I'm contemplating a very quick trip to NYC to look at some fabric. If I go, I'll be there one afternoon, one day, and one morning in the middle of the week. Any advice on places to go or things to see for the hand embroidery enthusiast? You know - for someone like me?

It may not happen - it depends on some work-related issues - but if it does, I'd love to be able to combine business with pleasure and with blogging, if possible!

I'm looking forward to hearing your advice!

Labels: needlework and travel, personal

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Located in Berkeley, California, Lacis (pronounced "Lah-cease") is, like I said yesterday, a weirdly wonderful needlework (and more) shop. It's somewhat difficult to explain this place. I would have liked to have spent much more time there, but alas, by the time we stopped, we were behind schedule already. I ended up missing some of the "definites" that I wanted to see (and buy!), and I took lousy photos in general. 3,000 miles or so later, I'm kicking myself for that!

But, still, I'll tell you what I can about this needlework-lace-museum-gift-book-and-antique-shop sort of shop. It's a strange mix, but it works!



Located on a very busy street in Berkely (is there a street in Berkeley that isn't very busy?), the shop has two parts to it: the shop, and the "lace museum." From what I could tell - and I didn't go through the whole thing - the lace museum is an ecclectic mix of collected laces, in a very casual venue. Unlike museums where pieces are kept behind glass, in climate and light-controlled settings, this museum is somewhat hodge-podge-ish, with the various displayed laces pinned to wall displays and draped hither and thither. Perhaps, behind the outside front, there are display cases and so forth, but I never quite made it to the museum proper.



In the shop part of the establishment, vintage clothing hangs from the ceiling, along with hats and bric-a-brac and all kinds of other stuff, taking up just about every display spot in the store.

Below, needlework goods fill the shelves and racks throughout the place.



In addition to needlework supplies, lace-making supplies, millinery supplies, costume-making supplies, and vintage books and patterns, you'll find, mixed in, racks of nostalgic greeting cards and prints and so forth.



Everywhere you turn, you'll find strange little gift and specialty items, like this wooden fish puzzle.



There are an abundance of threads. These are Edmar threads, used often in Brazilian embroidery. Besides the threads visible on display racks, there are drawers and drawers of different types of threads. One thing on my list for my visit to Lacis was to check out the whole range of floche that they have available on their website. I completely forgot! C'est la vie.



Threads for crochet, specialty yarns and lace-making threads - all kinds of threads take up the shelves and racks in the middle of the shop, as do spools of lace and ribbon and so forth.



Once you walk in, your attention may be first arrested by the clothes hanging above you and draped over everything, but it doesn't take long to forget about the stuff above while perusing the stuff below! I thought the vintage apron on this dress was quite sweet.



You can buy vintage lace and vintage handkerchiefs there, as well, although I have to admit, I saw one "wedding hankie" - very fine needlework, indeed! - for $125, and was a little surprised at the price, especially considering that there were about six or so of the exact same handkerchief there (which leads one to think they may have been mass produced?). I bought one similar, in pristine condition, on eBay last year for a mere $18. So with a little shopping around, if you're in the market for antique lace or vintage handkerchiefs or the like, I think you could probably find them at a more reasonable price elsewhere. However, as far as selection goes, Lacis seems to have a pretty vast selection of vintage goods to choose from!



Upon leaving the shop, I felt a bit flurried. It's definitely one of those places that, if you go, allot a good amount of time for serious, concentrated browsing - thought concentration is somewhat difficult, as the shop was crowded with all kinds of shoppers, the staff was all very busy either helping customers or seeing to a variety of different tasks (like ironing fabric, separating buttons, answering phones, and fluttering about), and in general, the place has an overwhelming feeling of "clutter." Weeding through the clutter, though, is fun.

One of my favorite aspects of the store was the back corner, which is filled with all kinds of needlework books on every kind of technique, many of which books are out of print or hard to find, and some of which are foreign. I liked the selection of vintage iron-on transfers for cutwork, as well as some interesting old magazines that I came across.

If you like a clean, tidy, and organized needlework shopping experience, Lacis may not be the place for you. Still, if you're looking for anything related to needlework - even obscure tools - chances are, you'll find it here. If you want a bit of adventure and you like exploring, then definitely put Lacis on your list of places to visit!

I'm still regretting the floche. But I know why it slipped my mind - there was just so much to see!

I didn't purchase much at Lacis - a few books and cutwork patterns and a couple greeting cards, and I think that was about it. I don't think I bought any thread at all. I know they have fabric there, too, but I don't even recall looking at any! It was, to say the least, a whirlwind stop at a whirlwind store! On the bright side, anything I missed, I know I can find on the Lacis website, if I really need it. This, by the way, is the place that I buy my cutwork threads. I didn't bother looking at cutwork threads, as I'm pretty fully stocked with them right now.

After leaving San Francisco, we headed south to Santa Clara, and then to Monterey and Carmel. Though we didn't find our old house in Monterey (there are new homes along the street there), we did see some beautiful places.



One of my favorite aspects of Monterey, and really the whole central coastal area of California, is the sunny-foggy days. The day begins with a heavy fog covering the coastal area, but this tends to burn off by mid-morning, and the sun shines until late afternoon, when the fog starts to creep back in. Here, the fog is moving back over Monterey Bay and wharf.



I'm kind of a sucker for seascapes, marine life, and birds. In Monterey, you can find all three in abundance.



The seagulls are huge and humorous.



Upon leaving the Monterey and Carmel area, we took the coastal road towards San Diego.



We stopped for a humorous interlude with some sea lions that were lounging on a beach. No, they aren't dead. They're just... lounging. I think it's what they do best.



We visited several of the old missions along the coastal route. San Juan Capistrano, famous for its yearly influx of swallows, is certainly a beautiful setting, but it was probably my least-favorite mission stop, as it is so commercialized. The mission itself seems to be overshadowed by the swallows!

We took the coastal road all the way to San Diego, to Coronado, where my folks also lived (before I was born), and where my older sisters went to school for a bit. We found the old school and the old house. The house is about five houses from the beach, on Pine Street. Prime property today, but back in the day, my parents thought $30K was too much for it!

After a quick stop in Coronado, we headed east again - finally - to the rural parts of the country. I longed for open road and reduced traffic! And boy, did we ever get both! Through the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, there isn't much going on.



We went to the Grand Canyon - the southern and eastern rims - in Arizona. Hm. I'm not sure what to say about it. It's majestic - beautiful - awesome - but the height made me rather woozy. Still - it's something!



Finally, we went to Sante Fe, where we visited the Loretto Chapel to see the St. Joseph stairs, a very beautiful spot, with a very interesting story.

That was our last "tourist" stop on the trip - the rest was just returning to Kansas. To make the occasion of returning home memorable, we ended up in a massive thunderstorm that spawned at least one tornado within a mile of where we sat on the side of the highway, waiting for the storm to pass. Yes, Toto, we're back in Kansas!



The trip began and ended more or less where the red dot is there in Kansas. Not bad, for 14 nights, three of which were spent in Minnesota before really "striking out." It was a heap of fun! Still ... there's no place like home!

Now, that's the nitty gritty of the recent travels, but wait! There's more! Though I won't bore you with anymore road tripping details, I do want to show you some of the needlework loot I picked up along the way, especially the books and a few handy items and accessories for stitchers that I thought looked ... uh ... necessary.

I'll be sharing that with you over the next few days, while I'm trying to get together some upcoming tutorials and videos, and while I'm sorting through some projects and getting to work again. So, keep an eye out!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework and travel, personal, pictures, supplies

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The next needlework shop I visited is located in Alameda, California - Needle in a Haystack. Of the four shops I visited, Haystack was probably the best "fit" for me. I'll tell you why...

Located on a busy street in Alameda, a town teeming with activity, shops, cafés, bakeries, farmer's markets, and so forth, Needle in a Haystack is a large, open, airy shop filled with all kinds of delightful things for the needleworker.



I'd say that, out of the four shops I visited, the Haystack has the largest space devoted solely to needlework supplies. It's probably comparable in size to Nordic Needle, but the floor area is not as broken up as Nordic Needle's is.



With lots of floor space and a very open layout, it is a very pleasant place to shop. In the front of the store, tables and chairs invite the stitcher to sit a bit to match threads or to flip through books and so forth. The area is used for classes and stitching groups.



Much of the wall space of the store is covered with threads - lots of threads!



Additionally, they've got drawer cases for Anchor, DMC, and other threads, as well as spinning racks hung with ... threads. Lots and lots of threads! (DId I mention they have a lot of thread?)



In addition to threads, you'll find shelves tastefully arranged with displays of accessories, books, and needlework-related items.



Above the threads along the walls, you'll find heaps of hand painted canvases for needlepoint, including some very enticing historical adaptations of tapestries and slips and whatnot.

What I really liked about Haystack was the variety of embroidery techniques represented by their merchandise. I found some beautiful crewel and needlepainting kits, many books / magazines on cutwork and whitework, fabric for surface embroidery of all types, as well as a vast selection of counted thread charts, historical samplers, blackwork, and needlepoint / canvas work supplies. There was more variety here, as far as specific stitching techniques are concerned, than in any other store I visited.

My overall impressions of the place:

Merchandise: a variety of merchandise is offered for stitchers interested in different techniques. They pretty much have everything, and if, by chance, there's something you want that they don't have, they'll order it. They have the full range of Au Ver a Soie products, by the way, if you're looking for silk, among other types of silks and blends.

Layout of the Shop: Most pleasant - open, airy, easy to find things and relaxing for casual browsing, even when the shop is busy with customers.

Prices: Well. I have to admit, their prices for things that can be bought elsewhere are slightly higher than many online or brick-and-mortar shops. However, it's always worthwhile to keep an eye out for their specials, by subscribing to their newsletter and frequenting their blog.

Service: Very good - the people working are friendly, knowledgeable, and talkative and can help you find anything or make decisions on thread choices, etc. They're also very helpful when it comes to local information, goings-on, and so forth.

So ... in a nutshell... yes, I loved Needle in a Haystack. They have a great online store, too, so if you can't make it to their shop, check them out online! As far as online shops go, they're layout is really nice, too. I like ordering from them, simply for the ease of ordering.

We did non-needlework-related stuff in the San Francisco Bay area, too, by the way. In fact, my family used to live in every place we visited on the West Coast! So, while we were up in the Seattle area, we found the house my folks lived in on Whidby Island. In Alameda, we used to live on Burbank Street, which is still lined with very tall palm trees. Also in the area, we lived in a "modern" Eichler home up on Phaeton Drive in Oakland (and the house still looks great!), and we also lived in Walnut Creek for a while, so we looked for that house, too, and the school we attended as children. We didn't always have luck finding our former homes - in Monterey, for example, the house is no longer there.



Driving into the city of San Francisco, we saw a blimp hovering overhead. I had to take a picture - as a kid, we always looked for the blimp! And it's still there!



Of course, at Fisherman's Wharf, we had to eat sourdough bread...



...and ice cream at Ghiradelli Square. Boudin's Sourdough Bread and Ghiradelli Ice Cream are San Francisco icons...

Before we left the San Francisco area, I did manage to make it to Lacis, which was my last needlework shop on the trip. It's a weirdly wonderful place, so I'll tell you about that one next!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework and travel, personal, pictures, supplies

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  After stopping in North Dakota at Nordic Needle for some needlework shopping - yes, I admit it, I bought embroidery supplies at each of these shops! - we struck out west towards the Seattle area of Washington, via Glacier National Park and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. On the way in to Seattle, very conveniently located off Interstate-90 in the town of Issaquah, is Threadneedle Street, a small needlework shop specializing predominantly in needlepoint and counted thread work.

On the way in to Washington, the scenery changes somewhat drastically after the mountains of Idaho and western Montana. The eastern part of Washington is rather desert-like and scrubby.



The Columbia River is an impressive site. There are a couple dams along the river in the middle part of the state, and one is in the vicinity of the highway, making for a nice scenic stopping point. So we stopped. And it was scenic.

Then we headed into the Seattle area, stopping at Issaquah. Really, when I say it's an easy stop, I mean it. If you're on I-90, you simply take the exit, drive into the town on the main street, and pull over to park. It's about that easy.



Of the four shops I visited, Threadneedle Street is certainly the smallest. In fact, if you weren't looking for it specifically, you might miss it altogether!



In case you're looking for the shop some day, though, the pink pig might help you find it. This gal sits at the end of the sidewalk on the same side of the street the shop is on... I didn't inspect her closely, so I'm not sure what she's all about. I suspect she's a grill...



Inside the shop, you'll find very closely arranged (as in, tight quarters!) merchandise - all kinds of threads, tools, accessories, beads, etc. - that are used in embroidery.



You'll find shelves of pre-cut fabric and racks of beads, buttons, and little items.



You'll find racks and baskets full of kits and charts and so forth. And tucked here and there, lines of neat books for sale. (I bought a terrific book here that I'm looking forward to showing you!)



You'll also find some walls devoted to painted canvases, from elaborate Christmas stockings to geometric designs, etc. They're very pretty and colorful!



But to me, the greatest appeal of Threadneedle Street is this. It's the Needlework System 4 stand and all its accessories and parts - and she stocks the pieces in the shop, instead of special ordering each time a customer wants the stand. This means that chances are, if you stop in, you'll be able to pick up a part right then and there. Every other needlework shop I've dealt with regarding this stand keeps a demo model, and then has to special order the pieces you want (and you end up with a 10 - 14 day wait). But here, you can buy the pieces you want, in stock. AND - she has the best prices in the country! If you buy the stand and frame clamp from Threadneedle Street, you're spending almost $50 less here than anywhere else. And you're not having to wait. What a deal!

I bought the extension piece, by the way, for my Needlework System 4 stand. This allows the stand to easily work from the side, over the arm of a couch. (Feel free to read my review of the Needlework System 4 stand, if you aren't sure what I'm talking about!)

So, my review of Threadneedle Street in a nutshell:

Merchandise: There's a vast quantity of merchandise in this little store! She carries all the popular threads for cross stitch and needlepoint, including wools and blends and so forth, as well as a few different hand-dyed threads that I had not seen before. Lots of little accessories are available, as well. There's a good collection of interesting needlework-related books that you won't find on the shelf of a typical bookstore, and a few that I had not seen before, one of which I bought. Seeing some Access Commodities merchandise there, I figure that the folks at Threadneedle Street can pretty much order anything that you want, if they don't have it in stock.

Shop Layout: As needlework shops go, I'd call this one "average" in size. Most needlework shops I've been to are relatively small in general. Threadneedle Street is no exception - the shop is small and seems somewhat crowded, but when you start to look around and see what's in there, you realize there's a pretty clever use of space going on. No space is wasted.

Prices: They actually seem a little bit less, overall, than in most places, though I can't be sure of that with everything there. Certainly, it's the case with the Needlework System 4 stand, but I also thought the threads were just slightly less expensive than in other shops. In any case, there wasn't anything that struck me as outlandish, price-wise, at all.

Service: This is the one shop I can say without reserve that I met with great service - that perfect balance between warm and friendly and open, capped with professional knowledge, and not overwhelming. Just a nice, friendly, open personality, ready to help and having no hang-ups about answering questions. It was, in short, very refreshing to go to a needlework shop and receive really genuine, sincere, niceness for a change. You just don't see that often in needlework shops, thought it's unfortunate to have to say so. Now, their online service may be a bit different - the website notes that they are often busy with customers in the store and therefore may have to call you back if you call to place an order. I have the impression the shop is worked by very few people (I only saw one!), so if you do call them to place an order, expect to be either put on hold or called back.

I liked Threadneedle Street. If I lived in the vicinity, I think it would be the kind of shop that I'd establish a good working relationship with. There's a real niceness and enthusiasm about needlework there that I haven't met at too many needlework shops.

I'd love to see the Threadneedle Street website updated into a regular shopping-cart type website. I think this would ease the ordering situation for out-of-town customers and it would probably make the job on the selling end easier, too.

After leaving Issaquah, we headed to the Seattle area. My folks used to live on Whidby Island, so we went there to see the old haunts and so forth.



Deception Pass is gorgeous! Well, ok - it's water! You'll find that I get overly enthusiastic about anything that looks like abundant water! We drove through Whidby Island, took a ferry to Seattle, stayed overnight, did some looking around the next day, and then headed to Oregon...



...where we saw Crater Lake...



...which is blue beyond belief, and still, and quiet, and cold. Snow still lined the roads up at the top of the mountain, with four-foot cuts of the white stuff in some places along the road. The mosquitoes up there, by the way, were huge and Really Hungry.



From Oregon, we headed into California, where we drove through the Napa Valley, stopping at a few wineries along the way. The contrast between green and lush and dry and sandy in the area is quite intriguing and really beautiful. I love the grape vines! They are something else - I'd love to see them when they are fully laden with grapes.



My favorite stop was at Peju Winery, which is a little boutique winery in the Napa Valley. I prefer boutique wineries to the Big-Wigs (like Berringer, etc.). They're more fun, more intimate, more interesting, and they do fun stuff with their wine. I bought, untasted, a bottle of zinfandel port (port-style wine, anyway) as a gift. They only make this every so many years, and they were down to six bottles left. It was a risk to pay the price without knowing for sure if it was good, but we weren't disappointed! Good Stuff Indeed!

This leg of the trip took us into the Bay Area, where I visited two extraordinary needlework shops... coming up!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework and travel, needlework websites, personal, pictures

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  The first needlework shop stop on my 6,200-mile-road trip was in Fargo, North Dakota, at Nordic Needle. Now, this is a shop I have always and forever wanted to go to! And since I was heading to Minnesota for a three days, I figured this would be a prime opportunity to visit Nordic Needle. This was the beginning of the Great Road Trip Plan that took me in a huge loop to the West Coast and back to Kansas. Really - I was just planning to add a couple hundred miles to the trip and jump up to Fargo! But Mom and Dad suddenly got the "bug" to travel, too, and so the three of us concocted this ever-changing journey that took us to some very interesting spots and some old haunts where my folks lived and raised their kids. So, without further ado, here's Nordic Needle and some other stuff...

We left Kansas on Thursday, June 18th and drove to Minnesota, where we stayed until Sunday morning, June 21st.



Minnesota is beautiful. The lakes that dot the state are especially enticing if you happen to be coming from the Kansas prairies, where water is not always abundant. One morning, we picnicked on the shore of a lake, in the company of a pair of ducks.

On Sunday, we headed north to Fargo, arriving in time to have dinner with some friends and put up for the evening. The next morning would be devoted to Nordic Needle. I didn't plan to spend a lot of time there - I didn't think it would be quite the thing to do to the Agéd P's - but a good hour, I thought, was reasonable.

Of course, it ended up being two hours.



The outside of the shop is rather mundane, but hey - it serves its purpose!



Inside Nordic Needle, you will find practically everything a stitcher's heart can desire, to some degree or another. This is a wall of beads and accessories and little things...



One section of the store is devoted to these rotating book stands that are filled with everything from charts for counted work, to a delightful variety of books (including many books self-published by different designers, that can't be had through Amazon, etc.), to kits of all sorts, including several of Tanja Berlin's embroidery kits (among others).



Being "Nordic" Needle, there is a goodly amount of stock devoted to Nordic embroidery techniques, including Hardanger, huck embroidery and so forth.



And then, there are threads. Oh, are there ever threads! All kinds of threads! This particular section in the photo above is their Brazilian embroidery section of threads, but behind it, on the wall, is the whole line of Treenway Silks pearl and ribbon -- among other threads.

You can imagine that in the midst of all these glorious goods, I was a bit unfocused at first. I just saw, but didn't really "attack" with any clear focus. My eyes went from one selection of goods to the next, without really honing in on my own particular interests.



I have seen huckwork in magazines and books, but have never tried it. Engrossed by the samples hanging on the walls, I took a look at some of their huckwork kits and decided they would be perfect for on-the-road needlework! So I bought a couple. I never touched them. I did not lift a needle (except when purchasing needles) once during the whole trip. *Sigh*



It's difficult to explain the quantity and variety of needlework goods available at Nordic Needle. The main floor of the shop is packed with aisles and shelves and displays filled with threads and tools and kits and designs, as well as display boxes, accessories, and anything you really could want, needlework-wise.



The threads are, of course, the most colorful things in the shop! Racks of them - everywhere! I would suppose that just about any type of thread you would want, you could get through Nordic Needle. Even if they don't regularly carry it, they can probably special order anything. While I saw a whole rack of Danish Flower Thread, for example, I didn't see any floche. But I bet, if you want floche, you could special order it from them. Of course, this doesn't mean they don't have floche - I may have just missed it.



They have a nice corner - much bigger than seen here - full of fabrics on bolts, and also cut fabrics. You can find linens, evenweaves of different types, and just about anything for regular embroidery in their fabric area. Anything they don't have, again, I am pretty sure they could special order!

Nordic Needle has a neat incentive for travelers, by the way. If you travel a distance to visit them, they take a certain percentage off your purchase. If you click the "How Far Will You Go" box on their home page, you can read about the incentive. The shop is less than 1,000 miles from me, so I received 10% off my purchase. BUT - I happened to be there on a Monday, and they have this "Monday Madness" thing they do, where you can draw for a discount on one item (or many - depending on what you draw). I lucked out - I was there on a Monday! - and got 50% off my most expensive item, which was one of Alison Cole's goldwork books.

All in all, by the time I left, I was a pretty happy camper!

Here's my review of the shop, in a nutshell:

Merchandise: Wow! They have a lot of great needlework merchandise. I would have loved to have seen more merchandise devoted to other surface embroidery techniques such as needle painting, crewel work, etc., or even cutwork and other forms of whitework (in addition to Hardanger). They had Trish Burr's books in stock, and some kits of Tanja Berlin's (though not her needlepainting kits - blackwork and shadow-work, basically). They also had a bunch of nice Brazilian supplies. And I'm sure that they could order just about any kind of needlework-anything you might want, so I'm not too taken a-back by the lack of other surface techniques. They have as well a terrific selection of accessories - the best I've seen anywhere - for the needleworker, from all the convenient tools and accessories a sticher needs, to many unique and beautiful stitching-related items, tools, notions, and so forth.

Shop Layout: As needlework shops go, I'd call Nordic Needle "really big." It's crowded and a bit confusing. When it comes to finding something specific, such as a design or a kit, if you aren't used to the layout, you'll probably need help. Still, good use is made of the space they have, and once you get the general feel of the shop, it's easy enough to find your way around or just to enjoy browsing. Never-ending browsing!

Prices: They seemed fair and equivalent to other shops I've been to, or to merchandise I've found online. Nothing seemed outlandish, as far as prices are concerned. Prices were pretty much what I expected them to be. I picked up a couple little bargain bits in their "discount" room, too, which was nice...

Service: Well, this is difficult. It depends on what you want in service. The people were polite enough, though not overly friendly, and they kept their distance. If I needed something, though, I had but to ask, and they directed me politely to it. There was no real "warmth" in any communications, but they weren't rude, either. It was just business. In a sense, this is a good thing. It allows the customer to browse a shop without being hassled or conversed with the whole time so that it's hard to concentrate. I would imagine that, in a shop this size, that's probably what most shoppers would desire. And when it came to my needing anything, I had prompt attention. So in that sense, the service was good - not warm and over-friendly, but there was no curtness or rudeness (which I have, believe it or not, experienced in other needlework shops, and it's one of my pet peeves!)

Nordic Needle is definitely an A+ shop, obviously built through the hard work of the owners into a thorough supply warehouse for needleworkers all over the world. If you get the opportunity to visit the shop, you won't be disappointed, I don't think! If you don't have the opportunity to visit in person, you can always visit their website.

I finished up at the shop before 11:00 am (so, actually less than two hours!) and we struck out west from there, across North Dakota, heading towards Glacier National Park in Montana.



There are some parts of North Dakota that are really beautiful! We stopped for coffee at a friend's house in Mandan, which is located on the Missouri River. Their back deck offered us this incredible view - and it was a perfectly beautiful day to enjoy it!



The majority of North Dakota looked pretty much like this, until we got to the very western edge of the state. The "Badlands" of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota are surprising, to say the least! At one moment, you're driving along through the rolling green hills typical of the photo above, and then you round a curve in the highway, and there you are in the midst of rocky canyons and scrubby landscapes.

We made it through North Dakota and on into Montana, where we turned north to take the "scenic" route to Glacier.



It was .... sort of scenic, I suppose. We spent Monday night in a small town along the way - Glasgow, Montana - and then Tuesday, we headed to Glacier National Park.



Glacier is incredibly beautiful! It is majestic and awesome - and difficult to describe! Unfortunately, we only got to see "part way in," as the road through the pass was still considered too precarious for car travel (avalanche warnings, and so forth). No, we didn't get out to hike it! Instead, we had lunch in beautiful surroundings, saw as much as the park as we could from the eastern and southern parts of it, via road, and then headed to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where we spent the rest of the afternoon and night before heading to Seattle, where I stopped in at Threadneedle Street.

But we'll save that for the next installment!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework and travel, needlework websites, personal, supplies

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  Just a brief howdy here, to let you all know I am indeed home, blogging from my favorite computer chair, using my favorite keyboard, having taken a shower in my favorite shower after sleeping all night in my favorite bed, and now looking outside at my favorite fence, listening to my favorite birds, and getting ready to go drink my favorite coffee out of my favorite cup! Guess what? I'm glad to be home!

Today is the Fourth of July here in the States, a date usually celebrated with fireworks, picnics, and so forth. It's good to be back home for the Fourth - but nothing can compare with the fireworks display I saw last night! After 14 days of Perfect Weather in every place we went - from Minnesota and North Dakota, to Glacier National Park to the moutains of Idaho, to Deception Pass to Seattle, to Crater Lake to the orchards of Oregon, to the Napa Valley and the Bay area, to the coastline of California at Monterey and Carmel and the California Missions, to San Diego and to the Grand Canyon, and finally to Sante Fe, NM - we had a really ideally beautiful trip in every direction! The last hour and a half, though, as we moved east along I-70, we were accompanied by an incredible storm, stretching our last hour and a half in the car to about four hours! Stopping now and then along the way when the driving got too rough, we crept towards home while watching the most incredible lightning display I've ever seen (and I live in Kansas, where we get the stuff fairly regularly!)

Though it was rather a chuckle to see the trip end that way, it intensified the pleasure at finally arriving home!

So, here I am! I'll spend the day cleaning up from the trip, doing laundry, getting organized, going through my photos, and catching up with family and friends. Then, I'll be ready to show you some photos and display my needlework purchases, some of which I'll be sharing in a July give-away!

Thanks for the welcome home messages on yesterday's post! I'm glad you enjoyed the articles posted while I was away! I sure am eager to get back to regular blogging, so I'll see you soon!

Labels: needlework and travel, personal

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  When we set out on our little roadtrip (we've topped 5,700 miles so far, and will be close to 7,000 by the time we get home - all in 15 days!), I had every intention of looking up as many needlework shops along the way as possible and stopping at them all. Truth is, I only made it to four! You might well say "You're not home yet," but the last leg, across the tip of the Texas panhandle, through the flatlands of the Oklahoma plains, and on into the prairies of Kansas, is not going to include any extra stops! It is time to get home!

