Thursday, January 03, 2008

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.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the new look on the site - it showcases peoples work really well
I lurk and look but haven't posted anything so far - perhaps 2008 is my time to start
Congrats on the new look
Kate
UK

Alberta said...

I can't read the black text on dark green background...

Is it just me?

Cheryl said...

Love the new look! Im hoping to actually beat my record of 2 ornies last year! This sal will be good motivation :)

Nicki said...

Looks great Jennifer but the pretty blog header you had on the test site is missing? And maybe the green is a fraction too dark for some people? :)

Looking forward to the themes :)

Jennifer said...

Well, some people seem to be experiencing difficulties viewing the site in Firefox - it's changing the white text to black, so I'm working on how to fix that. If anyone knows how, PLEASE let me know - I want it to look nice for everyone.

I have no idea why the header isn't showing up, Nicki. It seems to be coming up just fine on mine (in IE) but when I tested it in Firefox, it didn't display.

Teresa said...

What a beautiful new look!! It is nice sometimes to have a change. I like the idea of having a couple of themes or even a particular color to stitch with. We could use the color as fabric or thread. Just a thought. :)

Are you going to include the names of those who have signed up and their blog names?

This is a really nice start to the new year!

Teresa

Anonymous said...

Love the new look... and the inspiration this site gives.

Alberta said...

I can SEE!!!!!

Chris said...

I love the new look. Great job. I only joined this blog a month or so ago. I do plan on stitching ornaments with you this year, as your posted pictures are very inspiring.

Michele said...

love the new look!

Cathy B said...

Jennifer - the new look is great! I'm looking forward to hearing what the themes are - great idea!

Mel in Dubai said...

Love the new look!

I joined this blog last year sometime but have yet to actually participate. I am planning to rectify that this year and already have my January ornament underway!