“Garden of Delights” is the theme of the new crafts contest at Dover Books. Use Dover clip art, a Dover pattern,or be inspired by a Dover book & win $100 worth of Dover books. Winners appear in an upcoming catalog. The contest ends June 30,2013. The winning entry will be selected based on originality and technique by the Dover editors. Learn all about it here
Homestead, located in Grand Blanc, Michigan recently announced the rules for their needlepoint challenge. This year, you have a shape to stitch as you wish. You must, however, use at least one color each of two threads: Shaded Very Velvet and Petite Silk Lame. Here are the rules: The shape of this challenge is a sweater, drawn on white 18 ct. mono canvas at Homestead Needle Arts. It is approximately 4-1/2″ x 5″ in size. The sweater MUST be stitched with at least ONE color of Rainbow Gallery’s Shaded Petite Very Velvet AND at least ONE color of Rainbow Gallery’s Petite Silk Lame’. You may use any other threads, beads, buttons, attachments, etc. that you desire. The drawn canvas, Velvet and Silk Lame’ MUST be purchased here at Homestead Needle Arts between the dates of April 3, 2013 and May 18, 2013 (this date may be extended if there are
Cotton Petites is a new line of threads from Sulky. Although Sulky is best known as a maker of threads for machine sewing and embroidery, the size of this thread makes it an ideal candidate for hand embroidery, including needlepoint. The thread comes on 50-yard snap-end spools. It is 12 weight, which is about the thickness of two strands of floss. It’s easy to pull out the length you need and cut multiple lengths in order to strand up. Although I felt as if the thread was thinner than the equivalent number of floss strands, I could see no difference in how the thread performed. I can only attribute my feeling to air caught between the strands of floss, something which is compressed when stitching. I found this thread worked beautifully for decorative stitches. I used it for the gumballs in this Cat’s Cradle canvas. The many colors covered well
Although I prefer small canvases, it seems that lately I’ve been stitching canvases with very small margins. Since I put them on stretcher bars, I find that I’m struggling to begin and end threads. Sometimes I have trouble pulling needles through. I’ve even had to remove thumbtacks to stitch an area. I’d love to get your tips for this problem, so I’m having a contest running now through next Saturday, January 19, 2013. Add your best tip to the comments. The winner will receive either a copy of Needlepoint Trade Secrets (US addresses only) or the equivalent in ebooks. The prize value is US$18. The winner will be picked by random selection. My contest rules apply
In honor of Barbara Bergsten’s five year blogging anniversary, he is having a great giveaway of Kreinik threads. The contest is open through 11/13/12 and the winner must have a US address. To enter, just leave a comment on her post for the giveaway. Thanks both to Barbara and Kreinik for this generous prize and contest
DMC has a remarkable history. To celebrate the embroidery floss manufacturer is sponsoring the Needlework Memories Contest. For three months beginning Nov. 1, DMC will collect memories from stitchers across the U.S. and will award one participant a week in Paris with a friend. If the winner notes her/his favorite independent needlework shop on their entry form, the shop owner will also win a week in Paris with a friend. Both prizes include a tour of the 280-year-old DMC factory. Needlework enthusiasts are encouraged to submit their most memorable needlework moments to DMC in 250 words or less using official entry forms available online and at needlework shops. A panel of industry experts will determine the winning memory based on its ability to be inspiring, memorable, sentimental, nostalgic, and relevant to needlework and DMC. The winner receives round-trip airfare to Paris, hotel accommodations, train travel to Mulhouse for a DMC
The 6-light Beam N’ Read Light has been improved and to celebrate, they will give away a light to one lucky blog reader in the US or Canada. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post before 11 PM (Pacific) on October 26, 2012. I’ll pick one winner at random to win the light. Let me tell you about the changes in the light. The switch now allows you toggle between 3 & 6 lights, giving two levels of illumination. The neck strap has been upgraded for greater comfort. The orange filter has been shifted to be similar to a camera filter than converts daylight to incandescent-type light by reducing blue light. So the BNR LED 6-3 provides a choice of cool daylight-type light (no filter); warm, incandescent-type light (orange filter); or red light (red filter). The batteries last longer: up to 50 hours
The thrill of the chase. The generous ($400) prize. The delight of learning more about art (and needlepoint of great art). All this can be yours easily by taking part in Art Needlepoint’s Treasure Hunt. It started a while ago and is just finishing up with the last clue recently revealed. If you follow the trail and complete it with the right answers, you’ll win a $00 prize from Art Needlepoint. You’re probably thinking “Isn’t it too late to get in on the fun?” No, it’s not. You can find all of the clues, complete with links to the sites in this blog post. Winners get their choice of $400 of Art Needlepoint canvases. But hurry the deadline is June 24, 2012. Please note: Because of some thread difficulties, the Bargello project will post tomorrow
I’m more than reasonably addicted to Dover’s wonderful clip art series. And I have been for years. I have dozens of them on my bookshelf and many are seriously beaten up with dog-eared pages and PostIt notes everywhere. If you like to design your own needlepoint projects, but, like me, you stink at drawing, look to these for inspiration. Many of the clip art and stained glass books are in their Pictoral Archive series which means they can be freely used, even in commercial designs (with some limitations there). This makes me so excited about the contest Dover recently announced for craft items using Dover’s clip art books. The winning project gets $100 of Dover Books and two runners-up get $50 each. Read all about it here. The deadline is July 15. Just to give you some ideas, I’m going to be starting a new project next week. It’s going
In Nuts about Needlepoint, I’m always trying to give you the information, help, and ideas you need. So that I’m sure I’m doing that, I need your help. Please fill out my survey, letting me know what you think. Everyone who answers the survey before midnight Pacific on Friday April 20, 2012 is eligible for my contest. Just be sure to give your name and email address when requested. The contest is subject to my contest rules. If there’s more you’d like to share about the blog, please feel free to contact me. The contest is open to anyone, world-wide
Making great (and useful) information about needlepoint available on the Internet has been both a goal and a passion for me for over 15 years. I’m always pushing the envelope and looking for ways to make this needleart more accessible and to make the Internet an essential tool in this process. You can help me in this by answering the short survey I have created. It’s on SurveyMoney and can be found here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DYY8HCB Fill it out and submit. If you’d like to say more but don’t have the space for it, please contact me and let me know your ideas or what you think. One person responding to the survey will win a special prize (subject to our contest rules), so be sure to fill out the last page of the survey. Only survey responses submitted before April 20, 2012 will qualify and you do not need to be
The winners of the recent Stitch your Stash Challenge are: 1st place — Judy Furie 2nd place — Debbie Thomas 3rd place — Jenni 4th place — K Blodgett 5th place — Lee Seroka Congratulations to the winners and everyone else who participated. Everyone who refgistered for the challenge is getting a prize
