Friday was pretty open -- we had lunch with other shop owners and industry folks. Linda and Alan of Lizzie Kate fame were the guest speakers, and we got to see a slide show of a "day in the life" of Lizzie Kate. It was neat to see the dedication these two devote to their business and the industry. One slide showed Linda in the car packing charms in baggies, while Alan ran into Taco Bell to grab lunch.
Friday night we went to a preview of new market releases. Some of the companies displaying at Nashville had little tables with new products. We hung out with Lindy and the gals from The Silver Needle in Tulsa (who are always so much fun.) We also ran around to chat with some of our other friends -- the gang at Picture This Plus, Hoffman Distributing, Heather from Monsterbubbles.... and then back to the B&B.
Saturday, there we were at 9 a.m. standing in front of the elevators with everyone else. Attendance was a little low, in terms of number of shops attending, but the plus side of that for us was that we were able to zip in and out of booths with very little wait. We were first in line at Bent Creek, and from there it's all a blur -- about 9 hours of shopping! I came back with piles of new designs, kits and supplies, and more has arrived all month. Below are highlights, but you'll have to check out my basket section at
Bent Creek: Four Season House is really a neat piece, because the colors are a bit brighter than what the Bent Creek gals usually use. The show stopper for me in their booth, however, was the Winter Snapperville, which finished as one piece with the free border is TOO CUTE! You can see a picture of the finished piece on
Birds of a Feather: Hooray! Hooray! These wonderful designers are again putting out things for us cross stitchers to stitch. (Last year they did a lot with needlepoint canvases, and I would peek at them from time to time, and think...oh, I wish they would make some of those into cross stitch charts.) L'Automne finishes off the French seasons series, and who can resist this freckled red head with a plaid skirt and basket of apples? I LOVE Spring Garden and Summer Garden. Each of those charts comes with the hand-dyed linen by Birds of a Feather to stitch the pieces (parrot and flamingo are the color names!) Wonderful use of bright colors...these all went right into my stash.
Blackbird Designs: A new series was started at market, the Family History series. The first three have been really popular (the biggest so far has been When This You See.) These will all be the same size, and fit in a lovely burled wood box by Olde Colonial Designs. (You can pop a different one in each month!) My favorite in the booth was Birds of a Feather, first in a series of loose reproductions, and gorgeous in Needlepoint Silks in vibrant reds. As always, all of the Blackbird Designs charts have been selling well -- they have a wonderful style, and their pieces are fun to stitch. (Oh, and you have to check out Strawberry Garden, their new Loose Feathers -- magnifique!)
Brightneedle: One of the wackiest designs from market...Ezmerelda's House. It's a cross section of a witch's house, complete with a ghost on the staircase and a witch's hat tree in the attic. This one is actually stitched over two on 40 count, but you can stitch it any way you like.
Brittercup Designs: These have been some of the most popular charts I brought back so far. You'll find more Britty Puppies, Britty Kitties and a Britty Horse, which was one of the cutest things at market. The Brotherly Love kit flew out of here, and I already have more. It's also charted for you to personalize for friendship, sisterly love, or a couple's commitment.
C'Mon Monde: C'Mon Who? I am the first needlework shop in the United States to be carrying these wonderful designs direct from France. I was charmed by these primitive European designs, reminiscent of early Fanci That pieces.
Carriage House Samplings: Kathy had some really neat primitive sampler pieces at market, my favorite of which was Scarlet Berries -- a very pleasing design in terms of composition and use of color. She also was part of a group of ten designers who released A Most Noble Pursuit, a celebration of samplers in needlework. This chart is available for $40.00, and I also have special cuts of linen for it ($28.00), and Needlepoint Inc. has put together a silks pack for just $65 (rather than the $150+ it would cost to buy full skeins of all colors!)
Cedar Hill: These flower samplers have been some of the most popular things I brought back -- Summer Bouquet, Flowers from the Meadow and Country Iris. I was able to see some of these floral samplers stitched over one, and boy are they cute that way!
Ewe & Eye & Friends: These designers are back with a little help from Ruth Sparrow, who is now helping them distribute their designs. Joyful Heart was a new market piece that has been really popular this month. Purples and reds on an olive green fabric are very pleasing to the eye.
The Gentle Art: Ten new Sampler Threads showed up in Nashville (five regular colors, and five limited editions). They are Mountain Mist, Raven, Dungarees, Cinders, Apple Cider and Limited Edition Colors Pale Aubergine, Deadwood, Fern, Aquamarine and French Vanilla. Get all 10 for $18.00.
Heart in Hand: Spring Fling is a limited edition kit with a limited edition frame! This will only be available to me through Heart in Hand until March 31st, so get one now. One of my local customers has already finished it up and is having me put it in the frame for her. It's similar to the Spot series by The Trilogy, and in fun spring shades. Birds of a Feather is kind of a departure piece for Heart in Hand -- a neat piece with all kinds of birds.
The Heart's Content: Maureen told me last week that French Harvest is her best market seller...ever! You have to see these heirloom pumpkins. So cute and so different for Maureen. I loved her annual ornament -- it reminds me of a Dept. 56 ornament. Again, very different for Maureen, and funky.
Hillside Samplings: Get one while it's still available. The Folk Art Sewing Roll kit is the latest in the series of painted boxes. It's a beautiful kit and hand-painted colonial-style box. This is a limited edition! I sold out and have more arriving soon.
Little House Designs: A new series called Dear Diary is just too cute. Each piece comes with a little diary entry that goes with the piece. These would be a fun history lesson for girls learning to stitch. I love Diane's style.
Lizzie Kate: This box arrived just prior to market. I have the two newest charts in the 12 Blessings ornament series. Also just in are the goose feather trees to go with this series. I saw one at market, and they are really sweet with all of the ornaments hanging on them. Word is there may be other series to put on the tree. The trees are $35.00. Wool packs are also available to finish these ornaments -- $40.00 for enough wool to do all 12 ornaments (hand-dyed by Weeks Dye Works). The rest of the new Lizzie Kate designs are just consistently cute. I really liked the Hippity Hoppity piece from Spring Things. A neat finishing idea with a carrot-shaped tuck-away, available from Stitch a Gift.
M Designs: Another new tree ornament is out -- Grace (read the chart sideways to see the hidden word in the scrolly tree.) Another new take on the word series is Snowflake (see if you can find the word SNOW over and over again in this chart). And Bloom and Rejoice is just a happy chart -- perfect for a little girl's room.
Mirabilia: Just out is the limited release Easter Fairy kit. It comes with full skeins of Crescent Colors, as well as fabric, metallic fibers and beads. I still have in stock a couple of the Christmas Elf Fairy kits from last year, as well.
Monsterbubbles: Yippee! and Delay were two really fun charts from market. I wasn't able to brighten my scans to approximate how much fun these two charts are. Delay was one of my market favorites, and uses Silk N Colors -- vibrant and happy.
Mosey N Me: I was charmed by the charts of Molly's friends. Molly was a lab-mix that Frank and Judy adopted. Molly died recently, and they thought it would be neat to do a chart in her honor. Then along came the rest of the gang. These would be adorable in a nursery, or perfect for an animal lover.
Permin of Copenhagen: This chart may not be new, but I found it recently at one of my distributors and had to get it in for you. It's Sampler Blue, and is a wonderful monochromatic piece with two of the neatest horses I've seen on a piece of needlework.
Pine Mtn. Designs: This box came the week after market plum full of pillows and fun fabrics. The great thing about the Pine Mtn. kits is that they come with EVERYTHING, including a way to finish the project for less than the price of some charts these days. The Tie-One-On series continues to be popular -- make sure to check out Tie on Easter and My Cup of Tea.
Prairie Schooler: There are moments when it's good I'm by myself. When this box arrived in the mail, I jumped up and down, said something like, "Ooh, ooh, ooh!" and then did a little jivey dance here behind my desk. SAMPLERS from Prairie Schooler!!! What could be better? Birdsong I and II are a lot like the Samplers Prairie Schooler released about a decade ago. They're wonderful. If you buy any of the four new Prairie Schooler charts, I'll send you her newest free pattern card, a cute little sampler house.
Praiseworthy Stitches: I don't know if I had never seen these samplers in person, or if I just missed them, but the samplers in this booth were my favorites from market. Grace Manor was my #1 favorite market piece, and the scan, as always, just does not do it justice. The colors are beautiful, and it looks like so much fun to stitch. This chart when right into my stash, but I also liked the other samplers I brought back. Fun use of color, and just a little out of the ordinary...old, but new, too.
SamSarah: Bloom was my favorite in Patti's booth (she was able to acquire a booth at the last minute.) It's stitched in Wildflowers in bright colors on a 19 ct. Cork. She has been doing a wonderful job of creating pleasing design using different colors. Plus, she's nice, nice, nice.
Sheepish Designs: This wonderful sampler maker is back, and she released two new lovely old-style designs. She has a really nice eye for color and design.
Sisters & Best Friends: I always enjoy visiting Amy and Koneta's booth, because they have such a happy attitude that shows in everything they do. You'll have to take a look at their fun use of buttons this time around. They had some really cute designs that are also quick to stitch up (even better!)
Sweetheart Tree: I have a beautiful limited edition kit, Weeping Violets, in stock, and that has been really popular. The big surprise for me was B is for Bunny and C is for Cat. I almost didn't bring these kits back, but I have already run out and had to order more. At just $18 for a complete kit, they're a nice take along project.
The Trilogy: There's a fun band sampler by this trio -- Spring Line-Up. Two more spots made their appearance as well -- Easter Spots and Lucky Spots. I really liked the Tall Trio: Hop, too. Most popular has been Secret Snowdrift. See if you can find the secret (there are actually two of them!) There were a LOT of new designs from The Trilogy. Check 'em out!
The Workbasket: Sue and I were able to meet up with our lovely friend Niky, from Italy, whose finishing ideas you find on my site. She flies over to help her friends from The Workbasket with their booth. Cartouches is a really neat monochromatic piece. You could use the letters as fobs for your friends. And Mermaids Singing is fun -- bright lime green fabric. Yea!
I have only listed a fraction of what came in during the short month of February. Do I have more to scan? Yes, I do. My poor scanner is probably thinking, "What the heck?" This is just one of the most fun times of the year for cross stitchers, so I hope you take time to look at what has come in. It was a great market in terms of releases. I just want to stitch!
Have a great March, everyone. And stay tuned for more good things this month....
© 2007 Theresa Venette. Articles on this site may be reproduced in needlework group newsletters or other handouts with permission of author and proper attribution. Send questions, comments and suggestions to: xspeddler@yahoo.com
