The Skinny On Ordering (aka Ordering Woes)

I am often asked why an item may take a while to be ordered and mailed.

In our industry, more than 99% of the vendors we deal with are small companies. While we purchase Zweigart fabric and DMC and other threads, we don't deal directly with them, but purchase through distributors here in the US. To put it into context, my local bakery (Crust here in Fenton) has more employees than most of the companies we purchase directly from.

Most are 1-2 people companies with a handful (Wichelt, Kreinik, Week's Dye Works, Norden Crafts, Fleur de Paris) having maybe 6 to 10 employees. While many cross-stitch designers also sell through one of the distributors that's not true of most thread and fabric dyers. So when you place an order for say, fabric from 4 different companies, threads from 6 more, a mug, a frame or a couple of charts, chances are we have to order from 2-10 vendors.

Where orders with most vendors took 1-2 weeks, that has now changed to more like 2-4 weeks and that's from the time we place the order. Our industry still has not recovered to pre-2008 levels and that means all of us tightened our belts. We are not able to carry as much stock as we once did nor can our vendors or distributors. So a hand-dyer of threads or fibers might no longer keep a deep inventory in stock but have to dye as needed, which means it can take longer to get orders than it once did. Plus, they all have lives outside of our industry and jury duty, an illness, a family emergency or even an unexpected school holiday can throw a spanner in the works (designers do not have 'staff' to fill in for them as they work out of their homes).

Some vendors we may only order from a few times a year; with many others once or twice a month. And, the only distributors we order from "nearly" every week are Hoffman, Norden, Wichelt and Yarn Tree. But they frequently have to backorder items to us or tell us to reorder until their shipments are filled (they have minimum order requirements to meet too from the manufacturers) and arrive back in their warehouses.

Speaking of minimum ordering amounts ... some of our companies have set dollar minimums we have to meet. until we have enough orders to meet their minimums, we cannot place our orders. And, with the companies that do dying of fabric and threads, they have to have enough yardage orders to dye a certain color before they can make that dye bath up. When they do have that minimum requirement met, those dye orders are then placed in queue to be dyed behind their existing orders.

My hope in explaining this is that you'll have a better understanding of why your orders don't magically appear and why it may take longer than you think it should. If you have a deadline for a project, let us know when you place an order and we can tell you if we think we can meet it. If not, we'll see if we can help you find an alternate, or see if another shop might have what you need. We are small industry and you would be surprised how many times we all reach out to our fellow shop owners to find things we don't have in our stock!

Another FUN Finishing On-Line Class!

Those of you who took the last Online Finishing Class with Jen Funk Webber will be excited to hear about another Finishing Class coming up May 5th!
It's a class on Hemstitching.

Do you have completed embroideries tucked away in a drawer, waiting to be finished into something that can be displayed? Would you rather not pay hundreds of dollars to have them framed? Are you running out of wall space to display your embroidery? Would you like to finish a piece that can stand alone (think: table runner, placemat, window treatment) or be added to a tote or jacket? Well, we've got just the thing, and you've found it!

ALL the details can be found here: http://www.funkandweber.com/shop/item/Hemstitching/291

Best of all, you get a SPECIAL CODE so that you can get 10% off: LOVEMYINDIESHOP You type this code into the coupon code box at checkout ... type it as ALL caps. Four words, ALL smooshed together ... and you'll get the discount.

Sign up now, so that on May 5th, you'll learn the fun and flexibility of hemming fabric edges to create useful and decorative stitched pieces. These pieces can then stand alone (placemats), be creatively framed (float mounted), be stitched or snapped to a tote or jacket or pillow or folder or, or, or...! There's no end to what you can create when your needlework isn't confined in a frame.

Nashville Needlework Market In My Future!

It's nearly time once again to make the trek to Nashville Tennessee for the  TNNA Needlework Market! 

I wish it were possible to convey even a portion of the magic and electricity you feel at a trade show!  You know what it's like to walk into a needlework store .. well, this is the same thing .. but we shops get to walk into the paradise of a designers 'store'!  This Market is held in an Embassy Suites hotel .. that's where the floor/rooms are on the outside walls surrounding an atrium in the middle.  So if you stand on the first floor in the middle of that atrium and look up, you'll see all the balconies bedecked with banners of the designers and companies that are attending to show us shops all of their newest designs and wares!

When you get off the elevator onto each show floor, you'll find all of the outside walls and windows with pictures, product and other decorations to entice you into that room.

 

Each designer/company sets up 'shop' in the first part of their suite, so when you walk through the door, you see displays and stitched models and all kinds of other stitching eye candy!  They turn their 'bedroom' into their 'warehouse' .. that's where they keep all the product so  that when we make our purchases, they (or their helpers) disappear into that back area, package up our goodies, take our money and send us cheerfully upon our way ... into the next room.

 !



The pictures above are all from past Needlework Markets, but you get the idea!
You may know by now that I always try to put up a Nashville Sneak Peeks Page, and it's up and live now!  But .. I'm also putting a good amount of the 'new' up on my catalog What's New pages.  Either way you get to see a 'glimpse' of only SOME of the things we'll be seeing and/or buying and/or bringing back to the shop.  I'd love to be able to buy it all in unlimited quantities, but that's a bit impossible.  So .. what YOU need to do is this:  check out both web sites ... mark down what you'd like me to bring back for you .. and then email me, the shop, at deb@stitchesnthings.com and let us know.  Pretty cool knowing you'll have a Personal Shopper just for you at a Needlework Market, huh?!  If you don't let me know what to buy, I may not bring that one item you MUST have back with me, or .. I might bring it back, but not enough!   Help Me Help You!

Friday is our 'class day', learning new techniques or information.  Friday evening, for two incredibly short hours, is when we get to begin shopping .. with those designers who decided to open up early.  The actual Market begins at 9am on Saturday and ends at 6pm, then again on Sunday from 9am till 4pm.  Exhausting but Invigorating but Exhausting!  When it's all over, Monday morning Debbie and I will be furiously trying to cram each box and every bag into my VUE-hicle, and begin the trek back to Michigan and my shop.  Then we spend two days of doing nothing but filling your orders, putting the items up on my web catalog (those we didn't have time to do in the evenings at Market or on the way home), and trying to make room in the shop for all the wonderful NEW we brought back with us!!  Crazy Fun!!

D-I-Y Framing Class Winner

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Alas, our first winner has not been in touch, and we do not have contact information for her, so back we went to the hat with all the numbers.

The random number generator has spoken, and the winner is...

 

Steve Wells

 

Congratulations! Steve, I'll be in touch.

Everyone Wins!

We know that learning to frame your embroidery is important and rewarding. It can save you heaps of money (for your next stitchy projects!), and it's oh-so satisfying to complete a needlework project on your own from start to finish. We want to help, so we've got a special deal for you.

Sign up for the class and use the code STITCHINMOOSE for 10% off!

Sign up now!

Psst! The coupon code also works with the already discounted Finish It In '14 package that includes the following four classes:

• D-I-Y Framing
• Soft-Edge Finishing: Hemstitching
• Piecing (Wall hangings, table runners, etc. Quilting without the actual quilting!)
• Pillowpalooza

This offer is good through 2/3/2014. Happy Finishing in '14!

 

The Making of a D-I-Y-er

I blame my parents, my father in particular. As a kid, when I wanted something, his stock answer was, "Make it."

How I despised that answer! Maybe I didn't think I could make it; maybe I didn't want to take the time to make it. Whatever it was, I didn't want to make it even if I could. I wanted it new, from the store, now.

But guess what: That "make it" answer stuck. I heard it so often it grew into me. It was reinforced by my parents' crafty natures. My mother made our clothes. My father could whip up a Halloween costume like nobody's business. Our dining room table became Craft Central while we made holiday ornaments for neighbors and friends.

It can surprise no one that I became an extreme D-I-Y-er. When something needs to be done, my first thought is, "How do I do it?"

Move three tons of dirt and gravel with a shovel and 5-gallon buckets? Okay.

Build a house? Of course.

Wire it for electricity? Sure. Let me read this book first.

Grow food for a year? Uh-huh.

Frame this cross stitch piece? No problem.

In the Beginning

After designing and stitching Termination Dust and The Great Outdoors, I asked my mother to help me frame them. She'd just taken a framing class—she had artwork of her own to frame—which gave her access to a framing studio with tools and supplies. We spent a long time choosing colors, cutting mats and glass, cutting and assembling the frames. It was great fun and a great learning experience. I love the results, warts and all.

When I began selling cross stitch patterns, I continued to finish my needlework myself...most of the time. I have taken a few pieces to professional framers. It's all good! Over time, I developed my favorite techniques (I prefer lacing my embroidery to the mounting board), but I also love to experiment and learn new things. I think my priorities are

1. Do it myself
2. Do it differently; i.e., in some interesting or unique way

When Problems Arise: Get Creative

Let's be honest, things don't always go smoothly in D-I-Y.

I once stitched a birth sampler with the fabric turned the wrong direction. The long side of the fabric should have been horizontal, and I had it vertical. I was well into the stitching before I discovered my mistake. (Yeah—du-uh!) You know the choices: I could stop stitching and start over, or I could deal with it. I chose the latter.

There wasn't enough fabric to frame the piece "properly." This isn't a unique problem—be honest, have you ever skimped on the amount of fabric you left around the border of your needlework? The fix for this is to sew a fabric (muslin is a good choice) border around the edge to provide enough fabric to work with, so that was my plan. In the end, I skipped the plain muslin and chose a quilting calico that could double as the mat. I added ribbon on the seam just for fun.

D-I-Y Framing Online Class

I've always enjoyed finishing as much as stitching, whether it's framing, edge stitching, quilting, pillow making, or something else. The more I stitch, the more I want to explore different finishes and uses for needlework.

I asked fellow stitchers what they need most help with, and the answer was, overwhelmingly, finishing. Well all right then; let's do some finishing!

The first Finish It In '14 class is D-I-Y Framing, and it begins on February 3, 2014. We will learn the following:

• How to clean, block, and press embroidery
• How to mount embroidery to a backing
• How to choose and/or make a mat—or not
• How to choose and/or make a frame
• Whether to use glass or not
• How to finish the back side and add hardware

Four written lessons will be delivered weekly, giving you plenty of time to read and execute them. You can download the pdfs so you have them for future use. You'll be able to ask questions and share photos in a private Yahoo! group, so you can get help with your particular projects. We'll discuss creative mat and frame options and get tips from pros.

Did I mention we'll have some fun, too? Of course we will!

Win a Free Front-Row Seat in the Class!

Want to win a spot in the class? We're giving one away!

Leave a comment with your most pressing question about finishing embroidery.

The random number generator will pick a winner on January 25th.

A Word of Caution

Lest you think my father's repeated suggestion to "make it" was a brilliant idea that you're tempted to adopt, I think you should be warned. In general, I'm grateful for the self-sufficiency my father instilled in me with his annoying answer, but in the deep recesses of my adult being, there's still a little girl who feels deprived. She says, "Just wait, Dad, until you need surgery for something. Surely there's a how-to book or tutorial online for that. Give me a sec, and I'll be right with you."

Proceed with caution.

P.S.

Don't forget to leave a comment with your most pressing needlework finishing question for a chance to win a free spot in the D-I-Y Framing class!

To Market To Market and back again!



After that Artic Vortex Winter Blast we had, it was an absolute JOY to leave my shop for 6 days to attend the TNNA (The National Needlearts Association) Winter Trade Show in sunny warm San Diego California!

A full day of meetings, an afternoon of business and technique classes, an evening of fun shopping at The Sample It (where we were able to purchase "some" of the new items that would be shown during the Trade Show), eats and drinks at the Needlepoint Showcase (where I WON a drawing and received a crisp $100 bill!!), and then off for some off-site fun with friends.  Saturday, Sunday and Monday I shopped the trade show convention floor, viewed the New Product Showcase, watched a needlearts Sand Castle being built right before our eyes (over two days!), and met with old and new friends within the industry .. shop owners and designers!

