May 10

Howdy! Sorry, that was incredibly cheesy. It was supposed to refer to the fact that we've just returned from our holiday in the US, but I wholeheartedly apologise to our American subscribers (and everyone else, for that matter) for my greeting.

Anyway, here we are, back with our noses to the grindstone, ready to stitch and ready to process those orders. All orders received during our time away have now been processed and I apologise to anyone who had to wait.

Another piece of good news - I've finished my Fiat 1921 Torpedo design! I didn't take him away with us, he was done before that. I actually started a new design on holiday and hope to show it to you soon. I can't show you yet as it is still at the 'coloured blob' stage. I'm sure you all know what I mean, when you've only just started a design and it doesn't really look like anything yet. I'm hoping that will change soon though.

I'd like to allay a few fears in this month's newsletter. Now I can't obviously speak for every airline or every airport, but I really wanted to stitch on our flight out to the states. It was a 9 hour flight and I'm not a good flyer, so I knew it would really help. I searched all over the internet, even phoned our airline, and no-one seemed quite sure if I could take my stitching onto the plane. So I thought I would throw caution to the wind and give it a go.

What had I found out so far? Well, I know I couldn't take a cutter with a blade in it and I didn't want to take my embroidery scissors, as they are precious to me and I didn't want to run any risk, no matter how small, of losing them. However, needles are ten a penny in our household so I popped a couple of those in. But how to cut my thread? I read around a bit and discovered that many stitchers recommend cutting their thread with the little cutter in a box of dental floss. It worked perfectly! So I was all set. A new kit ready to stitch, and all the bits and pieces I needed.

Now here's the reassuring bit. On arrival at the airport, we were asked a series of questions at the check in desk. When I was asked if I had anything sharp in my luggage, I explained that I had a 'blunt cross stitch needle' and I got the needle out for the gentleman to see. He was quite happy, and cleared it to be carried in my hand luggage. I had a great flight out and stitched for several hours, really helping my slight aversion to the whole 'being in the air' thing.

But what about the US authorities? On our way home, my bag was searched (I'm always searched, I must have a suspicious face). The lovely American official found the contents of my bag very interesting and pulled out quite a few things, but when he got to my cross stitch he wasn't bothered at all, I explained what it was and he was quite happy. Unfortunately, stitching on the way back wasn't really possible as the lights were off and it was a little bit turbulent (don't EVER stitch in so-called 'rough air', it WILL end in disaster), but I was still really glad I'd taken my stuff onto the plane. And do you know what my newest piece of stitching is? A Spitfire plane. Ironic?

I can't show you all of our Harley Davidson designs. A negative way to start this article? Well, not really because the reason I can't show all of the designs is because we have over 50 of them. Unless you really like our newsletter, I don't think any of you would want to look at all of those! If you would like to see them all, have a look at http://www.stitchtastic.com/catalog/bikes_harley_davidson.aspx.

So how can I highlight our fantastic Harley range? I'm going to go from the very smallest to the very biggest designs we have, with a few squeezed in along the way.

Let's start with our smallest design, the Harley Keyring. It also comes as a coaster (square or round) and is very popular as a gift, or with beginner stitchers as it is a very easy stitch.

If you'd like to stitch something a bit bigger but still nice and easy, try the Harley Sportster (7.1" by 4.1") or Harley Low Rider (10.1" by 5.5")designs. The Low Rider comes in 3 colours, red, blue or gunmetal.
When we move into the mid-size range, the choice of designs becomes huge. If you know the particular bike you want to stitch, just pop it into our search and away you go. If not, try something generic like the Softtail Springer or standard Fat Boy design (in blue, red, gold or yellow).

Finally, if you like a big design, then go for a challenge with the beautiful Harley Fat Boy 2003 Anniversary model, weighing in at 23" by 12". It is incredibly detailed and looks amazing, but it certainly isn't a quick stitch!

Whatever your Harley preference, I'm sure you'll find it in our range. However, if you're at the 'It's a blue one' stage if anyone asks you about a particular friend or relative's bike, I'd surreptitiously ask them what model their bike is before ordering. Or just stitch them a keyring!

In June, we're going to concentrate on one stitcher's experience of completing our Lewis Hamilton design, recently our most popular design.