Nuts about Needlepoint » markets & exhibits

More New from TNNA

Janet Perry — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:51:10 +0000

There are several new accessories that debuted at TNNA. Probably the hit of the show was Pischke Pillows. from the makers of the the popular Pischke Pockets. Using ten-mesh canvas with your choice of three designs, the kit comes with the same sturdy fabrics as the totes, grosgrain ribbon, and threads. The pillows are made amazingly easily and the three designs will work in almost any setting, even outdoors.

Rainbow Gallery has brought out new acrylic laying tools. Each is a unique design. The laying tool is a BLT with an acrylic handle and removable cover.

DMC has a lovely “designer” accessory collection with storage for your project, stitch bows, and a needle holder in a matching print.

Krienik has add four new Stitch-A-Pen kits including three hearts designs and a wedding pen.

Tuitto showed and interesting line of luggage and cases. They are soft, with tons of pockets, four wheels, and a PVC frame on either side. They use an ergonomic design and were very popular among shopowners. They come in up to 12 colors (depending on the piece).

Lee Needle Arts has an iPad case. They have also expanded the bags that can use the removable inserts. Bags with BR and now, I think, BG inserts can use the removable inserts. Anne Brinkley has brought back those lovely porcelain and crystal boxes. I have some of them I stitched ages ago and I’m excited about being able to get more.

Do you have tons of thread hanging around? Is lots of it in uncut skeins? Then you’l love Clover’s new Basket Frames. Available in two sizes in three shapes, they are cardboard frames that make your basket sturdy. Wrap your thread or ribbon around the frame. Then you can add embellishments if you like. These are great because they are much easier to do than traditional baskets and because they allow you to use soft threads and ribbons to make a great basket.

BagSmith has decorated wooden tubes that contain six needles. Several types of needles and design styles are available.

Two great new books are coming out. June McKnight’s new book is called Bling, Glitz, and Glamour for Needlepoint. It’s dedicated to embellishments and, from the models, it looks great. Sharon G’s second book will be out in the spring. It’s dedicated to borders and has over 20.

Distribution News from TNNA and More New Canvases

Janet Perry — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:34:02 +0000

Sometimes as a stitcher I am frustrated. It seems as if my favorite designer goes away. But, happily, there are companies who pick up these old favorites and continue to make them available.

Gail of GailVail is retiring. While the fate of many of her designs is unclear, Needledeeva is picking up her Navajo rug designs. These pieces are stitch painted adaptations of traditional rugs and each has the name of the rug design on it. They come in many sizes, as do the rugs themselves. Stitched in wool, the traditional fiber for rugs, they make great accents. Even better they are MUCH cheaper than even an ornament-sized rug (about $100 at a local museum shop).

Painted Pony has added Needle Graphics to their line. Along with adding Squigee to the line, CBK has a great new series of whale and heart shapes filled with different painted fabric-like patterns.

Treglown has added Kooler Design Studios to their line. In addition they have a great series of slightly shorter belts that can be finished as purse straps for their two stylish leather bags. I’m crazy about the two Charley Harper ones of course.

My favorite distribution news comes from Pishke Pockets. They now distribute Elizabeth Bradley as well as Kirk & Hamilton. Elizabeth Bradley has a new take on her traditional designs with both single flowers and shells on lighter backgrounds, updating this traditional style for more modern interiors.

Kirk & Hamilton has some really clever designs. I loved their three full-size stockings, cupcakes, roosters, and penguins, all with some ornament rounds to match. They also had a clever series of mini-socks with animals seen from the back gazing at the Christmas star.

Danji has added a new artist as well, Ann Winn. She has some lovely figures including a triangular snow queen, a mermaid, and a striking seahorse. Barbara Russell has added licensed designs based on pieces from the Woodmere Museum of Art in Philadelphia.

Canvas Connection is now distributing all of Designing Women’s canvases. Best of all the wonderful crosses are now available on 18 as well as 13 mesh. I can’t wait to make a bunch more for my tree.

Probably my favorite thing at the entire show was Boots Bailey’s magnificent five-piece nativity. My husband, who saw it Friday night, just raved about it. And he’s right. Gorgeously painted and based on biblical era clothing, they are exquisite. To stitch and own them would be a real treasure.

One final note: You may wonder why I don’t have pictures or links in my show reports. There are no links because often the designers don’t update their sites until well after the show. If I can’t show you what is new, I don’t link. Although many people take pictures with their phones, I’m a disaster at that. Since cameras aren’t allowed on the show floor, my posts are illustration free during TNNA.

Painted Canvas Goodies from TNNA

Janet Perry — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:38:59 +0000

There is always so much more great stuff at TNNA that I can’t cover everything. Here’s more stuff I loved.

Tapestry Fair has some lovely geishas that have a great concept. They are seen from the back. The clothing is line drawn, so you can pick your own stitches, colors and threads, but the heads are painted. A cool basis for creativity. There are three single geishas and a piece with six.

A Collection of Designs has new mini-socks, snowmen, ornaments and, my favorite, elaborate crosses. Jean Smith had an absolutely amazing large (4 feet square) of a single flower, plus many delightful coasters that are smaller versions of her popular flowers and vegetables. These are great for giving you an assortment of her work.

At Elizabeth Turner there was a delightful Noah’s Ark mini-sock, stocking, and mitten, all with plenty of opportunity for embellishments and fancy stitching. They also had a great set of coasters with fancy purses on them as well as glasses cases with many purses as well. Sew Much Fun had another charming variation for those who don’t go in for stockings, oven mitts in large and mini sizes. There were three designs in each size with my favorite being Piece, Hope, Love with cake on the mini and pie on the large.

Birds of a Feather had delightful owls, nativity figures in their whimsical style as individual ornaments, and three sampler designed by artist Nancy Davis. They also had a delightfully different “Hunting Wild Boar” canvas. Cooper Oaks had small pieces of Susan Wallace Barnes artwork in ornament rounds and small (6″ square) pictures.

Looking at the beachy theme of those canvases, my favorite beach pieces were from j.child. They had extremely clever beach stockings, ornaments, and mini socks in lots of designs. Probably my favorites were the beachy ornaments stocking and the mini sock with bright Christmas lights along a driftwood fence.

I simply adored the resin boxes at Amanda Lawford. There were a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. To go along with them were clever canvases. Stitch the canvas and pop it into the box for a fast, unique gift. There I also saw a set of wonderful bird silhouettes that came with thread lists and embellishments. There is a cardinal, chickadee, dove, and blue jay.

The Point of It All had a lovely wedding ensemble that was dainty and elegant. It included votive covers that can be done with your choice of initials, a small ring bearer’s pillow, a tiny brides bag and fairy tale shoes. Making any of these would be such a treat for a wedding. JulieMar & Friends has a new snowman collection and lots of new creative Halloween pieces.

DReam HOuse had several new designers including by Georg with lovely florals. They also had new Mindy pieces and some wonderful mid-century modern pieces, including one called Falling Leaves that has a great 50′s vibe. Needledeeva has a great series of nine Christmas trees of various kinds, each decorated and with a different shape. Vicky DeAngelis did the stitch guides.

Robbyn’s Nest has a lovely series of botanically correct roses as coasters or pillows, along with four new designers eggs (think Faberge), and a set of five colorful tropical frogs. Canvas Connection is back with new Talavera and Imari designs.

I loved the initially yours series of squares from new designer Canvas Art by Barbi. Each square is divided into rough quarters with a different font of the initial with a different color background on each. They each also have a letter embellishment on them. Barbi also makes a great series of needlepoint “postcards” with many colorful heart designs.

Associated Talents has a lovely set of semi-custom script monograms in squares. You can have up to three letters in the monograms and they are available with patterned or plain backgrounds, in several colors and with plain or elaborate borders. I loved them because the script monograms make such a strong and elegant design statement just on their own.

Labors of Love has added to their clip-on line with a new 12 days of Christmas series. The thing I like best about this is that the birds in this series are compatible in size with their other birds.

Tomorrow, news about distribution of some of your favorite designers, along with more canvases. Next Friday another TNNA article with a look at new stuff from two of my favorites, Kathy Schenkel and Melissa Shirley.

