ANG National Seminar
Originally posted 2004-10-15 22:14:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Because of many other obligations, I wasn’t able to spend too much time at the ANG Seminar in Reno. But I did take a morning and spend it in the exhibit and I have some notes to share with you.
A trend I am seeing more in needlepoint are the use of solidly stitched beads on canvas. A few years ago beads were mostly used as accents. At ANG I saw several pieces with slid areas of beads. This adds another dimension to needlepoint which is quite welcome. Beaded areas will be the highest texture in your piece unless you have areas of cut stitches, like Turkeywork.
Seed beads, which are best for embroidery, come in an enormous range of colors and textures, from extremely shiny to very matte and dull. You can buy small quantities at needlework shops from Mill Hill. Sundance also distributes larger quantities for embroidery. But the best use of your money if your are planning to bead whole sections of needlepoint is to buy seed beads at bead stores. I buy the beads for my point protectors at Out on a Whim. The shop is amazing and has an entire wall of seed beads. I have to plan my trips there because I go crazy.
Another thing which makes needlepoint with beads easy is the tapestry-point small beading needle from John James. Traditional beading needles are long and have sharp points, which makes them awkward for needlepointers. These needles work like a champ.
Another trend I saw was the use of mixed media in needlepoint. I just love the way needlepoint is expanding its boundaries in so many exciting ways. We have such a rich palette of threads to use, we are expanding needlepoint by using beads, and I saw some exciting pieces which integrated cloth or ribbon in them. One piece I particularly liked was of Poppies by Lynn Payette. As part of this design organza was cut out and applied to the canvas, layers thick in places. Then it was stitched to cover the edges. This created and exciting effect of great depth and varied color.
I came back from seminar enthused to start some new stitching.
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