new Napa Needlepoint products Archive

Finding stitches for those tricky small areas in needlepoint canvases is always a challenge. You face it, I face it, all stitchers face it. Too much Basketweave can be dull, and too many stitches are to big to fit properly. What’s a stitcher to do? In facing this problem myself, I’ve collected and designed innovative stitches that are great for small areas. Now I’m sharing them with you in a set of four ebooks. The Small Stitch Samplers are ready for pre-order at a special pre-pulication price. Each sampler showcases 25 stitches (the middle blocks), with a wide border in another lovely stitch. The texts are designed to be permanent additions to your stitching library with stitch diagrams, pictures of stitched samples and stitching notes. NOt only do you get a great reference in stitching the projects, you’ll create your own unique color scheme based on a shade of Watercolours.

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The second book in the Art & Needlepoint series is now available on Amazon. The title says “beginner” but any stitcher will delight in these wonderful ideas for stitching anything you find in a landscape: fields, trees, hills, water, skies, and more. Not too toot my own horn, but this is the book on stitching landscapes I’d want to have by my side. Every single stitch or technique is easy to do. Every single technique is something that you’ll be so glad you learned. I like the ideas here so much that I realized that I have four landscapes sitting in my queue needing immediate attention, four more slightly further out, and who knows how many more in my stash. Every single one of them will be using the ideas in this book. In addition two of the canvases from the book will be subjects of cyberclasses with Art Needlepoint

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Bold or subtle, colorful or neutral, with this notebook class you’ll be seeing stripes. The upcoming 25 stitches class begins June 1, 2013 and focuses on these surprising useful stitches. In the class you’ll have a chance to try out stripes large and small. Some of these stitches are small enough to add distinction to even the smallest area, while others make great backgrounds for larger pieces. Plus you’ll learn about creating your own striped patterns, how stripes can solve dyelot problems, and tons of tips for using these stitches in your needlepoint. All for only $25 (sign up with button near the end of this post). Because this is a notebook class you can stitch it your way, using your scraps of canvas and leftover threads.ecause this is an email class you can take it on your time, when it works for you and your schedule. You can sign

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Stitch guides make it so much fun to stitch your canvas. With one you don’t have to think about what stitch to use. Someone has made the decision for you about thread, color, and stitch. Many people think that you have to be an advanced stitcher to use a stitch guide or that they always cost lots of money. I’m here to tell you that this is untrue and to open my Simple Needlepoint Stitch Guide Sale. My stitch guides are all customized to you, including your stitching level. If you are a beginner, you can be sure you won’t get stitches that are overly difficult to do. If you hate some stitches, I’ll avoid them. All my stitch guides are priced based on the complexity of the canvas. Normally they start at $65. But in this special sale (through May 27, 2013) you can get a stitch guide for

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If you missed the chance to take my popular Planning the Perfect Needlepoint Canvas class in November when it was offered, you can now take the class as a Needlepoint Independent Study. This class gives you the insights and tools you need to: recognize your stitching level (it’s more than the stitches you know) recognize the complexity of a canvas pick the perfect canvas for you plan threads and stitches to get the results you want Whether this is your first canvas or your 500th, whether it’s a kit from the craft store or a hand-painted canvas, you’ll learn so much in this class that your needlepoint will be energized and improved — all without needing to commit to stitching a class project. Sign up for this Needlepoint Independent Study Course on this page today and improve your stitching

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UPDATE: I realized this morning that I forgot the stitched picture of the shadow stitching technique on yesterday’s blog. Check the post after 11 AM Pacific 12/7/12 for the picture. My apologies. Who doesn’t like a plaid? This year delight the folks on your list by making them a quick and easy needlepoint tartan gift (they can be done in cross stitch as well). With my assortment of charted tartans you can. You may have thought you needed to be Scottish to use a tartan, but that isn’t true. As these pictures show. Your needlepoint tartan can be a last name, a country (great for different heritages), or a state. It can even just be colors or a pattern you like. They are charted in full color with separate charts for horizontal and vertical stripes as well as a completed plaid chart, seen here, as a reference. Complete stitching instructions

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It’s an on-going question: How do I convey in needlepoint elements in art so they don’t look flat and dull? The problem happens because needlepoint stitches and threads have texture, giving it a third dimension, while works of art are two-dimensional. All too often something gets lost in the translation. This new series on Art & Needlepoint, a joint venture between The Art Needlepoint Company and Napa Needlepoint, will explore this question in volumes focusing on a subject, a genre, or even an indvidual artist. The first volume is about how to needlepoint Japanese landscapes. Using the works of three great woodblock artists: Hiroshige, Hokusai, and Hasui, you’ll learn in this book how to stitch vegetation, skies, rocks, water, and buildings realistically. In each section several different works are used to show stitches and techniques you can use to stitch such different items as snow piled on fences or a

