Don't forget that November 21, 2009 is our first Stitchathon in the About.com Cross Stitch Forum. Some stitchers have big plans for tomorrow - I know a few are set up to have a Lord of the Rings Marathon at the same time. Even if you can't stitch all day, drop in for a bit.

Don't miss the excitement! But, if you can't stitch with us on Nov. 21, remember that we are having Tuesday Night Stitchalongs too. So many stitchers are making so much progress on former UFOs that is it amazing!

Find out more about both of these opportunities as you Come Stitch With Us!

Welcome to another edition of Make it Merry, where talented crafters share their holiday how-to's.

Advent Candy Tree
Everyone loves counting down to the holidays...add candy to the mix and you've got a fun Advent calendar from Sherri Osborn for the whole family to enjoy.

Pumpkin Cross Stitch Pattern
Use a variegated floss to make a swirling pumpkin that would look great near the Thanksgiving table. Connie G. Barwick (hey, that's me!) has the free pattern.

Knit Wreath Ornament
Scrap knitting makes for fun quick projects that are perfect for any skill level. Sarah E. White has the instructions for this cute wreath.

Miniature Glitter Houses
Snowy villages look great upon every mantle and tabletop. Lesley Shepherd has a free printable so you can make your own tiny houses.

Paper Bead Star Ornament
If you're looking for something a little different to do with your paper beads then take a look at this paper bead star. This project is simple to adapt in a wide variety of ways.

Rustic Pillar Candles
'Tis the season for running out to buy candles. David Fisher will show you how to make these festive pillar candles with the perfect finish.

Pear Diamonds Painted Card
This card has an intricate finish, but it is so easy to make. Tina Jones shows us how to create this colorful card from start to finish.

Christmas Apron Pattern
Just because you've got to bake cookies for the whole family doesn't mean you can't look fabulous! Phyllis Dobbs has created this adorable holiday apron, and she's got the free pattern just for you.

Flower Petal Ornament Cover
Sometimes those plain ornaments just need a little dressing up. Tammy Powley will show you how to use seed beads to create this unique ornament drapery.

Paint a Christmas Tree
Instead of paying a premium for a colored tree, Barbara Crews will show us how to paint your tree red to match the latest holiday trends.

Want to Join Make it Merry to show off your holiday crafts? We will showcase your crafts and recipes of all holiday traditions. Learn more.

Carrol Nielsen of Carrol Nielsen's Christmas Designs says that, "It seems like I have had a needle and thread in hand since a very young age and I often joke that my family wouldn't recognize me without it." Carrol hails from the "Land Down Under" and it has a definite influence on her stitching as you can see here!

Carrol's designs are dominated by Koalas. Koalas for Christmas, baby samplers, and they just keep popping up everywhere. Carrol says, "When I was a kid I just couldn't draw a koala. My grandmother was in love with koalas and I have her in several photos having a koala cuddle on her visits to Australia...." Learn more about Carrol Nielsen's Christmas Cross Stitch Designs.

Not only is this project gorgeous, it only took X_Woman a month to stitch it! She says, "Hey, what can I say? I love cross stitch!" Read more.

The design is by Joan Elliot, from her book Bewitching Cross Stitch.



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I never seem to keep my posts completely wordless, but here are more blogs posts featuring photos on Wordless Wednesday at About.com.

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I have been spending some time browsing on Etsy this week and wanted to share some of the cool things I found. These are all finished items - if you are running short on time and still want to give hand-made gifts, Etsy and other sites like it may solve your time-crunch issues.

• Leather Zip Pouch From CruzDesigns, this cute little pouch will make a great coin purse. If I hadn't already exceeded my Etsy budget for the month, I would buy it for myself!
• Belle of the Barbeque Hostess Apron From lesjardinsdevie, this awesome apron includes a cross-stitched border. Lovely and practical gift! I can just see my mom wearing it.
• Robot Family Baby Announcement Sampler From misofunky, this birth announcement is so cute that I want to buy one and I don't have a baby of my own. It is great for nerds who propagate the species!

Have you found a great deal on Etsy, Artfire or other handmade focused website? Let us know about it using the comments section below.

I am a complete floss addict. If you could see my craft room, you would know that there is no debating that statement. I have storage boxes full of various brands and types of flossses. I love trying out new-to-me brands and types.

I am also a bit of a fabric addict too. If I see fabric on clearance or find it on a "deal" I will order it in multiple quantities.

Which supply is your weakness? Are you a fiber addict, a fabric fancier, a needle nut, or what? Vote in the poll and let us know and use the comments section to share your stories about your supply weaknesses.

