Yep, this weekend is our monthly stitch-a-thon over at the Robin’s Nest and I have already completed my first goal for it! I finished Christine’s round robin last night!
This was my first monochromatic design and I really enjoyed working on it. I especially liked the fact that I didn’t have to concentrate on a bunch of color changes and I could really focus on the design. I will now pack it up and send it back to Christine in Canada sometime next week.
For the second part of the SAT and as part of the Robin’s Nest first SAL, later today I am going to start the “Baby’s 1st Christmas” ornament that I am planning on stitching for my nephew/sister. Mom thinks I should finish it before Christmas so that it can be hung on the tree, but since I was originally planning on giving it to her for Christmas I am facing a dilemma. Should I give it to her before or on? For those of you who have stitched a baby’s 1st Christmas ornie for someone, what did you do?
And lastly, in other stitching-related news, I am getting some stash! I ordered some things (Just Nan’s “Catnip Tea,” the Victoria Sampler’s “Hearts of America - Iowa,” and some Piecemakers) from Stitching Bits and Bobs and got the message yesterday that my things have been shipped. I will definitely be stalking the postman now! 
However, I have to ask the readers of this blog who order from SBB if 6 weeks is the normal shipping time for them. I actually ordered these things on October 2, emailed them concerning the status of my order on October 22, and only yesterday did they email with the confirmation that they shipped my stuff. It seems to me that it took a lot longer to get this stuff out to me (none of it was back ordered) than it should have and I have to say that I was kind of disappointed with their service and lack of communication.
And now I am off to kit up “Baby’s 1st Christmas!” Have a good one!
Christine V says:
Hi Renee! For the ornament…is the tree going to be up past Christmas Day, say at least until New Year’s Day? Then I would wait and give the ornament on Christmas Day. If not, then I’d think about giving it to her earlier.
For the SBB order…I usually end up waiting a while for my orders from Bobbie. A lot of times one or two of the items I’ve ordered aren’t in stock and I have to wait for them to arrive before she ships it to me. I think a lot of times it’s because she has such good sales that many people take advantage of. If I need something that’s time-sensitive, I just email her to inquire if she already has it in stock, or put a note in the “comments” section of the order. HTH!
Oh, and great job on Christine’s RR!
18 November 2006 at 10:37
Annette says:
Hi Renee. Your recent finish is lovely. I think I would give the ornament to your sister early, wrapped and all, and just let her know that it is a Christmas present but you wanted her & family to be able to enjoy it.
As far as ordering from SB&B, lovely site, lovely lady, but I only order things I am in no rush to have. It is usually a few weeks before it is shipped.
Happy Stitching,
Annette
18 November 2006 at 11:15
Emily says:
Hi Renee - your finish is really pretty
I have the same experience with SBB…every time I have ordered from there it takes forever.
18 November 2006 at 11:59
Barbara says:
Yes, 6 weeks is about an average time to wait on an order from SB&B. I used to order from them anyway becasue they had incredibly reasonable shipping prices - but they have gone WAY up on shipping to Europe, and combined with the outrageously long wait for the order, I’ve begun looking elsewhere.
Violarium has GREAT turnaround (I always get my order within 3 to 5 days of placing it) and they have great shipping rates. But a lot less selection than other ONS’s I’ve seen.
I love your monochrome heart. It’s gorgous!
18 November 2006 at 12:22
Shelleen says:
it looks great! I have never ordered from that LNS before. I don’t think I would do business with them again.
19 November 2006 at 06:48
Cathy says:
I think that part of the reason that SB&B is so slow is that they have a lot of orders. Almost all of the blogs I read order from them. I would encourage you to look and see if there’s a local ONS in your State that might be able to ship faster. I have stopped ordering from SB&B and order from one of two local ONS.
As for the ornament, I agree that if they leave the tree up for a while after Christmas, wait for Christmas. If they take down the decorations soon after Christmas, you could give it before and let them know that it’s a gift.
19 November 2006 at 19:02
Sue says:
That turned out lovely. I enjoy working all one color (or with varigated floss) also, as it is so nice not to have to change the color all the time.
As to the Christmas present, I agree with Christine, it would depend on how long they keep the tree up. If it will be up until after the new year, then I would think you could wait till Christmas to give it as they would still have time to enjoy it. Otherwise, if they take the tree down early, I’d give it to them early.
19 November 2006 at 19:04
Andrea says:
Hi Renee,
Your finish is lovely. Congrats.
I don’t think I have ever bought anything from SB&B that has been in stock! I’ve always had to wait, except for my monthly thread package.
20 November 2006 at 11:40
Jodi says:
I haven’t ordered form SBB, but I have had a similarly slow experience with Wyndham Needleworks.
The best experience I have had ordering cross-stitch supplies online has been with Drema at Needlecraft Corner:
http://www.needlecraft-corner.com/
20 November 2006 at 15:07
Wendy says:
Lovely RR piece for Christine!
SB&B orders generally take at least a month to get to me. But their sales are too hard to resist.
Anything I want to get a little faster, I order from Needlecraft Corner. Drema is fantastic!
21 November 2006 at 07:08
Dawn says:
It looks great!
21 November 2006 at 08:26
Erin says:
The heart looks great! And I’m a bad person to ask about baby gifts, since I NEVER finish them in time anyway. LOL
My last order from SB&B took under a week to arrive…however, the communication prior to ordering took 4-6 weeks (so really, about the same amount of time). There was a pattern I saw at the Online Needlework Show that I wanted, and since Bobbie was one of the participating shops that I knew and trusted, I asked her to get the item for me. That was in early October. Then she had to order from the distributor (and it was a smaller company, so Hoffman’s doesn’t carry them), wait for it to arrive, and in the meantime her father had a bad fall and she was away from the shop for a week or 2. When the patterns arrived, she gave me the chance to add on to the order, and it took me a couple days to decide….then she emailed me an invoice, I paid via PayPal on 11/19, and my package arrived on Black Friday. Phew!! (sorry to write a novel instead of a comment….)
Long story short, I don’t ever worry that Bobbie would purposely rip me off or anything. But she can be slow, due to personal issues or sheer order volume, and her notification system sometimes needs more attention than she and her husband - the only workers in the shop - can give.
25 November 2006 at 23:06