I'm Back!!!

It has been a very, very long time since I have posted anything on my blog and I truly apologize for being away so long.  I've had some major life events since I last posted but before I go into that I'd like to finish up the last bit of information regarding "A Time Forever Gone."  Below is a picture of the finished, framed sampler.  Yes, I finally finished stitching it and am proud to say that it won a First Place Ribbon at the 2018 Woodlawn Needlework Exhibit.

For those who joined me originally in the Stitch-a-Long for this design, you will notice that I switched out the Florentine Stitch section above the verse for a blackwork design.  I did however stitch a small section of Florentine stitch on either side of the signature cartouche.  If you've purchased the chart and haven't stitched your sampler yet, please contact me at HeartseaseEW@gmail.com for a free PDF chart of the changes I made.  You can then decide to stitch it as it was originally charted or make the changes I did.  Either way, I'm sure you will be pleased with the final results.

There really aren't too many things to address regarding the instructions for completion of the sampler, but if you have any questions please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to help in any way I can.

As I said in the opening paragraph, I've had some major events take place in my life since I last posted in 2016.  On Thanksgiving of that year, I suffered a hemorrhagic stroke and it took me a good year to recuperate and get back to stitching and designing again.  I'm very pleased and grateful to say that, aside from a little weakness in one leg, I'm fully recovered!  Thank God!

I'm planning on updating this site with some of my newest projects and hope to use it to make available some information on finishing and freebies for the needlework community.  In the meantime, stay safe and stay well.  It's good to be back!

Welcome Spring and Happy Easter!

       Wow, how time flies!  I apologize for the long intermission between posts, but because of prior commitments and some personal things going on in my life, I needed a little R&R and thought you all might appreciate some as well.
Although I haven’t had time to stitch much more on my model of “A Time Forever Gone,” I am happy to say that one conscientious stitcher was working diligently on her sampler and has completed it!  Julie Harvey has not only been kind enough to send me pictures of her finished sampler in its entirety, but has included close ups of the live oak tree with the Spanish moss, as well as the grassy area with the blooming peach trees and the azaleas done in French Knots.  Julie has also let me know if there were any areas in the sampler that needed special attention.  Here is what she wrote:
*****
“Hi Theresa,
So I checked my pattern notes & the only things that I found were missing were the colors on the stamens of the magnolia flowers (Her Crown & Rose of Sharon) & the spiral trellis peaches in the cartouche (Poison Apple) The hints/tips I would offer for stitching are as follows:
       1.  For the Spanish moss on the live oak tree I turned my piece 180 degrees & worked the chains (I know it as the broad chain stitch) from the bottom to the top along the branches; also worked from the bottom of the tree to the top (hope this makes sense!)
       2.  For the peach tree french knots, I tried to work the green leaves approximately as depicted on the chart, then I worked the pink flowers by eyeballing where they looked best.
       3.  For the azalea shrubs on the lawn, I used the chart as a guideline for the green/pink color placement, but pretty much just eyeballed where I thought it looked best.
I hope this all makes sense & might be helpful for anyone else stitching it. As I said before, I love it & can't wait to get it framed!”
*****
I hope this will help those of you who’ve continued on with your stitching past my last posted schedule.  I’d also like to add that I will be using two strands of silk for the Florentine stitch band instead of one, as I like heavier coverage.
       Here are the pictures of Julie’s completed sampler and the close ups:

Oh, I am so proud of Julie!  Isn’t it beautiful?!
Now, for our next suggested stitching schedule, I think we should get started with the Smyrna Cross alphabet and the butterfly motifs.  Then we will move down and stitch the magnolia flowers on either side of the verse and also the cotton plants.  After that I’d like you to move on to the cartouche and house.  I found it helpful to stitch a basting line across the center from top to bottom and left to right for accurate placement of the cartouche and house.   Please save all backstitching for last.  These are the areas we will be working on until the next post:

Well, I think you’ll have enough to keep you busy for a while.  As always, if you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me through the blog or my email at HeartseaseEW@gmail.com.  Also, I have provided a printable PDF version of this stitching schedule, which can be found in the upper right margin of the blog.

Yours in friendship & stitches,

P.S.  For your convenience, following is a close up copy of the over one Brown Thatcher to add to your chart.

Welcome Autumn!!!!

Hello everyone,
          It is a soggy day here in Middletown, Delaware, but I am sitting here in my favorite stitching chair surrounded with my most current design and stitching away.  I've been very busy stitching the accompanying smalls to my Fraktur Huswif design.  I will be teaching it, along with my Mary Sophia's Pennsylvania German Sewing Set and Cottage by the Sea Sewing Set in January 2016 at the Attic in Mesa, Arizona.
          Because of the vibrant, earthy colors used to create these wonderful works of art, Fraktur always puts me in an autumn frame of mind.  I actually started designing the huswif portion of my design in the fall of 2006, but never finished it (the design) in its entirety until this year.  Earlier that year, I had attended a seminar sponsored by the Berks County Historical Society where I saw many examples of Fraktur as well as samplers stitched by young ladies of the Pennsylvania German community and was so taken with the naive style and bright colors of the art.  In 2006, being a needlework designer, was just a distant dream that I never thought would happen.  Who knew?!  Fast forward to 2015, and I'm not only designing, but teaching as well.  I love it!  Here is a sneak peek at the top of the mattress style pincushion that will go inside of the huswif.  The head and eye of the bird are done in the spiral trellis stitch, as are the cherries in the tree.  You can see pictures of this, as well as the other projects, in the Attic's Newsletter 9/15/15.
          Okay, now to the task at hand.  Oh, that word "task" makes it seem arduous -- I think I'll just say, "And now, on to Part 2 of our stitching pleasure for A Time Forever Gone."  I hope you've enjoyed stitching the flowers on the left side of the sampler because we are going to do the flowers on the right side for this part of the SAL.  In addition, we will also be doing the center basket motif. Here are some close up pictures of the basket and the spiral trellis centers on the flowers.  You might find them helpful in seeing them up close and personal.

These closeups clearly show how the addition of long stitches to the flowers make them look more detailed.  The basket is done using the diamond eyelet stitch, broken down in fractions to create the shape.  Here are some closeups of the basket portion of the design you will be working on for this part of the SAL.

Note that there is backstitching around the base of the basket, as well as the rim.  I used Belle Soie "Mud Pie" for the backstitching and "Pecan Pie" for the basket itself.  Refer to the stitch diagrams included with your chart for more information on the diamond eyelet stitch.

          Here is a combined diagram of Parts 1 and 2 of the SAL.  This is what your sampler will look like (positive thinking, lol) by the time I post Part 3 of the SAL.

          As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to assist you.  For your convenience, there is a link to a printable PDF file of Part 2 in the side bar of the blog.  Happy stitching and happy fall, y'all!

Yours in friendship and stitches,

P.S.  I will be heading to Cincinnati, Ohio in November to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Queen City Sampler Guild.  I was honored to be asked to design a sampler commemorating this event and have led a year long, 5-Part Mystery SAL for the members of the Guild.  Here is a picture of the sampler framed and a detail of the portion of the sampler that was charted specifically for the Guild's 20th anniversary.  Sorry for the poor quality of the photo of the actual sampler.  Clearly, photography is not one of my talents.

Welcome to "A Time Forever Gone" SAL!

A Time Forever Gone Stitch-a-Long

Hello fellow stitchers,

Welcome to “A Time Forever Gone” SAL!  I am so happy to have you join me in stitching this design as I think you will enjoy the specialty stitches and details that bring this tribute to Georgia to life.  I had originally planned to create a new blog for this SAL, but thought it would work just as well on my Heart's Ease Examplar Workes blog.  Before I give you the first suggested stitching schedule, I’d like to tell you a little bit about how I was inspired to do this design.  First of all, I was contacted by Caroline Thomes, from the Sampler Guild of Georgia, to see if I would be interested in coming to Atlanta to teach one of my designs.  During the conversation, we talked about how very few antique samplers from that area of the south had survived.  The Civil War, climate and insects had certainly taken their toll on whatever was there originally.  Somehow, I suggested that I could come up with a new design, that would have the spirit of an old sampler that may have been stitched by a young lady in the mid 1800's.  And that is how the process got started!

