Shorttakes

We're Baaaaaaack!!!

         

We are now (physically) back from St Charles - although mentally I have NO IDEA where we are!!  We had a great time & brought home at least 75 lbs (that's right, they weighed our bags at check-in) of fun new stuff! As you can see, we started off well!  We got in Friday afternoon, & headed out for a leisurely linner (lunch/dinner) at our new all-time favorite St Louis restaurant called The Bridge Taproom (anyone headed to St. Louis, it's on Locust between 9th & 10th).  Sat outside, had some beers & a cheese board (yuuuuuuuuuumm!). Thus fortified, we headed around the city & over the river to St Charles for Friday night Early Bird shopping.  Got some good stuff & headed back to the hotel.  On Saturday, the real fun began!  We had to go to the car & unload our little cart halfway thru the day!  We got back to the hotel, spied on a wedding taking place, dropped off our 2 loads of stuff & spent 45 minutes debating "go to the mall (Sephora run) or go back to Bridge", before finally deciding on Bridge.  Had a wonderful dinner (& more beers) & dessert & then rolled back to the hotel where we worked until 1AM putting more stuff up online!  The picture on the right is Molly's "desk", aka the refueling station!  Thank goodness all those designers have free candy!  We also hit the vending machines for some Sun Chips (gotta have some salt!).

So, on with the show!!!

 

Jenny Bean: voted "Most Popular"

Jenny Bean introduced us to many of her  friends at this market, & a fun bunch they are!  Somewhat like "American Girl" dolls, each of Jenny's friends shares a bit about "herself".  They are from many different places & have lots of different experiences, but the two things they share are a love of gardening & a passion for needlework.  I've gathered as many as possible here, & eventually we will give them their own spot on the website.

    

Jenny Bean Friendship Sampler - what a lucky girl to have such good friends!

       

Sadie Stuart - from SamSarah.  Sadie is from Pioneer times & would rather be out enjoying nature & riding horseback, but her sampler is adorable!

Flora McSample - from Lizzie Kate.  Flora adores Halloween & has a flair for geometric designs!

Vera Tuber - from Raise The Roof. Vera is a midwestern girl from Idaho (thus the "tubers") & loves the wide open skies!

      

Scarlet Pomegranate - by Chessie & Me.  Scarlet loves Christmas & tries to "keep it all the year"!

Winnie Sue Gardener - from R&R.  Winnie is from England & met Jenny on a trip to America.  When she returned home she stitched this sampler with a picture of her house & her dog!

Annie Hyssop - from Primitive Needle.  Annie loves all things Halloween (I bet she & Flora would be good friends!). 

      

Belle Pepper - by Little House.  Belle loves winter & her sampler is just adorable.

Poppy Maye Russell - from Heartstrings Samplery.  Poppy loves the garden & her sampler is soft & gentle.

PINCUSHIONS FROM JUST ANOTHER BUTTON COMPANY

        

Pine Trees - They come in large, medium or small, each tree with its own set of buttons!  FAST & FUN!

Acorn - the kit comes with brown felt, but we thought you'd like to see them in other colors too!

Beach Bucket - This is adorable in a little beach bucket! 

            

 Spring Quakers - from Rosewood Manor.   This sampler is a gorgeous combination of Quaker motifs & spring floral designs.  It's stitched on Picture this Plus Valor linen, which is a lovely soft green color.

Blackwork Flowers - from Rosewood manor.  These are like tile designs & are wonderful all stitched together, but equally pretty done individually!

Harvest of Friendship Necessaire - from Charland.  This piece is absolutely stunning & I can't wait to start working on it!  It comes as a complete kit, inlcuding fabric, silk floss & ribbons, charm & all necessary finishing items! 

New from Teresa Layman

Teresa Layman has translated several of her knotted work designs into cross stitch & these are just stunning!  The detail in these pieces is amazing. 

            

My Cottage by the Sea - This is so reminiscent of a sweet little Nantucket Cottage!

English Cottage - It feels like a cute little valley in the Cotswolds.

The Old Mill - I love this! It might be the first thing in my pile to stitch (check out the cute little mice in the corners!).

                  

Leave the Light On - Okay, maybe this will be the first one!  Love the waves & the lighthouse is just charming!

Merry Christmas Elves - These guys are so funny all together, & they're sweet stitched individually as ornaments!

Faith Sampler - this is her first sampler design & really, where can you go from here?  This is simply lovely.  The verse says, "Faith is seeing light with your heart When your eyes see only darkness."

     

Clink - Squeak - Shuffle - EEEK! - A fun & spooky Halloween House!

Bunny Run Around - Each bunny has their own patch in the garden!  That looks like the makin's of a fine salad!

        

Unity Sampler - from Heartstring Samplery.  This sampler is much more vibrant than it appears.  The verse reads, "Behold, how good & pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in Unity".  Hmmmm, an old-fashioned sampler with an up-to-the-minute thought!

Margaret Brown Sampler - from Milady's Needle.  This is a lovely sampler with a very interesting story about Margaret! Be on the lookout for her sister's sampler - very similar, yet very different!  Her niece also stitched one - all in the same year.  We're wondering if this was the first "sampler retreat"!

Faithful Friend - from Milady's Needle.  A wonderful sampler dedicated to the 4-legged friends we love (& miss).

         

Petite Collection from Erica Michaels on silk gauze

all these designs are stitched on silk  gauze (inlcuded with the chartpak).  However, if you're not ready to tackle silk gauze just yet, you can always stitch on whatever fabric you prefer.  I have to tell ya, though, they are absolutely beautiful on the gauze & Linda does give you fantastic directions for stitching on it.

        

Home in the Autumn - a lovely little autumn sampler, and leaves you don't have to rake!

