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 Thea's
January - February
Newsletter!
[contents
Dear friends...!
I am writing this newsletter
just before the start of 2012, and want to honour the past eventful year while looking
forward to a new one. What a lot of good times I've had.. having fun and laughing
with friends and family. Not to forget how enjoyable my life is working with my
wonderful co-workers, Lisa, Cathy, Brenda, Gabor, Linda, Tricia, Lexa, Ginger and
Marietta. You're all terrific!
 Of
course there were new personal challenges all year long. For instance, while they
were painting the bedroom walls, my painters found a long time leak and black mould
in my bathroom. Luckily it was fixed within a month but what an unexpected expense!
In the spring, I had some trees pulled down at the side of my house. I put in a
row of cedar hedge trees but they sure needed watering throughout the entire summer.
Phew, that was a job! Then, the BC government decided that this year was a
perfect year to audit our VS books.. a terrible disruption for us all, but not as
bad as the glitch in our accounting software which still has to be fixed this coming
year!
Finally, in October, my Mom experienced
anothe r
setback, and eventually had to be taken to hospital in increasing pain. Turns out
she had a third compression fracture. When we took her to the hospital, the doctors
treated her with morphine, and then after her xrays they told us she was a perfect
candidate for a vertebraplasty procedure where they inject dental cement into the
vertebra to stabilize it. She was there for more than 10 days.. and of course the
drugs made her gaga for weeks afterwards! I was no better.. running back and forth
to see her every day to make sure of her care made me a little crazy too! :) LOL
This pic was from last year, but she's now almost back to the way she looks
here. What a relief.
 Of course, in the end,
I survived the whole year. :) I found the time to design the needed projects,
we survived the audit, my house is renovated, the hedge is growing with only one
tree looking sickly, my daughters are well and doing what they need to do at this
time of their lives, m y mom is out of the hospital feeling better, and apparently my
accounting software is not as broken as I thought. Funny how things work out for
the best, even life seems too hard sometimes, but I'm hoping that the next year
is quieter and less hectic, but I'm guessing I can dream on..!
Now I do want to let you know
how much I appreciate your enthusiasm, excitement, and support throughout the year.
The work we do here at VS is only as meaningful as it's main goal, to give you joy
and happiness, using all the ideas, texture and colours in our imagination.
You make our work soo worthwhile! During the past year, I am very grateful for the
many ways you
 let us know you care and
I thank you for your many personal email greetings and notes... my heart goes to
you.
As the New Year approaches,
and I set my goals this year, I also send out heartfelt wishes for a
blessed and
happy New Year to each and every one of you! I hope that you meet your challenges
with energy and hope, and that life will smile on you often. And now
once again, here is all the VS news that's fit to print. :)
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 PALS Fall Fling thank you..
I attended
the Cross Stitch Pals Retreat in Myrtle Beach, SC last week. It was sponsored by
Amy Whitaker at Down Sunshine Lane in Manning, SC. I want to say a big THANK YOU
for the items you donated to the retreat. We had such a good time and definitely enjoyed receiving a goodie bag with very useful and fun items when we registered.
We played same games to win some donated items also. Everything was just above and
beyond and I appreciated each item I received. This retreat is so much fun. If you
can imagine 65 women stitching, laughing, eating, stitching, talking, and just having
a fun time for 4 days. It was a blast and your donation added to the fun. Again,
thanks so much. Maggie Crumpacker Fincastle, VA
Hi Thea, Lisa and Cathy Jean, First I want to thank you so much for your generous
donation to the PALS Convention in Myrtle Beach. We had so much fun and your donations
helped make the event a huge success. There were around 70 stitcheres there, including
my sister, Donna, and our Mother, which helped make it so special for us. We had
several different exchanges, that were so much fun! One of the exchanges was for
Christmas Ornaments. Donna did a couple of Victoria Sampler ornaments, I t hink they
were the Poinsetta Heart free pattern, wish I had taken a picture of them. I have
been stitching all of Cathy Jeans Buttoned-Up Birdies this year (only have two more
to stitch)! So two of my ornamenets were from the first chart, my Mother actually
did the finishing for me and I think she did a wonderful job. Hopefully, I have
a picture attached! Again, thank you for everything you all do and for the donations
to PALS. Thea, can't wait to see you again in Minnesota. Got to finish my Victorian
Purse! I think I can, I think I can! Love to all of you, Judy Dudly
Thanks to Maggie and Judy and all the other PAL stitchers
for your kind thank-you notes! I'm so happy
your retreat was such a wonderful break for you all, and that you enjoyed our gifts. We're always glad to encourage stitching and friendships. - Thea
Coming to Victoria for Seminar...
