Website & Cart Explained

Website & Cart Explained

I’m seizing this moment to explain the website and it’s checkout process since a few people have had trouble.  I’ve broken this down into steps and highlighted things that need to be paid attention to.

So let’s go over to the website, shall we?!

First when you arrive you will be greeted by me!  There I am, cheerfully welcoming you into my world of design, art, and hand stitching.

Do you see those two big red arrows?  That’s showing you the navigation bar because I’m going to go over all of the items listed, but first let’s just look for a second at the bottom of this landing page, the page with me smiling at you.  If you scroll down you’ll see a whole bunch of images and text about my past design work and then at the very bottom you’ll see this:

This is how you can get in touch with me.

Now you can also use the “contact” at the top in the navigation bar.

Either one will work.  So if you get into trouble, just know we’re here to help answer any and all questions you may have.  And most of you, who follow me elsewhere, know I’m pretty good about responding to you in a timely manner.

Okay.  Now, let’s move on to “Workshops”.

Yay, workshops!! So much fun.  This is what you’ll see. At some point I’ll change the large header image with my most recent piece, but until then this is exactly what you should see.  Scroll down and you’ll see the calendar break down of all my workshops as of today.  I’ll be adding a few more in the coming weeks, but for now, this is it.

Click on the blue link from the photo above (I’ve circled it in red).  All those blue titles are hotlinks and when clicked on, they will open that workshop!

Here we are in the Stitch Along Dorset Button Glasses Case Workshop.

Look at the drop down menu! How cool is that?!  That’s what you’ll see if you click on the button to the right of “Customize your experience”.  This is where you can add stuff.  Fun stuff like fabric kits and thread kits.  If you don’t see a drop down menu it’s because no kits are available for that workshop. But for both my Stitch Along workshops you get to add kits!!  One more thing about the drop down menu… when you choose one of the options, you’ll see that the price changes.

See how the price changed when you added the Fabric Kit?  And can we just admire for a moment those fabulous linens?  These include enough linen and lining for TWO cases – Pat Pauly’s hand dyed linens, my own ice dyed linen, a cotton lining AND a micro fiber lining, (you’ll get both) which is perfect for glasses lens, fusible fleece interfacing, again enough for two cases and enough wool for one. Same with the Stitch Along Scissor Case, but I’m getting side tracked…

So the price includes the workshop, plus the Fabric Kit, which also includes shipping and the design and the detailed instruction booklet.  “What!” you’re saying to yourself, “that must be a typo!” but no, it’s just one of the perks you get for signing up for this Stitch Along. “But what about the thread kit?” you might ask.

Here you go!

This is the workshop and the thread kit.  Please note that if you live outside the US you MUST order at least 4 weeks before the beginning of the workshop.  Even so it’s dicey with customs and covid causing delays.  Bottom line –  if you don’t live in the US, hurry and enroll now!

Here we are with the Workshop, the fabric kit AND the thread kit.  See all those beautiful threads above?  Oh!  And look!  See that gorgeous hand dyed linen underneath?  Yup that’s the whole package.  One last thing – this workshop features Dorset Buttons.  Not just your traditional Dorset Button, but really, really wild dorset buttons.  Dorset Buttons like you’ve not seen before.  Last year I gave a couple workshops called Dorset Buttons Gone Wild.  It was a huge hit.  This workshop and the other Stitch Along I’m doing in July will teach you how to create dorset buttons that are little pieces of art unto themselves.  So even if you don’t want to make a glasses case or scissor case, you can still take this workshop and create dorset buttons for something else you’re working on.  It’s all about thinking outside the box, using the dorset button as a jumping off point, but doing things you’ve never thought of doing.  That’s what we’ll be doing in both of these Stitch Alongs.

Okay, let’s keep going with the website.  So now you’re convinced this is just the coolest Stitch Along/Workshop that you’ve ever seen and you can hardly wait to sign up.  So what do you do now?   

Click on the “Add to cart” button and you’ll see the little, light blue, transparent box at the top that I’ve helpfully circled in red!  And if you look at the navigation bar you’ll see the number 1 in your “cart”, showing you that you’ve added one thing to your shopping cart. And now you can do a couple of things:  You can keep shopping and sign up for more workshops and/or designs or you can check out.

There are two ways to check out.  The first is to click on the button that I’ve circled in red in the image above.

Or you can click on the the “Go to cart once all items are added?” button, which is right below the “Add to cart” button. Do you see it? ⬆️

Once you click on “view cart” or “Go to cart once all items are added?” you’ll be asked to login, if you haven’t already done so.  This is for your security and this is what you’ll see

If you remember your user name and password you’re good to go.  If you’ve forgotten your password, like everyone else in the world, you’ll need to click on “login” and you’ll see this image above.  Do you see the dreaded “Lost your password?” No problem, we can help you with that.  I can’t remember my middle name, much less every password I’ve created for different websites, oh wait, I don’t have a middle name, but you get the point…  Click on “Lost your password” and you’ll get an email to reset your password.  This is so that no one pretending to be you can get in here and make mischief.

Once you’ve created a new password and logged in, you’ll see this page above… wait, what?  Coupon???? I want a coupon!  I can help you with that too.  If you signed up for my newsletter you will have seen that I give one to everyone who signed up.  If you missed that, you can join Patreon where I also gave a different coupon just a few weeks ago!  Lots of coupons, lots of different ways to get one.

Once you’ve entered your coupon code or decided you just want to get enrolled because the workshops are filling up fast, you’ll click on “Proceed to checkout” and voila, you’ll be taken to this page.

A couple things here – there’s yet another reminder to use a coupon, if you have one (upper left corner circled in red) and don’t forget to un-click “Ship to a different address?” unless your credit card info is different than your shipping address.  For the kits, the shipping address is really important because this is what will be given to me to ship all that beautiful fabric and threads to, so make sure it’s correct.  I cannot tell you how many times I go to the post office only to be told “that address doesn’t exist”.  So please, please, please, double check and make sure it’s correct.  And include you’re phone number so that we can call you to verify, if we run into problems.

Once you’ve filled out all the credit card info, you’ll get an email welcoming you to the workshop and then you’ll get another email from me asking you to choose which kit you’d like.  Make sure you have my email address in your contacts so that your email security doesn’t block me, thinking I’m spamming you.  I promise, I would never do that. ❤️

Congratulations you are now successfully enrolled in my workshop and the fun has just begun!
But wait!  What about the rest of the website?
Okay, okay, here’s the Stitching Shop:

After that is the blog, which is where you’re reading all of this.  But have you looked at the right hand side bar?  You haven’t!?  Well let me show you around because there’s some cool stuff.

So above the red circle there are all the social media icons which you can click on and follow me in various places.  And then there’s the Subscribe to this blog! That’s where you enter your email address so that you never miss one of my blog posts.

But there’s more!

When you sign up for my newsletter you’ll get lots of other things stitching related. I wrote my first ever newsletter just a few weeks ago!  And I’ll be writing another every month or so.  I’m not really sure how often I’ll be writing one, but it won’t be daily or even several times a week, because I don’t have the time, but it will certainly be once a month.

So now that you’ve subscribed to this blog AND you’ve signed up for my newsletter, I want to point out something else: the Translate button.

If English isn’t your first language or second or third, you can have this blog translated to the language you’re most comfortable with.  How great is that!

Okay, we’re in the home stretch…  Along that top navigation bar after “Blog” and “Contact” (remember I told you about the Contact tab earlier?) then there’s “Account”.  And if you hover your mouse over it, another drop down menu like this one will magically appear.

Click on “Account Details” and the image above will appear.

Lost Your Password is the next item on that drop down menu and where you can make a new password.

“Orders” is where you can see all the things you’ve signed up for and purchased and the next item “Downloads” is where you’ll find any and all downloads that came with anything you’ve purchased and finally there’s the “Logout” button.

So that’s it!  You are now a pro at finding, ordering and navigating all the different things on my website!

Oh!! and I added another The Basics Workshop in July, since the one coming up, sold out quickly, so don’t wait and grab your spot now!

Pain, Grief and Showing up Anyway

Pain, Grief and Showing up Anyway

So here’s the thing…  I feel a whole lot better when I show up even when I feel awful, even when I feel things are rough and I’m tired, even when I don’t want to.  I’ve also learned that showing up anyway is the single best remedy for not continuing to feel that way. Except that it’s also really hard to do.  That’s the thing.  It’s really, really hard and sometimes… sometimes it feels impossible.  I know it technically isn’t, but it sure feels that way.

Marcus Aurelius wrote about pain a great deal.  And in his writings about it he consistently focusses on choice and responding, rather than reacting.  I’m a huge fan of Marcus Aurelius, not just because he was wise, but because this guy was one of the most powerful men in the world and yet he continued to do his best to remain humble, to avoid arrogance, to nurture self awareness and to treat others with respect and kindness.

