nothing much to say
Usually when I have nothing to say, I plaster pictures of Jack the Cat here but I am too lethargic to even do that.
I seem to have sunk into some kind of pleasant funk. You could not call it depressed since I am not and I am not sick, no worse than my usual state of “ouch & ick”.
So, what is wrong? I have no idea, not really.
I receive and read the New York Times here very day. A number of my neighbors here do also. Over in Apollo Beach, the wasteland south of Tampa we lived in for 18 months, it took an act of providence and crying on the phone to a supervisor at the NY Times to get me a daily delivery, here it is easy.
I can’t manage reading the local papers, they are all advice how to live longer, health stuff aimed at seniors, store ads and creepy opinion pieces. The news itself is terrible, lately mostly awful child abuse stories.
I do see these, on Yahoo News I have to scroll past the local news to get to the daily comics.
It is a gray nasty day today, rain & thunderstorms off and on all day. I usually do not mind this but maybe that is what has me down today.
I am all caught up, sort of. I have the latest book photos to edit and then to list them but that is not as crucial as the taxes were, as the bills and monthly statements were.
Could it be that not being behind makes me lazy?
I watched a very odd movie the other night. Now, I haven’t watched a movie in quite a while. I think the last movie I actually watched before that was Rosencrantz & Guildenstein are Dead, which is odd enough on it’s own.
I got it from NetFlix and it was not what I thought it would be. It was called The Girl Next Door. The capsule review said it was the true story of an average Oklahoma housewife’s adventure in the Porno Industry. I expected a raunchy comedy. What it was was a really real visit with this girl, her professional name was Stacey Valentine, who was active in the porn industry from 1995 to 2000.
Now, this is a stupid girl, a sweet and foolish girl plus your average Oklahoma housewife does not usually have size F breasts. It was like watching the aftermath of a car wreck, I could not not watch.
She was encouraged to have these huge implants by her creepy husband, who then sent her nude picture to someone or other and she got her first “job” (and got rid of creepy husband).
There was nudity in the movie but no “full frontal” and no actual sex. It was really a sad movie, really. She was such a pretty girl until she plastered on all her Porno Star makeup on and looked just awful, but maybe that is just my taste. I have always and still do think lip liner in a different color looks bad and real cheap.
So, there I am ironing away watching this, then I switched back to my episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (remember, I bought the first 4 seasons).
Then I got to thinking, how odd people are, such swings we are capable of. This came back to me this morning, as I was reading the NY Times Review of Books (every week reading, not that I actually read most of the books reviewed).
There is a huge swing to memoir type books right now. Even the “thought” books have memoir features to them, it seems.
They say everybody has 1 book in them, at least.
So, I began to write mine. I got 10 pages in and re-read it. I saw pretty clearly that no one would ever want to read my memoir. In fact, I would be better off if I managed to forget most of what happened to me.
Ok, so much for my literary ambitions.
As I said, I have nothing to say. To the 3, maybe 4 of you who actually read this, Thank you.
It just began raining much harder.
oops
I just received an email from Karen, one of my blog readers.
She correctly points out that this canvas is Fuschias
Not Hibiscus.
DOH
Like I did not grow many Hibiscus around my homes in New England. Any time there was a wettish spot to fill in any garden, throw in a hibiscus and it does great.
I know about the colors, how adjusting the acidity of the soil effects the color of the flowers.
That was a total “brain fart” moment (am I allowed to say that word here? well, I did)
Of course it is a Fuschia. Like I didn’t bring my mother one every Mother’s day for years when she still lived near Boston.
She hung it from a special hook on her small front porch, every year.
DOH
an offer
I have been thinking about how I could get better Needlepoint & Bargello Needlepoint books to sell on NewNeedlepoint.com (got the all-important link in early this time).
It seems to me that the logical next step is to ask anyone who reads this to sell me their extra Needlepoint & Bargello books.
So, here goes:
I want to buy your used Needlepoint & Bargello Needlepoint books.
I prefer to buy them rather then do consignment. Buying them means I accept the risk that they will not sell but it also means I will pay slightly less than you would get with consignment since I have to make a capitol investment to do it.
I would prefer this, very much so. I don’t think I can take on the extensive paper work and bookkeeping that accepting consignment sales would mean.
The books I buy from you will be sold on NewNeedlepoint.com. If they do not ever sell, I will donate them to the Ohio Women’s Prison Needlepoint Project.
