Shorttakes

 

It's getting closer...just a few more days!  Our Eagles are in New Orleans & getting ready for Super Bowl LIX!  Obviously, if you live in the area, you are WELL AWARE of all the excitement.  And I gotta tell ya, the coverage is a nice change of pace from so much of the other news at the moment ~ particularly the 2 devastating plane crashes last week. 

As always, we will be having our annual Super Bowl Sale on Sunday!  The year the Eagles first one a Super Bowl (think "Philly Special" ~ and beating those nasty Patriots!!), we changed the time of the sale to make sure everyone could get to the shop, stock up on all the great stitching stuff they wanted & make it home in time for pre-gaming!  Since then, we've stayed with the timeframe as it seems to work well for everyone, so once again, the sale ~ IN THE SHOP ~ will be from 11AM ~ 2PM.  Now obviously if you live in the area, you know that REAL pregaming starts about 7am, but only if they're playing at the Linc (although I'm sure there will be tailgating on Sunday in South Philly...).  Those folks?  Are crazy.  But hopefully you'll have time to get all your snacks organized on Saturday, find your luckiest sportswear & get to the shop!  We'll be ready!  We've been getting in a bunch of new stuff this week (I've been unpacking & getting them out for a couple days now) & we're expecting more as the week progresses!  We have a HUGE fabric order on the way & I am PRAYING it arrives by Friday, but they are currently experiencing the ice storm that we're due to get on Thursday, so we'll have to see how the shipping is.  One thing to keep in mind ~ if we're out of something you wanted, you can still get your discount...all you have to do is pay for it on Sunday.  And obviously ordering online is just fine as well!  For more info about all the goings on ~ ESPECIALLY THE EXTRA SPECIAL BONUS DISCOUNT ~ click the Super Bowl logo below!

GO BIRDS!!

 

Now, like I said, we're getting new stuff in hand over fist & I don't want to forget to show ya what's coming & what's available.  So I'll be continuing to add to our website as warranted.  One thing I wanted to say, I've been doing my best to add "ingredients" as I post things.  I will say that I am mostly adding the called for fabric (or something VERY similar).  However, if you prefer a different fabric (for instance, if I've posted 36ct linen, but you'd rather stitch on 16ct aida) please note that in the comment section & we will make the change & include that in your discount. 

So let's see what's hot out of the box!

 

   

Jardin d'Hiver (Winter Garden) - from Tralala. Once again, another darling winter design!  Is this not the cutest snowman?  And I also love the snippet of spring at the bottom!

BRRR Mini Bag - from Shepherd's Bush.  Have you fallen victim to the stitchable mesh bags like we have?  OMG, they are not just practical, they are ADORABLE!  Little hint from Tracy: stitch holding the bag upside down (also turn your graph upside down).  It's way easier to get your hand inside that way.  This one is so fun!!  You can add the buttons if you like, but it's just as cute without them.

 

Jolly Snow People - from Shannon Christine.  This one isn't brand new, but I just think it's SO CUTE!  If you wanted, you could stitch just 1 row of them & it would be darling!

 

   

Winter Stitching Warms My Soul - from Anabellas.  I mean, something has to warm me....so why not stitching?

Quick Little Quakers: January - from Anabellas.  This is the beginning of what promises to be a fun series!

 

   

Maisonnette d'Hiver (Winter Cottage) - from Tralala.  This sweet cottage is wonderful no matter what season it is.

Mouse's Snow Day - from Tiny Modernist.  I don't know about where you live, but around here the geese are year-round residents!

 

   

Bits & Pieces of Winter - from Little House.  Isn't this a lovely little design?  Perfect for your winter decorating.

Cardinal Star Sampler - from Crafty Bluebonnet.  Cardinals are so beautiful & we love stitching them.  We think this is a pretty new design for winter stitching.

 

Robin Redbreast - from Little Dove.  What an absolute darling!  If this doesn't bring a smile to your face....

 

   

Sleigh Bells Ring - from Wildflower Stitching. For all y'all looking to get a head start on Christmas stitching, check out this BEAUTIFUL drum!!  I absolutely love this design!

It's Christmas Time: Merry Christmas - from Anabellas.  All the best parts of Christmas!

 

 

Peace Bauble - from Wildflower Stitching.  I love this.  And while it is seen as a Christmas ornament, honestly we need this ALL YEAR ROUND.  Also, they have stitched it on an overdyed fabric with a bit of an orange-y cast, but I really think (especially with the blue) that it would be even prettier on white.

Hope Bauble - from Wildflower Stitching.  Another beautiful design from this new designer, I personally would stitch this one in blues. This one definitely has more of a Christmas-y feel to it ~ with the angel, the star, the creche ~ but again, it could definitely be something that stays out all year.

 

   

You, My Love - from Luhu Stitches.  Hmm...if you read my last newsletter, you know my opinion of Valentine's Day.  So this one makes me laugh because I'd want to add another line at the bottom: "But I just had the locks changed". Bwahaha!!  Wouldn't that be fun??

