Originally posted 2010-12-17 07:03:50. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI love the idea of needlepoint clubs, but, like many of you, I have far too many projects to do to get 12 new canvases in a year. But why not do your own needlepoint club by using threads. You can set your budget for the year, divide it by 12, and buy threads with a plan. Here are three ways to do it. Watercolours by alphabet: Take an alphabetical listing of Caron’s Watercolours (available here). Cross out the colors you have. Then divide the rest by 12 and buy each section in alphabetical order each month. Because the color names don’t go in a color sequence, you’ll get a nice assortment each month. Color of the Month: My friend Michelle, who owns Come to the Point in San Rafael, CA showcases a particular color of thread each month. During that month
Monthly Archive:: January 2012
My friend Diane over at Crafty Pod made these completely amazing robots from plastic canvas. Her post details the project and many more pictures of them. I am completely in awe of the wonderful and fresh things Diana does with plastic canvas. In fact there are several posts on this blog pointing to free projects she has made available using this ground, including: Using Plastic Canvas podcast Plastic Canvas Pendants Hook, Needle, Pencil Case Plastic Canvas Box Storage Box
Originally posted 2009-12-31 20:21:00. Republished by Blog Post PromoterAmazingly I decided to take my own advice about finishing projects, namely those UFO’s all over the house. I’m going to work on one at a time, stitching two needles of thread each day until it’s done. I’ve got the first two planned out. On Winter Stars, the current UFO, I only have three corners, two sides of the outer border and the binding to do. I’m working on that first and started the third side today. I’m hoping I’ll have it done within two weeks. The it will be on to finish my version of the abstract cross stitch. I really love the way it looks but there are so many things cal,ling my attention. For the project after that, you guys can help me choose. Do I do: the shepherd with a lamb from this needlepoint nativity the halloween license
Originally posted 2010-08-03 07:23:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Stardust is a new thread from brown paper packages. It combines their silk/wool thread with metallic. Currently it is available in four colors: white with iridescent, Really Red with iridescent, Pewter with iridescent, and Toast with gold. Future colors planned are Emerald (seen above), dark blue, and light blue, all with iridescent. The intention is to keep the line small with holiday colors, along with some for water and sky. The iridescent picks up the color of the base thread, but it also picks up and reflects the color of the surrounding stitching making for a nice effect. The base threads is Silk & Ivory, spun with a strand of metallic. I found it smoother and thinner than Silk & Ivory and it stitched beautifully on 18 mesh canvas. It will also work on 14 mesh. I used it as the
Depending on what you want to change on the canvas, there are different ways to go about this. There are some general rules to remember when changing colors: 1. If you are changing from one color to another (i.e. green to red for example) you will have the best results if you keep the colors the same in value. 2. If you are changing values (i.e. going from blonde to dark brown hair), you should color the canvas to something closer to the shade BEFORE you start to stitch. This will make any needlepoint dandruff blend into the stitching instead of sticking out. 3. Check the new colors you have chosen to be sure they work with the remaining colors by lining the colors up together. Sometimes changing one color means you will have to adjust or change other colors as well. Skin & hair – If you are changing
Originally posted 2008-10-21 06:37:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter The rooster is finished and here he is. The stitch guide will be available from Kelly Clark Needlepoint, as is the canvas. My husband, who is supportive but not usually enthusiastic about my needlepoint, thinks this one is “spectacular.” He likes how realistic the tail is. It’s stitched in all silk ribbons, with over lapping stitches. I went color by color, following the painting on the canvas to build up the tail. I’m nuts about the background. I wanted something which added some metallic and was open, to really put the focus on the rooster. So I thought about using a small blackwork pattern. I felt the one I was considering was too busy, so I enlarged it a bit and left out the stitches in the middle. I really wasn’t thinking about chicken wire until I started stitching it. In
Barbara’s colorful stitch painted canvases are so pouplar with stitchers and it’s easy to see why. Being carefully stitch-painted, some with the stitch patterns actually painted on, even a brand-new stitcher can make something great. Her bright Lily Pulitzer-inspired colors are so fresh and fun. Finally her designs are whimsical but work well with traditional items, so they play beautifully with others. On her site you can get a peek at what’s new for January. It includes more of her delightful “kisses,” news belts and brick covers, two summery beach houses, the lovely summer sampler, and a whole ton of design in pink, green, and magenta (some Christmas-themed, most not), that have a wonderful fresh look. I’m excited to see them next weekend
