Happy New Year 2011!!!

Where have we been??? No, we weren't abducted by space aliens or on a long vacation - time just flies when you are having as much fun as we have been having!!!

We have exciting news!! Jessie is pregnant and having another baby girl...........Alice Mary.......due Jan 22nd. In just a few weeks we will have a new baby to love!!

Katey,Tyler and Andrew are all growing like weeds............the boys are doing well in school and are a huge help with Katey. They love to help with Katey and look forward to welcoming their new cousin in a few weeks. Katey is growing and changing every day. She had a fun Christmas this year -except for meeting Santa for a picture- she was not a happy camper! (she yelled so loud, I think she scared poor Santa!!)

Our Fall retreat was really alot of fun!! We had a sold out weekend - got to meet alot of new friends- ate way too much chocolate (is that even possible? too much chocolate?) - and got some stitching done . The highlight of the weekend was the Fuddruckers truck that came to cook our dinner at our location!! We also collected 450 pounds of dog and cat food for the local animal shelter!! Thanks to all of our ladies who brought the pet food!!!

We are having a special Summer retreat in July - Sue Hillis will be joining us as a fellow stitcher and has agreed to design a fun little piece for the weekend. We have a few places left, if you'd like to spend a weekend in Branson. Spring Retreat 2011 still has a few openings left, too.

Kacy made it through her first semester of college and is home for Winter break. She is doing great in school and is looking forward to graduating as a nurse in a couple of years.

Ann has gone back to Florida for the winter. She is still stitching and has already sent back 8 completed projects!!!

I will be attempting a New Years Resolution to update the blog weekly..........even if it is just a WIP picture..............so you know we are all still here!! Holly is doing the Crazy Cross Stitch Challenge for 2011 - Start 15 projects the first 15 days of the year and then rotate them until they are finished. The challenge encourages you to complete the 15 projects in 1 year. Sounds like fun !!!

We all want to thank you all for your friendship, patronage and enthusiasm this past year. We are planning a great year, full of sales, retreats and other fun things for you!!

We wish you all a Healthy and Happy New Year!!

I'm going to post a few pictures for you to enjoy!!

Take care and enjoy your needlework!!

Margaret, Jessie, Holly, Pam, Kacy, Ann, Amy and all the kids

Where has the Summer gone??

Hi everyone!!

I can't believe that Labor Day weekend is in 2 weeks - what happened to summer? I finally figured out how late in the Summer it is when my Grandkids went back to school last week. The Summer just flew by!!

We had all 3 kids here with us in the shop all summer......it was fun to get to spend so much time with them. Tyler and Andrew are back in school , Tyler in Junior High and Andrew in 6th grade. Katey has learned to walk and run as fast as her little feet can go. She is almost 18 months old and is talking - just a few words - she has mastered the word "oh-oh!" She is really very smart and entertaining!! (that is Grandma's unbiased opinion).

The shop has been busy all summer, Branson gets lots of visitors and alot of them do needlework!! Ann is back from Florida and you can find her sitting in her glider chair, stitching and smiling as she greets customers!! Drop by and say "hi" , she will enjoy meeting you! She has already finished 4 pieces since she got back. 2 Lizzie Kates, Patriotic Tabletopper, and a Raise the Roof Clean and Green St Patricks Day clothesline.

Jessie has started a new "limited" page on the website. There will be GREAT prices on some very limited items that we carry in the shop. Be sure to check it out, you never know what she will be posting on the Limited page.

My Dad, sister and her family came to visit us last month. In their travels my sister found a bunch of Whitman tins - pink, green and yellow..........so anyone looking for tins, we have them!!

We have only about 50 left, so if you want one contact us soon!!

Holly and I are getting ready for Market next month. If there is anything that you would like , let us know and we will bring it back for you. Of course, we will have all sorts of new goodies from market. This market is always very exciting, with lots of new Fall and Christmas items to stitch. We will have market day.........Holly will figure it all out and I'll let you know.

We have the new Fall Lizzie Kate Scissor Fob Kit in the shop - I'm sure Holly will have it stitched up really soon!! Pam has been stitching a couple of Blackbird Designs, they are really nice, prettier than the pictures on the chart.

I've got to get going..........hope you all had a great Summer. We'll be glad when it cools down a bit (100 is just TOO HOT!!!). Check out our "What's New" page to see the new goodies we have in the shop. Take care,

Keep Stitching!!

Margaret, Jessie, Amy,Holly, Pam and Ann

It's Summertime!!!

Hello!!

Sorry it has been so long since my last update.............Summer is here and the grandkids are out of school, so we have been having fun and the time just flew by!

We have lots of new things to stitch at the shop.........Blackbird Designs has a really neat "purse" to stitch and finish - it will make a great project bag for a small project. It is done over 2 on 20 count Weeks Dye Works linen - really quick to stitch.

We finally got our Sue Hillis pirate finished and framed..........we love the saying!!(maybe we should adopt that saying as our shop motto?)

Our Fall stitching Retreat is sold out and Spring 2011 is sold out, too!!(waiting lists are available ,in case of cancellations) For Fall of 2011 and all of 2012 we have added extra stitching

retreat weekends - so check our website for the dates if you are interested in attending. We will now be offering 2 Spring Retreats and 2 Fall Retreats - we hope this will allow us to not have to leave anyone out that wants to attend.

My Hawk Run Hollow projects are getting done, in between a couple of quick projects that I have stitched. Christmas @ HRH is at the framers and should be back to the shop by Tuesday. Stop by to see it, the colors are so bright - it really stitched up beautifully. The Shores is about half done and Autumn is just started. They are really fun and easy to stitch!!

Pat Carson ( Designs by Gloria and Pat) came by to visit us last month. She very generously has let us offer to our customers her new chart.........It is a really cute, quick to stitch Patriotic chart. You can add beads and use DMC satin floss for the flag to add dimension and texture to the design. We always enjoy it when Pat stops by to visit us. She is a wonderful, caring and giving person and we are blessed to have her in our lives!!

Our friend and "table topper Queen", Ann, will be back from Florida next week. She spends the Winter in Florida and is usually back in April, so we are eager to see her get back here with us!!

When you are in the shop, you'll see many, many of her stitched peices hanging on the walls. She does great work and is eager to visit with our customers when they come into the shop.Ann is our official "shop greeter"!

Got to get going...........have some stitching to do!! Hope you are all enjoying the nice Summer weather!! If you are in Branson, come by the shop to visit, we would love to meet you!!

Take care,

Margaret, Jessie, Amy, Holly , Kacy, Pam and Ann

Here comes Summer!!!

Hi Everyone!!

Summer is almost here............Memorial Day weekend is coming up this week..........I always think of that as the beginning of the Summer season. Hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather that we have been getting recently - no more snow!!

We have been busy at the shop, adding new goodies to stitch!! I am still working on Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow (started block 11 last night). Of course that isn't the only project I have going in my "rotation" - but it is the one I am focusing on for now. Libertyville by Raise the Roof is one of my "in process" pieces, and I managed to finish Cape Cod Girls and Cape Cod Boys last week.

Holly has been busy with planning our weekend retreats.............they are just about sold out for Fall and Spring ...........so call to register before we run out of spaces!!

We have an exciting class that we are trying to put together for sometime in October.........that's all I can say about it right now........as soon as I get the details I will let you know!!

Jessie has been continually updating the website and face book ( she is our computer genius!).........Katie and the computer keep her busy all day!!

Pam has been stitching a Long Dog chart using the new Sullivans floss that we are carring in the shop. She really likes it, it doesn't knot up as much as other flosses. Stop by to check out her progress on this beautiful sampler.

I've got to get going.............have to get grocery shopping done so I can get back to work on HRH.

Hope you are all making time to stitch !!! Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!!

Take care,

Margaret, Jessie, Amy, Holly, Pam and Ann

Happy May Day!!!

Hello to All!!

The month of April flew by so fast!!! We finally have some warmer weather and our flowers are blooming!! We had our Spring Stitching weekend the beginning of April.......it was so much fun!!!

We got a beautiful boquet of flowers from Sherry, Sue, Teresa and Judy - they are just so sweet to do that for us!! Our theme was the beach - we had a Pirate "pillage and plunder night " that was really fun - lots of laughs, prizes, and surprises. Holly did a fantastic job in planning this weekend for us - she really works very hard so all of our guests have a great time when they're here with us for the weekend.

I finally got the Jenny Bean tuffett finished.......really did not take a long time, and it looks really neat! Holly and I got these new kits into the shop for a small hornbook. It actually can measure 1", 2", and 3"...........it's a cute way to be able to measure for starting a project to get your border spacing. As you can see by the pictures, I did mine with Lupine fabric and black silk, and Holly did hers in a teal color fabric. Jessie is making hers in Twilight colors (go team Edward!!). Each person can choose their fabric and thread colors, so no 2 would be alike!

Thought you'd like to see one of my WIPs - It is a 4 part series by Raise the Roof called Libertyville. Comes with chart,threads, and buttons - you add the fabric!! I have part 1 and 2 done, waiting for parts 3 and 4 to get here. In the meantime I am working on the Hawk Run Hollow Series - almost have Christmas done - 3 more blocks to go!!

For fans of The Traveling Stitcher by Little House Needleworks - Impie, Hattie and Bea have released the 3rd edition of the Traveling Stitcher Project pouch and needlebook. It is very similar in color to the 1st Edition (coral red color print). The second edition was green, so we hope that anyone who wanted the red color will be able to get it with the 3rd edition. It should be in the shop this week!!

Got to get going. Hope you all are having a good Spring, now we can stitch outdoors in the warm sunlight!!

Take care,

Margaret, Jessie, Amy, Holly, Pam and Ann

Happy Easter ( a little late!!)

Spring is finally here!! Hope you all had a great Easter!! We have been really busy here in the shop - getting ready for our Spring Stitching weekend - it starts Thursday......we are all so excited!!! It will be so much fun to see old friends and meet new ones, too!! Holly has a really fun weekend planned for us..........lots of stitching,chocolate, food, chocolate, games, oh, did I mention chocolate?

Last week was Katey's (Jessie's baby) First Birthday!! We had so much fun watching her enjoy her birthday cake!! She loves chocolate!!!

I suppose that most of you have heard that Carriage House Samplings is closing their design company. Kathy will have charts for sale until July 1, 2010..........so if you want any of her charts - the Hawk Run Hollow series is a Carriage House design- -let us know before they are no longer available. Above is my Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow - almost done!!

I've got to be going..........getting ready for Thursday!!! Hope you all have a wonderful week!! Enjoy your stitching!!!

Take care,

Margaret and the Cecilia's crew

p.s. the top pic is my grandkids and me!!! Tyler (12 yrs old), Andrew (11 yrs old) and Katey (1 year old)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We wish you "the luck of the Irish" at St. Patrick's day approaches!!

Hope you are all enjoying some warmer weather and lots of time to stitch. We have so many new charts in the shop from the Nashville show, we are all trying to decide what we would like to stitch first. Our stitching project "rotations" have increased dramatically since Nashville.

Our Spring Retreat is coming up soon.........about a month away. Holly is working so very hard to make another wonderful weekend for our guests. She does such a great job with all the projects, games and surprises for our stitchers. The Spring weekend has been sold out for several months, I think we still have a few spots left for the Fall Weekend. If you are thinking about the Fall weekend.......don't wait too long to sign up, space is limited. And you won't want to miss all the fun!!!

Got a new Little House chart for you.......Robin Hood!!! I just love all the different Robin Hood movies and the book, too! Another project for my "rotation"!!

Got to go set my clock ahead an hour, so I don't forget. Hope you are all having a good weekend. We look forward to seeing you at the shop, or hearing from you through the internet!!!

Take care,

Margaret, Jessica, Amy, Holly, Kacy, Pam and Ann

Back from Nashville!

Hello!!
Jessie, Holly and I made it back from Nashville safe and sound!! We had a fantastic time at the wholesale show - we got to see alot of old friends, new products, and new designs. We had a computer malfunction at the show, so we couldn't get the blog updated. Jessie has been updating facebook almost daily with new goodies.
We are bringing a new floss line into the shop - Sullivans Floss - it has a really nice look to it, comes in just about as many colors as DMC (even has the corresponding DMC number on the label of each skein), and is very nice to stitch with. Watch for our introductory sale as soon as we get the floss and spinner rack delivered.
Blackbird designs is presenting a year of houses, a new design each month - you can stitch each individually or stitch them on one large piece of fabric for an impressive sampler. Each house will be released monthly and the ladies from Blakcbird designs will also add bonus charts, too.
We will also be taking pre orders on a special item from Sue Hillis. She will be releasing it in about another month and it is absolutely beautiful!!! Jessie will have a picture on the website this week! Hint: You will need an empty Whitmans candy tin!!
The shop is packed with so many new items!!! Unique scissors!! New floss colors!! Wonderful hand - dyed fabrics and lots of cross stitch charts - Hawk Run Hollow from Carriage House, Wicked from Primative Needle, Pirates from Sue Hillis,Little House Needle and Thread kit, new Lizzie Kates, Bent Creek,La-d-da, Olde Colonial Designs,Blackbird designs.........and so many more ............come by and see it all soon!!
We look forward to seeing you!!! Now I have to get back to stitching Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow..............hope you had a great weekend, and now that March is just about here, hope we all have some better weather........it has been a long winter!!
Take care,
Margaret, Jessie, Amy, Holly, Kacy, Pam and Ann

Nashville - Here we come!!!

Hi All!

Just a quick post to let you know we are leaving Friday for Nashville........our bags are packed and the M&M's bag is full!!! We will be on the road Friday morning - Jessie, Holly and I are going. Pam, Amy and Howard ( Holly's husband) will stay behind to run the shop. Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow (pictured here) is just one of the new and beautiful items we will be bringing back with us. Little House Needleworks and Impie, Hattie and Bea have another new item - we don't have any info on it yet - but if it is anything like their past collaborations - it will be gorgeous and useful. Primitave Needle also has some really neat samplers she is releaseing - Lisa's theme for Nashville is "Wicked"!! If you are a Halloween or Witch fan - these samplers will really appeal to you. ( one of Lisa's new samplers is pictured above)

We will have our camera and laptop to update the blog as often as we can, Jessie may even update face book, if she can, too.

Got to get my stitching bag packed............we will post updates as often as we can!!

We look forward to seeing you at Cecilia's for our Market Days - Feb 26th and 27th. There will be LOTS of new needlework items, charts, kits, fabric, floss, and notions for you to fall in love with !!

We thank you all for your support as we had a great 2009 and look forward to a fun and wonderful 2010 with you all!!!!

Take care,

Margaret , Jessie, Amy, Holly, Kacy, Pam, and Ann

Coming Soon (from Nashville!)...

Carriage House has released a couple pictures of their new design...Autumn At Hawk Run Hollow! This is block 1 to the left...

...and this is block 11 to the right.

Looking great so far! We can't wait to see the rest!

The Nashville Market is just around the corner and we're so excited! Lizzie Kate has a few cute things releasing at market. A couple are even limited edition!

Spring Fab Fob Kit (Limited Edition) is a big dose of spring colors, motifs and the cutest little scissors you’ve ever seen! Kelmscott made some custom L*K scissors with pink and aqua handles AND they’re airline approved! The kit includes sunshine yellow Jazlyn fabric, custom scissors, chartreuse and pink/orange beads and pattern.

Chicks Rule Kit (Limited Edition) is just what it sounds like...3 little chicks who look like they’re in charge! Kit includes 30 ct. cream linen, 3 custom orange beak buttons and pattern.

ABC’s of Aging Artfully What does this mean? It’s the L*K way of saying we’re not getting older, we’re getting more interesting! These ABC’s turn convention upside down and are sure to put a smile on your face while you stitch. Kit includes a vibrant palette of Crescent Colours, Weeks Dye Works and DMC to make your stitchery ageless!

If there is anything you would like us to bring back from Nashville, we are taking special orders. You can call us at 417-336-5016 or go to our website at http://www.ceciliassamplers.com/ to email us.

Happy New Year 2010 !!

To all of our stitching friends,
As a new year is starting, we just wanted to take a moment to say a HUGE "Thank you" to you all for helping to make 2009 such a great year for us at Cecilia's Samplers!! We look forward to another great year in 2010!! We appreciate all of our customers, we have made so many new friends since opening the shop 7 years ago. We love to visit with you when you come to the shop, call the shop, or email us. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help make your stitching experience with us more enjoyable. We wish you a healthy and happy New Year with lots of time for stitching!!
We thank you very much for supporting our family owned needlework shop!!!
Sincerely,
Margaret, Jessica, Amy, Holly, Kacy, Pam and Ann