"DESIGNS THAT REFLECT OUR
AMERICAN HERITAGE"

Welcome to my blog. I'm probably very much like all of you who love the needlearts. My life revolves around family, friends, home and all things that help to make for a more contented life. When time allows; cooking, gardening, decorating, and collecting are my joys. I look forward to sharing all of these things with you. I also hope to keep you up to date on what is going on at Homespun Elegance, in regard to the needlework designs and the "Plain & Fancy Wares" that we offer.

Wishing you "Many Happy Stitches".
Sandra

Monday, February 28, 2011

Sneak Peak

Good Evening Everyone!

Thought I would show you what I have been
working on last night and today.  I gave this
job to Hollis a few months ago and after graphing
about half of it she gave it back to me.  She had
had enough of this one.  I thought, what could
be so hard.  Well, now I know.  This stitcher
obviously was in great need of glasses.   Hard
as it is to reproduce this sampler, it will be well
worth the effort.  
It has just a small part of "The Lord's Prayer", but
just enough to make it so special.  Don't you
just love that "funky" house.  Obviously, the
stitcher also had a lack of floss and used what
she had.  
I have to tell you how I got this sampler.
Two years ago, right before Christmas, Hollis
and Paul were home, and the three of us went
downtown to Historic Fredericksburg for the Christmas
 Open House.  We were shopping and antiquing
 (I don't know how excited Paul was though) and they
 had gone ahead of me.
Hollis found it and pointed it out to me.  She
knew I would love it.  Merry Christmas to
me.  Yeah!!  If you like it, you will be able
to have it in a few months too.
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REMINDER
Go to the last post to see my next "Give Away".
I don't want anyone to miss it that might be interested.
Have a great night with "Many Happy Stitches",
Sandra





Saturday, February 26, 2011

Keeping My Promise

Good Afternoon everyone!
I am truly in the Spring mode and starting to
put out some things for the season.
I love to stack my old pewter compotes and
fill them appropriate stuff.  The large eggs are
ones I dyed years ago (onion skins, blueberries,
etc.).  Just hard boiled them, dyed them, and
put away in an air tight plastic box.  Eventually
the inside of the egg just dries up.  Hollis and I
tried the blowing out of the insides and it was
not fun and I think they are more fragile that way.
The egg in the top compote is paper mache that I
painted, distressed, waxed, and then tied with aged
gauze type fabric.  Some of these will be on
 ETSY soon, along with some other embellished eggs.
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Well, on to my promise.  My next "Give Away" is
this.  One of my new Stitching Lady totes, the
Stitching Lady pattern, and a Stitching Lady mini 
journal.  All you have to do is become a Follower
and leave me a comment.  I will randomly pick
a winner next Saturday.  Good Luck!
I will be putting some more things on ETSY tonight.
Some old - some new - and a few special things.
Have a great evening with 
Many Happy Stitches,
Sandra

Friday, February 25, 2011

As Promised

Good Evening Everyone!
Thinking about Spring and what could
be more Spring-like than Easter eggs.
I have enjoyed all of your nice comments
regarding my new designs and the pictures
from the Nashville show.  I got some wonderful
phone calls and emails about designs that 
were in the pictures.  
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As promised, I have been adding designs to
my Etsy site tonight and will be continuing this process
tomorrow.  There will be many more designs and
a variety of other items.
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I haven't forgotten my "Give Away" -
hope to do that tomorrow as well.
Have to stop now, my eyes are about to
give out.
Many Happy Stitches,
Sandra

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Nashville Trade Show

Good Afternoon Everyone!
I thought I would share some pictures of our
 trade show adventure.  This is picture heavy so
I hope I don't bore you.
This is how we travel!! Can you believe that mess.  
We can hardly see out of the back of the car, 
but we still managed to antique a little on the way
home.  Little treasures only!



 We always try to have a few little treasures to sell.
The little sheep pin on the box lid is one that I
sculpt.  It is for sale by special order.


