A Winner and a Sale

We hope the title got your attention! We would like to thank all of you who shared your stitching projects with us, and for all the kind birthday wishes, as well. With such a strong community of stitching friends, it is easier to feel surrounded than to feel alone, though we may be miles apart. May we continue to create beauty during this time of isolation, being calmed by the needle and thread, and to feel the companionship of our fellow stitchers. And for your friends and family who aren't acquainted with the calming effects of hand stitching, call them and say hello! We do not need to be alone while we are in isolation.

Without further ado, we would like to announce the winner of our birthday giveaway. She shared what she is stitching during her "Stay Home" time:

Happy Anniversary! Similar to a previous comment, I find it difficult to stay focused on a chosen project each time I go to my craft room! My BOM quilt is ready to be trimmed, stitched & quilted but I dare not proceed without my BOM friends so I am working on some UFOs alternating between cross stitch, knitting, crewel and wool applique. What a fabulous collection of items in your giveaway! 

And the winner is...

Darlene Laboeuf

Congratulations, Darlene! Please email us to let us know if you would like the spring or autumn Woodland Reverie pattern. And I (Teri) would like to share that the BOM quilt she is referring to is our own In the Garden Block of the Month quilt, so I was pretty excited to see her response. I know that she and her "BOM friends" will find a way to stitch together, even if it is through a computer screen! And Kara and I can't wait to see their finished quilts!

Speaking of computer screens, I have spent a fair amount of hours looking at mine this past week. Our website (needleseyestories.com) got a much-needed update. Scheduling is pretty much on hold right now, but several new items have been listed in our online store! We have added several patterns and kits from classes we have previously taught at the Academy of Appliqué. All kits include any ribbon or special materials needed to complete the blocks. Availability is limited and they will not be restocked, so if you think you might want to create these blocks or quilts, don't ponder for too long!

 

Woodland Reverie Spring block

 

Woodland Reverie Autumn block

Botanical Beauties includes patterns for four small blocks, which can be combined as a four-block wall hanging or used as cornerstones in our Lovely Botanicals quilt design. 

The Lovely Vase block would be beautiful framed, or could be part of a larger quilt. We used it as the center medallion of our Lovely Botanicals quilt.

Lovely Botanicals complete quilt set includes patterns and kits for the entire quilt, with assembly instructions.

We have a few Secret Garden block kits left. A pattern for a complete quilt is coming in the future, so keep watching.

We have only a couple of our popular Zierblumen kits still available.

 To continue our birthday celebration:

...we decided to have a sale!

All of our digital downloaded patterns are on sale for 30% off for the next week. While our In the Garden blocks and quilt sets are available in hard copy which include ribbon, you can also download just the pattern with the convenience of hitting a button on your computer. Just use the code STAYHOME30 when you check out. Pictured below are the digital patterns that are available. 

 Complete In the Garden quilt pattern set, as well as each individual block.

Individual block patterns for the Cardinals and Holly, Acorns and Oak Leaves, Monarch and Butterfly Bush, and Hydrangeas, . . . 

 . . . Hummingbird and Fuchsia, Cornflowers, Rose, Robin and Forsythia, . . . 

. . .  Dragonfly and Fern, Violets, . . .

. . . Garden Gate, . . .

. . . and Wheelbarrow of Flowers.

Our Christmas Cottage Stocking and Crazy Mittens patterns will help you prepare for our next holiday season.

Our first pattern, Marcia's Flowers, and our newest, a Ribbon and Embroidery Sampler Booklet for your stitching practice work, round out our digital offerings.

So, if you think you might need to bolster your pattern supply to get you through your quarantine time, this is the week to order your digital patterns to receive a 30% discount. Remember to use the code STAYHOME30 at checkout. Enjoy!

On our end, Kara and I are busy writing patterns for our Houses, which have garnered a lot of interest. You will be seeing more about these fun abodes soon! In fact, they have been so popular that we are working on a second series. More fun to come!

What about you? Have you moved onto other projects? We would still love to hear about your creative endeavors. What are you stitching?

Stay home, if you can, and thank you to those who have to venture out to work. Stay safe, everyone! 💝 

News and Updates from Through the Needle's Eye

With summer (too quickly) drawing to a close, I (Teri) thought it might be good to pause and take a look at what our fall season has in store. As you likely know, Kara and I have both relocated—she is living in Germany for a few years, and I have moved a bit west to a new home, still in Maryland. We have both been getting settled and spending a lot of time texting and working via FaceTime. What would we do without technology?! It has indeed been our friend.

I have always loved the Peanuts gang, so what happier way to start than to share an image of some blanket love? (I imagine Linus gave his blanket so much love over the years that it ended up looking a bit like a patchwork quilt.) And isn't sharing a quilt with a friend the best kind of happiness?

So, now I shall get on with sharing our quilty news!

The Potts Palooza Continues

This past year, we taught embroidery embellishment at Patches Quilting and Sewing in Mt. Airy, MD, using the Margaret Potts Quilt pattern, by the Baltimore Appliqué Society. Our class enjoyed it so much that they wanted to continue. Our next six blocks will include ribbon embellishment. You can read more about the Margaret Potts quilt by reading our Potts Palooza posts. Since Kara is in Germany, she will be stitching up some of the models, but I will be teaching solo here in Maryland. We will surely miss her in class!

The first block for October is this one, right, with flowers created with wired ribbon and stems embroidered with silk ribbon by River Silks.

In the Garden

A BOM Series by Through the Needle’s Eye

We are excited to introduce our new Block of the Month, In the Garden. These blocks are primarily wool appliqué, embellished with embroidery and ribbonwork. Kara and I are planning to put the blocks together at the end of the year to create a garden-themed quilt. We are working on the patterns and models now. (An ocean between us doesn't stop our teamwork!) I will be teaching the class each month, beginning in October, at Primitive Homespuns Wool & Needleworks in Frederick, MD. After the class, I will blog about it, and then the pattern will be released for purchase. Ribbon needed to complete blocks will be included with the patterns, and wool and thread kits will be available for purchase through Primitive Homespuns. Our first block, below, is Cornflowers, or Bachelor Buttons. We hope you'll join us for some gardening fun!

Flora and Fauna of Germany

Just in case you don't have enough to stitch, we are also offering a FREE Block of the Month Stitch-Along, based on photos Kara has taken around her new home in Germany. If you missed the kick-off last week, get your first pattern here.

Can you tell we love gardens?







Registration for the Academy of Appliqué

To learn about our class offerings for the 2018 Academy of Appliqué in Williamsburg, VA, you can read about them in Fleurs and Blumen. Both of the blocks were European-inspired; one from a vintage French fabric panel, and the other from an old German botanical print. Registration for classes opens on Labor Day—this coming Monday, September 4, at 12:00 NOON. Don't delay! Classes fill fast!! We would so enjoy meeting you there. We, as in our partnership will be reunited for this gig. Even an ocean can't keep Kara away from the Academy! 😀

Zierblumen (Bouquet of Flowers)

Oiseau et Panier (Bird and Basket)

Website

Did you know we have a website? I am happy to announce that I have finally worked on updating it. Moving really threw me behind, but I am at last getting on top of things. We even have a store! It's pretty small right now, but promises to grow as our In the Garden BOM patterns are released. You can purchase our Marcia's Flowers patterns, patterns and kits for last year's Academy blocks, Floral Wreath and The Secret Garden, as well as ribbon to make pansies, described in our tutorial, Pansies.

More to Come

I have a series of workshops planned to teach for the Baltimore Appliqué Society, focusing on ribbon and embroidery embellishments. More information about that exciting project will be a future post. 

And finally, I am just now getting the chance to sit and read my new Quiltfolk magazine, left, which just arrived last week. Evidently, my issue got lost in the mail-forwarding process. I am looking forward to enjoying my reading "visit" with Hawaiian quilters. If you haven't checked out this magazine, you should. You won't be sorry! (To read previous posts, read Quiltfolk and The Quiltfolk Solution for Creative Inertia, where you can find a discount shopping code for a subscription.) More exciting news about Quiltfolk later, as well... (Cue suspenseful background music. 🎶)

That's all for now. Thanks for visiting; come back soon!

PS—Did you know this post is full of links for your convenience? If you see light teal words within the text, you can click on them to get more information. Enjoy!