How do I replace a missing needlepoint chairseat? Can I use a embroidery hoop to stitch needlepoint? What is the American equivalent of 7 HPI canvas? These are just three of the questions I’ve been asked recently, mostly through this site’s contact form. I’m collecting these (and many, many others) into a Needlepoint Question & Answer Book that will come out later this year. It will certainly be an ebook, PDF, and app ebook, and it may be available as a printed book and on CD as well. You can help me as well by sending me your best needlepoint question. It can be something you’ve often wondered about, something you don’t know how to do, something you want to find, or anything else related to needlepoint. Use the contact form, add a comment, or just email me. Be sure to let me know it’s for the book. If your
Originally posted 2005-07-15 08:34:06. Republished by Blog Post PromoterDon’t throw out those thread tags! You may not think so but there is lots of information there. And if you run out of thread, or want do use it again, you’ll be glad you have that information. The information which may, or may not be included on the tag is: Thread type name/size Color number Fiber content Dye Lot Dyer Each of these is important and can help improve your stitching. Depending on your habits, the habits of your shop, or the habits of the designer, the thread color might be referred to by the name or number or both. Some thread manufacturers give names to their colors, some don’t. Because of this variety it’s good to have access to both the number and the name whenever possible. Then follow the habits of your store and your stitching friends when you
Needlepoint Ket Fobs are really cool and while there are great kits including painted canvases out there, you might want to make your own. Typically the fob hardware is about the width of a belt, but measure it to be sure. You’ll want to trace a rectangle on your canvas about 6″-8″ inches long and two threads more than this width. Here’s a link to a Google Shopping search for key fob hardware. Once you have stitched your design, here’s how to finish it. I haven’t done this yet myself. but here’s how you would do it. Make the key fob needlepoint the correct width for your hardware and block if needed. Trim canvas to five threads beyond the edges of the needlepoint and turn down the long sides. Find a grosgrain ribbon or piece of ultrasuede (so it won’t ravel) the width of the stitched needlepoint. Sew it to
Originally posted 2008-09-17 06:47:06. Republished by Blog Post PromoterSu has a second post on Marble Waves up. It’s in a lovely soft colorway of green and eggplant. It also has a tiered border which sets off the piece nicely. This combination of colors will soon be available as kits from Su. I was working on doing my own Marble Waves, but gave it up last night in total frustration. I don’t read charts very well (an eye problem makes it hard to count), I’m in a state of total exhaustion from getting the house ready (it went on the market yesterday, you can see it here) an I had had an immensely frustrating day, pretty much from start to finish. So when my corners wouldn’t match and I realized it was going to be a parallelogram instead of a square, I gave up. But I love it so much I’m
A reader wrote in after inheriting some unfinished needlepoint from her grandmother. She’s wondering how to find the mesh, so she can finish it up. It’s reasonably easy, find a tape measure of something clear that has a square inch marked on it. Somewhere away from any edges count the number of threads in one inch. That tells you the mesh size. Alternately, do the same thing but on a stitched area and count the stitches. This is only an approximation in the case of older needlepoint because often it’s in sizes we don’t see anymore. There are a couple of tools that will do this without counting for some mesh. The Mesh Minder (pictured above) has areas marked out with grids for 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, and 18 mesh. Place it over the unstitched canvas and see what matches. It also has a nice little chart printed on
Originally posted 2010-12-05 07:17:16. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThere are some great free gifts that you can make using free patterns available on the Internet. Many of these designs use innovative finishing techniques. My sister site, All about Needlepoint, has listings with links for many of these patterns. Today I’d like to highlight some of the categories. One of my favorite ideas for a quick gift is a needlepoint pin. Amoung the highlights in these designs is a series of monthly pins by Mary Cosgrove, available through the Kreinik site. The Celtic pin pictured above, designed by Kandace Thomas is another one of the many small designs at Kreinik. There are so many good ideas out there including wonderful sea creature magnets from ANG (listed under misc.), and lots of wonderful stitcher’s accessories, large and small