Ziva Needlepoint Design‘s newsletter came out yesterday with this wonderful City Mosaics needlepoint Necklace. It’s part of her Ziva Vogue line. It’s a great contemporary design that is stitched in Mosaic and Tent Stitch. The model is stitched in silver and pewter metallics accented with bright bold colors. But I can see it in so many different color schemes. Start with some metallic in different shades and finishes in a single color. Then add some contrasting and coordinating colors for a unique look. The finished size is 2.5″ x 3.5″ so big enough to make a statement, but not so big as to overwhelm. Full instructions on how to stitch this necklace, including finishing instructions are included in the VIVA ZIVA! Newsletter
Monthly Archive:: January 2011
Dinky Dyes just announced new colors in their wonderful threads. There are 6 new colors of stranded silk, 5 new colors of silk ribbon in both 4mm & 7mm, and 4 new colors in their three sizes of silk perle. The new stranded silks are Antique Mauve, Dusty Rose, Blue Ice, Wallaby Grass, Peacock, Kiah. The new ribbons are Tropic Sunshine, Pearl Snowy River, Rose Bay, Blue Ice. The new perles are Coral Sea, Midnight, Blue Iris, Brambleberry. They will be available beginning Tuesday
Originally posted 2009-10-10 06:51:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter There aren’t many stitches that baffle me, but Kennan Stitch is one. That’s why I’m so grateful for this needlepoint stitch of the week tutorial by Rittenhouse Needlepoint I found while catching up on blog reading. I particularly like the way the samples are done in brightly colored thread so I can see how the stitch is constructed. Now I need to find a UFO where I can use this and feel as if I have conquered one of my needlepoint problems
Originally posted 2009-09-13 07:43:05. Republished by Blog Post PromoterAs readers of this blog know, I am in the middle of an intensive treatment for a chronic diseases I’ve had for over 50 years. What I haven’t said is that stress of any kind is extremely harmful to my treatment. This goes so far that I’m not even allowed to go to Costco on a weekday. So imagine what happened to my stress level last night when I found this written in a blog about my article in using pens for marking needlepoint canvas in the latest Needlepoint Now. The blogger calls my article “misleading, and almost ludicrous, and it frightens me that someone would be put off from an otherwise enjoyable hobby by faulty information leading to a bad experience.” I want to say several things about this. First the article is not based on faulty information. It’s based on
How cool is this? Kell Smurthwaite of Kincavel Krosses has free charts of all seven deadly sins for you to stitch. You can find them either by scrolling through her blog (link above), or by using the list below: gluttony wrath pride sloth lust greed envy The site is a wonderful resource of great free designs, so take some time to look around. And if you want to see hilarious personifications of all seven, go find the original Bedazzled, with Peter Cook & Dudley Moore. It is one of the funniest (if not the funniest) movies ever made. The sins are amazing — Raquel Welch in a bikini is lust, a drunk lawyer is sloth, and wrath is a bouncer in the bar owned by the devil. And the sins are just icing on the cake! Thanks to Denise at Craft Gossip for alerting me to this
Originally posted 2008-07-01 20:47:14. Republished by Blog Post PromoterCyn Davis (her blog is Cyn’s Stitches) and I did a Bargello Challenge this month for my stop at her blog on my Virtual Book Tour. There are two posts on her blog about it. One is by me and describes the idea behind the challenge and what I did with it. The other post is by Cyn and describes her idea for the pattern and what she did. I just love her mini-sock and I especially love the cuff. I don’t usually do cuffs on my socks, but Cyn’s is so pretty I just may start. If you make a Bargello piece from this line or any of the free patterns I’ve included in this Virtual Book Tour, send me a picture and I’ll post it along with your comments
Originally posted 2009-01-21 06:00:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Remember this Twinchy from the December Twinchy Challenge? I wasn’t able to do the charts because I had packed away the manual I needed. I found it and charted four snowflakes for you. To make the Twinchy mark out a 2″ square area and stitch it in T Stitch or Basketweave. I colored my square blue and then stitched. The snowflakes are then stitched in Back Stitch, either completely or partially, using metallic thread. This snowflake is complete and off center. Remember that Back Stitches in needlepoint go over two threads. This snowflake is smaller than the others. This is a big bold snowflake. For a different look you could make the background dark blue and stitch these as stars in gold or silver
This little fall leaf shows off a number of easy needlepoint techniques. The outline of the leaf was taken from a coloring book page and traced onto canvas. It was then filled with an alternating stitch using two threads. The background, done in two colors of Watercolours, is mitered. This pulls your eye to the focal point, the leaf. (Click the links to learn how to do these techniques.) But when I had finished the background I felt as if the different areas didn’t pop enough. So I added a stem, outlined the leaf and then outlined the diamond inset. All three of these outlines are whipped, or wrapped, stitches. They give wonderful definition to any needlepoint area you want to define. Wrapping a stitch is a simple process. After you make a line of stitches, you bring the needle out from the canvas under the first stitch, allowing it
