Colleen Heggelke, of Owego, New York, started stitching back in the 1970's by doing string art kits. Her mom still has one hanging in her living room. Here is Colleen's stitching story.

"I have worked my way from string art to macramé to needlepoint and cross stitch. By far my 'favoritest' is and always will be, counted cross stitch. I stitch at least 2 to 3 hours weeknights and on the weekends I try to stitch as much as I can but some times cleaning house and the laundry seem to get in the way.

"Besides needlework I like to read, and especially love Monica Ferris, Maggie Sefton and Stephen King. I also love to watch DVDs while stitching. I am an Administrative Assistant at a printing company, MidstateLitho, for almost 17 years now!

The next project I would like to stitch is "Ribbon and Roses Wedding" for my oldest daughter and soon to be son-in-law. They just got engaged this past Valentine's Day and the wedding is planned for May 2010, so I certainly have to get started soon! When I give away my stitched pieces, some have said 'Did you really do that?' As they can't believe the detail in some of my projects such as "Summer in the Woods" that I stitched for a neighbor up at our cottage on Lake Ontario. He loves the outdoors and animals, so it was perfect for him!

My 'bit of wisdom' is that I have learned at least for myself that I always need to grid my fabric before starting a project which helps me to keep my count and I highlight on the pattern on what I have stitched so far.

I have many favorite designers, as I choose my projects by the subject, especially snowmen. I have almost always stitched on Aida, but have stitched on linen also. It certainly took getting used to stitching over 2, but I got the hang of it after ripping out many times. "My Curves Have Shifted" designed by Deanna Carter on 28 ct Colonial Blue Lugana was one of those projects on linen. DMC floss is my favorite thread to use.

I have a few stitching accessories that are my favorites such as my needle threader, Q-snaps and a magnetic board with stand; without these life would be miserable.

The largest piece I ever stitched was a project my husband picked out for me to stitch, "Noble Quest" designed by Harry J. Schane, stitch count 270 x 216 on 18 ct Ivory Aida. The whole piece is totally cross stitches too! It took me 4 years to complete and now hangs on our living room wall and I promise that I will not let my husband pick out another pattern again! lol

Cross stitch is a very big part of my life. After a full day at work, I love to just relax and stitch on one of my WIPs (works in progress). It kind of takes me away from everything going on around me, which makes me also realize the great friends I have met over the years in my online cross stitch group. I have been cross-stitching for almost 30 years now and my latest, most important project is contributing my stitching abilities to The Americana Stars Memorial.

While reading an issue of Stitcher's World Magazine in 2005, I learned that another cross-stitcher, Doreen Lynn Saunders from New York, was creating this memorial for the victims of 9/11. Over 3,000 stars will be made, one for each victim, attached to 50 separate panels, creating a wall mural more than 200 feet wide. They will be arranged in such a way that if you were to see the panels from above, they will form the letters "US". She plans to complete it by the 10th anniversary. Her first 9/11 project, "An Americana Flag", was requested by the curators of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and she hopes that The Americana Stars Memorial will be displayed there as well.

About 17 people from New York to California are helping to stitch the stars and I am one of them.

I first became involved because just remembering what had happened on that day back on 9/11, a day we will never forget. There were so many innocent victims, I just had to help in some way and this is how I thought I could help in memory of them.

I have helped Doreen stitch approximately 100 stars so far and will be starting more soon. To learn more about the project and to contact Doreen, please visit her blog or her website."

Thank you, Colleen. Colleen welcomes you contact her (e-mail Colleen)

Thank you for continuing to share your emails with me for the topic:

My favorite place to stitch in the summertime and what I plan to stitch this summer are:

21. I want to start a drawn thread project and an intricate needlepoint project that I just picked up the patterns for. I stitch at lunch time at the beach in Highland Park, Illinois. I work just a few blocks from the beach and I leave a beach chair in the car so I can sit outside and enjoy the sun.

    Mary, Gurnee, Illinois

22. I am sitting in my trailer near Tucson and reading my emails. I always look forward to Nordic Needle newsletters. My husband and I love to travel in our travel trailer and my counted cross stitch is always with me. If the roads are smooth, I can even do some while we are traveling. I particularly like to find a cross stitch project that reminds me of our travels. We attended an Elderhostel in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona and I found a kit from Rugs of the Southwest called "Tree of Life". It not only does it make me think of the Navajos but it has lots of birds and we are bird watchers too. Needlework and traveling just go together.

