A Fresh New Year

Out with the old and in with the new, as the saying goes.  We've said goodbye to 2014 and are officially into 2015.  It's a fresh new year full of hopes and opportunities for great things to happen.  Rather exciting, don't you think?!

THE OLD:
Last night I said goodbye to my Etsy shop, just a few weeks shy of my 6 year Etsy-versary.  It was a bittersweet parting.  I've kept my shop and just put it in vacation mode in case I want to reopen for charts at a later date, or if I ever get the inkling to sell my finished models.

THE NEW:
I've released several new designs over the past few months that I haven't shared here.  Over the coming weeks, I'll be highlighting each series I have, along with all the designs in it.  Each time a new design is released, I'll be sharing it here.

Also, in the lines of "new", I'll be sharing and spotlighting retailers where you can purchase my designs.  Even though I've closed my Etsy shop, you can still purchase my charts through various local needlework shops (LNS) and online retailers.  I encourage everyone to buy at a LNS whenever possible, as they're a dying breed and we need to keep them around as long as possible.  However, I also recognize that not everyone has a LNS within a reasonable driving distance and sometimes you have to buy from online retailers.  And remember, if you are lucky enough to have a LNS to shop at, and they don't have what you're looking for, don't be afraid to ask for it.  There are so many designers out there now, and the shops have a limited budget to work with on bringing in fresh, new designs(ers), so if they don't know it's something their customers want, they may not consider it.  

With that being said, let's get to the current list of where you can buy.  As my wholesaler can't (or is it won't) share with me the list of LNSs that are buying my charts, I'm having to compile my list from places my fans have told me they've purchased.  I will share updates as I find more of them. And if you buy from a place that isn't on the list, please let me know so I can add it.  :)


WHERE TO BUY:
If you're looking to be able to buy any Stitchnmomma charts, here is the list of retail needlework shops where you can find them.  I've organized the list in alphabetical order by state and then city to make it easier to find the location nearest to you. 


ON-LINE RETAILERS
ABC STITCH THERAPY
http://www.abcstitch.com/

EVERYTHING CROSS STITCH   
http://www.everythingcrossstitch.com


OHIO
Strongsville
JUST STITCHING, INC.
Prospect Plaza Shopping Center 
13211 Prospect Rd.  Strongsville, OH 44149  
http://www.juststitchinginc.com/
** Does mail order (within the U.S.) and offers FREE SHIPPING on purchases of $10.00 or more

TEXAS
San Antonio
STITCHES FROM THE HEART5123 N. Loop 1604 W. - Ste. 109
San Antonio, TX  78249     
http://www.heartfeltstitches.com


Spring  
ABC STITCH THERAPY
16712 Champion Forest Drive
Spring, TX  77379    
http://www.abcstitch.com


Until the next time...Happy Stitching! 


P.S.  Since I've published this post, I've figure out how to add tabs & pages to my blog, so there will be a tab at the top of the page under my header that says "where to buy" and I'll keep the list updated there.

Last Day in my Etsy Shop

Don't forget, tomorrow (Wednesday, December 31, 2014) is the last day my patterns will be available in my Etsy shop.  You can still get those PDF files at 50% off when you use coupon code FAREWELL. 

I will be providing a list of online retailers and local needlework shops where you can still buy my current releases and future ones too. 

Farewell To Etsy

This is a GOOD thing for me.  And as I've already told others...don't be sad if you don't have a LNS (local needlework shop), as there are several online sites that sell my designs, both in PDF and hard copy format.

Anywho....here's the skinny as announced in my newsletter.... http://eepurl.com/9-jHj

Friends Welcome Cross Stitch Pattern

I realized the other day as I was going through my past blog posts, that I haven't shared any of my new pattern releases for months & months.

This particular one not only is one of my personal favorites, but it has also turned out to be my best seller with both my retail and wholesale buyers.  "Friends Welcome" was inspired by a wall plaque my mom got me that hangs next to my front door.  It's very "country" looking.  My version is a more up my alley...bright, colorful & eclectic!