Used book are used books, I know that their condition is far from perfect. The only book issues I can’t accept and buy from you are missing pages, a broken down spine (be it stitched or glued…although you can glue a paperback or trade paperback spine back in place..I have done this with some success).
I can’t buy a book with extensive foxing (those brown spots everywhere). Some foxing is OK and I expect some yellowing of pages & dust jackets in older books but too much foxing is too much. Last is mold/moldy smell.
There are degrees to all of this and I can accept more “issues” in a very rare book.
I am interested in general Needlepoint Books, design books and reference/stitch books. I want books about Canvas Work and Canvas Embroidery (what the English call needlepoint).
I already have many of the glossy/flossy “name designer” books, interestingly, they do not sell all that well. Still they are lovely books and I am willing to buy some of them.
I am obsessed with Bargello books. There aren’t that many of them out there. I wish there were more.
The prices I will pay for your books will be determined by several current used and collectible book price guides
Then we come to shipping the books. What makes it possible for me to profit (however tiny the amounts) selling used books, is something the US Post Office offers called Media Mail. This is by far the best way for you to ship me your books. ( you pay to ship the books you are selling me, to me. I pay to ship back to you any books whose price we can’t agree on)
It is limited and has many restrictions but it CHEAP, if you jump through their hoops.
Books are heavy and paying Parcel Post or Priority Mail to ship them would be a killer.
The media mail rules are:
there must be nothing else in the envelope/package besides media mail. That means books, magazines, paper or pamphlets, DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes. I don’t know if photographs are included but I bet they are. The USPS does random spot checks to make sure media mail is really media mail. There is a $2500. fine if it is not.
The other killer is if it weighs over 13 oz (USPS first class mail limit) you HAVE TO stand in line at the PO and hand it to the clerk.
It does not matter if the postage is already attached, you have to hand it to them.
The waiting in line can be deadly but the savings are terrific.
So, please go through your shelves and those boxes in the back of the closet or in the attic or basement or garage. It is a shame for these good books to sit there doing nothing and I need them.
If any of your friends are interested, I would love to hear from them too.
Please email me directly at
m@newneedlepoint.com
If you want to include a list of books you would like to sell I will respond with which ones I will buy.
I can’t set the price I will pay for them until I actually see the books. Any books we can’t agree on a price to be paid to you will be returned using Media Mail.
Now on to my usual blog blather:
I am done with the taxes. My desk is clear of all debris. I have cleaned up the newest lot of newish books and will photograph them when I finish writing this.
Then I will edit the pictures, list the books and I will be done (sort of).
I have some unlisted canvases & kits I want to list including 3 more Christmas Tree ornament kits. All my holiday stitcher friends tell me this is the time to list them.
I checked and I do not have pictures of them yet. I will take a few today when I shoot the books. Sort of a preview.
I also have a few big canvases & kits I have put off listing.
There is this Hibiscus canvas by Danji Designs. It will be offered as the canvas alone or as a kit. I was going to kit it using Paternayan wools but now I am not so sure. The sheen and sharply defined stitches you get with DMC Perle Cotton Floss might be better.
There is also this wonderful pair of Alphabet Samplers by Mary Margaret Waldock. There is the blue one for boys.
and of course, the pink one for girls. (it should all be this easy)
I am not in love with the colors used on this otherwise handsome Butterfly design needlepoint canvas from Danji Design. I see the designer’s point, by using a finite group of colors it creates a harmonious design and makes the kit affordable, with less colors to buy still……
Rust, burnt sienna and black are not colors I think of when I think of butterflies. Orange yes, yellow certainly but this much of them, as a repeating base for the other colors. I just don’t know.
I assembled a kit using these colors, wrote out the color guide and all but the truth is, I don’t like it.
I think I am going to do some major monkeying around with these colors. A whole new concept. If anyone out there likes this, as is, I would be interesting in hearing it since it is already done and ready to be listed this way.
But then I come back to still………..
Have I posted the newer new books list here yet? (they are the new ones until the newest new ones start arriving (yes, I am making myself crazy with this “new” stuff)
Many of them are replacements for ones I have sold.
I have 2 copies of The Book of Needlepoint Stitches by Susan Higgenson. I snagged this book and kept it for myself when I first ordered it. I love this book.
