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You know I'm all about my stitches, but that didn't stop me from designing this delicate little heart pendant with nary a stitch on it. What it lacks in stitches, it makes up for in sweetness. Made of eco-friendly bamboo on a silver-plated chain. Perfect for Valentines gift-giving and beyond. Now in the shop.

A busy, busy spring gave way to some much-needed calm for the first half of my summer. I handed off some projects that were weighing me down. I took a few weeks to deal with a nagging health issue. I spent some lovely summertime days enjoying the company of my family and some lovely summertime evenings stitching for fun. Which is to say, I'm feeling restored. And as tends to happen when your mind has time to wander, I've got some ideas brewing that I'm very excited about. New kits and new ways to express your creativity through stitches. They're all still in the development stages at this point, but I'll share them with you when I can. Stay tuned!

After months, no years, of planning and scheming and experimenting and stitching (so much stitching!), on March 14, 2012, I officially launched Red Gate Stitchery. The year that has passed since then has exceeded all expectation. It has been a truly amazing experience, and one for which I am so very grateful. I'd like to thank all of you for your fantastic support by offering a fantastic sale! Now through Saturday in the shop, get 30% off everything. It's the biggest sale I've ever done, so if you've been holding off buying that special kit for yourself, now is the time! To get the discount, enter the coupon code ONEYEAR at checkout. Sale ends at midnight (EDT) on Saturday, March 16. Please help me spread the word - pin, post, like, or otherwise share!

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. --Helen Keller Wishing you all a day full of heart, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you again for all your wonderful support.

One of the things I love about cross stitch is that it's a portable craft. As you already know, I'll stitch whenever and wherever I get the chance. Over the holidays that meant stitching in the car as we road tripped to visit family in surrounding states. It may have been Christmastime, but I had a different holiday on the brain: Valentine's Day. Some fun new patterns, perfect for the ones you love, are coming to the shop very soon, so stay tuned!

Chevrons are all the rage these days, and I'm not complaining. I loved my stitched chevron ring so much, I decided to make a matching pendant. Even better, the necklace is a kit, so you can stitch one up too! I love the modern colors in the kit, but you could choose any color scheme you like. Heck, how about combining two design trends and stitching yourself an ombre chevron? Too cool for school. You'll find the chevron necklace kit now in the shop.

In a wave of madness I applied for my first ever craft show. With the show less than four weeks away, I am madly making inventory at the same time I am madly working on getting some new items in the shop. All this stitching madness means my studio is in a constant - and maddening - state of disarray. Good thing I'm far too happy about all of this activity to be the least bit mad.

One of the joys of selling needlework kits as I do, is seeing what you creative folks do with those kits. Even when the patterns are reproduced exactly as I've designed them, somehow the pieces seem transformed simply because another hand stitched them. Other times, what you choose to do with the kits takes me completely - and wonderfully - by surprise. Such was the case recently when Atsuko shared a photo of a bamboo pendant she made. Atsuko, whose art of choice is weaving, explained in a blog post that rather than stitch on the pendant, she chose to weave on it. If you look closely you'll see the warp and weft woven together in a houndstooth pattern. Truly wonderful! Vicky, of the blog making it, stuck to stitching on her bamboo pendant blank, but then instead of wearing it as a pendant, she transformed it into a fabulous key ring. I've been so inspired by both of these projects. Very early on in my love affair with fiber, I learned to weave. (I even own a loom, albeit one that's gathering dust at the moment.) Atsuko's designs have sent me searching for my old weaving books. As for Vicky, she put into action something that had been rolling around in my mind for a while now. You just might see some key rings in the shop in the not-too-distant future! Thanks to all of you wonderful stitchers out there for your endless creativity.