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THIRD QUARTER - 2007 (july - september) september 29, 2007 and so..it's almost october - can we believe it's almost october - the leaves have started to turn here and are dropping off the trees - the tree in our front yard doesn't even bother to change colors - the leaves just drop off - kind of boring actually - but the birch trees in the back yard are changing and shedding and there are little golden leaves all over the grass. mr. shoo is coming down this morning for a play date with a new friend from menlo park...mr. kobe is coming over and there should be puppy terror all over this shop - and it will be interesting to see who can outlast who in the running, squeeky toy destruction and general puppiness that will take place when you put two 6 month old young doggers together. i'm struggling with a list that is enough to choke even me of "to dos" before i leave on wednesday for a quick trip east...two pages - one with a list of "before wednesday" and the other (twice as long) with the list of "after i get back" and before october 19th when all our guests arrive for our chocolat retreat with jackie du plessis. we will have another on-line class with ms. jackie "whine & weave" that will be scheduled very soon - gorgeous class - and she is bringing boxes of stuff for us to drool over and the teasers for petite trianon and berry thief which are scheduled for april and october of 2008. ms. lucy bear is recovering quite nicely. mama took off her collar on wednesday night - she just was not having an easy time of it and when i still couldn't get her to eat primo baby food meat out of the little jars - it was just enough!!! off came the collar, she is such a prissy little girl that not being able to clean herself was making her wild...she had a really good ear scratching...and a very nice bathie - being very careful not to touch her stitches - and then plowed thru a plate of food. ms. lucy is still in laundry room sick bay just to keep the stitches safe until friday the 5th when papa is taking her in to the vet to have them removed. we're also rubbing vitamin E oil on her scar tissue trying to keep the skin soft for her. she thanks each and every one of you who sent good wishes her way - it was very traumatic for both her and her mama and papa but i gave her the last of her antibiotics this morning...and cleaned off the wound site with hydrogen peroxide and i think she is going to recover fully - albeit a bit stiff for a few months as the back leg and haunch wounds fully heal. lots of stitches for such a little kitty girl and honestly i think she has 8 lives left - the 9th one was taken care of by this accident. so...enough about enough... it's been a little bit slow this week as far as incoming...but we will have more new things next week. we have released our "with all your heart" breast cancer piece from belinda karls-nace of blue ribbon designs and they are flying out the door and we are so very pleased about that and i've got thread and pink fabric everywhere as we make up more kits. blue ribbon designs - two new
ones from belinda...and we love them both... the marking sampler with a new
quaker sampler exact reproduction...beautiful piece plum street samplers we had
trouble getting this for awhile - but i'm so glad it finally arrived...it's just
too sweet. and so...i leave wednesday and back sunday early afternoon, mr. bear leave for munich early saturday morning and will be back late friday night. mr. shoo is having a sleep over at annie's with raider dog on friday and saturday night and i'll pick him up on my way home from the airport on sunday; lucy bear is having a sleep over at grammie's house on friday and saturday night because she still will need to be watched and not let loose...and the rest of the kids at home will be fine until i get home...and then i'll be visiting with the sacramento ega guild on sunday the 14th and then chocolat starts on the 19th with incoming guests arriving on the 18th and some before that. then a trip to spokane and then a trip to mesa, arizona in the middle of november...it's going to be lots of air time and lots of road time between here and the sacramento airport...but all good. so...off to clean up one side of that list in my notebook, finish off a sock for a dear friend so i can pack that tomorrow with my jammies and the rest of my stuff and then hit it running on monday and tuesday before i jet out on wednesday afternoon. more stuff coming next week and i'll do my best to get an update done on monday the 8th when i get back into the shop. enjoy your weekend...have a good one and we thank you for visiting with us this week.
september 24, 2007 when i drove in this morning - the 2nd wave of starlings were all sitting on the wires on coffee road - taking a breather on their way south for the winter. i thought that the amounts we had seen earlier in the month were quite sparse...but now have realized that it was the scouting party ahead of everybody else. the rest of the flock is here in modesto fueling up for the journey south. it rained this weekend so all the almond/walnut ranchers are scrambling - rain makes the green hulls crack and they need to come off the trees quickly...and up off the ground...so disgusting dirty nut harvest is in full swing around here. rain was really, really early - we never have rain in september and it will be interesting to see what the rest of winter is like - from the fur coats on the kitties - i suspect long, cold and early - but - that's just a guess. we have also learned that when possums come into the yard at home, over or under the fence and there is a little seven pound persian kitty girl in their way - it does not make for a fun time. we came very, very close to losing our lucy bear this weekend. when it was all in and all done - we had 13 stitches visible and countless on the inside, a collar around her neck and two drains in her back leg...and although it's been really scary this weekend - this morning she ate some water pack tuna (which relieved her mama greatly) and we have another vet visit tomorrow at 2:30 and hopefully will get the collar off her and the drains out. in the meantime - i continue to shovel banana flavored antibiotics (who ever thought that cats like banana or cherry flavor??) down her throat along with water...and hope that tomorrow we can remove that stinky collar so she can eat and drink much easier - not to mention sleep. mama was up 4 times last night checking on her in sick bay and the other kitties don't know what has happened except that the laundry room door is closed and their sissy is on the other side and mama and pappa will not let them go in. ms. lucy bear now has the distinct title of thousand dollar baby...but you do what you do for your kids...she really is quite unattractive at the moment and her pride is wounded (along with the back half of her) as well as her shaven backside and some lovely bright red stitches that don't go with a thing in her closet. we are just very lucky and i am very grateful to our vet who saved her life in surgery on friday afternoon. obviously a long, long couple of days since thursday night. but...the beat goes on...whether emergencies happen or not...and the boxes continue to roll in and out of this place...so i'm going to get this done and then do a few things around here and head home for more "fun" as we wind closer to the end of september and virginia is just around the corner - climbing on a plane on wednesday the 3rd and heading east. loose feathers - this one is
just beautiful and we are so excited...annie took hers home on saturday and i
have mine in my bag...which seems to get fuller faster than it gets empty.
we're looking for paper mache boxes at our michaels...we just love this one to
bits. homespun elegance - the three
yearly ornaments are out and here as well as a very sweet kit that includes
fabric and threads. prairie moon - we love christmas
socks - and we love this christmas sock a lot!!! i was going to do more as far as updating and cleaning the web site - but after the events of this weekend and time consumption - i am further behind than when i started - obviously and the piles around here demand my attention more than the website does at this point so, that being said...i'm out of here - and on to the piles that are gathering everywhere. have a great week - and i hope to be back on schedule again on friday - as long as we don't have kitties tangling with ugly possums again. fall is here - it's cool (even for modesto) and we are loving the cool. now, if we can just get thru the rest of fire season in good shape - bring winter on!!!!
september 14, 2007 overnight the weather has changed to fall. we won't get above low 80's all weekend and we are just enjoying the cool evenings and the cooler days. i think we will be experiencing an early fall and a cold winter - the starlings only stayed for a very brief time on their way to winter digs in mexico...barely a week and they were gone..the pomegranate tree in the backyard is very light on fruit this year...and the leaves are already starting to turn just a little bit on the trees - and every persian in our house is "coating up" seriously...so i think the firewood coming in a week is a good thing..not to mention the 1.5 yards of river rock for the flower beds - which i will be attacking next weekend along with the pots under the newly trimmed redwood trees. mr. shoo had a bathie last night so he is bright and shiny to meet his auntie judy bielec this afternoon before class...having already met his auntie carla from spokane last night...he has lots of aunties to meet this afternoon and bruce is bringing him down to the shop about lunch time, dropping mr. shoo shoo and taking home the dyson...and then the fun begins. i'm heading out to the airport about 9:00 to drop off all our goodies at the hotel and then head north to the airport...and her plane is in the air...and all is good. now, if we could just get jackie out here for october without plane delays...all would be very fine in the world at elegant stitch. the just cross stitch magazine came in this week, all the drawn thread shop automatics went out to far and wide yesterday morning - so your local shop should be receiving them either saturday or monday at the very latest...kelly and i really hustled to get that done in a timely fashion and cynthia is working on the update to her website and that should be done relatively soon too!!! next week is going to be another nut case week as we start shipping our 2007 october breast cancer awareness piece "with all my heart" by belinda karls-nace from blue ribbon designs. i have to do some major cleaning on the web site and get all our "charity" stuff in one spot...but that's a "quiet" job in the early morning hours or the later evening...when the hustle and bustle of our days subsides. then i need to start thinking about packing suitcases and making lists and getting the rest of my life in order (fat chance) but it's all good and it all works somehow - but don't ask me how it works...because i have absolutely no idea what-so-ever. so...because airport departure is only an hour a way and i'm going to be otherwise engaged all weekend...here we go... drawn thread: two more of
