Nordic Needle

I somehow dropped off their paper mailing list some time ago. It's an arduous, boring ride up there from Minneapolis, but I did it often in my single 20's days. I may have to plan a final road trip in the near future. :-(

Another one bites the dust. Breaks my heart. :(

I will say I had a lot of problems ordering from the Nordic Needle online.. .things were back ordered MANY months, them "losing" a returned package (wh en the tracking said it was delivered), and some not-so-great customer serv ice. Nonetheless I hate to see a needlework shop close...they're just too r are these days.

I really, really dislike online shopping for stitching supplies, but it loo ks like that's the only way we'll be able to get anything in a few years.

I'm 44 and all of my friends think stitching is an "old lady hobby." Hey, I started stitching when I was 10! In our county fair they've done away with the needlework category entirely because no one enters anymore. I'm going to see if I can't get the category reopened next year though, and submit so me of my stuff...not to win ribbons, but to show people stitching is NOT an old lady art. Especially with all the cool patterns and hand-dyed fabrics/ threads these days. Or maybe I'm just a dreamer.

This is so very sad. Somehow I had managed to drop off their mailing list, and sadly hadn't noticed.

I'm fortunate that I have always had good needlework shops near me, but I drooled over many of NN designs.

Arliss & I will be there when the door opens tomorrow morning at 10. It says we can bring a friend, so I can bring 2, if you want to meet us there! :)

The letter actually said "local" customers and it looks, AFAICT, that it's a radius of less than 200 miles. Sharon, how far away are you?

Hey! I have my @ badge...I'll wear that so I'll be recognizable! :)

Thanks!

Dagnabit! I'm 253 miles away! If I had seen your invite before 10:15pm tonight I would have made arrangements to hightail it up there!

Did you get over there? I was on the road out of Bismarck at 6 a.m. Joan and I (and her co-worker) met in the parking lot of a Now-closed restaurant a block away and walked over to Nordic Needle. Shopping was not fun - a ha lf hour in line to have fabric cut, then trying to find some things that ma y or may not have been there. Finally, at least 45 minutes in the checkout line.

After we met back at our cars in the parking lot, we had a nice lunch at Ol ive Garden. It's where Joan and I usually go.

There are some excellent stores elsewhere that have great online shopping. One of my favorites is Needle in a Haystack in Alameda, CA. But I do spread my "wealth" around.

Arliss, in Bismarck

Ah! I'm going to be in Alameda next weekend, so I might have to check that shop out! Thanks for the hot tip!

I didn't go because I just didn't want to fight the crowds and I don't really need anything right now. I wonder if they intend to have the online store or if they will close that too. I had found that they were not doing as well service wise when it came to something that they had to order for you. It seemed like it took forever to get and sometimes they even forgot to order it. I had several bad experiences like that. One took over two months for me to get. Hope you guys got some good specials and had a good lunch. I love Olive Garden. Sharon in MN

After we met back at our cars in the parking lot, we had a nice lunch at Olive Garden. It's where Joan and I usually go.

There are some excellent stores elsewhere that have great online shopping. One of my favorites is Needle in a Haystack in Alameda, CA. But I do spread my "wealth" around.

Arliss, in Bismarck

I work in Alameda about 10 minutes from NIAH. The shop is very small and crowded now that they've downsized again. I only go if I want something specific and need it immediately.

I frequently go to Madonna Needleworks down in Morgan Hill.

Needlestack.com

Go drool over the online catalog.

Well, it was a madhouse, and I'm not fond of crowds, so I was happy to get out. Joan went back after lunch, but I decided to hit the road for the 3 hour trip home.

But they have an excellent online catalog. Honestly, they usually don't hav e something in stock when I place an order, but they do place their order q uickly, and they always let me know they've had t special order and give me a timeframe as to how long it might be before they get it. I've had wonder ful service.

Were the prices really marked down a lot or was it just one of those "looks like a sale". I have so much fabric I wouldn't be able to use it all it 3 lifetimes. I don't need anymore kits or charts so that was out. I might need some needles but was not going to make a trip over there just for something like that. Sharon in MN

Most everything was 20% off...not a *great* sale, but it still saved me some money.

When I got back, I got my weekly email from PatternsOnline.com. A TW pattern, "Miniature Spring Sampler" just jumped into my cart and had flown to Paypal before I could stop it! LOL So then I needed supplies for that! DH & I were already planning a trip through Fargo to look at some campers, so I convinced him to stop there "since they were closing and it would be my last time, " (of course, he didn't know I went on Thursday, bwahaha!).

They had some different incentives for each day and on Saturday it was "say 'Nordic Needle' 10 times fast" and they doubled the amount you spent that day for points. They had some pretty nice prizes...1st place was an embroidery sewing machine and another prize was that nice wooden DMC storage box (which I wouldn't mind winning because it matches the stitching cabinet my dad made for me). I spent a total of about $290 over my 3 trips there but I don't know where that puts me in the running. I *should* be set for supplies for the rest of my life. Until that next pattern I just *have* to have comes along, that is! LOL

Here's a link to their announcement in today's Fargo Forum:

Yeah, ours has really gone downhill, too. :( With a 1st prize of $3, though, it's not much of an incentive when it costs $5 to get into the fair!

Speaking of cool patterns, one of the ones I picked up on Thursday was a set of the fractal bookmarks. I've drooled over those fractals since they first came out!

It was *much* quieter on Saturday...only about 6-8 people in there shopping.