Yea! Alphabet Soup for Cross Stitch is complete! Our Z is courtesy of monsterbubbles. Heather Holland-Daily is an amazing designer who is constantly creating new and unique ways to wear cross stitch. Her urban feel and forward thinking put her in a class all her own.














From amazingly fun and funky bracelets, necklaces, beading and more monsterbubbles is a company that should be top on your list for new ideas to stretch your stitching abilities!

Glendon Place is releasing the 1st SYHO Designer Encyclopedia Design on February 5th, 2010.

Be sure to e-mail us if you are interested in participating in our SYHO Designer Encyclopedia SAL. We will be hosting an online party to kick off the SAL and will be giving away prizes and lots of fun goodies to those who are participating!

On a side note I was looking at Cheryl's website this morning and found this design I just had to share!

5 Simple Rules for Happiness.

Product Information

Find more balance in your life by following five simple rules: Free your heart of hatred, free your mind of worries, live simply, give more, and expect less.

Design is stitched entirely with Weeks Dye Works and Caron Wildflowers threads.

Fabric: Stitched on 36 count Belfast Natural Linen. Stitched 2 over 2.
Stitch Area: 260w X 260h
Stitch Count: 254 X 246h
Design Area: 16 ¼”w X 16 ¼”h

Materials Summary: A total of 5 colors of Weeks Dye Works and 3 colors of Caron Wildflowers used in model. These are variegated flosses and there are no comparable substitutes.

Wildflowers by The Caron Collection
048 - Far Horizons
058 - Mocha Rose
164 - Cinnabar

Weeks Dye Works
1270 - Rum Raisin
1326 - Rust (2 skeins)
2159 - Seaweed (3 skeins)
2200 - Kudzu (5 skeins)
2242 - Cognac (2 skeins)

Product Code: GP-104

SYHO Designer Encyclopedia Stitch-A-Long

Loose Thread Stitchers is hosting its first virtual SYHO Designer Encyclopedia (DE) Stitch-A-Long Friday, February 12th, 2010 to kick off this exciting campaign. The first online party will be from 7-9pm. We have a few fun ideas for the evening that we’re not ready to tell you about just yet, but it will be a great night full of fabulous stitchers and a few surprises.

Unlike most rotation methods where you choose a bunch of UFOs or WIPs (UnFinished Objects or Works in Progress), the LTS Stitch-A-Long project is a year-long stitch event following the new releases of the SYHO DE.

Membership in the Loose Thread Stitchers: SYHO Designer Encyclopedia SAL is free and you can join whether you are around the corner or acorss the world. Timely completion of your monthly project will earn you an entry to win some fun goodies and be eligible to enter your finished Designer Encyclopedia into our first ever Loose Thread Stitchers SYHO Designer Encyclopedia SAL Contest.

You may be asking at this point, “Can I really complete a design a month?” ABSOLUTLY! Not only are all the Designer Encyclopedia designs just the perfect size to be able to finish each and every month but they are also extremely affordable. Be sure to post your WIP’s and finishes on the LTS SYHO Flickr Page. We have created the Flickr account so stitchers can showcase their WIP's and finished Designer Encyclopedia pieces and create an online SYHO Designer Encyclopedia photo album where all can view and share our progress.

On a more personal note, I have only joined one SAL in my life time and it just so happens I stitched the wrong piece. Quite a funny story! You can read more about it here.

We know you will love the Loose Thread Stitchers SYHO Designer Encyclopedia SAL club! So who’s in? Here’s all you have to do to sign up:
Send an e-mail with your name and blog information to StitchYourHeartOut(at)gmail(dot)com.

We look forward to our first Loose Thread Stitchers SYHO Designer Encyclopedia SAL. It’s going to be SO much fun!

Colleen’s Stitch-A-Long Mis-Stitch

Ok so I promised I would tell this story, so here it goes. In 2005, my stitching group decided to start our first SAL. I was pretty excited especially since I had never joined a SAL before and I LOVED the design we chose. I was pregnant with my 2nd child that year and I realized quickly that the hour + trip to stitch with my girlfriends was going to be put on hold for a few months. I was sick in the beginning of my pregnancy, exhausted in the middle and WAY too big at the end to do the drive.

I felt so alone without my girls, my group of stitching buddies. The only thing that got me thru those long 9 months was that I knew we were all stitching the same piece. The design we chose was a Moire Blackburn Sampler entitled Three Things. Now this sampler is HUGE and I NEVER would have taken the leap to stitch it on my own, but I had the girls. Joining the SAL made me brave and determined to finish it before Gracie arrived. We would e-mail (this was before we found Yahoo Groups, Facebook and Twitter) our progress, trash talk about who would finish first and share our frogging woes. It was fabulous. I so enjoyed staying connected with everyone even though I wasn’t actually at stitching each week.

Three Things Sampler

The months went by and as my belly grew, my piece progressed nicely. I found it easier to take the sampler motif by motif. This way I wasn’t getting overwhelmed by the size of the entire piece but rather celebrating each small section as it was completed. Gracie’s due date was quickly approaching and I was having trouble sitting for any amount of time and stitching. I knew there was no way I was going to be done by Thanksgiving, but I stitched as much as I could when I could and hoped for the best. Thanksgiving came and went, with no baby and I continued to stitch the sampler well thru till the day before Christmas Eve. I was extremely uncomfortable but only had a small section of the bottom flower on the right hand side to finish and decided to put it away till Christmas Eve.