The four needlework shops I made it to were Nordic Needle in Fargo, North Dakota; Threadneedle Street, outside of Seattle, Washington; Needle in a Haystack, in Alameda, California; and Lacis, in Berkeley, California.

I want to be Very Careful about the way I approach my review of these shops. I plan to write up an in-depth review of each shop, tell you what they're like, show you some photos, and so forth. (I may even throw in some "trip photos" along the way...) Believe it or not, I don't plan to gush, gush, gush over each shop. Rather, I'll just be telling you about the physical aspects of the shop, the type of merchandise carried, and the service I received.

You might be surprised at my evaluations, actually. You already know I have "favorite" online shops, and each of these four have been on my "favorites" list. But there are certain criteria I like to keep in mind when actually shopping in a brick-and-mortar store, so I'll be carefully looking at those criteria.

In the meantime, these are some of the things I've bought: some great books, a few threads I have never used before, some tulle for embroidery on net, some needles (well, you can never have too many, and why pay shipping?), a few accessories, some cutwork design transfers, a new type of Solvy I hadn't seen before, and ... wow, I'm not sure what else. I Wanted to buy a couple kits, but in the long run, I didn't, for the sake of conserving funds. But at least I know what shops have what, so if I ever want to order, I can. The books, though - yes, I love the books I bought!

So, on this last day (hopefully!) of the drive home, as I set out from Santa Fe, New Mexico, I'll be compiling and organizing my notes!

I still have a few more articles to share with you from other readers, too, by the way. Unfortunately, before I left, I didn't have time to put them all together. But never fear - we'll get to them after I get home!

I'll be seeing you soon, from Kansas! After all, there's no place like home!

Labels: needlework and travel, personal

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  For those of you who have been longing for the return of the Royal School of Needlework courses after the Perry, Iowa location closed, you will be happy to know that the courses are being offered again in the US at a new venue. Thanks to Margaret, here's a bit of information on that...

I knew that the Royal School of Needlework had established a new venue in San Francisco and that they would be offering their certification courses there, beginning this fall. The certification courses are the more expensive, time-intensive (three weeks, I think) courses. Since they had an RSN graduate in CA, in the San Francisco area, once they found a venue, they were able to offer these certification courses again.

But for those of us who can't afford the time or investment for the certification courses, the day classes offered by the RSN are more ideal. It took some coordinating on their part, but it looks as if they're planning to offer day classes from April 29 through May 15 this coming spring! Isn't that exciting??!!

If you want to find out what types of day courses the RSN offers, you can check out the Royal Schol of Needlework website, where you'll find all kinds of information on what they offer.



Specifically, you may want to take a look at this PDF brocher that outlines the courses offered by the RSN. Right now, they haven't published the information on the day courses being offered in San Francisco, but at least, with the brochure, you can get an idea of the quality and subject-matter of the different classes.

If you want to receive information on the course offerings in San Francisco in the spring, there's contact information on the RSN site for Gill Holdsworth, who is the head of education at the Royal School of Needlework. Drop her a line to let her know you're interested, so that you can be put on the list when the information goes out. It's also a good idea to let her know that there is an interest over here for these courses, so that they know it's worthwhile to go to all the effort it must take to coordinate such an event!

Thanks, Margaret, for the info, and thank you, RSN teachers, tutors, and coordinators, for making the effort to restore these classes in the US!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework and travel, needlework classes, needlework news, Royal School of Needlework

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  Marie Yolande has announced this year's needlework tour, Needling Around in Paris! It looks like a winner - if you get a chance, check out the Marie Yolande website, where you can take a "virtual tour" of the tour. I posted some pictures from Marie Yolande's Italian tour, which looked fantastic. I think the Paris one will be equally so! It looks like the "trip of a lifetime" to me!

The tour will take place October 24th - November 1st. I'm not in any way affiliated - I just like the whole idea of combining needlework and travel, and getting into "The" embroidery places around the world. What a treat that would be, eh?

Labels: needlework and travel

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  The third needlework stop on our trip through the Southeast was at It's a Stitch, located on Maybank Highway on James Island, outside Charleston. The focus of this needlework shop is knitting and needlepoint.

Of the three needlework shops we visited, It's a Stitch had the most comprehensive selection of threads. Crammed into a space of some 400 or so square feet, the shop offers just about every kind of needlework fiber you could want. Right now, the shop is a bit on the crowded side, but they are moving their business a little way down the road soon, to occupy a space of over 1,000 square feet. This will be great!



The drive to this needlework shop from our hotel in Mt. Pleasant (on the other side of Charleston) was a pleasant one. The area is very typically "southern" looking and it's quite pretty! So the fact that the shop is located a distance outside the city is not at all a problem for those visiting the area. We continued our drive further down Maybank Highway after our stop and It's a Stitch, and visited the Charleston Tea Plantation - a convenient combination of sight-seeing and shopping.



Right now, you'll find It's a Stitch tucked into a little rural building that's home to a few other businesses as well. From the outside, it's inviting. There's a nice little chair on the front porch, and some baskets with daily specials.



Inside, you'll find three rooms. They are filled with fiber displays, while painted canvases line the walls and ceilings. This is the "main" room.



You'll find a whole wall of Silk 'n Ivory, Trio, and whatnot. You'll also find Needlenecessities, several different types of Au Ver a Soie, Trebizond, Gloriana, the whole range of Anchor, and on and on.



Each wall is filled with a display of fibers, the center of the room is occupied by racks of fibers - in short, if you're looking for threads, they're bound to have what you want!



Painted needlepoint canvases line the walls - and the ceiling! They have a great selection of colorful canvases. There was an absolutely gorgeous set for a child's upholstered chair. If I'd had the room.... and the budget....



They also had some great display items around the shop. This little knitted hat is precious! I had to buy the pattern! I also satisfied my thread craving by purchasing some Au Ver a Soie and a few other types of threads what will go into the general stash.

It's a Stitch is a neat little store - if you're in the area, you should swing by! Look for it further down Maybank Highway soon.

And that was our last needlework stop! I did manage to drive past the Embroidery Guild of America Headquarters in Louisville, KY, but it was too early in the morning to stop, and we couldn't wait around. Overall, it was a great trip!

Labels: needlework and travel, pictures, supplies

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  A couple other needlework stops caught my attention while I was on vacation. After Florida, our next stop was Charleston, South Carolina, where I found a great needlework shop in the historic downtown area.

Cabbage Row Shoppe has been operating in Charleston on Broad Street since the early 1970's.



It's at a beautiful location on Broad Street and State, right near the Old Exchange. There are plenty of sights nearby - the street is perfect for strolling, shopping, and sightseeing.



As you walk down Broad Street near the intersection of State, you'll see a cabbage on the wall, indicating the location of Cabbage Row Shoppe:



In case you miss the cabbage, there's also an overhead sign to indicate that you've arrived:



As you can tell from the sign above the door, Cabbage Row Shoppe specializes in needlepoint. They have an incredible variety of the most beautiful hand-painted canvases I've ever seen.



You'll find canvases lining both walls and covering racks in the middle of the store. There is also a small selection of counted thread designs to choose from, but the focus of the shop is definitely needlepoint.



All the canvases are unique and really gorgeous. I had to resist the temptation to purchase a set of beautiful Fleur de Lys squares that I would have loved to have - the difficulties being that 1. Needlepoint is not really my "thing" (though I like it, and I like the looks of it - I just don't have the time to devote to it); 2. I was searching for fibers, not designs to stitch; and 3. I would have overstepped my embroidery budget big time. Hand-painted canvases are not inexpensive, I've found, but, after contemplating their nature, I think that they are a good value. First, you're getting something unique that is a work of art; second, once it's stitched, it becomes your work of art as well; third, you can do useful and beautiful things with such canvases - from typical decor (pillows, framed works for the walls), to furniture upholstery (footstools, chair backs), to housewares (the base of covered glass trays), the needlepointed canvas can be a really beautiful addition to the home and something that can last from one generation to the next.



I loved this little elephant fellow. It's both exotic and fun.



And this camel canvas caught my eye, too! But I wasn't looking for canvas, I was looking for threads! They have plenty.



You'll find a range of colors of Paternayan Persian Wool, which is a three-ply 100% wool yarn used for needlepoint, but which can also be used for other needlework, for tassle-making, etc.



You'll also find the range of Silk 'n Ivory, a 50% Merino wool / 50% silk blend yarn made in Switzerland. The color range for the Silk 'n Ivory is gorgeous - they have 186 colors available, and the shading is wonderfully subtle, perfect for modern Jacobean and crewel work. And they carry Trio as well, made by the same company. It's a three-ply, divisible yarn made of silk and wool and can be used for fine work.

Cabbage Row also carries a variety of specialty flosses, some silks (Caron Collection, for example), the whole range of DMC, and notions and accessories, including stretcher bar frames.

They have a website, but it is not frequently updated. However, you can contact them via the website and they will help you fulfill your needs if they can. The proprietress was certainly the model of southern hospitality and graciousness. It was a pleasure spending time at Cabbage Row!

Labels: needlework and travel, supplies

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  I'm home from a long road trip through the Southeast, where I did manage to get in a few embroidery shops along the way. I thought I'd give you the lowdown on the ones I visited, in case you're ever in the area - or looking for them online.

My first embroidery stop was supposed to be at the Japanese Embroidery Center in Atlanta, Georgia. I knew it would be the highlight of my trip, and I couldn't wait to check it out and to SHOP there! Alas, it was not to be. I thought I was lost, since the directions took me to a beautiful residential area in Dunwoody, a suburb of Atlanta. I landed at the address that I had, but it looked to me like one of the fine residences. It was 10:00 a.m., and I didn't think ringing someone's doorbell quite the thing to do, so I chalked the experience up to bad directions, and went on with my journey. When I finally had the opportunity to call to let them know I wouldn't be there for a tour (you have to arrange one with them at least 48 hours in advance), I found out that I had indeed been in the right place! So if you're ever looking for the Japanese Embroidery Center in Atlanta, it is in a residential area. Don't be shy! Ring the doorbell.

While in Florida, I made it to a little needlework shop in Altamonte Springs, called Needle Orts.



The shop is conveniently located in Altamonte Springs, just a bit outside (north) of Orlando. If you're vacationing in Orlando and love threads especially, this is a great place to stop to take a look at what they have. I was there on a Saturday morning, when they have their local stitch get-together. It looked like heaps of fun, with small group of stitches around a table, with lunch and snacks set out for all.



The shop itself (like the other shops I went into in the Southeast) specializes in hand-painted canvases for needlepoint, but they also have a good array of fabrics for (counted) embroidery, many of which can certainly be used for surface embroidery.



Painted canvases line the walls, and thread racks fill the center of the shop. They carry the full range of Soie d'Alger by Au Ver a Soie, as well as the 100/3. They have Trebizond as well. They've also got the full range of Needle Necessities silk, as well as a large selection of wools and other combinations of fibers. Caron Collection threads, DMC, and too many others to count are in abundance.



They've got plenty of little kits, too, which are perfect for the traveller looking for something to do in leisure time. I purchased a couple pretty little counted thread kits to keep me occupied, as well as selecting a bunch of Soie d'Alger colors for an upcoming guild project.



Just like many places in Florida, the shop overlooks a pretty little lake. This is a big sell-point for me. Being from Kansas, we don't see abundant water throughout the year, so I like to see it everywhere I go!

The staff was friendly. My only complaint as a shopper would be that the shop is Very Crowded! However, I think that has to do with the Saturday gathering they were having. But hey - I'd rather have it crowded with stuff I'm looking for than roomy as anything, but with a lousy stock! So this wasn't really a negative point. They had a great selection of all kinds of stuff.

Needle Orts has a website, but it isn't fully functional for shopping, although it apparently will be soon. If you're looking for something in particular, you can find their contact information online and you can order over the phone.

My next needlework stop was in Charleston, South Carolina, where I found some real gems .... I'll fill you in on that next time!

Labels: needlework and travel, supplies

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  When I go on vacation, I like to keep an eye out for embroidery and needlework shops. We're heading to the Southeast this summer on a little road trip, and I'd love to hear suggestions for stops at needlework spots along the way.

I'll be in Chattanooga, Tennessee for a short stay, then in Atlanta, Georgia, where I'll visit the Japanese Embroidery Center to see the place and do some shopping. Anyone know of any good needlework stops in either area?

How about in the Cocoa Beach, Florida area? I'll be there for a couple days. Then on to Charleston, South Carolina for a few days - I have my eye on some textile exhibits at some art museums, and I've heard of (only) one needlework shop in Charleston so far. I'd love to know if any readers know of any out of the way places in the area, or if anyone knows of any good exhibits of textiles, needlework, quilts, or whatever at local galleries and museums.

Then - we're headed into the Smokey Mountains (Smokey Mountain National Park, in particular), and out of the Smokeys, heading towards Louisville, Kentucky, where I'll definitely visit the headquarters of the Embroidery Guild of America (of which I'm a member). Any ideas for needlework stops along that route? We'll be passing through Lexington, Kentucky as well.

Then on to St. Louis, and heading towards home.

I'm all open for suggestions of any embroidery or needlework places anyone knows of in those areas, even if they're off the beaten path - and I'm always happy to do a write up about any exceptional spot I find hither or thither around the country. So, if you've got any ideas for places to go and things to see in the textile world, I'm all ears!

Labels: needlework and travel

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  If you love needlework and you love to travel, I found a website that might be of interest to you. I came upon an article about it in the latest Inspiration Magazine. Funny how these situations unfold:

Inspirations Magazine is my biggest needlework "indulgence." It's a wonderful magazine full of great ideas for embroidery and loaded with embroidery patterns and articles and whatnot. It is pricey, I must admit. But I budget it carefully into my hobby money every month, so that I can renew my subscription without the pocket pain!

When the magazine arrives, I spend my lunch hour perusing all the content, and I never miss the "smaller" articles because that's where the human interest part of the textile world is found.

With summer coming, anything that smacks of "travel" catches my attention, and sure enough, there was an article on travel. Not just ANY travel, but Needlework Travel!!

Marie Yolande organizes needlework tours! I quickly took the opportunity to visit her website and found out that this year's tour looks absolutely enchanting - hence, "Enchanting Ireland."



If you love needlework and you love travel, I don't see how you could miss with this type of tour. It just looks like sheer indulgence! And with the Mountmellick embroidery workshop to boot, you'd go home richer in outlook and skill.

I communicated with Yolande to get permission to write about her work here, and asked her about upcoming tours. Personally, I can't afford to head out on vacation without budgeting carefully for a year and planning my summer vacation time around my summer embroidery classes and my job. So I like to plan these things well in advance. Well, what could possibly be better than heading to Italy for a lace and needlework show in mid-May, 2009? Yolande plans on offering an Italian tour in 2009, and, God willing, I'll be along. I'm already planning it into my budget for the next two years! I realize a lot can happen between now and then, but I'm so excited about the prospect.

Yolande kindly sent along some photos from a previous Italian lace and needlework show, so I thought I'd share a few so you can see a small portion of the experience!



Here's a gorgeous sample of Italian thread painting. The red rose is superb.



This is a display of exquisite needlelace and embroidered goods. The long oval table runner on the top of the right wall is very similar to my whitework runner, although quite a bit wider and without the filet lace inserts that I put in mine. But it's the same idea - cutwork and white-on-white embroidery, with a needlelace edge. I'd love to see this one up close, and the rectangular one with the wide needlelace edge! WOW!



Another marvelous display of textiles - filet lace is the focus here. I wonder if these are bed covers? I seriously doubt they are table cloths. I love the shape of the inset medallion. Very nice!



This is Yolande with Seg. Antonietta, who embroiders for the Vatican. On the wall in the background, you can see a photo of her with the Pope.



The above work, Rosa Mistica, was displayed at one of the booths in the Italian needlework show. This needlepainting is very nice - note the shadows on the face and the "sketched" look of the piece.

If you have a chance and want to see photos of Yolande's tours, don't miss checking out her website. Don't miss her unforgettable photos of previous needlework tours. On her website, you'll also find a virtual tour of this year's Enchanting Ireland adventure.

If you can't join up, sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy the photos.... and dream!

Labels: needlework and travel, pictures

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