m is embarrassed
I know, it has been almost 2 weeks since my last blog post.
I can claim how busy I am with the renovation
And I am, all of a sudden it is happening fast and I have decisions & choices to make. Rreplacing a leaking patio door has been supplanted by replacing the entire front door and side lights unit which is too rotted out to be fixed, which kind of threshold do I want between the tile & the carpet: metal? marble? none?…let’s see…metal is cheesy, none always has little carpet scraps escaping, marble has to be ordered in the correct size and paid for separately. Coordinating the tile color/carpet color/wall & trim color to all work together is harder then you think (undertones) and the contractor keeps finding problems not included in the original contract:
rotted front door
leaking patio door
leaking french door from FR
leaking upstairs toilet
rotted wood on outside window trim and around the garage door
burnt out electric switches & outlets
and more more more.
Still, NewNeedlepoint is active and I have been, in my spare & sane moments which are getting fewer by the second, listing new stuff.
I added a few new canvases & kits. Both of these are hand painted by Danji Design
I have finally listed the replacement beginner’s kits, I was almost sold out of them. I think it is time to re-do and re-open the Beginner’s Category, so I can list the kits there as well as in the general “hand painted needlepoint” category.
One stop shopping, as it were.
I had a surprising email this past week. As you might know or I could show you the link if my links worked (which they don’t right now, you can find them in my NewNeedlepoint Books category) I sell 2 new books by Ruth Dilts. Needlepoint 101 and Needlepoint 202 (which I am currently sold out of). I was surprised to see an email from Ruth Dults in my NewNeedlepoint mailbox offering to sell me some or all of her own private needlework book collection.
Mrs Dilts is moving from a very large home to an apartment (been there, done that, going back to a home for more space).
She sent me a spread sheet with her books, the condition and the prices on it. Sadly, the cream of the crop of her books is already sold. In particular she had 2 Blackwork Books by Jane Zimmerman.
Jane Zimmerman books are very rare and hard to find, especially hard to find in decent condition. Oh well. Always a day late & a dollar short.
Still, there are some fine books on her spreadsheet. I bought about half of what she had. The others were books I already have in stock.
I had no idea where or how she found me, thinking someone had referred me to her, I asked. Mrs Dilts found me on some ANG list that said I dealt in NW books. Thanks ANG.
I am picking my books up at the Baltimore Show in mid-August. Since I did not make it to Columbus in June, this will be my first ever needlework trade show.
I hope I make a credible “showing” and do not disgrace myself (as they say in investment prospectives, past results are not an indicator of future returns).
My reading has turned fairly strange, as well. I am reading through the Lee Childs Jack Reacher books. I am on #4. They are absorbing but quite violent. I admit to enjoying them but they are too much one after the other so I am alternating them with Regency romances by Candace Hern (dry humor, good stories with gowns & fans and handsome dukes).
This is, I know, a bizarre combination that, there you go, me in a nutshell.
I am currently listing some new books that have been waiting for me to get to them for 4 months. Maybe, with a good tail wind, I will get them listed in the next 4 months (as I mentioned, I am embarrassed by my laggardly listing habits)
surprising books
I have been having a real run of book orders lately. Single copies and groups of books both. I was beginning to wonder when about the Needlepoint stuff I list when I had 3 kit orders in 2 days so that worry aside….( I have lots of worries).
Before I get into it, in case you are curious, here is a picture of the outside on my new home.townhouse. It is an end unit so the entrance is somewhat private.
The garage faces the road, with the entrance around the corner from it. There is some nice landscaping too, with roses in the back.
My contractor troubles go on. The contractor presented me with a HUGE bill for his services but really, he is not doing all that much of the work. His is subcontracting the kitchen & counters, tile floors, carpets, bathroom replacement and all those installations.
I do not have any numbers on all that yet but I am getting nervous. One of my (new) neighbors told me the large hardware store/supplier he is having me use is expensive.
To give my self a frame of reference, we went to Home Depot today armed with K’s detailed & measured drawing of the kitchen. We knew exactly what we wanted and they gave us a quote, minus installation, which has to be estimated on site.
For comparable cabinets/granite we got a very reasonable quote.
