Rate your LNS

After the issues I had ordering from the ONS, I went looking for information to see if anyone else experienced the same thing with them, or if this was just a fluke incident. From what I discovered, this is just how they do business. I ran across a message board for rating and reviewing your local and online needlework shops:

LNS Report Card

For the store I dealt with, click here.

And now back to our regularly scheduled stitching posts...

After several self-indulgent meme posts, it's time to get back to posting about stitching. I promised Kim I would post a picture of my latest finish - LHN's Princess and The Pea:

I stitched with the recommended threads over 2 on 28 ct. linen. I've loved this design since the first time I saw it and I'm really pleased with how it came out. If I were to restitch though, I'd probably go with a DMC brown - I'm not much for the varigated color in this instance. Also, I'd probably use a DMC white or off white instead of the recommended Toasted Marshmallow. I didn't see enough of a difference to warrant the extra expense of the overdyed thread. However, I do love how the pinks and greens came out! I don't have it framed yet, and it will probably end up in a little girl's room some day (I hope!)

I also stitched up this little cutie, designed by Emily at The Floss Box. You can find the pattern for the Mini Scientist here. I made a few modifications, and my scientist husband is now the proud owner of a new scissor fob.

On the back, I stitched his initials and the date. This was stitched over 2 on a scrap piece of 28 ct. evenweave with DMC floss. I'm not totally pleased with the finishing, so I may restitch it on a slightly larger piece of fabric.

And last but not least, I received a LONG AWAITED order from an ONS that shall remain nameless. I ordered way back in the beginning of December, originally just looking for some Wisper thread to finish up an ornament. I stumbled across a good sale and couldn't resist picking up a few patterns and some new needles at a very good price. Everything was in stock, I received and order confirmation and the credit card was charged. I was eagerly awaiting my new goodies and became concerned when they hadn't shown up 10 days later. I checked the website and found that my order was being delayed for an out of stock chart. I also noticed that the store would be closing for a 2 week period at the end of December into January.

I checked daily for the update, and nothing changed, so I contacted the owner after Christmas and was informed that they were still waiting for an out of stock chart. I was more than a little annoyed, especially since my CC was charged when I placed the order and I received absolutely no indication that this chart was out of stock when I ordered. The owner's email seemed very indifferent and offered no explanation or even apology for the delay. I briefly debated cancelling the order due to poor customer service, but scratched that idea when I read their cancellation policies (they whack you a 15% surcharge for ALL cancelled orders). I decided to wait it out and I FINALLY got my charts today, a good six weeks after they were ordered.

I personally feel that not indicating items are out of stock, delaying whole orders without contacting the customer, and charging a credit card six weeks before you ship are all indicative of poor business practices. I would have liked to have had the option to cancel the out of stock items out of my cart before ordering or at least been notified of what was going on without having to chase the owner down. I like ordering from independent needlework shops because it helps keep them open, and in return, I expect good customer service. I'm even willing to pay a little extra to help keep people passionate enough about the craft to run a shop in business, but I won't give my money to someone who doesn't seem to care about their customers. There are plenty of other shops to purchase from.

Anyway, enough ranting. I didn't take any pictures of my new stash, but I did pick up some Thread Heaven and some John James needles (I really like them so far - I was stitching with them tonight.) I also picked up The Sweetheart Tree's Snowflakes in the Pines, LHN's Blueberries and The Cat's Whisker's Alyssum Scissor Pocket.

Friday Feast #175

From Friday's Feast: A Buffet For Your Brain

I forgot to do this on Friday, and figured now is as good a time as any.

Appetizer: What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?
I have several middle names, but one I use legally. (The others are my middle name given at birth and my Confirmation name). No, I probably wouldn't change any of my names.

Soup: If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?
I love natural fabrics - silks, cottons, linens, wools, but I don't mind a little bit of blend to make the fabric better - hold shape better, structure, etc. I like things that feel nice to the touch, nothing overly synthetic (like a double knit polyester). For colors, I'm a big fan of neutrals like black, grey, tan, navy, etc., with pops of color and some print. I do love a leopard print or snakeskin shoe. And my style would be classic and flattering to real women's bodies - I detest low rise pants, too tight tops, etc.