After watching “Gone With The Wind” several times I felt a surge of creativity, both in the artistic representation of the design, as well as poetically, in the composition of the verse that would accompany the design.  I knew that I wanted a swag of flowers instead of a traditional border, so I researched flowers indigenous to the Atlanta area and started putting my ideas together using my design software.  It took me a while, but I finally came up with a design that I truly love.  I hope you will feel the same. For your convenience, each stitching schedule will be converted to a downloadable/printable PDF file, the link to which will be posted in the side bar of the blog.  From this point on the schedules will be posted on the 1st of each month and will be 2 months in duration.  Here are the dates of publication:

Assignment 1 - August 15, 2015

Assignment 2 - October 1, 2015

Assignment 3 - December 1, 2015

Assignment 4 - February 1, 2016

Assignment 5 - April 1, 2016

 Assignment 6 - June 1, 2016  

That will make the SAL a year in duration and, for a large sampler such as this, by August 15, 2016 each of you participating will have your sampler completed and ready for framing.

As with all of my designs, in order to make it your “own”, I encourage you to make changes to colors and/or design as you see fit.  I have done a conversion of the Belle Soie I used to stitch my sampler, to DMC solid colors.  If you have overdyed cottons or other fibers in your stash that you would prefer using, then I suggest you use the DMC color for comparison to pick out a complimentary floss with which to stitch your sampler.

Okay, let’s get on to our first suggested assignment!  I always start my samplers from the upper left corner and work my way across and down, so that is how I will start this assignment.  Measure 3 inches from the top and side of your linen to start your first stitch.  See diagram below.

We will be working the  floral/raspberry swag across the top until we get to the basket, and then down the left side.  See the following diagram.

Stitch the vines around the white raspberry flower (diagram on next page) before you do the satin stitched petals.  If you do the satin stitches beforehand, you will have difficulty finding the holes for your stitches as the satin stitch will cover them up.  I found it easier to stitch the Rhodes Stitch center before I did the satin stitched petals as well. In the instructions that came with your chart, you will find the diagrams for the specialty stitches.  The center of the Dogwood and Coreopsis are done in the Spiral Trellis Stitch (see diagram for stitch at the end of this post), and the center of the spring violas are done with the Tied Windmill Stitch.  Save the Spiral Trellis centers for last as it will be easier to stitch them with an even tension if you do them at the same time, gaining a natural rhythm as you go, so they look consistent.  For the Azalea blooms, save the long stitched stamens for last.

       Well, that is it for the first assignment.  If you should have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I’ll keep you posted on my progress and post pictures as I continue to the finish for the “A Time Forever Gone” model. Be sure to check the right side bar of the blog for the link to the printable PDF file of this assignment.

Yours in friendship and stitches,

     Theresa

P.S.  My apologies for getting this posted late.  My life is giving new meaning to the old saying, "A day late and a dollar short."  I appreciate your understanding.

Materials List

Hello everyone,

Someone emailed me and asked if I had a materials list for A Time Forever Gone, so after I sent it to her I thought it would be a good idea to post it on the blog.  This way you can go through your stitching stash and, if you find you already have some of the threads, it will be one less thing to buy.  Below is the materials list.  I am also providing a printable PDF file of the list here ATFG Materials List:

Happy Stitching,
Theresa

A Time Forever Gone SAL ...

Hello everyone,

I know I'm a bit late getting this information posted, but it is my great pleasure to let you know that starting August 15, 2015, I will be leading an open SAL for my newest design, A Time Forever Gone.

As some of you may already know, I had a major accident with my first model of this design when I accidentally spilled a full glass of iced tea on it.  Because it is stitched with silk overdyed threads, which are not colorfast, the colors ran and ruined the whole thing.  Consequently, I had to start over.  I thought, since I will be stitching a little ahead of those who've purchased the chart, it would be fun to do a SAL.  I will post monthly assignments, which will be available as printable PDF files.  Originally I had planned to post the assignments on this blog, but decided I will set up a new blog just for the SAL.  Since it will not be private, anyone who wants to join in is welcome to do so.
          I so look forward to having those interested in the SAL, join me on August 15, 2015, for the first installment.  I will post the name of the blog and a link to it, once I have it up and ready to go.  To be continued ...

