Holiday Hours at the Shop

Hi, All! We will be open at 8 a.m. tomorrow (Monday, December 26) for a special sale. Come in your pajamas from 8 to 10 a.m. for a little something extra. We will be open the rest of the week, normal hours through Friday. Saturday and Sunday, December 31 and January 1, we will be closed.

I wanted to show you something that I saw one of our wonderful shop ladies, Rosalie, working on. It's a beautiful needlepoint stocking. I love the little animals, and Rosalie is doing a masterful job. We can order this for you. Although I'm primarily a counted cross stitcher, I dabble in needlepoint and knitting. The yarns, knitting patterns, needlepoint canvases and fibers have convinced me to get a little more serious about both "sports." I really want to stitch this stocking!



Here's a closer look.


As always, we have lots of new items in the shop. Disappointed because Santa forgot to leave that piece of Lakeside linen, that new chart, the pile of silks and the tiny pair of scissors you were hoping for? We can help! I'll be roaming around with the camera tomorrow at 8 a.m. to tempt you, but nothing is better than spinning the racks yourself: it's both calming and stimulating. Better than coffee, and even better than a big hot chocolate with a marshmallow. Hope to see you at the shop!

For questions or to order, call 703-360-4600.

Happy stitching!

There's Still Time

Good evening, everyone! Have you finished your Christmas shopping? We can make it easy for you if there's a stitcher you're buying for (you're on your own for the guy in your life who's longing for a big flat screen or season tickets to something). We have had some wonderful new charts and items arrive in the shop this week--in fact, too many to show you. And remember that you're not too late to purchase a gift certificate. Call us (703-360-4600) and we'll be happy to email it to you right away.

First of all, we have a Bygone Stitches trunk show in the shop. "A Quaker Christmas."


"Quaker Christmas II"


"One Nation."


The much talked-about Christmas Garden from Blackbird Designs has arrived. It takes only four colors of variegated cotton thread (Crescent Colours and Gentle Art Threads).


Along with the chart for the tree stocking:


The Scarlett House's new design has arrived: Hannah Tingey 1823.


Ann Dale 1827: Big and Beautiful (I like to think of her as a plus-size model) is in the shop. We carry both the full size and the smaller version of this jaw-dropping design. The large design is a whopping 402 by 531 stitches. (Psst: Glenna's New Year start.)


How about something the size of a deck of cards? In fact, how about a deck of cards? They're "normal" cards on one side, and they have the numbers and the suits, but also little diagrams of stitches.



A Dessin small Quaker pillow:


A tiny JBW kit. There's a tiny bell on the reindeer's halter.


Shepherd's Bush's Fa La La comes packed in a tiny stocking decked with "rusty" bells:


Another Shepherd's Bush design, to be stitched on the gorgeous fabric at the top right:


And Le Temps Qui Passe from Dessin:


Please call us if you would like to order (even last-minute items) or have questions: 703-360-4600. Our normal hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on the first Sunday of the month from 12:30 to 4:30, but around Christmas and New Year's we'll have special hours, so be sure to call before you come if you do not subscribe to our newsletter.

Happy stitching!

Christmas Crunch Time

Put your hand up if you have never stayed up past midnight, bleary-eyed, stitching madly to put the finishing touches on a stitched gift. Some of us thrive on the pressure, and some of us fold (for those of us who fold under that pressure, we'll have a post soon of thoughtful stitcher gifts that don't involve stitching at all).

Here are a few projects you might want to start before Christmas (shhhh--we're exactly two weeks out today), even if you don't finish until after the big day. From the Cricket Collection, "Sugar Cookies."

I've started it, and it's a blast. It makes you hungry to contemplate all these sugar cookies.


Lower calorie: "C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S"


Shop models, big and little of this Blackbird Designs chart. Bet you could start and finish it in the next two weeks.


Definitely you could finish this little pillow by next week and have time for a second one!


How about "Christmas Adam & Eve?" Come on, they're small!


This might take a little longer, but it's well worth it. By With Thy Needle & Thread.


Small and cute: sheep, cardinals and snow, all in the same little design: C Street Samplerworks' "He Giveth Snow, a Little Winter Sampler."


Homespun Elegance's "Jingle Jingle" ornament.


Are you a fast knitter? Knit one of these gifts now, promise the others for later. Or knit them all if your fingers fly.


Two beauties by Plum Street Samplers: not Christmas, but bright and cheery, and we love the red bird.



