Liisa Turunen is returning to the Beehive to teach for us at the end of July. She is a super talented beadwork designer and such a patient teacher. She brings us beautiful designs that you want to wear. Even if you aren’t already a beader, you can do this! And once you try it you […]
Posts
Pretty Patterns
I loved stitching this canvas, Fantail by ellen giggenbach. So many fun areas to embellish and yes, you really get to hone your skills on Jessicas. LOL. With my love affair of dots even the frame has dots. Now to find the perfect spot to hang it. The canvas is available, complete with stitchguide and […]
What’s Up Pussycat?
I’ve been teasing you for days on Instagram with what the next mystery would be. Little by little the design has been revealed. How long did it take you to guess it was a kitty cat? LOL. This is from our newest artist Johanna Virtanen! Her art is certain to become a new favorite of […]
A New Artist!
Please join me in welcoming Johanna Virtanen to our happy family of artists. Johanna is a fashion designer in Finland and wait until you see her work! Just for fun we started with 5 of her angels and darling little girls. There’s all kinds of things to follow. Birds, cats, fish, dogs, mice, fashion and […]
Marjorie is coming to teach!
Sound the trumpets! Our dear friend Marjorie Barnes is coming back to teach!! I can’t tell you how excited we are. She was here two years ago and it seems like forever. She is not only a talented designer but such a great teacher. We love her! You will too. These are definitely classes worth […]
Wait until you see!
We had so many fun canvases in class this weekend. Wait until you see what we did. In our Embellishment Extravaganzas I write a complete stitchguide for each canvas and then we spend the weekend stitching together. Here’s the results! Tabby Time – Feather by Eleanor Grosch The Row by Purple Palm Designs Field of […]
Extravaganzas are the Best
This weekend is our Spring Embellishment Extravaganza. This is a super fun class where you can select any canvas you wish and I write a custom stitchguide. You join us for class where you find your canvas mounted on stretcher bars, a beautiful bag of threads and embellishments and a complete stitchguide with all the […]
Beep Beep!
Or is it Meep Meep? Either way it’s a darn cute bird! Based on the art of Dominic Bourbeau, Beep Beep from Tapestry Fair is our current mystery class! It’s a super fun and colorful stitch. Oh so many colors. I’ve been stitching a lot of orange lately so it’s nice to have the whole […]
Love You More!
While that’s a true statement, that’s not my point. LOL. My point is that we are having a trunkshow! YAY! We love trunkshows. It’s a great chance to see all the beautiful canvases by one company at one time. Currently the company being featured is Love you More! They have a really diverse line of […]
Pumpkin Village was a Hit!
(Today’s guest blogger is Mary Legallet of http://whimsicalstitch.com) Spoiler Alert! I had a great time at the beehive with a group of wonderful stitchers. Our project was Pumpkin Village, a wonderful new canvas from Melissa Shirley Designs. Five pumpkins, two sets of beautiful trees, countless cute accents, and a sparkling sky were brought to life […]
Happy Finishes
Finishes always make us happy. One thing checked off the to do list and gorgeous art for our homes or gifts for friends and family. What’s not to love? Allow me to share two fab finishes by Catherine. The first is Maggie’s Give Love Love Big. I wrote this guide for one of our embellishment […]
Embellishment!
Wouldn’t it be fun to pick a canvas and have a stitchguide written just for that canvas? You arrive in class and find your canvas mounted on stretcher bars, at your seat with a fabulous bag of threads and embellishments all chosen to enhance that favorite canvas. SWOON! From there, you will spend 2-3 days […]
Orna!
What’s not to love about Orna Willis? She has a great sense of design and a fabulous sense of color. We started brainstorming about a club that was all Orna, but painted canvas centered as something different. Allow me to introduce Flight! Three beautiful canvases with birds, a quail, a pheasant and an oriole. Sign […]
Beep Beep
You were wondering where we would go with the next Mystery Class. You know I love to keep you guessing. I change up the theme and the style of painting with each new class. I love the challenge of a new canvas. Join me on a trip to the Southwest? Designed exclusively for us by […]
Oh the Hair!
I’m convinced our girl is from Baltimore. She has big hair, really big hair. Think “Hairspray” and the Baltimore hons. I am probably the only one who thinks this but it amuses me. In lesson three of our mystery class, Sudden Realization by David Galchutt, we focused on her hair, the sleeves of her gown […]
What a girl!
You have to see this. LOL. I can’t stop playing with it. This is Momentary Distraction by David Galchutt and stitched by Carol. I wrote this guide for one of our embellishment classes and Carol’s fingers flew through stitching it. She had so much fun. The beaded fringe on the dress shimmies just like a […]
Variations
Lesson two of our current mystery class, Sudden Realization by David Galchutt was this past weekend. There were so many fun details that it had to be two blog posts! My favorite detail of the class is the stitch we used for the cape around her shoulders. I love this stitch and how we can change […]
Details – Outlines
I have so many details to share! I’m in love with this canvas. You know I love tiny details and this canvas has lots of them. There’s a logic to the stitches, threads and techniques I choose. The more details, the more I can share the inner workings of my mind. It’s a scary place […]
The Books
Just a quick hello to say books are in-stock should anyone need a volume or five. LOL. Yes, to date there are five volumes of my stitches books. Each book has anywhere from 250 – 300 stitches diagramed one per page for easy peasy reading. With each guide I write, new stitches are born and […]
Kimberly Magic
Kimberly not only paints beautiful canvases and stitches them like no other but she has her own very special way of finishing them! She graciously shared this info on her blog and I’m sharing it here to. It’s super cool and totally doable! Here’s her technique for a beaded edge to finish off your beautiful […]
Let’s do the Twist!
Woo Hoo! I made another video! Some techniques lend themselves to videos. On the tree skirt of Eleanor Grosch’s Nutcracker I made a tiny twisted cord using the Corkscrew technique. Here’s my how to video. Hope it helps. Let me know what you think. My goal for this year is more videos. My goal is […]
Say Yes to the Dress
I became obsessed with Clara’s dress on the nutcracker. Three layers of stitches to create the pattern just weren’t enough. LOL. I added beads and the most adorable scattering of buttons across the bottom hem. So cute. This was the final lesson of Eleanor Grosch’s Nutcracker Mystery Class It was all about the finishing touches. […]
Christmas Blocks has a Guide!
You are probably expecting this post to be about the last lesson of the Nutcracker. Well, the snow gods had a different plan. LOL. I’ll take photos today and we’ll be back on track. Until then, I have breaking news! Mary Legallet has written a stitchguide for Diane Dirks Christmas Blocks! This has been a […]
Look What We Did!
Last weekend was our first embellishment extravaganza of 2019! We had so much fun. Canvases, stitches, good friends, good food. The friendships really are the highlight of the weekend. I wrote guides for 14 different canvases. Did I say different? There was something for everyone. The three days were spent stitching and trying new techniques. […]
