Originally posted 2010-06-09 07:41:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Early this year Threadworx came out with a line of overdyed silk, using as its base the Soie d’Alger from Au Ver A Soie. The turquoise on the ornament above is one of the 20 initial colors, all of them semi-solids like this one. While this isn’t my favorite silk thread, I found Threadworx easier to use than AVAS’ own threads. The only reason for this that I can think of is that European and American laws about dyes are different. It was just lovely to use. However, there are limitations to the use of this thread. Because they can affect the amount of thread you buy, you need to be aware of them. Soie d’Alger is a seven-strand thread. If you are stitching on 13 or 14 mesh, this is a perfect size. If you are stitching on 18 mesh,
Monthly Archive:: September 2012
Originally posted 2002-10-12 22:39:33. Republished by Blog Post PromoterAs a needlepointer, I find that often my work gets trivialized by artists and by people who do other fiber arts. Needlepoint suffers from a “little old lady” syndrome, which is completely out of sync with the reality of the art we produce, which is often far more advanced than what is done by other, more accepted arts. As needlepointers we should carry the banner for acceptance of our work as a fiber art. We can do this in lots of ways small and large: enter your pieces in the local fairs as art not as craft or “home arts” You may not win prizes, but you will start to lay the foundation. carry your needlepoint with you, show off the work in your home host an exhibit of your work at the local library, school or shopping mall (often they will
I will be the first to admit, I’m terrible at photography. My children find it laughable because I’m so bad. And I’m better than my husband. About the only thing I can do OK is stick something on the scanner and scan it. For dummies like me there is some on-line help. Mary Corbet who takes amazing close-ups and videos for her embroidery blog, shows us her stitching set-up (I wish mine was so neat) in this post. Please remember that because she does free embroidery, a hoop is used most often. For us, as needlepointers a big canvas and a floor stand pose fewer problems. She tells us about her set-up and what cameras and software she uses. Hnadmadeology is a blog designed to help folks sell successfully on Etsy. While this may not seem relevant, it is because high quality photos are important to success on Etsy. Many
Originally posted 2009-01-26 07:58:03. Republished by Blog Post PromoterOrna Willis has the most marvelous way with color. I’m so excited that she is sharing this with us all. Weekly she will be doing color experiments. She will be taking a different overdye each week, extracting colors from it, making different color combinations and then providing us all with stuff to create our own experiments. And we can print them out for reference. Her first choice of an overdye was Caron’s Cranberry Watercolours. You can see the results here in a single page PDF. Cool idea and one we can also try with our own stash of colors
Caron Collection has just announced 18 new colors in several of their multi-colored threads. All of the new colors are available in Watercolours and Wildflowers. All but two are available in Waterlilies. They have not been released in Impressions. I haven’t seen pictures of them but here are the names: Lettuce Black Iris Stained Glass Goldenrod Trail Mix Dense Fog Belgian Stone Tuscan Mist Mount Everest Ticking Cypress Old Brick Calypso Italian Ice Creme de Menthe Parrot Mint Julep Linen I love the names so much, I can hardly wait to see the colors. In addition they have three free patterns, suitable for needlepoint or cross stitch that have been sent to their resellers. Examples of these patterns in different colors, threads, and stitches will be on their site. As a bonus their will be instructions on the site for the decorative stitch versions. The on-line class will be called
Originally posted 2004-07-17 22:12:21. Republished by Blog Post Promoter 1. How did you get the idea for Rhapsody and Romance? Though I am not a quilter, I love the color patterns quilters achieve using fabric. I worked to at find a way of adapting a quilting pattern intoneedlepoint. 2. Part of what I love about stitching these is the way they are so geometric. How did you figure out the lines of the curves you wanted to do? I first had to decide what size blocks I was going to use in the design. I first decided that each column would be 6 canvas threads wide and that I would need 20 of them. I then decided on the four different lengths. Thus, I came up with blocks measuring 3×6; 6×6; 9×6; and 12×6 canvas threads. I then decided on the 10 skeins of Watercolours each having different degrees of
I’m ready to pull out my credit card and go shopping for many of the great new products out there. Some of these debuted at the Baltimore Market earlier this month, so they may be in you local shop now. Still others should be arriving soon. Painted Canvas, Kits, & Charts I have loved Cooper Oaks’ Provencal ladies since I first saw them and have stitched two. These delightful ladies are now available in a new series — this time with painted backgrounds and borders. Pomodoro is the first and is on 13 mesh. More are coming. The folks at Cooper Oaks are also engaging in some creative recycling that benefits us as stitchers. They have repurposed their discontinued chair covers to be office sets including tissue boxes, clipboards, 2 drawer chests, stamp holders, and paperweights. The whole set can come from one chair cover canvas. Because they are recycled,
