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Color Selection

Janet Perry — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:08:55 +0000

Originally posted 2008-10-04 07:12:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

After my recent posting about selecting threads based on a choice of Watercolours, my friend Jan Fitzpatrick send me an email about her method of choosing thread colors along with this picture of a glorious Jean Hilton piece, French Perfume (available from Stitches from the Heart).

Here’s her explanation of how she picked the colors
“I open the skein of Watercolors, etc. Tie one end to the tag so I always know what color it is (and dye lot if needed). Then wrap the thread around the tag until the tag is covered. Then I use that covered tag and search my stash to find colors to go with it. The rest is how you describe your process.

“I did two Jean Hilton designs this summer for our home. One started with Watercolors Rain Forest. I knew I wanted to pull out the olive green and rust as the main colors. Using the technique above, I could easily find the correct shade of each. The design used lots of specialty threads, most of which I didn’t have on hand. Off to Regal Rabbit with my covered tag and other threads I had already chosen. It takes time, but so worth the effort.”

The piece was done on vintage canvas, brown on green, to give it an antique feel.

As you can see from the picture above, it turned out great!

Cool Plastic Canvas Alert

Janet Perry — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:40:51 +0000

These plastic canvas robots are from Crafty Pod (http://www.craftypod.com)

My friend Diane over at Crafty Pod made these completely amazing robots from plastic canvas.

Her post details the project and many more pictures of them.

I am completely in awe of the wonderful and fresh things Diana does with plastic canvas. In fact there are several posts on this blog pointing to free projects she has made available using this ground, including:

Needlepoint Eye Candy Bonanza

Janet Perry — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 14:26:23 +0000

Daphne Goodyear is both an amazing and prolific needlepointer. Far better than lazy and cheap people like me who have most of our stitching sitting in boxes waiting to be finished. I just spent a long time on her wonderful site, Needle Artistry (UPDATE: Link added), exploring her work, reading her story, and admiring the work of other stitchers there. I easily could have spent the whole day lost in looking at her lovely work. It’s like a needlepoint only museum. The site is, by far, the best organized showcase for needlepoint I’ve ever seen. I’m not going to give away anything by showing you her work, just trust me and go. It will fire up your needlepoint, I know it did for me. UPDATE: The link for Daphne’s site is: http://needleartartistry.org/home.html Related posts: E Thor Carlson – Needlepoint Eye Candy Thanksgiving Eye Candy Big Time Bargello Eye Candy More Eye Candy Needlepoint Eye Candy – Faraway Hills Related posts:

Thanksgiving Eye Candy

Janet Perry — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:02:20 +0000

I had something else planned for today, but when I saw these absolutely adorable Thanksgiving pieces stitched by Maelyse Webb from Rebecca Wood Canvases I just had to share them with you.

Thanks to the folks at Needlepoint Study Hall you can see every piece in the set up close.

I just love all the clever detail. As someone who goes for non-stress Thanksgivings (I went for them long before they became popular) I’ve never gotten into Thanksgiving pieces, but these are cute enough to make me change my mind.

There are some good lessons to take away from these, even if Thanksgiving isn’t your thing.

When making a set, pick a consistent thread and stitch (or stitches) for common elements such as background, borders, and ground. This makes them look like a set that is supposed to go together.
Use the same thread for the same thing throughout. The Indians and pilgrims could be used separately as sets because they use the same threads. More integration that also saves you money.
Don’t be afraid to add embellishments, fabric, and fancy threads. They can add a lot even when there is only a little bit.

To my US readers: Happy Thanksgiving! To everyone else: Happy Fourth Thursday in November!

Needlepoint Eye Candy

Janet Perry — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:15:51 +0000

Originally posted 2010-06-27 07:21:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

During the recent TNNA, a Needlepoint Gallery was sponsored by The Needlepoint Group.

Pictures were taken an they are now available on-line for us all to enjoy.

Have a lovely summer Sunday!

Adapting Randomly Cut Paper to Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:02:08 +0000

Originally posted 2008-11-12 04:58:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Santa Fe Needlepoint by Lorene Salt

Last month my friend Lorene Salt & her husband were visiting Napa Valley. We met for lunch and Lorene brought me pictures of her wonderful stitching. I was blown away thinking about the piece pictured above.

In fact I kept thinking about it. It was one of Lorene’s pieces for her Master Craftsman from the Embroiderers Association of Canada. It’s an adaptation anyone can do and so I asked her to share it with you.

This is what she says about the piece:

For this project I was told to cut a piece of black construction paper into various shapes. I was then supposed to glue it onto white paper as if it were an exploding diagram.

Once I had a design that I was happy with, I glued the black pieces on to the white paper. I then traced the design onto canvas. I then picked a colour scheme that I liked, in this case oranges and turquoises. I then started filling in the different areas with different stitches and threads.

From the picture you can see that the black paper pieces I stitched in the oranges and the thin turquoise parts are where the white paper showed through.

When finished, I stitched around the entire piece in black so that is framed the work inside.

She calls the piece Santa Fe, after the color scheme.

There are so many things I like about this piece. I love the color scheme (it’s one of my favorites) and I think she’s done a great job of using overdyed threads in a way that looks natural and not over the top.

I also love that her choice of stitches reinforces the shape of the areas. The ones which are sharply pointed have stitches which emphasize that fact. For example, the Random Rhodes which run diagonally all across the piece look like a river of stars to me. And the rhythmic Bargello really shows off that space.

When it comes to the turquoise area, the negative space of the design, they are packed with texture too. It would have been so easy to just pick a single stitch and use it everywhere, but the design would have been diminished that was. This additional texture makes you want to look at it and explore.

