Stitchtastic: May 2010

Summer's here......was it?

Hi all, I'm writing this during the first hot spell of the year,
well, the first one where I've had the chance to sit with my bare
feet in a paddling pool.....there's nothing better! I wasn't
stitching at the time but the thought did cross my mind that I may
very well do that if we get some more summer later.

In this newsletter we're focusing on social media (that's
facebook to you and me, plus twitter and some others too) and also
looking at the story of one stitcher's journey through our Lewis
Hamilton design. One thing following on from our last
newsletter, where we looked at stitching on a plane.

I'd like to say hi to Jenny, who sent me a lovely e-mail after my
article last month about my experiences attempting to stitch whilst
on our way to America. She told me about one of her friends, who has
taken a small cutter onto flights quite recently with no problems.
Whilst I can't guarantee that your own airline will allow you to
stitch on board the flight, the evidence is certainly building up
that you'll be able to stitch on board. Which really helps with the
boredom! Talking of stitching and planes, my Spitfire is coming on
well, I'm about three quarters of the way through and I hope to be
able to show it to you next month, all being well.

Our Lewis Hamilton design, beautifully completed by Kelly for her
friend Jade.

Kelly, Jade and Lewis

A couple of weeks ago I had a lovely e-mail from Kelly, who had
been working extremely hard to complete our Lewis Hamilton design
for her friend Jade. She sent these brilliant 'action shots' so that
I could see how she had stitched the design.

I love watching other people stitch, because everyone is
different. These photos are the next best thing, I can see for
example that Kelly likes to complete a large chunk of a certain
colour before moving on to the next one, and that she is happy to
start a second page of her design even if the first page still has
some stitching left to complete on it.

I really envy Kelly for this. I'm really weird about my stitching
and I have to finish a page of the design before I can move onto the
next page. Kelly's method is so much more efficient than mine!

Kelly says her friend Jade is Lewis' number one fan, and so she
worked night and day to complete the stitching in time for Jade's
birthday, working until 2am the previous night to finish - that's
friendship for you!

Apparently Jade absolutely loved the stitching, which was
obviously a relief to Kelly, we've all stitched for non stitching
friends and worried about whether they'll like it, after we've put
in a lot of hours, far more than if we'd simply shopped for a
present.

Well done Kelly, and good luck with your next stitching project.
If anyone has been inspired by Kelly's brilliant job, have a look at

http://www.stitchtastic.com/product/mclaren-hamilton-f1-caricature-cross-stitch-kit.aspx
.

Stitchtastic on Facebook!

I'm fairly new to Facebook. I've had great fun working out all
the different options and was delighted when, after our last
newsletter, some of you clicked 'Like' for our Stitchtastic facebook
page. Now we need more of you! I've put up lots of pictures of my
stitching, plus some of our fans are starting to add their own
pictures too. If you click 'Like' on our facebook page, you may have
the honour of appearing on the Stitchtastic website (don't let that
put you off!) and you'll hear all the latest news before anyone
else. You can link up to other stitchers who have completed our
designs, and compare notes! Search for 'Stitchtastic' on the
facebook search and get chatting! You can contact us that way with
any stitching queries you may have, or just show off your work. You
never know where it could lead to - maybe a starring role in our
next newsletter!

One little extra treat - have a look at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBCJcL8Bd1I to see our first
cross stitch video! We started small with this production of 'How to
thread a cross stitch needle', but we have big plans to produce a
lot more 'How to' videos. Let me know what you think by posting a
comment!

Part of our Facebook page

Next Month

Next month, we're going to concentrate on our aircraft designs,
which is why I really want to finish the Spitfire by then!

Enjoy the sunshine and see you in a few weeks.

Questions or comments? E-mail me at
sarah@stitchtastic.com or call +44 (0) 114 2353958

Until next time
Sarah
Designer

Is it still cold here?

Howdy! Sorry, that was incredibly cheesy. It was supposed to
refer to the fact that we've just returned from our holiday in the
US, but I wholeheartedly apologise to our American subscribers (and
everyone else, for that matter) for my greeting.

Anyway, here we are, back with our noses to the grindstone, ready
to stitch and ready to process those orders. All orders received
during our time away have now been processed and I apologise to
anyone who had to wait.