the alphabet series - we have three more to go and then that is complete as well
as a new sampler and the accessories for box of stitches. and, come early
2008 - there is a gorgeous piece in the works...we are so looking forward to
that one...life is good. carriage house samplings: kathy
put them all together and this is just wonderful...what a spectacular
piece!!! we are almost out of our bunch and have more ordered :) country cottage neeedleworks:
i missed this in the bin the other day - of course i ordered the companion piece
to little ballerinas...missed it in the flurry with the computer server...way
cute. m designs: a very spooky tree to be sure and last but not least...a new designer and we will be
getting more of her things - i love them!!! okay - record time - off to upload this - keeping fingers crossed that last week's test of my patience and ripping my fingernails out will not happen again. off to the hotel to unload all of our felting class supplies and then off to the airport to get our special guest...and let the weekend begin. we're actually almost on schedule which is a very scary thing in my world...and the fact that it's friday morning, the shop is clean, everything is done and all we need to do is dip strawberries - that could be cause for panic right there!!! enjoy your weekend...have a good week next and we'll be back
to share the marvels of our industry world with you again next week. stay
safe and thanks for visiting. september 7, 2007 okay...insanity...truly insanity. we have had disgusting heat - now we are having spare the air day because of the two huge fires - one to the north of us and one to the west of us - that are spewing smoke and more smoke and ash and more smoke into the central valley. the skies are brown and everything stinks...and the temps are still hovering around 93...so it's a little warm and very smelly outside. we were supposed to get a wind shift yesterday that was going to clear out the valley but it never happened. for all the best intentions last week - i was going to do an update on labor day monday but instead decided to tackle the 5 huge redwoods in our backyard...8 hours, 8 huge lawn bags and an 8 foot pile at the curb and bruce and i were done - that was definitely a 2 shower day...but the yard is back under control and all things growing are very happy for the extra light that has been shed in our back yard. now i have to get some new plants for the planters...but i don't think that is going to happen this weekend...i've got too much other stuff on the plate so the planters are going to have to remain naked for another week or two i'm afraid. before i go much further - let's get the new things up and off the plate. i also have to go in and fiddle around - the web server blew a fuse the other evening and i think some of the features are not working so well on this web site but the only way i'm going to figure that out is to totally upload everything and then find the hidden monsters...and i'm hoping our dearest kelly can help me right some of the wrongs. we are losing her off to college again and two weeks today will be her last day - we will miss her terribly...she has been my left arm (annie is my right arm) all summer and i can't believe she's been home almost three months...and is now heading back down to santa barbara for her junior year which isn't too bad since she turns 19 on november 21st. we are very proud of her and sara as well...i am very lucky to have these two charming young women working here. shepherd's bush: the new kits for fall that we ordered
at market are here and they are stunning and beyond stunning!!! wendy k.c. designs: we have received part II of bees'
garden and it's just beautiful...and we are very lucky to have wendy joining us
for our chocolat retreat here in october... little house needleworks: a new whimsical series from little
house and a very classic fall sampler the primitive needle: we love this gorgeous witch...we
just do!! country cottage needleworks: mosey 'n me: love these - i love that silly foxy...and
how beautiful he is over 2 on 40 count...or over one on 30 count...like a little
tapestry... blessings counted - french alphabet sampler this is the only time we will be accepting orders for the french alphabet sampler in 2007. we are limited in the number the designer is able to accept. all orders must be here in the shop by october 1st and obviously it's on a first come, first served basis. all the information is listed on the pages linked above. we will do our best to have these back to you by no later than christmas of 2007. if you have any questions after reading the materials - just e-mail me at lois@elegantstitch.com. it was a day of major import yesterday for a little black and
white puppy dog. he did his first beauty appt. at the yuppy puppy here in
town...and spent many happy hours being a pack dog as he was allowed to run with
the big dogs around the shop. not only did he look gorgeous when he
arrived back at the shop (ms. kelly went and fetched him) but he was one tired
little boy...and then we had a trip to pet smart for a new collar since he has
outgrown his baby boy 10" collar and has graduated to his big boy 12"
collar. he looked gorgeous for about 12 hours - but this morning found him
out playing on the wet grass in the backyard and he's back to being a dogger