The piece shown in the picture is my actual stitched model.  The gorgeous finishing & photography was done by Rita at SnowBerry NeedleArts.

If you'd like to purchase a copy of the pattern, retail customers can get it here. 

If you'd like to purchase on a wholesale basis for your LNS, you can do so here.

Be sure to catch up with me on Sunday for my latest pattern that was just released to newsletter VIPs last night.  

Happy Stitching!

Friday Fun, Trivia & a "Giveaway"

Since it's Friday I thought I'd have a little trivia fun and tie it in with a coupon code giveaway.  I was going to do it on my Facebook page, but they have all kinds of stupid rules about giveaways, so I thought I'd do it here.  If you're interested in possibly "winning" a SUPER SECRET code for 40% OFF your next purchase from my Etsy shop, keep reading.

OK, here's the details for this little trivia contest...

• The first 3 people that provide the correct answer will receive a coupon code for the above mentioned discount.
• Your answer will need to be emailed to stitchnmomma@hotmail.com so that I have a way to contact you back with the code (if you are a winner).
• If you're not going to use the coupon code, I kindly ask that you don't enter this particular giveaway so that someone else that wants it has a chance to win.  Thank you!  :) 
• I'll email the winners later in the day (please be patient as I will be at work while this little "contest" is going on) and they will be announced publicly on another post Saturday morning.

So...do you want to know what the trivia question is?  I'm going to make it an easy one for this particular contest (further contests will have more difficult questions).  And the question is....

What was the very first item I sold in my Etsy shop and on what date?

Ready, set, go!

Money Monday - April 29, 2013

I can't believe how quickly the year is passing.  It's the end of April and Summer is right around the corner...woohoo!!!  I thought with the lovely Spring weather we've been having I'd do something bright & cheery for today's bargain item....a cheery hand-dyed fabric!

For the next 24 hours only, I'll be offering this beautiful dark blue violet (DMC #3746) 14 count hand-dyed Aida fabric.  And to make it even better...there are 3 pieces available at this price!!!  Just think of all the patterns you could stitch on a nice bold color like this.  

If you want to grab one (or more) of these pieces at this great price, just click the photo to go to the listing in my Etsy shop.  :)

Little Hands, Tiny Feet

As promised, 2013 will be a year of more finished gift items and more patterns released.  

My first two patterns of the year are ones that I've had in mind and have been playing around with for more than a year.  I've never taken the time to sit down and get past the sketching phase.  I figure 2013 is the year and better late than never.  :)

Basically it's the same pattern, but one in a version for a baby boy and one for a baby girl.  Both of these patterns will be sold in a PDF format.  You can purchase them through either my Etsy shop or you can get them as an immediate PDF download (no waiting for me to send it to you) through my Craftsy shop. 

They are quick & simple to stitch with only 4 colors and full stitches.  Either one would make a great handmade baby shower gift.

If you have any other themes you'd like to see available as patterns in the future, just let me know and I'll give it a go.

Happy Stitching!

Money Monday - December 3, 2012

IT'S TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY!!!

Ok, so I have an ulterior motive, but it will be a win/win for all of us!!  :)

OK peeps, here's the GIVEAWAY DETAILS....

* Go to my Facebook page and share THE PHOTO BELOW and help me get to MORE THAN 400 likes BEFORE December 15th.

* Once I get over the 400 mark, I'll have a giveaway from the names of everyone that SHARES THIS PHOTO

* One name will be randomly drawn to win any 3 PDF Cross Stitch Patterns of their choice from my shop ( www.stitchnmomma.etsy.com ) That's a $15+ value!! :)

Thanks for your help!!  I really want to make it over the 400 mark so I can offer everyone a fantastic deal!!  :)

It's Here!!!!!

You're probably wondering what's here.  Well if you haven't figured it out by the great big picture, it's SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY!  The one day a year we all come together to support the small businesses...mom & pop shops, independent artists, etc.

Today only in my Etsy shop, if you use coupon code SMALLBIZSAT you will receive 20% off your order.  It even includes items already marked down in the Clearance Section.  Sorry, but the discount doesn't apply to shipping charges.

And in case I haven't told you enough throughout the year, THANK YOU for your continued support.  If it weren't for great fans & customers like YOU, I wouldn't be here.  :)

The Biggest Shopping Weekend of the Year....

Some Recent Finishes

Yes, believe it or not I actually do stitch. LOL!  

I figured since I recently showed you some of my WIPs I should probably show you some of my finishes.  

Zen Bamboo Zippered Pouch done in needlepoint

 Garden Gnome
This piece will be going to The Good Goat Gallery.  I haven't decided yet if I will offer it as a "made to order" item in my Etsy shop.  It's not completely finished as it still needs a bow at the top & some ribbon to hang it from.  I wanted to get a pic of it for this post.

Lighthouse Greeting Card

 Mouse Greeting Card

Let the Stress Begin

Stay tuned for a future post with more finishes as I've been busy stitching every day trying to get my shop stocked for the holidays as well as make more items for The Good Goat Gallery.

Woot! Woot! I'm a Winner!

It may not seem like much, but I'm totally psyched that I won the July/August EtsyNEAT Creative Challenge.  If you remember from a past post I used my Electric Owl as my submission.  There's no big check as a prize or anything, but still totally cool that my peers picked my piece to win.

So, what do I get as the winner?  I get to pick the theme of the September/October challenge, which I decided will be "Thanksgiving".  I already have my piece all picked out, but you'll have to wait until October 24th for the big reveal. 

Thanks for all your support and cheering me on during these challenges. ♥

It's a WIP Fiesta!

Ok, so really not a fiesta, but I thought it sounded like a good title.  :)

Very rarely do I take pics of all my WIPs on one day and show them all off at the same time.  It's been quite a while since I've shared anything here (I usually keep them updated in my Facebook album) so I figured it was about time for a show & tell.

I'm going to post these in the order I'd like to get them finished, provided my stitching ADD doesn't kick in again.  And for all those serious stitchers out there, you know exactly what I'm talking about...you already have multiple pieces on the go, but you see one more that you just have to start, and then another, and another, and ooooh it's a viscous cycle!

First up is a piece called "Let the Stress Begin".  This will be a wall hanging that will be for sale at The Good Goat Gallery in Lakewood, OH sometime after October 27th.  I'm stitching it on a 18-count Ultra Very Light Dusty Rose aida I hand-dyed myself.

Next up is a round robin piece that is looooong overdue.  It is a Margaret Sherry design and I'm stitching it on a 22-count light blue aida that was hand-dyed by....you guessed it, me!  Oh, and this one is being tent stitched using 2 strands of floss.

The third piece I'm going to show you is my "Crane Silhouette" and this will eventually be a pattern that is released in my shop.  It's not finished yet, but you can get a basic idea of what it's going to look like.  Still more colors to add to it, but not too many as I didn't want to take away from the simplicity of a silhouette.  It's being stitched on 14-count plastic canvas.

Next up is a piece that doesn't get a lot of attention right now, because I only work on it a few minutes at a time, a few days a week.  It's the piece I've been carrying too & from work for my lunch hours.  It's called "Swirled Heart" and is being stitched on 14-count vinyl aida.  The finished piece will be an insert into a mousepad and this is also the model for my own pattern.

This fifth piece is an exclusive I've been working on with Karen Tomlinson from Purple Cats Corner.  It's titled "Black Manx Fairy" and is from one of her paintings.  I'm stitching it on a 16-count hand-dyed lemon yellow aida.  It will eventually be a pattern available in my shop.

And here's another piece that is an exclusive artist collaboration with Jonathan Labbe from What About Photos.  It's titled "Nature's Love" and is from one of his photos.  I haven't worked on this piece in way too long and it's definitely calling at me.  Oh, and for those that are wondering what the other fabric stuff is, it's the grippy liner you can put on shelves & in drawers and it works great to keep your fabric from moving around in your q-snap frames.  It's being stitched on a 28-count Wedgewood evenweave fabric, 2 over 2.  And yes, it will also be a future pattern in my shop.

And you guys won't believe this one...this piece will actually be for ME!!!  This was a piece that I did in a round robin.  I need to finish it off and have it framed to hang in my living room.   Top left is my son Zach, top right is my dog Max (you might recognize him from my avatar picture here on my blog), bottom left is my much missed dog Lobo and bottom right will be my picture.  All of my boys (human & furbabies alike) are the most important thing in my life and it will be awesome to see them all together in an original piece.

The eighth piece is one that will also be a future pattern for my shop (shocking, huh?) and is one that gets attention a couple of times a year.  So sad I don't work on it more.  It's being stitched on a 14-count Polar Blue DMC Fabric (I think that's what it's called).

And finally, last but not least (and I hope you're not all bored yet), is probably the most adventurous piece I've ever decided to stitch.  My first HAED piece Chakra Fae.  It has like 205,000 stitches in it and I think I have like 1,200 done or some pathetic number.  I've put this last because it will take me years & years & years to stitch it.  It's something I'm stitching just for myself, which of course always goes to the bottom of the priority list behind items for my Etsy shop and now items for The Good Goat Gallery.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing pics of what I'm working on, and I'll try to be better about posting updates here and not just on my Facebook page.

Happy Stitching!

2012 New Releases

My goal for 2012 was to release a minimum of 1 new pattern per month.  So far I haven't made that goal, but HAVE released more than 2011, so I guess that's a win.  I currently have 6 pattern models finished with the pattern released, and a few others I'm in the middle of stitching, so there will be more before the end of the year.  :)

If you're not entirely familiar with how I "operate", I personally refuse to release a pattern until I've stitched the model myself to make sure when it's finished it looks good, which causes a delay in the release of patterns (darn full-time day job that gets in the way of stitching!).  Anyone can import a piece of artwork or a photograph into a computer program and call it a pattern, but it doesn't always stitch up well, and I have first-hand knowledge of that.

Today I thought I'd share with you pics of the ones I have been able to complete & release.  If you're interested in any of the patterns, just click the photo and it will take you to the listing in my Etsy shop.

11013 - The Sophisticated Lady
I love silhouettes because you can easily change the fabric & floss color to your liking

11019 - Live, Laugh, Love
This piece was inspired by my 1948 Scrabble board game you can see in the photo

11017 - Heroes
I think everyone knows I'm a proud Army mom, even though my son has been honorably discharged with a permanent medical disability.  50% of the purchase price of this pattern gets donated to the Wounded Warrior Program

 

12003 - Continental Kisses

3 patterns for the price of 1 with this fun & quick stitch!  All the models were also stitched on different counts & colors of fabric to give you and idea of the versatility you can have with your pieces

12011 - Electric Owl
This took me years of stitching off & on, but I'm so glad I finally got it finished as I think it's probably one of my all-time favorites!

12004 - Billy Goat Silhouette

Another simple & fun silhouette (and yes, I actually stitched it in black!) for those that like farm animals

If you want to see what else I'm working on that could be possible patterns in the future, you can always check out my WIP album I try to keep updated on Facebook.  I always put information with each photo, so you'll know what it is.

Thanks so much for taking the time to learn a little more about this years patterns and I'm exicted to get more of them done & released prior to December 31st!

Money Monday - September 10, 2012

Lots of fabrics have sold, but there's still plenty left (and they probably won't last long) and I need the room for storage of other stitching supplies, so I've now increased the discount on all items in my fabric section.

Prices have already been adjusted and there's no need for a coupon code.  :)

And don't forget our Customer Loyalty Program....buy 10 get 1 FREE!

Pattern of the Week - September 1, 2012

This week we have TWO patterns of the week! 

I figured I might as well feature the 2 newest patterns in my own shop.

First is the "easiest" of them to stitch, another in my series of silhouettes, the Billy Goat Silhouette.

 The next is for those that love bright, vivid colors and confetti stitching, the Electric Owl

Both patterns are sold in hard-copy format, are just $7.50 each AND count towards our Customer Loyalty Program.  Just click on each picture and it will take you directly to the listing in my Etsy shop.

Freebie Friday - August 24, 2012

For today's freebie, I'll be offering the next 6 customers a FREE GIFT with their purchase of $25.00 or more (before shipping) from my Etsy shop.  Each gift is unique, is stitching related, and has a retail value of $7.00 or more.

Will you be getting one of these free gifts?

Money Monday - August 20, 2012

Today's money savings deal I'm bringing to you comes from my friend Karen over at Purple Cats Corner on Etsy.

Now through August 25th, 2012 (this Saturday) she is offering BUY ONE GET ONE FREE on all of her prints.  Just tell her in the notes to seller at checkout which print you'd like for free.

This is just one of twelve super cute prints she has available in her shop. Granted, I am a little partial to this one since it is one of my current WIPs that I'll be turning into a cross stitch pattern and will be available in my shop in the future.

Happy shopping!  :)

My Latest Addiction

As a lot of stitchers do, I like to have the TV on while I'm stitching.  Sometimes I watch & stitch and sometimes I just listen while I stitch.  

One of the downsides of scaling back my cable programming (and bill!) is the limited choices available when you only have around 15 channels.  One night a few weeks ago I was dealing with that exact dilemma; nothing on TV I wanted to watch, no DVDs in the house that I hadn't already seen several times, and nothing too appealing to choose from on Netflix.  I was typing everything I could think of into the search feature on Netflix and everything I wanted to watch was coming up a big goose egg.  As I was sitting there going through my memory banks of possible choices to look for I remembered there is this show on PBS (at least here in the States) that people are just raving over...Downton Abbey.  I typed it into the search and there it was, 7 episodes from Season 1.  I decided I'd give it a go and see what I thought.

The beginning of the show starts with Laura Linney welcoming you to Masterpiece Theater.  I remember my mom watching Masterpiece Theater shows when I was a kid and they were soooooo boring.  I instantly said to my dog, "This isn't going to be good."  Well, with nothing else available I took a deep breath and started watching.  I was instantly hooked after the 1st episode!!!

They put together a great cast for it, which includes one of my favorites, Dame Maggie Smith.  She is a hoot and a half!  She has some of the best one-liners, and always has the best facial expressions to go with them.

My favorite so far inspired this piece..."What is a weekend?"  I feel like that every Monday morning when I have to go back to work and I wonder where the weekend went and what it really is.  Unfortunately, that's not the way that she meant it.  You can see the video clip here where she asks the question.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhfpBW-nUWk

So the bad news is, Netflix only has the first season available.  I've been very impatiently waiting my turn for the Season 2 DVDs that are on reserve at my local library, and then Season 3 doesn't start until January 6th.  What am I going to do until then???  Arrgghh!!!  LOL!

Also, as I was perusing Etsy before I stitched my weekend piece (wanted to make sure no one else had done it), I found a couple of other cross stitch lovers that seem to be as enamored with the show as I am.

This one is a design of the manor house / estate they live in, with all the household staff.

Cross stitch pattern available from Cottage Nest Interiors

And this one is another quote from the Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith's character)

Cross stitch pattern available from Book Pilgrim

I guess I'll have to be a little more patient while I'm waiting for those DVDs and keep stitching away.

P.S.  I've already been asked by one person to sell the pattern for my "What is a weekend" in my shop.  I'm trying to judge interest in it before I print the patterns.  If you'd like one, drop me a comment and let me know.  :)

Money Monday - July 30, 2012

Because I ♥ all of my fans & customers so much, I thought I would give you a special Money Monday from my own shop.  

Use coupon code FAB40 in my shop and you'll get a 40% discount on your entire purchase (excludes shipping charges). This coupon code will be valid for 40 hours only and will be deactivated Wednesday morning at 12:30am EST.   Do you notice a "40" theme going here?  LOL!

The discount is good on anything in my shop...patterns, fabrics, greeting cards, gift items, etc.

Don't delay, because the coupon code won't last long!