So now I am waiting for my contractors report on his sub-contractors price (plus his mark-up).
I have already whittled the job down some, I am not tiling the showers and not replacing the windows.
We shall see. My biggest issue with having home depot do it is I will have to be there every day. With a general contractor I don’t. I don’t drive anymore so it is an issue. But I could hire Danielle, my excellent helper and Jack The Cat watcher (when we are away) to drive me etc.
So…..Now I am armed. I do not like being rinky-dinked. I do not like being taken advantage of. While I may look and sound soft, I am not and I will handle this in the way most beneficial to K & me, not to the contractor.
Ok, my subject. I think the new book Stitch Landscape by Elaine Oliveros & Stacey Tombros is another *hit* needlepoint book.
I have sold all but 1 of my initial order (which was not small) and the author/publishers are sold out as well. I have placed a bigger re-order. They say I will have more the first week of August.
I am still selling The Shapes of Needlepoint Part 1 and about to begin taking pre-orders on Part 2, which I will have to begin shipping August 15 (Sandy Arthur promises me).
I am having surprisingly good sales of A Perfect World in Ribbon Embroidery & Stumpwork by Di van Niekerk. A few of the other Ribbon Embroidery books are selling well too.
Redoute’s Finest Flowers in Embroidery flew out of here within days of my listing it. I now have more copies of it. A gorgeous book, I love Redoute’s flower designs. I have an antique one framed on my wall.
Canvas Embellishement & Canvas Embellishment The Sequel sell well, despite how costly they are. I think they are well worth it but still I only order a few copies at a time, I have to re-order them constantly.
June McKnight’s Spooky Stitches seems to be another hit, I have re-ordered it 3 times since it was released (not all that long ago, it is Ms, McKnight’s most recent book).
I am out of it right now, a new order is on it’s way.
it joins her other books: Shading and Thread Blending Techniques & Colorful Stitches For Over-Dyed Threads as some of my more frequently sold books.
In New Bargello Books, Creating Contemporary Bargello by Iona L. Dittelbach is very popular but sadly, there are so few new Bargello books.
The real news is my rare/hard-to-find/used books. I have been going through my Excel files, deleting older copies of books I buy (and sell) a lot. I was floored to see how many copies of some of them I have sold.
I know you have read me blather on about the Katharine Ireys great books, Finishing and Mounting Your Needlepoint Pieces & The Encyclopedia of Canvas Embroidery Stitches. I can hardly keep them in stock.
In going through my Excel files however it seems I have sold multiple copies of:
The Needlework Doctor by Mary Kay Davis (many, many copies)
101 Designs for Needlepoint and Cross Stitch & 97 Needlepoint Alphabets by B. Borssuck
Needlepoint Stitchery by Margaret Boyles (more from Mrs. Boyles when we get to bargello)
Needlepoint and Pattern by Gloria Katzenberg
Tapisserie: The Art of Needlepoint by Hayat Palumbo
Needlepoint Designs from Amish Quilts by Laura S. Gilberg & Barbara B. Bucholz
Your House in Needlepoint by Susan Higgenson:
Gold and Silver Needlepoint by Maggie Lane
A Needlepoint Gallery of Patterns from the Past by Phyllis Kluger
Trianglepoint by Shirlee Lanz belong in both NP & bargello
And then there are the bargello. Some of them sell more than I ever would have believed. The list is long.
Needlepoint Bargello, 4 Way Bargello & Bargello Antics by Dorothy Kaestener. I do not have 4 Way Bargello or Antics listed right now, they are in the pile of replacement books to list.
Bargello Plus by Mira Silverstein
The same for Margaret Boyles Bargello, an Explosion in Color and The Bargello Workbook.
Same for A New World of Needlepoint by Lizabeth Perrone, Elsa Williams, Bargello: Florentine Canvas Work.
In fact, bargello books are almost all hard-to-find and sometimes impossible to replace.
I would talk about what I am reading these days but I am sick of sitting here and I still have to place all the links so you can find these books on
Me again. The links don’t work anymore. Figures, I discover this on Friday night. Poor Zac, the tech, come Monday.
nobody’s home
Needlepoint? Who has time for needlepoint? Or books.
