Originally posted 2009-04-05 06:47:13. Republished by Blog Post PromoterSue Dulles wrote a wonderful post recently on needlework books. It was originally written for a needlework magazine and expresses how we feel about our books, and her method to make them more immediately useful. I know how she feels. One of the first needlepoint books I bought (while I was in college) was the first edition of The Needlepoint Book. Being mostly self-taught, this book was my teacher. I remember a family vacation to Canada with this book, a bunch of Persian Wool I had dyed myself and some canvas, making a sampler in the back of the car and barely looking up when we got to the border and got stopped by the guard (this was back in the day when they mostly waved you through). I kept notes in the book and eventually found a hardbound copy in a
Monthly Archive:: December 2010
f you’re like me, you love to stitch Christmas ornaments. But because they are small, they tend to accumulate. Why not put and ornament onto a gift bag? It makes a festive present and is an easy way to finish an ornament. The folks at Phoenix Needlepoint posted the how tos and made this bag as a model for the shop. You’ll need a fabric bottle bag, a stitched needlepoint, glue, and coordinating trim. For a bottle bag, an ornament that is tall and thin will work best. If your ornament is a different shape, look for other types of fabric bags to embellish with this technique. I keep thinking of great ways to use this idea. Why not make a Petei design (especially one of the Petei people) and put it on a bag? Or what about a tall, thin house on a bag as a hostess gift? Much
Originally posted 2009-02-23 05:48:40. Republished by Blog Post PromoterJudy Harper has made some posts on her FREEBIES, Etc! blog about making needlepoint napkin rings and bracelets. These are based on the jeweled borders in her crazy quilt heart series. If you have not been folowing this series in her POOSIBILITIES,Etc! blog, she has been doing one for each month using the birthstone and flower associated with each month in colors typical of the month. They are lovely pieces with lots of texture from stitches and threads and embellished with lovely silk ribbon embroidery. You can see January, March, June, August ((fourth picture on left), September, October, November and December
Let’s say you are thinking about doing the 2011 Needlepoint Club (sign up here) or any other series of projects where you want either to explore color or make a set of coordinated but different pieces. But you don’t have much of a stash to use. You don’t want to spend too much money, but you want the designs to look good. Think about using embroidery floss. Floss is inexpensive, widely available, and easy to use. Because you can strand it, you can use it on any mesh of canvas and it comes in hundreds of colors. Here’s how to pick colors for the 2011 series. Begin by picking your very favorite color of floss. But 3 or 4 skeins of this. Then start by expanding from this floss in some easy directions. First pick up 1 skein of each of the other colors in the color family. Most of
Originally posted 2007-06-29 08:11:01. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThere are lots of really cool needlepoint picture frames out there. But I often hesitate to make them because they are lots of work, often expensive to finish, and you have to find a picture worth the needlepoint (not always easy). But one of my students came up with a great idea. We’re turning the picture frame into the border for a birth sampler. The one we chose is this charming design from Cooper Oaks which has elephants and flowers. Around the inside of the border there will be a one stitch wide area of Continental to set off the center, which will have the newborn’s name and birthdate. You could do a sports frame to commemorate a great Little League season, one which looks like fabric for a new house, or what about a geometric for the first day of school?
Want to share the fun of needlepoint with other stitchers? Looking for a fun, fast project? Want to learn new stitches? Then contact me to become part of Nuts about Needlepoint’s 2011 Round Robin Mini-sock Exchange. When you fill out the form include your postal address (which will only be given to the people in your group) and if you are willing to be in an international group (if in the US). Starting February 1, I will group participants into groups of five. You will get an email with your name and the names and addresses of everyone else in your group. After you stitch a patch send it along to the next person on the list within two weeks of receiving a stocking (to keep things moving along). When you send the stocking add a note saying the thread and stitch you use. This will go to the person
Originally posted 2003-04-21 07:24:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter A book like The Needlepoint Book can be one of your handiest tools when you are stitching. While this book is like a college degree in needlepoint between covers, most people (even experienced stitchers) turn to it because of the wealth of information about stitches included in it. These kinds of books are called stitch dictionaries. In a stitch dictionary you will find many different needlepoint stitches diagrammed for you. Often,as is the case here, there are also pictures of the stitches worked on canvas. The diagrams tell you how to make the stitch. Sometimes, as in my diagrams, the stitches aren’t numbered, sometimes, as in The Needlepoint Book, they are. Although for most stitches you don’t need to follow the numbering diagram for making the stitches, it is good to do so until you understand how to make the stitch.
