sneak peek Archive

Originally posted 2011-02-22 07:47:54. Republished by Blog Post PromoterDo you love Bargello? Are you looking for a source of new Bargello Needlepoint designs and quick projects? Do you want explore different threads for Bargello and try new color combinations? Are you intrigued to fill templates using Bargello? Look no further, beginning April 1, 2011, I will be launching Little Bargello Treasures, a monthly Bargello Club. The first of each month club members will receive: 13 or 18 mesh deluxe mono canvas with template outlined new Bargello pattern with color picture of the model color picture of the model stitching tips and supplemental information All this for only $7.50 per month when shipped to US addresses (if you are outside the US, contact me to get pricing). This club is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and you’ll be so delighted with the possibilities for quick and

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Originally posted 2008-09-08 05:54:04. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThe first of my eBooks to be published (out late this month) will be a collection of 50 quilt blocks charted for either cross stitch or needlepoint. The blocks are charted simply and range in size from 15×15 to 24×24. You can stitch them just as they are or substitute other stitches for each square of the chart. To inspire your creativity and to show you just how flexible these blocks can be, I let the modelstitchers loose on them, giving them no instruction, no colors, and asking them to do what they liked. One of them, Jan Sprague, just posted two of her blocks on her blog. They are really cool. The top one, Alaska Homestead, is pretty much stitched as charted, with one Tent Stitch per square on the chart. I just love the way she used overdyes on this.

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Originally posted 2008-04-30 07:08:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Even as we read, my new book, Bargello Revisited, is being printed. It will be available to shops later this month. As regular readers of this blog know, Bargello is one of my great loves in needlepoint. I’ve been stitching it since the early 70′s and I’ve been thinking about this book for about 20 years. I’ve tried to put everything I’ve learned about Bargello into it. Inside you’ll learn: How to stitch Bargello. How to solve the common problems with Bargello, something unique to this book. How to use templates to create shapes to fill with Bargello How to find your own templates. How to develop color schemes based on clothing, home decor, and even paint schemes. How to make over 30 different projects ranging from a cell phone or iPod case to stitcher’s accessories. Every project is pictured, along

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Originally posted 2010-03-09 07:15:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Making the transition from stitching your first needlepoint sampler to doing canvases can be a hard one. The projects should be good-looking, appealing enough that even an experienced stitcher will want to stitch them. They should be small, so that the stitcher has a sense of accomplishment when it’s done. And they should always increase the stitcher’s needlepoint knowledge. Why is this important? Think about two different crafts, beading has been very successful at moving beginners to more complex projects, knitting has been less successful at this. With beading, people make that first necklace, bracelet, or pair of earrings and makes a bunch more. When ready for the next step there are many websites, more complex beads and lots of tutorials to let you make something lovely that is just a little bit harder but uses material you have used and

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Originally posted 2008-05-07 07:06:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Anne Stradal of ABS Designs has worked her magic again on these two decidedly different Christmas designs. First we have Santa, the morning after, otherwise known as Christmas Day. Have you ever thought what he might be doing while we are all enjoying opening our presents and gorging on the candy in our stockings. Now we know, after a very busy night he’s taken off his boots, put on a warm sweater and is enjoying a rest. And what about Mrs. Claus? We see her the night before, busily trying to finish up one more gift. I personally think it’s for one of the elves. Anne designed them and stitched them and I’m just the scribe. They should be available in the next month or so from Anne’s site

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Originally posted 2008-03-06 06:09:30. Republished by Blog Post PromoterTish has posted a picture and an entry about the Winter Wreath on her blog. Go visit it to see how the whole thing looks, instead of the bits and pieces I could get on my scanner

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Originally posted 2010-01-27 07:01:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Did you know that sapphires are just about the only gem that comes in every color of the rainbow? From pink, to violet-blues, my upcoming ebook celebrates my favorite gem. The book uses my poplar patchwork heart and gives you over 60 stitches you can mix and match to make your own unique project. All the stitches in the book are new and can be done using a single color of thread. The pictured hearts add in a few stitches from the first heart sampler ebook for spice. You also got a sneak peek at the orange sapphire in my review of black metallic canvas. Five hearts are included, along with tables showing you the stitches used. In addition the book has detailed information about creating a monochromatic color scheme, more and an expanded description of threads. As a bonus, there

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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 2010-05-26 07:48:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter You are probably a stitcher like while I often like the challenge of picking my own stitiches and threads, sometimes I want the relaxing pastime of stitching from a stitch guide. This propelled me into writing my own stitch guides and continues to keep me designing. On the one hand I do custom stitch guides (click here to get started with one) that are comprehensive and affordable. They are customized to you and even to the shop you use. No one offers a better guide at a lower price. I have long been thinking about a way to make the guides I’ve written available to a wider audience. I hear from many of you about your frustration with the lack of guides, your desire to have some help, and your love of the canvases you find. Today I’m preannouncing my new

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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 2010-09-02 07:03:00. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI finally got around to counting up the votes for this (I’m a charter member of the procrastinator’s club) and the winner for a club theme for next year is stitches and quilt blocks. I’m excited because quilts always inspire me and this is such a wonderful way to learn new stitches. Best of all, with mostly square sides or true diagonals, compensation is really easy. It will also give us a wonderful way to explore colors through the projects. I’m going off to do some hard-core designing. And I also need to know your opinion for how you would like to see these packaged. There are three options, which I’ll list from most to least expensive. painted canvas – you will get a painted canvas in a specific color scheme. The lesson will tell you exactly the threads/colors to buy line-drawn

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Originally posted 2007-06-25 07:58:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Aren’t these canvases a delight? In charming pastels, with great stitches and glittery threads, I just love how these birds turned out. They will look like the most adorable confections on your tree, or displayed together on stands. Best of all because they are on 13 mesh, they take no time at all to stitch. The wings are stitched separately and then “attached” with these great vintage-style buttons. If you have a great button collection, you might even think of using some special ones for this project. Big impact and a great look for easy stitching!

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Originally posted 2008-05-22 06:07:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter It’s Valentine’s Day, you think he won’t remember, won’t call. You’ve so despondent about it, you can hardly get out of your chair. But then he comes, your prince, carrying the biggest, most overdecorated box of candy on the planet. In general I don’t think up little stories about the needlepoint I stitch, but this one really spoke to me. Not because I’ve ever felt like her, but because to me the story is so startlingly clear. And I love it. So this is my current stitch guide and model. The original artwork for the design is by Jane Cather (her gallery at Cooper Oaks). It’s got some cool things so far, a great stitch for the chair, velvet on the candy box, and a lovely hand-dyed silk/wool blend for the dress. But it’s going to get even better. The pillow

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Originally posted 2007-06-30 10:17:13. Republished by Blog Post Promoter A sentiment with which we can all agree. And I think you’ll just love my newset (completed today) stitch guide for this charming canvas from Cat’s Cradle. It’s easy to stitch on 13 mesh. I was thinking about my philosophy of writing stitch guides and this canvas is a great example. A stitch guide should have: some basketweave some familiar stitches — skip tent, triple diagonal brick, and others some new stitches — double linen (heart) some new techniques — couching, edges of ribbon maybe some new threads — this one uses Trio from brown paper packages, and the new size of Kreinik braid When you have finished stitching a canvas you should be delighted with the result, happy at how much fun it was to stitch, and confident you have learned something new you can use on another canvas. The

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Originally posted 2010-09-03 07:35:26. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Robots are a ton of fun and my idea notebook has many of them cut and pasted in it, but I have mostly been disappointed in the ones I find in needlepoint. That was until I found this delightful robot from Petei. It’s one of her Petei People (504) and I stitched it as an ornament for my son. One of the things I love about her canvases is how much texture and detail you can get in such small spaces and with relatively few stitches and techniques. I have a Stitch Map now available for it giving all threads and stitches, with instruction in a compact two-page guide. It’s now available to order on my Stitch Guide site. It’s $2 for the PDF (immediate download) and $5 for it to be printed and mailed in the US (international sites have

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