I have a Gift Quality copy of A Show of Hands by Janet McCaffery
another Gift Quality New Canvaswork, creative techniques in needlepoint by Jill Carter
The New Dictionary of Needlepoint & Canvas Stitches by Rhoda Ochser Goldberg
Canvas Work From The Start by Anne Dyer & Valerie Duthoit
Canvas Embroidery by Diana Springall
The Fine Art of Needlepoint by Muriel B. Crowell
Needlepoint by Karen Elder from the Potter Library (no idea yet what the Potter Library is)
Canvas Work by Jennifer Gray
Embroidery Designs From The Sea by Barbara Snook
Bargello Borders by Nancy Hall & Jean Riley
Mira Silverstein’s Bargello PLus
Sculptured Needlepoint Stitchery by Ella Projansky
Needleplay & More Needleplay by Erica Wilson. I am going to list these 2 together.
I have replacement copies for the New York Times Book of Needlepoint, Geometric Design In Needlepoint by Mary Jaene Edmonds, The Batsford Book of Canvas Work by Mary Rhodes, The Encyclopedia of Canvas Embroidery Stitch Patterns by Katharine Ireys, American Heirloom Bargello, which sold within a few days of being listed, The Bargello Book by Frances Salter and Florentine Canvaswork by Dorothy Phelan.
I have found a few more copies of Margaret Boyles’ Bargello, An Explosion in Color. I have bought and sold so many of them that I (think) I have caused the price for this book to rise alarmingly.
I recently ordered 2 at reasonable (reasonable for such a great & increasingly rare book) prices. Both sellers cancelled my order (“oh my, I can’t find my copy, gee whizz, sorry) once they realized everybody else was asking a Lot More for it.
So, I paid A Lot More for this great book. It really is getting hard-to-find. Now, the Margaret Boyles’ Bargello Workbook is thick on the ground. tons of them out there but not Bargello, An Explosion in Color.
Anyway, I paid the piper (OUCH) and have 2 copies for sale.
What else, still hiding in Georgette Heyer books, reading quite a lot for relaxation (and it is)
My last word today is *sell me your books*
a nice row of ducks
I am done with the taxes! I worked through the night last night then slept from 8am to 1:30pm.
I got up, shoveled out the house and swabbed the kitchen (daily grind) and then cleaned my office/workroom.
So, it is official. My ducks are lined up and shining and I am done. Back to NewNeedlepoint.com.
I am having trouble getting some of the rare books that sell the best. As I buy them up they are getting scarce and more expensive (DOH, you think?).
Several of my extremely literate and thoughtful readers have offered to sell me the Needlepoint & Bargello Needlepoint book they have at the backs of closets or the bottoms of shelves. The ones they never unpacked from the last move.
I am excited about this. I think this is the logical next step, besides beginning to sell new NP & BNP books.
So, this is my idea.
I am on the fence about consignment. Many of my experiences with it have been bad and one has been terrific. (if you have designer handbags you longer carry that are in good condition. I have done very well sending them to Barbara at BagAmbition.com. She is honest, markets them well and pays promptly).
Plus the paperwork of consignment is heavier.
So my first idea is to buy the books from you. Now, If I did consignment I could pay a little more, since I am assuming no risk.
If I buy them I will pay less, since I am putting my “capital” out there and assuming the risk that they will sell.
This is a lot like how I assume the risk when buying these books, that they will be re-salable (by me, anyway..some vendors will sell any garbage and call it very good as you all know from my rants).
So…..if you are interested email me direct at m@newneedlepoint.com
I am also interested if anyone knows of any web site where you can request to buy things, sort of like you sell them on Craig’s List or eBay?
Now. The 2 books I am most interested in right now are
Margaret Boyles: Bargello, an Explosion in Color
and Father B’s 21st Century Book of Stitches
I am open to ideas on how to do this, this is all new to me.
During the tax pressure I retreated into re-re-reading Georgette Heyer. It is a comfort and a refuge. I read Friday’s Child. It had not been one of my favorites but I think it finally got me. I was sorry when it ended. Then I went for foolproof. I am reading Frederica, my favorite favorite.
I have always had this crackpot theory that people who read have a “safety net”. they can escape from the stress and worry of reality in these wonderful worlds, the stories in books. I think I have done this all my life.
In fact, I find I am watching very few movies these days, with a few exceptions.
I have a confession to make. I got my hands on the first 4 seasons of the Mary Tyler Moore show on DVD and I am watching them while I stitch or iron (the 2 biggies, I like to iron).
The stories are still funny and without commercials they are fun to watch but I did discover something upsetting.
In the 2nd season of the Mary Tyler Moore show her gorgeous & thick long brown hair in her signature flip is a WIG. A wig! The things you can see on a DVD with a plasma TV.
I am shocked, shocked!
Look for more new books to start appearing again later today on (you got it) NewNeedlepoint.com
down the well, looking up
Hello, I am still down the well called taxes and I am looking up at the blue sky, far above me.
Until I finish these I have no life, not that I had much to begin with but I did have “my moments’.
Since I have nothing much to say I gathered some pictures for you.
This is Jack posing. He does not mind the camera as long as I turn the flash off which is why the pictures are blurry, not enough light.
The moment Jack saw me he jumped down off the counter. He knows he is not supposed to be up there, notice the furtive look as he slinks along?
Karen had asked to see the Provencal Rooster I have been working on since before I began NewNeedlepoint.com
I have just begun working on him again. As you can see, I had had enough of all the gold so I am doing the outer border in off-white. There will be some see through. I should have doubled my strand for the border but it is too late now. I am not pulling this out so it will be a shadowed off-white.
Remember the beautiful sculptured Bouganvilla I added when I re-did my sadly overgrown landscape? This is what it looks like now.
Of course, I see it many times a day but I had not really “looked” at it for some weeks. I was pinching off the suckers (necessary for it to keep it’s shape) when I looked at and it and “WOW”.
And so it is. I will be myself again, soon.
outrage, petty & otherwise
This part is not about “outrage”. I will get to that in a moment.
I am slogging through the 5 “tax organizers” I have to send to my accountant so he has time to do them.
They are more complicated then you think. Every investment has to be accounted for, every dollar in has to be matched with a dollar out.
To be specific. let’s say I bought GE stock. Let’s say 300 shares at around $16.00 a share with a $10. commission.
OK, now lets say that my on-line brokerage was not able to get it all at the exact same price so it bought 54 @ $16.39 & 97 @ $16.12 & 149 @ 15.99.
That is how it shows on the 1099 investment tax form the brokerage sends me. I have to list every incremental buy and match it to a sale plus figure out which buy paid the commission.
And if I was foolish to do Dividend Re-Investment on a Mutual Fund. Oh My. Endless calculations of a share or 2..endless.
And it is not only the trust accounts I do for the “next generation” in my family.
I can’t claim overall inventory for my business and deduct sales. My accountant says that is like issuing an engraved inviitation to audit me (shudder). I have to match every sale to specific inventory items & costs.
AWK!
OK, outrage. I went to pick up my new glasses today. They had them for 3 weeks and no one called me to say they were ready.
The Opticians were busy, both of them were with customers when I got there. So I waited…and waited..and waited while both sets of people endlessly fussed over their glasses.
Now, this is a basic human right and I do it too but one of the couples was nickel & dimeing…on and on. They were finally almost done when the Mister says to the Optician “so, what kind of schooling and training do you need to do this?”
The optician made a brief answer and they began to pepper him with questions….while I waited.
Ok, finally my turn.. The store claimed to have “left me a message” on 3/8. hmmmm, OK.
My glasses were ready and I was happy. So, we are doing my short little transaction, The Optician is adjusting the fit a bit when the Mrs of this couple comes roaring back in. She comes right up to the Optician and starts in with him about a $4 difference between what she thought it would cost and what it cost (this was on a receipt of probably $300-400 for 3 pairs)
The optician tried to explain it to her, that so many things had been discussed. The things on the bill were the options they had chosen, in the end.
She was not satisfied and kept it up (and up) He eventually said to her that he would talk to her when he was done with me.
I was SO close to “rounding on her” and telling her to get lost, it was my turn now.
The upshot of this was after I was done, the next person in line had to wait while she went on and on. I have no idea how long. I was out of there.
Some people think they are more important then everyone else….and it seems to be increasing.
OK, BIG Outrage.
The Margaret Boyles book, Bargello, an Explosion in Color has become very, very rare in the last few months.
I have sold 3 of then on NewNeedlepoint.com or maybe 4. I am not sure. The book went from a reasonably priced used book to now minimum 50-60 dollars for a crummy one to $200-300 (or more) for a nice one.
I searched hard and found 2 for sale today at more or less reasonable prices
Quick like a bunny I bought them both.
A few hours later I got this cutsey poo email from one of the sellers telling me “she has looked everywhere and torn the inventory apart looking for the book but it has disappeared.
Un huh, right, sure it has. She had not done her research and did not realize how much more she could get for the book.
But meanwhile, I bought it in good faith, at the price she was asking but now it is “missing”
Ok, then this evening I get another email from the other source I bought the other one from telling me the book “is no longer available”.
I am not a big fan of coincidence. I think they are both lying, unwilling to sell to me at the price they asked and I agreed to, when they could make much more.
Shameful.
So, my web store has taken off. I am getting orders and making sales. It is like at 1 year in business someone hit the switch and Wahoo!
I am selling lots of books and a pattern is forming. Bargello books are hot, people want them.
I know I have closed my Bargello Category but I am planning a “Private Client Bargello Print Catalog” available on request.
I am going to charge what the Bargellos really cost me in materials, time & effort. I don’t expect many sales at these prices but there is a real ground swell of interest so you never know.
I sell more Needlepoint Reference Books than I do Needlepoint Design Books. Even from the Big Name Designers. Interesting.
For Needlepoint Canvases & Kits I sell more Animal or Animal related canvases & kits then any other kind. I thought I had too many of them but I was wrong.
This is very exciting for me, to be finally seeing some movement and sales at NewNeedlepoint.com but I did not realize how much time processing each purchase can take.
Not, mind you, that I am complaining. Some of it is me and how crazy I am.
I ended up partially re-picking the colors for the Lee Cranes Needlepoint Kit I sold last week. When I was packing the kit in it’s nice mailing tube, I thought I could do better for colors and I did.
And here’s the biggie, my own Outrageous.
I mailed the American Flag Bargello Kit today. I was always troubled by the design. I felt the flag ended badly, on the right side. With no grace, if you know what I mean (and I bet you do).
But I was limited by the size of the canvas. The sample was stitched on 14 mesh. Well, I did the establishing lines and layout of the same size (12.5 X 12.5) canvas but I used 16 mesh.
The smaller mesh allowed me to bring the flag out to a full 3 sequences of the Ripple Stitch. Before I stopped at and awkward 2.5 and I hated the effect.
I had begun by stitching what I thought was the bottom Ripple Line for the flag as the establishing line, but then I saw that the whole design had to “move upwards” to compensate for the flag change.
So now my establishing line for the flag is the 3rd line.
I should have taken a picture but I don’t know how much you would have gotten from one line of Ripple red and a double row of the zig-zag background stitch and some filling at the top.
My customer had said she will send me a picture when it is done. I hope she does.
I know she may not be pleased with my changes so I have offered to refund her purchase price if she does not like it.
I have not offered to re-do it as it was. I am not willing to do that.
So today I am both outrageous & outraged. Does it really matter? Not at all.
Even Georgette Heyer’s Friday’s Child was not able to soothe me today.
I gave up on the third Claire Darcy book in the Trilogy of her books. It wasn’t a trilogy like the stories were related or anything. Each was a stand alone but I just could not care about “Allegra”. At one point a character in the book talks about “shaking some sense into Allegra” and I heartily agreed. I wanted to do so myself.
I did something I never do, I skipped to the end and read it. Yes, she does marry the handsome lord. I know I would.
Heads Up, Important Warning
If you are trying to buy something from my web store and you live in the USA it might insist you have to pay International Shipping, please do.
I will refund your shipping charge right away.
Otherwise, please be aware that the drop down selection menu for shipping is crucial.
If you select International you will be charged a hefty fee.
If you select USA you will be charged nothing
Shipping is free in the USA….except for the big Mighty Bright Floor lamp which does have a surcharge. It is a fortune to ship.
YIKES. This keeps happening. I have to figure out what is wrong. I have an emergency call into Zac, the Tech…of course.
YIKES….
a nice lady in Nebraska was charged $60. shipping for 5 books!
AKK
maybe the worst book
I have been writing these needlepoint & bargello needlepoint (ok, only 1 bargello) book listings for 3 days now. Bargello books are scarce.
I have a limit how many of them I can do at the time. After that one day when I roared through them and did 15 I have not been able to match that accomplishment.