I am up to my eyes in this renovation. I finally found a contractor, John. He is local man, about my age. He was raised Amish but his whole extended family left the Amish community when he was a boy. He seems to be a good man and a fine contractor. Everybody seems to know him and his work.
He sent me to a local *big* hardware store, (not Home Depot) where they were waiting for us and lavished us with individual attention. It was a far cry from the service and attention at the usual big box store.
We had to pick the whole job, pretty much, so when they come to measure everything on Tuesday, they can price what we have selected and begin ordering it.
Finally, this is underway.
I picked cabinets (natural maple shaker full overlay) & countertop (quartz in black with light speckles & movement). I picked a tile backsplash (multi color small tiles and glass tiles in both square & rectangular, they will be all mixed up).
I picked tile for the floor in the front hall, kitchen & back hallway (they now have off-white carpet by the door to the garage and in the powder room *ick) The new tile is porcelain tile but it looks like natural slate. I love it.
We are replacing the molded plastic showers with tile ones, we picked the tile for that.
After putting more then 25 “samples” of paint on the wall, using those great Benjamin Moore sample size jars, along with accent & trim colors. I picked paint colors (Benj. Moore Linen White for walls, Super White for Trim and Palace White for the occasional accent wall done in a coordinating color).
In this picture the Linen White is on the right, The Palace White is on the left, trim color below and tile below that.
Once I had the paint chosen, I could pick carpet (lightish beige with a cream undertone, perfect with Linen White).
I kept it all neutral to focus on the deep red leather sectional sofa I have ordered.
Ok, tomorrow morning I buy the appliances. They need all those measurements when they do the final measure on Tuesday. This will allow them to design a kitchen where it will all fit in well, specially the refrigerator surround, since it is at the end of the room and you see it from the front door.
I am thinking of spending a bit extra (here too?????) to get a counter depth fridge, so it will not stick out.
As I have been doing this, K has been pushing all these upgrades on me. One by one they make a lot of sense but as a total I am getting nervous.
I will know the total at the end of next week.
Of course, that does not include hardware for the cabinets, blinds & curtains, glass shower doors, bathroom vanities etc etc etc ( I have to order the vanities from a plumbing supply place)
So, look for me living in a gorgeous renovation and eating at a soup kitchen (ought to be good for my diet).
Ok, here are some before pictures
Kitchen. 1st the work side, then the eating area. Be sure to notice the grotty linoleum on the floor (m shudders)
I know the kitchen does not look bad in the picture, trust me, it is pretty bad. These are cheap re-face to cheap cabinets
2 views of the family room, note our paint samples on the wall. That is just some of them. They run all around the room & into the front hall.
So, I have no idea what I have been reading or eating or wearing. I assume I am dressed when I leave the house (I hope).
I am keeping up with NewNeedlepoint.com orders, that is about all I can claim as work. I am distracted & obsessed.
I can’t wait till it’s done (7-9 weeks). Will I make it? I doubt it.
the 4th
I like the 4th of July. I love what it stands for, Freedom, Liberty, The Pursuit of Happiness.
I read once, somewhere, that our’s is the only government in the world whose constitution (or whatever they have/use for what the constitution is for us) mentions anything like Happiness…and as a right? Nope. Only us.
The down side of the 4th is, of course, parties that feature bathing suits as attaire and beer guzzling guys (or girls). I have never been a fan of the whole “Party, Party, Party” thing.
Still, a glorious day.
Of course mine is the usual washout, in terms of a holiday. K is slaving away at a paper for work that he (what else?) put off until the last possible second…and that I have to proof for him at the very last possible milli-second.
I wrenched a muscle or tendon in my left leg so I am hobbling around. it does not really hurt (unless I try to bend it or something) but still….
And we still have not found a contractor to do the renovation. Since I do not drive anymore (trust me, you do not want me driving down the road towards you or anyone) I can’t contract the job myself, I can’t be there all the time.
It is like, in this poor economy, no one can be bothered to even return our calls or do the work promised. Out first contractor just faded from view after we gave him the job. No materials list, as promised, for us to order from, no returned phone calls.
