Green thumb

It's spring. It's time to start planting seeds. Last year I built a small greenhouse. It's probably 8 feet long and 6 feet wide. Unfortunately I don't have heating in it so I have to wait until the snow stops falling before I plant my seeds. This weekend I will start planting and hopefully they will be big enough by may to plant in the garden.


Here is part of my backyard. The greenhouse is in the corner.

Here is the inside of it. It is a little messy right now since it's been sitting vacant for the winter.

and lovely strawberries.

Early release at Shepherd's Bush

If you're in the area stop by the Shepherd's Bush shop here in Ogden and see the models for Ida's Rose Garden and The Egg House. You can buy the patterns there today too!  If you're not close by your LNS can order them this Friday or you can order from your favorite online store.

Working copies.

Many people, who don't want their original patterns destroyed make working copies. Maybe you can't see well and the pattern is small so you enlarge the pattern and make a working copy. I bet when you saw this title you thought I was going to be complaining about them and talking about copyright laws?  Didn't you?  Well, I am not. I think a working copy is a great idea and if you're not sharing the pattern with anyone else then I don't see a problem with it. In fact, I put enlarged working patterns in the first 48 copies of Ida's Rose Garden. Save your paper, I made a copy for you!!!!

Round Robin and Release Date

Had some printer problems so I had to push back the release date of Ida's Rose Garden and The Egg House. Everything is good now though so printing should be finished tomorrow and my distributor will have the pattern in their hands either Wednesday or Thursday. If you live close to Shepherd's Bush shop you can see the model for The Egg House there and buy the pattern when it comes out.

I spoke to my Mother today about doing a Round Robin. The Stitcher's Village has some RR going on right now and I really wanted to participate but due to having time restraints and shipping etc. I wasn't able to. So, I am going to do one with my Mother. She has chosen a sampler as her project and I decided on a Halloween theme. It should be fun and if I take too long to get my stitching done...no one will be mad at me. lol

Speaking of The Stitcher's Village. I was there the other night chatting with some good folk. Patty was there and even Michelle from Stitchy Kitty stopped by. So, if you have the time you should come chat and waste that time.

Ida's Rose Garden- Up Close

A picture of the bottom of Ida's Rose Garden

The Egg House- Up Close

Some close-ups of The Egg House.

Ida's Rose Garden

Picture of Ida's Rose Garden on my website. www.shipsmanor.com

Happy St. Patricks day and here is my new Easter pattern! lol

Here is my new pattern. I hope to have it released a week from tomorrow. I have also finished my sampler which will be released the same day. This Easter pattern is very colorful and fun to stitch.

The Egg House

The Egg House a.k.a. Easter pattern is finally finished. I had some custom mats made for it yesterday by Jill Rensel and found a nice decorative frame to put it in. I am going to try my darndest to have it out by Friday the 25th. I haven't been able to get a good picture of it due to the weather.

Other news: I am still working on Ida's Rose Garden. It is the name of my sampler pattern. I really like how it is turning out.

Still stitchin

I am about 3/4 done stitching my Easter pattern and about the same with my sampler. Sometimes I feel like a stitching machine. I am also a de-stitching, frog machine. I actually kind of like frogging. I just don't like re-stitching. I am sure this blog makes tons of sense so I should stop while I am ahead.

What if?

There was a tragedy yesterday. Lisa Roswell, designer of The Primitive Needle, died. She was swept off a road, in her car, from a flood in Ohio. I didn't know Lisa. I loved her work though. I know that these things happen all the time but it doesn't make it any more comforting. So, I think 'What if?' when these things happen. I can't even imagine how scared she was. I can't even imagine how hurt her family is. What if she got out of the car? Most likely she would've been swept down the river and died. But what if she caught hold of a branch or tree? What if, for some reason, her car didn't start that morning? What if it was my own Mother who was in that car? I know 'what ifs?' don't mean much but by putting ourselves into these situations and pondering over our own lives we see how precious life is. We see how fleeting life is. Don't forget to say 'I love you' to those you care for. Don't forget to give hugs often and remember that kisses are free. We can't go back and change the 'what ifs' so make the best of today.