Nuts about Needlepoint » gallery

Four Way Bargello Update

Janet Perry — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:59:29 +0000

Originally posted 2009-01-02 18:01:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Stitchlady has been working on this lovely Four Way Bargello piece and finished it in time for the New Year.

I love the pop you get from the little buts of red “poison” color. BTW, although it sounds nasty, a poison color is a color which is outside the main color scheme, enlivening it and making the whole thing look better. It is a kind of accent color.

You can read about it and her choices in a post on her blog.

Needlepoint Eye Candy

Janet Perry — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:21:30 +0000

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! Related posts:Sunday Needlepoint Eye Candy Thanksgiving Eye Candy Take a Look at Some Lovely Needlepoint! Virtual Show – Woodlawn in Pictures Thread News — TNNA Preview Related posts:

Great Stitcher – Jocelyn Goodger

Janet Perry — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:55:39 +0000

Originally posted 2009-03-16 07:10:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

My friend Jocelyn Goodger is a phenomenal stitcher from New Zealand. She’s creative and inventive and always inspiring. I met her originally because I was so in love with her stitching and her blog, Pins & Needles.

Jocelyn has been a member of CyberPointers since the beginning (I think she was our first international member. Before we were even a chapter she took part in our test meeting and program, and this is her version of this project from Classic Stitches.

Jocelyn has stitched several of the projects I want to do sometime in my life, including Twister and Jean Hilton’s puzzle purse. Above you see the stitched but unassembled purse.

I’m crazy about the way Joce combines stitches in such a spontaneous way (I can never do that). The book cover pictured above is a sample of that. The colors are simple and pretty, the stitching is marvelous and I just love the way the texture varies in the stitches and comes together so well.

Joce does more than just needlepoint, she’s a talented embroiderer in all kinds of media. One of my favorites (probably because I do it so badly) is crazy quilting. This picture is of a box she covered making something as mundane as a place to hold your papers on your desk into something simply lovely.

C heck out her Flickr album, I had a hard time choosing what to feature!

Do you have a blog, site, or on-line gallery of your needlepoint? On Mondays throughout March in honor of National Crafts Month, I’m featuring galleries of inspiring needlepoint. If you are interested in having your work featured, email me (napaneedlepoint [at] gmail [dot] com).

Pod Post Twinchy

Janet Perry — Fri, 07 May 2010 23:58:42 +0000

Originally posted 2009-01-17 18:36:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

John Young created this Pod Post Twinchy himself, using what he calls the “bottom up” method of turning pictures into needlepoint.

Here’s how he describes the process: ” I prefer going the “bottom up” way, using a pixel-art program like Pixen (for the mac) or GraphicsGale (for windows). I like to start with a document that’s the same number of pixels wide as the thread count of the finished canvas, then build up the design using a pencil tool, zoomed WAY in.”

The design has four layers in the program, one for each color. While you visit this picture, take a look at the finished stitching.

Southwestern Twinchy Gallery

Janet Perry — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:16:42 +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.

Happy Hearts – February Twinchy Challenge – Part 2

Janet Perry — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:34:52 +0000

Originally posted 2009-03-03 08:00:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

This heart uses Watercolours, glow in the dark Kreinik, and Sparkle Rays for a very citrus color scheme. In scanning, the Sparkle Rays bleached out completely. The pattern has three rows Tent Stitch in square and rectangular blocks.

The background is stitched in T Stitch using Kreinik #4. This thread is very fine, so it leaves a hint of color and a sparkle.

This heart uses another pattern of square blocks, this time grouped in sets of four. The square blocks are outlined in dark violet Very Velvet and the background is an extremely pale blue, all in Tent Stitch.

The squares are filled with Diagonal Mosaic, with the upper left and lower right using a blue-green Gloriana (deep blues sea). The upper right and lower left use a light blue Elegance.

The background is Nobuko, stitched using pearl cotton

The lower left heart is stitched in linenfold, a stitch which uses a combination of straight (wider stripes) and diagonal (narrow stitches). I used a dark red-violet Pebbly Perle for the narrow stripes and alternated Neon Rays and Kreinik ribbon for the wide stripes.

The background is Hungarian, a stitch I often forget about and one which should be used more often. It’s stitched using Crescent Colours floss is Purple Toile, a very pale violet.

The last heart is stitched in Trianglepoint using Dinky Dyes silk and Flair I dyed myself. This background is also T Stitch but made with Petite Very Velvet, making a more solid background.

