*NEW* Primitive hand tinted jute/cotton ric rac

I bought this great jute (sisal) ric rac 1/2" trim. It has a strand of cotton in the center of it. So.....I hand tinted it! Did you think I would leave it plain?? Well...I do sell it plain and untinted....

but I also did several colors and love how they turned out.

I did Cocoa, Golden Yellow, Pale Green. Dark Green, Red and Brown and listed them in my ebay store. I hope to show some finishes in the near future with this great new trim. I need to quit doing new projects and finish some of the old ones.

Just a quick post for today with my new trims.......back to the drawing board. Have a great week!
Nancy

41 New Floss colors added this week

Another very busy week at The Motto Sampler Shoppe is coming to an end. I just listed 32....yes 32 new colors yesterday to my ebay store inventory.*****AND 9 MORE TODAY! 41 new colors.
 From Rosey Beige, Taupes, Caramel Browns, LOTS of Oranges, Pumpkins and Peaches, gorgeous autumn colors, a few Pinks, Lavender, Purples and Greens. Boy do I need to sit and have a break...........and the dye pot will be going all weekend. Of course you will have to be patient and wait a bit to see those colors. From the time they are dyed, dried, shipped out to be counted on cards and then shipped back takes a couple weeks. I also need to dye more trims this weekend. And of course...we will give a lot of these new colors away on my birthday with the floss give-away. Getting anxious?

At the moment...I am going to sit and put my feet up. Maybe get back to a pattern I am working on...there's ALWAYS a pattern in the works, isn't there?!

I hope all of you are having a great week and are enjoying your summer.
Nancy

The best give-away at The Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe-Enter Now!

                   Roses are red
                  Violets are blue
             When it's my Birthday
              I will share with you!

After a grand give-away I have to come up with something better...so more stitchers have a chance to win. How about giving 30 stitchers a prize?

Lets celebrate my birthday together! Drawing to be August 14th, my birthday.

Lets give 15 stitchers 4 skeins (20 yards each)  of my hand dyed floss.
Lets give 15 stitchers their choice of any pattern in my store.

Lots of time to enter.
Rules: You must be a follower. You must post a comment here. Post on your blog and get 3 more entries. For each friend you send you get 3 more entries.

Life is all about sharing with others and I truly love to share with all of you. Lets have a big birthday party together!

Nancy

18 Grand Give-away winners today!

The post office loves me...truly loves me......
and today it's time to announce the grand give-away winners. The random number generator is hot this morning!
You will each need to email me PLEASE. I don't have time to track you down. nbelgian@aol.com

Lets start with button winners. Katherine and Devon.
Black Crow Spice Bag: Barbara Shores-Village Folk Art.
Trim Pack of your choice from my ebay store: The Cranky Crow, Simple Pleasure, lekae, Laura(dollfinii) and Vickie.
Chart of your choice: DeeL, Delphyne, Yana Hanim, Kaisievic, Mindi and usagypsy. (I picked 6 instead of 5)
Floss winners: Ann, Emily C, Melissa, Dear Jo and Wysewoman.

And the $25 gift certificate goes to: geemom. Browse my ebay store and select your goodies, don't buy on ebay, just email me with your choices. http://stores.ebay.com/Victorian-Motto-Sampler-Shoppe

Congratulations to each of you and thank you for participating in the fun.
****I am going to have an even bigger grand give-away in August so stay tuned.

Nancy

It's time to announce some new winners!

It's my favorite time once again....time to announce some winners.
Lets start with the Peacock chart and floss, Love at First Sight. We have 3 winners today: Lisa, JoAnn McLaughlin and Kathy A who entered for her friend Purple Peacock Jill.

*****PLEASE email me as I am so busy I don't have time to track you down. Winners often miss out if they don't check on these announcements. You must follow along!  nbelgian@aol.com


Gift Certificate winners:  A $25 gift certificate goes to 2 winners today. Anne from Doll's Musings and Jennifer M.
You browse through my ebay store, don't buy on ebay, just email me with what you would like and I will pay the postage too.
http://stores.ebay.com/Victorian-Motto-Sampler-Shoppe


CONGRATULATIONS STITCHERS! Thank you for participating and remember that I will anounce the Grand give-away winners tomorrow.

10 New floss colors for this week

Another busy week in the Motto Shoppe and I am adding 10 new colors to the ebay store inventory.

These include: Coral Pink, Antique Variegated Coral, Candy Pink, Antique Rose A and B, Berry, Squash, Variegated Pumpkin Medium, Summer Russet and Dark Teal.

I have been taking advantage of this hot weather and dyeing floss and trims when I can. I had to take a few days to stitch another custom motto for a gal....and now have to do the same this week. This was the last custom order I am taking as I am retiring the stitching service in my store. I just have too many irons in the fire and never have time to stitch for me. I still have two custom samplers to do the patterns for customers and then hope to get back to a design I had started a few weeks ago for a sampler. Maybe I will actually get some time to stitch this one. I hope so.

