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MYSTIC, CT
November 14-15, 2008
Friday - Saturday
Sandie Vanosdall
of The Sweetheart Tree!
 Sandie Vanosdall, founder of The Sweetheart Tree, can trace her love of needlework and designing back to its roots. As a child, her grandmothers planted the seeds for her current career as a designer by introducing her to and teaching her about stitchery, colors, and other aspects of being an artist. "My maternal grandmother taught me the basics of embroidery. She had this wonderful Victorian home, complete with an oversized porch swing where I could sit for hours on summer afternoons and work on stamped tea towels. I remember being very happy and loved in that house," she reminisces. She describes her paternal grandmother, who also had a tremendous influence on her, as "a self-taught artist and a woman before her time." As a young, impressionable girl, Sandie delighted in the time she spent in her grandmother's studio, awed by many colors of paint and all the accoutrements of the trade. "Through her studio window she could also see her tiny fish pond surrounded by bright pink bleeding hearts and other perennials. This is an idea that I sort of adopted from her at our first office where I had a wonderful water garden outside my window where I could escape to feed the fish, watch our resident frog, 'Jeremiah' and enjoy a little of nature's beauty."
Sandie was a young housewife and mother looking for unique ways to personalize and decorate her home. Although she had a degree in Speech and Hearing Therapy and had worked in the field for six years, she decided to be a stay-at-home mom when her son was born. The birth of her daughter took place soon afterward and life became hectic.
"Cross stitch is such a calming hobby. Days seem to race by with lightning speed and countless pressures get piled upon you," Sandie observes. "Cross stitch is something that you can pick up and, almost as soon as you get the needle going, the stress just dissolves."
Sandie took advantage of quiet times when her two youngsters were napping to stitch designs that would enhance her decor. She soon began experimenting and customizing the charts she purchased. Her one-of-a-kind works of needleart attracted the attention of a shopowner where she took them to be framed. "The owners kept asking where these designs had come from. When I explained that I had designed them, they convinced me to sell them through their store. In addition, they introduced me to many influential individuals in our current industry," she explained. "The Sweetheart Tree was the name of my first design and was subsequently chosen as both our company name and our logo."
While it may sound like everything just fell into place, it wasn't that easy. Sandie recalls how she strapped her two children into their car seats, fed them graham crackers to pacify them, and visited needlework shops far and near. This allowed her to get to know shopowners face-to-face and introduce them to her line of designs.
Sandie notes that her designs have changed quite a bit over the years. She shares her observation that the changes that she has experienced over years in her life have certainly had an impact on her work. "I'm not following a trend. I'm just following my heart," she comments. "The progression in my designs reflects what has gone on in my life - the logical progression of a family. My family has always been my number one priority."
She has sketched birth samplers and other nursery pieces, patterns for holidays, family trees, gifts for teachers, and the list continues to grow. "My husband says that we're like the Hallmark store for cross stitchers in that we have a design for almost every occasion-from special occasions like weddings, graduations, and anniversaries to holidays like Christmas, Easter, or Halloween." "My personal favorites are our new "Teenie Kits." There are an ever-growing series of small but elegant designs that are embellished with beautiful Sterling Silver charms or imported crystal embellishments. They have wonderful color pictures on the front covers and they're fun to stitch. They give the stitcher just a bit of challenge, but they don't take forever to complete."
Twenty-two years after the company began Sandie is still full of inspiration and ideas for future cross stitch designs. She currently lives in Paradise Valley, AZ with Dave, her husband of 33 years, and resident office "kitty-critter" K.C. Their two children, who are now married and/or engaged, live nearby.
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