CECricket & Company
The
Cross-Eyed Cricket, Inc. is the stepchild of two couples and their respective
families: Vicki and Robert Hastings & Nickie and Jimmy Odom. The infant
Cricket was actually a needlepoint/cross stitch shop located in a picturesque
Swiss dairy barn called the Barn at Lucerne. "The Barn" still
exists, but the shop was closed shortly after the launch of the publishing
company in 1983. The Cricket has always hailed from Chesterfield, Missouri
(west of St. Louis) and both families have been near neighbors for twenty-four
years.
The
Cricket has two dear friends who have added creativity, enthusiasm and
inspiration to the "Collection" over the years. Karen Hyslop
was a driving force during the Cricket Collection's beginnings. In 1983,
she was a recent college graduate and new bride alight with ideas and
determination. Her three daughters (one or all can be seen on several
early covers) came into the world as Cricket family. Now, all but the
youngest is in college and Karen has moved on to new creative endeavors.
Diane Oldfather has created several Cricket titles. Diane lives in Lincoln,
Nebraska where, for many years, she owned Heart's Content. Diane is a
beautifully literate and crisply witted lady who is a delightful company
friend and contributor.
Last
fall, after more than 22 years of partnership. Nickie and Jimmy Odom retired.
For all that time, they were the reason that all aspects of the business
of design ran smoothly. Their humor and fun-loving made them a perennial
hit with shop-owners and customers alike. They have three children and
eight grandchildren. We all know that no business can compete for the
attentions of grandparents. They retired to indulge in their first "loves"
and are greatly missed.
Now,
there are two Crickets, my husband Bob and myself. We have three children;
all grown, of course. Our son, Scott, works in finance. Our daughter,
Kelly, is a marine biologist living, working and loving Alaska. Our youngest
daughter, Heather, is, well, still deciding. Longtime Cricket stitchers
have seen her grow up on our covers and she is becoming ever more involved
in the company's future.
It
has been a privilege to share my design efforts with so many hands. You
who express your creative heart with needle and fiber are the reason for
my many years of design. I know so few of you and yet we are linked by
a "common thread"; the delight and fulfillment that is gleaned
from color, texture, pattern, and the flow of history and common experience
that weaves it all together.
Vicki Hastings
A Quote from a Friend...
"And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow.
Dropping from the veils of morning to where the cricket sings..."
WB Yeats...Thank You, Diane.