Nuts about Needlepoint » cross stitch

Video Games and Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:06:53 +0000

Originally posted 2009-10-19 07:26:21. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Sprite Stitch is a completely delightful site working at the intersection of the video gaming world and needlework.

The pixelated graphics of video games are perfectly suited to becoming the basis for needlepoint or cross stitch.

In fact one of their moderators has just posted a list of Sprite Stitch projects, organized by topic. This links to patterns in the forums as well as comments and inquiries about patterns.

It’s a wonderful starting point for exploration.

Thanks to Denise from Craft Gossip for letting me know about this.

Quaker-Inspired Ornament Design – Freebie from Kincavel Krosses

Janet Perry — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:30:42 +0000

Kell Smurthwaite of Kincavel Krosses has free designs that are often witty (like her seven deadly sins series I wrote about here) and always just lovely.

I’ve been looking at many Quaker-inspired designs that are good sizes for ornaments because these simple, geometric patterns make great needlepoint. But, at the moment, I don’t want to buy any since I’m trying HARD to use up stash not add to it.

That’s why I simply love Kell’s charming Quaker freebie ornament. You can get the chart here and it is free to make for your personal use,

Introducing Happy Threads

Janet Perry — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:38:38 +0000

Originally posted 2009-08-29 07:03:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

There is a phenominal new resource availble on the Internet for people who like to stitch from charts. Happy Stitch is from Australia and the designs are all original, contemporary in style, and free.

In the free needlepoint charts,there is “Basement Cat,” a term familiar to all those reading about LOLCats. You can also find hearts, flowers, a delightful ladybug and more.

There is a section of beginner’s charts as well. The cross stitch charts are found in several places. Some of them are listed under “free cross stitch charts” in the top menu bar. A more complete selection can be found by looking at this summary of posts and clicking to see the complete article.

The charts are available as free PDFs, so you can print them easily for stitching. A clickable summary of everything available is in a widget on the right side.

Crosspoint – A Different Kind of Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 14:32:13 +0000

Crosspoint is needlepoint but needlepoint with a difference. It’s a great break for people who like charted designs and it’s a wonderful transition for Cross Stitchers who want to try something more like traditional needlepoint. It’s charted so the design is not printed on the ground. But the big differences are in the ground and the stitch. Crosspoint is not stitched on needlepoint canvas but on natural jute fabric. This fabric is worked in hand, not on stretcher bars. Like traditional needlepoint and unlike Cross Stitch, the background is completely covered. The stitches are complete Cross Stitches, not the Tent Stitch of needlepoint. If you have ever stitched an Elizabeth Bradley kit, you will have done this. If you are looking for a needlepoint change, try Crosspoint. Related posts: DMC Announces a New Kind of Waste Canvas Embroidery Traditions – Palestine Cross Stitch Basics Thinking Outside the Box – Adapting a Chart to Needlepoint Half-cross and the Difference between Needlepoint and Cross Stitch Related posts:

Classic Video Games as Needlework

Janet Perry — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:18:14 +0000

Originally posted 2008-07-24 07:45:38. Republished by Blog Post PromoterShortly after I got married we bought and Atari. Being two geeks, we played it — a lot. Enough so that when we got rid of it, we swore we’d never buy another system. A promise we have kept so far. But recently my kids have been talking about classic video games and how fun they are. and then we saw WALL-E on Monday night and it had Pong in it. All of this has gotten me nostalgic for those wonderfully pixelated sprites in classic video games. They’d make great little needlepoint. Sure enough, someone has a tutorial on how to make your own. Go visit it and spend some time exploring her site, it’s tons of fun. And then go make a millipede for yourself. Related posts: Video Games and Needlepoint Classic Needlepoint Recharted – Monday Series Learn from Needlepoint Now’s Huge Video Collection Fantastic Video on Beading with Great Eye Candy Great Needlework Videos Related posts:

Charming Free Patterns from Two Sites

Janet Perry — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:41:33 +0000

Originally posted 2010-02-27 07:59:03. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

be stitched heart sampler

Don’t you just love this hearts sampler? Even though it is intended for Cross Stitch, can’t you just see it on open canvas? I can and keep picturing it in several colors of Kreinik metallics. If you didn’t want to stitch the whole thing, why not make one block on perforated paper and put it on a card as a homemade Valentine for next year. Or make it in cream and gold for a wedding card.

