Nuts about Needlepoint » charity stitching

Is there an Island of Unwanted Projects?

Janet Perry — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:36:38 +0000

Remember how in Rudolph there was an Island of Unwanted Toys?

The toys there were unloved or missing something.

We have unwanted projects too. Maybe it was a class and we learned what we wanted to and never finished the project. Maybe your taste or decor changed. Maybe it’s too late to give that gift.

Whatever the reason we all have projects that have been started but won’t ever be finished.

Marlene asked about what to do with them. Here are some ides:

Do you have stitching friends? Arrange a “needlepoint swap.” Everyone bring 5 items to trade. The hostess should arrange for food and maybe goodie bags to entice people to come. This is like a pot luck, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Are you in a guild chapter? Donate these projects to your guild for a chapter auction. My chapter has funded our education auction with these for decades. Chapters take different tacks with this. Our chapter goes with bargain basement pricing, but other guilds go with higher prices. If you aren’t in a chapter, look for one nearby and ask.

Work with a local shop to have a garage sale. People buy tables, with the money going to charity, and on a given day the sale is held. The shop does some of the marketing so there are plenty of sellers and plenty of buyers.

Sell it in eBay. There are some shops, such as Fireside Stitchery and The World in Stitches, who will sell your items on eBay for a commission. They will take most things (email or call to ask) and have better luck than you would yourself.

Sell it through and independent reseller such as Canvases Begone or Stashing Destashing. From what I see as a buyer, they are more strict about what they take, but I’ve found great bargains in both places. Many stitchers visit their sites.

Donate it to a thrift store. I sometimes see needlepoint at local thrift shops and Northern California has one thrift shop that only has craft items.
Donate it to charity. You might know of a local charity looking for craft items. There are also some organizations that take donations from everywhere. The ANG Yahoo group has a list of these.

If it isn’t a UFO, you have more options for donation. Rittenhouse Needlepoint has a wonderful charitable program for teaching needlepoint. Local youth organizations and schools might welcome yarn and thread. Knitters who knit for charity might love uncut skeins of yarn.

There are enough places to place those unwanted projects that maybe we don’t need an island after all.

Looking for a Chance to Pay It Forward? Try This.

Janet Perry — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 14:33:52 +0000

Recently there has been lots of discussion on various needlepoint lists about ways to help those in need. It’s mostly focused around helping those struck by disasters.

But, as the saying goes, need never takes a holiday.

That’s why I’m so excited about Rittenhouse Needlepoint’s wonderful charity program. They are doing something about the needs in their community and could use you help.

The shop teaches a free weekly beginners class in needlepoint and provides materials to those in need from the materials donated by people like you and me. I wrote to them and they are hoping to have a website devoted to this up in the next couple of months.
Rittenhouse, a full-service needlepoint shop located in downtown Philadelphia and on the Internet, is working with several area charities, including Project Home, JEVS (Jewish Educational Vocational Services), and Pennsylvania Prison Society (PPS), specifically half way houses of women coming out of prisons

You can read all about it on their Charity page.

If you send items to include all your information so they can provide a receipt that might be used with their tax preparers, although this is not guaranteed.

Their address is:
Rittenhouse Needlepoint
Attn Charity
1737 Chestnut St #201
Philadelphia, PA 19103
They can also contact us for shipping help if it is a large quantity.

Next week I’m going through my stash and sending off a big box to them. Won’t you help too?

New Needlepoint Products – November 2008

Janet Perry — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:27:54 +0000

Originally posted 2008-12-01 10:15:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Charted Canvas
Caron Collection has come out with a set of four mini-socks, each with two options, I’m crazy about. Called “Off the Cuff” the mini-socks feature elaborate borders and take advantage of the many lovely Caron Collection threads. Handblessings has some lovely small square samplers using textured stitches and hand-dyed threads. They showcase 4-5 stitches and are under 4″. I saw one stitched recently and it was lovely.

Laura J. Perin Designs’ newest sample has a masculine slant with a mallard in flight as the centerpiece. Brenda Kocher has Noah’s Ark, a ship easy enough for beginners which features charms of animals. DebBee’s Designs has a small counted canvas design, Peridot, which features August’s birthstone. She also has new designs in her Diamond Delight series.

Painted Canvas
CBK has licensed another delightful artist for their painted canvas line, Starke Art Designs. Among other things there is a set of four round mermaid ornaments. Susan Roberts has come out with a series of nutcrackers for the 12 Days of Christmas. They each have a unique costume and are on 18 mesh. Kirk & Hamilton, an English line of painted canvases, is now available in the US through Camus Intl. Their style is traditional, but goes beyond the usual florals to some lovely shell patterns, glasses and needle cases, and more.

The Point of It All has added a new designer, British watercolor artist Emma Ball. Her charming landscapes are now available in painted canvas. They also have a set of four daffodil coasters that look like spring on a canvas. Kathy Schenkel’s new line of jungle designs includes a safari Santa. A Dragon’s Tale has come out with a line of roll-up Santas that are highly detailed. JP Needlepoint has a new line of Treasure boxes with stitched tops and sides. MAP Designs has some delightful new scenes from the Mediterranean, France, and England.

Kits
Elizabeth Bradley has a new kit out, Poinsettia. It’s glorious when stitched with a black background. Glorafilia has two kits featuring designs from Anglo-Saxon Britian. The one I saw looks as if it came from the Bayeaux Tapestry. The kits are on 12 mesh and include Anchor Tapestry Wool.

Threads
Presencia (Finca) is coming out with 36 new solid colors in floss and 9 new metallic floss colors. Bella Lusso is a new wool thread that comes in 46 colors. I’m hoping to get a sample soon so I can try it out and report on it for you.

Charity Auction
Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine is having a charity auction of their Fruit & Floral Needlepoint Rug that was on the July 2008 cover. The rug is 36″ square and stitched in tapestry wool.

The auction benefits the American Cancer Society and will be held on eBay from December 10-19. 2006. All proceeds benefit the Society. Zweigart and DMC have pledged to match the selling price.

Stitch to Cure Diabetes

Janet Perry — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:28:33 +0000

Originally posted 2007-06-16 11:02:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Sandy Grossman-Morris has launched a wonderful opportunity to do good while stitching.

It’s her Stitch to Cure Diabetes program.

The program benefits the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and they benefit at every step in the challenge. You purchase the canvas “Rufus and the Sunbrella,” (pictured above) from your local shop Sandy donates all her profits to JDRF.

Stitchers sign up and get sponsors to pledge. The shops donate threads and finishing. The pledges go to your local JDRF chapter and the shop finishes the canvas and donates it to the chapter to be used for findraising.

You can get the details on Sandy’s site and there is a list there is the participating shops.

This is a fantastic project and a wonderful way to help this worthy cause.

Needlepoint by Nanny — Stitching for a Cause

Janet Perry — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:10:12 +0000

Her flyer has a quote by Ghandi, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Judy Standish has certainly taken this to heart. As Needlepoint by Nanny, she is taking her talent in needlepoint to help in the fight against diabetes.

She has been personally affected by the disease, losing an older brother to Type I Diabetes when he was in his 30’s. She also loves needlepoint and she says “Like Linus with his blanket, I’m never without a canvas.”

It was while she was stitching on vacation in Florida one year that her project began. She was stitching and many people came up to her and said that they owned needlepoint projects, they hadn’t finished (or sometimes even started) stitching.

How many of us have had the same thing happen to us?

But this lit a spark in Judy’s mind. There’s only so many canvases, “when you stitch for so many years, you run out of things to do,” she explains. She decided to combine her love of stitching with her desire to help the American Diabetes Association.

People send their unfinished needlepoint to her and she stitches it. Although you have to pay for out-of-state shipping and threads bought, in lieu of a stitching fee, you make out a check to the American Diabetes Association. There is no set amount and the check is sent to Judy to pass along.

She can estimate the amount of time it will take her to stitch and has a chart for estimating charges.

So far she has raised close to $4000 for the Association.

She has family and friends helping her to stitch, including her two daughters and granddaughter. The best way you can help is by passing the word along and by sending the work you need to have stitched.

Needlepoint by Nanny has grown to be a force for change.

You can contact Judy at jks314 @ comcast.net (remove spaces).