Announcing Release of "Mayflower Rose Sewing Set!"

Hello fellow stitchers,
          I'd like to wish you all a Happy Mother's Day and am hoping you are enjoying the glorious warmth of spring in your neck of the woods.  Here in Delaware spring keeps making a brief appearance, followed by several days of chill and rain. This weekend the weather report is calling for a Nor Easter -- which will mean more rain with wind and cold.  Remind me of how unhappy I was with this weather when a month from now it is in the high 90's and I can't cool off fast enough!
           It's been a while since I've posted, but I've been very busy working on some special projects and have just returned from a teaching trip to Atlanta, Georgia for the Sampler Guild of Georgia and the Magnolia Sampler Guild.  I had a wonderful time and was so impressed with the hospitality and friendliness of the people I met.  Atlanta is a beautiful city and my host, while there, made my stay a lovely and memorable one.
          I'm happy to announce that on May 5, 2015, I will be releasing the long awaited, highly anticipated,  ;-)  "Mayflower Rose Sewing Set."  Here is a picture of the fully assembled set:

 This next picture includes a photo of the ornament I designed for the Mayflower Sampler Guild that started it all, which is a separate purchase from the set of smalls.  I chose to mount mine on the inside of the lid so I could remove it to hang on my tree at Christmas time.  I used a Nantucket basket purse that I purchased from Basketville about 5 years ago that, unfortunately, is no longer available.  Although this particular basket is no longer available, they still have some listed on their website if you want a similar one of your own.  I was told by the salesperson there that they are unable to get these baskets any longer as the manufacturer is no longer in business, so once their inventory is gone they won't be carrying them any longer.  It seems that it will be hard to obtain these in the future and the secondary market will be the only place to find one.  Of course you can always buy a handmade original from a Nantucket basket artisan, but that could really be cost prohibitive.  At any rate, here is a link to Basketville's website:  Nantucket Basket Purse

Also, in my previous email I showed a picture of the basket and smalls donated by the Mayflower Sampler Guild to the yearly cancer research auction at the Attic in Mesa, Arizona.  In case you don't remember, here is the picture again:

This beautiful basket was made especially to house the ornament in the lid by a member of the Mayflower Sampler Guild, Janice Card.  She kindly agreed to allow me to post her contact information in case you'd like to order a basket from her.  Here it is:  jcardstitch@yahoo.com 

          On another note, check back next week, as I have a special announcement regarding an upcoming event.  It is a secret right now, but I hope you will be as excited as I am once it is announced.

          Thanks so much for all of your kind words and wonderful emails regarding my designs.  I am so humbled and honored to have so many fellow stitchers like what I am doing, especially my sampler designs.  Until next week, I wish you fair weather, good health, good fortune, and lots of stitching time.

As always, yours in friendship and stitches,

Theresa

Happy New Year!

Hello everyone,

          I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to move on to this new year of 2015 with lots of stitching projects and finishes.  I can't tell you how busy I've been since mid-November with meeting deadlines, getting 3 private on line SAL's going and finishing the stitching for the Mayflower Rose Needlework Smalls.  Now all I have to do is assemble them, take pictures while doing so, write the finishing instructions and get the charts printed so I can put them on the retail market by the end of January.  I think you will be pleased with the set and I will be sure to post pictures of it when it is complete.

          I've also been busy finishing the design for the Sampler Guild of Georgia/Magnolia Sampler Guild for a class I'll be teaching in April.  I'm so looking forward to seeing Georgia in the springtime.  It will be my first visit there and I can hardly wait!  Here is a sneak peek at the sampler:

This design has been a labor of love for me and I am so going to need to be in my bionic stitching mode in order to finish it before April.  The floral motifs on either side of the chimneys are cotton plants.  I'll be stitching the cotton bolls using "Whisper" to give them the fluffy, cotton like appearance they need.  I can hardly wait to see how they will turn out.  This design is being stitched on 40 count Vintage Pear by Lakeside Linens.  The colors of the flowers just pop on the fabric and it is a break from the usual beige linens I usually use.  The small bird motif  on the left side of the magnolia tree is stitched over one and is the Brown Thrasher, Georgia's State Bird.  I had to design it over one in order to get the detail I wanted but it will be well worth the effort once it is stitched.  I hope you like the sampler.  It is named "A Time Forever Gone."

          Again, Happy New Year and check back by the end of January to see pictures of the Mayflower Rose smalls.

Yours in friendship and stitches,

Theresa

          

Wishing all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall is on the way!

          I can't believe how quickly the summer flew by, but now I am looking forward to the cool, crisp air and the vivid blue sky of fall and the beautiful colors of the season.
          It has been a while since I last posted but a lot has been going on behind the scenes of my designing endeavors.  I know I said I would be releasing the smalls to accompany the Mayflower Ornament design, but I've had to come to a realization -- I am only one person -- and since I am my own model stitcher, I've overextended myself and gotten woefully behind on stitching and assembling the Mayflower Rose smalls. I apologize for this delay and am hoping to have them ready to publish in January.
          Aside from thinking I could do more stitching than was humanly possible, I have three reasons for the delay.  My computer with all my designs went on the fritz and is now at the repair shop, so I did/do not have access to my charts.  I've purchased a new computer but the old one would not stay on long enough to transfer the files or load the files onto a flash drive.  The old computer is not really old, so hopefully it can be repaired and all my valuable information restored to the point where I can access my charts and make changes, etc. without having to rechart them on the new computer.
           The second reason is that I was asked by the Queen City Sampler Guild (QCSG) to design a sampler for their upcoming 20th anniversary in November 2015.  I put the final stitches in the sampler over the weekend and will be teaching it as an on-line, 5 part mystery class, starting this November.  Here is a sneak peek of the upper left corner of the retail version of the design:

And here is a sneak peek at the coverlet design for the Guild Exclusive:

Both versions of the retail design area and the Guild Exclusive design area will be included with the chart for the SAL.

          I had a wonderful time designing and stitching this sampler and thanks to all my research, have added quite a bit of knowledge to my brain's database about Ohio and Cincinnati in particular.  And, in case you were wondering, the grapes are all stitched in the spiral trellis stitch.  10 bunches of grapes, with 13 grapes on each bunch -- well, you do the math -- it took a while to stitch them all but it was well worth the effort.  The floss is Classic Colorworks Silk (formerly Belle Soie) in Elegant Eggplant and Petunia.  The lighter part of the strand was purposely used on the top of each grape to give it the hazy opaque appearance of a real grape.  If you are interested in joining the QCSG in order to join in on the fun, you can contact them through their website:  http://www.queencitysamplerguild.org/

          I will be following up the year long 5 part mystery SAL with a visit to Cincinnati in November 2015 to celebrate their anniversary and also to offer a set of accompanying smalls for sale to the members.  Since this sampler is rather large and labor intensive, I'm offering an incentive to the first three people who have theirs completed when I come to Cincinnati for the anniversary.  The First Prize to the first person to complete the sampler -- A full kit, including all the Classic Colorworks and NPI silks, as well as the linen for my design "Sojourner", a $300+ value.  Second Prize will be the Sojourner chart and a full stitchers half of the linen for the sampler, a $100+ value; and the Third Prize will be the chart for Sojourner, a $50 value.

          And last but not least, the third reason is that I am also working on a sampler design for the Sampler Guild of Georgia and the Magnolia Sampler Guild.  This design is my favorite of all I've done so far.  Since there are few samplers that survived in Georgia due to the Civil War and the climate, I decided to try and interpret a design that a young lady would have stitched in the 1800's.  I am adding a sneak peek to this sampler as well.

