patchwork Archive

Originally posted 2008-09-12 06:41:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I promised myself I’d do three Twinchies each month and share them with you. This block, Independence, is my newest Twinchy. It’s based on a block in the book 101 Nine Patch Blocks. I had a small scrap of Buttercream canvas (which has been discontinued) and I wanted to use threads which would showcase this color. So I picked a shade of Watercolours, Autumn Frost, which I think of as “pastel Tahiti.” Then added the apricot and dark blue threads. Because the color of the canvas is so striking, I wanted to have it be one of the patches. You could easily stitch this in four colors instead of three or even use five and make the Nine Patch block in the center a real focal point. The chart is below, enjoy! hart

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Originally posted 2008-07-17 08:04:16. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI just learned about and looked at Daphne Goodyear’s wonderful needlepoint in her Guest Gallery at Stitch Amaze, one of my absolute favorite needlepoint sites. I’m blown away by her stitching. Go through the gallery and be delighted by the wit of her Wild Women in History (link is to detail of Mata Hari, the piece as a whole is in the gallery). I love her needlepoint chair back, which has a Melissa Shirley design inserted into the back of a comfy chair. Typically I make mini-socks to try out new stitches and new Bargello patterns, but I love her patchwork throw and wall hanging (link is to a detail, the pieces as a whole are in the gallery) so much, I’m going to start to make squares. Just below that is another great idea for using needlepoint stash, a ZigZag Footstool.

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I love Laura Perin’s Mini Mysteries, but until last weekend I had only thought of making them as complete projects. That’s limiting. In these designs there are so many small motifs that can become the basis for a new needlepoint piece. I took the eight-pointed star pictured here and repeated it three times in a row. I stitched it using bright blue Watercolors and outlined it with silver #8 Kreinik to make the stars pop. The background is pattern darning, pattern above, using Snow White Watercolors. But the finishing is the second part of this wonderful idea. Look at thrift shops for glass-topped jewelry boxes. The glass should not be attached permanently but held in place with disks or something that can be loosened. Remove the glass and use it as the pattern for your needlepoint. Center the motif, stitch it and add more if you like. Once that’s stitched,

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Originally posted 2008-09-08 05:54:04. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThe first of my eBooks to be published (out late this month) will be a collection of 50 quilt blocks charted for either cross stitch or needlepoint. The blocks are charted simply and range in size from 15×15 to 24×24. You can stitch them just as they are or substitute other stitches for each square of the chart. To inspire your creativity and to show you just how flexible these blocks can be, I let the modelstitchers loose on them, giving them no instruction, no colors, and asking them to do what they liked. One of them, Jan Sprague, just posted two of her blocks on her blog. They are really cool. The top one, Alaska Homestead, is pretty much stitched as charted, with one Tent Stitch per square on the chart. I just love the way she used overdyes on this.

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Originally posted 2009-06-29 06:35:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Log cabins in various forms are one of the most popular quilt patterns. I’ve used the often in my own design work, but I hadn’t thought of them as the basis for finishing. Log cabin quilts are based on a central block, usually small, but it doesn’t have to be, with strips of fabric, increasing in length, swirling around it. Why not use a small piece of needlepoint as that central block. We love to stitch smaller items and this way, if you have a fabric stash as well, you can choose your other fabrics from them. Whip Up has a great post about making a Log Cabin pillow. The instructions are detailed and easy to modify for needlepoint. The foundation block which inspires the piece isn’t a bit of fabric, it’s the needlepoint. Follow her instructions for picking fabrics, cutting

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Originally posted 2010-03-09 07:15:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter 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

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Originally posted 2010-01-27 07:01:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Did you know that sapphires are just about the only gem that comes in every color of the rainbow? From pink, to violet-blues, my upcoming ebook celebrates my favorite gem. The book uses my poplar patchwork heart and gives you over 60 stitches you can mix and match to make your own unique project. All the stitches in the book are new and can be done using a single color of thread. The pictured hearts add in a few stitches from the first heart sampler ebook for spice. You also got a sneak peek at the orange sapphire in my review of black metallic canvas. Five hearts are included, along with tables showing you the stitches used. In addition the book has detailed information about creating a monochromatic color scheme, more and an expanded description of threads. As a bonus, there

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Originally posted 2008-11-05 05:45:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I told you there was another one, complete with chart (below). It was hiding in one of the smaller piles on my desk. I was celebrating the start of CyberPointers by cleaning the desk off (cheap thrills I know but seeing the desk surface is so nice) and, literally, it fell out. The design is a four block leaf quilt made from Mosaics in one of my favorite Watercolours, Camoflage. I love it’s more subtle but still Christmasy colors. I used Watercolours in Natural for the background and a knitting yarn from my scrap bag for the red. I also love the more complex border. I punched it up by making the corners, Smyrna Crosses in the green. I think if I were to stitch it again I’d use two Watercolours for the leaves, alternating the color used for each leaf.

