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The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. --Helen Keller Wishing you all a day full of heart, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you again for all your wonderful support.

One of the things I love about cross stitch is that it's a portable craft. As you already know, I'll stitch whenever and wherever I get the chance. Over the holidays that meant stitching in the car as we road tripped to visit family in surrounding states. It may have been Christmastime, but I had a different holiday on the brain: Valentine's Day. Some fun new patterns, perfect for the ones you love, are coming to the shop very soon, so stay tuned!

Last weekend I participated in a lovely little craft show held at a farm in my hometown. The setting was idyllic: a light-filled studio that was once a horse barn, snow drifting gently down outside leaving a dust of white on the old stone walls, and the cows watching from nearby. Inside friends mingled with artists and the holiday spirit abound. Such a wonderful day. I had a few moments before the happy hustle and bustle began to snap some photos of my display. Have a look.

Chevrons are all the rage these days, and I'm not complaining. I loved my stitched chevron ring so much, I decided to make a matching pendant. Even better, the necklace is a kit, so you can stitch one up too! I love the modern colors in the kit, but you could choose any color scheme you like. Heck, how about combining two design trends and stitching yourself an ombre chevron? Too cool for school. You'll find the chevron necklace kit now in the shop.

One of the joys of selling needlework kits as I do, is seeing what you creative folks do with those kits. Even when the patterns are reproduced exactly as I've designed them, somehow the pieces seem transformed simply because another hand stitched them. Other times, what you choose to do with the kits takes me completely - and wonderfully - by surprise. Such was the case recently when Atsuko shared a photo of a bamboo pendant she made. Atsuko, whose art of choice is weaving, explained in a blog post that rather than stitch on the pendant, she chose to weave on it. If you look closely you'll see the warp and weft woven together in a houndstooth pattern. Truly wonderful! Vicky, of the blog making it, stuck to stitching on her bamboo pendant blank, but then instead of wearing it as a pendant, she transformed it into a fabulous key ring. I've been so inspired by both of these projects. Very early on in my love affair with fiber, I learned to weave. (I even own a loom, albeit one that's gathering dust at the moment.) Atsuko's designs have sent me searching for my old weaving books. As for Vicky, she put into action something that had been rolling around in my mind for a while now. You just might see some key rings in the shop in the not-too-distant future! Thanks to all of you wonderful stitchers out there for your endless creativity.

There's little as exciting as having your work mentioned in the media, especially if that media happens to be one of your favorite cross stitch magazines. I'm thrilled to report that's exactly what has happened. My little workhorse of an elephant made his way into the pages of Cross Stitcher Issue 254. I had no idea it was going to happen. A Facebook fan from the UK actually tipped me off after she saw it in the magazine's pages. Since the magazine is published in the UK and I'm in the States, I had to wait weeks before I could get my hands on a copy. Absolute torture, but totally worth the wait. Here's the spread: I was included as part of fabulous designer Jacqui Pearce's Trend Spotting column. The theme was animal magic - how appropriate! Here is Jacqui's oh-so-kind write-up of my work: I couldn't be more thrilled! Thank you Jacqui, and thank you Cross Stitcher! (Oh, and while this was my first press mention, it wasn't the last. More on that soon!)

Whew! What a summer. Busy, fun, and way too short. It seems no matter where I went this summer, my stitching went with me. I love little projects you can pull out wherever you happen to be when you have a few extra moments. Whether it's in the backyard on a summer evening. Or at the beach. Or story hour at the town library. Or to destinations afar. Where do you love to stitch?

See this adorable cross stitch heart pendant? I've been wearing it - or its purple sibling - nearly everyday. It looks great with just about everything I own. For example: You can make your own with one of the new Red Gate Stitchery DIY cross stitch pendant kits now in the shop! The stitching is simple, even if you've never cross stitched before, and the result is something all stitchers - from beginners to the most experienced - will be thrilled to have in their wardrobe. (Don't want to stitch? Let me do it for you with one of my finished pendants. Easy peasy!) Happy stitching,