One Last St. Charles Report

Somehow I managed to lose Vicky DeAngelis' last St. Charles report in the mass of emails.  It's still worth reading, even if I made it a week late.  Sorry, Vicky.

"St Charles is a charming community located on the banks of the Missouri River, only a few miles from the show hotel. I would have loved to have a day or two just to wind my way through historic Main St to enjoy the crafts and shops of yesteryear. Oh did I say that you could eat your way through Main St too? What great restaurants and more on that later!
http://www.greatriverroad.com/stcharles/stcharles.htm

I do enjoy the cash and carry shows so much. I especially like the intimacy and the comraderie that is shared among us at these shows held at the Embassy Suites. The needlepoint and cross stitch vendors take over four floors of the hotel and once every body is set up, the doors stay open and the retailers are invited in the rooms to look at the goodies!

Friday is busy for setup day as everyone hustles to get their rooms ready in time for early bird sales. Most of the shop owners were so eager to start  that they didn't even wait till the official start time as they wanted to shop now! The cash and carry shows mean that you get to take your purchases back to the shop now or you can order for future delivery. There were well over 100 exhibitors present selling threads, accessories, charts, fabrics, needlepoint canvases, lights, frames, bags, cross stitch kits, jewelry, more threads, knitting, punch needle and more threads. Sales were very brisk Friday night and after a hectic day is was time to head out for dinner, which sometimes is the very best part of going to the show!

Historic Main Street was very busy with diners and people walking to the Oktoberfest Celebrations. We found a great place for steaks called Tonys on Main and enjoyed a wonderful meal. Our absolute favorite was the White Chicken Nachos and actually it was so delicious that we came back a second time just to have it again! The recipe can be found on their website
http://www.tonysonmain.com 


You won't be disappointed if you try it!

Back to the Fall Needlecraft Market, and the weekend was very busy as all the showrooms bustled with store owners buying new inventory for their shops. There is a lot of talk for the new canvases that will be debuted in January which is just a few months away. Planning for the classes that will be taught and new thread colors that will come out. All too quickly it is time to go home..."


Sigh. Wish I'd been there but thanks to Vicky's reporting, we all could catch a glimpse of the bustle and fun.  Many thanks for doing this for us, Vicky!


Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

A Bit of This and That

Last night I finished all the top stitching on Deborah Kerr but I was too pooped to start working on the sashing.  That will wait until today.  She's very pretty in her finished state.  I have seen the layered trellis technique in many designs but never used it myself.  It's a keeper, simple to do, with a nice jewel latticework as the end result.  The layered grid in the corners is very similar and also very pretty.  These are stitches worth using on painted canvases if you have a suitable space.  It's not just for counted canvaswork, in other words.

Speaking of counted canvaswork, Gay Ann Rogers has started her Pre-Week Sale. Each year she sells some of her charted designs for a week in October.  Unless you take one of her classes, these designs are not available except during this yearly sale.  The week before the sale starts, Gay Ann offers a new little piece as an introduction to the Big Sale.  This Pre-Week sale starts today with a tiny scissors case that has a unique angel design made of beads.  This probably won't be available again as Gay Ann sells out quickly and she says the beads are unique.  So if you are interested, get moving!  And remember to visit her site again next Monday when the Big Sale starts.
http://www.gayannrogers.com/site_2/Pre_Week_Sale.html

If you aren't a counted person, you may be more interested in the Cooper Oaks trunk show at Needlepoint.com.  The designs are 20% off the regular price.
http://www.needlepoint.com/all-canvases/cooper-oaks-trunk-show.html

No, your eyes aren't failing you. I was suddenly tired of the ivory background I've used on Blog for quite a while yesterday and changed it.  I tried sage green first, then settled on pale pink as easier on the eyes.  I'm always looking for something that is easy to read on a variety of monitors and this layout works, so I haven't changed it. But eventually it will start to look tired to me and I'll change it again.

The deadline for Commenting or emailing me (chillyhollow AT hotmail DOT COM) your entry in the drawing for the painted canvas kit and stitch guide from Mile High Princess plus Ruth Dilts' Needlepoint 202 book is today.  I'll announce the winner tomorrow morning.  Good luck, everybody!

I hope to buckle down and finish all the sashing on Stars tonight.  I may even toss a few beads on top of Deborah Kerr....

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Don't Forget to Enter

Becky Myers' Beach Angel, designed by Mile High Princess

As part of my Evil Plan to tempt poor innocent stitchers into trying painted canvases, I have a giveaway of a Mile High Princess canvas, stitch guide, and all the threads necessary to stitch the canvas (which is called Beach Angel).

You can enter the giveaway by either posting a comment here-
http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/09/pirate-cat-for-beginners.html

or by emailing me at chilly hollowat hotmail dotcom since I know commenting doesn't always work (bad Blogger!).  Remember, I'm asking that only folks who haven't done painted canvases before to enter since this is meant to get new folks started.

The deadline for entering the contest is tomorrow, Monday, October 4.  I'll draw the winner at random Tuesday morning since I'm on an early time zone compared to the rest of the United States and this will give overseas folks time to enter, too.

The giveaway is sponsored by Dale at Canvases Be Gone, who provided the kit and stitch guide. It has been helped along by my friends Becky and Mimi, who provided Ruth Dilt's Needlepoint 202 to provide further help beyond the stitch guide, and who let me use the photo of Becky's finished Beach Angel above.  Thanks guys.  Blog readers appreciate it!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Stars: Filling out Deborah Kerr

Last night I worked on filling out the squares and triangles that fill Deborah's corners.  This block continues to be very jewel-like. It's one of my favorites so far, but like the previous square, it has been rather hard for me to get right.  I jumped around a lot and stitched various areas before Tony said to, trying to get things done in the correct count.

I need to finish the tie down stitches in the corner squares and I also have to do more top-stitching over areas where various blocks meet, but the square is almost done.  Once those finishing touches are done, I'll start working on the sashing underneath and to the right of the block.  Remember, I've decided to not do the outside borders until all the blocks are finished so that I won't damage them when stitching the blocks inside the triple borders.  That means the black area to the left of the block won't be stitched until the very end.

In other news, The Needle Works has posted their October newsletter on their website.  Here's the direct link.  They have lots of Raymond Crawford canvases to show from a trunk show, have some lovely finishing to show off, and have posted about the new St. Charles trade show purchases which are showing up in the shop now.
http://theneedleworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/201010newsletter.pdf

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Great News! Elaine Magnin is Back!

My spies report that Elaine Magnin, the San Francisco shop that has been an institution for years and just closed this summer, has reopened under new management and a new name in the same location--3310 Sacramento Street, San Francisco CA 94118.  Apparently the phone number is 415/345-8779.

It's now Golden Gate Needlepoint.  There's a bit about the shop on this local news site.  Look under "Following Up."
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-09-02/entertainment/23985095_1_first-night-restaurants-cafe-des-amis


I never got anything but the best customer service and terrific prices from Alan when he owned the shop and I expect his former employees will carry on in the same way.

I can't find a website yet but hopefully that will happen soon.  If you are in San Francisco, please visit Golden Gate for me and tell the new owners I wish them well.  (Many thanks to my local reporter for this good news.)

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow