Nuts about Needlepoint » kits

Eye-popping Miniature Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:34:11 +0000

On Mary Corbet’s wonderful blog there is a guest post from Patricia Richards. Patricia specializes in the most equisite and complex miniature needlepoint. From the complex casket worked on 72 count silk gauze to these amazing shoes, less than 1″ long, you will be stunned by this lovely work.

You can see more of Patricia’s work on her website, Patricia Richards Miniatures From there you can order kits or complete pillows, rugs, and furniture.

What Makes for “Affordable” Needlepoint?

Janet Perry — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:39:42 +0000

Originally posted 2009-01-16 18:03:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Being affordable means different things to different people. I, for one, walk around with relative prices of things in my head. If gas is over $1.50 a gallon I think about where I drive, over $3.00 and I turn my car off in the drive-thru line.

Recently I was doing some research about needlepoint and what people searched for on the Internet. One common search was for “affordable needlepoint.”

To me affordability has a price, it’s $25. If a canvas or a kit is under that and I like it, most of the time I will buy it, even on impulse. Over that and I think about it.

An Elizabeth Bradley kit is expensive, but is it affordable when you factor in the cost of the wool?

I don’t know.

But I’d love to hear you opinion, what makes needlepoint affordable to you?

If a kit costs x and only has partial skeins of thread is that OK? If it costs x + y and has full skeins of thread are you more likely to buy it?

Let me know, I’m really interested in this question.

New Idea in Kits from Ehrman

Janet Perry — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:05:32 +0000

Originally posted 2008-08-19 07:41:32. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI got my summer ctalogue from Ehrman recently and they are introducing a new idea — border kits. There are five kits in the collection, Rajasthan, Acanthus, Venetian, Roman and Boxes. Each has the border printed on canvas with the central section left blank so you can add fabric of your choice. I really like the small center and patchwork quilt look of Boxes and could see it with a bold initial in the center. It’s a big enough pillow to maker a floor cushion and in 8 mesh canvas will be fast to stitch. You can also needlepoint a center of your own design. Wool for the border only is included with the kit. Related posts:Idea for a Quick Rug or Floor Pillow Great Finishing Idea — Log Cabin Pillows Pueblo Pillow – Scrap Bag Idea Make a Bold Initial Bargello Boxtop! Working an Elizabeth Bradley Kit Related posts:

Pischke Pockets Has a Great Site

Janet Perry — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:22:35 +0000

Back during last month’s TNNA Round-ups, I told you about a great new product from Julie Pischke, Pischke Pockets. These are lovely striped totes with leather handles that have needlepoint pockets. Everything is complete in the kit and you can finish them yourself.

The coral above, Caribbean Spice, is just one of nine designs in the line.

I’m excited to let you know that there is a site devoted to the line. At Pischke Pockets you can learn more about the idea, find news and information and order the kits. There is even a page with instructions and a video on how to finish the bag once you’ve stitched the needlepoint.

This has just whetted my appetite to know more about them.

TNNA Round-up Part 3

Janet Perry — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:35:01 +0000

Finishing Items

I am just crazy about this chic self-finishing clutch from Timeless Totes. This is their first self-finished item. It comes in four colors (red, burgundy, blue and black).

Lee’s Needle Arts has added leather Kindle covers to their self-finishing line. There are also new photo boxes and albums. I’m excited about the albums, because, although sometimes you can find albums that have openings deep enough to hold needlepoint, most of the time the albums you find won’t work

Threads

Crescent Colors has added new shades to both their perle cottons and silks. Valdani has added pure silk perle to their line-up of threads. This is great because silk perle is a wonderful thread to use.

Rainbow Gallery has new colors in Very Velvet, Silk Lamé, Fuzzy Stuff, and Wispers, along with new colors in some other threads. They have the handy blue magnets back and will be carrying Ann Strite-Kurz’ new book on pattern.

The Pure Palette has added a new thread to their popular Soy Luster and Baroque Silk. It’s Empress Elite, a blend of Ultra Fine Merino, silk and Cashmere. It comes in 20 yard skeins. I can’t wait to try it.

New Artists & Distributors

Ruth Schmuff has added a new artist, Paper d’Aq to her line. The popular designs from The Studio in Kansas City are now being distributed by Chapel Hill Needlepoint.

Crooked Tree Needlepoint is now has brought the artwork of Donna Race to needlepoint. One of her specialties is Christmas stockings. All about Stitching is now distributing the Lund Belt Collection.

Stitch-its has also added a new artist, Trail Creek Farms. The popular cross stitch designs of Lizzie Kate are now available in needlepoint, from Patti Mann. Designing Women is now represented by Canvas Connection.

Canvas, Kits & Charts

Sundance Designs has new Gypsy Flowers, pieces with Bazrgello centers, designed to show off their new Boho beads. In new canvases, they have a delightful series of ornaments based on Mexican painted tin ornaments.

Barbara Russell, well known for her dog canvases, has added a line of needlepoint jewelry. Alice Peterson & Co has expanded her Stitch & Zip line with new tallis bags. Tallis Bags are popular needlepoint items, and with these new Stitch & Zips, finishing is easy too.

Sew Much Fun has introduced a line of 3-D animals that includes five baby animals. GailVail has many new designs, including a “Date Night” series of wristlet bags for something quick to stitch and easy to finish.

Gone Stitching has introduced a line of Judaic canvases. All the canvases in this line include detailed, easy to use, stitch guides in full color. DeElda has added lots of new beginners kits to her line.

There is so much stuff, I’m doing one more round-up, this one focused on canvases on Friday.

Needlepoint Barrette Kits for Beginners

Janet Perry — Sat, 15 May 2010 14:51:40 +0000

needlepoint barrette beginners kit from Pepita Needlepoint

Don’t you just love this barrette and the GREAT packaging? New from Pepita Needlepoint, the kit has everything you need to make the project and get someone needlepointing. Check it out on Renee’s post.

Printed vs. Painted

Janet Perry — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:39:25 +0000

There has been some discussion around the web this week about fine art reproductions on canvas and it’s getting me a concerned. It seems to me that people want every decision to be made for them before they stitch (no room for interpretation) and that many seem to want a needlepoint version of a painting to be, I’m sorry to classify it this way, a stitched “paint by number” version of the original art.

As a result I’d like to clear something up. I’ve spent a long time studying both the different ways needlepoint designs can be produced, the different ways to stitch them, and the difference between needlepoint and other mediums.

There are two ways to get a design reproduced on needlepoint canvas, by hand and by a mechanical process. By hand the design is either drawn (line-drawn) or painted on the canvas. A painted canvas can either follow the intersection exactly (stitch painted) or not. Which it is depends on the designer and the design. But it is done by hand, means that irregularities in the canvas can be compensated for.

Because we stitch so many canvases that are created this way, we are fooled into thinking that needlepoint canvas is straight.

Quite simply it isn’t.

So when something is produced by mechanical means, no matter how good or how expensive, there will be drift and things won’t always be straight. This is true whether it is stamped (cheap kits), silk screened (Ehrman and Bradley kits), or computer-printed (Art Needlepoint, Patt & Lee, etc). I’ve seen cheap kits close to perfect and expensive kits to be way off. There are things manufacturers do to minimize this, but the plain fact is that it cannot be helped.

This necessary limitation in the medium. The effect this has on your stitching is that intersection will be more than one color. But the same thing happens in canvases that aren’t stitch painted and we don’t complain. In fact we often enjoy the challenge of working on these more “painterly” canvases.

Why is this lovely in a hand-paint, but not in a computer-printed canvas?

The second limitation is the one of adapting one medium to another. There are two things working here. First a painting is solid, there aren’t holes. Needlepoint canvas js mostly holes. As a result much of the information in the painting disappears into the holes. Think about it. If you took the same exact outline and put it on 13 and 18 mesh canvas, you could get lots of detail on the 18 mesh. Same thing here. Things are lost on needlepoint canvas.

This has two effects. You will have to fill in details, and you will need to make decisions about the missing details.

Second, painting is a two-dimensional medium. In it, texture is indicated by changes in value and color mostly. In needlepoint texture is indicated by thread, color, and stitch. If you tried to reproduce in Tent Stitch the variation in a painted surface you would find, as many of you have, that you are frustrated beyond belief. If you do end up doing this, you may find that the end product looks a but like paint by numbers, it has no soul.

But if you make a change to the stitch or switch to an overdyed thread you would be much happier. What you have done is not just make the stitching easier, but you have also made a decision about the painting and what it means to you. You haven’t made a reproduction, you have made a work of art, adding your artistic sense to the original artist’s through your art — needlepoint.

We are all, I think, to quick to praise the needlepoint on the expensive hand-painted canvas, and too quick to condemn the mechanically produced canvas. But I’ve seen plenty of lifeless expensive stitched pieces and stunning printed ones.

It’s your choice and your art, but don’t let it be a source of snobbery.

New Needlepoint Products – April 2010

Janet Perry — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:59:39 +0000

One of the things that excites me most about needlepoint is all the creative new ways designers are finding to use needlepoint. Looking at the new products in this column you will see some new 3-D products in both painted canvas and charted needlepoint, new canvases, kits and charts, as well as other exciting new products.

Needlepoint in Three Dimensions

I was blown away by two products I just learned about. The Needle’s Notion has a 3-D cake done as charted needlepoint. “Carrot Cake” is built around a papier mache box and is white with textured stitches, geometric motifs, carrots, and rabbits. Put it on a lovely cake stand to make a wonderful centerpiece.

CBK Needlepoint Collections has marvelous 3-D lighthouses designed by Sukey Designs. They come in two sizes. The large is 12″ and the small is 6″. All four pieces to build the lighthouse are painted on a single canvas.

Painted Canvases, Kits & Charts

Jean Smith has two new canvases featuring a field of tulips. On 13 mesh for easy stitching. They are available as 14′ and 8″ squares. She also has a stunning hydrangea rug on 10 mesh. IT has companion pillow on 13 mesh.

Dream House Ventures has added some new sayings in different styles and ha a lovely design based on a Chinese lattice. There is also a lovely new Pueblo pot designed by Paula Manning

If you have liked the birds in Threadworx Journal but want the ease of painted canvas. three of them (cardinal, hummingbird, and robin) are available as kits from Threadworx. Anna-Marie Winter has lovely round “Tree Jewels” ornaments available as kita from Kreinik. The kits are complete, including even the styrofoam ball and a reusable storage box. They are in holiday colors and there are three styles.

DebBee’s Designs has a great new beginner’s pattern out that is about 6.5″ square. It uses sweet spring colors in several threads. It’s a charming project any stitcher will love. There is also a new Diamond Delight pattern.

Brenda Kocher has several new designs. Tootsiebubbles is a different kind of baby sampler. Fancywork is inspired by a crazy quilt and features silk ribbon embroidery and includes a CD. Coral Reef features several Bargello motifs.

Sekas & Co. has a new monthly series of fobs featuring flamingos. They come with stitch guides and are available on 13, 16, and 18 mesh. There is also a charted flamingo heart.

Thread & Embellishment News

The Gentle Art has 7 new colors of their crewel-weight Simply Wool out, bringing the total to 36. There are also 6 new Simply Shaker colors.

Weeks Dye Works also has a crewel-weight wool available, as well as a new two-strand floss on spools and #12 perle. They have new colors in #5 perle, six-strand floss, and linen.

I’ll have a review of Threadworx new silks soon, but I wanted you to know that the overdyed Au Ver a Soie has 20 colors.

Just Another Button Company has alphabet buttons in two styles. One style has as white background and the other has a natural wood color background. An easy way to personalize.

