Come see one of the new Just Nans

Here is an adorable new piece from Just Nan, Lady Scarlet's Secret Garden. It is a small (3" across) enameled metal ladybug box that opens to reveal the needlebook that you stitch and a small pincushion as well. The kit includes everything except your DMC floss and a cotton ball. The finishing instructions for the needlebook and pincushion are very straightforward and easy to follow. This is a limited edition and we're not sure we'll be able to get more. We have a few now so be sure to order early.

Here are pictures with the box open and closed. Its hard to see, but the inside bottom of the box is also enameled red.

As I mentioned in a previous entry, we will be closed from April 1 to April 9. We will continue to process orders during this time, but we will not be shipping any orders. We do plan to add and update various pages on our site as well as launch a couple of sales. We will be adding the mesh vinyl bags that we have been using as part of our gift wrapping service so that they will be available for purchase on our site. We will also be adding more designers and more fabrics. Be sure to check in to keep up to date on the new events.

We would like to ask our customers what other products or designers they would like to see offered. Please email us or post a comment with additional items you would like to see us offer and we will be happy to consider your suggestions.

Its Snowing again!

It sure doesn't look like March. It was nearly 70 degrees two days ago - today we get a foot of snow. The poor robins were frantic this morning before the snow began to fall. Hopefully, it will warm up next week and all melt quickly.

Just a little heads up - we will be closed for the first week of April - until April 9. We will still accept orders during this time and we will do our best to answer emails, but we will not be shipping. The website should be up during the day. During the night magical things should happen (we hope).

Here's my snow day project - slower going than I expected. Probably won't be done for St. Patrick's Day - but one can always use a bookmark I suppose. This is one of Teresa Wentzler's Knotwork Bookmarks.

Weekend Stitching

Just a quick update on Indian Summer Reflections - I survived the Marlitt and now I can move on to some silks. It should be a great stitching weekend.

Even better, its finally warming up (it is March after all) and hopefully we'll be able to see some signs of Spring next week. Since January was so warm, the robins have been back for weeks. Also, many of the daffodils starting coming up back in January and then it got cold - last week was brutally cold. I hope the flowers survive.

Have a great weekend!

New Mirabilias and Weeks Dye Works

The new Mirabilia Designs have arrived here. As usual, the actual pics on the envelopes look so much better than the scans that show up on the website - and, I am quite sure, that the true stitched pieces are even far better still. The Crystal Symphony design is especially breathtaking - a beautiful woman and lots of dripping beads. I will have to get started stitching this one right away (so much for New Year's resolutions). The Fern and Ivy patterns have also arrived and they look really cute. These are smaller designs - to give you a greater sense of accomplishment in a shorter time - and they are just the beginning of a new series from Nora. Be sure to check out Crystal Symphony and the new Fern and Ivy designs on our site.

We have also added Weeks Dye Works floss to the site. These beautiful threads are used in so many designs - Brittercup Designs, Glendon Place, Lynne Nicoletti, Raise the Roof and so many more. Be sure to check them out - Weeks Dye Works.

Here's a new project that I started over the weekend. This is one of Emie Bishop's designs - Sunshine and Flowers. I really like how quickly this stitching up.

Swarovski crystal beads

We continue to add new products every day - so be sure to keep an eye out for new goodies. Along with a bunch of new releases from Nashville, we're thrilled to be adding Swarovski crystal beads. These are real Austrian crystal and they come in an array of colors and finishes. So far, we won't require any minimum order on these, but please be aware that orders that include crystal beads may take a little longer to ship as we build our stock of these. The first colors that will go up on the site will be those that are called for by the designs that we sell (primarily Chatelaine Designs). Then we will continue with other colors.

Once we have added the Swarovski beads, we will begin adding Delica beads to the site as well. Once again, we will focus on carrying beads that are required for designs that we carry.

Stay tuned for more exciting additions!

A Framing Story and How this all began

I have a sad story - (with a lesson)

Years ago, I went on my first business trip/vacation. It was in September, only weeks after Hurricane Andrew had torn through southern Florida - and my company was sending me to....Miami Beach. Living in New England, a trip to Florida seemed great - except for the fact that the Hurricane devastation was amazing.

Anyway, I was feeling not-quite-right when I got on the plane and by the time arrived I was feeling quite miserable. A couple of phone calls later I found out that a number of my friends at home had the mumps - and since I really couldn't turn my head and had a nice fever, it seemed that I had the same thing. Anyway, business meetings were out of the question and due to the desctruction in the area, it was hard to even find a pharmacy that was open. I wanted to pretty much stay away from everyone so I wouldn't give the mumps to anyone else - it was shaping up to be a pretty bleak week.

A couple days into the week, the hotel maid noticed my misery and suggested some sun and a book and maybe a hobby - she asked what kind of quiet activities I enjoyed and she suggested knitting and said she'd be back later with a project to occupy my week. Hours later she returned and informed me that, unfortunately, her favorite yarn shop had been badly damaged in the storm. But, the good news was, she found another project that I might enjoy. She handed me a bag with a piece of fabric, an embroidery hoop, a jumble of threads and a pattern with a beautiful picture on the front and heiroglyphics on the back.

The next afternoon, Elsie (the maid and my new friend) returned to show me how to decipher the pattern and how to start my new hobby. The pattern was for Gift of Peace from Lavender & Lace and that was the beginning of my love for cross stitch.

It took me a year or so, but I finally finished my stitching and I searched for a needlework shop near my home to have my Santa framed. It was tough to find a needlework shop that also did framing, but I persevered and found one. I picked out a nice oval frame and the framer went to work. That was more than 10 years ago.

I recently learned that Elsie, my friend in Miami, passed away after a battle with cancer. This Christmas when I put my Santa in a more prominent place for the season, I took a close look at my piece and remembered how kind this woman was. Just think - her home and all around it had been nearly destroyed, here was this kid with the mumps (quite contagious mumps) moping around a hotel in the middle of all of this destruction, and she came to help me. While she said it helped her to keep busy and to sit and stitch peacefully with other people, and if she wasn't stitching with me, she would be stitching by herself at home until her extended family could come help her with repairs to her house. I'm sure she never expected me to fall in love with stitching and to some day open my own shop.

So - to the framing part. While looking at my Gift of Peace this Christmas, I noticed that the fabric had loosened - quite a bit. Hmmm. That can't be good.

So I brought it to a needlework shop that I've found since beginning my hobby to have it re-framed. OK - here's the tough part - Imagine my horror when the framer called to say that she had really bad news. It seems that the original framer had - get this - cut the linen so she could fit it flat in the oval frame. She didn't trim the edges which would have been bad enough - she "clipped" the fabric - just like you would if you were sewing a curved seam in clothing. I cried. I cried a lot. It was so bad that we couldn't even figure out how to reframe it the way it was originally. The framer had used tape - so when it was removed the fabric really frayed at each of the notches that were cut in the fabric.

OK - I have cried about this for about a week. At this point, I think I will sew strips of fabric to the "sides" and finish the piece as a pillow. The lesson here is to be sure to know your framer. The framers I have used in the last ten years have been wonderful. They lace my needlework. The mounting is always perfect. They will even clean my pieces if I haven't gotten them just perfect. After all the hours that go into stitching your piece, you want to be sure that it will be handled correctly in the finishing process. Finishing is an art and and a skill. Its perfectly reasonable to ask to see samples of a finisher's work before handing over your stitchery. Different framers and finishers will do things differently - you just want to be sure that whatever is done to your piece will not compromise its strength and beauty.

Xs and Ohs and new shipping

Xs and Ohs Designs are currently being added to our site. These designs include a wide array of subjects - lots of dragons and fairies. Here is the Blue Mermaid - one of a few fantastic mermaid designs from Xs and Ohs. Quite a few great children's designs as well. Be sure to stop by Needlearts Gallery to see them.

Also, we have adjusted our shipping charges. Standard shipping on purchases (within the U.S.) will be free for orders over $50.00. We generally ship via Priority Mail and will continue to do so unless it just doesn't make sense.

As for stitching - just about finished with that Marlitt on Indian Summer Reflections from Chatelaine. Can't wait to start the silks!

Lugana available and stitching through dinner

25 count and 28 count Lugana are available on our website today - Including the Vintage Country colors Cream and Mocha. We sell fabric by the half-width - which means half the width of the fabric as it comes off the bolt. Generally linen, lugana, jobelan and many others are available 27" wide. If you need a piece that is wider than 27", we'll do what we can to accomodate your LARGE project. Just drop us an email.

This week we will also be adding Chatelaine Designs to the website. Martina Weber designs absolutely beautiful, detailed designs using a great variety of fibers, beads and stitches.

I am currently working on Indian Summer Reflections designed by Martina of Chatelaine Designs. The colors are fantastic and the detail is incredible - all the way down to a tiny spider on a web. Right now I am working through part 4. There is a serious amount of Marlitt involved here as well as some Petite braid and silk. So, kind of like eating your veggies first and leaving the best part for last, I have decided to tough it out through all of the Marlitt (the veggies), then on to the Petite braid (the meat) and save the silk for last (dessert!). But I really do love this design! Stay tuned for pics and stop by the shop - Needlearts Gallery

Spring is coming!

Well, it IS the middle/end of January, so I suppose it should be cold. But the temp was still a bit shocking this morning - just below zero. Just a couple of weeks ago it was 70 degrees. So, given how cold it is today, adding some new Spring and Easter releases to the website felt even better than usual.

Glendon Place has release a series of Egg designs - Glendon Place designs. These are really cute. Also, we really like the recommended fabric for these - Vintage Country Cashel linens. We have also finally been able to add all of the Cashel linen colors to the website - check them out - including the Vintage Country colors.

For those of you stitch faster than I do (that would be lots and lots of people) there are some great winter WhimZi designs from Just Nan and some great winter themed WhimZi frames - a Pearl Frame with a snowflake and two Navy frames - one with mittens and one with a snowman. Nan has also released a Snow Bonnets design, a cute companion to Snow Faces - all little snowmen and snowwomen.

We are still doing our best to get our products up on the site as fast as possible. With Nashville coming up quickly, there will be a huge flurry or new releases in the next weeks so we're trying to get as caught up as humanly possible before then. We still have nearly all of the designs that we had on our old site so please feel free to email or call with any requests that you have that haven't made it back to the site.

Hopefully, I'll be able to post some stitching progress pics next time.

Little Happy Dance

After my frustration with snow-stitching, I decided to do a nice small project. I needed a sense of accomplishment. This is from Victoria Sampler's Beyond Cross Stitch collection and is Level Six #9 Spider Web Flower - Thistles. It was a real quick and easy stitch. I will save all of the diagrams and instructions from this kit because they were really great instructions - they go into my reference notebook for the future. I didn't love the colors shown on the cover of the kit, but, as it turns out, the colors in the kit are purple/lavender and green, not pink and green as shown on the cover.
Not sure how I'm going to finish this. Maybe a nice card. Maybe not.


I think I need a "finishing week"!

To celebrate this little piece, all Victoria Sampler Beyond Cross Stitch kits (and maybe a few others) will be on sale from 1/21/07 to 1/28/07. Also, there are a few more spots left in our "$10 coupon to the first 25 customers to register" promotion (you can see that in a previous post).



Happy Winter!

Stitching Snow on a White Background

Ya know - Its hard to feel a sense of accomplishment when stitching snow on a white background. After a couple more hours of stitching on Giggles in the Snow - its hard to see any difference at all. Very frustrating.

And - it finally snowed. So much for finishing before the snow fell. Of course, its the middle of January - there should be FEET of snow on the ground. Instead, the daffodils are a couple of inches tall and there are still BUGS around. Hmmmm. This can't be good.

I think I'm totally justified in moving on to another piece for a while. Don't you?

