New releases for April 2013

Yes, it feels like I just had new releases... And I did! This year we are trying something new for the online show, and having new designs debut for the show. It has been SO much fun to design and stitch these. 

MBT-136 It Is Well ~ Stitched on 32 ct. Belfast linen, "Limestone", with Gentle Art Sampler Threads. I loved stitching on this one, and chose a deep blue for the main color because of the depth of the oceans color that is such a key part of the author's life. In the midst of great loss on earth, he could say that it was well.

MBT-137 Love Always ~ Stitched on 28 ct. jobelan, "Lambswool", with Weeks Dye Works thread. The most frequent question I get with this one is "Where did you get the frame?!?". It's from Hobby Lobby, and is made by Greentree Gallery. I bought the frame first, fell in love with it, and designed to fit the frame and match the colors. This design is also charted with the words "Love Always Hopes," and will fit a standard 4x6 frame.

MBT-138 All About Me ~ Stitched on 32 ct. jobelan, "Antique White", with Weeks Dye Works thread, and accented with JABC buttons for the eyes and mouse toy. We own a black cat, she thinks she owns the house, and she probably does (see the previous post on how she 'helps' me stitch). This can be easily stitched with thread to match the queen of your house.

Pink and Blue Froggie Fobs ~ We've added a couple of hoppers to the line! Our rainbow class of amphibia didn't seem complete without these! The frogs are now available in green, cobalt, sunflower, purple, pink, and blue.

The website has been updated with all of the details! Have fun stalking your favorite shop :-)

Debbie

Ornament Preview... Shhhhhh

This is my reality while stitching. It's the reason I end up frogging so much. It's the reason I can barely get any x's done. Her name is Bones, and she thinks she is the queen. She doesn't just do this when I'm under a deadline, or when I get a precious solid hour to sit and stitch, she does it ALL THE TIME when I have something on the couch. Her determination to keep surfaces clean means that she knocks everything to the ground - cups of water, scissors, paperclips, pens, car keys... She also steals needle threaders, thread pickers, skeins of floss... Cats!!!

The exciting news is that I'll be in the Just Cross Stitch magazines again this year! Yeah!!! It was an honor to be asked, and what started out as a single ornament turned into two, then turned into two ornaments and a Thanksgiving design. SO, later this summer, check out JCS! I'll be in three of them!

For the rest of MBT news - here's an early teaser on a release for Thursday. There will be three designs debuting at the Needlework Show, and some new froggies! The whimsical design is pet related, and soooo fits our home. You'll understand when you see it. Make sure and check out the show and check for door prizes. If you'd like to see the colors of the new hymn, here's a sneak peek:

This morning we woke up to snow, after a very chilly day yesterday. The weather is so wacky. Our chickens aren't minding it too much, and they're blessing us with about a dozen eggs per week. Grandma is visiting us this week, which is a delight, and hopefully we'll get in some good family time.

With a chick, chick, here

We are just a couple of days away from Spring, and enjoying the warmer temps of the 50's. Last week we added two new family members: Goldie and Gloria. They are our new hens! We found a used coop, a knowledgeable breeder, and added two bantam egg laying hens to the yard. They are about 8 months old, with speckled feathers, called Mille Fleur d'Uccle, and have funny personalities. I better understand the phrase "being pecked to death by a chicken" now that I have watched them eat.

We decided against starting with chicks, because of the impossibility of getting ANY school lessons done while they were in the house. They have already provided us with three eggs, which made the yummiest chocolate chip cookies. These two enjoy banana and cantaloupe, don't like grapes, and will enjoy free range of the yard as soon as we're outside gardening more. Due to the predator population around our house (hawks, foxes, raccoons, cats...), they won't be able to forage without us being outside with them. As soon as it is a bit warmer, I plan on stitching outside while enjoying the company of our little clucks. You can definitely tell the dominant one - Goldie! The breeder said they were 'friends', and spent most of their time together, which sold the munchkin on them right away. Our coop will comfortably hold two, and after seeing them in there I immediately wanted more.

