Originally posted 2008-09-29 07:32:08. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI found a post this morning on a blog “My Crazy RevWar Life” about a charming wallet made in Irish Stitch, which is another name for Bargello, usually applied to Bargello on cloth. In the post she includes link to instructions on how to stitch Bargello, the chart for the project (from Piecework magazine), and instructions on how to finish the wallet (also from Piecework). This is a lovely piece
Monthly Archive:: June 2010
The beauty of America’s National Parks has inspired artist of all kinds (think of photographer Ansel Adams’ classic pictures of Yosemite). It can also inspire you and your needlepoint. Today I’ll point you to some delightful sites with great ideas for needlepoint. The WPA (Works Progess Administration) was an organization during The Depression that allowed artists to work on all kinds of projects. The classic styles of many of these works is still appreciated today. National Geographic’s site has a small display of some of these posters. The poster pictured above is one of the collection of eight. Click on the arrows to see the whole collection. I live on a island in the San Francisco Bay which has taken the first step to becoming a national park. Our local national park, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, encompasses many different places, from the redwoods of Muir Woods to the
Over the weekend I was working on this Princess & Me ornament for my DD. I had picked this bright blue Rainbow Linen for the background. Initially I thought one skein would be enough. But I didn’t like their suggested background or any of the three others I tried. By the time I settled on this Random Gobelin Stripe, I knew there wasn’t enough thread. Since the thread was from stash I was unlikely to find a matching dyelot. This could have ruined the ornament, but you can see above how I planned for the dyelot change. I skipped every other stripe. By doing so I’ve planned for the different dyelot. Since the change is regular, it will look as if the background was supposed to be striped in this way. I found another card of this color in my stash and I’ll be set whether it matches or not
Originally posted 2008-12-18 06:58:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I know, you aren’t like me, you don’t have boxes of stitched but unfinished needlepoint sitting around your house. You’re good, and every piece you stitch immediately gets finished into something. Yeah. Right. And I bet you never thought that one piece which languishes this way could never become the start of a gift so lovely, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do this before. Just about any needlepoint which is blocked so it’s square can quickly be made into an adorable tote bag with nothing more than a glue gun. So now instead of stitching and finishing something, you can buy a ready-made tote bag at a local shop, invest in a glue gun (if you don’t have one) and make a gift. Here’s what you need: stitched and blocked square or rectangular needlepoint with 1″ canvas margins low-temp glue gun
It sits there in your stash tempting you. On the wall at the LNS you couldn’t resist it. Now it’s home and you don’t know how to stitch it. What you need is a stitch guide. But one isn’t available. Or it is too hard. Or it uses threads you don’t like. Or . . . What you need is a custom stitch guide. One written just for you. One that takes into account your tastes, your stitching level, and even your stash. Maybe you have some ideas about the canvas, maybe there is something you want to change but don’t know how. That’s where my custom stitch guides come in. Written to the same high quality as my published guides, they have stitch diagrams, instructions, and materials list. I will even customize them to the threads carried by your LNS to make shopping easier. Nothing beats a customized stitch
Originally posted 2002-12-07 22:22:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter A crying need on the Internet has been for a place where outstanding needlework teachers could showcase their work and make it easy for us as stitchers to find those glamorous projects like the ones we do at Seminar. When Needle Artworks opened in 1998, it was (and still is) an answer to a prayer. Many outstanding teachers like Carole Lake, Jane Zimmerman and Ann Strite-Kurz have pages on the site, showing off their lovely designs. The books and charts available can be sorted by technique, or by author and you can print off and order direct from the author. Since many of these designs are not distributed widely, this is a wonderful resource for stitchers. Sometimes I just like to go there and feast on the wonderful designs. Since one of the founders (and the designer) of the site, Jennifer
Threads, they can make or break a canvas. How many times have you found yourself wishing that you knew how to use that luscious new thread you see in your LNS?How many times have you tried to use a new thread and found yourself frustrated? My new kimono class, beginning July 10, focuses on needlepoint threads. By stitching this kimono (only four stitches used), you’ll get a chance to try more than a dozen threads. In the class you’ll learn about the fibers that make up threads, thread classification and construction, tips for stitching with all kinds of threads, and thread substitution. You’ll also learn how to balance a needlepoint so that it looks perfect and two new background techniques The class is $27.50. You’ll get the three lesson class, the canvas (no threads), and participation in the lively Yahoo discussion group, which will give you even more chances for
Originally posted 2008-08-18 06:30:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter This is the first stitch in Celebrate!, a needlepoint stitch sampler. It will go into the left block in the top row. The alphabet I used for this stitch is available free on the Internet. It is Americana 18 from Tink Boord-Dill. The chart for the C is below. This alphabet is also in Tink’s Alphabets Elegant and Unusual. The background stitch is Alternating Offset Mosaic Stripe. I stitched it in Fresh Pink Watercolours. This stitch is a great one to know, by offsetting the rows of Mosaic, the boxiness of the stitch is broken. If you alternate the direction of the Mosaics in each row, you emphasize the horizontal direction of the stitch, but not the individual Mosaics. If all the stitches are the same direction, each individual Mosaic is the focus. Here’s a rundown of the sampler so far:
Originally posted 2009-02-15 06:16:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Do you have some square pieces of needlepoint hanging around stitched but unfinished? Take a look at this slideshow tutorial for making a square pincushion. She uses an embroidered piece of linen, but you could do this with needlepoint if you folded under the edges. My pile of stitched projects is sitting in the storage PODS which hasn’t come home yet, but I am going to try this as soon as I get them back
The semi-solid blue thread in the photo about is Threadworx’ overdyed Vineyard Silk. It is, quite simply, a lovely thread. Vineyard Silk is generally recommended for mesh sizes larger than 18 mesh, but I had no problem at all with it on this 18 canvas. I don’t know that it would be great in a solid block of Basketweave, but with textured stitches, there is no problem. The thread seems slightly softer than non-overdyed Vineyard Silk, but not hugely so. The thread keeps plenty of the directional light (looking different shades with different stitch direction) to add luster and sheen to the piece. This thread comes in over 20 semi-solid colors, all the threads being different shades of one color. I call these threads semi-solid because they can work to give more energy to a solid area. Imagine using this thread to stitch some blue jeans for example. Lots of
Recently I was accused of illegally charting and selling tartans illegally. I want to publicly say that this accusation is completely and totally false. I did extensive research and even went and asked the folks at the tartan registry about it. Here’s the full story. When you make a tartan you can take the plaid you have created and have it registered by the Tartan Registry. This is kind of like recording a copyright for a book. The folks at the Registry require information like the sett (weaving pattern), name, and restrictions on use. If it’s sufficiently different from other tartan, it will be registered. In addition to new tartans, there are hundreds of older tartans that are registered but are old enough to be in the Public Domain, which means anyone can use them freely. There are also hundreds of modern tartans that are registered but not restricted, so
There’s lots of new items premiering at TNNA, beginning today. In posts today and tomorrow, you’ll hear about what’s new at the show. Whenever possible, I have included links to pages with the new designs. Many designers don’t have these pages up yet, so keep checking back for the new items. Barbara Bergsten’s delightful designs are a real thrill to stitch. She has a ton of new designs including lots of sayings, two delightful curly-toed Christmas socks, and lots of coordinated inserts for wallets, totes, and bags. You can see them all on her site’s What’s New? page. Kelly Clark has some great new things, including several new topiaries (my favorite is the wisteria),some wonderful baskets and containers (one of them the pot of gold), and an absolutely delightful sarcophagus opened to reveal the mummy. I know that hardly sounds like something delightful, but it is. Check them out on
Originally posted 2009-06-08 06:40:51. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI discovered Bargello shortly after learning to needlepoint. I saw Elsa Williams book and was hooked. But you know how they say “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach?” Well, my needlepoint ambitions were always bigger than my time or sometimes my knowledge. So I wasn’t even 15 & I decided to make Bargello seat cushions for my Mom’s dining room chairs, all six of them. similar colors but each with a different pattern in dark green, rust, and cream. I bought canvas and wool for one. My dad hacked up a portable blackboard we had in the basement into a frame where we could lace on the canvas. Although I knew boo about needlepoint back then, I did know I needed a frame for something that large and that I needed to buy all the yarn at once. I picked my
Two exciting threads are being introduced this weekend at TNNA. Threadworx is introducing an overdyed Vineyard Merino. It looks as if it’s coming in the same colors as their overdyed Vineyard Silk. I love Vineyard Merino (you should try it if you haven’t yet), so I’m really excited. In addition, brown paper packages is coming out with Stardust, their first thread with sparkle. They will premiere with four holiday colors. I’ll let you know more about them as I get new details. In addition, thirteen new colors of Waterlilies will be released this month. They are: Sticks and Stones (26) Karakum (261) Salt and Pepper (263) Oyster (264) Quicksilver (265) Wisteria (267) Sahara Sunrise (268) Bubblegum (269) Easter Egg (270) Daffodil (274) Tequila Sunrise (275) Hot Peppers (276) Chianti (277) These colors are also available in Watercolours and Wildflowers
Originally posted 2009-03-16 07:10:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter My friend Jocelyn Goodger is a phenomenal stitcher from New Zealand. She’s creative and inventive and always inspiring. I met her originally because I was so in love with her stitching and her blog, Pins & Needles. Jocelyn has been a member of CyberPointers since the beginning (I think she was our first international member. Before we were even a chapter she took part in our test meeting and program, and this is her version of this project from Classic Stitches. Jocelyn has stitched several of the projects I want to do sometime in my life, including Twister and Jean Hilton’s puzzle purse. Above you see the stitched but unassembled purse. I’m crazy about the way Joce combines stitches in such a spontaneous way (I can never do that). The book cover pictured above is a sample of that. The colors
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