This sampler has a lot of specialty stitches and will include a beautiful plantation house and a band of Florentine stitch, as well as a verse I specially composed just for this design.  Here is the verse:

A soft wind blows through the Spanish moss that hangs from the live oak trees

The trees that line the long road home to distant memories

Of a fine old house with columns tall and porches all around

Where the sweet scent of Magnolia blooms in the spring abound

A lady fair in a flowery gown, silk ribbons in her hair

Sweetly smiles at her courting beaus, who look so debonair

And in the distance, o'er the  knoll, I can almost hear the song

Like a choir of angels singing low, of a time forever gone

I can hardly wait to have this sampler completed and ready to show to you.  I will be teaching this sampler in Atlanta, Georgia in April 2015.  If you think you might be interested in joining the Guild to take the class, here is a contact email where you can get more information. 

bahaberly@aol.com

          And so, as you can see, I've got a lot going on behind the scenes and am feverishly working on getting things stitched and ready.  I've started stitching the pieces for the Mayflower smalls and, as I said, will have them ready for retail sale in January.  Thanks so much for your patience and understanding and wish me speedy stitching fingers so I can get all my pending designs done and ready for publishing.

          BTW, starting in January 2015 I will also be teaching/leading a year long, on line SAL for my design "A Delaware Inspiration" to the members of the Swan Sampler Guild. 

 If you are a member, you will have already seen the information in their newsletter.  If you are not, you can find out about how to join on their website:  swansamplerguild.org

          Have a wonderful fall and, as always, if you have any questions or comments you can reach me via my email address Heartseaseew@gmail.com

Yours in friendship & stitches,

Theresa

Good News!

Hello fellow stitchers,
          Just in time for your holiday stitching, the chart for "Mayflower Rose" will be available for purchase on June 1st.  You may recall, I designed this for the Mayflower Sampler Guild's annual ornament last year.  The proceeds from the sale of the kits that were made (50 in all) go to their Sampler Conservation Program.
          I've made very slight changes to the original design which I'm sure you will like.  Also, I am in the process of designing and stitching a set of smalls to compliment the ornament, which will be introduced in August.  My plan is to mount the ornament on the top of a Nantucket Basket, and the smalls will go inside the basket.  I'll post pictures of the completed project prior to release of the set of smalls.
          In the meantime, here is a shot of the cover page for the ornament and a shot of the original:

          If you are interested in this chart, you may contact me at HeartseaseEW@gmail.com to purchase it from me directly  or contact your local or on-line needlework supplier to have them order it.  Thanks so much.
                                           Yours in friendship & stitches,
                                                           Theresa
P.S.  I thought you'd enjoy seeing how two of the members of the Mayflower Sampler Guild beautifully finished their Mayflower Rose design:

Hello fellow stitchers,
          I apologize for having woefully neglected my blog, but I've been working really hard behind the scenes with new projects and teaching assignments.  For some reason my work has turned to custom designs for guilds and I've been stitching like a madwoman trying to get these projects to completion for the beginning of the on-line classes.  One of my custom designs was requested by the Bay Area Sampler Guild and the on-line class for it is starting this Saturday, May 1.  Here is a picture of "Sojourner", the sampler I designed:

          I chose the name Sojourner because the design incorporates elements of some of the ethnic peoples that made their way to California and the American West in the mid 1800's.  Each band within the sawtooth border represents an ethnic design -- the Queen Stitch strawberry band, is in honor of New England and the wagon train pioneers who blazed a trail to the western frontier; the Holbein Stitch pansy band, reflects Great Britain and the Irish, English, Welsh and Scottish peoples who came to America seeking a new, better life; the floral rope is a nod to the nautical history of San Francisco as a major sea port; after that is my rendition of a Chinese style band in recognition of the thousands of Chinese who traveled East across the Pacific Ocean to find their fortune in California Gold; next to the last is a band commonly found in Russian folk art garments; and finally a traditional Mexican band with Satin Stitch and Rhodes Stitch details.
           The floral basket vine incorporates flowers indigenous to the San Francisco area.  I chose to use the following:

San Francisco Wallflower

Evening Primrose

Sticky Phacelia

California Poppy

and last, but not least, the beautiful Dahlia

          This will be my first on-line class and I'm hoping, if all goes well, to do more of these in the near future.  If you think your needlework guild or stitching group would be interested in stitching this sampler, please contact me via my email address at heartseaseew@gmail.com
and I can fill you in on the process of setting up your group.

