Are you in the mood for Christmas?! Well who cares if you are in the mood…it’s coming! I am listening to Christmas music as I type.

I love this canvas from Amanda Lawford and isn’t our finishing adorable? It stitched it in a flash…love that skip tent stitch! (All you do is stitch every other stitch…goes so fast!)

A note about dyelots…THEY ARE IMPORTANT! Check out the green area under the left reindeer…I very clearly used a different dyelot! I confess: I thought I had enough Silk + Ivory to finish the piece if I was really, really frugal but no. So do as I say not as I do…

Happy stitching,
Susan

Holy smokes! We are having an enormous trunk show from Associated Talents! And by enormous, I mean they sent 675 canvases. That was NOT a typo. They sent us almost 700 canvases! Mind boggling. Cruise the AT website and shop like you mean it. All canvases in the trunk show are 20% off. The show will be here until December 24th.

Happy stitching, Susan

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration. I have so much to be thankful for this year, most especially my Point of It All customers–thank you!

The Napoleonic bee napkin rings arrived just in time…don’t they look great?!

Special thanks to loyal On Point reader and POIA stitcher Bryson D. who gave me this tip for getting napkins wrinkle-free without ironing: After you wash them pull them gently but firmly from side to side & top to bottom so that they are smooth, with no wrinkles.  Then place on a clean counter top to dry.  If they are not drying quick enough feel free once they are fairly dry to turn over. (I love this no iron technique and it worked like a charm!)

Happy stitching,
Susan

 Check out my finished Blue Bird of Happiness! Actually it’s a Blue Jay but let’s not get technical. Labors of Love (check out their website) makes these wonderful three dimensional birds. Each bird comes with two canvases (front and back) and feathers and a clip. It didn’t take long to stitch. I used all basket weave and mostly metallics.

We will be doing a Labors of Love trunk show in May 2012.

Happy stitching,
Susan

All of us at The Point of It All are going bananas over this portable, battery-operated Ott lite! It’s so lightweight; it can travel anywhere! Think about setting it up on the fold down tray on an airplane or on the bedside table at a hotel. THIS IS AN AWESOME PRODUCT! If you haven’t used an Ott product before, get thee to The Point of It All to check one out. These lights simulate daylight and make an incredible difference when you are stitching. Ott makes a tabletop version and a floor model (both have to be plugged in).

We have them all in stock…portable one is $42.

Perfect stocking stuffer, too!

Happy stitching,
Susan

Back by popular demand: a Jenny Henry Trunk Show at The Point of It All! All canvases 20% off !

Jenny’s creates hip, geometric canvases that are a blast to stitch. I’ve done several (quel suprise).

* Passport covers (look stylish for that TSA agent)
* Coin purses (jingle your change in a hot carrying case)
* Picture frames (show off your gorgeous family in an equally fab frame)
*Lots more!

Through November 12th.

Check out her canvases online at Jenny Henry Designs.

Happy stitching,
Susan

I command you to Bee Happy! And I can do that, you know…I have a MAGIC WAND! Isn’t it adorable? The design is by Kathy Schenkel and she has other magic wand canvases.

I mostly used basketweave but I did do the Hesitation stitch for the yellow (stitched in Neon Rays) and the Nobuko stitch for the orange (also stitched in Neon Rays). See diagrams below.

Happy stitching…grant lots of wishes today!
Susan

Chris and I hit the open road this weekend for a wedding in Kennett Square, PA (right near Winterthur and Longwood Gardens, which are lovely)…I know my road trip is not of vital importance to you but I mention it in regard to stitching. It is really important to have a “road-worthy” canvas…13 mesh, big blocks of color, little shading, and only a few (if any) decorative stitches. When you’re travelling, you really don’t want to deal with intricate shading on 18 mesh!

I chose to work on two canvases from my stash:

These canvases, from Unique NZ Designs, were perfect for the car ride. And a big thanks to Chris for doing all of the driving so I could stitch!

Happy stitching,
Susan

Ahh, the satisfying snip, snip of perfect scissors! I didn’t know this before I was at The Point of It All but not all scissors are the same…the quality really varies. Now I treat myself to quality needlework scissors. There are the $22 Stork ones from Gingher. Almost everyone has these…they are great, basic scissors. Now consider the German-made ones with the elaborate scrollwork ($62). They are a delight to work with…such clean, sharp cuts. And if you’re really going for the Cadillac of scissors, try these French-made scissors in Mother-of-Pearl and Tortoiseshell style ($100). Pure heaven. OMG.

These scissors will soon be available in The Point of It All web store…stay tuned!

Consider putting a quality pair of scissors on your Christmas wish list. You will be thrilled every time you use your new pair!

Happy stitching,
Susan

… I call in an emergency stitcher! Yes, that is my sweet husband, Chris, putting two extra “sacrifice” rows around my napkin rings! It’s Sunday night and the October 1st deadline for Christmas finishing is just 6 days away. That’s approximately 144 hours away and I do have to sleep/work/attend to my family for some of those hours. The deadline is the same date every year…why do we stitchers put ourselves in the position of pulling “Needlepoint All Nighters”???

Thanks, honey, for helping out.

Why is Buster just lying there? Can’t he do a few extra rows on my Whimsy and Grace Napoleonic bee napkin rings??? Sheesh.

PS You have until October 31st for full-sized Christmas stockings and belts with traditional leather…

Happy (frantic) stitching,
Susan