Good morning, and Happy Monday all around!

Today is the fourth installment of A Stitcher’s Christmas – my yearly series of give-aways running up to Christmas, featuring delightful needlework products from small businesses around the globe!

At the end of today’s article, I’ll announce the winners for last Wednesday’s installment, where three winners will each receive a beautiful hand-turned wood tool from Stitch In Turn. So read on to the end for the winner list.

Today’s give-away is courtesy of Needle in a Haystack in Alameda, California. It features all kinds of delectable goodies for stitching!

Needle in a Haystack is a locally owned needlework shop located in the San Francisco area, in Alameda, California. It’s been in operation for 21 years, since 1998! And that’s saying a lot, these days!

Haystack (or “the ‘stack,” as I fondly call it) is one of the few brick and mortar needlework shops left in the US with a stocked online inventory (with a regular shopping cart feature, so it’s easy to shop with them online), which offers on a wide array of supplies for a wide range of needlework techniques, including fine surface embroidery.

Cathe, the owner, is a wealth of information when it comes to the needlework industry, materials, threads, and so forth. She has been known to help many a customer out of a quandary. I hear from folks all the time who tell me “Cathe said to try….” or “Cathe suggested…”

If I had to nail down one thing about Needle in a Haystack that I particularly appreciate (aside from their online inventory!) it is their customer service. They are reliable and their staff is friendly, helpful, and efficient.

Today’s give-away features two prizes, one each for two winners.

The prizes are a delightful collection of needlework goodies that will start a stash for newbies or enhance your stash if you already have supplies on hand:

Fabric, including a piece of Tailor’s Chalk white linen (this is the linen I used on my Snowflakes ornaments) and a piece of 45-count Florence linen in white

Threads, including Trebizond silk, a spool of Silk & Wire, Silk Cartisan, and the new Silk Satin Chenille.

Tools, including a 5″ Hardwicke Manor embroidery hoop (the best hoops you’ll find on the market today), a pack of the Bohin Vintage needle collection, and a pin keep made by Cathe. The pin keep is part of Cathe’s new product line, which includes needle books and pin keeps, and made by her.

With the gifts in today’s give-away, you’ll have a chance to try out some new fabrics and threads, and to enjoy some fun additions to your embroidery tools and supplies.

You’ll also end up flush with needles! This is a terrific set of good quality needles in a variety of types and sizes.

(Haystack has a fantastic selection of all types of needles, if you’ve been looking for a one-stop shop for good needles.)

Give-Away Guidelines

To enter today’s give-away for one of these collections of goodies, please follow these guidelines:

1. Leave a comment on the comment form below. If you’re not sure how to get to the comment form, click on this link – it will take you straight there. Your comment must be left on the website on today’s article, not on any other article. Comments submitted via email are not eligible and I am not able to reply to them due to time constraints. Please do not comment as a reply to another comment. Replies are not counted.

2. Be sure that your comment has a name on it that is recognizable as yours. For example, Kris is a pretty common name, so if your name is Kris, you might put your last name or your last initial, (Kris Kringle or Kris K). Or you might put a recognizable-to-you nick name (please not Santa Clause). Or you might add a reference to where you live – for example, “Kris in Christmas Cove, FL” or something like that.

The reason I particularly mention this one is that it reduces confusion when the winner is announced. It’s always hard to disappoint people if they mistake the name for their own!

3. Make certain your email address on the comment form is entered correctly, so that I can email you if you win. Leave the “website” line of the comment form empty. Please Do Not Put your personal contact information in the comment box itself. In other words, don’t sign your comment with your email address or your mailing address! That’s just an invitation for spam.

4. In your comment, answer the following question:

What is your favorite, most-reached-for needlework tool (besides your needle or scissors), and why?

5. Leave your comment before 5:00 AM central time (Kansas, USA) Friday, December 13th. The winners will be randomly drawn that morning and will be announced at the end of that day’s give-away.

So go forth and comment, and by Christmas, you may have a whole new collection of Fun Stuff to dabble with!

The give-aways for A Stitcher’s Christmas are open to everyone, but please be aware that, if you are subject to customs or duty fees, they are your responsibility.

Tool Winners!

As promised, are the winners from the second installment of A Stitcher’s Christmas which featured three tools from Stitch In Turn.

The winners, randomly drawn by a random number generator, are:

Jacqui from Fredericksburg – the seam ripper
Heidi Aurich – the telescoping magnet
Kathy in Charlotte NC – the laying tool & case

I’ll drop you all a line today with further information!

Remember that a Stitcher’s Christmas #3 – Pink Delight, a silk ribbon embroidery kit from Di van Niekerk – is still running, and you can join in on that one until Wednesday morning!

Hope your week’s off to a great start!