INDEPENDENT NEEDLEWORK NEWS

Shepherd’s Bush (Blogroll) recently started a blog which no doubt will draw some interesting traffic considering its title: Bush Blog. Designer Tina Richards noted right off the bat in her first post that the title is subject to change.

Meanwhile, although INN’s focus isn’t politics, I am certainly not apolitical or afraid to speak my mind, as you have no doubt noticed. Having believed since he was sworn in that America needs to prune its shrubbery (and that by the time we got home from the market with our purchase, only to discover we’d been handed a different bush than the one we actually chose, but dang it, the receipt is nowhere to be found — yes, I’m one of THOSE people as well, ha ha), I’d really love to see how one of the most popular needlework designers (and shops) on the planet would handle some things. I think they’ve already got a good start on world peace!

Anyway, back to Bush Blog … Tina Richards has so far been the author, and her good intentions are not just to update Bush Blog (Blogroll) at least once a week, but also to do so at the beginning of the week. So far, she has made three timely posts, so you can easily catch up on the entire blog and, with good fortune, stay up to date with it.

Additionally, if you can manage to be in the neighborhood of Ogden, Utah where Shepherd’s Bush’s retail shop is located, today and/or Saturday, November 30th and December 1st, and if you are at all interested in learning needle felting, you could have the opportunity to learn it from Judy Bielec of Mosey ‘n Me (Blogroll). Just look at these amazing projects you’d get to begin creating.

Needle felting makes me wish I weren’t allergic to wool and even has me contemplating the idea of wearing rubber gloves to do an entire project.

Needle felting, at least the way Judy Bielec does it, is truly artwork — you end up with a piece reminiscent of sculptured clay, but instead of clay, the material is fiber. What could possibly be more fantastic?

Technorati Tags: Shepherd’s Bush, Tina Richards, Bush Blog, Shepherds Bush, needle felting, Mosey ‘n Me, Judy Bielec

… to participate in Independent Needlework News’ current contest.

There are wonderful goodies to be won, and so far, very few entries.

That means your chances of winning are EXCELLENT!

Technorati Tags: Independent Needlework News, contest

Have you seen The French Needle’s (Blogroll) latest addition to their scissor line? These are some of the most beautiful scissors you will ever add to your collection, made with faux mother of pearl handles in the French style from Charles X era. Several talented individuals are essential to creating each pair, which is reflected in the price (as is the fading value of the US dollar … but we won’t talk about that right now).

Once again, but as per her usual, Lisa Dugua has managed to bring us a treasure from France that I, for one, can’t resist … It’s on the very short list from which my husband should select gifts for me — ha ha!

Order your pair now; you won’t be sorry!

Also, for the many of you who have been desperately seeking some of the materials the French ladies use to stitch their lovely designs on, Lisa has managed to locate some stunning, fully finished, ready to stitch on towels which will be exactly what you have been wanting — even if you didn’t know you were looking! They come in several different colors (red, pictured below; prune; white; and brown) on a natural background, and at $14.00 each, the price is definitely right!

If you’re in need of stocking stuffers for the stitcher on your list, or if your spouse is seeking stocking stuffers for you, be sure to go through Lisa’s list of Accessories and the Maison Sajou section on The French Needle site. There are oodles of goodies in both sections, from exquisite thread winders to scissors (more affordable ones than the faux mother of pearl pair pictured above, so you can even add two pairs to your collection for less than the price of just that one — an agreeable alternative if you’re feeling either shell shocked at the price of the pictured pair, or if you’d prefer something which feels a bit more like getting a bargain … Although when you order from Lisa, I promise you, you’re getting a bargain anyway because she takes care of all the difficulties we non-French speakers have ordering from France AND any customs fees, too.)

While you’re looking around The French Needle, don’t forget to sign up for Lisa’s newsletter so you can stay as up-to-date as I do … It never hurts to be a step ahead of INN for those days when I am two or three steps behind!

Technorati Tags: scissors, The French Needle, mother of pearl, Charles X, France, French, cross stitch, needlework, fabric, towels

Ellen Chester of With My Needle (Blogroll) has come up with a special design for the many cross stitchers whose hearts have been captured by the fish-tailed goddesses of the sea. Maidens of the Sea is a scissor fob and sewing case set which comes with two carved fish threadwinders and is charted for either a selection of silks from several different companies, or in DMC for the more frugal-minded among us.

No matter what you choose to stitch this design with, though, you’ll be charmed by different specialty stitches into creating ocean waves, seahorses, and lighthouses in Ellen’s mermaid tale …

Technorati Tags: mermaid, cross stitch, Ellen Chester, With My Needle, Maidens of the Sea

One of the few things I miss about living in New Jersey are the A.C. Moore stores because they had some of the best sales on DMC. It was common to find sales of ten skeins for $1.00 or eight skeins for $1.00, and occasionally even twenty skeins for $1.00.

So it’s nice to see that A.C. Moore (Blogroll) has launched an online store, but it remains to be seen whether or not they will honor these wonderful floss sales across the US (much less beyond). Hopefully, INN readers who live in the vicinity of A.C. Moore stores will keep us apprised of when the next big DMC floss sale occurs at A.C. Moore so that we can see whether or not the sale prices are also honored through their online venue.

In the meantime, let’s all write A.C. Moore to tell them that we want to see them offer these great floss sales to us, regardless of where we live!

Technorati Tags: A.C. Moore, cross stitch, DMC, floss

Merry Cox, who is as famous for her finishing techniques as she is for her beautiful stitching designs, has begun to put up her 2008 teaching schedule, and she has also put up some new teaching pieces on her website for your viewing pleasure …

Ophelia, Part 1 was new last year …

… and is now joined by Ophelia, Part 2.

But my favorite of the new pieces has to be A French Bonbon Box, which makes me hungry just looking at it!

All I can say is YUM!!!

I would love to hear from any INN readers who have been fortunate enough to take any of these classes with Merry already … and if you’d care to share pictures of your stitching with us here through INN, I know other INN readers would just love to see them!

Technorati Tags: Merry Cox, From Merry’s Heart, Ophelia, French Bonbon Box, teaching

My friend, regular reader and commenter, and also a regular behind-the-scenes contributor to INN, crazy quilter Susan Nixon, has asked if I am aware of any stores offering ground fabric sales.

Spurred on by her request, I have located a store offering quite a bit of fabric on sale at this time: Stitching Bits and Bobs (Blogroll).

Not all fabric is on sale at Stitching Bits and Bobs, but here’s a list of fabric on sale at this time:

Crossed Wing Collection Fabric Hand Painted

Weeks Dye Works Hand Dyed Linen

Tokens and Trifles

Wichelt Hand Dyed Jobelan

Wichelt Hand Dyed Jobelan Aida

Wichelt Hand Dyed Linen

This sale is in effect through 10:00 a.m. eastern standard time on November 27th … and don’t forget to look around the rest of the store, as there is a lot more to see — most of which is on sale for 20 to 25% off — which is a terrific price.

Now, a warning is appropriate. My personal experience with Stitching Bits and Bobs has always been good; however, I am aware some stitchers find this particular shop frustrating to deal with.

Stitching Bits and Bobs regularly offers sales in the neighborhood of 25% off, but this also often means they are out of stock on a lot of items. Unlike many needlework stores, Stitching Bits and Bobs WILL honor sale prices on out of stock items … but that means you, the customer, must wait for back-ordered items to come back into stock before they can be shipped to you. When hand-dyed fibers and fabrics are involved, the wait can often be quite lengthy.

Stitching Bits and Bobs also has a policy of charging for your entire order at the time you place it, and then waiting to ship you your entire order when it is completely ready.

All of these things combined together may equate to a long wait if any items are back-ordered.

I have waited as much as several months for orders to arrive, but I was still a very satisfied customer since I saved a good deal of money in the process. I have even had more than one outstanding order at a time with this shop due to the way they handle their business — but I have always received my orders, I have always received exactly what I ordered, and I have never failed to be happy with saving 20 to 25% off my total order despite the wait.

What it comes down to is really common sense. Just as I would with any other needlework shop owner, if I need an item immediately, whether it is a chart, a piece of fabric, a length of fiber, an embellishment, or something else, I am perfectly comfortable with emailing or even calling Stitching Bits and Bobs’ owner Bobbie Sankatsing to find out if she has what I need in stock, and to request that she send all in stock items immediately, and then send out of stock items together later on for the cost of a second shipping charge — or to cancel out of stock items from my order. Bobbie has always been more than willing to accommodate my needs, and she’s always done her job keeping the lines of communication open. I have little doubt she is more than willing to do the same for any other stitcher worldwide who communicates his/her needs to her as I do.

Now, go forth, shop, and stitch!

