Needle Case Goodies

You all know that Kelli and I are both into cross stitch.  Well when we get into something we’ve been known to go a little overboard.  Not to long ago Kelli was watching some older Flosstube videos with Priscilla and Chelsea.  For those of you don’t know what flosstube is, it’s a Youtube thing.  People make a Youtube video of themselves and talk about their cross stitch.  It’s kind of fun.  You can follow the link above to check it out.

Well in the episode that Kelli was watching they talked about an online shop called Needle Case Goodies.  Kelli ended up ordering something from them and when the package came she was shocked to see that it shipped from West Union, Iowa.  Hmmm.  We live 20 miles from West Union.  How cool is it that there’s an online shop that close to us.

Kelli and I talked about it.  Then I told her that I was going to look the shop up and check it out myself.  Here’s what I found out.  Needle Case Goodies has an online presence through Etsy.  You can find her shop HERE.

Well if you know me, I can be a bit of a bloodhound when it comes to wanting information.  I was so curious.  What would it be like to run an Etsy shop?  How big of space would a person need?  How do you get started?  How do you know what to buy?  Where do you order from?  Oh my the list of questions I had went on and on.  I decided that I would just contact the lady who ran the shop and ask her if we could meet.  I did…and we did.

Kelli and I and Georgia, went to meet Nancy the owner of Needle Case Goodies and her assistant Betty.  It was so fun.

I told you that I live 20 miles away.  Kelli likely lives more like 10 miles away.

We were greeted by Nancy on the left and Betty on the right.  Nancy is a long time cross stitcher and owner.  Betty is not a cross stitcher but is a great help to Nancy.  The two work in a law office by day and run the online cross stitch shop by night.  It’s easy to tell that the two are friends as well as coworkers.

They were so sweet and kind to us.

We learned that earlier in life Nancy owned a cross stitch shop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  She enjoyed it but after several years of running it realized that cross stitch was going out of popularity and made the hard decision to close the shop.

She moved to West Union and started working at the law office…but cross stitching was still with her.  She still loved sales.  So she learned more about internet sales and watched Etsy to learn even more.  After eight months of watching and learning, she jumped back into cross stitch sales, this time via the internet.  That was four years ago…and now she’s rocking Etsy with great customer service and reasonable shipping charges.

Her house was filled with cross stitch pieces….all beautifully framed.  So many of them were tiny and so precious.  See?

Kelli and I both would have loved to just tour the finished cross stitch pieces.  Many were tiny done one thread over one of cross stitch fabric.  They were lovely.

Nancy said some of the most popular designers come from here in the Midwest.  For her shop she said her top sales come from:
With Thy Needle and Thread
Hands on Designs
Plum Street Samplers
Waxing Moon

Because of that she always stocks all of their new designs as soon as they are available.

Nancy goes to market every Spring to see what’s new in the cross stitch world.  She also stays in touch with designers so she can see the latest items that they are offering throughout the year.

Something that surprised me was that Halloween themed items are the best sellers.  Kelli and I would have never imagined that.  Neither of us are Halloween stitchers.  I do notice that there are numerous charts for Halloween and that much be why.

Nancy is able to run her business out of a bedroom in her home with the help of a garage for mailer storage and for holding items to be shipped out or coming in.  Both Kelli and I were so impressed with how organized and efficient their work space is.  Both gals are very attentive to detail which is an important quality in running a business.

We had a bit of a discussion on what everyone’s thoughts were on why cross stitch is making a big resurgence.  Our thoughts were:
-It’s cheap to get started (You don’t need to buy a machine)
-Projects are portable
-It’s something you can do while you watch television
-Supplies don’t cost a lot
-Flosstube is popular and people have jumped in because of it

Seriously, if someone would want to get into cross stitch, a person could likely start with only $30 as an investment.  That’s MUCH cheaper than sewing.

Of course Kelli and I had to shop while we were there.  I came with a list….Kelli did too.  Fortunately we stuck to the list all except for some new ballpoint needles Nancy suggested we might want to try out.

We were there for just over an hour.  It was really nice to see a little bit of how an Etsy shop works…and to learn a little more about the cross stitch world.

Nancy was so sweet and sent both Kelli and I home with a little goodie bag.  I’ll show you what’s inside and what we bought in my Sunday blog post.

If you’re a cross stitcher or thinking about giving it a try, Kelli and I both HIGHLY recommend giving Nancy’s shop a try.  It’s wonderful to support someone who works so hard and values quality service.

You can check out Needle Case Goodies at their Facebook page HERE.  I love following as I always see the updates on new cross stitch charts that are coming out.

Here is a link to Nancy’s shop on ETSY.  Hop over there and let Nancy tell you in her own words how she got started with cross stitching.  Scroll to the bottom of the page.  While you’re scrolling, check out the wonderful charts and cross stitch goodies that Nancy carries in her shop….see if something tempts you and by all means, if you order, tell her Jo and Kelli sent you!!

Stop by tomorrow and I’ll show what we bought.