.  Hope to have information posted before the end of the year. We have our teachers, hotel and theme- sounds like a good start!

If you are coming to the Virginia Beach area and want to come and stitch with us on a Thursday night please email or call for a reservation. We have had some great ladies stitch with us the last few months and our reservations are booking up for the fall.

Hope you are all stitching like mad getting ready for the holidays!                  Ann