Orna Willis has just opened a Clearance section in her on-line shop. There you wikll find project packs, some rare or discontinued,kits, a few painted canvases, and lots of stunning thread packs such as the one pictured here.

Related posts:

1. New Needlepoint Products – Hand-painted Canvas & Kits
2. Use your Stash & Shop at your LNS
3. Plenty of Sales Right this Instant
4. New Needlepoint Projects – October 2009
5. Dollhouse Scale Christmas Stocking Kits

A new web site, Cut Rate Crafts, has discounted supplies for needlework and other crafts. Their home page promises discounts of 15-30% on their products. They also have free shipping on orders over $100.

While it’s not fantastic for needlepoint, it does have some good products. Their best selection is in stretcher bars where they have both mini and regular bars in sizes from 5 to 18 inches. I can’t tell the brand from the picture, but at least some of them are from brands I’ve seen in shops. Another great resource is the many types of scroll frames and scroll bars available. It can be hard to find these parts in shops, so this is a great resource. They also have a small but nice selection of lap frames.

There selection of organizing products is also good, with the biggest assortment of floss away bags I’ve ever seen. They also have small unmarked zipper bags in three sizes at fantastic prices (about half what I last paid in a craft store) and other organizing supplies.

As far as other supplies and materials for needlepoint go, the selection really falls away. They have a few colors of Kreinik Tapestry Braid (more of #8 and blending filament), floss mostly on cones, perle cotton and DMC wool as well as some threads assortments from Prism (find it in craft stores) and Valdani. There are no needles between ones for large mesh plastic canvas and #24 tapestry needles and their selection of canvas is either Interlock or waste canvas.

In addition they have a small, but nice selection of scissors and a far wider range of popularly-priced kits than you’ll find in any shop.

Their interface could use some work, most of the images on the upper level pages are missing and the initial Needle Arts screen is too long to be easy to use (they should add some anchor text to minimize scrolling). They could make their navigation easier to use.

I liked that they should the retail price along with their discounted price, so that comparison shopping is easy. But I didn’t like that manufacturers information was not available for many products. for “brand names” like Kreinik, DMC, or Charles Craft the name is either in the category or in the item description, but I am unsure who makes many of the sizes of stretcher bars. On the item pages there is a tab for an overview so this information could easily be added. For items in other areas, they seemed to use a generic company “elevator speech” for the overview. Perhaps as they grow, they will provide more helpful and item-specific information.

I haven’t bought anything there yet, so I can’t speak for their service, but it looks like a good resource.

Don’t expect to find things here you might not find in a chain craft store, but for convenience and price, they are a great resource.

Related posts:

1. Great Crafty Site – Dollar Store Crafts
2. Dyed and Gone to Heaven – Caron Collection Web Site Review
3. Anna Marie Winter’s Outstanding Technique Site – Web Site Review
4. Shakespeare’s Peddler – Web Site Review
5. New Site for Weeks Dye Works

Head on over to The Scarlet Thread and take a look t the almost 140 items they have in their inventory reduction sale.

There is a ton of charted needlepoint including lots of ornaments as well as bigger pieces. And you’ll find lots of projects from your favorite designers including DebBee’s Designs, Laura Perin, and Needle Delights.

And if charted needlepoint isn’t your preference, there are scissors, lights, and other tools as well.

And, being on-line, you can shop in your PJ’s.

Check it out

Related posts:

1. Big Melissa Shirley Sale at The Needlepointer
2. Back to School Book Sale
3. New Needlepoint Products — Charted Needlepoint & Whole-Stitch Cross Stitch
4. Designer Interviews & New Products
5. Medici Hanks for Sale

Haul yourself over to Emily Peacock’s Etsy store to find her needlepoint kits and charts. My favorite is pictured above. Her designs have gotten lots of buzz on the Internet this week, and I can see why.

This British designer’s style encompasses primitive, folk art designs, typography, and tattoo art in bright colors. I think her work is charming.

Her designs are available in three formats, color charts (Appleton numbers listed but DMC can be provided), small needlepoint kits (on 10 mesh), and large needlepoint kits (on 7 mesh). The kits are done in cross stitch (just like an Elizabeth Bradley kit) and include Appleton crewel wool.

Check them out, they are delihgtful

Related posts:

1. Ehrman Tapestry Catalog – Product Review
2. Charted Needlepoint from France
3. Alarums & Diversions
4. Different Colors, Dyes, and Tapestry Wool
5. Peacock Tales

Here are three sales to take advantage of right now.

Fireside Stitchery (one of my favorite shops) is having a 20% off sale through tomorrow. They have an amazing selection of threads, books, charted canvas, painted canvas, and tons more. Many things don’t often go on sale, so this is a great chance to stock up. They also have free shipping on orders over $35.

Ehrman Tapestry is also having a sale on over 80 of their kits. The link takes you to the full list. There is tons there, too many to list, but there are many Candace Bahouth kits (including several colors of her Klimt series), some Kaffe Fasset kits, most of the wonderful Seven Days of Creation series, and lots more. I have promised myself to finish at least one of the Ehrman kits before I buy more or I’d have my credit card out this instant.

Nordic Needle also has a sale (through the end of the month) on selected items from their catalog. There are some great gadgets and tools, some wonderful charted canvas, and selected colors of blank canvas.

Related posts:

1. Alarums & Diversions
2. Back to School Sale Ends Sunday
3. Ehrman Tapestry Catalog – Product Review
4. Big Melissa Shirley Sale at The Needlepointer
5. New Needlepoint Products – Hand-painted Canvas & Kits

With the On-line Needlework Show opening tomorrow, there will be another post with more great needlepoint on Thursday, but I wanted to share with you the many wonderful new threads, projects, finishing items, and canvases I’ve come across lately.

Canvases

I love Christmas ornaments and a new canvas from Peas of Mind and distributed by The Point of It All Designs is a delightful large design of many ornaments with garlands and candy canes on a cheerful striped background. It looks great. The Elizabeth Turner Collection has a charming set of 5 Mo’s Mittens.

Fleur de Paris has a stunning set of 12 3-d gingerbread buildings (a whole village) designed by DEDE. I really want to stitch these. Elizabeth Bradley has a new large kit design of Poppies.

CBK Needlepoint Collection has come out with ornament-sized mini totes by Starke Art Designs. They will make great table or tree decorations for the holidays. Dream House has a wonderful “Needlepoint” canvas where each letter is made from one of our favorite things.

Barrani Design Studios has two new needlepoint kits for stockings of the Holy Family and the Wise Men. They come with interlock canvas and Persian Wool. Voila! C’est Fini has painted canvases and finishing services to make needlepoint headbands.

Raymond Crawford has a mid-century modern Christmas tree where each ornament has a unique style of stitching. A stitch guide is available to show you how to learn these new stitches and techniques. He also has a set of colorful and fun mini-socks.

Threads

Weeks Dye Works has introduced a line of hand-overdyed crewel weight wool The skeins are 30 yards and there are 25 colors in the line. They also have four new colors of floss, swiss chocolate, grasshopper, madison rose, and blue jeans.

Gentle Art has six new Simply Shaker threads. They are crystal lake, portabella, cucumber, toffee, heirloom gold, and endive.

Projects

DebBee’s Designs had some great new projects. There is a dramatic new gemstone design, Onyx, which is all black and the fifth in the Diamond Delight series which features several Jean Hilton stitches. Another new piece, Tahiti Triangles, combines this great shade of Watercolours with solid threads and many stitches for a great design.

Nancy’s Needle has a new Regional Quilt Design which has a lovely central medallion. Handblessings has a delightful small project for fall which features the Norwich Stitch and is embellished with a charm.

Brenda E. Kocher has a lovely counted canvas project, Winter Forest, It combines Bargello with some textured stitch and fluffy snow.

Finishing

I’m very excited by Sudberry’s new products. They have brought back their tables with insets for needlework in the top. They come in two sizes. They also have a new long jewelry box, and several fancy carved footstools.

Other Products

Do you use a light when you stitch? Are you tired of dealing with the light, the magnifier, and the floor stand? The Daylight Company has made a great combination stand. It has a daylight bulb, a 4x magnifier, and sturdy clamp for holding your frame. It looks totally cool.

Namaste, who makes superb leather bags for knitters has come out with Hermosa, a bag specifically for needlepoint. It has organizational pockets and can stand up by itself.

EdMar as a lovely Abalone pendant that gently cleans and sharpens needles. It’s about 2″ long.

Related posts:

1. New Needlepoint Products – August 2009
2. New Products in Needlepoint – Late November 2009
3. New Products – April 2009
4. New Products for Needlepoint – May 2009
5. Needlework Market Round-up – San Diego 2009

Bargello Revisited is $23.37 (instead of $37.95)
Needlepoint Trade Secrets is $10.77 (instead of $17.95)

Media Mail shipping and sales tax (CA only) is added to each sale. These would make great gifts for your stitching friends as well.

Don’t delay, order your book today!

Related posts:

1. Back to School Book Sale
2. Missoni at Target
3. Hurt Books Sale
4. Special Hurt Books Sale
5. Bargello Is Back!

Here’s an assortment of some from my recent thinking with links to the products.

A new product for them is clear glass cabochons. If you don’t know a cabochon has a rounded face and a flat back. That means they will lie flat on your needlepoint. They suggest using paper behind them, but why not use them for 3-D eyes? Or use a pretty paper behind it and make it the center of a flower. The cabochons come in a variety of sizes in round or oval shapes.

