I hope your Memorial Day weekend was one of rest and restoration. If you didn't get together with family and friends this weekend, I hope your time was spent doing something, or not, as the case may be, to recharge your battery.

I am busy working on new designs to be released toward the end of June or after July 4th. With gas prices so high, and everyone being careful with their money, for 2008 there just doesn't seem to be, IMO, a real push to release designs as often as I have in the past. That is one reason you haven't heard from me as often. As much as I would like to see and hear from you, I realize that a newsletter usually features what is NEW and available now. This newsletter, like my upcoming trip to the wholesale show in Columbus in early June, will give you a preview of what I am working on that has a finished model for you to see. Take a look at the website from time to time this Summer and you will see the designs as they are ready to sell and to ship to your favorite local needlework shop.

Behind The Scenes at Celebration Of Needlework in Nashua, NH

In early May I was an exhibitor at a retail show in Nashua, NH. The show was fun, the people were lovely, and I had a great time. I thought you might enjoy a story of what things were like behind the scenes for that show.

I'm not sure where I thought NH was, but while I was flying across the country, I realised that NH is the farthest away from California in the continental US that one can get, unless you want to take a little side trip up to Maine. That was definitely a blonde moment for this CA girl. And of course, neither Bruce (the Alaska boy who should have known better) nor I took a coat with us. We've had Spring in California since February, and in NH their Spring was just starting. The weather was cooler than we expected, and the whole time there was a threat of rain.

When we fly to shows, we usually don't rent a car. There was a shopping center about a half mile from the hotel and Bruce and I hiked down the hill to find food for the room and a sweater for me. We bought the usual assortment of breakfast stuff, a large bottle of Dr. Pepper, and dinner for that night. We hiked back to the room. It wasn't a hard walk. When we got back to the room, we were preparing to eat our dinner, and I opened the bottle of Dr. Pepper. The walk was not hard on us, but it certainly disagreed with the Dr. Pepper. Once I unscrewed the cap, the volcano started, and Dr. Pepper went everywhere. Mostly the flow was on me, with Bruce cupping his hands under the bottle. What he was trying to catch, I'm still not sure. It ultimately took two bath towels to soak up the liquid in the carpet, not to mention the stuff that was running down the walls and soaking into the top layer of the bedding. Bruce and I just stood there and looked at each other. Once the flow stopped, I took the bottle in the bathroom and the cleanup began.

Another classic moment in that saga was when I went to the front desk to see if housekeeping was still available. This all took place about 6 P.M. on setup night. Here I am, walking through a lobby full of stitchers, with my lime green shirt looking like I was an extra on CSI, and I don't think anyone really looked at me. Certainly no one said anything. I actually didn't care how I looked, but I found it a bid odd that I must not have been an unusual sight. Certainly I had never been baptized by liquid at a show before. If this was a normal show event for someone else, to me it was a well kept secret. The hotel staff were kind and attentive. You could tell my attire impressed them, because housekeeping came running with arms full of towels and linens. The two ladies from housekeeping asked in a very tentative voice "If I had a problem with my Dr. Pepper...?" We all laughed, and I was very apologetic at making such a mess. It was really no one's fault, it just happened. I did my first load of hotel laundry at that show, and if you ever need to do a load, most hotels will give you free soap, which I thought was pretty cool. I'm sure I was known by the staff as "that one" for the rest of the show, but if a baptism by soda was not unusual, then there must have been more than one of us. I do know that another group of exhibitors set off the smoke alarm in their room, but that's another story. Behind the scenes, this show must have been the food event show. Every show has an exhibitor theme that the shoppers don't always hear about, and most of the stories aren't as dramatic as this one. I just thought you might like to hear what happened to me. It was certainly an unforgettable experience.

Just one more twist to this story, that is a little ironic. Did you know Dutch Treat has a Tabletopper theme song? The tune we use is from the original Dr. Pepper song. You know the music, here are the words:

I stitch on a Topper and I'm proud; I'm part of an original crowd. Easy to see, why don't you come stitch with me?
Eighteen count, over two, pretty threads, fun to do! Wouldn't you like to stitch a Topper too?

I hope Celebration will have me back next year. As for the hotel...we'll see. I hope you enjoyed the story.

Claudia

There will be a Price Increase on tabletopper fabric pieces as of June 1st.

White/Ivory will be $15.00

Colors will be $16.00

Oatmeal and Natural will be $17.00

Opalescent will be $19.50

Kit prices will not change, just the 9 square pieces when purchased separately.

Previewing Our Newest Tabletopper Designs

#068 Music Tabletopper and Runner - Stitched on white or ivory (cream) Anne Cloth.
The chart has patterns for a tabletopper and a runner.  Expected release date sometime in late June.