TNNA

The National Needlework Association's Trade Show starts officially on Saturday. I'm scheduled for classes starting on Thursday. I'm taking lots of classes -- dimensional stitching with Kelly Clark, Bargello with June McKnight, Classes with Amy Bunger.

I'm particularly psyched about the show since I missed January's. It's exciting to see what's new - canvases, accessories, threads etc.

I'll try to blog from the show floor again to let you know what I've seen.

So Little time and so much to stitch

I am in the midst of several project -- pretty normal for me. Unfortunately, a couple of them have due dates which means I really need to be stitching. Somehow, my other commitments don't seem to notice that I am already committed!

I am about half way through the Ridgewood Exclusive outfit for the Paper Doll Club. I think I even created a stitch accidentally. I'm hoping to finish this in the next two weeks.

I am also working on my assignments for my NAN Certification. I'm almost done with the paper work for the items that are due before June 15 and hope to get stitching soon.

finally, I really need to finish my Rockefeller Christmas Stocking. I have finished the moon and really need to start work on the toe!

Errors in Charge Processing Corrected

Today, I received a call from Maureen to ask if we had billed her twice on Saturday. I checked our retail system and our charges. We hadn't billed her twice.

But then we discovered that we received a double deposit for Saturday. So although we didn't duplicate bill anyone, it turns out that our credit card processing company did all the credit card batches twice! All duplicate charges should have been reversed by yesterday. If you used your credit card or debit card at Ridgewood Needlepoint on Saturday, May 10, you should see the original charge plus a duplicate. In addition, the second charge should be reversed. Please check your bill to make sure you received the credit.

I do apologize that this happened. Unfortunately, it happened to the entire system so thousands of transactions were processed twice.

Emails

Are you having trouble getting your emails to us? If so, please send the rejection notice to steve@fixmypc2.com. We are trying to resolve the problem but we do not understand why it is happening.

Finished Yarmulke

Karen finished this beautiful yarmulke for a friend. We were so pleased with the finishing. It seems to be so much more pliable than other finished ones. We also thought it was a beautiful design.

What to Stitch

Like most of you, I always have a group of projects. Of course, there are those that I am dying to stitch and those that I must stitch. Right now, my list of things that must be stitched is growing.

I have the Ridgewoood Needlepoint outfit to stitch. It would be fun and it's not that much work. I have to start my design that is part of the NAN Teacher Certification. And I need to finish the Old World Santa. Finally, I would really like to finish Bruce's Rockefeller Center Stocking.

Waiting in the wings, I have the Autumn Girl and a large Harlequin Great Dane. Not to mention all the canvases started but not completed that are in yellow bags throughout my house.

I am also about 5 hours from finishing my jean jacket. So I'm off to stitch and to plan.

Mother's Day

I hope all stitchers are having a relaxing Mother's Day -- filled with stitching.

New Canvases & Trunk Show in Time for Mother's Day

This has been an exciting couple of days. Our new trunk show arrived today. We don't have it up yet but we did check the items in. NM Arts has a lovely line with some wonderful folk art type canvases. There are wonderfully large scenes that look fabulous on a bench. (We know because some of our customers have stitched them in the past).

There are Christmas stockings and ornaments, too. I loved one stocking in particular. A little girl is looking up at a Christmas tree filled with angels.

In addition, we received canvas from Mary Ann Murphy from Pawley's Island. There is a wonderful canvas of three women fishing. Again, a primitive style that lends itself to needlepoint!

Tomorrow we are also getting in some additional scissors fobs. We received pretty frame weights and we also have quilted bags for your System 4 stands. So send your shoppers to us for your Mother's Day presents!

Mother's Day Gifts

We all know that on Mother's Days we sometimes receive at item we might never use. If the people in your life ask what you would like, you can request a gift certificate from Ridgewood Needlepoint. We have some other ideas.

We have great canvas bags that have a place to put a canvas. We have some wonderful books to add to your needlepoint library. I particularly like the Amy's Cookbook for Stitcher because you can purchase it by the chapter. It's the perfect suggestion for a child to give.
Another idea would be a scissors fob. We are expecting them in tomorrow. We are also getting some frame weights and some wonderful accessories just in time for Mother's Day gifts.

Elaine's Tale -Be Careful with Magnifiers!

Elaine brought a wonderful jukebox from Robyn's Nest for David's suggestions. It's a great canvas. Elaine is going to give it to her grandson. With David's suggestions, and Elaine's stitching, he should treasure it forever.

But Elaine couldn't figure out what had happened to a canvas she had almost finished. The canvas looked like it had a burn mark. She said some of the stitched threads had disappeared and the paint color had changed. Elaine thought that perhaps the cleaning lady had spilled some chemical on it. But I asked if she had her magnifier on the canvas and she had. The sun's rays hitting the uncovered magnifier caused the canvas to burn

Elaine is the second customer who has burned a canvas because the magnifier was left uncovered.

She also shared a saying "Don't cry over things that can't cry over me." But please don't leave your magnifier uncovered by a window. It's very dangerous. YOu could lose more than a canvas.

David McCaskill's class

On the last day of his visit, David worked on some wonderful canvases. He gave Nancy some more ideas for the Yankee Stadium canvas which she will share with the class. In addition, Susan asked him for suggestions for Rockefeller Center. He had some great suggestions for the angels and the Star and the ice.

He gave Martha some suggestions for the fabulous Melissa Shirley Chinese monkey. It's a huge canvas but he had wonderful suggestions. We used so many threads we have to restock!

He promises to return next year so let us know if you are interested.

Melissa Shirley's Stitchers

I have always loved Melissa Shirley's stitchers. Wouldn't that make a great class. I would suggest different stitches and fibers and the result is that each person's piece would be different. Let me know if you would be interested. I'm interested in teaching it in the fall or winter. I'll get a picture up but it's on her web page under Just for Fun = The Stitching Club.

David McCaskill classes

Today is the last day with David McCaskill. Jill will be returning for her second day while Nancy, Marianne and Susan will be here for their third day! It's always interesting to see what David suggests for a wide variety of classes. For Judy and Karen, he suggested wonderful flowers and foliage for the Vogue Lady in the Garden from Needlepoint Broad. I've seen it done before with stitches suggested by David and it is one of the most beautiful pieces I've seen!

Nancy is working on a whimsical view of Central Park. David used lots of boucle to get the foliage. Although none of us can figure out what the pink square is.

Susan and David worked on a a Rebecca Woods piece. The mountains were so effective done in a brick stitch with snow!

Janet worked on a Sharon G piece of a New Orleans door. The canvas itself has so many subtle color changes. Janet was amazed to see how David's suggestions let the color come through.

Nancy worked on a Nan Hempel piece and L'hiver from Birds of a Feather. THe pine trees are looking fantastic.

Linda and David worked on a Melissa Shirley piece of a group of women stitchers. Linda loved David's suggestions for the hair.

I got stitches and threads for L'Autumne Girl and hope to get a few for the no long distributed Harlequin Great Dane by Constance Coleman (distributed by Amanda Lawford). He has such incredible personality.

I'm exhausted and I wasn't teaching or stitching! I can't wait to see what people are bringing today.

A day with David is a great experience.

August Paper Doll

Today, Sally and I spent most of our day getting the August paper dolls on their way. By the end of today, almost all the dolls have been sent out. It was a great one to do.

I'm not mulling over how to handle the Ridgewood Exclusive outfit. I have some great ideas that I can't wait to try.1

David's Visit

I picked up David at the airport late this afternoon. He's looking forward to this weekend. I can't wait to see the canvases people have chosen. I know that there will be some surprises. It's always interesting to see what people choose to work on.

Some of the best canvases I've seen have resulted from a session with David.

David McCaskill Will Be Here This Weekend

We are all looking forward to David McCaskill's visit this weekend. Customers are picking out their canvases and having them put on stretcher bars so they can be ready. We are totally full for Sunday but still have one or two openings for Saturday or Monday. It's a great opportunity to learn some new embellishment techniques.

I'm thinking of doing the Autumn Girl myself and a wonderful discontinued canvas of a Great Dane.

Last season at Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium

I know it's probably heresy to note that both the Yankees and Mets are leaving their long time homes in the same season. But as I was listening to the radio in my travels, I know that both are moving to new stadiums next year. I also know that lots of stitchers like to stitch while listening/watching baseball.

So for those who are Mets or Yankee fans or those who have them in their families, wouldn't it be perfect to be stitching Yankee Stadium or Shea Stadium this year? We have both canvases at the store. And there's still time to join the Stadium class that has its first meeting this Sunday.

We have one Mets Stadium in stock and could get another one here by Sunday if we knew today or tomorrow. We also have a Yankee Stadium in stock.

Just think of all those hours of baseball ahead!

Carole Lake's Fabulous Class

Helen and I took Carole Lake's Class "How to Write a Stitch guide" on Saturday. It was a great class. We learned a lot and came away with another stitch book that will be very valuable. She also had wonderful suggestions for faces and hair.

I spoke with Carole about doing St. Basil's at Ridgewood Needlepoint. She's interested but I need to make sure you are since it is a four day class. Of course, it would be great to have her also teach the "How to Write a Stitch Guide".

I always feel so fortunate that I am able to take classes with such great teachers. Carole is one of the best.

Stars Canvas

Sandra H. has completed her Stars project and is just waiting to take it to the framer.
We will be posting the picture of Royalty on our web site in the near future. As our students complete the other colors, we'll post them too.

Threadworx

We just got in our first shipment of Threadworx, the company that has a conversion chart from Needle Necessities. I ordered colors that were good for landscapes. Some of them are really beautiful.