I manage 4, maybe 5 and then I have to go lay down. I read some, maybe doze a bit then I get up and write some more. I walk between my room and my office like a zombie, with stops in the kitchen for snacks.
Most of these books are wonderful. Some are great and the condition is depressing and discouraging. However, I took the advice I got here (I usually do) and am listing most of them with lots of pictures and honest descriptions.
I have to admit, there are a few that go too far, ones I do not want to touch.
The book with all the foxing is one of those, that one hit the trash. It even smelled bad.
Today I listed Needlepoint from America’s Great Quilt Designs by Mary Kay Davis & Helen Giammetti. the book inside is good but the poor dust jacket is just awful.
I wish I had the bravery to throw away these awful filthy dust jackets and just sell the often very fine book inside them but supposedly a dust jacket, no matter how bad, adds to a book’s value.
I also listed the Walt Disney Characters Needlepoint Book by Lisabeth Perrone. This book has the distinction of being the only book by Ms Perrone that does not put her name above the book’s title. I guess old Walt Disney was even more important than Lisabeth Perrone is.
It does look like a charming book, aimed at beginners & novices.
Just now I did the worst listing I have ever done and I enjoyed it. One of the books I ordered, sight unseen , of course, and that was not listed in my needlework book bibliography (and I thank Catherine J. Sestay, it’s author, she has improved my web site more then she will ever know).
The book is the Handbook of Needlepoint Stitches by Mary Meister Walzer. I like to stock stitch and technique reference books. They do not go out of style and have important information for all of us stitchers, at every level.
This book, however, is just bad. It is stupid, the stitching is a mess and the whole thing is amateurish. I was surprised to see Van Nostrand Reinhold published it in 1971.
Maybe her husband was “somebody” or maybe she was fooling around with “somebody” or maybe they were desperate for Needlepoint books then.
Who knows? There is a picture of her sitting in one of those nice leather “stressless” chairs that were so popular, in a beautifully appointed 1970′s room. She has a very “knowing” look, almost a smirk.
She is described as an expert needlepointer. Oh my!
Hold on, I am going to take 2 fast pictures and edit them so I can put them here….
These are samples she stitches and shows in her book.
That one above is just bad. This next one I am not positive about but I am pretty sure it is not well done.
Sorry about the dingy icky pictures, these are pictures of B&W photos taken at night with my lights not set up. Below is the book.
I wrote a truly snarky listing for it. I suggest people buy it as an example of what not to do when you write a needlepoint book.
Next Up. Well, I am almost 60 and I have been cleaning my house (!bathrooms!) since I was 17. One of the big life changes I made at 50 was I do not want to clean my own house anymore.
I am not one of those freaks who has them change their sheets and do their laundry and clean out the fridge etc. I want them to vacuum, do light dusting, mop the tile floors, clean the 2.5 bathrooms and occasionally see to the dust on the blinds & the ceiling fans.
I polish all the wood and do all my *collectibles and collections* myself.
I hired some people to do this on an every other week basis. Over in Tampa I was paying $139.00 every 2 weeks for decent cleaners. That was/is an outrageous amount of money but they did a pretty good job.
I found these people here who seemed fine. They wanted $80 a week (going rate here), one of them spoke english (a biggie), so I tried them out. They were only OK but I figured I could do more of it myself and they were cheap so I hired them.
When they left the last time he told me they would get in touch with me about when my next cleaning would be. Well, I hear nothing, no response to my calls, nothing for 2 weeks.
On Monday afternoon at 4pm I get an email telling me they will be here at 2pm Tuesday to clean.
First off, since I do some much of it myself I need more an 1 evening’s notice. Second, at 2pm we will be their 3rd or maybe 4th job of the day. I would get even sloppier cleaning from people that tired.
Next, he is telling me. no consultation, no asking, nothing. Guess what? I fired them.
So now K & I are doing it ourselves. I hate cleaning bathrooms. I know given the state of the world and the economy this is unimportant, completely superficial still…I am willing to and do give up other things to not have to clean the house myself and it matters to me.
Oh well.
Another cherished customer misunderstood my web site checkout and paid International Shipping of $12.00 for a $20 book to Maryland. Of course I refunded the $12.00.
Zac says there is nothing we can do. The only possible way to charge an International Shipping surcharge is a pull down selection menu. It works that way if you pay on my web site, on PayPal or on Google ( I think PayPal too, I am not sure).
