And my announcement. I am now accepting commissions for custom embroidery designs. If you ever had an idea that you thought you wanted to stitch but couldn’t draw, we can work something out. I can even kit the project for you when it’s all designed! Freestyle, crewel, stumpwork, cross stitch. Let’s talk!

This is at the model stitcher!

It’s been a week and a half for me. Standard medical stuff, but running around from lab to doctor because of course no one does it all – who can – really takes it out of me. Sent the design to the left to the model stitcher, finished a model of my own, stitching frantically… Yeah. Busy busy.

And emotionally I’m at that point in the business – Havi calls it “Day 4 Syndrome.” This is never going to work, I’ll never support myself this way (and of course it’s born out by all the common wisdom that you can’t make a living designing (or selling, for that matter) needlework).

And then… and then I discover my designs on 123stitch’s website! Glee! Ecstasy! Shop owners like my work enough to buy it and sell it to their customers. Maybe this will work after all.

Running a business — always an emotional roller coaster!

I am considering pulling together a small needlework retreat in the Raleigh/Durham area , for maybe the end of Feb, beginning of March… Doing research on locations, and on shops in the area. What would YOU want in a retreat? Classes? Just time to stitch? Structured time? Group shopping trip? Unstructured time? Cross stitch? Crewel? Something completely off the wall like goldwork?  How much would you be willing to pay for a couple days of something like this (understanding that depending on classes/unstructured time it could be very different price ranges…). Does it matter if there’s something for a non-stitching spouse to do while you’re there, or would you rather come alone anyway? How many stitchers do you want in one group?

So, yeah. emotional roller coasters. Needing a retreat myself, which is probably why I’m thinking of organizing one!

Heart Deco Pillow Top

It’s been a while since I gave y’all an update on my current projects. You know about distributors. And that the Online Needlework Show is coming up in October. Well, that’s my current project. I’m working on models for three designs to hopefully be released at the show…

This one (Heart Deco), which will be released, because I finished the model stitching on Tuesday! YAY!

Blue Just started Model

This one (As yet unnamed, which I started Tuesday), and a sampler that’s rather Elizabethan in feel, and which is being named after my Aunt Liz, who when she worked at the Italian Embassy in the 50s was christened “Princess Elizabeth” by the Italians. Story included in the chart pack. It’s half finished, but not ready for prime time yet, so no pictures (sorry!). It will be the first in a series of three, Princess Elizabeth, Prince Bertie, and tentatively Ve David (unless I can find something more English Royal to fit my Dad’s name), in honor of Aunt Liz, Uncle Bert and my Dad.  Then I may have to wander over to Germany to get my maternal side covered!  Ah Inspiration, when she strikes, uses a two by four upside the head!  Need more time in the day!!!

My designs (specifically the geometric patterns in the Home section of the online catalog, and the Esther Della sampler) were picked up by Hoffman Distributing. So this is going to be short today as I frantically package chartpacks to send off to their warehouse!

Yay! I have a distributor! This will make it much easier for shopowners to get my designs. I’m very excited (can you tell?)

And since I’m frantically stuffing charts in bags, no more of a post today. Sorry. I’ll be back Monday with another treasure link for you!

Spring Violets for my birthday!

Unfortunately I spent yesterday with the EO at a doctor’s appointment and didn’t get the work done that I needed to have done yesterday. So I spent this morning getting my page for the Online Needlework Show up and ready for the show next week. It opens on April 14. (Go see it. Then call your local needlework shop and make sure that they have signed up and are prepped to order for you!)

And then I spent the afternoon at the DMV getting my driver license renewed, because I’d put it off until the last minute. I neglected to realize that the kids had early release today, so going after noon was a bad idea — every teenager in the town was there trying to get a learner’s permit or first license. It’s a small office. But really, I was in and out in about a half hour, which isn’t bad for the number of kids, (with their parents panicking).

And now it’s five pm.  I decided I wanted steak and baked potato for dinner, so I bought it. I’ll cook it, too. I have a very specific idea of HOW I want my moo-cow tonight, so the husband’s still off the hook for cooking.

It is also Mary Corbet’s Birthday. Over at Needle -n-Thread, she’s giving away a lovely package of a needlework kit and supplies. This is actually a giveaway I signed up for… see how much I love you all? I’m lowering my chances by telling you about it. Go sign up while you can. If you’ve never been there, take the time to explore… she’s a fantastic teacher, and her freebies are to die for, not to mention the giveaways.  Heck, if you HAVE been there before go explore!

Geometric Heart Pillow!

I’ve been stitching a model for a piece I hope to release to shops at the Online Needlework Show in April. It’s another pillow, and seemed appropriate to share a small bit of it today of all days.

Happy Valentine’s day, all! Don’t forget to let the people you love know you love them. (Do that every day, really!)

Over the past year, I’ve spent a lot of time getting over my fear of finishing things. Not finishing the embroidery I start, per se, but after the stitching is done actually cutting into the fabric and CREATING something out of it.

Starting on the 15th of February, (that’s tomorrow)  my newsletter will become monthly, at least for this year, and include finishing instructions for various things to make with your completed embroideries. No embroidery patterns, just ideas for things you can make.

If you’re interested in this sort of thing, you might want to sign up for the list. February’s issue is on basic knife-edge pillows. March is going to be knife edge pillows with a zipper. And we’ll go on from there! I’ve got ideas that include bulletin boards, cup holders, and lots more!

