I lurk on about 8 or 10 needlework message boards, participate ever so often, and occasionally drop in on about another 4 or 5 boards. I’d post more on the ones I frequent and frequent the others more if I had a shred more time or an attention span longer than a gnat’s, but I don’t.

At least twice a week on one board or another I see this: “My LNS¹ is closing! WAAAAHHHHH!!! NOW what do I do?”

How disheartening. Yarn has taken over the world. Quilting is its own cozy niche. Scrapbooking is, well, fanatical. Needlepoint seems to be staging a comeback.

Counted cross stitch? Not so much.

I’m lucky. I have three LNSs in my metro area, all within a reasonable driving distance. Actually, one is within walking distance. I also have three others worth driving anywhere from 1 to 3 hours to get to. One of those is Picture This Plus.

I am sad, however, to report that my favorite longer-distance shop in Hannibal, Missouri (which is where, 20 YEARS AGO, I learned about the joys of linen and stitching over 2, quite by accident) closed recently.

Even at that, I count myself a very lucky stitcher, but most people, even in large cities, aren’t nearly as lucky as I am.

So I said to myself, “Self,” I said, “how do I want to shop for my stuff?” (I didn’t really ask myself that; the answer evolved before I had a chance to ask the question.)

Ideally, I’d like to go into a shop and see everything there is to be had. Well, that’s not going to happen because it takes a huge outlay of cash to have that kind of inventory and an unbelievable investment in time scouting all this stuff. Let me tell you about “my” three local shops.

• One of “my” shops caters to primitives and samplers, which is not my thing, and is carrying lots of yarn where they used to have charts and fabrics.
• Another of “my” shops is half yarn and is phasing out specialty fibers and has very old charts, none of which are to my taste.
• The last of “my” shops was previously on my no-visit list because, though it had all the specialty fibers, it was all needlepoint all the time and the owner made it very clear that counted cross stitchers were the red-headed step-children of the needlework world, but that has changed DRASTICALLY with the new owners, whom I really appreciate. They have the most of what I need.

Next, I’d like to go to an online shop that had every item needed for every chart they sell and in a format that makes it easy on my Gnat’s Attention Span (GAS) to shop. That happens rarely, but a good example of that is ABC Stitch Therapy. But you know, I like different stuff and there are a lot of new, independent designers out there I’d like to try.

Third, I’d like the independent designers to tell me where to go to get the specialty fibers and fabrics that they use. I end up Googling a lot and not getting anywhere with finding the new stuff they use.

So when I decided to put my patterns on sale, I also decided that if I wanted to use specialty fibers and fabrics, I needed to make sure my customers who bought the charts could get the materials easily. I thought and I thought, and I finally came up with what I call Build Your Own Kit.

I think (though I am not sure) that this puts me in a different class of needlework purveyor, as I am, at once:

• designer
• printer
• publisher
• distributor/wholesaler
• retailer

The only person I was thinking about when I set this up was the stitcher.

I am a stitcher first and a designer second, and that only by necessity: I like pretty things and sometimes the pretty things I see want me to stitch them. That’s all. And I like to think that some other people will share my taste in pretty things.

I’m aware that doing it my way will make my incubation period (the time it will take for a designer’s name to become widely known, approximately 5 years) longer than normal. I’m aware that doing it my way will take more work on my part. I’m aware that doing it my way may put me outside the industry norm and therefore may close some doors I would otherwise have had opened for me.

But I’m still going to do it my way and see what happens, because I think that’s what’s best for the stitcher.

¹ LNS: Local Needlework Shop