again...albeit it a dogger that can now see out of his bangs!! other than that - insanity is running beyond all measure...we have our needlefelting class next weekend...i have hellish piles of kitting materials for that by the front door ready to go over to the hotel...the back room is full of chocolat goodies for our mid-october retreat, i'm heading out the door the first weekend of october and heading east for a weekend, teaching next monday after i drop ms. judy at the airport, heading to spokane the first weekend in november and then to a merry cox class at attic needleworks in arizona...all i need to do is get a handle on the prestitching...but i've got a couple of days in tahoe planned...and i think there will be some serious over one happening up there. there are big changes in the works here at elegant stitch and 2008 should prove to be very interesting, very exciting and i can hardly wait. life that stands still is very boring...and i don't do boring well...it makes me tired...even more tired than going full tilt 24/7...and if i run fast enough - usually the boogie monsters can't catch me...they caught me once 10.75 years ago and that was enough for me to learn my lesson. our beautiful blue ribbon design 'with all your heart' will
be released on saturday, 9/22 so we can start pink month of october off with a
bang - complete kit with everything except the stuffing. for other shops -
norden has them and will release them on 9/24. i am now off to help annie, jessika and kelly shovel and shovel and shovel some more...and try and get this place under control before we start the drawn thread automatics to all the shops next week. have a great weekend...enjoy, be safe...fall is coming very quickly...and if it didn't stink so bad of smoke - we might be able to smell it here in the valley. our best to everybody and thanks for visiting this week :) everybody at elegant stitch p.s. - i've had this silly thing completed since 9:00 a.m. friday morning but since the server blew all my extensions out - i've been waiting hours to be able to update...frustrating??? YOU BET :)
august 25, 2007 it's been very busy here this week...lots going on..."re-surgery" on bruce's foot on tuesday, mr. shoo shoo getting his big boy rabies shot on monday - he is a big 7.4 pounds now and will probably work out to be about 13-14 pounds when it's all finished - new drawn thread has partially arrived and is being bagged and charmed as we speak, ready for our auto to all the shops about september 15th if all goes according to plans and we hope that is the case - the bmw/susan g. komen drive for the cure on thursday and then transporting the fleet over to pleasanton for their event on friday - we had a few less registered drivers this year than last (it was over 100 degrees on thursday) but we still managed to beat our last year's numbers by 414 miles so i would consider that a very successful day. bmw/komen fleet finish their tour at the end of october in scottsdale and phoenix, arizona and that is going to be some party. i only wish i was going to be there to see it but we did our part here in modesto this year and look forward to next year with great anticipation. in the interim - while i was out running around - annie has managed to overwhelm my scanning box with a lot of things...so without further ado...here we go. just nan: we have already
run out of some of the new things and i have an order into georgia that should
be delivered by the end of this coming week...they are all just splendid... cricket collection: we
absolutely love these...without question...they are very, very spooky!!! lizzie kate: christmas and
halloween are coming - not even a question...just check lizzie kate!! midsummer night designs:
we absolutely love this newest sampler from midsummer night all done in dmc,
sampler and crescent colours cotton threads...it is truly pretty and reminds me
of a gorgeous tapestry. blue ribbon designs: two
beautiful ones from blue ribbon designs...and we will be releasing our special
breast cancer fundraiser from belinda the end of september...watch the web site. fancy work: a very red
white and blue design for those of you who purchased the hershey's kisses
triangular tin... plum street samplers: i
only have one of these up - but you can see the others at www.hoffmandis.com
- go to designers and type in plum street samplers...they are just great. country cottage needleworks:
we love these flowers and houses...annie is stitching them all. and so...i have a million things to do tomorrow - there is a preseason 49er football game going on right now at home on the television...so i think i'm going to catch the last quarter and head for home and see my puppy and my husband with the bandaged foot. lots to do in the next couple of days and weeks...it's a continual battle to keep ahead of the curve and i do fall short most of the time. the notebook is filled with lists and more lists and things and more things...and can you believe it - it's labor day next weekend...and i have a date with 4 unruly redwood trees and a saw... we received the box of models from judy bielec for our felting class the 14th and 15th of september and we've got wool roving everywhere...as well as monsters, sheepies, bears and other wonderful creatures...and it will be hard giving them back to her when the class is over...but what fun...and then we have chocolat in october and the breast cancer piece to be released and i'm working on a couple of other fun type of things...finishing is coming in the door and i have to get that done...and i need about 50 more hours in every day. you all have a great week - stay safe - get those childrens settled into their school years...it's hard to believe summer is over already - and that we are quickly moving into fall and spooky and holidays - it's just too hard to believe. stay well and happy and thanks for visiting us this week. lgm and everybody here at elegant stitch - two foot and four foot alike :) august 17, 2007 we're clearing out thread inventory so we can order more and thus - we are having a "string sale" as follows: 25% off regular price 1. internet, e-mail or fax orders (209.529.6395) only
please. we can't accept sale phone orders and another serious learning curve...an emergency trip to pennsylvania on sunday the 5th, new pink grandbaby born 3.5 weeks early and her name is maura rose; dad had to go back to work, new mom with very, very low iron levels and can't drive and a 3 year old...i was asked to go - i went and i came home last saturday night very late. lots of laundry, lots of big dogs, lots of humidity, lots of grocery shopping, lots of diaper changing and bottle making...but we got it all done and i was very happy when my husband picked me up at the airport at 10:00 p.m. on saturday night with mr. shoo shoo bouncing off the car seat when he saw that his mama was home. father and son had a week of bonding...and bruce did a wonderful job with our little baby boy. annie, kristen and the ladies did a great job for the shop while i was gone...but, no matter...there were things piled up two mountains high when i got home...actually came in here on sunday morning, answered e-mails, looked around and decided i just couldn't deal with it and went home and did my own laundry and laundered mr. shoo shoo who was in dire need of a bath - missing his previous sunday bathie because mama was on a plane heading east. we just found out that mr. bear needs additional foot surgery on tuesday; this one hopefully will lay him up for a week - this is an addendum from the original surgery the end of february - the wound caused by the boot has never healed...so we're going to go in and do some more digging around. the komen drive for the cure is this thursday in modesto...they are heading over to pleasanton to the bmw dealership that evening and if you can find a local dealership thru this link - we would love to have you participate in this very important event: http://www.bmwusa.com/bmwexperience/EventsandPrograms/UDSK/ the new drawn thread charts will be out very soon - we are shooting for september 15th - all the charms and bead packs are here and finished, awaiting boxes of charts from cynthia. but i can't give away secrets quite yet...so hang in there with us. mr. shoo goes for his rabies shot on monday - then he will officially be a big, grown up dogger...he will be 18 weeks old on tuesday - it's hard to believe we've had him for 8 weeks already. the toy pile in his bed is just beyond description...and as soon as i get him another bathie...we'll take some pictures...he is growing like a weed and i'm very curious as to what the vet's scale will tell us on monday. the boy is very fond of peas and carrots in his puppy chow...but he's even fonder of chicken hotdogs...and no matter how tiny i cut the pieces...he can sort those out from his puppy chow in about 5 seconds flat. i've been making chocolate suckers at home at night...and i have rapt attention when the smells of chocolate come out off the counter...and no matter how many times i tell him chocolate is not for doggers...i don't think he believes me at all. we are getting ready for our needle felting class on september 14 and 15 with judy bielec of mosey 'n me...the model arrived yesterday and we are going to have so much fun with this. then we are getting readier for our chocolat retreat the middle of october, i have trips scheduled for every weekend from october 1st right on thru the middle of november...life is frantic and chaotic...but i did pennsylvania last week - i can do anything!!! there is nothing much that has come in over the last two weeks as far as new things...we have some coming but not hear yet - so this is just kind of an informational - this is what we're doing - kind of news letter...and hopefully we're back on track as i shovel and shovel and annie and kelly help me shovel and shovel...and the back of the garage is getting full of goodies as we complete projects and take them home. enjoy your week - summer is gearing down very quickly and labor day is just around the corner, vacations are coming to an end and we should all be gearing up for the holidays...they come so quickly. have a great one and thanks for visiting us.
august 3, 2007 sometimes there are serious learning curves in our lives: sometimes we strap on our spiky boots and head up the curvy mountain; sometimes the mountain falls on us; sometimes we slide down the mountain on our butts; sometimes we stand at the top of the mountain crying because we can't get down; and sometimes we stand on the top of the mountain and sing our little brains out because we have accomplished what we considered to be the impossible!!! all of the above paragraph applies to elegant stitch this week. we have had major computer conversions - and i do mean major
- every program, every list, every everything that was on my computer in my
office has been moved over to a new computer (under my desk); email programs;
web site programs; complete files, everything that i use to make things happen
around here. the most scary part was taking an address book with almost
6,000 entries and changing it to a mailing label program because none of the
word processing programs support address books anymore. we've held our
collective breaths for almost 2 years while we figured out a solution to this
problem...all the while praying that the hard drive on the really
"old" computer didn't give up the ghost and just crash and burn on
us. we've made trips for new cables; we made trips for everything under
the sun but mostly we've made trips to starbucks in the afternoons because we
needed a reward and a pat on the back. i have the most spectacular kelly
girl who has done all of this and accomplished miracles in the last week...not
only did she move everything, set everything up, kill the tired old computer in
the packing room but also sent up and entire mailing program...she is just
