It’s not too often that I run sales in my online shop here on Needle ‘n Thread, but this year, to celebrate our First Ever Open House – which was loads of fun! – and to give everyone a little break on their holiday budget, I figured it’s a fabulous time to run a pre-Christmas sale.
During the sale, I have a couple new products I want to introduce to you. This will be a kind of “launch special” for those.
And one other good reason – we desperately need some space! With the new year right around the corner and plans percolating for upcoming project kits, we need shelf room. In January, we also have some new books coming in – including Jenny Adin-Christie’s magnificent Enchanted Embroidery – which will require Many Shelves.
So why not? Let’s have a sale! Now’s the time to stock up on anything currently in the shop that’s been on your wish list, because our entire current stock is all on sale.
From today, Wednesday, December 11, starting now, and ending Friday, December 13th at midnight, everything in the shop on Needle ‘n Thread is 10% off. You do not need a code – the discount code is automatically applied at checkout.
Let’s highlight a few things, including some new bits and bobs…
Embroidery Essentials Tool Box
To help answer the question “What tools should I start with?” and to help solve the gift-giving dilemma for the budding embroiderer or stitching enthusiast in your life, I’ve assembled an embroidery tool collection. It’s called Embroidery Essentials, and it includes high quality, useful (and beautiful) tools for both the newcomer and the novice, all in one nice, neat package.
In the box, you’ll find the following tried-and-true, useful needlework tools:
- high quality wooden hoop with strong brass hardware
- cotton twill tape for wrapping the inner ring of the hoop
- a variety of Bohin embroidery and tapestry needles
- a classic needle threader from Kiriki press
- a bisque needle minder (made here, designs vary)
- small, sharp scissors (Rainbow Cutters)
- a pocket sized stitch dictionary that includes stitching tips and clear diagrams for over thirty widely-used embroidery stitches
If purchased separately, all these items retail for over $55. Boxed together, they’re priced at $48 – and during the sale, you’ll get an extra 10% off! You can’t beat that!
Holly & Evergreen Full Kit
By popular request, I’ve started creating complete kits from our collection of ready-to-stitch cotton towel sets.
The first kit available is Holly & Evergreen, the Complete Kit.
This kit includes everything you need to embroider a beautiful Christmas towel:
- Pre-printed 100% cotton towel: high quality, bright white square flour sack towel (27 x 27″) with hanging tab
- Full skeins of DMC cotton embroidery floss
- Fine English embroidery needle
- Stitch layout, color guide, and stitch instructions
This kit is suitable for beginners and beyond. It pairs really well with the Embroidery Essentials tool box, too.
Metallics are In!
Many of the Au Ver a Soie shaded metallic sets are back in stock. Hurray! You can read about these metallics here.
Additionally, the three sizes of the holiday sets are available, as well as the gold and silver metallic ensembles.
You’ll find these all listed under Embroidery Supplies in the shop.
Beeswax Petites!
I spent many an evening absorbing the glorious smell of beeswax, preparing box after box of these delectable beeswax petites to add to your sewing basket!
Beeswax is the ideal thread strengthener and protector, especially for techniques like gold work and bead embroidery. If you sew on a lot of buttons – or if you’re prone to losing coat buttons – run your sewing thread through good beeswax before fixing the button back in place, and that button is there for life.
Stockings & Mittens & Snippets & Kits!
If you’re interested in any of the Stitch Snippet kits, this is a good time to pick up the ones that are in stock. As they run out, we will be phasing them into a different format.
At this point, we have the following Stitch Snippet Stitch-Along kits* still in stock:
- The Christmas Mitten
- Harvest Hues
- Cornflower Scissor Envelope
- Sweet Marguerite
- Purple Posy (Tape Measure Cover)
- Autumn Fire
These can all be found under Embroidery Kits in the shop.
*The Stitch Snippet kits are part of the stitch-alongs that unfold on the website. The instructions are available on the website, and you can find them listed here under Tips & Techniques. Please note that these kits do not come with printed instructions enclosed.
We have one Mini Sampler Stocking kit left. Yikes.
The mini stocking kit makes up to four stocking ornaments. They are a perfect accompaniment to The Christmas Mitten, and visa-versa.
Our Very Popular Wildflowers in Wool kit is in stock at the moment! You can read more about this kit here. It’s a great introduction to working with wool, it’s worked on a lovely linen twill, and it’s a very satisfying project to stitch.
A Thousand Flowers is a kit for four tapestry smalls that are inspired by the Cluny unicorn tapestries. The kit contains enough silk gauze (40 count) for four smalls, along with full spools of gorgeous silk for stitching them.
This kit does not include the charts or instructions. Those are available here, as PDF downloads. You can read more about this kit and the project here.
Ready to Stitch Towel Sets
And yes! We are fully stocked with most of our ready-to-stitch towel sets.
These three-towel ready-to-stitch sets are pre-printed with a themed design for the set. You pick your own threads, colors, and stitches to embroider them, making them perfect as stash-busters (you have to use all that thread at some point, right?).
They are really excellent as relaxing evening embroidery projects, too – I love them for winter stitching! With these, you don’t really have to think too hard about what you’re stitching. Just use your favorite colors and your favorite stitches and go to town!
The Embroidery Essentials Tool Kit is a really nice accompaniment for these sets, especially if you want to give the ready-to-stitch towels to a budding embroiderer in your life.
I’ve brought in a nice collection of embroidery kits designed by Jessica Long. These kits include the pre-printed fabric, thread, needles, instructions, and a hoop.
They’re colorful, fun designs! The complete kits make excellent gifts, but they also make superb on-the-go embroidery projects. If you’re a road-tripper or commuter, if you find yourself waiting at appointments, if you’re a care-giver who likes to have busy hands during down time – these kits are perfect for that!
Additionally, we have a few of these lovely little kits from TamarNY still available, in 4″ kits and just a few 6″ skating Santas left.
These are smaller kits, not quite as bold as the Jessica Long kits, with delicate and fun designs. They include preprinted fabric, thread, needles, and instructions, and they’re packaged beautifully. Very sweet kits!
Tools to Delight!
And of course, we have other embroidery equipment – Tulip needles, thread drops, needle threaders, needle minders, a limited number of hoops currently available, assorted packs of Bohin needles, and more!
Embroidery Books
We have a nice curated collection of published embroidery books available. These are books that are not normally available through “big box” book dealers. All of Elisabetta Sforza’s books are in stock, and most of Guiliana Buonpadre’s. We also have some Alison Cole books, some Inspirations Studios book, Yvette Stanton, and more – check them out!
Downloadable PDF Project & Pattern Books
Finally, all of my download PDF project and pattern books are included in the sale, too. There are quite a few – take some time to browse through them to find your next projects!
Today through Friday
The site-wide sale lasts from today through Friday, December 13 at midnight CST.
The earlier you shop, the earlier we ship, which gives you a better chance of receiving any planned gifts in a timely manner. As usual, for multiple items, we will combine shipping and refund any notable excess.
Coming Up!
Over the next week, I’ll be hosting a few give-aways for some lovely prizes. As we wind down towards Christmas, keep an eye out for those!
My favorite type of embroidery is crazy quilt projects. This is my favorite because you can use so many different stitches and expand on them from simple base stitches. Love the use of all the different threads and ribbons. You find something new every time you look at a crazy quilt projects.
Louise