Valentine Flips - from Running With Needles & Scissors.  LOVE these!! 

 

   

Hearts Grow With Love - from Jan Hicks.  This is soooo pretty!  Very Art Deco (which I happen to really like!).  If you wanted to, you could even leave the word off & just do the "flowers".

The Cupid Sampler - from Cherry Hill.  I'm noat usually one for cupids or cherubs, but I have to say, this one is sweet without being over the top!

 

   

Amelia's Valentine - from Calico Confectionery.  I LOVE the colors in this!  And it's just really decorative ~ which doesn't always appeal to me, but this one definitely does.

Key to my Heart - from Shannon Christine.  Oh no!!  More people with keys!!!  No, this is really sweet.  Maybe, if I were a nice antie, I would stitch this for the boys....yeah, probably not! 

 

    

Love Letters - from Erin Elizabeth.  Okay, I'll admit, it took a second look for me to get this. But when I did, I liked it a lot.

Heart of the Home - from Carolyn Manning.  I think we all know that LOVE is the heart of the home!

 

 

   

Mini Villages from Country Cottage! There will be one for each month, but you could certainly pick and choose.  I would probably leave the month off of them & just stitch them without.  They are darling!

January - You know how much I love blues, and this is so sweet! Also, it keeps the snowflakes where I like them ~ in a picture!

February - Isn't this sweet?  Whole lotta love goin' on!

March - That rainbow is my favorite part!  I just wanna know which cottage has the pot of gold...

 

Irish Blessing - from Artecy.  This is not a new design, per se, but it is one of my favorite Irish blessing designs!  What a great border.

 

   

3 Leprechauns - from Twin Peak Primitives.  Too cute!!!!!

Irish Lucky - from Twin Peak Primitives.  I love the ladybug & the horseshoe!  This guy is definitely covering all his bases!

 

   

1776 Fraktur: Hearts & Petals - from Three Sheep Studio.  Frakturs are so prevalent here in our area that they always catch my eye.  This one is beautiful! 

1744 Fraktur: Blue Tulip - from Three Sheep Studio.  I'm obviously gonna need both of these to make a nice pair!

 

   

Easter Pillow - from Flossabilities.  A lovely little pillow with Easter motifs.  One nice thing about this design, in the chart she gives you options that are more or less religious. So if you really just want this to be springy, you can do that!

Cottontail Farms - from Shannon Christine.  I think this is absolutely charming!  Everything about it ~ from the bunnies to the happy colors ~ makes me smile!

 

   

Magnolia Glow - from Imaginating.  What a stunning design!  You can almost smell that sweet magnolia scent.  This is an all-over stitching design & it just looks like a painting!

Poppies - from Imaginating.  I love poppies!  And this is gorgeous.  Another all over stitching design.

 

   

Rose Window - from Ink Circles.  This is STUNNING!  Why oh why do these beauties look so awesome on dark fabrics??  The colors just pop on this!

Red Bird - from Ink Circles.  A smaller symmetrical design from Tracy, this is stitched in 3 shades of cream & red. 

 

   

Ombre in Green - from Carolyn Manning.  This design is stitched in 3 gradiated shades of green (or you could use 3 shades of your favorite color).  Wouldn't this make a nice pillow?

Shooting Star - from Ink Circles.   Love this!  Whether you want to stitch the big (main) design, or maybe the smaller one, you know it'll be amazing!

 

   

Wren's Nest Sampler - from Rosewood Manor.  Love this sampler.  It's just so PRETTY!  And if you didn't want to put the alphabet in the center portion, you could certainly put in a verse, or a baby's birth info, or wedding info....It lends itself to so many lovely ideas.

Quaker Wool & Flax - from My Big Toe.  OOOOOHHHH....I love Debbie's Quaker samplers & needless to say, this verse speaks to so many of us who love to stitch.

 

   

Home - from My Big Toe.  This could not be more true!  Wouldn't this be a lovely gift for a new couple or family?

A Friend Loves at All Times - from My Big Toe.  Another great design!  Don't ask me why, but I keep seeing this finished as a needlebook or some sort of "small". 

 

   

Baa Baa Black Sheep - from Erin Elizabeth.  ADORABLE!!  Lise would have loved this one ~ she always liked black sheep designs.

Camping Lantern - from Erin Elizabeth.  Do you love to camp?  This is a great design & so reminiscent for me of times I went camping with my grandparents!  I especially love the lightning bugs!

