Big holiday weekend coming up. Hope everyone has something fun planned. I know its the start of the summer but really enough with the rain. We will have flippers soon......However my peonies are truly gorgeous with all of the rain. I have been bringing them into the shop by the armful. I think I have about 40 bushes now with white, pink, red, fuchsia, purple and now yellow. They are so beautiful.

Here is another prim tag winner- Dede. Isn't this a clever finish? Love it!

I wanted you to see the last prim club stitched on 40 count. One of the local stitchers- Donna- finished this. Isn't it sweet? We have plenty of 40 count at the shop if you love the way this looks................

I also wanted to mention that we do have in stock the Celebration fabric called for in the JCS magazine ongoing sampler for this year. Several people have called to ask and yes, we have it in stock along with the special DMC and the paillettes.

Have you seen these sampler stitching boards? They are FABULOUS. You slide them open and you can put your project inside with the threads, scissors etc. We just got a shipment in- have been out since Nashville night. Let me know if you want one.

This is the new box from Liberty Hill- Schoolgirl workbox for the Needle. Isn't it great? Carolyn is so talented. She has been painting things for all needleworkers for years. This set comes with the box, project board with thread ring, heart shaped scissor fob and small stenciled bag. I ordered immediately so let me know if you would like us to reserve this for you! They should arrive late June.

This sampler is Anna Nichols from Ohio. She stitched this and actually sewed two pieces of fabric together with the long zigzags in the middle. Anna was practising her W's in this piece like many young girls do at a tender age dreaming of the special someone they might marry someday! So primitve and so so sweet.......

I should have more to report but we have been working like crazy women trying to push a mountain of fabric out the door. I think about 350 yards have been shipped in the last week. Hope we can have a short rest this weekend.......

I agree with the President- last week was a very tough week. My heart goes out to all those affected by the Boston bombing. As most of you know, my friend and business partner was born and raised in Boston and has an incredible special feeling for that city. I have visited Boston many times and am a HUGE Red Sox fan so I felt an overwhelming sadness about the whole situation. I was obsessed with the media coverage- couldn't stop watching it. The courage and bravery shown by those men and women in Boston was amazing. My prayers and thoughts are with you Boston. BOSTON STRONG!!!

On a lighter note, the prim has shipped. I think most of you should have received it by now. I hope you were pleased. I thought it was just right for spring. Thanks for your patience in getting them all shipped. It is a much bigger job than you think......

Here is a photo of the winner of the tag contest. I will try and post some each time I blog.

We have been so successful with the prim club we are staring another club with the Purple Thread. Sharon is the featured designer in this months issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine. This club will be called", Every Womans Journey". We hope to ship a kit every 6-8 weeks keeping the cost to $25-35 each. The registration sheet will be on the website. If you are registered for the prim you can just sign the bottom and put in prim club and I can get your info from your other registration. Here is the first kit. We hope it will ship by mid June. We also have a fabulous door prize for one registrant from Sharon.

We have been busy stitching for the shop and have gotten back some great things from the framer. I know this Birds of a Feather design is an older one but its still available and oh so darling.....

We are thrilled to be able to have the fabulous Civil War needlebook from Threadwork Primitives. This is such a cool piece- Nan put a lot of time and thought into this one and since they are limited please call soon so you won't be disappointed!

If you have been by the shop in the last month then you might have met our new puppy- Abigail. She is getting bigger and I bet she is up to 5 pounds now. Here she is playing with her new toy sent to her from Tina/Teri of Shepherds Bush. Thanks girls- she loves it.

We expect our books from Stacy Nash next week- my name is Lidyah. We are so touched to be mentioned in the acknowledgements- Stacy you are the best! It looks fabulous and we can't wait for ours to arrive. Give me a call if you want one held for you. We should also have the fabrics and fibers to go with all the projects! WE will also have the 18th Century Rook in stock next week for the new sampler from Shakespeares Peddler- just gorgeous.

The sampler I chose for this weeks blog is Sally Starbuck. She is from Nantucket, Massachusetts. Sally was a Quaker and she and her sister Mary went to the friends school there. The Starbucks were one of the founding families of Nantucket. Quakers were both finacially and politcally influencial in the building and shaping of Nantucket Island. This sampler is a genealogical record of her family.

I am currently working on Numero Uno from Jeannette Douglas and next week I will post a picture of my progress. This is such a cool piece. I hope you get some peaceful stitching time in this weekend.................Ann

Good Afternoon. Just a quick note. To all of our faithful Prim club members- I hope you all think good things are worth waiting for!!!!! Everything for the prim is ready and waiting....... as soon as the charts arrive we will busy as bees shipping all of your treasures to you. Thanks for your patience.

