INDEPENDENT NEEDLEWORK NEWS

Did you know Tracy Riffle of Hands to Work holds an annual retreat every year? Well, now you do.

Tracy mentioned this year’s retreat, which will occur from Friday, October 5, 2007, through Sunday, October 7, 2007, back in June on her blog. That’s when it was announced this retreat would feature classes from Kathy Barrick-Dieter of Carriage House Samplings, Barb Adams and Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs, folk artist Maggie Bonanomi (whom cross stitchers may know best because her drawings have been interpreted in cross stitch by Blackbird Designs) — and Tracy, of course . Can you believe it’s actually possible to take classes from all of these amazing women in one place (and eat most of your meals, too!) for the low price of just $400?

Unfortunately, that amount does not include your hotel costs; if it did, the retreat would already most certainly be full. This exciting and educational event will be held at the Hotel Strasburg in Strasburg, Virginia, (a town known for its great antiquing, by the way) which is about a 45 minute drive from the nearest airport (Dulles International Airport). Be sure to mention that you’re participating in Tracy’s retreat in order to receive a 15% discount on your room costs.

Proving that it pays to know people in any business, a bracelet-making class will also be offered separately for an additional price during the retreat by Liz Mathews, a jewelry designer who also happens to be Kathy’s daughter.

The event will also offer significant stash enhancement opportunities with designer trunk shows open the whole weekend! (Could this be the real reason the retreat cost is so low? To give you the chance to collect everything else these talented designers have created?)

Tracy posted on her blog just yesterday that there are only four openings left for the retreat, so sign up right away if you want to go! She also showed us this gorgeous picture of Kathy Barrick-Dieter’s retreat project, which is called A Virtuous Woman:

Be sure to check out Tracy’s blog to see a picture of Maggie’s project, too, which looks really fun and just perfect for the fall!

To sign up for the retreat, contact Tracy Riffle right away. A deposit of $150 will hold your spot, with the final payment of your balance due in September.

At least one way Tracy is accepting payments is by PayPal, so you can be signed up in just about the blink of an eye and back to your stitching in no time!

Technorati Tags: retreat, needlework, Hands to Work, Kathy Barrick-Dieter, Barb Adams, Alma Allen, Blackbird Designs, Maggie Bonanomi, Carriage House Samplings, Virtuous Woman, Liz Mathews, Tracy Riffle, jewelry, bracelet, trunk show

Elegant Stitch is having a 25% off thread sale through the close of business (pacific time) on Thursday, August 23, 2007, which they are calling a “string sale.”

The sale applies to in stock threads only, and only threads in these lines:

Weeks Dye Works cotton floss

Gentle Arts Sampler Threads

Needlepoint, Inc. silks

Crescent Colours cotton floss

Orders will be accepted by Internet, email or fax (209-529-6395) ONLY. Phone orders will NOT be accepted for this sale.

Time to kit up your projects!

By the way, this sale is still running, too …

Technorati Tags: floss, needlepoint, silk, cotton, crescent colors, crescent colours, gentle arts sampler threads, GAST, Weeks Dye Works, WDW, NPI, Elegant Stitch, sale

Quick — someone record this on a calendar! I’m making the Friday post on Hoffman Distributing’s new releases for the week ON FRIDAY. That has not happened in quite some time!

It’s a light week for new releases this week, though … only ten new releases on Hoffman’s list. Yet somehow, I STILL managed to add two to my own wish list! Of course, as two are witch designs, which I mentioned I collect, I guess that’s not so surprising.

First up is Stacy Nash Primitives’ A Haunting We Will Go, whose witch is even holding a broom!

Then A Stitcher’s Hands offers us Bringing Spooky Treats — look at the adorable owl button on this one!

Waxing Moon Designs charmed me with their newest punchneedle design called Here Kitty Kitty. I really do want to start doing more punchneedle myself — I’ve just barely done more than try it and really enjoyed what I did so far — and this design looks like a really good one for me (in particular) to start with, don’t you think?

I also noticed a finishing technique I’ve seen before, though I don’t believe I’ve seen it used for punchneedle. It’s fairly frequently used for cross stitch, though. Anyway, I wanted to point out Waxing Moon’s Joy to Ewe to those of you who like quilting — or are just looking for other ways to finish things. I thought this was a really charming way to finish this design, and I have to admit that one of the reasons I haven’t gotten more into punchneedle sooner is because framing them just doesn’t look quite right to me somehow … But this quilted banner is a perfect style of frame for a lot of punchneedle designs.

We also have another winner with this week’s Friday Feature on Linda Stolz of Erica Michaels Needleart Designs. I always thought the designer’s name was Erica Michaels, too, so don’t worry if you feel like you missed something because I missed it right along with you — but now with this Friday Feature, we can both be in the know!

