Nuts about Needlepoint » picture frames

Make your own Easel to Display Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:07:15 +0000

Use a drapery hook to make this easel

If you are like me, you love small needlepoint designs. In fact that is most of what I stitch. But finding ways to display them can be difficult.

Sue Dulles has a post on her blog with detailed instructions on how to reuse a drapery hook to make this charming easel. I just love it and, to tell you the truth, have bought ones that look just like it.

Now I don’t have to! I’m thinking of making a bunch to display my twinchies. With some of my little boxes and a small bouquet, this will look so wonderful on an end table.

Anna Marie Winter’s Outstanding Technique Site – Web Site Review

Janet Perry — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:38:17 +0000

I have long been an admirer of Anna Marie Winter’s work. She’s a phenomenal stitcher, teacher, and designer, and is based in Canada. She has a lovely gallery of her needlepoint at Stitch Amaze as well as a gallery on her own site. She teaches at national seminars, and through workshops, both on-line and in person. Her designs are available through Bedecked and Beadazzled.

But what I love best about her site is her innovative set of needlepoint tips and techniques. All of them are listed on this master page and are done as PDFs, so they are easy to print out. Included among them are articles on organizing, finishing, and most recently, one on transfer printing for canvas.

Check them out, they’re great!

Framing Needlework Tutorial

Janet Perry — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:23:16 +0000

Shout out to Laura Perin for telling us about this lovely tutorial on how to frame needlework. It’s not hard to do and if you learn to do it yourself you can take advantage of sales and less expensive frames. The instructions are in three languages, with English being the second. Also spend some time looking at the posts and on the lovely projects she has done and framed. Related posts:Some Tips & Ideas for Framing Needlepoint Bath Mosaic — Framing and Finishing Tutorial — Fabric Frame Weights Mounting Needlework through Lacing Tutorial Two Christmas Needlepoint Quilts – Laura Perin Free Patterns Related posts:

Getting Ready to Give Needlepoint Gifts

Janet Perry — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:01:57 +0000

About a month before Christmas is not the best time to start thinking about making Christmas gifts. But, judging from my email, many of you are procrastinators, just like me.

I went into my usual panic (even though I’m in remarkably good shape at the moment) and got thinking about what to look for to make needlepoint into gifts. In no particular order, here are some ideas:

needlepoint bookends Get a set of inexpensive metal bookends and some 14 mesh plastic canvas. Stitch the canvas to be about 1″ bigger than the bookend on the sides and top. Make two of these. Cut two more pieces the same size, but don’t stitch them. Spray paint the bookends another color if desired. Stitch one stitched and one unstitched piece of canvas together and slip the bookend in.

Photo Albums Look for albums with a hole in the front for a photo and a fairly deep pocket. Trace the size of the opening onto a canvas and stitch your design, adding three rows all around and trim the canvas. Slip it into the album.

Needlepoint Boxes Find a box with a hole or glass in the top. Follow the procedure for the album to make a decorated box.

Needlepoint Wallets Find a wallet with a solid clear pocket on the outside and at least one clear pocket on the inside. Trace a credit or ID card onto the canvas. This is the stitching area. Stitch it, cut it out and insert it into the outer pocket of the wallet.

Needlepoint Pictures This assumes you have a stash of stitched but unfinished projects. Go through them and find ones close to standard frame sizes with 2″ canvas margins and unstitched backgrounds (you’ve just stitched the focal point). Buy a ready-made frame that size. Add a simple stitched background to make the needlepoint fit the frame. Trim the needlepoint, old under the sides and pop into the frame. I did this with four twinchies on Friday (I tend to stockpile frames in certain sizes). and they look great!

I hope I’ve solved at least some gift dilemmas.

Bath Mosaic — Framing and Finishing

Janet Perry — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:58:40 +0000

Once I had the Bath Mosaic stitched, I signed it. The best way to do this is to use a small Backstitch alphabet. I stitched mine using the main blue thread, so it is very unobtrusive.

This alphabet, from About.com, is a perfect size. I used the capital letters and my initials.

Next you need to consider how to frame it. Since it’s a square design, frames are a bit harder to find. Mine is in a black shadow box frame with a white matte. A fair amount of the Congress Cloth also shows around the design. I couldn’t find any black ones, but this dark walnut shadow box frame would work well. It comes in several sizes. The 5″ is too small. The 8″ would be nice without a matte. I used a 10″ frame for mine.

The Picture Frame Co makes square frames in a variety of sizes and finishes. Click on the size you want to see the color and finish selection.

Both these companies have on-line shopping.

I have my piece hanging in my bedroom and I love it just as much now as I did when I stitched it, more than 10 years ago.

How to Make Needlepoint Fit Ready-made Frames

Janet Perry — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:36:01 +0000

I finished this Bargello cupcake last week and decided it would look fantastic in a rough wood frame I have. It’s great to use frames you find inexpensively to frame your needlepoint and it can cut finishing costs dramatically, but, as my friend Marianne learned, it isn’t as easy as it looks.

First, be aware that the stated frame “size” is the size of the opening NOT the size of the picture on the front. Depending on how much lip there is on the frame the size of what shows can be considerably smaller. Therefore, unless you “test” your design by fitting the frame over it, plan of having white space all around your design.

My problem here is that I have a pretty center and a frame, but I need to know how much background to stitch.

If you have cardboard in your frame place it under the needlepoint, center the design on it and mark a little line of each side. connect the lines. If you have glass only, put it on top of the design, center the needlework and mark. Draw the lines without the glass or cardboard in the way.

Use a light colored thin marker safe for fabric to mark. Let dry overnight and stitch. I always stitch over the lines, just to be sure.

If your frame has no glass or cardboard, measure the inside dimension of the frame as well as the dimensions of the opening. Center the design using the inside dimension (You can do this by putting the frame on top of the needlepoint. But use the size of the opening for stitching the background.

Ready for School

Janet Perry — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 02:21:24 +0000

Yes indeed, we’re ready to hit the books tonight because I’m the Teacher got finished this morning. I just love the idea behind this piece. All you need to finish it off is a picture of the teacher’s face.

You can personalize it as well. Maybe change the color of the hair, or of the sweater. Add some “tape” to the pictures, by putting diagonal stitches of Water n’Ice in the corners. So many things to make it special.

And this doesn’t have to be a gift only for your child’s teacher. Why not make it as a graduation gift for someone going into teaching? What about a retirement gift for a friend or beloved teacher? I keep thinking of more reasons why you will want to stitch this delightful piece.

I’m the Teacher Stitch Guide

Janet Perry — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:49:06 +0000

My current project and stitch guide is this picture frame from Sandy Grossman-Morris. It’s part of her Picture It! series and will make and outstanding gift. Finish it as a frame and add the face of your favorite teacher.

Don’t you just love it!

Pieces like this give you such a great opportunity to play with stitches which mimic different textures. T Stitch done with Rainbow Gallery’s Subtlety gives the textured background of construction paper on the pictures. Flair and Horizontal Gobelin make a great, bright flag. Vineyard Silk Classic makes a lovely sweater. Bath done in two directions in an hand-dyed Pearl Cotton makes a wonderful desk.

Today I’m hoping to finish the house picture and the books and get further along on the alphabet freize.