Meet Jessie Bell and our latest frame

Jessie Bell ~ Arizona Territory
photo courtesy of Little House Needleworks

Hi everyone! We would like to start out the new year with a brand new frame design, created especially for Little House Needleworks and their new sampler, Jessie Bell ~ Arizona Territory.  As Diane mentioned in today's post, Jessie Bell ~ Arizona Territory was created to commemorate Arizona's Centennial this February.  As an Arizona company (with one of us being an Arizona native), we were both honored and delighted to have been asked to provide the frame for this special sampler.

Jessie Bell ~ Arizona TerritoryDetail
photo courtesy of Little House Needleworks

Jessie's frame is called Prescott, after Arizona's first territorial capital. It is distressed to resemble old wood, much like you would find in the Wild West. The colorway is Dark Ale with an inner bead in Bisbee, which is a blackened copper. (Bisbee is an old Arizona mining town famous for her Copper Queen Mine.) So all the way around, this is an Arizona sampler!

Thank you, Diane! Once again, you have presented us with another wonderful design!

Please contact your favorite needlework shop for Little House Needleworks charts and Valley House Primitives frames.

Mystery Solved

Look at this beauty! We finally had the pleasure of seeing a finished Birds of a Feather Mystery Sampler by With Thy Needle & Thread. We cannot even begin to tell you how gorgeous she is In Real Life. (The stitcher of this sampler is too modest to be named, but lucky for us we were allowed to share these photos with you.)

Stitched using 35-count Weeks Confederate Grey linen and the called-for Weeks Dye Works floss, the two strands used over two linen threads really make the stitching POP! Typically, neither of us likes to use two threads to stitch, but upon seeing these results, we cannot imagine stitching it any other way.

"Mystery Sampler" corner detail

One other detail we would like to point out:  The clever way the date is stitched into the sampler. Can you spot it? (Hint: It will help you "unlock" the mystery!)

Can you spot the date?

Thank you Mystery Stitcher for sharing your finished Mystery Sampler with us. It is to die for!

As always, thanks for stopping by! We hope to have more goodies to share with you soon.

Cool Blue

While we know that some areas of the country are experiencing some early signs of autumn, it is still hot as blazes here and keeping cool is not always easy. However, this lovely sampler in her wavy blue frame certainly provides a "cool" place to rest one's eyes, doesn't it? We can almost feel those ocean breezes . . .

A Nantucket Sampler by Elizabeth's Garden
Frame by Valley House Primitives
Moulding MCA in Yankee Blue with "Wave" design

Enjoy these last days of summer, everyone!

A champion is born

As many of you are followers of Vonna, The Twisted Stitcher, it will come as no surprise that she is a fabulous stitcher and finisher. However, we now know that she is a champion stitcher and blue-ribbon winner, as well!

Needless to say, we are so very honored to have framed Vonna's entries, photos of which ~ in all of their be-ribboned glory ~ she has graciously allowed us to share here.

"The Family Sampler" by Little House Needleworks ©
Frame: MCC in Tavern Gold, Hairpin design©

"Sarah Seifer" by The Goode Huswife©
Frame: MCL in Moss & Redcoat with Chesapeake and Distressed design©

So hearty congratulations to you, dear Vonna! We look forward to many more ribbons, including that "Grand Champion" prize, next year!

New Frame!

Between last week's monster "haboob" and a 118-degree day, our thoughts have been turning to the (relatively) cooler days of autumn. So what better time to introduce our newest frame style, The Game Board Frame© shown here on The Primitive Needle's Patriotic Jack Game Board ~ all ready for Halloween. There are a number of game board charts out there, and this frame would work for any of them.

As with most of our frames, this one can be custom sized with your preference of color and graining style.  Our model is shown in "Redcoat" with a "Marble" design.

Game of checkers, anyone?

We love a good mystery

Especially if it is tied to a sampler! This is the frame we were asked to do for With Thy Needle & Thread's new "Birds of a Feather Mystery Sampler." We think Brenda did a fabulous job (as always) pairing this particular frame with this sampler. We know lots of you are stitching it as we have already had orders. So we thank you for that!