Have a great week. Thanks for stopping by.
Nancy

New Floss Colors for this week

I added a few new colors to the floss inventory in my ebay store this morning. I try to add new colors on a regular basis....and then comes the challenge to fit all this ever-growing inventory in one house. Several rooms and a basement full....and we already added on to the house to double the size. Maybe I need to add on another whole house!
Back to colors...I added a set of Sweet Potatoes (3 slightly different colors), a new Sage, A Variegated Peach Melba, A Medium Pine Green, A very Dark Variegated Pine Green, a Deep Woods Yellow and Purple Passion.

I have been dyeing more new colors that I will list next week after I get them back from being counted and tied on cards. I used to do that in the beginning and I soon realized that there was NO way I had time to sit and count floss for 8 hours at a time. Besides that, I am not supposed to do it because it makes my hands hurt worse than they do (if that is possible). If the doctor tells me one more thing that I can't do I may bop him on the head!

I am just about caught up on hand carved frame orders that will go out later this week and what a relief to have those out of the way. Now I can focus on some new ribbon trims I am dyeing. I want to use several of these for finishes so stay tuned for that. Sounds like another give-away in the making............
Thanks for stopping by.

Nancy

13 chart winners today!

It's time to announce some chart winners....LOTS of chart winners for today so lets get started.
First we will announce the Halloween chart Witch's Brew winners:
The Cranky Crow, Connie and Chris. So if you put a comment on that post you have won. Please email me at nbelgian@aol.com.

Now for the Alphabet Ornament winners. You will pick which letter you would like. There are 3 patterns for each letter with the chart.
cathlynbacks,  tiffstitch,  Thoeria,  Kathy A,  Musicwoman,  Robin(crafting with stitchwitch),  Yolanda, Lindatax PA,  Melissa and Maureen.
I have discontinued sending patterns in pdf format....but I may send some of you pdf. Please email me with your address and we will take it from there.****PLEASE email me as I don't have time to hunt you down. Thank you!

Thanks you for participating once again. It is my pleasure to share  and I only wish I could send a gift to each of you. We will keep the give-aways going until everyone gets something!

Have a great day!
Nancy

It's time for another Grand Give-away! Enter Now!

It's time for another Grand Give-away!

 Lets celebrate stitching together! I appreciate all my followers and it's time to share once again!

What are we giving away? Lots of goodies! Lets start with:
5 stitchers will receive 5 skeins of my hand dyed floss.
3 stitchers will get to pick the chart of their choice. 75 charts to choose from in my ebay store. Alphabet letters, Halloween, Scatter Smiles, Treasured Friend, etc.
1 lucky winner can pick a Black Crow Spice bag kit of their choice.
5 stitchers will get a pack of trim.
2 stitchers will get a pack of hand dyed buttons.
AND 1 stitcher will get a $25 gift certificate to shop in my ebay store and I will pay the postage any where.
Rules: You must be a follower. You must post a comment here. Post on your blog and get two more entries. For every friend you send to follow my blog you get 3 more entries!
Drawing to be July 1st.
Lets the comments begin! I love to share with all of you and it is my pleasure to host these give-aways.
Good luck to all!
Nancy

Another new Peacock design

I started working on another peacock design as soon as I finished the first one. I wanted a whole family of peacocks so I designed this one. I started stitching it...then got swamped with hand carved frame orders so I put it down. Finished the frames and picked it up again...and got swamped with orders for kits and a stitched large motto. These take 8-12 hours to stitch. So I set the peacocks aside once again....and then I got an order for another custom stitched motto with lots of detail...this once takes 16 hours to stitch..and at this point I am thinking I should have sent the peacocks to the model stitcher! But I am whittling away at it late evenings and am 3/4 done but I wanted to show it to you so this is what it looks like on the stitching program I use. I wish the linen was more of the natural like I am using but you still get the picture.
    I will have the chart available in my ebay store in a few days as I would like to use the actual model for the photo on the chart cover.
    So you can see what keeps me busy around here. This past week it has been overwhelming to say the least. I truly wish I had more time to stitch. Maybe some day...........
    I hope all of you are finding some time to stitch with your busy schedules. Can we get off the merry-go-round now? I am ready to move to a larger farm....far from the beaten path.........maybe back to Amish country.....that's where I was until I moved here! And years ago I had left the hectic life style of southern California to get away from it all!
Thanks for stopping by.
Nancy

Peacock Love at first sight finished and a new give-away!

I finished stitching the peacocks in Love at First Sight and the chart is now available in my ebay store or direct through me. I was in a hurry to get this listed...so I just set an antique frame over the stitching...cheated a little for the photo....because I want to stitch it into a small pillow.
 The chart includes the Peacock Blue and Chocolate Brown floss. Charted for 16ct and 18ct and enough floss to complete either one. Design size is 127 x 95. Fits in a standard 8x10 frame. Price is $9.99.
I had thought of just selling this chart with my floss for now but may sell it at a later date for the chart alone.

And you know......we are going to give a few away!!!!! Lets give 3 lucky stitchers this newest chart with floss. Enter now. Same rules....be a follower. Post a comment here. Post on your blog and get two more entries. For each friend you send you get two more entries. Drawing to be June 30th. Good luck stitchers. Let the comments begin!

