Are you familiar with Loose Thread Stitchers (LTS)? It is a Web site dedicated to providing a quick and easy way to find needlework shops, products, events, offerings, and services on the Internet by allowing stitchers to search for needlework-related information by month, year, state, keyword, etc.

I think of it this way: the site is a search engine for all things needlework.

LTS founder and owner, Colleen, is an avid reader who enjoys sharing the joy of reading with her three young kids.

My oldest is five. His sisters (three and one) still take afternoon naps. With three small children I find it important to make sure I spend quality time with each one every day. Nap time is when Deane and I go on our reading dates. He cannot wait till the girls are off to bed so he can pick out a few books and sit in our comfy cozy chair and explore new worlds. He is currently addicted to Dr. Seuss. To be honest, I really like the rhythm of the words and the interesting stories, even when we read the same story fifty or sixty times. Yes, we have books we have read at least that many times.

We found a new (to us) Dr. Seuss book, A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer, and I was excited to give it a spin. Only this time Deane decided he wanted to read it. He had been working on his spelling and sounds, and I thought we could give it a whirl. We decided I would say all the big words and he would take everything else. It turns out there weren’t a lot of big words.

We spent the better part of two hours sounding out and discovering words that Deane can read. It was one of the best afternoons of my life. To move from a sounder-outer (in Deane’s words) to a reader in an afternoon is a great accomplishment. Deane has caught the reading bug. He was so excited to read his book to Daddy that night, bed time was a bit late, and I suspect it will be for a while. I look forward to every minute!

Colleen is excited to support reading and stitching, and so Loose Thread Stitchers has a special offer for anyone stitching a bookmark for the Needle and Thread: Stitching for Literacy 2009 Bookmark Challenge.

You can receive a one-year membership to LTS and an exclusive Loose Thread Stitchers pattern free if you send Colleen the following:

• a photo of the bookmark you stitch
• a short “story” of the bookmark–why you stitched it, who it’s for, etc.
• an explanation of why stitching is important to you

That’s it! Send those three things to Info@LooseThreadStitchers.com and enjoy exploring the LTS site.

Thanks, Colleen, for this generous offer!