For inquiries or ordering information, please call (602) 989-1905, where you will reach Janet, or contact us through email valleyhouseprim@aol.com.  Shop information can also be found on our Web site Valley House Primitives.  We have more shops to add to our list, but if you have trouble finding one that carries our frames, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Until next time, happy stitching everyone!

Remembering Lisa

So many touching and heartfelt sentiments have been written over the past few days about the untimely passing of Lisa Roswell of The Primitive Needle.  We cannot really add to these words so well expressed by others but to say that we are honored to have had the opportunity to frame some of her wonderful designs and blessed beyond measure to have called her our friend. The loss of Lisa has indeed left a void in the needlework industry and an even larger hole in our hearts.

May peace and comfort be with her family, all of the many friends and "sampler sisters of the thread" she leaves behind.

Prim Little Pumpkins

photo courtesy of The Garden Gate

A few years ago, Joy posted these little pumpkins on her Garden Gate blog. So many people asked for the recipe, that we thought we might share it again here.  These little pumpkins seem to last forever! While they did need a little dusting of spices this year, they look (and smell) just as good as when they were first made. So make some for yourselves and enjoy their autumn-y goodness!


Cinnamon Dough Recipe


1 1/2 cups ground cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup white glue, such as Elmers


Combine all ingredients in a bowl and knead until the dough is smooth and pliable.
Form into pumpkin shapes and lightly score with a toothpick to form the ridges. While the dough is still moist, place a small twig into the top center for the stem.
Dry for a few days or speed up the process by drying in a warm oven (200F).

Big, Beautiful Frame

This is just a short little post to show you this gorgeous frame, which graces a new release from  Little House Needleworks entitled "The Family Tree Sampler." It is difficult to capture perspective in this photo taken on the patio decking, but it is a large frame. The details are our moulding MCC (copyright 2007 by Valley House Primitives LLC) in Tavern Gold with a Hairpin graining design. And after you have visited Diane's Web site, hop on over to her Little House Needleworks blog ~ it's always filled with lovely things!

Please visit the Valley House Primitives Web site for a list of shops carrying our frames. If you do not see one close to you, please contact us at valleyhouseprim@aol.com.

Thanks for stopping by and as always, happy stitching!

Hornbooks

We love them! And what a perfect time of year ~ back to school ~ to show you our line of these ever-popular frames. The two you see in this photo are our very first hornbook styles. The hornbook on the right is for The Primitive Needle's  Hornbook Angel, and was actually our very first hornbook.

The hornbook on the left is one we have been making almost as long, and is very well-suited for Carriage House Sampling's two hornbook charts:  Hornbook Sampler and Hornbook Revisited.  While these charts are now out of print, the frames are still available.

Both of these hornbook frames are available in a number of sizes.

The hornbook for Plum Street Sampler's Halloween Hornbook (pictured above) is another that we just love and has been very popular. Again, this hornbook frame is available in several sizes. It is simply called Paulette's Hornbook.

And finally, here is the hornbook frame we made for With My Needle's  A Multiplication Table Examplar. Ellen knew exactly what she wanted for this wonderful sampler, and to date, this hornbook has been one of our best sellers! We are happy to announce that it is now available in a size that will accommodate the sampler as stitched on 40-count linen over two threads.

Do you have a hornbook sampler for which you need the perfect frame? Just let us know!

Busy As Bees

Time has certainly flown since our last post! We have been trying to cope with our summer heat by staying busy making frames and stitching when time allows.

And speaking of bees, have you seen the designs of Beehive Needleworks? Judy has the sweetest school girl-type samplers and lovely smalls. We have been  fortunate to have framed some of these, and we are sharing those with you in this post. Also, Judy has the most calming blog, Penelope's Beehive. It is always a source of relaxation and refreshment, so be sure to visit her there, too.

Without further ado, here are some of the lovely samplers from Beehive Needleworks:

Zenna Hartwicke

Annie Ellsworth

Zabeth Cottingill

Blue Tulip Sampler

Eliza Bromley

Hannah Wright

Don't you just love the names for these girls?

