Nuts about Needlepoint

Les Jardins de Vie — Stitcher’s Profile

jmp — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:51:55 +0000

needlepoint cuff from Les Jardins de Vie

Recently I came across Les Jardins de Vie in Etsy. Jessica, the artist behind these lovely pieces, is a talented stitcher in Northern California. I was enchanted by her work (you can see some of it in the pictures) and I love her wonderful and creative ideas for using needlepoint. I hope you will too.
How did you start doing needlepoint?
I am a self-taught needlepointer. My first needlepoint was at the age of 15 and it was a kit found at a local craft store in New York City. The design was of a pear printed on #10-mesh canvas with yarn included. The finished piece had major stitching flaws but it didn’t stop me from buying another kit and finally progressing to a painted canvas and improving my stitches. As the years progressed and my skill and sense of style matured I found myself drawn to the designer William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement. I duplicated the graphed designs of Beth Russell. What a daunting challenge, taking a graphed/color coded pattern and stitching it onto a blank canvas, but I did not only one of her design in this manner but two and these pieces have a place of honor in my living room. After accomplishing this challenge I decided to try my hand at my own designs and would get inspired by fabric designs of the Arts and Craft Movement. I would draw a black lined design onto blank canvas and then fill in the design with color.

needlepoint pendant from Les Jardins de Vie

The cuffs and needlepoint pendants are so intriguing, where did you get the ides to do them? How did you start selling your work?
With wall space at a premium I still wanted to create with this wonderful art form and decided to down size my pieces by creating pendants and wristcuffs. The rest is history! When I wore my pieces in public and received a lot of favorable feedback I decided to create pieces to sell in my Etsy shop.

needlepoint cuff from Les Jardins de Vie

I love that you use so many different colors, and incorporate so many different beads and stones. How do you come up with the color ideas?
I have not had the advantage of a formal design education but was blessed to work in the graphic design, interior design and advertising fields. From the talented designers I worked with I learned a lot about color and design and now I have a very good eye for both. I keep inspired by reading a lot of craft books, magazines, looking at fabric and yarn colors, beads and watching and drawing design ideas from period movies. Whenever I see a design or a color combination that sparks interest I clip it and place it in my “inspiration binder.” When my well runs dry and I need a quick spark of inspiration by binder is my guide. I also believe in what I call “cross-crafting” – utilizing ideas and products from all types of products such as beads, buttons, Swarovski rhinestones, scrapbooking brads, fabrics, etc. All these items can be used in the design and embellishing of needlepoint. I always keep my eyes open for that one thing that “speaks” to me “screams” to be made into something beautiful.

needlepoint cuff from Les Jardins de Vie

Are the pendants and bracelets hard to make? Could I do it myself?
The pendants and wrist cuffs I make do require some knowledge of needlepoint and basic sewing and beading techniques. What I love about the possibilities of these items is that they are open to interpretation and skill level of any interested artist who can create a wearable piece of art.

needlepoint cuff from Les Jardins de Vie

What inspires you and what’s next?
I have been involved in many forms of needle art over the years but I always seem to gravitate back to needlepoint. I find the design possibilities endless and the actual stitching a great stress reliever. I plan to always keep my eyes open and create lovely needlepoint because I feel the world can never have enough beauty.

Find Jessica’s work at her Etsy shop, Les Jardins de Vie.

Learning Needlepoint at a Seminar or Retreat

jmp — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:30:13 +0000

Most of the time we stitch by ourselves or in small groups. But nothing is as much fun as attending a seminar or stitching retreat with lots of other stitchers. Not only do you have the fun of learning and stitching, you get inspired by the exhibits and can stock up on wonderful books and stitchy things at the shops.

There are four big events I want to tell you about.
First is the National Academy of Needlearts Assembly, held each Spring in Kansas City. It happened this year March 3-9, but you can read about what was offered and make plans to attend. NAN certifies teachers and so one of the highlights of the assembly is the chance to see outstanding needlework of all kinds.

