February 2005: My favorite spots on the web

I have a links page on my site, but I don't think I've ever shared my favorites with you here in the newsletter. Snowy late-winter days are a great time for poking around on the Internet for some needlework information or just for fun! When I started my web site in 1995 (two years before I started the business part of it), there was very little needlework information on-line. Now, just about everybody has a site, and a lot of them are really quite good.

Whether I'm browsing or looking for something in particular, I start at Kathy Dyer's Counted Cross Stitch, Needlework and Stitchery Page at http://users.rcn.com/kdyer.dnai/. Kathy has searchable links up to needlework pages all over the world. You'll find sections for distributors, retailers, designers, free charts, organizations, charities and so much more. She also has a really extensive amount of information from the on-line stitching community. Of course your favorite search engine is a good place to go when you're looking for something specific (I use google more than anything else.)

I check out the Norden Crafts web site several times a week. They're at www.nordencrafts.com. This distributor of mine is particularly good at staying updated on the newest charts. Rather than add them once a month, they're continually updating their designers section.

Hoffman Distributing is a must for me -- I'm continually using it to check on chart availability for customers or for keeping up on the latest. You'll find Hoffman at www.hoffmandis.com -- they have a great shop locator, the biggest searchable database of charts out there. You can also search by designer or by category. And once a month, they update with the newest charts -- a long list!

There are a number of designer web pages that I like to visit once in a while to see what's new, just because they're well-designed, easy-to-navigate, and are updated frequently enough that I know I might find something new. These are:

And updated less-frequently, but still worth a trip if you're a first-time visitor:

There are some nice fiber web sites you can visit, too. Most helpful to me is the Thread Gatherer's site at www.threadgatherer.com. There you can see pictures of the variegated fibers on-line, clearly, so it's easier to find exactly what you need. Some other great fiber sites are: Some fabric companies have sites, too. Near and dear is Lakeside Linens at www.lakesidelinens.com -- a nice way to look at colors, and frequently updated. Norden Crafts (listed above) offers scans of R&R Reproductions Hand-Dyed Linens. Zweigart has a site, too at www.zweigart.com. I also regularly use the Wichelt Distributing web site at www.wichelt.com to see lots of different fabrics (color swatches are available on this site, and they also have lots of charts & kits.)

And, don't forget Just Another Button Company, in a category all by themselves! You'll find pictures of their button line at www.justanotherbuttoncompany.com. It's a great reference if you're looking to get some embellishments.

A lot of great needlework stores have sites, too -- you'll find a big list of them on Kathy Dyer's site (mentioned up above). I won't play favorites, but there's a certain Peddler who has a pretty nice spot on-line... :)

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© 2007 Theresa Venette. Articles on this site may be reproduced in needlework group newsletters or other handouts with permission of author and proper attribution. Send questions, comments and suggestions to: xspeddler@yahoo.com