When I was a child, my favorite toy was a little lamb that played "Jesus Loves Me" when it was wound up. I loved that lamb to death - I mean it literally fell apart. I had the classic speech difficulty of saying W sounds for L sounds. So I was always talking about my "Wittwe Wamb" My mom would practice with me - Lollipop over and over again. I would say Lollipop perfectly but continued to say "Wittwe Wamb" I think she didn't understand that "Wittwe Wamb" was his name!

When I saw Lesley Shepherd's miniature lamb needlework pattern, it took me back to my childhood. You may work the Miniature Lamb needlework pattern in cross stitches and fill it in with French knots to make it look woolly as shown here or just work the pattern entirely in cross stitches. If you want a gray or brown lamb alter the colors as you like.

More Free Needlework Patterns:

• Miniature Needlework Charts
• Free Cross Stitch Patterns A-Z Index
• Free Candlewicking Patterns
• Free Hardanger Patterns
• Free Hand Embroidery Patterns

Are you looking for great projects and interesting articles about crafting. The Crafty Bloggers are here to save the day. Here is what some of my favorite crafty bloggers have been up to this week:

• Mixed Media Artist Would you ever do an art show where you knew you wouldn't sell anything?
• The Impatient Crafter
  Madge makes a festive Patchwork Paper decoupaged letter for your teen's bedroom door in this week's post for iLoveToCreate.
• Cathie Filian
  Cathie shows you how to make a kids felt book. The book are perfect for airplane trips, car rides and rainy days. They make great gifts!
• Craftside
  Over on the Craftside blog there are how-to ideas for casting and making a silver metal clay wing necklace and a recycled wool sweater Christmas needle book. There's an Mail Art Call Out to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, tips for making a vintage rosary style necklace and a little Jimi Hendrix thrown in.
• Crafty Princess Diaries
  Tammy reviews a new book full of unique and earth-friendly ways to wrap your gifts this holiday season using scarves.
• About.com Family Crafts
  Come play along with this Make-It-Over craft challenge! What can you make out of candy? This is a great way to use up any left over Halloween candy.
• Farm Girl Roots, City Girl Style
  How did you get introduced to your hobby? Linda shares the story on how she learned to quilt and where those skills have gotten her.
• Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
  How to make a Sweater Surgery Light up Christmas tree inspired by The Lampshade Lady's Guide to Lighting Up Your Life
• Aileen's Musings
  Aileen's on a mission to win a trip to NYC and to see the Martha Stewart show! Check out her under $20.00 Christmas project on Michael's craft site and rate it to help her win!
• The Artful Crafter
  Eileen shares directions for some lovely polymer clay Thanksgiving napkin rings. You have a choice of one embellished with a cute clay turkey or a more formal looking ring stamped with a fall motif.
• Vickie Howell - Craft.Rock.Love
  Make cool, graphic wall art using Ed Roth's Stencil Decor kit and a little imagination!

Share your own favorite crafty blogs using the comments section below.

Janlynn is a well-known company in the stitching world. Recently Andrew Goetsch took the time to share information with me about the new HOTS program.

Andy is not only the CFO in charge of business development, he is also a stitcher himself! For me, this makes a big difference to know that the person in charge of a company actually does stitching too!

The Heart of the Stitcher program (HOTS) is part of Janlynn's plan to become the crafting online store solution. HOTS is a good start toward that end since it allows stitchers various options for purchasing their most popular designs. Since a majority of stitchers dislike kits, Janlynn offers charts as standalones, in conjunction with various selections of pre-cut fabric, and with pre-cut floss or skeins.

I recently placed an order through the HOTS program and it was quite simple and easy. If you are looking for a great gift for a stitcher or just a great way to get what you want, HOTS may be just the ticket.

Visit Janlynn's site to Learn more about HOTS. You can also become a fan of Heart of Cross Stitch on Facebook to keep up with all of the developments at Janlynn.

Have you tried HOTS? Tell us about your experience using the comments section below.

I get a lot of emails from people looking for fabrics that are slightly out of the ordinary. Many colors of Aida, for example, are only readily available in 14-count. What if you are looking for yellow fabric in 18-count Aida? If you know how to dye your own fabric, then you can just work up your own. But, if like me, your dye efforts don't always turn out so great?

Recently I received some samples from DoveStitch Fabrics. Not only do they have all sorts of colors in all sorts of counts of Aida, evenweave, and linen, they also do custom fabric treatments. You can choose from a wide variety of treatments.

When DoveStitch claims that they have the "biggest Hand-dyed, solid and Patterned cross stitch fabric range worldwide" they aren't joking. From Paisley to Polka Dots to Chocolate hand-dyed fabric and much, much more, the selection is astounding.

I will be posting projects stitched on the samples soon so watch for them!

More Fabric Sources: (just a few of many!)

• Charles Craft
• Zweigart
• Silkweaver
• Stab N' Stash

Share your favorite fabric brands and sources using the comments section below.