INDEPENDENT NEEDLEWORK NEWS

One of my favorite things to do is read People magazine. I’ve loved it for well over twenty years and, in fact, you’re as likely to find me reading People as stitching.

It’s NOT that stitching and People are on an equal par in my life — don’t get me wrong there, LOL! But sometimes, I have to take off the magnifying glasses I now require to stitch so I can rest my eyes. Then, especially if I don’t want to get too involved, as I might with a really good book, it’s People I reach for and curl up with for a while. People and at least one cat, of course.

(Sadly, it seems the older I get, the fewer people in People I know. A couple of months ago, I did not know anyone who had crushes on either of the teenaged cover-persons. Heck, I did not even recognize either of their names! Fortunately, they weren’t the only people mentioned in that week’s issue. )

Anyway, to bring this discussion on topic, today I want to share with you the cross stitch news blog of one of my regular readers and commenters. Allura has been doing a fabulous job with her own Cross Stitch News (Blogroll) since she began it in May. It’s always a treat to see what she’s found worthy of her blog subtitle: “Stitching in the News and Around the Internet” (copyright Allura, 2007). The majority of Allura’s posts (unlike mine, LOL) are short and sweet — easily digested, well worth adding to your diet, AND delicious. Therefore, I am confident that fitting them into your already hectic schedule will not be too difficult, and will soon prove to be of merit.

Lately, I find myself turning first to the pages of Cross Stitch News rather than to People when I need those breaks from stitching. My DH has even teased me that I’ve started keeping People in the bathroom lately (where it was never allowed before), and asking what’s up with that because I used to be able to go to the bathroom alone. I’m not sure if my DH thinks I’m too addicted to stitching, or if I’m a workaholic who’s doing too much bringing my work home with me, but at the moment, I’ve answered him a bit defensively, “I’m just not quite ready to give up my People altogether, and the bathroom is about the only place in my life it fits, okay?”

So People is still one of my guilty pleasures … Cross Stitch News is something for Allura to be very proud of, though — and for me to feel not the least bit guilty about reading or recommending to you!

Technorati Tags: Cross Stitch News, CSNews, Stitching in the News and Around the Internet, Allura, People magazine, magazine

One of my favorite designers, Selina Merriman of LinaBear Creations, (Blogroll) is extending a very special treat to all INN readers:

~ 30% off on ALL your LinaBear Store purchases through 8:00 a.m. Paris/Berlin time on
December 27, 2007 ~

(For anyone who needs a bit of assistance determining the time in Paris compared with yours to make sure you place your order soon enough, the World Clock is a handy tool.)

Now, you can not only finish your holiday shopping for the stitchers — and even the knitters, stuffed animal lovers, and dog lovers on your list, who are all sure to love Spartacus as much as I do (although I’m still holding out to adopt a knitted LinaBear Creations kitten from Selina ) at a great price, but you

can also spend any holiday money you receive in your stocking to pick up something(s) you’ve really been lusting after from Selina’s line of designs!

To get the code you’ll need to use in the LinaBear Store to obtain your 30% discount, please email me with the URL of a website you think should be added to the Blogroll. I will reply within 24 hours with your discount code! To get your 30% discount, you’ll need to enter code INN7771.

I know you’re going to enjoy this sale because Selina has added so many fabulous designs to her line. For instance, how can any stitcher resist Blue Elegance - A Stitcher’s Toy Set, which includes a box, a biscornu-shaped scissor fob, a pin cushion, and a measuring tape cover?

In fact, I think the easiest thing to do with all these wonderful hoices is to NOT choose … Instead, collect them all!

Technorati Tags: LinaBear, Selina Merriman, INN, Independent Needlework News, gift, Christmas, Spartacus, knit, dog, Blue Elegance, Stitcher’s Toy Set, biscornu

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

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