Technorati Tags: Stitching Bits and Bobs, Bobbie Sankatsing, sale, cross stitch, fabric, Christmas, holiday, shopping, gift

Sadly for the rest of us, Kim Ritchie has decided to stop making Qsnap Huggers, at least temporarily. Family issues must take precedence for her, just as they must for all of us at times. I hope she will be back soon.

Until such time as Kim is able to return with her fantastic product, I will certainly enjoy hugging my QSnaps on a regular basis … and INN will continue to offer QSnap Huggers as contest prizes for a short while — until I run out of the current stash Kim so generously donated her time making for me, that is. So if you wanted a QSnap Hugger and didn’t get a chance to order one for whatever reason, please be sure to watch INN for upcoming contests … and don’t forget to participate in the current contest, too!

Also, be sure to stay tuned to INN for future announcements because you can be certain that if and when Kim is able to return to manufacturing Qsnap Huggers, I will very happily announce it here, and Kim will always receive my full support in her endeavors.

Please join me in wishing Kim and her family all the best at this time and in the future.

Technorati Tags: QSnap Huggers, Kim Ritchie

Down Sunshine Lane (Blogroll) is also having a sale on in stock items only. The sale ends at midnight eastern standard time on Sunday, November 25th.

All charts and kits that do NOT have the word “NEW” in red by their titles are 25% off …

Also, don’t forget to check out the various sale pages … there are even 40% off sale pages!

Other than those mentioned above, items NOT included in the sale are: threads, fabrics, buttons, embellishment packs, accessories, special order items, and anything which is marked that it cannot be discounted. Sale prices also do not apply to special or pre-orders, gift certificates, or monthly Clubs.

You will not see your sale price in your shopping cart or from its auto-response system. However, Down Sunshine Lane will adjust your order when it is invoiced.

Due to an increase in orders during the sale, please allow additional response time for response to your orders from Down Sunshine Lane.

Don’t forget to add a special treat to your order for yourself. Add a Stitchaholic T-shirt to your order for half its usual cost on orders of $20 or more. See just over halfway down this page for further details on this special offer!

Technorati Tags: cross stitch, sale, Down Sunshine Lane, Christmas, holiday, shopping, gift

As I mentioned at the end of the post announcing the winners of the wXSw Halloween SAL Contests, there was yet one prize left to award, and that was to a randomly drawn member of the voting group.

To determine the winner of that prize, I put my eight staff reporters to work. I wrote each entrant’s information down on a slip of paper. Each slip of paper was then wadded into a ball, and all of those were put into a brown paper bag from the grocery store. I also put some Yeowww! Catnip Buds Flowertops (see the product in the middle of the bottom row on that page) into the brown paper bag.

At this point, my reporters were already becoming very excited about participating in this particular staff meeting. The bag was taped shut at the top with duct tape so they would have to work really hard not just to open the bag, but also to get anything out of it.

I made a brief attempt to call the meeting to order, but the tension was palpable, and my staff have always done a very effective and thorough job with such matters. Instead, I moved out of the way to let them get to the task at hand.

My goal was to obtain the first scrap of paper to be carried or pushed into the kitchen, and I must tell you, this didn’t take long and their progress was one of the funniest things I have ever watched. I wish I owned a video camera …

It probably took about two minutes for them to determine they would have the most successful outcome obtaining the catnip if they handled the event as a team-building exercise. Once they came to that conclusion, they gathered in a circle around the bag and literally pulled it apart as if they were playing a carefully calculated game of tug-of-war in which the requirement was that the “rope” be pulled in all directions. That method took about thirty seconds flat.

At first, I feared their clever plan of attack would result in all mess and no random voter result, but not a single slip of paper was harmed during the randomizing process. I think that is probably because my precious felines were quite intent on not missing a single bit of that catnip!

Several high kitties later, and with only a bit of a mess to deal with, I was prepared to announce our winner:

Maureen Ranson !!! Maureen, please contact me so we can square away the details.

Maureen wins a QSnap Hugger donated by Kim Ritchie (using fabric donated by me), along with the following from INN: a QSnap of the size needed to match her new QSnap Hugger (after all, I have to make sure she has a QSnap to hug! ), and — just to make sure she isn’t disappointed in her prize package because I picked out everything for her — a $10 gift certificate (worth closer to $13 if she uses it before midnight eastern time today) to One Star’s Light Needlework Supplies (plus free shipping) on me.

Technorati Tags: Maureen Ranson, random voter prize, Halloween SAL, wXSw, gift certificate, QSnap Huggers, Kim Ritchie, One Star’s Light Needlework Supplies,