|
The Needlework Nutshell Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
| << April01, 2008 - The Needlework Nutshell |
|
The Needlework Nutshell—May 1, 2008 Volume 4, Issue 5 May 1, 2008 <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> THE NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL Needlework news, musings, tips, contests, and what’s happening now at FUNK & WEBER DESIGNS <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> Editor: Jen Funk Weber Mail to: mailto:mail@funkandweber.com Web site: http://www.funkandweber.com Your privacy is important to us. Our subscriber list is NOT made available to others. *********************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE *********************************************************** 1. Needlework Musings 2. Tips and Tricks and Brilliant Ideas 3. What’s New at Funk & Weber Designs 4. Readers Ask 5. Puzzle Contest 6. Contact/Subscribe/Unsubscribe *********************************************************** 1. NEEDLEWORK MUSINGS *********************************************************** I got a new price list this week from one of my fabric vendors. The price list it replaces is several years old. This company, along with many other US companies, has had to raise prices. The cost of everything is going up, up, up, and in the case of fuel, up again. Now, economics is not my strong suit. In fact, I'll go so far as to say I'm short-suited in economics. But I'm going to claim some degree of common sense. Argue all you want, I'm not listening. I know that X Income minus Y Expenses leaves Z Discretionary Income, or what I like to call the Fun Funds. Okay, I just made that up right now, but I do like it. As long a Y is taken care of, how Z is spent is negotiable. Z becomes a matter of priorities and choice. Where are needlework supplies on the priority list for your Family Fun Funds? Do you feel as though you need to justify your needlework expenses? If so, consider how they compare with, say, cable sports or movie channels, TiVo, movie tickets, team or club memberships, fru-fru beverages, and dining out. Might you give up something less important to better accommodate your stitching budget? Consider whether the Family Fun Funds are evenly distributed amongst all family members. According to more than one research group, while overall family spending decreased from 2005 to 2006, family spending for teens and tweens actually increased. Furthermore, study after study shows that women are less likely to ask for what they want than men. Are you putting your wishes and interests at the bottom of the Fun Funds priority list? You see where I'm going, right? Are you feeling pressure to give up or reduce your stitching hobby for economic reasons? If so, should you? Obviously, if you must choose between a sack of potatoes to feed yourself and/or your family and a couple of skeins of Dinky Dyes silks, I hope you'll go with the potatoes, but if you've got enough potatoes, I hope you'll consider the Dinky Dyes as important as a recreational trip to the mall for your teen or tickets to a baseball game. Here's why: We often give away our needlework as gifts, so while those needlework expenses may seem like Fun Funds expenses, they are more appropriately a gift expense. Hour for hour, needlework is almost always cheaper than movies, sports events, and a zillion other forms of entertainment. Stitching lowers blood pressure. How do your stitching expenses compare to the cost of blood pressure medication? Creative hobbies help us unwind and work through emotional stress. Compare that with the hourly rate of a therapist. As Family Fun Fund priorities go, I think needlework supplies are a good choice, even in difficult economic times. ~~~~~~~~~~ SUBSCRIPTION NOTICE As a result of The Needlework Show we have a bunch of new potential subscribers. Last I checked we had 892 "pending" subscriptions to The Needlework Nutshell. That means 892 people took the first step to subscribe, but have not yet confirmed the subscription. You must "double opt in" to receive this newsletter. That means responding to an e-mail confirmation. This second quick step prevents random people from subscribing others to newsletters and mailing lists. If you're reading this in the Zinester archives or some other place and would like to subscribe, please remember to confirm your subscription. If you don't receive the confirmation email, contact Zinester support to let them know. Thanks! *********************************************************** 2. TIPS AND TRICKS AND BRILLIANT IDEAS *********************************************************** It's still bookmarks, bookmarks, bookmarks around here. Last month, I showed you how I've finished three of our four bookmark patterns, fob-style. This month, I thought we'd talk about other ways to finish bookmarks. Thanks to the Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy program, I've been introduced to the world of bookmarks and bookmark collecting. I've discovered all sorts of crazy details that inspire new ideas for hand-stitched bookmarks. For instance, have you ever heard of "book thongs"? I hadn't until recently, and then I had to Google the term to find out what it meant. Yeah, I was a little leery of what might turn up, but you know me: I'm the Bad Ass embroidery chick with the cross stitched denim jacket, right? I'm not afraid of a *thong.* Well, not much, anyway. The search was painless and totally not scary. A "book thong" is a double-ended bookmark. Think: two fobs on either end of a ribbon or string. The ribbon goes between the pages, the two fobs stick out above and below the book. Book thong. Yep, it makes sense. Do you see the possibilities for hand-stitched bookmarks? Do you see the possibilities for adding thongs to your life? Got any fob patterns you'd like to finish as book thongs? ~~~~~ I've discovered ribbon offers all sorts of possibilities. For starters, we can stitch directly on ribbon--freestyle stitching or with the guidance of waste canvas. Is there a line in a band sampler that would look good on a ribbon? Or ribbon can serve as a backing. We can stitch on perforated paper, trim it, then glue or sew the paper to a wider ribbon. It doesn't get much easier than that. Another way to use ribbon as a backing is to stitch a long, narrow design on the fabric of your choice. Make sure the width of the design is smaller than the width of your backing ribbon. Trim the stitched piece so that it's about the size of the ribbon backing plus 1/2-inch all around for a hem. Press the 1/2-inch hem of the fabric under, to the wrong side. Slip stitch the fabric edge to the ribbon backing. That's pretty simple, too. Of course, you could also zip around the edges with a sewing machine. ~~~~~ Have you ever made a "window" card, i.e., glued