Mid-April Already!

I have made several trips to Michigan to visit the girls as they have both had performances we wanted to attend. Elise was in two operas at the University of Michigan and Allison was in a Dance Repertory Concert at Michigan State. Great fun to see them in action and visit with other family and friends who also attended. This past weekend we were in Augusta, Kentucky, at the home of one of greater Cincinnati's favorite sons, Nick Clooney, for a reunion of the people I worked with in the 1980s at WKRC-TV. The last time I saw most of these friends was our reunion more than ten years ago. While time and distance have come between us, the friendships remain and the great love and respect I have for these people grows sweeter with the years. What a great blessing in my life to have worked with so many talented, imaginative people!

While the traveling has kept me busy, there has also been stitching to do! We just released three new products. Perhaps you have seen them in your needlework store. If not, go take a look soon!

Together is a great new design that you can personalize for a wedding or anniversary with initials of the loving pair. Or you can leave the initials off and just have a design with a sentiment that speaks volumes about your loved ones! The chart includes an alphabet for personalization.

Let Freedom Ring is the first in a new series of designs called Signs of the Times. Each design will feature a phrase (i.e. Let Freedom Ring) that speaks about the season at hand. The horizontal nature of this series will be great for an accessory in your seasonal displays. If you are like me you have an area in your home (mine is my foyer table) where I like to change the accessories to match the season. In the winter it's my collection of snowmen. In the middle of summer I like to do a red, white and blue display. Stitched items are always included along with other collectibles, flowers, candles, and/or antiques that speak to the season. I look forward to adding this new stitched design to my summer seasonal display!

Do you love purple? I have been so enamored with all the wonderful shades of purple that have appeared in clothing, in home decor, just everywhere! What is it about purple that if you add it to a room in the form of an eggplant pillow, or you wear a scarf in a lovely shade of aubergine, you get tons of compliments? Just a little bit goes a long way. There are some beautiful shades of purple in the hand-dyed threads we all use. So I just had to design something that we could use as JUST the right punch of trendy purple in our homes: Plum Cottage Sampler. There are three totally different shades of purple in the buttons included in the kit. And who wouldn't smile living in a plum-colored cottage?

The Trilogy designers have been very busy as well. We have discovered Skype is a phenomenal way for us to work together even though we are scattered around the country. It's helping us be quite productive! We are starting a new series very soon that I know you're going to love! I don't have any photographs yet but it's called Sneak Peek. So be on the lookout for it in May in your local needlework shop. It will definitely be worth the trip!

I must run as I am putting the finishing stitches in a couple of new summer leggy friends for our Leggy Line series. I get a giggle with every stitch. These designs are fun! Hope you are all enjoying spring's bounty!