Now onto the My Big Toe stuff. A new design!!! BUT, you'll have to wait until it is unveiled at the needlework show next month. I put the final stitches in it over the weekend, and it will head to the framer tomorrow afternoon. I'm hoping for a second new release, but my design/stitching time is currently filled with inventory stock up. My line of fobs, needle threaders, marking pins, and thread hoppers are topped off, and the 500 thread pickers are in progress. I had a big bead order come in and spent the morning putting all of the pretties away and thinking of new accessories. So much fun! There will be a couple new froggies joining the family - pink and blue - along with a gorgeous new selection of needle threaders with clasps. I found a frosted glass cat bead that is the perfect size for a clasp needle threader, so look for that April 18th at www.NeedleworkShow.com!

February 2013 New Designs

The new designs are officially released! Emails have been sent, auto ships have been shipped, and you are now welcome to pester your friendly local shop owner for new projects :-) Without further blabbering, here they are:

Nothing But the Blood
Stitch count: 127w x 127h
Thread by Weeks, Fabric by Lakeside Linens

Stitch All Day
Stitch count: 135w x 114h
Threads by Crescent Colours, Fabric is Jobelan

Rejoice and Be Glad
Stitch Count: 85w x 57h (fits standard 5x7 frame)
Threads by Weeks, Fabric is Cashel linen

Name of Jesus (it's finally here!!!)
Stitch Count: 238w x 390h
Threads by GAST, Fabric is Belfast linen

Thank you for letting me share in all of my happy dances! We are enjoying a beautiful day of blue skies, cold temps, and strong winds. The plus is that the wind clears out the inversion, and we can enjoy sunlight again. Munchkin's fish had babies last week - 30 little guppies. The piano is going well, and I am finding peace during her practice and a house full of melodies. Have a blessed weekend, stay safe, enjoy some stitching...

More stubborn than the weather

Idaho, like much of the country, has been experiencing some wild and abnormal weather lately. We spent several weeks in negative temps, highs in the single digits, with snow staying on the ground and sheets of ice on the roads. Since our van died (affectionately known as the snow toboggan), I've been driving the truck. I AM that person who can't park a truck, being relegated to the very last spot, taking up two because I can't pull in straight, and has to do a 13 point turn to get out of said spot. My deepest apologies to those who try and park around me - I deserve your head shakes and grimaces as you wait for me to get turned around :-)

For the past few years, new release pictures have been taken in my backyard. Even in winter, I've been able to set up the wreaths and florals on the grass, and bundle up in a heavy coat to get just the right shot. Since the snow has been hanging around, I haven't been able to do that this month, and I have been putting off cover pictures. Yesterday, I could take it no more! I disassembled my dining room, set up every portable light I could find, and got the pictures done!!! The cat ran off with most of my florals, and sat on every new release model that I left on a flat surface, but they're done!!! I'm not ready to share all of them, yet, but will give you a quick preview of one of them:

 

The fabric and threads are all here for the next big design. I have been happily stitching away on the fat half of fabric. Putting in that first stitch, on such a big canvas, is always intimidating and exciting! The fabric and thread creators have all been warned about the yards and yards and yards that I am using, and I am excited to share the new designs with you... in a few weeks. Some teasers: it is a companion piece to a design from the 'early days', I have been promising it for years, and it will be stitched in GAST thread in brown and red.

Last weekend I had the reminder of how much I respect single parents. Hubby went on a men's retreat, and the munchkin and I had a few days together as mommy and daughter. I have been getting through an awful cold, which meant we had movie day on Saturday. All day Saturday. One of our favorite movies is "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", and I giggle while the munchkin is singing along with the songs, and counting which brothers are in the scenes. She got to watch "Singing in the Rain" for the first time, and she laughed out loud through much of it.

School lessons are back on track, new curriculum has started arriving for her 3rd grade year, and I am ever so grateful for the inquisitive, thoughtful, and downright BUSY child that the Lord has given. She is teaching me love, patience, understanding, patience, encouragement, patience, compassion, patience, to laugh at myself... and a true appreciation of grace and mercy.

Next week - I go coffee free. You have all been warned.

Insanity is the sound of a metronome

Recently we added piano lessons to the munchkin's weekly school plan. We found an old piano on craigslist, set it up in the living room, and brought in the most fascinating little battery controlled black box. It's not one of the older metronomes, with the swinging pendulum - I could see the cat tackling that and it being a short lived part of our home. It's one of the ones you can spin the dial to change the tempo and then flip a switch to change the tone. It goes fast, slow, fast again, REALLY fast, then quiet, loud, kind of in the middle, REALLY loud, and then it goes up on a shelf. A high shelf. Turned off.

One joy of the season in our home is sugar cookies. This is the only time of year that I make them, because I could eat dozens of them in one sitting. Royal icing is too tempting for me to resist. I love the fun of rolling out the dough, then playing cookie-cutter-tetris, trying to fit in as many shapes and waste as little dough as possible. Who am I kidding - dough doesn't get wasted in this house. Somehow we ended up with pastel green trees, and yellow gingerbread men, but they were all tasty.

This past year I have decided to experiment more in the kitchen. Tonight it started with a pork taco recipe that was done in the slow cooker, topped with queso blanco crumbles, and served with a fresh diced mango salsa, all on warm corn tortillas. It was really yummy, and reminded me of a mutton dish I had in India (a couple decades ago). Rich flavors, a hint of sweet, but a LOT of work to prepare the sauce for the crock pot. Hubby was a fan, and went back for seconds. Munchkin gave me another "meh", sideways thumb, but did manage to finish her meal. We're trying to encourage her to try new things, within reason, and if it's not too spicy (or something that the cat wouldn't eat), then what is served is what is to eat. Thankfully she is a good sport, and has found quite a few things that she enjoys and to which she will give an enthusiastic thumbs up. We haven't had to resort to frozen pizza, yet!

Stitching has not been a priority over the past week, even though I would have loved to make more progress on the new hymn design. The end is in sight, and I likely have only 8 or so more hours to work on it. At this point, on the second stitching, I have the border mostly memorized and don't have to look at the pattern often. The two pieces at the framer should be done this week, and it's exciting to be that much closer to new releases!

Last week I added a note to the end of my post that I wanted to do a giveaway, and would love to hear from you about your favorite holiday memory or stitchy story. Thank you to all who emailed. I laughed, cried, felt comforted, and shared in a lot of your lives. I couldn't pick just one, so I'm picking two. Congrats to Tricia and Brenda! This was so much fun for me, keep an eye out and I'll do these again throughout the year.

Merry Christmas - a day or two late

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas, reflecting on the season and His wonderful creation and humble beginnings. Our December 25th started out with a surprise - a power outage! My water for coffee had just finished in the microwave (yes, I drink that powdered vanilla-flavored-not-really-coffee-but-definitely-caffeine-stuff-in-a-box), and 'poof', the power went out. At least it knew that I needed the coffee to deal with the outage :-) We explored our stockings by candlelight, got a fire going in the wood stove, and a few hours later we had power again. Being on a well, no power means no water, which is what gives me the most anxiety. Thankfully it wasn't long, and we don't often lose power often, but I can tell you we had lots of jokes about the 12-21-12 being a few days late!

This morning we have a beautiful blanket of snow outside, gentle flakes still falling, and the dreaded black ice on most of the roads. Like I needed another excuse to avoid leaving the house, and staying in to stitch. I have two new designs at the framers now, am working on a second colorway for one of them, and have spent the month of December playing catch up with inventory. This is my slowest month of the year, which gives the extra blessing of more time doing church and family things.

We did have a 'cooking' funny this past month. I decided to try and make homemade macaroni and cheese. It was a labor of love, with six cheeses, all hand grated, a beautifully tanned roux, fresh minced garlic painstakingly sauteed in butter, and baked until perfectly browned and bubbly. Two hours later, the munchkin's response, with a thumb sideways (instead of thumbs up or down): "meh, it's all right". The blue box would be cheaper, and less work.

Homeschool lessons are going well, but I've found that the little one is determined NOT to read instructions. Even when I highlight them! So here's my little experiment: If you are reading this, send me an email to sales@mybigtoedesigns.com BEFORE January 1st and be entered into a drawing for a chart or fob of your choice. You can send a quick "hello", or I would love to hear your favorite Christmas memory or stitching story.

Home from Texas

This past week we took a trip down to Texas to visit both of our families. It was a good time, but too short. I consider the many blessings - easy flights, no injuries, incredible food - and look forward to making the trip again. My biggest dread were the airports, but everyone was kind, professional, and understanding of a traveling family and all that goes with that. We were able to visit 3 Stitches, in Spring, and I did a little stash shopping. The scissor addict that I am, it was necessary to pick up a couple novelty pairs. We met with my old stitching group for a time of feast and fellowship, went to the Houston Zoo, the Butterfly Museum, and chased chickens and fed cows at the grandparent's farm. The chickens were so much fun that I think we're going to add them to our lives this spring!

Just before we left, there was a flurry of excitement as Gingher released a new pair of scissors to the Joann's stores. Her name is Jennifer, and she has a funky paisly swirl with the colors of deep indigo, black, green, and all shades of blues. A fob has been created for her, both a long and short version, and they are available to order through your favorite LNS. The standard charm on them is a swirly star, which is a great accent to the swirly design, and the end beads match the deep blue of the scissors.

Last month, there was the release of Gingher's Emily to the local needlework shops. She is white, shades of pink, and black, and perfectly paired with a cute flower charm on both the long and short fobs. As always, if you want a loop on the end instead of a clasp, so you can put it on your 8" shears or your rotary cutter, I am happy to do that. 

I stitched very little on the trip, but did work some on the "Books of the Bible" short version for the 2013 trunk show. I need to get it to the framer this week - I've got a lot of x's to go! I'm also working on the next hymn piece, and love the colors that it will be worked with. The next cutsie design - don't love the colors I picked as much. I may need to order some different ones... Things to ponder.

 Thank you to our veterans, their families, and those who love them. Your sacrifices are appreciated more than I could put into words.

Needlework Show is open!

Today is the first day of the Fall 2012 Needlework Show! Check out www.needleshow.com to see all of the great offerings, from oodles of vendors, and enter for some fantastic door prizes. This is the first year that my door prize comes with a "comments" section. I have been howling in laughter over some of them (you *know* who you are) and really touched by others. If you haven't visited - go! I have SIX new fobs and a few caffeinated needle threaders. Here are the new froggies, in cobalt scroll, blue sunflower, and PURPLE:

I'm looking forward to the next week being tied to the office. The cold that the munchkin had a couple of weeks ago is now making its rounds through the house. I'm about 10 days into it, and hubby is just hitting the worst of it. She's running around, healthy as a horse. I comforted myself with peanut butter kiss cookies today. Little fluffy peanut butter delights with chocolate - you can't go wrong.

MBT has a new website

If you visit www.MyBigToeDesigns.com you will see a new look! We have updated the site, changed technologies a bit, and are working on making it more tablet and smart phone friendly. The "where to buy" section now has a US map and it will show you with little pins where the shops are located. Very fun! The images are all updated, it's easier to find the designs and accessories, and hopefully you will enjoy it. The gallery section has been updated - but we are still working on getting the details of each image to be in the pop-up. If you have pictures of any of your MBT finishes, and would like them to be added to the gallery, send them to me and I'll get it taken care of. Also, be sure to check out the tutorials and see pics and details of how to make all sorts of stitchy goodies. We have trunk shows out at many shops, have goodies currently at the Tour de Stitch, and will have goodies at the EGA Santa Fe seminar.

That is our big news for this week! I'm still working on inventory for the online show, www.needleshow.com , and I think you'll fall in love with the new accessories and their colors. Hint: purple frog. Okay, so that wasn't stealthy, but he's really cute!

The doodlebug is doing great with her studies and looking forward to an evening with friends. The garden is officially done for the year, the boxes gleaned and cleaned (except for the carrots), and I'm anxious for spring planting to start (already). There's nothing tastier than a fresh picked tomato. I have two grape vines to still clear of fruit, and we have decided that the juice from the merlot vines is the best. No, it's not fermented. It's incredibly rich and sweet, with very little sugar added. This weekend I'll be trimming back all of the berry and grape vines and mowing for the last time - I hope.

Have a wonderful week and enjoy some time with your stitching.

New releases for October 2012

Without further ado, here are the new releases that are currently in stock or available to order from your favorite needlework shop:

MBT-128 Books of the Bible
Stitched on 28 ct. hand dyed linen, "Thyme," with Belle Soie silk threads in Espresso, Herb Garden, and Velvet Rose. Stitch count 145w x 297h.
This project has been a long time in coming. My original plan had been to stitch it on 32 or 36 ct. fabric so it would fit perfectly in the frame of my 11x11 qsnaps and I would be able to stitch straight through the book names, in order. Then I fell in love with the "Thyme" hand dyed fabric. I could no longer fit it all in so I stitched the top border, then down the side and the whole bottom, and went back up and filled in all of the book names and florals. The color is beautiful, it is a perfect match for the Herb Garden thread... so much for my plans! I'm going to stitch the bottom section only for the trunk show and can't wait to be working on the beautiful green fabric again.

