This is a new canvas from Needledeeva (http://www.needledeeva.com) which is part of a stitch guide I’ve written. The canvases are being stitched as models for next month’s TNNA market. They aren’t quite done (hair and borders still left to do), but I think she is so adorable. I love all the great effects in Mary’s dress and Jesus’ blanket. The halos just glow and the Nordic Gold use for accents in the background makes it look like a piercingly cold Winter night. Appropriately enough I started stitching her on the way to Mass on Christmas morning. In this series, there are angels, the three kings, Joseph and a sheep. There is also a great stable background. We’re planning more figures for next year, so this can be a collectible Christmas series. I love nativities (I have about 30 of them from all over the world), but I have always resisted
Monthly Archive:: December 2006
This little pattern is a needlepoint damask pattern. I’ve been using these patterns, which feature contrasting textures of thread, for over 20 years. They generally use a shiny thread, pearl cotton in this case, and a matte thread, crewel wool here, and get their beauty from the change in texture. Often the patterns are made entirely from Tent Stitch, but this one uses Diagonal Gobelins in an interlocking cross pattern. It’s finished into a Chameleon Designs Coin Purse. I added a focal point of one cross in metallic, which is off-center. To make the project you will need: about 2 yards metallic thread 1 skein pearl cotton 1 skein crewel wool Chameleon Designs Coint Purse 5″x5″ 18 mesh mono canvas Using a permanent, waterproof makrer (I like Pigma Microns) mark a rectangle about 3 threads wider all around than the opening on the purse. Pick a random point near one
These 100% soy threads are delightful to use. They come in 228 colors. I particularly love the way they have grouped the threads into families. Each of the 57 families has four shades, ranging from dark to pale. The members of the family all have the same number with a letter designation to show the shade. They come in 30 yard skeins, cut into 1 yard lengths. Large quantities are available by order. The threads are hand-painted with extremely subtle color variations, not even enough to call them varied. This adds a lovely depth to the colors which is not available in commercially dyed threads. I tried the threads in a couple of Bargello projects as well as some Basketweave and textured stitches. Two strands worked beautifully for Bargello on 18 mesh. I kept feeling as if it wasn’t covering well as I was stitching, but the end result was
Ruth Schmuff Stitch dictionaries are tons of fun, they give us lots of ideas for stitches, but often they have one drawback, they’re just too big to carry with your project. I’ve long been jealous of my knitting friends who can just take along a card with their scarf project on it. Ruth Schmuff has developed a wonderful solution to this problem — Stitches CD, Volume 1, has 300 stitches, charted, classified and available in two formats. Find the stitch you like, print the page and pop it in your project bag — what could be easier? The CD has the stitches in two formats, PDF for printing and JPG for adding into documents. This is a brilliant choice because Acrobat documents (PDF) can be read on all computer platforms. The CD even includes a copy of the Adobe Acrobat reader if you don’t have one. The JPG copies are
I’m happy to announce that I’ve been named the needlework editor at Skaffe.com (http://www.skaffe.com/viewCat/11194 – to find my topic). I’m so excited about this opportunity because it is a great and growing resource for links. My plan is to grow the link list rapidly, I’m seeking out about ten links each week and adding them. And I’d love your help with this. If you have a favorite needlework resource, please suggest the URL. I’ll take a look and try to add it. Once you’re at Skaffe.com, take a look around, there’s some great stuff there