Announcing the Original's Sequel!

At long last!  I've been sitting on this sampler for awhile now.  I designed it in the spring, and then my friends at Creativebug and I decided to film a workshop based on this pattern, so I've been waiting patiently for this day to arrive.  The sampler just got listed in my shop, and is now live on the Creativebug site.  I think it has been worth the wait- and I can't wait for you guys to try it.

They captured every last detail on film, getting each stitch from a few angles and making sure that your questions are answered.  The set for this workshop, made by the amazing Courtney Cerruti,  generated a lot of buzz even before the workshop launched, thanks to instagram.  Courtney posted a tutorial for those awesome yarn banners here.

This workshop took a whole day to shoot, but we were kept going by a hilarious crew.  What else kept us going? Vegan donuts!  I'm not a vegan, but these maple donuts are amazing.   Can you complete this sampler without donuts?  Of course! But I wouldn't recommend it.....  (Remember this?)

July Sampler of the Month: Chain Stitches

Hello there.....  As you might know, each month I send out a different thematic sampler to subscribers.  This month, I decided to put an end to the paper newsletter that I had been including in each order.  It seemed like a lot of paper, and  I wanted to be able to include links, photos, and in general a lot more information than I could include in the small page that I had been printing. So, welcome to the new newsletter!

This month, we're working on chain stitches.   The sampler includes a few different varieties, including the two color, or checkered chain stitch.   That one takes a long time, but I think the color change is worth it.  You could even get fancy and make it a three color stitch!

I spent fifteen years doing the chain stitch one way, only to be inspired by this tutorial to try it out a little differently.  It changed me!  I think you'll like it.

If you've been a subscriber since (at least) last month, you will have had a chance to try out the Flower Thread that went out with everyone's samplers in June.  I love this thin cotton thread, and I'm excited that I've got a pack of four colors to send to one blog reader.  Subscribers have multiple ways to enter, but even non-subscribers are eligible.  To enter, leave a comment here, and/or post a photo of any one of your monthly samplers as a work in progress (or a finished product if you're speedy) on either flickr, pinterest, or instagram.  Be sure to leave each one as a separate comment with a link so we can see your work.   Use the hashtag #dropclothsamplers so we can find it easily elsewhere.   

I'll leave the contest open until July 25th to give everybody time to get organized with photos and instagrams.  

PS- If you're reading this and wanting to join in the fun, I've got a few extra samplers this month.  In general the cutoff date to get the current month's sampler is the fifteenth of the month, but I'll happily mail out chain stitch samplers this month (while they last) to new subscribers.  

****I am a little behind the times- Sherrie- you're the winner!  I'm e-mailing you now....

Thank You.....

Holy cow, you all really know how to make a vacationing girl feel good.  That week that I spent in Michigan was a much needed vacation.  If you've never been to western Michigan in the summer, you really should try it out.  The cool lake breezes, the dunes, the fried fish?  It's all pretty amazing.  My Grandma liked to tell people that she had travelled all over the country, to many of the national parks, and that she was so happy that she had settled on living in western Michigan, because she really believed that it was the most beautiful place in the country.  In the middle of the summer, when it's a cool 75 with an offshore breeze, it's hard to disagree with her.  I feel pretty lucky that my family lives there and that I get to vacation there with all of them every summer.

My vacation was made all the sweeter as I checked my shop everyday and saw that many of you were buying my samplers!  Thank you to all you new embroiderers!  I got back last week and spent a crazed three days shipping out orders all over the globe.  I've been thinking a lot about all those samplers today, as many of you have been writing to tell me that they're arriving.  I like to imagine the collective embroidery party that is happening as you all get out your hoops and start stitching.  Thank you, thank you for making what I do possible, and thank you for inspiring me to keep drawing new patterns for you all to stitch.......there's more to come this summer. Stay tuned!

PS- in the spirit of a collective emroidery party- please do tag!  If you're on instagram or twitter, use #dropclothsamplers  Thanks!

Out of Print Samplers, and a Summer Sale!

Once, many years ago, I went to Vermont with my then girlfriend and her family to stay at their cottage up in the mountains.  It was beautiful.  There were cupboards full of blue willow china, and kayaks, and late night swims, and a general store. But the thing that made the most lasting impression on me was the freezer, down a long dirt road, that was full of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.  Nailed to the side of the freezer was a can, where you put your money to pay for your ice cream.

Where I grew up, there are similar situations set up for asparagus, or cherries, or zucchini, but ice cream? In the middle of a field in a deep freeze, and not only that but Ben and Jerry's?  It was pretty dreamy, and it convinced me that New England was an ok place to vacation.

