new stuff, finally

I finally got it together, it took forever but here it is.  This is a good news, bad news blog.

First the bad news, after so much time at the same reliable price DMC has raised their prices.  I suppose they deserved to but still….It means I actually have to think when I price these kits.  Before I had it down, now I have to re-learn and my poor old brain has to re-calculate.

Brief break here while I brush all the cat hairs off my keyboard.  One of Jack’s very favorite places is between me and the screen, looking all pitiful and needy.

Ok, back to business (sort of).  I have a great new Jack picture.  I took the down duvet off my bed, and balled it up in the spare room, to take it to the cleaners.  Jack discovered it and has built himself a very cozy nest inside of it.  He hollowed out the center and made himself a vertical cave.

 

I am almost all caught up with replacing sold books, of course that is really never ending.  Some of them sell the moment I replace them.   The run on Bargello books has slowed down some, for now.  There are so few Bargello books out there and people are interested.

I still have all the patterns I stitched back when I offered Bargello Needlepoint Kits here on NewNeedlepoint.com.  That was way back in the beginning, when no one even knew my little store was here.   I only sold one of them and gave it up but….always with a mind to bring it back again.

Now that I am actually (finally) making some progress I might get that done this summer.  I do find that I get a lot more work done since K took that job in Dallas.  No distractions, pleasant or otherwise (like all men he is capable of both)

I am 1/3 of the way through listing the new canvases & kits that have been staring at me beady eyed for many months now, waiting for me to get to them.

Laurel Burch’s Cat Face is another of her wonderful and expressive cats.

 

I have 2 more brand new Laurel Burch’s to list.  Designs I have never had here before and I just finished putting in some replacements for ones that sold including Indigo Cats, which flew out of here when I first listed it.

Laurel Burch has a new series of Ponies as well, I have 2 of them in stock

I have 2 wonderful Jean Smith needlepoint designs.  These are being sold as kits.  You can buy them separately but they are kitted in similar colors so they can be used together.

 

The Zebra and The Toucan

 

 

In the same category, The Horses, Everywhere Horses Needlepoint by Associated Talents on easy to stitch 10 mesh canvas.

 

And Sharon G’s exotic Black Cat & Parrot needlepoint design

 

I have just listed 2 amazing designs by Kirk & Hamilton’s U.K. needlepoint designers.  Made in the USA, which is not as simple as it looks, lots of shading here and a great message  (oops, my web site is down, no links right now)

 

And Strawberry Cupcake (there I go drooling again)

 

From Danji Designs is this very fine Amish Farm & Quilts design.  As you may know, I live here in Amish & Mennonite Lancaster County, PA.  This is a fairly common sight when driving the backroads in rural areas.

 

 

and last (for now) is Ewe & Eye’s 4 Flowers.  Wonderful use of muted shades and unusual colors here, just lovely.

 

I have messed around with my NP kits & canvas categories.  There were getting to be too many for just the one category so I split them up.  Now we have Animals, Flowers & All The Rest (yes, it was like this before, you are not imaging it)

Last news blast.  I found a source for new copies of some of the more popular books I listed & sold used.

I now have brand new copies of
Dictionary of Canvas Work Stitches by Mary Rhodes  (for advanced stitchers who like to be challenged)

Decorative Needlepoint, Tapestry & Beadwork by Julia Hickman (not the usual book this, interesting ideas)

Charted Monograms for Needlepoint & Cross-Stitch Edited By Rita Weiss (this is a find, I have been unable to find even used copies of this book for awhile now)

Tapisserie, Hayat Palumbo’s excellent book on using needlepoint & decorating with needlepoint.  This book is usually in not so good condition used/rare.

whew, that is a lot.  I am still plugging along.  Expect more canvases & kits and my whole backlog of unlisted new books (Huge)

surprise reprieve, sort of

My life is always so unexpected. I should know better then to make plans, since they always get amended, changed and bunged up.

K is not going to Houston on Thursday for a 6 month job. The job has been postponed a few months and won’t be Houston (at least not Port Lavacca, Texas).

I am relieved and anxious. This company is a huge opportunity for K so I hope it all comes out right, in the end.

Plus, there is always a chance that the new assignment will be around here (please).

So Jack The Cat and I are happy and K is restless (as usual).

On to NewNeedlepoint.com, business is good.  I recently had an order from Odessa, in the Ukraine.   I do the occasional overseas order, with prior agreement on postage.  I am not able to fill international Air Mail orders with Free Shipping.

My wake up call there was, years ago, when a copy of Margaret Boyles Bargello: and Explosion in Color cost $19.00 to ship to Australia.   Yikes.

I sold out of my initial order of June McKnight’s newest book, Bling, Glamour & Glitz in less then 1 week.  I have more copies (15, no less) speeding to me as I write this, I expect them before the end of the week.

Speaking of…..I have always sold a lot of June’s books, they seem to perennially in demand.  This past weekend I sold  4 of June’s books to a nice lady in Jacksonville, FL.  She got my last copies of  Christmas Stitches and Holiday Stitches for Needlepoint.

I will order more.  If you are a fan of these books you might have noticed that Needlepoint Wisdom, a classic June McKnight book, has been out of stock for a while now, has been withdrawn so it can be up-dated and re-released

(June told me this herself, in an email. (m brags)

As far as I am concerned that is as good as having lunch with Madonna. I once read a great story about Lunch With Madonna.  It was a group made of of Herself, some of her entourage and Jennifer Gray (Dirty Dancing etc).

Madonna ordered a small salad without cheese and everyone else got the exact same thing, except for Jennifer Gray why had cheese on hers.  She must have been flexing her own star power there.

Sorry, back to reality.  I am in process of listing my new Laurel Burch canvases & kits.   I have just a few more to do

The 2nd of the Pony series as a kit:

 

 

 

And 2 Orange & a Blue Dog:

 

 

I still have tons of new and new rare books to list too.   (reminding myself)

I also have some new hand painted canvases from other people.

The Quilting Bee is by Danji Designs

 

 

Vacationing Pets by Jane Wheeler.  I love the humor in her canvases, remember her raining cats & dogs from last year?

What else,  well, I am almost ashamed to admit it but I was interested in what all the Chelsa Handler hype was about so I read My Horizontal Life.  Yes, it had it’s funny parts and it’s true to life as I know it parts but this is not good writing or literature in any form.

I know that is harsh coming from an old lady like me who sometimes falls into a surging pool of Regency Romances (Love Georgette Heyer etc) still…..

Happy Valentine’s Day, as the Beatles sang, way back when I was still young  (did I ever mention I saw them live in Boston in 1964?)

“love is all there is”

1 step forward, 2 back

I am making progress bringing NewNeedlepoint.com back up to speed.  I let my stock get low while I fumbled around with my house renovation and then collapsed in a big downshift (notice the automotive allusions?).

I have all the original rare book replacements listed….but then you all keep buying them and I have to replace the replacements (don’t stop, I love it).    I have 15 re-replacements waiting.

I am getting the new canvases & kits listed.  I let me stock get very low.  I was down to 4 canvases/kits in my Laurel Burch category.  I am listing the new Laurel’s first.  I have done 2, have  4 more to go.  Then I have  9 other new Hand Painted canvases/kits to do.

In looking them over, I just found another LB that I missed.  Go figure.

Below are pictures of a few of the new Laurel Burch I have.  They are, as always, wonderful, colorful & original.

 

There are a few new horse designs, a small trend LB began last year.  I have 2 of the smaller versions of them, to see if they sell before I buy a big (expensive one).

There are some new books coming out soon.  Sandra Arthur, the author of the (for me anyway and for others too, I hear) bestselling Series The Shapes of Needlepoint , Series 1 & 2 so far, has a Series 3 volume coming out soon.  (that was a torturous sentence, sorry).   it is Corners, Diagonals and Horizontals.

Sharon G also has a new book coming out, she says in April.  it is Sharon G’s Golden Borders: 20+Special Borders to Enhance Any Canvas.

Ok, so this is all 1 step forward, I am finally getting there.

Now for the 2 steps back (you knew this was coming).  Anyone who has read this pitiful little blog before knows all about my new condo and the BIG 14 week total renovation I did to it before we moved in.  It is perfect, it is *my* house, if you know what I mean).  Mine, everything I want where I want it.  And it looks pretty good too.

So, I have lived here 5 months now.  Guess what?  K has accepted a new job in Houston (we are in Lancaster County, PA).

YIKES.  So, I am freaked out and fortunately for nn.com, my refuge right now is in working (could be worse, I could go back to bed and not get up for a month or so).

He is going to live there, short term, for 6 months, and we shall see how the job turns out.  We are hoping that the job will be consulting all over the place (the world).

He would do a 3/1.   Travel 3 weeks, be home 1.  We think that is what this will be.