MBT-129 I Barely Survived
Stitched on 32 ct. jobelan, "Antique White," with Weeks Dye Works threads in Amber, Blue Jeans, Monkey Grass, Romance, Plum. Stitch count 85w x 53h.
Based on the response to this one at the local ANG meeting - I'm NOT the only one who feels like this some days! This was such a fun project, and it fits a 4x6 standard frame when stitched on 32 ct. fabric. The frame I found at Hobby Lobby, for the perfect price of $7. The single button floral accent is by JABC.

MBT-130 Remember Not
Stitched on 28, 32, 36, and 40 ct. linen, "Flax," with Thread Gather Silk N Colors thread in Aged Plum and Cypress Umber. Stitch count varies, but the main design is 49w x 284h.
This design has selections primarily from Psalms 25. The main design says "Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. According to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness sake. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me for I wait on thee." I wanted to have a long design, but didn't want it to take up a whole wall, so I chose a 40 ct. linen for the main design. Stitching with one strand, over two threads, it was a surprisingly easy project to work on. It also meant that it took only one skein of silk for the entire main project; a delightful splurge. There are three accent pieces to go with the main design: an ornament or pincushion, a scissor fob, and a small 'gift' type design.

MBT-131 Be Strong
Stitched on 32 ct. Belfast linen, "Limestone," with Gentle Art Sampler thread in Carriage Black, Dungarees, and Old Purple Paint (I love this color!). Stitch count 119w x 87h.
My sister-in-law encouraged me on this verse and I am grateful for that. I can see the possibilities in this piece as a gift for a college student going away for the first time, stitched in pinks for a woman battling cancer, for a friend who is struggling. If stitched on 32 ct. fabric it will fit evenly into an 8x10 frame with one inch of fabric showing all the way around.

Now that this batch projects are released, I don't have any other stitchy projects in the works. I hope to have some time to sit down and work on another hymn in the coming weeks. The top priority now is preparing the garden for winter. Tonight we will have our first freeze and we need to pick what we're going to keep, cover what we want to have continue growing, and then get things canned as quickly as possible. I've been working on getting all of the grapes juiced, and it has been a BIG job. I'm not even half way through the vines and we've already done around 40 quarts. It's really yummy, and will be great for making jelly throughout the winter, but I could do without the earwigs that like to hide in the clusters. Ick. We're trying to do an all natural garden, but I'm starting to understand the appeal of something in a spray bottle that will keep those nasty little bugs away.

That's all, for today, folks! If you want to check out the full length and mini fobs for the new Emily Gingher scissor, head on over to www.MyBigToeDesigns.com . Also mark your calendars for the www.NeedleworkShow.com which starts October 18th! We'll have oodles of new accessories in beautiful new colors.

Maybe it's just me

Yesterday morning I cleaned the oven. Not just the quick wipe down of the front of it, but I took apart the front door and completely cleaned out the glass section. Is it strange that every time I've passed by the oven since then, I have had this compulsion to turn on the light and admire my handywork? Or that I'm planning meals around the microwave so the oven can stay clean?

This past weekend we spent it canning the most yummy treats. We made home made grape juice in the steamer and it is incredible. We only processed about half of the grapes on one vine and came out with 10 quarts of juice. Now for the other 17 vines.... can you guess what our days (and nights) will be filled with? It was also time for us to learn how to pressure can. I made a vegetable soup with potatoes, corn, garlic, tomatoes, green beans, carrots, soy beans, zucchini, and celery. All but the soy beans were from our own garden and it is delicious! Tomorrow I go to pick up another box (or three) of peaches so we can get those canned and ready for winter. We did have peaches off of our trees, but they were eaten fresh or went into a few pints of jam. I never imagined that I'd be able to get so much from our garden!

Now for the reason you all visit here - MBT stuff! There will be four new releases for October. The first is the Books of the Bible. It is home from the framer, but we're having a slight stain color issue on the moulding, so we're working on that. Thankfully I have a fantastic framer who is working hard to figure out how to get me the perfect frame. A second new design is a whimsical one, perfectly sassy and completely me, and it fits a standard 4x6 frame. I took the cover picture just a few minutes ago and will start printing tomorrow. The third new design is based on the Psalms. The main design is quite large, then there are three smaller designs pulled from it. The fourth new one is optimistically about 3/8 complete and I hope to work on it more tonight at the ANG meeting.

