INDEPENDENT NEEDLEWORK NEWS

Hancock Fabrics (Blogroll) is already advertising 50% off all Halloween fabrics and free shipping on all orders through their website through October 31, 2007.

That means it’s a great time to stock up for those Halloween-styled crazy quilts, or on finishing fabrics for your cross stitched ornaments to put on your Halloween tree.

You are in Wonderful XS World’s (Blogroll) Halloween SAL, aren’t you? Well, if you’re not, it’s still a good time to stock up on finishing fabrics for next year’s wXSw SAL! With designers like Helga Mandl Designs (Blogroll), Periphaeria Designs (Blogroll), and Tam’s Creations (Blogroll) offering darling spooky designs like those below for the SAL this year, you know you won’t want to miss it the next time it rolls around!

Don’t feel too bad if you missed out on the Halloween SAL this year … I’ve heard from a crow or few that these designs and the rest they go with may one day be available for sale! … and I’m pretty sure you’ll first hear about that if it happens here on INN, too!

Just wait until you see the finishes this year’s contestants have put together — they are really terrific, and you can tell we all had a lot of fun with this SAL! Voting will begin right here on Independent Needlework News on October 17, 2007! INN is sponsoring a random voter prize, so you’ll definitely want to be here to vote!

Click to join wXSw

All this, and you don’t even have to leave your house!

Technorati Tags: Halloween, Hancock Fabrics, sale, wXSw, Wonderful XS World, contest, Helga Mandl, Periphaeria, Tam’s Creations, Independent Needlework News, Halloween SAL, fabric, cross stitch, needlework, crazy quilt

I had hoped to get a very explicit, accurate, and detailed retraction about the Needle Necessities/ThreadworX situation posted already. Unfortunately, life has gotten in the way (those details will be covered later, too; right now I am simply drowning).

However, this post is immediately necessary in order to correct errors I made earlier regarding Dragonfly Dreams.

Earlier, I implied Dragonfly Dreams was not an authorized Needle Necessities supplier, I was wrong, WRONG, W-R-O-N-G.

Here is how that mistake happened: I went by the information listed on Needle Necessities’ website. They listed one Australian distributor, and just two Australian shops who carried their threads. I took that to mean no other shops carried their products. While this assumption would generally be true if I had been making it about Needle Necessities’ US listings, it would not generally true regarding shops in Australia for a variety of reasons — only I didn’t learn that last bit of information, nor would it have ever crossed my mind to ask about it prior to this situation. I very incorrectly assumed shops from different countries were all treated the same by Needle Necessities.

You’ve probably heard the “joke” about why you should not assume? Because you might make an ass out of U and me? Well, I certainly made an ass out of myself this time.

A surprising result (at least to me) of this situation is that a good number of people (who have come to trust me when I mention copyright) found themselves even more disturbed than I was by the possible copyright infringement which I speculated might have been occurring. They actually wanted to do something about it and took it upon themselves to start contacting Karen Kirk, owner of Dragonfly Dreams, to ask why she stocks, “counterfeit threads”!

The thing is, some investigation was required first in order to determine whether or not any copyright infringement had indeed occurred (much less whether or not there was an issue of counterfeit threads … which is laughable — except when it is directed at you). Karen wrote to me [emphasis mine]:

The thread image you displayed on your site was loaded when we were told that they were the same company, and I forgot to change the image when I was told two months later that they were not. I have since corrected this, as I correct all honest mistakes when they are brought to my attention.

Therefore, copyright infringement is also NOT an issue in this case.

In other words, to those individuals who are calling Karen at Dragonfly Dreams, it is time to STOP. I was WRONG. Karen did nothing wrong.

I am new to doing this specific kind of business (the journalism part of what I am doing now, that is) and so this is an educational process for me; it is from my readers that I learn and become more accurate in my journalistic efforts. In fact, Bernadette Huysing of the Needlework Boutique (a competitor of Dragonfly Dreams; Blogroll) was kind enough to contact me — not only in Karen’s and Dragonfly Dream’s defense, but also to explain to me some of the inner workings of the distributing of threads in Australia about which I was entirely unaware. Because of my lack of knowledge on that matter, my report was very inaccurate and contained some unintended but still negative reflection on Dragonfly Dreams.

I certainly did not intend to “condemn” any business or to direct any malice toward any business in any way . However, there is a LOT of information to get out to the public, so the upcoming article retracting my statements is taking some time to write.

I have twice called Karen Kirk, owner of Dragonfly Dreams, on the telephone in response to emails from her because I felt this situation was important enough to call her about rather than just send email back and forth. She deserved to hear my voice, and the sincerity in it. I have also received email or comments from some of her most loyal customers. Please accept my heartfelt apology to all of you as well.

Note to Bre: Both of your comments will be published, and in fact, I am utilizing your first comment to make sure my more extensive retraction post is correct and properly detailed. I am also cross-checking points 2 and 4 of your first comment with ThreadworX. Also, having talked by phone directly with Karen and with Travis Richmond, I am quite sure we are all in agreement that we don’t wish to incite any further argument; therefore, as soon as my full retraction is written, approved in advance by Karen Kirk of Dragonfly Dreams and Travis Richmond of ThreadworX, and posted here on Independent Needlework News, I will post your comments at that time.

Technorati Tags: Dragonfly Dreams, Karen Kirk, copyright

Gay Ann Rogers’ patterns are extremely difficult to find, as those of us who are fans know all too well. A while back, Gay Ann made an exciting offer on her blog; if this goes well, she may repeat it two or three times a year.

The official start date of Gay Ann Rogers’ very first E-Merchandise Week is October 15, 2007, but Gay Ann is already informing those of us who are interested of which patterns or kits she will be selling through her blog.

So, of course, as a big Gay Ann Rogers fan myself, and also as your (usually) faithful Independent Needlework News reporter, I have been following her blog as diligently as I could manage so that I could let you know when this e-merchandise sale begins and what it includes.

So far, Gay Ann is following along with demand and making the instructions (at the cost of $32, not including shipping) for her most requested design, the much loved and coveted Redwork Cat Sampler, available in her e-merchandise sale.

Also available will be instructions for Gay Ann’s seasonal sisters who represent Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer, respectively:

angelic Acorn Girl (one of my personal favorites),

her stunning Snowflake Girl,

her fabulous Flower Girl, and

her sweet Strawberry Girl.

For those of you who had started stitching or collecting these seasonal designs, this is your chance to complete the entire set. Don’t miss it, as you don’t know when it may happen again!

You will also find available for sale — ***but in limited numbers, unfortunately for us stitchers*** — some gorgeous designs useful not just as holiday decorations, but also as gifts for a number of different occasions, including even wedding, bridal, and baby showers. These are the type of wonderful designs where your imagination is the limit when it comes to their usefulness.

***Unfortunately, Gay Ann has a limited number of each of the following heart kits, so she is considering a lottery system if she receives more orders for them than she has kits. In that case, she is considering putting names in a hat and selecting the winning buyers by a lottery-style method. However, she really wants to be as fair as possible to everyone, so Gay Ann has asked for people who have suggestions on how she might go about this more fairly to please contact her.***

The picture shown here on the left is called Gifts of Christmas Heart, while the picture on the right is named Christmas Mittens Heart.

Then she also has Halloween hearts, which have my heart going pitter patter … Beaded Halloween Heart is shown on the left. On the right, Grinning Kitty Heart is grinning — and maybe drooling just a bit if these kitties are anything like my most grinning kitties!

Other hearts Gay Ann is including in this e-merchandise sale include:

Tuxedo Heart and Wedding Dress Heart,

Frosted Heart and My Bruised Heart, and

Pink Quartz Hearts in Pale and Bright versions.

Again, all of these heart kits are limited in number, so Gay Ann is planning on a lottery system drawing unless you give her a better idea.

All of Gay Ann’s heart kits cost either $36 or $38 depending on the kit, except for the Wedding Dress Heart, which costs $48.

For further details, to (begin ) an order, or to request Gay Ann include your favorite(s) of her patterns in her E-Merchandise Week, please contact Gay Ann directly.

Also, be sure to visit Gay Ann’s design website, too, where you can see more of her fantastic works of art.

And keep following Independent Needlework News, as I will do my best to keep you up to date on what will be included in this very special sale from Gay Ann Rogers.

Technorati Tags: Gay Ann Rogers, Redwork Cat Sampler, Acorn Girl, Strawberry Girl, Flower Girl, Snowflake Girl, E-Merchandise Week, Gifts of Christmas Heart, Christmas Mittens Heart, Beaded Halloween Heart, Grinning Kitty Heart, Tuxedo Heart, Wedding Dress Heart, Frosted Heart, My Bruised, Heart, Pink Quartz Hearts

It’s sad CraftGossip is having such a difficult time keeping a needlework editor, but before she left, Joanne Leuci wrote a terrific post about The Silver Needle’s exclusive Just Nan project called Christmas Workshop. Take a look for yourself, and then don’t forget to pre-order!

I bet this project will be a handy one for guiding stitchers through finishing CA Wells‘ Pyramid Etui, too, which might be another good reason to purchase this lovely Just Nan project.

Technorati Tags: Joanne Leuci, CraftGossip, Silver Needle, Just Nan, exclusive, needlework, Christmas Workshop, Pyramid Etui, CA Wells

I have just received a lengthy email from a Travis Richmond, President of ThreadworX, which answers many of the questions I had personally raised as well as those I had read in various other forums or been contacted with by a number of readers.

As soon as I receive permission to post his email and/or a document intended specifically for public consumption, I will do so. Please consider it sufficient at this point that I DO consider ThreadworX to be a legitimate company located in Garden Grove, California. As a new company, ThreadworX is still working on its website and online storefront (a factor I can certainly understand, as mine is nowhere near where I would like it to be either ); however, they expect to have these up and running soon.

Mr. Richmond states ThreadworX is an independent company which is not affiliated with Needle Necessities in any way. It is not yet clear to me why ThreadworX is duplicating at least some Needle Necessities colors; however, from some of the comments (especially two very enlightening comments made by Dale Rollerson and Rob — thanks so much to you both!) made to my earlier post, as well as some of Travis Richmond’s points, it seems there were some type of contract arrangements made (of which Debbie BuSteed was never made aware) between Needle Necessities and ThreadworX since ThreadworX is filling Needle Necessities’ overdue orders.

I hope to speak with Mr. Richmond soon to get more information and clarification on some of these matters, and of course, I will pass on to you whatever I learn. Please do keep in mind that the specifics of any contract issues between Needle Necessities and ThreadworX really are private issues, so anything Mr. Richmond may choose to share with me would be at his discretion.

My main interest along those lines is trying to get some answers regarding the color lines ThreadworX will have as compared to those we all were familiar with and loved from Needle Necessities, answers about when outstanding Needle Necessities orders are expected to ship to stores, and what the plan is going forward as far as keeping or dropping any specific colors from the Needle Necessities color line. I think these are some of the questions that are at the top of stitchers’ and shop owners’ lists, which is why I want to focus on those.

Please feel free to leave comments or email me with any specific questions you would like answered, and I’ll try to work them in to the conversation if time allows, and if Mr. Richmond isn’t too angry with me for my previously rather negative article.

Technorati Tags: ThreadworX, Needle Necessities, Travis Richmond, needlework