Flabbergasted. Truly flabbergasted! How can it be the last day of August already?

Am I the only who feels this way?

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, this is the time of year when summer subsides, school resumes, and the impending Autumn triggers the close of the year, seasonally and calendorically. (I made that last word up myself.)

It’s also the time of year when I look around and realize I’m not where I planned to be.

If all had gone according to plan, the new Stitch Snippets kit and project – Autumn Fire – would be launching today. Everyone waiting for their Garden-Bright floche packs would have them. Several new books would already be listed in my shop. I’d be moving into a new space. And we would be calmly moving towards the close of the year.

As it happens, things aren’t going as planned. When the Going of Things is out of my control, it’s a matter of taking things as they come and doing the best we can.

News-wise, let’s chat about a few things!

Autumn Fire

This year has been a learning experience when it comes to creating small, affordable kits in large quantities for stitch-alongs. We’re definitely planning on some fun projects for next year, but we’ll be altering our approach a little bit. I still plan to have kits available. We have been improving our methods of sourcing, gathering, and preparing supplies.

Autumn Fire is a small embroidery project with Big Learning Potential. This project is going to focus on a number of aspects of needlework, including a freer form of design transfer, working with silk, color management, and, finally, preparing a project for framing and framing the project.

For those who want all the supplies in one tidy package, the kit will include the following: the design transfer pen that I prefer for this type of project, linen ground fabric, 2 colors of cotton embroidery thread and 5 colors of silk, needles, a specially cut mat, a backing board, and a full spool of lacing thread.

You supply hoop and scissors.

So that’s the kit that’s coming out. Anna and I have been working hard to prepare enough kits for this project launch, so that you aren’t left waiting for the next batch. The increased quantity of supplies has led us to a small supply chain issue, which is why we’re still waiting to launch the kit.

When will that be?! At this point, it looks like it will be mid-September. I’d love for it to happen on September 15th, but we won’t know for certain until our last little item arrives.

Tools, Too!

At the same time the kit launches, I’m adding some other things to the shop. These are items that have been waiting in the wings, so that shipping can be combined in an affordable way for those who need a few extras.

I’ve had requests for some hoop or frame options to be made available for the projects that we’re working on. When Autumn Fire launches, I’ll have two hoops available: the perfect size hoop for working the project and a nice hoop that the project fits in for finishing, for those who prefer to finish it – or other similar small projects – in a hoop.

I’ll also be adding one of my favorite affordable and highly recommended types of embroidery scissors to the shop at that time.

There’s another set of tools that will be out at the same time, but I’m going to talk about those in depth a bit later. They’re a problem-solving tool for me, and the fact that they are useful and beautiful makes them worth having at your side while you’re stitching.

And Books…

This year, I started carrying Giulana Buonpadre’s books.

Giuliana’s books are lovely, with sound, excellent instruction. I’m adding three more of her titles to the website. This will bring the total of her books available on Needle ‘n Thread to ten!

I especially like Punti a Giorno, which focuses on a vast array of drawn thread techniques that can be incorporated in all kinds of embroidery projects.

These will be available at the same time the kits launch.

And Fabric… and Thread

Finally, I’ll have All Three

linen sample packs available at once in the shop!

That’s right! The natural, white, and colored linen sampler packs will all be available at the same time. I’m rather proud of this massive feat of coordination. Thank you, Anna, for being the Cutting Queen!

And the Garden-Bright Floche pack will also be added to the shop again for this launch.

Whew!

It’s going to be a rather large product increase all at one time, but I’m hoping that you find it more convenient and affordable, since we’ll be able to combine shipping for you on the things that you want.

Even though it seems like it’s all fun and games in the studio (and it is, depending on your outlook!), we’ve been working hard to get all this together. It’s been a fun challenge!

And… the New Studio Space – a Work in Progress

And at the same time, we’ve been preparing for moving to our new studio space.

These south-facing windows are slightly more problematic than I realized. When we started measuring off the space for furniture and shelving, we noticed that the front half of the space – towards the windows, where we’ll be doing most of our every day work – is like an oven in the summer.

We’ve been measuring and planning for window treatments. We’ll be installing wide slat blinds to help cut down on the heat and to add a little privacy while still allowing us to see outside and to control the incoming light.

We’re having some signage made for the door and the center window, too. Because it isn’t a storefront – it’s a private studio & workshop – we’re working on some subtle signage that will tell people what we are, without giving the impression that it’s a storefront with regular open hours.

Welcome to the studio bathroom! It’s the building highlight right now. It had to be re-framed to accommodate some difficulties in plumbing. So that’s still a bit raw, to say the least.

We’ve measured out for shelving and for two new work tables. I’ll devote an article to the work tables that I “splurged” on (actually, that I invested in). One thing I’ve learned over the years is that your work table is Super Important. We’ll chat about that!

So there’s your mid-week update on what’s going on in the studio here at Needle ‘n Thread.

Never a dull moment!

Thanks for your patience as we continue to improve, to work out logistics, and to get ourselves re-settled!