On this rainy day in Virginia, I thought I’d take a moment to share what Jim and I did this past weekend.

Ever hear of Operation Christmas Child?  It brings joy and love to millions of children in need every year through a simple shoebox packed with toys and candy.  Our church has taken part in it for many years, through collecting boxes packed by families.  Last year, we took on our first whole-church effort, and were able to pack more boxes.  This year, we doubled that number!  It really gets the Christmas spirit moving when you pack these boxes, and know that on the other end, you’re going to bring joy to someone who might have little joy in their lives.

This past weekend, Jim and I, along with another member and my nephew, went down to Charlotte to volunteer at one of their processing centers.  Wow!!!  That’s about all I can say.  What an incredible effort this organization goes through each year through the collection of the boxes, all the way to the distribution to those in need.  The warehouse was filled over 1000 volunteers, all there to help get the boxes ready to ship.  We met volunteers from all over the country, who had come to Charlotte – some for  a week or more – just to volunteer.  I tell you, we were just plain pooped at the end of our shift, but I don’t think that any of us were upset about it.

Take a look at all the incredible work they do on their website – http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/ - and think about doing a shoebox or so yourself next year.  I warn you, it can be addicting!  I’m already planning for the church-wide effort next year, and will begin purchasing for the boxes right after Christmas!  Just call me crazy…

It’s really just a shoebox filled with stuff – or is it?

Happy stitchin’!

Well, I can finally say, the Christmas season is officially upon us.

Yes, I know that the shopping season started on Friday, and that the stores have had Christmas out for a month already, but… it’s finally here…

We’re watching “A Christmas Story” for the first time, and THAT means that it’s really Christmas.  Well, I confess, we own the movie, but it still has plastic on it.  Why did we ever buy it, since you can ALWAYS find it on any random channel.  It’s got to be one of my absolute favorite movies, and for some reason I just don’t ever tire of it.

If you’ve somehow missed this movie, you really need to make sure to see it this year.  To do this, just turn your TV onto ANY station during December, and you’re sure to find it.  Then, if you still haven’t seen it by Christmas, you can find the “A Christmas Story” 24-hour marathon.

And, whatever any of you do – “don’t shoot your eye out!”

What’s your favorite Christmas movie?

Have a great evenin’!

On this day, Thanksgiving 2008, I just wanted to take a moment and consider all the wonderful blessings in my life. This list, by no means, lists everything I’m grateful for.

• I’m grateful for my faith, and my God. Without this amazing relationship, I wouldn’t be here. I’m also grateful for all those in my past who showed me the Christian life, and how to live one. What a blessing that is! As Psalms 107:1 states, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
• I’m grateful for my wonderful husband, Jim – my rock and security. What an amazing man he is, and what wonderful things he’s brought into my life. We live a very simple life, but in that simplicity – what a life it is!
• I’m grateful for all my family, and all Jim’s family. These people, although a motley crew (tee-hee), bring to life the sense of “self”. These are the people who through the years have formed who we all are – both the good and the bad. Each one has affected me somehow, and I’m thankful for the various gifts they’ve all brought.
• I’m grateful for our country, and the freedom it always has stood for. I’m especially grateful at this time for all those men and women in uniform, who give up their lives to keep the freedom strong.
• I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring one of my life-long dreams to life. It’s still in progress, but just the effort blesses me.
• I’m grateful for a warm bed, and plenty of food on the table. In today’s economy, that’s a very real thing to be grateful for.
• I’m grateful for all the simple things in life – sunlight, fall color, spring flowers which explode with color, the simple bark of a happy dog. Without these things, we might not realize all the joy life has to offer.

Well, I do hope this finds you with a belly full of turkey and dressing, and with you running through your own listing of things you’re thankful for.

Happy Thanksgivin’!!!

Have you heard about the “puppy cam” from San Francisco? I have to say, this live stream is keeping me from my work, housework, designing, everything… It’s become a sad-sad addiction.

I always did want to video tape Jack and Maggy when they were alone – but we just never did it. Those two kids tormented each other on a constant basis, and when we left them alone, there’s no telling what they did to each other… Next dogs, unfortunate for them, might not have as much privacy… I’ll be watching!

Check it out – but be warned – these puppies are entertaining!

Happy stitchin’ (and watchin’)!

Well, well, well… it’s been another quiet break for you all from my blogging, but I’m back! As seems to occur in my life, “life happened”, and I just wasn’t able to get everything done, including with keeping you up-to-date with all that was going on.

Stitchin’spiration, as I’ve said many times, is really a long-time dream of mine coming true. It isn’t, however, my sole source of income, so I have a full-time career meeting those needs. When things get busy with the real job, Stitchin’spiration has to take a back seat. Also, with time so crunched, when things get busy with my personal life, the needlework takes a back seat as well. Gosh darn-it, there aren’t enough hours in the day to get it all done.

After my last post in July, 2007, I began planning for Stitchin’spiration’s first wholesale trade show – Nashville in February, 2008. Stitch’inspiration absolutely started taking front seat, and for the next 8 months, anytime I wasn’t at work (and it was a busy time for the real job also), I was planning, scheming, buying, dreaming of that trade show. Boy, was it fun, but what a lot of work it was.

February, 2008 came, and we packed up the van and headed West. Jim came along for the man-power, and my mom, his mom, and his sister met us there. What an absolutely incredible weekend it was! We had what I consider a very successful show, and I got to meet many wonderful shop owners from all over the world. It also was awesome to see all the beautiful colorful models of mine hung together for the first time. As my tag line now says, it’s definitely a “colorful world of blackwork” at Stitchin’spiration.

With the show over, we returned to Richmond, and returned to a more normal schedule. We had an empty house all of a sudden, as we had to put our dear Jack to sleep, due to a serious health issue which had arised. After all that excitement, I realized that I was “runnin’ on empty”, in a way – a “break from reality” was needed.

Well, after several months of quiet, the focus is coming back. During that time I continued the sales end, and was also continuing to let the design ideas flow. Keep your eyes open in the next couple of months as we begin introducing more new designs.

Thanks for all the e-mails and letters while I was “away”, and I hope you find more “temptations” in blackwork – to inspire you as well.

Happy stitchin’!

Well, as you probably guessed, we did get back in one piece from vacation. Well, at least most of my body did… Last day we were in Memphis, I decided it had been too long since I turned my ankle, so I stepped off the curb, and proceeded to twist the heck out of my foot. Boy, it hurt! Anyways, a week later, I’m still wearing an ankle brace, and am still dealing with the pain. Having had weak ankles since my middle school days, it’s not too unusual for me, but just isn’t very much fun.

Therefore, this week between that and the “gremlins” working on the web server, I haven’t been in the mood to blog. Sorry about that!

I finally have been able to get the camera hooked up to share a couple of quick pictures with you from vacation. Almost as soon as we got to our in-laws house, my father-in-law pulled out his Model A, and took our friends for a ride. Here’s the proof:

How cool is that little car! He hadn’t had it running for many months, so as the smile on his face tells you, he’s having a good time also!

Then, the “Graceland trip“. Now, I do like Elvis, and his music, but… A trip to Graceland is definitely like a trip to Mecca for TRUE Elvis fans. Everything Elvis – all the time… This was my 3rd trip to that hallowed ground, and boy – what can I say. Heading out, I told Joan that my fun in the trip (since I’ve only seen the place 3 times now) was making sure that we had a picture of her in EVERY SINGLE ROOM of Graceland, so that she can prove she’d been there. It actually was quite entertaining to me, as I wasn’t looking at each room, I was scoping for the next shot. We did it. I have an SD card FULL of her tour, and look forward to getting them all printed out for her. Need proof?????? Here she is taking interior design notes in the Jungle Room, so that she can go home and shag carpet the floors, walls, and ceilings of her own house…

Good news for me is that they’ve actually added a new room since I was last there, so I got to ogle the lovely couch / bed / white-long shaggy-with some sort of a canopy thing from his dressing room, and got to see the duds he and Priscilla wore when they got married. At least I saw something new! Thank ya – Thank-ya-very-much…..

Well, I’d better run along. More updates tomorrow…

Well, hello from the Blues City – Memphis, TN! Sitting here high above the downtown trolley lines, resting my feet after a long day, and enjoying a nice bowl of ice cream. MMMMMM, nothing better.

We came in town with friends for our church’s national yearly General Assembly. It just so happens that Jim and I spent about 5 years living in Memphis, so it feels as if we’ve come home. What a wonderful vacation it’s been!

We started by taking our friends to stay at the in-law’s lovely home in the country, and treating them to 24 hours of wonderful country living. We ate too much, trotted around the tiny town in my father-in-law’s old Model A, sat around and chatted, and just plain relaxed. I think they enjoyed themselves, which means that we may never leave Richmond for La Grange again without having 2 stowaways in our trunk. Rodney not only got to play around with the Model A (with a rumble seat by the way), but also played around with lots of big farm equipment and tractors. You just can’t beat that!!!!

Darn-it! Just realized that I forgot the cord to get pics from my camera… Sorry, no Model A pics until I return.

Tomorrow Joan and I are going searching for Elvis at Graceland. They say he still lives, so we’ll let you know!

Boy, it’s been that typical week before vacation… Work has had me jumping, and somehow I actually still have my brain after it was spent entirely on my customer. Of course, in the middle of this type of week, that’s when I get hit with the fierce creative juices, which then make me work like a mad-woman at home also. This Saturday morning, I’m bleary-eyed and spent.

I’ve been playing around with some ideas that I’ve had in development for a couple of years now. The funny thing about creativity, is that there’s no way to control it. Snippets of ideas come, I start getting them down on paper, and then the juices end… just like that. Right when I think that I’m on to something, they dry up, and those partially worked ideas get shelved until they come to life. Looking back, and looking at my current designs, I can see the weird trail that they’ve taken. I also have learned, that these partial ideas that tend to hit me, usually make ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. Jim will come in, and mistakenly ask me what I’m doing. After about a 30 minute tortuous discourse from me, which is making no sense, he finally collapses under the desk in pain. Well, not really, but that’s what the look on his face looks like. These types ideas definitely have to have incubation time for them to germinate, then come back for a little air, then more germination time. Eventually, they’ll be completely born, and become designs. Hopefully, I can do something with my current inspirations, so that I can share, but until then, I’m not going to bore you with the insanity…

Well, busy day getting ready for Memphis! I’ll be touching in during the week, so talk with you then!