Needlepoint Gallery – Tin Tock Tap

Janet Perry — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:04:51 +0000

Originally posted 2009-03-09 07:39:55. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Tin Tock Tap does absolutely amazing needlework and I’m so delighted to have her be the first stitcher I profile this month. Of all her lovely pieces, this little sewing kit is my favorite. I love it because it transcends the simple Bargello pattern and plastic canvas to become something really beautiful. The colors are so pretty, the construction is ingenious, and the folded patchwork star on top in such a muted print really makes it.

Here is Lesley’s version of Mystery in a Corner by Gay Ann Rogers. I love the way the soft and clear colors of the overdye are accented with the brighter blue beads.

Lesley is 42 years old and has lived in Leicester in England for about 15 years. She’s originally from Lanark in Scotlandand is married with 2 children. She works for her local university as a Business Analyst in IT Services.

She describes her background the way: “. . .my mother and both grandmothers all knitted and I learnt to knit when I was fairly young. I also learnt to crochet somewhere, possibly at primary school and possibly also taught myself a bit. As far as stitching goes, I’m mainly self taught, having picked up and stitched one or two kits at one point in my mid twenties when I was between jobs. After that, I started reading stitching magazines and stitching cross stitch designs like those by Lavender and Lace.

“My stitching ground to a halt a bit when my son was born, but I picked it up again around 3 or 4 years ago. It was wonderful to discover all the stitching sites and communities on the Internet and they really opened my eyes to all the different possibilities in terms of different stitches and techniques. I love the different textures that can be built up using different stitches and also the way individual straight threads build up into more complex stitch patterns. And, of course, it’s fun finishing stitched pieces as different things.”

Lesley also does lovely cross stitch and blackwork, especially biscournus. My favorite of her pieces is this blackwork and beaded one she designed herself. Notice the great bead she used on top.

Two of her current works in progress are Genny Morrow’s Nova (pictured above) and Susan Portra’s Spirit of the Southwest, which she began in January

You can find out more about Lesley at her blog and see more lovely pictures of her work in her Flickr album.

I’m looking for stitchers to profile on Mondays throughout March. If you would like to be profiled, pleas email me at napaneedlepoint [at] gmail [dot] com.

Color Selection

Janet Perry — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:28:38 +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!

Sneak Peek – Little Quilt Blocks eBook

Janet Perry — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:38:52 +0000

Originally posted 2008-09-08 05:54:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The 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.

The second one, London Roads, is much more adventurous and a really cool interpretation of the block. First off, by her choice of colors, she made the block really look like roads. Secondly by choosing to use Oblong Smyrnas for the “castles” in the corners, the block became rectangular, another cool look, and, I think, the corners became real focal points. Finally she added stop lights, a totally cool idea.

Throughout the month, I’ll be posting some of the wonderful blocks I’ve gotten or writing posts about the blocks my model stitchers have posted on their own blogs.

And keep your eyes open for details about the eBook and how to get it.

Graffiti Rendered as Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:03:41 +0000

Take a look at this completely cool needlepoint by Jacqueline Royal, which renders urban graffiti into needlepoint.

It’s awesome and people have been commenting about it since a post on it appeared on the CRAFT blog earlier this week. It’s simply glorious needlepoint and there’s lots we can learn from it, even if graffiti art isn’t our thing.

First notice how she gets texture in her needlepoint with some techniques which are easy for us to apply to our own work. In the concrete wall in the last piece shown, Berlin 3, she used several different colors to give the wall texture. First, she stitched the lines in gray-blue and dark gray. Then she stitched the light gray “blobs” and single stitches using a tweeded thread of two colors of gray. Finally the medium gray main color was stitched with another tweeded thread.

Looking at this wall, we can see two different effects tweeding can have. In the main color, the two colors are very close in value and we get texture far more than changing color. The stitching gets depth from the variety, but it still looks solid.

In the lighter color, the two values are further apart. Here we see consistent, but random, changes in color. Contrast this with the two-colored concrete just below the red lettering in the center right. That area uses two solid colors of gray with a clear division between them. Notice how flat it looks?

In all her pieces she uses tweeding to great effect. But in the top piece she uses another technique to give texture to the blue monster and it’s one we use all the time. She uses a different stitch.

But she does this with a difference. Notice how this stitch is not used for the entire blue monster, she uses it for the upper part of the head, highlighting that and ends the Cashmere Stitches in an irregular line. This makes the stitch look as if it is “melting” into the Basketweave. It’s a visually arresting technique and one which highlights the monster as a focal point.

Do you have some needlepoint which could use these techniques?