Where Samplers Rule Just 15 minutes from the Airport at the NE CORNER OF CENTER & MCKELLIPS 106 E. McKellips Rd, Suite 111 Mesa, AZ 85201 THE ATTIC 2011 June 10 Issue No. 11-19 www.atticneedlework.com TELEPHONE (480)898-1838 FACSIMILE (480)898-0332 Because The Attic is being honored this month by a visit from Barbara of Queenstown Sampler Designs, we have selected one of her samplers as our June SOM. A true reproduction from her private collection, Elizabeth Powell s beautiful sampler first appeared on the cover of the Fall 2009 issue of Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly and was included in that issue, along with the interesting research into Elizabeth s life. She was born on July 4, 1808, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which is where my husband was born. She had 14 children survive to adulthood. It s a good thing she stitched her sampler as a child, when she was 11, because she surely wouldn t have had time after her marriage in 1831 at age 23. There are so many charming features that I love about this sampler: the unusual flowers in the border, the verse, the white picket-fenced yard with the peacock dominating the bucolic scene at the center bottom and, most of all, the unusual cartouche at the top that makes this The Happy Choice for our June Sampler of the Month. Queenstown Sampler Designs s Elizabeth Powell 1819 Sampler June s Sampler of the Month As our June Sampler of the Month, you may save 15% on your purchase of 2 of the following during June: chart $15 Lakeside Linen, a Limited Run color; the 40c cut w/2-inch margins is $20; 36c $25; 32c $29 NPI silk $56 or the Overdyed Silk Combo using Belle Soie, Dinky Dyes, Gloriana s Florimell, and Gumnuts $81.75
THE ATTIC! PAGE 2 Clockwise from above: Loretta s beautiful in-progress Elizabeth Powell stitched on Lakeside with the Silk Combo ~ Debra s gorgeous Dorothy Walpole Sampler from The Scarlet Letter stitched on 40c Lakeside with NPI ~ Andrea s Elizabeth J M Mear from Queenstown stitched with Soie 100/3. Throughout June we will be featuring other beautiful Queenstown samplers.
THE ATTIC! PAGE 3 Jackie du Plessis s November Workshops I am pleased to publish photos, workshop prices, and hotel information for this very special Attic event. We are privileged to host these Jackie workshops the weekend of November 4-6 at the Hyatt Place in Mesa, located just 3 miles from the shop with shuttle service available to and from the shop. Reservations with the hotel can be made by calling 888-492-8847 or 480-969-8200. You must ask for the Attic Needlework group rate (King $94; Double Queen $104) or go online to http://www.hyatt.com/hyatt/reservations/flow6/place/ propcheckavailability.jsp?pid=phxzm&extcorporateid=g-atn2. These rates are available before and after the weekend for any of you who wish to come early or stay longer. The rates include a daily continental breakfast, unlimited high-speed Internet access, 24-hour access to the StayFit@Hyatt fitness room and e-room business center, and use of the swimming pool, 9-hole executive putting green, and shuttle service within a five-mile radius upon availability. The weekend schedule with workshop prices is as follows: Friday, November 4, 2-8 pm (with a break for a light supper at 5): Chocolat $210 (There will be pre-stitching kits available in several weeks. The fee must be paid in full to receive your kit.) If you ve taken this workshop previously with Jackie but haven t finished it yet and would like to join the workshop with your kit for a refresher course, the fee is $50. Saturday, November 5, 9-4 pm (with a lunch break at 12:00): Lily of the Valley $160 Saturday night, 5-??, Wine & Food Reception at the shop open to all workshop participants Sunday, November 6, 9-4 pm (with lunch at 12:00) ~ Pinks & Pearls $150 Jackie is having Marcy scrims designed as extras for these projects, and she is also bringing some special Jackie things for sale at her workshops. Below, photographs of Chocolat that we ve shown you previously. There are more photographs and a full description of this and the other projects here: http://www.atticneedlework.com/specialevents/2011/plessis.pdf Attic, Mesa, AZ Toll-Free: 1.888.94-ATTIC (1.888.942.8842) www.atticneedlework.com
THE ATTIC! PAGE 4 Lily of the Valley is an etui that functions as a day-to-evening purse and/or needlework accessory lined with a stunning taffeta for the interior lining and pockets. The front, completely stitched, features a beaded edging and bow; the back panel, the evening side, in addition to showcasing the beaded edging and stitched leaves, has the flowers replaced with real pearls. The etui closes with ribbon and can hang from the wrist as a wristlet. A stunning beaded tassel dangles from the bottom. The kit includes all stitching and finishing supplies, ribbons, pearls, mother of pearl buckle, as well as color-photographed finishing steps. The project is kitted with the finest of materials, including 34c Legacy linen, silk taffeta, Charlotte beads, real pearls, and silk threads, including Au Ver A Soie. Workshop Fee with lunch $160 Right, the day side and, below, the night side. And isn t the tassel just stunning! Pinks and Pearls ~ This lovely needlework accessory features two completely functional hexagons (with stitched panels and storage pouches) that tie together with fabric and ribbons. Kit includes all stitching supplies with 30c Legacy linen, hand-dyed silk threads and Au Ver A Soie, hand-dyed ribbons and finishing supplies, color pictures and instructions. More photos soon. Workshop Fee with lunch$150 Attic, Mesa, AZ Toll-Free: 1.888.94-ATTIC (1.888.942.8842) www.atticneedlework.com
THE ATTIC! PAGE 5 As a member of our Attic Addicts Club, during June you may save 15% on your purchase of the following in-stock items: All Queenstown Sampler Designs charts In-Stock Lakeside Linens (custom cuts) All Hand-Dyed Cotton Threads June Coming in July This class with Alice Hall to make these sweet peyote-beaded panels that will make charming tree ornaments, fan pulls or?? has been rescheduled for July 30, 1-4 PM. Your $35 fee includes kit + Alice s expertise. Saturday, June 18, Meet the Designer, 1:30-4. We know not all of you are able to attend a Sunday afternoon gathering, but we don t want you to miss the opportunity to meet Barbara Hutson of Queenstown Sampler Designs and see her incredible samplers. She is bringing models and original samplers with her! Please register to help us plan. This is a no-fee reception. Sampler Sunday, June 19. Although this is Father s Day, you will want to carve out a 3-hour time in the afternoon to join us for a very special Sampler Sunday with Barbara Hutson/Queenstown Sampler Designs with a very interesting presentation for all of us sampler lovers. Barbara is a renowned sampler expert, and we are honored to have her at The Attic. Fee $10; 2 cancellations have left 2 openings; otherwise waiting list only. Or join us Saturday afternoon. July Saturday, July 9, 10:30-12:30, Beginning Linen with Linda s Tulip needlebook design as the class project. The $30 fee includes Linda s expert instruction as well as the chart + materials for this very useful learning project. We re taking pre-orders now for next month s release of this highly anticipated publication featuring the Feller collection. Carol, visiting in the shop last week, has seen the collection in person and says it is remarkable. Anticipated price: ~$85. Chart for sampler shown above is included within the book. November November 4-6 Three exciting workshops with Jackie du Plessis Details and photos on pages 3 & 4. Saturday, July 30, 1-4 pm Peyote beading with Alice. See above for photo and details. We still have some BCRF cookbooks left. 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. November 19, 6-8 PM, Our 14th Annual BCRF Benefit, with all proceeds benefitting breast cancer research.
THE ATTIC! PAGE 6 An Attic Exclusive, Ann Wheatley s 1829 Sampler from the Private Collection of NeedleWorkPress! Above, Part 1 of the Ann Wheatley 1829 Sampler, stitched in record time by Margaret, who has agreed to be our Stitch-Along leader for this summer project. Here s what she writes about this installment as her stitching notes to all of you: I'm excited to be stitching Ann Wheatley. I love Adam and Eve samplers, so this was a no-brainer for me! Ann's colors are subtle, but oh so pretty! This month's assignment is fairly straightforward. The motifs at the top are pretty much symmetrical. The border is the same repeating pattern throughout so far, so it's nice to stitch. Just the corners are different. The acorn dividing border at the bottom of this installment is pretty straightforward as well. The left-hand-most acorns are the only ones where there is a left-facing acorn. Then just be aware that the upper branches are all the same as each other and the lower branches are all the same as each other -- but the upper branches differ from the lower branches in their pattern. Hope that makes sense! Enjoy the first installment! For those of you joining us on this reproduction stitch-along, your supplies are being shipped as we speak. I m e-mailing several of you for whom we have incomplete information regarding your supply choices. NeedleWorkPress has included with your Part 1 a photograph from their ephemeral collection that we know you will enjoy. Remember, if you are participating at the top level, that is, with the purchase of chart, linen, and silk, you will receive the little notebook of your choice as a gift. Please make sure you ve given us your preference. Additionally, you may purchase more notebooks at $5 each. The notebooks will be included with a later installment as we are still gathering your preferences. Choose, from left to right, #1, #2, or #3.
THE ATTIC! PAGE 7 Right, Part 2 of Country Stitches/With Thy Needle & Thread Birds of a Feather is shipping to us now and will be here sometime next week. I love the bird (s)! Some are stitching this with the charted Weeks cotton overdyes on the Weeks linen, and others of us are using a combination of silks on Lakeside linen. Both are beautiful, I think, one cooler and the other with warmer tones. If you ve been undecided about whether to jump into the fray, we ve ordered extra charts of all parts so that you can join the fun any time it works for you. Loretta s sampler with the Weeks hand-dyes. Someone called with concern that the silk we chose for the outside and inside border lines wouldn t show, but as you can see (and it s even more apparent in person), both the sheen in the silk and the overdyed coloration, subtle and beautiful, give the fine tone-on-tone border stitching the look of a fine hemstitch.
THE ATTIC! PAGE 8 The Latest from our Silk Obsession Below, this new Stacy Nash Primitives release, Tribute to Summer Sampler $14, has captured my fancy, and I couldn t wait to do a silk conversion to put this on my SSL (summer stitching list). I love the symbolism Stacy included in her sampler; having grown up in the Midwest with strong bonds with my grandparents, I can relate to many of the motifs and their meanings. Memories of shelling peas in the backyard will remain forever, as will the adults use of spelling to keep from us adult discussions about things they thought we were too young to know. And playing in the chicken house with our cousins at our grandparents farm was a favorite Sunday afternoon activity. Above, Milady s Needle s newest reproduction, Sarah H. Brown 1830 $19, a perfect companion to her sister s sampler, Margaret W. Brown $19, has been here for a number of weeks, and I have finally completed the overdyed silk conversion to my satisfaction. (Some are more difficult than others.) The silk combo is $60; 40c linen w/2 margins $11.
THE ATTIC! PAGE 9 New Treasures In Our Attic Clockwise from above: A charming new overdyed-cotton threadpack from Crescent Colours featuring a Little House Needleworks design, Summer Garden $10 ~ 2 from Bent Creek, Quaker Star $10w/ button and Peapod Baby Sampler $10 ~ 3 from Homespun Elegance, July s House on Pumpkin Hill $10 w/buttons & charms; June s Spooky Feline & Friends $7.70 w/buttons & charms; and Delivering Liberty $12 w/buttons & charms
THE ATTIC! PAGE 10 More New Treasures In Our Attic Clockwise from above: Lila s Studio s Fraktur Bird III $8 ~ Dames of the Needle s Pennsylvania Dutch Blue Huswife $10.50 ~ Just*Nan s very limited Sunny Summer Happy Garden $17 includes the Sunflower Pin (how cute this would be as a pincushion!) ~ the Trilogy s Summer Sneak Peek $13.50 w/charm & buttons includes the border and the dog ~ Faith and Hope $6 from Imaginating Below,Two soft-cover books from Marie Suarez, Exercice de style au point de croix and Dites-Le Avec Des Fleurs Des Fils et Des Croix, each $40, each with over 140 pages of charts and project ideas shown in numerous photographs. The photograph on the left below is from the first book, and the other from the second book. Attic, Mesa, AZ Toll-Free: 1.888.94-ATTIC (1.888.942.8842) www.atticneedlework.com
THE ATTIC! PAGE 11 More New Treasures in Our Attic Clockwise from above: Just Another Button Company s latest fun and fabulous pincushion in their 15 and Fabulous Celebration of Pincushions, this one Sweet Pea Pincushion $48, so easy to finish, even I could do it ~ Passione Ricamo s Narcissus Fae $20 ~ patriotic scissors coming in about 2-3 weeks (pre-order yours now), measuring 3.75 $12 (watch for new patriotic sewing set coming from Needlemade Designs in July to go with the scissors) ~ Notforgotten Farms Bless My Scissors $8... it says Bless My Scissors Needles Thread (and we plan to kit for this cute design w/fabric, threads, and other pincushion-making materials very soon ~ I m stitching it now.) Attic, Mesa, AZ Toll-Free: 1.888.94-ATTIC (1.888.942.8842) www.atticneedlework.com
THE ATTIC! PAGE 12 Our Customers Share! Clockwise from above: Betsy s completed I Sigh Not for Beauty and it is indeed a beauty ~ with that finished, Betsy has returned to her Jane Longstreth Sampler, a reproduction of a sampler in the collection of The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College (I just phoned the Art Center and they no longer have the chart available) ~ Jean s (another Jean) He s a Flake Little House 2010 ornament (he s no flake; he s adorable!) ~ Carol s start on this beautiful A Mon Ami Pierre design ~ and Margie s Maria Tilley from NeedleWorkPress
THE ATTIC! PAGE 13 More From Our Customers Needles Clockwise from above: Amy s Rubie Owl s Sampler from Plum Street Samplers; Angelica s The Flood, also from Plum Street ~ Rhonda s We Are Blessed, a silk gauze design from Erica Michaels ~ and Judianne s Shepherd s Bush stocking Attic, Mesa, AZ Toll-Free: 1.888.94-ATTIC (1.888.942.8842) www.atticneedlework.com
THE ATTIC! PAGE 14 New From Sandy s Framing Studio Clockwise from above: Karen s and Amy s Rose Quaker from Stickideen von der Wiehenburg, both stitched in silk, Karen s in a conversion tied to the charted colors and Amy chose her own ~ Midsummer Night Designs A Patriot s Sampler that Rhonda stitched in similar colors to those charted, framed in a Priscilla s Pocket hand-grained frame ~ Linda s Seaside Retreat from Blackbird s A Stitcher s Journey
THE ATTIC! PAGE 15 The students in Debra s needlefelting class went from the photo on the left to their finished sheep, below. And they loved it and wished that you could have been there with them. Aren t they adorable sheep?! Images from a Memorable Memorial Day Weekend 2011 We enjoyed celebrating Tyler s 14th birthday ~ and also loved celebrating the Holiday and displaying Old Glory for the weekend! I think there should be a 3-day weekend once a month!
THE ATTIC! PAGE 16 A Stellar Saturday at The Attic Karin/Beardie Designs and her husband Ton visited with us and our customers for an afternoon on their several-week trip to our country from The Netherlands ~ she brought her two newest designs, one a hobby bag showing a cross-stitcher, a quilter, and a knitter knitting with toothpicks ~ the other in-progress design has some very interesting traditions associated with it, all to be explained in the chart printing. Karin will notify us when these are ready. Above, Karin kindly brought a complimentary design for a scissors keep and is seen here graciously autographing charts for Loretta and Sheri. Right, Karin demonstrated the fine art of knitting with toothpicks! Attic, Mesa, AZ Toll-Free: 1.888.94-ATTIC (1.888.942.8842) www.atticneedlework.com
THE ATTIC! PAGE 17 Look Who Visited The Attic This Week Yes, it s Barb & Alma, who stopped in for a bit of shopping as they were passing through town on their way through Sedona to see Paul McCartney in Las Vegas. Aren t we lucky that Mesa is on the route! Imagine how thrilled we were to have this dynamic designing duo, known around the world as Blackbird Designs, visit The Attic again. Watch for photos on Alma s blog that she took during their visit. The latest stunning donation to our 2011 Silent Auction for Breast Cancer Research coming in November, this one a custom-quilted, hand-bound quilt featuring machineappliqued dresses. The 56 x 48 size is perfect for a wall hanging. Isn t it exquisite? Thank you, Nancy! The opening bid placed the afternoon of its arrival was $500. Attic, Mesa, AZ Toll-Free: 1.888.94-ATTIC (1.888.942.8842) www.atticneedlework.com