Finding Stuff But Loosing Others

Eileen reminded me this morning, by email, that husbands have just as much stash as we do, only their stash stays in the garage. I did think about that for a while and decided that maybe my stash could be rethought somehow into "looking" like something that we really needed. You know, the way men do that so well! We have lots of things that "look" like they are needed, even if they are only used once a year. Now, while this seems to me like unnecessary "stuff", somehow in his mind it all must be needed at some point. I guess in the scope of things, my little stash seems insignificant at this point. I do think I'll go easy on the trash can!

I spent the last two days unloading boxes with my daughter's help. I really do have a lot of stuff and I'll be the first one to admit it now. I had three big boxes of keepsakes from my pre-wedding life. Yep, that's right. Three boxes of them. All of the kid vacation, high school memories, first prom stuff. I even have my first Villager purse, remember them?

I also have my Brownie camera still in the original box and a roll of film in there. I have my two girl scout sashes, both with badges covering them. One was the
Junior, one was the Cadette.

I have my first piggy bank, pictured. You can even see where I tore the top to get the coins put. I also have the first Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls that I made as a teenager when I left my barbie clothes design/ sew phase. Do you see my problem? How can I throw out those memories? They are too precious.

I saved most of it yesterday but I did toss a few things and my daughter took a lot- I guess she has the gene also. I'm a emotional hoarder. My mom keeps giving me things of hers that remind me of my childhood and there's just no letting go. My sister's don't have the same attachment to any of it. Why is that, do you suppose?

Next weekend, we're going through the boxes of saved things post-wedding. I know I have clipping of babies first haircuts, lots of albums and baby clothes, including Sarah's first bikini she wore when she was 18 months. It should get interesting.

Thanks for hanging out with me through the transition. I wouldn't have guessed that moving a household and warehouse would be this time consuming. Especially when I have help with the warehouse! It's coming right along though. We've been shipping orders this week and only had a few delays of items that we couldn't find! I know they're here- just where are they hiding?

We'll start the drawing again next weekend. I need a little time to find some special things. I'm feeling like the first one for February will be for a finished item. I also plan to release a couple new Cross Stitch charts soon. They're almost ready. Stay tuned.

More Christmas Winners!

We have more winners this morning:
For the 2 quilt patterns, the winners are Carin in the Netherlands and Nancy from MO.
For the Cross stitch charts, the winners are Rosalie from ME and Annette from Australia.
Congratulations and thanks to everyone for entering. I'll be sending those packages tomorrow.

This week's drawing will be snowmen. The weather is cold and we have snow on the ground, after 4 days of snowing I might add, so it seems appropriate.

For cross stitch: Chart #50, Little Candle Mat- Snowmen and Chart #29, Snowman Sampler. Just email me at PGPeddler@aol.com with "SNOW" in the title. Include your name and mailing address.

For Quilter's: Pattern#317, My Snowman Quilt and #345, Snowman Sampler. Just email me at PGPeddler@aol.com with "BRRR" in the title. Include your name and mailing address.

Merry Christmas.

Another Autumn Sunday, Another Weekly Winner

We have a winner of the Eye Glass Case this week. It's Leah from TN. Leah, watch your email. I need to know what color you prefer.


This week I'm going to offer my new chart, Three Pumpkins, along with three pumpkin stems to go with it. I think I'll even throw in a small piece of Juniper wool for the leaves to finish them.


All you have to do is email me this week at PGPeddler@aol.com, before Saturday midnight, and put "Three Pumpkins" in the title. Send your name, address and email address. I promise that I won't share it with anyone. I will choose a winner next Sunday.

Drawings Day 3

The Online Needlework Show continues. Winners for day 3 were Michele, Gwen and Terry. Shop winners were Tamara, June and Carol. All were emailed so check those emails ladies.

New Snowmen & Poinsettia Candle Mats

What a beautiful Autumn day. It's blustery and cold outside and a great day to stay in and work! The Online Needlework Show starts on Wednesday. You can view it at http://needleworkshow.com. It is a wholesale show but can be viewed by everyone. It's fun to see all the new charts and products from all of the companies. You have to contact your favorite Needlework shop to order.

I just added two new candle mats to the website. Chart #49 Little Candle Mats-Poinsettias and Chart #50 Little Candle Mats- Snowmen.They are easy to finish and instructions are included with each chart. Professional finishing is available through our website if you don't do finishing yourself. You can email us for more information.

There will be two new candle mats next month.

Friday Morning Coffee

Well, it's 1:30 in the morning ~again and I'm still up drinking coffee. Seems I always have so much to do and I never quite catch up. Is there such a thing as catching up? I don't know.

Next week is Quilt Market & Festival in Houston and I have so much to do to get ready for it. The cross stitch show in St. Charles, MO was great but I had to leave a day early due to a funeral. Sorry if we missed you there. We had a family tragedy last week but everyone seems to be doing better these days.

I will release 2 more candle mats next week. They should be on the website by the end of next week before I leave for Houston. The Online Needlework Wholesale Show also starts next week. It's a busy time, that's for sure.

The leaves around here are starting to turn colors already. We are having cold and rainy weather, typical of Fall anyway. We'll be raking leaves before you know it!

Just a Few More

Here is another new candle mat. It's #48, Little Candle Mat-Stockings. It is the latest in the candle mat series to be released this week in St. Charles. The detail on it is really so sweet. Pictures just don't do it justice. I'll have two more candle mats in a few weeks for the Online Needlwork Show. They are fun, fast and just look so darn cute. They are all finished with wool from Weeks Dye Works.

I have a great new line of Pre-finished Stitchables. Introducing Stitcher's Wallets, Check Book Covers & Eye Glass Cases.

They are handmade in the USA. They come in 8 fun colors- red, blue, tan, brown, green, black, pink & purple.

The wallets have a zippered coin pouch and a magnetic snap. The check book covers have 2 pockets inside for your checks and register.

They each come with a cross stitch chart (shown) and finishing directions. The designs can be permanently attached or temporary so you can change them out with the seasons! I am so excited about these! They will be on the website soon.

I am finally getting everything ready for the show. I'm actually getting to bed at a decent time tonight, the first time in weeks. Good night!

Another Day, Another Chart or two

Two days and counting for the St. Charles Needlework Show. I thought I'd post a couple more pre-view pictures today. This is Little Candle Mat #46, Pumpkins. I have a lot of candle mats coming in the future. They are are so easy to finish.

This one is Little Candle Mat #47- Cardinals. It's one of my favorites. I do a lot of cardinals in quilts and cross stitch. Must be a Missouri thing. We have a lot of cardinals, especially hanging around every winter. I guess they show up so well against the snow. Watch for more pictures tomorrow.

It's 2:15 am. I'm headed to bed finally.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Wow, what a busy month but I finally have all the new charts finished, printed and ready for the St. Charles Needlework Show this weekend. It's 5:20 am and I'm still up working on changes to the website. They should be up in a few days.

I did a great little pumpkin pattern, called #44 Three Pumpkins, modeled after my best selling #163 Pumpkin Patch craft pattern from 1997 shown on my website. Three Pumpkins includes 3 different sized pumpkins. It's stitched on Weeks Dye Works Linen and really is quick and easy to finish. Finishing instructions are included in the chart.

I also did a line of little candle mats. Here is #45 Little Candle Mats- Leaves. So far I have 12 candle mat charts. Four of which will be released in St. Charles this weekend. I will post more pictures here over the new few days. I will have two more candle mats ready for the Online Needlework Show in October.

I have a new line of finished items for use with cross stitch, punchneedle, stitchery & wool embroidery. I will post pictures later this week. It's an exciting time here.

I'm headed to bed! Good night.

Almost Saturday

I just made another pot of coffee as I can see it will be a late night again in the studio. I have endured only 4 hours of sleep for the last 4 nights and it looks like tonight will probably end up the same way. I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the design tunnel though! I should get most of the new cross stitch designs back from the photographer tomorrow. I'm feeling a bit anxious these days as the St. Charles Needlework Show is fast approaching. It's two weeks from today in fact. I will post a few sneak peeks on here in the next couple of days. Hopefully they will be up on the website in another week.

We have a great new seasonal series of designs and will be releasing two more designs from the series each month after for a while. I also have a great line of finished products coming very soon. All made in the USA even! They will all debut at the St. Charles Needlework Wholesale Show.

There is a huge Online Needlework Show coming October 7-12 that we will be a part of. We'll post a link when it opens. Be sure to check it out. We will all be at the Houston Quilt Show at that same time. It will be interesting to see how well the two shows will work at the same time!

Another Busy Weekend

Well market is coming and I have been a busy girl getting things ready. I have the St. Charles Needlework market in 3 weeks. I have a lot of new charts for it and I can't wait to get them on my website. I'll try to take a picture of everything this week and post it here for a first look. Quilt Market is in October, along with the Online Needlework Show.

I did find time to put some finish on some more baskets this weekend. I have a lot more baskets to go, but I thought these turned out rather nice.

Winners from Week 4

Congratulations to these winners for Week 4 of the Scavenger Hunt

For Cross Stitch:

Tara Johnson from IN was 1st this week

Mary from NC

Monique from IL

Marilyn from WI

For Quilt:

Eileen form TX was 1st this week

Beverly from KS

JoAnn from TX

Linda from AR

If you are listed here, please watch your email for the winning notification. You'll need to send me your mailing address.

Everyone who played all 4 weeks will get 3 free charts or patterns. I've decided to let you choose your own charts or patterns that you want to get free. If you played all 4 weeks, you can email me with your choices, along with your name and mailing address. We have a running list of everyone who played in each Scavenger Hunt each week. I am sending an email to everyone who entered all 4 weeks.

We had over 300 ladies participate in all. There were just too many that played all 4 weeks to list here. I want to thank everyone for playing.

Internet Issues Today!

The Scavenger Hunt #4 went out late today due to no internet all day. The phone lines are still crossed and no internet yet tonight. I had to borrow internet from a friend to send the Scavenger Hunt 4 this evening. I got a lot of emails asking if they missed #4. Sorry it was so late today. Hopefully the phone company will get things fixed tomorrow. They worked on it today, only to cross the lines and make more of a mess.

This is the last week. The last drawing will be Friday. I'll post the winners here Friday morning, assuming the internet is working by then! Good Luck this week!

I just finished another new Cross Stitch design. Watch soon for a sneak peek of the new series to be released at the St Charles Needlework market in September. I'm also working on new quilts for Quilt Market in Houston In Oct. It's a busy time here.

Winners for Week 3 Scavenger Hunt

We have winners this morning! The Scavenger Hunt Winners for Week 3 are listed below. Please watch your email for the winning notification.
Congratulations to these winners-

For Cross Stitch:
Kathleen from KY was first
Bobbi from GA
Milly from CA
Brenda from VA

For Quilt:
Kay from WI was first
Kim from OH
Sheryl from CA
Lesa from IL

The winners will get an email asking for their address. We have one more week to go. The last set of questions will go out Monday morning.

Kids and Grandkids

Sarah and Grace were playing around the other day and I got a good picture. Grace is quite the little story teller these days. She always has something to tell me about. I just love it when she comes in and yells "Nana".

I came across a picture this morning of my son Kirk, eating an ice cream cone when he was about 2 years old. His hair was so blonde and curly that I just couldn't bring myself to cut it until he was almost 4. He has a son Nathan with absolutely straight blonde hair. Not a curl on his little head. How does that happen? All my kids were curly toe heads, as my uncle Harold would call them!

Today is the last day for Week 3 of the Scavenger Hunt, drawings will happen in the morning. If you haven't already sent them, get your answers emailed to me today. Have a great day!

Winners for Week 2 Scavenger Hunt

The Scavenger Hunt Winners for Week 2 are chosen. Please watch your email for the winning notification. There is a prize for the first ones to enter each week in each category also.
Congratulations to these winners-

For Cross Stitch:
Julie from CT was first
Denise from MO
Ellen from WI
Jean from MO

For Quilt:
Linda from GA was first
Janey from CA
Debby from MD
Polly from NY

Be sure to play each of the four weeks as you can win more than once! There's a different set of charts and patterns given each week. Thanks to everyone for playing. Week 3 goes out on Monday morning.

We Have WINNERS for Week 1!

The Scavenger Hunt Winners for Week 1 are chosen. Please watch your email for the winning notification. I decided to add a prize for the first ones to enter each week in each category also. I also added one extra winner for each category for the first week!
Congratulations to these winners-
For Cross Stitch:
Bonnie from NY was the first
Liz from MO
Karen from PA
Marilyn from OK
Betty from Canada
For Quilt:
Linda from PA was the first
Susan from CO
Carol from MO
Sue from MO
Eileen from TX

Be sure to play each of the four weeks. You can win more than once! There's a different set of charts and patterns given each week. Thanks to everyone for the kind notes. Week 2 goes out on Monday morning.

Scavenger Hunt Under Way

The Scavenger Hunt is well under way. I have gotten so many nice emails from everyone saying how much fun it is. I'm thinking it's going to be an annual thing! Thanks to everyone who is playing. Remember to get your answers to me before Friday. I'll post the first names of the winners of Week 1 here on Friday morning.

Scavenger Hunt Today

We woke up this morning at 6:30 to a beautiful House Wren singing on the patio next to the bedroom window. It was hard to go back to sleep due to the serenade! We have nests every year in the bird house in back.

The Scavenger Hunt list for Week 1 was emailed today. I saw there were quite a few pending newsletter requests so if you don't get the newsletter today, it's because you didn't click on the link to confirm joining the newsletter. I will send it out to everyone who confirms this week. Thanks for playing, I hope you have fun.

New Day, New Chart

It's a wonderful day today. The kids came over for Sunday dinner after church. Grace got to eat ice cream with papa and take a tractor ride, something she will not go home without anymore. The cows were just moved to the pasture in back so she got to see them up close.

I just got my latest cross stitch design framed and photographed. It's called Scarecrow in the Field. It will go on the website and to Hoffman Distributors next week.

The Scavenger Hunt starts tomorrow so if you haven't already signed up on the newsletter, you better hurry. There's going to be 144 cross stitch charts and quilt patterns won in the next four weeks. We'd love to have you join us.
Sign up on www.prairiegrovepeddler.com