If you are going to Celebrations then I hope you will stop by the booth for the Stitcher's Workshop and browse through all of my accessories! She'll have a great assortment of all things beaded and sparkly. I wish I could attend, but Boise to St. Charles is a bit of a hike during the school year.

Have a glorious and blessed day.

New for July 2012!

It's time to share the exciting new release pictures with you! The shops and distributor have their orders and the website has been updated. It has been a bit of insane here, with new release prep, figuring out new curriculum for the coming school year, and the yard/house, but it is all good. There are four new designs:
MBT-124 Bloom

MBT-125 How Great Thou Art

MBT-126 I Love You

There's a story to this one. The munchkin and daddy have this daily conversation of I Love You's. It starts with "I Love You", with the response of "I Love Your More." It went on this way for weeks, and then there was the addition of "I Love You Best." We decided that it had to be charted and it would be something she could stitch for his for Father's Day. Her piece was started a couple of months before the big day, and like a true stitcher is is a slooow work in progress. It will be done for Father's Day, but we won't say which YEAR. This one does fit a standard size frame!

MBT-127 Building Block - Teach

All of the fabric and thread details are at www.MyBigToeDesigns.com and the charts are available through your favorite needlework shop. If you get one of them finished I would love to see a picture!

We are already starting to work through new accessories for the fall needlework show. I have found a bunch of new beads and am looking at some limited run threaders with a coffee theme as well as a new cat fob and a PINK frog! This afternoon I'm pulling threads for the next cutesy design and it will be a perfect fit with the last few. Have a great weekend!!!

Home and resting?

We just finished up a trip to northern Idaho to stay with my family and visit Deb from Tempting Tangles. It was a great trip, we arrived home safely, and no one was injured during the days in the mountains or on the lake. Some trees had to come down on the property and we were able to help clear slash and haul wood home for the winter. The munchkin spent hours on the lake and enjoyed running around the woods, getting as dirty as possible. There was wildlife everywhere: deer, turkey, moose, and lots of birds in the trees. God's creation at it's finest!

Speaking of wildlife... we had a visitor in our yard a few weeks ago. A skunk! It was adorable from a distance, waddling about, eating clover, and being cute, but we had to be extra careful not to startle it. I've never been this close to a live skunk and it was no more than 20 feet from our backdoor! We've also had two successful nests of killdeer and it has been a delight to watch the eggs hatch, the little fluffballs emerge, and the babies grow into full grown birds. The adult birds aren't as cute. They're loud. At 5am they're loud. Not so cute then.

Today has been church, errands, and catching up and laundry and cleaning. Not as much rest or stitching as I'd like, but that is life. We spent a bit of time outside, collecting plums from the trees and gathering berries. We had about 1.5 cups of fresh berries and I couldn't help but turn it into a jar of jam. It's a mixture of golden raspberries (yummiest berry ever!), red raspberries and blackberries. It made one lonely little jar of jam, which will likely only last a few days, but it was worth it! We're trying to work through last year's canned fruit and tonight I'm hoping to make a peach cobbler. I'm telling myself that I'm working off the yardwork that I'll be doing later this week :o) Just a few more weeks and the peaches will be ripe for the picking. I can hardly wait!

Keep an eye out here in the next couple of weeks for new release pictures! I have four new releases back from the framer and ready to start printing. Yeah!!! There's an adorable story that goes with one of them, munchkin related.

You'd think I'd learn

I managed to find another ant hill with the weed whacker. Ack! June is here and we had a beautiful day with temps in the 90's. It's being followed by tomorrow with temps in the 50's, and a night of strong wind and dry lightening to usher in the storm. I hope the little fruits on the trees survive the storm and we don't lose all of the peaches. At least this will test out the siding and roof before the warranty expires :-)

There's a lot going on here with play dates, house stuff, and family visiting, so here is the quick version: Grandma came and left and will be back in a few weeks, dwarf African frog in the munchkin's fish tank had tadpoles (go figure!), she is also learning to ride a two wheeled bike and has the bruises to prove it, enjoying gymnastics, also playing soccer and getting ready for VBS, dropped off four new projects at the framers (new MBT's soon!!!), am stitching on another new one, learned a new bread recipe to make hoagie rolls for steak sandwiches, planning some camping trips, picking fresh sweet peas and broccoli and lettuce and strawberries, trying to get rid of a gopher in the yard (I understand the Caddyshack commercials now!), looking forward to learning how to use a steam juicer, learning to enjoy time to sit in the backyard and stare at the sky. Phew!

