A First For Me...

I was stitching along this morning, working on the last magnet on this piece of linen when I decided I really disliked the design I was working on. It's a grouping of peppers, and between the shaping of the peppers and the cartoon-y colors the designer chose (or their conversion from DMC to Anchor), I could not see wasting the time to finish it. Sigh... I guess I am too antsy to get started on something else. Now I am free to move on to other projects.

So, yes, finally, I have a start on ornaments. There are so very many cute ones that it is very hard to decide what to do first. I did manage to narrow the field down a little. As I finish these, I will be adding them to Storenvy first and then to Etsy after September 1st. Why the difference? I have to re-list my items every 4 months and pay a new listing fee with Etsy.

I have also become a lot more active with the Angel Quilt Project. They do so much good for families that are truly stressed. Stitching for them makes me feel good. My finished pieces will be heading to Canada for finishing and final delivery to a family. I will still be stitching for the US Division as well.

Don't forget -- there is only about 2 days left to enter the Summer Giveaway. I can't wait to see where my butterflys are going to go. I do hope they will end up with someone who appreciates them.

It is Midsummer's Day here in Finland. Time for good food, good friends, and family. I hope your summer goes well. I will post a picture of this next group very shortly.

Happy Stitching!

FHT Summer Giveaway is HERE!!

I am really excited about this. I am one of the 11 Finnish handcrafters participating in this FREE Summer giveaway. Our team now has over 100 members, and to celebrate, we decided to pool our resources and create this lovely gift basket. The retail value is over 230 Euros (almost $300).  My lovely butterfly and frog magnets are part of this, and I don't even offer this particular grouping in my online shops which makes it even more special. So, here's how YOU get to take part... Between now and June 24th,

Rules of the Giveaway

1. Like the FHT page on facebook

2. Like all participating shops pages

3. Share the giveaway on your wall

Enter the Giveaway

It really isn't that difficult, and it should only take a few moments to do. I know you will find a lot of very cool things to like with these skilled artisans. I am always amazed myself when I see their latest creations. On behalf of everyone on the Finland Handcrafters Team, I wish you the absolute best of luck.

Outstanding Service!

If you follow this blog, you know that I have been having a hard time finding certain items. I am so used to the complete needlework shops that have all the necessary items, plus spoiled by stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby where you can find everything you need for embellishments. Here in Finland, we do have a small chain called Timari. We even have one in our small town. I can get basics like jump rings and eye pins but it is a VERY limited selection and well, expensive. For example the magnets I use for my witty little message magnets. I found 6 of them for 2 euros, or about 60 cents EACH. I used to get my magnets at Wat-Mart for about 8 cents each. I am still looking for sources on this before I resort to mail order. As I told my husband, at least I know where to get them.

But, I needed some other items to complete my tiny stitching. There is this place near Tampere (the next large town to our east) that has a lovely website. So, I decided to try them. I put an order in on Saturday the 23rd for findings and beads. We got the payment request on Monday and sent it back. My package arrived today, complete!! I didn't request any special handling or pay for rush postage. From the time we sent the payment information in to the package arriving was less than 48 hours!!! GREAT selection, outstanding service too. I will definitely be back to shop there and will make a road trip soon too.

They do ship international, folks...

Visit HelmiQ soon!!