So, I do what has to be done.
Goggle, the Supreme Master of the Internet Universe, decided recently that the words *ship, shipping and shipped* are now toxic works and they will not update any listing that contains those words.
I had to edit and change every single one of my listings last weekend. All 278 of them.
I will take delivery of the Spring 2010 Claire Sanchez Tote and Shoulder bags later this week. She only has 3 new designs this season and I bought 2 of them but I think they are terrific.
This one in just the tote bag. The next one in both Tote and Shoulder bag size
To conclude my “complain-a-thon ( I haven’t done one of these for a while now). I am still on my Georgette Heyer substitute author reading jag, still Claire Darcy. Lady Pamela was a wonderful fun read. Victoire is ok, not as good as Lady Pamela but better the Elyza. I have a trilogy of her books, there is one more after this. Elyza was a stand alone paperback. I must say, the paperback covers are so very dated they are quaint.
So much for me, today.
good condition?
I suppose you already know what my blog post is about from the title. Yes, it is the condition of the books with pictures plus my usual blather.
Remember I said the first shipment from the worst of my suppliers, the one who sends the most messed up books listed as *good* or *very good* was a pleasant surprise?
Well, I spoke too soon. That was before I opened them or looked very closely. I was aware some of the dust jackets were pretty bad but since the books inside were ok (not great but ok) I let that go.
This one was the 2nd copy of A Gallery of Needlepoint Patterns From the Past. I took the picture after I scotch taped the dickens out of it. I sold the last one. I taped it up to prevent further damage, as if that mattered at this point, and took a picture of the book itself as well.
Now, keep in mind all of these books were sold to me, without my seeing them, as *very good* condition. I will list this one, the book is not ruined, just the dust jacket.
This one upsets me. This is a rare and hard-to-find copy of Needlework Stitches by Barbara Snook. This small book has 370 stitch graphs, with no repeats.
I was ok with the yellowing from age, the book is paperbound and was published in 1963.
But this, I don’t know what to do about this.
Do I glue it and list it, being upfront about the fact that the spine has been glued? It is, after all, a truly rare book. Is it unsalable?
Anyone with an opinion, I would like to know what you think (and I pride myself that my few and select readers all have decided opinions on everything).
Adventure in Needlepoint by Wilhelmina Fox Feiner is ok outside, the dust jacket is even pretty good but inside it is so badly “foxed” that it is unsalable.
I looked up some “bookseller terms” and learned a lot of new words and ways to deascribe the books, many of which will soon begin appearing in my listings. Below is the definition of Foxing.
“spotting, ranging from sort of beige color to a rusty brown (like a fox’s footprints or maybe it’s reddish coat). Sometimes foxed spots are referred to as “age spots”. The causes of foxing include temperature & humidity changes, (don’t store your books in unheated or damp places!) and impurities within the paper (high acidity)”
“There may be other causes such as fungus. The reason for foxing in a particular book is often difficult to discern”.
This quotes (or quotes) are fromThe Empty Mirror Arts Magazine web site.
I gather it happens to newer books but I think in a very advanced state, like this book, it is unacceptible.
Then there is this book, this is just strange. The book is The Creative Art of Needlepoint Tapestry by Joan Fisher.
What you are looking at are holes. Actual holes punches into the book from the back. They are more or less the size you would get from a Awl used for leather. The start in the back of the book and there are 5 of them, one bigger then the rest.
Why anyone would do this is beyond me although Jane, the doyenne of the Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Advanture Blog suggests it could be another way of showing that the book is a returned to the publisher book and should not be sold. I don’t know the exact word for it, like a paperback where the front cover has been removed.
Again, I am interested if you think this is salable or not? The holes do not really affect the text of the book but still….
My next book dilemma is my own fault. I list Erica Wilson’ Needlepoint: Adapted from Objects in the Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is a marvelous and beautiful book. I was so “taken” with this book that I orderd 2 each of Erica Wilson’s Needleplay and Erica Wilson’s More Needleplay.
I use her name twice for a purpose. These books are a showcase and total vanity publications for Erica Wilson. I had no idea she once had a TV show.
I can’t imagine anything more boring than watching someone stitch on TV but there are all sorts of shows out there. Keith watches all these nature shows that put me to sleep.
These books are All Erica All The Time. They are stuffed with Erica, pictures of Erica, Erica, Erica’s thoughts and lessons. I have 4 of them and they are awful. So bad I do not want to list them.
The main advantages of buying book from NewNeedlepoint.com are my description of the subject & contents of the book and the actual pictures of the book. Outside and specially inside. Not to mention my taste & judgement (overstatement alert)
Remember, I buy these books blind so I assume the risk of unsalable or terrible books.
I am working on the American Flag Bargello that someone ordered after I closed the Bargello Category.
The price I was charging for these Original Design Bargello Kits did not compensate me for the work & time involved. This was one of the reasons I closed the category.
I had hoped they would act as “loss leaders” and bring buisness to my web site, they did not.
However, I suppose there are a few people out there who would be interested in the Bargello. I am going to work up a catalog of Bargello Kits I will create. Although the patterns remain the same, each Bargello canvas is unique.
I will (snail) mail this catalog to anyone who requests it. The prices will be higher and the color photos of the Bargello will, I hope, be spectacular.
I am planning to offer The Twin Peaks Design
The Waves with the Trianglepoint Border
And I will finally finish (big sigh) the purple & yellow/gold Cubes Bargello. I am just 2 hours away from being done (the length of one good movie).
Plus the American Flag Bargello.
And, of course, my Aurora Borealis Adaptation stitched by Margaret from Oklahoma.
It has been blocked and I am going to have it made into a pillow and give it back to Margaret as a thank you.
To wind this up I want to talk about the book I am reading. I had found Clare Darcy’s name in an amazon.com review as being similar to Georgette Heyer, whose books I have read to shreds (and replaced and re-read ).
The first Clare Darcy book I read did not “blow me away”. Elyza was a decent read but not exciting or compelling. I thought Ms. Darcy deserved a second chance and I am very glad I did. Lady Pamela was fun, funny and a thoroughly enjoyable read. I will be reading more Clare Darcy. Total escapist fiction with no uplifting qualities besides enjoyment. I love it.
Jack in Paradise
I just took these pictures a few minutes ago.
This is quite the position, isn’t it? No dignity here.
Too bad they don’t make Kitty Sunglasses. He is sunbathing, he has been like this since the sun came out around 7:30 am.
And what am I doing awake at this hour? I have no idea.
I wanted to respond to Margaret’s comment. I think she is right. It makes perfect sense to me that once Needlepoint becomes a job, it is not longer a refuge and relaxation. Stitching too becomes a job.
This is funny, after I wrote here that I was closing the Bargello category (and closed it) I got an email asking if I would do the American Flag Bargello for someone. I guess they hesitated a little too long. I said I would, of course but it figures they picked the #1 most difficult one.
I have to create 3 different charts for the 3 different stitch patterns, do 2 major establishing lines of stitching and in general, lay it out which is the hardest of all. I confess that I did the layout on the sample as I stitched it. There was quite a bit of un-stitching involved. Now that I have the layout it will be easier…but not easy if you know what I mean.
I sold the Beginner Chicken & Eggs Kit yesterday. My supplier says it is an early Susan Treglown and it might well be.
I marketed it as a Beginner’s Kit and it will be good for a novice to stitch but imagine if all the different colored dots in the design were done in French Knots. It would be difficult but gorgeous. I did suggest the chicken body be stitched with Mosaic Stitch or Brick Stitch. Both those stitches are do-able by a beginner.
I was packing the kit up to ship today at 1 am (my usual time for this stuff, the tape gun late at night drives K crazy) when I realized all the links to stitches in my own Beginners Manual, that I include with each Beginner’s kit, were links to Stitchopedia sites. These were done with the site owners permission but before the site became a pay site.
So I quick had to find and use new links to the stitches, then reprint the manuals.
I used the ANG stitch of the month sites. The earliest ones are simpler stitches. I told my *readers* they could use the site but not copy the stitches to share or anything. I also urged them to join the ANG.
In reading the *legal* on the page, I think I got that right.
I wish Carolyn McNeill well with her “privatization” of Stitchopedia and I understand why she did it, we all have to eat but still…..it was a marvelous needlepoint asset when it was free to all.
Yes, I pay for it. And I don’t have ads on NewNeedlepoint.com, although I have been offered the opportunity.
But that is me, I can choose to be picky and I do (and difficult and cranky and fussy and…..)
