Nuts about Needlepoint » charts

Tiny Treasures – Product Review

Janet Perry — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:53:56 +0000

You want to be more spontaneous in your needlepoint. You’d like to feel comfortable picking color schemes, mixing threads, and trying new ideas. But when it comes down to it, you seem always to pick the same colors and the same threads.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a way to venture out in exploring colors and threads that didn’t involve using an expensive hand painted canvas needlepoint from your stash?

Ideally it would be something easy and small to stitch. Something charted to save on costs, something that has lots of options, and something with more than one design.

I think I found it ins The Caron Collection’s chart pack, Tiny Treasures.

I bought it to stitch something to try out Sundberry’s mini box, and I was delighted to find that it is so much more. The chart pack has eight little designs, all geometrics, ranging in difficulty from something that could be a first project to ones with five different stitches. Even these could be done by a beginner.

The projects are small, under 2″ square, and use from 2 to 6 threads. None of them use much thread, so they are perfect for scrap bag or stash projects. Are you thinking about a color scheme for a larger project and wondering if it will work?

Try one of these projects. You can test it out by making something that only takes a few hours to stitch. And you’ll know if it works.

The instructions are clear, most only taking a page. The diagrams are large. There’s plenty of options for doing your own variations. I like it that the threads for all the projects are summarized on one page, but that such a variety of threads is used that I can feel good about making my own color and thread choices.

This is a great project pack, one that should be in your stash.

Free Roses Abstract Needlepoint Design

Janet Perry — Sun, 23 May 2010 14:02:36 +0000

Evelyn and yellow David Austen roses

Roses have pretty much stalked my life. This is not a bad thing since they are my favorite flower.

First there was my dad, a teller of tall tales. He had everyone convinced that a fenced-in corner of our backyard had a lovely rose garden. The only ones really there were the climbing one over the entry trellis and the three hybrid teas outside the fence.

Second was my MIL (mother-in-law) who loved roses but lived with wilderness on three sides of her house. Still she coaxed her roses to perfect blooms. Except for the deer. She would watch and wait for the perfect morning of plump jut-about-to-bloom. Apparently so did the deer, and they would bite the buds off the night before she was ready to pick them.

So when I started a garden what did I grow? Roses, most specifically David Austen English roses. We ended up with about 50. So many once my kids cut me over 100 blooms for Mother’s Day. I’m starting the collection anew here on the shores of the Bay.

But until I get more, I have to be content with the needlepointed variety. That’s why I’m so delighted with this elegant abstract rose design from Happy Threads. Not only is it excessive in that wonderful super abundance of roses, it is a two-color rose, another favorite type.

So gather your stitched roses this May.

Thinking Outside the Box – Adapting a Chart to Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Tue, 18 May 2010 14:07:07 +0000

rose cross stitch chart from Cross Me Not

Often I’m frustrated and a little jealous. As a needlepointer there are so many charts out there for cross stitchers. They’re free and often quite beautiful. But also, alas, often not adaptable to needlepoint.

Take heart! This isn’t always the case. If you know what makes a good chart to adapt, you’ll find lots of inspiration for free on the Web.

Most importantly, look for charts that have whole stitches only. The partial stitches that make curves in cross stitch can’t be done on needlepoint canvas. Also look for charts that have a minimum of backstitching, especially for important design elements. While you can Backstitch on needlepoint canvas, it’s hard to adapt and many charts like this won’t work well.

The best charts to adapt are those that have large blocks of color. These, once outlines or counted, can be done in a textured stitch.

This free rose chart from Cross Me Not is a perfect example of this. Stitch the outlines of the petal and leaf, then the darkest part of the rose, all in Tent Stitch.

Then, using an hand-dyed or overdyed thread in a lovely rose color, find a textured stitch (there’s lots under Stitch Dictionary in this blog) and stitch the rest of the petals. Pick another stitch and a matte thread for the leaves.

There’s plenty of inspiration for the needlepointer in the dozens of free cross stitch charts on the Internet. My favorite place to find them is Denise’s Needlework column on Craft Gossip.

Charming Free Folks Art Animal Charts

Janet Perry — Sun, 16 May 2010 14:42:20 +0000

lion sampler by Aliola

Thanks and a tip of the hat to Denise at Craft Gossip for alerting me to these charming animals samplers from Aliola. There are links to the entire collection.

I just love the folk art, almost primative style of them. I can see them done as a set in a rough thread, maybe Pebbly Perle, linen, or Wildflowers and used as the basis to decorate a nursery or child’s room.

Aliola’s blog is in Russian, as are the names of the animals on the charts. but this just adds to their charm.

Easy Adaptation to Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:07:02 +0000

Design from Friends of Type

As I’ve said in the past, letters and typefaces can be a wonderful source of inspiration for needlepoint. But rarely have I seen anything that screamed “Needlepoint!” to me as much as this design from Friends of Type.

My DD sent the link to me. It’s called “Wake Up!” and is inspired by the faces of digital clocks. Click on the link to see it full size.

I could see it done in Blackwork, as needlepoint or as Cross Stitch, on black canvas or fabric of course. I’m not fond of working on black, but I’d make an exception here.

Charming Free Geometric Needlepoint Pattern

Janet Perry — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:40:42 +0000

from Northern Pine Designs

Northern Pine Designs has lovely charted needlepoint with an emphasis on geometrics and textured stitches, often mixed with Bargello.

To give you a taste of their style, you can get this free pattern on their site as a PDF.

