March 7, 2012 eNewsletter - Attic Needlework

Where Samplers Rule

The Attic, Mesa, AZ Toll-Free: 1.888.94-ATTIC (1.888.942.8842) www.atticneedlework.com

THE ATTIC Issue No. 12-6

T E L E P H O N E( 4 8 0 ) 8 9 8 - 1 8 3 8

2012 March7 www.atticneedlework.com

J u s t 1 5 m i n u t e s f r o m t h e A i r p o r t a t t h e

NE CORNER OF CENTER & MCKELLIPS

1 0 6 E . M c K e l l i p s R d , S u i t e 1 1 1

M e s a , A Z 8 5 2 0 1

As our Sampler of the Month, save 15% by

purchasing 2 of the 3 parts:* “Sarah Gentle - 1821” chart $15 * Lakeside Linen (40c w/2” margins $25) * Silks (Belle Soie + Au Ver A’Soie Soie d’Alger $45

March Sampler of the Month from Samplers Remembered F A C S I M I L E(480)898-0332

I loved this sampler from the moment I saw Linda working on it. Here’s what she says about Sarah’s beautiful sampler: “I have enjoyed charting and stitching Sarah’s beautiful sampler and hope you will treasure the stitching experience of this sampler too. Sarah’s sampler incorporates one of my favorite antique sampler verses, ‘Jesus permit thy gracious name to stand as the first efforts of an infant’s hand . . . .’ Along with this sweet verse, the birds in flight carrying strawberries in their beaks, the urns of fruits and flowers, the hearts, the animals, and the floral sampler band separating the two verses all combine to form an exquisite sampler design. Sarah’s sampler has strong characteristics of an English sampler but was found in Minnesota and listed for sale as an American sampler. We can only wonder. Maybe Sarah or her descendants carried her sampler from England and settled here or she may have indeed worked it here in the United States. I wish I knew more about Sarah, the school she attended, how old she was when she stitched her sampler, something about her life, but those questions for now are unanswered.

“We do know the Biblical motif of Adam and Eve with the Tree of Knowledge and the Serpent which Sarah stitched was a familiar subject for samplers during the history of sampler making. Attending church and reading from the Bible daily were an important part of life in many households, so it would follow that Biblical motifs and verses were often worked on samplers.”

http://www.atticneedlework.com




THE ATTIC! PAGE2


As a member of our Attic Addicts Club, during February you can save 15% on the following

items:• A Nashville Market Item of your choosing • All Samplers Remembered Charts• Belle Soie Silks

Support a great cause (all net proceeds go to breast cancer research) by buying a copy(s) of the Recipes for a Cure cookbook for a donation of $14.95 (or more) with fabulous time-tested recipes as well as complimentary designs from 11 designers.

Sunday, March 25, 1-4 PM, Sampler Sunday. In February we had an overflow crowd for this gathering of samplermakers that filled the tables in the main shop as well, so with their acquiescence, we’ll try that again. Please phone/e-mail your reservation. Fee: $10

We still have some BCRF cookbooks left.

Thursday, March 8 - Sunday, March 11, Junipine Retreat This annual Attic event is almost here, and we’re all very excited for this very special weekend gathering at this lovely Oak Creek resort.

Saturday, March 10 , 10 :30 -12 :30 , Beginning Linen This class is appropriate for both beginning stitchers and anyone wishing to refine their skills. The class project is Linda’s Tulip needlebook design, and the $30 fee includes her expert instruction + all project materials.

March

Le Nouveau Palais Royal, what some consider Merry’s pièce de rés is tance, will be taught Thursday AND Sunday. Kit includes beautiful box & sweet scissors.Workshop Fee: $275

Swee t Li t t l e Blossoms Saturday’s workshop from 9 - 4 p.m. includes the lovely Shaker box.Workshop Fee: $200

So Dear to Thy Heart, Merry’s 2011 Williamsburg project, includes the beautiful box shown. Scheduled for Friday, Nov 9, 9 - 4 p.m. More pho to s a t h t tp ://www. ju s t -crossstitch.com/seminar-2011/merry.html Workshop fee: $240

Merry Cox November 2012

We are most honored and privileged to host four Merry Cox Workshops on Thursday ~ Sunday, November 8-11. Each workshop runs from 9 - 4 p.m., with lunch included. Registration for all of the workshops (Le Nouveau Palais Royal twice, Sweet Little Blossoms, and So Dear to Thy Heart, the 2011 Williamsburg piece) at this time is closed, but if you wish to be on a waiting list, either Thursday or Sunday’s sessions for Le Nouveau Palais Royal is your best bet. All workshops will be held at Mesa’s Hyatt Place, where there is a room block being held under “Attic Needlework” with a $99 King or $104 Queen/Queen option. Phone 1.888.HYATT HP. Unfortunately, we have more registrants than we have space for, so some are unhappily on a waiting list. But having handled these types of events before, I do know that life happens and cancellations are inevitable, so don’t despair ~ there will be some openings. Pre-stitching kits will be Merry’s first priority after she has filled the kit requirements for her May, June, and July workshops. You may go to Merry’s Web site for more information about these projects, and many more of her incredible designs: http://www.frommerrysheart.com/

Saturday, March 31, Stitching on Silk Gauze With the release of more beautiful Erica Michaels designs (See page 6), it reminds me that it’s time once again to schedule this perennially popular class, and maybe you and I will be fortunate enough to have Rhonda available as my “teaching assistant.” That’s my euphemism for the real teacher, who’s actually stitched dozens of beautiful silk gauze designs, which she brings to inspire you. Choose your favorite design, and in class we will help you select your fibers. Fee $10. As always, you will receive a 10% discount on all class supplies, including lights and magnification.

Saturday, March 24, 2-4 PM, Design Your Own French Alphabet Sampler. . Fee: $10




http://www.just-crossstitch.com/seminar-2011/merry.html






http://www.frommerrysheart.com




THE ATTIC! PAGE3

Attic, Mesa, AZ Toll-Free: 1.888.94-ATTIC (1.888.942.8842) www.atticneedlework.com

Nashville Market Day!

Read on in this newsletter for close-ups of some of what these shoppers found on our overflowing classroom tables.

The early-bird shoppers, Attic Addict members, were waiting outside the door on a beautiful Saturday morning ... and the “wall” photos show you what was on display for them in the classroom! We are so fortunate to have a large number of designers in the Phoenix area willing to share their models with our customers.



THE ATTIC! PAGE4


New from The Needle’s Prayse

We have some exciting news to report this week: *There is a new design from Darlene/The Needle’s Prayse entitled “Alpha & Omega” $12, and the title has such significance: The outside border of the piece is from Darlene’s first design (“Early American Teaching Sampler”), and the design itself is her last design as owner of The Needle's Prayse (i.e., the first and the last). Then there is also (and primarily) the biblical representation found in the book of Revelations. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The Alpha and the Omega symbols represent the eternal nature of Jesus and God that is referenced in Rev 1:8, Rev 21:6 and Rev 22:13. There is also the symbolism in the queen stitch flowers: The pink carnation is the symbol of love and Mary's flower (Jesus' Mary), the yellow flowers represent the rising sun for Easter, and the cross is formed by the 5 white backgrounds. *And the second great news is that, while Darlene is retiring, The Needle’s Prayse and the remarkable body of work that it encompasses will continue to be available to our needlework world from NeedleWorkPress. That transition is well underway, so if you have ordered any Needle’s Prayse designs, we hope to have them in stock again very soon and be shipping your orders. Thanks so much for your patience during this changeover.

A short time ago, we received an e-mail from Hoffman Media with the following announcement: “DARLENE O'STEEN is retiring from many years in the world of embroidery and stitch instruction. As her fond farewell, she offers stitchers a final commemorative edition of her best-selling book, The Proper Stitch—in softcover and CD. “Whether printed or on your computer at the touch of the mouse, you'll cherish this edition for years to come.” This perennially popular publication will be available for $35.99 in soft-cover or CD or for $60 for both. Please reserve your copy today. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to add this unparalleled book to your library (or the CD version for your digital use). Don’t wait till this edition is out of print, like the previous ones, and then be disappointed or have to pay the higher out-of-print price.



http://acemail.hoffmanmedia.com/lt.php?c=848&m=388&nl=87&s=25dddf7dff9c988ce174f2cdfe41b3e3&lid=8346&l=-http--www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22EHEX2LF6X

http://acemail.hoffmanmedia.com/lt.php?c=848&m=388&nl=87&s=25dddf7dff9c988ce174f2cdfe41b3e3&lid=8346&l=-http--www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22EHEX2LF6X

THE ATTIC! PAGE5


New from Blackbird Designs

Barb & Alma’s booth is always an amazing decorating feat in the confines of an Embassy suite, filled with wonderful projects and gorgeous quilts (in my next life I’m hoping I’ll have time for quilting) that reflect their creative spirit ~ I’ve “shrunk” the covers of their newest publications in order to show you some of the wonderful projects! “For My Friend” $27 ~ “Sweet Thoughts of You” $8 ~ “Wild Garden” Limited Edition Kit $50 that includes a wonderful antique Czech button they found in New York while there to see Betty Ring’s collection! If you look closely, you can see the Czech button just to the left of the “ML” below. The kit is packaged in a wonderful tin.

Above and right, several projects from “For My Friend” ~ and we have a set of 3 paper maché boxes (4”, 5”, 6”) for $7.50 ~ stitch count is 82 x 88 ~ make several on several linen counts!



THE ATTIC! PAGE6


Clockwise above: “All Thy Works” ($22 w/gauze) comes to mind when anyone asks me for my most favorite Nashville release ~ I LOVE this one! The detail is simply amazing on the 40c silk gauze or, as Molly is doing, stitch it on a sky-colored 40c linen and you will eliminate the need to fill in the sky ~ “A Sampling of Friends” ($17 w/gauze) with the word “friend” in several different languages and a place in the lower part of the design to include the initials of some of your own special friends.

New from Erica Michaels

Above, “Speak Kindly” ($15 w/gauze) is the final installment in the Words to Live B y S e r i e s . G o t o h t t p : / /w w w . e r i c a m i c h a e l s . c o m /wordstoliveby.htm to view the whole series. Left, “Delight” ($15 w/gauze) features a quote from Rudyard Kipling ~ and “Les Pendentifs des A à Z” with its bordered monogram is slightly over 1” square and designed to fit into a lovely silver-plated pendant, stitched in 2 shades of your favorite silk!



http://www.ericamichaels.com/wordstoliveby.htm






THE ATTIC! PAGE7


New from Rosewood Manor

As I entered the Rosewood Manor suite at the Nashville market, this gorgeous wreath of “Christmas Blues” ($16) ornaments welcomed us! And then just inside the door I found what I couldn’t wait to see in person: “Old Glory” ($16)! I’d seen pre-show publicity about it and even had a customer call for it before I knew about it ~ and it is simply stunning in person! Equally capturing my attention was “Peaceful Dove,” ($8) especially when I saw it stitched over one on the Sudberry Vintage Pincushion ($20). And on the table close to it was a charming little needlebook, “My Two Ducks,” ($4) a design that came out several years ago as part of the Stitch Your Heart Out campaign and oh, so adorable in person! I’m so pleased that I got to see this model.



THE ATTIC! PAGE8


And then I was drawn to the beautiful red “Dogwood Lace” ($13), stunning in red but really perfect for any favorite color ~ “Flowers Awake” ($15) was equally lovely, although difficult to photograph and capture its details, including its verse featuring a quote from Thomas Blackburn’s “An Easter Hymn”: “Awake, thou wintery earth Fling off thy sadness Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth Your ancient gladness”~

More from Rosewood Manor

While not new, I couldn’t keep from photographing an open drawer that had tucked inside the “Rainbow Butterfly Pin” ($28), which comes as a kit with the 40c silk gauze, Dinky Dyes silk floss, beads & the the glass frame ~ no 2 are alike!

“Nostalgia I” ($8) begins a gorgeous new series (the next few in the series were also on display and you will love them!) inspired by antique sampler motifs. The 12 smaller samplers can be stitched together to form one larger sampler or st i tched individually. All borders are the same, and the last chart will have small motifs that can be inserted into the small space left between the sampler borders to complete the larger sampler. One chart will be released each month and completed in February 2013.



