mini-sock Archive

Originally posted 2010-12-24 07:06:18. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThe wonderful stitcher, Needleartnut, has a charming little Bargello mini-sock on her blog. It was a UFO which she just finished. It’s one of my favorite kinds of Bargellos. She uses a simple ribbon pattern and stitches it in several different fibers. I often do this using, as she did, an overdye as the theme for the colors. It’s a simply fantastic way to do a no stress needlepoint project between more challenging pieces. Pull out the threads, trace the outline on your canvas, stitch the first line and then just needlepoint. Check it out, it’s lovely

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My big problem with most needlepoint clubs is that they are just too expensive. Once you buy the canvas and the threads and the instruction each month, you’ve spent lots of money. For me to do that I have to love the project. Really love it. I wanted to create needlepoint clubs that were different. They had to: Be economical, so you could use your stash as much as possible Teach more than just the project, so you’ll learn about color, design, threads, or Bargello. Often with information based on extensive research outside needlepoint. Give you the tools you need to create your own unique projects. The clubs are suitable for stitchers of all levels and they have resulted in many wonderful projects from club members. You can join any one of them and energize your needlepoint. The clubs currently in process are Mittens & Mini-socks Bargello Club – Bargello

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Combined with this simple Bargello swag, these bright colors make a lovely quilt. Bargello patterns when used for quilts are easy to adapt to needlepoint. I’ve done all the hard work and now you can just sit back and stitch this delightful free design. The swag pattern is adapted by looking at the relative lengths of the patches. This translated to the pattern here. A more difficult task is the color adaptation. The quilt has a sequence of 13 colors. That’s fine for something large but won’t work well on a small mini-sock. I cut down the number of colors to 9, with dark gray, coral, red, lavender, violet, medium and medium-dark green, medium light blue, and blue. I also liked the wide border so I added a cuff in navy with a medium light blue border. The threads I used were Silk & Ivory, except for the navy, which

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Originally posted 2010-03-08 07:57:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter In 2007 at the time Bargello Revisited came out, I went on a Virtual Blog Tour, visiting different blogs. My friend Pierrette asked me to visit her blog to talk about Bargello. That blog has been replaced by Pierrette’s My Stitching Gallery, which shows of her lovely needlework. Below is the article slightly revised. My love affair with Bargello probably started in about 1971 with a book. The book was Elsa Williams’ Bargello. I found it at my local needlepoint store. I was entranced by the lovely shading and the wonderful patterns. I bought it and immediately started to study. Back in those days, I hadn’t really done much needlepoint, so this was completely new. The book had pictures of the finished needlepoint, but no charts, and the yarn colors didn’t match the Paternayan my shop carried. But I loved it,

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Today, April 7, 2012 is the absolutely last day you can sign up for the 2012 Bargello Club, Mittens & Mini-socks. Registrations close at midnight, Pacific Daylight Time. This is going to be an exciting club for lovers of Bargello, with patterns form all kinds of sources, both new and old. On these ornament-sized pieces you’ll be able to try all kinds of wonderful Bargello techniques while making unique ornaments or gifts. Each month, on the 7th, you’ll receive a PDF of a new Bargello pattern, this is April’s, along with a stitch suitable for stitching a cuff. That’s 12 Bargello patterns and 12 new stitches. Every pattern in the club is suitable for making either a mini-sock ornament or an ornament-sized mitten (you’ll get the templates for both). I’m planning a series of six of each. The mini-socks will be in flower colors (this one is faded violets), while

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The colors might not be traditional, but you’ll love the patterns in my fantastic new Bargello Club, Mittens & Mini-socks. Each month, on the 7th, you’ll receive a PDF of a new Bargello pattern, this is April’s, along with a stitch suitable for stitching a cuff. That’s 12 Bargello patterns and 12 new stitches. Every pattern in the club is suitable for making either a mini-sock ornament or an ornament-sized mitten (you’ll get the templates for both). I’m planning a series of six of each. The mini-socks will be in flower colors (this one is faded violets), while the mittens will be in sky colors. Each month’s project pack will be sent via email and will include charts, diagrams, templates and instructions. You’ll love how they are so flexible. They can reflect all kinds of themes but are not specific to any holiday. My collection of mini-socks, I have dozens,

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What could be more fun and faster than making Bargello ornaments. In this club you have a choice of making either a mitten or a mini-sock each month. The PDF pattern will be emailed to you each month, beginning April 7, and will include: Patterns for both the Bargello pattern and a stitch for the “cuff” Templates for both the mitten and the mini-sock Background information useful for stitching this and other projects You can make them in a wide mixture of colors (my collection hangs on our stair rails at Christmas) or you can coordinate the colors. They are so much fun because they are big enough to give you a good idea of the pattern, but small enough to be finished quickly. And you’ll love how they are wintry, but not too holiday-specific. Not only do they make great hanging decorations, you can use them as distinctive packaging

