stitcher’s accessories Archive

Originally posted 2007-03-15 07:52:36. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Lose your heart but not your scissors with this Hearts of Gold Scissors Case! I’m a big fan of Whimsy & grace’s stitcher’s accessories and I’ve created Needlepoint Stitch Guides for many of them, But this one is the one I like best. I started stitching it Monday and in three days (about six hours of stitching), I’m almost done with the front. This design is really witty. It’s called Hearts of Gold and, as you can see, it has golden hearts in many of the patches. There is the large solid heart near the bottom, the over all interlocking heart design to the right, and the tile-like pattern of four hearts near the top center. One the back there are several more hearts. Another great aspect of this design is the way it combines many different metallic threads into a

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Originally posted 2008-12-19 06:47:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I just love my small, wooden laying tool from Woods by C. I bought it from her eBay shop. Mine, as you can see from the picture, is pretty restrained, but she also makes them in a wide variety of striped woods. They also have many thoughtful features, which make them a joy to use and a wonderful gift for other stitchers. First off they are short, less than 5″ long, so you can get right into your stitching. Second, they have a great knob on the top which makes it easy to hold and easy to find in your stitching bag. Just under the knob there is an indentation, which is a perfect place to grip the tool and hold it in the proper position. Finally the point is not too sharp, so you don’t need to worry about poking

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Originally posted 2006-09-24 06:04:41. Republished by Blog Post PromoterHere’s the latest stitcher’s accessory from Whimsy & grace, the Roses Are Red Needle Case. As you can see I’m just about done with it, only about and hour left of stitching. Then it will be on to the matching scissors case. I want to point out the patch which has the smaller hearts on the right side. It isn’t obvious in the picture, but it has great texture. The hearts are stitched in Dotted Swiss, which is Basketweave with some cross stitches. In a thread which has directional light, like this silk, the cross stitches catch the light differently and make a pretty pattern. The background is T Stitch, also stitched in silk, but with only two strands of Splendor. I was watching a football game while I was stitching it yesterday, so I wasn’t paying attention. But when it was

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Originally posted 2007-12-06 08:47:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Isn’t this just lovely? This needlecase is a tour de force of silk and metallic threads, with three silvers, five golds, and two coppers. Plus three kinds of silk — Silk Serica, Silk Mori, and Vineyard Silk. You are not only going to love trying the different threads, but you’ll adore the subtle textures and color changes of the different threads. You’ll also find so many good ideas of stitches to use for small spaces. There are not only some great textured stitches, but there are many variations of Basketweave to spark up your stitching. It goes with the Hearts of Gold Scissorcase, which can be seenhere

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Originally posted 2006-11-18 08:56:20. Republished by Blog Post PromoterAlthough this needle case doesn’t use flashy threads, like metallics, it still has lots of texture. The case is designed by Whimsy & grace and I’ve written a stitch guide for it. This is the model for the guide. I love that there are so many textures from the different stitches. It really adds to the patchwork effect. The more open backgrounds on the flower and initial patches really make those focal points stands out. The diamond Rhodes on the right side has so much texture it really attracts your eye. I just love this one!

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Originally posted 2006-07-08 08:49:33. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThe violets scissors case from Whimsey & grace (http://www.whimsyandgrace.com/scissorcases.htm) is almost finished, only three patches left to go. I’m hoping to finish today sometime, if my cold doesn’t keep me from working. I really like the combination of threads and stitches, there is lots of texture but none of the stitches are too hard. The two different sizes of gingham (on the right) are really fun. The smaller one just uses Tent Stitches in three colors (white, lavender and violet). The larger one uses Scotch Stitches in the same colors. The fun thing about gingham is that the fabric comes in different sizes, so any stitch which is a box could be used to make gingham. I would call these tiny and medium. And remember that if you have three values of a color, or two plus white, you can make a

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Originally posted 2006-06-19 22:35:10. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI wanted to tell you about my most recent stitch guide, a charming needlecase from Whimsy & grace. I’m partway through stitching it and I’m having so much fun. Whimsy & grace has a whole series of stitcher’s accessories – scissors cases and needlecases. Many of the scissors cases also come in 13 mesh. The accessories are characterized by lots of different patches and each stitch guide has lots of different effects, stitches and threads, so not only are they fun to stitch, they have ideas you can use on other canvases. I’m so excited about the line, I worked on this yesterday instead of my usual Sunday stitching. The whole line of scissors cases is on the Whimsy & grace site, http://www.whimsyandgrace.com. The needlecases are similar but rectangular. Now excuse me, I’m going back to stitching!

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Originally posted 2006-10-14 06:02:41. Republished by Blog Post PromoterHere’s the most recent of the Whimsy & grace stitcher’s accessories, Roses Are Red Scissors case. Don’t you just love it!There are lots of fun stitches here, so not only is the case delightful in itself, you’ll get lots of ideas about new stitches to use on other canvases. In fact, two of them, the small balloon and the offset tied scotch (the brightest red patches on either piece), I like so much I’m using them in other canvases I’m stitching. Another, Diagonal Willow (violet patch without initial) is one of the most flexible stitches I know. Made up of short and long diagonal stitches, the rows interlock in a way which creates oblique lines. This makes it a fantstic accent or background stitch, especially when you want something which isn’t strongly diagonal. It also makes a fantastic wide border. I’m using

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Originally posted 2010-03-06 07:12:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter When it comes to needles I have a dilemma. I have lots of them and like to carry them with my projects. But I don’t like round needlecases. For me they either have tops that fall off or are too small. Over the years I have tried many different things to hold my needles, but have mostly been dissatisfied. One, a recycled mint tin, had a hole in an odd place, so you couldn’t get the needles out. Another, a pill case, is too short for the 22 needles I like. The one I’m using now has top and bottom joined, but not completely, so the needles get stuck in it. As a result, I’m on the lookout for a new needlecase. So I was delighted when I found these delightful metal tins from tinytins on etsy. Right now there are

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Originally posted 2009-09-25 07:12:26. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI got a small Nordic Needle catalog recently and instead of drooling over all the wonderful charted needlepoint (which I usually do), I was struck by a bunch of clever tools and gadgets to make your stitching life easier. I haven’t tried any of them yet, but they look great to me. The links will take you to the product page at Nordic. Thread Minder is a clever heavyduty zip-top tote with three little holes along the bottom. If you use spools of thread, you can use a hole for each and keep those threads from tangling and there’s space leftover for your other threads. They carry three types of stretchy fabric covers to protect the edges of your needlework from grime. Grime Gards are for Q Snaps or Scroll Bars and Cozy Covers are for scroll bars. They come in different

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Originally posted 2007-03-05 22:31:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Another incomparable finishing job from Susan, this scissors case is another project from the Bargello book. This project shows how dynamic a great thread can be. The overdyed thread is Miani Deco from Gloriana. I paired it with a matching metallic from Kreinik and used a very simple Bargello pattern, called Twisting Ribbons. The effect is striking. I had the thread sitting in my stash for years, I love the color, but didn’t have a canvas for it. Bargello is the perfect way to use threads like this,

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Originally posted 2006-11-14 17:33:27. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThis has been sich a fun project. One big reason is that there are so many unusual (and easy) techniques packed into this tiny space. It’s one of a series from Whimsy & grace (http://www.whimsyandgrace.com/scissorcases.htm). I have stitch guides available for many of the scissors cases and the matching needlecases. The guide for this one is out and available now, I’m working on the model. I just love the classic red-white, and blue color scheme. This guide is fun because it uses lots of cool techniques you can apply to other canvases. The background of the patch with the wavy lines is just one color of Watercolours, stitched in vertical lines. You get this great hand-dyed fabric effect, with no work. The wavy lines are stitched in Whipped Backstitch, making a absolutely solid, curved line. The little stars are stitched with Eyelet

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Something I read recently got me thinking. The idea was that the best way to learn a craft was to teach the basics and then immediately give folks a chance to try it out. In other words, have them put some stitches into a cooperative project. It needs to be something large and divided into smaller sections as well so that many people working on small areas won’t matter as much. A piece which has a focal point and a background divided into squares or a large patchwork design is perfect. In my case, I want people to try out Bargello, so I’m designing a Bargello patchwork tote. It’s going to fit into this Stirling tote and each patch will be a different Bargello pattern. I’m planning on stitching either the outline or the first line of each patch. Then each person can take a few stitches to work on

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Good scissors are such a joy to use. You might find your scissors more a pain than a pleasure. I did. And then I found large finger-hole scissors. They made my life so much easier. The only difference between regular scissors, pictured below, and large finger-hole scissors, pictured at the top of the article, is the size of the holes. But what a difference that makes. Instead of scissors which pinch as you manipulate them, these scissors fit on your fingers and are comfortable. If you’re doing lots of cutting, this means a smaller chance of blisters or bruising. And no annoying deep grooves in your fingers. Besides all of that if your fingers are stiff, these work better as well. With the large holes, they are easier to grasp. I have a few pairs like this, ranging from fine embroidery scissors to a more serviceable everyday pair with plastic

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Click on picture to see larger image. Last night I finished the violets case, about 11. I am so delighted with the result. Steve, my DH, who is so used to my doing needlepoint he rarely makes comments beyond “That’s nice.” really likes this one. As I said yesterday, the stitches I used give it lots of texture, but there are a couple more things I want to point out. First, all the patches with white backgrounds are very lightly-stitched, small patterns. The neat thing about these is that here are four wonderful ideas for backgrounds or for small areas. I am always looking out for better ways to do texture when there is little space, these fit the bill. Finally the deep violet patch in the upper right corner comes out as a blob because the color is so dark. That’s a shame because it doesn’t convey either how

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