I recently decided to order something from a catalog called The Stitchery. If I’ve ordered from them before, it hasn’t been for years, but I like their catalog and they had something which caught my eye. It was a lavender beaded bracelet, and I’m interested in trying beaded crochet. A couple of weeks later, I received a package from them. It had the wrong item, a cross stitch kit of a light house, and the wrong order slip. I called them and was told there was no need to return the item to them and they would send me what I ordered. Yesterday, I received another package from them. It had the right order slip, complete with two quality control stamps, but the wrong item again, another cross-stitch kit. I called them again, and I’m giving them a third chance.
My question for you is has anyone here ordered from them? If so, have you had similar experiences or is mine apparently an abberation? One mistake on an order doesn’t bother me if the company’s reasonable about it. I’ve taken orders and worked with shipping and I know things go wrong. Two, however, is a trifle more worrisome.
I like The Stitchery, and it’s got some gorgeous, not kitschy stuff in it, even if I can’t fathom paying over $100 for a cross-stitch kit. I’m just not sure I trust their order system.
By the way, please feel free to throw in your experiences with other catalogs, especially the good ones.
Not me, personally, but my mother used to order from them all the time. Samplers, mostly. I don’t remember her having a bad experience, but you’ll have noted the “used to” in the first sentence there - I don’t know if she’s ordered anything from them recently (say, in the last two, three years). That said, Mom goes in a lot of craft cycles - one was Brazilian embroidery, then it was to cross-stitch for a while, then knitting, some crocheting, back to cross-stitch, now it’s knitting again (she’s got two grandbabies on the way; that explains that!). She’s also found some stores here in the Mpls area, so I’m thinking that she doesn’t order much from them due to a combination of those factors rather than problems with her orders.
I’ve never ordered from them. It’s hard to imagine how they stay in business if they keep shipping the wrong (pricey) stuff and tell customers to just keep it.
I’ve been making quilts for a few years. The nearest fabric shop is almost 60 miles away, so I’ve been ordering fabric and supplies from jo-ann.com and suzannesquilts.com. Service has been impeccable. jo-ann.com has all kinds of craft supplies, including jewelry-making stuff. I don’t know if they have a print catalog though.
I’ve never ordered from them, but I do order a lot from the Nordic Needle - www.nordicneedle.com - and been very happy. Also I get their e-mail newsletter because it makes me quit bitching about the weather here in South Carolina - they’re in North Dakota and when we’re in the pool here they’re still shoveling snow.
I don’t have any experience with The Stitchery, but I’ve ordered from Dharma Trading Company, The Silk Connection, The Knitter, and Handpainted Yarn. I’ve had pretty good experiences with all of them. Dharma sells dyes, fabric, and ready-to-dye clothing. The Silk Connection sells 100% natural fabrics to be dyed, so they’re mostly only in white. Handpainted Yarn sells beautiful handpainted yarn at very reasonable prices. The Knitter (free shipping!) sells yarn and knitting accessories.
I haven’t ordered from these places, but I’ve heard wonderful things about them: KnitPicks – yarn and patterns Herrschners – general crafty stuff
I’ve ordered from Herrschnerrs, as did my mother and her mother before her. Most of their customers are grannies who have never heard of the internet, and their turnaround time reflects this. However, they are quite reliable.
I’ve ordered from The Stitchery several times. It’s been about 3 years since I’ve gotten anything from them, but I always had good luck with them. Not particularly fast, but never the problems you’re having.
Thanks for the advice, folks. I suspected my difficulties were an abberation. I’m also a fan of Herschnerr’s myself, although, when it comes to buying yarn, I prefer to look at it and handle it myself before buying. I’ll have to check out some of the other catalogs listed!
Oh, by the way, the Nordic Neede also has a print catalog - I think it’s sort of quarterly. It’s a whole lot of fun to browse, even though they’re way more into Hardanger than I’ll ever be.
I’ve ordered from them. The first time they didn’t have one of the items I wanted in stock and kept the .99 as a “credit.” I forgot about it, because I ordered something later (some ladder yarn to make a Red Hat Lady Shawl for an Xmas present) and I don’t think I got the .99 credit.
Either way, I was pleased with the speed of the delivery, and I’m not going to fret over the lost credit. I can recommend them. Plus they keep sending the the catalog and I like to look through it.