Technorati Tags: Hoffman Distributing, Friday Feature, new releases, cross stitch, Stacy Nash Primitives, Haunting We Will Go, witch, broom, Bringing Spooky Treats, Stitcher’s Hands, Waxing Moon, owl, punchneedle, quilt, Joy to Ewe, Linda Stolz, Erica Michaels

I’ve never been a big fan of Lizzie*Kate designs myself. I know a lot of people love them, but mostly they aren’t to my personal taste. (For one thing, I think they look wonderful in a home with small children, but children of any size are rarely in my home, and so Lizzie*Kate patterns really end up looking out of place somehow.) However, several years ago, a friend who also didn’t really care for Lizzie*Kate designs started stitching them over one on 28 and higher count fabrics on a whim one day — and they look really great stiched that way. I even like them better when stitched over one for some reason. I don’t really don’t know how to put it into words, but something about stitching Lizzie*Kate designs over one makes them appear a bit more complex than they actually are — and many of them turn out to be the perfect size then for pinkeeps, ornaments, needlebooks, tin toppers, and so on.

Anyway, recently one of my friends has been oohing and ahing over Lizzie*Kate patterns. When a second friend suddenly got bitten by the Lizzie*Kate bug, too, I thought perhaps I’d better take a look for myself once again …

Being a witch collector whose favorite season of the year is autumn, as well as a participant in the Halloween stitch-a-long occurring on Wonderful XS World, I have been even more keenly alert than usual for Halloween designs of late. Fall Crazy is a darling compilation that really hits the spot on all counts.

But the design which REALLY grabbed me is Lizzie*Kate’s newest punchneedle creation, Joy Santa 2007 (whose picture I was only able to find so far at another of my favorite stores, The Silver Needle [Joy Santa is the third design down from the top of the page]. This Santa hasn’t even shown himself yet on Lizzie*Kate’s site!). There’s just something about him. He doesn’t bring to my mind either the cutesy, child-like innocence of many of Lizzie*Kate’s designs or the primitive simplicity of many of her others. Instead, there is a wisdom and an emotional depth in this design which you don’t often see in any rendition of Santa, much less in a Lizzie*Kate pattern.  I like it.

How about you?

Technorati Tags: Lizzie, Kate, Lizzie*Kate, LizzieKate, punchneedle, cross stitch, Joy Santa, Fall Crazy, ornament

I had to laugh a week and a half ago when I posted about the delightful store The Thread Basket, which carries products by a number of French designers, because I received a “complaint” the next day from another store owner who also wanted to be featured in Independent Needlework News. For one thing, INN had not even been live for 48 hours yet! I need good news information to share with you every day, or as regularly as I can manage. Also, I had featured this store once before, although admittedly, not in anywhere near the detail it deserves.

But what a compliment that “complaint” was to me. Is Independent Needlework News going to be big enough that people will actually “complain” about not being written about in it? That made me feel good. It told me that a shop owner/distributor believes I provide a unique and worthwhile service, and that’s one of the things I originally set out to do. How could I not appreciate that kind of a “complaint”?

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So, without further ado, let me more properly introduce you to another of my favorite shops for obtaining designs by those wonderful French designers without having to leave the US, speak French, or try to figure out what to do to place an order from overseas. The French Needle, run by Lisa Dugua, is now in its sixth successful year of business — proving just how popular the French designs really are.

Her success is also an indication of Lisa’s dedication to the products she sells and the market she serves. She, too, often travels to France, and speaks both fluent English and French, making her dealings with French designers or American customers each into comfortable and friendly transactions. Her decision to carry only European products has given her store a unique atmosphere US customers don’t often find without using our passports, a lengthy trip through airport security, worries about the possibility of lost baggage, and all those dreadful thoughts about how likely it is that our precious scissors will be confiscated from us if we try to take them onboard a flight.

The French Needle was the first shop in the US to bring in Marjorie Massey’s difficult-to-find, at least in the United States, Le Passe Compose designs, and she has helped to make them even more readily available by selling them not only retail to stitchers, but also wholesale to other shops in the country.

The French Needle is also the exclusive distributor for other popular French designers including Anagram, Bleu de chine, and Rouge du Rhin. Other French designers being carried in either pattern or kit form are Mariska, Maison Sajou, Keeping Tradition, DHC Dessins, L’atelier du Pic Vert, Long Dog, Bonheur des Dames (pictured below is their kit, St. Cast, available for $18), Princesse, Compagnie des Ouvrages, and Picoti Picota.

Lisa is also stocking wonderful books in French including many highly sought after by authors such as Christiane Dahlbeck, Valerie Lejeune, Veronique Maillard, Marie-Theres Saint, and Isabelle Vautier; and products including reproduction sajou, scissors (pictured below are the Petal Scissors, priced at $31), and thread winders.

Also, be sure to check out Lisa’s eBay store, which carries overstocked items from The French Needle; you never know what bargains you may find there!

Technorati Tags: French Needle, Anagram, Bleu de chine, Rouge du Rhin, Passe Compose, Marjorie Massey, cross stitch, needlework, Lisa Dugua, Thread Basket, Independent Needlework News, INN, Christiane Dahlbeck, Valerie Lejeune, Veronique Maillard, Marie-Theres Saint, Isabelle Vautier, reproduction sajou, scissors, thread winders, Petal Scissors, Mariska, Keeping Tradition, DHC Dessins, L’atelier du Pic Vert, Long Dog, Bonheur des Dames , St. Cast, Princesse, Compagnie des Ouvrages, Maison Sajou, Picoti Picota

Here is another reader submission for the crazy quilters and/or dyers among us. Fabrics & Frills is celebrating their Grand Opening sale with a 20% off sale on pretty much everything they stock.

Products seem especially tailored toward crazy quilters and include dyes, dyed Venise lace motifs, Venise lace motifs to dye, and a variety of other products you will want to take a look at just because they are gorgeous. Many will make great gift items, and others will be the perfect treat for yourself!

I actually had to laugh because while reading their Policies page, not only did I notice this shop has a minimum order (which won’t be difficult to meet, as it’s $15 … although under the Checkout link, it says the minimum is $10), but they also have a maximum order. That one is $500! Is this actually necessary? I mean, why would they want to stop someone from buying more? I just don’t get it. “Oh, sorry, you’ll have to put the last $275 of merchandise back. Our maximum order is $500. Well, we like to make sure we have things in stock at all times, just in case someone else wants to spend $15. ” I must be missing something.

“We want all our customers to be satisfied, not just you.” OH … well, I do have a tendency to be a bit greedy when it comes to craft supplies. It’s not so much that I don’t leave anything behind for anyone else as that I tend to want way more than I should buy in the first place. You know how that is, too, I’m sure — “because it’s on sale!”

At this particular moment, there is a tutorial on the site called, Donna’s Method for Dyeing Venise Appliques with Ozecraft Dye. It looks handy not just for anyone who has never hand-dyed anything before, but also for the much more experienced dyer who is just trying to dye the textured nooks and crannies of a product like Venise lace for the first time.

All in all, this site looks as if it will be one to keep an eye on for the future. Payment types accepted include PayPal, MasterCard and VISA (by PayPal), and checks.

Be sure to enter the coupon code OPEN during checkout; this will discount your order by 20%! This offer is good through August 31, 2007.

Technorati Tags: Grand Opening, celebration, sale, Fabrics & Frills, fabrics, frills, venise lace, dye, dyed, crazy quilt

A reader pointed me to blog called Vintage to Victorian in which the writer mentioned having bought quite a collection of embroidery threads — including floss pre-wound on bobbins (which was done by Anchor for a while — and I loved that, actually … just as long as I don’t have to wind it myself! … but I am not aware that DMC ever did this, so these may be pre-owned floss bobbins, which would make sense, as some of the floss cones have been partially used but are still an excellent deal), cones of floss, and skeins and balls of perle cotton in varying sizes. She also bought lots of kits and some fabric (mostly aida). The blog writer, a woman named Sue (not to be confused with a boy named Sue ) Meager, bought so much of the materials necessary for stitching that it took her not just one post, but two to cover it all!

Sue has started an online shop, also called Vintage to Victorian, which has quite a few categories which may be of interest to you. The Textiles & Haberdashery section caught my eye, as did Table and Other Linen. You will all know why quite immediately!

In the meantime, Sue has begun to upload the Embroidery & Cross Stitch supplies she gathered, as mentioned in those two blog posts. You’ll want to contact Sue directly for the specifics of what is available and to inquire if she has what you might be seeking because, as you can imagine if you even glance at the pictures in those blog posts, loading ALL the details of what she has available would take more time than she could afford to spare and still keep the prices as low as they are.

I would buy some myself, but the postage to the US is a killer. However, for those of you in the UK or even Europe, the prices may be much more reasonable, especially when the normal cost of DMC for you is so outrageous.

You might also want to check her schedule, and if Sue will be in an area near you anytime soon, be sure to stop by and/or contact her to see if you can order and pay in advance. Then pick up your order in person to avoid shipping fees altogether!

Technorati Tags: cross stitch, embroidery, needlework, sale, floss, cones, perle, pearl, Vintage to Victorian, Sue Meager

Although I don’t see a hint of the news on their website yet, I have it on good authority that Dream Stitchers in Mount Dora, Florida, which is not far from Orlando, is closing for financial reasons.

Sadly, owner Joan Jennings has written that the, “economics are overwhelming,” her, and she just cannot manage to continue. Her reasons for deciding to close aren’t any different than the reasons so many of us stitchers aren’t able to keep our wish lists at much shorter lengths right now, but it’s a terrible shock when a store closes like this. I know that even though Dream Stitchers is a shop I had not heard of, been to, or ordered from online, I still feel a personal sense of loss because another shop is closing, another stitcher’s dream of owning a shop is ending, and another stitching resource is disappearing.

A 30% off sale of everything in the shop including models and fixtures, began on August 10th, 2007. I don’t see a mention of this sale applying to online orders, so if you’re interested in placing an online order, it would be best to contact the shop first to verify, either by phone or by email.

It’s always a sad occasion when a needlework shop closes its doors for the final time. If you stop by to purchase during the sale in person, or order from the store online, please be sure to tell Dream Stitchers how sorry you are to see them go. Even if this is your first time ordering from them, these are words they should hear more of when, unfortunately, much of what they will be hearing are shouts of glee from stitchers thrilled to be getting such a good deal on something.

I should know. I was at a shop’s closing sale a year or so ago, and watched exactly that situation occur. It sent the shop owner into hysterical sobbing because where WAS that customer months before when the shop was trying to stay afloat? By the time it was my turn to be checked out and I heard my total, I said, “Highway robbery — of you, that is.” Apparently, I was the first stitcher to even make a comment acknowledging that my gain was because of her terrible and heartbreaking loss — and the inconsideration of so many people just blew my mind. If I could have bought everything she had left in the store to save her from the unkindnesses she was almost assuredly going to continue to suffer, I would gladly have done so. I hope that by sharing this awful experience, perhaps I can help prevent the same thing from occurring at Dream Stitchers because a few people will have read this and taken it to heart.

Technorati Tags: Dream Stitchers, Joan Jennings, store closing, needlework, cross stitch, Mount Dora, Orlando, Florida, sale

You’re going to see that Jenna or I are adding some tools and buttons to the sidebar such as this one, but please use the Digg picture link in the right sidebar instead, as that will rate the entire site rather than this particular post:

The purpose of these tools is to help readers find Independent Needlework News while surfing the Internet based on the positive recommendations of other needleworkers.

Getting picked up by search engines is fairly simple, I’ve discovered, but Digg and other similar tools are basically word of mouth reader recommendations, which is very powerful advertising. So I’m taking advantage of it, and if you “dig” Independent Needlework News, then I hope you’ll click the Digg button (again, please use the Digg picture link in the right sidebar instead, as that will rate the entire site rather than this particular post) — and if you have time, I hope you’ll add comments explaining what you feel the site is about and why you like it so that other stitchers who discover it for the first time through Digg will know more about it and be interested in checking out the site.

I’ll also be adding many of the other similar tools because sometimes people use one over another exclusively, and I hope you’ll also take the time to click on those (the click itself doesn’t take much time, although some sites do require a brief registration process first) and add comments whenever you have time.

Here’s another one which I’d appreciate a click on if you have a second (literally, LOL) and agree I fit the category:

I recognize all these different technologies which pretty much seem to do the same thing can be inconvenient and kind of annoying. I have wondered more than once why there isn’t some organization in charge of the Internet which could have made some agreement in advance so that everyone would be using the same things, but we are fortunate NOT to have anyone in charge of the Internet trying to push us around and take away our freedoms, or to enforce the rules of one country and culture onto all the others. Also, I’d hate to be in a world with no variation, so I’d much rather put up links to several different reader recommendation tools than be stuck with someone else’s idea of what I should do, especially when I might not like or agree with that idea at all.

Technorati Tags: digg, recommendation, Independent Needlework News

I’ve been informed by a reader of a new-to-me auction site primarily dedicated to fabric auctions, and apparently intended to have quilters as its primary customers based on the product listings available.

Not only is this site useful to quilters, however, but it’s also helpful to stitchers, who are always looking for just the right fabrics to add to our stashes so that we’ll have the right backing fabrics for ornaments, needlebooks, and so on. So AuctionFabric.com seems like a good resource for all of us to know about and investigate.

The only negative I noticed in browsing around myself yesterday and today was that it appears almost all of the auctions are for fabric lots — either fabric put together in a matching lot so that you can make a particular quilt, or else fabric compiled into a lot as if someone is trying to quickly organize and reduce her stash. This isn’t necessarily a negative, but if you are looking for just a small bit of fabric, AuctionFabric.com may not help you. Or maybe I just happened to be looking on a bad day for finding the particular types of deals which would appeal to me most.

Technorati Tags: fabric, quilt, quilting, auction, crazy quilt