Become a Fan of Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine!

Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine now has a Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cross-Stitch-Needlework-Magazine/58822752281?ref=nf. Log on to become a fan and stay up-to-date on the latest Cross-Stitch & Needlework news!

Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy

Join us as Gloriann, editorial manager of Cross-Stitch & Needlework, chats with Jen Funk Weber, children’s author, needlework designer, owner of Funk & Weber Designs, and founder of Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy.

GA: What is Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy?

JFW: In a nutshell, it is a multi-faceted program that seeks to promote literacy through needlework.

Out of a nutshell, three facets include:

1. The annual Bookmark Challenge. Every year, independent needlework shops, guilds, and other registered groups collect hand-stitched bookmarks and donate them to schools and libraries during Children’s Book Week in May, where they are used as rewards for reading accomplishments. The goal is to encourage kids to read, reward them for doing so, and introduce them to needlework at the same time.

2. Needlework outreach. Studies show that participation in arts improves learning abilities. Introducing kids—and others—to needlework can further promote literacy by improving learning ability and building confidence, courage, and self-esteem.

Best of all, needlework and reading go together like peanut butter and jelly: We can listen to someone read while we stitch. For some of us, keeping our hands busy actually makes us better listeners. Listening to stories aloud improves vocabulary and inspires a love of reading.

I’d love to see book clubs become stitch clubs and stitch clubs become book clubs. It’s as important for adults to read for pleasure as it is for kids; adults need to model reading behavior. It’s fun to discuss books with friends, and it’s fun to stitch with friends; put them together and you’ve got twice the fun!

Many Bookmark Challenge participants offer outreach programs during the Challenge, teaching needlework and reading together, but we can do these things any time of year or all year long.

3. Raising money for literacy. Several designers are designing Stitching for Literacy bookmark patterns and donating 10% of profits to literacy programs. When you buy a pattern with the Stitching for Literacy logo, you know some of your money is supporting literacy. So far, Funk & Weber Designs, My Mark Designs, Rosewood Manor, and Cross Eyed Kat have published Stitching for Literacy patterns, and there are more to come. You can see them all on the Stitching for Literacy Web site.

GA: Wow. That’s a lot going on.

JFW: Yeah, I don’t do anything, I overdo everything. No one—except me!—has to do everything. It’s great if everyone does one thing, or two: Stitch a bookmark for the Challenge, buy a Stitching for Literacy pattern, teach someone to stitch, invite someone—a young person?—to read while we stitch or listen to an audio book, organize a read-and-stitch club, start or join a participating group, spread the word about the program, etc. Pick something that sounds like fun and go with it. Then let me know about it so I can post it on the Stitching for Literacy blog.

Oh! Participating on the blog is another thing individuals can do to help. The Stitching for Literacy Web site and blog is where all these different facets come together and where we can combine our individual efforts to make a bigger impact. The more we as a group do, the more attention we will get, the more impact we will have, the better we can promote literacy and needlework. The Web site is: StitchingForLiteracy.com

GA: So individuals can participate independently and contact you themselves?

JFW: Absolutely. I love posting stories about individuals on the blog, and I’m always in need of blog material. Send your news—with pictures, if you have them—to [email protected].

During the Challenge, I focus solely on literacy and needlework and try to post daily. Throughout the year, Mondays are Stitching for Literacy Update days, and the rest of the week, it’s my personal/professional blog where I chat about needlework, reading, writing, and life in Alaska.

GA: Life in Alaska?

JFW: Yep. That’s where I live. It may seem irrelevant, but readers love the Alaska posts.

GA: We’ve talked about individuals getting involved, but what about groups? How does a group get involved?

JFW: Groups should e-mail me to register for the Bookmark Challenge. You need to register so I can add your group to the Participants list and include you in Stitching for Literacy e-mails. There is a Challenge Kit on the Web site with details about how to participate and materials that I hope will make participating easy. For instance, there’s some dialogue you can use when you approach a library or school to establish a partnership for bookmark donations.

Groups can collect and donate bookmarks, form read-and-stitch clubs, organize outreach programs, etc. Let me know what you want to do, and I’ll do my best to support you and your group.

GA: Readers stay tuned; Cross-Stitch & Needlework is participating, and we’re going to need your help, but more on that later. Jen, what inspired you to start this?