 

   

Fishy Goings On - from Long Dog. Now I don't usually just take the designer's words for description, but I gotta tell ya, I LIVE for Jools' descriptions of her designs!  They make me want every new design ~ even if I'm not terribly enamored of the design itself.  The stories are awesome! So here's the description of this:

"Fishy Goings On is a lighthearted romp on the ocean wave where two salty sea dogs are on barking terms with a kelpie; an unsuspecting lad, just landing his first tiddler, is about to be devoured by a sea dragon; and a small elephant has mistimed his parachute jump and is about to land in the oggin.  There are seahorses, there are waves, there are sailing boats, there are twiddley bits, and to top it all off, there are three giant rings representing the three classifications of fish - agnatha, chondrichthyes and osteichthyes - the Piscium Olympics.  Did I mention the sharks?"

Now seriously, don't you want this chart just for that description?

Seventh Wave - from Long Dog.  Without further ado, I give you Jools' description!

"Wave sets are groups of up to ten large waves that seem to rise out of nowhere and then disappear just as quickly.  They're the best surfing waves around. The legendary seventh wave was said to be the biggest and best of the bunch, and the one that always comes the farthest up the beach.  That the ocean's rise is always at the highest on the seventh wave is, sadly, just a myth, but sometimes the magic happens and when it does it's awesome. Bodhi the booby bird named after his hero, played by Patrick Swayze, in the surfing film Point Break, has caught the swell and is riding a giant barrel wave which is threateing to engulf him and the daredevil chooks wha are riding their floral board by his side.  They're all having a blast, you can hear their shouts of 'yew' from miles around....and in the shelter of each other they survive."

 

   

Beach & Sunshine - from Rosewood Manor.  YES!  So much yes!  I love everything about this!!

Retirement Plan - from Rosewood Manor.  I think this is a fantastic plan!

 

   

Snow White Tree - from Tiny Modernist.  How fun is this??  I love the "branch" with all the elves!

Crazy Cat Lady - from Artists Alley.  I mean, right??

 

 

Wicked: Naughty or Nice? - from Imaginating.  Okay, who's seen Wicked at the movies?  I think you'll need to stitch this!

 

   

Let the Words of my Mouth...Psalm 19:14 - from Happiness is Heartmade.  I love this verse.  When I lived in Charlotte, my minister would always say this as he began his sermon.  It was always such a wonderful reminder of who I strive to be.

My Strength & Portion - from My Big Toe.  Another wonderful reminder, and a really pretty design.

 

 

Whatever is Lovely - from Artful Offerings.  A lovely design for a lovely verse.  I truly enjoy the creations from this designer.

 

Open Hem Tutorial - from Modern Folk Embroidery.  I wanted to get this book to see how Jacob explains doing this stitch.  I've done it many times, but I don't have it in a chart anywhere.  Well, let me say, he does a great job of expaining & diagramming how to hem your stitching!  You can do this to finish the edge of a bellpull (I have done this on my Toccata #4 that is in the shop), you can finish smalls this way to make them into little table toppers, and you can even finish samplers this way & hang them on a dowel instead of framing them.  When we did our retreats & had our continuing rolled samplers, this is how we finished them.  Then we could attach them to each other.

This is one of the things I am planning to teach this coming year, so be on the lookout!

 

Now!  We are not trying to jump ahead of Sunday's game, and one of the great things about being a Philadelphia sports fan is watching how each of the teams really supports the others!  But folks!!!  Truck Day was on Monday.  What, you may ask, is truck day? Well, it's the day that the 18-wheelers load up all the Phillies "stuff" & head south for Spring Training!  That's right, baseball is right around the corner!  Pitchers & catchers report in less than a week!!  Aaaaahhhhh......

 

In the meantime, we are watching 2 ice storms making their way in our direction.  Thursday may be a lost cause.  Having said that, if you are in doubt as to whether we are open or not, we generally follow the West Chester Area School district.  So if they are closed, we will be as well.  Of course, having said THAT, I am going to do my very very best to be here on Thursday as we have so much stuff on the way in & so much stuff to get done.

And, after all that, I've been in touch with several suppliers today about our shipments due this week.  Most are on the way!  Woohoo!  But our fabric order is awaiting pickup in Iowa & our supplier has been closed because THEY are getting the ice storm there. I am hoping (& praying) that we can find a way to get it here before the sale.  But if it becomes a matter of paying for next day air delivery (for over 100 pounds of stuff) that may be off the table.  Cross your fingers...  Another one of our suppliers had their printer give up the ghost. And they don't just have an easy little pushbutton printer ~ nope, it's one of those monster things!  So she's not going to be able to get our order out in time. 

Again, these are not life or death things.  But I have been working so hard to get things back up to snuff for y'all, especially for the sale, and I'm so bummed that some things (PARTICULARLY THE FABRIC) may not get here.  I got the orders in to the suppliers in plenty of time (for normal times!), but as we all know, things happen.  So if we are out of things you need on Sunday, please know that you can order it, pay for it (getting your discount!), leave us your name & phone number & we'll set it aside for you to pick up (or we can send it to you). 

 

Okay!  I'm gonna wind this up & send it out so I can get it to you!

 

Hugs & stitches & Fly Eagles Fly ~

Beth & all the Birds at TSS