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

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

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

If you’re making reservations to go to Celebration of Needlework, be sure to use this link for the Marriott hotel, and then don’t forget to use the special code NEENEEA to get the reduce rate Celebrations of Needlework has negotiated for the block of rooms they have reserved.

You have only through August 16th to book your room at the reduced rate of just $109 per night, so book soon!

By the way, another good reason to go to Celebration of Needlework is to participate in the auction for breast cancer research. I firmly believe that someday, needleworkers are going to be responsible for curing not only breast cancer, but all the female cancers (because the cure most likely has something to do with our natural hormones, which have been linked to all of the female cancers, so it makes sense that when a cure for breast cancer is discovered, it will also be effective for ovarian, uterine, and other female cancers).

Technorati Tags: Marriott, Louisville, Kentucky, breast cancer research, cure, Susan Greening Davis, Charlotte Dudney, Jackie du Plessis, Robin Laukhuf, Barbara Jackson, Sherri Jones, Julie Norton, Pam Reed, Lauren Sauer, Marcia Brown Smith, Betsy Stinner, Catherine Strickler, Elizabeth Talledo, Wendy White, cross stitch, Celebration of Needlework, Still Stitching with Susan, Designs from the Pep’r Pot, punchneedle, It’s Fineally Finished, Olde Willow, Tristan Brooks, Patrick’s Woods, J Designs, Olde Colonial, Forget-Me-Nots-in-Stitches, Binding Stitch, Earth Threads, Indigo Rose, Fingerwork, Wee Works, needlework, hardanger, Britstitch, Tokens & Trifles, Sunflower Samplings, Simply Old Fashioned, Scandinavian Stitches, Images Stitchery, Heart’s Content, Maureen Appleton, Dutch Treat Designs, Just Stitching, Cross Stitch Treasures, Crossed Wing

It’s hard for me to believe anyone — stitcher or not — has yet to subscribe to the wonderful online magazine, The Gift of Stitching (fondly abbreviated as TGOSM, with the M standing for magazine … or maybe marvelous!). But apparently it is actually the case that there are still a few stragglers, so I’m taking them on as a personal challenge.

Therefore, here are the Top Ten Reasons to Subscribe to The Gift of Stitching magazine during August 2007:

10. You might have been using the wrong needle all this time!

9. You can never have enough Altoid tin covers.

8. You don’t want to leave a basket half finished.

7. You want to know how and why Gloria Moore chose the name of her design company.

6. You don’t want to be one of the last to hear about the special new pattern being released by Needleprint.

5. Who wouldn’t want to try to win one of the sets of thread Stitches and Spice is so graciously giving away?

4. You Followed the Leader and now you’re addicted to White Musings!

3. There’s still time to stitch Helga Mandl’s cute back to school designs before school is REALLY back in session.

2. Debbie Draper’s design My Little Book of Stitches is just GORGEOUS!

1. You need to be a current subscriber in order to win the designing competition sponsored by Dinky Dyes in honor of their 5th year of business.

Technorati Tags: Gift of Stitching, magazine, Dinky Dyes, design competition, designing competition, My Little Book of Stitches, Debbie Draper, Helga Mandl, back to school, Follow the Leader, White Musings, Stitches and Spice, Needleprint, Gloria Moore, finishing for baskets

The Louisville, Kentucky dates for Celebration of Needlework are September 12th - 16th, 2007, and many of the same needlework designers will be participating as instructors and/or vendors as were involved at the Nashua, New Hampshire Celebration of Needlework this past May.

Unfortunately, it is my understanding from exchanging emails with Pam Reed, of Olde Colonial Designs and one of the show’s organizers, that this may well be the only time Celebration of Needlework is ever offered in this location, or even in the Midwest … Propitiously I hope, it is also my duty as a reporter to inform all of us Midwestern stitchers that we must show our appreciation for this opportunity by signing up for some classes, going to the show, purchasing from the vendors, and helping to make Celebration of Needlework’s first ever Midwestern appearance a huge success.

This year’s teachers are well worth your time doing just that, even though a few designers have had to cancel classes for a variety of personal reasons. Actually, those cancellations might make your choices easier; there are so many wonderful classes on the menu from designers including:

Susan Greening Davis of Still Stitching with Susan,

Charlotte Dudney of Designs from the Pep’r Pot (punchneedle),

Jackie du Plessis of It’s Fineally Finished,

Robin Laukhuf of Olde Willow Stitchery,

Barbara Jackson of Tristan Brooks Designs,

Sherri Jones of Patrick’s Woods,

Julie Norton of J. Designs (hardanger),

Lauren Sauer of Forget-Me-Nots-in-Stitches,

Marcia Brown Smith of The Binding Stitch,

Betsy Stinner of Earth Threads,

Catherine Strickler of Indigo Rose,

Elizabeth Talledo of Fingerwork, and

Wendy White of Wee Works.

Fans of designer Betsy Stinner and/or mermaids will be delighted to learn a class featuring mermaids and taught by Betsy was JUST added to the schedule!

The amazing selection of vendors you’ll be able to meet and purchase from in the Celebration market include:

Britstitch,

Chris’s Collection,

Counted Stitches,

Cross Stitch Corner,

Cross Stitch Treasures,

Crossed Wing Collection,

Dutch Treat Designs,

The Finishing Touch,

The Heart’s Content,

Images Stitchery Designs,

J. Designs,

Just Stitching,

Mimi’s Attic,

The Needle’s Work Antiques,

Olde Colonial Designs,

Olde Willow Stitchery Threads,

Scandinavian Stitches,

Simply Old Fashioned,

Sunflower Samplings,

Tokens & Trifles,

Tristan Brooks Designs, and

Yankee Cross Stitch.

Come on, stitchers! I think you owe it to yourselves to spend a weekend away from home/work/family and all the chores that go with those things (which I know you do with and because of love) so you can dedicate yourselves to your favorite hobby, meeting other stitchers, retail therapy, and attending classes with world-famous needlework designers …

If you think you’ve already been doing way too much of that kind of thing lately, well then, you’ve just got to come along and show the rest of us how it’s done … So just consider it that we collectively owe it to ourselves to do this!

Technorati Tags: Susan Greening Davis, Charlotte Dudney, Jackie du Plessis, Robin Laukhuf, Barbara Jackson, Sherri Jones, Julie Norton, Pam Reed, Lauren Sauer, Marcia Brown Smith, Betsy Stinner, Catherine Strickler, Elizabeth Talledo, Wendy White, cross stitch, Celebration of Needlework, Still Stitching with Susan, Designs from the Pep’r Pot, punchneedle, It’s Fineally Finished, Olde Willow, Tristan Brooks, Patrick’s Woods, J Designs, Olde Colonial, Forget-Me-Nots-in-Stitches, Binding Stitch, Earth Threads, Indigo Rose, Fingerwork, Wee Works, needlework, hardanger, Britstitch, Tokens & Trifles, Sunflower Samplings, Simply Old Fashioned, Scandinavian Stitches, Images Stitchery, Heart’s Content, Maureen Appleton, Dutch Treat Designs, Just Stitching, Cross Stitch Treasures, Crossed Wing

You still have time to sign up for this year’s Needle Arts Mystery Retreat, Canvas Country, put on by talented designers Patricia Hartman and Mary Knapp, both of Creative Reflections, Jackie Murawski of Sam-Cloth Designs, Linda Reinmiller, and Debbie Rowley of DebBee’s Designs.

This year’s Needle Arts Mystery Retreat is being held in Nashville, Tennessee from July 19th through July 22nd, so the registration deadline is June 15th, which is fast approaching!

A couple more teasers to whet your appetite are included in this post.

Also, take another look at this previous post and then this one, too.

Now hurry up — there’s no time to waste!

Technorati Tags: Jackie Murawski, Mary Knapp, Patricia Hartman, Linda Reinmiller, Debbie Rowley, Needle Arts Mystery Retreat, Canvas Country, Creative Reflections, Sam-Cloth Designs, DebBee’s Designs, needlepoint, charted needlework, canvaswork, canvas work

Linabear.com has just opened for business! Linabear.com is the realized dream of brand new cross stitch and knitting designer Selina of Linabear Creations.

I’m really impressed with Selina’s designs, which include several perfect for the very popular biscornu finishing technique. Being someone who loves the pitter patter of little furry feet, I’m partial to Aireen’s Paws:

Selina has also designed an absolutely ADORABLE knitting pattern of a dog. Here is Spartacus all ready for adoption:

If Selina ever designs a knit cat anywhere near this darling, it will absolutely guarantee I learn how to knit!

During Linabear.com’s Grand Opening Week (from now through April 15th), you can use coupon code e5bd320f52 and receive 20% off your entire order. It doesn’t get much better than that … so hurry over to Linabear.com and see what you have to have!

Technorati Tags: linabear, linabear.com, cross stitch, knitting, sale, biscornu, biscornu class, finishing school, Handcrafts Online, dog, paws, Aireen’s Paws

Look what’s at the top of The Silver Needle’s Just Arrived page … Jeannette Douglas will be teaching a class at The Silver Needle in Tulsa, Oklahoma the weekend of July 27th and 28th — and she’s designed a special sampler called A Silver Needle just for this event. All the details are here in a downloadable .pdf file and here’s a tiny peak at what it looks like:

As if that weren’t enough great news, right below the information about the Jeannette Douglas class on the Just Arrived page is more wonderful news. This time, it’s for fans of Indigo Rose (Catherine Strickler), who has now released her previous class piece Bead Blanket Sampler as a retail design. Actually, it comes as a complete kit and costs only $34.

Technorati Tags: Silver Needle, Jeannette Douglas, Indigo Rose, Bead Blanket Sampler, cross stitch, Catherine Strickler, class, retreat