Scarlet Quince News
November 2013

We've sent a copy of Flower Window, by Carl Larsson, a new pattern last month, to Reiko, a Japanese cross-stitcher. She says, "I've loved this picture for 35 years. It is the desktop pattern on my computer". We have another pattern by suggestion this month, Suspense - Charles Burton Barber, shown below. It was suggested by Barbara K., of St. Louis, Missouri, and we'll be sending her a pattern to thank her for her suggestion.

If you've made a suggestion in the last month and have not had a response from us, please send it again. We had a problem with our email inbox getting corrupted, and we know that we lost a few emails (but not, unfortunately, who they were from).

We've added a bunch of tips to our stitching tips and here is a summary so you don't have to search for them.

Time savers: Memorize the first color number for as many symbols as you can. This saves you many references to the key. Gridding the fabric (covered under tips for Keeping Your Place and in the gridding tutorial also saves time by cutting down on counting.

A reader sent us a tip for keeping your place: put a chart page inside a clear plastic page protector, and mark the page protector with a water-soluble marker. This keeps your chart pristine, and you can erase the marks if you need to. See Keeping your place (under Mark the chart) for details of brands and colors of markers that work.

We have a few new specific suggestions for lights and magnifiers: Mighty Bright makes many models of LED lights which are very bright. Someone suggested the Hug Light, which also uses LEDs. It's a U-shaped gadget that you wear it around your neck and the arms can be bent to the angle needed. We didn't find the Hug Light that useful (not bright enough) but perhaps ours was defective. If you've tried it, please let us know what you thought. There is a portable magnifier called Mag Eyes which has a headband with lenses that flip up or down. You can use it in conjunction with eyeglasses, and the lenses come in different strengths. It would be an improvement on the around-your-neck lens because you can hold your work where it's comfortable instead of under the lens.

Once again we are holding a pre-holiday sale! Everything is 10% off now through the end of November! Charts, floss labels, and gift certificates!

Cardinal Grosbeak (male)
John James Audubon
The female is also available.

Night Watch
Frank Tenney Johnson

Suspense
Charles Burton Barber