Hi Stitchers,

Happy New Year! As we reflect on last year, I can honestly say, I am glad the holidays are over. We had 17 declined credit cards in one day when we were trying to get everyone's orders shipped before Christmas. It would have been appreciated if the customers would have let us know if they still wanted their order or that they had their cards hacked, but they did not. A few wonderful customers did let us know prior to our sending their order, but those others did not. We finally received Family Tree Frames only to find many did not want to wait for their frame to ship even though we kept them updated on the delay. Fabrics were running out as well as floss, and our suppliers were closed. What a headache. At least everyone is back to work, fabrics have started arriving, and we have a floss order arriving as well. Life moves on.

As always, Lakeside Linens is very behind in dying fabrics as many are ordering 1/2 yard pieces so the fabric doesn't go as far as it would if people were order 1/8 or 1/4 size pieces. She ships to us every other week, and as we state, please order in advance. We all have a stash, so waiting a little while for the fabric to arrive should not be a hardship. Picture This Plus is running 4 to 6 weeks for dying and shipping. Remember - all companies either closed or took off some days for the holiday, therefore backing up their schedules a few days. It is always best to order fabric well in advance to avoid any disappointments. Classic Colorworks and The Gentle Art Sampler Thread used the time to catch up on colors that were out of stock. Again, base seems to be the issue, which delays their dying select colors of floss. We always ship the day our stock arrives.

We always get asked questions in our shop about stitching - so each month we will be adding a hint of the month.

HINT OF THE MONTH: Picking a fabric color. This month I want to bring this topic to everyone's attention as in Winter many designs use a lot of white floss for snow and snowman. Usually this color shows up best on Dirty Linen, Natural Linen, Sage, Pearl Grey, or any dark color of fabric. Platinum, Antique White, and Ivory to just name a few light colors have a tendency to make the white disappear depending on what count of fabric and strands of floss used. Meaning - it doesn't show up as well. Always lay the floss colors on your fabric of choice. If you like the look, then go for it. If you like white on light colors of fabric, that is you choice. You are the stitcher, I am only giving a suggestion as I have seen the end result on a light colored fabric. We actually have two models in our shop that were done on Lambswool Linen that are hard to read the wording - we used the designer's recommended floss color. When I get a chance, I will be re-stitching the wording using darker floss color.

OUR NASHVILLE MARKET IS MARCH 6 TO 8 AND I AM PLANNING TO ATTEND THIS YEAR. YE OLDE CROSS STITCHERY WILL BE CLOSED THAT WEEKEND, AND POSSIBLY A DAY OF TWO BEFORE OR AFTER. MORE INFO WILL BE FORTHCOMING ONCE MY RESERVATIONS ARE CONFIRMED.

FOR THOSE VISITING OUR SHOP: If you are interested in a specific item that you saw on our web site, please write down the title, code number and/or designer. Giving us a brief description doesn't help with our assisting you. We keep a very large inventory of patterns, and cannot possibly remember each and every book that we stock or show on our web site. Items also sell out, or we could be waiting for restocks to arrive. Lastly, if you cannot muster our front steps, we have a side ground level entrance. Just give us a call and we will gladly open the door for you. We have chairs as well for anyone who wants to sit and browse through our racks and baskets of patterns. Debbie, our personal shopper, is available by appointment on Fridays and Saturdays. Otherwise, stop in and shop at your own convenience - if you need help, all you need to do is just ask for our assistance.