Valentine Sweets

It's nearly Valentine's Day, and we have lots of sweets for you to enjoy. First, one of our favorites: "Be Thee Mine" by Chessie & Me--the shop model pictured here, but we have plenty of these charts in stock.


"Love," by Shepherd's Bush. Also a shop model, done up as a pillow.


"Scottish Love," by Moira Blackburn, beautifully stitched by Patricia.


Au ver a Soie in assorted pinks and reds.


Birds of a Feather's Happy Hearts Sampler. Not a new design, but a sweet classic.


Another shop model: "Grateful Hearts" by the Trilogy.


Delicate flowers within the hearts, by Rovaris.


A variety of Walker mesh bags in pinks. They also come in lots of other colors (yellow, gold, orange, blue, green and lots of sizes, with and without multiple compartments or handles).


"February" by Lizzie Kate.


"I Will Give You Five Hearts" by Dessin.


The second, very pink, "Cottage of the Month" by Country Cottage Needleworks.


And not Valentines, but two sweet designs, new in the shop, by Black Branch Needlework.



We're open tomorrow, Monday, 1/16, so give us a call (703-360-4600) if you see something on this post that you'd love to order! Our shop hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12:30-4:30 on the first Sunday of the month. Stitch nights are the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

To-Do List: 2012

Greetings, All! Let's start the New Year off with a bang, shall we? Have you ever seen anything as amazing as this? Ellen first showed us this picture on her i-phone and asked if anyone would be interested in stitching it. We all got really excited about it, agreeing it's the kind of thing to have in your stash even if you never stitch it. It uses 87 colors of DMC.


If you feel that's a bit more time-consuming than you'd like, there's this cutie. If you listen to XM radio, one of the stations played all the old versions of Christmas music through the years, including approximately 20 different versions of this song, sung by anyone you can think of. I think it's not so much Christmasy in this format as wintery.


These guys by Lizzie Kate are decidedly Christmasy, but quick little stitches. Hey, I hear you out there saying you want to stitch an ornament a month. You can start with these!


Speaking of Christmas music, what a hoot. In response to "soon it will be Christmas day," well, let's hope not!


Here's a beautiful new reproduction sampler from LHN. The recommended flosses are Belle Soie, but it's charted for DMC as well.


We have this Reflets de Soie chart as well, with its beautiful blues. Hurry up before Glenna grabs it! Darned if I can remember the name on it: perhaps Hannah Jackson?


OK, it's finally cold here, and I've pulled out the unattractive but warm puffer jacket. Time to get busy with the knitting needles and knit something nice for yourself or for someone else. "Cozy Little Crofters" by Sirdar. Goofy little hat and matching sweater--too cute.


You know how sometimes an issue of Vogue Knitting is just a little too weird for itself? Not this month. There are lots and lots of do-able, wearable patterns in the latest issue. This is one: a soft, cozy blanket, knitted on #15 needles, then edged with this very appealing ruffle. There is a beautiful cable sweater (no stinking button holes, pockets, gussets, steeks, steaks, streaks, sneaks or squeeks) to knit in lots of sizes, and there are fun hats to knit in luxury yarns--you don't go broke knitting a hat in even the very finest yarn. We have beautiful, lofty, squishy, soft yarns made of hair and fur and wool and milk protein (seriously!) and bamboo and everything including the hand-combed armpit hair of the Peruvian termite (not really--they don't export that stuff).


Speaking of luxury, this is such a deliciously soft scarf kit. Even if you're not a very advanced knitter, you can't go wrong here.


And look! Fourth of July is just around the corner!


If you have questions or would like 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 12:30-4:30. Stitch nights are the first and third Wednesdays of the month, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Happy stitching!

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!