 

It was an exhausting time, but profitable .. in seeing what color trends were, seeing display ideas, seeing design ideas, finding new goodies to bring back to the shop, networking with other shops and talking with everyone from this fantastic industry that were there!  I know shop owners who says they cannot afford to go to Market ... I say that I cannot afford NOT to attend Market! It's where you learn, it's where you are inspired, it's where you find ways to advance your business, it's where you are exposed to ALL of the Needlearts, seeing how they inter-relate, discovering the excitement of and the people who love them!
It just a few weeks I leave again .. to attend another Needlework Market, this time in Nashville.  A





Ornament Finishing Techniques

I am SO not an expert finisher.  I didn't do well in Home Economics with sewing and I do not own a sewing machine (instrument of terror!), so I've had to learn how to do simple finishing myself.
This link will give you a great tutorial for finishing your Christmas ornaments (or scissor fobs or whatever) for a nice look!  You simply stitch a simple back stitch around your design and on a matching piece of cross stitch fabric (nice place to put another quick holiday motif or your initials and date or a monogram for the person you're giving it to!).   In fact, they even add beads for a really decorative finish!  http://www.funkandweber.com/cross-stitch-finishing-overcast-backstitches/

You might try to incorporate a Four-Sided Stitch in place of that simple backstitch on both pieces of fabric for a more decorative finish!  You simply fold the excess fabric at the outer edge of your four-sided stitch on each fabric piece .. pinch those two edges together .. and lace the stitches!  Like this (scroll down about halfway the page, just under the different stitch illustrations):
http://www.keepsakestitches.com/PDF/Gallery_of_Stitches.pdf
Here's an example of one of Fern Ridge Collection's designs finished that way with a corded hanger added.

And for adding a corded trim .. with my favorite tool the Spinster Cording Drill, you might try this finishing technique (scroll down a bit to see the trim addition):  http://stacybinnj.wordpress.com/basic-no-glue-ornament-finishing-tutorial/
On the above ornament .. the cording was inserted through the ornament and then the lacing stitch on the Four-Sided Stitch was completed.
The same 'stitching technique' for adhering the cord to the ornament would work for adding the cool hand-dyed  Chenille and Rick Rack trims that our R&R and FromThe Cauldron companies offer!!

Tips & Techniques Time!

Holidays are a'comin and that means you may have some stitchery finishing that will need to be done.  Don't have a finisher-friend (neither do I!) but don't worry ... here's some quick and easy ways to finish off your gift projects!

Here’s a quick and easy way to make a tassel from a single skein of floss - this has to be the coolest way I've ever seen (and done myself!)! Tassels are a great way to finish off an ornament, and this allows you to exactly match the colors in your ornament. Tassel making instructions

You may find you can 'finish Christmas Stockings like a pro' with this tip.

And .. my next blog will contain some neat Ornament finishing tips and ideas!

Why Knot??!

I was finishing up Chessie And Me's "Buzzing '' Round Ewe" http://www.stitchesnthings.com/detail.cfm?ID=35943  and putting the called for French Knots (which I intermixed with Colonial Knots) to be scattered over the cross stitched Sheep' s body, and began to think how it used to be where I would rather have ripped off a fingernail than do a French Knot.   Of course, that was before I really learned HOW to execute that knotted stitch!
It was in a class with Teresa Layman that the veil was lifted from my eyes and that knowledge has never left my fingers!  
Teresa Layman Designs is the designer of those teensy little Knotted designs!  She says on her web site:  designs are small and sweet. They bring that feel-good warmth to all who see them and bring a real sense of satisfaction to those who stitch them. These are the original miniature 
knotwork designs that have made so many people gasp and say, “Oh my gosh, that’s beautiful! How do you do that?” Amazingly the technique is very simple... Simple and beautiful, is there a better combination?
http://teresalayman.com/designs.htm

The problem most have with French Knots is: 

1. they "wrap the floss" around the needle more than once.  Two or three wraps = the beginning of a Bullion Knot, which by it's very nature is a "flat knotted stitch" and that' s why your knot falls over instead of just sitting there.
2. they try to put the needle, once wrapped, back through the same hole the needle came up through.  It should go down "next to but not in" that hole.
3. they don't hold the thread in their other hand as the needle goes back down, thereby controlling the tension for "knot control".

http://teresalayman.com/easy_frenchknot.htm

AND then there's the Colonial Knot ... for when you want a larger knot (instead of doing a French Knot around a larger sized" needle) or are looking for a very round knot.  Once you have THIS knot down, you'll probably always use it in place of a French!
http://teresalayman.com/easy_colonialknot.htm

If you want to get over any "knot aversion", simply get one of Teresa' s little designs and you'll be knotting like a pro in no time!  http://www.stitchesnthings.com/detail.cfm?ID=12849
Pre-printed design on "rug" (aka very tightly woven) fabric with step- by-step instructions as to what do do first, then next. And what knots to execute where.  You just need a Hoop to tightly hold the fabric for a very firm working surface. I think what I liked most about Teresa's designs was this:

• Don't like the way a knot looks .. it's ok .. you just put knots close to it and you can't tell.
• Pulled a knot through by accident .. it's ok .. put another one in.
• How do you know if you have enough knots in .. hold it up to a light .. see any light showing through, put in another knot or two.

That' s why when you do a little knotwork design you will "amaze your friends" and "astound your enemies"!  And, never EVER have another problem with adding French (or Colonial) Knots to any other project!!   That's why I had FUN adding those French and Colonial Knots to  Buzzing 'Round Ewe (I chose both for added texture and dimension) and Why Knot!?!

   Phew!  Winter Market in Long Beach CA is over!  3 weeks later and the Nashville Market in TN is over!  9 days later and I'm in the final stretch for the shop's annual Camp Stitchalot Stitcher's Retreat!  Some may say they don't know why I plan everything so close together .. but the only thing *I* have a part of in planning is Camp Stitchalot!  And the St.Patrick's weekend has become a tradition it seems .... shortly after Nashville Market and before Easter begins!
    I always bring my shop 'on the road' with me to Camp and have a room at the hotel that becomes the SNT Boutique.  This year we will be hosting 5, count em 4 Designer Trunk Shows at Camp!  Featuring stitched designs from ERICA MICHAELS... from ROSEWOOD MANOR .. from SAMSARAH .. and from THE STITCHING BEAR!!   It's going to be interesting to see just 'how' I'll get all their stitched models AND charts set up and displayed in my Boutique room along with all the other stitching goodies & essentials that I bring.

   YOU .. the stitching public .. are invited to come to the Stitches N Things Boutique to see (and purchase) the Trunk Shows from these incredible designers!

   We'll be at the Davison Inn (previously known as The Comfort Inn) at  10082 Lapeer Rd.  in Davison Michigan ... Friday March 15 from 4pm through Sunday March 17, 2013 at 2pm  

   

Hope to see you at our Trunk Show!    And maybe ... next year ... you will join us at Camp Stitchalot for our entire stitcher's retreat!  We'd love to have you!

NEEDLE Little Help?

Where would we be without needles?  The women who crossed the plains in covered wagons treasured their cases filled with .. not gold jewelry .. but fine steel needles.  In the territories to which they were going there were no stores and who knew when the next peddler with his pack of necessities would come by.   Those precious needles would have to last for months, and maybe even years!  Today a pioneer woman would probably think she'd struck gold if she ever tore apart a stitcher's overstuffed recliner!

Traditionally, tapestry needles are used for counted cross stitch and usually found from size 18 (the largest) to size 28 (the smallest).  Tapestry needles have a blunt point as opposed to Chenille needles which have a very sharp point (and are idea for waste canvas stitching!).  The blunt rounded end of the tapestry needle slips easily into the weave of the fabric without snagging or piercing.

Did you know that the Danish use a larger needle for different counts of fabric than Americans do?  It's true.  They believe a bigger needle opens the hole wider to allow the plies of floss to flow through with less friction or wear and allows then to loft out so that the strands can lie better side by side.  Conversely, they feel that a smaller needle compresses the plies and cause them to become fuzzy by wearing on the floss as it comes through the fabric .. the hole the needle makes is just not big enough for the floss to follow through. 

If you have trouble getting your floss to go through the eye of your needle on the first try (or second .. or third), perhaps this little tidbit will help:     
        Roll the needle 180 degrees and try again. 
Did you know that needles have a 'right' and 'wrong' side to them?  The naked eye may not be able to see a difference, but one side of the eye is rougher than the other.  This comes from the fact that needles are punched out of the metal from which they are made (usually steel-plated with nickle, or gold, or platinum).  The side FROM which they are punched is smoother than the side THROUGH which they are punched.  So, if your floss is trying to pass through the rougher side, it may catch on the edges and begin to spread out instead of gliding smoothly through.

Here are some general guidelines for selecting a particular size of tapestry needle for different counts of fabrics.  But remember .. you need to stitch with what is most comfortable for you!

     NEEDLE                                            FABRIC
size 28                                        18ct Aida,   36 - 40ct Linen
size 26                                        16 - 18ct Aida,  32 - 36ct Linen
size 24                                        14 - 16ct Aida,  28 - 32ct Linen
size 22, 20 & 18                            6 - 11ct Aida

Remember too, that you'll need to adjust your needle size for the number of floss plies you are using.  Use a size 26 needle if you're stitching with one or two ply; a size 24 for 3 or 4 ply, and a 26 for 4 - 6 ply.  Again, the key word is:  Experiment.

                        Hope This Helps!  Happy Stitching!

Did you know about Harikuyo .. the Festival of Broken Needles?

In the Hari-Kuyo ceremony, Japanese women gather once a year on Febuary 8th at Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples to thank their worn out needles and pins for good service.

It is also a time to value the small, everyday objects of daily living and to wish for progress in one’s needle work. In what is known as the Festival of Broken Needles, women gather to offer a funeral-type service by laying the needles to rest in soft jelly cakes or tofu. This burial is meant to bring rest to the needles and wrap them with tenderness and gratitude. This practice reflects the animist belief that all beings and objects have a soul.

 

Further to the idea of laying the needles to rest for good service is the idea that women have many secret sorrows in life. These sorrows are often passed to the needles during long hours of stitching and the needles are thought to take on the burden of some of these sorrows, thus taking them away with the stitching that they do. This “rest” is brought to the needles in appreciation for their faithful service.

 

Another aspect of the ceremony is the consideration for “the value of small things.” The concept of Mottainai, or not being wasteful, is related to the usefulness of the needles. These small but important tools would give long, useful service throughout the year. They were not to be lost or wasted nor carelessly replaced.

Scissors! Who Knew??

I found the following while browsing the web and thought you'd be interested too!

 

It is not surprising that modern cross-bladed scissors would have many superstitions surround them since most household items that have been in parts of our history as far back as early 100 AD hold some imagined ideas with them.  Here is a list of some of those beliefs:

Hope you didn’t use your scissors this past New Year as you might have “cut off” your fortune or wealth for the year.
Decrease the likelihood that your house will be struck by lightning in a storm by putting your scissors away.

Placing a pair of scissors under your pillow may help a variety of pains. It is said that a woman in labor can “cut her pain in half” by doing so. Likewise it would halve the discomfort of any others in bed ridden pain. Some believe that putting an open pair of scissors is a way to sleep better even if you are cursed.

Dropping a pair of scissors is said to warn that a lover is being unfaithful.

Breaking one blade is an omen of quarrel, while breaking both blades is a sign of an impending disaster.

Do not give scissors as a gift or the friendship will be “cut in half”. To subdue this superstition a little money should be exchanged for the scissors as buying them doesn’t count.

Ward off evil and witches with a pair of scissors nailed above a door in the ‘open’ position, so they somewhat resemble a cross.

The cross-bladed scissors origins point to Rome but have a widespread place in international cultural superstitions as well which can be specific to a region.

• To curse a bridegroom in North Africa wait until he is on horseback, then hold an open pair of scissors while calling his name. If he answers you, snap the scissors closed and he will not be able to consummate the marriage.
• It is bad luck to idly open and close scissors without a purpose in Pakistan.
• It is held in some Eastern Europe countries that leaving scissors open causes disagreements and discord within a household.

Good luck with those scissors!

Christmas Memories

Wow .. I'm sorry I've not been posting for such an incredibly long time!  I guess with Facebook and Newsletters I forget to come here to write too.  I think my real problem is that I seem to be incapable of 'short' here's what I want to say postings!  The holidays brought me back here.
Christmas Memories!

I guess this Christmas really has me a bit down .. longing for the holiday times of being able to be with family and .. those days, unfortunately as I've grown older, are gone.

ONLY gifts that came in the mail went under the Christmas tree.  Or gifts that were for my sister and brother in law and 2 nieces that would be coming over on Christmas Day to celebrate with us.   Mom and Dad would wait until after I was asleep to put their (and Santa's) gifts under the tree.  I'd wake up on Christmas morning and go running down the hall and ... there was the tree with what seemed like thousands of festively wrapped presents spreading out from beneath the boughs and across the floor!
I used to hunt and hunt the days preceding Christmas to try to find my potential gifts .. in closets, in the basement, in the garage, under beds, and .. when I got older .. up in the attic.  Never found a one!!  Mom says they were there in the house, but to this day will NOT tell me exactly 'where' they might have been.  I still don't believe they were there!
I was in my early 40's and it was Christmas morning at my parent's home.  We (Dave and I) both woke up early and came walking down the hall to get a cup of coffee .  I glanced into the living room .. and there was the Christmas Tree with TONS of presents under it (Mom and Dad had once again waited until I went to bed to put out their presents)!  My first thought ... my very first instant thought was ...... SANTA!!!!  And I shivered with excitement. 

We'd have to wait until my sister had their Christmas before they'd get to our house when I was young.  That meant that I'd have already been into my stocking by 6am (candy, oranges, small simple toy type gifts), had breakfast (juice and Christmas Stollen bread), and now was pacing excitedly waiting till nearly 10am for the rest of the family to gather so we could all begin to open gifts!  My mother, to get me out of her hair for 4 hours or so, would allow me to open ONE gift!  I'd stand staring at the gifts under the tree and mom would point to one and say "there's one from Santa, I'll bet that's a good one to open first".  I'd tear into the paper and ... it would be a BOOK!  I loved books!  I'd read quietly for hours curled up in my favorite chair.  That ruse always worked and Santa always picked out the best books!

Going up to my parents house several years ago for Christmas with a sick cat ... we couldn't leave him alone and  my mother was extremely upset that we would sacrifice the holiday because of a cat.  (she can really lay on the guilt, believe you me!)  So Dave and I packed up the cat crate and hit the highway on Christmas Eve Day.  We all went to early evening church services (that's another favorite memory .. candlelight church services on Christmas Eve!  Not like they are today where, due to fire codes and insurance regulations, you can only have the lit candle for one song at the end .. those days we'd be holding lit candles for the last part of the ministry and several songs .. always ending with "Away In A Manger").  When we got home, found that our cat was now incredibly sick!  Called my sister for the numbers of any 'local' vet clinics .. the closest one that was actually open was over an hour away.  That night it was snowing heavily so meant it took nearly 2 hours to get there.  Good thing we had .. poor kitty was at death's door and the vet wasn't sure he would last the night ... so we had to leave Abbie there hooked up to IV's and such.  Driving back, the snow storm had stopped and there was a full moon out ..... "The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below".  Dave and I both looked up at the same time and laughed as we both searched the skies - since it was just after midnight now - perhaps we'd see Santa in his sleigh flying across the face of that moon.  We didn't.  And Abbie? We had to stay up north a bit longer than we'd planned and were able to pick him up 2 days later .. that vet saved his life .. our little "Christmas Miracle"!

Christmas memories .. what wonderful things to take you back to those special times in your life!
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas with warm memories to last a lifetime!

SQUIRREL!!!!

When I saw the movie "UP", I got the largest chuckle out of the dogs and their "SQUIRREL" and immediate inattention.
Now, once again, I am reminded that SQUIRREL and SPARKLY ('my' inattention word) have nothing whatsoever in common.

Going back slightly in time ... to when the ground squirrel was trapped in our garage and had to 'eat' his way through our garage door to freedom.  And then, once outside, decided that back inside the garage was the bestest place for hiding nuts, hanging with his friends, and getting out of the elements .. so  he moved back in!  Many many nights of listening to him and what seemed like 37 of his closest friends paying 'roll the acorn' and 'hide and seek' within my bedroom wall, it was time to get a trap.
After several live trap attempts (said squirrel would go into the trap AND remove the ear of corn with him without setting off the trap and on another try, went into the trap, couldn't get the corn out with him (we had tied it to the inside wiring), stayed and ate all the corn off the cob and then, again without setting off the trap, took his bounty and went back into our 'walls'!).
Now it was time for the exterminator who came and set up several traps as well as attaching a 'can get out but cannot get back in' trap to the hole in the garage door.  He caught several large mice in his trap, but the squirrel remained free to cavort within the walls ... I'm sure the fuzzy little guy had painted his face 'blue' and was yelling 'freedom freedom' while he scampered about in relative safety!
Finally it would seem the squirrel left for the day, we sealed the hole back up with a metal plate, and silence once again (after MONTHS!!!) within the Koch household walls.  The cleanup mess in the attic would take weeks and involve throwing out just about anything that had been stored up there, including most of my Christmas decorations.

Fast forward to summer and the advent of warmer weather (what am I saying? Hot hot hot weather) and the need to use my car's air conditioning system ... which just was not putting out any cool, much less cold, air into my car.  Getting ready to drive to the Columbus Market in early June meant that I would need my AC and vents working properly, so drove into the car dealer (after finding one who still worked on Saturns .. deep sign .. how could they stop production of such a wonderful brand???).
After waiting at the dealers for a bit, the mechanics called me into the garage to show me what they had found ... a huge squirrel nest had been blocking my vents!  Fuzzy little  #&%(*  had gotten into my car's blower system and decided, since I wouldn't let them in my walls any more, that my VUE was the second best home!   Got that all cleaned out to the tune of I've not forgotten how much money, and drove merrily on my way to Columbus in a 'cool' vehicle!

NOW ... I am getting ready to fly to the Fall Baltimore Market and on the day before I leave,  had errands to run.  Once again the weather is hot, but rather than try my AC, I just turned my air vent blower up to 'high' ......  CLUNK THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP ..,,,, quickly turned off the blower!  What the hell was that?  Turned it on to *1* .. no problem ... turned it up to *2* .. no problem ... turned it up to *3* .. THUMPITY THUMP THUMP.  Oh shit what in the world is going on this time?  Another nest??   Don't turn on the fan motor again .. just opened the windows.  Flew off the next day - a Thursday.
Drove back to the shop on Tuesday, cool morning, didn't think about the fan.  Drove back home and back to the shop on Wednesday.  Wednesday night driving home it was quite warm, turned on the fan ... nothing happened.  Thursday, started smelling a smell.  Didn't think too much about it as the car had been parked on the other side of the house that night where we came across a dead animal (of some sort - phew)  and disposed of it bu burying it.  Friday, smell is there.  Saturday smell is stronger
.
Yesterday, Monday took car into dealer.  Kind of thought I knew what had happened.  Remember that THUMP THUMP THUMP?   Yeah, my mind went there too.
Service department called me that afternoon ... I was right.  There WAS a dead animal (they didn't know what it was) IN my blower motor!!  It had EATEN its way through the plastic housing that covers the fan area! Was completely blocking the motor, it wouldn't turn at all!
Need a new fan motor, need to have the fan area sanitized .. so far the cost is $400.00 - they don't know what all else has to be replaced until they can remove said SQUIRREL (I know it is, was!), and get everything cleaned out.  I am SO NOT a happy camper.  Saturn Vue  =  Sqirrelmobile
Some kill squirrels with their cars by driving over them, I kill them by trying to get cool!
I am now joining Nick on his mad dash squirrel attacks out our back door and across our deck and into the yard.  Him with his ferocious bark/growl (ok, so it's really a loud yelp/squeak - out of an 85# Golden, it is a ridiculous sound!!), me brandishing a pick axe (if I had one, I think we have one, just don't know where it is, if we have one!)!  And, don't think I'll swerve out of their way anymore when they stand in my lane and try to stare me down.

I got Crabs while in Baltimore!

Yep .. crabs!  And I'm proud of it too!
1st indication that I was getting Crabs was while in the "Meet The Designers Class" on Friday afternoon.  Cecille of Just Another Button Company had made and assembled the cutest little crab pincushion for each of the class attendees.  AND .. enabled those 30 some shops (ONLY!!) to be able to get more CRABS too!
Sydney The Crab Pincushion (on the right .. his gal friend is shown on the left) is very limited!  Like I said, only 30 some shops are able to get him to you!  We were making all kinds of crab jokes ... I mean, obviously Sydney is a SOFT shelled crab.  If you stitch a black squiggly line on his back, you'll have a CRACKED crab.  You can stitch a couple of these up and give crabs to your best friend.  If you changed the color of his 'felt' to blue, you'd have steamed crab.   I'm so glad I got crabs from JABCo!!!

 My second indication I was getting crabs came on Friday night.  We went in search of crab dinner and found G&M Restaurant - they are known for their Crab Cakes!  There were 6 of us and everyone was ordering the single crab cake platter.  Now I know crab cakes .. I love crab cakes .. I know how 'big' crab cakes are .. so I, being the little piggy that I am, ordered the TWO crab cake platter.  These babies are 8 OZ EACH!!!!!  All lump crab, no filler!  Needless to say, we did NOT have dessert, and I had an entire crab cake for my lunch the next day.   They ship fresh nationwide ... I sure wish Dave liked seafood.  Oh well, he'll have to have mac and cheese when I order and receive my crab cake in the mail!!!
Had crab every chance I could while in Baltimore ... yum yum!

Thursday night I went on a "Night Tour of Washington DC" ... took the Marc Amtrack train from Baltimore to DC and got to see (and eat in) Union Station ... what an incredible place that is!  I thought we'd be just looking at the sights from the bus window, but the trolly we were on stopped and gave us 20 minutes here, 30 minutes there at the Jefferson Memorial, at the Lincoln Memorial.  I got to see the Vietnam Wall, and the Korean Memorial up close and personal too.  Very very moving!!!  Lots of info gained about our capital city and it was so much fun!

Saturday night I was invited to attend a baseball game at Camden Field (Orioles vs my Tigers ... and my Tigers won!!!).  Sullivan's Floss company reserved a sky box suite for us, and we had dinner up there, watched the game, had pictures taken with 'the Bird', and partook of the most incredible dessert cart service ever!  Again, yum yum

Oh .. how was the actual Market??   Sorry ... got carried away.
MARKET WAS FANTASTIC!!! Absolutely Fantastic!  I bought lots and lots, had time to smooze with my designer and shop friends, and bought more and yet more!  I only wish that the designers who chose NOT to attend (too far, etc, etc, ) had been there!  Everyone I spoke with was having an incredible show!  A note to those designers who didn't attend:  If distance IS a problem, the show does NOT have to be a 'cash and carry' only show for you.  SHIP YOUR MODELS - that's what we want to see .. your new stuffs stitched up - and Take Orders!!  Let's all work together to make this industry, and it's shows, the best it can be!!

