A New Look for the New Year

I hope everyone had happy holidays and a wonderful start to their New Year. Now that everyone seems to be settling back into a routine and lives are getting back to normal, I thought it was time to introduce the new look for 2008. It does need a little tweaking, so if anyone knows how to adjust the white space, please let me know. (Also, if you are finding things difficult to read or have any suggestions to improve the blog, please email me!)

In addition to the new look, there are a few other goodies on the way, so keep an eye out for them. One of the things we'd like to set up is a Suggested Theme of the Month. I know some stitchers have a hard time deciding which ornaments to stitch, so by providing a suggested theme, it can help narrow down the choices and make choosing a little easier. You don't HAVE to stitch the suggested themes, but it can be a real lifeline for stitchers drowning in a sea of decisions! I think 2-3 suggested themes a month is a good number, and the January ones will be coming by the end of the week. If you've got themes in mind, please let me know as we're in the market for suggestions.

I have a few surprises coming later today or tomorrow, so I'll keep those under wraps for now, but introduce myself. My name is Jennifer, and I live on the east coast in the US. I've been cross stitching for 5-6 years now. I've done embroidery for as long as I can remember (remember the iron on transfers?) and a little stamped cross stitch in HS, but always felt intimidated by cross stitch until my DH and I picked up a few kits at the craft store as a way of curbing night time snacking (you can't snack if your fingers are busy stitching!) The stitching bug bit, and here we are still stitching. I've graduated from pre-packaged kits to putting together my own flosses and fabrics for a chart to doing a little of my own designs. Most of what I stitch is given away as gifts, so my themes and choices of designers vary greatly. If you'd like to see more of my stitching, you can check out my blog.

I look forward to working with you all and making this SAL a good experience for everyone. I think it will be a lot of fun to see what everyone stitches throughout the year.