Ah, tis spring. AT LAST! We had sleet last Sunday and it has been so cold and miserable. I am ready for spring. Hopefully it will be a nice one so we can get prepared for the hot summer ahead.

We have been busy getting things ready for the next prim shipment. We should start shipping by the beginning of next week. I love this piece- Pat stitched it and I was drooling over it the whole time! We even dyed a special color of linen for this one- Prim Yellow. Here is a sneak peak.

If you wish to order extra things to ship with your prim just send me an email or call the shop. I am happy to include whatever you need(want!)

We got some amazing entries for the prim tag contest. Truly, I was blown away by all of the creativity. I am doing one big prize and two smaller ones but you all get a round of applause for your efforts! The big prize winner is Faye Riggsbee. Faye- you never fail to amaze me with your talents. The two others that will receive prizes are Rita Ogden and Dede Caplinger. I will send the prizes in the next prim shipment. Congratulations ladies!

We are getting things started for the retreat in the fall too. We have a few spots left- not many. If you are thinking about it please send in your registration so you aren't disappointed. Don't forget final payments are due May 1st.

Here are some new things we have stitched for the shop. The first is the Valetine set from With thy Needle and Thread- so sweet. The second photo is the new hearts from By the Bay. These are so clever. Love them.

I picked Ann Wood as the sampler this week. She went to the Nine Partners School in New York and you don't see many of these. Ann put the rules to mark napkins on her sampler and also a ligature. See the letter that looks like an f all in a row? That is a ligature. It was a Quaker code that meant Quakers could speak openly in that household. Remember for a long time Quakers were religously pursecuted. I love this piece. She is one of my favorite samplers.

If you have been by the shop in the last two weeks then you have probably met Abigail. Yes- we broke down and got another dog. She is a nine week old Westie puppy. Isn't she adorable? Three pounds of pure attitude. Would we have anything less?

Lots of new things to show in next weeks blog. Have tons coming in from the framer and finisher!

Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday weekend.

Where does the time go? Do you have trouble adjusting to Daylight Savings time? I hate it. It takes me at least two weeks to sleep and wake up correctly. Ugh!

I thought I could blog away while we were at market and of course we got busy and the internet service there was horrible so I gave up!

We made it to market without much ado. We did drive through sleet part of the way and it snowed almost the entire time we were there but it didn't stick to the ground much. It was just COLD. We also drove like crazy trying to make it home after the show before the next big storm. Again- we drove in sleet but nothing like what we have driven through in years past.

Market was great. So much fun and so many great new things. WE found fabulous charts, fibers and gadgets galore. I have several favorites- the sampler clipboards from Needlework Press were incredible. We sold ours out in less than 15 minutes but I have many more ordered! The T-shirts and nightshirts that say, Eat- Stitch- Sleep were so cute. Loved them! We found some gorgeous scissor fobs- we bought mostly the acorn ones and of course those sold quickly too. I will be reordering them ! The charts and kits were extraordinary- no favorites there- too many to choose from. Spring at Hollyberry farm was simply beautiful and we have lots of fabric for that! The Purple Thread had wonderful, creative things. If you aren't familiar with Sharons stuff you need to check it out. She kits everything so you don't even have to look for a button or ribbon. Everything is included. I was trying to describe her style and I would say its Vintage with a modern twist. Jeannette Douglas had so many beautiful things- the Numero Uno was my favorite. Its the first things on my list to stitch. Very vintage and fun! The new kit from Little House Needlework is adorable. Love it. We also have plenty of fabric for that! Shepherds Bush and Blackbird always have fun and creative things and I brought home lots of everything. I don't think I missed much at the show so if you are looking for something just give us a buzz.......

Pat has at least six things from market completed. Here are a few: The stitching bag and snowman fob are from Shepherds Bush, the needles and pins is from Jeannette Douglas and the bunny piece is the exclusive kit from Stacy Nash.

 One of the nicest things to happen at market was a visit from an old friend. Leslie- who worked at Shepherds Bush for many years. We met her years ago and even did a trip to Marthas Vineyard together. I haven't seen her in a long time. She is on a mission trip in Nashville with her husband. She managed to come to the show hotel for a brief visit. It was absolutey lovely to see her and her husband, Roger. Leslie not only is one of the nicest people I know but she has the most incredible wardrobe. You are a fashion goddess Leslie!

I do have an announcement about the retreat. Nan Lewis is not going to be able to attend due to health reasons. I know this is a disappointment to many but maybe we will see her in the future...... I am thrilled to announce that Stacy Nash will be taking her place. WE are very excitied about this and hope you will be too! There are still some spots available........

The next sampler I am featuring is Thankful Davis. She was the last of thirteen children and we like to think she was named because her Mother was thankful she was finished having children! This is considered a dye pot sampler .As Thankful stitched down the pice she used a lighter and lighter green. This piece originated from Woods Hole, MA in 1799. What do you think?

 WE are hoping to have the next prim club by the end of the month. I know you are all anxious to see what Blackbird has in store for us. Me too! I will post as soon as we have it and when we will be shipping.... Don't forget to send us a picture of your prim club tag finish. Someone will win a bag full of charts, fiber and fabrics!

Tomorrow is the big day- we are leaving for Nashville. This is the 18th year we have done this trade show. The weather is always a challenge but once we get there we forget all about how hard it was to actually get everything done before we arrived. Pat and I are among a small group of designers/wholesalers who also have a retail store. So, we not only go with goods to sell at this show but we must also buy all of those exciting goodies for our shop! It is a challenge to be sure but we have our friends Norma and Sybil with us to help. They help set up, run for food, pick up orders, scout out rooms we might not have time to get to and in general make the show much easier for us. We are blessed!

Some new things have begun arriving in the shop already- we have received the new snowman kits from Shepherds Bush, the new charts from JBW, Prairie Schooler and Plum Street. Wow- if that is an inkling of what is to come I am super excited. Pat already has the new pincushion from Shepherds Bush done and is ready to begin Nantucket Girls from Plum Street.

We know the Blackbird things will be wonderful- as always. The new Spring at Hollyberry Farm from Stacy Nash looks so fabulous. Can't wait to see all of Stacys new things. There will be so many fun and exciting things to pick from. It's like Christmas!

Don't forget our Nashville Night is Wednesday, March 6th from 6-8 p.m. Come get a first look at all the treasures we found for you!

The next Big Project Sunday is March 24. Call the shop if you plan to attend so we can have enough seating set up for everyone. I can't wait to see the progress everyone has made.

Sign ups for the retreat are going great. We are planning a teachers meeting in Nashville. Trying to get all those details ironed out!

I know lots of you are having horrible snowy weather. We have had snow twice here but no significant amounts. The dogs love to play in the snow but they are not crazy about the cold. Here they are begging for someone to let them in! My stitching chair is right by this door and they can see me so they press their noses against the door- Please we need service at the back door!

 I hope to take a bunch of pictures at the market. We have to have permission from any vendor but most of our Buddies are near us so maybe they will allow a few snap shots.

Have a fun week- I know we will!!!

I can't believe Valentines Day is this week. I love hearts and would love to have those decorations up all the time. I took this picture of a basket of hearts that I have. Some of the hearts are quilted, some are pinkeeps, some are fobs and some are pincushions. I add a little to the collection each year. You can never have too many hearts!

Hopefully everyone has received their prim club- and are busy working on their tags. Pat stitched ours ( sorry- I am just too slow) and we have them finished for you to see. Maybe they will inspire you. I love the way these turned out and am anxious to see what all of you come up with.

The registrations for the retreat are coming in fast and furious. I will be sending out a confirmation letter before the end of the month. We leave for market on the 27th so they must go before that. I will send all the hotel and airport information and give you a few ideas of whats in store for October! It's great to see so many new names on our list. Can't wait to put faces with names!

Here is the next sampler- Mercy Chandler. I know she is not small and certainly not primitive. I am featuring her this time because this is Pats great, great grandmothers sampler and last week was Pats jubilee birthday. I told her she could select the sampler for the blog. This is a fabulous piece with about 20 different stitches including a row of alphabets in queen stitch. This sampler comes from the Boston area .

Market is coming up so fast. We have seen sneak peaks from Threadwork Primitives, Blackbird designs and Cricket. Everything is fabulous and I can't wait to get to Nashville. I know it sounds like just one big party to all of you but it really is hard work. I think the worst part is the preparation and the packing and unpacking of the van. I hate that part. Once we are there- we visit with friends, shop owners and in general have a great time. We need to get some sleep this year- no staying up half the night talking and laughing. Yeah- like that's going to happen. hahahahahahahaha

This is the little bag I mentioned last time. Isn't it dear? It is all hand made with very old beads and a crocheted top. This is from around 1908. It's called a betrothal bag. My grandfather gave my grandmother her engagement ring inside it. We found a very sweet love note from him inside when we were cleaning out the house. The tiny photo is my parents on the day they became engaged.

Happy Valentines day!