Monday, March 30, 2015

March SFS2015-A Report + Caterpillar Finish

Please see March SFS2015-A reporting sign-up below this post!

Alright... I'm not sure how to admit this other than to say I had a once in a lifetime opportunity and I took the bull by the horns.
In SFS we have a total yearly budget of $300. $25 per month.
I shamefully have to admit that I spent over the $300 and then some at Jeannette Douglass'. Sooo... I fail at my own challenge for the year. While DH was okay with it all and reminded me that occasional splurges are to be expected; I won't lie I'm still kinda disappointed. However, I also know that I got AMAZING patterns and thread packs from Jeannette that will result in 1,000+ hours of stitching.

So here's my abysmal report:
Spent: $300.00+
Finishes: 2
Finishes worth: $4.00 + $10.00 (half page of Dragons from last month I forgot about!) = $14

I'm aware I should be fired from my own group. And did let Rahenna & Darlene (my co-leads) know what I had done. They indicated they didn't want me to go away so I guess I still run the group and am an excellent example of what NOT to do. The usual philosophy to kids "do what I say, not what I do"; as inevitably we pass on bad habits.

Caterpillar Finished
I did however have a small finish. Though it's not near enough to make up for the spending, but it's something. This is a Mill Hill Kit, Caterpillar on perforated paper. Threads & beads from kit. I love the colors in him, they really pop!

In Other News:
- I finally got some stitches into last page of Dragons
- Am on last motif of Metamorphosis from Ink Circles
- Am on final stretch with baby sampler for a friend (I missed the February deadline, but she doesn't seem to mind)

Here's hoping these stitches mean I get to account for more finishing soon!
Happy Stitching!
 

Sunday, March 22, 2015

March SFS2015-A Blogger Reporting

This is the place to log-in/report for all participating bloggers in SFS2015-A group.
This link list to report for March (for bloggers) will remain open from March 22 - 29.


Of course we want pictures and more information if you'd like!! This is merely the minimum requirement for reporting. Please ensure you link to the exact SFS post on your blog and not your general blog page.

Email participants please click to send in your report: 
Issues, concerns, confused, etc?  
Please feel free to leave a comment here and I will respond via email or comment back if you don't have an email connected to your blogger profile. 
OR 
Email me (Mel) direct at stitchfromstash@gmail.com


Sunday, March 8, 2015

An Afternoon with designer Jeannette Douglas

I have the most exciting blog post I think I've ever written to share with everyone today.
Please note that this is my personal summary of the day and my thoughts.

My friend Christine (right) and I (left) had the absolute thrill and pleasure of spending the afternoon (yesterday) with cross stitch designer Jeannette Douglas (middle)!!!
Now most of you are (I hope) saying to yourself, oh yes I know Jeannette's work. But in case you aren't read on for more about her, her designs and my fabulous afternoon with her, and head over to her site to see her collection of designs.
http://jeannettedouglas.ca/designs/

How did this come about? 
Remember the blog post I put up in January about how I really wanted to afford Jeannette's class being taught in my hometown, Calgary for EAC this year? But that the cost was a wee bit too much for a two day class and only one project?
Well, believe it or not, someone sent Jeannette a link to my blog post asking her about the project she is teaching; and she read my post! Following reading my post Jeannette contacted me via email letting me know she totally understands being in her thirties and having little money to do a large cross stitch event. From there she invited me to bring a friend and come for afternoon tea!!
To say I was shocked, excited and flattered would be an understatement. I was actually in (happy) tears sharing the email with my DH and telling him that I couldn't believe she had bothered to read my blog post nevermind, be so kind as to offer her personal time to me!!

Setting it up
So we discussed a time and day. February is a busy month, and we decided that the week after Jeannette had been at Nashville Market would be perfect! As she could share some Nashville experiences, discuss new designs, and (of course!) sell us her new designs that were released that week. When she indicated that we could shop from her studio I was over the moon!!


The Meet and Greet
I'd known for some time that Jeannette lived in Calgary. She is a born and raised Canadian (which I find so cool as she is a big time designer!). She is absolutely doll to chat with. Christine and I left there saying to each other, "OMG she's our kind of people!". There was zero snobbiness in Jeannette. She instantly invited us in to her home for tea, had some goodies from the best bakery in town (her friend owns the bakery!) and invited us into her studio/office to chat. She was so genuinely excited to meet us! And of course, we were giddy like school girls to meet her.

The Studio
Wow, is the first thing! Every color, from so many different thread companies including; Thread Gatherer, Crescent Colors, Gloriana, Waterlilies, Waterflowers, and so much more!
If you're familiar with Jeannette's designs then you know that they are all about color, especially variegated threads (my favourite!). Drawers of fabric including one of her (and my) favourites Lakeside Linens.
One wall (that is behind us in the first photo) is covered in her own stitching of others designs. Her favourites include The Drawn Thread and Shepards Bush. I feel that you can really see that inspiration in each of Jeannettes designs.
With a perfect sized table in the middle we sat down to chat.

About Jeannette
I learned so many interesting tidbits about Jeannette during our conversations including:
- she does not own a sewing machine, and (like me!) does not sew. All her finishing is done by hand!
- she used to be a nurse in psychiatric wards her in Calgary, in her previous career
- she has no full-time staff that help her. Jeannette does almost all aspects of the business herself including; designs, charting, filling store orders, putting together thread packs (when her occasional helpers aren't around) and so much more!
- her husband also works from home and so it's like they never leave their house! (lol)
More tidbits about Jeannette below.

The Designs
Jeannette chatted with us about her designs and color palettes a little bit (Seasonal Sampler shown right). Including disclosing that pink is far from her favourite color (probably why I love her designs so much). Her charts are so detailed because each one (even little ones) have speciality stitches in them. Some of which she has modified or created herself!
Interestingly, she stitches most of her designs herself and uses them as the models. She brings in a photographer to shoot the pieces but sets up the backgrounds, mood and focuses herself. Plus she takes the time to set-up the graphic design of her covers herself (alongside some help from her graphic designer daughter). This is one talented lady that is aware of all aspects of her business.

It's clear in chatting with Jeannette that she cares a lot about her customers and fellow stitchers. She wants to give a solid product that can be enjoyed, loved and appreciated. Her instructions are flawless in the designs I have done of hers and so I know that there is a lot of attention to detail put in them. Buying a Jeannette Douglas design is always a learning experience as there are different stitches in each one. One of the reasons I love her stuff is the challenge to learn new stitches!

Jeannette never repeats herself. We discussed that she has less Christmas patterns than most designers and I loved her response that, she hopes she is more creative than just choosing holidays over and over again. For me that was such an amazing statement!! While I love Halloween, Autumn and sets of seasonal pieces; sometimes you need something different. Just like the modern piece (shown left) that I purchased called Numero. It's DH approved (which is rare) and I will be doing it up for our entryway at home. These types of unique ideas are something that Jeannette clearly tries to come up with each time she sits down at her desk to design a new pattern.

However, don't get me wrong, a great banded sampler, four seasons set or holiday themed piece is always a great choice for any designer; and Jeannette is no exception to that.



Thread Packs
One of the keys to Jeannette's designs is the thread packs that go along with them. As her designs always include variegated threads, usually silks, sometimes wool and other different weights purchasing a thread pack can be critical to her designs. Now that's not to say you can't put together the colors yourself or modify them a bit, but really why would you want to!? :)
In my experience Jeannette's thread packs always have more than enough to complete the design even if you're not a thrifty thread stitcher (which I am not).
The key to it it all... Jeannette knows how much thread to include because she's (in most cases) already stitched the design herself! It's brilliant!

Shopping
We were allowed to browse Jeannette's charts, thread packs and embellishment sets (all meticulously organized) and shop right from them. So naturally I had to go all out (stitch from stash be damned on this day, DH had sort of agreed ahead of time, lol). All the photos you've seen in this post are of patterns I purchased.
I picked up some older patterns, thread packs for patterns I already had, and a couple of her latest designs including the gorgeous "English Rose" sampler (shown right). This design was just released at Nashville and I feel oh so tickled to have it so quickly!
I left with a huge addition to my stash, but what I know will be hundreds of hours of enjoyment (which is worth more than the two day class, as pointed out by my DH!).

A Farewell
We stayed late into the afternoon as it was just so much fun. 3+ hours after we had arrived we paid up for our shopping and started to pack up. Jeannette was still thrilled to have us (or she's an amazing actress, lol) and even mentioned us returning again at some point. A day when we could bring our stitching with us and continue chatting!!
I walked out of Jeannette's home feeling so blessed and special for having a rare opportunity to not only chat with her one-on-one (with my friend of course) but to also have experienced her home studio and be given a window into her personality, ideas and life.

Reflections
I don't know that I could possibly find enough adjectives in my vocabulary or even with the help of a thesaurus to describe what an amazing day it was. Christine and I discussed on the way home that today was a rare treat, and better than any birthday we've ever had!!   :)

Jeannette Douglas' designs are available at almost all major needlework shops or online sites (or request your shop to bring in her stuff!). The biggie online shops like 123 & ABC carry her stuff. As well as one of my personal favourite US online shops www.wasatchneedleworks.com/; all her newest designs are available through Karen's shop. Thread packs are listed in drop down menus for each pattern.

Whew, that was a record long blog post. I even tried to keep it short but just too much to share! 
Thanks for reading this far, and as always Happy Stitching! 

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Stitch From Stash - February Report

I'm late, late, late for a very important date...

Month: February
Spent: $23.50
Earned: $0.00

My apologies for my crazy late update!
I do have some interesting news for those who have followed some of medical issues over the years however... I'm getting some further testing in the coming months as many of my symptoms from the last couple years are in full-force lately and meds are not keeping enough at bay. If we find out anything definitive I'll be sure to post.
But no one really cares about that crap... I try to ignore it too!


This month I bought two items on eBay. Only 2!!
One of the items I bought I think is just so cute, I'd love to see if go up in a child's room. No home plan for it yet but I'm sure one of the random children I know would enjoy it.
It's Counting Sheep, by Carriage House Samplings!




What have I worked on...
This is a sad list. I haven't touched Dragons or started the new page. (Yes I know I need to get onto that).
I did some on my Ink Circles, Metamorphosis, that was started in August of last year and put aside for a bit. Here are some updates on it. The first picture shows the latest two motifs. The last pic shows all the motifs (there is one more after most recently started one). Please forgive the creases; this piece is being stitched in hand and I'm too lazy to iron it for a progress photo. :)




Happy Stitching!