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Events & Reminders




Hours

Tue-Fri 11am - 5pm

Sat 11am - 4pm

First Sun 12 - 4pm

Sun/Mon - Closed

Next Open Sundays

Nov 4

Dec 2

Fall Greetings Cathe,

I hope that you are enjoying some fine fall weather. Here in Alameda we get our warmest weather in September and October since typically we don't have fog then. This week we've had lovely days of 70-75 degrees and sunny. Unfortunately there is no rain in the forecast for the next two weeks, so "brown" season hasn't ended yet. I tell people we have two seasons - green (when it rains) and brown (when it doesn't). Since we don't get rain usually from June to November this means brown season lasts a long time...I certainly have high hopes for rain sometime in the foreseeable future!

If you listen to the Fiber Talk podcast by Gary Parr, I'll be the guest on the Sunday night episode. Gary was intrigued by my somewhat eclectic background (gospel singer, one time textiles major and computer geek) and we had a great chat. I might show up again on the show down the road since we didn't get through all of the topics we thought we might discuss. Gary and Christine have a wide range of guests and it's worth checking out if you've not listened before. You'll find them at wetalkfiber.com.


News

 
We are presently flush with RolaFrames. Dan makes a great product and as a sole manufacturer it's worth the wait for our orders. If you had been waiting to place an order our inventory is pretty good. You'll find them on our Scroll Frame page. Eventually I'll add the stands to the online catalog as well, but we do occasionally have one of the smaller floor stands and one of the table stands in stock.

Evertite orders are taking a really long time now so we're trying to get as stocked up as we can before the holidays in case you're itching to start a new project. If you need a specific bar size soon, let us know ASAP.


New Fabrics


Weeks Dye Works has dyed several colors for us on
Zweigart's 46 count Bergen linen. We now have Aztec Red, Confederate Gray, Havana, Mocha, Parchment and Straw.

Week's 46 count
                                                linen

I have added them all to the online catalog. If you want the custom cut for Hands Across The Sea's MH1856 My Beloved's Gift, you'll find that off the MH1856 order page. Aztec Red turns out a really lovely shade of brick red on the 46 count. One thing we learned from Weeks was that this fabric tends to absorb the dye really well, so it has to be dyed on its own. When the original samples they did for Jean (Attic Needlework) and I were done, they had mixed the 46 count in with other counts. And it altered the color on all of the fabrics. So if we ask Weeks to add more colors over time we will need to keep in mind that they can't just throw a cut into an existing dye bath.

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If you are a linen aficionado as I am, you might be interested in the new Sotema Italian linens being brought into the US by Access Commodities. I had heard of Sotema before as a manufacturer of great quality linens but I'd never actually seen any of them. In working with Lamora at Access Commodities on what to bring in, I got to see physical swatches, which was great in determining what I was most interested in. There are two colors in 30 count linen, Cobweb Lace and Swan Feather. In 37 count there are 4 colors (photo is below) and we even have two colors of Linen Crepe Bellek and Cobblestone for surface embroidery. We'll feature the Linen Crepe down the road when I've had time to stitch some sample.

Sotema 37 count
                                                linen
Sotema 37 count
                                                  linen stitched
                                                  samplesFor those who want to try the 37 count we are making up sample packs with an Ornament Cut (~8.5x9") of the 4 colors. The cost is $13.94. You can order any of the Legacy Sotema linens or the sample pack here.

To the left are some photos of my stitched samples on the Aesthetic White. This linen has a very nice hand - it's not stiff and the surface is very smooth. I did my samples with Soie 100/3, Soie Surfine, Soie d'Alger and Gilt Sylke Twist (yes, I do cross-stitch with GST). For the best coverage over-two or doing tent stitch over-one use Soie d'Alger. If working over-one doing a full cross-stitch, use Soie 100/3. The Soie Surfine will work as well, but it's definitely sparser.  Click on the photo and you'll get a larger photo to view (without the notations).

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We also have a new Legacy Altar Linen for embroidery. This takes the place of the former Ecclesiastical linen which is no longer available. While not identical, it has a similar effect and is good for church embroideries.


Other New Goodies
   

Gingerbread
                                                      Elf Mouse Gingerbread

                                                          Elf Mouse
                                                          Stocking


Just Nan
is releasing their 2018 Gingerbread Elf Mouse next week and we have it as well as the companion Stocking on order. This is not an auto series so if you want the new one, you can either order online or give us a call at the shop. Both designs use Picture This Plus Gingerbread linen and you can probably squeeze both on an Ornament Cut (~9x9). But for safety you might want to order one for each design if doing both. Click on the photos above to find the order pages for e
ach of them. And the fabric will be listed in Related Items (and it's the only place to order the Ornament Cuts).

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Inspirations #100
New magazines we have gotten in are Inspirations #100 and the Just Cross Stitch 2018 Ornament issue. There are some great articles in this anniversary edition of Inspirations.


20th Anniversary Specials
   

For our 20th Anniversary this year we have some special items being created for us throughout the year. 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 MinderOne of 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.
Wonderful WisteriaIt'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.

And our most recent addition is a peyote beaded fob from Fern Ridge Collection. I love Wisteria and the lovely ladies at FRC created one for me. It even comes with a little "20" charm to add if you wish.  This design has extra beads on the front so you get the effect of the way wisteria hangs on the vine. You'll find it in our online catalog.

 

I had a blast at Destination Dallas in mid-September, especially meeting up with my friend Deb from Stitchville USA. I came back with about 60 or so new needlepoint canvases, bags from Walker in San Francisco and other fun things. Stop by the shop to see them all.

One of the many updates I need to do for the online catalog is adding new threads. I picked up new Painters Threads, hand-dyed Au Ver a Soie Braids, hand-dye Soie Gobelins and some other. And I've got the new Access Commodities threads either here or coming - Silk Wrap Purl in #4 and #8 (the original is now called SWP #2). There's Silk Serpentine Gimp (really lovely), Silk Crinkle Gimp (which is coming back into production for awhile), and Facette (which I've not seen yet). As a thread lover, I'm excited by all of the new threads coming down the pike.

Also coming in the next few weeks is an order from Graziano. We'd not been able to get many of their fabrics for quite some time and after the closing of Norden Crafts late in 2017, I had pretty much given up. But their US sales rep contacted one of my shop owner buddies and now Access Commodities will be importing it. I've ordered their Linen Aida, which was always my favorite Aida (and yes, I do stitch models on Aida), and we'll now be able to reliably get 45 count Florence linen. I'm excited for the shipment to get to the states soon!!!

I hope you have some time to stitch on your favorite project. I'm trying to get a bit of work done on my Kathy Rees Tranquility piece and I'm looking forward to starting Laura J. Perin's cyber class for Bee-utiful Garden. There's never enough time for it all!


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