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The Sampler Girl |
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| Designer's Name: Tanya Anderson | |
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Location: Alexandria, VA
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We appreciate you taking the time to participate in our Friday Feature this week Tanya! I know you are a busy lady…would you share what’s been going on in your life recently?
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How did you get your start in cross-stitch from a professional standpoint?
My mother, Lucy Lyons Willis of La Chatelaine Designs, opened a cross stitch shop when I was thirteen in 1983. I worked there on weekends and taught children’s classes in cross stitch. I dabbled in designing and sold a few charts in the shop which were well received so I continued when schoolwork allowed. Those were the days when you charted by hand so it took longer for me to get designs on paper. I traveled with Mom to tradeshows which was rewarding (and so much fun!!!) to learn the ins and outs of the industry. She had started designing as well so helping her set up booths and dealing with shopkeepers was another avenue of the business that I was fortunate to be a part. I began designing off and on in the early 90s but with college and work, it wasn’t the prime focus. I started JOURNEY’S END and sold designs here and there which became more appealing to me. When my son, Ben, was born in 1999, designing was an additional income as I had left an Editor’s position and decided to stay at home fulltime. In March 2001 I established a website showcasing my designs that immediately drew visitors from around the globe. A few years back, I changed the company’s name to THE SAMPLER GIRL as I wanted a fresh start and new focus for my designing which sampler making had become for me.
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Would you tell us a little about your family? My husband, Marty, and I have been married for 11 ½ years. He hails from Massachusetts so has taught me a thing or two about his northern homeland, as I jest with him. I’m a Virginia girl at heart. We have two sons, Ben (8) and Zack (8 ½ months) who make my heart dance every minute of the day. I love being their Mama and am grateful to God for the many blessings in my life. I’m lucky to have my parents, brother and grandmother local; family is held near and dear to me. We have a 12 year old Maine Coon, Miss Madeline.
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New From Sampler Girl, The... Mrs. Darcy Of Derbyshire Continuing the popular Jane Austen Collection, Tanya is preparing for the release of "Mrs Darcy Of Derbyshire". This new design is stitched on 28 ct Country French Old Lace Linen and measures 5 1/2" x 10 1/2". Suggested retail price is $14.00 and we expect it in stock the first week of November. |
How would you describe your designs to someone who isn’t familiar with The Sampler Girl? THE SAMPLER GIRL is an abundant variety of designs that bring the past alive through word and motif. I love looking at old samplers and bringing a touch of what I see and like to my own style. History graces my designs whether it be from a famous woman such as Eliza Lucas Pinckey from SC whose legacy in indigo dyeing continues to teach or be from a First Lady like Mary Lincoln whose life echoed in sampler displays the fragility of life and beauty of it just the same. My FIRST LADY SAMPLER SERIES continues to teach stitchers about our nation’s first ladies and their historical lives. My JANE AUSTEN COLLECTION embraces literature and one of the best, in my opinion, writers ever, Jane Austen. The designs I have around her embody her novels and display their romantic song on fabric.
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Your website seems to be very active and updated frequently. How important is your site to your business and in getting new design info out to your fans? When I was an Editor I loved desktop publishing and I really never tire of it still. I tinker with my website often as I find an out-of-date website boring and one not to visit that often SO I like to have a current website for visitors. To me it’s just as if someone came to visit you at home and you had the same arrangement in the foyer day in and day out – spruce it up a bit and make people stop by more! Getting new designs out and ready for stitchers is very important to me. I always say I wish there were more hours in the day for everything I want to do. I have ideas for designs brimming around my head all the time. Designs have come to me at traffic lights, in the kiss & ride lane at school and one design, THE BEGGAR’S PURSE SAMPLER, came to me in a dream – literally, all of it. Good thing I kept paper by the nightstand! I created a Blog this year called AT THE HONEYSUCKLE TREE which I update regularly. I run a Yahoo! Stitching group online which affords me more wonderful stitching friendships around the world.
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Your “Literary Littles” series and “Jane Austen Collection” seem to reflect on your love for literature. What are a few of your favorite novels, old or new? My grandfather collected books for many decades and instilled in me the love of reading and appreciating books. He passed away three months before Ben was born and I wish all the wishes in the world he were here to see my boys and invite them to see a book he found like he would me as a child. Oh how their eyes would open wide at his reading from a book. So you can see why I love to read! Jane Austen remains me favorite ‘old’ writer as her novels (wish there were more of them!) are timeless, funny and ones to read and read again. The movies that have been made based on her stories are great to stitch by and you can catch me stitching late into the night watching them. LITERARY LITTLES and THE JANE AUSTEN COLLECTION are graced by such literature and tempt the stitching bookworm. As for current authors, Jodi Picoult, Maeve Binchey, Anita Shreve and Sandra Dallas come to mind. FORTUNE’S ROCKS by Shreve is one of my cherished reads that I recommend a lot to those in a reading slump.
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Virginia is a great location for cross-stitchers…what are some of the things you love about living there (needlework related or not)? Mount Vernon Estate, home to our First President, is 10 minutes from me and we hold annual passes. I took Ben there as a toddler; he enjoyed running through the gardens and laughing at the pig sounds. It’s a peaceful place to step back in time to a gentler, slower pace. I love it there. Zack has already been several times and I know will delight in it for many years to come. Alexandria came to be in 1749 as a seaport town; the Potomac River ebbs by us and it’s comforting to be so near water as it calms the soul. I was born here so am partial to this area.
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Outside of needlework, what do you do for fun and leisure? I love to cook and watch cooking shows. I am convinced you can gain weight by watching the Food Network but it’s the best viewing on TV these days. Life can get stressful and lately playing the piano has been good therapy when my needle isn’t threaded. I long for weekends when family time is abundant.
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Would you mind sharing a favorite recipe as we close this week’s questionnaire? This is my great-grandmother’s recipe; she’d double the batch and would have them ready for me when we’d visit her in North Carolina when I was growing up. I’ve made them countless times and while they are beyond yummy, she made them the best. Enjoy! MAMA’S BANANA MUFFINS ½ cup butter 1 egg 1 cup mashed bananas, the riper the better! 1 teaspoon baking soda IN 2 teaspoons COLD water 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 cup sugar 1 ½ cup flour Cream butter and sugar. Beat egg and add, then add baking soda + water, flour, flavoring and bananas which have been mashed fine. Pour batter 3/4 full into lined muffin tins. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
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