Originally posted 2006-09-27 22:26:07. Republished by Blog Post PromoterHere are some great Internet resources on Bargello to get you started on exploring this great technique or doing a Bargello project. Cathy’s Bargello Page http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/barg/barg.html – an outstanding resource with an historical essay, lots of links, and, best of all, outstanding patterns and pictures of her work. Bargello Candle Stocking http://www.caron-net.com/dec98files/magdec.html – charming Bargello mini-sock featuring Caron Collection threads. Bargello Pine Trees Stocking http://www.caron-net.com/magfiles/magdecharts/magdec.html – charming Bargello mini-sock featuring Caron Collection threads. Steph’s Stitched Pieces http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/charts.htm – find links to pictures of several Bargello items here. Milano Evening Purse
Originally posted 2005-08-15 22:38:08. Republished by Blog Post PromoterMY CANVAS EMBROIDERY NOTEBOOK Susan Ettl, self-published, 2003 Susan Ettl, a noted needlepoint teacher, has put her accumulated knowledge into a lovely book for beginning stitches, My Canvas Embroidery Notebook. The book is designed for beginners and provides a firm foundation for learning needlepoint. Ettl is outstanding in explaining the concepts behind needlepoint and hasn’t neglected and important concepts. The book flows naturally from subject to subject beginning with a definition of canvas embroidery. Materials are examined, and large clear illustrations provide additional information. Since the book is for beginners, there are careful and complete explanations of preparing the canvas for stitching, threading needles, and starting and ending threads. Each concept is clearly and carefully explained. The terminology of threads and yarns, which is so often confusing, is explained in detail. Concepts are given a background. While it’s well and good to
Originally posted 2009-10-21 07:29:20. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I’m hoping to be finished with the beading later today, but isn’t this piece, my latest stitch guide, great? I love the Art Deco-inspired blocky style and how there is so much design impact from three colors and simple stitches. The canvas is by Elements Needlepoint and is available at your local shop from Dream House Ventures. The stitch guide will be available from them soon. I also wanted to show you some of the detail on the piece, this is the bottom center and you can see all three elements. The tree is done in the Tent-Cross check, I posted about last week. Texture is difficult to obtain in black threads, but this technique gives piles of it. It’s stitched using Soy Luster. The green and red is stitched using Baroque silk. Seeds beads are attached to make the berries.
Originally posted 2008-11-22 05:13:23. Republished by Blog Post PromoterMy friend, Jan Fitzpatrick is a talented stitcher. I’ve shown you some of her quilt designs which she makes into box tops and coasters in a Twinchy Gallery. Currently on her blog she is showing us a completely wonderful adaptation project based on Moroccan rugs. Early in her career she taught in Morocco and her neighbor made rugs from wool which she spun herself. The pillow she gave Jan is the starting point for her needlepoint journey. In this series, Jan begins by showing her inspiration. Then she goes through picking several motifs from Moroccan rugs and shows how she has adapted them to needlepoint stitches and stitch patterns. I’m particularly fond of the notebook format she is using to develop her ideas. Once the patterns have been charted out, she created adesign plan for the rug, including showing us how this
Your stocking stuffer gifts could be the usual (or even the unusual) you get at needlework stores. But there’s plenty to get at places like the hardware store, the fabric store, or the office supply store. Here are some ideas. Garden Shears: Canvas is notoriously hard on scissors and using just any old pair will ruin them quickly. About a dozen years ago I bought a pair if Fiskars Garden Scissors for cutting canvas and they are great. Very sturdy and made for cutting things far rougher than needlepoint canvas, they stay on my desk always. Quilting Tacks: Large and strong with slightly longer shafts, these tacks are glorious for holding canvas on stretcher bars. Buy them at the fabric store in large quantities. Pigma Micron Markers: I’d be so happy if someone at my house bought me a mess of these. They come in very fine points and in
Originally posted 2009-08-11 12:19:19. Republished by Blog Post PromoterAshland Sky makes amazing project and tool bags that are distributed for the needlepoint market by Leigh Designs. The bags are made of heavy-duty translucent vinyl with a colored nylon backing. There is a choice of six colors. The vinyl is thick, much thicker than any other bag I’ve used and is buttery soft, not stiff and inflexible. Four sizes are available: Gadget Sack: 5″ x 6″ Project Pouch: 9″ x 12″ Flat Sack: 20″ square Large Flat Sack: 18″ x 24″ The Gadget Sack and Project Pouch are also available in an all-translucent version. Both flat sacks come with carrying handles. An unusual feature of these bags is that the zipper is not all the way at the top, but about 12″ down, I like this because your needlework or other items won’t poke through the zipper fabric, but stay securely
Originally posted 2009-06-25 05:55:57. Republished by Blog Post PromoterWawanna is the talented designer behind Dazzling Ornaments, which makes beautiful and useful tools for needleworkers. Throughout the profile, you will see pictures of some of her products. One of the things which intrigues me about your line is that the idea came from your needs as a stitcher. Can you tell me more about how your items reflect that? When I first began to create the chatelaines, I had spent several years looking for one which would meet my needs. I looked at the internet, needlework shows, needlework shops, and in needlework magazines. The things that I found were mostly for scissors. In other words the product slipped over the neck, was usually constructed of a cord with a few beads and an attachment for one tool, a pair of scissors. One day I was casually talking with a non stitching
Earlier this month I blogged about this charming needlecase by Orna Willis. I’m delighted to say that the instructions for stitching and finishing it are now available. To get them you need to send Orna a note. She has also made a limited number of materials packs available through her Etsy shop. If you want one of them, hurry the supply is limited