    Thanks for the question.

    Kathy Feste, Hemet, CA

23. This is my year of "finishing." However, I do plan to start (and finish) the Mirabilia Prancer this summer. Where? Well, where you'll always find me stitching--in my recliner with a cat on my lap and a cat on the back of the chair. After that's done, I'm going to finish "Fish City." I have it three quarters done but got side tracked and put it down. That was a mistake. But this year, that's going to change.

    Happy Stitching! Barbara B, VA

24. My favorite summer stitching spot is my front porch. The light is great, the fresh air wonderful. Bug free is preferable. I love sitting in the glider, stitching away with an ice cold drink!

    My summer project is, finish primitive moon from Ewe and Eye, then maybe a Lavender Wings. Happy summer stitching everyone!

    Lorna - Sioux City, Iowa

25. We live in an RV and are Workkampers. I love to sit outside the RV and stitch. It is also a great ice breaker as folks walk by and stop to see what I am working on. I am finishing up a stocking for my great-granddaughter and then will work on birth samples for both the great-granddaughters who were born last year.

    Millie Paxton, Presently in Pigeon Forge, TN

My other topic is

What are we going to do with all of our vintage and antique embroidery pieces and hankies?

I am really enjoying receiving your ideas on this topic! Keep them coming!

Hi Roz, I have purchased an antique curtain that had needle work on the lower portion in a beautiful cotton. It was stained on a portion and drab color. The piece lightened after washing and soaking when the true beauty of the needlework came forth. There is a large oval needle weaving design in the center, Hardanger along the very bottom with embroidery around the needle weaving done in white and a pale gray for tiny flowers. To save the piece I shortened into a longer version of a valance to be used in my kitchen or any other room. I like the kitchen so I can admire it every day. This is my most precious piece and wish there had been another panel. It was a pleasure to save the beautiful work and to give it new life.

In order to decorate the windows of a small shop, the owner took the old painted table cloths and pinned them into a valance for the windows. I liked the idea that the cloth was not cut and can be used elsewhere at another time. The look was very pleasing. The draping was done in such a way that the bottom portion to the valance was folded so there was a series of points from the four corners. Yes, the piece was a square or rectangle.. No sewing with beautiful results. It was colorful and portions of the pattern can be displayed.

Have a happy day stitching, Vickie

11. Roz, This certainly won't help with tablecloths and larger pieces but I wanted to tell you what my mother did with a collection of hand-made doilies from her aunts. Doilies just aren't in demand like they used to be! She had each one of them mounted separately on a flocked/fabric background and then similarly framed to make a stunning montage. The background colors are different but coordinate with each other and the frames and matting are also different but complimentary. I've told her that these items are the ones I want when the time comes to divide up her possessions.

    Maybe you could frame some of your hankies in this way.

    Shelia Willis, Annapolis, Maryland

12. Hi Roz, I have accumulated many hankies and doilies from family over the years. I would like to frame some of them and display them on a wall. My mother-in-law, who was very artistic, made a collage probably 50 years ago that had 2 girls holding hands, dressed in early 20th century style pantaloons and camisole. My father-in-law constructed a shadow box type frame. She used family treasures – lace, fabric, locket and a large lock of her mother's hair was the hair on one of the girls. It's a real work of love, still in good shape and we are so happy to have it since she passed away. She was born and raised in Fargo and could tell many stories about when…. The challenge with something like this is to make sure moisture doesn't get trapped in the frame under the glass.

    Thank you, Maretta Clauson, San Diego, CA

13. I have some dresser linens that my grandmother embroidered 50-60 years ago or more, and many of them are stained, but because of sentimental value I can't just throw them away! I found a pattern for a stuff cat (most of my family are owned by cats!), and instead of purchasing fabric, I am going to make each great-grandchild a cat using the unstained areas of embroidery. This way Grandma's work will still be passed down and hopefully seen and loved and not stored away out of sight.

    Carolyn Wagner, Marion, Ohio

14. Good Morning, Roz.

    Thanks for starting my day with a smile reading about your collection of embroidered table and other linens. Collecting old linen and a few cotton pieces especially those with handmade lace and some very special embroidery and appliqué work has been one of my passions for years. I have used various methods of display over the years for myself and for friends and former parishioners. Actually, I have toyed with the idea of writing a booklet on recycling old table and bath linens, doilies, etc. for modern use. Here are a few of the ways I have displayed them some of which may be useful for others.

    Recently I retrieved about two dozen linen hankies when my mother's house was cleared for sale. I have divided them into 2 sets and combined them with linen hand towels that are embroidered with lace edging. These are in process of becoming pillow shams for my queen size bed. Explaining this without a photo or sketch is difficult but I will try.

    I start with a washed and ironed piece of heavy cotton muslin of a size slightly larger than I want the finished sham to be. I decide how large the flange will be and sometimes the condition of the hand towels determines the size of the flange. I form a frame of the hand towels around the 4 edges folding the rest of the hand towel to the back. I usually fill in the corners with a bit cut from a hand towel or pillowcase or other that is too stained or too far gone to use more than the ornamentation bit. I pin the frame in place and stitch to the muslin using a lengthy straight stitch on my sewing machine. Sew the frame flat through the front towels, muslin base and back towels extending as far as the flange extends. I have 4 or more inches of linen hand towel on the back beyond the flange hanging into the center. At this point, I pin the back towel ends up to the flange so that none of them extend to the center of the base which is where the ornamentation will be attached.

    Next I fold mother's hankies into V shaped pieces of various sizes, some to display the entire edging, some to hide holes in the cloth or edging and some to display embroidery or appliqué work. These V shaped pieces are put together into a circle and 2 "fans" on one sham and 3 "fans" and a square on the other sham. The square is an all over handmade lace hankie. I like asymmetrical work so I did not try for duplication for the 2 shams. I stitch by machine the design of hankies onto the base muslin. The fronts of the shams are complete. Since some of these hankies are mementoes of a special person or place, I have noted this information and dates on the back of the muslin base for future reference and put my name and the date of assembly too.

    Since I want pillow shams that can be put on and taken off quickly as I use them on the pillows upon which I sleep every night, I make what I can "fold over shams. The sham has an open back with a 5 inch strip around the edges. If the hand towels are not long enough to make an even 5 inch strip, then I trim them to the 1 inch beyond the flange stitching and sew a strip of muslin all around. I put elastic on one set and did not like the results however, others might like it. I can easily and quickly pop my pillows into the sham when I pull up the bed in the morning and pop out the pillows when I finally get to bed at night.

    I once made a special heart shaped pillow with the front and back completely covered by hankies folded into V shapes and stitched onto a background as a memory piece from this lady's mother. It was too frilly for my taste but my friend loved it and got lots of oh's and ah's over it. I have also used monogrammed, embroidered or appliquéd napkins to make pillow shams and throw pillow covers. Another special pillow was made like reverse appliqué with trapunto using other napkins to highlight a very special monogrammed napkin once owned by this family's ancestor and used when that ancestor lived in the White House.

    Small pieces are easy to repurpose. The genuine creativity starts with recycling the big pieces like a tablecloth, large dresser or chest scarves, curtains, ball gowns or bed sheets. I hate to cut big items into pieces but sometimes what we have to work with is already in shambles or it has too many claimants so it has to be cut. One of the most beautiful pieces of drawn thread, pointe de aire tablecloths I have ever seen was handed to me to arbitrate its disposal among 3 daughters and 2 daughters-in-law. It had one badly damaged corner and much of the center was badly damaged in a WWII bombing in southern Germany. I measured the useable edging and the useable parts of the center motif and divided by 5 and made pillow shams, one for each.

    One of the best recycling of embroidered bridge tablecloths was to cut each cloth into 4 parts, trim off any parts not wanted and piece the remainder together to form a duvet cover. I have cut the fancy worked edges from old tablecloths and made curtain borders or valance borders from them. One of the best was when we took embroidered blue flowers from several family sources of this young couple and a few bought cloths and stitched them down both sides of ecru linen curtain panels and then on the lower edge of the valances. It was an acceptable use of the embroidered flowers to a husband who likes very avant garde modern furniture. It blends and softens the hard edge look of their bedroom and displays mementoes made by both grandmothers and others.

    These are some of the ideas I have used through the years. I have a reputation of being a practical but creative person so it seems that where ever I have lived, I have had ladies showing up at my door wanting me to help them find a way to keep and use mother or grandmother's old, fancywork linens. We do not live in a world of dresser scarves and tablecloths that have to be ironed so the challenge is to find a way to use the fancywork that meets the time requirements of a modern, working woman.

    Thanks for reading all this. I hope some of it makes sense. I am a visual person so putting something into words that convey the meaning to another is often difficult.

    Thank you for your newsletter and for keeping Nordic Needle a source for so many of us needleworkers.

    Sally Couvillion

PLEASE continue to share your ideas and thoughts on my two interactive topics (e-mail Roz). Thank you so much.

Summertime is grilling time! Here's a great recipe for you to enjoy.

Grilled Marinated Chicken Kabobs

• one-fourth cup low sodium soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• one-half teaspoon hot-pepper sauce
• 1 and one-half pounds skinless chicken breast cut into 1" cubes
• 4 large mushrooms quartered
• red, yellow, and/or green pepper cut into wedges
• sweet onions cut into wedges
• 1 large zucchini cut into 1" slices

In a large bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, hot-pepper sauce and balsamic vinegar. Add the chicken and vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, turning twice during this time.

Spray the grill rack with cooking spray and preheat the grill. Place the chicken and vegetables onto skewers, alternating the selections. Place on grill and cook, turning occasionally until browned and the chicken is done.

I like to use a wire mesh basket to place all the pieces into instead of on skewers. It's quick and easy.

Here are some "REMINDERS" from previous newsletters:

1. We have added SOOOO many NEW items, I can't begin to feature them all. For a peek at more new items, check out this link for the NEWEST items at Nordic Needle.

2. In late July, I will begin working on the September catalog. We mail these catalogs out early September and this year it will be over-flowing more than ever with all the NEWEST items we carry. If you haven't ordered anything in the recent months, your name will probably be moved to the "inactive" list and we will not be sending you the catalog automatically. Don't let that happen! Keep your status current so you will receive the newest catalogs as they are produced. Also, if you have a change of address, please remember to let us know so your catalog follows you wherever you go! Thank you.

3. As you know, we just published the 2009 Award Winning Hardanger Embroidery Contest Book!

Now is a good time to tell all you budding Hardanger designers, it's time to start your design for next years contest! Don't be shy. Over the years, the number of entries has been dwindling and we need more of you to enter the contest! You can download the rules and guidelines here. We hope to receive your entry next year!

Sorry to end on a sad note, but it's time to share something with you on a personal level. Over the years I have shared stories of my favorite cat, Harley and many of you have responded with stories of your own cats. They make wonderful pets and each has their own personality. Well, a month ago my special Harley cat disappeared. I wish I could tell you exactly what happened but I don't know. He was an indoor/outdoor cat, loving his time outside in the summer, sitting in his favorite mouse-catching spots, but always (mostly) coming when I called him to come in. He was like our dogs that way, responding to my call.

Well, Harley didn't come home that night, nor did he show up during the night when I went to check if he was on the patio or in the garage that I left partially open. He didn't show up the next day or the day after and still hasn't to this day. As suddenly as he appeared in our yard several years ago (under an evergreen tree, found by the dogs), he has suddenly left our lives. We suspect someone had dropped him off in the country as an unwanted pet and we were fortunate enough to give him a home. He had kind of a weird personality, I will admit, and some people really didn't trust him as he would occasionally grab them by the pant leg or chase them up the stairs. But, Harley was in love with us and our son, Taylor. He cuddled with us whenever he could; while I stitched he was draped over my arm, and while I was on the computer, he would sit on my lap, draped over my arm making typing a challenge or he would sit right in front of my monitor so I would pay attention to him. He would bury his nose in my neck just to be close as possible to me and purr loudly in satisfaction. At night he would claim his spot on my feet.

Twice I have been at the Animal Pound, but he has not been found and brought in. We live in the country and there is the possibility that he was taken by a predator animal or owl, but we do not know. There is no evidence of that at all. He just disappeared. We've had many pets over the years and it's difficult to lose them, but especially it has been hard to lose Harley. I share this because I know so many of you will understand and have been there yourselves at some time, and so many of you were Harley fans. Thank you for all the notes in the past about your cats and about Harley. He was a one-of-a-kind-pet to me and he is greatly missed. He brought much pleasure to my life these past few years and I am glad we could give him a good home.

All for now. Enjoy your summer but don't forget to stitch! Stitch in your favorite place and make your summer count! Thank you for your time!

www.NordicNeedle.com
1-800-433-4321