"Heart In Hand" needlecase coming soon!  In the back
left is another reproduction coming soon.  It is a
bookmark on perforated paper with the word "Think"
at the top.  Really beautiful.  There is gorgeous satin 
ribbon at the top and bottom.  Hope to find some to
go with it.
 "The Lord's Prayer" reproduction sampler coming soon.
It is not the complete prayer.  Don't you love that
great house.  This is a wonderful sampler.
 "The Woolly Story" coming soon!  Aren't those
tulips just perfect.  Cannot wait for Spring.
 Closeup of our rollup that we sold out of very
quickly.  I'm looking for some more beautiful fabric
so I can make some more.
 Closeup of "Heart In Hand" Needlecase.  The "vintage" piece is 
on the left. I took the liberty of adding heart pockets for your
 scissors etc.  Coming soon! 
This is my "Stitching Pocket Plus".  We sold out of
the set very quickly, but more are on order and
should be here next week.  It is a foldover and
inside are several pockets.  The little piece is a
scissor case with a magnet on the back to attach
to your board.  I stitched the scissor fob over one
and it is adorable. 
 Here is my tote bag at the door.
 Watch for my "give away"!!
Many Happy Stitches,
Sandra

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Back from Nashville

Good Evening Everyone!
We are back from Nashville and happy that we went.
It was a great show for us and we had a wonderful
time seeing old friends and meeting new ones.  The 
weather cooperated, always a worry, especially
this winter.  One of my new designs, "I Love Winter",
brought more than a few comments.  One shop owner said, 
"You expect me to buy that after the winter we have had".
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Well, I can now give you a complete run down on all
of the new things we had.  Hopefully, you will be able
to find them at your local or online shoppe.
If not, please let us know if we can help you or
answer any questions.
"FRESHNESS IS IN THE AIR"
This design features our new "Woolly" sheep brass 
charm, nestled in the grass, and our "Blue" Gently Swirled  
frame.  This is a seasonal series.  "A Chill Is In The Air"
will be the next design.  It was offered as a kit for
a while, but will now be in leaflet form.
Continuing our "Halloween Year", here is "EEK"
and "BITS OF HALLOWEEN".

"I LOVE WINTER"
I'm ashamed to even put this on the blog after
the horrible winter we have had and continue
to have, but this completes the seasonal series
 and I know some of you have been waiting
for it to be finished.
Moving on to a more pleasant season to come,
here is 
"SAMPLER BUNNY".
The wool yarn trim is available from us too.
"DELIVERING SPRING BLOSSOMS"
This is the third in this seasonal series.  I hope
you like it.  It has been so much fun using soft
Spring colors after the reds and greens of
Winter and the oranges and blacks of Halloween.
I'm going to start getting out all of my Spring
and Easter decorations soon.  I'll share some
of that with you soon.
I hope to have all of these designs on Etsy soon,
but if you need something sooner, just let me know.
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I will be back tomorrow with some more plus a
fun "give away", and some pictures from the show.
Many Happy Stitches,
Sandra

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

New Stuff

Good Morning Everyone!
Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's
Day.  Ours was a quiet one, except for the 
arrival of little Piper.  Thank all of you who 
commented. I'm probably not going to have 
time to answer your comments this time. 
 Nashville preparations have definitely taken
precedence over almost everything.  Plus,
I have to take time to go to the hospital
to see that precious little girl.
We will be leaving at the crack of dawn
tomorrow morning.  I am getting excited
now.  It will be so much fun to see everyone
and I have made a few new friends blogging
that are going to be there  as well.
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I don't know if you remember or not,
(at this stage of my life I usually cannot),
but I told you about some new stuff
that would not necessarily involve
stitching.  Well, here it is.
Years ago I found a wonderful painting
on glass of a lady at her stitching frame.
I think you might recognize her because 
I have used the image on other products
including the 
"Stitching Lady" Button
Sampler.
My new canvas tote bag!!  Isn't she great. 
It retails for $18.00


I am calling this new collection,
"Frills and Flourishes - Or Not!"
She is silk screened on cream or unbleached linen
and available in several ways.
Silk screen design only in black on natural, black
on cream, and brown on cream linen.
You finish it as you like.
Retail $27.00
Finished as a pillow case and you stuff it -
Retail $31.00.
This product has been so much fun to develop.
Your imagination can just run wild because you
can embellish her in so many ways or just
leave her plain.  If you look closely at the framed
piece, you will see that I added "vintage" trims
to her dress where lace would have been,
colonial knots for the buttons down her back,
pearl seed beads for a necklace, little motifs
on her skirt, and I back stitched the design
on the linen in the frame, ran the floss up to
her hand and added a gold needle.  I also
stitched over one to give her an eye.
These are in limited supply now, but I will
be getting more if she does well at the show.
Let your shoppe know if you would like
any of these things.  Everything will be put on
Etsy when I return or email me.
I so hope you like her.
If this concept does well, I will add more and
more designs. What a quick but really
effective finish.
Talk to you later.
Many Happy Stitches,
Sandra

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day

Good Valentine's Evening!
Don't you love "vintage" Valentines.  This
one is so pretty.  I want to wish all a very
Happy Valentine's Day.  We have even
more reasons to celebrate on this sweet
day.  A special nephew and his adorable
wife have a new Valentine in their life -
Piper Renae was born today and we
will obviously never forget her birthday.
Our family has been blessed again.
Congratulations Cory and Ashley
and my sister and brother-in-law,
Carla and Dean.
Still getting ready for Nashville.  The
SUV is partially packed.  I still have 
framing to do, a pillow to make, package
dropins to print and drop in, buttons to sew
on my rollup necessaires and so on.  Not to 
mention getting myself ready, which
believe me is getting harder and harder
to pull together.  I'm still hoping to
post some of the things I will be
showing - just running out of time.
Wish me luck!!
Sandra

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Tasty Treat

Good Evening All!
This has nothing to do with needlework, but
I just had to share a great appetizer recipe
that I fixed for Super Bowl Sunday.  I might
add that I did more eating than watching
the game.  There was a bunch of great
food at the gathering of our friends.  If you like 
cheese, sweet, and a little heat this the the treat 
for you.  It is an old fashioned recipe that lots of
people have been serving in the Fredericksburg area
 for a really long time.  I think it fell out of favor for 
while, but it is back.
The reason for the big platter is to serve
crackers to go with it.  I use a simple wheat cracker 
because you do not want anything to add to the 
flavors of the spread.  You simply spread a little
of the yummy cheese mixture on your cracker 
and then a little of the strawberry preserves. 
 I know it sounds odd, but it is a 
fantastic combination.
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PLAINS CHEESE RING
--1 lb grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
(I grate my own, it is so much better.  I
think the shredded stuff is too dry.)
--1 cup mayonnaise (I use light)
--Black pepper to taste
--1 cup chopped nuts
(I use pecans and I toast them)
--1 small onion finely diced
--Dash of cayenne
--Strawberry preserves
--Small wheat crackers
Chop and toast your nuts.   
Shred the cheese when it is still cold.
 Dice the onion. Mix together everything but
 the pepper and cayenne.  Mix your pepper 
and cayenne together.  Sprinkle it evenly over 
everything.  Mix all ingredients again.  Select
 a small bowl to hold your preserves.
Place it on your serving piece and
mound the cheese mixture around
your bowl, shaping it into a ring.
I like to put my preserves in a little dish
instead of in the center of the ring.  I
do this in case there is any cheese left,
it can be refrigerated or even frozen
for a later date.  The preserves makes
it messy.  I have also done this for wedding 
showers, engagement parties, etc.  I then shape 
it as a heart and put the preserves in the center.
One day I'll find a little heart shaped dish
to use.  Men and women like this, but you might
have to give a little tutorial at your party.
They don't know what to do with the
preserves.
I hope you like it. I'm going to take some
to the Nashville trade show to munch on.
We'll need a little sustenance to survive.
Many Happy Stitches,
Sandra

Saturday, February 5, 2011

I'm Back!