So yeah, showing up anyway.  Easier said than done, so I have found ways to do so that aren’t quite so laden, that make it a tiny bit easier.  I call it setting myself up to succeed.

Here’s what I do:

  • Thread up a whole bunch of needles with different types and weights of thread.  I use both Chenille needles and Milliners Needles.
  • Grab a needle, any needle, it doesn’t matter which one, and begin stitching.  I have a couple of mindless go-to stitches that don’t require any thought.  They are the meditative stitches like french knots, bullion knots, colonial knots, seed stitch, chain stitch, fly stitch, straight stitch and then I riff on them, which means I start exploring every aspect of that stitch.  How many wraps can I make on a french knot before the whole thing begins to fall apart?  (It turns out a lot more than you might think!). What ways can I stitch a straight stitch to create different patterns?
  • Exploration
  • Investigation
  • And before you know it, I’m playing!

Stitching, more than anything, changes everything, even grief, even pain.

If you’re curious to know how I did this, I made a video about it and you can watch it here:

This Too Is Grief

This Too Is Grief

Stitch, put on the design wall, evaluate, consider, take down, add a new element, stitch, put back up on the design wall, take a photograph, consider, have an idea, take down, thread up a new color, take a chance, take a risk, take a breath, stitch and then the tears arrive.  Not a few drops at a time, but a torrent soaking the fabric and the thread I’ve just stitched.  In the midst of this I briefly wonder whether the thread colors will bleed. They say grief comes in waves.  The threads don’t bleed, I’ve learned.  At least not yet.  Stitch anyway.  Stitch through the grief.

It catches you off guard.  That’s the thing.  That’s what makes it hard.  It’s unpredictable. Erratic.  The violence of it when it arrives, unannounced, suddenly, swiftly; how do you prepare for that?

You can’t.

“How are you?” people ask.  I’m surprised because I’m just fine.  I’m busy, I’m working, I’m teaching, my old energy levels are returning, they aren’t back to what they were, but really, I’m just fine! 

“I know you had a strong bond with her” or “I know how close you two were”  or “I know…”  And the pain slams into me, taking my breath away. No, I’m just fine, I think, but I’m not.  I’m not fine.  I’m grieving.

Remembering My Mother and Stitching Anyway

Remembering My Mother and Stitching Anyway

This blog is a reminder of my mother.  She was my biggest supporter and commented over the years more than anyone else. It was through this blog that I often kept in touch with her and towards the end it was the one full proof way I knew I could reach her, especially when my emails would go unanswered and my phone calls went to voicemail.  I knew she would read whatever I was posting.  Over the last few years when she could no longer speak, she would send me things that she knew I’d post here, much to everyone’s delight, because the things she sent were such fun.

Like this video:

And then there was this one that I loved:

Mostly I’m missing my mom and while I know this will ease over time, it’s still causing me to wake up many days feeling listless and kind of “blah”.  I know from other periods in my life when I’ve felt down and a loss of energy that doing the things that I don’t feel like doing are the things that often make me feel better.  It’s funny how that works. It’s counterintuitive, but if I can remind myself to do those things anyway, I’m halfway there.

It reminds me of when I was the Director of the Aspen Writer’s Conference and had organized to have Michael Crichton speak to kick off the conference.  During his talk he was spoke of a work ethic.  He was speaking of what artists, specifically writers, but it applied to anyone in the arts, often do. He said, imagine if you were an airplane pilot working for a major airline and got up in the morning and thought – you know I don’t really feel like flying today, I think I’ll sleep a few more hours. – You’d expect to be fired immediately or at the very least given a stern warning and if you tried that again, you’d be out of a job.  He then went on to ask, why do artists treat their work any less seriously?  If you’re a writer get up and write. If you’re a painter, paint and so on. The point was, our feelings don’t really matter when it comes to getting the work done.  If we think of ourselves as an artist then put in the hours and create the art, regardless of the feelings.

With that in mind I keep showing up for the work, regardless of how I’m feeling, because I create.  That’s what I do.  That’s what I’ve always done. Today is no different than any other in that way.  Yesterday I taped a video on this idea, and some of the things I do when I’m feeling low energy, which almost always comes hand in hand with doubt.

Here’s to having feelings and showing up anyway.

Prepping for Africa

Prepping for Africa

Off we go on our grand adventure to Africa tomorrow!

Here is a little recap of the last 24 hours…

Yesterday: Wake up to find we have been sent a notification from the airlines that our flight has been cancelled. Wait, what?!???