If you're still with me and not exhausted just reading about it - check back in a couple of weeks for preview pics! There's a fun and sweet story for one of the new designs and I can't wait to share it.

The ants go flying one by one

With all of the beautiful sunshine we've been having it's been too much fun to be outside! I'm still managing to get quite a bit of stitching done on new projects, and likely won't have the patience to wait until September to release them. So far I have two projects ready to go the framer (including the new Teach Building Block), a new hymn project just a few words from being completed, am part way through a large design, AND working on a special project with the munchkin. We're both working on perforated paper for the first time and it's a lot of fun. I can't share pictures yet, but I hope you can rejoice with me!

Garden-wise, things are going well. All of our seedlings are now outside and I have my dining room back. The plants include tomatoes, beans, peppers, onions, peas, cilantro, leeks, herbs, garlic, melons, squash, and probably more that my brain can't remember. The tomatoes are thriving outside but the green beans aren't adjusting well. Tomorrow I hope to get the cantaloupe in the ground, and then we'll continue to add new corn seeds every few weeks. One thing I learned, and think should be shared, is that ants don't like the weed whacker. It seems that when you unknowingly come upon their hill, and they go airborne, it's like they know that they weren't designed to fly and instantly bite whatever they land on. I recommend against trying that at home. I also haven't figured out if the weed barrier fabric is worth it - or if it just gives the weeds something sturdy to anchor their roots into. The good news is that all of the trees and bushes survived the winter and the strawberries are starting to come in! We should have a great almond harvest and I'm looking forward to all of the fresh berries. Yum! I'll be searching for a good steam juicer and figuring out a pressure canner this year.

We've been meeting new friends through co-op and church, and met a family who has a dozen chickens. Now I've been more seriously looking at plans for chicken coops and trying to figure out if it's a project I can tackle. It's something we have discussed for years but haven't quite made the leap. I love the idea of fresh eggs, and natural pest control (see flying ant experience above), but worry about providing the right home and everything they need. Add to that knowing how the munchkin chases around the cat and I could only hope that they'd chase her right back!

Work stuff is going really well and I feel blessed every day through emails and calls from stitchers all over the world. God knows when to send the right encouragement, new friend, or humbling note, and it has changed my life. I'm learning to appreciate the blessings of the busy times as well as the slow times.

I wish you a wonderful weekend with lots of x's, sunshine, and peace beyond measure.

April Showers...

It is still April, right? We are enjoying a beautiful month here in Idaho. Lots of rain earlier this month, but now there is a lot of green! My dining room has been turned into a greenhouse and the little plants are finally being transitioned out into the raised beds. In a week or so we should have fresh lettuce, spinach and broccoli to pick. So far this year I've been working on becoming more efficient, and I've found that there are some things that must be done in order. Like waiting until the vehicle is OUT of the garage before closing the door. Making sure the cutting board is completely IN the sink before turning on the faucet. It's the little details that seem to make everything work - and getting them in the right order!

Since we last chatted I have had a lot of great experiences for MBT. So far for 2012 I've had eight new releases and am working on another few for the fall! The Needlework Show is now in full swing and keeping me tied to the office chair. If I didn't have a cat playing with chenile stem toys under the desk, or a munchkin who is supposed to be asleep but is dancing about in her room upstairs, it would be kind of peaceful in here right now. You can view close ups of the designs at My Big Toe Designs , and I'll put my favorite two here:

I was blessed with a TNNA scholarship to attend the Phoenix Winter Show in January and share a booth with some wonderful and talented designers. The time spent meeting shop owners and distributors in person was well worth the 18 hour drive - each way. A dear friend of mine volunteered to drive me down there and help out in the booth. Another friend who lives in Phoenix was also able to help and my mom came up to watch the little one. It was a very busy time but I was able to visit Stitcher's Paradise in NV and The Attic in AZ. Both are amazing stores with oodles of stash. I could have spent days in each one. Throughout the trip God clearly revealed His purpose and I could see His hand on it all. I was keeping hubby up to date on where we were at throughout the trip. The texts were pretty entertaining:

Me: In Vegas.
Him: Don't spend it all in one place.
Me: We just left Stitcher's Paradise.
Him: You DID spend it all in one place!