Hi
Thea, just sent in my registration for the Island Images seminar. And of course
I put in my selection for the Victorian Etui. I could not pass another opportunity of having a class with you. One of my friends from the Whitby Guild will also be
coming. It will be her first trip to Victoria. We are both looking forward to going
to the seminar and visiting Victoria. The other class is with Deanna Bertelsen -
Gloriosa Lily. This will be my 3rd trip to Victoria. WOW!! We have our flight booked
already. The next months will just fly by I'm sure. I started a new positon a month
ago. So that will keep my mind busy with learning lots of new things. Really looking
forward to seeing you again. In the meantime take care. Lynn in Toronto
Thanks so much, Lynn.
We're going to have a great class, and I so look forward to meeting old friends..
seeing you both this coming year is a bonus!
(This project will be
taught in Victoria in Spring 2012.) - Thea
 Christmas
Village Sampler...
Dear Thea I hope you are
keeping well. I am sure you will be thrilled to hear that my piece the Christmas
Village sampler, was on show at our Cape Embroiderers’ Guild Exhibition last week,
was admired, and I had a few people ask me where I had got the pattern from. I didn’t
put my Gingerbread house on the exhibition as I thought I would leave it for the
next exhibition in 2 years time, when there will be some additional pieces, e.g.
the Gingerbread Church and whatever you are planning next!! I am looking forward
to hearing what the next piece of the Gingerbread Village will be? As yet I haven’t started the church as I am still trying to sort out the fabric but hopefully that
will be on its way soon.I passed the information on and hopefully you will have
a few enquiries from South Africa. Kindest regards Love Sue
I'm soo thrilled for you Sue!! What joy and
excitement you must be feeling! I'm so lucky to have such a good representative
of my designs as you in SA.. thank you soo much for sharing your achievement with
others.
The new piece for Gingerbread Village is not yet in the final stages but it's
going to be fun!
:) - Thea
 Letter from
a friend..
Dear Thea,
It was kind of you to personally respond to my e-mail
update. I am still stitching and also working in some knitting. I retired the 5th
of October so I should have more time to stitch, but our calendar just seems to
fill up very quickly. The grandchildren take some of our time for which we are thankful
and happy to help. I need to get all of my stitching “things” in order, so I do
not have to spend so much time hunting for items. I always enjoy reading your newsletters
and seeing all the things you are doing. I love your gingerbread church. I have
not gotten my box finished, but I am working on it. It was so nice to be able to
attend your class in July at Sturbridge and to visit with you. I did get the anniversary
needlework back to our friends in North Carolina. I am happy I was able to share
it with you so you could see how beautifully the extra Hardanger worked around the
edge. You had it figured out perfectly. May you, your family, Cathy, and Lisa have
a happy holiday season. It is hard to believe that another year is almost over.
Love, Wanda Brethauer
Thanks for your newsy
note, Wanda. Sturbridge Stitcher's Hideaway was awesome and I loved teaching the
Sturbridge
Box! I thought your long Anniversary Sampler with the Hardanger border
I envisioned, was just stunning! - Thea
International
Hearts...
Hi Thea, At first i want to apologise
for my bad english. I am a great admirer of your designs. Especially the hardanger
ones. And of course the learning series, like the International Hearts. I stitched
several International Hearts. One for my oldest son from South Korea. And I stitched
one for friends who adopted from China. I used a bamboo frame for the China Heart.
My youngest son comes from Taiwan. And I would like to make him an International
Heart also. I know these designs are 6 or 7 years old and I do not know if you make
new designs in this series of International Hearts. But if you do, I would like
to make the International Heart of Taiwan. Thank you for your message. If you don't,
I can use the flag and the other designs from the China Heart. Only the panda isn't
good for Taiwan. I already thought about it because I was supposing that these designs
were obsolete. (let's give it a try ;-) ) My jongest son is born a member of the Puyuma, Taiwanese mountain people, so it isn't to hard for me to make an other design
to fit into his/ the Taiwanese heart. Yours friendly, Annalies Meinsma-Bouma The Netherlands
Goeie dag, Analies.
