overdyed threads Archive

Originally posted 2009-08-19 07:34:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I’m getting ready to start stitching a charming piece from Needle Delights called “Down the Garden Path.” I just love it and the way it uses so many different shades of Watercolurs. So I decided to use it as a chance to try some new colors of this and other overdyed threads, that were new to me. When I bought them I thought I could just switch one thread for another, but it isn’t quite so easy. The original threads have a range of values from light to dark, mine are mostly light. And they have a selection of multi-color threads and ones with shades of one color, I only have one or two single color threads. This happens to many stitchers, so I thought I would share with you how I have planned my threads out before I begin to

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Originally posted 2011-01-22 06:58:14. Republished by Blog Post Promoter My friend Jen, over at Funk & Weber shows several different techniques for handling overdyed threads. The samples are done in cross stitch, which is fantastic for showing the changes. You can apply them to needlepoint by using Continental or pretty much any decorative stitch. One of my favorite pieces is a cow fro Mika Partridge I stitched for my youngest when she was little and seriously into cows. I did the background in Mosaic Stitches made in horizontal rows, using two different colors of Impressions. Meadow for the grass and Lavandula for the sky. Totally cool and using the technique Jen calls stripes

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Originally posted 2010-11-11 07:42:19. Republished by Blog Post PromoterWhile there are many needlepoint canvases that have skies, I tend to shy away from them for a very simple reason. I prefer the sky when it is interesting, with many broken clouds. I like the look of scraps of clouds and the many shades of white and blue you find in these skies. But stitching it? No way. It would be far too difficult to get those larger areas of color in a suitably random way. That is until now. I found this stunning color of variegated Mandarin Floss (M921) and on the card it looked to me just like those broken skies I love. In this thread there are two shades of white and two of blue. I decided to combine it with a textured stitch (Nobuko) to stitch the sky of this ABS lighthouse. It worked out exactly as

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Originally posted 2009-08-28 07:39:50. Republished by Blog Post PromoterI’ve come across some delightful new needlepoint products for you to look for at your local shop. Here’s a round-up of some of them. Painted Canvas CBK Needlepoint Collections has added a new artist, Designs by Karen. These designs feature animals against light backgrounds on 18 mesh. Lucinda Gregory Rice is doing custom portraits of your pet in hand-painted canvas. The size of the design is 12″ x 16″. She is also doing a series of monthly Bargello ornament leaflets, printed on cardstock and three-hole punched. Raymond Crawford has a charming set of destinations canvases. They are 9″ x 3″ and spell out the place with reminders of what makes it great. Projects & Kits River Silks has a stunning new Kit to Go featuring a pansies design by Leigh Richardson (Designs by Leigh). The kit has everything you need to stitch

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Originally posted 2010-06-16 07:35:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Finishing Items I am just crazy about this chic self-finishing clutch from Timeless Totes. This is their first self-finished item. It comes in four colors (red, burgundy, blue and black). Lee’s Needle Arts has added leather Kindle covers to their self-finishing line. There are also new photo boxes and albums. I’m excited about the albums, because, although sometimes you can find albums that have openings deep enough to hold needlepoint, most of the time the albums you find won’t work Threads Crescent Colors has added new shades to both their perle cottons and silks. Valdani has added pure silk perle to their line-up of threads. This is great because silk perle is a wonderful thread to use. Rainbow Gallery has new colors in Very Velvet, Silk Lamé, Fuzzy Stuff, and Wispers, along with new colors in some other threads. They have

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Originally posted 2011-01-26 07:52:10. Republished by Blog Post PromoterMy initial plan for the Learn-a-Stitch mini socks was to use a different color combination for each one, trying different shades of Watercolours and challenging myself to find threads that matched. Then two things happened. First, I stitched February’s mini-sock (you’ll see it next week) and found the Watercolours I’d picked, plum, didn’t go with much in my stash and I ended up not liking the result as much as I thought I would. This could be a product of our recent gray days, or aging eyes, or just changing tastes, but I’m longing for bright cheery colors. The second thing was that someone asked me if the series could be done in one set of threads. I hadn’t thought about it this way, but yes, it could. But I would get bored with only one set of threads for all twelve

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Originally posted 2010-07-12 07:33:12. Republished by Blog Post PromoterLast month, during the TNNA Round-up, I talked about many of the new threads that were coming out. I have some more details about colors and I wanted to let you know about them. Rainbow Gallery brought out new colors of several of their threads. Some of these are just perfect for popular applications. Sparkle Rays has two new colors, both orange, that will be perfect for Halloween. These are not flourescent oranges, but a lovely bright orange (think Netherlands World Cup uniforms) and a lighter orange. The two together will be perfect for pumpkins. Soft Sheen Fyrewerks has come out with a vintage silver. It looks absolutely wonderful, a dark, almost matte silver. It would be great for shadows, or areas of tarnish or maybe even an old mirror. I can’t wait to try it. Wisper is my favorite thread for

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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 2009-10-15 07:21:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Sometimes the background really is the focal point of the needlepoint as it was in this vintage canvas from Beau Geste I made several years ago. But how do you make it really special? This technique is adapted from a knitting technique from Philosopher’s Wool in Canada. Being by picking out the color you want to use, dark blue in this case. Find six different threads in this color. You can pick more than six but group them into six piles. At least one should be an overdye. Make a list of them and number them. find your self a die. Star the background and roll the die. The number that comes up is the number of the thread you use. If you’ve made piles of thread, roll the die again and this is the thread within that pile. Roll the

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One thing I’ve been told often by stitchers is that they are afraid of using hand-dyed and variegated threads in a project. Not only is it because of the dreaded diagonal stripe problem (avoid it by stitching in Continental, learn why in this post) it is also because these threads can seem hard to control (learn about that in this post). I’ve also tried some different ways to use these threads to my advantage in needlepoint, including color clouds and clumping. Unlike many stitchers who reserve these threads only for geometrics, I use them much of the time. Even so, problems can occur. Joni Stevenson has a lovely post discussing the problems that can occur when using these threads and her solutions. To her suggestions I’d like to add a couple. If you are making something symmetrical where the overdye is used on all four sides, use two different lengths

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I simply love Dinky Dyes hand-dyed silk threads. They are wonderfully soft, something that doesn’t happen often with silk threads. The colors are also fantastic. Most of them are semi-solid, i.e. shades of a single color, although there are some multi-color shades. Best of all the color names reflect the owner’s love for her Australian homeland (she lives in Texas now). These new colors are no exception. They are available in stranded silk, 4mm silk ribbon and 7 mm silk ribbon. They are: Outback Sunrise Chestnut Matilda Terra Cotta Mud Falls Flesh If you haven’t tried these glorious threads, go out and buy a skein, you won’t be sorry

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Originally posted 2010-07-17 07:53:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Sara, from The Scarlet Quince has a phenominal interview with Ruth Dilts on her blog. They have a lovely selection of Ruth’s charts in their on-line store and have a special going on. It is of Sunrise, pictured above, available as a chart or as a complete kit, based on your selection of Watercolours. It’s on page 3 of the Rith Dilts charts at the shop. You may know Ruth from her wonderful books, Needlepoint 101 and Needlepoint 202, the best books out there on stitch guides. You may have also stitched some of her wonderful charted canvas designs, available from Rainbow Gallery (find them by looking for needlepoint and the term “Ruth Dilts” on the search page) and on her own site. She has a series I just love of quilt blocks and my favorite of all is her Alexanderia

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Valdani is a Romanian company that makes a broad range of threads in silk, cotton, and other fibers for hand and machine embroidery. All of their threads, even the solid colors, are hand-dyed. The cotton threads aremade from long-staple Egyptian cotton, which makes then quite durable. This dark multi-color, called Ebony,made a perfect outline for my glass stitching. According to the company all their shades are colorfast, but I haven’t tested that yet. I have tried their three-strand floss (review later this month), and both their #5 and #8 pearl cotton and I love them. Their pearls re slightly thicker than the same size in DMC. This made #5 a bit hard to thread in a 22 needle, but the coverage was lovely, completely covering white canvas. This can sometimes be a problem with DMC and Anchor. This additional width also makes it a great choice on 13 and 14

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Originally posted 2010-06-09 07:41:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Early this year Threadworx came out with a line of overdyed silk, using as its base the Soie d’Alger from Au Ver A Soie. The turquoise on the ornament above is one of the 20 initial colors, all of them semi-solids like this one. While this isn’t my favorite silk thread, I found Threadworx easier to use than AVAS’ own threads. The only reason for this that I can think of is that European and American laws about dyes are different. It was just lovely to use. However, there are limitations to the use of this thread. Because they can affect the amount of thread you buy, you need to be aware of them. Soie d’Alger is a seven-strand thread. If you are stitching on 13 or 14 mesh, this is a perfect size. If you are stitching on 18 mesh,

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Caron Collection has just announced 18 new colors in several of their multi-colored threads. All of the new colors are available in Watercolours and Wildflowers. All but two are available in Waterlilies. They have not been released in Impressions. I haven’t seen pictures of them but here are the names: Lettuce Black Iris Stained Glass Goldenrod Trail Mix Dense Fog Belgian Stone Tuscan Mist Mount Everest Ticking Cypress Old Brick Calypso Italian Ice Creme de Menthe Parrot Mint Julep Linen I love the names so much, I can hardly wait to see the colors. In addition they have three free patterns, suitable for needlepoint or cross stitch that have been sent to their resellers. Examples of these patterns in different colors, threads, and stitches will be on their site. As a bonus their will be instructions on the site for the decorative stitch versions. The on-line class will be called

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