I truly love to share with all of you.
Nancy

New peacock pattern preview with a new floss color

I dyed another new dark variegated blue and I thought it would look perfect for peacocks...so I did a first draft of these peacocks....titled Love at First Sight. I used the darker part of the blue floss and selected this rich chocolate brown to compliment it. I love this color combination and stitched it on 32ct natural linen. I will add a border on the sides...and a few extras and have it finished in a couple days and the chart available later in the week. I am going to sell this chart with my floss to make it easier for stitchers. Of course we will have a give-away when the chart is finished....don't we always??

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week.
Nancy

Alphabet Ornaments completed and a great give-away!

I am FINALLY done with the Alphabet Ornament Collection...that was no small task to do 3 patterns for each letter. It was finding time to fit them in between regular orders, dyeing floss and trims and I had been swamped with custom mottoes this past month so it really seemed to drag out. I had 4 letters left to do so I started on them at 6 this morning and just finished. Can you say happy dance??!!

Lets give a few away! Lets give 10 lucky winners..yes 10...the Alphabet Letter of their choice. You will get three patterns for that letter. I just completed W,X, Y and Z. They include Welcome friends, You are always in my heart, be sure to X all your stitches and have a Zest for life.

Be a follower, post a comment here. Post on your blog and get two more entries. For each friend you send you will get two more entries.
Lets give as few charts away and celebrate together!
Drawing to be June 15th.
Good luck stitchers!

Nancy

Today's lucky winners and a new gift certificate give-away

Time goes by so quickly around here...and it's time to announce some winners once again. I wish my work seemed to get done quickly but it doesn't....so at least I get to have fun when I give goodies away!
The floss winners (5 skeins each) are: April, Ann, Marie-P, DianeM and mytimestitching
Congratulations!
The gift certificate winner is cyn. Browse my ebay store and tell me what you would like.
http://stores.ebay.com/Victorian-Motto-Sampler-Shoppe


NOW....Please email me as I don't have time to hunt you down! Time is precious to me...ok...all of you are too......but I am so swamped with projects, dyeing floss and trims, orders and such that I need you to email me with your address. nbelgian@aol.com

Now lets give away TWO gift certificates!
$25 in goodies from my ebay store to each winner and I will pay postage any where. Drawing to be June 30th. Lets keep the summer stitching going.
Enter now. Post a comment here....be a follower....post on your blog and get another entry. For each friend you send you get two more entries. Good luck stitchers! We need to keep giving goodies away until everyone has something!
Nancy

Alphabet Ornament Letters S, T, U and V completed

I believe I see the light at the end of the tunnel...finally! I completed letters S, T, U and V. They include Scatter Smiles, Think of Me, In Unity is strength and Be strong and wise and Virtue prize. I knew it would take me a while to do three patterns for each letter...and fitting all those patterns into a busy schedule was no small task. I will take a break for the weekend, picnic with the kids and grand kids...and take a much needed day off. I hope you all do the same. I know I am frequently guilty of working way too many hours each day and I work 7 days a week. I have for the last 7 years. That needs to change...soon.

Thanks for stopping by. I will have the last 4 letters completed next week...lets have a party!!!
Nancy

A gift from my Kindred Spirit

What treasure I received in the mail today from my Kindred Spirit, Eunice, who lives in Ireland. My best friend and the joy in my life.
She send me a gorgeous English Roses tea setting and the tea cup has a scented candle in it. The baby shoe is adorable (and a pin cushion!) and she decorated it herself. Scented soap....what treasures! Best friends...the best part of life!
I have so much to be thankful for. I hope each and every one of you has a Kindred Spirit to share with.
Nancy

New Halloween chart, My Witch's Brew, new give-away!

I was sitting in the doctor's office and knew I would have a long wait. I worked on this chart for two hours when the design hit me...have to put these things to  paper before one forgets! Don't we all carry 6 sheets of graph paper, pencil and a ruler in your purse? I am prepared at all times!

So this is my new Halloween chart. My Witch's Brew. Shown charted with my stitching program and I will send it out to my model stitcher. My hands are giving me so much trouble these days it hurts too much to stitch. Doing my regular orders is about it right now....maybe when it eases up a bit I can pick up needle and thread once again.

My Witch's brew I'll make for you with love and greetings kind and true!

Design size is  118 x 156

Lets give a couple charts away....

Post a comment here, be a follower, post on your blog and get two entries, send a friend and get two more entries.

Lets give these away on June 15th. Lots of time to enter.

Good luck! Thanks for participating once again.

Nancy

More Alphabet Ornament charts finished

I had finished several more of the letters for the Alphabet Ornament Collection...I had listed them on ebay but forgot to show them here. I think I had stopped at M, which had Memories, O has Our Hearts are stitched together, P has Patience is a virtue, Q has Quiet time and R has Remember me when this you see.
I have a sale on ebay ....buy 5 charts and get one free right now. I do a lot of summer sales to keep the stitchers going through the hot months. I know I can hardly wait for summer to be over each year as I can't take the heat well with the Lupus I have. I even have to stay out of the sun....yeah right...with all I have to do around here.
Back to charts.....

I have several more letters roughed out and will finish them over the next few days. I got swamped with projects here on the farm....with hot spring weather everything has been growing like weeds....and including the weeds. We also are in the process of tearing down our glass greenhouse (30x70') that had damage from baseball size hail a few weeks ago. WHAT a project let me tell you. I will be glad when this is done and life returns to normal....if I can remember what normal was.

I need to do some finishing on a few smalls and will show them in a few days. So many projects....so little time....
Another week is flying by.....and time to get back to work as the break is over. I just thought I would catch up on some charts that were completed.

I hope all of you are having a great week.
Nancy

Announcing the Hand dyed floss winners for today

Another fun day of drawing names...I truly wish I could send some to each and every one of you. What a postage bill that would be!
So it's time to announce todays winners:
Valerie Kalyani
Connieks
Ewa
Miss LindaLee
Vera

You each will receive 5 skeins (20 yards ea) of my hand dyed floss.
You need to email me....I truly don't have time to track you down, so please help me out.
Nbelgian@aol.com
I will need your address.
I am dyeing more floss this week...sounds like another give-away  real soon.
I must admit...my floss is just a side line for me. So many stitchers who bought my perforated paper motto kits liked the floss they asked to buy some separate. I started listing some and the rest is history.
Let me back up a bit...when I first started doing the kits I bought hand dyed floss wholesale from other companies. I paid $1.45 for 10 yards. I thought that was an outrageous price since I need to put $6-$8 in floss in each kit. So I bought cones from DMC and started dyeing my own. Piece of cake! Then I started selling it because customers requested it....and I was so mad that the other companies charged so much...that is why I sell it so cheap... so a lot of stitchers can have a nice floss selection at an affordable price. At $2 for 20 yards...I have stitchers ask me if I am crazy?! I guess if I was a large company I would need to charge more...but I can afford to be generous with my stitching friends and as you all know...I love to share!
Have a great day. Congratulations to each of you.

Nancy

P.S. I truly need to add another comment...I hope you don't mind me speaking so boldly about my floss price compared to other companies. I truly do not mean to offend. I am only stating facts the way I see them. I guess the older I get...the bolder I get!

Mother's Day Gift Certificate winner

Happy Mother's Day to all.This a day of sharing, remembering and showing someone you care. This is a very special day for those of us who are fortunate enough to still have our mothers with us. It is a tribute day to those who have lost a loved one. Celebrate. Celebrate today and celebrate all the years you had together. Each day is a gift...each memory a treasure.

It's time to announce the winner of the Gift Certificate:
 dixiesamplar
She wants this for her daughter Ally. How sweet to enter for someone you love.
I also want to give two stitchers a few skeins of floss to celebrate today:
 Lisa Cox, Rebecca and Lynn Stansfield
Please email me and send me your address.
nbelgian@aol.com

Thank you for participating once again. I love to share and today I send lots of love to each and every one of you. Have a very Happy  Mother's Day!

Nancy

Hurry and enter to win a Mother's Day Gift Certificate

I can't let Mother's Day go by without giving away a Gift Certificate. Lets celebrate a very special day together. A tribute to Mothers everywhere.

To one who bears the sweetest name,
And adds a luster to the same,
Long life to her, for there's no other,
Who takes the place of my dear
                    Mother

My 89 year old Mother is very dear to me and I cherish every day we have together. The plaque you see in the above picture hangs on the wall above my desk.

I would like to give a $25 Gift Certificate to one lucky winner.
Post a comment here....lets leave some great ones.....
Post on your blog and get another entry.
Winner will get to pick $25 in goodies out of my ebay store and I will ship any where.
Time is drawing near so hurry and enter this one.
Winner to be announced...on...of course...Mother's Day!!
That's May 13th here in the states.

Good luck to all.
Nancy

Lets give away another gift certificate!

Lets give away another Gift Certificate! One lucky winner will be able to select $25 in goodies from my ebay store and I will pay the postage any where.
So post a comment here and get one entry. Post on your blog and get two entries. For each friend you send you get two more entries.
I love to share with all of you and this is my thank you for being a faithful follower.
Winner to be announced May 30th.
Let the comments begin!
Nancy

Gift certificate and floss winners

It's fun time again! Time to announce all the winners....the random number generator was VERY busy this morning.....
First lets do the $25 gift certificate: Teresa S. So take a look in my ebay store, don't buy through ebay, just tell me what you would like for your $25. I will pay the postage.

I'll put the kettle on winners:
5 stitchers get 2 skeins of this beautiful floss:
Mindi, Tatkis, Nancy, Christine and Musicwoman. Please email me so I can get your address. nbelgian@aol.com
5 get the pattern, charm and floss: PJ, Simone, Louise, April, and Becky in Virginia
1 winner of the chart, floss and fabric is: Shaunterria Owens. Please email me.
ALSO***You can have red or blue so tell me which one you prefer. Blue floss and a silver charm or red floss and a gold charm.

Thanks for playing along once again. I love to share with you and I only wish I could send each and every one of you a gift each time. Lets keep the give-aways going and maybe...just maybe...over time...each of you will win something.

Have a great day!
Nancy

New summer floss colors and a new give-away!

