Vacation Stitching

I hope your summer day is as nice as ours has been! Are you getting ready to go on vacation? We're betting you might want a brand-new project to take with you. In our opinion, beach/porch/lawn chairs are just perfect for stitching. Add an umbrella to shade the direct sun, a little table holding some lemonade and an enticing needlework project, and you're good to go, even if it's a stay-cation.

Here are some nice starts: "Summer at Holly Berry Farm" by Stacy Nash Primitives.

A new design by Blue Ribbon Designs, "Sunflower Serenade."

Plum Street Samplers' "Viktor and Irina."

"Mary Wilson" by the Scarlet Letter.

"Strawberry Hill Sampler" by Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle and Thread. Nice small projects for vacation stitching.

"The Birds and the Bees" by Ink Circles.

"The Pink Sparrow Sampler," also by With Thy Needle and Thread. Charted for variegated cottons--and not a huge project.

Cross Point Designs' "J. Gebhard 1841 Sampler." A bit larger, but worth it.

"Wild Berries," the first of the Blackbird Designs Abecedarian Series. I'd love to stitch all 12, and I purchased this one yesterday. A very manageable size.

An even more manageable size of the following two: Little House's Little Sheep virtues series--"Patience" (sorry that the photo is a tad out of focus, but I wanted to include this anyway because it's adorable):

And Country Cottage Needleworks' latest in the Santa's Village Series: #9--"Santa's Sleighworks." I love stitching cool winter and Christmas project at the height of summer.

There was a fun needlepoint trunk show going on when I stopped by In Stitches yesterday by Mindy: small stockings with delightful little pompoms (this is just one of the colorways), and

Lots of different button clocks. Here's a beachy one we all wanted to stitch.

Our address is 8800 F Pear Tree Court, Alexandria, VA, and our phone number is 703-360-4600 to order or for questions. Our hours are 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12:30 to 4:30, the first Sunday of each month. Stitch Nights are on Wednesdays starting September 4.

We hope to see you soon! Happy Stitching!

Halloween Sale and Lock-In

Happy Halloween Sale! We are having a sale on Halloween goods--counted cross stitch, needlepoint, yarns (if they're black/orange)--20% off starting today (Monday, 6/24) and continuing through Saturday, June 29. The sale prices are good whether you walk in or call in or email us! Do you have a favorite Halloween chart? Now's the time! I have three new favorite Halloween charts--Karen from the shop stitched all three Alessandra Adelaide here and framed them in gorgeous black frames. They are stitched on 40 count Lakeside in Tarnished Silver. Gorgeous--I ordered a half yard of the tarnished silver and the three charts. Here, a closeup of "Bat Banner." Love the beads.

Full length "Bat Banner." You could stitch this on another color (orange?) if you wanted.

"Spider Banner"

And "Skull Banner." Just love the steel-gray beads.

We had 20+ attendees at Lock-In on Sunday.

Here's some needlepoint wall art.

More needlepoint. I want to stitch that haunted house.

Door prizes. (You should come to the next lock-in; the door prizes are quite breath-taking. Employees can't win. Darn it.)

Here's a happy winner (a lovely Stacy Nash kit).

We bring our projects. Someone rose to the Halloween occasion here and is stitching a Halloween Mystery sampler.

A gorgeous blue abstract design.

A cute monthly chart (November) with a cat.

Speaking of cats, look at this wonderful needlepoint canvas with its cats.

A close-up of the cats. Love them to bits.

Here are some nice Halloween treats for sale: Plum Street Sampler's "My Pretties."

Halloween Ornament issue from 2011.

Batley Bat from Amy Bruecken Designs:

New shop models (not Halloween, but too fun to leave out): "When in Doubt, Twirl" and

And "Wine, Whine."

One last Halloween stitched model: "Celtic Pumpkin."

We are located at 8800 F Pear Tree Court in Alexandria, VA. For questions or to order, please call us at 703-360-4600. Our hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and the first Sunday of the month from 12:30 to 4:30. Next stitch night is September 4--so many people are on vacation and doing things outdoors (not stitching!) that we take a break in the summer. Happy stitching, from the resident witches!

Buzz

Happy Sunday evening! We have lots of buzz in the shop, including several new charts featuring bees:

(Our blog banner photo is Mary Edmondson, by Pineberry Designs, stitched by Patricia.)

First off, three from Shepherd's Bush. Here's my favorite:  "Bee Blessings."  So typically gentle, sweet and quirky from these ladies. 

Smaller: "Busy World" to fit a box, or as an ornament.

Smallest:  "Sweet Liberty," with a tiny flag, bee skep and buzzing bee.  All three, sold as kits.

Blackbird Designs: "Agnes Platt," just one of three designs in this booklet. I noticed that all three use most of the same colors, and I love all three, so I'll stitch all three. (Also bee skeps in these designs!)

I picked up my copy on Saturday, and started it right away.

"Sarah Chapple 1831" by Shakespeare's Peddler.  Lovely, lovely flowers (I haven't spotted any bees but there are some fun birds).

From Jardin Prive, sheep and birds and tiny butterflies. A lovely little chart. We have lots of different Jardin Prive charts.

A humbug from Just Nan called "Porch Mice." And the most adorable mouse pin. Just Nan has the most clever little designs--and we have lots of them.

"Tending the Garden" by Blackbird Designs. Gorgeous quilts and also needlework in this beautiful soft-cover volume. I'm definitely buying one next time.

"My To-Do List for Today": sweet, sensible advice from Lizzie Kate. I'm a complete fan and am stitching "Dog Rules" myself.

Colorful, patriotic "Old Glory" by Ship's Manor. Nice graphics.

And from Miss Lila's Studio, "Selina Chown" in arresting colors.  (pssst--a nice, traditional sampler with a pretty strawberry border, and it won't take years of stitching to complete it).

Speaking of years of stitching, we were wowed by this project last year. "A Maryland Inspiration." 

For this year....this designer has really done it now! Look at that amazing stone house and the trees that surround it. And the verse! Not a quick stitch, but we're sure you'll agree--a worthy one.

And here's a tasty treat: an olive. Fun! By Lantern Moon.

For questions or to order, please call us at 703-360-4600. We are located at 8800 F Pear Tree Court, Alexandria, Virginia. Our hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 12:30 to 4:30 the first Sunday of each month. Stitch Nights are the first and third Wednesdays of the month, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Happy Stitching!

Stitching and Painting with Catherine Jordan

In Stitches hosted Catherine Jordan for a class which taught fabric painting to enhance our stitching, showcasing the technique with her gorgeous maps. We received a kit for both the Potomac River Needlework Map (last photo in this group) and for the two little journals shown here. These journal projects were so we could practice our new skills.

These projects were fully kitted: two pieces of fabric, one for the large Potomac River Needlework map, and enough material to create a little journal. Also included were the journal, fabric paints, container, freezer paper, floss, silk chenille, charts, instructions, needles and a delicate paint brush.

Here's Catherine on the right:

Here's one of the several tables of students, preparing by stitching the river's outline using brown Anchor.

Catherine is a wonderful teacher. Her written and verbal instructions are clear, and she is very modest. She said "I don't think I'm that artistic!" Well, we beg to differ--we think you're VERY artistic, Catherine!

Here she's holding the fabric paint (you can buy the paints from her website: www.CatherinesDesigns.net

Catherine is demonstrating here how to mix the paint with water so that it's the proper consistency. Interestingly, the characteristics of linen mean that it absorbs just enough paint for vivid color, and the fabric paint's characteristics mean the fabric does not become stiff. The kit came with Lakeside Linens.

And here's how the paint looks as it's applied.

This is the Potomac River Needlework Map which we all fell in love with at the Woodlawn Needlework Show.  I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.  We have the class kit for sale in the shop--call us at 703-360-4600 to order.  For a nice tour of her work and kits (and to find the fabric paints) or to see her class schedule, please see her website at www.CatherinesDesigns.net.

We are at 8800 Pear Tree Court, Alexandria, VA. Our hours are 10-5, Monday through Saturday and 12:30 to 4:30 the first Sunday of the month. Stitch Nights are the first and third Wednesdays of the month.
Happy stitching!