needle minder – Contemporary Embroidery & Textile Art Inspiration

Zombie Queen of Halloween Hello all of my amazing cross stitchers out there! So here we are in the fall months and it's an exciting time to be stitching with the change of seasons. How I love fall and all of the upcoming holidays! So let's talk about what's up next, Halloween. So many awesome colors and things to make for this holiday and let's face it, Halloween is all about fun. Since I just got my new glasses I haven't been able to stitch much lately, however, I do have some great finds for you. So here is an awesome Aida cloth with a cobweb motif. Now what couldn't you put on here for Halloween? I think it is a fabulous background for pumpkins, spiders, witches, ghosts, bats, whatever you want to stitch on it really. I purchased mine from Stitched Modern via the web. It comes in pre-cut pieces of 12"x18" (30.48cm x 45.72cm) on 14 count Aida only. They also carry glow in the dark Aida and linen. Yes, the fabric itself really glows in the dark! No background needed on this webby 14 count Aida fabric, just start stitching! Now while I was on her website I also came across an item that intrigued me. These are button covers but what I saw was custom-made needle minders! Something I could make myself with material I hand-pick. Once I figured out the directions, they were so easy to make. They have a template on the back you can cut out and use. You just cut the appropriate size circle from whatever fabric you choose, center your design, then push the fabric onto the teeth in the back and pop the back on. Glue your magnet to the back and you are all set. How simple is that? And believe me, if I can do it, anyone can do it. Now in order to make it a needle minder you do have to push the metal shank down so it is flush with the back. All I had on hand was leftover Halloween material with bats on it so that is what I used. Still turned out pretty nifty. They come in three sizes so you can pretty much use it for needles or if you want to attach larger things, you can get the larger sizes. I purchased really strong Rare Earth Magnets so nothing is going to fall off of it. You can also decorate them with other media and use them for refrigerator magnets too, match your kitchen decor if you want. I think these would make really great gifts for your friends too, stitchers and otherwise. Here are the three sizes I purchased. I used the smallest for my bat needle minder. Here is my homemade needle minder. So simple with the button covers! And speaking of needle minders, here is one from the same shop I just couldn't resist. Aren't we all Floss Bosses?! LOL! This was too original to pass up. A needle minder in the shape of an embroidery hoop? Who could resist! There were some other great finds I purchased from this shop that I will share with you next month. They were fun, functional, and inexpensive so they would make great little gifts for the Christmas holiday and for yourself as well! WHAT THE HEY YOU SAY! So whenever I get wind of anything new or if something changes, I will try to get it on the column as soon as possible. Here is what I found out recently: DMC Mouline Special Etoile (Coming Soon) DMC recently released a new line of embroidery floss. What they have done is taken their cotton embroidery floss and added Lurex to it to give it sparkle, so it is 73% cotton and 27% Lurex. It is 6-strand divisible and comes in 35 luscious, sparkly shades. Of course I had to order it and will you get you the low down next column! Kreinik Kreinik recently announced it will be retiring a color from their array. It is Berry Red 0311. It will be gone in all their varieties: braids, ribbons, filament and flash. So if you are working with this color or if you plan on using it in the future, scoop it up now before the supplies are gone. They offer alternative colors of 080HL or 153V to use in its stead. On the upside, they are adding a new color, YEAH! It is a beautiful minty pastel green called Sea Glass. It is in production but should be available soon.....I have no idea when, but soon! LOL! It will be released first in the #8 and #12 braids, then released as the #14 and #16 braids and 1/16" ribbon. Well I am going to wrap it up for now and hope you have a terrific, candy filled Halloween! I plan on getting a lot of stitching in this month and I hope you will too. Until next time, Keep Creating! Confessions of a Cross Stitcher is brought to you in association with Cherry Parker Cross Stitch Designs! Sign up to Cherry's newsletter to get free designs from New Zealand!