• Get more information
• Sign up for the Newsletter (and Creative Cross Stitch Course)

Photo by timetrax23 on Flickr.com

So. I’ve been derelict in reading the myriad of newsletters that turn up in my email on a daily basis these days. So I was surprised today when I opened the newest one from my local needlework shop to find that they are closing in December.  I suppose I should have seen it coming… they closed out all of their needlework other than needlepoint canvases last spring, and the owner told me she couldn’t afford to keep a stock of canvases in the store. But the threads she carried were amazing — I don’t usually stitch painted canvases, but I’ve bought several there, and I kept spending my money there on thread at the least.

When I first moved to North Carolina in 1998, this area had five needlework stores within a 40 mile radius. FIVE! By the time I had moved away and come back in 2001, we had lost one of them, and there were only four.  We are now down to two. One of them is a needlepoint only store that also has a web presence and shopping cart. The other is the cross stitch – focused store near where I first lived out here and that introduced me to colonial knots, twisted cording, and many other lovely techniques. It’s  is now so far out of easy travel distance that I have to plan for a whole day trip there, to the art store, and to Costco to go. It’s been years since I’ve been in it because it’s so far away from where I now live, and the other shops were so much more convenient – and just as friendly.

I don’t have an answer. Sometimes when I go to a new-to-me LNS I am saddened by the way they seem to have developed their own cliques and exclude potential new customers. One of the stores I tried to go to in Oregon years ago would never sell me anything without trying to convince me that I had to be doing something wrong since I was only a college student so I couldn’t know anything about embroidery (usually they were trying to convince me that I needed a cross stitch pattern for my silk shading work, or that I couldn’t do cross stitch on linen, I needed aïda, the owner’s preferred fabric…). I wasn’t surprised when they went out of business.

There’s a lovely post on the FluentSelf.com titled “It’s not the Economy” about a store local to Havi. I think the sentiment can often be applied to the needlework stores I’ve been in over the years. We need to become more inclusive. Be found. Be willing to market ourselves. Run needlework as a teaching opportunity as well as a business. I don’t have the answers yet. But I’m looking for them. And considering expanding into threads and freestyle designs from patterns. Interested?

One of the new designs.. model is stitched in brown.

I mentioned this in the last post, but I just want to make it clear:

I am taking part in the Online Needlework Show in October, and I am SO excited!!

My patterns are going back to being printed, hard copy patterns, and I’m releasing them in this form for the show.

This is the first online trade show I’ve taken part in. I’m officially on the list of vendors now, and have some very cool patterns in the wings almost ready to go. The upcoming month is going to be very busy for me – two bellydance shows (one at the beach!), two birthdays,  and the needlework show!

Come see me at the show and encourage your local shops to order patterns if you want them! (As always, I’m happy to retail if you don’t have a shop in your area!)

Well. The first week in December the Universe got tired of my wimbling. It pulled out a two by four and smacked me over the head about not pursuing my dreams. You see, I think the universe really wants me to succeed in Art and Design, even when I would much rather pull the blanket up over my head and hide from the world.

That two-by-four? It’s called a layoff. Suddenly I have all the time in the world to focus on the business, getting this pile of designs I have finished ready for you wonderful folks to buy and stitch and love, and the book on how to design your own needlework done…

And then the day after, my Dora-kitten got sick. (OK, she’s four. But she’s still my kitten. And she features in the design book, so she’s even more special!) Very sick. Sick like “in the hospital for three days with kidney failure” sick.  I’ve been spoon feeding her, running her to the doctor, and trying to keep her warm in a cold house ever since (they shaved her for an ultrasound). In true family fashion, they know what’s wrong, but they can’t figure out WHY.

But you know? Through it all, I’ve managed to get my butt in gear, edit another chapter of the book, almost finish the model stitching for the snowflake pattern (Which means, that if you want it at the pre-release pdf price before the model is done and in the pattern shop, you should order it now at the Snowflake Mat pattern page! It’s an instant download, and the individual snowflakes make for great quick ornaments/gift tags!)

In addition, I put several of my beaded chatelaines on Etsy for last-minute gifts. If you’re within the US and want them by Christmas, I know I can get them there if they’re ordered by Friday the 18.  I can’t guarantee  if they’re ordered by Monday, but I’m sure there’s a pretty good chance they’d still make it.

So. The Universe is calling. And I’m making an attempt to answer it. Now if it would stop throwing sick cats at me in between steps… !

Lucinda in the Rose Garden

The website for Golden Circle Designs, my needlework and art design company is now live!

I am very excited. Also very nervous. Most of these patterns had a previous life as printed charts back in 2000 when I first opened GCD. Then I went and moved cross country, got married, and life intervened – I never reopened in my new state. Until this year. It’s been a hard six months trying to get my ducks in a row to do this. But I’m very happy with the results.

Charts are all in pdf format, so if you order them, you’ll be able to download them as soon as your payment clears.  This will let me keep my costs down — and yours, too.  If you absolutely have to have a printed chart, please let me know.  I hope to add them to the site in the next couple of months (no promises, though!) The cost will be slightly higher, however, to cover printing and packaging costs.

Currently there are items for sale in the patterns and the Accessories area. I’ll be adding more over the course of the summer, although some of the charts I have on the burners are still in the process of being test-stitched, so expect more jewelry first.

And as an Independence Day/Grand Opening  present – use the code INDEPENDENCE in the checkout screen for a 10% discount on everything in your cart.  This will be in effect until July 10.