INDEPENDENT NEEDLEWORK NEWS

Needle in a Haystack has written an interesting post on their blog titled, “A Day in the Life of a Mail Order.”

I found the information very helpful, especially with regard to what happens when an item a customer wants is not in stock. Although I’m sure other shops follow slightly different procedures, reviewing this post will give you good insight inside the needlework retail business.

Technorati Tags: Needle in a Haystack, mail order, cross stitch, needlepoint

Isn’t this purse one of the most gorgeous things you’ve ever seen? This beautiful encrusted crazy quilt purse was designed and created by Pamela Kellogg. You’ll probably recall that I referred you to her wonderful collection of freebie charts a couple of days ago; as you can see, she is at least as talented a stitcher as she is a cross stitch designer. Her blog regularly has beautiful things I wish I had the talent to make, and keeps giving me the encouragement to continue practicing toward perfection.

Technorati Tags: Pamela Kellogg, Pam Kellogg, Kitty and Me, crazy quilt, encrusted, cross stitch

Did you know The National NeedleArts Association (TNNA) has a summer internship program for junior and senior level college students who have an interest in the needlearts? For reference, TNNA defines needlearts as, “any form of hand technique utilizing a needle and some type of fiber, yarn or thread in an effort to create a final product that may be both functional and attractive. Simply put — Crochet, Needlepoint, Knitting, Embroidery, and Cross-stitch.”

The accrediting university is the University of Akron, from which students completing the internship receive six credits. Interns will begin their summer program with a comprehensive hands-on workshop at the University of Akron; the history and structure of the needlearts industry will be discussed and needlearts techniques will be taught. Students proceed to experience a behind-the-scenes view of the TNNA tradeshow being held in June in Columbus, Ohio. The internship experience is then fulfilled by completing a nine-week session with a host company in the wholesale, retail, designing, manufacturing, or teaching areas of the needlearts industry.

I sure wish there had been such an internship program around when I was in college! However, 2007 will be just the second year of this summer internship program, which is called Pathways into Professional Needlearts (PiPN). For more information, visit the PiPN website.

Applications for this year are due April 2nd, so if you or someone you know might be interested, don’t delay in researching this unique opportunity further.

Technorati Tags: TNNA, PiPN, National NeedleArts Association, Pathways into Professional Needlearts, summer internship, University of Akron, needlearts, needle arts, crochet, needlepoint, knitting, embroidery, cross stitch, crazy quilt

I think that’s the way Dana Scully would have said it if she were a cross stitcher, don’t you? Okay, so I’m a fan of The X-Files, now on with the important stuff:

Although in French, this blog is a great resouce for finding free cross stitch charts. In the left column, you can also click to translate the blog into English or other languages. One of the best things about this freebie resource is that it is regularly updated; I recommend subscribing to this blog using Bloglines or another feed reader so you won’t miss any goodies.

Technorati Tags: freebie, free chart, cross stitch, Dana Scully, X-Files, Bloglines, feed reader

I am so impressed with KarenV’s creative finishing technique for a project she had grown unhappy stitching. She disliked it so much, in fact, that she didn’t even finish stitching the project. Instead, she came up with this novel way to finish the piece so it would look as if it had been designed this way.

I can’t decide which inspires me more — the finishing technique itself, or the fact that KarenV did such an expert job of turning her mistake into a complete success!

Technorati Tags: KarenV, finishing technique, cross stitch, My Favourite Things

Did you know Pamela Kellogg of Kitty and Me Designs has lots of really nice freebie patterns available? She designed these primarily as motifs for crazy quilters, so these freebies are the perfect size for ornaments, cards, scissor fobs, and various small gifts.

To make sure you don’t miss any of these cute freebie patterns, use Bloglines or another feed reader to subscribe to Pamela Kellogg’s blog where she always notifies her readers of the new freebies — and plenty of other good stuff!

Technorati Tags: Pam Kellogg, Pamela Kellogg, Kitty and Me, cross stitch, crazy quilt, freebie, free chart, Bloglines, feed reader, blog

Elegant Stitch is now taking sign-ups for the second session of Brightneedle’s The Lady’s Collection. Don’t wait, because although this is an online class, class space is still limited by the number of kits available!

Elegant Stitch is one of my favorite ways to take needlework classes because everything can be done from the comfort and privacy of your own home. You don’t have to worry about getting vacation time, traveling, paying for hotel and food costs away from home, bad weather, or even being late … The class kit shows up in your mailbox and your lessons are available online, so you dictate when you “go to class.”

Here is a scan of my stitching from the first part of The Lady’s Collection, which I took the first time Elegant Stitch offered it. I have finished all the stitching, but still have to put it together! If you’d like to see more pictures of my stitching, including on this particular project, please visit my personal blog.

Technorati Tags: Brightneedle, Lady’s Collection, Elegant Stitch, cross stitch, online class, Heather Orn

I did hear back from Ulrika Erdes in response to my questions about her public embroidery. I had asked her if she had sought permission to place her artwork, and if she’d experienced any difficulties as a result of being “caught” while in the process of stitching a piece of her public embroidery. Ulrika replied that she’d neither sought permission nor been caught.

Ulrika also shared with me that it’s been on her local television news that she is the artist responsible for the public embroidery, but that she has not experienced any negative outcome. Also, although representatives of the local bus company have stated they are against all forms of damage on buses, those same representatives have also said they do not consider Ulrika’s public embroidery to be the same thing as, and I quote, “ordinary scribble.”

In conclusion, Ulrika says it hasn’t been, ” … all that troublesome to engage in public embroidery, but everyone has to judge for themselves and be prepared to deal with possible consequences.” Personally, I would suggest refraining from performing public embroidery without permission (say that five times fast!) unless perhaps you are in a locale where graffiti is charmingly — and rather fondly — referred to as “ordinary scribble.”

Technorati Tags: Ulrika Erdes, public embroidery, cross stitch

I read an interesting post on Whipup.net about an artist who does, “random acts of ‘public embroidery.’”

The artist, Ulrika Erdes, describes her work as, “cross stitching performed on seats in buses and trains.” Photos from a couple of exhibits of her public embroidery are on her website, so it appears that either permission was obtained to create the embroidery in these public locations, or Sweden is more accepting of an activity which would be called vandalism in the US. Curious, I contacted Ulrika to ask for more information, but I haven’t heard back from her yet (I’ll be sure to let you know when I do).

While I can’t advocate wielding your needle just anywhere, I do encourage everyone to think about different outlets for their creativity. So if Ulrika’s public embroidery has me considering “mending” a few of the feline-created tears in my couch with cross stitches, rather than contemplating who could grant me permission to beautify the chairs at my local library, the point is I’m looking at my world in a slightly different way — and a fresh perspective is always worthwhile.

Technorati Tags: public embroidery, cross stitch, Ulrika Erdes

… it’s Friday, and time to check out Hoffman Distributing’s new releases for this week.

My must-have design this week is Lynne Nicoletti’s Embroidered Fortune Teller:

Technorati Tags: Lynne Nicoletti, Embroidered Fortune Teller, Hoffman Distributing, cross stitch, new releases