Bit o' Merriment - this was my favorite ornament at the show - LOVE the bright colors! It's finished with WDW wool.

'Tis a Small Gift - a cute little scissor fob - perfect to make & give to a stitching friend.  It's stitched with Sampler Threads Wool & finished like a small present, complete with bow (included in chartpak).

  

Three Ships - mini stocking.  Just lovely.  I love her swirly waves!  It's finished as a mini stocking using WDW Wool (or you could just do the stitching & frame it!).

Peace on Earth - mini stocking.  This design is so pretty - check out the holly border below the words.  Again, finish it as a mini stocking or it would make a lovely ornament!

 

Tin Kits from SamSarah

Each kit includes all the supplies you need to finish the little tin (including the tin!).  These are quick to stitch & easy to put together.  If you are looking for a fast little gift or you would like to try stitching on linen, these are for you! 

   

     

Wish ~ Pins ~ Bunny ~ Love You

Thank You ~ Peace ~ Party

These are the ones we brought back with us, but there are many more (these aren't new releases, just new at TSS).  We'll be adding more (for

different holidays, etc).  FUN!!!

OUR HOUSE PEARLS

Many of you have stitched the little "Pearls" designs from SamSarah, & love them as much as we do.  Well this year Patti has stitched them all in 1 design & designed a free graph of the border to pull it all together.  It is the cutest thing - now I'm gonna have to stitch these again (good thing they're small!).

      

Buzzard's Roost - from Praiseworthy Stitches.  The longer you look, the more you see on this fun haunted design!

Masquerade - from Ink Circles.  Ooooooh, this has a very spooky feel to it & a verse that reads, "Things are seldom what they seem - Skim milk masquerades as cream".

Halloween - from Primitive Needle.  Another fun halloween design from Primitive Needle.

    

Mystery Moon Fortune Sampler - from Raise the Roof. Each of these cute limited edition kits includes a charm & a "fortune"!

Pin Kreep - from Charland.  Aaaaahhh... too funny!  Cute & easy to make!

       

And to all a Goodnight - from La-D-Da. This is a lovely angel design &, as all her designs are, it is so much cuter stitched!

Love Spoken Here - from La-D-Da. So soft & pretty!

In My Pocket - from La-D-Da.  This treasured childhood song is designed with a whimsical flair.

 

NEW FROM HINZEIT

As always, it seems, we are "charmed" by the great new things from Hinzeit! 

              

Mini Jelly Crayons - how cute would this be for a teacher's room?

Halloween Dress Form - This witchy is sportin' a cute dress (& she has a darling place to keep it too!).

Charmed Shuttle: Believe, Beware, Be Blessed - Love these horizontal designs - you could even stitch the individual motifs as pins or ornaments!

    

Tis the Night - what fun for Trick or Treat! 

Tis the Harvest - count you blessings while you stitch!

Tis the Season - a nice holiday design - & fun to stitch too!

          

Charmed Flake - Hope/survivor - A cozy pink ribbon keeps hope alive for us all!

Charmed Flake - Deck the Halls - This trio of flakes is enjoying the season!

Charmed Flake - Welcome Home - This little birdy is coming in for a landing at a home provided by his buddy.

  

     

We hope this is going to become a great series of countries!!

Charmed Mini Mexico - How fun is this?  We love the chili peppers & the great charms! 

Charmed Mini Travel - Any travellers in your family or friends?  This is a wonderful design with fun charms.

Charmed Mini Canada - Lots of fun & interesting Canadian charms & of course the symbolic Maple Leaf!!

 

  

We love this WordPlay series! She also showed them stitched without the words - very fun too, but I love the creativity of the words!!

CrowWatch - This chart & charmpak comes with "hands" for the watch.

WitchWay - This little witchy has her compass to show the way (what, no GPS on the broom??)

WitchCraft - I think this kitty has it all under control!

       

SnowWear - brrrrrr.... this makes me cold just to look at!

YellowSnow - hilarious!  We think this pup looks like Molly's (& he'd do that too)!

WarmWish - See, it's even too cold for penguins!  Where is the global warming when you need it?

PeaceLove - This is gorgeous!  Really pretty colors.

      

Charmed Mini Skiing - yay, another winter sport design!  Of course, it makes me cold......

Charmed Mini Bears - and we don't mean teddy bears!  And ya know what?  I'd be a good bear - hibernate all winter, eat all summer.....

   

Music Time - Finally a good music design!  We really like this one!

Charmed Mini Dance - Just in time to stitch while you watch this season's "Dancing with the Stars"!

 

Well, it's time to send this off or else you'll never get it!  Don't forget to check out the other 3 pages of St Charles goodies - Market Preview , Almost Gone  & Friday Update.  We have lots & lots of these things up online already on our St Charles page & we'll be adding more until everything is up!  They newsletter/update pages are not linked individually & for that I apologize, but there's SO MUCH that we wanted to share that we couldn't do both!  Don't forget that all orders placed thru Thursday September 30 will receive FREE SHIPPING, as long as you order something from the Market page!

Hope you have as much fun checking it all out as we did getting it for you!  I'm sending this off, then heading home to spend some last minute time with my Kiwi family! 

Happy stitching ~

Beth & Molly (aka, the bag ladies - as in, bags under our eyes)

 

And lest you think we neglected our baseball while we were gone, I'm happy to report that our hotel in St Louis was only a few blocks from the Cardinals stadium (very nice - we want to go to a game next year - preferably a Phillies game).  Also, we kept track of our boys  in red & I'm happy to report that we have clinched a playoff spot & are working on an unheard-of (for us) 3rd straight NL East Championship!!!

That's right....nothing's better than that!