;) Ik kan ook een beetje nederlands. :) Your English is way better than my Dutch,
thank you for writing! You are right, I am no longer making new International Hearts
right now. However, there's nothing to stop you from creating your own Taiwanese
heart.. you already have the flag! You could
possibly research some interesting
objects that could be put into the design. Send me a photo of your finished heart
sometime..! - Thea
Another Yahoo
Group Contest Winner... Antonina!
HI Thea..
Hi ,Thea! I could not reply
earlier because yesterday w as my Birthday:) And today i got my prizes!!!!!birthday
continue:)Thank you Very Much!!! Its so lovely you and Kathy have signed leaflets:)
And thank you for the compliment on my christmas ball.I'm very pleased to hear from
such a talented person like you! When you announced the contest, I began to think
that would make this Christmas ball interesting. In one gallery of some russian
women , I saw so beautiful quilted balls .. and this time I decided to make mix
of cross stitcing design and other techniques.
I like to change, add and combine
in needlework, maybe it's not quite right for design, but changing the color of
the fabric or threads, finish out a little differently, mixing different techniques,
get great result. Why I choose blue? 1- because I love blue color and all the shades
of blue:) 2- the Cristmas ball in blue , reminiscent of a winter frosty
night with
twinkling stars in the sky and sparkling snow. Was happy share this idea to others
stichers:)) Thea, hope i understood all correct and sorry for my english ;) Antonina:)
Have a nice day!!!
Antonina, your stitching
and finishing is always so lovely and well thought out. You really deserve a prize for all of your entries, so I'm delighted to have been able to send you the First
Prize for your beautiful Christmas Ball! It is gorgeous! - Thea
Pincushion
fun...
I recently attended Thea's class
on the pincushion at the New England Stitchers' Retreat. I have been diligently
working on the remaining stitching so that I can finish the project I have all the
rest of the pieces stitched so I only need enough time to finish the pinkeep back.
I am pleased with how the pincushion looks and keep moving it around the house with
me so I can keep looking at it! I really enjoyed the whole retreat. As I told you
at the end, I think you are a natural teacher with the right blend of humor and
conversation while keeping us all on task. I learned a lot of things from you and
not all of them stitching. I learned some new stitches and how to work with ribbon
and beads and other materials that are new to me. I also learned some less tangible
things like the importance of patience and attention to detail. The little things
can make a huge difference in the outcome of your efforts. I also was very interested
in hearing you explain your creative process and the setup of your studio. Lastly
the videos were very helpful for demonstrating techniques for stitching and finishing.
I knew that once I got home, I didn't want to put the project aside unfinished because
it was apt to stay that way for a very long time. I
also wanted to complete the stitching and put the pieces together while the finishing
techniques and hints were fresh in my mind. I found the finishing process rather
fussy, as my grandmother would have said, but found that I actually enjoyed doing
it and that some of the steps that seemed overkill at the time really did make the
whole process easier. The photographs and narrative of Lisa's finishing in the pattern
booklet were so very helpful! Lastly, I want to say that having had this instruction
from you has given me the confidence to start the other Victoria Sampler patterns
that I have in my stash. When I got them, the instructions seemed a little overwhelming
to me but after you really walked us through the directions for the Shaker Pincushion,
I think I understand better how you organize your instructions and can work through
them on my own. Thanks for being so responsive to your "fans." I think the community
of cross stitchers is the greatest!! Fondly, Sue
Nightingale
Ohh..
Sue! It looks positively beautiful.. you did a wonderful job finishing.. I'm sooo
proud of you!! I'm just so
excited that you did it so fast!! Wonderful to see a
class project done so well, within about a month! Thank you soo much for your kind
letter, you really lifted my spirits!
Cathy
Jean's popular Button Up Birdies!
Hi Thea, Lisa and Cathy,
Recently we stitched Cathy Jean's 12 little Button Up Birdies as ornaments that
we donated to our local library. They will be raffling them off as a fund raiser.
Our local EGA meets at the library once a month and every year we stitch up Christmas
ornaments and donate them to the library for them to sell. When we saw Cathy's little
birds, we thought what a wonderful addition to the ornaments, but decided to group
them in lots of 3 in hopes that the library will be able to make more money that
way. They stitched up very quickly. There are 12 ladies in our group and each one
was able to stitch one, then three of us finished them off according to Cathy's
directions. Very simple!!!! They will be displayed on the mat boards as you see
them, near the little Christmas tree with the other ornaments at the library. I
will try to let you know how they do. Will Cathy be doing more of her little baby
animals in the tart pans?? I know she has 4, if the birds do well, we just might think about 12 baby animals for nest year!!!!! - Pam
I'm so thrilled
with your 'permission to copy' request,
that I wanted to include your letter in our newsletter, Laurie. I appreciate your
decision to adhere to copyright laws, thank you! We wish everyone would so we can afford to continue to design. (Everyone: suffice to say Laurie
and her group are busy stitching now! ) Also, I'm delighted that you enjoyed your Happy Hearts
Stitcherama! See you in our next class! - Thea
 Renaissance
Lace Stitching ...