JFW: Mike (my husband) and I have been reading and stitching together for years—Mike reads aloud while I stitch—but I suppose the real start was when I mentioned in my newsletter, The Needlework Nutshell, that I wanted to “do good’ with my needlework. We hear about knitters and crocheters making hats for preemies and scarves for the homeless. Quilters make lap quilts for the elderly, babies, and flood victims. What can embroiderers do? Embroidery is embellishment; a piece of needlework, no matter how exquisite, isn’t much use to someone in need. Embroidery lacks the inherent usefulness of things made with yarn and fabric, so doing real good with it is harder.

The response from that musing was huge. Embroiderers are generous and eager to contribute. I was encouraged to actually come up with something we could do together.

It turns out that needleworkers tend to be readers. I didn’t know that initially, but it means the program resonates with a lot of embroiderers. As a children’s author, reader, and stitcher, I find those pursuits blend easily. The idea to connect them all with bookmarks wasn’t immediate but was probably inevitable. It seems rather obvious now, doesn’t it?

GA: It’s a nice connection. What is your goal for this year?

JFW: I’d like to see more participating groups collecting and donating bookmarks, more read-and-stitch clubs, and more participation on the blog. In terms of bookmarks, I’ve stated 2,010 as the number of bookmarks I’d like to see collected and donated during the next Challenge, which will be March 18-May 6, 2010, although many groups stitch and collect bookmarks year-round now.

I’d love to see the 2,010 number smashed by a much higher number, and if readers here participate, I think it’s possible.

GA: What books do you like to read? Do you have any favorites?

JFW: It’s my goal to read widely, but my tastes tend toward children’s literature—picture books through young adult, excepting ultra-angst-y stuff—and eighteenth-century English authors. I love Dr. Seuss and Charles Dickens, among many others.

There’s not a single song on my MP3 player; I use it for audio books and listen as I walk to the mailbox, do dishes, pick blueberries, etc. It’s not the same as reading, but it’s an enjoyable activity, and it’s helping me work through the longer-than-life list of books I want to read.

GA: Any final words for our readers?

JFW: Come see us on the blog!

Send in those bookmarks!

We're still collecting bookmarks for the "Stitch for Literacy" bookmark challenge. Check out these pre-finished bookmarks, kits, and pattern books available through Herrschners.com for inspiration! See previous post for more information on this program.

Stitch N' Pitch

Now you can combine two of America's favorite pasttimes: baseball and needlework. Head out to a game this summer on one of the scheduled Stitch N' Pitch days and bring your stitching with you!
For more information, visit stitchnpitch.com. In our opinion, it's a home-run combination!

Stitch for Literacy!

2009 Bookmark Challenge
March 19 - May 7

Celebrate reading and stitching! Join Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine and participating independent needlework shops, and stitch a bookmark that will be donated to a library or school during Children’s Book Week to reward reading accomplishments.

Participating in the Needle and Thread: Stitching for Literacy 2009 Bookmark Challenge from Funk & Weber Designs is easy and fun!

Step 1: Stitch a bookmark (or two, or three…). Any hand-stitched bookmark counts:

• any pattern (one you purchase or one you make up)
• on any ground (perforated paper, aida, linen, canvas, etc.)
• with any fibers (cotton, silk, metallics, beads, etc.)
• using any needlework technique (cross stitch, blackwork, hardanger, etc.)

Step 2: Send your bookmark to the address below between March 19 and May 7 (or any time of year, as we will collect bookmarks year-round). Once the bookmarks are received we'll send them to a library to help promote literacy through stitching!

Send bookmarks to:
Cross-Stitch & Needlework
Bookmark Challenge
PO Box 157
Plover WI 54467

Thank you for supporting this wonderful program!

Show us your stuff!

One of the most rewarding parts of publishing Cross-Stitch & Needlework is getting a chance to see the finished work that readers create from projects in the magazine.  It's great to see the beautiful work everyone does! Every so often a reader will even send in a picture of project they completed in an entirely different and imaginative way. 

That got us thinking, "Maybe our blog readers would like to see what each other have worked on?" 

So we invite you to send us photos of your completed projects and we will put together a "Reader's Gallery" on this blog. Send as many photos as you would like, but limit it to projects that have appeared in Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine. Please indicate if you have added your own special touches to the project, if you have a special story about why you chose to do that project, etc.

Please e-mail photos to [email protected] with "Reader's Gallery" in the subject line. We look forward to seeing them!

UPDATE: Rug Auction a Huge Success!

Thanks to a very generous bidder, the Fruit & Floral Needlepoint Rug sold for $500! And with the added generosity of DMC ($1000) and Zweigart ($500), the American Cancer Society received $2000 to help in their fight against cancer. Thank you to everyone who participated!