amazing - truly an amazing young woman... i, in the meantime, held my breath the entire time, fully confident that it would be perfect - but remembering three years ago when we tried this and the idiot we hired to do this never backed anything up and lost about 2 years worth of my documents - thus the first 2,000 gray hairs on my head. anyway...on to this morning. first i will preface this entire conversation with the fact that we are experiencing 100 degrees for the last three days. i came in - brought mr. shoo shoo into the shop, picked up the left over cat food (he loves a tidy morsel of canned meow food) and dumped his diaper bag and my purse. it was warm in the shop because we don't leave the air on over night. as shoo shoo and i were headed out the back door for a quick walk, i flipped on the AC button and was horrified to hear "POP"!! off to the breaker panel in the closet, flipped the circuit breaker...grinding...and popped out. panic has now set in...1 of the three panels of lights work...not so good on the postage meter; really not so good on the old computer with all the mailing labels on it...really really not so good for the AC and it's 76 degrees in here already...long story short - AC man came immediately to discover it wasn't us...but in fact it was a power company problem...a transformer had blown last night at 9:00 - a tree rat was now sitting up there on the pole, quite crispy, but of course it had blown everything out in the entire shopping center. our unit was turned off up on the roof to protect it from any kind of surge once the power came back on - every computer in this place was unplugged and shut down and the AC has not stopped in almost 4 hours once we got it turned back on and going... 84 degrees in this shop can be mighty ugly. and so our day started :) so...here we go for the week little house needleworks - we
love these - they are delightful and there are new whimsy ones coming too with
new frames from crescent colours - way too cute...and we can hardly wait for the
pictures. blue ribbon designs - we love
these too!!! rosewood manor - we also love
these too!!! i'm hoping that this whole thing will upload to the web site on the new machine and i will just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best - if it doesn't - there just might be some screaming and it wouldn't be pretty. enjoy your week - thank you for visiting and kristen and i will be working tomorrow - there is quite a mess here to clean up and you can only imagine what this office looks like. school is just around the corner - we are really cranking on the october retreat weekend and have already moved on to april of 2008. our felting class with judy bielec is getting fuller and we will be closing that out very shortly - see 2nd paragraph on the 07/26/07 update and we are so looking forward to that. the komen drive for the cure will be here in modesto on thursday, august 23 and that is always such fun for such a special cause...and i just can't keep track of the fact that summer is almost over and school will be starting very soon! mr. shoo shoo is growing like a little weed...he is well over six pounds now...and i would have taken some pictures of him to put up - but a) he is just filthy (even with a bath last sunday) and b) his daddy came in and took him home this afternoon - it was just too hot for him - dixie was sprawled out on the kitchen tile floor - and still couldn't get cool. way too hot for a puppy man who had his first heartworm medication on wednesday night and it didn't sit too well with him...so i just had daddy come and take him home to the cool house. as soon as this loads - i'm off to home to take the baby for another walk...he really loves those...and it tires him out and makes him hungry - both good things. have a great one - i'm out of here :) july 26th, 2007 i'm going to try and get this done today..i've been trying all week and it just hasn't happened. and, i have to get it done now or never because there is a huge new computer sitting on the side work table here - and between ms. kelly and mr. bear...i think i'm going to have double cpu things under my desk...which already looks like a disaster and when i get back from the errands i have to run at 11 this morning - i'm going to be doing some crawling under the work table as well as the desk itself...if i don't come out - send help - i've been mauled by reams of printer paper and ink cartridges :) our brightneedle class is in full swing on the yahoo groups...and it appears everybody is having a good time...our wool felting class with judy bielec for september is over half full...we are awaiting the model but the bielec household is a little upside down right now as frank is back filming for trading spaces (OH YEAH!!) and i know it will be coming very soon. i am still cleaning out website monsters, we are in full swing for the chocolat retreat in october...boxes of finished goodies are slowly making their way to the back end of my garage and the bins here are getting full already with things needed for april and october of 2008. we are also in the midst of gathering pearls, beads and charms for the new drawn thread alphabet additions which will be out sometime after labor day. this is our "distributor" part of our life and that comes before the "shop" part of our life...so we are busy preparing for 4 new releases from the drawn thread...they will be spectacular... the fall is shaping up to be lots of trips to the airport for about six weeks starting october 1st. i think bruce and i will be passing each other a lot by the brighton shop at the sacramento airport...but i can get into some serious mischief in the brighton shop so even with 5 plane rides coming up - there is something to be said for airport shopping. we also have a new grandbaby being born sometime today in pennsylvania. they went in this morning about 4:00 a.m. our time and i've got the cell phone in my pocket and am waiting for the phone call that we have a new baby in the family. we're hoping they have a little girl since there is already master evan bear...and it's always good to have one of each if you can swing the details that way. it's been a thin couple of weeks around here as far as new things coming in - but we've been busy bees with fabric and fibers so it seems everybody is stitching and stitching and completing projects which is way way good. blackbird designs - they just
