Big storm coming......if you listen to the weather channel it sounds like the storm of the century is coming. I hope not. We will plan for the worst and hope for the best.   We have batteries, non perishable food, water, dog food, and ice. I think we are ready.Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those in the path of the storm. Be safe. On a happy note - if you don't lose power think of all the stitching you can get done.

So excited about the new With thy Needle and thread patterns. Brenda- you never fail to excite us. Those should be in the shop next week. I love the letters to Santa. That will be my first stitch! Love the ticking and am hoping to have that here as well.

Don't forget about our birthday bash on November 10th with Nan Lewis. Lots of folks have mentioned that they will be coming by and helping us celebrate. We are working on some terrific deals and having a model sale as well. I am cooking up some treats too so it should be FUN!

Last night we had our annual Halloween party. The ladies are always up for a good time and the costumes were hysterical. We had: Eeyore (twins), pumpkin pie, a witch, Honey Boo Boo ( this was unbelievable), a serial killer, a dyer, a pig, Paula Dean and a sugar skull.Thanks ladies- you were all great.

Pat and I leave next week for West Virginia. We are giving our lecture at the university on Thursday night. They are expecting snow- hope not too much- we want to get to the football game next Saturday.  Morgantown is a gorgeous town and the university is fabulous. If you haven't been there its worth the trip.

WE have some BIG and exciting news. Dyeing to Stitch is moving. Yep- right down the street. Our new address is 5312 Kemps River Drive. We will be next to Super Wok.( former home of Tidewater Folk Art)
We are closing November 16 and will reopen November 24. This is going to be so great. Hope you will come by and see the new shop.

We now have two finishers for the shop. So get your Christmas projects in and have them turned into spectacular treasures for Christmas.

I am a little sad not to be home for Halloween this year. I usually dress up and I try and dress  up all three of the dogs. .None of them act too thrilled. I had a Scottie who has now passed away but he thought Halloween was inven ted for him. When the kids approached the door and yelled" Trick or Treat" all he heard was Treat which he thought meant he was getting a treat. I would put on his pirate costume and he would wait patiently for each little goblin by the door. Halloween will never be the same without you Duncan.

  I hope this storm passes with minimal damage and everyone stays safe. My wish for you is that you have lots of stitching time this week!

This has been a week of visitors..Last Sunday, Stacy Nash and her mom came down for the afternoon and evening, They wanted to visit the shop and we worked on some projects together with them. I'm not sure any of us stopped talking or laughing the entire time they were here. Had a great dinner together and were so sad to say goodbye. I think we could be BIG trouble together if they lived closer! Hope they will come back soon...........

Starting Tuesday we had lots of visitiors all on their way to the Pals weekend in Myrtle Beach. It was great to see so many familiar faces and meet some new friends. Thursday several of our buddies from upstate New York  came for our Thursday stitch night as they were in town for a wedding. It was great fun to see them and to show them everything new we have been working on in the shop. Thanks Diane and Rabbit!

We are gearing up for our huge Birthday party on Saturday,  November 10th. This is our 7th birthday and we wanted to do something special. We feel very privledged to have Nan Lewis from Threadwork Primitves coming to join us for our party. She is bringing models ( ones we don't have stitched) and  will be available to chat with all of you  and to sign charts, etc. I hope you all will come out to meet Nan and see what wonderful work she does. We will have refreshments, a model sale, door prizes, and great bargains! Happy Birthday, Dyeing to Stitch!

Are you gearing up for your holiday stitching? There are so many new and fun Christmas projects to stitch, and lots more on the way. Have you seen the new Drawn Thread things for Christmas? I can not wait until they arrive. I will be starting one ( or two or three) the day they arrive. We have the new Shepherds Bush stocking with charms and have been trying to keep the Pearl cottons in stock for them. Its such a popular stotcking we are struggling to keep all supplies in stock !I know Threadwork Primitives has something new and wonderful coming soon for Christmas too. You'll have to come to the birthday party to check it out.

Our frame sale is going on for one more week. It ends next Tuesday the 30th. Its time to get your holiday projects in for framing while you can receive a 20% discount on your framing costs!

I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful fall weather. I love the crisp morning air, the fall colors, pumpkins, the entire fall package!

 As a lot of you know I love to cook. My friend brought me 50 pounds of apples from New York and I have been diligently making at least one batch of applesauce  each day . This sounds like so much applesauce but it will last us almost an entire year. Love it! I love to cook things from the Barefoot Contessa and now I am beginning to be addicted to Pioneer Woman. Great cooking and simple recipes that are fun to make and delicous to eat.

We are having our annual Halloween party with our Thursday night group this Thursday night. We have refreshments, and give prizes for the best costumes. Last year the costumes were outstanding and I can't wait to see what the ladies have dreamed up for this year.

Have a great week- stitch a lot and love what you do!   Ann

Yeah.....fall is finally here. There is a nip in the air and the leaves are falling so we can tell that fall is coming. It always seems to get windy in Virginia during the fall and facilates  from warm to cool from one day to the next. Usually we go from air conditioning to heat in the blink of an eye.( My closet is jammed with summer and fall clothes since I never know what to wear from one day to the next)

We are getting ready for our annual fall frame sale. Its a chance to bring in your Christmas projects ( either for you or a gift )  and get them done before you have even said," Trick or Treat".  There is no limit on how many projects you can bring and you will receive a 20% discount on both the frame and the put together costs.

