Economic Stimulus Package

aka Enablement.

In case you haven't heard, Anita is having a Needle sale. I placed an order yesterday with her yesterday, and can't wait to get it. The prices are excellent, and I stocked up on the bulk packages of petite needles, so I should be good to go for a while.

She's also got Carrie's Creations Threads for $1 a skein (I treated myself to a few) and several other overdyes as well. Definitely worth checking out, and did I mention she's offering free shipping for US orders over $65? And even if you don't manage to spend the full $65, her shipping prices are INCREDIBLY reasonable.

AND.....

She has scissors. Pretty scissors. I know. I'm just sayin....

Blog Award

Kim, Terry, and Patty all gave me this very cool award, and Dianne gave it back. Thanks, ladies!!!

The rules of the award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve nominated.

I have well over 200 blogs in my Google Reader, and if I didn't like them, I wouldn't read them. (Basically, I love ALL your blogs). I also try to leave comments on occasion so people know their blogs are being read. So whenever I pass on an award, I like to highlight blogs some of the blogs that I read, but definitely not all of them. I think people are more prone to click on a link within a post rather than for me to say, "Hey, check out my side bar."

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Go check out these seven blogs:

• Michelle - Cozy Egg
• Jennalynn - A Night Without Armour
• Dani - Navy Stitching
• Dianne - Dianne Rambling On
• Rachel - Willing Hands
• Shel - Stash of Sanity
• Heather - Quilt or Stitch?

And a BONUS site every stitcher should be familiar with, The LNS Report Card. Take a moment to check it out and add some comments about stores you've had experience with, just to keep the list updated. It's nice to have a resource for checking out potential LNS and ONS, and if you don't see one you shop at listed, be sure to contact the moderator, Genie. She's usually quick to respond and will get shops added to the list as needed.

Guess what was in the mail for me yesterday?

Less than a WEEK after I placed the order, my kit arrived from the UK! How's THAT for service??? I ordered from Sew and So, and not only did I get almost immediate confirmation when I ordered the kit, but they sent me a shipping confirmation when the chart went out (the day after I ordered it). It was nicely packaged in a sturdy envelope, so there were no bends or folds or anything. I would absolutely order from them again and recommend them to anyone. After my experience with the other store, I am so glad Sew and So came through. My only minor complaint was that shipping was almost $8 US, much higher than the other online store I ordered from, but with service like that, it's hard to complain.

So now I have to start stitching away on it so it's ready to personalize when the baby gets here. My friend is due in early September, so I want to have the bulk of the piece completed. I'm also going to do some re-arranging in the center section to be able to include the time of birth and the length. I think I have plenty of room to play around in there, especially if I take out the words "Born" and "Weight".

I also have to get in touch with my new LNS to find out if I Do has arrived yet. I asked them to order it 2 weeks ago and I haven't heard from them yet, so I might have to give them a little nudge. I know the owner is out recovering from surgery and the store is being run by part time staff, but I still need to get this piece stitched up in time for the wedding which is a month away.

I got my money back

Yesterday, I got an email from both Paypal and the company I ordered from. Paypal informed me my money had been refunded, and I received the following email from Stitch1Knit1:

Dear Jennifer,

Thank you for your recent order.

We regret that the item you ordered is out of stock and is no longer
available from our supplier. We have issued a full refund to your
payment card.

Pleasae accept our apologies for any dissapointment caused.

Regards,
Guy
STITCH1KNIT1

While it would have been really nice to know this six weeks ago, at least I got my money back, and was able to order the kit from SewExciting. (I hope this is a better experience). What sucks is that between the conversion rate and the higher shipping cost at SewExciting, the kit has gone from costing me $19 to $26. Oh well. Not much I can do. At least they refunded my payment. Too bad I had to go through Paypal to get it done.

And a very special thanks to Sally, who offered to call Stitch1Knit1 for me.

Another Needlework Store Goes Out of Business

I just ran across this while looking for some patterns....

Designs by Lena Rose is going out of business...

Grab Bags for sale - $22 each, includes shipping (USA Orders only)

THE GRAB BAGS WILL BE MADE UP OF OUR CHOICE (NO EXCEPTIONS) AND WILL HAVE A VAREITY OF ITEMS INCLUDING:
LARGE CHARTS
SMALL CHARTS
LARGE KIT
SMALL KIT
AN ASSORTMENT OF FIBERS
AN ASSORTMENT OF EMBELLISHMENTS
AN ASSORTMENT OF FABRICS
AN ASSORTMENT OF FUN STUFF

Rate your LNS

After the issues I had ordering from the ONS, I went looking for information to see if anyone else experienced the same thing with them, or if this was just a fluke incident. From what I discovered, this is just how they do business. I ran across a message board for rating and reviewing your local and online needlework shops:

LNS Report Card

For the store I dealt with, click here.