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Events & Reminders




Hours

Tue-Fri 11am - 5pm

Sat 11am - 4pm

First Sun 12 - 4pm

Sun/Mon - Closed

Next Open Sundays

Sep 2

Oct 7

Greetings Cathe,

I had fully intended to send a newsletter the beginning of August but as usual, time got away from me. Debi and I did the boutique at the EGA Regional Seminar in Rohnert Park July 21-23rd and both the prep work for it and the aftermath took up a lot of time. We had a great time meeting everyone who came to seminar and the venue was lovely (Sonoma State University). I have finally caught up with the hoards of paperwork, ordering and other bits that seem to consume my daily life at the shop. So hopefully I might get back on some regular schedule now (here's hoping)!

Christmas holiday deadlines for finishing are upon us!

  • September 2 - Stockings and Pillows
  • October 2 - Ornaments and Mini-Stockings

Anything submitted after those deadlines is not guaranteed to be done before this Christmas, although we can still drop it off and hope for the best.


News


Montengrin bookWe have received copies of Amy Mitten's An Autopsy of the Montenegrin Stitch, which Amy republished in July. Nicola Parkman has noted it as a reference for her MH 1656 My Beloved's Gift Sampler and we've heard a couple of other designers are referencing it in their new designs. If you don't have a copy in your stitching library, it's an excellent book to add to it.  You'll find it in our online catalog.

 

We've not been able to keep our RolaFrames in stock and as it's just Dan who makes them, we wait patiently while he gets to our order in his massive queue. It does sound like he'll be getting to our next order in the next couple of week, so we hope to get more of them in stock sometime in September. If you have a size you are looking for, for a future project, order early so we can make sure to get it on the next order if it's not coming on this one. You'll find them on our Scroll Frame page. We will be adding more sizes as well as time goes by.

Caron Collection, Evertite and Gloriana orders are also taking an extended period of time these days. Good news is that the vendors are very busy. But it does mean needing to plan farther ahead for projects if you need a particular item. We appreciate your patience as I'm sure the vendors do as well.

Week's 46 count
                                                linenJean Lea (Attic Needlework) and I have been working with Miranda Weeks (Weeks Dye Works) to have them dye Zweigart's 46 count Bergen linen. We've received test dyes of Parchment, Mocha and Straw and they look great (see the photo at right). We're still figuring out pricing so they are not order-able yet, but we should have that worked out in the next couple of weeks. Miranda is also working on dyeing some other colors to see how they take on the 46 count linen (they turn out a bit lighter so far).

We're hoping to expand the color options for 46 count in the very near term with Week's as an option. Once I have pricing and colors set, I'll post a note to the blog. If you want to be on a waiting list or have a Week's color you'd like to see dyed in 46 count, drop me an e-mail.

 


New Things
   

Permin Gold
                                                        Needles Pat's
                                                        Faborit Needle Bohin
                                                        Longues

We have picked up 3 new types of needles for your stitching pleasure. Permin has 4 sizes of gold tapestry needles and we're putting in vials to make them more affordable. You can get sizes 22, 24, 26 and 28 in a vial of 10 needles for $8.00. We also have Pat's Favorite Needle which is a gold-eye needle made for Pat Carson (a long time industry person). We are packaging them 5 to a vial for $6.00, although you can special order the 25 packs as well.

Bohin makes a very thin #12 sharp needle called a Longues, which is made for textile restoration and costume repair. And it works great on high count linens where you're using something like Tudor Silk or Soie Surfine. You will need a thinner threader than you normally would use as it has a very tiny eye. We have the needles and will be picking up the thinner threaders as well (Clover and Colonial Needle both make Ultra-fine threaders).

You'll find the new needles in our online needle catalog. If you need one of the really thin threaders, make a note in the Comments or let us know when you call. We expect to get them in the next week or so and add them to the online catalog at that time.


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Inlay Slate Frame

Inlay Slate
                                                FrameOnce in a while a vendor finds a stash of something really interesting that I pounce upon. We have a limited supply of some inlay slate frames that were proto-types a few years ago. The inlay versions are no longer made so it was great to find a stash of even proto-type versions. They are not perfect but if you want an inlay slate frame, grab one as it's doubtful we'll see them again. We have two variants of them. Both come with 14" slats and one has an 8in tape, the other a 12in tape. Both are $90 and you'll find them in our online catalog.

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Just Nan Hazel
                                                  Fun Witch MouseJust Nan Witching
                                                  Hour CubeHalloween means a new Just Nan Witch Mouse and Hazel Fun Witch Mouse has arrived with her Witching Hour Cube. You'll find the charts and the new needle tin in our online catalog. We have the fabric for the mouse and are still sorting out the purple fabric for the cube.


