Thank you Prairie Schooler !

We received our Fall Prairie Schooler order - yes, the Santa is here, as well as some Halloween charts, too. We got a note with sad news,  Prairie Schooler will be retiring early in 2016......... We love their designs and want to thank them for all of their wonderful charts they have created for our enjoyment. We wish them well in their retirement!

We are finally dried out!! YAY!! Just in time for our Summer Retreat with Susan Greening Davis, she is so much fun and we can't wait to see her!! We are very fortunate that she will also be back with us in September for our Stitching in the Heartland Event. She will be one of many teachers that will be with us, teaching classes, in addition to our vendors and retreat that will be going on. I want to remind you that you may take a class or two or go to the retreat, or just come to shop. It is up to you!

I got a couple if my WIPS - top right the new Lizzie Kate Mystery Sampler - just started part 1 yesterday........beautiful colors!!
Bottom right is the Boston Band Sampler, have to finish the double satin stitch band, then on to the Boston Band! Love, love, love Samplers!!

Got to get going........have a great weekend! Thanks for checking out our blog! Enjoy your stitching time!

Margaret, Jessica, Amy, Pam, Cecilia, Joanna, Krista, Miranda, Cindy and Ann

Sunshine and WIPs !!

Today the sun is finally shining in Branson...........we are hoping for at least a week of sunny days. The shop is still topsy, turvy from our flooding..............we had to use shop vacs to get the water out of the shop, again. We did some drainage improvements outside, so hopefully that will work for us. 

I have some WIPs to show you..........  Little House new Sampler ornament - Peace, Kathy Barrick's Autumn on Lazy Bear Mountain, A Boston Band Sampler Reproduction from Needlework Press, and Pam has just started  The Raven Queen from Mirabelia.

Our classes for September's Stitching in the Heartland are starting for fill up, so if you are interested in taking a class, please let us know. Some of our classes have limits as to how many students can be enrolled. We are really looking forward to this event!! Our teachers are fantastic and several have exclusive designs, just for our event! Pat Carson will be our guest of honor for the whole event. She will be in the retreat room several times during the weekend to offer advice and stitching techniques. Pat has studied with teachers from all over the world and she is so willing to share her knowledge and love of stitching!
We are all looking forward to our Ice Cream Social on Wednesday evening.......it will be a casual dessert and coffee time. Our teachers and vendors will be there for a meet and greet with all of our attendees.There will definately be chocolate there!!
Got to go, it was fun to share some of our WIPs with you - hope you enjoyed seeing them. Have a good week!
 Margaret, Jessica, Pam, Amy,Cecilia, Joanna, Miranda,Krista, Cindy and Ann

God Bless America!!

We hope that all of you have a great July 4th weekend. We have been having an interesting week. The shop has been flooded again...........just too much rain in Branson! So we spent the last 2 days drying out again.........thank goodness for our shop vac and fans!

We are getting ready for our Simply Stitching retreat in a couple of weeks. Susan Greening Davis will be here with us. We always have so much fun with Susan when she is here - we can't wait to see her again!

Ann has been stitching for the shop, just about since we have opened - 12 years ago. She really loves stitching table toppers and has stitched over 50 of them. Lately, I have been doing the nun stitch for her.......I got a bit behind, as Ann stitches the table toppers so fast, and before I know it I had 5 table toppers waiting for me to nun stitch the edges. I finally got them done. Ann does such good working stitching these for us!! Here are some pictures of a few of her most recent ones.

 It is getting late and I have to get going - hope you enjoyed the table toppers! Have a safe and fun weekend!

Margaret, Jessica, Amy, Pam, Cecilia, Joanna, Ann, Cindy, Krista, Miranda

June 27th - What's happening at Cecilia's Samplers

It's been over a year since we posted on the blog...........we were so surprised that it had been that long!! We will try to do better about posting!!

We are all still here working in the shop - Margaret, Jessica, Amy, Pam, Cecilia, Joanna. Krista, Cindy, Miranda and stitching our models in Florida - Ann!!

Because we have so many items in the shop, we just can't get them all on the website.........so here's a few newer items...........I just got in a Blackbird Designs stitching mood and did these 3 small projects. One is a tart pincushion, the second is a pincushion using a Lone Elm Lane pincushion base (her colors are beautiful with Blackbird's colors), and the third is an Impie, Hattie and Bea thread keep. They were all quick stitches and a nice break from the larger samplers that I usually do.

 Ann has been really busy stitching..........she is 82 years young and does ALOT of our models - especially the tabletoppers - She loves the patriotic charts and this is one of her latest finishes. It is very bright - looks better when stitched than in the chart photo.

 We have a new line of products in the shop - have any of you ever heard of Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods? Susan has moved to Arkansas and has left a good assortment of her products here in the shop with us - kind of like a mini Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods shop in Cecilia's. She has so many beautiful laces, buttons,ribbons,and accessory packs. They are all great additions to your stitching and help with finishing - it adds that extra special look to your stitching.

