This coming week will be our October meeting and it will be a stitch in. Next month will be a talk by Anne-Marie Anderson-Mayes of Beautiful Stitches. Having just come in from outside – it is the start of “Stitching Weather” Brrrrrrr ! The temperature dropped a bit quickly !! No matter, we all have plenty of stash !!

Change is coming to ANG national ! If you haven’t read your email – the management company ANG uses to coordinate all the workings of the national guild has terminated their contract as of the end of this year. “The ANG Board of Directors views this termination as an opportunity to “reset” ANG and re-focus our Guild for a productive and flourishing future. Please be assured that we will continue to have our Annual Seminars, Needle Pointers magazine, Independent Learning, and other features and events you love about ANG. However, after December 29th many of these will start to change for what we believe is for the better.” The first big change will be about the magazine. Unless you have a 2 year membership, as of January 1 there will be an additional charge of $30 to have the magazine mailed to you. You will still get the digital version. Membership renewals for 2027 are now open if you would like to get a jump on it.

The first in the next 3 free lectures by ANG will here shortly. Blink and November will be here !! You have until October 29th to register for the Zoom link. This lecture will also be recorded and you will have up to a month afterwards to listen to it again. https://www.needlepoint.org/page/WebinarLectures?_zs=QhCog1&_zl=O0cxA

Spring Fling Virtual Seminar Classes registration starts November 2nd and ends on November 30th. Classes are not held until April of 2027. They still have not published the classes they will be offering. Keep an eye out for a favorite class you were not able to take – this is a great way to do it and not be rushed.

Next Friday 10/23/26 is when the Online Auction begins! (Do they not know how big my stash is already?) You can’t resist checking it out – in case you see a “must have” LOL !!

The final Quarterly Stitch project has been released by ANG. They are very pretty button ornaments by Denise Beuseni. They look like they are quick and easy and great stash busters.

Are you following Morgan Julia Designs weekly “Road Trips” ? Her first stop was Maine (where she recently got married). She tells you about neat places to go and Needlepoint shops along the way along with a play list just for the trip ! Of course at the end she shows off her canvases apropos to the area (but who doesn’t mind looking ??). BUT – have you seen her new needle threaders? I was a sucker for the diet soda one a long time ago. Now she has a bunch of new ones. I count 21 to be exact – one for everyone’s taste. I have to admit, my diet soda has held up well !! Easy to grab because of it’s size. On another note – if your interested in one of her canvases, she has a neat thing where you scroll below the part of the web site where you would add the canvas to your cart and you will find a place that people can add a picture of how they have stitched that canvas. “Our Canvases, Your Stitches” – great for ideas!!https://morganjuliadesigns.com/collections/acrylic-needle-threaders?_kx=rV4MBEfWGkwURglkyUXCLopGavY2DCJQzP6Y94aO8T4.RWeQns

I happen to like stitching with the Thread Gatherer thread. They have some beautiful choices of thread along with other things on their web site. Right now they have some new limited edition sets for sale. Their big news though is they are now on Substack! You can read about various subjects they are posting about and don’t forget their blog. https://threadgatherer.com/

Are you a game player?? I know someone adventurous enough to be stitching a Monopoly Board right now !! The big thing though seems to be Mah Jong. So many needlepoint items for Mah Jong are out there to stitch. If you have made that BIG commitment then you need to take it to the finish line and get —- Needlepoint Tiles ! If you enjoy the game and are a collector of sets – check out St Clare Mahjong. They have the usual accessories along with the tiles. https://www.stclaremahjong.com/origins-collection/p/the-origins-collection

The other game needle pointer’s stitch is backgammon !! Such beautiful (and BIG) canvases are out there to stitch. After all that expense and effort you don’t want people putting dirty hands on the canvas to play the game so what do you do????? You talk to Stitch By Stitch as they are a retail partner for Darby House Designs who make heirloom quality acrylic sets. You have your stitching finished and slide it into the acrylic. They also make the pieces needed to play the game. These boards are beautiful and not the average plastic like holder. Go to their web site and look not only at their boards but the stitching they display them with – beautiful – they are Tina Griffin designs !!!!! https://darbyhousedesign.com/

As long as we are talking self finishing (sort of) The Needlepointer has Totes with changeable fronts ! They are made of felt and leather from Nepal. They have different pictures that you can put on or make your own. Easy on and off as they use buttons. They have several colors to choose from. https://theneedlepointer.com/products/felt-and-leather-tote-bag-with-buttons?se_activity_id=181500510450&syclid=db9u1ujodppc73atul4g&utm_campaign=Carry+Your+Creative+Side_181500510450&utm_medium=email&utm_source=shopify_email

An interesting self finishing item I found is all the way from Hawaii called Renni Collective. They have 2 different materials that you stitch an 11″ X 5″ insert and you put it into the opening (which has a sticky back). They also have canvases that fit that you can buy, many of which have a Hawaii theme. You will see them popping up in LNS !! https://rennicollective.com/collections/all

Have you heard about the new stretcher bars???? No staples or tacks ! They come with magnets that hold the canvas tight. They also have a bar that fits across the back to hold your threader and needle out of the way. The other unique thing about them is the way they fit together – like puzzle pieces. You buy them the same way as the wooden ones and they range in size from 5 to 12 inches. Look at the other things they have on their web site like a neat way to deal with beads called a bead nest. A magnetic corner that has a sticky portion to hold beads on your frame. https://mbstitchco.com/

One more new and nifty item – “Stretchy Bits” sort of sounds like a candy – lol. This will be interesting when they restock. They made the mistake of not only underestimating the response for this product but they did it just before a wedding ! Yikes ! They are one inch pieces that you put together to fit the size of the canvas your going to stitch. You can put tacks in them, they are light weight and come in colors! Think of them as “modular stretcher bars”. When your done stitching you can take them apart and build the size you need for the next canvas. They come 50 pieces to a set. (Thank you Cathryn). https://stretchybits.com/

Have a stitching friend that celebrates Christmas and you want a unique gift – check out Joli Point Needlepoint – beautiful items !! The one that stood out though was the tree ornaments made of blown glass. No one else will have these !! https://jolipoint.com/collections/shop

Tips and Tricks: Some friends of mine were having a discussion about needle minders and how to store them. (I think they multiply over night at times). One of them had a very interesting way to deal with storing them – a cookie sheet !! When you think about it – it’s a great idea !! (We all need just one more don’t we?)

Who is this Famous Stitchers? That is the self made newlywed herself Morgan Julia. She started out painting nautical preppy needlepoint canvases when she lived in Annapolis MD and put pictures up on Instagram. She got a lot of reaction so she set up a web site and was able to take the company full time within 6 months in 2021. She moved to St. Petersburg FL and ran a boutique store which has exploded to pop ups, retreats and 2 brick and mortar stores (for now). Always by her side is her CFO (Chief Fetching Officer) Goldendoodle “Captain”.

Do you know who this Famous Stitcher is ?