Painted Canvases at TNNA – Part 1

Janet Perry — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:32:28 +0000

As always there plenty to love at TNNA. Besides the trends I talked about on Wednesday, two other types of needlepoint are becoming more popular.

I was particularly excited by all the creative bookmarks I saw. Whimsy and grace had over 30 in all styles. Each of these came with a coordinating tassel. A new designer, Shivering Sheep had several delightful ones with Southwestern themes. Another designer, MAP Designs, had a whole bunch of canvases of Koeshi dolls, a type of Japanese doll. These dolls have round heads and straight bodies (no arms or legs). MAP’s Koeshis included dogs, cats. people and a bride and groom. They could be finished flat to be bookmarks or be done as stand-ups or easel-backed pieces.

Another type of needlepoint that’s becoming more popular is 3-D needlepoint, something that takes us beyond the pillow or ornament. Little Shoppe, a pioneer in 3-D needlepoint has made a new series of 3-D candles. There are two pieces, a top, shaped like a donut, and a rectangular side. Finished the rectangle becomes a pillar candle, while the round covers the top. In the hole place an LED tea light. There are seasonal and non-seasonal designs and many come with coordinating pillows.

Over at Sundance, Barbara Elmore has taken 3-D to a whimsical level with her sculptural pumpkin and Christmas Tree. They are constructed of stitched bands and are ekegant and unusual.

The showpiece of dede’s new canvases is her topiary tree, a tall skinny cone stitched entirely in shades of green. On it your place stitched butterflies, also 3-D withe their wings partially folded.

There were so many other delightful pieces, it will be hard to describe them all in these two posts. Rebecca Wood has stockings and ornaments featuring reindeer. Reindeer games shows the reindeer at play. Ruldoplh is featured in both a stocking and whole series of round ornaments that have him hiding out in various places. She also has a stunning smaller nativity and twoseries of monthly cakes. The three-layer cakes are banners and a series of smaller babycakes is two lay versions of the same designs.

Painted Pony has added some new destination angels and rounds including Vatican City and the Galapagos Islands. There are also some delightful charm angels, including a geisha and queen of hearts. She has also brought out a series of seven monthly themed dress forms. These have exquisite detail and are more complex in their painting than the angels and rounds.

A delightful series at Shivering Sheep is their custom critters collection. A clever scene illustrating phrases such as, wildebeest wanders willy-nilly, is able to be personalized with the name and phrase painted in pink or blue or to match Sherwin-Williams paints.

Sharon G has done some of her triptyches as single canvases. They are stunning large canvases. A new geometric of hers called Graphic Wave was stitched so beautifully and I’m excited that Sharon will make her stitch guide for this available. My favorite of hers was her Owl & Pussycat, one of my favorite children’s poems. It’s the best I’ve ever seen.

Waterweave had lots of lovely hearts, with many in blue, white, and yellow. They also had a great sheep that looks deceptively simple until you stitch it all in big wooly French Knots. Then it sings.

City Needlepoint (makers of the great City Silk thread) had a wonderful series of Chinese Zodiac designs. Each had the animal in black in Chinese cut-out style, and had the character for the animal behind it in a rich dark red. They also had many simple designs in 4″ square size that would be great beginners canvases.

More tomorrow and Sunday (new distributors on Sunday as well).

Thread News from TNNA

Janet Perry — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:00:36 +0000

New colors, improved products, new threads, and new manufacturers — There is plenty of thread news coming from TNNA.

Kreinik has come out with four new colors of metallics, available in #4, #8, and #12. There is one High Lustre, Indigo Blue, kind of like a metallic denim. Adventure Green is the newest vintage metallic, an olive green. Stormy Weather, a dark gray, and Purple Haze, a lovely muted violet, are the remaining new color.

There are two new Facets colors: pearl and copper. Gold and silver Facets have also been redone.

Threadworx has added new colors to their metallic braids (7 new colors), floss (6 new colors), and the two overdyed silks (10 new colors in each). I’m especially excited about the new silks because there are three lovely browns, a great dark dark gray, three wonderful rusts. and more. If you like the overdyed metallics, you’ll love the new colors which include a great violet, a shaded burgundy, and a wonderful dark burgundy with brown.

