I just listed a bunch of new charts on my Etsy site. www.kathybarrick.etsy.com.

Have a good one!

I have some news to share with you. After much soul searching, I've decided to close the doors of Carriage House Samplings. My heart is no longer in my sampler business and rather than continue and produce designs which are not my best work, I've decided I'd rather end my business all together.

This isn't a decision I've made lightly. I've reached a place in my life where I'm ready to make a change and to pursue other interests. I may return to designing one day, I truly don't know. I don't plan to close any doors permanently. I've made so very many friends in my 12 years of designing. There are many, many stitchers, shopowners, distributors and fellow designers I will miss dearly. I hope to stay in touch with as many of you as possible.

I do have a plan! I will continue to sell to shops and my distributors until July 1, 2010. After that, I will list any and all charts I still have available on my Etsy Site and sell there until December 31, 2010. My charts will no longer be available beginning January 1, 2011.

For your 12 years of support and friendship I am very, very grateful.

Every stitcher needs to see a new stitching website! My friends Carmen Sutton and Jean Hohulin have started a new website full of wonderful stitching goodies! Go here: http://cardanenterprises.com/. You'll love it!!

You'll find this:


And this:


And more and more and more! These are two very talented women who have decided to share their talents with all of us! Carmen has done finishing work for me for years. And Jean has stitched and stitched and stitched for me. I can attest that you will LOVE their work! An added bonus is that they are two of the most wonderful women you'll ever have the pleasure of knowing.

So, go! Now!! http://cardanenterprises.com/

P.S. Imagine my surprise when I also found this: http://cardanantiquesneedlework.blogspot.com/

This is a necklace I made for Liz for Christmas. We were both so excited about our trip to Paris and the fleur de lis in this piece are oh so Parisian!

I picked up these sweet flowers for Liz for her birthday on Saturday. They are from a little open air market we stumbled upon on an outing.


Our last evening in Paris. These have been the quickest 12 days ever. It's hard to believe it's over. Liz and I enjoyed a last dinner at our favorite cafe, saw the Eiffel sparkle one last time and are packed and ready for our flight out tomorrow.

What a wonderful trip this has been. Spending time in this magical city with my magical daughter was a dream come true for me. Friends have told me this would be a life-changing experience and I believe it's true. I so hope to come back.

I'm excited to get home, I must admit. I miss Art. I miss my Rosie and my Bella Bean. I need to see my Mom and be sure she is ok. I'm anxious to see Anne and to make some jewelry. Being away, as exciting as it is, does make one appreciate home.

Another fabulous day in Paris!! We started out at the Musee de l'Orangerie where we got to see Monet's Water Lillies. It was incredible!! It filled an entire round room. It was truly breathtaking.

Next, we walked through some open air markets until we reached the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees. The Arc was awesome! We didn't go up to the top, as I'm afraid our legs have had a bit too many work outs this week. Champs-Elysees was busy, congested and very NYC-like...expensive department stores, shoulder-to-shoulder people, and oh my, the traffic!

Tomorrow we're off to the Vanves flea markets. I'm looking forward to finding more treasures for my jewelry.

More tomorrow!

I realize it's 3:45 on the East Coast and 12:45 on the West Coast, but here in Paris, it's 8:45 and nearing the end of another fabulous day. I can't tell you how much I don't want this trip to end. It's going much too quickly! We're so busy each day, the time just flies by.

Wednesday we spent the day at Versailles. Marie Antoinette didn't lack for much! Her palace is spectacular, opulent, gorgeous, huge, decadent and majestic. It literally took all day to see it all, the gardens, Trianon, and Petite Trianon (Marie's little retreat not far from the palace).

(My photos are in the opposite order of my text, I realize. Sorry about that! And, I had to add some photos of Liz, just cause she's looking like she's having so much fun!)

Today we went to the Louvre. It was INCREDIBLE. We spent most of the time with the Italian Renaissance paintings, including the Mona Lisa. As you can see in the photo, we didn't get too close to that one. I truly LOVED the Louvre. It was so inspiring. I took so many photos to take home and study.

Tomorrow is up in the air for us. We don't have a particular destination in mind, but will definitely spend the day in the City. We've got the Metro system down and the RER train system as well. We have our favorite cafes, crepe stands for the occasional indulgence, route to the Eiffel Tower, etc. Saturday and Sunday will be spent at the flea markets, then it's home for us on Monday, unless of course British Airways can't find us a flight home. That will be such a shame...haha. Whenever we leave, I will so miss Paris.

More later!

It's midnight here in Paris. Liz and I had another wonderful day. I am exhausted once again, but I'm a happy, exhausted girl! We found out yesterday that our flight home has been canceled due to the British Airways strike. We're trying to find another flight home, but each one we find is around $2,000 a ticket. So, we're thinking of taking the chunnel from Paris to London and trying to get home that way, but that doesn't seem to be helping. We're hoping Expedia can work something out for us. We'll get home eventually, I'm sure. And if you want to get stuck in a city far from home, Paris is a great place to choose! I'll keep you posted.