They also have some stunning buttons made from Czech pressed glass. There are different styles and sizes with shanks. As we know from the embellished Christmas tree, pull the shank through a hole in the canvas and secure it on the back. Some of the designs could make great flowers and I could see my favorite, the iridescent dragonflies as a lovely focal point in some geometric borders.

I also found some cool square mini-donut beads. They are flat and have large holes in the center. You could pick a strong perle cotton and sew them on decoratively. Their bright colors and smooth surface would be a nice accent to your stitching.

For regular beads they have wonderful selections of pressed glass Czech beads, Swarovski crystals, and more kinds of seed beads than you thought possible. Among the most intriguing are Tila beads, two-hole seed beads from Miyuki (makers of Delica beads). I find their wide flat shape fascinating and I keep thinking about ways to use them.

I often find stitching flowers challenging and so I really loved the flower beads in polymer clay (scroll down to see them). There are several types of flowers in many colors. The wouldn’t work for a floral focal point, but what if you had a small bouquet in your piece, or a garland of roses, or some scattered flowers. I have a piece in my stash that has flowers on it and I’m using the yellow roses for it.

There are also some great ideas for finishing as well. I just love the hook style book marks. Instead of a bead at the end, put a needlepoint Inchie or other small bit of stitching.

There’s lots more where these came from so, go visit and think beyond the usuual.

Related posts:

1. Beyond the Box – other places to find Needlepoint Embellishments
2. Trimming the Tree – Planning the Embellishments
3. Thinking Outside the Box – Adapting a Chart to Needlepoint
4. Design, Thinking Ahead & Jan’s Moroccan Rug
5. Sundance Beads for Needlepoint – How to & Why Knot! — book review

Back in the “Olden Days” (i.e. when I went to school), August was still vacation time and school started right about now.

So in honor of it being Back-to-School, I’m having a book sale on my printed and electronic books.

Here’s the deal. all my electronic books are 20% off. You can see a list of them on this page. Don’t use the PayPal button to buy, send me (napaneedlepoint @ gmail.com – remove the spaces) a list of what you want and I’ll send you an invoice with the discount.

My printed books are 40% off list price. That means Needlepoint Trade Secrets is $10.77 and Bargello Revisited is $23.37. This is limited to stock on hand, so don’t delay. Craft Gossip has just reviewed them, so you can read the reviews here and here.

Send me mail with what you want and I’ll invoice you.

This incredible sale goes on until September 18, 2011 (my birthday) at midnight Eastern.

Printed books are sent Media Mail and sales tax applies to all sales in California.

Get in on this great deal today!

Related posts:

1. Back to School Sale Ends Sunday
2. Special Hurt Books Sale
3. School Needlepoint
4. Bargello Revisited Back in Stock
5. Hurt Books Sale

I’ll let the owner, Michelle, explain it to you in her own words:

Small e Project Termination e Month ber!

This new Points Program focuses on completing our stash of small UFOs. Enrollment is free, and you may sign up at any time. In order to earn the most points (and a 50-point Signing Bonus!) please enroll by September first.

Project Guidelines:

• Projects must be smaller than 12 x 12
• Projects may be any hand or machine sewing technique
• Projects must be registered; items may be added at any time
• Project themes may be of stitcher’s choice

For completed hand-worked items to receive points, a minimum of one component used in production must have been purchased from Come to the Point.

Projects do not have to be completed in September. You must, however, register for the program by 9/30 to qualify for points.

Maximum Points Possible is 1,000

Each point earns ten cents toward shop merchandise.

Signing Bonus before September first: 50
Post-9/1/2011 signing bonus: 10
Points per stash project completed: 20
Points per completed post 9/1/2011 15
In-stock canvas or kit purchase
Points per project registered: 10
Points Earned When Stitching “In house” 25/visit

The following items earn one point per dollar spent:

• Threads
• Self-finishing items
• Special Orders
• Stitching Aids

I will maintain a spreadsheet of all points accumulated.

Points may be earned from September first through December 15, and must be redeemed by 31 March 2012.

Points may not be applied toward finishing costs.

There is no cash value.

In order to receive full points, I need to see a photo of the completed stitching. Pieces do not have to be in their finished format. That applies for every participant.

I look forward to working with all of you!

Happy Stitching!
Michelle

I signed up right away. I’m hoping it’s a kick to get me finishing some stuff (like those Christmas ornaments) I hope you’ll join the fun as well.

Related posts:

1. Organizing WIPs, UFOs, and Unstitched Canvases
2. Counted Needlepoint Challenge
3. President’s Challenge – Progress Report
4. August Twinchy Challenge – Quilt Blocks
5. A Small Rant about Needlepoint Kits