EGA’s National Seminar is in early September and will be held in San Francisco (my home town) this year. EGA covers more than needlepoint and among the classes I saw stumpwork classes by Jan Nichols and crewel by Phillipa Turnbull.

ANG’s Seminar is in early October this year, in Columbus, Ohio. I always enjoy going to Seminar, not the least because I can marvel at amazing needlepoint in the Exhibit and at the Auction. Both ANG and EGA move the locations of their seminars each year, so that they are convenient for stitchers all over the country.

Then, next January is Callaway Garden’s Stitcher’s Retreat. It’s from the 9-19 at Callway in Georgia. It’s one of the most prestigious needlework events and many great teachers attend. The schedule for the 2011 retreat is now available.

Keeping the Faith – book review

jmp — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:56:22 +0000

Originally posted 2008-06-23 17:40:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Doing needlepoint to adorn a church is a dream for many needleworkers. Many people will seek out churches with needlepoint kneelers to see them and countless other stitchers volunteer their time to make these lovely works of faith, skill, and art.
Designing Women has just published a delightful guide that is a starting point for anyone considering making religious needlepoint. Keeping the Faith is a spiral-bound book that not helps you plan and execute your project, but includes charts for 50 different Christian symbols to get you started.
The book starts with a chapter on how to use the book, then it continues through all the steps of the church project, from forming the committee to cleaning and storing the finished items.
While many books on church needlework focus almost completely on kneelers,, Keeping the Faith looks at a wider assortment of items. One chapter even covers different methods of display, including ornaments and wall hangings.
Before the charts, there is a small section of color pictures of completed projects, giving you even more inspiration.
The charts and projects take up the remainder of the book. For the small projects, a common set of symbols is used, making it really easy to make many of these pieces. They include 18 different crosses, doves, monograms, and other symbols. All are lovely and easy to stitch. There are three charted Ethiopian crosses, which in the original feature complex silver geometric patterns. Next come 6 Mission Style Crosses, also using a common set of symbols. I love these pieces, and think they would be lovely done in textured stitches. There are also angels, borders and even a sample chart which shows a symbol with a border.
Finally, there is a charming small stained glass window ornament that is designed specifically as a simple way to introduce needlepoint to new stitchers to prepare them to work on the project.
Practical, inspirational, and fun, this book will be a great start for any church or faith-based project.

Plying Hard-to-strip Threads

jmp — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:56:21 +0000

Gloriana’s Lorikeet hand-dyed wool is one of my favorite threads. But it has two strikes against it when it comes to plying it for stitching. First, it is a very soft wool (of course, that’s one of the things I like best about it). Second, it’s hand-dyed. Both of these things make the wool more likely to have fibers that catch each other. When carried to extremes, this is what turns wool into felt, but here is just means you need to take care.

This topic has gotten a fair amount of discussion lately. Amy Bunger has developed a wonderful method to strip and ply this thread. Knack shares this (with pictures) on her blog.

Keeping Hands Soft and Smooth while Stitching

jmp — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:20 +0000

Mayonnaise is one part of a fast way to soften & smooth hands

What is a jar of mayonnaise doing on a needlepoint blog? It’s there to remind you that soft and smooth hands are essential to good needlework.

If your hands aren’t smooth many threads will catch and some, such a Trebizond or Silk Serica, can become so snagged they are unusable.

Carrying around a small tube of lotion in your project bag is a great way to go, but what if you don’t have some? The solution is as close as your nearest deli or your kitchen. To smooth your hands you need a package of mayo and a packet of sugar. Begin by putting the mayo on your hands and smoothing it around. Sprinkle the sugar in your palms and rub it into the mayo and rub them all over your hands, including around the cuticles where there is usually rough skin.

Now wash your hands with soap and water. The mayonnaise softens the hands, while the granular sugar exfoliates and gets rid of the rough stuff. It’s an outstanding method and really works.

But you may also want to go the tried and true route of using lotion. If you do, be careful. Many lotions leave a residue on your hands that can be transferred to the threads, helping them attract dirt. Just thread has an excellent post on lotions good for stitchers with links to places to buy them.

