Many designers, in addition to the ones mentioned here have fantastic new canvases, often listed on their websites. Check onthe links for their newest canvases to see them. OVERALL TRENDS Although knitting seemed to overwhelm the show floor, I thinkthis show marks the beginning of a resurgence of theneedlepoint market. Why did knitting seem to take up so much space? First, andmost importantly, their booths were big. While knitting boothsseemed bigger than last year, needlepoint booths were smaller.However they were busy. Most exhibitors I spoke with werehaving great shows. For you, the stitcher, this means that therewill be lots of new projects, threads, and canvases showing upin your local shops. The overall look of needlepoint canvases is moving towardsyoung, hip designs with fresh colors and lots of style. This ishappening while still retaining the timeless quality which is such a large part of needlepoint’s appeal. There are plenty of designs
Monthly Archive:: January 2006
I have a friend who is learning needlepoint and she loves being able to stitch in the quiet. The world today is increasingly filled with noise. I read an article recently which was talking about media bombardment. Think about it, even your shopping cart at the grocery store probably has at least one ad. Your computer might make noise, your kids may watch TV or play video games. For many of us, music or the TV during stitching time is a welcome way to occupy part of our mind while we stitch. But quiet is party of needlepoint too. When we stitch we get into a state where the mind relaxes and we become calm and our brains quiet; they stop chattering at us. It’s a kind of meditation where the repetitive motion of the stitching encourages quiet and reflection, even if the TV is on. This is good, this
Yesterday I was helping a stitcher with a charming stocking she is making for her chef husband. There is, of course, an apron and chef’s hat and they would be most effectively done in shading. But she’s never shaded before. This got me thinking that I should share my easiest shading technique with you, I call it “divide and conquer” It can be used effectively where you need only a slight transition or where you need extensive shading. Try it on something small and you’ll be so happy with the results you’ll use it often. First off, only shade with plied thread, shading depends on mixing plies of two colors in the needle, so non-lied threads won’t work. My favorite choices are cotton floss and stranded silk. Look at your canvas carefully. You will see that there are large areas which are solid colors, with smaller areas of transitional colors