INDEPENDENT NEEDLEWORK NEWS

These scissors, made by Olfa, are recommended by Judy Odell of Just A Thought herself. She discovered them one day and shared with her EZBoard readers that she had started regularly using them in her finishing business because they made her work so much easier. If I remember correctly, as unfortunately I am unable to find the post where she discussed them, the wording she used to describe them was something along the lines of being able to use them to go back and forth between cutting mat board and fabric “like butter.”

Or, now that I think about it, especially since it was during this time that I actually ordered my own pair, it is also possible that where I recall Judy mentioning these fantastic scissors was in the now discontinued (because the class is completed) YahooGroup during the very first online class for My Treasures Workstation, which I thoroughly enjoyed taking (and I finished during the class, too, which is much easier than you’d think with Judy’s wonderful finishing instructions — and is also highly recommended because she gives everyone who finishes during the class a special prize very much worth trying very hard to complete that final finishing deadline).

This is the shop I ordered my pair from, and I was very happy with their service; however, I am located in the same state as this shop, so I would expect shipping to be very fast if the United States Postal Service is doing its job properly.

I got the 5″ pair about a year ago and have used them frequently for any number of cutting jobs. They seem as sharp today as they were the day they arrived on my doorstep and are certainly one of the best purchases I’ve made, especially since I started trying to finish my own needlework. Cutting mat board is far from the easiest thing in the world, but with these scissors, you’ll almost forget you ever knew that.

By the way, Judy has moved her bulletin board to a new location, since EZBoard announced some time ago they would close (to be replaced by Yuku).

[tags] Judy Odell, Just a Thought, Olfa, scissors, EZBoard, Yuku, needlework, finishing, My Treasures Workstation [tags]

Stitcher Wendy Jo Brees was selling off some of her stash at incredible prices to help finance her trip to Celebration of Needlework in Louisville, Kentucky, and I offered to help her out by advertising her sale here since many of the designers whose patterns she was selling are quite popular, her prices were really exceptional, and it was one way I could help support Celebration of Needlework in its midwest location even though I will tentatively only be able to drive down there myself for some shopping.

Quite a few of the designs being sold by Wendy were charts from kits, so this was your chance to pick those charts up for a significantly lower price than the kit, allowing you to kit the design up yourself using the fabric and fibers you most prefer. Also included in the sale were a handful of full kits as well as a good selection of charts from popular designers.

I have bought from Wendy myself, so I can personally attest to her honesty and the quality of her items for sale. All her stash comes straight to you from a smoke-free, pet-free home.

If you purchased any of the items on Wendy’s list for sale, thank you so much for your help financing her trip to Celebration of Needlework, and enjoy your new stash!

Technorati Tags:  cross stitch, needlework

There isn’t much I’ll recommend going to a Walmart for, because I firmly believe Walmart is one of the great evils of the USA, but this is one of those rare occasions … though I do suggest calling ahead first to see if it’s even worth your while, or the gasoline the trip will take.

Apparently most Walmart stores in the US are dropping their entire line of DMC floss if they are located anywhere near another large craft store (such as AC Moore, Ben Franklin, Hobby Lobby, or Michaels), and so they are selling out of their current stock at just $.10 a skein — that’s a pretty good deal these days, even if you live near an AC Moore who still has 20 skeins for $1 sales fairly regularly.

Some customers are being told this is in fact not a sale in preparation for discontinuing DMC floss, but that $.10 is actually Walmart’s new regular price on DMC floss and that Walmart intends to continue carrying this item. I suppose the truth remains to be seen, and in any case, the story is still news.

If Walmart does actually intend to continue carrying DMC floss at the price of $.10 per skein, then it is certainly a plan to drive those above-mentioned craft stores we all know and love, if not out of business, then to at least drop their entire lines of DMC floss … At which point, Walmart will have us all over a barrel, will follow its usual course as does any monopoly, and will be able to raise the price on floss to the same ridiculous amounts our European sisters pay for it. So … if this floss sale lasts more than a very short time with stock being replenished, I would then caution you very strongly once again to buy from Walmart only at your own risk.

Regardless, the news has been in circulation for at least 24 hours already (sorry — I’m behind!), so call ahead to make sure your local Walmart(s) still have any DMC floss left and are actually selling it off at the $.10 per skein price — if they even stocked it to begin with, as many never did.

Technorati Tags: DMC floss, Walmart

Pamela Kellogg of Kitty & Me Designs, whom my sources tell me is interested in getting out of the cross stitch industry to focus more on other aspects of the needlearts she is enjoying and doing more of these days, such as her gorgeous crazy quilting, is VERY BRIEFLY making what is left of her current cross stitch design line, along with some of her discontinued cross stitch designs, available through her Etsy shop.

For those who’ve been hoping to get their hands on her out of print patterns, be sure to take a look at her Etsy shop now to see if any of the patterns you are looking for are available. Now is definitely your chance to pick up previously and soon-to-be-again out of print Paradise of the Tiger if that is one of the designs you’ve been looking for, but hurry, as Pamela has said it will only be up for a very short period of time, i.e., until she becomes “… tired of looking at it.”

Other patterns available in Pamela’s Etsy shop which will soon disappear forever include Blackwork Fruit, Smokey Joe, Aria for Christmas, Garden Jewels, Victoria, Summers End, Winter Landscape, Autumn Landscape, Summer Landscape, Spring Landscape, In Everything Give Thanks, Whatsoever Things Are Lovely, and To Everything There Is A Season.

Again, virtually all cross stitch designs on Pamela’s website for sale or otherwise (freebies, that is — so if you love her Millennium Cats freebie patterns, NOW IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GET THEM … PROBABLY FOREVER!) or on Pamela’s Etsy site will be disappearing very shortly … So if you want them, do not delay any further in getting them!

Technorati Tags: Pamela Kellogg, Pam Kellogg, Kitty & Me, Paradise of the Tiger, cross stitch, Millennium Cats, Blackwork Fruit, Smokey Joe, Aria for Christmas, Garden Jewels, Victoria, Summers End, Winter Landscape, Autumn Landscape, Summer Landscape, Spring Landscape, In Everything Give Thanks, Whatsoever Things Are Lovely, To Everything There Is A Season

Well, I certainly am … I even want an owl named Hedwig, although I’m certain my cats would disapprove. But there’s a solution to that problem — needlework always offers a solution to problems like that!

This one comes to us from Meg Thompson Shinall, the daughter of Ginnie and Ken Thompson — who-who together brought to America so many of the counted thread techniques we have grown to love today. Meg also continues to stitch all of her models with the popular though — in my opinion — not nearly often enough used, Ginnie Thompson Flower Thread.

Now, with Meg’s latest design, you, too, can have your very own Hedwig. Maybe that isn’t what Meg intended for you to call this darling owl, because she named it the Life’s a Hoot Owl Case; however, somehow I have a feeling she won’t mind too much that I’ll be calling mine Hedwig, for who-whom I can hardly wait to arrive on my doorstep!

If looking at the front of this darling kit doesn’t convince you, then just take a quick peek at the darling little baby owls on Flower Thread’s homepage!

Your $30 kit includes the Putford scissors and may be stitched in just one weekend. Kits are limited, so please make your orders soon — and then please allow six weeks for your kit to be specially put together just for you!

Before you hit your final order button, though, be sure to take a look around the rest of the Flower Thread Stash Enhancement Experience area … Who-who knows what else might have to go into your cart, too?

Technorati Tags: Meg Thompson Shinall, Meg Shinall, Flower Thread, Putford scissors, cross stitch, Harry Potter, Hedwig, owl, Life’s a Hoot, needlework

I have some news for you today that I am so excited about myself I am practically jumping up and down. Actually, I was jumping up and down two minutes ago and letting out big, “Woohoo!” noises, but it was scaring my cats and making it awfully hard to type.

Creative Poppy is now live! I have been touting Helga Mandl’s designs for quite some time now, but it has been somewhat difficult for US fans to get their hands on her designs because she lives in Croatia where PayPal is not accepting payments … Well, we have been rescued by Creative Poppy, who is located in France and taking payments directly by PayPal!

In the About Us section of Creative Poppy, the founder, speaking on behalf not just of herself but also of all the designers whose designs are hosted on Creative Poppy, writes:

We launched Creative Poppy because we realized there was a lot of amazing design talent in cross stitch and needlework yet sadly stitchers had very little access to these patterns. Why? Because there are only so many patterns that make it to a store. Because you can fit only so many designs into a magazine. Because beautiful needlework books get limited distribution. Wouldn’t it be nice for stitchers shopping for patterns to get to see all the patterns that are out there and discover all this fresh designer talent?

Yes! Yes! Yes! This is EXACTLY the kind of shop we need, and EXACTLY the kind of shop the Internet so easily provides for … It’s about time someone took good advantage of the technology we have available to try out something new in the needlework industry. I predict this will definitely NOT be the last shop of its kind, even though I know many brick and mortar shops will not like it at first.

Well, I have a few things to say to the brick and mortar shops about this, but this post is about Creative Poppy, so for now, I’ll just say that it’s a different world than the world you (thought you) started business in, and if you want to survive, you’re going to have to grow with the changes because the customers are NOT going to wait for YOU. We’ll be glad to help you, though, if you’re willing to listen to our input.

Creative Poppy is offering us access to so many designers who, before now, were either practically unheard of or whose patterns were extremely hard to find including Agnès Delage-Calvet , Annick Abrial, Barbara Ana Designs, Bernadette Baldelli, Boule de Neige, Brodi Broda, Chouett’alors, Corinne Lacroix, Couleur d’étoile, Dessins DHC, Féeféedille, Helga Mandl, Il était une fois…demain, l’Atelier des Songes, Laurence Wichegrod, Lili Points, Lili Soleil, Marie-Anne Réthoret-Mélin, Marie-Noëlle Bayard, Monique Bonnin, Nimüe, Orbis Pictura, Perrette Samouiloff, and Tom et Lily.

If somehow among all those new and enchanting designers you don’t find something appealing to you it turns out you actually have every pattern you want by these designers, you can make a pattern request by email for a chance to win a free pattern.

Make sure you check the homepage, too, as there is an introductory offer for all first-time orders of $4 off (minimum order of $6.90). That means you can try one pattern out from Creative Poppy for as little as $2.90! When was the last time you paid that for a brand new pattern which had not been discontinued? It’s a great deal, so give it a try!

All patterns from Creative Poppy are downloadable patterns, meaning instant gratification for you, the stitcher, and the possibility of getting started stitching your new chart(s) right away. Additionally, there are NO SHIPPING CHARGES.

However, as with almost every downloadable chart I have ever come across, the copyright restrictions as designated by the chart creators state that you may NOT sell or give away the chart in any form (printed or electronic) to anyone else. To obtain that privilege with your chart purchase, you pretty much have to buy a physical chart in person or have it shipped to you from a needlework store; the copyright regulations for electronic charts are handled differently, and stitchers need to recognize and respect this.

Creative Poppy allows you to shop using the currency you are most comfortable using and most familiar with, whether that is the US dollar, the Euro, or the UK pound. VAT is added to those individuals whose addresses are in the European union because, as these products are downloadable files, they are considered software.

After you check it out and make your first purchases, come back here and let me know what you added to your stash!

Technorati Tags: Creative Poppy, copyright, Agnès Delage-Calvet , Annick Abrial, Barbara Ana Designs, Bernadette Baldelli, Boule de Neige, Brodi Broda, Chouett’alors, Corinne Lacroix, Couleur d’étoile, Dessins DHC, Féeféedille, Helga Mandl, Il était une fois…demain, l’Atelier des Songes, Laurence Wichegrod, Lili Points, Lili Soleil, Marie-Anne Réthoret-Mélin, Marie-Noëlle Bayard, Monique Bonnin, Nimüe, Orbis Pictura, Perrette Samouiloff, Tom et Lily

I received a question from a reader (who prefers to remain anonymous, but thank you all the same for giving me the opportunity to weigh in on this very important NEWS ISSUE within the needlework community) late yesterday asking me to confirm or deny a rumor going around that popular thread company (certainly one of MY personal favorites!) Needle Necessities either has gone or is going out of business.

This rumor is COMPLETELY FALSE.

I spoke directly with Debbie BuSteed, Needle Necessities’ front Office Manager, on the telephone just minutes ago using the main Needle Necessities number posted on their website (714-892-9211). Debbie was very forthcoming and confirmed that while she has heard the rumor and received numerous calls about its veracity, it is NOT TRUE. If ANYONE would know whether or not this rumor were true, it would be Debbie.

Perhaps partly fueling the FALSE rumor is the fact that a few Needle Necessities’ employees have chosen to leave the company for personal reasons. Therefore, Needle Necessities has been running shorthanded, which has in some cases left them somewhat behind in filling orders.

However, they are catching up with all their employees pitching in wherever they can. Debbie herself is doing pretty much everything from answering the phones and taking orders right through to shipping — except the actual dyeing, she says, which she does not know how to do.

***************************************************************************

Now, on a somewhat different note, I would just like to refer you to another of my absolute favorite Internet resources. It’s called the Internet Tourbus, is written with intelligence and a generous dose of good humor by Bob Rankin and Patrick Crispen, and I have been subscribing to it for literally YEARS, even though I know the Internet pretty well by now. In particular, I would like to mention an archived Internet Tourbus issue concerning people who have spread false rumors which resulted in harming a company’s business … And THAT resulted in those people being SUED by a big company — Proctor & Gamble, to be specific … And the little people LOST the lawsuits — BIG TIME — because they had lied without bothering to check their facts, and thus were deemed to have willfully harmed Proctor & Gamble’s business.

So my personal advice to anyone who has been spreading this rumor about Needle Necessities which I have now FLATLY DEBUNKED is that you post immediate retractions everywhere you posted the rumor ASAP to CYA. Better to be as safe as possible at this point than sorrier than horse poop. Feel free to refer people to this article here on Independent Needlework News for the facts; the direct link to this article is:

http://independentneedleworknews.com/2007/08/21/nn-not-out-of-business/

or you can also use the TinyURL code: http://tinyurl.com/2gru83

And sign up (or as Bob and Patrick call it, get a free ticket) for the Internet Tourbus, too. You’ll enjoy it; I promise!

Technorati Tags: Needle Necessities, rumor, out of business, Internet Tourbus, Proctor & Gamble, lawsuit, sue, Bob Rankin, Patrick Crispen

Judy Odell has announced on her website that she is previewing the release of a special design this weekend exclusively on her bulletin board. It is a gorgeous accordion style needlebook available only as a partial kit. (You provide the linen and fibers so you can choose any colors you like!) It is not entirely clear to me at this time, but I believe the title of this design is Needle Book - Accordion Style.

For more information on how to obtain this lovely design, its cost, more pictures, and so on, make sure to join Judy’s message board. You’ll be glad you did!

Like all of Judy’s designs, I’m sure this one will be a joy to stitch, and you’ll most likely have a choice between cross stitch, specialty stitches suggested by Judy, or specialty stitches of your own choice. One of my favorite things about Judy and her designs is that she really encourages everyone who stitches her designs to make them their own unique treasures; her design is just a starting point.

Judy’s finishing instructions are always exceptional — easy to follow such that you can finish the design yourself into a three dimensional object. You will be surprised at just how easy finishing your needlework can be when you have a Just A Thought from Judy Odell design to guide the way!

I’m very proud of this Just A Thought from Judy Odell project I stitched and finished all by myself: My Treasures Workstation. You may enjoy reading my detailed posts on my personal blog about the experience, especially if you have never taken an online class with Judy or stitched one of her patterns before. There is little better than the positive recommendation of another stitcher to encourage you to try out a new designer, and Judy Odell definitely received a thumbs up from me!

Technorati Tags: Judy Odell, Just A Thought, needlebook, finishing, needlework, My Treasures Workstation, needle book - accordion style

Dyeing to Stitch is also offering a retreat — their first ever — called their Down By the Sea weekend, and apparently there are still a few openings.

This retreat will occur from October 4, through October 6, of 2007, and classes will be taught by Tina Richards Herman and Teri Richards of Shepherd’s Bush, Charland Garvin of Charland Designs, and the Dyeing to Stitch’s own Ann Robbins and Pat Ryan of R & R Reproductions.

Stitchers interested in attending this retreat should call Dyeing to Stitch as soon as possible on 757-366-8740 to sign up or for more information.

Technorati Tags: Shepherds Bush, Charland Designs, Charland Garvin, retreat, needlework, Down By the Sea, Dyeing to Stitch, cross stitch, R&R Reproductions, Tina Richards Herman, Teri Richards, Ann Robbins, Pat Ryan

Weeks Dye Works is dyeing linen! I had absolutely no idea …

Until I clicked on the homepage for distributor Norden Crafts looking for something else and saw all these gorgeous colors.

I think my favorite is Aztec Red … but Peoria Purple comes pretty close.

I also caught an early preview of Gingher’s upcoming Bianca scissors, which will be released on September 28, 2007. They will certainly be popular with fans of orange, the color which symbolizes creativity.

Technorati Tags: Aztec Red, Peoria Purple, Weeks Dye Works, linen, Bianca, Gingher, orange, Norden Crafts