Merry Christmas to Me - Yazzii Organizer

Merry Christmas to Me! I got a Yazzii Carry-All Organizer for Christmas and I've finally had a chance to really play with it. The bag is 5" deep when it is laying down and it zips closed from both sides. There are two "pages" inside and each page has zippered plastic or vinyl pockets of differing sizes on each side of the page. Some pockets are just the right size for small scissors, my Tacky Bob, a pin keep, a needlebook, spools of metallic thread, cards of specialty threads, packs of beads and more. Then the top of the case has a large zippered pocket - large enough to hold charts or magazines and more. The whole case is deep enough to hold a small set of Q Snaps too!

I need organizers like this all over my house!

(Updated with a picture of my organizer - I still haven't filled all of the pockets!)

Here's the picture from Yazzii of their Carry-All (they also make a few others). I'll post a pic of my fully loaded Carry-All in the next couple days.

This almost makes up for not getting Chatelaine's Persian Iris Garden for Christmas (but Valentine's Day is coming!)

Some Christmas stitching done and new products added

In keeping with my New Year's Stitching resolutions (it is still January after all) I have finished one piece of Christmas stitching. This is the 'Chris' tree ornament from M Designs. If you turn the ornament on its side, you can see that each side of the tree is made of the name 'Chris'. I stitched my ornament on a Silkweaver solo with Caron Waterlilies.

Mary McLenon (such a sweetheart) of M Designs designs these. You can go to her website and request specific names and she will send you the chart for your name ornament. She also has designed and released a number of word trees to shops such as 'Peace', 'Joy', and 'Love'. Of course, she also has many other beautiful designs. For the next 10 days, M Designs charts will be on sale through our website, NeedleartsGallery.com. Visit us soon for 15% off M Designs charts. Many of her designs are already up on the site and we'll be adding more each day.

Since the winter has been (and still is) so warm, I still have a chance of finishing Mirabilia's Giggles in the Snow before the snow flies. That will be my next focus followed by one of the new Just Nan designs.

Its a New Year!

Happy New Year! Time for new beginnings, resolutions and a whole basket of new projects!
Our new website is finally up and running - come visit us Needlearts Gallery - We will send a $10 coupon to the first 25 customers who register on our new site.

We have already added a pretty good selection of supplies and tools and we will continue to add designs daily over the next few months. Of course, we will add new designs as they are released!

As usual, the holidays were hectic but fun. And, as usual, I couldn't accomplish half of what I had hoped to accomplish. But I did finish knitting a nice mohair wrap for my mother just in time for Christmas (the afternoon of Christmas Eve).

My stitching resolutions for this year are:

1. 1. Alternate Christmas stitching with non-Christmas stitching throughout the year
2. 2. Expand my stitching horizons - no new Mirabilia's until I complete a piece by a new-to-me designer
3. Try three new finishing techniques
4. Organize that stash!

Here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year!

Needle Box kits have arrived!

We're just about ready to go live!! I think you're really going to like the new site. Customers now have the option to register which provides a number of benefits - speedier checkout, order history, tracking of store credit and more benefits to come. The search capability is vastly improved. You'll be able to go directly to the fabric, fibers and embellishments recommended by the designer for our most popular charts. We're really thrilled.

Also, the needle box kits from Charted Imagery that I mentioned in an earlier post have arrived. The kits include directions and pre-cut pieces of mat board. The directions are easy to follow - and the fabric is glued - not sewn. You supply your own fabric to match or complement your decor - the instructions specify how much fabric you will need. I will post pictures of my progress with my needle box over the weekend.

Almost there!

Almost ready to go live with our new website! We're really happy with the features we've been able to add to the site and, even more important - we're really happy with how quickly we can add new products. So, even though we haven't moved everything over yet, we still plan to go live with the new site next week and continue to add products - both old and new - over the next few weeks.
We will be carrying Weeks Dye Works as well as some new designers and some new stitcher's helpers. Look for mesh bags, Picture This Plus fabrics and designs, Dinky Dyes threads and designs, and so much more over the next few weeks. So come visit us - http://www.NeedleartsGallery.com - we'd love to hear from you.

Do-over - again - and my Wish List

Well, once again, we are re-designing and moving our webstore. While overall it is definitely easier to move in cyberspace than in the real world, it is still a lot of work - especially when you do it twice in one year. We have a real tough time with our software partner over the last year and realize now that it would be best to just cut ties and move on. Which means of course another physical inventory and a huge amount of data entry - again.

The good news is that the new store offers lots of features from our wish list and will be much easier to use - and - we have the opportunity to add new designers and products. We are adding the designs by Liz Turner Diehl, including her stumpwork kits. Also, Lorri Birmingham designs, and Drawn Thread designs. We will also have the opportunity to increase our offering of tools and organizers - including Yazzi bags (which I absolutely love) and those vinyl mesh zipper bags which are so incredibly handy all over the house. The downside of all of this is that I have no stitching time until its done. :-( But, I'm still real excited to get the new store up and running.

Since I'm not stitching right now, I am comforting myself with a wish list to start working on as soon as possible. Here's my wish list so far:

• The Secret Garden Mystery from Chatelaine - it starts in January but I'll start collecting materials as soon as the list is published.
• Pollyanna's Summertime Lamplighter Knot Garden from Liz Turner Diehl
• Autumn in My Garden from Mirabilia

Of course, I still have my current rotation to work on as well. Hopefully I'll be happily stitching and answering emails again by December 1.

Chatelaine Indian Summer Reflections

Well, its the end of the month. I didn't exactly make it on half of my stitching goals. I certainly didn't make it all the way to the rabbit on Fairy Idyll nor did I finish any of the name tree ornaments from M Designs. However, I did finish part 3 on Indian Summer Reflections - and I'm pretty proud of myself on that front.

I also managed to get the second boot on little Mr. Giggles in the Snow. Still hoping to get Giggles in the Snow done before it starts snowing.

I think I need more reasonable stitching goals in the future. For the month of November, I will have to stick to Christmas gifts stitching and finishing.

Off to trick-or-treat! Happy Halloween!

Snowman Christmas Wallet

Here's my little snowman - stitched on Aida (not my favorite, but it was so stiff it was a great travel project - no qsnaps needed). This is a freebie chart from Kreinik - but I'm not sure if this is Merry, Moe or Flurry.

I think I will finish this one as a wallet, in the style of Just Nan's Christmas wallet. I will need to find a couple of coordinating fabrics for the interior and I can add a pocket for a gift card. The design is almost big enough that I could change the size of the "wallet" and use it to hold a CD in a clamshell case. Hmmm - have to think about that.


Still plugging away on part 3 of Chatelaine's Indian Summer Reflections, but at least I have finally finished the marlitt parts. My goal still is to finish part 3 by the end of the month which should be doable. Hopefully, I'll finish by this weekend and I can catch up on my Christmas stitching.

New release weekend

Its a big weekend to put new releases up on the site. Now that our power has been restored after Friday's storms and we've been able to restore some data backups, there's a lot to update.

There is a new limited edition Mirabilia kit distributed by Hoffman - Miss Valentine. These kits have been very popular. The only complaint I have heard about them is that there were a couple of errors packaging the Halloween Fairy kit. However, if you contact Hoffman Distributing, they will correct any problems with the kit very quickly. Here is a pic of the new Valentine fairy.

Mirabilia also released a new mermaid design this past week - South Seas Mermaid. I can't wait to see some WIPs of this mermaid, as (as usual) I don't think the cover photograph does it justice.

The online Needlework Show was last weekend and the new items from the show that we ordered are beginning to arrive. In the next week we will have Dinky Dyes threads and charts up on the site. We are really excited to carry these beautiful threads and designs. We will also begin offering designs by Liz Turner Diehl - her garden designs are gorgeous and her kits are fantastic.

As far as my stitching goes, it wasn't a very productive weekend. Since the leaves finally changed somewhere around Wednesday, and the huge storm came through Friday, it was important to us to go see the few remaining leaves on the trees. I guess I'll just have to make up for that this week!