Man o man have I been dreaming about a mountain (er, make that an ocean) cottage lately.  New York is sweltering hot right now.  The humidity the last time I checked was about 1000%.  It's the kind of summer weather that makes me want to take about fifteen showers a day.

Which is why I'm so excited to go to Michigan today, to spend a long week on the big lake, and to soak in every breath of fresh air that I can.

While our housesitter is amazing at keeping the plants alive, she will not be shipping out orders, so I'm stopping by here to tell you about my own tin can policy.  I'm leaving the store open, and all orders starting now will ship out on July 9th.  You can take 20% off everything with the code MICHIGANSUMMER until then.

I also wanted to tell you that I uncovered a small pile of discontinued Cake and Chain Stitch Special samplers from way back while I was moving into the new space last month, and I thought I'd add those to the shop today before I take off.  These are in limited supply, and will most likely not be reprinted*, so get them while they are hot and on sale!    Click over to the shop to see what's what.  There are a few colors of each.

*I'm thinking of maybe reprinting the Cake Sampler on pink again if there's interest.  What do you think?  

PS- To see one of my favorite versions of the Chain Stitch Special sampler, check out Suzanne Reynold's blog.....

PSS- As far as I know Susan Anderson's contest is still going....make sure you get your hat in the ring!

Small town joys and big city woes........

I've been spending this afternoon packing up this month's edition of subscription samplers, and  I've been missing the women that helped me last month so much.  My mom and two of her friends spent an evening cutting, folding, ironing, wrapping, stickering and licking envelopes with me to get all those samplers out the door and to the post office last month.  Talk about generous..... I've been all by my lonesome self today, and while I genuinely like what I'm doing, it is a bit lonesome, and boy o boy does it take a lot longer with one instead of four.  Thank you, Mom!  Thank you, Mom's friends!

The people that were helping me stuff envelopes in Michigan last month were not the only thing that made packing up all those subscriptions last month so effortless.  The postoffice in the town where my family lives is a real treat as well.  A tiny little post office with the world's friendliest postmaster is right across the street from where I grew up, and the postmaster, Fred, happens to also be a good family friend.  Those of you who live in small towns might not appreciate the joy I feel going to this particular post, while New Yorkers and other city dwellers will acknowledge the lack of bullet proof glass separating postmaster from customer, and the genuine smile on Fred's face.  He actually asks how I am every time I go in there!   It's the little things in life, you know?

PS-------Today is the last day to enter the Color Wheel and Thread giveaway.  Enter here!  

PSS-------Big news!  Creativebug has been nominated for a Webby award!  Vote here......

Color Wheel Debut......

To know me is to know that I like a lot of color.  In my kitchen cupboards are piles of Fiestaware.  When my friend asked what colors I had, I just looked at him blankly.  All the colors..... I have all of them!  I've never been one to shy away from bright, saturated things, which is why, as I've been re-evaluating my sampler buisness, it seemed strange that for the most part, the samplers themselves are black and white.  They get filled in with a lot of color (or not, check out this amazing grey version) but on their own, there hasn't been a lot of color.  It's a goal of mine for this year to begin phasing in more color, and this first one is a lot like my kitchen cupboard- it features all the colors....

Inspired by the color wheel, and by my love of all things full spectrum, this one features twelve stitches (all but one of them are included in this Creativebug workshop.)

Come back tomorrow for a chance to win your own copy as well as a handful of Dyedfiber threads to stitch with.......

Thank You.....

I've been travelling a lot lately, both for fun and for not so fun reasons.  My Grandma is sick, and I spent the last week in Michigan with her.  It was so hard to leave, and so hard to wake up this morning to a big pile of projects that are looming large.   As I was packing up orders, I started to feel really overwhelmed by it all.  I took a break.  I went to Yoga.  I came back and found an inbox full of really nice notes from some of you, telling me how much you like the samplers and how excited you are to get started.  Thank You.  It was just what I needed.

If you ordered in the last six or seven days, your orders are getting packed up today and tomorrow, and will get mailed out as soon as possible.  I usually ship lighting fast, but I'm a little behind.  I am a one woman show, and I really do hand address and hand iron and wrap every order.  Thank you so much for understanding.

PS: I was featured on the Soulemama blog this weekend, and there's a coupon code over there for 10% in the shop.   Just use code SOULEMAMA when you check out before February 28, 2013.

Subscriptions are in the mail!

I took a bag of eighty subscriptions to the post office yesterday.  Stand by your mailboxes, and get your needles ready!  Here is a little preview....

Sampler Love.....