THE ATTIC! PAGE9


What a wonderful surprise, to have Stacy Nash at her first Nashville market! And to meet her mother, a lovely woman who helps Stacy in her business. Her booth was stunning, as I hope my photos capture for you. And she had 3 new releases: Upper right, her “logo” sampler, “Grace Bridges Sampler” $18 (charted for DMC ~ for a conversion to overdyed silks see p. 13) ~ “Summer Gathering Pinkeep Drum, Slipper & Strawberry” $14 ~ “1902 Paris Sampler Bag” $14, shown in red on the left-hand side of the bottom right photo.

New from Stacy Nash Primitives



THE ATTIC! PAGE10


New from Chessie ‘n Me

Linda’s beautiful booth is always so inviting and filled with wonderful samplers and smalls! And this year she has LOTS of new things for our to-do baskets: Clockwise from the right: “Scarlet’s Summer Sampler” $10, shown on a hornbook Linda’s husband made that Priscilla’s Pocket is in the process of replicating ~ “Lulu’s Flock” $10 with more “sharming” sheep, a wonderful weeping willow, and more! ~ “Glory House” kit $20, perfect as a fob or framed ~ the front and the inside of a project from our 2011 Primitive Gathering, “Needlebook of Stitches” with finishing instructions $10 ~ and “Chessie’s Alphabet Needlebook” $10



THE ATTIC! PAGE11


New from NeedleWorkPress

Clockwise from upper left: “Alsap Family Record Sampler” $20, a reproduction of a sampler that documents the family of the first mayor of Phoenix, which Vickie LoPiccolo Jennett reproduced to commemorate Arizona’s Centennial, and was part of our January Symposium ~ “Desert Rosi” $12, designed for Vickie’s dear friend Rosi ~ “Arizona My Home” $10 (other states’ “homes” are being charted now) is shown in a Priscilla’s Pocket frame ~ “A Pomegranate Study” $10 with motifs “borrowed” from several of Vickie’s antique pieces ~ and the beautiful“Ann Wheatley Sampler” $24




THE ATTIC! PAGE12


More from NeedleWorkPress

Clockwise from upper left: “Posies from the Cottage” $16 we’ve shown you before, but now I’ve photographed Maegan’s purse and the framed pieces ~ and “Funky A & E” $16 we showed you also, I think, and I also photographed the 2 models but didn’t get a good photo ~ “Polly Wanna” $8 is a reproduction of a pincushion that is so good that it’s difficult to tell which is the repro and which the original! ~ and “Isabella Johnstone Sampler” $16, originally published in Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly, as was “Polly Wanna,” is now available in chart form



THE ATTIC! PAGE13


Clockwise from above: “Taby’s Needle Cushion” $12 is a very clever design for a pincushion, with a band of felted wool across the top for your pins, which avoids the problem of losing your pins & needles in the pincushion ~ “54-40 or Fight” $10 (and the chart provides a wonderful history lesson while explaining the design’s title) is shown framed in a beautiful hand-grained frame in what is referred to as the “Peacock” grain ($52)

New from Priscilla’s Pocket

T h e “ G r a c e B r i d g e s Sampler” f rom Stacy Nash, charted in DMC, we thought would be perfect for overdyed silks, and here we show you the colors on the Lakeside linen we chose! The sampler is one you’ve admired for years as part of Stacy’s logo!



THE ATTIC! PAGE14


Above, also from Cherrywood Design Studios, words that we can all relate to in this design, “I Am A Stitcher” ($9)

A special Nashville Market Limited Edition release, a collaboration between two of everyone’s favorite designers, Little House Needleworks and Shakespeare’s Peddler, “A Stitcher’s Heart/Gentle Stitches” ($30) includes 5 Crescent Colours hand-dyed cotton floss and hand-dyed Bean Sprout rick-rack to trim the heart pincushion. Also included just for the shops that attended the Nashville Needlework Market is an exclusive Little House Needleworks design called “Home.” We’re happy to include a linen for each project with your order for $12 each; the chart models are stitched on 32c Lakeside but are very adaptable to any linen count and a number of the beautiful Lakeside colors, so give us your favorite count!

Above, from NeedleWorkPress, for all of us sampler lovers, a very special and utilitarian microfiber cloth, 5.5” x 6.25”, ($6) with the image of the “Ann Wheatley” sampler ~ to make cleaning everything from your eyeglasses to your computer screen to your iPad much more fun! You’ll want several for yourself ~ and they’re great for gift-giving!

More VERY Special Things from Nashville

Above, from Elizabeth’s Designs, a very charming design if you like animals (and who doesn’t?), “Antique Animal Sampler” ($9)



THE ATTIC! PAGE15


Clockwise from above: a beautiful reproduction of “Ann Smith Blockley 1834” ($18) stitched on 45c Vintage Meadow Rue with Au Ver A’Soie 100/3 silks (we’re happy to do a coversion to silk overdyes if you’d like) ~ the 4 pendants on the right art part of a kit package, “Milady’s Sampler Pendants I” $25 that includes Lakeside’s 36c Pecan Butter + Gentle Art threads, enough to stitch all 4, with 1 pendant (we have extras, $10 each) ~ and then the 4 designs below and to the left, “Milady’s Sampler Pendants II” ($28), are kitted with Gloriana’s Luminescence.

New from Milady’s Needle



THE ATTIC! PAGE16


More from Milady’s Needle

“ Q u e e n A n n e ' s P i n Chest and Needle Book” ($10) and “Sweet Bird's Pin Nest and Needle Book” ($10) These hideaway pin cushions are stitched on Weeks Dye Works 40c Confederate Gray Linen using Belle Soie Silks from Crescent Colours. Instructions for finishing are included and the pin cushion when removed from the wooden base reveals an area in which to put pins or the matching needle book. The Vintage Pin Cushion is $20.

On Their Way from With My Needle

“A Quaker Needlework Box” $18 is a small embroidered box (3.5” square) with twoembroidered pinkeep medallions adorning the inside of the box +another pincushion on the inside box lid. Charts and directions included for the embroidered box, the pinkeep medallions, a scissors weight, a needlebook, and two threadwinders. The motifs are all cross stitched over one linen thread, but you can stitch them over two linen threads to create larger items. This project uses backstitch, cross stitch over one linen thread, and four-sided stitch. As always, stitching directions, charts, and detailed assembly instructions are included. “Hannah Cummins 1828” ($14) is a charming reproduction sampler. stitched mainly in cross stitch over two linen threads except for one elongated cross stitch and 12 cross stitches over one linen thread ~ model is stitched on 35c Weeks Straw using Needlepoint, Inc. silk.



THE ATTIC! PAGE17


These beautiful accessories are from a new designer, and we were thrilled to see Sharon’s work in Nashville. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to look for the details and price information for these in our next newsletter. I’ve run out of time this afternoon and must send this off

to Christy for posting to our Web site.

New from a New Designer: The Purple Thread



THE ATTIC! PAGE18


New from Cherrywood Designs Studios

Above, “Trick or Treat All Through the Year,” a very fun Halloween six-part series where the 6th chart is FREE to series subscribers. The first design, “Peace Love Candy Corn” ~ Below, “Trick or Treat” is the complimentary design for series subscribers ~ the six-part series will ship approximately every 6 weeks, to finish by October, just in time to decorate for the Bewitching Holiday!

Above, “parts” from the “Trick or Treat All Through the Year Series” ~ Right, Very Limited Edition Kit, “Have a Ball” $12 (ours are embellished with a lime-green ribbon instead of the one pictured) ~ “My Heart is Quilted” ($9) ~ and . . .



THE ATTIC! PAGE19


Shannon’s Beautiful Samplers, Each on 45c!

Clockwise from the left: Queenstown Sampler’s “Rosina Payne” $15 and its beautiful central motif ~ “Doña Dorothea Gazano y Garcia” ($26.50), a reproduction by The Scarlet Letter ~ and “Isabella Johnstone” $16, a reproduction from the collection of Vickie Jennett/NeedleWorkPress ~ the photo in the lower right shows Linda’s stitched on 40c next to Shannon’s on 45c. It was fun to see them side by side!

45c isn’t for everyone, but if you can see it, the results are simply stunning!



March 7, 2012 eNewsletter - Attic Needlework

Documents