Just a bit of needlework resource news today! When life gets busy, it’s easy to miss good things that pop up in online needlework shops or websites. Here are a few little things I’ve noticed lately in the needlework world.

The Embroiderer’s Guild of America (the EGA) has a whole new look to their website. It’s Much More user friendly – very easy to find information on it and to take advantage of the resources they offer. And, if you happen to be a member of the EGA, you can now log in with your member number to their “members only” section, which is loaded with additional resources. But even if you’re not a member, there’s still plenty of interesting things on the EGA website.

For example, there’s a “Free Projects” section on the website, available to the general public. If you’re looking for a little something to stitch but haven’t been able to settle on a project, take a look at the ones they offer! There are several projects available in PDF form. You’ll find the “Free Projects” page under “Resources” in the top menu on the site. While you’re fishing about under “Resources,” do take a look at this Needlework Glossary (PDF). It’s a hefty downloadable PDF filled with all kinds of needlework-related terminology.

Ah… sales. Specials. Good deals. When they involve needlework, I’m inexplicably drawn to them. Hedgehog Handworks has a free shipping deal going on! Free shipping on domestic orders through the month of August, and half price shipping on international orders.

To me, this is a fantastic deal. See, I love living in Kansas, it’s true. But we are a bit far away from just. about. everything. Example: last weekend, I had to drive approximately 80 miles for half a yard of interfacing. See what I mean? So most of my needlework supplies must be purchased online. And shipping is one of those added expenses that can’t really be avoided…. except when shops run good shipping deals.

Hedgehog carries the Needle ID Cards I reviewed a month or so ago. They also carry the full line of cotton floche, they have an excellent metal thread selection (the best in the US, actually), a good selection of linen for hand embroidery (including the round yarn linen that I use for a lot of my stitch samples here on Needle ‘n Thread), and many more delightful and irresistible needlework goodies.

And free shipping through August.

I have to stop thinking about this, or I’m going to be in a lot of trouble!

I’ve had the pleasure of discovering this online shop recently. Anita’s Little Stitches carries a whole happy line of Bohin products for needlework, and a fantastic selection of their needles, including Bohin needles in bulk (in packages of 25 – 50 needles). She also carries a lot of the Bohin assorted size needle packs, which I think is particularly handy – including their milliner needle pack in sizes 3-9 (with 15 needles in it). I know it seems silly to get excited about needles, but Bohin needles make me practically giddy, I like them so much.

Anita also has a pretty amazing variety of embroidery scissors on her site, for all you scissor fanatics… er, fans…. out there. Having inadvertently become a bit of a scissor fanatic myself lately, I’ve recently acquired two new pairs of scissors, and one of them is by Premax, from Italy. Anita happens to carry these. They’re pretty good scissors! I’ll be reviewing them soon.

The French Needle has a new look to their site, too – and it, too, is Much More User Friendly! Very easy to get around on, which can be really dangerous when you’re scuttling around in an online needlework shop! But anyway, you’ll find they’ve added more selections under surface embroidery, and let’s just not talk about their scissors. Their beautiful, beautiful scissors. They’ve also added a blog to the site, where you can read about Things French and Things Needle.

For those of you longing for a copy of Carolyn Pearce’s Home Sweet Home: An Embroidered Workbox, you will be happy to know that Wooly Thread has the book in stock. Now, if you haven’t read my review of Home Sweet Home, you might not actually realize that you’re longing for this book. So read my review, and then long for it, and then go get it from Wooly Thread while you can. I keep hearing from folks looking for the book and finding it sold out everywhere, so … if you want it, they have it.

Finally, for those of you who enjoy Trish Burr’s needlepainting designs and are working them from her books, if you want to get your hands on the fabric she uses in her kits (it’s a cotton sateen), Threads in Bloom is now carrying the very same fabric, imported from the UK. So if you’ve been looking for a source for that fabric in the US, now you have one!

Coming Up on Needle ‘n Thread

Oh boy! This week, I’m going to show you a new pair of scissors. I just can’t help it. I’m not a collector on purpose. But I do seem to acquire scissors. And when they’re good scissors, I really want to tell you about them!

And a more complicated band stitch (the interlaced herringbone) will be up later in the week, too. In fact, I have a little something special along with that.

And did someone say it’s time for a give-away? Oh, there’s one of those coming up, too! I’m giving away a couple books later this week – you know, just to fatten up your needlework library!

Have a swell Tuesday!