Needle Delights Originals

I've been "away" from blogging a long time and actually feel like I'm just getting back to being part of the human race again. I've had a busy summer and fall with lots of activies, traveling, teaching, nursing a friend through several surgeries, etc. I've also been dealing with chronic jaw pain since July. I've grinded my teeth when I sleep since I was a child so it was no surprise to me when the dentist said that's what was causing my pain. After getting a dental guard and chipping, cracking, and putting a hole in it (yes, I'm a grinder!), I still had pain which came and went but was never completely gone.  To make a long story short (yes it's already long!), I actually had a tooth that was fractured but never hurt until Thanksgiving when it got infected. By this time, it was completely broken in half. After a very long painful weekend,  I got into the dentist and then after a round of antibiotics (3 days) and painkillers (thank goodness!) g...

Tidbits is done and at the printer! This was really fun to stitch and a bit of a design challenge for me to create so many different patterns to fit such small squares! I like it long and narrow but it would also be fun short and wide, especially for a pillow. Tidbits is on the website and available to pre-order. I anticipate shipping September 15th. Pre-orders will be shipped in the order they are received.     Here's what my weekend consisted of...   I'm organizing my garage to move more of my business stuff out there after adding an air conditioner. These wonderful Longaberger baskets need to find good homes so I've listed them on my website for sale. Check them out here ! I've got more to add but will do that in a week or so. I'm looking forward to going to the ANG Seminar in Myrtle Beach at the end of the month. It'll be a nice break for me as I'm taking a class this year. I'll be teaching at next year's seminar in New Orleans! I can...

I've finished stitching two more of the Elements series for Tomorrow's Heirlooms Counted Canvas Club. Registration is ending soon - see their Facebook post for all the details.  Here's a sneak peek at Water...  and Fire.... Next to stitch is Wind/Air -     Looking forward to stitching soon - I'm in Instruction Writing Mode right now. It's not my favorite part of the design process but so necessary! Kathy

Finally, my kitchen remodel is done! Everything is new except the actual cabinets - they were painted and a few slight changes made, mostly to the inside of the pantry. The cabinet doors (all 29 of them!) were replaced and hardware added. Floor tile, marble countertops, glass tile backsplash, sink and faucet, and new appliances are all brand new! My eighties kitchen has come into the 21st century and I love it! I liked my old kitchen but hated the floor tile and was tired of everything else - my dishwasher had stopped working and my frig was on its last leg, and the original wallpaper was painted over in a previous facelift. Once I decided to rip up the floor and get the other things I wanted, the project took on a life of its own and it jut seemed more efficient to do it all at once! Here's what it looked like before:   we lowered this hightop counter and Boots lost his barstools...but I have a lot more counter space. Here's what I lived with for three weeks as...

It will be no surprise to anyone who has done major remodeling that my kitchen isn't done yet! It's close - I just need cabinet doors and drawer fronts with hardware - maybe in another week. I am thrilled to have a sink and all new appliances though. On the design front, here is "Earth", the first of four in my "Elements" series. The others will be Air (Wind), Fire, and Water. Pam & Kim from Tomorrow's Heirlooms approached me earlier this year about designing a series of designs for them to offer as a Counted Canvas Club. I taught in their shop last summer and a lasting friendship was born so of course, I said Yes, how FUN!!  I came up with the Elements for a theme and designed and stitched Earth first - here it is...it also looks great on point. I'm using the same layout for all four of the designs so they will coordinate with each other in a grouping. I was so fired up (no pun intended) about these designs that I immediately did the Fire a...

This is the last of the colorways completed - it's called Glowing Embers and consists of Purples, Rusts, and Grays. Amy K. from Phoenix stitched it and brought it to the class I've taught the last few days in California at Needle in a Haystack. I was thrilled to see it in person! The pattern will be available soon and it can now be pre-ordered. I've posted the pre-order info .    Amy is amazing - she also brought a large number of my pieces that she'd stitched - I took photos to share here...This is Amy with her Color Delights and Double Delights - she has stitched every single one of them and is thinking of putting them in a soft wallhanging someday!   And here are some of her other pieces - it was quite a great Show & Tell for everyone there!     I taught Serenity the last two days and took a photo of class during the break! These are the "diehards" who won't stop stitching long for a break! They were a delightful g...

  Some of my students spent the weekend stitching! Here are more of the colorways finished! First up is the Confetti colorway, stitched by Lois S.   Next is the Earthtones colorway, stitched by Carla H.   This is the Greens/Blues colorway, stitched by Valerie H.   and Barbi's "Beachy Starstruck" - she chose her own colors, which she'll happily share! Thank you again for a great class! Here's a sneak peek of Oasis - it'll be offered soon through Shining Needle - I have threads laid out and am in the middle of choosing colorways. A trip to the Needle Bug may be on the agenda tomorrow!   Here's the sneak peek in black and white - sometimes I take a photo in black and white just to see the design and not be influenced by the color. It's easier to see the light, medium, and dark tones this way.    Happy Stitching! Kathy  

My Mystery class is finished - I sent the last lesson on July 1st. It was a six month class and the end was kind of bittersweet for me as I hit "send" to end the class. The best part is I can finally show my finished Starstruck!     Below is the Greens/Blues version - Valerie sent me a photo this morning of her finished piece!   ...and here is Cranberry from DeAnn. This was such a fun piece and it was a wonderful class. I especially loved seeing the other five colorways come to life. There has been such interest and demand, I will be releasing the pattern next month. Shops can pre-order now. Happy Fourth of July! Kathy

  You may be asking yourself when "Americana" became a COLOR?! I say now! I like to throw some different "colors" into my series of Color Delights to make you go hmmmm.... Occasionally somebody will tell me (or ask nicely!) what they'd like me to design for them. Americana came from one such "brainstorming session" (AKA lunch with friends!) when I laughingly said I could do something small with red white and blue stars and thought out loud, "I know, I'll throw it in the Color Delights series and call it "Americana". The joke was on me as I pondered it briefly and then said, "that's actually a great idea"! So here it is...just a few weeks later! I love it when something just flows so easily!     I'm almost done writing instructions and ordering threads and have just posted the pattern and kits on the website . Shops and customers may pre-order now.   I've started a new series and finished the first...

I'm so pleased to show you photos of some of my students' work! They've had such fun stitching Serenity and several have completed it. It's such fun to see the different colorways come to life! First up is Pam B's - it's called "Flowers of Italy". She was clever and added her initials to the piece - can you find them?!   Next is Highland Garden - it was one of the most popular colorways!   And here's Arnhem Heath, the ever popular purple and green!  I'll be teaching this project at Needle in a Haystack in Alameda, CA next month - if you're wanting some Serenity, come join us. You can see all the info here. Kathy