Something a little prettier to lo0k at then Bauer today. Back at least 7-8 years ago I attended Martha Pullen's Market in dowtown Orlando. Judith & Kathryn were in from Australia and were selling at the market. I bought many things including 2 kits. The small one I made early on but this one got put away and forgot about. Well it was on my list of unfinished projects to start working on and I brought it to Florida with me and finally did finish it. I am going to our Garden Club Christmas luncheon tomorrow and am going to wear it.

Judith & Kathryn are the ones who make the beautiful prints to be beaded and embellished with silk ribbon, etc. They have published a few books also. I do have a couple of them and they are great eye candy.

A little bit about this kit - it came with the picture of the gal and the pansies already machine embroidered. There were actually two identical pics to a kit. You were to embroider and bead the one then attach the other to the back. I could not see wasting such a beautiful piece on the back that would never be seen. Instead I backed it with felt. The one problem with the kit and may be why I left it for so long was all the beads had been put into 1 plastic bag. Now there were 4-5 differnt shades of delicas, various shades of very small seed beads and before I could start I had to sit for a couple of afternoons in good light and divide all the beads by color. I will never do that again. On the next one I will just use my own beads or buy similar colors. I hope by now they are not doing this in their kits.

A little funny story that goes with this is I spent quite a bit of time talking to them and asked where they were going next. Well they were not only going to Chicago but to Sharon Gerraghty's Studio in Arlington Heights right where I lived. I of course was in Florida for the winter. They were there to give classes that I would loved to have taken. Sharon and I have been friends for years and we still get together with our smocking group for a picnic every June at my house. Some of us have been together for 20-25 years. Unfortunately Sharon closed her Studio a year or two ago. She had gorgeous heirloom sewing stuff. One day I will post some of my earlier smocking and heirlom sewing things on here. It is a small world.