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Today is the last day to order the Stitches Galore bundle. It consists of six ebooks that separately cost about $40. This special package is only $25. The books are: Heart Sampler I The Sapphires (Heart Sampler II) Stitch Annual Celebrate! Sampler Arts & Crafts Trees Sampler Stitch Sampler Mantle Stockings Order today using the button below because the price goes up tomorrow. My exciting needlepoint mini-class on analyzing a canvas will now begin December 1. It’s a step-by-step method for analyzing a canvas, including finding and enhancing a focal point, picking threads and stitches, and finding backgrounds to set off the design. This class is a real bargain at $15. Use the button or link below to sign up. Click on the button below to sign up. You can also use this link

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When stitchers tell you about their difficulties one topic keeps coming up — how can I “see” the end result in the unstitched canvas so that I get what I want. My November 15 mini-class is designed to teach you how to do just this. You’ll learn how to: analyze a canvas find a focal point and pick ways to enhance it pick threads to give life to your canvas pick stitches to give dimension choose a background create a stitching plan This email class is perfect for stitchers at any level. By looking at an actual example you’ll learn the methods you need to plan your future stitching. The class requires no stitching and no additional purchases.It’s done entirely by email, so you can take the class any time. It’s only $15 for the class and accompanying chat room. Click on the button below to sign up. You can

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I’d almost rather find a great new stitch than get a diamond. They are more generally useful and are significantly less expensive. If you are like me, finding new stitches is almost addictive. In fact in the last week I’ve created one new variation and found a new stitch to try. That’s why I’m being an enabler and giving you an easy, and very inexpensive way to get tons of new stitches. I’ve done several ebooks and projects that focus on stitches and stitch variations. Due to popular demand, I’ve extended this special offer until November 15, 2012 for the special “Stitches Galore” ebook bundle. In it you’ll find: Heart Sampler I The Sapphires (Heart Sampler II) Stitch Annual Celebrate! Sampler Arts & Crafts Trees Sampler Stitch Sampler Mantle Stockings If you bought these six projects separately, the cost would be close to $40. But the special Stitches Galore Sampler

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I’d almost rather find a great new stitch than get a diamond. They are more generally useful and are significantly less expensive. If you are like me, finding new stitches is almost addictive. That’s why I’m being an enabler today and giving you an easy, and very inexpensive way to get tons of new stitches. I’ve done several ebooks and projects that focus on stitches and stitch variations. Right now, and only through October 31, 2012, I’ve put together a special “stitches Galore” ebook bundle. In it you’ll find: Heart Sampler I The Sapphires (Heart Sampler II) Stitch Annual Celebrate! Sampler Arts & Crafts Trees Sampler Stitch Sampler Mantle Stockings If you bought these six projects separately, the cost would be close to $40. But the special Stitches Galore Sampler is only $25. Best of all, those who buy the package will be put on the priority list for my

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I am a frustrated artist. Ever since I was little I found it maddening that I couldn’t make the picture in my head appear on the paper. In stitching I also found it frustrating that I couldn’t always replicate the canvas in my head with the canvas in my hand. What I couldn’t do was attain predicatable results with my needlepoint. You probably have had the exact same feeling. To overcome this in the past you woulds have to study many different non-needlepoint books, buy lots of expensive stitch guides, and go to many classes just to start to figure this out. Then, once you learned something, you would then need to figure out how to apply what you’ve learned to needlepoint. Maybe it would work, maybe not. In our new joint effort, Attaining Predictable Results, Doreen from Art Needlepoint and I are creating a series of lessons designed to

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Hop on over to http://all-about-needlepoint.com to see my redesigned reference site. I’ve cleaned it up (although I’m still tweaking a bit), updated the links, and integrated it with my main site, Napa Needlepoint. I have also given it a fresh new design with more pictures and a clean look. It also should be faster to load, making it a more useful site for you. I hope you like it. If you find problems or would like to see something there, please let me know

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That’s the name of a new series of needlepoint classes I’m doing with Art Needlepoint. These projects are small, so they can be finished quickly. They will feature great stitches and plenty of ideas and techniques you can use in your other needlepoint projects. This first class features this delightful cat by Sophie Harding. In the two-lesson email class you’ll learn stitches to make realistic fur, ideas for selecting and stitching a complex multi-color background, and hw to add delicate but realistic detail. You’ll love the result. As always the class is free with the purchase of the kit. Don’t delay because the class starts September 15. Hop on over to Art Needlepoint to order

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Some landscapes, regardless of when they were painted or by what artist, are harder to interpret in needlepoint than others. Compare a traditional landscape, even one by someone as recent as Van Gogh or Cezanne with the Donna Horn landscape above. These more flat landscapes are a perfect starting point for stitching and for exploring texture in landscape needlepoint. Does the landscape you are about to stitch have distant hills or a lot of detail in the foreground? How do you distinguish the areas in the immediate foreground than the areas just behind it? Is the sky large, cloudy or raining? Is there a lot of bark or dense foliage? There are many different types of stitches that can be used to great effect depending on whether you are trying realistically to stitch a bark, cloudy sky, or any of the above. Our Beginner Landscapes Stitch Technique book will be

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