I have some new floss colors for summer, some beautiful warm colors. Peach, candy pink, squash, sweet  potato, taupe, Linda's brown (I had to name this after her!).....so lets give some away. Lets give 5 stitchers 5 skeins of floss on May 30th. Lots of time to sign up and you still have all summer to stitch with it. I am just listing this set on ebay too.
Same rules...be a follower, post a comment here, post on your blog and get 2 entries, for every friend you send you get two more entries on this one.
You will need to check back when I announce the names. You will then need to email me and give me your address. I truly don't have time to hunt you down...so help me out!
Let the comments begin................
Nancy

I absolutely LOVE stitching with red

I could have everything in my house stitched in red...red...red...everywhere. My coffee grinders are red, my Griswold antique cast iron pans are red and cream, red and cream doilies, red and yellow cabbage roses on the wing chairs, I could go on and on. So I stitched with red last week. I stitched my Welcome rooster pattern on 32ct linen that I overdyed a little...changed it a little to make it bigger for the frame I have....I stitched a bird ornament, I did a new mini ornament (pattern available soon after I finish it) for Treasured Friend and Best wishes and Happy stitches...and Sara finished I'll put the kettle on in red for me.
It's back to patterns this week and lots of frame orders so there probably won't be time for stitching. I needed a break anyways. These sore hands can only do so much.

OK CATHERINE....here's a peek!

I hope all of you had a good weekend. Spring has arrived here and all the flowers are in bloom and spectacular. I need to stop and smell the roses!

Have a great day!
Nancy

Floss winners and a new floss give-away!

My favorite time once again....to announce some more winners of my hand dyed floss. There are 5 winners, 5 skeins each:
Pam in PA,     MartyG,  KrissyB,   Kathy A and Priscilla.
Please email me nbelgian@aol.com
I will need your address to mail these to you.

Now...LETS DO IT AGAIN!!!!! Lets give 5 stitchers 5 (20 yard) skeins of my hand dyed floss.
Be a follower and post a comment here. Post on your blog and get TWO more entries. For each friend you send get TWO more entries.I had to change the rules a little for this one to give you more chances to win.
Drawing to be May 15th. Good luck everyone...let the comments begin!

Nancy

New patterns from a busy week

I had another busy week....is there any other kind?? At least it was a productive one and I finished several new patterns. First I had a stitcher request that I convert one of my perforated paper mini mottoes, Treasured Friend, into a cross stitch chart. I was going to do this in an ornament soon...with a different pattern so stay tuned.

Next I wanted to add to my Rooster collection so I did a small welcome pattern. I wanted a small picture to hang on the wall (running out of space as usual) so it is 94x99. I started stitching this on natural 32ct linen and I will show that when I am finished.

Last but not least, I added the letter N to the ever growing Ornament Collection. It includes No place like home...one of my very favorite sayings.

I hope all of you had a productive week too. Stay happy...keep stitching!
Have a great weekend.
Nancy

A gift from a dear friend

I received a beautiful gift in the mail this morning from a dear friend. Isn't it nice how these presents seem to arrive on a day when you need a little cheering up? Judy made this for me with some of the Plum floss she won in my give-away and some of the ric rac trim she purchased from me. Add a sweet little design and you have a winning combination. Thank you Judy! I will treasure it as I treasure my friends. I am truly blessed and have so much to be thankful for.

I hope each and every one of you are blessed with good friends. That's the best part of life.
Nancy

Enter to win a gift certificate at The Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe

I had a customer request for a gift certificate in my ebay store. Ebay doesn't have gift certificates...but we can do one! Lets give a $25 Gift Certificate to one lucky winner this month. They can browse my ebay store and pick out $25 in goodies and I will pay postage anywhere. Sound good? Lets do it!
Enter now! Post a comment here. Be a follower. Post on your blog and get another entry. For each friend you send you get another entry. Lets keep the giving spirit going.
Drawing to be April 30th. We will have to do this one more often....it's so much fun to share!

Good luck stitchers! Lets the comments begin..........
Nancy

The newest blue floss project

I wanted to add one more little ornament to the new Antique Blue with Tan floss collection so I stitched the bird ornament from the letter A collection...and of course...changed it to an N. For this bird, I selected the darkest and brightest parts of the variegated blue floss to make it stand out a little more and I think I succeeded. Now to stitch it into a little ornament pillow...or something....I was thinking it would look great as a center design on a needle book too. So many possibilities. I truly need to find one whole day to get the sewing machine out and finish a dozen projects so I better put that on the calendar.
I hope you are all still in the sewing mood ....I know it is not a seasonal thing around here, that's for sure.
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.
Nancy

Happy Easter

I wanted to wish each and every one of my faithful followers a very  Happy Easter!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

Love and hugs,
Nancy

Letter M for the Alphabet Ornament Collection

Getting back to the Alphabet Ornament Collection...I did the three patterns for the letter M this morning. M was a hard one....for a saying, and I kept going back to Memories and that was my final decision. I also changed the bird ornament and did two smaller birds on this one. I hope to get a few more letters done soon.  I was swamped with orders for  hand carved frames this past week and one can only find so many hours in each day. Believe me...I stretch them to their limits trying to squeeze in all I can. If you saw the list of things I have to do each day you would be surprised that I ever find time for patterns. After I get all these frames boxed and mailed I will focus on patterns once again. After all, the letter N is next!

