Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year!

I have been busy, busy, busy, with holidays and family and new stitchy projects!

Coming in 2017!

I am doing a design for the digital magazine Kindred Stitches, which will be published later this year. I'm very excited about it and honored to have been asked. 

New Design: Cold Hands, Warm Heart!

In the midst of all of the holiday merriment I have also been working hard on my next design release! It is a snowman done in overdyed sampler threads, called Cold Hands, Warm Heart, I love how he turned out, and he will be finished into a cushion to brighten the dreary winter months! He will be ready in two shakes of a lambs tail!

Goodbye Designers Desk.

My favorite LNS is closing, and I am very sad about this. This place was in business for at least 20 years, probably more, and was a treasure trove of supplies, charts, inspiration and collective knowledge. So sad.

So in the spirit of final support(wink!) I helped them out by reducing some of their inventory!

I found a bunch of Prairie Schoolers and actually forced myself to put a bunch back. That blue Belsnicle from Notforgotten Farms has been on my list, and the sled pattern was actually in my cart at 123 Stitch! I love Heartstrings Samplerary, and who can resit anything from With Thy Needle and Thread!

My love affair with Carriage House continues, and I added 4 new charts to my stash!

I will never turn down BOAF or Goode Huswife, and at 75% off these were a steal!

And last but not least, who doesn't love the Mill Hill kits, and chickens, well, you know.

And the Victoria Sampler little houses chart I bought mainly for the finishing instructions, which are excellent.

On the Home Front:

I also squeezed in a little Christmas ornament stitching and finishing.

Here are some ornies from past years:

I had this bowl out on display and Isabel, my youngest complained that there were no ornaments for her. Now before you think she is neglected, she is the only one who has 2 cross stitch Christmas stockings! But I knew I had stitched her an ornament before, so I looked in my box of shame and sure enough there was a stitched but unfinished ornament for her from 2010. So I finished it, along with 2 ornaments I made for my 2 grand daughters:

Isabel's ornament is adapted from my Angels Among Us pattern, The sled is a Lizzie Kate design, and the mousie is from Brookes Books Publishing and is a freebie on her site.

And now I will leave you with some cuteness. 

These are my precious granddaughters,

 Hideko and Amy.

Happy Stitching!

XOXO,

Annie

Naughty Stitching

Happy happy joy joy!

 Happy happy joy!

My release of the Pins and Needles pattern has been an astounding success! Wow! I never could have dreamed!

I mean guys,
 I just casually pulled out my languishing cross stitch last September, in order to make a Christmas stocking for my newest granddaughter Hideko; and I found this completed cross stitch piece that was made for the market!
 I had never published it.

So I thought, what the hey!
 May as well finish the charting and put it in my Etsy shop as a PDF, right?

So I did.

My Etsy Shop

 And then I shared it on Instagram, and you guys liked it! I mean really liked it!

(When I was designing cross stitch before, there was no instagram, so, no way to see instant market reaction, and not a lot of seeing what people are actually stitching, unless they were sharing it on a blog.)

And then I thought, may as well send it to my distributor (whom I haven't been in contact with in almost 3 years), and guess what happened? They placed a huge order!

And now I have reprinted 3 more times!

So exciting!

So thank you! thank you! thank you!!

So what is naughty stitching?

Well its all the wonderful designs by my favorite designers that I want to stitch!

But, I need be stitching my own designs for the marketplace!

LOL!

And you know how long cross stitch takes!

So pretty much everytime you see me posting on Instagram any stitching that I have not designed, for me, it is naughty stitching!!

Like this:

My instagram handle:

anniebeezfolkart

And this:

And sadly, this:

So I have used the "mom" card, and recruited 2 of my children to help me stitch models in 2017.

My 2 daughters Isabel and Chelsea and Chelseas beautiful babies, Hideko and Amy

Neither of them are cross-stitchers, yet! But oh boy! Do I have news for them!

After all, I gave them life, right!?

And as Lorelia Gilmore says:"Some would liken giving birth to the most rewarding experience in life, but I would say it was more like doing the splits on a case of dynamite!"
Ha! Ha! Ha!

So, they owe me!

Big time!

Have a wonderful Holiday Season, however you celebrate it!
See ya in the new year with some great new designs!

OXOX,
Annie

Cross Stitch Terms and Abbreviations

Can you add anything to the list?

Frog- when you have to rip out stitches you have done in error, because the sound of it is "rippit! rippit~"

UFO- unfinished object

WIP- work in progress

BAP- big a**ed project (those huge projects that take a long time to complete even when you are totally on it!)

FO- finished object (the stitching is done)

FFO- fully finished object (meaning it is framed or finished into an ornament, pinkeep, etc.)

YOW- year of WIP's (you are focusing on your wips for a year)

Floss Tube- videos on Youtube of cross stitchers sharing their work

SFS-stitch from stash, there is also a Facebook group by this name

SAL-stitch along (people working on the same design and sharing their progress with one another)

Stitch MAYnia- starting 15 new projects the first 15 days of May-there is also a Facebook group by this name.

SABLE- stash acquired beyond life expectancy!

Bobbinate- winding floss on cardboard bobbins

XOXO,

 ~Annie

Two Finishes and A List of Cross Stitch Terms!

Here are 2 finishes, yay! They are small but I'll take it!

The first is Barbara Ana's little pinkeep from the Fall 2016 issue of Punchneedle and Primitive Stitching Magazine. I have a digital subscription to this magazine-I truly love it! There are always projects in every issue that I want to stitch, inspiring punchneedle, and there is usually even a rug hooking design as well.

I also finished a little wool applique pin cushion top. Now I just have to finish these little pieces into pin cushions and I will have two of what is known in the cross stitch world as FFO's= Fully Finished Objects.

Here is my progress on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow. I don't have much time to actually work on it, but I am going to make it my focus BAP (Big A**ed Project) for 2017. I've been stitching this with q-snaps, but I have decided to switch to scroll rods because I don't want the q-snaps to distort the stitched areas. I ordered some big ole 30 inch scrolls, and wowzer! They are B-I-G!!! I think I will like this much better.

Hanging around Floss Tube I have picked up some new cross stitch abbreviations and terms that I had not heard of before. One is the afore-mentioned term:  FFO. I thought it would be fun to share a list!

Frog- when you have to rip out stitches you have done in error, because the sound of it is "rippit! rippit~"

UFO- unfinished object

WIP- work in progress

BAP- big a**ed project (those huge projects that take a long time to complete even when you are totally on it!)

FO- finished object (the stitching is done)

FFO- fully finished object (meaning it is framed or finished into an ornament, pinkeep, etc.)

YOW- year of WIP's (you are focusing on your wips for a year)

Floss Tube- videos on Youtube of cross stitchers sharing their work

SFS-stitch from stash, there is also a Facebook group by this name

SAL-stitch along (people working on the same design and sharing their progress with one another)

Stitch MAYnia- starting 15 new projects the first 15 days of May-there is also a Facebook group by this name.

SABLE- stash acquired beyond life expectancy!

I'm sure there are more that I have forgotten.

 If your favorite abbreviation or term is not on the list please leave a comment and share,

 and I will add it to the list!

Happy Stitching!

XO,

~Annie

New Stitches

I have been working on some smalls in my spare time-while waiting for family in the car, etc. Here is my little Barbara Ana design almost complete. All she needs are 2 acorns and a star motif!

Autumn Keeper Pinkeep from Fall 2016 Punchneedle and Primitive Stitching Magazine design by Barbara Ana

Speaking of Barbara Ana, 

I am planning on stitching

  ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL 

in 2017.

 I am absolutely smitten by this design.

I love love love this!

 I have tried to tell myself that I MUST finish Houses of Hawk Run Hollow first, 

before I start another BAP!

 Oh man, I hope I listen to myself! *sigh*

.

Here is my progress on Houses:

I have the top row done and I'm working on the first house of the second row.

 I am stitching it on 40ct. Pearled Barley from Lakeside, 1 over 2 with the AVAS silks.

 Loving it!!

But its a long way to go by 2017. 

And I still have Hide's stocking to finish.

There are not enough hours in the day people!

XOXO

~Annie

New Chart!

My Pins and Needles chart is shipping to Hoffman Distributors as we speak and should be arriving in stores some time next week.

 It feels great to have a new design on the market. I am currently working on another pin cushion pattern, and then I will hunker down and do some Christmas stitching for my family.

 I have Hide's (pronounced Hee-day) stocking to finish and a couple of ornaments for my 2 granddaughters. 

Here is my progress on the stocking:

My son was married last Saturday and I am still pinching myself! They are young, both 24, but they have been together for 7 years, all through high school and even separate colleges. They have shown a great deal of maturity and restraint,
I am very proud of them both! Here is a picture from their beautiful day:

Aidan and Anneliese Belcher

And here is the sweetest picture I have to share. This is the grooms first look at the bride, and everyone around them is trying to hold it together. The two priests are trying not to laugh and my 2 other sons are smiling!! Everyone in this picture is part of our close community and we have all been through a lot together, so this is very precious to me! 

Isn't this just how every bride wants her groom to react!

lol!

Have a great week!

~Annie

Hey guess what?!

I got my stitching mojo back!

 I pulled out my cross stitch supplies to make a Christmas stocking for my newest grand daughter Hideko. (pronounced Hee-day-co: she is named for my mother-in-law who was from Japan)

As I began thumbing through my past projects and my WIPs, my perpetual love affair with needle and thread was re-kindled!

I started this stocking and then just for fun began posting on my Instagram account some of my work. Well, suddenly the world of FLOSSTUBE opened up, and as I began watching I was hooked on stitching again!!

LOL!

If you have never seen flosstube go to Youtube and search for it. A myriad of stitchers are making videos showing their work, their stash, their WIPs, and on and on!

My favorites are Primitive Stitcher, and my old friend Vonna Pfieffer, The Twisted Stitcher with her wonderful finishing tutorials, and Nicole Neville, at Nicole's Needlework, whose blog I used to follow religiously. And there are many many more! Its like a virtual cross stitch guild!

So now the obsession is ON!

Hahaha!

I've been away from the cross stitch world long enough that a lot is new to me now, so that makes it really fun. And of course I cannot help myself, I have to start designing because all kinds of great ideas are beginning to fill my head! So look for some new goodies in my Etsy shop.

I decided to work on some smalls just to get back in the groove, so I ordered a chart from 123 Stitch by Little House Needleworks called "Sheep Virtues". Here is my progress on it:

I mostly stitched it in the car when my husband and daughter and I went to St. Louis for the weekend a couple of weeks ago. It is DONE NOW (yay! a finish!) and I still have to make it into a little pillow ornament. It has a little JABCO birdie button that goes up in the tree. Too cute!

Here is my finish:

I also pulled out an old WIP. This is called Sampler Tea Cozy, and it was published in Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly, Vol. 16. I have always loved this so much and I really want to finish it.

Here is where I was when I first pulled it out:

And here you can see what the finished piece looks like:

Isn't is pretty? I have the perfect place for it on my china cabinet.
 Follow my anniebeezfolkart account on Instagram where I post updates almost daily.

See you soon!
~Annie