And now no one else seems to want to even return our calls. I would think it would be easier than this. It is not like we are asking them to bid on the job…just do it.
So…enough griping. Here is something handsome for you to see on the 4th of July.
Jack The Cat, he is ready for his close-up now Mr DeMille. (from Sunset Blvd with Gloria Swanson)
finally, some needlepoint
I know I have been writing about books lately. I have (finally) begun to list the canvases & kits that have been patiently waiting around for me to get to them.
They hang from the skirt hangers I use to store them (much better than storing them flat or rolled) hung up on the wire racks I use to keep all my colors cabinets & bins on. I see them everytime I walk into (or walk by) my office. There they are…waiting.
I am ashamed to say how long some of them have been waiting for me to list them (5 months? longer?). Meanwhile, I go to casinos, buy houses etc. I think (maybe) some of my priorities are mixed up.
Then again (there is always a “then again”) I have to be up to listing canvases & kits. I just churn out the book listings, I have to think about them, scan the books and review them for each listing but the NP work is much more demanding. Picking colors for the kits is fun and creative but it can also be tricky. I don’t stock every possible color and sometimes I have to fudge.
Then describing them. Describing a book or reviewing the contents is much easier then describing a needlepoint design. So, enough carping?
I have a few new canvases and/or kits listed. This Love Kanji kit is something new I am trying. it is a very beginner’s kit, for someone who has never done any stitching before. This is a hand painted canvas from Danji Design.
It is a simple design on easy to stitch 13 mesh canvas and comes with my own beginner’s booklet. I am told it is helpful for just starting out beginners.
Also for beginners. but not just for absolute beginners is the Bathing Suit needlepoint kit. I tried to think of a clever name for this kit but in the end, it is Bathing Suit.
This hand painted design is by Sapna. I have toned down the yellow in my kit. I think it is just too bright, after all there is a limit.
On the other end of needlepoint, so to speak, is this wonderful hand painted New York Yankees playing baseball in the new Yankee Stadium canvas or kit by Melinda McAra.
It is full of color, life and movement, it should be fun to stitch. Of course, my husband, the rabid Red Sox fan, is appalled that 1) I bought it 2) I am selling it 3) it is in our house.
In self-defence I remind him of the Red Sox in Fenway Park canvas or kit I have for sale complete with the famous Citgo sign in the background.
I am stitching one of these for him. I have gotten the lower border done and am half way up the right hand border. I figure if I stitch half of the border first, I will actually complete the project once I have done the center. Sometimes a big border like this daunts me (I am such a chicken).
I sold 2 (or 3, I forget which) of these sparkly Christmas Tree in the Snow ornament needlepoint kits last year so I ordered 2 more. Usually, I like to replace designs with different ones but this was so popular that I decided to list it again this year (besides which I like it).
This is handpainted by Christine Saunders.
I use lots of Kreinik Metallic Braid thread colors for this kit. I have both white & silver to add sparkle to the white floss for the snow and blue, red & yellow for the ornament on the tree.
I have more waiting to be listed. A wonderful hand painted Maggie canvas by Joseph Dunn in both canvas or kit.
A classic Susan Treglown Graphic. This is only offered in a kit, the sequence of colors makes it difficult to kit, at least for anyone who does not have a wall of DMC floss colors.
Sometimes I think maybe I started NewNeedlepoint.com just so I could justify having all these colors.
I have a new beginner’s kit, Daylilly, hand painted by Danji Design.
I will get the rest of these (and more) listed in the next week and since I am “on a roll” it might actually happen.
We have been testing colors for the walls in the new (empty) house. Benjamin Moore sells these great little sample jars for this. I bought 18 of them and am trying out wall colors with various trim whites.
The guy who works at the local Benjamin Moore store here got irritated with me yesterday asking him for all these samples of various shades of white. I asked for Linen White (creamy/yellow undertone) Atrium White (pink undertone) China White (gray undertone) Decorators White (lighter gray undertone) and a few more.
He told me “White is White”. You can imagine my reaction to this. My mouth dropped open and K hustled me out of there before I said something unforgivable.
“White is White” and he works at a paint store. I wonder if the Benjamin Moore people and the store owners know he thinks (and says) this?