Otherwise I have to move to Houston. (YIKES>>ANOTHER MOVE)

And that’s all I have to say today, it is quite enough, isn’t it?

 

Ta Da (really big one)

The Shapes of Needlepoint: Series 2  by Sandra Arthur.  Diamonds, Hearts, Octagons & Stars is here.  I have them in stock (at this moment, as I write this).

 

Sandy speeded them along and I got them noonish on August 12, just as I was leaving for the Baltimore TNNA show.

(The links STILL do not work)

On the other hand, it was good they came then and I got them inside.   It had been raining off & on.  Danielle might not be along till late, if she was busy (I was pretty sure she did not have shows those nights).

Baltimore?  Well, it was my first ever trade show, TNNA or anyone else.  I had no idea what to expect.  I had been told to wear comfy shoes, bring along something to cart or carry your purchases with & the sellers love cash.

Well I covered the cart with bringing K.  He is so nice sometimes.  I always wear comfy shoes (no more heels and huge platforms for me) and I brought cash.

It was at the Embassy Suite hotel.  It had open courtyards all around a central atrium.  It was perfect for a show like this.  You could see all the floors and “stores” and many of them put banners over the solid railing.

Each room is a suite, with a front room, small corridor with a bathroom off it and a bedroom with a king size bed. Some of the rooms had small picture windows so you could see in, like a shop.

This Embassy Suites was pretty shabby but if it hosts many of these shows (and the huge family reunion that was there at the same time) it gets some hard wear.

We heard that the food in the one restaurant was not great so we had room service Uno’s Pizza. It was good.

In each seller’s suite the new stuff was on the walls, the sale or discounted stuff was in the second room, on the bed.

I met some of the people I email or talk to often.  That was nice.  I am lucky that way, all my vendors are friendly & helpful.  It helps.  I visited Danji, I love their designs, I bought a few more (did I mention this is a cash & carry show?).  They brought me a order I had placed, saved me shipping.

I bought 1 Sharon G, also met her and asked about her next book.  She says September.

I met Elaine Oliveros, co-author ofStitch Landscape

I met Jean Smith, bought 2.  I was excited to meet her, her designs are iconic.

I bought a few Amanda Lawford, including a terrific flying pig.   She was there and I was glad to meet her.

Her son also has designed a line of handpainted needlepoint canvases.  His line is called DC Designs.   He said his prices are kept low to meet the new economic realities.  I bought 4.  They really are interesting and well done.

I bought 4 Maggie canvases, I met Maggie.  Back before I hadNewNeedlepoint.com I had stitched several of Maggies excellent Geometrics. I wanted to tell her how much I enjoyed them.

I bought a Susan Hill, 2 from Winnetka Stitchery. I bought 2 Jane Nichols and 3 Beth Ganz Alphabet canvases.

I bought one spectacular canvas from The Point Of It All Designs. It was design by Evelyn Bernstein. I had never heard of her before but I am going to look for her work now.

Finally, right next door to us on the 4th floor and badly placed in terms of show traffic was Sophia.

She was a tiny older Chinese lady. Her work is exquisite oriental influenced, gorgeous stuff. aI think all the back cover book blurb writers should see her work before they misuse the words “exquisite” or “stunning” again.

K had to help her take them down off the wall. I bought a huge fierce Samurai Warrior canvas, in full battle approach. I just might keep him for myself, He would look incredible on my wall (if I ever finish the Red Sox canvas I am stitching for K).

Or I might sell him. I also bought a gorgeous fan from her. I want to get K to drive us up to Sophia’s place in NJ, so I can buy more.

So…..here I am home, faced with piles of work, at the midpoint in the renovation and I should start packing for the September move.

The Renovation is coming along. I guess my contractor is superstitious or something. When we first discussed the job, I told him that I wanted the huge plate mirrors removed from the 3 walls surrounding the Jacuzzi tub. (who would put them there and why? It was not the builder)

He didn’t do it and didn’t do it. He finally told me he doesn’t want to do it. So K (my new hero, however temporary) went over there this morning and removed all 3 walls of mirrors.

He said it was easy.

The kitchen & bathroom cabinets should arrive this week. Then the granite, the tile floors.

Then the bathrooms. Actually we only need 1 bathroom (maybe 1 and a half) working for now, we can finish those as we live there. Finish the paint and the carpet, last of all.

Then I can move in. I am ready. I have forgotten some of the things I have in storage. I will be surprised.

I am still alternating reading Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels with Regency Romances. My system keeps the Jack Reachers from being to raw and the Regencies from being too silly.

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?