Another piece of good news - I've finished my Fiat 1921 Torpedo
design! I didn't take him away with us, he was done before that. I
actually started a new design on holiday and hope to show it to you
soon. I can't show you yet as it is still at the 'coloured blob'
stage. I'm sure you all know what I mean, when you've only just
started a design and it doesn't really look like anything yet. I'm
hoping that will change soon though.

Fiat 1921 Torpedo, done!

Stitchtastic on Facebook!

We're joining the teenies (is that what this decade is called?) with our
technological advances here at Stitchtastic - we have a facebook page!
Search for
Stitchtastic, you can see some of our designs, lots of comments from me
and a list of our fans. Then why not join us? All you have to do is click on
the thumbs up 'like' button on our home page, and you will be one of us.
(that's not as scary as it sounds!) More on Facebook next month, have a look
in the meantime, things are being added daily.

Stitching and Flying

I'd like to allay a few fears in this month's newsletter. Now I
can't obviously speak for every airline or every airport, but I
really wanted to stitch on our flight out to the states. It was a 9
hour flight and I'm not a good flyer, so I knew it would really
help. I searched all over the internet, even phoned our airline, and
no-one seemed quite sure if I could take my stitching onto the
plane. So I thought I would throw caution to the wind and give it a
go.

What had I found out so far? Well, I know I couldn't take a
cutter with a blade in it and I didn't want to take my embroidery
scissors, as they are precious to me and I didn't want to run any
risk, no matter how small, of losing them. However, needles are ten
a penny in our household so I popped a couple of those in. But how
to cut my thread? I read around a bit and discovered that many
stitchers recommend cutting their thread with the little cutter in a
box of dental floss. It worked perfectly! So I was all set. A new
kit ready to stitch, and all the bits and pieces I needed.

Now here's the reassuring bit. On arrival at the airport, we were
asked a series of questions at the check in desk. When I was asked
if I had anything sharp in my luggage, I explained that I had a
'blunt cross stitch needle' and I got the needle out for the
gentleman to see. He was quite happy, and cleared it to be carried
in my hand luggage. I had a great flight out and stitched for
several hours, really helping my slight aversion to the whole 'being
in the air' thing.

But what about the US authorities? On our way home, my bag was
searched (I'm always searched, I must have a suspicious face). The
lovely American official found the contents of my bag very
interesting and pulled out quite a few things, but when he got to my
cross stitch he wasn't bothered at all, I explained what it was and
he was quite happy. Unfortunately, stitching on the way back wasn't
really possible as the lights were off and it was a little bit
turbulent (don't EVER stitch in so-called 'rough air', it WILL end
in disaster), but I was still really glad I'd taken my stuff onto
the plane. And do you know what my newest piece of stitching is? A
Spitfire plane. Ironic?

Stitching a plane....on a plane!

Harley Davidson Designs

I can't show you all of our Harley Davidson designs. A negative
way to start this article? Well, not really because the reason I
can't show all of the designs is because we have over 50 of them.
Unless you really like our newsletter, I don't think any of you
would want to look at all of those! If you would like to see them
all, have a look at

http://www.stitchtastic.com/catalog/bikes_harley_davidson.aspx.

So how can I highlight our fantastic Harley range? I'm going to
go from the very smallest to the very biggest designs we have, with
a few squeezed in along the way.

Let's start with our smallest design, the Harley Keyring. It also
comes as a coaster (square or round) and is very popular as a gift,
or with beginner stitchers as it is a very easy stitch.

If you'd like to stitch something a bit bigger but still nice and
easy, try the Harley Sportster (7.1" by 4.1") or Harley Low Rider
(10.1" by 5.5")designs. The Low Rider comes in 3 colours, red, blue
or gunmetal.
When we move into the mid-size range, the choice of
designs becomes huge. If you know the particular bike you want to
stitch, just pop it into our search and away you go. If not, try
something generic like the Softtail Springer or standard Fat Boy
design (in blue, red, gold or yellow).

Finally, if you like a big design, then go for a challenge with
the beautiful Harley Fat Boy 2003 Anniversary model, weighing in at
23" by 12". It is incredibly detailed and looks amazing, but it
certainly isn't a quick stitch!

Whatever your Harley preference, I'm sure you'll find it in our
range. However, if you're at the 'It's a blue one' stage if anyone
asks you about a particular friend or relative's bike, I'd
surreptitiously ask them what model their bike is before ordering.
Or just stitch them a keyring!