          On another note, I taught the Delaware Inspiration sampler at the Biggs Museum in Dover, Delaware during the Delaware Sampler Symposium.  If anyone is interested in stitching this design, the Swan Stitchers are having me teach it in an on-line format starting January 1, 2015.  If you are a member of the Swans, or just want to stitch the sampler, you will have to contact them to get on the list by joining the guild.  Again, if you have any questions concerning this upcoming class feel free to contact me.

          I hope everyone is finally past the brutal winter most of us endured.  The flowers and bushes are blooming here in Delaware.  I just hope spring hangs around for awhile before the summer heat sets in -- we'll all be wishing for one of those snow days once the temperature reaches 90 degrees plus!

Yours in friendship & stitches,

Theresa

There is a poem that I read in a magazine in the mid 1970's.  I never forgot it and thought I'd pass it along so you can enjoy its message as well.

A Tale of Two Trees

by Alice E. Chase

Inside the forest straight and tall the biggest evergreen of all

Spread its giant branches wide and preened itself with snobbish pride

Thinking, "What a sight I'll be when I become a Christmas tree!

Dressed in tinsel all aglow with colored lights that come and go.

I'll be the season's biggest hit, there isn't any doubt of it!"

Not far away a little tree crouched in deep humility

With scrawny branches, twisted trunk, no wonder its morale was sunk

It knew it didn't stand a chance of rating one admiring glance

It thought, "The kind of shape I've got I'll never make it to the lot!

And even if I did who'd buy and ugly little tree like I?"

The woodsmen came to cut and fell the trees they thought would surely sell

Of course the evergreen so tall went crashing downward first of all

And when the job was nearly done a woodsman spied the little one

"This tree looks like it's nearly dead.  I'll finish it" was what he said

The tree came down with just one blow and laid rejected in the snow

By the strangest stroke of luck somebody tossed it on the truck

Which took it to the lot to be displayed like any other tree

At first it tried its very best to straighten up and meet the test

When all the mothers and the dads walked by with little girls and lads

But no one looked or seemed to care or even noticed it was there

Meanwhile, the giant evergreen with head held high had left the scene

Certain it was soon to grace some very grand, exciting place

The other trees went one by one till finally when day was done

Broken hearted and bereft the little tree alone was left

Feeling more and more forlorn it wondered why it had been born

Then suddenly, as if on cue, a small boy wandered into view

His jeans were tattered, his shirt was torn, his shoes were old and badly worn

He looked around and shook his head, "I guess I'm just too late," he said

And then he saw the little tree, "there IS one left," he said, "Oh, Gee!"

He paid a quarter for his prize and took it home with starry eyes

He set it up with tender care and though its scrawny limbs were bare

Of ornaments and lights and such, it really didn't matter much

Because in that poor home it found, shining faces all around

And voices raised in childish glee, saying, "What a pretty tree!"

No longer did it feel forlorn for now it knew why it was born!

And what about the tree so tall, the one that towered over all?
It really didn't fare too well, standing in a posh hotel
Because the people passing through had more important things to do
Than take the time to stop and gaze and shower it with words of praise
And once divested of its pride it slowly shriveled up and died

We'd like to think the little tree lived on and on in memory
Because it proved without a doubt what life's really all about
For if we can fulfill a need, we reach the greatest heights indeed!

 

 

Hello fellow stitchers,

            I had planned to insert a Thanksgiving photo to the greeting, but for some reason, which I've yet to figure out, Blogger is not allowing me to upload photos.  So my heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving header is all I can do -- UPDATE:  I figured it out!  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

            On another note, for those who purchased the kit for the 2013 Mayflower Sampler Guild's Annual Christmas Ornament, I have a correction to make to the instructions.  There is a difference in the over one section of the chart between the "master chart" and the "ship detail" chart.  The "ship detail" chart shows the over one section stitched as I stitched it on my model.  The "master chart" has an alternate over one section  for those who are not fond of over one stitching -- it has less.  I forgot to mention it in my chart instructions and apologize for any confusion this may have caused. Stitched either way, you will still have a lovely ornament.

            If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at HeartseaseEW@gmail.com.

Yours in friendship & stitches,

 Theresa