It's Our 15th Anniversary!

The photo on the right is of one of our free patterns, from Monsterbubbles, stitched by Pam Shelquist, finished by Corliss Marsh - on Baroque hand dyed fabric from Picture This Plus. The other photo is Sandy's niece, who took the advice to heart! :-)

Mill Hill is early this year - with their fall kits and now even their Christmas kits are ready! The beaded and buttoned series is a village - there's a church, toy shop, train depot, tree farm, post office and Victorian house, just darling! And there's their usual cute Christmas pins - we love them all - teddy, carolers, holly wreath, train, kitty and gingerbread boy. You can see them on www.wichelt.com - and here in the shop, of course! Soon they'll have a new Santa ornament series ready, which have always been wonderful in the past.

Many of our favorite designers have great new designs, too - we especially love the cute patterns from Count Your Blessings, Forever in My Heart, Prairie Schooler and the new Daydreams from Dimensions. Janlynn has followed their Dolly Mamas with Chicklets - the daughters! - "Motor Mouth", "Miss Understood", "Miss Know-it-all", "Smarty Pants", "Princess Drama" and "Miss Behave" - what a hoot! And Hob Nobb's new buttons and patterns are terrific!, a wonderful baby sampler, Limited Edition Spring and Christmas, new Doodles, just so cute!

Please remember, you can always look up patterns for us to order for you, by subject, keyword or designer at http://hoffmandis.com

We also have Stitcher's Journals from Yarn Tree; each has graph paper as well as journal pages, so you can design and record your materials, thoughts and ideas, all in one beautiful book. They'd make a great gift for any stitcher.

Peter Rabbit has made his appearance - in the baby sampler Sandy stitched for her newest grandson, Mitch. It's not framed yet, so no photo - but you can see it at the shop. Pretty darned sweet!

"All Purpose Recipe for Cleaning your Needlework

The Valentine museum has a wonderful needlework collection. This recipe comes from one of the curators at the Valentine, Grace Wells, via needlework teacher Marion Scoular. Mix 1 T Ivory Flakes (or grated bars Ivory soap) and 2 T Snowy Bleach. Dissolve this in 1 gallon of hot water and let it COOL TO ROOM TEMPERATURE. Put your needlework in this solution and soak until the stain is gone, up to three weeks. Rinse very well. The "up to 3 weeks" part of the directions implies that the solution is not changed, but I'd check water level for evaporation, as above. And when I add water, I'd give things a gentle swish."

Find loads of free designs here:

http://www.cross-stitch-art.com/crossstitch2/Enewsarchive.htm

And some great ideas for gifts:

http://www.cross-stitch-art.com/crossstitch2/Thingstomake.htm

And even animated instructions!

http://www.cross-stitch-art.com/crossstitch2/AnimatedXS.htm

Addressing those pesky fabric creases again, this advice is from Marla Hunt in the Nordic Needle's newsletter: "take a mixture of white vinegar and water and dab it on the crease...then put a damp dishcloth on it and lightly steam it dry until it disappear(s). It work(s) beautifully."

SPRING...IS SPRINGING!

It's beautiful here, sunny morning walks start out cool and end up WARM! It's hard to sit still and stitch, but since Sandy's held captive here at the shop, she does usually find some time...Hope you do, too!

Here's a picture of Alice, who spends her lunch hours working on her Hardanger - she began this piece in 2004! Persistence - and a small investment of time each day - and we can all accomplish wonders. Consider joining us for our Wednesday morning stitch group, from 10 AM to noon - you CAN finish something! :-) (Hardanger, second and fourth Tuesdays, 7-9 PM, 10% discount on Hardanger purchases.)

Consider the philosophy of "just one stitch is better than no stitch at all". If you sit down to stitch just one stitch you could easily look up 1/2 hour later, find that more than one stitch has been done and you're a little bit farther along on the project. It works!!

Another great tip: When stitching a large area of one color, stitch only half stitches when you are able to use the chart and carefully count. Then when you want to stitch quickly or carry a project along to the doctor's office or kid's sports or play practice or music lesson, you will only need your fabric, needle and thread and you can cross those stitches without having to count or refer to a chart!

We have lots of new projects in the shop, many of them quick and easy - honest! Come check out the fun! Becky completed a darling Dimensions straw bag - embellished with a needlepoint initial, though it could also be cross stitched; see it before she gives it to her daughter. Reta's completed fairies, the Passione Ricamo Autumn Fairy and Mirabilia's Christmas Fairy, are here for just a couple more weeks - just darling! They'll be off to the Hood River Blossom Festival at the Odell fairgrounds April 15, 16, Easter weekend. And one of our favorite new things - Chocolate from Hob Nobb - makes you hanker for a piece, and we have one for you! Leisure Arts has a series of cross stitch books combining simple stitching with stamping and water color painting - great for kids, too. We also have a few very cute Dimensions kits for Russian punch needle - now THAT's quick and easy!

FRIENDSHIP TAPESTRY - It's made its USA debut, at Nordic Needle in Fargo, ND - see their wonderful pictures on the website - and "Rags" is still adding pieces, so yours can still be included. www.internet.is/friendshiptapestry.

UNFINISHED PROJECTS - If you have pieces that you just can't bear to look at any longer, consider donating them to Corliss's team's Relay for Life Unfinished Project Sale - which will also be a great place to shop when the time comes! We'll keep you posted! Meanwhile, start sorting. :-)

CONVERSION CHARTS - Reta shared this fabulous website with us today; you can even find REAL thread numbers for kits in some cases! Just about every kind of conversion you can think of has a resource listed here: aion-needlecrafts.co.uk/info/conversions.htm - do check it out!

A REMINDER - We are here because of YOU, and we thank you so much for these 15 years of your support. Please consider ordering your stitching pleasures from US rather than online or from a catalog. Instant gratification is more expensive - you pay that shipping - and in the end, if we can't provide it for you now, we can't be here in the long run for you, either. We really try hard to satisfy all your stitching needs. Please call, or email, before you indulge that whim. Each book you buy from US is marked on your book card; the thirteenth, up to a $10 value, is FREE!

Here's A Useful Idea

Sandy forgot to include this yesterday; she read it in the Nordic Needle newsletter and has used it on the Peter Rabbit Sampler she's stitching for her newest grandson, Mitch. It has a single stitch border all the way around.

When you have a distance like that to cover, or any distance of some length, rather than counting and re-counting, as you go across with the first half cross, simply cross every tenth stitch! She re-counted each group of ten, but then just carried on across the width of 224 stitches, no problem! What a concept!

Back From Nashville!

Where to start?! We saw so much, it's still almost a blur. Of course, the off and on snow kept up the blur, too - schools were closed! There was not much snow sticking, but we were told the hidden ice was the culprit - and the drivers don't slow down, so there are lots of accidents.

We brought back new designs (and ordered more) from Hob Nobb (the CHOCOLATE is Sandy's favorite), Landmark Designs (English), Lizzie Kate, Imaginating, My Mark, Blue Ribbon Designs, 4 My Boys, Janlynn (Chiklets!), Lilybet Designs, Kitty Kats Original, Sue Hillis Designs, Forever in My Heart (check out the Clipboards!, too cute), Water's Edge, Art-Stitch Designs, The Marking Samplar, Whimsey & Wit, Erica Michaels, X's & Oh's, Brittercup Designs, Sisters & Best Friends, La-D-Da, Ladybug Lane, Designs From Pamela, Elizabeth's Needlework Designs, Prairie Moon, The Stitchworks, Monsterbubbles, ewe & eye & friends, Twisted Threads, JBW Designs, Hands to Work, Val's Stuff, Bizzi Creations...and MORE.

There are also new hand dyed fabrics (including Aida!) from Pictue This Plus - colorfast, too; new overdyed threads from both The Gentle Art (Sampler Threads) and Weeks Dye Works; lots of frames and Serendipity kits and patterns; buttons from Just Another Button Co.; there's lots more, plus tons of free patterns to share with all of you. Come check out the new stash!

When you do, mention the Blog for a free gift from Nashville and a "coupon" specially tailored just for YOUR purchase!

Happy New Year! Here's to the Winners!

We hope you had a great Christmas! Ours was shared with our children and grandchildren, so it was very special; those grandkids are sooo much fun!

It was also shared by our wonderful stitchers, eight of whom brought their beautiful Christmas ornament creations for the month of December - our tree was lovely - and Sandy forgot to take a picture!!

Winners were: First place, $15 gift certificate, Marie Huntington, Partridge in a Pear Tree; Second place, $10 gift certificate, Reta Holland, Ladybug Diamond; Third place, $5 gift certificate, Ada Marie Haake, Roly Poly Santa; and People's Choice, two Christmas leaflets from Knotted Tree NeedleArt, Reta's Ladybug again. (She says ladybugs are Christmas good luck in Germany.) Congratulations, and thanks to all who entered - each entrant got a Christmas ornament pattern with a Sampler thread and fabric to make it.

To begin the new year, we drew three winners from 2005's filled book cards; winners are Mary Beth Thouvenel, Sandy Hoyt and Pam Shelquist, each of whom got to choose a large cross stitch collection book, such as 365 Alphabets, a $21.95 value. Congratulations! It's fun for us to collect the cards during the year as they are turned in for a free book up to a $10 value - your thirteenth is free - and then to give away more yet. Free is Sandy's favorite thing!

STITCH GROUPS

We're still hosting two groups, Wednesday mornings from 10 to noon, and a Hardanger group on the second and fourth Tuesday evenings, 7 - 9 pm. Come join us! The Hardanger group earns a 10% discount on Hardanger materials those evenings, so come down, stitch, visit and shop!

NASHVILLE SHOW COMING UP

We'll be off to the Cash and Carry trade show Feb. 10-13; the shop will be open, 11 - 3, and there are already lots of new things in stock - on the 14th there will be lots more! Mill Hill's new spring pins will be here soon, really cute as always - there's a Fishing Frog!, and Antique Daisy, and four more cuties; Lizzie Kate's Flip Its for 2006 are twelve darling Christmas "littles" with no-sew finishing - Sandy bought a new wreath to hang them on, but they also offer a cute Feather Tree - it actually has feathers! If you're interested, come look - or check their website - so we can pick one up for you in Nashville.

Another exhibitor whom we have not seen there in many years (she can't keep up!), Hob Nobb Designs, will be showing new designs; if you've done any of their quick designs with their really darling intricate button embellishments, you'll want to come in for those; we still have a few from the last order, which also included some new ones.

Picture This Plus will be showing new hand dyed fabric colors; theirs are also available in Aida, a real bonus. They're colorfast, not too expensive, and really fun to stitch on. The photo is one of the two Cancer pillows Sandy did for Christmas, on their Cherub Cashel, for her two sisters-in-law who are celebrating 5 years cancer-free. She's pleased to report that they were tickled by them. (They use Just Another Button Co. buttons, on their own free pattern.)

SPEAKING OF FREE...

We always have lots of free patterns to give away; Just Another Button Co. has one every month, using their buttons, of course - Wichelt sends us one - Lizzie Kate and many others have theirs online. We'll bring back LOTS from the Nashville Show. We love to sell books, our bread and butter, so to speak, but we use the freebies often, too. They're great for new ideas and inspiration, and we love to share. All you have to do is stop in!

Merry Christmas!

We had a fun afternoon with Jamie Beam of Knotted Tree NeedleArt, and her mom, Bonnie. Jamie was full of fun ideas, brought lots of finished pieces for us to see, and those who dropped by enjoyed meeting her. Her story is in Just Cross Stitch magazine; she began designing for something to do after having to retire from banking due to health issues. Each of her patterns sold provides research funds for Multiple Sclerosis.

The Friendship Tapestry will be in the Midwest in March; if you're planning a trip to Fargo or Minneapolis, you could see it and meet Rags, or if you have family there as Sandy does, let them know about it. Check with us for the details.

Christmas Tea

Jamie now hails from Portland, but is originally from LaGrande (where mom still lives), so she's "one of us" east of the mountain gals. Her designs are really cute, too. :-) Jamie and her company were featured in the December/Christmas issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine, on the newsstands now - quite a coup for a new designer. Check out her designs on her website, www.knottedtree.com, or on http://hoffmandis.com. The one shown here is called "Snow Juggle".

You'll especially want to see the new books that have been arriving - from Alma Lynne, Mary Englebreit, Lizzie Kate and Heart in Hand, to name just a few.

What a Beautiful Fall!

Our morning walks are invigorating, to say the least...gorgeous sunshine and crisp air, perfect. Makes me eager to finish my necessary daily tasks - so I can stitch! :-)

Enjoy these seasonal Covered Bridges stitched by Linda Berry - see all four here in person!

Thanks to all who ordered from the online trade show - we enjoyed ourselves!, will have a number of new things arriving - some already here! Sandy solved Funk & Weber's Sudoku-like word puzzle, but didn't win. She did, however, win another door prize!, waiting to see what it will be.

Hoffman Distributors (http://hoffmandis.com) has a nifty way to let you, the consumer, know about new things in your own field of interest; set up your profile and they'll send you an email when something comes in - horses, flowers, kitchen, wind surfing, holidays, you name it, or name designers, too - and then, of course, we can order it for you. Sandy got carried away, had to be reminded to keep it to ten subjects. :-)

New books from Leisure Arts feature Stamping and Stitching - if you're into scrapbooking, you should check these out! Remember, too, that Kreinik carries metallic trims that you can iron on to the paper, a quick and lovely embellishment.

Online Trade Show October 12 - 17

There are many new things to see at the shop, including new necklaces to hold your thread cutter or scissors, Ort collectors :-), folding scissors are back, new designs at long last from Alma Lynne, an old favorite of ours, as well as Mirabilia, Lizzie Kate, La D Da, Mabel Lucie Atwell!, and so many more.

Pictured is Sandy's grandson Reece, 4, with one of his treasures stitched by grandma for his room, AJ the Airplane and BJ the Bulldozer, by The Design Connection.

Friendship Tapestry in Iceland

We've returned from a wonderful trip, first visiting Iceland where we met the woman behind the Friendship Tapestry, and were privileged to see it there; then on to the family farm and summer camp in Norway, what an incredible experience. The women's native costumes were richly decorated with cross stitch, Hardanger and beads - a surprise to me, and so beautiful. Everything on the costumes is handmade, even the fabric, all hand-woven and hand stitched. They are truly treasures.

Stop in to see more pictures!, and see the beautiful Icelandic pattern book Sandy brought back.

And, of course, check out the new patterns that are arriving weekly. Sandy fell in love with the new Mermaids of the Deep from Mirabilia - and she's NOT a mermaid person!

New Accessory Necklaces from Yarn Tree

We just received a newsletter from Yarn Tree with 8 beautiful new necklaces - to attach your thread cutter or scissors, keeping them around your neck and very handy! See them in color at
http://www.yarntree.com/funthings/002necklace.htm. Sandy's going to need a new one!

They also have six new wonderful paper Santa ornaments, although they're not pictured yet; you can see the previous three sets, though, as well as the three sets of snowmen. We'll be ordering later in August, so let us know if there's one you have to have!

That should help you feel cooler! - SNOWmen in July...:-)

Favorite news

Sandy really enjoys her newsletters from Kreinik and the Nordic Needle, and also loves to keep up with the Friendship Tapestry. You can, too, by clicking on these websites.

http://kreinik.com/reflections/july05/home.htm
www.internet.is/friendshiptapestry
http://www.nordicneedle.com/newsletters/signup.shtml

HOW MUCH FLOSS?

