There are many projects I have been thinking about and need to get going. I’d like to get each of these in progress by the end of 2010. Some are further along than others, some might not happen. I would love your opinion on some of them. 1. Publish my beginning needlepoint book as a printed and electronic book. Printed is a no brainer, I just need to do it. I have been thinking about Kindle and such alot. Do you use it? Would charts and stitch diagrams work on it? 2. Offer the first techniques on-line class. These classes are designed to teach you a specific family of techniques. Sometimes with a project, sometimes not. The first one is on shading and should be out in the spring. What other classes would you want? 3. Publish the new Bargello book. ‘Nuff said for now. 4. Getting the two new
Monthly Archive:: December 2009
Yesterday was the day after Christmas and, like mushrooms, organizing supplies appeared in all the stores. In my email I got a question from Mert, who asked: Over 30 years ago my mother needlepointed a Christmas tree skirt, Christmas stockings, and many ornaments. We have been storing them in plastic boxes for at least the past 30 years. This year, getting them out it suddenly occurred to me that this might not be the best way to store them. I have searched for the proper way to store needlepoint and I have not been able to find an answer. Would you please advise me on the best way to preserve these for future generations? Since I have lots of needlepoint for Christmas, I tried different things. I felt uncomfortable storing my needlepoint ornaments and stockings in plastic or in cardboard boxes, so for many years I have stored them in
Thinking about it, the only New Year’s resolutions I regularly keep are those related to needlepoint. While this doesn’t say much about my willpower, it does say that these kind of resolutions are wonderful ways to get your stash under some sort of control. In 2009, I resolved to get my thread stash under more control and not to buy too many canvases. While the thread stash continues to be huge, I have used up lots of stuff And have managed to use up one or more threads in almost every project I have stitched this year. I’m still thinking about my resolutions for this year, but here are some stash busting ideas for this year. Do you have a big project you want to finish? Resolve to stitch on it for two needles of thread each day. It doesn’t sound like much, and it isn’t. But it will get
I was reading The Ups & Downs of Needlepoint, which I got from New Needlepoint, a couple of days ago and she had a clever idea for learning Basketweave. I’ve taken this idea and modified it a bit to give you a charming and practical project you can adapt to your style. The idea is to make coaster, united by background color, edging and theme. You can choose any colors you like. I’ve put in some drawings of possible ideas. Begin with a square of canvas 6″ square in you choice of mesh. With a permanent, or dye-based marker, like Pigma Microns, mark a square 3.5″ on it. Now inside that square make more 1″ squares, scattered throughout the space. They can be partial, along the edges, or overlap. Make as many as you like. All your coasters will follow this plan, although the placement of the smaller squares can
I know, I know, it’s less than two weeks until Christmas and you have: presents to buy, gifts to wrap, a tree to trim, and kids to pick up. BUT . . . You still need some presents. Cheryl Fall has posted a charming design on About.com, Ponderosa Pines. Inspired by a grove near Spokane, it’s a charming pattern. Cheryl stitched it in less than a day, so there is plenty of time to get it stitched and finished for Christmas. Longstitch and Bargello needlepoint make it fast
One of your needlepoint resolutions is to learn 1/12 scale needlepoint. Or maybe you are a dollhouse or miniature lover and you’ve seen exquisite needlepoint and you think “I can do that!” Janet Granger of the UK is the designer to go to for kits for miniature embroidery for both beginners and experts. The site is a wealth of ideas and projects that just make me drool. Throughout her site, she notes projects that are suitable for beginners. Better yet. many of her projects are a;so available as charts. Begin with the rugs. These are stitched on 18 mesh canvas and so are no smaller than the canvas you use most of the time. She has carpet kits, in small, medium, and large. They come in a variety of colors and traditional styles. In addition to the area rugs, or carpets, there are also stair runners. The next smallest size
I have a large collection of nativities. My family knows this and indulges this collection in a way they don’t for other things, say, my collection of needlepoint canvases. And among the folk art nativities, I also look for needlepoint nativities. This is the first figure from a small set I’m needlepointing from a free PDF from Wild Olive. The nativity is line drawings of the the manger, Mary, Joseph, and a shepherd. I traced them onto canvas and have started filling them in with stitches using threads from the stash. In this picture from Wild Olive you can see the four figures cut out and finished simply as ornaments. While I like the simplicity of the four figures, I always want more, so I’m going to make more than one shepherd and maybe a couple more sheep. Then I might add some more Josephs to become the three kings>
I love Cheryl’s designs so much and I thought you would too, that I wanted to learn more about her. We did an email interview and now I want to see even more of her great designs. Can you tell us more about your stitching background? How did you learn to stitch? Do you havea favorite kind of project? I’ve been stitching ever since I was big enough to hold a needle without putting my eye out. My earliest memory is actually kindergarten, when my mother presented me with an old, small metal shortbread tin filled with balls of pearl cotton, some needles and even-weave cloth. I can still remember the smell of the cotton mingled with the metallic odor of that box! My stitching education was guided by my mother, both grandmothers and one great-grandmother, and at their knees I learned to do needlepoint, various types of embroidery, drawn-thread