Happy Monday!

Here in the States, it’s Labor Day, which means many folks are enjoying a three-day weekend. If you’re one of them, I hope you have a chance to kick back and relax – and maybe spend some quality time with your needle and thread!

A three-day weekend is always a perfect excuse to get some stitching in, don’t you think?

Today, as promised, I’m announcing the winner of the Kashan crewel embroidery kit by Talliaferro Classic Needleart, sold exclusively through Wooly Thread.

At the end of the article, you’ll find some updates – a short personal one for those who are interested, and some upcoming stuff on Needle ‘n Thread.

If you’d like to read about the Kashan crewel kit, you can find more information about it in the original give-away article here.

The question I asked on the original give-away article was, “What type of embroidery do you like best and why?”

If you’ve been stitching for a while and you’ve tried lots of techniques, you understand that it’s a tougher question than it might sound like at first.

I have a hard time narrowing down a favorite type of embroidery. Like many of you, my delight in one technique over another usually varies, depending on what I’m stitching.

But if I had to narrow it down (by not narrowing it down at all!), I’d say that the type of embroidery that gives me the most joy, hands down, and that I always revert back to eventually, is just straightforward surface embroidery of the “free style” nature. The type of embroidery that is not categorized into a specific technique – it’s not dependent on particular fabrics, threads, or stitch families. It’s just surface embroidery.

But really, there’s nary a technique out there that I don’t like. Granted, I haven’t tried everything. But I haven’t run into any stitching technique that hasn’t given me some kind of pleasure.

So, yes, it was a tough question. Sorry!

Kit Winner!

On to the winner!

Drawn by random number, the winner of the Kashan kit from Wooly Thread is Dara Wamsley in West Virginia. Her answer to the question:

For years, my favorite has been counted cross stitch, but lately I have branched out to include regular surface embroider,blackwork, hardanger, and canvas work. I’ve also tried some Brazilian. Like many others my favorite depends on my mood and my current obsession.

I hope you enjoy the kit, Dara! Please drop me a line with your mailing information so that it can wing its way to you soon!

Updates All Around

Thanks to all of you who have inquired about a personal update! I’ve written up a short one, if you’re interested, and you’ll find it here.

On the Needle ‘n Thread side of things, September’s THE month! The new site design will be launching this month – I’ll announce it just before the event, so that you know to expect some changes here on Needle ‘n Thread. I’m very excited about the new design and can’t wait for it to be up and running. It will be especially helpful for those of you who access Needle ‘n Thread on tablets and mobile devices.

And guess what I did this past weekend? I set up five (yes, FIVE) small projects that I’ll be sharing with you over the upcoming months.

I think I may have gone overboard.

I tend to do that.

Hope you had a terrific weekend and that you’re looking forward to a good week ahead!