Newsletter January 2009

	Happy New Year! Welcome to 2009! OK, as you  might imagine, I write the newsletter just before the next month begins, so for me it's still 2008 (just!). Apologies for the slight lateness of this month's newsletter, I have no excuse other than Christmas! If you've had the relatives over and didn't have a minute to stitch, make your number one New Year's resolution to stitch as much as you can in 2009! I'm really pushing to finish my Lewis Hamilton design, then I'm not sure what to stitch next. I've got so many charts and kits lined up, I'll have to take a couple of days to choose I think! I'm very tempted by the brand new Ferrari Testarossa you can see on the left, I really enjoyed designing it and I think it might be just as much fun to stitch!     The Ferrari Testarossa - our newest caricature design. Stitching For Charity When you've been stitching for a few years, I'm sure you'll agree that it gets more and more difficult to find a place for your stitching. The walls are full, all of your friends have received stitched pictures, Christmas cards, birthday cards, bibs for their babies, height charts for their kids…...need I go on? Have you ever thought about selling your stitching? It's not really a full time job (just think about how many hours go into just one design!) but can be very worthwhile for a charity of your choice. In this month's Cross Stitcher magazine, I noticed an article by a lady who'd been selling her stitching and giving the proceeds to the Alzheimer's Society. She'd sold it herself at craft fairs and on eBay, but there are some organized groups who will accept your stitching too, and even some stitching clubs who ask all of their members to stitch for a particular charity or organization. Last summer I stitched a large number of cards, along with my mother-in-law, which I then sold at a beauty day in aid of a local special care baby unit. Any donations are gladly received by these fantastically worthwhile causes, and over a number of days and activities we managed to raise £5,000! For information and tips on stitching for charity, please click on the link below.  Why not stitch some keyrings or coasters for charity? Cards always go down a treat too! Our smaller minitastic designs are great for a quick stitch! Read the rest of the article here Stitchtastic On Tour Phew! A month without a show! As much as I enjoy the stitching shows, it's great to have a few weeks to catch up on the housework! However, I feel ready now to get back into the swing of the shows, as they're a real experience. We'll be at a number of stitching shows over in 2009, starting in March at the NEC, click here for more details. If you've never been to a stitching show before, look out for our show special newsletter, coming up in the next couple of months.   January Spotlight Have you ever used the internet  to talk about your stitching? I know a lot of us buy our charts and kits online now, but there are also a huge number of other cross stitching related sites to visit. My favourite at the moment is www.craftbubble.com. It's run by Origin Publishing, the same people who produce Cross Stitch Crazy and World of Cross Stitching here in the UK, and it's great fun if you want to discuss anything craft related. I joined a couple of weeks before Christmas and can easily spend many a happy hour perusing the designs that people have just finished, or are still working on! I put up the Hamster I finished a couple of months ago, and got lots of comments about how cute he is! I then took a deep breath and put up my half finished Lewis Hamilton, and was relieved to see people asking to see it when it was finished! It's free to join craftbubble, have a look, put me on your friends list and let me know what you think! My username is SarahScott. We also have a craft group dedicated to our designs. I'm SarahScott on craftbubble.com, come and find me! These are the pictures I've put up so far. Next Month Is it February already?! The nights are getting a bit shorter, but it's still cold and our menfolk can still be persuaded into trying the delights of cross stitch! If you're a man who's already an avid stitcher, or you're a lady with a bored partner / husband / brother, then we'll have some tips on how to get them interested / keep them interested in our favourite hobby. If you're a male cross stitcher who doesn't need any extra encouragement, then please get in touch and I might just mention you in our next newsletter!     Questions or comments? E-mail me at sarah@stitchtastic.com or call +44 (0) 114 2353958 Until next time Sarah Designer