Oh, before I forget.......anyone doing the Blackbird Designs Abecadrian Series.........we were stuck on number 11 for several months, but FINALLY have the number 12 chart in stock, and that completes the series.
Our biggest news so far this year is out "Stitching in the Heartland" event coming up in September!!
It is the first time we are doing an event of this size and type. There is a retreat, ice cream social, classes, classes, classes and a SABLE (stash acquisition beyond life expectancy) mall for shopping.
You can sign up for any or all of the events. Pat Carson, from Designs by Gloria and Pat, Inc. will be our guest of honor for the whole event. She is a wonderful person and she has a vast knowledge of needlework - she is always eager to share her knowledge and expertise with us. If you want to learn about needlework she is the person to visit with!! We will also have 9 different teachers, teaching a variety of classes and techniques. The dates are Sept 16-20, 2015. Check out Cecilia's website for more information.
It has been a fun year so far, next month Susan Greening Davis will be here for our Simply Stitching retreat - last call on that retreat!! We have a new venue, Lodge of the Ozarks, we have had 2 retreats there so far and our ladies LOVE it!!! It is a great location, has a restaurant, room service and a bar!!
The hotel staff is wonderful ! The stitching room is HUGE! We are very happy with our new location!
Got to go, hope you are having a good Summer and have a Great 4th of July weekend. We thank all of our military service men and women and their families for their service to our country !
Enjoy!
Margaret, Jessica, Amy, Pam, Cecilia, Joanna, Krista, Cindy ,Miranda and Ann

Thank you to our Spring Retreat Attendees!!!

Yes, I know this is my first post of 2014 - where does the time go?

We just finished our Spring 2014 Retreats and all of us at the shop would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to our attendees!!!!  We appreciate the wonderful gifts and kind

notes that you sent us - we are so happy that you all enjoyed your weekend!! The cookies were delicious!! And such a surprise!!
We had TADSAW as our charity for the Spring Retreats. We raised a total of $730.00 from both retreats. A BIG thank you to Louise for the pretty afghan that was also given away as a prize to help raise money for TADSAW. Cecilia's will match the donations from the retreats - so we will be sending a check for $1460.00 to TADSAW!!! Thank you all for your generosity!!

We would like to ask your feedback on this subject............"A Simply Stitchin' Retreat" or as Amy calls it "The Bare Naked Retreat". It is basically a "no frills" weekend. We are offering this because of several requests - a lot of ladies don't need the meal cards and have enough "stuff". They just want to visit and stitch with friends! So we would like to offer a simpler kind of retreat. We will start on a Thursday afternoon at 2:00. There will be a catered dinner on Thursday (pizza, sandwiches, burgers,chicken, ribs, the dinners will vary). We will do introductions, and buck a bag fabric on Thursday evening, too. Friday we will do Cecilia's 50% off sale at the conference room. We will still have a charity donation with a $100.00 Cecilia's gift card as the prize - drawing will be on Saturday evening. We will say our good byes Saturday night when the conference room closes at 11p.m. The trading and snack tables will still be there, too. All attendees will get a 10% discount on all purchases at Cecilia's during the retreat. And you will receive a t shirt and tote bag to commemorate the retreat!!  The cost for the "Simply Stitchin Retreat" will be $50.00 per person!!! You will be responsible for your accommodations and meals except for the Welcome dinner on Thursday evening. Let us know if you are interested...........we may be able to schedule one for this Summer if we have enough interest!!

I've got to get going...............I promise to post more often!!! Come by the shop and visit with us for a while when you are in Branson. We look forward to meeting you!

Take care and enjoy your needlework!!
Margaret, Jessica, Amy, Pam, Cecilia, Joanna, Krista and Ann

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2014!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2014 !!!

We have had a really busy Fall and can't believe Christmas is only 4 days away!!! I have had some "blog issues" - basically my computer and blog had a disagreement - but we think we got it all fixed now.

So this is just a quick post to say a HUGE " Thank you" to all of our customers and friends that have supported our shop this past year! We really appreciate your patronage - weather it is by email, phone or visiting us in Branson - we couldn't do what we do with out all of you!!

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas Holiday Season and we wish you a happy and healthy New Year!! We look forward to seeing you in the shop, at one of our retreats, on the internet, or visiting with you on the phone.

We took the girls - Katelyn and Alice to "Supper with Santa" last night at our local Mcdonalds - they had a great visit with Santa!!!

 

We pray all of your Christmas wishes come true!! And we pray for our military for God to keep them safe wherever they are stationed as they serve our country.

 

Take care,

Margaret, Jessica, Amy, Pam, Lori, Cecilia, Krista and Ann

Celebrations of Needlework - St Charles, Missouri!!

Just a quick post to let you all know we will be at Celebrations next week. For those of you that are not familiar with Celebrations, it is the longest running needlework show in the country. There are classes!!! and Vendors!!! All Needlework!!! It is really a lot of fun  - we will be taking a smaller version of Cecilia's to Celebrations -with lots and lots of goodies to sell! And..........we have chocolate!!! We hope to see you there, come by and say "Hi" - we would love to meet you and put a face to the name and voice. Got to go and get more goodies packed. Lori and I will be there next week......hope to see you there!
enjoy your weekend!
Margaret

p.s. below is part 1 of the Lizzie Kate  Mystery Sampler Holly and Hearts - really beautiful!!