Cats in Needlepoint
It’s no secret that I love cats, so I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite cat canvases. So consider todays’ entry a bit of enabling for all of you.
I’m starting with Naxos Cat by Elian McReady, which is a kit from Ehrman. The cat also comes in a kit with a green background and there is a companion, a long-haired striped cat. I’m working on this currently as a memory of my cat Wakko, who looked like this.
This is just one of many whimsical cat canvas from Quail Run which are designed by Nancy Coffelt. I just love the complex backgrounds, the bright colors, and the pointed shape of her cats. Many of them also have the greatest titles. This one is called “Because You’re Mine, I Walk the Line.”
OK, so it’s not strictly a cat, but I’ve been in love with “Feet” from The Red Thread Designs since I first saw it in the new edition of The Needlepoint Book. It’s on of Terry Enfield’s delightful designs of cats, which have that Oriental style which I love so much. I often think about why I love this canvas so much, not only do I love all the pattern in the kimono, but I love the sweet look about the cat, such a small creature who shares our lives so willingly. I think of this little dear as being a much loved part of these elegant ladies lives, a pretty bit of nature, who is still essentially a wild thing, but is with us willingly (read Kipling’s Just So Story, “The Cat who Walked by Himself” to get the idea).
I love Leigh Designs cats, which are available either as the whole cat or just as the face. They are so wonderfully complex, with such great colors and shapes — a real treasure for stitching. This one, Pepper, is my favorite — I love the bright red color.
I adore Dakota Rogers’ cats. They are charted needlepoint and explore blackwork, stitches, Bargello and patterns. There are many in her composers series which are tons of fun to stitch. My favorite is the simplest, Mozart, which is Florentine work and in one color. I stitched im in gray to look like my cat Astro.
ABS Designs has this delightful cat sock in their line. I have it on my desk ready to stitch. You can personalize it with the name of your cat. I’m thinking about making the kitty long-haired and black.
As I write this I keep thinking of more great cat designs. So go searching, make a cat needlepoint. Now I’m going off to stitch on the Naxos Cat for a bit.
A couple of hints to finish up. If your cat is a solid color, it’s easy to change the color of the fur to match your cat, just try to go darker rather than lighter. If you’re cat is striped, start with a canvas of a striped cat and change the colors.
If like me, you tend to own black cats, then you’ve got a wonderful source of cats in Halloween designs. As long as the cate doesn’t look too scary, you can change the colors
around it. For years I collected black cat ornaments.
Filed under hand-painted canvas | Comment (0)
The Morning After, The Night Before - sneak peek
Anne Stradal of ABS Designs has worked her magic again on these two decidedly different Christmas designs.
First we have Santa, the morning after, otherwise known as Christmas Day. Have you ever thought what he might be doing while we are all enjoying opening our presents and gorging on the candy in our stockings.
Now we know, after a very busy night he’s taken off his boots, put on a warm sweater and is enjoying a rest.
And what about Mrs. Claus? We see her the night before, busily trying to finish up one more gift. I personally think it’s for one of the elves.
Anne designed them and stitched them and I’m just the scribe. They should be available in the next month or so from Anne’s site.
Filed under christmas, hand-painted canvas, sneak peek, stitch guides | Comment (1)
Bargello Revisited — available to pre-order
If you’ve been waiting to order Bargello Revisited from Amazon, wait no longer. The link is finally up and the book is available for pre-order.
Still the fastest way to get the book is to order it from your local shop and have them order it from me directly. Any orders I receive from shops before May 20 or the day the books get here, which is later, are considered first day sales and will be autographed by me. Shops should contact me about personalizing the autographs.
No books ordered from Amazon will be autographed.
I am so excited!
Filed under bargello, books | Comment (0)
Backgrounds & Such - book review
BACKGROUNDS & SUCH, JULIA KEY H. SNYDER, self-published, 2007.
I hate to say it, but I bought this book because I was so taken with two of the stitches in the “& Such” portion of the book, Baby Blanket and AA Variation. I haven’t used them yet, but I’m looking for a place.
Snyder opens the book with a short section of useful tips. Then she has a page of stripe patterns which should get you started on these particularly useful backgrounds.
The next section is “Patterns” which are the main backgrounds in the book. These are backgrounds which are done in Tent and Reverse Tent with stitched patterns in them using a different color or thread. I call them Needlepoint Damask because the end result looks like damask fabric. The patterns, range from simple to complex, small to large and include corners and borders. If you haven’t tried this, do I think you’ll love it.
Before going to the decorative stitches (many of which will also work for backgrounds), there is a short section on stitching plaids.
About half the book is devoted to decorative stitches. Some of these will be familiar, some are unique. The book is very useful too with open grids on all the right-hand pages for charting your own stitches, and with a spiral binding to lay flat. There are lots of ideas packed into this little book.
Filed under backgrounds, book reviews, stitch dictionary | Comment (0)
Here Be Drolleries - book review
HERE BE DROLLERIES, NANCY SPIES, Arelate Studio, 2007.
A second volume of charted motifs and patterns from Medieval Sources, Here Be Drolleries is a great companion to Spies’ earlier book, Here Be Wyverns (link is to my review of this book).
You may wonder what a drollery is and the Introduction tells you that these a whimsical creatures often found in the margins of medieval manuscripts.
Following the introduction are the charts. The charts are divided into sections based on subject, including birds, drolleries, and odds & ends. There is an extensive section on borders.
One of my favorite aspects of Spies’ books are her commentaries on the charts. Ever chart has a note of its source and the pages are ornamented with relevant quotes from medieval documents.
The designs range from small to large and many can be adapted for other uses. I bought the book and the same day I found a chart to adapt for a background pattern.
There is a color section showing stitched examples. The charts a large and clear and the book is spiral bound to lay flat.
I hope there are more volumes coming.
Filed under book reviews, charted needlepoint, charts | Comment (0)