Salad: What is your least favorite chore, and why?
Emptying the dishwasher. I don't mind loading it, but for some reason the thought of emptying it makes me cringe. I do not like dusting or mopping the floor, but I don't mind vaccuming. Laundry is my favorite chore

Main Course: What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?
I have a fear of falling - not so much of heights. Heights I can handle, but the thought of falling, usually down stairs, scares me. I even have nightmares about falling. It probably stems from a fall I had down my grandparents' basement stairs when I was about 3 or 4 and landed on my head on their concrete basement floor.

Dessert: Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.
At my desk. I can see my deck prism collection, my camera battery charger and a few skeins of floss that need to be put away

A personal survey

I've noticed there's a little trend among the cross stitching bloggers to share a little about themselves and their personal lives - more than just their stitching. Since Teresa did one, I'll do one back, similar to the one she posted, but a little more extended. (I pulled it from my myspace blog)

TWELVE PLACES YOU'VE BEEN:
1. Bar Harbor, Maine
2. Florence, Italy
3. Albaquerque, NM
4. New York City
5. Buxton, NC
6. Boston, MA
7. Niagara Falls, NY (and Canada)
8. Sicily
9. the Boulder Field in Hickory Run Park
10. The Corn Palace
11. Graceland
12. the top of Sandy Hook Lighthouse

ELEVEN THINGS ABOUT YOU:
1. I love football. Love it. I yell louder than my husband
2. I would eat lobster every single day
3. I hate wearing shoes, yet secretly long to be "the girl with the super cute shoes"
4. I love reading magazines
5. I get an obscene amount of satisfaction when things are neat and orderly because I am obsessed with organization and container stores
6. I could happily abstain from rice and pasta for the rest of my life, but do not take away my bread and potatoes.
7. I sunburn extremely quickly, as does my husband. Because we are so fair, we will probably have invisible children.
8. I detest having my picture taken, and there are very few pictures of myself that I like. I also do not like posed pictures.
9. My iTunes has over 10,000 songs in it because I love music.
10. I have thousands of recipes I have collected over the years, yet will go and search out a new one almost every single time I want to make something different. I will never make most of the recipes I have, I just like knowing they are there.
11. I have a masters degree in creative writing that I do not use.

TEN GOOD MUSICAL ARTISTS:
1. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
2. Bob Dylan
3. Pearl Jam
4. U2
5. Prince
6. The Killers
7. James Brown
8. The Rolling Stones
9. The Beatles
10. Coldplay

NINE FAVORITE FOODS/DRINKS:
1. Lobster
2. Diet Coke
3. Chocolate / Raspberry desert things
4. Cannolis
5. Pizza
6. Wings and cheese fries (preferably garlic butter wings and cheesefries)
7. Milkshakes
8. Duck
9. Blueberries, and blueberry flavored things - like coffee, tea, etc.

EIGHT THINGS YOU LOVE: (you said things, not people)
1. My iPod
2. Going to the beach
3. Chocolate Covered Cherries from Harry & David
4. Taking pictures
5. A great meal with a good wine
6. New York City
7. Lighthouses
8. Gift shops

SEVEN THINGS YOU WANT:
1. A new job
2. A house
3. A LOT of money
4. First class round trip to Australia for 2
5. For my friends to be happy
6. a new car
7. a baby

SIX THINGS YOU DO DAILY:
1. Shower
2. Make the bed
3. Check my email
4. Listen to music
5. Eat
6. Read

FIVE THINGS THAT YOU HATE:
1. Toxic people
2. Asparagus
3. Drying my hair and putting on makeup
4. Children's television
5. Spiders

FOUR MOVIES YOU LOVE: (four is far too few)
1. Grosse Pointe Blank
2. 10 Things I hate About You
3. Mystery, Alaska
4. Empire Records

THREE TELEVISION SHOWS YOU WATCH:
1. What Not To Wear - my most favorite show
2. Survivor
3. Inside the NFL

TWO THINGS YOU SAY OFTEN:
1. Actually
2. Really? Are you kidding me?

ONE PERSON YOU COULD SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WITH:
1. my husband

I need to pay better attention

I KNOW I saw someone with a Chicago Bears mini Christmas tree, but I'll be damned if I can remember who it is or what blog I saw it on. If this is you, please let me know!

And there's at least one other Dallas Cowboys fan out there, but I can't find that blog either. Probably I should keep better notes. LOL

An "About Me" in Pictures

I saw this on Mel's Blog and thought it was a cute idea.

Here's how it works - Answer the questions and type your answer into Google images search. Post a photo from the FIRST results page. (this can be tough!!)

Age you will be on your next Birthday?

Place You would like to visit?



One of your favorite Places?

Your favorite object?

Your favorite food?

Your favorite animal?

Your favorite color?

Name of a past pet?
Where I live?

Your middle name?

A bad habit of yours?

Your favorite flower?

Your favorite holiday?

SBQ: Favorite Finishes

1/9/2008: What was your favorite finish of 2007?

It was hard to pick just one, but I'm going to go with a housewarming gift I made for very dear friends of ours who just bought their first place. After years in the military (and generic apartments), they were very glad to settle down into their own home.

It's the Bless Our Home Sampler by Design Connection. (Stitched over 2 on 32 ct. linen with recommended DMC threads). I had a hard time selecting something because I didn't really know how they were going to decorate their home (they had no idea either) so I wanted to pick something a little traditional to suit their personalities. As it turns out, they loved it and it looks great on display.

I had a great time stitching it as well. Sometimes my attention span is a little short, so I enjoy stithcing samplers because the pattern changes up and it seems like as soon as I get bored with one section, I'm on to the next. This was also the first time I used beads, and it won't be the last. The design called for Mill Hill beads, but I substitued copper color Blue Moon seed beads from Michael's.

If you look, I did make one change to the pattern. I know it's traditional, but I don't like the letter Q represented with the backwards P, so I changed it to the O and put a little tail on it. Much better! And you may be wondering why it says 1995 when they bought the home just recently. Well, I went back and forth quite a bit on what date to put on it (and on another housewarming gift). I originally had 2006 stitched on there (they bought the house in December), but I changed my mind and stitched in 1995 - the year they were married - instead. I came to that decision while stitching the other piece. I think the year a couple gets married is the year they are "established". For the second piece, I modified the pattern to include the location and the month and year they purchased the house (in small letters under the house) but I had already finished stitching this piece and couldn't change it. So I wrote on the back of the frame. I always write a little note on the back of the frame, wishing the recipient well and noting the occasion for the gift because I think it's pretty cool when you turn over a picture frame and see a handwritten note or signature or date on the back. It's a little secret that adds to the sentimental value of the piece.

And as usual, my DH framed it up for me, using a frame and mat board from http://www.pictureframes.com/. If you haven't checked them out yet, I highly recommend them!

Whew! I bet you didn't expect such a long winded answer to THAT question, did you? :-)

My first finishes for 2008

I'm finally getting around to unloading the camera from Christmas (after a phone call from my MIL last night asking me if I had downloaded the family Christmas photo yet). And I'm finally getting around to doing other things, like finishing up things that have been sitting around for a while. Like birth records I stitched for my nieces. (don't look at the dates). They're from The New Cross Stitch Sampler Book by Helen Phillips. I did a little of my own modifications with color changes and doing a more freeform border.

It's sad, because I had less than 20 stitches to go on Sierra's and I had to finish the border on Kenna's. I don't know why they were sitting around for so long - I finished them in 30 minutes on Saturday night. Usually, Kenna's favorite color is purple and I would have stitched hers in the shades of purple, but I stitched them by birthstone color, chosing the pink for Kenna (October) and the purple for her sister (June). I think they came out really cute and I have to mat and frame them up before I send them out. I was thinking matching pink and purple mats for each one, set in a white frame

I'm also FINALLY getting around to posting a progress picture for Kim on Princess and The Pea. This is what I stitched over New Years.

And this is what I stitched this weekend during the football playoffs. Once I got going, it stitched up REALLY quick.

I am loving the overdyed threads for the green (CC's Weeping Willow) and the pinks (CC's Cherry Tomato, Carrie Berry, and Ripe Melon), but I am not convinced of the necessity of using an overdyed for the dog (Toasted Marshmallow) or the brown (Little House Brown). In fact, I don't think I care much for the varigated brown in this pattern at all, but I'm not restitching it. If I did, I'd use a DMC brown instead.

Better get these done... SBQs

1/3/08: Are you starting something new to celebrate the New Year or participating in “Guilt Free January?” If so, what are you planning on starting?

I didn't really start anything new (no BAPs or super special pieces) for 2008, though I am doing 2 ornament SALs. One is the Christmas Ornament SAL which I've taken over (along with Barbara) from Nicki. I did a little redesign on the site and added some new ideas, so I'll count that as starting a new project. The other is my Bride's Tree SAL, something I've been wanting to do for a while, but never quite got to. I did start my first ornament, a 3D House by Meg Evershed. In fact, it's one of the set of houses from the front cover of this book.


12/26/07: Did you receive any stitching-related gifts for the holidays?

My MIL paid to have a piece my husband stitched professionally framed for us, and I bought myself a new stitching case for my birthday with money from my grandmothers-in-law. It's a Little Travel Case by Vera Bradley, and it's perfect for stashing my small scroll frames and necessities like scissors and needles. Nicole had it posted on her blog and I was inspired to pick one up for myself. Luckily, they're on sale at Vera Bradley, but my favorite pattern is Nantucket Navy, which is now retired, so I went to eBay and VOILA!!! A Nantucket Navy travel case at the sale price AND free shipping. Woo-hoo! I bought it, and 2 days later, I am the proud owner of a stitching case. I'll be taking it with me to show my grandmas what lovely taste they have in birthday gifts. :-)

Speaking of Vera, have you seen the new colors yet? I have to check them out in person, but I am really liking the Raspberry Fizz and the Yellow Bird.

Friday Feast #174

From Friday's Feast: A Buffet For Your Brain

A little belated, but here it is. (It's the playoffs. I've been busy. LOL)

Appetizer: When was the last time you received a surprise in the mail, and what was it?
To be honest, I can't even think of the last "surprise" I've gotten in the mail. I guess maybe the birthday card from my DH's grandma would count, since she hasn't been feeling well lately and didn't even send Christmas cards this year.

Soup: If you could have a summer and/or winter home, where would you want it to be?
I'd have to pick somewhere in Maine for most of the year, maybe even all year, depending on how tired I'd get of the snow. It would have to be near the water, either Boothbay Harbor or Bar Harbor. Maine is one of my favorite places on earth. I'd also be good with a beach house out on Long Island. Maybe not the Hamptons, but somewhere with access to a harbor for sailboating. Maybe Huntington Harbor. (Yes, I have given this question a LOT of thought)

Salad: Pick one: pineapple, orange, banana, apple, cherry.
Pineapple. I love fresh pineapple, and most pineapple flavored things.

Main Course: Describe the nicest piece of clothing that you own.
My wedding gown. I love it. It is a "strapless matte satin gown. The bodice is highlighted with a directly beaded on pattern and embroidery. This gown features a plain skirt and Chapel train". And since a picture is worth 1000 words....




Dessert: If you could forget one whole day from your life, which day would you choose to wipe from your memory?
I can't think of any - everything that's happened has brought me to where I am and I don't know where I'd end up without having gone through those things. Sure, there are a thousand little things I wish never happened, but there's not one standout day I wish I could eliminate.