My best part .. coming home with one suitcase weighing 43# (still under the prohibitive weight limit for Delta) and the other weighting 57#.  That suitcase should have cost me an additional $90 to get on the plane, but .. the wonderfully harried desk clerk refused my credit card and yelled ... next!
YIPPEE  I was able to get ALL my goodies home with me this time!  Love it!!

Leaving On A Jet Plane ...

... at around 4:00am tomorrow morning!  Actually, I'll be riding in the car TO the airport at 4am, my actual flight is at 6:00am!   A couple hours layover in Atlanta, then I'll be landing in Baltimore.
May be doing a 'Night Tour of Washington DC" Thursday evening .. I think I am, but not actually sure how that's all going to work.  I'm rooming with Penny from Ewe Count - always so much fun!

Friday (for me) is a Retailers Round Table (where we share ideas and such) and a "class session" entitled "An Afternoon With Your Favorite Designers" with Blackbird Designs, Cherrywood Design Studios, Dames Of The Needle, and Just Another Button Company.  We'll have chat time with them as well as get a special kit from each one!
As for the evening, I MUST find 'crab for dinner'!!!!!  And then, there may be some "early bird shopping".
The actual shopping is on Saturday from 9am till 6pm.
Saturday night I am in for a TREAT .. I've been invited to join (Free Ticket) a select group in a private suite for a baseball game at Camden Yards with the Baltimore Orioles AND... wait for it ... how cool is this?? ... the Detroit TIGERS!!!!  I've been told there will be food in the suite too!  This will be my first ever major league ball game, and of course .. my first time in one of those 'game boxes'!
Shopping resumes on Sunday from 9am till 4pm, then it'll be time to figure out HOW I'm going to get my purchases back to Michigan with me!  I'm going with a suitcase IN a suitcase - I've already weighed it and I'm within the limits so there will ONLY be a $25.00 baggage fee.  I also have several broken down shipping boxes in the suitcase, in case I go with UPS for some of it.  I will be charged $90 for a suitcase weighing over 50#, so .... we'll see how creative I can get!  Flying back on Monday morning. and I know that you'll want me to have everything with me upon my return to the shop on Tuesday.  Shipping UPS means it will be closer to the end of the week before those boxes will rejoin me.  Wonder if the hotel has a scale for weighing my 2 suitcases??
Always look forward to going to Market .. seeing old friends, both designers and other shops, as well as seeing the new stuffs up close and in person!  You know the stitched model is always so much cooler to see than just the cover picture on the chart.
Not sure why most of my 'favorites' will not be attending the Baltimore Market .. could be the timing, as this year Market is the early part of August as opposed to the middle or end of September as in the two years past.  The timing of market had been changed following surveys sent to not only the shops, but also the designers.  The September timing wasn't good for the designers, as they wanted to get their Halloween and Holiday designs out to the shops earlier.  The shops also wanted to have more time for the Halloween designs to be stitched up and promoted in their shops.  So .. we have an earlier date.  The other problem is the change in location.  Again, according to the survey responses, there was an overwhelming demand to have the Market shows 'rotate' around the country, instead of always having them in the same location.  Of course, the best location that everyone wanted was ..... "close to me"!!   So, we're in a new location this year and I'm excited .. I've never been to the east coast (other than a stay in The Big Apple many many many years ago) and going to a location known for their 'soft shell crab' is perfect as far as I'm concerned!!!!
I hope to be 'tweeing' and 'facebooking' (Stitches N Things) over the next few days from Market ... stay tuned!!

The Final in my Halloween Needlin'

This is my graveyard scene ... thanks to those who gave me inspirational ideas!

Standing 7 1/2" high, I've signed the back of a purple bat button from Just Another Button Company and attached it to the gravestone.   Not the best photo, but hey ... you get the idea!
I've emailed the gal who wanted these 6 creations to let her know I was done well ahead of schedule (she was to have given a deposit before I started, but I got enthused!!).  Gave her pictures, dimensions and prices and asked her to let me know IF she wanted them still, IF she wanted something else. IF she changed her mind and didn't want them ... any response was fine with me!   (I'm such a marshmallow!)  If she doesn't want them, or wants some of them and something else done, the 'rejects' will sell at the upcoming Art Fair the end of August.

Now .. to begin work on an Elephant (for someone else) and then I can start on my felting for the show!

a bit of Halloween felting ...

   I've been commissioned to create 6 Halloween characters for a customer. Problem is, she didn't specify what kind of felted creations she wanted. I gave a variety of suggestions and only received an "all sound good as long as they're in the $40 to $50 range" response. I'd emailed her a picture of my first creation (Jack the Headless Pumpkin Man) and asked if this was something she liked and told her that since I was custom creating for her, I really would like some idea of what she wanted ... and haven't heard a thing since.
   So, even IF she should not come through with our agreement, I'll have the Halloween items for sale in my Etsy shop and also for an upcoming Art Fair at the end of August. It's a win-win situation no matter what happens.
      Each is felted over a wire armature so they'll free stand or pose if you wish, and each is embellished with a button from Just Another Button Company that I've signed on the back of with my name and year date.
I've been asked to show what I've done so far, and here you go:

This is Jack the Headless Pumpkin Man .. and is by far my favorite! I'll have to do another of him, or maybe two!  His button is a pumpkin 'belt buckle' at his waist. He was too skinny to free stand, so he's been attached to a wooden base for display. Jack stands 15" tall. 

 Little Trick or Treating Ghostie is taking his pet bat Henry for a walk with him. Standing 9 1/2" from his boots to the top of Henry's wings, Ghostie boy also wears glasses! His button is a smiling Pumpkin that I've attached to cording so it looks like it's his 'treat bag'.

This witch is a REAL "Broom Hilda" and stands 13" tall. The bristles of her broom are natural undyed sheep curls to which a black cat button with pumpkin has been attached. Every witch needs her cat nearby, don't ya know?! My witches tend to be a bit 'more fashionably attired" than what the books would have you believe .. I think it's to offset their, um ... looks!

This little guy hasn't told me his name ... yet! Black Cat on Jack stands 8 1/2" high. His button is attached to the side of his yellow cone hat .. it's a purple spider!

And what would Halloween be with out Frankie? Since he's walking towards you, he's also been mounted onto a block so he'll stand upright at 9 1/2" high. He proudly wears as a lapel pin his JABCo button which is a tombstone with bat and RIP on it.

Dave has a real problem with this creation as Frankie wears a gold hoop earring in one ear ... and Dave says "that's just so wrong Deb".

I have #6 to create yet, and after getting some imput from my Facebook friends have decided that it will be EITHER a tombstone, with a ghost peeking around one corner of it and with an owl or raven perched ontop of the stone
OR
a frog wearing a witches hat and holding a magic wand.

decisions decisions!

























Little Trick or Treating Ghostie is taking his pet bat Henry for a walk with him.



Standing 9 1/2" from his boots to the top of Henry's wings, Ghostie boy also wears glasses! His button is a smiling Pumpkin that I've attached to cording so it looks like it's his 'treat bag'.













This witch is a REAL "Broom Hilda" and stands 13" tall. The bristles of her broom are natural undyed sheep curls to which a black cat button with pumpkin has been attached. Every witch needs her cat nearby, don't ya know?! My witches tend to be a bit 'more fashionably attired" than what the books would have you believe .. I think it's to offset their, um ... looks!















This little guy hasn't told me his name ... yet! Black Cat on Jack stands 8 1/2" high. His button is attached to the side of his yellow cone hat .. it's a purple spider!''











And what would Halloween be with out Frankie? Since he's walking towards you, he's also been mounted onto a block so he'll stand upright at 9 1/2" high. He proudly wears as a lapel pin his JABCo button which is a tombstone with bat and RIP on it.





Dave has a real problem with this creation as Frankie wears a gold hoop earring in one ear. Dave looked at him for the longest time and then said "that's just so wrong Deb".









I have #6 to create yet, and after getting some input on Facebook, have decided that it will either be a tombstone with a ghost peeking around one side and have an owl or raven perched on top of the stone



OR



a frog wearing a witches hat and holding a wand.







hummmmm decisions decisions

Felting the days away!



The weather was good for the Flint Institute Of Art Summer Art Fair ... a bit cool, a smidge windy (felted fairies and witches try to 'fly' about when it's windy), but sunny and best of all .. no rain!

Got the booth assembled and put up on Friday night .. then Dave and I headed off about 7:30 the  next morning to finish positioning tables and arranging my items for best exposure.  Wait?  Did I say DAVE and I?  Dave was there .. I was the one moving things around!  Dave was wandering around and getting a good look at everything, and then wandering back into the booth to tell me the neat stuff he'd seen. 

  When the traffic in the booth slowed down and I suggested that I be the one to do some wandering around, this look of total terror would come over his face!  But finally, I did get to leave - just for a few minutes though - and when I got back, Dave would tell me, in this long suffering sort of way, that "I had to make change and everything" and that "as soon as you left, I had to sell 4 of the angel ornaments and one of the bowls AND I had to wrap them in tissue and everything"!  And then he'd wander off again.   LOL

    My friends Cathy and Laurie came to see me and brought a gift too!  They'd found one of those metal garden/lawn stakes that had a squirrel on it holding a nut (think nuts and bolts type of nut here .. it was really really cute) and, in honor of our squirrel experiences, presented it to both of us!  It's next to the 'cat pen' at home now!
    Sunday again had quite a bit of traffic in and out of the booth and a lot of giggles going on between me and Kathy.  We got there two hours before the show opened as they had an Artists Breakfast and Awards Presentation - 4 honorable mentions and 3 place winners.  They had one more honorable mention to name and they said   Debra   and my heart jolted   and then they said the last name and it wasn't mine.  Oh well, with that many artisans there, I really didn't expect to receive anything.  But then, last summer I didn't expect to win 2nd place in my first ever show either!  So after the Breakfast, we had time to wander and look at the other booths as they were being opened .
    5pm .. the show is over.  Kathy and I were tissue wrapping everything and boxing them up, waiting for Dave to arrive to take the tent down.  Finally everything is loaded in the van, so Kathy goes her merry way and Dave and I start in on un-assembling the tent.  Phase One:  got it lowered down.  Phase Two:  I remembered we had to get at opposite sides and move in toward each other.  Dave didn't remember that part.  So I zigged and he zagged (with a lot of muttering going on under his breath).  Then ... he kept pushing and  ... one of the struts in the roof snapped apart - right in half!  More muttering - this was apparently my fault, but I was calm cool and collected and ignored him.  We zigged and zagged a bit more ... SNAP another strut snaps in half!  Ok .. Dave's mad but I'm still calm, laughing actually .. what IS the matter with me?  This is so not Deb the Impatient!  

    The tent is now wrecked .. it cannot be used again.  So .. let's just push and pull and push some more to COMPACT it so we can at least get it into the van and get the heck outta there!  So push and pull and push some more we did!   

Now mind you, the other people that were taking their booths down were studiously avoiding eye contact with us. FINALLY, as we're picking up what was once a really nice tent and carrying it to the van, a few came over ... cautiously, mind you.  By then Dave was laughing too (I think he was really concerned about why I was laughing and decided to go with the flow).  One lady was concerned .. I told her it was OK as we were "Patrons Of Modern Art" and now had our own sculpture!  Another suggested that we just leave 'it' on the grounds of the Institute ... it may take them a month or two before they realize that this piece of 'art' wasn't really owned by the FIA!

 So .. now it sits in my spot in the driveway.  And I need to buy a new tent before the August show in Swartz Creek.  And Dave ...well  but the time we got home Dave realized that the entire problem was that he'd NOT put the tent poles in their final position down before we started our zigging and zagging (so it wasn't my fault after all!!!)!