This Lee Needle Arts kimono is a showcase for many threads, including Planet Earth's Pig Tail Silk.

Planet Earth has come out with a new single strand silk for 18 mesh, Pig Tail Silk. I’ve used it recently in both this Lee kimono (left flower) and in my painted-stitches Christmas Tree.

It’s just a lovely silk. About the same thickness as Impressions, it is 100% silk, coming in 27 yard skeins.

A lovely, soft thread, I think it covers better than Impressions, giving full, instead of light, coverage. But because it is a thin thread stitched areas are slightly flatter than those stitched with Watercolours (right flower).

This vintage painted stitches canvas uses Pig Tail Silk for the Scotch & Diagonal Gobelin Stitches

While I would not use it for straight stitches on 18 mesh, straight stitches would work well on Congress Cloth. I found longer diagonal stitches on 18 covered well, something I often find lacking in Impressions. The red areas in the striped patch use Pig Tail.

The finish is similar to Impressions as well, a slightly fuzzy, matte texture.

I really enjoyed this thread because it was so easy to use. But stitchers who are allergic to wool will also like it because now there is a great all-silk alternative to Impressions and Gumnuts’ Poppies.

I can’t wait to use it for more projects.

Related posts:

1. Planet Earth Silk Opal – Thread Review
2. Overdyed Vineyard Silk from Threadworx – Thread Review
3. City Needlework Silk – Thread Review
4. Silk Lamé from Rainbow Gallery — Thread Review
5. High Cotton – Thread Review

This month’s challenge is a wide open one. What does December mean to you?

Is it gingerbread men baking, Christmas, winter, peace?

Related posts:

1. Twinchy — Monthly Needlepoint Challenge
2. November Twinchy Challenge — Adaptation
3. August Twinchy Challenge – Quilt Blocks
4. Letter Twinchy Challenge Results
5. October Twinchy Challenge – the Watercolours Challenge

This Petei mini-sock uses Kreinik's naturals metallics throughout.

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 didn’t use 4204 Storm Cloud (gunmetal), 4205 Ironwood (sliver), 4201 Sugar Cane (light green) in this piece.

You can read about them all on Kreinik’s site.

Tomorrow I’ll look at Empress Elite from The Pure Palette, and Thursday at Duchess Silk from Gloriana both of which were also used here.

Related posts:

1. Dot’s Stocking – Sunday Stitching
2. Using up the Metallic Stash
3. Candy Metallics from Kreinik – Thread Review
4. Kreinik’s Holographic Threads – Product Review
5. Learn a Stitch in 2011

The thing I like about them is that each is based on an overdyed thread. That makes them a great way to explore creating a color scheme from these popular threads.

I’m bogged down on the first one (don’t ask) but my [plan is to pick broken skeins of Watercolours from my stash that I wouldn’t normally use and then challenge myself to create a pretty scheme from them using only threads in my stash.

But you should try some yourself. They are great ways to try out Laura’s design and they will give you tastes of some techniques she uses extensively, such as Blackwork on canvas, complex borders, and multi-colored Rhodes Stitches.

Here’s a breakdown, with links, to each of the five (up through last week):

• Mini Mystery #1
• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Mini Mystery #2
• Part One
• Part Two
• Mini Mystery #3
• Part One
• Part Two
• Mini Mystery #4
• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Mini Mystery #5
• Part One

Related posts:

1. Join Laura Perin’s Mini Mystery on Mondays
2. Laura Perin’s Mini Mystery #3 – Free Ornament Design
3. Scrap Bag Needlepoint – Pyramids Mini-sock
4. Two Christmas Needlepoint Quilts – Laura Perin Free Patterns
5. Round Robin Mini-socks Community Project

Go to this page and scroll down a bit to find the gallery. In it you’ll find lots of wonderful pictures from the show. There are pictures of each table from the Needlepoint Gallery, where designers show off their newest , including several of the pieces I wrote about.

Check it out.

Related posts:

1. New Products at On-line Needlework Show
2. On-line Needlework Show Now Open!
3. On-Line Needlework Show Is Open!
4. Virtual Show – Woodlawn in Pictures
5. On-line Needlework Show

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 around the letters. An unusual ornament series would be to do a name or initials this way.

As always Melissa Shirley has tons of new stuff, so I’ll only hit the highlights.

If you like her pears, but have been wishing for designs that were less geometric, you’ll love her new series that has a different fruit in each pear. With gold backgrounds and fruits and blossoms vining up each shape, they are both elegant and timeless. There are 10 in the series.

She has expanded the selection of her popular crackers with a Thanksgiving series, a new Halloween series that features some of her vintage Halloween characters, pink or gold Christmas crackers, and a set of Christmas toy crackers. There is also a new series of candy canes, mostly stripes, in a modern palette of red, white, green, and light green.

Her newest series is 3-D needlepoint cupcakes. Each design is in two parts, a top and the sides. There are designs for Christmas and Valentine’s.

If you have been collecting Christmas canvases in particular colors, there are conical CHristmas trees in fabric-like patterns in both green and gold. Her acorns have been very popular and a set of Christmas acorns has been added. Her banners have been expanded with a series of pumpkins for Halloween.

There is lots of new stuff from her licensed designers. My favorite of these was Debbie Mumm’s “Trick or Treaters,” a haunted house background with twelve Halloween figures. Three of these are animals,a cat, a raccoon, and some mice, dressed up for Halloween.

There are lots more new canvases including some great seashore and insect pillow designs, and lots of new Christmas stockings. THere’s plenty to love and stitch here.

Related posts:

1. New Canvases from Melissa Shirley & Jelly Bean Stock
2. Kathy Schenkel – Designer Profile
3. Melissa Shirley Birds
4. Big Melissa Shirley Sale at The Needlepointer
5. Sneak Peek — Melissa Shirley Designs for Summer

I was so excited when I found the vintage canvas on eBay awhile ago. I like it because the stitches are already painted on, much as the wonderful designs of Barbara Bergsten are.

This type of needlepoint has the pattern of the stitch already there on the canvas, you pick your threads and follow along.

In the bottom left corner, you can see a patch I’ve already stitched, in Jacquard. The green line was painted on the canvas, I stitched that first and then filled in the cream.

The patch above will be Framed Scotch, I’m stitching the Scotch Stitches now and the white lines that frame the squares will be in Continental.

For some of the patches here, the stitch to use is quite clear, for others I’ll need to make some choices.

But if you are a beginner, or just want to expand your repertoire of stitches, look at Barbara’s great designs. She’s endlessly inventive and her painted stitches are just perfect and a joy to stitch.

With Painted Stitch canvases and a good stitch dictionary, you’ll learn tons of new stitches quickly.

P.S. In future posts, you’ll see this piece again because I’m using it to test three new threads.

Related posts:

1. Painted Canvas Stitches
2. Stitching a Painted Canvas – Virtual Book Tour
3. How to Approach a Hand Painted Canvas Needlepoint
4. Using Hand-dyes and Overdyes on Painted Canvas
5. Using Overdyed and Hand-dyed Threads on Painted Canvas

Isn’t this Amaryllis by Piet Mondrian striking?

It’s so simple, so modern, but in such bright colors.

And it’s the canvas for my next class for Art Needlepoint, starting February 15, 2012. Suitable for beginners, it has a taste of many different techniques including:

1. padding
2. textured stitches
3. outlining
4. pattern darning
5. shadow stitching

YOu’ll learn these techniques and more and use three different types of thread with your purchase of the complete kit. My classes for Art Needlepoint are free with the purchase of the kit.

Best of all, those purchasing the kit for purposes of this class get a special discount.

Learning one or two techniques in a class is unusual, and here you’ll learn several in an email class so you can stitch in your comfy chair, in your PJs, and at your own pace.

Remember the class starts February 15, 2012, so order your kit today.

Related posts:

1. Does Shading with Needleblending Confuse You? Learn with my Upcoming Class!
2. Christmas Ornaments Class
3. Needle Nook of La Jolla Lauches Video Needlepoint Class
4. The Stitch Starts Here – Book Review
5. Want to Learn how to Stitch Faces?

Designing Women has a charming small icon-like Madonna. They don’t have a website, but my friend Jane stitched it awhile ago and the link is to her finished one

Jane and I have also both stitched Designs by Petei’s Our Lady of Guadelupe. Mine is the picture at the top of this post. The link is to Petei’s page that has it

Birds of a Feather makes a charming Madonna. I also found this traditional Madonna ornament at Needlepointus.com. I have also often found Madonnas, vintage and new on eBay.

Finally, if you like counted canvas, look into this lovely Mother and Child from Cross-eyed Cricket. I just adore its combination of folk art and Byzantine embellishment.

Related posts:

1. Superbowl Stitching
2. Stitching the Inexpensive Kit
3. Give the Gift of Stitching – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts
4. Chirstmas Stitching
5. New Needlepoint in June 2011

Rainbow Gallery has brought out new acrylic laying tools. Each is a unique design. The laying tool is a BLT with an acrylic handle and removable cover.

DMC has a lovely “designer” accessory collection with storage for your project, stitch bows, and a needle holder in a matching print.

Krienik has add four new Stitch-A-Pen kits including three hearts designs and a wedding pen.

Tuitto showed and interesting line of luggage and cases. They are soft, with tons of pockets, four wheels, and a PVC frame on either side. They use an ergonomic design and were very popular among shopowners. They come in up to 12 colors (depending on the piece).

Lee Needle Arts has an iPad case. They have also expanded the bags that can use the removable inserts. Bags with BR and now, I think, BG inserts can use the removable inserts. Anne Brinkley has brought back those lovely porcelain and crystal boxes. I have some of them I stitched ages ago and I’m excited about being able to get more.

Do you have tons of thread hanging around? Is lots of it in uncut skeins? Then you’l love Clover’s new Basket Frames. Available in two sizes in three shapes, they are cardboard frames that make your basket sturdy. Wrap your thread or ribbon around the frame. Then you can add embellishments if you like. These are great because they are much easier to do than traditional baskets and because they allow you to use soft threads and ribbons to make a great basket.

BagSmith has decorated wooden tubes that contain six needles. Several types of needles and design styles are available.

Two great new books are coming out. June McKnight’s new book is called Bling, Glitz, and Glamour for Needlepoint. It’s dedicated to embellishments and, from the models, it looks great. Sharon G’s second book will be out in the spring. It’s dedicated to borders and has over 20.

Related posts:

1. TNNA Round-Up, Part 1
2. Finishing Up at TNNA
3. Painted Canvases at TNNA – Part 1
4. TNNA Round-up Part 3
5. More New Products from TNNA