What a month! Apologies if you read our newsletter from outside of the UK, but here we've had one heck of a January weatherwise. More snow than I can remember, and therefore lots of time to stitch. Working from home as I do here at Stitchtastic is a huge bonus during the snow, no worrying about driving or walking to work, but you have to be careful not to go stir crazy! That's where stitching can help. I'm sure a lot of you were stuck indoors as well, and might find this happens again as winter plays out. Well, have a look at www.stitchtastic.com and choose a bright kit or chart to put some colour back into the world, which was almost entirely white for a while!

If you're from another country, you're probably gobsmacked at how we get carried away in the snow. You're probably used to this sort of weather, get it every year, etc. Sorry. We do like to discuss the weather over here, the clich� is true!

Anyway, we're hoping that the roads stay clear from now on, ready for us to travel to the trade only stitching show at the NEC in Birmingham in February (sorry most of you can't attend this show with it being trade only, it's an amazing experience). And if it's still snowing when we exhibit at Stitch & Craft Olympia 18th - 21st March, then I will be worried!

So, you've finished your last design. It's framed and on the wall, admired by everyone who's been round to your house since.

Now it's time to move on to something new. But how do you choose?

The first question to ask yourself is, who am I going to stitch for? Is it for me? In which case, try some of our flower designs, perfect as contemporary wall art.

Is the design for a partner? In which case, try to find out what their favourite or first car or motorbike was, then stitch it, maybe even as a caricature. Popular older cars include minis, bikes might include a triumph (the one shown here is a triumph trophy).

What about other relatives? Big kids or little kids love to receive a personalised cross stitch design. For the boys, how about a Nissan Skyline or a Subura Impreza WRC? Saying that, we find a lot of girls love the fast cars and bikes too, it never pays to pigeon hole anyone.

If the people in your life prefer something non-motor related, why not stitch them one of our PETZ designs? The Goldfish kit always gets a reaction (usually lots of laughter) and the Springer Spaniel is very cute.

Whoever you're stitching for, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to receive a gift that you've spent time working on, for no other reason than that they're special to you and you want to show them how much you care. Of course, if you're stitching for you, then show that care to yourself. After all, no-one is more deserving!

To read more on deciding what to stitch, click here.

If you'd like to get someone else started on stitching, or fancy a quick stitch that will provide something that doesn't sit on the wall but can be used over and over again, choose one of our minitastic designs, in keyrings, coasters and cards. The British Bike and Harley Bike designs are very popular and the VW camper design always goes down a treat with a number of colour options.

We'll have more on Minitastics next month.

In next month's newsletter we'll concentrate on our smaller designs, perfect for new stitchers and those who want a quick stitch. There'll be more on our minitastics and we'll also show you our fantastically popular acrylic product range.

See you next month.