It's like he really knows me!

For the next few weeks my goals are many, but mostly I want to rest and enjoy a peaceful moment each day. I'd like to start a new project (or two), clean out the rock beds on the side of the house, clean out the raspberry bushes and tidy up their vines, go through the totes in the garage and donate baby clothes (gasp! I'm ready to let it go!) and start cleaning through closets. I think I'll finish up sometime around... um... June? We won't discuss which YEAR, however :-)

A non-MBT finish

It's very rare that I get to stitch, but almost impossible for me to have time to stitch on a design that isn't mine. This past weekend I got the pleasure of taking a class offered through the local EGA. It was a blast! I did canvas work for the first time, used stretcher bars for the first time, and even realized why there are needles other than 26 and 28 petite :-) I was only able to attend one day of the class, but oh, what a day! Here is what I plan on taking to the framer this week, when I go to pick up new MBT models:

The beautifully designed piece is called "Quilts", designed by Janet of Krafty Kat Designs. Her design has three panels, and raised fabric panels in the middle pinwheel. It also has a stunning smyrna cross scalloped border around the outside. I wish you could see her model because they are all lovely! All of these I adjusted or omited to make it work for the amount of time I had to work on it, and the reality that there is no possible way I'd finish the whole thing in the next decade. There is a lot of sparkle, some fantastic specialty fibers, and I think I managed to smuggle in a few cat hairs.

Other than that, life here is as normal as it gets. Church is great, the munchkin's ears are doing well with her new tubes, her schooling is moving right along, it's freezing outside and I can justify more stitching time indoors, and the last storm didn't blow off the roof or the siding. Many blessings through the storms.

Now back to the x's... my first thready love!

Quick thoughts

One cereal we cannot have in the house is Lucky Charms. Not because I don't like it, but because I love the marshmallowy goodness! I was thinking that I was the worst mom in the world because I was eating all of the marshmallows out of the box while preparing them in the morning. Dh proposed a new perspective. I'm saving her from all of that sugar, which makes me a loving, caring mom, willing to sacrifice my own sugar levels for those of my daughter. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

MBT news - the needlework show was great. I have new designs floating around in my head and can't wait to put them to fabric and thread. I'm stitching on a repeat of "The Anniversary" so I can get a new cover pic and have a trunk show model.

Hugs to all.

New Releases for October 2011

We have officially survived September and had an exciting start to October. The munchkin lost her first tooth!!! She is soooo proud. There are even two more already loose and she is wiggling them like crazy. The second home school co-op was this week and we had a wonderful time. New friends were made, the kids learned a lot, and it was fun. We also canned peaches! There are 16 beautiful quart jars, full of the yummy fruit, which will be a great treat this winter. There were some left over fresh peaches from the case, and those have been good snacks, desserts, oatmeal toppings, and treats over the past few days. Tomorrow we tackle the tomatoes (again). There are enough peppers and onions in the garden that we should be able to get some salsa AND spaghetti sauce canned. There are also boxes of pears and apples waiting to be washed, peeled, sliced, and dried .

For the MBT stuff... four new chart releases! The 13th Building Block has joined the group. I know there were only supposed to be 11-13 of these, but there are more words, more scripture hunts, and more stitching to be done! MBT-114 Building Block Truth.

The next new design comes from Philippians 4:13. It has been very real in my life over the past year or so. He can do everything without me, but I can do nothing without Him. Through Him, I can do anything. MBT-113 I Can Do All Things. The third design is perfect for Fall, with the autumn colors, or you can stitch it in any colorway for a year-round display. MBT-114 Give Thanks.

And finally, we have the third chart in the series of Christmas Pinkies. It's not too late to get those ornaments done! MBT-115 Christmas Pinkies III.
This past week I spent quite a bit of time getting ready for the fall accessory trunk shows that go out to different shops. I wanted to make some really unique scissor fobs, different from the regular line, so they would have something new. Some of them I fell in love with and made five more of them! If you have a favorite then give your shop a holler and they can get it ordered for you (as long as I have some still here!). Depending on how they do I may add them to the regular line.

There are long ones: And short ones:
The online needlework show will be starting next week. Check it out at http://www.needleworkshow.com/ . There will be door prizes available, lots of specials for shops, and some great designs being showcased. I hope to 'see' you there!