Monday, September 29, 2014

Rain, Rain and more rain!

What a dreary day this Monday is. Cloudy and rainy....the perfect day to stay inside and stitch.  I wish I was able to stay home today and do just that. I really want to finish the Halloween piece I'm working on. Hopefully, I will be able to get it done this weekend but of course, something will come up and my stitching time will get reduced. 

Many new designs have arrived recently with more coming. Take a look at some designs that are on the way and check out our website (What's new section) and see what has already arrived. I have found quite a few designs that I will be adding to "the stash".


Cathy Habermann of Hands on Design and Tracy Horner of Ink Circles will be visiting The Stitch and Frame Shop on Wednesday October 15th as part of their "Trail of Orts" tour. They plan to be here from 11:00am till 1:00pm and will each be bringing a collection of models and charts. If you are able to, please stop by and visit with them. We are looking forward to their visit!



COMING SOON!


From Imaginating
 New Autumn/Halloween designs. My favorite is the "Let's Be Thankful". A definite must do for me. Of course, I won't get it done this year even though there are 93 days left.

  Let's Be Thankful                          Halloween Fun


     
       Halloween Tricks            Autumn Birdhouse


From Little House Needleworks
Yeah! A new addition to the Hometown Holiday series. Also a new calendar girl (October is definitely my new favorite).

Moonlight

  
  Hometown Holiday-                     Calendar Girls-   
  Firehouse                                         October 


From Summer House Stitche Workes
A beautiful new sampler. Love all the colors!!

Karoline Beringer


From Plum Street Samplers
I love this little sampler especially the witch on her "sleigh" being pulled by black cats. Too funny!!

Ghoul Tidings


From My Big Toe
Three new religious samplers from My Big Toe. 

               Do Not Weep                                The Greatest of These  

I Surrender All


From Heart in Hand
Three new Christmas designs. I love the "Wee Santa" with all the animals and the "Vintage Greeting" reminds me of a Christmas card. 

    
               Wee Santa 2014        Christmas Means More

Vintage Greeting:
A Merry Christmas


From Bent Creek
What a fun new kit from Bent Creek. 

Pumpkin Leaves (kit)
Kit includes 18 count Natural linen and DMC Perle Cotton.


From White Willow Stitching
Yee-haw!! A cowboy boot.

Tribal Cowboy Boot


From Glendon Place
What a cute Halloween piece!

Best Friends Forever
#2 in the Village Home Series


Have a great week!


Monday, September 22, 2014

New designs are on the way!

With cooler weather returning, now is a great time to get those fingers flying and get some stitching done. I actually started a Halloween project over the weekend. I hope to get it finished in a week or two (most likely 2) and then I'll post a picture of it. 


***NOTE*** 
The Fall Custom Framing Special will start this Saturday September 27th and run through October 14th. It is starting a litter earlier this year so I wanted to give everyone a heads up. During the special, you will receive 20% off a total custom frame order. A 50% deposit is required and rush orders will not be discounted. This offer cannot be combined with any other discounts or promotions.
also
Are you planning to have Diana do some finishing (like stockings, pillows, etc.) for Christmas?
Well, the Christmas cut off date for finishing is September 30th. Anything dropped off after that date, will not be ready for Christmas so get those projects finished quickly. 


NEW DESIGNS COMING SOON


From Rosewood Manor
What a beautiful sampler! I love the colors. 

Quaker Village


From By the Bay Needleart
A lovely fall design. 

Autumn in Vermont


From Just Nan
A wonderful collection of fall/Halloween designs. The new ornament is simply "batty".


October Eves

    
Batty Boris - Limited Edition Ornament          Spider Cat      
                                                                                Garden Charm Pin
                                                                                  (limited pins available)
                                                              
   

From Nora Corbett
Cleo and her raven friend are ready for a new adventure. She is the fifth of six designs in the Bewitching Pixie series.  Mari has the wisdom of the great owl in one hand and the magical powers of the staff in the other. She is the last of the series of six designs in the Bewitching Pixie series.

BEWITCHING PIXIES
Mari                                          Cleo


From Historic Stitches and Liberty Hill
Historic Stitches and Liberty Hill have collaborated on a new project... The Harvest Home Pynboxe. The kit includes a hand-painted box by Liberty Hill and a chart by Historic Stitches for the box’s lid liner, plus detailed instructions for making the wool pumpkin pincushion. This box is tooo cute!!!


The Harvest Home Pynboxe


From Teresa Kogut
I love all 3 of these designs but my favorite is "Give Ye Thanks". Have I mentioned before that I love Thanksgiving?

Merry Halloween                     Angels Wings   

Give Ye Thanks


From Waxing Moon Designs
I really like this fall banner and her other seasonal banners are nice as well.

Autumn Things


From Scissor Tail Designs
What a simple but beautiful Christmas piece. 