HOW MUCH FLOSS? Since this is a frequently asked question, we thought we’d mention it again. On 14 (stitches per inch) count fabric (or 28 over 2 threads), you should get from 1400 to 1800 stitches from one 8 meter skein of floss, depending on how you stitch. On 16 count (or 32 over 2) you should get 1600 to 2050 stitches per skein. And remember to buy multiple skeins of DMC, if needed, at the same time to insure a match. With Anchor there should not be a matching problem. Overdyed Sampler Threads vary with each batch, so be sure to get a matching second skein if there’s a doubt (5 yard skeins).

July Newsletter

SIZZLING SUMMER!

Actually, it’s a cool day today as I write this, but we all know that won’t last. My sweet hubbie is at this very minute installing (at long last!) an air conditioner in our bedroom, hurray! These hot flashes have gone on for so many years, and seem worse in the heat. Sweet relief!

“At least it’s dry here.” J We went to the trade show in Columbus, Ohio in June, where it was quite warm and humid. Reminded me of growing up in Minnesota, “for sure”! But we did see – and buy – lots of wonderful

…NEW…

things there. Designs are coming from several new companies as well as old favorites, including: Shepherd's Bush; darling new Doodles from Hob-Nobb (they go quickly - you may have easily missed them last time!); Custom House (samplers); new French companies, Dessins DHC and Filanthrope (the cutest dragons, Oriental calligraphy!, darling elves and birds); Bizzi Creations (the sweetest dog and cat and Friendship Poem); local designer (Portland area but Jamie's from LaGrande!) The Knotted Tree; Just My Imagination (Beeline and 6 Stockings in a Row, so cute! - also ordered a special frame for them); Funk & Weber (Illusions - Ambigram - What in the World - VERY intriguing - and some cute critters); Angel Stitchin' (adorable patterns with frames - such as My Name is No, No, Bad Dog); Sisters and Best Friends; Mosey 'n' Me (CUTE Santas!); Cross My Heart (Smoky Mountain Christmas, from a beautiful painting by Linda Kotila; Valerie Pfeiffer (Chorus Line, SIX of those adorable birds)...just for starters! New hand dyed fabrics, including Aida, are lovely!, and both Weeks Dye Works and Sampler Threads have luscious new colors.

Mill Hill's Christmas kits are here - Christmas in July! This year they've done a set of mitten ornaments (see Sandy’s snowman), pins (an angel, two Santas, two Snowmen and a tree - they can also be made up as ornaments), and six new beaded and buttoned kits, all adorable of course! (The fall kits are here, too.)

We saw a Christmas tree with all the ornaments made up from the annual Just CrossStitch Christmas Ornament issue- wonderful! We can still add you to our special order list - but don't delay in calling or emailing.

ANNUAL ORNAMENT CONTEST

If you complete your entry before fair time, you can enter it there, too – no time like the present!

Bring your child to Wednesday’s stitch group; you can each make one! We have a free beginning kit to give the first four youngsters who come with an adult.

INTRODUCING MY FRIEND…

Pick up a form to give a friend; when she/he uses it for an introductory discount, you will also receive a special discount. And for each form returned and used, your name will go into a special prize drawing for that month.

INTRODUCING OUR BLOG…

After 15 years we’re seriously considering not renewing our bulk mail. Fees and postage are so expensive – and the web is free! We’ll post news on the Web Log (Blog) periodically, as well as pictures and events, and may send an occasional email notice of an online newsletter. http://sandystitch.blogspot.com can be accessed any time, and you can write back, too. So, if you don’t receive another snail mail, you know where to find us! Please tell your friends, and please let us know your email address. “See” you online!

STITCH GROUPS - Cross Stitch Wednesdays, 10 A.M. to noon Free
Have fun brushing up or finishing something, or just
making some progress with other fanatics .

Hardanger 2^nd & 4^th Tuesdays, 7 – 9 P.M. (no group Aug. 9) Work on your own project, with help available.

10% discount on Hardanger materials purchased.

Sandy's Stitch Niche was nominated by Reta (left) as her favorite shop in The Cross Stitcher magazine, October 2004.