Accessories & Finishing Ideas

Nordic Needle has 2″ antique gold pendants with finishing instructions. To go in them, they have 6 new designs, 2 canvas and 4 cross stitch. The canvas is designed by Laura J. Perin.

For lovers of Q Snaps. BritStitch has come out with a similar table/lap stand that comes in two styles and four sizes.

The Elizabeth Turner Collection has a unique piece for football fans. The leather-covered flask also includes a canvas.

Not on Canvas Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:41:57 +0000

William Morris had a famous saying about not having anything in your life that you did not know to be useful or thought was beautiful. I have also long thought that there is plenty of room in life for the useful things to be beautiful as well. That’s why I want to point out to you several great ways to add beauty (in the form of needlepoint to your life.

First off, and pictured above is this lovely laser-cut alder wood heart pictured here, available on Etsy. One thing I love about this is that the wood is so lovely, it becomes the background to the needlepoint. I learned about it from Denise over at Craft Gossip.

But there are so many other wonderful products that have punched grids to embellish with your stitching. AMH Designs has several stupendous items with cut grids and needlepoint designs to put on them. You can stitch a journal or a keychain. The journals have a section of the cover laser-cut with a grid. The keychains are a laser-cut oval of acrylic in several color combinations. I made the keychain a couple of years ago and reviewed it.

If you are looking for larger items to embellish with needlepoint, why not consider the needlepoint lampshade when it becomes more widely available this spring. As I write this I’m thinking about where I can use it.

If you haven’t stitched on something other than cloth before, you might be hesitant to do so on something as nice as these items. All of them feature a punched grid on something that doesn’t “give” the way canvas does. In this they are similar to perforated paper. This material has been around as a ground for needlework since Victorian times and is available both as sheets and in charming pre-finished items, such as those from Tokens & Trifles. On their site you can also get detailed instructions on how to stitch on perforated paper. Just do needlepoint stitches instead of cross stitches.

Mill Hill makes perforated paper in many solid colors and metallics as well as in some lovely variegated colors that would make the needlepoint really stand out. They also make many small kits using perforated paper as the base, often featuring beads as well.

Now don’t just sit there, and don’t just sit there and needlepoint, sit there and needlepoint something both beautiful and useful!

Quilt Block Coasters with Stitch Guides

Janet Perry — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:15:08 +0000

quilt block coaster

Making the transition from stitching your first needlepoint sampler to doing canvases can be a hard one. The projects should be good-looking, appealing enough that even an experienced stitcher will want to stitch them. They should be small, so that the stitcher has a sense of accomplishment when it’s done. And they should always increase the stitcher’s needlepoint knowledge.

Why is this important? Think about two different crafts, beading has been very successful at moving beginners to more complex projects, knitting has been less successful at this. With beading, people make that first necklace, bracelet, or pair of earrings and makes a bunch more. When ready for the next step there are many websites, more complex beads and lots of tutorials to let you make something lovely that is just a little bit harder but uses material you have used and capitalizes on techniques you already know.

Knitting on the other hand, has a problem and I’m a perfect example of this. Many people learned to knit and made scarves, lots of scarves. Great, I started, I made a project, had a sense of accomplishment, and bought yarn. What now? While there are a limited number of next step projects, they don’t fit my life. The other next steps, don’t appeal. Afghans are too large and vests are too hard. I’m not alone in this and many people never progressed from beginning knitter to knitter.

The coaster pictured above is one of four (in two sets of two) I’ve designed for Art Needlepoint. Each is stitched in perle cotton, so they are easy to do (no plying required. Each showcases different stitches that you will be able to use on other canvases. And the stitch guide is written for beginners, with lots of advice and helpful tips. They come as complete kits with everything you need but the stretcher bars.

The clean style of the quilt blocks and the fun texture of the needlepoint combine to make this a winning combination. Go to the coasters page at Art Needlepoint to buy.