a stitched design into a greeting card window? How about making a miniature version of a window card and using it as a fob-style bookmark? Card stock is great, but how about using felt or faux suede for a soft, flexible frame? I gave it a try and can see endless possibilities for the technique. I'll share some basics and let you go nuts with it. The basic steps: http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/window-bookmark.html Some basic window patterns: http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/nutshell/bookmark-windows.pdf *********************************************************** 3. WHAT’S NEW AT FUNK & WEBER? *********************************************************** The Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy 2008 Bookmark Challenge winds up on May 8th. If you're mailing your bookmark(s) to a participating shop, you need to do it soon. If you are lucky enough to have a participating shop nearby, you have a bit more time to stitch. Join us at the blog to watch progress and participate. http://JenFunkWeber.com/blog ~~~~~~~~~~ Are you sitting down? You'd better sit down for this. I have finished stitching the New Puzzle Pattern. It still doesn't have a title, and I'm not sure how we'll frame it, but the stitching is D.O.N.E. I can hardly believe it, can you? ~~~~~~~~~~ One of my goals for 2008 is to begin designing projects for craft and stitching magazines. The first project is under way, due May 15th. I'm nervous! Shhh. Don't tell. Designing and crafting the project was fun, but I must also negotiate a contract and figure out the best format for this publisher. Eek! ~~~~~~~~~~ Funk & Weber Designs released three new bookmark patterns at the TNNA NeedleArts Market in January. They are now posted on our Web site. All three are part of the Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy program, so a minimum of 10% of our profits from the sale of these patterns is donated to literacy non-profits. http://funkandweber.com/fw/index.html ~~~~~~~~~~ Karen Kluba at Rosewood Manor is the latest designer to join our Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy campaign. Karen has just released her Read, Learn, Dream Bookmarks pattern. You can see it on her Web site and also on the Stitching for Literacy Web site. http://www.rosewoodxstitch.com/ http://jenfunkweber.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~ I have a couple of people interested in a 2009 Stitch-N-Safari. If I get a few more, we can start working to put together a trip. I'd love to do it, but I need commitments from at least 6 people before I ask the tour company to work the trip into their schedule. We're talking 2009 now, so there's lots of time to save and plan. If you're interested, please let me know, even if you've contacted me in the past. I'm starting a new list. I'd love to share this beautiful state with you! ~~~~~~~~~~ Changes are afoot for The Needlework Nutshell. I have decided that I really, really like writing this newsletter and I want to improve it, make it more interesting, informative, and accessible. That's one of my goals for 2008. As I begin to implement the changes I have in mind, I'm curious about the changes you might like to see. What do you like about this newsletter? What would you like to see more of? Go on, suggest anything. You never know where an idea might lead--look at the Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy program! And what's the point of dreaming small? Hmm...I think I need to stitch that sentiment. Thanks to those of you who have written to share your thoughts. I appreciate and consider them all even though they sometimes conflict with one another. *********************************************************** 4. READERS ASK (or, in this case, Reader Tells) *********************************************************** Please e-mail me with questions for this section. mail@funkandweber.com Bev from Michigan wrote to ask me if I am familiar with the "Knit Picker." It is her new favorite needlework tool. Answer: I am now! The Knit Picker is a tiny, flat latch hook. It is used in sewing to repair fabric snags and in knitting and crocheting to pull yarn through a series of stitches. Embroiderers are adding it to their tool kits as well, finding it handy for pulling short thread ends through a series of stitches on the back side of a work. I can imagine that coming in handy when ripping stitches leaves cut thread ends exposed, though if your stitches are tight (mine generally are), it might be difficult to work the hook through them. Most likely, at one time or another you've had to finesse a tiny half-inch thread tail into a needle eye so that you can secure it beneath a few stitches. I know I have. If that drives you nuts--I confess it doesn't really bother me--this tool might be just the ticket for you. This is the best picture of the tool I could find on the Web. I don't know the company posting the picture, so don't take this as a recommendation for where to purchase one. http://tinyurl.com/3zqylb Thanks, Bev, for the heads up. What are *your* favorite needlework tools? *********************************************************** 5. PUZZLE CONTEST *********************************************************** Play with me! Solve this puzzle, and be entered to win a free Funk & Weber Designs pattern! Winners will be randomly selected from all correct entries. E-mail your answer, with “PUZZLE CONTEST” in the subject line. The deadline for this month’s puzzle is midnight (Alaska time, of course) May 7, 2008. The winner will be selected on May 8, 2008 (or before the next newsletter at the latest!), notified by e-mail, and announced on our web site and in the next NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL. To avoid sending e-mail attachments, contest puzzles will be uploaded to our web site. I will provide a link to the puzzle in THE NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL. To the puzzle! http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/nutshell/teams0508.pdf ~~~~~~~~~~ APRIL PUZZLE CONTEST WINNER: Becky, from Pikesville, MD ANSWER: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. *********************************************************** 6. CONTACT FUNK & WEBER DESIGNS *********************************************************** SUBSCRIBE: 57410-subscribe@zinester.com UNSUBSCRIBE: 57410-unsubscribe@zinester.com ARCHIVES: http://archives.zinester.com/57410 Jen Funk Weber mail@funkandweber.com http://www.funkandweber.com http://JenFunkWeber.com/ Copyright 2008, Funk & Weber Designs |
| << April01, 2008 - The Needlework Nutshell |
|
The Needlework Nutshell Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on The Needlework Nutshell |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |