It is officialy the first day of Fall – good bye to a rainy hot summer. The weather is cooler and starting to get crisp here in NJ – perfect weather for pumpkin stitching. This weeks meeting was one of the best we have had. Lot’s of ideas were discussed regarding the survey and next year, the presentation by Melita of all the pieces taken at this year’s seminar in Kansas City was mind bending. So many great projects that I am sure they will get finished. We then just squeaked in Jacqui’s talk on the top part of the pumpkin. Next month will be the stem and the background. And – at the risk of them getting locked in the Library – we saw Show and Share. Thank goodness it was short.

This weekend was the NJNA class with Ann-Marie Anderson Mayes. The blog is a day late because I took the class and now understand why she has such a following. It was a 2 day class in which she taught both of her creations – Versailles and Grace’s Garden. I can honestly say that the photos of any of her projects do not do them justice. She dies her own thread into amazing colors and variegated combo’s. She displayed her finished items for all to see and had threads to purchase which was way to hard to decide on because the colors were so vibrant and beautiful. Ann-Marie was beyond helpful with picking threads and combos. Her directions are easy to follow and she was just a delight each day we were with her. Do not hesitate to take a class with her if you have the opportunity.

WOW – ANG had a very successful silent auction and Buy It Now at the 2024 seminar!! They raised $17,186.00 – a win – win all the way around.

No Words for the Kansas City Seminar Best In Show Award. Congrats to Maureen Giuffre – you certainly deserve it for all those bullion knots !! I believe the picture is on Face Book where you can see it closer. This is a labor of love and deserves the Best in Show award.

Watch your mailbox – the new Needle Pointers magazine is coming. Of course you can also read it online but… The cover is adorable and the back cover is a tribute to the 9 -11 Firefighters. Wait till you see the Tale of Three Stitchers this issue – each so different. Of course Melita has an interesting article on the study of color and design done by Gene Wright but there is a lot more to peruse thru when you get it – as usual – the magazine is so well done.

THREAD ALERT – They are starting to appear – the new way to buy Kreinik. Since Rainbow Gallery bought Kreinik they decided to put it on their cards instead of the spools! Just think – those tiny stickers can’t fall off any longer so you don’t know what color you have ! Good luck to the stores, what are they going to do with all those boxes with tiny drawers?? I can’t wait to give one a try !

There is a new book about to come out – “Make It Yours:Book One” and it’s being distributed by The Gingham Stitchery which as you may know is the owner of The Wool and the Floss in Grosse Pointe MI. https://woolfloss.com/pages/the-shop-1 This book is 36 pages of fonts for personalizing your needlepoint projects. Spiral bound makes life a bit easier !!

The Needlepointer has a new club that is for an Out Of This World Christmas! The designs are all by Rebecca Wood with stitch guides from The Needlepointer. There are 18 adorable 4 inch canvas aliens and the club runs over 7 months. Each package includes stitch guide and thread. https://www.theneedlepointer.com/an-out-of-this-world-christmasdiv-idclubsubtitleopen-enrollmentdiv/p8514205?Cse=nl091324&goal=0_3621358244-f0237d8bd4-69343533&mc_cid=f0237d8bd4&mc_eid=2e6039e84f

Are you getting ready for the fall season and Halloween?? It’s about to happen !! Of course we all know how long it takes to stitch something so, for next year (I tried to say that with the utmost confidence) you need to do a Halloween Basket by Patricia Sone. Easy Peasy as it’s on 13 mesh. You will be the the talk of the treaters ! Find it at Stitch By Stitch in NY https://stitchbystitchneedlepoint.com/products/patricia-sone-136-halloween-basket-with-handle-and-s-g?_pos=4&_sid=32e317202&_ss=r

We all love self finishing items – particularly these days when it’s hard to get something back from a finisher. We are going to have to plan 2 years in advance soon!! Check out KC Needlepoint for some leather trimmed hand bags and clutches. All take a 4 and a half inch round canvas for the opening. Something a little different ! https://www.kcneedlepoint.com/collections/bags?omnisendContactID=61fc368aa1816e00226a532d&sort_by=created-descending&utm_campaign=campaign%3A+PE+Bags+%2866db14307d417fbc02d9b702%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=omnisend

NEWS FLASH: The founder of Alice Peterson, Cathy Rapoza is retiring !! https://alicepetersoncompany.com/ Thankfully her daughter Stephanie Ruetz is stepping into her shoes ! Congrats all the way around and thank you Jane of Chilly Hollow ! https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/

Talk about worth the wait – we are talking 10 years of waiting and stitching by 3 generations BUT – AMAZING! Needlepoint in Paradise has a customer whose daughter and grand daughter all stitched an amazing tree skirt. It’s a masterpiece for sure! True dedication to the art form of needlepoint. https://www.instagram.com/p/C8xFnVNOBCW/?g=5&img_index=2

The latest needlepoint market just like all of them – never disappoints !! From new colors of self finishing handbags to calendars to 3D canvases – it’s mind blowing what they have come up with never mind what must be in the works for the future. To get a look at many companies in one place take some time (because your going to need it!) and check out Stitch By Stitch in NY. They have a special section of their web site and it has at least 16 pages of canvases to look at and one is better than the next. Start your holiday list now !!! https://stitchbystitchneedlepoint.com/collections/2024-autumn-needlepoint-show?page=1

Tips and Tricks: Do you have some damaged older needlepoint that you hate to part with? Try this option, cut out a part you like and glue it onto something, like this pair of driving mocs. You could put it on bags or sneakers or jackets – endless options !

Who was that Famous Stitcher? That is Karen Hennessey – the owner of Zecca Designs. She started out making handmade polymer clay buttons and moved on to jewelry, greeting cards, pots etc. until doing her own thing (which we all love). She has been bringing in her son Alex to the business and we will be seeing more and more of his art along with Karen’s. https://zecca.net/needlepoint/

Do you know who this famous stitcher is?