Rainbow Gallery has added lots of new colors. A new size of Silk Lame, petite provides light coverage on 18 mesh and will work for Cross Stitch as well. 22 new colors have been added. The other sizes of Silk Lame have new colors, with 9 new colors in 18 mesh and 14 colors in the size for 13 mesh. There are five new colors of Neon Rays as well as 9 new Neon Rays +, some of which are glow-in-the-dark.
DMC has added 24 new colors to their Color Variations line, bringing the total to 60. They come in #5 perle and floss. One thing that’s nice about this line is that they are all combinations of DMC colors, which makes them easy to combine with solids.

More new colors came out in several other lines. Gentle Arts added Red Grape, Chamomile, and Cinnamon to their Simply Wools. Their new colors in floss are Linen, Carriage Black, and Burlap. Dinky Dyes has four new colors in stranded silks and ribbons, there are now 200 colors. Weeks Dye Works has four new colors: Saltwater Taffy, Dirt Road, Turquoise, and Cayenne.

Planet Earth Silks has added 16 new hand painted colors to their 6 ply line. These are lovely semi-solid colors. They also have a great new thread, Pepper Pot Silk, a 100% Chinese Silk that is stitched as a single ply on 18 mesh. It comes in 30 yard skeins.
Gloriana has changed their ribbons so that the edges are more sturdy, so they are resistant to shredding. Duchess Perle is their new silk perle, and is equivalent to #5 perle. I can’t wait to try them both.

EmmaCreation imports threads and other items from Japan. Moco is a polyester thread slightly thinner than #5 perle. The thread looks like cotton and comes on 10 meter cards. There are 60 colors in solids and variegated colors. I used some on a recent project and I really liked it.

Red Barn Yarns is a new yarn manufacturer. The owner stitches needlepoint and she has now come out with lovely three-ply wool in hand-dyed colors. While the thread is equal in size to Persian, it’s much softer. Because it’s hand-dyed, the colors are softly shaded. Thanks to Theresa at Homestead for telling me about them.

Not out yet, but Alchemy, a knitting yarn manufacturer will be coming out with a silk embroidery floss. Since they are local, I’ll be reporting on both the thread and their dyeing process.
I have samples of many of these threads to try, so keep your eyes out for in-depth reviews.

Trends in Needlepoint

Janet Perry — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:43:24 +0000

I’ve gone to TNNA’s winter show most years since 1998 and I’ve watched knitting and needlepoint rise and fall. At the height of the knitting fad, it seemed as if needlepoint was almost an afterthought. Right now, I would say they are about even in number of vendors.

This is especially true when you consider the yarn manufacturers who also make needlepoint yarns (these are growing — more tomorrow on this) and other companies selling into both markets who were on the knitting side of the show.

Looking at knitting vs. needlepoint I saw some interesting contrasts that are good for us as stitchers. Needlepoint shops came to buy as well as to look. Although there is always lots of interest in the newest canvases and threads, often you’d see shopowners going through a both and ordering many canvases from the existing line. For us, this means that we aren’t constantly looking for what’s new, but for what’s right. That continues to support our designers to try new things and to keep designing. If anything older than a year is “vintage” and therefore not wanted, there is just too much pressure on the designers and some will stop designing because their stuff is too “old-fashioned.”

When you bring out a new product there is always a risk: Will people like it? Both the designer and the shopowner take this risk because as stitchers we might not like it and won’t buy it. But if both these people have reliable designs people like and continue to buy, the shopowners buy them and the designers have sales without risk and can continue to work.

This is a sign of a healthy industry.

In terms of the designs I saw there are three trends that you’ll see in your shops. All are great because they show that the market for needlepoint is widening. We’ll all get to the point where we can’t have any more pillows (or ornaments or stockings or whatever), but by innovating the use and subject matter for needlepoint, designers increase the things we’ll buy and try.

Professional and collegiate sports was the big new trend. There were belts, key fobs, ornaments, mini socks, brick covers and lots more in a bewildering array of designs from actual logos to clever pieces featuring folks playing the game. Not every team for every sport is there, but you can probably find something for just about any sports fan. This signals a nice change in the market towards pieces that have more masculine appeal.

While Halloween and Christmas remain huge for needlepoint, I saw lots more Thanksgiving and harvest-themed designs. Melissa Shirley has led the way on this. These designs are fun because with them less holiday-specific, they can be used throughout the fall.

The needlepoint handbag trend continues to be huge and at the show I saw, along with lots of extensions to purse lines that have been around for awhile, new shapes and new combinations of leather or straw purses with needlepoint.

Tomorrow I’ll look at new threads (there’s plenty), Friday and Saturday at new canvases and kits, and Sunday at changes in distributors. On Monday I’ll talk about knitting items for needlepoint as well as tools, finishing, and books.

No related posts.

Virtual Show – Woodlawn in Pictures

Janet Perry — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:01:21 +0000

Originally posted 2010-03-18 07:34:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Each March Woodlawn Plantation near Washington DC host one of the most highly regarded needlework shows in the country. Put on by a group called Nelly’s Needlers, this show has been held annually for almost 50 years.

I am always slightly jealous that I can never attend. But this year I don’t have to be unhappy or wait for written reports. There is a Flickr show of the First, Second, and Third Place winners. Woodlawn covers more than just needlepoint. There are lovely samplers, including several Quaker ones, Japanese embroidery, and goldwork. You’ll be delighted and inspired by it.

There are over 250 pictures in the slide show, and many pieces also have close-ups. While the designers’ are not listed on the tags, you will see some that are familiar from Laura Perin, Maggie Co, Mindy and others. I just keep thinking that if these are the winners what other wonderful things are there to see.

Sprinkled throughout are pictures of the rooms. Finally, the exhibition program is available on-line as a PDF.

The exhibit is open daily from 10-4 and costs $10. Thanks to Jane from Chilly Hollow who always reports on the show, for letting us know about the gallery.

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!

New Needlepoint Projects – October 2009

Janet Perry — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:08:45 +0000

Originally posted 2009-10-06 07:17:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

With the On-line Needlework Show opening tomorrow, there will be another post with more great needlepoint on Thursday, but I wanted to share with you the many wonderful new threads, projects, finishing items, and canvases I’ve come across lately.

Canvases

I love Christmas ornaments and a new canvas from Peas of Mind and distributed by The Point of It All Designs is a delightful large design of many ornaments with garlands and candy canes on a cheerful striped background. It looks great. The Elizabeth Turner Collection has a charming set of 5 Mo’s Mittens.

Fleur de Paris has a stunning set of 12 3-d gingerbread buildings (a whole village) designed by DEDE. I really want to stitch these. Elizabeth Bradley has a new large kit design of Poppies.

CBK Needlepoint Collection has come out with ornament-sized mini totes by Starke Art Designs. They will make great table or tree decorations for the holidays. Dream House has a wonderful “Needlepoint” canvas where each letter is made from one of our favorite things.

Barrani Design Studios has two new needlepoint kits for stockings of the Holy Family and the Wise Men. They come with interlock canvas and Persian Wool. Voila! C’est Fini has painted canvases and finishing services to make needlepoint headbands.

Raymond Crawford has a mid-century modern Christmas tree where each ornament has a unique style of stitching. A stitch guide is available to show you how to learn these new stitches and techniques. He also has a set of colorful and fun mini-socks.

Threads

Weeks Dye Works has introduced a line of hand-overdyed crewel weight wool The skeins are 30 yards and there are 25 colors in the line. They also have four new colors of floss, swiss chocolate, grasshopper, madison rose, and blue jeans.

Gentle Art has six new Simply Shaker threads. They are crystal lake, portabella, cucumber, toffee, heirloom gold, and endive.

Projects

DebBee’s Designs had some great new projects. There is a dramatic new gemstone design, Onyx, which is all black and the fifth in the Diamond Delight series which features several Jean Hilton stitches. Another new piece, Tahiti Triangles, combines this great shade of Watercolours with solid threads and many stitches for a great design.

Nancy’s Needle has a new Regional Quilt Design which has a lovely central medallion. Handblessings has a delightful small project for fall which features the Norwich Stitch and is embellished with a charm.

Brenda E. Kocher has a lovely counted canvas project, Winter Forest, It combines Bargello with some textured stitch and fluffy snow.

Finishing

I’m very excited by Sudberry’s new products. They have brought back their tables with insets for needlework in the top. They come in two sizes. They also have a new long jewelry box, and several fancy carved footstools.

Other Products

Do you use a light when you stitch? Are you tired of dealing with the light, the magnifier, and the floor stand? The Daylight Company has made a great combination stand. It has a daylight bulb, a 4x magnifier, and sturdy clamp for holding your frame. It looks totally cool.

Namaste, who makes superb leather bags for knitters has come out with Hermosa, a bag specifically for needlepoint. It has organizational pockets and can stand up by itself.

EdMar as a lovely Abalone pendant that gently cleans and sharpens needles. It’s about 2″ long.

TNNA Round-Up, Part 2

Janet Perry — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:53:17 +0000

Originally posted 2010-06-14 07:48:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Once again, today I will focus mostly on new hand-painted canvas needlepoint, kits, and charts. Since canvases and projects often inform our choices in threads and such, the thought of a lovely new project will inspire you to try new threads (it does for me).

Amanda Lawford has a bunch of new canvases based on nursery rhymes. There are square canvases as well as nightlights. More grown-up night lights are available as well. I particularly liked another series of three canvases showing cats enjoying a camping trip. My favorite was probably the marshmallow roast, pictured above.

Dizzy Daisy focuses on ornaments. They have three different monogram ornaments, and two initials. These are as great way to make a delightful gift. Winnetaka Stitchery has a sports Christmas stocking, perfect for the player or fan. You could even personalize it by doing the backgrounds in team colors.

If you are looking for needlepoint canvas with the rich colors and patterning or oriental rugs, look no further than CanvasWorks. Their designs come in a variety of shapes, including brick covers and round pillows. Cooper Oaks has some charming new designs as well, including this delightful bride and groom heart

Elizabeth Bradley has come out with three single flowers in a modern, almost hyper-realist style. They are striking and a new direction for her. I just love all four. Jane Nichols has a new line of kits and beginners canvases, lots of new belts, and a fun, different birdhouse of the month series. She also has some witty aprons to needlepoint.

DC Designs, an artist new to me, has delightful round ornaments and other charming designs, including a great heart of hearts (perfect for trying out stitches and threads) and these retro doves.

Another new artist, Designs by Heidi, has a line of quirky canvases in a soft color palette that is quite unusual. She has lots of designs for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Halloween. If you buy on eBay, you may have seen many of her designs there.

I just loved this “living on the water” brick cover from Needle Crossings. Wouldn’t it make a great present for someone with a beach house?

Julie Mar has lots of new designs featuring the peace symbol, in 60′s colors, but lightened for today. Patty Paints is now doing needlepoint adaptations of Sue Spargo Art Quilts. She also has lots of folk art inspired designs.

Julie Pischke has announced Pischke Pockets a series of pocket-sized needlepoints you stitch and apply to the front of colorful tote bags. The bags are striped and come with leather handles and bases. Best of all they come with the fibers, so this is a complete kit.

Kathy Schenkel has come out with a nativity set of ornaments with each figure in a star. They are lovely. I am also crazy about the nativity version of her popular mini-socks with animals, this one with a little donkey. Kirk & Hamilton, a British company, has new double-sided key fobs in three designs. You stitch each side, and fold them over to finish.

Unique New Zealand has a bunch of tongue-in-cheek pieces with a retro feel, including the design above. They join their wonderful and ecclectic collection.

The Point of It All has some great holiday votives, you wrap around a clear glass candle holder. There are designs for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Hanukkah, birthdays, and Halloween. A great series from The Princess & Me has five related small designs hanging from a string all one one ornament. There are 12 in all, so you are sure to find one you’ll like. Silver Needle has cardigan and polo shirt ornaments in a variety of colors.

Check back on Wednesday for the final TNNA round-up (and think of me I’m getting a crown replaced and a veneer put on my front teeth.