New magazines we have gotten in are Inspirations #99, Just Cross Stitch Halloween Issue and the October 2018 Issue. The Just Cross Stitch 2018 Ornament issue is in transit to us and will be here in about week. Note that Inspirations #99 features a design by Betsy Morgan for those that follow her work.


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We stocked up on Floche before we did the EGA boutique so we've got a boat load of it! Here's a photo from the event with a table covered in it.

Table full of
                                                Floche!

We ended up converting some partially empty drawers in one of our cabinets to over-stock for the hanks we have.

Floche Drawers


A Flower AlphabetWe ship all over the world and we sell Floche both in the hanks as as well a quarter hanks. You'll find it in the online catalog.

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Elisabetta Sforza's monogram book, A Flower Alphabet, continues to be a very popular book. We still have a good supply of them in stock and you can order through the online or by calling us at the shop.


NDO
                                                    TranquilityKathy Rees of Needle Delights Originals will be here the last weekend of September (29th and 30th) teaching the final installment of her 3 part series which began with Serenity. This final piece is called Tranquility and uses similar colors to the both Serenity and Harmony (from last year). We do have spots open in the class so if you'd like to attend you can register through our online catalog or call us at the shop.


20th Anniversary Specials
   

I mentioned in March that for our 20th Anniversary we'd be having some special items created for us during the year. Two of those have come to fruition and are available now. The theme for this is Cathe's Favorite Things, so you can count on them having purple in them, as it's my favorite color.

NIAH 20th
                                                  Anniversary Pyn
                                                  Pillow
NIAH
                                                  20th Anniversary Pyn
                                                  Pillow KitJeannette Douglas designed a cute little Pyn Pillow with violets, bees and a haystack, using 2 of my favorite threads - Au Ver a Soie Soie 100/3 and Gloriana Florimell. The design is stitched on 35 count Zweigart Floba, which is great evenweave - it has quite a bit of body and isn't as hard to see as 35 count linen (says the person who stitches on 40 count over-one). It features a haystack with a needle in it as well as a quail, since we're in California and it's our state bird. The kit has all of the supplies you'll need with the exception of sewing thread and stuffing. You could use walnut shells or lambswool, both of which we sell at the shop and can be found as Related Items for the kit. You'll find the kit in our online catalog or you can contact us at the shop (or visit us in person and see the stitched version).

NIAH Macaron
                                                  Needle MinderWhile I've not been baking much of late, one the things I've enjoyed baking are French macarons. Lisa at Accoutrements came out with a needle minder in the style of a macaron last year and this year she created a special color way for me. It's two shades of purple (surprise). So while it's not edible it sure is yummy to have on your project (and way less calories). You'll find this in our online catalog.

 

We have had some staffing changes recently. Cymone is in grad school now and is off studying and being a Teaching Assistant. Karen joined us a couple of weeks ago and is learning the ropes, which is large task given the breadth of our inventory :-). We wish Cymone well in grad school and are happy to welcome Karen to our stitching staff!

If you have scissors that need to be sharpened we have arranged for The Perfect Edge to come visit the shop once a month. They have a mobile sharpening service in the East Bay and visit several businesses in Alameda. If you're interested, drop us an e-mail or give us a call at the shop.


Destination Dallas, the fall needlepoint market, is in 2 weeks and I'll be meeting up with my friend Deb from Stitchville USA for a weekend of shopping fun. If you have canvases was you want me to look for or accessories, drop me a note.


Happy Stitching,

Cathe

...and Jennifer, Debi, Marissa, Karen

cathe@needlestack.com

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Parking at 2433 Mariner Square Loop


We have two parking lots for the office complex. One is off Mariner Square Drive on the courtyard side of the building. The other is behind building #2417, which is next to us. There is no dedicated handicapped parking in either lot and the best place to park for a really flat surface is in the back lot and come in the Mariner Square Loop door. Yes, we are at the corner of Mariner Square Loop, Marina Village Parkway and Mariner Square Drive (go figure!). We keep both doors unlocked during store hours. There is no metered parking here to worry about - it's the two lots and plenty of street parking on Mariner Square Drive. Our complex sits directly on top of the Webster Tube so if you have trouble with your GPS finding us we're 1 block from the Target store (and not in the shopping center).

Needle In A Haystack

2433 Mariner Square Loop, Suite 102
Alameda, CA 94501

510-522-0404 phone * 877-HAYSTAC Toll-Free

haystack@needlestack.com * www.needlestack.com


Hours: Tue - Fri 11am - 5pm; Sat 11am - 4pm, 1st Sunday Noon-4pm

CLOSED Sun-Mon