The Nutcracker

So this past weekend was Nutcracker weekend! This is Juliet's 4th year participating in her dance company's production of the quintessential Christmas ballet. And so it has become a part of our family's holiday tradition at this point - and we absolutely love it! Above is a picture of her dad and I with her after the show.

This was a picture of her taken onstage in her Arabian costume during dress rehearsal.

And here she is dressed as an Angel.

With her two best friends dressed as Party Girls onstage.

Doing leaps as Candy Canes.

In the Meadow

As I said, this is the last of our holiday designs for this year. I really love the fabric that In the Meadow is stitched on. It's Weeks' 30 count Scuppernong Linen. The piece is stitched entirely using just five Crescent Colours: Bamboo, Bramble Bush, Blackbird, Hazelnut and Steamed Broccoli but a DMC conversion is provided.

I hope that all of you are enjoying your holiday stitching!

February Cottage

Here is the next in our Cottage of the Month series, February Cottage. This one uses Crescent Colours' Poblano Pepper, Pink Posey and Pink Champagne along with a few other DMC threads. All of the models for this series will be stitched on Wichelt's 28 count Lambswool Linen. I know that many of you out there are quite excited about this series and I'm so happy about that! These patterns will be shipping to distributors mid December so you can expect them in your shops sometime after that.

And be sure to check back here tomorrow for a picture of the last of our holiday designs for this year, In the Meadow.

Sean's Camping Party

So my little man Sean turned 8 a little over a week ago and to celebrate his birthday this year we had a camping party. Now anyone who knows me will tell you that I am not a camper, but cute backyard camping is something I can totally get into! Here is Sean sitting in front of his "campfire."

My husband Derrick made these little tents for the kids to hang out in. They were very popular! We had his friends over in the evening to watch a movie, so you see the movie screen in the back.

Isn't this just the cutest cake?! I found some inspiration from some cakes online and had this cake made for Sean. And that's Luke, our golden retriever, next to him!

In addition to the cake we had a S'Mores Bar - because what's a campout without some s'mores?

And here I am with the birthday boy :)

Vintage Christmas

As many of you already know, I absolutely adore the pink and blue Christmas palate, and this new design is my homage to that vintage style. Vintage Christmas is one of those pieces that I love as a complete design, but that also works really well broken up into smaller pieces that you can turn into ornaments and other "smalls."

This pattern will be shipping to distributors mid- November along with January Cottage, and you can check my website around that time for complete supply information about them both.

Cottage of the Month Stitch Along

So I just had to share with you all that Vonna, of The Twisted Stitcher fame, is starting a stitch along for the Cottage of the Month series! She has created a new blog for it with all sorts of great information. You can see it here: http://ccn-cottages.blogspot.com/. Great idea Vonna!

Cottage of the Month - January Cottage

I have something that I'm very excited to share with you all today! I have a new series of patterns that I am going to be releasing starting this month. The series is called Cottage of the Month, and it is a 12 month long series featuring 12 different cottages all inspired by the months of the year.

The designs will all be the same size and will feature a mix of DMC and overdyed threads. There are many finishing possibilities with these, but if you do choose to use a frame, you can easily pop them in and out to change with the months, since they will all be the same size.

The designs will all be about 5 1/2" square when stitched on 28 count fabric. They are a perfect size to finish with enough time to have them ready for the coming month. This first cottage is of course January, and since it will be available in shops near the end of this month or the beginning of next month you will have time to get it all stitched up by January.

I hope that you all will enjoy stitching this series as much as I have enjoyed designing it, and be sure to check back here on Monday for a picture of our newest holiday design, Vintage Christmas.

Taylor Swift Concert!

So last night Derrick and I took Juliet to her first ever concert - to see Taylor Swift! Juliet absolutely loves Taylor and had been looking forward to this for months. She sounded wonderful and put on an amazing live show. We had great seats and this is a picture I took of her during the encore.

We had a wonderful evening and Juliet said it was the best night of her life - so thanks for coming to Phoenix Taylor!

Old Tucson

We spent the day out at Old Tucson today. It is one of those cool places unique to Tucson. It is a working movie studio where many Hollywood westerns have been filmed throughout the decades. It is one of my mom's absolute favorite places and my kids love to put on their cowboy/girl gear and go hang out for the day. This time we had the kids take some of those old time photographs. They loved it and really didn't want to take the outfits off :)

Juliet as a saloon girl.

Sean as a gunslinger.

Gingerbread Houses

As promised, here is the second of our two new holiday designs. This one is called Gingerbread Houses, and you can see the name tucked into the sampler style alphabet. I know that my kids, especially Juliet, love decorating gingerbread houses at Christmastime. We kind of cheat though and buy the kind that you just have to assemble and then decorate :) Any way you do it, it's lots of fun and hopefully this design reminds you all of decorating your own gingerbread houses.

I will be posting complete materials lists for both this design and Merry Christmas Ornaments later this week on my website - the same time that the designs get shipped to distributors.

Merry Christmas Ornaments

Merry Christmas Ornaments is the first of our holiday designs this year. As many of you will notice, it is something of a companion piece to my ornament Merry Christmas that appeared in the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue this year. Both are done using the same all DMC color palate. I happen to love the vintagey pink, aqua blue and green holiday color scheme, but if it's not quite your thing, this could easily be done in another color palate. Just choose your three favorite holiday colors for the ornaments and Voila! - a perfect match to any holiday decor!

I am also in love with the finish on this design. Vonna from The Twisted Stitcher did a beautiful job turning it into a custom cut cube - complete with little crystal ball feet! She had also done the finishing on my JCS ornament, using the same pink and white polka dot fabric on both. You can visit her site at www.thetwistedstitcher.blogspot.com. She will be posting some more pictures of the cube there sometime soon.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and be sure to check back here Monday for a picture of our second new holiday design, Gingerbread Houses.

Fall Ball

Sean has been playing Little League for the first time. They call it Fall Ball when it's played in the off season, and he's been having a great time.

Up at bat!

In the dugout :)

Autumn Pumpkins

This new design is a bit of a departure for me with it's fall coloring and black frame, but I have to say that I enjoyed designing it and I really like how it turned out. I especially like the idea of looking towards fall right now, as I am ready to put this very hot summer behind me! "Autumn Pumpkins" is stitched entirely with over dyed threads, but a DMC conversion is provided. The complete materials list will be available on my website towards the middle of this month, around the same time that the patterns ship to the distributors.

The Apple Orchard

Here is the second of our two new designs this month, The Apple Orchard. Crescent Colours' Crab Cakes thread makes for the perfect red barn in this design. A couple of other hand dyed threads were used, as well as DMC. The complete information about this design and Here Kitty Kitty will be available on my website the first of next week.

Here Kitty Kitty

So here's a new one perfect for all you kitty lovers out there! I myself am both a dog and cat person - we have one of each at our house. My cat Daisy is an orange tabby, and she is not represented in this design since her orange color would have blended into the pumpkins! There are however lots of other kitties in this piece, and I think it would make a great addition to your fall stitching. I'll be posting a picture in a couple days of our other new pattern The Apple Orchard, so be sure to check back here soon!

*Correction*

Please note that some of the pattern backs to "Sunflowers in Summer" do not indicate that you will need 2 skeins of Sampler Threads' Baby Spinach to complete the design on the recommended fabric count.

Sunflowers in Summer

I have a new design to share with you all - Sunflowers in Summer. It was stitched by my Gramma Carol on what has become one of my favorite fabrics, Weeks' 30 count Cocoa Linen. The patterns will be shipping to distributors at the end of next week and you can see all the info about this design on my website at that time.

A Day at the Beach

For all the beach lovers out there (including myself!) here is A Day at the Beach. This is one of those kinds of patterns that's great as a whole, but also perfect for stitching pieces of for your smaller projects. It will be available in shops towards the end of the month and all the details will be posted on my website in a couple weeks.

Huntington Beach

My family and I spent the latter part of last week in Huntington Beach. We were there with Juliet and four of the girls she dances with as part of Discover the World Marketing's 30th Anniversary and Conference. The girls were part of the entertainment for the event, dancing at several different times. They had a blast! And when they weren't dancing we got to hang out by the pool and at the beach. Such a fun trip!

The Discover Divas (as they were called). Too cute!

California Girls :)

And here is Sean enjoying some pool time :)

Bee Joyful

As promised, here is the picture of my other new design, Bee Joyful. I just love the pinks and greens in this one. Such a happy design! Just like Button, Button, these patterns will be shipping at the end of next week, with detailed information on my website at that time as well.

I would also like to say Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms out there (mine included!). Hope you all have a great weekend!

Button, Button

Hello, everyone! I thought I would post a picture of one of my newest designs this morning. This is a whimsical piece entitled Button, Button. The "buttons" on the design are actually cross stitched, but a fun idea would be to add some real buttons to your finished piece. I think it would be really cute and give the design some cool dimension. These patterns will be shipping to distributors at the end of next week and the detailed information will be available on my website at that time as well. Also, tomorrow I will be posting a picture of my other new design, Bee Joyful.

Red, White and Bloom

Hello everyone! I thought that a great way to start a new week would be to show you all a new design! This one is called Red, White and Bloom. It is stitched completely in overdyed thread, but DMC alternatives will be provided. I think it feels bright and fresh, and we will be shipping it to distributors in a couple weeks. That gives you plenty of time to start stitching it and have it ready for summer :) The complete information about it will be on my website in a couple weeks.

Juliet at Competition

As many of you already know, my daughter Juliet is a dancer. This past weekend we went to Phoenix as a part of her studio's competition dance team. This is a picture that was taken during one of her dances. She did so well, and I was such a proud mama!

Simply Vintage

The second of our new releases this month is Simply Vintage. It is stitched in just four shades of DMC, and feels like a must have for all the Shabby Chic/Flea Market style lovers out there (like me!). It will also be shipping to distributors in about a week. You can go to my website around that time to find the complete materials lists for both this design and April Showers.

April Showers

With spring just around the corner, I thought this would be a perfect time to show you all my newest design, April Showers. It will be shipping to distributors in a little over a week. And be sure to check back here on Monday, as I will be previewing my other new release, Simply Vintage. Until then, take care and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Juliet's Blue Birthday Party!

It's Juliet's birthday today! And to celebrate my little girl turning 9 we had a party for her this weekend. We called it the Blue Party, since as you can see, everything was blue! In case you hadn't guessed, it is her favorite color :)

A picture of me with the birthday girl.

Blue pompoms hung above the cake table. She had a cake with blue roses, but her special request was that I make blueberry muffins.

We had lots of blue candy, which of course she enjoyed :)

Bunny Hop

As promised, here is the picture of the second design that we will be shipping in mid-January, Bunny Hop. It's another cute, springy design filled with hopping bunnies, carrots and rolling hills of green grass. Look for the details on my website towards the end of next week.

Sheep in the Meadow

To kick off the new year, I thought I'd give you all a picture of my newest design! It is entitled Sheep in the Meadow and will be shipping to distributors mid January. All of the design details will be available on my website around the same time. This is a very sweet, springy design - perhaps the perfect thing to stitch when it's very cold and you're wishing for a preview of spring! You can also check back here in a couple of days when I will also be posting a picture of my other design I will be releasing, Bunny Hop.