People have been calling the shop and asking about our trims. We dye the trims to look aged- not bright colors but subtle aged colors. We have 12 colors: Cocoa, Smoke, Fudge, Christmas Wreath, Candy Cane Red, Dried Roses, Norfolk Pine, Vampires Cape, Nautical Blue, Kelp, Cinnamon, Beach Roses. These come in baby and regular chenille and 1/4 " and 1/2 " rick rack. These are a quick way to finish off an ornament, a box top, a pin cushion or a multitude of other projects.

Seems there's lots of excitement about our new Ladies Prim Society Club. The first design will be from Threadworks Primitive. If you aren't familiar with Nan's work check out her blog. She has fabulous primitive designs and great finishing techniques. The always incredible Blackbird Designs  will be doing something spectacular as well so this should be a year full of fun surprises and fabulous things to stitch!

For all of you who live near or close to Morgantown, West Virginia, Pat and I will be giving a sampler lecture at the University on November 1st. This is open to the public and is absolutely free. Check out the website for further information. www.mountaineerweek.wvu.edu/events.

Those of you who love With thy Needle and Thread will be thrilled to know that Brenda is coming out with another pillow like Hildas brew for Christmas. Those pillows have been so fun and quick to stitch. I can't wait to see this one!

The new Blackbird chart- Feast of Friendship is due in the shop next week too. Pat stitched the model and the colors are spectacular. Its done on 30 ct Abecedarian Blend. We stocked up!

FYI- an Abecesdarian is the keeper of the sampler books. Go ahead and dazzle your friends with that piece of trivia!

Have all of you experienced Pinterest? I admit I am totally addicted- so many cool ideas, recipes, photos,etc. I think I am the first president of Pinterest anonymous. I am working out the twelve step program! Let me know if you want ( need) to join!

Next week I will post information on our big Birthday Bash coming up in November. Until then, keep those needles flying..............Ann

In the beginning......Yes, this is the start of our blog for Dyeing to Stitch. Occassionally I will post some R & R news as well. I am very excited about this.  I hope to keep you posted on shop news, special events and our retreats.

It's been a terrific summer at the shop. So many of our out of town friends have stopped by to see us and lots of stitchers from afar managed to find their way to us.  It was wonderful seeing so many of you and helping you fulfill your stitching wishlists!

Cuurently we are getting in fall mode. Lots of fun stitching projects for Halloween are done and ready for you to see. I just completed Hilda's Brew from With thy Needle and Thread. She turned out so cute and we have the trim and ticking to complete her in the shop. I stitched her on 28 count hand dyed Lugana- really, really fun to stitch on.

We found some new companies this summer that we are so excited about- Threadwork Primitives and Abby Rose Designs.  Threadwork Primitives has many fun  designs and they are quick to stitch.  Nan's finishing ideas are wonderful and give you lots of ideas for future projects. Abby Rose  has a series of small samplers that are really lovely.  The series consists of four: Care Deeply, Love Generously, Speak Kindly and  Live Simply.

I know a lot of you are finishing up Christmas projects already. Don't forget our fall frame sale which will begin October 16th. This sale runs for two weeks so you can get your projects completed  way ahead of the busy holiday season.

We are very excited about a new program we are sponsoring here at the shop to begin in January 2013. Its our first shop club: The Ladies Prim Society. We will be shipping a kit to you every 8-10 weeks. Kits will be complete and include finishing materials as well. The deisgners for this club are Nan from Threadwork Primitives and Barb and Alma from Blackbird Designs.  We will begin taking sign ups November 15th. We will have a sign up form posted on the web site.

We are also expecting a fun new Halloween prim from Liberty Hill the second week of October.. If you are interested in receiving one of these  please let us know right away as they go quickly and there are only a limited number.

When is fall arriving? I am sick of the hot weather and the rain. I know we should be grateful for the rain but honestly- enough already. I am ready for fall clothes, fall decor, fall food! We usually have a taste of fall here in Virginia in September but its not really beautiful fall weather until October. I can't wait!

Pat and I  just returned from the Shepherds Bush retreat. Each retreat is more fabulous than the last one.The theme this time was Christmas. All the projects were so different and each one so special- can't wait to start some of them. We spent three days resting in Ogden- visitng the Shepherds Bush shop, Jill Rensels, searching out those Mormon muffins and shopping. Then- on to Park City. It was truly beautiful there with the trees in full color and a crispness to the air. Pat and I roomed with Jeannette Douglas and Paulette Stewart. What fun. Never talked and laughed so much in my life.  It was great seeing all the stitchers- feels like a family reunion after 16 years of coming. We came home exhausted but  thrilled we had such a great time with such terrific people.

Now we will begin working on our retreat which will be held next October 3-5 at the Cavalier Hotel.  Hope to have information posted before the end of the year. We have our teachers, hotel and theme- sounds like a good start!

If you are coming to the Virginia Beach area and want to come and stitch with us on a Thursday night please email or call for a reservation. We have had some great ladies stitch with us the last few months and our reservations are booking up for the fall.

Hope you are all stitching like mad getting ready for the holidays!                  Ann