Happy Fall!

Fall officially arrived early this morning, 5:05am ET to be exact. It's probably my absolute favorite time of the year, and I think that holds true for most of you, too. The leaves are really starting to turn here in Maine, pumpkins and mums are everywhere and the fall fairs are beginning all over the state. Now that the heat of summer is a fading memory, thoughts are turning from the beach and working in the garden to indoor craft projects. Enter more new arrivals - Need'l Love's Pumpkin Patch Threads is back in stock, as well as some of Need'l Love's classic autumn and holiday Threads books and two of their "Simply" booklets, Santa Moon and Scare the Crows. All but Pumpkin Patch Threads are at reduced prices.

Have a great fall weekend!

Something Old, Something New

"Make new friends, but keep the old; One is silver, the other is gold." - traditional Girl Scouts song

I have new friends and old friends on my web site - three new needlepunch patterns from Country Stitches/With Thy Needle & Thread, and some of their returning favorites for upcoming holidays - yes, I said it, upcoming! It's almost October for goodness' sake!

New are Tending the Pumpkins, a nice punch needle pocket design, Wool Farm (for all you wool lovers, and aren't we all?), and Pumpkin Hill (for all you pumpkin lovers, and again, aren't we all?). Returning favorites include Glad Tidings, a multi-project pack, Blessed Harvest, the most wonderful white pumpkin with a turkey, Olde World St. Nick and Ho Ho Ho, two great St. Nick wool applique patterns that I rediscover every year.

Well, it was bound to happen... My first sell-out of Maggie Bonanomi's wild hit, Buttonwood Farm. But, fear not - all my pre-orders for the book shipped - see how GREAT pre-ordering is? It helps me so much! I ordered two dozen beyond all my pre-orders, and POUF! Just like that. Back to the fearing not - more are on the way, and for those who ordered after they went out of stock, I'll throw in the bonus Spooky Threads book as a little condolence prize for having to wait a few extra days.

The good news is that I've heard that Kansas City Star will also be sending my order of Victory Girls as they have them ready to ship. So, those pre-orders will be heading out just as soon as I get my hands on those boxes. The UPS guy commented on the four heavy boxes of books he delivered recently - little does he know he's going to have a repeat performance!

Tomorrow is the first day of fall, y'all. Cooler temps, lovely really cool nights and the flannel sheets are BACK! Love it! Fall fairs are coming up and I'll get to be up close and personal with all the animals again. What a great time of year! Enjoy!

"Let 'er roll!"

Now that I've received my first shipment of the new Maggie Bonanomi and Renee Plains books, it'll be assembly line time around here for the rest of the week! Not quite like this, but I know the drill. Enjoy this timeless classic from a vintage I Love Lucy show and think of me as you await your yummy new books.

To those of you who pre-ordered these two titles, shipping has begun. Since they are now in stock, orders dated Sept. 12 and later are no longer considered pre-orders. However, pre-ordering is still available for the Minick & Simpson book, Victory Girls, as well as the James Cramer/Jill Peterson book, 'Tis the Season. Confused? Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Gotta get to work! Thanks to those of you who pre-ordered books. Watch your mailboxes! These two are worth waiting for.

Cheers,

More Maggie & Renee

In addition to getting new books from Maggie Bonanomi and Renee Plains, re-stock of their previous books will be back as well, including Maggie's great Comfort Zone from last summer. I'll also have Nature's Offerings and With These Hands.

Renee Plain's first book, A Bird in Hand, was my highest selling book ever, and will be coming back soon as well. If you missed this when it was first released you'll want to grab one now.

The pre-orders for the new books have been coming in fast and furious - boy, I'll be busy for at least a week shipping books out once they arrive! And that's a GOOD thing! If you haven't pre-ordered yet, there's still time - as long as you order before I have the books in stock you'll get free shipping for domestic orders, "half-free" for international orders, plus a free copy of Need'l Love's Spooky Threads, in time for fall craft projects.

Rain, rain, go away! It's making physical therapy for my recovering knee harder. But, I was able to straighten my leg a little better than last week, so I'll try to grin and bear it through the raindrops.

Happy Hump Day!

No Patience!

I finally have book covers for Maggie Bonanomi's new book, Buttonwood Farm, and Renee Plains' Stitches from the Schoolhouse. They both look GREAT and I'm having a huge attack of impatience! Can't wait to get my hands on these and settle in with my coffee to absorb every single page! These and two other upcoming books (see a couple of posts ago) are enabled for pre-ordering. Pre-orders will get free shipping and a free bonus book, Need'l Love's classic Spooky Threads, while supplies last. This time I'm even springing for splitting shipping costs for international customers, so you guys get a chance at a pre-order deal this time around.

Can't believe so many folks are still recovering from the effects of hurricane Irene! My thoughts are with you and hope you can get back to some degree of normalcy soon. I feel kind of guilty whining about our loss of power for 2-1/2 days when others are totally stranded, flooded or lost their crops due to the heavy winds and rain.

Take good care,

Good Night, Irene

Well, after we thought we were home free once hurricane Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it arrived in Maine, we lost power. This was Sunday afternoon at 1:05pm. Sixty hours and 31 minutes later (yes, I was definitely counting!), power was restored at 1:36am this morning. That hot shower is going to feel so good!! We have a well so it wasn't long before the water was used up in the tank and the pump is electric. So, it's been fun using bottled water to brush our teeth, wash up, flush toilets, etc. I don't even want to tell you how much food we had to throw out from the fridge and freezer - broke my heart!

All that said, I'm looking at my queued-up orders and will be working on them starting today. What an August it's been for me! One set-back after another, but I'll catch up eventually. No new info on upcoming books from Kansas City Star but I'll do some sleuthing to see if there's anything out there somewhere to post.

Hope you all were safe throughout the storm and have your power back too. Have a great, sunshine-y day!

Late Summer Reading Heating Up!

Extra, Extra, read all about it! There are some AWESOME new books due to heat up the waning days of summer very soon:

* Maggie Bonanomi will release Buttonwood Farm - I know lots of Maggie-philes can't wait for this!

* Renee Plains (Liberty Star) releases Stitches from the Schoolhouse

* Polly Minick & sister Laurie Simpson present Victory Girls for rug hookers and quilters.

* Jill Peterson (Frontier Homestead) and James Cramer of Seven Gates Farm collaborated on 'Tis the Season, Christmas Eve with James Cramer (available in October).

I'm taking pre-orders on all of these new books with the usual offer of free shipping, AND, as an extra bonus, receive a free copy of Need'l Love's Spooky Threads, just in time for Halloween and fall crafting. This is one of their classic "Threads" books, a $25 value in itself. International customers will get a break on shipping charges as well - we'll pick up a third of the shipping cost this time around. Details on this pre-order offer and the books themselves can be found on my web site.

Waiting for pictures of Renee and Maggie's book covers so I can post, but all four will be available for pre-order on my web site later today.

On a personal note, my left knee is recovering - slowly - from arthroscopic surgery about a week and a half ago. I wasn't prepared for the reaction to the anesthesia and strong pain meds and developed a hellish bout of gastritis on top of that! Constant nausea and pain is the pits! Because of all that, order processing fell behind, but I'm working to catch up. Thanks to everyone for their patience during this hiccup!

Hope you're enjoying a few cooler days. We've had some gorgeous, dry temps and cool, crisp nights lately. Heavenly! That's my reward for last week!

Take care,