Dear Santa,
I know you’re busier than ever this year and may have a hard time getting all your shopping done. To make my website easier for you, I’ve compiled a list of the top-ten most popular items at Initial Impressions. You’re our Number One customer, we’ll do whatever we can to keep you happy.

1. Lovie Stuffed Animal Blankets
2. Patchwork Quilts for Babies
3. Children’s Chef Aprons
4. Children’s Towel Sets
5. Children’s Bathrobes
6. Waffleweave Kitchen Towels
7. Adult Shower Wraps
8. Cotton Stadium Blankets
9. Cotton Sheet Sets
10. Adult Aprons

This is for a Washington based Obama campaign worker who had a busy night when it became apparent that his son would be born the night of the Presidential election.  This embroidery will be a framed picture for the baby’s nursery.

I have never really considered the home party approach (think tupperware and discovery toys), but annual home party sales reached $30 billion nationally in 2007.  That is a lot of partying!

I have two major stock design catalogs with every kind of design you could possibly imagine.  One book has 20,000 designs and the other has 30,000 designs.  Then there are all the designs from a variety of other sources.

A commericial embroidery machine runs at anywhere between 600 and 1500 stitches per minute.  They are designed to be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Home embroidery machines will not hold up to that kind of use.

I know for a fact that a commericial embroidery machine needle can completely pierce a finger through and through without the unsuspecting recipient feeling anything.  However the resulting blood is a dead giveaway…

And it does hurt later.

The more I embroider, the more I love to learn about where embroidery has come from.  The following article added to my embroidery awareness.  These designs (and others of the same genre) are available at Initial Impressions - just ask!

The blackwork that inspires the designs for this week offers us the opportunity to connect with our roots. Almost every culture has produced embroidery evolving  from simple stitches like these.  Blackwork may be many centuries old, but it is textile art that has been freshened and enlivened by every generation and culture since it was born.      Blackwork is a counted thread method of embroidery that uses straight stitches worked on an “evenweave” fabric. Linen was and still is a first choice for this hand needlework. When we look at the geometric patterns in this thread art today, we can see how every design is built on the squares and diagonals these stitches create.
The origin of blackwork designs may be the formal arabesques and geometric patterns developed by the Moors and used in Spain for centuries. The Spanish princess, Katherine of Aragon, brought her love of embroidery and her trousseau with “Spanish work of black silk.” to England in 1501, and as a member of the Royal family, influenced the rise in the popularity of her Spanish, or black, work.       The sleuths among us will find it fun to trace embroidery designs back to their many historical forms. Next time you are in an art museum, pay special attention to the detail recorded by portrait artists as they painted their “royal” or patron subjects in the clothing of their day. You can see how fashions evolve through the ages.
In the hands of the English — courtiers and commoners alike — the geometric embroidery patterns of the 16th century evolved to scrolling, more naturalistic designs. Embroiderers added variations in texture — stitches such as coral, herringbone, plaited braid — herbs and flowers of the Tudor knot garden, animals from Aesop’s Fables, and fantasy animals like the griffin.      To record each new design and pattern she made, an embroiderer would sew them on a sampler that she could roll up and carry in a work bag or take with her to share with friends. Some of these “band samplers” from the 16th and 17 centuries have survived, while embroidery pattern books, first printed in England in 1548, have not faired as well.
The popularity of embroidered blackwork is in evidence in the traditions every European country, each culture developing it in their own traditions. In America blue thread was substituted, probably as an influence of the popular Delft tiles from Holland. Eastern European countries favored red thread, and all over the world, variations on blackwork were influenced by local customs and traditions.      During the Stuart and Victorian eras in England, color and shading replaced the stark contrasts of blackwork, and the exuberance of Jacobean embroidery was a powerful  influence on fashion everywhere.
It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that blackwork regained popularity. Credit the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States with reviving blackwork among the traditional crafts it fostered. By the 1920s and ’30s pattern books were published and classes were teaching blackwork patterns, still evolving today.      We love the simplicity of the designs, and even as we develop new methods for creating them, we feel the connection to this age-old art form and revel in its charm.

Source:  Kenny’s Korner, www.embroiderylibrary.com

I have to spread the word — www.grandparents.com is a great free resource for terrific ideas for spending time with your grandchildren.  Make memories!

In September of 1978, I had my second child, Kate.  At a time that would normally have been such a blessed time, we also finally got the diagnosis for the strange symptoms my mother had been experiencing for several months.  After a barrage of tests at Stanford Hospital, they finally came up with a diagnosis of a disease that I had never heard of – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig Disease for the famous baseball player who succumbed to it). 

My mother was only 48.  The prognosis was dire and we were shocked and devastated.  Mom fought the disease valiantly, but it got the best of her in December of 1980.  To this day, there is no clear cause and no real treatment.

Fast forward about eight years and our existence in Colorado.  We have some wonderful neighbors who moved to this area of Boulder in 1988 - just about the same time we did.  Fortunately enough, Jay happens to be an EMT and a horse lover.  One one Colorado blizzard night our daughters’ horse Fancy was blinded by the snow, panicked and broke a huge plate glass window, cutting herself badly in the process.  I have never seen so much blood and in the white snow, it looked pretty gruesome.  We managed to get Fancy into Jay’s care and he was able to save her.

The girls grew up and moved to other areas of the country.  Arrangements were made to have Fancy leased by a local girl whose family was supposed to take proper care for her.  Alas, they did not and Fancy became severely malnourished.  Again, Jay came to the rescue - performing a horse rescue.  Fancy is now in the care of one daughter and her extended family and is thriving to this day.

What does all this have to do with embroidery you ask….

Recently Jay and his wife Judy moved to California.  They wanted a lot of new personalized towels for their new home.  I was happy they wanted me to do the embroidery, but I did not feel comfortable charging them for my work after all they had done for us.  Sooo, I suggested that they make a donation to Project ALS in my mother’s honor.  Jay and Judy thought that was a terrific idea and that is what they did.

In case you have been touched by ALS or know someone who has, Project ALS is located in New York City.  Their website is www.projectals.org, with email at info@projectals.org.  Project ALS is funding every aspect of a gene therapy pilot investigation in collaboration with Johns Hopkins, Harvard University and the Salk Institute.  If successful, gene therapy will make a difference for those living with ALS and many other neurological diseases including Alzeimer’s, Parkinsons, Multiple Sclerosis and spinal cord injury.

If at this year end, you are looking for a meaningful charity and have even a little disposable income left, this is one to carefully consider.

Baby Dani is clearly warm and comfortable after her bath in this sweet photo where she models the Initial Impressions hooded infant bath set.  What a cutie pie!