I hope all of you are having a great week filled with stitching.
Nancy

Combining parts of samplers for something new

I like to combine parts of samplers to come up with something new...either for myself or a gift. I wanted to see this new blue floss on natural linen so I stitch it this week on 32ct. I took the verse from Teach me to feel another's woes and used the border(I changed it a bit) from the I'll put the kettle on sampler. I just kind of did it as you go...stitched the verse and then did the border around it. I had an antique frame that was the perfect size for this little verse. I needed something else to add to the "blue" collection......so now I will frame it and hang it on the wall. I guess I am done with blue for a while...and need to get back to patterns. I have a dozen or so that I need to put to paper....so back to work. I just wanted to share a bit for today.

I hope you are all still stitching...I know a lot of my friends drop the needlework (I didn't know that was possible for an addict!) when the spring weather arrives and they do outside activities. I hurry to do the yard work and get back to the needle work!

Have a great day.
Nancy

Winners of the sampler pattern

Here are the names of the 5 lucky winners of the Teach me to feel another's woes sampler pattern:
lesli, wranglerkate, Karen(Thomas), Diann and trillium.
Charts will be sent pdf. Email me please: nbelgian@aol.com
Thanks for participating once again. Enjoy your samplers!
Nancy

New Friendship Sampler, new color floss and a new give-away!

This design started as a find of the adorable little tea pot(and little tea cup)  charms. I wanted to do a friendship sampler...so I wrote:
I'll put the kettle on
come sit and chat with me.
We'll laugh and share a while
and sip a cup of tea.

Pattern size is 152x80.
Then I wanted a variegated antique blue with some tan in it...like the other flo blue I had overdyed...and overdyed...and overdyed....
So I came up with this fantastic blue (if I may say so) and it fades to a nice tan and it goes real well with the Country French Cafe Mocha linen this is stiched on. I will sew on the charm and make a little pillow with the backing fabric shown. I had been saving that blue floral fabric for the perfect floss to compliment it.
I am also having my model stitcher do this pattern in red for me as I also found this little tea pot  charm  with a brass finish. You could also finish it without the charm and use buttons or add your initials. Lots of possibilities. Use the charm and add your initial and a friend's for a gift.
The floss and pattern(includes charm) are also listed in my ebay store. Pattern also available pdf.

*****So lets give a few things away! Lets give 5 stitchers a couple skeins of this beautiful floss.
Lets give 5 stitchers a copy of my new friendship sampler pattern which will include the tea pot charm and floss. You will have your choice of red or blue at the time of the drawing.
And lets give one stitcher a complete package of fabric, pattern, charm and floss in the color of your choice.
So...be a follower. Post a comment here. Post on your blog and get another entry. Get an entry for each friend you send.******
Drawing to be April 30th so you have lots of time to enter.
Good luck and happy stitching!
Nancy

Lots of sales in my ebay store

My spring sale is going on right now in my ebay store. By request I always email my friends so I thought I would tell all of you about the great sale. Many items are buy 5 and get one free, charms, seam ribbon packs, chenille packs, cluny ric rac trim, motto kits, etc.

stores.ebay.com/Victorian-Motto-Sampler-Shoppe

It's a great way to stock up and I am always happy to give free merchandise with sales. I try to help as much as I can in this tough economy.
Those are my thoughts for sharing today.

Have a great day!
Nancy

An Easter present

I wanted to share a picture with you of a present my dear friend Patricia made me for Easter. She named her...what else...Miss Flossie! She is an adorable bunny made from scraps of an old chenille bedspread that belonged to her grandmother. How very kind of you Patricia...she will be cherished!
The best part of life is sharing with others.

Have a wonderful day!
Nancy

Letter L for Ornament Collection

The letter L for the Ornament Collection includes Love and you shall be loved...one of my favorite sayings.

I took a break from stitching a motto for a customer and did these three patterns this evening. I wonder if I will see the light at the end of the tunnel soon...........

Another productive week is drawing to a close.....hurry weekend!

Nancy

Alphabet Ornament Collection Letter K

I completed the Alphabet set for the letter K and it includes Kindness makes friends. I have been busy with custom orders for more stitched mottoes so I haven't been able to devote as much time to the alphabet series as I wanted to. It seems like somethings always comes up but I will keep whittling away at it as time permits. I could use TWO of me around here and maybe I would get everything done.

I think I like the letters with the birds the best...just my opinion. I have sent them to a model stitcher so she will be one busy gal for a while. Then I will need to do the finishing on the ornaments...oh my goodness will I be busy. I like to do finishing and maybe some day I will have less to do around here and more time for fun projects. I have some things I stitched last year that I want to incorporate into a project keeper...but where is the time to do these things?? I need to quit adding new patterns all the time but as I have said before, doing patterns is my favorite part of all of this business. So I guess I better get on with these letter patterns and be done so I can start on another project.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day....hopefully stitching!
Nancy

Winners of the Alphabet and Easter Ornament charts

It's time once again (I LOVE this part!) to announce the winners of the charts....so here we go....
Aplhabet winners....you can choose any letter I have from A-J
Annette-California
Sue T
Diane M
basketsnprims
Fem

Easter Ornament winners:
pj
Sadie
Beth Pearce
Sara Beth
Mindi

Email me at nbelgian@aol.com  and I will send your charts pdf.

Thanks once again for playing along.....I love to share!
Nancy

Always busy with motto samplers

I am always busy with motto samplers. I stitched 3 new designs a week for the first year when I started this business 7 years ago...that's a lot of stitching...I have stitched over 450 mottoes now...as I have a stitching service in my store for those who do not stitch. Some people are intimidated by the perforated paper but as many of you well know, it is very durable to stitch on. I love the antique mottoes in my collection but I also like some of my patterns as well. I try to keep with a classic antique look and not too modern. This motto I stitched for a customer over the weekend. Eat drink and be merry. It took 11 hours to stitch which is not too bad for an 8-1/2 x  21 inch motto sampler. If these sore arthritic hands would cooperate it would go much faster but that is beside the point. It is my adaptation of an antique motto because  I usually change them a bit. About 10% of my motto patterns are from antiques and the rest are my own. I thought I would share this motto picture with you...so you can see how I spend my time when not designing patterns(which I would rather be doing).
It is shown in one of our frames. My husband makes the criss cross frame and then I carve the sides of the frame and carve the corner leaves (no wonder these hands hurt). I do the staining also (which I hate). I just thought I would share a bit of what I do with all of you.

Happy stitching and have a great week. I need to get back to the alphabet patterns...but I also thought of a cute friendship pattern I want to do...I told you I get side tracked all the time!

Nancy

Aplhabet Ornamets H, I and J completed

I was burning the midnight oil again last night....running out of oil around here .......but I finished the Letters H,  I and J for the Alphabet Ornament Series. Three charts for each of the letters. H includes Home sweet home; the I letter has I will always kiss you goodnight...another adorable saying and so good to apply! The J has with Joy we greet you.

I am having so much fun creating this alphabet series that I think I will start on the Halloween alphabet when I am done. Of course there will be a dozen other patterns squeezed in between.

Thanks for stopping by....have a great day!
Nancy

A new sampler chart give-away

I had read this verse many years ago and was drawn to it. I should have charted it long ago but I am guilty of having too many irons in the fire...for the past 20 years! I liked the verse but I did make a couple changes (I hope the author isn't offended). The original verse was by the poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744). I made minor changes by adding an "s" to the words woe and fault. It now reads:

Teach me to feel another's woes
To hide the faults I see
That mercy I to others show
That mercy show to me.

I used DMC floss...as I have said, I like to make it easy for my customers to use an inexpensive floss that is readily available and they can make any substitutions if they so desire.

Shall we give a few charts away?? Of course we will! Enter now and I will announce the winners on April 1st. Lets give 5 charts away. Be a follower and post a comment here. Post on your blog and get another entry. Get another entry for each friend you send.
Good luck.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Nancy

Winners of the Alphabet Ornament Collection charts....and lets do it again!!

And the winners for the charts for Alphabet Ornament Collections  are.................
Fem, Dolores, Sunnybec, strandkorbtraum and Sue T. Email nbelgian@aol.com

You can choose from letters A through H. I am working on the next ones....hope to have them done soon but I have been swamped with things. I also squeezed in the new sampler shown at the right,
Teach me to feel another's woes. We will give some of those charts away soon.....but for now......back to Alphabet Ornaments.
Lets give away 5 more charts on April 1st.
Same old rules stitchers....be a follower, post a comment here, send a friend and get another entry for each friend you send and post on your blog and get another entry.

Good luck! That's letters G... o... o... d... L... u... c... k!

Hope you are all having a great day....I am....I love to give things away!
Nancy

New Hand Dyed Floss Give-away!

It seems like floss is the most popular give away around here...so lets give away some more floss....lets give 5 stitchers 5 skeins of my hand dyed floss. Twenty yards per skein will stitch a lot of goodies for you and I have some lovely  new colors for spring.

Rules once again: Be a follower. Post a comment here....post on your blog and get another entry. Send a friend and get an entry for each friend you refer.

Drawing to be April 15th. Good luck stitchers...let the comments begin!

Nancy

Winners of the Grand give-away and charts

It's time to  announce LOTS of winners...so have a seat and check the names to see if you are one of the lucky ones.
Two Long-eared rabbits pdf charts: elma, Sue N., D y a,  Fem,  pj,  mab3500,  Melody, Sadie, Lucie, and Wendy.
The Grand give-away:
10 skeins floss: denise(primdee), Vicky L, Debbie(debbie's corner), SoCal Debbie, and raised by cross stitching wolves.

Coffee bag: Mary (all my scattering moments)
Spice bag: Rita
Cluny lace trim: stitchinrose and Renee G
Buttons: Kay and Cheri
Hand dyed lace: Tracey and xstitchmama
Chenille: Myra

Please email me  nbelgian@aol.com

Thank you for participating....let do this again real soon!
Nancy

Winners of the motto sampler charts

It's that day...time to announce the 10 winners of the motto charts. You get to pick which chart you would like from Merry Christmas, Happy Halloween, I will always Kiss you good night, and  My soul is fed by needle and thread. Email me with your choice. These will be sent pdf.
Free indeed,  ariadne, Kathy A.,  Sadie,  McKenna C, Terri(rosy stitches), Beth Pierce, Michele(stitches blog), Connie, and judy starkey.
Thank you once again for participating.
Email me at   nbelgian@aol.com.   I will be out for a few hours this morning but will answer when I return.

