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Rosewood Manor Designs |
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| Designer's Name: Karen Kluba | |
| Location: Carmel, IN | |
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Could you share with us how you were first introduced to counted cross-stitch?
I grew up in farming community and joined the 4-H Club at an early age, so I was always around creative people. At some point I began to work out my own designs and then stitch them. After I got married, we moved to St. Louis, MO. I began working part-time with Better Homes & Gardens. At that time, they had a party plan. I would go into peoples homes and teach needlework and crafts for the evening, of course, hoping for sales! I learn counted cross stitch then, fell in love with it and the rest is history!
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I understand you once lived in England and Ireland. What sort of influence did living there have on your design creations?
I think that my living in Ireland for two years and England for two years has definitely influenced my designs in several ways from the colors of floss I use to the wording and designing of my piece. The beauty of the Irish countryside is inspiring to any creative person! The amazing way the sun and clouds play on the landscape is mesmerizing. The Irish people make you feel at home every place you visit. The Irish sayings and blessings where an influence to some of my samplers; I also learned to love Irish music while living in Ireland. I have several Irish CD's which I play when I want to be creative. While living in Ireland and England, I was designing sweatshirt fronts for a company in St. Louis, MO, but my big confidence builder, as far as feeling like I could maybe make a career by designing cross stitch, came when I entered a DMC sponsored counted cross stitch contest. The design was to be a sampler about the four countries of the United Kingdom-Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Although, I did not win the contest, partly due to not representing some of their historic symbols correctly, they encouraged me to keep designing. "The Great British Sampler" is the design that came out of that contest-reworked to be more politically correct! When we moved to England, we lived about 30 minutes by train outside of London. I took frequent trips into the Art Museums for tours and lectures. I was influenced by the textiles not only in paintings but in the textile sections of the museums. The V&A is probably my favorite place to view samplers and textiles. There seems to be certain elegance to English needlework that I find pleasing to my eye. Our daughter lives in London, so when we go over for visits, we also try to get to a museum or two while there.
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Looking over your design selection in our Online Reference Catalogue, you have some very intricate and beautiful samplers. Which one(s) of your designs do you feel the most proud of creating? Although I enjoy designing all of my 70 published pieces; some of my designs I just felt compelled to design and stitch! I always say they "possessed me". There are four I feel the most proud of creating, they are: THE AMERICAN FLAG QUILT SAMPLER, AS YE SOW, AND A FOREST GREW and INSPIRATION. I will be publishing others soon that I could easily add to this list!
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New From Rosewood Manor Designs... Inspiration This new elaborate design from Rosewood Manor will take your breath away! Based on a quilt photo circa 1800, "Inspiration" boasts a stitch count of 230 x 290. The booklet is 30 pages and includes "Basket Of Flowers Sampler" in the back. Suggested retail price is $22.00. |
Which of your designs might you recommend to a newcomer to counted cross-stitch? I usually recommend that when you first start out cross stitching, work on a smaller piece, which I do not have too many of, but of the designs I have to offer I think HAPPINESS IS would be a good one. Then, if you would like to advance a bit any of the WATERCOLOR BUTTERFLY series would be great!
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Do you exhibit at any needleart trade shows? I didn't start out exhibiting in trade shows simply because I couldn't afford it. However, a few years ago I decided to try a booth at TNNA in Columbus. I discovered that I love meeting the shop owners, so much that this year's TNNA Show will be my third time exhibiting. I have not exhibited in Nashville maybe due to lack of time, I just can't seem to get organized after the holidays! I love the TNNA Show because I get to see what is happening in other needlework areas such as needlepoint, knitting and crochet.
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You have a "how to stitch" link on your website that instructs users on the basics of cross-stitch. Do you feel the industry (shops, designers, distributors, organizations, etc) is placing a strong enough emphasis on teaching and bringing in new stitchers? No, I do not. I'm amazed at the number of e-mails I receive each week asking me fairly basic questions, such as; "How do I figure the size of fabric I need to stitch this piece?" or "How do I stitch on linen?". Some only want to stitch using whole stitches. I feel that they have not been taught how to use half stitches, backstitching and maybe a few other easy stitches to finish their piece of needlework and be more creative. I try to answer their questions by referring them to their local shop, if they live near one, and then, of course, to my "How to Stitch" page on my website. I know it is sometimes hard in this rushed world for stitchers to attend shops classes or stitching retreats, but I feel that shops should have a demo board of some kind to easily show their customers who need extra help with these techniques. Maybe even "mini classes & relaxation" where the customer learns one technique or stitch and then spends the rest of the time just stitching a project of their choice. Summer classes for children would also be great! We need to start them young!
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Would you share a little about your family? My husband and I will celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary this October. He has been very supportive with my choice to start Rosewood Manor, I couldn't have done it without him. We have two daughters. Rachel is an Art Director for Getty Images and lives in London. She has been married for 5 years to a wonderful young man from the UK. Our other daughter, Corri is an architect and works for Albertsson Hansen Architecture, Ltd. She lives in Minneapolis, MN and is getting married this May 3rd to a wonderful young man! We are excited, enjoying helping to plan her wedding!
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What's your favorite local restaurant and what sort of food do they serve? We love Mexican food and just about any place that serves it is our favorite! I do have a favorite lunch place called "Paradise Café & Bakery" which is in Clay Terrace shopping area near where I live in Carmel, IN. They have wonderful salads, but I don't go there to be healthy. I go there because with each order of a salad or sandwich you receive a FREE fresh baked chocolate chip cookie!
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Do you enjoy any hobbies besides needleart? I also love quilting. I have designed three quilt patterns which I sell, but I haven't found the time to create any others as yet. I do make quilts as wedding gifts, baby shower gifts, tablerunners for myself or as gifts and wall hangings. I have a huge stash of fabric which of course I tell my husband that I have plans for-someday! I do find it inspiring just having all that beautiful fabric in my studio area. I also love photography. Now that digital photography has made it easy to take loads of photos and keep the best, I'm having a great time taking photos just about everywhere!
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If you were given an all expense paid trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go? That's easy-Australia! It has been a dream for a long while for my husband and I to take a trip to Australia. We've had the opportunity to travel and live outside of the good ole USA because of his consulting job. We've just never visited Australia-yet! We do hope to go around our 40th wedding anniversary.
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Would you mind sharing a favorite recipe? I belong to a chat group/needlework group called "Hoosier Stitchers", who have a meeting each month at someone's house to stitch, eat yummy food and talk for the day. Although I have not gotten to attend as many of the get-togethers as I would like, they did come to my home last November. I served this hearty soup and everyone asked for the recipe.
ITALIAN VEGETABLE SOUP - Karen Kluba
1 lb. Minced Beef Sprinkle Parmesan Cheese on top as you serve. Serve with garlic bread. (If you like thinner soup, add more water). Makes 12 servings! *I like to use the five cheese tortellini, but mushroom or meat stuffed ones work too. I usually make a double batch-like I say it's wonderful left over!
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