Christmas Charm


From MarNic Designs
"Pumpkin Critters" is my new favorite "welcome" desgin. This will be a definite project for next year. 

Pumpkin Patch Critters

Cat-Attitude


Other new designs arriving are:

    
  Quote of the Month            Halloween Tree
                 September                  from The Sisterhood      
from Stoney Creek                                             
Those Shoes                             Hello Fall
both from Pickle Barrel Designs
                                         
Pomegranate Pocket & Pin             Northwoods    
          from Hands on Design                     from Ink Circles      




Stitching Tips
&
 Techniques


Using Blending Filament


There is nothing that can add more sparkle and pizzazz to your cross stitch than blending filament. It can also be very frustrating to work with however, there are some tricks to working with it. 

The reason the filament tends to split and break (which is why it is so frustrating to use) is due to the needle sliding up and down on the blending filament as you stitch. To stop this sliding action, knot the filament onto your needle. 

You can do this by following this easy threading technique:

1. Cut the required length of blending filament and fold about 5 cm (2 inches)          for one end.
2. Insert loop through eye of needle.
3. Pull loop over the point of the needle.
4. Tighten the loop at the end of the eye to secure the thread to the needle.



Also, use shorter thread lengths than you normally would. There is also a product called "Thread Heaven" that you can run your filament through that helps it to stitch more smoothly.



Have a great week!


Monday, September 15, 2014

Time just keeps flying by!

Wow, it's September 15th. This month is halfway over. Christmas will be here before you know it along with a brand new year. YIKES! Where does the time go. It seems like summer just started and now it's almost fall. Although, I am looking forward to fall (except for leaf raking...ughhhh). I like the cooler temps, the fall colors and "Thanksgiving".  Fall is one of my favorite seasons.

Need a new project to start this fall or perhaps need to start something to have ready for the holidays?
Take a look at some new designs and accessories that will be arriving in the shop soon. The perfect project or gift might just be on the way.

COMING SOON!

From Cherished Stitches
What a cute Halloween pillow. I love the black lace edge. 

All in a Night's Work


From Pine Mountain Designs
New pillow kits. I must be in a Halloween mood today. Take a look at the witch's feet sticking out of the cauldron...toooo cute. Must do this pillow. It won't take too long and I can actually do the finishing:)

Special Delivery - September 
The kit includes the pre-sewn pillow, 16ct Aida, 
DMC floss, needle and pattern!

Words of Wisdom- September
"Home is Wherever I'm with Family"
You get to choose either the 16ct Aida kit which includes the pre-sewn pillow sleeve of decorator fabrics, the embellishment, DMC floss, needle and the pattern  OR the 32ct Linen kit which includes the linen, pattern, and photograph and will work up to 3" x 5" when finished. 

Witchey  Witchey
A Halloween Tie-One-On Kit
The kit includes pre-sewn cotton fabric pillow sham with a 16ct Aida center and with organza ties, DMC floss, tapestry needle, and complete instructions. 



From Kelmscott
New scissors and needle minders. I love the two-toned "Halloween" Scissors.

        
 Spooks & Spells Scissors          Magic Potion Scissors


     Antique Sewing Machine          Ivory Scissors     
        Needle Minder                      Needle Minder


From Lizzie Kate
More great designs from Lizzie Kate. I love the new boxer kit "I Cannot Count My Day Complete Until Needle & Thread Meet". Unfortunately, based on this saying, I have a lot of incomplete days. My needle and thread do not get to meet every day:(

   Flora McSample's     Reindeer Stocking    
  2014 Stockings                                            

Snow Dudes

Inspiration Boxer:
I Cannot Count My Day Complete
Until Needle and Thread Meet

Spooky Eyes (KIT)
This kit includes the 28ct EEK fabric (cut and serged), black pompom trim, skein of black overdyed thread, mother-of-pearl buttons, tiny white buttons and all finishing instructions. 



From Glendon Place
Four great new designs from Glendon Place but my absolute favorite is "Autumn ala Round".  

It's Harvest Time

Autumn Ala Round


Eerie Express

Boo from the Crew


From The Sweetheart Tree
Three new kits and three new charts. 

   
House on Pumpkin Hill (kit)                Friendship (kit)          

          Health (kit)                        Shades of Halloween
                                                              chart includes embellishments

  
Snowman & Friend                             Honest          
    chart includes embellishments      chart includes embellishments 


From Sue Hillis Designs
The perfect "broom" for a stitching witch to ride. Love this design. I won't be able to get it done for this Halloween but it will be a must for next year.

Witch's Stitches


From Little House Needleworks
                & Classic Colorworks
What a simple but beautiful autumn design. 

Harvest
Chart includes 4 skeins of Classic Colorworks floss.


From Foxwood Crossing
Burrrr. This piece makes me cold but I love it anyway. 

Freezing Season



Have a great week!