One last point, I’ve talked about Mary Shipp’s rule of 1-3-5 when doing needlepoint so that it looks balanced. One element, in this case the stitches, should predominate. A second element, in this case the colors, should have a middle amount. There are only two colors, but it looks like 20 stitches (by my count). The final element, in this case texture, should be severely limited. I think Lorene used only one or two kinds of thread. The coral is silk and the turquoise is either silk or cotton floss.

The cut paper technique is one often found in art books, and I have often wondered about it. Here you can see how something anyone can do can be taken to make wonderful needlepoint.

Thanks Lorene, for sharing!

Inspring Stitcher Interview

Janet Perry — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:40:04 +0000

The Scarlet Thread has a wonderful, long interview with their newest designer, Jeff Kulick, on their blog, It’s a Stitchy Thing. I’m in awe of Jeff’s wonderful pieces and his stunning stitching. In the interview you’ll see lots of wonderful pictures of his work and get some great ideas for innovative things you can do with your own stitching. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of his designs in print (my top choice would be that Log Cabin in different sizes). Related posts: Designer Interview – Janet Perry Janet Perry Interview on SewingBusiness.com The Princess & Me – Designer Interview BlogTalk Radio Interview Available On-line Daphne Goodyear – An Amazing Stitcher Related posts:

Looking at Needlepoint Church Kneelers

Janet Perry — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:35:43 +0000

Making needlepoint kneelers for your church is a lovely project, not only beautiful, but one that can get the parish deeply involved.

On this lovely summer Sunday, let’s take an Internet tour of a few churches with kneeler projects.

Click on the church name for the photos.

Grace Cathedral, the Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco, has a Flikr slideshow of their kneelers. Of particular interest, but not religious, are the kneelers of California wildlife. These could inspire other projects.

Holy Trinity in Connecticut has a page showing the centers of their kneelers with a nice description of each symbol’s significance.

Church of the Redeemer in Pennsylvania, has a lovely long Communion kneeler with close-up pictures of each.

St. James in Virginia has a charming set of kneelers with simple bold designs in bright colors. The white backgrounds are a nice change from the more traditional darker colors.

All Souls Cathedral(Asheville, North Carolina) has lovely page where each stitcher describes his or her inspiration for the kneeler. Click on the “read more” link on any description to see a bigger picture of the kneeler. This is a fun set because, as is the case with many kneeler sets in the UK, they are varied in style.

I did a Flikr search on church kneelers and found many more, most from the UK where kneelers are more common. There is also a church kneeler group on Flikr.

There is also an older post about kneelers on this blog.

Ideas for Finishing Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 14:09:37 +0000

Picture from Pocket Full of Stitches

Recently Pocket Full of Stitches has had a Zecca Trunk Show at their shop. Zeccaa’s designs are bright, colorful and contemporary.

But what I REALLY love about this post from PFOS is the tremendously inventive finishing ideas from the folks at Zecca.

I’m going crazy for the needlepoint ends of the round bags, the napkin rings, and, best of all, the place card holders (pictured above).

I’m going through my old needlepoint to find thins to finish this way.

Southwestern Twinchy Gallery

Janet Perry — Thu, 05 May 2011 14:18:21 +0000

Originally posted 2009-01-31 06:57:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I just love this Twinchy. It showcases everything I like about Kachinas. It has feathers, lots of color, and antler horns. The stepped pyramid around the mouth represents the mesas of New Mexico and Arizona.

The charts or drawings for all the Twinchies along with notes for stitching appear after the pictures.

This Twinchy is based on a fragment of Pueblo pottery. While newer pottery is white, older pottery takes on a creamy color I just love. It isn’t symmetrical because I’m not as good an artist as they are.

The medicine bear fetish was my inspiration for this Twinchy. I wanted him to fill up as much of the space as possible, but I was drawing freehand and drew it wrong. So he looks too big to fit the size and is bursting out. The line drawing is the proper size.

This final Twinchy is based on some items I saw in Navajo Rugs. The center motif is called Eye Dazzler. The borders were a neat element I saw in another rug of crosses and diamonds. Navajo Rugs traditionally are made from wool spun from the fleece of the Navajo’s sheep. Often it is left undyed or dyed with natural dyes. Some rugs use commerical dyes and some modern rugs use more neutral and pastel palettes which fit modern interiors better.

The Kachina Twinchy has a backgound of a sky, stitched in an overdyed blue floss in Nobuko. The horns and most of the Twinchy are in Tent Stitch. One strand of Trio was used for the mesa, Grandeur for the black areas and Watercolours in Natural for the main part of the mask. The multi-colored bands at top and bottom use threads from my scrap bag.

The feathers are Lazy Daisy stitches and are added last.

Colors in Pueblo pottery and Kachina masks are made from clays and powdered rocks found in the area. This makes for a lovely palette which is surprisingly wide.

The pottery Twinchy is stitched entirely in Tent Stitch using Natural Watercolours, Grandeur, and Alyce Schroth Needlepoint Silk (no longer made).

Indian pots are not thrown on a potter’s wheel but are hand built using the coil method. Once built they are smoothed and painted with different clays mixed with water (called slips). After firing, they can also be polished using rocks.

I just love the variety of this pottery and it is well worth exploring. I can’t wait until I can get my collection out again.

The bear fetish is stitched in Jacquard using 3 Alarm Fire Bella Silk from Cresecent Colours. I love the bright color and variation in this hand-dyed thread. The motion of the stitch reminds me of the arrow on the Zuni Fetish. The eye is a French Knot in black Nordic Gold.

The Navajo Rug Twinchy is also stitched in all Tent Stitch using Lorikeet wool for the dark gray, Burmilana for the black, Trio for the burgundy, and a matte cotton from the scrap bag for the dark coral.