Thanks and a tip of the hat to Althea at Bargello Needlepoint.

A Needlepoint iPhone?

Janet Perry — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:18:00 +0000

iphone screen

At the moment I’m mostly free from consume lust. There aren’t many things I want but can’t have.

The iPhone is one of them. Not that AT&T works as a cellphone on Mare Island (it doesn’t) or that my life is such that I wouldn’t need one if it did. But I still want one.

Australian needlepoint and cross stitch designer Happy Threads has published a whole stitch chart (suitable for cross stitch or needlepoint) of the iPhone screen.

I could always stitch that and pretend.

Southwestern Twinchy Gallery

Janet Perry — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:16:42 +0000

Originally posted 2009-01-31 06:57:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I just love this Twinchy. It showcases everything I like about Kachinas. It has feathers, lots of color, and antler horns. The stepped pyramid around the mouth represents the mesas of New Mexico and Arizona.

The charts or drawings for all the Twinchies along with notes for stitching appear after the pictures.

This Twinchy is based on a fragment of Pueblo pottery. While newer pottery is white, older pottery takes on a creamy color I just love. It isn’t symmetrical because I’m not as good an artist as they are.

The medicine bear fetish was my inspiration for this Twinchy. I wanted him to fill up as much of the space as possible, but I was drawing freehand and drew it wrong. So he looks too big to fit the size and is bursting out. The line drawing is the proper size.

This final Twinchy is based on some items I saw in Navajo Rugs. The center motif is called Eye Dazzler. The borders were a neat element I saw in another rug of crosses and diamonds. Navajo Rugs traditionally are made from wool spun from the fleece of the Navajo’s sheep. Often it is left undyed or dyed with natural dyes. Some rugs use commerical dyes and some modern rugs use more neutral and pastel palettes which fit modern interiors better.

The Kachina Twinchy has a backgound of a sky, stitched in an overdyed blue floss in Nobuko. The horns and most of the Twinchy are in Tent Stitch. One strand of Trio was used for the mesa, Grandeur for the black areas and Watercolours in Natural for the main part of the mask. The multi-colored bands at top and bottom use threads from my scrap bag.

The feathers are Lazy Daisy stitches and are added last.

Colors in Pueblo pottery and Kachina masks are made from clays and powdered rocks found in the area. This makes for a lovely palette which is surprisingly wide.

The pottery Twinchy is stitched entirely in Tent Stitch using Natural Watercolours, Grandeur, and Alyce Schroth Needlepoint Silk (no longer made).

Indian pots are not thrown on a potter’s wheel but are hand built using the coil method. Once built they are smoothed and painted with different clays mixed with water (called slips). After firing, they can also be polished using rocks.

I just love the variety of this pottery and it is well worth exploring. I can’t wait until I can get my collection out again.

The bear fetish is stitched in Jacquard using 3 Alarm Fire Bella Silk from Cresecent Colours. I love the bright color and variation in this hand-dyed thread. The motion of the stitch reminds me of the arrow on the Zuni Fetish. The eye is a French Knot in black Nordic Gold.

The Navajo Rug Twinchy is also stitched in all Tent Stitch using Lorikeet wool for the dark gray, Burmilana for the black, Trio for the burgundy, and a matte cotton from the scrap bag for the dark coral.

Your own Art to Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:42:52 +0000

vintage clip art to turn to needlepoint

I am always tempted by finding an easy way to convert artwork or photos to needlepoint, and I bet you are too. Often I feel like stitching something new but can’t find anything in my stash. At other times there is an image I love and think would make good needlepoint but I’m in a hurry to stitch it.

While there are companies that will convert art and photos to needlepoint printed on canvas, such as my friend, Sandy Grossman-Morris, sometimes you want it fast.

Mostly I’ve been disappointed with my attempts to do this. The transfer methods don’t give good results, or the converters give too many colors to make good needlepoint. So I was very intrigued by Althea’s post earlier this week about a new free converter, Pic2Point. She gives an overview of the process in the post, so I decided to try it for myself.

I started with this Japanese style Mount Fuji with pines from a Dover Pictorial Archive collection. The source is a high quality JPG and I want it to be 6″round. I picked this because as a line drawing, I’m hoping it will be good for customizing with stitches.

Once you have uploaded the picture, you can adjust the results, picking the number of colors (2 to 32), the mesh (8 to 24), and the size (4 to 36 inches). I picked 2 colors (for sharpest resolution) and 14 mesh). Once you have decided these things, you can preview the results and make adjustments.

The result is a PDF that you can download and save. To be quite honest I was not impressed. The chart prints on letter-size paper and for all but the smallest pieces you will have to cut and paste. The symbols are found on typewriters’ keyboards and are printed in every square. There is a color key. but the assumption with the chart is that you will stitch every square in Tent Stitch.

While it is nice as far as it goes, and the price is right, it is of limited usefulness. You are better off enlarging the source material and tracing. It will be easier to stitch and better looking.

Calculate the Size of Your Needlepoint Design

Janet Perry — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 14:11:23 +0000

Have you ever wondered what size that charted design would be on a different size of needlepoint canvas? Have you worried (I do all the time) if that piece of canvas you have is big enough for the design you want to do? Bargello Needlepoint has published a useful guide to calculating design size. Try it, it’s a good thing. Related posts:Needlepoint & Social Networking Witty Four-way Bargello Design Bargello and Mid-Century Modern Design Orna Willis Free Design – Taltul Creating a Simple Design Related posts: