Find it Friday ~ Celebrate at your Local Needlework or Local Yarn Shop
Each Friday we will showcase a product, service, offering or event that is a MUST to check out!

Any 2009 Holiday

Cindy, owner of Sit 'N Stitch in California, has created a fun way to celebrate your birthday, holiday or any special occasion. HAVE A STITCHING PARTY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We heard Becky's party was a blast! She had approximately 20 people for dinner and champagne. She celebrated her birthday with lots of gifts, cake and ice cream. Becky treated everyone to a scarf project with yarns from Southwest Trading company and instructions with our knitting teacher.

How fun is that? Say good bye to the standard birthday dinner and boxed cake. Sit 'N Stitch has stepped it up a notch! I absolutely love this idea! Now you can combine the celebration of your special day in your favorite LNS/LYS with your favorite stitching friends doing what you love to do best ~ STITCH! It can't get any better than that!

Have you already celebrated your birthday this year? Don't let that stop you. It doesn't have to be your birthday to have a party! Do you love Halloween? Christmas? Valentines? St. Patty's Day? Celebrate in style! Are one of your girlfriends getting married or having a baby? Have a group of moms (grandmoms) who want a mother / daughter (grand daughter) day? Do you know a stitcher who is starting a new career, new to the area, recently completed a difficult stitching piece or you just want to celebrate your stitching friends? This is the way to do it!

KNIT/CROCHET OR NEEDLEPOINT/CROSS-STICH PARTIES ~ Call your Local Needlework or Yarn shop and ask them to coordinate it for you. I am sure they would be happy to help. Visit the Loose Thread Stitchers website for hundreds of LNS / LYS listings across the US and around the world.

Sit 'N Stitch would be more than happy to coordinate your next stitching party.
(2) hour party $175.00, maximum 10 guests,each additional guest $30.00.
(3) hour party $275.00, maximum 10 guests,each additional guest $30.00.
Sit 'N Stitch is available most days and evenings for private parties. Please call for more details 818-760-9330 or email us at info@sitnstitch.com.

Let us know about your next stitching party and be sure to send pictures! We can't wait to see how you choose to celebrate with your stitching friends!

Whip it Up Wednesday ~ Crossed Corners Cushion

Each Wednesday we will choose a stitch to explore and post stitch diagram(s) to help you practice and master each.

Step 1 ~ (white stitches) Start at the top left and come up through the fabric, go up 1 and over 1 to the right and come down through the fabric. From behind the fabric go down 2 threads and over 1 thread to the left and come up through the fabric. Go up 2 threads and over 2 threads to the right and go through the fabric. From behind the fabric go down 3 threads and over 2 threads to the left and come up through the fabric. Go up 3 threads and over 3 threads to the right and go through the fabric. From behind the fabric go down 4 and over 3 threads to the left and come up through the fabric. Go up 4 threads and over 4 threads to the right and go through the fabric. From behind the fabric go down 4 threads and over 3 threads to the left and come up through the fabric. Go up 3 threads and over 3 threads to the right and go down through the fabric. From behind the fabric go down 3 threads and over 2 threads to the right and come up through the fabric. Go up 2 threads and over 2 threads to the right and go down through the fabric. From behind the fabric go down 2 threads and over 1 thread and come up through the fabric. Go up one thread and over 1 thread and go down through the fabric.

Step 2 ~ (Grey Stitches starting from the last stitch from the white stitches) From the back of the fabric go over 1 thread to the right and come up thought the fabric. Go up 4 threads and over 4 threads to the left and go though the fabric. From the back of the fabric go down 4 threads and over 3 threads to the right and come up through the fabric. Go up 3 threads and over 3 threads to the left and go down through the fabric. From behind the fabric go down 3 threads and over 2 threads to the right and come up through the fabric. Go up 2 threads and over 2 threads and go down through the fabric. From behind the fabric go down 2 threads and over 1 thread to the right and come up through the fabric. Go up 1 thread and over 1 thread to the left and go down through the fabric.

Repeat Steps 1 and 2 as necessary.

Cross Corners Cushion

This stitch can be completed with a single solid thread, multi-color threads, variegated threads or 2 different types of threads (white diagram/grey diagram). This stitch can also be reversed (white diagram can be switched to right to left/top to bottom and the grey diagram can be switched to left to right/bottom to top) to create the mirror image of the diagrams shown above. Be creative and try to add this stitch to your next piece to give it a bit of pizazz!

SALE ~ Bag Smith ~ SALE

Project bag is $25 till midnight August 6

Ok so excited! I just got word we can offer The Bag Smith project bag for LTS members for $25 instead of the regular $32. ~ Offer ends 8/6/09 ~ the LTS link is below ~ this is a great bag for all your knitting, stitching, sewing...basically ANYTHING for needles, this bag has you covered.

Monday Munchies ~ Fruit Filled Pancakes

Each Monday we will kick off the week with a Must have recipe to help get you out of the kitchen and back stitching ASAP!

Fruit Filled Pancakes ~ My kiddies LOVE syrup. Me not so much..it is filled with sugar and the kids get a lot of empty calories. I tried to find a great new way to serve pancakes so they would forget about the syrup. No small feat and believe me we tried quite a few different recipes till we stumbled upon this. This was a BIG hit and not one request for syrup!

Fruit Filled Pancakes Recipe

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1/2 cup refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed, or 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh fruit (choose from sliced strawberries, peeled and sliced kiwi fruit or peaches, blackberries, blueberries, seedless grapes, sliced nectarines or apricots, and/or pitted and halved sweet cherries)
• 2 tablespoons orange marmalade, warmed

Directions

1. For pancakes, coat four 4-1/4-inch pie plates or 4-1/2-inch foil tart pans with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl use a rotary beater or wire whisk to beat egg product or whole egg plus egg white, flour, milk, oil, and salt until smooth. Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake in a 400 degree F oven about 25 minutes or until brown and puffy. Turn off oven; let stand in oven for 5 minutes.

3. To serve, immediately after removing the pancakes from oven, transfer to 4 plates. Spoon some of the fruit into center of each pancake. Drizzle fruit with warmed orange marmalade. Makes 4 servings.