Personal Shopper

If you need help selecting colors, fabric or even an entire project you can make an appointment with one of the staff to help as your Personal Shopper. Appointment can be made by phone, fax or e-mail and are usually for 10-15 minutes. There is no charge for this service. We ask for appointment so we can be sure to spend the one-on-one time with you if you need it.

If you should need help with stitch selection or how to do a stitch for a project, we also offer Private Lessons.

We provide a color matching service if you want to switch from one thread type to another, or from one fabric to another. While we cannot always find exact matches we can usually get very close. This is helpful if you have a design that calls for a particular type of thread or fabric and you'd prefer to use something else. You do not need to provide us with substitues yourself, only what thread/colors you want to switch from and an idea of what to want to switch to (e.g. DMC to silk floss).

We can also pull threads for your project (e.g. a needlepoint canvas) if you're not able to make it into the shop to select them yourself. Call or e-mail us with your requirements and we'll see what we can do to help you.

If you purchase the thread and/or fabric selections resulting from either service, there is no extra charge. If you wish to only obtain a list of what we matched or pulled so you can purchase the items elsewhere or you cancel your request once we've started work on it, there is a $25/hour charge.

Finishing Services

Finishing services for most types of needlework can be arranged through the shop. We are fortunate to have in our town, one of the premier finishing services in the country, who handles a wide variety of projects from purses and stitching bags to ornaments and stockings with a lot in between. We also send items to other finishing firms around the country for specialized finishing.

If you have a specific deadline for a piece be sure to let us know when you bring it in so we can confirm with the finisher that it your deadline is manageable.

Kit Service

While many have most of the supplies they need for a design there are those times that you need the entire project put together. You can either give us a list of the items you need or ask us to kit a specific design. If you have preferences for material, thread or color changes be sure to let us know. We'll cut your fabric, serge it, pull the supplies and if you are not able to pick it up yourself, send it to you. You are always welcome to tell us in advance of a visit to the shop that you wish something kited and we can do that before you visit us. This is especially useful for those days you are in a hurry.

Would you like to tell someone near and dear what needlework you want for your birthday, anniversary or other special holiday? We make it easy with our gift registry. Just call, fax, e-mail or stop by the shop and let us know what you'd like to have listed. Then let your shopper know to contact us and we'll take care of the rest.

Fabrics serged and ready to go

All fabric we sell is clean finished on our shop serger (overlock). This prevent ravelling of your fabric and also means you have something ready to stitch on when you leave the shop or when your package arrives in the mail. If you are purchasing a piece larger than what you need to stitch on, let us know what sizes to cut your fabric into and we'll serge each of them.

Special Orders

No store can stock every needlework item that exists. We pick what we carry with a great deal of care and with quality in mind but there's just not enough room for everything on the market. If you are searching for a specific item we do not normally stock we will tell you whether or not we can special order it, or where you might be able to find it. As many vendors have minimum orders we must meet, special orders can take a while to be ordered and received.

Framing

We recommend our local framer, Bay Station Accents in Alameda. The owner, Jan, is herself a stitcher and knows that the quality of the framing can make your piece even more spectacular. Jan is only taking framing by appointment these days but give her a call: 510-523-7009 or send her an e-mail bayframing@sbcglobal.net.