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Kreinik’s line of “naturals” in metallics came back recently, with a smaller number of colors that have been changed slightly. I used the extensively in this Petei mini-sock from my stash. They are used for all the metallics. Only one color, 4006 Rose Hip was retained from the original series. As you can see it’s a soft pink, that’s still very metallic. If the other pinks in the Kreinik line are too bright or to modern for your stitching, look to this shade — it’s great. The other colors are muted neutrals. On the mini-sock, the darker brown/gold is 4202 Susky Meadow, kind of a dark Hot Chocolate color that will mix well with either gold or silver. The lighter color is 4203 Cattail, a slightly greenish gold. It’s a real chameleon color, looking green, gold, or brown depending on the context. It should be4 considered for many applications. I

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I am always so happy at TNNA to go to Kathy Schenkel’s and Melissa Shirley’s booths. They are always full to bursting with great new ideas and canvases I just drool over. I love Kathy’s bone-shaped ornaments for dogs and this year she has a delightful new set. These are “Things Dogs Do,” all done in a clever, easy-to-stitch style. She also has mini-socks and ornament rounds for a number of different colleges and universities that aren’t just the usual logo style, often they have iconic buildings or other symbols of the campus. She also has new dog and people tote bags and new North Woods designs. There are two new Christmas series, a nativity and a stars of Christmas, people associated with Christmas in stars. A very clever idea is her animal alphabet, available both as a panel and as individual letters. The animals are creatively posed in and

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As always there plenty to love at TNNA. Besides the trends I talked about on Wednesday, two other types of needlepoint are becoming more popular. I was particularly excited by all the creative bookmarks I saw. Whimsy and grace had over 30 in all styles. Each of these came with a coordinating tassel. A new designer, Shivering Sheep had several delightful ones with Southwestern themes. Another designer, MAP Designs, had a whole bunch of canvases of Koeshi dolls, a type of Japanese doll. These dolls have round heads and straight bodies (no arms or legs). MAP’s Koeshis included dogs, cats. people and a bride and groom. They could be finished flat to be bookmarks or be done as stand-ups or easel-backed pieces. Another type of needlepoint that’s becoming more popular is 3-D needlepoint, something that takes us beyond the pillow or ornament. Little Shoppe, a pioneer in 3-D needlepoint has

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Merry Christmas! I love CHristmas ornaments and stitch them all the time. Some of that love has been reflected in the projects I’ve done for this site. In case you are like me and want to start a new stitching project (although I’m most likely cooking not stitching), you might want to make one of these delightful little projects. Pine Trees Mini-sock Cookie Cutter Ornament Sunburst Mosaic Initial Ornament Turquoise Cross Try-a-Stitch Package Eight-point Stars Sunbonnet Sue Mini-sock Colonial Brick House, Part 1, Part 2 Besides these stand-alone projects, check out last year’s Learn-a-Stitch Mini-sock series, and the many Twinchy posts, there are lots more ornament ideas there

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Whenever I see this mini-sock it makes me think of the brilliant yellow color of the Gingko trees in autumn. The Watercolours shade I used is Woodland and I emphasized the yellow. Other threads used include: Grandeur, Very Velvet, Holographic Fyrewerks, Panache, and Sprinkes. I used yet another outline (I wish I had kept it), but you can use either of the ones we have used before (here and here). Area 1: This area is stitched in Triple Rice. It’s a large Rice STitch, made in Holographic Fryewerks, that is crossed three times, in kind of a Scotch using Very Velvet. Using two highly contrasting threads for this stitch really highlights its construction. Area 2: This area is stitched in a simple laidwork pattern, Taggert. This kind of stitch really highlights a lovely thread. Begin by making long stitches the length of the area in every hole. Once this is

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I made this mini-sock because I just love the shade of Watercolours used here, Blue Spruce. I like that combination of icy teal and pink, although this skein didn’t have much pink in it. You’ll notice that the patches on this mini-sock are different than the ones we have been using. There are six here, so use this outline (click for the full-size template). If you want to use the other outline, just leave out one of the patches. Patch 1 – Double Straight Cross This popular Cross Stitch gets lots of texture from using two very different threads: rayon and Very Velvet. Although both crosses are exactly the same, the different weights of the threads makes it look almost as if the rayon crosses are a grid over the bulkier velvet. It’s a neat effect. Patch 2 – Flemish Bond This straight stitch consists of different patterns in alternating

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Originally posted 2009-11-25 07:08:21. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI’m excited about this designer profile on About.com. You will be too when you see the fun mini-sock pattern based on a popular quilt block that’s part of it

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For the next couple of months, the mini-socks are going to be a potpourri of stitches. The colors and threads in each sock are related, but the stitches are not. They also use a different outline, the Round Robin outline, pictured above. This month’s mini-sock uses traditional Christmas colors of red and green and is designed around Caron’s Waterlilies in Holiday. Patch 1 – Reverse Hesitation Stitch Hesitation Stitch is a variation of Diagonal Scotch. In it, the smallest stitches are replaced with stitches in a different thread. It’s amazing how this little change really changes the look of the stitch. To me Hesitation Stitch always looks like oval-shaped diamonds, but Diagonal Scotch doesn’t look like either diamonds or ovals. It’s a great stitch for almost any application. Patch 2 – Triple Rice This giant variation of Rice Stitch is so large that a Scotch Stitch (minus the smallest stitches)

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