Another fun installment for you!

For all you cardinal lovers out there (including me)!  This design from 3K is 8 1/2 x 11 on 18 mesh.

If I were to stitch this, I would skip stitch the background with one strand of Impressions to keep it light.  The birch trees I would do Horizontal Brick Stitch over 2 with Straw Silk, changing colors to follow the painting.

I’ve stitched a lot of cardinals and try to do them differently each time.  I would do angled Satin Stitch or Fly Stitch for the tail feathers.  I would do Open Nobuko for the body of the bird with 4 strands of red Splendor.  The wings I would do Criss-Cross Hungarian with red Splendor.  He’s such a happy bird!

This is a new piece of mine available through Vallerie Needlepoint Gallery.  I designed it to fit in my new self finishing boxes where all you do is pop it in and your done and there’s glass on top to protect it.

I would do Alicia’s Lace  over 2 with 2 strands of Soie d’Alger for the background.  The little ladybugs have to be beaded!  You could bead the letters, as well, or tent stitch them if beading isn’t your thing.

It definitely feels like 5 o’clock somewhere all the time these days!  How fun would this be in your collection of bar needlepoint?

I would tent stitch the glass, clock hands and numbers with the pictured threads.  The background would be fun in Pepper Pot (not sure why I have Gloriana in the picture too) in Woven Stitch. I would do a wrapped chain stitch for the silver outline with Kreinik.

We still have this gorgeous tree kit in stock.  It is 14 x 14 on 18 mesh.

I think everyone is having a hard time envisioning the background I see on this piece.  It would be similar to the background I did on Harvest Moon.

I’ll have another installment of this coming soon!

For anyone who missed the original sign up for Melissa Prince’s Reindeer and Cardinal class, it’s not too late!

We FINALLY got all the threads in for the piece so now I can set a date for the class.  The online Zoom class will be Monday May 18th from 1-3.

We have three kits left in stock so don’t wait!  You can call the shop or order online

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You’ll learn a cool technique for the antlers, how to applique the green glitter felt, tons of new stitches and how fun are the tassels on the scarf?

I can’t wait until I can get to a fabric store again to pick everything out to make this into a fabulous pillow!

The angels have arrived! And one is cuter than the next!

I have to admit…I’ve never stitched an angel but I think that’s about to change!

Here’s pictures of half of what received in the trunk show. I’ll post the rest of the trunk show later this week.

As with all of our trunk shows, the canvases are 20% off and the threads for those canvases are 10% off!

You know the drill by now. Refer to the picture below the frame number when you call or email to order.

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I’ll be posting the rest of the angels later this week!

Please email enrichedstitch@gmail.com or call the shop to order! 203-210-5107

We usually do our finishing sale in June, but I’ve decided to push it up this year to help with what will be an overwhelming amount of finishing that will be pouring in once we are all released from our homes.

All finishing dropped off or mailed in during the month of May will be 10% off!  And, as an added bonus, any finishing that we received during April will also be 10% off.

Be sure to include your contact info when you drop off or mail in so our finishing department (aka Mary Susan) can contact you to go over your finishing.

You can download our finishing form by clicking here. Fill it out the best your can or simply put a question mark and we’ll talk to you about it.

We can’t wait to see all of your finished pieces!

There was such an overwhelming response to this blog from last week so I’m doing it again . . .as promised!

This pretty piece by Kate Dickerson makes me happy on a gray, rainy day like today!

I would tent stitch the graphic border with Essentials and Satin Stitch the green of the border.  I would also tent the butterflies but use a variety of threads like Straw Silk and some sparkly Glisten.  The flowers would be fun in long stitches with Straw silk.  And then I would give it a really pretty background like the one shown below. It’s an easy stitch to compensate around all the pretty things in this piece.  I would definitely stitch the background first.

This little cutie is from Maggie.  I think it would be so cute in a kid’s room or as a leash holder.

I would stitch the snow in a simple Bargello pattern, like one in “Stitches to Go” and change the color to follow the shading.  I think he would be cute stitched in Petite Very Velvet.  His sweater could be done in Giant Kalem stitch so it looks knitted.  A little skip stitch on the sky would be a nice background.

This piece just cracks me up!  It would be a super quick stitch which is perfect for a holiday piece.

I would do Vertical Brick Stitch over 4 for the background with Entice and Satin Stitch the letters with Petite Frosty Rays so they puff up and really stand out.

These two canvases are still available from my post last week and you can read about all the fun ways I would stitch them!

Happy Stitching!

After spending so much time at home, I have a new appreciation for my family and my house.  I’m so lucky that my family can go outside in our yard for fresh air and sunshine, play games, ride bikes and all the other things we’ve been doing to keep busy.

I came up with the idea of this canvas last fall, long before any of us could have dreamed we’d be where we are today.

Linda has been stitching away on this piece over the last few weeks.  Her stitching is fabulous!

There are 12 ornaments that you can swap out each month.  All you have to do is put a magnet in the finishing and the ornament will stay in place of where the O is supposed to be.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

There’s alternative design for December for those that celebrate Hanukkah but I haven’t received it from my painters yet so I don’t have a picture.

