scrap bag needlepoint Archive

Recently I bought this glorious canvas from Doolittle Stitchery on Etsy. I fell in love with it and will be doing it as a project to use up my stash. You can, and I often do, stitch projects like this by picking random threads. However the time you spend planning a Scrap Bag Needlepoint, especially if it is large, can result in a better looking project. The most effective planning comes in thread selection. Once you decide some things about threads, many other things fall into place. The goal will be, as always, a balanced needlepoint. To get this the elements of color, thread, and stitch need to be in balance. One has to have lots of variety; it’s your large aspect. One needs to have only a few choices; it’s your small, or unifying aspect. The other needs to be in the middle. Color is clearly the large aspect.

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Originally posted 2007-12-10 07:28:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I have a new favorite thread, it’s the red in this new Flames Bargello project. The color is Cardinal and it’s a shade of Watercolours from the Caron Collection. I think it just glows and is the best red thread ever. I like it so much I’m going to use the rest of the skein for some Christmas ornaments (not that I have time to work on them. As I did with Tahiti Watercolours (my previous favorite) I may start stockpiling it. * * * But I also want to thank those of you who commented on the original Flames Bargello post asking about my idea for a Scrap Bag Needlepoint version. Here it is (in process). While my original plan was to do all the diamonds in different colors, the red was so striking (which I didn’t expect), that I’m

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Originally posted 2008-08-05 08:08:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I’m a big fan of being thrifty in needlepoint. I have so much thread that shopping my stash first is always an excellent idea. But using your thread stash should include more things than just needlepoint. I found this podcast from CraftyPod on how to use scrap thread to make pendants from washers. It’s a great idea and doesn’t use much thread. I’m thinking about going to the hardware store and getting an assortment of washer, wrapping them and putting them together on some fabric to make a cool Christmas ornament

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Originally posted 2009-04-09 07:03:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I just finished the Daffodil Bargello boxtop and I’m so pleased. One of the things I love about Bargello is that it gives me time to think. On this piece I thought about how the “random” look of the scrap Bag project is actually planned using some guidelines, so that it looks random, but still is a good composition. So I thought I’d share them with you today. The guidelines themselves are in bold, so you can easily skim the article for them. 1. If your piece is reflecting something in real life, follow the real life thing for color ideas. I made daffodils. I chose yellow, some orange, and some white. Yellow by far predominates. And orange and white are only used in certain places. Orange is always a trumpet on a daffodil, never the petals. So orange only is

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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 2008-08-10 14:44:11. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThe first three blocks for this project have been posted (I have to get cracking here). Block 1 – Framed Star Block 2 – Mosaic Stripe Block 3 – Scotch-Cashmere Stitch

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My big problem with most needlepoint clubs is that they are just too expensive. Once you buy the canvas and the threads and the instruction each month, you’ve spent lots of money. For me to do that I have to love the project. Really love it. I wanted to create needlepoint clubs that were different. They had to: Be economical, so you could use your stash as much as possible Teach more than just the project, so you’ll learn about color, design, threads, or Bargello. Often with information based on extensive research outside needlepoint. Give you the tools you need to create your own unique projects. The clubs are suitable for stitchers of all levels and they have resulted in many wonderful projects from club members. You can join any one of them and energize your needlepoint. The clubs currently in process are Mittens & Mini-socks Bargello Club – Bargello

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Ever seen the “very interesting” Nazi? Or Tyrone, the dirty old man on the park bench? Those are two of Arte Johnson’s most memorable characters from Laugh-In. I just love his stuff (if you don’t know him, visit YouTube to watch him; the link goes to a list of his videos). Arte Johnson was a needlepointer. He invented a delightful method for using up scraps of thread which is named the Arte Johnson Stitch after him. His method is delightfully adaptable for many kinds of threads and was used to stitch the front of a needlepoint purse. The Arte Johnson Stitch consists of Cashmere Stitches, stitched in diagonal rows. The trick is found in how the threads are selected and picked. Original Method Use leftover strands of Persian wool and some 14 mesh canvas. Separate all the strands of wool and put them into a paper bag. Begin by pulling

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Originally posted 2008-08-31 07:30:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter 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,

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The most challenging (and also the most fun) part of creating a Scrap Bag Needlepoint project is deciding what colors to use. Throughout this post you’ll see examples of some of my projects that used specific color themes. If everything in your project is random, you’ll get chaos. In every project there has to be one or more things that create unity. It might be a color or two. It might be a background color, or it might be an outlining color, but it has to be there. Pick a color The easiest method for creating a project is to use threads of all one color. In the case of Winter Stars, pictured here, I picked blue. I got out blue threads, blue scraps, and light-bluish gray threads. I added a little bit of white. But not every thread was absolutely blue, I had a few that were blue-green. Having

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My biggest problem when it comes to doing a Scrap Bag Needlepoint project is my Scrap Bag itself. It’s a mess. In fact it’s three of them. First there is my “wad” of silk (thanks to Sharon G for this wonderful description). It’s all my unlabeled silks. It’s in a box on a high shelf. Supposedly it’s there if I need just a bit of a color, but in reality I haven’t used it in over 3 years. Second there is my “current” scrap bag. It’s a small box that lives on my desk. Leftovers go in it. I sometimes use it for projects. But it’s completely unsorted. Third there is my “old” scrap bag. It’s a much bigger box, packed with threads. It’s so full I can’t find anything in it. So it mostly lives in the garage. Mostly, when doing a scrap project I pull threads from my

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Do you have tons of thread in your stash? Do you keep every bit of leftover thread in case you need it someday? Does your thread stash rival that of many shops? Has it ceased being a stash and started to be a “collection?” Would you like to do something about it and make beautiful needlepoint at the same time? The problem of too many scraps is one every quilter knows. While scrap bag quilts are fulfilling, I often wished I could figure out a system that would make creating needlepoint that would make the whole thing easy. Happily for quilters, Joan Ford developed a 7-step program called Scrap Therapy to help quilters deal with their scrap problem. And while her approach was inspiring, it’s taken me awhile to figure out how to apply it to needlepoint. The basic idea is to organize (and cut) your scraps into pieces that

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Originally posted 2009-02-25 07:45:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Time to get started on the cats. I want to have some consistency in this stash project, so I’m using the same thread for the border. and narrow dividing line between the rows of cats. A second thread will be used throughout for the background. Borders & Dividing Lines I’m using dark brown Paternayan Persian Wool from my stash, but Silk & Ivory or Vineyard Silk would also be nice. A very dark brown overdye, such as Gloriana’s Lorikeet, could also work. You should stitch the inside border and the horizontal lines dividing the rows of cats before beginning to stitch the cats. Because the canvas is printed by computer, this will make sure you have the lines perfectly straight. The inside border is stitched in Reverse Diagonal Gobelin over three threads. Find the lines which are most commonly the border

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Originally posted 2008-11-18 09:16:09. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI got an email from a friend today bemoaning that her stash had gotten out of control because she had gotten many canvases kitted. If you are like most stitchers I know, you have a huge stash. And these days, I’m sure you are looking for ways to use it. One great way to use up your stash is to do needlepoint projects where you don’t need to buy any thread. And if you can self-finish them, even better — instant Christmas gift! Here are some painted canvases I love for using up stash, big and small. A canvas I just got and simply adore is this mini-egg from Ashley Bradley. Just think how much fun you could have making each square a little jewel. This luggage tag from Whimsy & grace is a perfect little canvas to finish for a gift.

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