Little did I know, the next morning my water broke and I was admitted to the hospital. Not to worry! The sampler was packed safely in my hospital bag and I continued to stitch the small section until the piece was complete. The nurses probably thought I was crazy, especially since I was almost a month late but I was not about to have my baby without completing this sampler. It was the most impressive piece I had ever stitched and I wanted to remember stitching it during my pregnancy.

2 months later, I was able to visit our LNS during their Super Bowl Sale. I was so excited to have my piece framed and find a new project. While walking the store I stopped at the sampler section and commented to my girlfriend Loretta how fabulous it felt to have completed such a large piece (pointing to the sampler). With a puzzled look on her face and a giggle, she stood, pointed to Moira Blackburn’s Time and Season Sampler and said, "Colleen, this is the sampler the group stitched, you did the wrong sampler.”

Time and Season Sampler

Can you believe it? All that time I was e-mailing about flowers and birds and alphabets and none of us realized we were stitching different samplers. How funny is that!? I decided to purchase the Time and Season Sampler and hold it till I was ready to tackle another big sampler.

One year later I learned I was expecting my third child (Emma, now 2) and after I called everyone with the news I ran right into my craft room and found the sampler I would stitch during that pregnancy...not to worry, this time, the sampler was finished a month ahead of schedule…..but the nurses were a bit disappointed when I showed up in the delivery room empty handed.

Is an offical ONS (Online Needlework Shop) that is participating in the SYHO Campaign.

I was browsing their website today and found this great design. It is perfect for those who's family serves in the US military. iwth everything that is going on in the world today and the obvious sacrifices that are made, perhaps stithcing this for a loved one would show your appreciation for all they do.

A Wife's Prayer is a design by Linda Stolz, owner of Erica Michaels Needleart Designs.

This is a wonderful piece for any soldier's wife to have on her wall. My husband served in the Army for 15 years. He was sent to many countries, including the middle east, and many times, I had to remind myself that what he was doing was not only protecting and providing for his family, but also for the entire country. The charted poem, brings to light the things that are foremost in a wife's mind while her husband is serving his country and providing for his family.

"Give me greatness of heart to see, the difference between duty & his love for me. Give me understanding so that I may know, when duty calls him, he must go. Give me a task to do each day, to fill the time when he's away. When he's in a foreign land, keep him safe in your loving hand. And Lord, when duty is in the field, please protect him and be his shield. And Lord, when deployment is so long, please stay with me and keep me strong."

Stitch Count: 225w x 156h
This package includes:
A Wife's Prayer chart
The Gentle Art Sampler Thread - Freedom, Old Red Paint
Lakeside Linens 40ct Vintage Magnolia Linen - 18" x 13" cut

The SYHO Campaign was created to help stitchers learn more about Heart Health and Loose Thread Stitchers has partnered with Carol for Heart to do just that!

So who is Carol?

To know our Mom will help you appreciate how CAROL For Heart really began:

Carol Pawelski was an incredible woman, who just happened to die at the age of 60. She accomplished more in her 60 years than most of us will accomplish in twice that time. Carol's heart showed such compassion, caring and love for those around her, that it's ironic, that it was her heart that failed her in the end. To read more of Carol's Story click here

Did you know that Heart Disease is the #1 Killer of women in the United States?

Cardiovascular diseases are the No. 1 killer of women. Each year they claim the lives of about half a million women (500,000). That's a life each minute, and more lives than the next seven causes of death combined...including all forms of cancer.

Consistently since 1984, more women than men have died from heart disease. Yet many women do not understand the fact that statistically speaking, they are more likely to die from a cardiovascular disease than anything else. This reality must change with more women understanding their risk and discussing their individual issues with their physicians.

What Women Don't Know:
* Coronary heart disease rates in women rise 2-3 times after menopause
* Blacks are at higher risk than whites
* 1 of 3 Hispanic females dies of diseases of the heart and stroke

Other Heart Related Facts:
1. Heart disease is the number 1 cause of death in women in the USA.
2. More women than men die of heart disease.
3. 38% of women who have an initial heart attach will die within a year.
4. For over 60% of women who die suddenly from heart disease, death is the first symptom.
5. In postmenopausal women, 70% will die of cardiovascular disease.
6. Within 6 years after a heart attack, 35% of women will have another heart attack.
7. 1 in 5 women have some form of heart disease.
8. Twice as many women die from cardiovascular disease than all cancers combined.

The above came from the Fact Sheet/Question & Answer; Go Red for Women Awareness Campaign February 2004- American Heart Association as well as the American Heart Association Southeastern Chapter

Why not make 2010 the year to get your heart healthy? Get with your stitching buddies and form a walking group. Share heart healthy recipes, be accountable to each other. Little changes in your lifestyle can make a BIG DIFFERENCE!

Be sure to let us know what your group is doing to get more Heart Healthy and you can be featured on the SYHO Blog!

Lori Markovic of La-D-Da

5 Fun Facts About Lori Markovic

of La-D-Da

All A Goodnight ~ 129 x 79

1. The first class I taught I forgot the graph.
2. My dog's name is Rosebud.
3. I live in the same zip code where I was born.
4. I met my husband at art school.
5. My company Name is from a Woody Allen Movie.

Want to learn more about La-D-Da?  Here's a great Friday Feature from Hoffman Distributing with some more fun facts!  Click HERE.