keep getting prettier and prettier. i finished the last loose feathers and
it's off to the framer this week...i changed out fabric color and put it on 40
count...but i just love these. the trilogy - new tiny charts and a vege kit...this one is
pretty cute too - i've stitched it - got it at market in a class - way too cute. mr. shoo shoo went to the vet on monday for his last round of
puppy shots...he gained 1.7 pounds between visits and is a big boy at 5.4
pounds. he also got a new crate for here in the shop - and he and dixie
doodles share it...she gives him baths...and they do quite well until he gets
the wiggles while he sleeps and disturbs her...he got a whap the other day - but
other than that - puppy and kitties are well. we wish you a great week and good weather - it needs to stop raining in texas and england...enough is enough...and i have to get some things ready for kelly this morning after she finishes transferring files and programs over to the new cpu...and i'm off to run an errand and also do some crawling - my knees should be an interesting shade of ugly in a pair of pale blue pants when i finish the crawling - the white shirt should be equally icky when i finish moving bins around. this should have been a "black" or "brown" day and i didn't think this one out very well...oh well...too dirty to come out to the front - gosh - there are a million things to do in the back - annie and jessika will remain clean...as will kelly. am running - wishing you a good weekend...it's almost august...where the devil did the last two months go?? if anybody finds june and july - please send them this way - we're not ready to give them up quite yet :)
july 13, 2007 well, an internet monster ate my sidebars on this web page -
it's been interesting trying to get them back and in the right place, i'm still
cleaning the web site and that can be an ugly job, bruce was out of town all
week and got home last night, two kitties from home are in getting baths and
shave jobs this morning, i've made a trip out to the county animal control
because our beautiful black tor-tor is missing from home and i have another 1.25
hours to wait before the tiny spca opens here so i can check for her there, the
gardener accidently let two of them out on wednesday when he came to fix a
sprinkler circuit in the back yard...i rescued them from the pampas grass on the
side of the house about 2:15 wednesday morning, shoo shoo is now completely
house trained and he is quite the puppy nap dog...he can go for 3-4 hours at a
crack with his nappies...and is actually taking his morning one right now.
bruce said that he had gotten bigger just in 3 days he'd been gone and it will
be fun to see how much he has actually grown when we go for our last puppy shots
on monday, june 23rd. then we can enroll in puppy classes in the
evening. he is dreadfully grubby again and sunday morning is bath time but
when you only have a 2.5 inch clearance off the ground, most everything gets a
little grubby. needlefelting class with judy bielec: well, the witch is finished and she is absolutely stunning...we love her eyelashes, her saggy under the eye bags, the hat, the spider and most particularly the wart with the classic hair growing out of it - this will be such a wonderful class and this technique works for a lot of different things...you should see all the things we are doing with needlefelting - it is just quite amazing. prairie schooler: yes, the new charts are here and yes,
the new 2007 santa card is here...our autos have gone...and here they are - way
too cute. rosewood manor: new christmas stockings and they are
just so pretty - on 28 count but i think they would be even more wonderful on 32
count or even smaller. needleprint: both new charts arrived here from england
- gorgeous pieces...we love these to pieces... country cottage needleworks - another in the new series.. praiseworthy stitches little house needleworks: stitching parlor: found this at hoffman last week and
thought it was pretty cute...and the finishing instructions are included too!!! bird brain designs okay...that's it...i am going to be updating this, calling the spca in about 15 minutes and keeping my fingers crossed and worrying until i find ms. tor-tor. there is a lot to do around here...and i am also strapping on the shovel and hitting this back room again. kelly is going to be drawing holly leaves on freezer paper for me and numerous other choirs...and i've got to get this place back under control again - what control you ask :) annie's mother-in-law will be placed in her new home on monday, carol channing sang at concert in the park last night (she lives here now - far cry from hollywood but she is quite the celebrity) and we are fully into summer now. weather has been reasonable this week - we even got a couple of spits of rain on tuesday night... life is getting back to "normal" - whatever that might be :) friday the 13th - stay safe...be good...have a wonderful weekend and a good next week - am off to shovel out our loose feathers which just came in the door and that is one stunning piece. from all of us to all of you :) july 6, 2007 annie had a big birthday yesterday...huge bouquets of balloons, lovely flowers but it was so hot that we are saving b'day cake for today...raspberry cake...and we're having another b'day bash on sunday for her - this is a big birthday...and we are looking forward to gathering with good friends. her husband arrived home on friday with his mother in tow....the process of finding her a safe and suitable place to live has started and there is so much to be done...and i wish i could help more. the services for kelly's dad were just beautiful...and we cried and were sad and now our job is to help whenever and wherever we can as they start the process of moving on with their lives and re-defining what's "normal". and...to take normal to another level...we have a new family
member here with us - his official name is "harris' moo shoo" and we
call him shoo shoo for short. he was 11 weeks old on tuesday, is a shih
tsu and weighed in at a whopping 3.7 pounds when he went for his 2nd puppy shots
monday afternoon. doodles loves him...didnot is tolerating him, but
warming up to the idea very slowly and he gets his 2nd burst of energy about
6:30 p.m. when it's time for dinner. he has his own playpen at home and he
comes and goes with me every morning...he even went to nail appointment at 7:00
yesterday morning. good little boy...and we are within inches of being
completely housetrained...but oh heavens...it's like having a baby...which is
exactly what he is. we hope you like our newest addition to our family and
he even has his own diaper bag full of stuff that comes and goes with him
too. our brightneedle class kits should be here today - i got confused and ups was slow...so if you are signed up for the class - watch your mailbox next week. class dates are july 17 and 24 and there is a note in there as to how to sign into the yahoo group...the kits will be gorgeous i promise. for those who are taking jackie du plessis' heart's tarts class - the class kits have been mailed. remember - this is a finishing class and the prestitching needs to be done before the finishing class. jackie will be sending you all a greeting message and explain how to check into her web site as we get closer to the class dates - in the meantime - please get your prestitching finished and keep all your supplies together. okay...before it gets any hotter around here - which it is going to do very quickly...and because we expect the ups man to dump on us big time today...i'm going to get this finished up...shoo shoo is taking his 4th nappy of the morning and everybody is busy as beavers... CARRIAGE HOUSE DESIGNS the other piece of news is that judy bielec will be coming here september 14th & 15th to teach a wool felting class. it's actually going to happen and we are both so excited that judy is coming to modesto. a nicer person you will never meet and she is an excellent teacher and i know this for a fact because i have taken many, many classes from her. we are doing a mini workshop on friday night to get everybody used to the needles and the process and then an all day class on saturday - we will be making a witch. this will be class only - and i've already booked the hampton inn & suites for friday night if you wish to stay the night in town and they have promised our usual rate which is very, very good. we are limited to the number in class so you get actual hands on time with judy - and you will need lots of room to felt away with those very sharp needles. we will be having classes both on friday night and saturday in the conference room at the hotel. i will post class price at the end of today after i talk with judy again today - so come back and check out the what's new for an additional paragraph. all supplies will be provided - all you need to do is show up and learn...and it is just so much fun. if you scroll down to the june 6th update you can see pictures of judy's incredible work. and so...it's stinking, it will continue to be stinking at least thru the weekend and we are just laying low, handing out bottles of water to all our delivery people and watching all the animals - just miserable. have a great weekend and if you are interested in judy's class - please come back and check what's new - i'll post information right at the top of what's new. enjoy - stay safe - stay cool and texas - wring yourselves out - we're hoping the rain stops soon...enough is enough thank you :) from all of us here at elegant stitch and from shoo shoo too who loves his new home and all his new "aunties". BIRD BRAIN DESIGNS: we've
added another one kit to our collection and i have more coming... CAT'S WHISKERS/DINKY DYES:
two new released from janie and jo - JUST NAN: we have a few
more of the queen's bluebird box in stock and once these are gone - there are no
more. PRAIRIE MOON: two new
charts came with our spooky club charts this week...we love them both... BLUE RIBBON DESIGNS: we
love these also...the little squares are so much fun and if you love purples and
peacocks...wow!!! CROWN & THISTLE: and
last but not least...a serious spooky pocket that i've already stitched and just
love... TERESA LAYMAN - these are all absolutely wonderful - and i
have already completed another bee hive - these kits are glorious...and
the knotty ones are so very, very cute. LIZZIE KATE there are new charts
and new boxers as we continue into the different seasons... CHESSIE & ME a surprise from
chessie & me... MILADY'S NEEDLE we ordered
these at market - and in the door they came this week... LIBRARY some new books
have come in and they are wonderful.. BIRD BRAIN DESIGNS these
came in wednesday and there are still more coming - boxes of roving in all
different colors and pin cushions and i can hardly wait for my next package to
arrive...and i'm cutting out felt flowers and acorns as fast as i can go - and
the sewing machine will be whirring on my bee skip make do this
afternoon... i love these to bits!!!
MIDSUMMER NIGHT DESIGNS sent us three new ones this week -
each of them is very bright and cheery...and we just love these... ROSEWOOD MANOR - we ordered these at market from karen
- they are all just wonderful... JUST A THOUGHT BY JUDY ODELL LITTLE HOUSE NEEDLEWORKS/CRESCENT COLOURS PRAISEWORTHY STITCHES/CRESCENT COLOURS SISTERS AND BEST FRIENDS
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