Winning Post

Earlier this week, Hoffman Distributors asked on their facebook page why we love our LNS.

I wrote: "Strawberry Sampler. Fun women who run a great stitch-in the third Friday of the month. Sometimes they even show up to work in their pajamas. It's okay, their loyal customers are in ours too!"

I wish I had taken an extra little minute on the grammar--and followed the directions totally (by telling people where Strawberry Sampler is) but no harm no foul--I was randomly picked for a prize! I got to choose one of the Letters from Nora. I chose S--the dude and I may not share a last name, but conveniently enough we share an initial.

Top Five Places to Visit

In an effort to keep myself going during this blogathon, I've created a few "top" lists. I think I've been to about 25 stitching stores all over the United States. Some of them are gone now or just not list-worthy. Today I found out that one of the places I visited recently is going out of business. Colonial Needleworks, I hardly knew ye!

Here are five places that I can recommend.

5. Yankee Cross-stitch, North Hampton, New Hampshire I love this little place. They have quite a collection of samplers, especially colonial types, just the kind of thing you would associate with New Hampshire. The mall that it's in has a couple of cute gift shops, and there's another mall just down the road with a scrapbook store. Hampton is a beach community so there are places you can go to have delicious seafood. Or you could stop by Strawbery Banke to see how the girls who stitched those samplers lived.
4. Needlepoints, Ltd., Garden Grove, California This place is huge and has tons of great stuff, and every thread you could possibly imagine, let alone need. (Really, go to the website and click fibers. Go see. I'll wait.) It would rank higher, but the staff is surly at best. There's not much around Garden Grove, though there is an In 'n' Out. You gotta go somewhere else to do or see anything.
3. Stitching Post, Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore has a lot going for it. I'm a huge fan of jumping in the car and driving down to the National Aquarium. It's a great little city. The Stitching Post is spacious, it's full of great stuff but seems so uncluttered...it's a stitching store paradox. You should see it for yourself!
2. Elegant Stitch, Modesto, California I'm not advocating Modesto as a vacation destination; face it, it's pretty much an armpit, but Elegant Stitch is amazing! The people are so nice and knowledgeable. Lois is a pip, and I like her because she doesn't think Mimi's constitutes fine dining. There is an In 'n' Out in Modesto. (See why I'm obsessed with In 'n' Out below.)
1. Silver Needle, Tulsa, Oklahoma Wowza! this store could knock you out. It's huge! They've got great walls filled with samples, all the accoutrements, tons of patterns--just everything! They do some interesting things when they put someone else's pattern on 10-count Betsey Ross linen and unleash their creativity with the fibers. But I don't have to tell you--you've see it on the internets. I spend most of my time in Oklahoma at these rustic camps, but I can recommend a visit to the Gilcrease or the Philbrick. I also once ate a burger where Garth Brooks gets his. In 'n' Out is still better.

If I didn't recommend your favorite store, please comment about it! I love knowing where I should visit when I travel around the country. (I have a trip to Houston in the spring.)