Have a great weekend!
Nancy

2 Quakers ready to be framed

I don't know about you...but I love Quaker patterns. I could sit and do patterns all day long...especially Quakers. I just love watching the puzzle pieces all come together...and then to see them stitched is the icing on the cake.

I had my new model stitcher tackle Be True in Heart and she did a wonderful job. Thank you Sara!
I chose my own coffee dyed linen and plum floss...I think it turned out plum perfect!

Next I decided to dye the fabric I had my other Quaker  (Harmony) stitched on. I just wasn't happy with it...so I decided to go dark and it was exactly what I was wanting. Could I duplicate it? Probably not...it was layer upon layer of light dye untilI got just the right amount to suit me. This is my own flo blue floss and although I am not a blue person...I could decorate the whole room in dark blue and this variegated blue for accents. The floss changed color as I applied the dye for the fabric to give me this interesting effect. I love it! And I am sure I could not duplicate this either but that is ok. These are for me to look at. Now I need to get busy and frame these beauties and hang them on the wall.

Makes me think I want to do another Quaker pattern..................

Have a great day. Thanks for stopping by.
Nancy

Alphabet Ornament patterns for E, F, and G completed

I have had another extremely busy day with patterns and I have added the letter E, F and G, three patterns each. I would like to continue at this pace but I have to stop for now and stitch 5 of the large motto patterns for a customer. Finding time to stitch for 6 hours each evening is difficult but necessary as this is my busy time of the year. I do hope to whittle away at the small patterns a bit each day as time permits. So here are the patterns for E, F, and G which include Eat, drink and be merry , Forget me not, and God bless our home.

These are available through me directly or in my ebay store.

Thank you for stopping by.
Nancy

Easter Ornament Patterns and a give-away!

Yes stitchers....I was busy again last evening (I warned you that I get side tracked with an idea) and have added an Easter Ornament Collection. Three ornaments in this series for 2012. The patterns are ranging in size from 2.9" square (40x40), 53x46 and 44x44. A very nice small size for an ornament  and easy to stitch in time to display for Easter.

Lets give away 5 charts once again. So....be a follower and put a post here to enter. Post on your blog and get another entry. Send a friend and get another entry. You ought to know the rules by now!!
Drawing to be March 20th.
It is always nice to share with so many of you stitchers...I truly enjoy that the most.

Have a great day!
Nancy

New Bird Ornament Collection for 2012

I was busy yesterday doing some new bird ornament designs and thought a collection of three Doves for 2012 would be nice. I plan to add other bird ornaments in different styles...all in good time.

I also added three designs to the Alphabet collection for the letter D. Little by little I will get the alphabet done. I need to quit getting side tracked...but when an idea hits me I take pen to paper and jot it down. You ought to see the collection of notes around here!!!

Hope you enjoy these new designs.
Have a great day!
Nancy

New Alphabet Ornament Collection and a give-away!

I have completed the first three letters of the alphabet for charts. The first one, A, has 4 ornaments to get you started. The others have 3 ornaments. To give you an idea of size, the oval with the letter runs 45x51 pattern size. The letters with birds are running 59x60. Others are 46x49 etc. Each pattern gives you 3 fabric counts and sizes and floss requirements. These are shown in dark red but would be great in any color; dark blue, browns, etc. I am putting together the pdf files and they will be available later today. Purchases can be through me direct or through ebay. Each set of ornaments is $9.99. With most small patterns running $6-8 each,  I thought this was a pretty good deal.

Lets give a few charts away! Lets give 5 stitchers their choice of the chart they would like. Rules: Be a follower. Post a comment here. Send a friend and get another entry. Post on your blog and get another entry. Enter now! Drawing to be March 15th.

I will try to add a bird for most letters since they are so popular. I will have different sets for some letters too. I will also be adding Quakers in the mix...maybe do a whole alphabet for Quakers at a later date. Possibilities are endless...maybe a Halloween alphabet!
I am off to do the pdf files. Thank you for stopping by and thank you for being a follower. I appreciate all the nice compliments you stitchers have for my designs and all my efforts.
Lets give some charts away!
Nancy 

A small preview of my new ornament patterns

I have been very busy this week, not only with regular orders, custom motto patterns and frames...but I started on the ornament collection. I thought I would do the alphabet...a few ornaments for each letter. This will get REAL interesting for some of the difficult letters...and take me quite a while as you can imagine. I need to take a break for a day or two and dye some linen and new floss colors but I thought I would give you a sneak peek at what I have been doing. I will need to stitch all these little critters...already have a model stitcher lined up to help me. I can do one here and there but with all the hours I put into patterns and things, well it just doesn't leave me much time for stitching. I have mottoes to stitch for several customers and need to squeeze those in too! If I only had 6 hands I could do it all...and be rich just from the circus freak show I would be in. But I bet I could stitch all day long!
So here is a preview...I have several more patterns done but have to decide on final colors. I love all one color...but it won't work for all of these. I have a few with birds on branches and they look terrific in one color. These will be available in a few days. Through my ebay store or buying direct from me. I will do 3-4 per leaflet for each letter.

I know the pictures are small :))))) I said a little peek!

Have a great day!

Nancy