Saint Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day friends, family, and followers!

To celebrate the holiday and let you know how much I love you, I have re-posted a long retired complimentary design on my website "Freebie" page....the design is called "Crowned Heart ~ A Tiny Gift Sampler" (shown right) - and it will only be available for a limited time.

To obtain a copy of this complimentary pattern, simply visit my website: http://www.blueribbondesigns.com/ and click on "Freebie" in the left-hand menu - you will see a photo of the design at the top of the "Freebie" webpage - click on the statement "CLICK HERE FOR CHART" (directly under the photo) - a new window will open containing the design in PDF form (you will need Adobe Reader to view/print the chart). Please remember, this design is protected by copyright law - thank you for respecting my copyright. Enjoy!

You Are Loved Giveaway - Recipient

Before I announce the recipient of my "You Are Loved" Giveaway, I want to take a moment and thank each and every one of you for your comments and compliments. I was excited to see so many entries and lots of new "faces" - I even found a few more blogs to follow myself! To those of you who visit on a daily basis and continue to leave me encouraging comments (you know who you are) - thank you - you brighten my days and make me smile. I hope you will all continue to follow me on my creative journey....

So without further ado...

I decided to print out all the comments - cut them apart - fold them in half -and place them in a large basket to draw a name (I wanted use a beautiful fabric-covered box my dear friend Lorrie gave me, but there were so many entries, the box was overflowing!). Here is the basket, ready for the drawing...

And out of the basket...with 160+ entries....my husband drew the following slip:

Congratulations to Taffy, who left the following comment:

Wow - great charts...... I want them all. Thanks for the chance...

Taffy - I will e-mail you momentarily...and in the meantime, maybe you should purchase a lottery ticket today, as you seem to have luck on your side!

Again, thank you to all who left a comment - there will be more giveaways in the future - you know how much I like to give things away! Thank you for visiting, following, and commenting...you all make me happy...

You Are Loved Giveaway

I recently hosted this giveaway for Facebook fans - it was so much fun, I decided to repeat it here on my blog...

To show you (my blog followers and friends) how much you are loved - it's a Blue Ribbon Designs giveaway! The prize?? - a trio of Blue Ribbon Designs needlework charts - "In My Heart", "Hugs & Kisses", and "Stitched With Love".

To enter, simply leave one comment on this post - all comments will go into a random drawing where one fan/follower will receive this special three-pack of design charts.

Fine print:

• Giveaway is open until 11:59 PM Saturday, February 4, 2012.
• International entries welcome.
• All entries require a valid email address. Please make sure your email address is visible in your profile (so I have a way of contacting you, should you be randomly chosen) - if you are uncertain or post "anonymously", please leave your email address with your comment - entries without a valid email will be disqualified.
• No chart substitutions.
• E-mail entries will not be accepted, you must leave a comment on this post.
• One comment per person; multiple comments will be deleted/disqualified.
• One recipient will be announced on Sunday, February 5th.

There you have it - all the "You Are Loved" giveaway details...I am happy to be able to thank those who continually follow my blog and leave encouraging and enthusiastic comments! I hope my future posts maintain your interest and inspire you... Good luck to all!

"Pocketful of Peppermint" - Ornaments

Now that the new designs have FINALLY shipped and are on their way to a needlework shop near you, last night I had time to finish up the Christmas ornaments for the Stitcher's Hideaway Retreat in October. As most of you know, I really enjoy the finishing work and had a nice time working on these while listening to the Olympics. Poor Sue, I have been promising her a photo of the ornaments and the framed sampler since January - she has been so incredibly patient! The sampler has ten specialty stitches (in addition to basic stitches). The class will cover stitching the sampler, how to work each of the specialty stitches, three types of ornament finishing, adding beads when finishing an ornament, personalizing your ornaments, and making twisted cord. This class has been filling up super fast...and I can't wait to meet the stitchers that are attending (I've read they are a TON of fun!)...I hope to finally put some faces to names and email addresses! And before I get asked this question again, I will answer it - yes, this piece will be available to the general public, but not for at least one year after the class dates. I have never been to New England before, so I am really looking forward to teaching in Enfield, NH in May (photos of class piece can be seen in my January 8th post) and then in Mystic, CT in October!

...and lastly, now that I am finally starting to get things under control, I will start taking photos of my grandmother's needlepoint pieces - I know several of you wrote to me wanting to see pictures of her framed work...and I will get them posted here soon!

For My Grandmother

Hello dear friends and followers - I am happy to be back! Thank you all for your patience with me, while I was away....and thank you to those of you who sent me emails and notes while I was dealing with the death of my grandmother - your kindness brought me comfort. My grandmother (photo right) was a brilliant artist and needleworker...her paintings and handwork are amazing. I was blessed to ship home twelve of her framed needlework pieces (mostly needlepoint)...I plan to share them here on my blog in the near future. She truly loved living in Las Vegas (five minutes from the Strip) and I tried to find time to see her favorite things while I was out there. The Botanical Gardens, The Fountains, and Gallery of Fine Art, all at the Bellagio Hotel were among her favorites...along with the view from the Stratosphere. Below are a few snapshots...

Now time to focus on work, so I can get the new designs out this month. Visit my website "Future" page to see photos (be sure to check out "Schoolgirl Samplings" - I am so very proud of it - it has been in the planning stages for over a year!)...more info will be posted soon...and I will get a newsletter written soon (really, I will )...I have a TON of BRD stuff to share...

Stitcher's Hideaway Teaching Design

If you read my blog regularly, then you know I been a little lapse on my posts lately...I have been stitching up a storm, working on two new teaching pieces for 2010. Yesterday, I finished model stitching a Christmas Sampler for the Stitcher's Hideaway needlework retreat I will be teaching in Mystic, CT (October 2010). This retreat has a holiday theme, so I have designed a piece called "Pocketful of Peppermint" that can be stitched as a sampler...and the separate sections can be stitched as ornaments! This pieces has ten specialty stitches (in addition to basic stitches). The class will cover stitching the sampler, how to work each of the specialty stitches, three types of ornament finishing, adding beads when finishing an ornament, personalizing your ornaments, and making twisted cord. I am currently in the process of stitching the ornaments, but I thought you would like to take a little sneak peek at the sampler...before framing, of course. Tomorrow, I will be off to the framer with this design and a new piece for February titled "In My Heart". I will have more fun things to share with you soon...