The designer is Be Stitched and the designer is Erynne. She is offering her designs free for non-commercial purposes (i.e. you can’t republish or sell).

Currently there are six patterns, all wonderful, available. A big thank you to Denise at Craft Gossip for pointing Be Stitched out.

Happy Threads design

Click on over to Australia’s Happy Threads needlepoint site for this charming needlepoint color wheel design. I love the bright colors and the rectangular shape is so useful. I’m thinking three of them in a row would be a great bookmark (maybe for Funk & Weber’s Bookmark Challenge?). You can also find instructions for finishing a bookmark at Happy Threads.

While you are there, be sure to check out her wonderful collection of free charts. If you like something print it out. Charlie has announced that each year she will remove many of the previous year’s chart and repackage the best of them into a book for sale in her shop.

It is so nice to find such great free needlepoint design.

New Needlepoint Products — Charted Needlepoint & Whole-Stitch Cross Stitch

Janet Perry — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 14:26:36 +0000

There are lots of amazing new charts out, including a couple of Cross Stitch charts I have to tell you about.

DebBee’s Designs has lovely new additions to Diamond Delights and Glitz & Glamour. Opals is the newest Glitz piece. It’s amazing to me how she has managed to capture the elusive colors of the gem so well; it’s a stunner. The ninth Diamond Delights is out, featuring bright shades of orange, purple, and green. It also features a unique Memory Thread background.

Moonflower has three unique stitch samplers with one work sayings, Recycle (in greens), Conserve, and Welcome (in blues). These are simple enough to be a great first charted project. Laura Perin has teamed up with Nordic Needle for a series of four exclusive music box designs.

Brenda E. Kocher has two great new designs, Alivia’s Stocking, a Bargello full-size Christmas stocking (the first that I have seen), and Log Cabin Christmas, with lots of pattern texture, and stitches, including Hilton Stitches.

Handblessings has four Halloween Silhouettes in whole-stitch cross stitch that would make terrific needlepoint pieces with their combination of modern punch and a classic Halloween look. I just adored Ink Circles Project “99,” which has the canonical 99 bottles of beer on the wall and even includes guide to what they are.

Gingerbread in Needlepoint – Free Pattern

Janet Perry — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:31:31 +0000

DMC recently published these four charming gingerbread ornaments to stitch. The charts represent the icing on these decorated “cookies,” you add the cookie by either your stitching or your ground.

If you don’t want to stitch the ground, think about using perforated paper in ecru, brown evenweave fabric, or ecru canvas. If you want to use canvas, but want it darker think about painting or coloring it.

If you want to stitch the background, look for cookie colors in floss, Mandarin Floss, or stranded silk. You’ll want something matte because cooked cookies aren’t shiny.

Then pick more shiny threads for the icing. The models from DMC (pictured here) are stitched just in white, but you could also use colors. Think about a thread with some glitz such as Neon Rays, Satin Floss, Silk Lame, or even some metallics.

If you stitch them on perforated paper you finish them by cutting them out. How’s that for quick and easy?

It’s Cross Stitch, but . . .

Janet Perry — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:48:36 +0000

You gotta love it.

This was cited this morning on I Can Haz Cheeseburger, otherwise known as the LOLCat blog. It’s one of my favorites in spite of how it calls black cats basement cats.

My little injured Bingley got his stitches out Monday and is feeling well enough to want to climb, which he shouldn’t do.

Japanese-inspired Blackwork

Janet Perry — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:50:25 +0000

Working from the seamless Japanese pattern I created a couple of weeks ago, I was inspired to create Blackwork patterns.

Because the lines of the hemp leaf pattern are oblique, they can be hard to create in needlepoint. I think these lines look better when stitched as lines and that means Blackwork, either on its own or over Tent Stitch.

Remember that the original pattern is based on the shape of the hemp leaf and is call asanoha. I have created two patterns based on this. In the first, below, you can see the leaves pretty clearly.

The second pattern, below, is larger, so that the leaves will only be apparent in a larger area.

Remember that these are charted as traditional Blackwork charts, not as needlepoint diagrams. Each square in the chart represents a stitch going over two needlepoint threads. Therefore, the short oblique lines go over 4 threads in one direction and two in the other. The longer oblique lines go over a total of 8 threads in one direction and 4 in the other, divided into two stitches.