Red Bird Stitch Along

I have great news.  Judy from Patchwork Times and I are putting together another stitch along and Liz and Sherri from the Stitchery Nook are helping us out.

I am sure some of you are wondering why we are even talking about another stitch along when our Blessed Stitch Along is still going on.  There are two reasons…

Reason #1:  Supplies are very hard to get.  Initially, when we organized the first stitch along we thought maybe 50 of you might stitch along with us.  You guys BLEW US OUT OF THE WATER.  Over 200 of you joined in.  So imagine the scramble that happened on Liz and Sherri’s part trying to get supplies in and out to you before the starting date.  We want to be more prepared this time so we are putting the info out early which will help Liz and Sherri immensely.

Reason #2:  You all surprised us.  Do you remember me showing you this graphic for stitching?

Some of you paced yourself along following the graphic and others of you were so excited about stitching that you just stitched the whole thing already.  That’s perfectly fine and I have loved going on Facebook and seeing all of your stitching.

Shelley is a power stitcher and completed the original piece we decided to stitch and also stitched another piece that was included in the chart.

Janet got her assignment in right as March closed out.

Sarah wrote:
“I haven’t cross stitched in about 15 years. Decided to try this pattern and couldn’t stop. It truly has been a blessing to stitch this and to really think about all the things that my family has been blessed with.”

There are so many of you who haven’t tried cross stitch in years and are excited about it again.  That’s exactly what Judy and I were hoping for when we started the stitch along.

So, we put together another one.  It is…Redbird Sampler by Heart in Hand.

This time around we are hoping to encourage you to try silk thread.  Silk thread is a little more expensive but we thought with this, you’d only need one skein so it would be a perfect time to try silk if you are interested.

There is nothing wrong with stitching with DMC or over-dyed cotton floss and you’re perfectly welcome to stitch it using that.  We just thought it would be a good chance to try something new.

Someone asked me what the difference was…It’s one of those things you really have to try to experience but I will say this…
The floss just glides and the highest prasie: you don’t get knots.

I’m sure while you were stitching on your Blessed piece, you occasionally would get a knot in your threads.  Blah.  Seriously with silk, the amount of knots you get is tiny.

I’ve listened to the floss tube of some and they prefer not to stitch with silk…some convert most everything they stitch into silks.  It’s a personal preference and an age-old debate.

We just thought we’d give you an opportunity to give it a try.

SO…The kits that the Stitchery Nook is putting together come in several options.

Together as a kit, you would get:

Pattern, Fabric of your choice, floss

Fabric choices include
40, 36, 32, 28 linen
14 or 16 count Aida

There are also options for:
Fabric only
Pattern only
Floss only

Prices of course vary according to which options you choose.

The catch is that this is for preorder only.  If you preorder now it guarantees that supplies will be procured so you can get whatever items you order.  Kits will ship mid-May and you will have them to start the stitch along in June.

This is a small chart.
40 count makes it 2″ x 5″
36 count makes it 2-1/4″ x 5-1/2″
32 count or 16 count Aida makes it 2-1/2″ x 6-1/4″
28 count or 14 count Aida makes it 2 3/4″ x 7″

I think our goal would be to stitch this over the course of June and July.  We’d leave August as a finishing month and possibly start another stitch along in September if you’re up to it.  I know things get crazy over the summer.  I haven’t talked with Judy about that yet but she’s super easy going so I’m guessing she won’t care.

HERE is the link for the kit.  If you want to stitch along with us, please order now so Liz and Sherri can get a count and get the orders in and ready for us.

Once you get to the page, there is a drop-down box.  Click and will see the various options for ordering.  As always, if you have trouble, give the gals at the shop a call.  They are great with customer service (one of the many reasons I love them)!!

I’m so excited to be stitching this one.  I have always wanted to stitch a red sampler.  To date, I haven’t.  This is small and will give me a good idea if I want to stitch a big or not.  I love trying new things and can’t wait.

Also…don’t forget to sign up for the retreat.  There are still openings.  You can read all about the retreat details HERE.

I’d love for you to join the new Redbird Sampler Stitch Along…and the retreat!!  The more the merrier!!