My heart skips a beat, a precursor to the flood of panic that immediately follows. Time for some deep breathing. Logic kicks in. We will get another flight out, it’s going to be fine. I quickly send off emails to the travel agency and leave voice messages for them as well, just in case they don’t get the email, even though it’s 6am and they’re on Central time and won’t be open for at least four hours, you can never be too careful or thorough.

Anxiety Girl from RunSingTeach

I practiced my french – j’ai pratiqué mon français. Still feeling some trepidation and panic, but attempting to speak another language helps. Meanwhile Richard has been experiencing heart palpitations and has an appointment with the doctor to make sure he’s in tiptop shape for our trip. I remind him that it’s important that he wear his hiking boots, since they’re new, at least once before our trip, to ensure he doesn’t get blisters while we are away. He nods distractedly.

The travel agency gets back to me, we laugh about traveling and how anything that can go awry, often does, but it won’t be a problem, she’s got this and will call me back when she’s figured out our new airline and flight.

I decide this is a good time to get some stitching done to calm my frayed nerves.

Wrapped Grommet – Ariane Zurcher Designs

Several hours pass and I get the news that we are rebooked on a different airline departing out of a different airport, but we will make our connecting flight and all is well. Knowing that we are all set to go as originally planned I go out to get my Covid test as required by the airline and Africa.

I throw on an old pair of sandals and walk briskly over to the CityMD nearest us only to be told that they’re swamped and test results will take 3-5 days. Yikes! They suggest a different place that is about a half a mile away. A true New Yorker, I walk over to this new place, which is actually a folding table set up on the sidewalk on 14th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. It feels as though I have pebbles in my sandals, which I cannot find or get rid of. Never mind, there’s no line and so I fill out the various online forms to register and they assure me test results will be delivered within 24 hours. Perfect!
“Go easy on me,” I plead to the young man, who I swear couldn’t be older than 22. He assures me that he’s known for his gentle touch and before I know it the deep nasal swab has been deftly done and is over. “That’s it?!” I exclaim. “Yup, you’re good to go,” he says.

I have a brief moment when I consider whether it would be worth purchasing another airline ticket for this young man so that we can bring him with us and have him perform the 9-10 Covid tests we will have to get throughout our trip. I voice this thought in a joking tone. He laughs and says something like, “I wish.”

He has no idea how serious I am…

The pebbles in my sandals are now really quite painful and I’m having a difficult time walking. I stop at a random pharmacy, purchase some bandaids only to realize that there are no pebbles; I’ve developed large quarter-sized blisters on the bottoms of both feet. How does that even happen?

I hobble home grateful that I can stay put and not go anywhere else.

Upon arrival back home I am confronted with more forms that need to be filled out no more than 48 hours before leaving. I can feel my anxiety rising. Oh and weren’t we supposed to start taking our malaria tablets? Oh no, that can wait until Friday.

New email comes in from the travel agency reminding me to print out our Rwanda visas. Wait, what? Rwanda visas???? I did that, didn’t I? I’m sure I did, but never received confirmation that our applications were approved. I search for and eventually find the email saying that our visa applications are “pending.” I forward all of this to the travel agency with the subject line: HELP!

I have a Zoom call with my “Ask Me Anything” Patrons, which is really more like a party, very boisterous and lots of fun. I show off my latest stitching project and we discuss stitching, techniques, different ways of doing things, piecing backgrounds, and other things, including my next two workshops coming up end of September. The Zoom party is lots of fun and distracts me momentarily from all that’s going on travel-wise.

The Zoom party ends and I see another email from the travel agency. I call them instead of emailing back. She’s taking care of the whole visa debacle and assures me it will all get sorted out. I check my credit card and see that the money has been removed for our travel visas. She tells me there’s one more form to be filled out, but she’s having her assistant do it because while I was on the Zoom call she spoke to my husband who, it turns out, is having heart palpitations due to stress and she doesn’t want him to get any more stressed out.

Richard tells me he loves his new hiking boots, wore them all day and guess what? Not a single blister. I admit that I wore sandals that I’ve never had issues with and now can barely walk.

We laugh. Because seriously, what else are you going to do? We haven’t even left yet and this trip is feeling epic!

Today: I wake to see that my Covid test has been emailed back to me and I’m negative, thankfully.

After I finish writing this post I am double checking that all our various documents are printed out multiple times. I swear we have added at least a pound to our baggage weight with all the documents. We are only allowed a small duffel bag and cannot bring more than 33 pounds including carry-on each. I will be weighing my various tech equipment & computer, finish packing and will try to remember to breath.

Breathing is important. Wish us luck!

And remember in five days we will be hiking with these guys.