Originally posted 2007-11-18 13:28:41. Republished by Blog Post PromoterTish Watkins, the designer behind Happy Heart, just put up a picture of the finished mermaid on her blog. You can look at the first link to see how it looked stitched but unfinished and then go to the second link to see how much better it looks finished. I’m as guilty as most folks (maybe more so) about finishing, I have PILES of stitched but not finished needlepoint and sometimes I even make efforts to finish a few. Especially now that Christmas is coming and I’m scrambling for gifts. But it is amazing to me how much better even the nicest piece can look once it’s finished. Add trims, ribbons, and lovely fabric and look at how the design is enhanced. If you can sew and have or rent a sewing machine, you can finish needlework yourself. There are some great
Sometimes I think I rip stitches out (frog stitching) far more than I used to. Probably it has to do with age; I just don’t see as well. But, no matter the reason, we all find ourselves ripping out stitches, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. There are lots of techniques for pulling out stitches, some better than others. Earlier this week Joni Stevenson had a great post. about ripping out. It has some wonderful advice. I find I rip out in one of two ways. I will pull from the front or from front and back, but only for a very few stitches. This isn’t for laudable reasons, but because I hate pulling long threads. Mostly, I cut and pull out. When you do this you cannot reuse the thread, and it’s slow, but it does work. Here’s how. Start to work on the back of the canvas. Have
Originally posted 2009-11-06 07:11:57. Republished by Blog Post PromoterMaybe it’s because my eyes are not the best. I can’t stitch with my glasses on and I can’t see small with them off. Or maybe it’s because I’m fascinated by tiny things, but I have always been enamored of Janet Granger’s lovely dollhouse scale rug kits, Now thanks to Denise of Craft Gossip, I have even more reason to admire her. She has just come out with a series of eightminiature Christmas stocking kits. The kits are on 40 count silk gauze and are less than 1.5 inches high. They include rayon silk thread and Ultrasuede for the backing. The designs are traditional and would look good even done full size!
I’d almost rather find a great new stitch than get a diamond. They are more generally useful and are significantly less expensive. If you are like me, finding new stitches is almost addictive. That’s why I’m being an enabler today and giving you an easy, and very inexpensive way to get tons of new stitches. I’ve done several ebooks and projects that focus on stitches and stitch variations. Right now, and only through October 31, 2012, I’ve put together a special “stitches Galore” ebook bundle. In it you’ll find: Heart Sampler I The Sapphires (Heart Sampler II) Stitch Annual Celebrate! Sampler Arts & Crafts Trees Sampler Stitch Sampler Mantle Stockings If you bought these six projects separately, the cost would be close to $40. But the special Stitches Galore Sampler is only $25. Best of all, those who buy the package will be put on the priority list for my
Originally posted 2009-12-24 08:42:21. Republished by Blog Post PromoterAnother type of resolution improves our stitching skills. Here are some ideas: Want to learn more new stitches? Make a sampler. Divide it up into 12 or 24 squares and pick a stitch dictionary to use. Go to your stash and pull threads. Once a month or once every two weeks pick a stitch that is new to you and put it in one square. Once you’ve learned it, look for places to use it. Want to learn a new technique?Look for programs at guilds and on-line that cover the technique. Look for magazine articles. Start a project, do it long enough to learn the technique, but don’t worry about finishing it. The learning is what’s important. Want to get better at needlepoint in general? Join your local or on-line guild and do every project that is offered. You will be astonished
Ever seen the “very interesting” Nazi? Or Tyrone, the dirty old man on the park bench? Those are two of Arte Johnson’s most memorable characters from Laugh-In. I just love his stuff (if you don’t know him, visit YouTube to watch him; the link goes to a list of his videos). Arte Johnson was a needlepointer. He invented a delightful method for using up scraps of thread which is named the Arte Johnson Stitch after him. His method is delightfully adaptable for many kinds of threads and was used to stitch the front of a needlepoint purse. The Arte Johnson Stitch consists of Cashmere Stitches, stitched in diagonal rows. The trick is found in how the threads are selected and picked. Original Method Use leftover strands of Persian wool and some 14 mesh canvas. Separate all the strands of wool and put them into a paper bag. Begin by pulling
Originally posted 2009-02-12 05:37:12. Republished by Blog Post PromoterNeedlepoint mystery projects are lots of fun, but they pose challenges for the stitcher. Since you don’t know what the finished project looks like, you pick color by faith that it all will work out. Designers give you their color and thread choices, but what if you don’t like them? Then you have to pick your own. Yesterday’s post talked about picking a color scheme based on an overdye. Since most mystery projects these days use an overdyed thread, this is easy to do, but for the ANG Stitch of the Month Mystery Project, I took another approach, I shopped pretty much completely from my stash. I had an idea for a color scheme based on one I had seen in a book about kimono. Happily there is an overdye, Spruce from The Caron Collection, which is similar. It’s mostly teal, but