Nuts about Needlepoint » amish quilts

Stitch your Stash around the World — Project Update

Janet Perry — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:05:59 +0000

Originally posted 2008-08-08 12:12:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Barbara has posted several steps to get up started on our project.

Here’s a list:

Step 2A – Sets up the pattern, and compares it to an actual quilt. There will be eight colors, including one neutral.

Step 2B – helps you pick your colors for your needlepoint. It describes the kind of color you will need for each section. Once I get back from lunch I’m going to pull my colors and will update with a blog post later today.

Step 3 – label your threads. This post shows you how to label your threads. Having done many pieces like this with lots of threads, I know how important this can be. I’m probably going to put my 8 threads on thread drops to keep them straight.

Stitch your Stash – Progress & Blocks 4 & 5

Janet Perry — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:57:26 +0000

Originally posted 2008-08-16 06:38:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I’ve been working hard on my Stitch your Stash around the World Sampler, which has been posted on Create Needlepoint, Barbara Bergston’s wonderful blog. The picture above has Blocks 1 & 2 complete, Block 3 mostly complete and a start on Block 4.

I’m having great fun working on it.

Block 4 is one of my favorite stitches, Byzantine.

Block 5 is another favorite, Milanese.

I like both these stitches so much in my second Chinese Letters book (for Raymond Crawford’s great canvases), I have four variations of each of them.

I can’t wait to get back to stitching, maybe tomorrow night (We’re going to a wedding today).

Sunday Scrap Bag

Janet Perry — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:59:39 +0000

Originally posted 2006-07-10 06:26:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

It’s been about a month since I last wrote on the progress of my Amish Diamonds pillow. I am now almost done with the colored diamonds, having less than 10 to do.

Then it’s onto the background. You can see from the picture above how dramatically the black background changes the look of the pillow. The colors pop against the dark background and the whole thing looks more finished.

The bigger the mesh size of the canvas, the greater the difference is between stitched and unstitched. If this was 18 mesh instead of 13, it wouldn’t be as apparent. This is a good thing to remember when you are thinking a canvas looks a bit dull. The space between the threads dilute the colors painted. Stitch a few more areas and see if it is improved before giving up.

Little Amish Quilt Freebie – Sneak Peek

Janet Perry — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:51:49 +0000

Originally posted 2008-10-29 04:44:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I’m working on a little eProject book of six tiny Amish quilts which you self-finish and then use on various items like this bookmark.

You can get this as a free project, including finishing instructions, on Whip Up, a delightful craft blog.

The cool thing about the eProject book is that it will include not only the charts and instructions for the six little quilts, but complete instructions for six different projects.

On Sunday I had a ton of fun at Michael’s buying goodies to try. The list includes, gift tags, cards, notebooks for Post-its, boxes, and lots more.

I’m stitching the last quilt, and I’ll be doing the finished next week, so look for the book in about a week’s time, I’l post a notice when it’s ready.

Sunday Scrap Bag

Janet Perry — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 14:04:04 +0000

Originally posted 2006-06-12 07:25:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Yesterday was Sunday and I was low on energy so I spent most of the day working on my interpretation of this Susan Roberts quilt design.

As I’ve said in the past, I see the design in Amish colors, so the diamonds which are left are going to be stitched in the Amish spectrum, which doesn’t include oranges, yellows, or white.

I’ve used Felicity’s Garden, Spring II and heather ribbon floss for most of the diamonds. Now I’m adding in diamonds using threads from my scrap bag. This livens up the design overall and adds some intersting textures. Most of these threads are knitting yarns which provides it’s own kind of fun, since many need to be plied or are rather thick or textury for needlepoint canvas.

I have to say working on it is like eating peanuts, you can’t stop at one!

Since I love quilt designs, I’m enjoying this so much. Once it’s done (months from now), the next one I’m doing is a double wedding ring quilt, also by Susan Roberts. I’m going to use my stash of over dyed flosses. I’m hoping I can find a soft thread for the background which will match a lovely dark buttery yellow which is the background of a depression quilt I inherited from my DH’s family.

I also spent much of my stitching time thinking about other needlepoint quilts I could do.

I’ll be updating the progress of this piece regularly using this title, so you can see how the piece develops.

Stitch your Stash Around the World Update

Janet Perry — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:47:04 +0000

Originally posted 2008-09-14 05:35:10. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Barbara has posted the eighth block on this sampler. It’s Interlocking Gobelin, one of my favorite stitches.

If you want to see the entire series of posts together, check here.

I’m also happy to report that even though I didn’t cut my canvas big enough to do her entire plan (it’s pictured in this post). With some fudging, I’m only going to be one set of blocks short, so this is good.

A second post, has information about when you can use these stitches in your own needlepoint.

Stitch your Stash – My Colors

Janet Perry — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:34:26 +0000

Originally posted 2008-08-11 18:51:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I finally got around to getting this project in gear. I cut the canvas this morning. Based on Barbara’s block size, it’s about 9″ square on 18 mesh and a little over 11″ square on 14 mesh.

I’m using 18 mesh.

I was going to use Silk & Ivory, but decided on using Gloriana’s Lorikeet,a simply stunning wool, because it’s hand-dyed, so has a lovely variation in color. Because it has nine strands in a bundle, it’s versatile as well.

I want this to work with our beach glass + coral color palette for the new house, so I went with aqua for colors 1 & 2 (they will also be 7 & 8). I picked corals for colors 3-5 and a very dark gray for the neutral.

The colors are:
1 & 7: Jewel Turquoise Pastel (020W1)
2 & 8: Tropical Sea (019W3)
3: Cinnamon Pastel (151W1)
4: Pomegranate (139W3)
5: Cinnamon Light (151W2)
6: Charcoal (001W3)

You can see them spread out in the picture above. Gloriana can be found (with superb on-line color cards) at: http://www.glorianathreads.com/.

Roman Stripe – a Little Needlepoint Freebie

Janet Perry — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:42:33 +0000

This little quilt, done on interlock canvas, is one of my favorite pieces of needlepoint ever. It is a patchwork design called Roman Stripe and is done in a classic color palette for Amish quilts. The solid black rectangles set off the bright stripes and make them sparkle like jewels.

The classic Amish palette steers away from white and yellow, which are colors traditionally used in mourning. They also don’t use orange, although sometimes you can find a brilliant orange-red. I’ve loved Amish quilts for ages and have lots of books on them and own two traditional Amish quilts. While this rule for colors isn’t universal, picking colors in this range will make your needlepoint look Amish.

The design is stitched entirely in floss. Solid colors are best for this project, but very subtle hand-dyes, such as The Gentle Arts will also work. The design is very small on 18 mesh (1.25″ x 2.25″), so you might want to enlarge the design by substituting Scotch Stitches for the Tent Stitches and adding a wide border.

Begin by picking your large triangle color. It can be black or another dark color. I’m thinking about making a larger version of it to go in my powder room with the other needlepoint, so I might switch to a dark violet or very dark gray. You will also need five colors for the stripes.

The entire piece is charted above. Each of the five stripe colors is used in each block but the order of colors is random.

Happy Stitching!

Quilt Barns — a Computer Chair Visit

Janet Perry — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:03:55 +0000

You may be stuck at home, in front of the computer. It may be rainy or cold. Or you may have worked hard on the yard or house all day and are in need of a little vacation. Whatever the reason, I’m here to help with a little tour of a completely charming (and growing) idea in the American Midwest.

Farmers have huge quilts painted on their barns, just like the one you see above. Painting on barns is not something new. In Pennsylvania, where I grew up, hex signs are often painted on barns. Another common item is barn advertising, like the Mail Pouch tobacco signs.

What started as a tribute to a woman’s quilting mother, has now grown to include over 900 barns throughout the Midwest. The idea is to take a quilt or quilt block and paint it onto the front or side of the barn.

Three states, Ohio, Kentucky, and Iowa have more than 250 quilt barns each. Often the barns are done as part of county initiatives and organized along trails of 20 or more barns. The quilts pictured can have a connection to the family who owns the barn or they may have historical significance to the area.

I always thought the quilts were painted directly onto the barns, but they’re not. Typically they are painted on two 4′x8′ plywood sheets, attached to a frame, and hoisted into place. The painters can be anyone from professional artists to groups of students.

Having a quilt barn trail is great for these rural communities. They encourage visitors and in many places you can even take bus tours of the barns.

You can learn more about the barns in this article. At the bottom of the article is a list of sites with listings of quilt barns.

Some of the county, state, or regional sites have pictures of all the barns including:

Kentucky
Harrison Country, Ohio
Monroe County, Ohio
Athens County, Ohio
Adams County, Ohio – home of the first quilt barn
Eastern Tennessee – click on quilt barn index to see pictures
Iowa – this state also has similar quilts on other buildings, look at “Community Quilts”

There are also quilt barns in North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, and West Virginia.

Quilt Block Twinchies Gallery

Janet Perry — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:30:58 +0000

This Twinchy Challenge was so much fun. The Twinchy pictured above is a block called “Black Beauty” It’s stitched in two shades of Watercolours, the dark one for the border and the lighter one for the main blocks. The center block is a coordinating metallic, and the background is a pastel thread (Watercolours in this case). The chart shows the whole block except the center. You can make that any stitch you like, I used Leviathan.

A smaller version of this block will be available in my new eBook, 50 Quilt Blocks for Needlepoint or Cross Stitch, out in September.

Jan Fitzpatrick often stitches small quilt blocks for ring boxes. I Just love this version of Bear’s Paw. I love the way the four paws come together in the center to make a star.

Jocelyn also had another three wonderful Twinchies, all in the prettiest pale colors. I’m enchanted with them and wish I wasn’t chained to my desk today so I could go make some more.

Nancy White made this fantastic Twinchy. It’s based on a block which, as she puts it, is “not very elaborate.” But put many of them together and you get a wonderful quilt called, so descriptively, Broken Dishes.

The chart for Stepping Stones.
I’m still working on the chart for Log Cabin Leaf, pictured in the post from the beginning of the month and will post it as soon as I figure out why what was so easy to stitch such a pain to chart.