I was so excited last night when I popped over to the Flickr Sampler of the Month Group and found these two pictures from Grace Anna.  I absolutely love the way she worked up this first sampler.  Those teeny tiny neat little stitches on the text?  Amazing!  Grace Anna, amazing embroiderer that she is, is also a knitwear designer.  Check out her fabulous designs here.

I would LOVE to see what the rest of you are doing....please do post pictures of your works in progress.  And please, if your backside is not as neat and tidy as Grace Anna's, take heart.  Mine isn't either.  Check out this post for more about that.

Upcoming Events......and more about mail!

Join me and a few other Creativebug instructors this weekend at the New York Public Library for Crafternoon!  We'll be hand embroidering handkerchiefs and swapping love stories.  I hope you can come to this free event!   Reservations are recommended, and you can RSVP here.

I've also got an embroidery workshop coming up at my favorite Upper East Side sewing shop, Pins and Needles.  If you've never been to this beautiful store, you're in for a treat.  Please join me on the 21st to learn six new stitches.  I've got a more advanced workshop coming up the 28th if you've conquered the basics and want to learn more about image transfers.   Sign up and learn more here.

I've been spending a lot of late nights the last few days making cards and sorting through vintage postcards and stationary, picking out just the right ones for my long list of Month of Mail pen pals.  It's so much fun!  I don't think it would be too late to join, even if you only send a few notes out this month.  It feels so good to send a little love by post.   My friend Bonnie is hosting a related giveaway on her blog.  Enter here to win a sweet care package.  

One more thing.....if you are not so big on sending mail, but LOVE getting mail.....you have until February 10th to sign up fo the Sampler of the Month Club.  This month's orders have got Valentine's Day written all over them.  Click here to get mail from me once a month for the rest of the year......

Get your needles threaded!

Subscriptions to both near and far went in the mailbox today and I can't wait for you all to receive them!  As you begin working, please check out the brand new flickr group I created just for you.  It thrills me to know that people as near as Queens and as far as Sweden are working on these this month, and I would LOVE to see what you come up with.  Thanks so much for being a part of the club......

Happy New Year, and a deadline.......

Happy New Year everybody!  This year, the holidays felt more welcome than ever.  I had a very busy December, and relished almost every minute of my break.   It felt so good to bake cookies and lounge around, to indulge in this fabulous cocktail, and to catch up on last season's Downton Abbey.   Things are slowly getting back to normal around here, with the rogue cocktail and bits of Babka left over from New Year's Eve popping up now and then.   I mean, it would be too bad to say goodbye altogether to the merriment, no?

In the spirit of the new year, I'm in the midst of a big reorganization in the studio.  It's too much of a horrible mess right now to show you a picture, so I'll show you this... the in process view of this year's first sampler.  Thank You so much to everyone who has subscribed!  I am starting to address your envelopes this weekend, and can't believe just how many of you there are!   If you are still thinking of Subscribing, and would like to start out your year with Couching, the deadline to order is January 10th.        The first samplers will mail out on January 15th.  

I hope you all are having a great start to this year.  I feel really hopeful and good about it.  There's lots in store, and so many exciting possibilities.   It's cold here for the first time since 2011, and I'm amazed how much that has changed my outlook on life.  It feels so good to have cold cheeks!   I'm looking forward to more drawing, more eating, and more embroidery.  See you soon!

See you in Soho......

Tomorrow, I'll be in Soho, making art in the window space at Etsy's Pop-Up Holiday Shop.  I spent a long time going around in circles about what exactly I would do there, and came up with a plan I think will look great.  It will be a portrait of Mary Oliver, and a take off on this sampler.  Part of executing that plan involved going to Purl Soho and buying a giant pile of beautiful prints, which was so far my favorite part.   Isn't pattern fun?

If you're in New York, and inclined to come by and say hello, please do!  I'd love to see you.  Beware that you might find yourself with a needle and thread in hand, suddenly wrapped up in stitching.  I will put you to work!  Pack a thimble!  (PS- if you really do want to help, come after lunch when the glue will be dry)

Stay tuned to my instagram feed (or facebook) for updates throughout the day tomorrow.  You can find me as dropcloth in both places....

On a different note- Thank you!  Thank you thank you to all of you who have signed up for Sampler Subscriptions, and thank you for those of you who are signing up for Thursday's giveaway!  If you haven't thrown your name into the hate, please do!  You've got two more days, and if you've already signed up, remember, that there are three ways to do so!  Add a pinterest re-pin or a link to your work in progress on Flickr to up your chances!  Katy and I will draw a name Thursday night.  Good luck!  That's a lot of exclamation points!  Can you tell I am excited?

Announcing Subscriptions.....and a big giveaway!

When teaching workshops large and small, one question that I get asked a lot is "what's your favorite stitch?"  Although in a lot of the workshops I teach I often introduce an array of fancy stitches, I must admit that in my own artwork, my favorite stitches tend to be three simple ones- the back stitch, the french knot, and more recently, couching.  I am, like most people, susceptible to ruts.  The back stitch has always been my favorite.

Somewhere along the line of this year's workshops, I thought it would be fun to introduce a challenge- a routine-busting plan to help me and everybody else break out of their stitch ruts and try some new ones.  From that idea and from a particularly helpful phone call with my friend Jill*, the idea for an Embroidery Subscription was born.  I've spent the last month or so (including some very windy days in the midst of a Hurricane) drawing a series of samplers. Each one highlights a different family of stitches, starting with these first two- the Filling Stitches and Couching Stitches, stitched on our Thanksgiving road trip.  Special thanks to Katy for driving so that I could embroider, and special thanks to my mom for finishing the first one  when my hands couldn't stitch any longer!

Subscriptions are now available in 3, 6 or 12 month increments, and will begin mailing out on the fifteenth of each month, starting in January.   You can begin a subscription at any time. Each five inch sampler fits perfectly in a five inch hoop, and can easily be finished within a month's time, just in the nickle of time for the next one to arrive!  At the end of the year, you will have stitched the vast majority of your average embroidery how-to book.

These subscriptions are of course available as gifts, please make a note in checkout and I will send a handwritten card (with your note if you leave me one) letting the recipient know who it's from....

I've got lots of exciting ideas in store for these subscriptions, and I can't wait to see how you all complete them.  To a year of new stitches...........

Now for the fun part!  I have teamed up with Creativebug to offer one lucky reader a combination Sampler Subscription and Creativebug Subscription.  You'll win a month of instruction and three months of samplers, delivered right to your inbox and front door!    There are three ways to enter to win....

This Contest is now closed- but you can still use the discount Holiday2012 for 10% off everything, including Subscriptions, in the shop.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/dropcloth

I can't wait to see what you're working on, and I can't wait to spend a year exploring new ways of mark making with you.  If you're so inclined, please do enter all three ways!  


*If you are excited about the idea of a subscription but are more of a knitter than an embroiderer, please do check out Jill's amazing hand dyed yarn subscriptions....I'm no knitter but her colors are dreamy....

Free Shipping Today through Sunday

New Dropcloth Stickers.....

I hope you all had a happy and restful Thanksgiving.  The season of shopping seems to be upon us, so I thought I'd give a little incentive over at the shop.  Please use code BLACKFRIDAY2012 (no spaces please) for Free Domestic Shipping in the shop from now through Sunday night.   Please stay tuned next week for an announcement (join the mailing HERE to be the first to know) and a few updates in the classes and events department......Happy Holidays!

Remembering Birdland....

I don't know if I ever told you this, but I grew up next door to a hardware store.  The apartment that my family lived in looked out onto the roof of said hardware store, and since the store used to be a rolling rink (a bowling alley?) it had a curved roof and was always leaking.  I have fond memories of snow days spent baking cookies and passing them out the windows to Mr.Emery and his assistant, who were out there with a steaming bucket of tar trying in vain to patch it up and keep the snow from dripping in.  The store, Birdland, holds a lot of special memories for me, not the least of all is the fact that at the end of a long row of greeting cards, there was a box full of unused envelopes, extras, that were free for the taking.  I remember sorting through those envelopes to find the prettiest colors, and looking for the biggest ones.  Valentines day brought lots of pink and red.   I had a little collection of my own at home, gleaned from many trips next door.

When I first started mailing people samplers, I didn't have a plan for how to "market" myself or "brand" my product.  The samplers caught me by surprise.  I was invited to teach at Squam, and upon hearing that I would have a table at the end of session sale, I punted and decided to sketch up that first design.  Lots of people bought those first prints and a few blogged about them, and suddenly, while on vacation with almost no internet, I started getting dive bombed with e-mail requests from people all over the country who wanted to buy them.  I remember the first woman who bought one lived in Madison- and I mailed it to her in a business envelope pinched from my Dad's desk and sealed with scotch tape.  It made it just fine.

Flash forward three years and I am still mailing samplers out in envelopes, and sealing them with scotch tape.  When I lived in Chicago I scoured the thrift stores for packs of colorful envelopes, often using their cards to add structure in the mail.  On my last trip to San Francisco I hit the motherlode of beautiful envelopes at Scrap- those will be shipping out samplers all winter long.   With a rubber stamp for a return address and another to direct buyers back to the blog, the envelopes have been all the branding I've invested in.

One of the things that I love most about owning this little company of mine is preparing and sending you mail.  I love addressing the envelopes and ironing the samplers into shape.  I love picking out which envelope I'll use and, these days, picking out which piece of vintage wrapping paper I'll use to wrap it in first.  As part of the studio clean out  this fall I came across a huge box of vintage wrap that I had been collecting and saving for years.  I made a spontaneous decision to cut it all into sampler sizes and begin using it at once.  I've yet to regret diving into that stash- and it really does make me happy to wrap each of the samplers individually in pretty papers.  

However- I recently found out that the business was accepted into an upcoming sale here in Brooklyn- the PS321 Stuff You Should Buy Sale (no wondering what's going on at this event!) and I've been re-thinking my "brand" and my "marketing."  To that end, I've been doodling away at a logo, and am for the first time thinking about how to package the samplers witha  little more context.  As for the samplers that get ordered from the etsy shop, those will still be going out in hand wrapped vintage paper and thrifted envelopes, because I like thinking of them as little gifts, and I like adding a little bit of handmade flourish to each one.....

Mistletoe is Back.....

A limited number of Mistletoe Samplers are now available in the shop.  If you start stitching now, I bet you can finish before Thanksgiving.  In other news, we got mail yesterday!  Hooray  for the little things in life, like postal service and electricity!

Best Mom Ever.....

I don't know if I ever told you before, dear reader, what an awesome mom I have. *  Behind every single one of my samplers, is an amazing sampler tester, someone who stitches every one of these designs until it's finished.  Spoiler Alert: It's not me.  I have started and gotten most of the way through all of the samplers, and photographed them partially finished for the shop (to show you the possibilities), but do you know who stitches them all to perfection?  It's my MOM!  I am forever grateful.  When I was visiting her in Michigan in July, she busted out the love sampler, fresh out of her hoop and finished in reds and purples.  It's a really different color scheme from the one I started, which is the other reason I am so grateful for my mom.  Often times when I teach sampler based workshops, it's great to have two different examples because you know what?  Not everybody loves my colors!  Some people really like my mom's.....

Thanks, Mom.  I'm so glad you're on my team.

*I just remember that, yes, I did tell you about my mom's awesomeness, and that several of you wrote in to ask if she hires out!  You can't have her, she's mine!

Name That Thread....

Here's a question for the internet.  A friend of mine gave me two sets of this thread last fall, then I bought a few more colors this Spring at a little shop in Michigan.  Now that I'm back, I've been using it to stitch up one of the new sampler designs (it will debut at Squam) and I'd love to be able to buy more.

It's made by DMC, but isn't on their website.  Here are the facts: It's cotton (even though I've been winding it on used wool cards.)  It's thick and the label says it's for tapestry.   It's really soft and easy to use.  Please leave a comment if you've got any ideas what it might be called and if you know where to buy it, please do tell!

**Thank you, Laura!  That's it!  Here's the link that Laura found for "Retors Mat" Art 89 Needlework Thread at Lacis, in Berkeley.  Anybody know where to buy it on the East Coast?

A Question and a Giveaway.

I taught my second Tradeschool class today, and it was another great group.  A few people came back again from last week, and a few new people came to embroider their initials.  Special thanks to Phyllis who made the most delicious dairy free gingerbread.     There were a couple no shows, so I have two left over kits.  I'll send two modified kits* to two lucky readers, complete with something that wasn't in the Tradeschool kits....a Summer Lines Sampler!  Just in time for actual summer spring, which is coming up fast and green in Brooklyn.

I'll admit that my motives for holding this giveaway are not entirely altruistic.  Whenever I teach workshops, people inevitably ask me where I buy my supplies.  While I buy what I can in local shops here in New York (I love Daytona Trimming) there are some things that I can only seem to find online, and that people that don't live in New York will definitely find themselves ordering online.   Joann carries a lot of things, but is essentially an online big box store.  So- in the spirit of Tradeschool, please tell me your favorite online sources for embroidery supplies.   I'm feeling generous, so feel free to leave separate comments for separate sources, and you'll up your odds!  ****Please be sure to include a URL*******Two winners will be drawn this Thursday afternoon (3/28), before the next and final live Tradeschool class at the Museum of Art and Design (sorry New Yorkers, it's sold out already....)  Good Luck!  I can't wait to hear about your resources, and when I've compiled them all, I'll be sure to add a new section to the blog for all to use.

*Kit will contain: Summer Lines Sampler, Backing Fabric, Perle Cotton, Embroidery Floss, and an Embroidery Needle, as well as a Rebecca Ringquist Postcard.  Good Luck!