Until next time, enjoy the remaining summer days and happy stitching to all of you!

The Announcement

Like many of you, we are gnashing our teeth as a result of Kathy Barrick-Dieter's decision to retire her design business, Carriage House Samplings. Thankfully, our stashes are full of yet-to-be-stitched CHS designs.  We know we are not the only ones in this situation, because we have had a number of inquiries as to whether or not we will continue to make the hand-grained frames that seem to be a perfect fit with Kathy's reproduction and folk art sampler styles. We are happy to say that YES, we plan to stay busy for a very long time.

So if you are looking for a frame for any of your Carriage House Samplings designs (or The Goode Huswife,  Plum Street Samplers,  Heartstrings Samplery,  With My Needle or any sampler at all that is just screaming for one of our hand-grained frames), just contact your local needlework shop or a shop listed on our Web site.  As always, we are happy to assist you in your search.

And speaking of Dear Kathy, here is a photo of  her Kingdom Come, featured in our Moulding MCA, design Small Swirl over Tavern Gold.

All the best to you, Kathy! And thanks so much for sharing your enormous talent with us. Our stitching hearts and hands are forever grateful.

Back to Blogging and some new stuff

Hello once again! As the title of this post implies, we have decided to get back to blogging, and we couldn't think of a better place to start than with a couple of frames we recently made for Carriage House Samplings designs.

The first photo is of the frame for Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow, just released at the TNNA Nashville trade show. This frame, as made to fit the finished model, is one tall drink of water! Here, we have the model-sized frame on the right (to fit the sampler as stitched on 40-count linen over 2 threads); on the left is a smaller version, as one of us is stitching this on 30-count linen over one thread. This frame can be sized to fit your design, but be forewarned: If you stitch on the equivalent of 14-count fabric or larger, you will probably have a piece that you could use for a small coffee table.

We also have also added two new mouldings to our line of custom-made frames. These two profiles are essentially the same, the only difference being that one slopes in and one is flat. We are showing these in our color Dark Ale with the graining design of Birdseye. This frame has a small black bead on the inside of the frame opening and works very well in giving just a touch of accent color next to your finished piece.

The sampler in this photo is Carriage House Samplings 1823 Emma Elizabeth Blackwood and appeared in the June 2005 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine. It was beautifully stitched by Chris Laurion of Eugene, Oregon. (Thanks, Chris!)

Stop again soon, as we will have some more framed samplers to show you!

Our Web Site Is Up!

Please visit us at : http://www.valleyhouseprimitives.com/

See you there!

Our First!

Publication, that is! How cool is this! To Kathy Barrick-Dieter of Carriage House Samplings ~ a big THANK YOU for choosing us to frame this adorable little Valentine sampler. We couldn't be more excited. We will have more to show you after the Nashville market; but the meantime, we've added a few more finished pieces to the gallery, so stop by and take a look!

What's New??

Well, just about everything! We have been up and running now for a few months and are pleased to say that a number of shops around the country are now carrying our frames. We've decided to use the blog format for the time being to showcase our wares, as well as display some actual pieces finished with our frames.

Before anything else, however, we must say a few words as to how Valley House Primitives LLC came into existence. Janet and Joy are avid stitchers and are huge fans of Cathy Campbell's Primitive Traditions, choosing her frames whenever we had an opportunity. When Cathy made the decision to end her frame-making business to concentrate on designing, we were in a state, to say the least. Fortunately, Cathy offered a workshop through our local needlework shop where she taught us how to make our own hand-grain-painted frames. We were hooked! We enjoyed making our frames so much that we thought that others might like them, too. Once we were sure Cathy's decision was final with regard to the frame business, we decided to do what we could to fill the void and Valley House Primitives was born. Janet's husband, Mike, is our fabulous mill worker and his woodworking abilities are incomparable, if we do say so ourselves.

So kindly take a look at what we have to offer. We can do most profiles in any of our colors and designs. We are happy to provide you with the names of the shops which carry our frames. We know how important it is to find the perfect frame for your 'work of art,' and we are happy to provide you with assistance in making your decision. Just let us know! And thanks for visiting us here at Valley House Primitives!