What is it about making resolutions for the beginning of a new year? Is it because at the beginning of a new year everything is possible, we can become renewed ourselves? But it never takes long before we seek our comforts and fall into old routines. So this year I made none, if I had -I probably would have broken them already.
I had a week off over Christmas, visiting with David's family in Ottawa and enjoying all the festivities of Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations. Now a week later I already find myself engrossed in the hecticness of the shop. Not that I don't enjoy the store, I do - but I always feel like there is so much to do and so little time.
And this year I am already overwhelmed with all that still needs to be done before
Gitta's Getaway and the
NeedleWorkers MarketPlace.
The NWMP is a stitching show for all stitchers.
Similar to last year's Collaboration project at the NWMP, the designers are again offering a free chart to everyone attending the show. Last April, as you may recall, was a 15 sided biscornu (
see my March 2011 posts) . This year's project is a Spring Sampler.
The border will be made available to everyone as they enter the show and then it is up to you to visit each designer and collect their free chart portion of the collaboration sampler. As a little sneek peek for this year's Collaboration Project, here is the layout of the sampler and the spots designated to each designer so far. There are still 2 designers missing, Northern Pine Designs and Sew Fancy. This year will be an awesome show with 13 wonderful designers exhibiting, teaching, and passing on their love and knowledge of needlearts.
Monika, one of Gitta's gang, is stitching the model to display at the Market. I am almost done designing mine. I also still have to complete my workshop for the show and the exclusive workshop that will be offered to Gitta's Getaway attendees.
All this plus much more has to be done in the next 3 months.
It will be a frantic 3 months, but all will be done.
Christmas is one of the most wonderful and hectic times of the year. Every year we push ourselves to make Christmas magical for our family and friends. Loving this time of year, and wanting to make everyones Christmas perfect, I find it hard to say no to any stitcher bringing in their stitched pieces for finishing. This year I received a record number of pillows, Christmas stockings, ornaments, bell pulls and a box top to finish for Christmas. One of the bell pulls I finished is the one shown on the left in the photo. The one on the right is our shop model. We had stitched our model 1 over 1 on a 28ct linen banding. We stitched it over one, so all 13 flowers could be included without the bell pull being too long. If all 13 designs would have been stitched over 2 the bell pull would be over 8 feet long; too long for most homes. I was so taken with the bell pull, stitched 2 over 2, that I just had to share it with all of you. It arrived in the shop just a few days after I had told another stitcher that she didn't have to stitch all of the flowers for her bell pull to look just as beautiful. These designs are all in Gitta's leaflet G-236, it includes all 13 provincial and territorial flowers. The leaflet was named Wild Flowers, as many of these flowers are also State flowers.
In preparation for the Open House, the shop is decorated, with a touch of Christmas throughout the store. In the shop window, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and the Christmas tree is decorated with stitched ornaments of Christmas' past.
The front counter is decorated with ornaments of Christmas present. Every year there are great ornaments to be found in magazines, the Mill Hill collection, which we stitch them on fabric rather than perforated paper, and there aren't many that we can resist. We stitch as many as we can, with Mary stitching the most, and I then try to finish them into ornaments in time for the open house.
At the back of the shop was our goody table with lots of munchies. Back by popular demand from last year's favourites were my dad's hummus, and my sister's guacamole. There was also a selection of "can't resist" crackers, a spinach dip and Christmas squares and cookies.
To make this year's Christmas even more special I designed my own Christmas ornament. We then prepared kits that included the fabric, threads and charm. The kit, a few other Christmas Freebee charts, and a chocolate completed our Christmas gift to everyone that came to the Open House. As not everyone was able to drop by for whatever reason, I would still like to make this chart available to all of you. Click here for a small Christmas gift from one stitcher to another. Merry Christmas.
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