Lunch with Tanya

One of the absolute highlights of our trip was meeting Tanya Brockmeyer.  Tanya is the genius behind The Scarlett House.  She is just a wonder!  So creative, so talented and so darn nice!!!!!  We were able to spend some time with Tanya looking at samplers and having lunch.  Here we are at a most fabulous Mexican restaurant in her hometown.  Yum! (I wish I was back there right now!).

Tanya's designs are just fabulous.  They are a mix of gorgeous reproduction samplers and very dear original designs.  I love every single thing she has designed and I am on a serious Scarlett House dreaming phase!

For example, this is Rachel Howell.  My friend Brenda has stitched this sampler.  As you can see it would be quite a commitment to stitch this sampler, but once you see it....all bets are off!  I am thinking of gearing up for Rachel with a January 1, 2015 start!  So excited about this!!!!!

I have this little black cat started and I am going to be pulling him out soon to finish in time for Halloween.  Love the scissor fob that comes with it too!

This is Good Company and another one I want to do STAT!!!  I love the little story in verse...actually I love every single thing about this piece.  

Coverlet houses is in my stash too.  Love this!!!

 She Feeds Them Well is in my stash also.  I know my friend Kellie finished this one already. 

Two more reproduction samplers I would love to do!  My friend Pat started Sarah Elizabeth Brooke.

I really, really, really want to do Seven Sheep Sampler!!!

As you can see Tanya is really really talented!!!!!  And to boot she is a fabulous person and lots of fun to hang out with.  As if that is not enough...she has new designs coming out at the next market!!!!
So exciting!!!

Thank you Tanya for spending time with us and making us feel so darn special!!!!

The Attic - Part 3 - Sampler Sunday

Last Sunday we were lucky enough to be at The Attic for their monthly get togther known as Sampler Sunday!!  The shop opens one Sunday a month for shopping, stitching, and show and tell!!  Plus last Sunday was International Ice Cream day so Jean provided ice cream sundaes too!!!!  

I love the fact that approximately 30 women took the time to stop and watch and listen as each stitcher showed what she was working!  Talk about inspiration!  Above Jean is showing Tanya Brockmeyer's handmade travel case.  It is so cool and it is decorated with all of her special things.  Tanya is the genius behind The Scarlett House.

 My one regret is that that I did not get the names of the stitchers of all of these projects!  Please forgive me and if there is a picture on this entry of something you stitched please let me know.  Also, I could not get a picture of everything.  I was agog and things were moving fast so I missed some great pieces.  

These two pictures above and below are great little stitched pieces turned into project bags by Faye of Carolina Stitcher!!!

 Above and below is another look at Cindy's Dutch Band Sampler.  Fabulous!

 Above and below are beautiful projects from a lady who was originally from a town very close to where I live!!!!  Gorgeous!

 This was a lovely project new to the shop.  It was recently on the cover of SANQ.

One of the things that I really appreciate about The Attic is the way they package their fabric.  When you buy a piece of fabric it gets put in a plastic bag with this great label which gives you all the information you will need to know when you get ready to stitch.  

 Linda Vinson of Needlemade Designs was working on this darling little flower.  She showed us some of her stitched models in the store and they were so very gorgeous!!!

Here is a purse that she made.  It was also on the cover of a SANQ magazine.  Total masterpiece!!!

 A beautiful holder for scissors by Linda Vinson. 

 A stitcher completed Elizabeth Sheffield!

 A start on the Seven Sheep Sampler. 

 A start on a Primitive Hare SAL.

 This is Jean's start on The Attic's Sampler of the Month.  Jesus Wept by The Scarlett Letter.

Here is the original of M.A. Badger.  I think we all kitted this one up.  

We were walking out the door on the last day and I could  not resist taking one last picture......there is always more to see at The Attic.  

We could not have had a better time at the shop!!!!  Thank you to Jean and all the shop girls!!!

The Attic - Part Two

 Here are some more pics from The Attic.  As you can imagine, everywhere you look there are shop models.  Such inspiration!!!!!!

 If you arrive without your readers there are tons of glasses to choose from!

 If you arrive without your favorite lamp there are ones to borrow!!!!!!

 I found this to be very inspiring.  Take one square of Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow, stitch it and frame it!!

Oh what's this?  Just a table of beautiful fabric!!!!

 We were lucky to be present when a shipment from Italy arrived!!!!  These are beautifully hand dyed, aged fabrics from The Primitive Hare.

 You can bet we were stalking Jean when she opened this package!!!!

And we waited until the price tag was affixed to get this chart Patriotic Queen of the Needles into our hot little hands!!!

I will close with our dinner one evening.  We were stitching at the hotel.  All of us were too tired to go out anywhere and we could not think of what to eat.  We were leaning towards ordering a pizza to the hotel when the desk staff told us there was a Portillo's nearby.  We unanimously rose to our feet and decided that is where we would go.  We were trying to eat at places that are not available to us at home.....but the lure of Portillo's was just to great to ignore.  So, off we went in Arizona to a restaurant that was totally decorated like it was right in Chicago!!!  

Coming up.....our afternoon with Tanya Brockmeyer and Sampler Sunday at The Attic!!! 

The Attic Needleworks - Part One

My friends and I are the luckiest stitchers on Planet Earth!!!!  We went to The Attic Needleworks in Mesa, Arizona last weekend!!!!!  We flew from Chicago to Phoenix and planned four wonderful days of stashing and stitching at this shop that is like Disneyland for stitchers!!!!  Here we are pictured with the wonderful shop owner, Jean Lea.  She took such good care of us!  We were treated like queens and we enjoyed every second we spent in the care of Jean and her wonderful shop girls, Debra, Beth, Andrea and Carolyn!!!  Thank you to all of you wonderful ladies who made us feel so special and so welcomed!

From the moment we entered the shop to the moment we left...everything was simply perfect.  I will have to spread my pictures out over a couple of blog posts because there was so much happening and so much to see!!!!  We were able to participate in two shop events...Thursday night stitching and Sampler Sunday stitching.  In between those two events we were able to spend most of our days at the shop.  We went around and around looking at all of the models, picking out different projects and sitting at the spacious tables you can see behind our group.  We were able to shop, stitch and be together in the most perfect setting you can imagine.  

I would highly encourage any stitcher to make a trip to The Attic!!!  You will not be disappointed....in fact, for us, it was certainly a highlight of our stitching lives!!!!

 

This is the display we saw when we first walked in!!!!  Wonderful patriotic charts and models!

Another stroke of luck...that very first day we were there this wonderful chart and model was unveiled.  This is a project by Linda Danielson of Samplers Remembered.  We all loved it and kitted it up!!

The shop is full of special little nooks and corners like this antique chair with charts to look through!

Here is a darling little project that Brenda kitted up.

The Attic has a sampler of the month each month.  If you don't subscribe to their newsletter....go sign up right now.  You will receive a biweekly newsletter that will tell you about the sampler each month and much more.  Jean has ingeniously showed us several of the samplers of the month and where she is at in terms of her progress. 

Here is a sampler on the wall.  Love that red dress!

This is an older Carriage House Samplings chart that my friend Patti and I fell in love with it!!!!  We have it on order from The Attic to be sent to our homes.  Won't that be a fun package to receive!!!

While we were at the shop a package of silk threads arrived!!!  Loved seeing them in bulk!!!  They were simply gorgeous!

Jean was a very good sport when we asked her to model a huge skein of the silk threads as if it were a scarf!!!  So cute!

The Attic has every type of thread imaginable and they do lots of conversions into silks.  They will help you do and find anything you want!

I fell in love with this sampler and kitted it up!  It is by Linda Danielson of Samplers Remembered.

This is a very special piece by Tanya Brockmeyer of The Scarlett House.  We were very very lucky to spend some quality time with Tanya because she is a friend of one of our group (Karin who could not come with us).  More on that later, but I wanted to show you this chart because it was my very first purchase at the Attic!!!  

The name of the sampler is Mary Ann Farmer.  It is breathtaking!!!!

Now get this....here I am with the designer of the piece, Miss Tanya of The Scarlett House her very self!  She is helping me pick out a piece of 32 count linen that will work for the sampler!!!!  Is that cool or what??? 

I love this little sampler.  Should have bought it!  Oh well, that leaves me something to get next time or I can always call in an order!

 Here is Mary Roe another reproduction sampler from Tanya of The Scarlett House.  It is simply stunning!!!

 This whole corner of the shop has many models from The Scarlett House.  It is so exciting to see them all in one place and dream on them.

Another highlight of the trip was meeting other stitchers at The Attic...these are the ladies that are lucky enough to call The Attic their LNS!!!  Here is Teresa with Cindy....Cindy is working on a band sampler that gets updated every week with a new border to stitch.  This is a project that started in Holland in January.  Teresa is ready to jump on this train!!  Here is a link to the site where it all started....Randje Per Week.

Patti had a finish while we were there!  Hurrah!!!!!  So cute!!

A big Hurrah to Jean and the staff at the Attic!  To Tanya Brockmeyer and to all the stitchers at The Attic for making us all feel so welcome.  You provided us with a once in a lifetime experience and we are so thankful to you all!!!!!!!

I will be back soon with some more pictures and stories!!!