OK, so I'm a wee bit behind in a few things.....like knowing that last Saturday was Small Business Saturday - haha....so a belated thank you for the many that came to Hip Stitch and shopped!

And to catch up a bit, here are a few of my very favorite small businesses around Albuquerque:  (I may be repeating what I listed a while back, but hey, they're still my favorite):

Rising Star Restaurant.....just 2 doors west of Hip Stitch.  The girls and I ate there tonight....I think the 1st time I've ever eaten in - I always do carry out.  Family-owned, family-run, (just found out the the owner's wife is expecting their 1st child!), friendly, warm, great food.

Los Poblanos Farms......signed up for their produce pick up this fall, and loved loved loved that I was getting fresh, organic, locally-grown produce.  Learned to make new recipes with new foods!

Papa Nachos - on Louisiana, between Paseo del Norte & San Antonio.....good food, great service - enough said?

hmmmmm.....is there a theme to this?  food....food....food......

Black Friday at Hip Stitch!!!

Black Friday Sale at Hip Stitch Measure Up Your Savings this Friday! Dear Crystal, We are so excited to be offering our VERY FIRST BLACK FRIDAY SALE!!!  No waiting out in the cold at 2 am.  Go do your morning bargain hunting, eat a good lunch, then stop by the Hip Stitch for treats and DEALS! We will be open SPECIAL hours 1pm-5pm.

Win a 2 Night Stay at Villas De Santa Fe Come in and be entered for a 2 night stay in a lovely resort in Santa Fe.  ONE entry just for coming in the door!!  The more you buy, the more entries you get!  ONE additional entry for EVERY $20 you spend.  Drawing will be held at 5pm. (need not be present to win) This 2 Bedroom accommodation has one king in the master bedroom and two doubles in the guest bedroom. Gas fireplace, 2 bathrooms, living room, kitchen and more!  Just a few minutes walk from center city! Dates for the 2 Night Stay: 7Dec-9Dec 2BR sleeps 8 Our Price: FREE Valued at over $300.00!! Also On Sale.... You asked for them...WE GOT THEM!  25mm and 40mm Acrylic Snap Grommets!!! In a RAINBOW of colors to choose from.  You are going to go loopy for our NEW GROMMETS!  Will be available starting BLACK FRIDAY! Our Price:  25mm $3.00  40mm $4.00  pack of 2

Fray Stoppa Our Price: $1.50 List Price: $3.45 101 Quilt Basting Spray Our Price: $3.00 List Price: $10.60 Magnetic Snap Closures 18mm Our Price: $1.00 List Price: $2.00 3/4" Metal Grommets Pack of 10 Our Price: $2.00 List Price: $4.00 1/2 off Dritz Notions Our Price: $.90-$5.00 List Price: $1.80-$10.00 Free Button Cards One Free Button card with every $20 Spent! LOTS to choose from! Our Price: $FREE List Price:  $2.00

So Bring your Mom, Sister, Friend or Official Purse Holder and come spend Black Friday Afternoon with Hip Stitch! We are located at : 505-821-2739 E-mail us: hipstitchabq@yahoo.com 7001 San Antonio NE, Suite P Albuquerque, New Mexico  87109

Classes.....and a sad note

What's being created:

An adorable Gum Drop Pillow by a sweet teen, Alex....such a joy to teach! (girl and pillow!)

Beaded Crochet class from a few Saturdays back......another class scheduled in January - don't miss it!


There was a message on the store phone about a week ago......Elizabeth, Tom's daughter, called to tell me he had passed away.  Remember Tom?  He was my regular - we'd sit together weekly, and sew, and drink coffee or tea, talk about many of life's great mysteries (things like understanding people, managing stress, how we were going to make a million on our various sewing ideas).  I hadn't seen his obituary until now.....(that hat he's wearing in the picture? He made it!)

DAVIES -- Thomas "Tom" Davies, 59, a 10 year resident of Albuquerque, and native of Seattle, WA, passed away on Monday, November 8, 2010. Loved husband, father, brother, grandfather, uncle and friend. He will be remembered as an Army veteran, small business owner, office equipment repairman, teacher, abstract painter, avid gardener, mad scientist, leather-clad motorcyclist, coffee enthusiast, fashion icon, Hip Stitch member, life coach, cartoon aficionado, race-car driver, creative chef, animal lover, nontraditional problem solver, amateur pyrotechnician, irrepressible optimist, car collector, rockin' roller, king of Spring Beach, captain of 4th of July, Tompy and Daddy-o. A private memorial will be held for family and friends on Sunday, November 14 at 1:00 pm. Services will be held at Santa Fe National Cemetery on Monday, November 15 at 1:30pm.

You're greatly missed, my friend!

A new store!

I feel like I've finally recovered from our big store re-model......I'm in awe when I walk in each day that this is Hip Stitch.  Thanks to wonderfully creative, hard-working gals (and a few guys): Crystal, Ali (and husband Josh), Julie, Bralia, Kathie, Diana, Kim, my husband Dan and our kids, the store has been transformed.  I took a few 'during' pictures, but look here at Crystal Humble's blog to see before and after shots. (yes, all those bolts of fabric are now at Hip Stitch!)
Here are some shots of the transformation:

Five of these arrived at the store yesterday:

 ....the perfect holiday gift for the little sewer in your life!

And finally, here's Ellen and her friend Kat, wearing their aprons they made last night.......

......and Ali, in her wedding dress, who stopped by the store on her way to a photo shoot to "Trash the Gown"....

.....after all, when a girl needs some Jelly Rolls, she's gotta come by Hip Stitch!

Customer Nan came into the store last week & showed me this bag she had made from the Far Far Away & Kokka fabric collections:

A simple drawstring sac, to wear over your shoulder....wonderful!

Halloween is past, and our living room floor looks like an airplane dropped a bomb of candy....but at least they've neatly organized everything......so I can weave my way around the piles to get to the sofa.  Such sweet memories of my childhood....getting home Halloween night and counting, organizing, relishing the large piles of the good stuff, tossing aside the Bit O' Honeys and other such rejects.

Costumes were completed (thank you, Crystal, for helping finish Claire's!)  I had Violet Baudelaire (Lemony Snicket) and Moaning Myrtle (Harry Potter) out trick-or-treating:

And finally, Saturday's Beaded Crochet class produced some beautiful work: