Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Aladdin's Cave Open for Business UPDATED


My "local" shop, Needlewoman East, finally has a website. It's not much--just one page with their address, hours and trunk shows--but please note that the Christmas in July sale starts tomorrow!

http://www.theneedlewomaneast.com/Welcome.html

It's a terrific shop, full of painted canvases, threads, tools, books and charts, not to mention the helpful and pleasant staff. Maybe I'll see you there?

UPDATE: I'd added photos I took during my brief visit to the sale, but I'll not be talking about the things I bought since they are mostly threads for the next project. I think I'd better finish what I'm working on now before starting something new.

First, let me introduce the new owner of Needlewoman East. This is Liz, former investment banker, now the Aladdin who stocks this cave with treasures for us all. Liz is an avid needlepointer, and somewhere there's a large Melissa Shirley canvas of an old four-masted schooner that Liz will stitch one day.


Not to worry, though. Sue Jennings, the former owner of the shop, was present to dispense hugs and advice to all the stitchers who were rampaging through the shop. See? This is Sue's car. The bumper sticker reads "Don't just sit there-needlepoint!" Retired Sue may be, but she's always going to be a stitcher at heart.




I didn't just talk to shop owners and cars, though. I also ran into the counted thread designer Ruth Dits, who was kind enough to pose for a photograph for me. She's holding her latest design, Mystic, which I was astounded to see doesn't use any metallic thread to achieve the sheen and elegance I saw at Woodlawn when Ruth exhibited the model. It uses beads and Panache (the nylon thread I used in Autumn Leaves which I like) to look this gorgeous.






You can see a better image of Mystic on Ruth's website. This is a lovely design and at $12 for the chart package, a bargain!

http://www.ruthdiltsdesign.com/newest.html

Finally, I'll leave you with the trunk show, a wall and table covered with Mindy designs. You can see these better on her website but they are too pretty not to show off.



I had a wonderful time and can't wait until Christmas comes in July next year!