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Originally posted 2009-03-12 07:24:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Three more cats stitched on our stash project. One thing which is so fun about this project is that Patt slightly changes the colors from square to square. so this can really reflect what’s in your stash. For the dark violet, you could use the same thread throughout, or you could change it with every patch, either will look great. Since I really want to mix things up, I’m using different threads right now, but I’m sure most of them will reappear for other cats. The first cat is an unusual uneven check pattern of Mosaics (sxometime Cashmeres) and Tent Stitch. It;s not Mosaic Checker because the Tent Stitch areas are only one thread wide. The Mosaics line up in columns, as do the Tent Stitches, switching between the two colors. Every third row uses Cashmere instead of Mosaic. This patch

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Originally posted 2009-09-22 07:43:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Looking for a way to learn some new stitches and to use up threads from your stash? My new ebook, Heart Sampler, is now available here and in my ebook store. Throughout the article you will see three of the hearts I’ve stitched using this plan. The book is $3 and can be ordered through PayPal. You will be sent the download link via email. The design is based on a classic quilt block. Working from an overdyed thread (I used silks), pick additional threads in those colors. Then mix and match the stitches for your own unique design. Each stitch is diagrammed and the ones that work best for the triangular blocks are noted. I’m planning some additional books of stitches using the same plan, probably late in

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Originally posted 2010-09-02 07:03:00. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI finally got around to counting up the votes for this (I’m a charter member of the procrastinator’s club) and the winner for a club theme for next year is stitches and quilt blocks. I’m excited because quilts always inspire me and this is such a wonderful way to learn new stitches. Best of all, with mostly square sides or true diagonals, compensation is really easy. It will also give us a wonderful way to explore colors through the projects. I’m going off to do some hard-core designing. And I also need to know your opinion for how you would like to see these packaged. There are three options, which I’ll list from most to least expensive. painted canvas – you will get a painted canvas in a specific color scheme. The lesson will tell you exactly the threads/colors to buy line-drawn

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Originally posted 2010-06-30 07:47:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Yesterday’s post with the basic eight-point star pattern reminded me how much fun these patterns can be. So today I wanted to share with you some of the variations I have made. Connecticut Star has narrower points with a fun checked border. It’s a classic in red, white-and blue, but this could be fun in all kinds of combos. Why not use paint chip suggestions as a start? National Star is another eight-point star variation. In this the points are checked but and the border is solid. I’m thinking about doing one inspired by the Maryland Flag, making both points and border checked.. Baby Star is a tiny version of the star, encased in a straight stitch border. Since it’s less than 30 stitches square this would be dainty even on larger mesh canvas. Star of LeMoyne was the first eight-pointed

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Originally posted 2009-10-24 07:41:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Talk about cross pollination, the idea for CyberPointers new book (now available to order as a download or CD) was to make needlepoint ornaments inspired by classic quilt blocks. This needlepoint quilt block inspired a quilt! Peg Dunayer designed this block. In the instructions she says “This pattern is a representation of the quilt pattern, Log Cabin. By using the same thread for the entire piece, an amazing effect is achieved: the overall appearance is that of a randomly pieced scrap quilt.” Her version of the block is pictured above. I stitched the second model of the block, using a different color of Watercolours and found the same thing. My version is pictured above. The interaction of the colors is both unplanned and very exciting. Peg thought so too and decided to make a quilt inspired by her needlepoint. She says

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Diane M. Schultz, Needlework Gazette, 2001 One of my particular problems in needlepoint is that I’m timid about using more than one thread in a stitch. I just never feel very confident about combining colors and threads into one pattern. But armed with this fantastic book I’m ready to venture out into the unknown. Diane Schultz has expanded her popular stitch dictionary and published a new edition, recently reprinted. Diane started doing needlepoint on her own in the mid-70′s and taught herself. As a result she did things which “weren’t done” at the time — using lots of decorative stitches, working on a frame, and lots more. Her pieces from the very beginning show a wonderful exuberance which is more typical of needlepoint today and not typical for the period. One of the most inspirational parts of the book is the many illustrations of Diane’s work. These photos, including some

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Originally posted 2010-07-17 07:53:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Sara, from The Scarlet Quince has a phenominal interview with Ruth Dilts on her blog. They have a lovely selection of Ruth’s charts in their on-line store and have a special going on. It is of Sunrise, pictured above, available as a chart or as a complete kit, based on your selection of Watercolours. It’s on page 3 of the Rith Dilts charts at the shop. You may know Ruth from her wonderful books, Needlepoint 101 and Needlepoint 202, the best books out there on stitch guides. You may have also stitched some of her wonderful charted canvas designs, available from Rainbow Gallery (find them by looking for needlepoint and the term “Ruth Dilts” on the search page) and on her own site. She has a series I just love of quilt blocks and my favorite of all is her Alexanderia

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