All of us at the shop have been stitching away on the ornaments and writing guides.  Pretty soon all of them will be stitched and I’ll show you them when they are.  There will be stitch guides for all the canvases in the HOME series.

If you love this as much as we do, scoop it up now because I won’t be getting more canvases for a few months. . . probably not until July.

You can order the large canvas online and let us know which ornaments ( you don’t have to purchase them all at once) you would like when you check out.

It’s time to get started on your Easter projects for next year! Haven’t you always wanted a basket of eggs or standup eggs? Maybe a pretty spring pillow? Now is the time!

All in stock Easter canvases are 25% off now through Saturday!

You know the deal by now. Give us a call or email enrichedstitch@gmail.com and let us know what you can’t live without!

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Here’s a fun new blog series I’m starting.  With everyone not being able to come to the shop . . .or any shop for that matter . . .I thought I’d pull threads for some pieces and tell you about what stitches I would use.

Any of the pieces featured below will come with a FREE stitch guide!

Remember to email me directly at enrichedstitch@gmail.com since I still haven’t figured out how to get emails back from you if you reply to the blog when it is emailed to you.

I just love this piece!  We just got it into the shop.  I would stitch her hat in Woven Stitch with pink Pepper Pot and do a Buttonhole stitch for the brim with the dark pink Planet Earth Silk.

I think her dress would look fabulous in Criss-Cross Hungarian with the pink PE Silk and a little sparkle in the stitch for the cross stitch with Entice.

She’s got to have beaded earrings!

And her lips will look super shiny when stitched with Neon Rays.

Wouldn’t we all love to go to the beach right now?  Especially here in Connecticut where it just rains and rains. This piece would make the cutest little sign or pillow.  It would also be great finished in an acrylic tray.

I would use a combination of Flair and Vineyard Silk for the starfish in straight up tent stitch.  Since the Flair is thicker, it will give the starfish some texture and look a little bumpy.

The letters could be done in tent stitch or Diagonal Satin Stitch with Neon Rays +.

I would Satin Stitch the light green background and do a single line Van Dyke stitch for the darker green.

I just love pieces like this tree that give me a ton of room to play. These canvases typically are challenging for people because there are only two elements, a tree and a sky, so they don’t know what to do with that vast area.

I think a funky Bargello pattern with five different threads would be super cool on this piece. I wouldn’t totally cover the background.  I would space out the different bands of the Bargello so it doesn’t look too heavy.  The tree needs just a touch of sparkle, so  I would tent stitch it with Glisten.

I plan on doing more of this here and on Facebook and Instagram so be sure to follow me on there!

I can’t speak for other shops, but I wanted to share with everyone how it’s going here at The Enriched Stitch.

First, I want to thank everyone who has been supporting my shop since this nightmare started. Our phones have been ringing off the hook, tons of packages going out every day and the emails of support and gratitude just keep coming. It has been so wonderful talking with customers and helping them in the best way that we currently can.

I have been in the shop by myself most days and on other days Mary Susan is holding down the fort. We’re doing our best but please be patient with us if we miss your phone call or don’t respond to your emails right away.

Speaking of responding to emails, I just recently learned that if you reply to the blog posts when they are delivered right to your inbox, they go to a no reply email and I don’t get them. I hope no one reading this thinks that I’ve been ignoring their emails. I’m working on fixing this but the IT department isn’t my strong suit.

So, please send your emails to enrichedstitch@gmail.com if you need to get a hold of me.

You might not want to hear what I’m going to tell you next but here’s where things stand at my shop. A few thread companies are shut down and not shipping. Most of our threads come from overseas where the countries are shut down. Therefor, whatever these companies currently have in stock is all that they have right now until those countries reopen. Each company is functioning differently so I can’t speak for all of them but this is what I’ve heard from a number of them.

In terms of canvases, I can only speak for myself as a wholesaler. What I know right now is that production is shut down at my painting service and nothing is able to ship in and out of that country. So, what I’m saying is that the inventory that I currently have in my wholesale line is all that I will have for a while. After speaking with a number of designers, I know they are in the same boat.

So, what I’m trying to say is that when my shop or any other shop is out of something, please be patient with us. We are doing the best that we can given that our supply chains are slowly depleting both on the thread and canvas side.

I’m working on an online class schedule for May. Looks like we’re gonna be in this a while longer…at least here in Connecticut. I’m stitching as fast as I can and trying to scoop up the threads I need so I can continue to bring you classes.

I’d love to hear your suggestions for Zoom classes. Email me directly!

Enrichedstitch@gmail.com

It’s a cold, dreary and rainy day here in Connecticut.  On days like this, I love stitching a brightly colored canvas.  Definitely improves my mood!

Here’s some more of our favorites from the Colors of Praise trunk show.  And what fun threads we’ve pulled to go with them!

Mary Susan stitched this masterpiece a few years ago.  It is absolutely stunning.  We did this as a stitch along so we have a guide if you want to add this beauty to your home.

How cute are these luggage tags or credit card inserts?

You can shop the trunk show online or call the shop to order.  As with all of our trunk shows, the canvases are 20% off and the threads are 10% off.  The trunk show is here till next Wednesday so this deal won’t last forever!

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