Originally posted 2009-01-15 09:31:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I haven’t given you an update on this in awhile. But it’s been good non-stress needlepoint, so I’ve been working on it and hope to finish it up this weekend. As you can see, I have gotten the bridge done (the morning fog), the street and most of the sky (cable cars halfway to the stars), and now, the hearts (I left my heart). The background for the heart is done in Crescent Colours Perles #5 in camoflage. To get those irregular stripes, I stitched in horizontal rows using Continental. The short row areas were done as I got to them. Originally I had planned to do the hearts in Woven Plait but they didn’t look good. Basketweave de clearly called for here. Now I just need to find a picture of the California Street line cable car to get those
Victoria C Frank was at the recent TNNA show and spoke with several people about her needlepoint retreat/tour business. I wanted to let you know about them because they sound wonderful. Not only are the locations great and the accommodations first class, there is lot of value added to each trip. For example, November’s trip to Arizona includes a day at the annual gathering of Navajo weavers, a trip to SEdona (with a stop along the way). The needlepoint is a Leigh canvas taught by Suzanne Howren & Beth Robertson. A trip to Portugal focusing on Arraiolas is planned. And she also will plan custom tours. Now to talk my DH into it
Originally posted 2008-10-09 08:45:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter This is a picture of one of my current projects, Maple Leaf Rag, a sampler to teach people Bargello. It’s based on a quilt block and each “patch” has a different Bargello pattern. Six of the eight patches have stitching. The remaining ones will have a twisting ribbon pattern and two Hungarianpoint patterns. One of the cool things about the pattern is that the stitcher picks and develops her own color scheme from the beginning. You begin with a “leafy” shade of Watercolours. Mine is Burnt Toast. Then you add wools, floss, a metallic, and some accent threads to match. Some of the patches, like the zig-zag use all wool, while some use a variety of threads. Along with learning the different types of Bargello lines and how they are derived from each other, the stitcher learns about different ways to
I got a new catalog from Threadworx and it had a great sheet about caring for their threads. I’d like to share it with you. Colorfastness: First off Threadworx’ new threads are all colorfast according to industry standards. New threads have a label with “cf” inside a shaded blue box. Older threads that are colorfast have a red dot. If one of these is not on the label, the color is not color fast. Washing: Do not wash these threads in anything but cold water. They are not colorfast in hot water. Threadworx recommends using mild dishwashing detergent and hand wash. They do not recommend using detergent for fine washables (i.e. Woolite). Further Care: They also have some other things not to do: Do not steam. Do not tumble dry. Do not wring. Do not dry clean. If bleeding occurs: Soak in cool water, changing water every 1-2 hours until
Originally posted 2008-08-25 06:21:31. Republished by Blog Post PromoterPierrette recently finished her Santa (from ABS Designs) and I wanted to point you to that post, so you can see it and learn about her decisions in stitching it. It’s interesting to see how much of an effect changing on part of the piece can have. An earlier posttalks about the wallpaper, which is my favorite part of this design. I can’t wait to see what she does with the Mrs
Each year, ANG invites someone to provide an on-line version of the National Seminar Exhibit. Called What Is Needlepoint? It’s a wonderful bit of eye candy and a superb look at excellence in needlework. The entry for the 2010 exhibit just made its debut earlier this week. While often, it’s just a selection of the winners, this year the article goes beyond to teach us about design. Six entires are analyzed in detail, looking at factors like lines & patterns, repetition, and variation — all important in needlework. There is also information about the Golden Rectangle, and insight in each piece overall and why it is a prizewinner. The design pictured above, Naoshima Sunset by Lolis Kershner, won a prize for original design by a professional. It is one of the pieces analyzed. There is so much food for thought here
Sandy Higgins, self-published, ISBN 978-0-9663617-1-1, $25 I loved the earlier edition of this book and with the new, expanded, edition, there is even more to love. Sandy is a great finisher and has often taught her techniques at national seminars. In this book she gives you step-by-step instructions for finishing pillows, ornaments, stockings, and lots of other commonly found pieces. You won’t find explanations for really complex pieces, such as purses, but with this book, a sewing machine, some basic sewing knowledge, and some patience, you’ll be able to finish the vast majority of needlepoint you stitch. In her introduction Sandy says “Good finishing starts before you begin your project. Careful pre-planning, a good set of instructions, a little practice, and a lot of patience will save you frustration and tears.” Sandy supplies the detailed and wonderful instructions, you supply the rest. The foundation of finishing is properly blocked needlepoint