Gingerbread Village

Since it is almost the first of the month I'm going ahead with the full photo of Gingerbread Village.  It's on 30 count Tin Roof Linen from Weeks Dye Works as are the two that will follow it.

Vonna did the stitching and peppermint finishing! 

We'll ship this ornament and one more pattern to our distributors mid-April.   I'll post snippets of the other design next week.

For anyone still wondering (I had emails and phone calls), the blog banner is a snippet from "Hillside Travelers."  It has been tweaked a bit to give it a vintage look which is why you may not recognize it immediately.

Happy Stitching,

Diane

The Candlescreen Is Back!

I just received a brochure in the mail today and I see Sudberry House has brought back the beautiful candlescreen we all loved so much.  Our design, "Spot of Coffee"  (also incluses a tea version) was designed just for it.  So many of you were disappointed when they quit making them (I was too!).

This is the link: http://www.sudberry.com/catalog/candlescreen.htm    Click on the shop locator on that page to find your LNS and let them place the order for you!

Happy Stitching!
Diane

A Tiny Peek!

I've received emails from stitchers who are excited about the next ornament, "Gingerbread Village", sight unseen!  I decided to show a tiny preview of the finished ornament. 

The photo looks like it is resting on a snow cloud!   Look for the full-sized photo around the first of April.  And anyone wondering, the fabric for the next three ornaments will be "Tin Roof" by Weeks Dye Works.

Happy Stitching,

Diane

Awe. . . . . isn't that cute?

You all know Luke and Gracie by now.  Luke is at our house at least twice a week and sometimes more.  Saturday night he came over with Nikki and Juliet to play with Gracie.  They wore themselves out!  What's so cute is that they don't just lay down one here and one there.  They have to be touching as you can see. 

 

They look like angels here.  That's because they're sleeping.  :)

Happy Stitching,

Diane

When Irish Eyes are Smiling. . . . . .

My paternal great grandparents, Patrick and Julia are my Irish ancestors whose families were from County Cork, Ireland.  I think they were a beautiful couple! 

A story was handed down to me about these two that I wanted to share on St. Patrick's Day.

Grandpa Pat was working for the Pennsylvania R.R. and for one reason or another, was working in the Chicago area. Great Grandma Flynn had a room to rent.  Grandpa Pat rented one of those rooms.  One time he just happened to be on the scene when Grandma Julia Flynn was trying to light a fire in the wood stove in the living room, and wasn't having any luck.  Grandpa Pat offered to get the fire started, which he did:  and, in his cute Irish way, he told Mom, "I lit TWO fires that evening." 

It's wonderful to have photos and stories like this to hand down for generations to come.

Diane
(who is wearing green today!)

The Tomato

Last week my market models for "Fresh from the Garden" arrived from their trip to Nashville.  The pouch and tomato were put into my stitching box (see previous post) and put to use right away.  Then yesterday I had a different idea for the tomato and and I just love it so I'm sharing it with all of you.  

I had previously purchased a distressed off-white candle stand from Pottery Barn (by now you all know that's my favorite store). 

I set the tomato pincushion on top but it looked a little lost.

So I added a small crochet doily and the whole thing became a piece of functional art for my desk!  Ask anyone who has ever seen my desk. . . . . I have needles and pins stuck in coasters, fabric scraps and even paper.  If the doily was green it might even look like lettuce but I don't think I'll take it that far!

If you want to make one for yourself just look for a candle stand you like that will work in your room.  Just make sure the top is not too big.

Happy Stitching,
Diane

Spring has Sprung (and other things)!

One of the many things I like about living in Arizona is being able to grow geraniums in March!  After the very cold winter we had I am thrilled to start seeing flowers and buds in all of the pots.

 

The orange tree that I thought was dead has leaves all over it giving me high hopes it will make a come-back.

 

We shipped our new patterns to distributors today and I updated the LHN web site.  While looking at the back of the "Thirteen Colonies" pattern I had a laugh.  There is a typo I didn't catch. . . .  the fabric is 32 count, not county!  I do a lot of genealogy work on the computer and my fingers automatically type county more often.  So don't let that confuse you!

This is a photo of Gracie taking a little snooze in the living room filled with drop cloths and plastic.  We have been painting the walls inside and had been living in fear that Gracie would step in a paint tray or stick her nose in a wet brush.  As you can see here she became bored with the whole thing early on and we had no troubles with this one year-old.  Ahhhhhh. . . . . . . . .

Old Photos

Remember the cubby that was filled with LHN ornaments?  Well now that spring is knocking on the door I removed the ornaments and added old photos.  Rather than looking for small frames to fit the openings I came up with an idea that may work for you in various ways in your home. 

I started by scanning the photos and resizing them to fit the small box areas.  They were each printed on matte photo paper and mounted onto scrapbook paper that has the weight of card stock.  I didn't use glue.  I used that sticky tape that rolls out of a dispenser because I didn't want the liquid to bend the photo.  The decorative paper was trimmed to make a small frame around the edge of the photo and then the finished pieces were propped to stand in the openings.  Quick and easy!

 

The keepsake silhouette in the top center box is that of my dad when he was a young man. I filled other boxes with my summertime Boyd's Bears, greens and what-knots.  Hanging off the foot of the baseball bear is a finish from "Heart and Home", an LHN design.

I had a lot of emails after posting this cubby the first time.  For anyone still wondering you can get it at the Pottery Barn online.  It comes in a lighter finish too.

Diane

Thirteen Colonies

"Thirteen Colonies" was a true labor of love.  Once I had designed 90% of this piece I turned to my mom and together we talked the rest of it out, worked on finishing it together, and chose threads together. 

Thirteen stars frame the names of the colonies and the center scene, all of which come together to represent the "beginnings" of this country.   The dates represent the first and last colonies.  You will also see a crown which is the symbol of England, the country that governed the colonies before their separation.

My mom Carol is the one who stitched it which makes this design even more special for me.  When I said it is my most favorite LHN design, it is all of the above that makes me feel the way I do.  I hope you like it too!

This is one of "those" charts that will keep you busy for some time! 
Happy Stitching,
Diane

Liberty - 1776

Release #2 this month is "Liberty - 1776".   Don't you think the frame matches the design well???  I was thinking that if you wanted to, you could put actual buttons in the center of the stars and make it a dimensional design! 

 

The last design, "Thirteen Colonies" is coming next!

Happy Stitching,

Diane

Deck the Halls!

We are decking the halls with a peppermint tree!  "Deck the Halls" is the newest ornament in our 2011 series.  The stitching and  finishing is by Vonna at the Twisted Stitcher.  I'll put the supply list up on the LHN web site soon!  I'll have two more patterns to show you this week so stay tuned!  All of the new patterns will ship next week so don't start looking for them just yet.

Happy Stitching,
Diane

French Knots!

Most people don't like making French Knots.  Every once in a while I put a few in a design so I thought I'd show you how I make them.

Most of the time I make a French Knot by wrapping one strand of thread around my needle twice.  Once I do this I insert the needle back down into the fabric where I want the knot to be.  I then slide the wrapped "knot" down the needle to the fabric while keeping the length of the thread taut.

Reach around to the back of the work and pull the needle through slowly so that the knot stays firmly on the needle and doesn't loosen.  The key is to push the knot down to the fabric before pulling the needle through.  The knots stay uniform and small.  Let me know if you have any more tips to add!

And yes, you've seen a preview of a pattern we are releasing in April!

Happy Stitching,
Diane

Gracie then. . . . and now

Some things never change.  While so much of our landscaping died in the many hard freezes we had this winter, this vine did not.  When Gracie was a little puppy she'd head out to the vines and just lay down in them forcing them into flat beds underneath her.  Yesterday spring was in the air and she did the same thing only this time she is soooo much bigger! 

As you can see, the vines are in bloom and our warmer temperatures are here now.  It's one of my favorites times of the year.  I think Gracie likes it too!

Happy Stitching,
Diane

Project Box

Here is a quick project I wanted to share with you. . . . . . Last year I bought a book/box at Michael's.  It was very sturdy and had a magnetic closure which made it even nicer.

I also bought a new magnetic board which I hot glued to the inside flap of the book/box and then lined the interior with a small piece of quilted material. The board fell off a few times but I realized I wasn't letting the glue get hot enough.  Once I did that it stayed in place.

The box is big enough to hold my project keeper which holds threads and scissors and also large enough to hold full sized patterns, hoops and of course, your stitching.

I can sit on the couch and have the lid propped up with a pillow so that I can see the chart.  When I'm finished I close the lid and set the "book" on the coffee table.  I have seen these boxes at Michael's again this year so if you'd like to have a project box like this one you can with very little crafting!

Happy Stitching,

Diane