Good Evening All!
Back again so soon.  I'm sure you think
I have lost my mind.  I'm taking a break
from taking pictures.  I have run out of
good light and luck for this last shot of
the day.  I give up.  Photography is not
my thing.  When I get a good shot I
thank my lucky stars.  Really need to
take a class.
Thanks for all of your good wishes 
for Lehmer.  We will take all of them.
Thought I would show you some more
stuff.  This is
 "Delivering Spring Blossoms"
and continues my latest Delivering
series.  I have one more to go and it
will be for Summer.
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I am very excited about my Limited
Edition Stitching Rollup.  It is pre-
finished for every one's convenience
and is limited because of the
beautiful fabric.  I bought this piece
some years ago.  My intention was
to make some "window rags" as I
call them - very simple swags for
a guest bedroom.  Obviously, I
never got around to it.  It is made out
of a wonderful toile type fabric in a soft 
brown palette.  One day I will regret not
making those "rags", but I do love
this rollup.  It has three pockets -
one to stitch on.  The most perfect color
 felt piece for your needles, and mother-
of-pearl buttons for the closure.
Here is a peak.
You get the most wonderful old alphabet for
the monogram.  It is so pretty,
you could just stitch that.
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Maybe more tomorrow if I can get the
picture right.  Talk to you then.
Many Happy Stitches,
Sandra

Friday, February 4, 2011

Sharing Time

Good Evening Everyone!
I have been promising an update on my new
things for so long now, that I am sure you
think I just don't have anything new.
Not so, just so confused and rattled
by all the preparations for the trade show
 that I just couldn't sit down at the
computer and pull it all together for my blog.  
I have actually been sitting at the computer,
but it is for typing my publications or
  making updated price sheets and order blanks.  
Believe me, these are not fun things to do.  
On the creativity scale, it ranks about a #1.  
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Before I get started though, I have to
apologize for not thanking everyone
who has commented or emailed me
recently.  I read everyone of your
comments and emails and they make 
these long days of preparation more
bearable.  Thank you so much.   
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OK, here goes with some of my sneak
peaks.  I will be breaking this up into
several days because there are many
new things.  
Continuing my "Halloween Year",
I give you "Bits Of Halloween" and "EEK".
There are six more months after these.
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This next design is definitely more timely--
"I Love Winter".  Although, because of the
winter that most of the country is experiencing,
this may not be so appealing.  I guess we have
to remind ourselves that there are good parts
to this season to, but thank goodness it
cannot last much longer.
This is the last design in this fun series.  They would
look so cute stitched together.  Hope you have
enjoyed them.
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Now we are getting to the season that we are
all waiting for. 
This is "Freshness Is In The Air" and is the
second in a seasonal series.
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This is "Sampler Bunny".  There is
another design in this series, "Sampler
Woolly", that
goes really well with my bunny.  I'll
try to show him to you another time.
Well, that is all the previews for tonight.
Stay tuned for the next batch.
I even have some things that you don't
have to stitch.
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But before I go, remember that my
husband, Lehmer, had those awful
intestinal attacks.  Well, he has been
through numerous tests, all negative.
So, the final test they do is the
abdominal scan.  Well, the problem
is his gallbladder.  So, when I get
back from Nashville, he will have
the surgery.  We are very happy that
it is not something more serious, but
when we went to the emergency room
after the first attach, they did a sonogram
of his gallbladder and said it was not
that.  His doctor said he does not 
understand how they could have 
missed it.  Because of the oversight, he 
went through a lot of unnecessary tests
that took preparation, time, and money.
Not to mention the anxiety.
Hopefully, in the end, this will be
taken care of without too much 
discomfort.  I never want to see him
have another one of those attacks.
Hope all of you are having a warm,
cozy night with 
"Many Happy Stitches."
Sandra

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Telling My Age

Good Evening Everyone!
I'm sorry it has been so long since my last visit.
We are so busy here getting ready for Nashville
and the weather, though not that bad, has 
kept us from working sometimes.  Consequently,
we are even more behind.
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Enough about that, I just had to wish our
son, Cameron, a Happy Birthday.  I cannot
believe that 38 years ago today this cute
little boy was born.  He is still cute but
a tad bit bigger.  He is going to kill me for
using this picture.  I love it!  He was 2 1/2.

Happy Birthday Cameron!!  We hope you
had a great day.
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Be back in the next day or two with lots of
previews of my new designs.
Many Happy Stitches,
Sandra