Hello Thea! I am
doing the "Renaissance Lace" piece. I was ready to do the bullion roses, but upon
reading the detailed cyberclass instructions, realized I needed milliner needle,
and I didn't have any. I ordered a
package from my LNS, and it arrived yesterday,
as well. (Yesterday, was a good mail day:) A while ago, I asked your
advice on a
reference book for hardanger. One you recommended was Janice Love's second book
"Fundamentals Made Fancy". (I have her first book.) I ordered it a few weeks ago,
and it arrived, yesterday. It does look like a good book, so I want to thank you
for the recommendation. I will be attempting the roses today, if all goes as I plan.
So, thanks again, Have a good day, Stitch in some happiness, Linda
Hi Linda.. what a wonderful
letter..! It was such good news to hear you're all set to do the Renaissance Lace
piece.. it really is delicious. I'd take a few moments and practice your bullions
on a separate piece of linen, or in the margin.. make sure your linen is taut (in
hoop or frame) and always turn it so your needle is facing away from you when you
make your first stitch.. :)
That way your needle is positioned away from you as
you wrap your wraps.. :) > xoxoThea
Website
questions...
Hello Thea and staff. Thanks
for sending me a note, letting me know what I have to do and rechecking my new account.
my computer skills are lot to be desired. I love to have the computer for your stitch
animation , but am not getting better at it. So now what I understand is that I
must remember to check mark the box "remember me unless I log out" my password stays
recorded. thanks. Did you ever get that DVD out with stitch animations? or am I
thinking outside of the realm of reality. If you did I need to order it.
I would like to wish you a Blessed Christmas and blessings in the New Year in Abundance.
Enjoy seeing your web sites and all the projects that can be done. Good thing I
can still wish for all of it, because it makes me feel good to know I can order
from you someday. I am sure looking at the Biscornu and I hope to order leaflets
and finishes techniques after xmas. Have a great holiday season and I enjoy looking
at the patterns etc, it does something for my soul... - Cheers marina
Marina, thank you so much for your nice letter and good wishes.
I am so glad that you like the stitch animations, and I'm still working on A Stitch
DVD. Unfortunately, the last few months I've spent a lot of time caring for my mom,
so I didn't have a chance to work on it. It's one of my projects for the new year,
though, so stay tuned. :)
 Pretty Free Ornament Pattern
for Ava...
Hi Thea! I thought you would be interested to see the ornament for my sister-in-law's
great niece, Ava Reese. Ava is the daughter of Kelly and Joe for whom I stitched
all of the Heirloom Wedding pieces. She turned
5 months last Friday. The photos
are of the front of the ornament to show the needle lace the finisher put on the
edge. The finisher told me it was calling for the needle lace versus the braided
cord. Lily did a fabulous job. She is also the finisher for the purse, pillow, and
Bible bookmark that I stitched for the wedding. Merry Christmas to all at Victoria
Sampler. Bonnie
What a special followup to your Heirloom
Wedding Treasures Bonnie..! Thank you for sharing your photos with me, and I'm thrilled
with the stitching and the finishing. The needle lace is awesome! I wish someone
would teach that to us here!
Bargello Biscornu finishing...?
Dear Cathy, my EGA
chapter worked the Bargello Biscornu pattern this fall and it is lovely; and it
is hanging on my tree with many of the other VS pieces I've worked over the years
(I love the virtues).Thank you so much, Cathy. There's a reason that VS has always
been a favorite of mine. You all design amazing pieces, provide well written instructions and introduce stitchers to wonderful materials. And now I know that your customer
service is exemplary. A very blessed and happy Christmas to you - Karen.
I
have put a
link
on the Bargello Biscornu page for the finishing instructions, as these were overlooked
in the original pattern. Thanks, Karen for your kind words, and all of us here at
VS always love to treat our customers like we would like to be treated. Sometimes
we mix things up, but we are human and will try to make things right if we do! :) - Thea
Design requests and suggestions...
Hi Thea, First of all, Merry Christmas! What a wonderful season -- and I'm
e njoying your 12 Days of Christmas at your site. :) Now, I can't
remember where I read it, but someone suggested that if we had a design we were
searching for and couldn't find it, we should tell a designer about it and see if
something happens. I've been stitching Christmas ornaments for our daughters, daughters-in-law,
and our grandchildren for several years. I've done a variety of ornaments, most
of them spiritual. This year I've stitched five "Christmas Virtue" ornaments, using
your designs, but, as usual, changing things a bit (sorry, I know yours are perfect,
but some of our daughters
thought that ribbon and roses bands weren't masculine enough for the little grandsons
...). But, it seems every year our oldest daughter has the same wish: ornaments
that make her think of old fashioned Christmases and little children looking with
delight through windows at the Christmas scenes within a home. She seems to like
the window pane idea and the dreams of children. For a couple of years she has sent
me ideas, but I haven't been able to come up with the right stuff. She calls them
vintage ornaments. She wants wonderment. I've suggested I take parts of your "Christmas
Village" and make ornaments, and that would do, but she wants more... Anyway, I'm
just sending this to you to see if it starts some creative juices flowing. Well,
I know you always have creative juices flowing, but maybe this e-mail will change
the direction a little, if possible, for the future. I'm also sending you some warm
and loving wishes for a blessed and happy Christmas. Stay healthy, think of all
those who love you, and listen to some beautiful music. Love and hugs, Ann in Alberta
Ann thank you so much for your imaginative suggestions.
I really love the whole idea of wonderment and vintage. The closest illustrations
I have right now are
Cathy Jean's Trust and Contentment, cosy designs of warm fires and being
Home for Christmas.. but I'll get on my thinking cap for you and your one holdout
daughter! ;) - Thea
 Twelve
Days of Christmas Sale..
Merry Christmas Thea. I loved your 12 days of Christmas sale, and kept wondering
what the next day would bring. It took a lot of thought for you to do that but it
was lots of fun to see each day progress. What a great idea. Now I have to find
time to put in an order before boxing day. With all the orders coming in, I hope
you will have time to relax with your family and enjoy some pleasant times over
the coming week. Tricia
Thank you Tricia, it was fun to think up something new each day, and I hoped that
people would enjoy the 12 daily emails. (by the way; if anyone got more than one
email a day, that means you have more than one account in our system, so please
let us know, and we'll remove old accounts for you!) - Thea
Babe's
Honey Farm news..!
Hi, Thea. Thank you so much for mailing out the Babe's Honey Farm Sampler to me
and so quickly! Even though I too am in Victoria I wasn't expecting to see this
until the new year! I did not know this sampler existed until a few days ago and
as soon as I saw it, I had to order it. You see, Babe was my husband's Great Aunt
(her sister was his grandmother) and we all hold Babe (and Charlie of course!) near
and dear - they are greatly missed. Today we buried his grandmother so that is the
last of that generation to go in his side of the family so it was especially fitting
that it arrived in the mailbox
today. Thank you again for designing this and my goal for the new year is to stitch this
up for my in-laws for Christmas next year who I think will love to have this piece
to commemorate a wonderful part of their lives since a great part of their lives
was spent with Babe and Charlie. ((hugs)) and Merry
Christmas to you all, ~ Christine :)
Dear Christine... my sincere condolences with your Aunt's passing... a favorite
grandmother has a special place in your husband's heart I'm sure. I am soo
delighted that my "Babe's Honey Farm" sampler will make it's way into your family.
Stitchers all over the world who are stitching it, and now they too know about your
Great Aunt Babe and Charlie, and that the sweetness was not just in their honey.
 Our women Friends....
Here is a quote I found recently about human relationships.
At a class given at Stanford, the last lecture was on the mind-body connection -
the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at
Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could
do for his health is to be married to a woman, whereas for a woman, one of the best
things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends.
At first everyone laughed, but he was serious. Women
connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other
to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality "girlfriend
time" helps us to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression
and can create a general feeling of well being.
Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships
around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel
about certain things or how their personal lives are going. Women do it all of the
time.
We share from our souls with our sisters / mothers,
and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with
a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at
a gym. There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something
good for
our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and
should be more productively engaged - not true.Failure to create and maintain quality
personal relationships with other humans is dangerous to your health! Let's hear
it for women and our friendships. May you enjoy many this coming year!
Hi all.. this last letter was a quote from an article a friend of
mine sent me. I thought it was totally appropriate to end our newsletter with such
good thoughts! - Thea
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