Stitch up this sweet ducky for a wee one in your life. The design is by Maria Kelly, and the chart is free from The Chart Shop. Get the chart.

Di van Niekerk is celebrating the 21st birthday of Crafts Unlimited with lots of goodies for her customers. In addition to a 21%-off sale on the company’s best-selling designs, Di is offering this beautiful Memories design with every order. Find out more.

Check out this excellent news from Karline of Urban Threads:

Urban Threads is giving away a bunch of crafty goodies in honor of our first birthday! To celebrate the awesome community of stitchers who are helping this collection of hand and machine…

The stitch of the week at Rittenhouse Needlepoint is Oriental stitch. The instructional post says,

The Oriental stitch is a fantastic background stitch and a great stitch for filling in large areas. It is a Milanese-type stitch comprised of two diagonal rows…

A new post on Needlework Tips & Techniques explains embroidery floss basics: how many strands to use, how to separate strands, how to begin, how to fasten off, and how to keep flosses organized. Beginners, in particular, will want to see…

Stop by Tangarang blog to download this adorable free hand-embroidery pattern.

Post a little story about your first needlepoint project, and be entered to win a selection of threads from Janet Perry of Nuts About Needlepoint. Go to Janet’s blog to enter before July 15.

Mary Corbet of Needle ‘n’ Thread shows us how taking the extra step to whip backstitch elevates the stitch from clean and cute to formal and elegant. Get the lowdown from Mary’s blog.

No matter how often I visit Mimi Kirchner’s blog, Doll, there’s always something new and wonderful to see. The latest: a series of swaddled babies, large enough to be a cuddly armful for a child. Just look at this beautiful…

Janet Perry of Nuts About Needlepoint explains how to make compensating stitches when using an outline or template shape with bargello. Excellent advice! See the post.

Look what Connie G. Barwick made! A primitive cross-stitch pattern with one of my favorite sayings! The chart is free from Connie’s blog at About.com. Go get it.

Penguin & Fish found these fabulous Day of the Dead skulls in Rachel Gurney’s Etsy shop, Day of the Head. P&F says,

They are knitted with luxury cashmere yarns and then are felted and patchworked together. I just love all the knitted…

Dot of Dot’s Life and Art is celebrating her third blogaversary by giving away this exquisite bead-embroidered bird. Go to Dot’s blog to enter before 9:00 a.m. (Australia time) on June 15.

Get great tips for creating needlework gifts for Father’s Day from Bargello Needlepoint. And while you’re over there, be sure to download the free pattern for this bargello Christmas ornament.