Just Cross Stitch Magazine with lots of projects and suggestions to take you beyond the Christmas season. We have to smile at the cover project: "Seasonal Snowflake Wreath."


For questions or to order, please call us at 703-360-4600. Our hours are 10-5 Monday-Saturday and the first Sunday of the month from 12:30-4:30. Please go to our website and sign up for the newsletter to read about special events and hours. (www.institchesneedlework.com)

Happy stitching!

Six Fat Men and It's All In the Hat

We had a wonderful lockin on October 23, with lots of pre-Halloween revelry. From the left, Ellen and Patricia, In Stitches' owner and manager, respectively, wearing most fabulous (and warm) spider costumes. Think how fast we could stitch with 8 arms! Maybe work on four projects at once!


Many of us wore our best witches' hats, since, as this chart reminds us, "it's all in the hat."


Two of our well-dressed customers, conferring or working on a spell:


Lois, wearing a very cute and chic mini witch statement:


Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod, sporting hilarious costumes AND matching the McDonalds colors:


Some of us noticed that two of our customers came dressed to match their shirts with the wall of needlepoint fibers:


This adorable costume: rocking the Fruit of the Loom look.


And apparently it's not all in the hat--some of it is in the socks and shoes.


We took a gander at the new and vibrant Elsie Reidford 1877 by Samplers Revisited.


We're selling these little Prairie Schooler cards by the pack of ten. Here's one of the packs.


Part 1 of Margaret Cottam, along with the recommended fabric and fibers:


With Thy Needle and Thread's newest "Sampler of the Season." I love the colors in this.


Primitive Needleworks by Caryn puts a new spin on the Ladies of the Mayflower.


Carolina House Designs reminds us that we're all Sisters of the Needle and Thread. (We are! We are!)


And this very pretty new Christmas offering from Glendon Place (lots and lots of DMC (or Anchor) and lots of Kreinik and beads on sparkly Crystal Picture This Plus fabric).


We are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the first Sunday of the month from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Stitch Nights are the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter for advance notice of special events (we filled the last lockin spots in under ten minutes!): www.institchesneedlework.com and look for the newsletter sign-up link (which for some reason I can't reproduce here.)

Oh, and our banner photo is our newest shop model, awaiting framing: "Six Fat Men" by Lizzie Kate.

Don't know what to get for that stitcher who seems already to have everything? We have gift certificates! For questions or to order, please call us at 703-360-4600.

Happy stitching!

Stitch Night, Framing and Some New Designs

Hello, All! When I arrived--a little late--for stitch night last time, Jan's gorgeous project was complete in all its glory and attached to the board with magnets. Everyone had been invited to help choose a frame and opinions abounded. No one could decide. Here are a couple of options. The project, by the way, is a Chatelaine design called "Celtic Garden." Jan is an amazing stitcher who whips through project after project with incredible focus that puts me to shame.


Another frame choice. I think framing is magical, and I love to watch customers mull their choices over when they come into the shop, and I enjoy watching Karen as she patiently and painstakingly pins each precious design (I will have to take a photo the next time I see her doing it--I think what goes on underneath the part we see is fascinating). We have lots and lots of frames, so there's no shortage of choices to consider. What did Jan choose? When it's done, we'll send you to Jan's blog to take a good look.


And here's a closeup of Jan's work. Love the bling.


Helen is working on this little duck:


Look at Sherry's little guy: this comes as a needlepoint kit with the little stuffed animal ready to go. Just stitch the stocking, finish it (or have it finished) and insert the toy. Too cute, and I'm totally admiring Sherry's stitching. I've only mastered two simple stitches, so I love to see what the more accomplished needlepointers come up with.


March is stitching a Just Nan Noah's Ark design:


In case you're hankering for a new project, we have lots of new projects in the shop, including two new Scarlet Letters. This is Ruthy Rogers, which I've started. Lots of specialty stitches, but they're not hard to do. This is charted for AVAS or for DMC.


And Jane Burnet:


Something new from Ink Circles.


And from Midnight Stitching.


And you already know that Halloween is nearly here, but if you don't have time to stitch something, there are Halloween scissors or these adorable pins. Or...it's not too late to buy a cute project to start for next year!


Stitch night is the first and third Wednesday of each month (that means tomorrow, the 19th). Join us from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

If you have questions or want to place an order, please call us at 703-360-4600. We are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 12:30-4:30 on the first Sunday of the month.

Happy stitching!