Some Things I'm Excited About

I just finished stitching a new sampler model! I won't release the pattern for a little while yet, as I have to find or make a frame for it before it is photo shoot ready... but the stitching is done, and I just know you are going to like this one mucho!

Despite very wet and gloomy weather, I think we may have "turned the corner" weather-wise, and I can't wait to break in my new gardening gloves! After spending the last FOUR Spring gardening seasons either in first-trimester-exhausted-feelingyucky-phase or with an infant who does-not-like-the-chilly-Spring-air, I can hardly wait to get muddy!

After a little research, and based on the recommendation of some trusted friends, Jack's very first Bible arrived in the mail yesterday, and I am looking forward to sitting down and reading it together in just a few minutes while Katie is napping. I'll let you know what I think of it in a future post. I confess I'm a bit picky, and the reason he doesn't have many Bible books is due to my distaste of anything I deem too fluffy, or even worse, those children's books that flagrantly take a story from the Bible and turn it all around backward, disregarding the way the actual story happened (ie., Jonah and the Whale).... but I digress. Don't want to bore you with my theological rant!

And last, but CERTAINLY not least, a story that I know Many of you will Appreciate... A month or two ago, Amy sent me an email telling me about some samplers on Craigslist that she thought I might be interested in. I checked out the listing, and found a collection of 9 primitive samplers for $75. The photo wasn't that great, but it was good enough to inspire a drive to Gresham to meet and see the collection. A few days later, standing in a rainy Michael's parking lot, I decided that yes indeed, although about half of them were more primitive than my decorating taste, the other half were gorgeous reproductions, and I wanted them. Two of them were easily worth three times the asking price for the whole collection.

And now the best part... It wasn't until I got home and was more closely inspecting my purchase that I noticed those two samplers that I really liked were not only Beautifully done, but they were signed on the back... Kathy Barrick Dieter. My heart literally skipped a beat. But NO, it really couldn't be possible, could it? How on earth would not one, but two of Kathy's models be in Oregon, of all places? (For those of you not familiar with the world of stitchers, Kathy is a very talented designer whose patterns are widely circulated and adored by many).

I set about to try to find out if they were forgeries or if bychance they could be the real thing. I sent photos of the samplers and the signature to Kathy, but didn't hear back for a very long time. Hm. Not very promising. Feeling like a total pest, and not wanting to bother her, I finally sent one last email, this time without the pictures attached, thinking that possibly the original message was filtered out by her Spam blocker, or not opened because of an attachment coming from an unknown source.

Anyway, she responded almost immediately, saying that no, she hadn't received the photos and REALLY wanted me to send them again, because she was very curious. And the answer (drumroll please)... YES! She stitched hundreds of samplers back in the 90's and sold them all at Folk Art shows, and mine were her originals! OHMEOHMY! I can't tell you just how proud I am to own them.

Without further ado (sorry for the long story, all you who could care less about the stitching world)... here they are: