November 23, 2020

Stitching for Christmas – Upcoming Delights!

I love stitching for Christmas!

And when it comes to this time of year, I love stitching for Christmas as we get closer to it. It’s hard for me to think about Christmas stitching in July. Even in September, it’s not foremost on my mind.

It’s funny – come mid-January, I can stitch ahead for spring without a problem. But there’s just something about the longer nights of late fall and early winter, the inside weather, and the anticipation of the Christmas season that makes me want to stitch particularly Christmassy things right now.

I’ve got a few new things coming out this year for Christmas stitching. All of them are relatively “quick” projects (for hand embroidery, anyway!). I tried to vary them according to how they might appeal for different levels and interests of stitchers, and I hope you like them! Here’s a little sneak peek, and some information on when they’ll be available on the website.

Mini Sampler Christmas Stocking ornament kit

First, there’s this year’s ornaments – these mini Christmas stockings! They’re a blast to make – the stitching is as easy or as complex as you want it to be, and the results are unique and variable, depending on your choices!

I kept the finishing simple, so that it’s accessible to any skill level. On these, you can do the finish work and decorative edge in less than an hour.

And to facilitate the making of these little stockings – and to make sure that you don’t have to seek high and low for specialty metallics and coordinating beads – I’ve put together a kit for you! Yay!

Mini Sampler Stocking Kits

The Mini Sampler Stocking Kit includes linen and wool felt, nine spools of Au Ver a Soie metallics (covering both color schemes), seven types of beads (also covering both color schemes), a couple charms for the finishing touch, and needles. All you have to add is a hoop or frame, some scissors, and your own DMC cottons. You’ll have enough metallics and beads to use on more stockings – or on other projects, too!

As usual with my kits, the instructions will come to you as a downloadable PDF when you purchase the kit. The kit will be priced as a kit + e-book bundle (with a discounted price on the e-book). The e-book will also be available separately, for those who like to forage for their own supplies.

I made a serendipitous discovery when I was taking pictures last week. The stockings are the Perfect Size for holding 4.5″ scissors. My red Bohin 4.5″ embroidery scissors are a happy match. But any 4.5″ embroidery scissors will fit the stockings – making them a great vehicle for delivering a special gift to a favorite stitcher, or for using as your own little holiday scissor keep. Fun!

I’ll give you pictures of the kit and all the details of what’s in it on the day they’re launched – read on for the launch details!

But Wait, There’s More…

Also brewing here in the studio are a couple new Christmas ready-to-stitch sets!

Christmas Cheer ready-to-stitch towel set

This set is called Christmas Cheer. It’s a festive collection of three border prints featuring favorite holiday exclamations: Merry Christmas! Deck the Halls! and Let it Snow!

These designs decorate the lower edge of my 27″ square flour sack towels – almost all the way across the lower edge, in fact. They’re so much fun to stitch, mostly because they’re peppered with small, colorful Christmas elements that are quick and satisfying to stitch.

I’m still stitching Let it Snow!

And One More…

I put these together quite a while ago, at the request of a friend who loves the Folky Flakes designs and wanted more.

I decided to make them more widely available, and some of these will be ready for those who want them, too. They are center-placed, lower edge designs.

I haven’t come up with a name for this particular set, but by the time they’re available, hopefully inspiration will strike! Any ideas? I’m thinking about “Vinterfolk.”

Release Date & Time

Because I could only put together a limited supply of the mini-stocking kits before Christmas, and because these are probably something you’ll want sooner rather than later, I’m only doing one kit run for the mini stockings this year. If the kits sell out, I won’t be able to get the supplies in quickly enough to put together more kits, anyway. I’ve done my best to prepare a few more than I usually would because I don’t want anyone to be disappointed, but I figured I better let you know that the first kit run will be the only kit run before Christmas.

As I usually do when I launch a larger kit, I’m giving you an exact date and time that you can expect the kits to be available on Needle ‘n Thread. That way, you can keep an eye out for them, and if you want to order one, you won’t miss them. I’m sorry that I can’t take pre-orders, and I can’t reserve.

I’m also going to launch the towel sets above at the same time, so that anyone who wants to combine shipping on the kit plus towels can do so.

On Saturday, November 28, I’ll publish the launch notice at 10:00 am Central Standard Time (Kansas, USA), which means they’ll be available to the East Coast at 11:00 am, and to the West Coast at 8:00 am.

Shipping – Thinking Ahead – International

All orders will ship priority mail domestically. In normal circumstances, this means your package will arrive usually in 2-3 days. However, we aren’t living in normal circumstances anymore, so the arrival time can vary. Most of my packages arrive on time, but those going to the coasts into big cities can sometimes be delayed. When your order ships, you’ll get a tracking number via email so that you can track your package. I can’t pass along specific post office instructions, so you’ll have to arrange those with your local postal delivery people.

The kit will be available internationally to Canada only. I apologize for that to my friends everywhere else – I hope you will understand! – but the cost of international shipping farther abroad, along with the disproportionate wait times and the risk of loss, makes it impossible right now for me to manage shipping internationally. This is primarily why I am releasing the e-book at the same time.

If you’re in Canada and you want to combine a kit with some towel sets, you’ll need to order the kit when it’s released, and then email me separately and we will see how we can combine items in a way that makes sense. Just so you know, the shipping to Canada is $28 for just the kit. It is about $50 for a medium box (which will hold a kit or two and some towel sets), and about $65 for a large box, which can hold a couple kits and a good number of towel sets. So if you have any stitching buddies who want to get together on an order, that might be a great way to reduce the shipping expenses individually.

And That, My Friends…

… is that!

I really wanted to put together some very cheery holiday projects for you this year, because I think we all need a little cheer! I hope that you will enjoy these as much as I have enjoyed preparing them for you!

There’s still a heap of work to get these all ready for you by Saturday. Fortunately, I have my lovely, dear, dedicated, reliable, and brave niece, Anna, working with me on this. I couldn’t do it without her.

And now, I’m going to take my Sore Foot to the doctor. Yep. I did it. I stepped on a needle. After the harrowing event, I only found half of it broken in the carpet, and I’m afraid the other half is floating about in the inner world of my foot.

It’s just so dang 2020, isn’t it?

Well, it’s life.

At least I have a foot! There’s always something to be thankful for, isn’t there?

I’ll see you Thursday, with a jolly Thanksgiving game for you! And next week, we start A Stitcher’s Christmas – a series of fabulous embroidery-related give-aways for you to join in as we approach Christmas.

Connect with Mary