New Trunk Show

This is our latest trunk show from Summer House Stitche Workes.  These designs are perfect for people who like stitching Americana or patriotic things in the summer.  For a closer look at the designs go to our catalog and click on Summer House Stitche Workes in the manufacturer box.  All the charts are in stock and ready for you to stitch!

In spite of not having much time to stitch lately, I did manage to finish the needlebook from Little House Needlework's "Fresh From the Garden".  I decided I liked the stitched pocket on the front of the needlebook instead of inside.  Some of the tomato pincushions from my collection are keeping it company.  It is large enough to hold many needles on the felt page inside and packets of needles can go in the pocket.  You can see my "Red Hots" scissors also peeking out of the pocket.

We have set the date for our annual Midwest Stash Exchange!  It will be August 18 from 10-3 Central time.  This is a swap meet type of thing for needleworkers.  You rent a table for $20.00 (This fee goes completely to Riley Children's Hospital.) and sell, trade or give away your extra "stash".  (You keep the money from your sales.) There will be also be music, games for kids, drawings for gift baskets and a whole lot of fun.  We hope to raise a lot of money for a very worthwhile cause.  Riley Hospital is near and dear to our hearts and I know many other Hoosiers feel the same way.

Happy stitching,
Linda

Sue Hillis Visit

We had a great time with Sue Hillis last Saturday!  She signed charts, chatted with customers, asked for input for future charts and generally charmed all of us!  It was fun to hear her talk about her designing and the plans she has for future designs.  We heard that we should watch for a new series of gingerbread houses!   At the same time we had an online stitching group visiting the shop.  (Sue is a part of the group.)  We had stitchers from all over the US and two came from Canada! Their enthusiasm and love of stitching was contagious and spread to others in the shop.
Our next trunk show will be on display very soon.  It is from Summer House Stitche Workes' designer Beth Ann Seal.  I'll post a picture when we get the display arranged.  If you are able to visit in person it will be even better!  If I had to describe her designs in one word it would be "Americana".

On Sunday and Monday we made a quick trip to Cleveland Clinic for a check-up.  It is hard to believe that it has been three years since my heart surgery!  All the test results were good so I am back at work; full speed ahead!  The travel time in the car allowed me to finish stitching the Little House Needleworks Fresh From the Garden Needlebook.  Now I just have to get it attached to the needlebook.  I think I might put it on the cover of the book instead of inside.  That can be a project for this weekend!

The latest arrivals at House of Stitches have been posted on our What's New page at http://houseofstitches.com/whatsnew.cfm.  There is a new Santa from Mirabilia, the final charts in Lizzie Kate's "Less = More" series, two charts from Country Cottage Needleworks, two from Little House Needleworks, three from Just Nan and many more.  The best thing to do is see them for yourself!

Happy stitching,
Linda

Exciting events!

I have several exciting events to announce!  This is my twenty-fifth year at House of Stitches and we are celebrating all year.  (Where did the time go?!)  I hope you can join us for all of the fun things we are planning.

First we are having a Sue Hillis Trunk show from now until May 5. And the best part is that Sue will be here to meet you and sign her charts on Saturday, April 28!  What fun!  She is bringing a prize package of her charts for a drawing on Saturday afternoon.  (You do not have to be present to win.)  We are enjoying the Santas, pirates, Halloween designs and more!  It is always nice to see finished pieces in person.  The photo above shows just some of the trunk show on display as you enter our front door.

During the month of May we will have a trunk show from Summer House Stitche Workes.  She is a fairly “new to us” designer with Americana themed charts.  You can see examples at her website: http://www.summerhousestitcheworkes.com.  My favorites are the ones with monochromatic color schemes.

You have a little more time to plan for the third event.  Ellen Chester from With My Needle is coming to be our guest teacher at a weekend stitching event!  We are calling it Weekend of Stitches.  It will be October 6^th and 7^th with a get acquainted time on Friday evening the 5^th.  The project will be Ellen’s new teaching project, “A Lady’s Worke Box”.  You can see a picture and description of the project at www.withmyneedle.com.  The classes will be at the LaPorte Holiday Inn Express and you can stay there or commute if you live close enough.  More information will be coming soon.  Email us if you would like a registration form.

We look forward to sharing our silver celebrations with you!

Happy stitching,
Linda

Show & Tell

One of our friends sent us photos of several recently completed projects and she said we could share them with you.  Chris Retseck is a prolific stitcher when she's not working at her "day job"- adult services librarian.  She is a member of the Needle Artisans of Northwest Indiana (NANI) chapter of the EGA.  When I asked Chris about her stitching, she said, "I have been stitching since about 1982!  Some of my favorite designers are La-D-Da, Country Cottage Needlework, Bent Creek, Cricket Collection, Blackbird Designs.  I truly LOVE stitching.  It is my sanctuary and keeps me sane!"  I think we can all relate to that.  Enjoy looking at her work; it is inspiring! I have started a facebook page if you are a facebook fan.  Be sure to look for the correct House of Stitches when you visit.  Our page has a picture of the front of our shop.  I plan to  use it to let you know about new things as soon as they arrive.  Until next time.... Happy stitching, Linda

Mares Eat Oats by La-D-Da



Christmas Tree by Alessandra Adelaide

Button, Button by Country Cottage



Nancy's recent finish

I thought you might like to see a project that Nancy recently finished.  She used a design by Brenda Gervais of With thy Needle & Thread. It's called "Be My Valentine" and you can see it here: http://houseofstitches.com/detail.cfm?ID=29627. I helped out with the buttons and lace but she did the real work!  The scissors are the Primitive Storklettes http://houseofstitches.com/detail.cfm?ID=28183 from Kelmscott.  They add a nice antique look and can be removed to use by untying the ribbon.

We are planning an exciting event for the fall!  Mark your calendar for the first weekend in October and I will get you details as soon as we have things "nailed down".  I can tell you it involves an internationally renowned teacher and a wonderful new project!  Stay tuned.

 I hope you have had a nice weekend with plenty of time to stitch. After paying bills I was doing some stitching on the "Fresh From the Garden" kit from Little House Needleworks. 

All stitching stopped when we realized that our refrigerator was not cooling properly.  Luckily we have a back-up in the basement so we had to transfer the things that could be salvaged.  This good old refrigerator has a rounded top and was most likely purchased during the Eisenhower administration!  It doesn't have an energy star rating but it is still working.  Somehow I don't think we will find a new model that will last as long.  I am afraid it will be a few days before I get back to stitching that tomato! 

Happy stitching,
Linda

Back home in Indiana

When we returned from market last week our life got a little complicated.  While we were gone I developed a swollen, painful knee.  The eight hour drive home didn't help so I spent the week with ice packs, elevating it and doctor visits.  By the weekend it had improved greatly.  Then, on Sunday morning my husband awoke with serious abdominal pain.  By early afternoon he was in surgery for an appendectomy!  He came home yesterday and I am slowly starting to get back to a "normal" routine.  That is why I have been so long in getting a post market report to you.  All the time spent at the hospital gave me longer blocks of stitching time than I usually have!  I finished the With Thy Needle and Thread Mystery Sampler that I showed you a couple of posts back.  I'll get a photo for you when we  have it all framed.  I have to say that even my worst stitches are prettier than the doctor's!

It was a very encouraging time in Nashville.  Everyone seemed to have a positive attitude and outlook.  As usual I found all kinds of wonderful things to bring back to the shop.  Our "What's New" page at http://houseofstitches.com/whatsnew.cfm  will show you most of them!  Barb and Sue from Prairie Moon have generously loaned us many models to display in the shop.  We made a wall of their Crypt Club models as well as several other designs.  The photo on the left gives you an idea of what it looks like.  (I say an idea because once again my photography skills are less than the best!  I'll work on it!)  The picture on the right was taken in Cherrywood Design's room at Nashville.  They are planning a series of Halloween designs to be released between now and Halloween.  "Peace, Love and Candy Corn" is available now and the others will follow.

If you are a fan of Just Nan designs, the latest releases arrived today.  We saw them at market and they are stunning, as usual!  They aren't on our site yet but you can see them at www.justnan.com.  The latest from Cricket Collection also came in this week.  They are shown at www.cecricket.com .  They are a real breath of spring!  We should have all of them in our online catalog next week!

That's it for now.  I hope the new designs are as exciting to you as they are to me!  All that stitching time at the hospital makes me want to stitch MORE, just not in that setting!

Happy stitching,
Linda



 

Nashville, part 2

I had every intention of posting last night but I truly "shopped 'til I dropped".  We had a nice dinnner at Romano's Macaroni Grill and if I didn't know better I would think my date drugged my Diet Coke!  When we got back to the hotel, I sat down on the couch to work on pricing charts.  The next thing I knew, it was 4:00 AM!  There was nothing to do but brush my teeth and go to bed. 

Today was another very good day of shopping.  (I should have been snapping pictures to show you as I went along.  I'll try to remember next time.)  Our room is filled with bags and bags of new charts, kits and "toys".  Just a few of the designers that we purchased from are:  Chessie & Me, Blackbird Designs (limited edition kit and 44 page book), Olde Colonial (5 new kits) Lizzie Kate (one limited edition kit and one Easter kit), Prairie Moon (5 Halloween themed designs), Milady's Needle (beautiful sampler pendants and charts), and Workbasket.  We have new threads from Crescent Colours, Gentle Art, and Weeks Dye Works.   I have to stop!   To see the latest, go to the website, http://www.houseofstitches.com/, click on catalog, and type nash12 in the key word box.  We will be adding things as fast as we can!

I scheduled a trunk show from Summer House Stitche Workes for the month of May.  (Road trip anyone?!)  And, we have an ongoing trunk show from Prairie Moon.  Because Sue lives nearby, she and Barb are kind enough loan us many of their models.  This evening Sue called and asked if we would like to take more models back to the shop.  No brainer!  So we have more than a dozen stitched pieces that will be on display as soon as we can get home and get them on the wall.  I'll post a picture soon.

I'm going to give the computer back to Hal now.  While I am typing he isn't uploading!  He hasn't been slacking, though, he's been pricing charts.  What a great guy!

Happy stitching,
Linda