So, today we started at Notre Dame. It's a gorgeous, 700-year old cathedral. We got to see the inside and out, though we didn't climb the over-400 stairs to the top. Go figure!

From Notre Dame, we walked to the Conciergerie, a prison built in the 1780's. The room shown in the photo above is where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before she was taken to the guillotine.

From the Conciergerie, we walked to the underground catacombs of Paris. This was eerie, fascinating, creepy, scary, and grotesque. In 1786, the citizens of Paris decided to relieve congestion and improve sanitary conditions by emptying the city cemeteries into an official ossuary. The used an underground limestone quarry and stackeentd bones five feet high and 80-feet deep. There is a sign posted before the stacked bones begin which reads: Halt: This is the empire of the dead" in French. The tunnel we walked through is over a mile long and is 60 feet underground. I'm glad I saw it, but hope to never return.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying some "open air markets" in Paris where flower shops, bakeries, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. are lined on cobblestone streets closed off from traffic.

Tomorrow, we're off to Versailles to visit Marie Antoinette. Or at least her former home.

Wishing you all a wonderful evening!

Today, Liz and I went up the lift in the Eiffel Tower. First we had to wait in line for three hours. That part was NOT fun, but finally making it up there made it all worthwhile. I chickened out going to the very top. We made it to the second floor, which is actually about half way up the tower and that was enough for me. The views were amazing. The three photos above were taken from the second floor. After an hour or so up there, we decided to take the stairs down. WOW! It took about 45 minutes and my legs were literally shaking by the time we reach ground! Just from going DOWN!!

We had planned to go to Versailles tomorrow to see Marie Antoinette's Palace, but with a little research we learned Tuesdays are the busiest days there. So, we'll go to Versailles on Wednesday and tomorrow we'll go to Notre Dame instead. I'm really looking forward to seeing both places, so I'm fine with the schedule change! It's a little harder for Liz....she's a little less flexible than I.

More soon!

What a fun weekend we've had here in Paris! Saturday morning we got up early and headed to the Vanves Flea Market. It was incredible! I found tons of cool stuff for my jewelry. Liz found gorgeous old post cards, antique photos, and a huge stack of hand-written deeds, marriage licenses, etc. dated back to 1824.

Saturday night we walked to the Eiffel Tower, then took a river boat tour of the River Seine. It was beautiful! We were able to see the river view of Notre Dame, The Louvre, Orsay Museum, Hotel Deville which is City Hall. The oldest bridge we went under is 400 years old! Just awesome!!

Today we headed to the Puces St. Ouen, which is another flea market in Paris. It was CRAZY!! By 10:00 am it was packed, and "festering with Frenchmen hawking their wares." (That's a direct quote from Liz!) The best booth we found was a lady who had shelf after shelf filled with bins of old beads, vintage trim, buttons, tassels and feathers. It was a dream come true for both Liz and me. What fun!!

After the flea market, we went to Sacre-Cour which is a beautiful, old church built high, high on a hill. It took 44 years to finish and was completed in 1919. The inside was gorgeous. The views from the walls surround it were spectacular. We climed up 260 feet. The original windows in the church were broken by the concussion of WWII bombs. The current windows were added in 1945.

Tomorrow we're headed to the top of the Eiffel Tower!!! We'll be up in the air 1,000 feet!!!! I'll hold on tightly!

More soon.

P.S. Coming soon: Guest Blogger Liz!

I'm here!! Paris is amazing! It's absolutely magical and beautiful and I love this city! After 13 hours of flying, Liz and I arrived this afternoon. After a much-needed nap, we spent the evening walking around. Our hotel is a five-minute walk from the Eiffel Tower. Oh, how I love the Eiffel Tower!

More tomorrow!

More jewelry!

Not really a FINAL post, but the last time I post before my big trip! I leave Thursday for Paris and am so excited, I can hardly stand myself!! I'm trying to get everything done today - all orders shipped, laundry done, suitcase packed, hair cut, grocery shop, tax stuff mailed to the accountant, etc. My Mom is in the hospital and I plan to spend tomorrow with her. Thank goodness I have five brothers and sisters to be there for her while I'm in Paris. Hopefully, by the time I get home on the 22nd, she'll be home and well.

I haven't any photos to post for you today except jewelry photos. I know they're not your favorites, but it's truly all I have!

I'll be posting while I'm in Europe! My purse will be loaded down with my laptop and my digital cameras, so you can expect to hear from me while I'm gone.

It seems blogger doesn't want to upload photos. I'll be back in a few to try adding them again. Have a good one!