I’d also shy away from scented creams as well. Often scent can linger on threads and even scent other threads kept with them. I know this from experience I used to shop, from time to time, at an LNS that burned scented candles in the store. Years later the threads still smell if they have been kept in drawers.

Needlecases

jmp — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:20:25 +0000

Originally posted 2006-06-19 22:35:10. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I 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!

Publicize your Guild & Promote Needlepoint

jmp — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:20:24 +0000

Originally posted 2008-09-13 06:46:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The success of the recent Stitch in Public Day has gotten me thinking about ways to promote needlework.

Here are some ideas, which are easy to do:

Make sure your guild’s meeting are listed on the events page in your local papers and at your meeting location
Make an 8.5″x11″ poster, so anyone can print it, and hang it on any community event board you know of, such as in the library
Does a library, civic building, or school have free exhibit space for non-profits, have your chapter put one together.
Stitch in Public yourself. I have a friend who does her needlepoint on the ferry on her way to work. She has gotten several other commuters interested in needlepoint.
Make a bookmark about your meetings and put it in local crafts and needlework shops. Maybe expand this and go to knitting shops, bead stores and other crafts stores.
Where do your local moms hang out while they wait for their kids, offer a free needlepoint lesson to them in conjunction with the tutoring center or program
Lead a stitching lesson for a local Girl Scout troop or 4-H club.
Get involved with demonstrating at your local county or town fair
Wear and use your needlepoint items daily.

If you’ve have some good ideas, add them to the comments.

Textured Stitch Cyberclass

jmp — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:20:23 +0000

learn lots of textured stitches for needlepoint in this cyberclass

Learning new stitches and making something lovely is a double win for needlepointers. When the canvas is as delightful as this little kimono from Patt & Lee Designs, that’s even better.

Patt and I are collaborating on a series of three classes for the three kimonos in this series. Each class will focus on a particular technique and will be suitable for both beginning and experienced stitchers. The textured stitch kimono is the first in the series and will begin, via email, April 1, 2010.

The class uses Patt’s canvas, Kreinik metallics and floss. Other thread options will be provided on request. Fourteen different stitches will be taught. Valuable extras in the class include information on stitch selection, stitch variations, and stitch dictionaries.

The cost for this special three-lesson class is $27.50, including the canvas and mailing in the US. It included membership in the Yahoo group set up for the class as well as a written evaluation of your stitching (details on that will be sent upon enrollment).

The size of the class is limited. You can sign up by clicking the PayPal button below. If you would like to take the class, but don’t use PayPal, please contact me. Once payment is received you will get an email with the materials list and will be sent the canvas.

If you are outside the US, please note that in the payment, so we can make arrangements about the additional postage.

Types of Color Schemes

jmp — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:40:58 +0000

Originally posted 2003-10-08 07:14:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

TYPES OF COLOR SCHEMES
Color schemes are so fascinating to me. You can spend a lifetime jiggling with them and still be surprised. Medium and technique change how colors work together and getting comfortable with the different types of color schemes can make your needlepoint sing.

I tend to classify color schemes into four broad groups, all of which have several sub-types.

Monochromatic color schemes are made up of shades of a single color. many traditional Bargello patterns use this scheme. A monochromatic with neutral scheme has shades of one color with the addition of white, black or gray. A traditional toile is am example of this. Neutral color schemes are made up of beiges, browns, whites, black and grays. In many cases a monochromatic color scheme greatly benefits from changes in texture since the color is so controlled.

Complementary color schemes take advantage of the natural complements of each color. Complementary colors are usually found across from each other on the color wheel and include pairs like red-green, yellow-violet, and blue-orange. A complementary scheme can take advantage of different values in the color, such as a paring of pink with dark green (a personal favorite). If the two shades next to one of the complements are used, this is a split complementary scheme. This red would be paired with yellow-green and blue-green. If both parts of the complement are used, making a set of four, this is a double split complement, a scheme which can be a bit hard to handle. A powerful and popular version of complementary schemes are near complements, such a red with blue. Taken just by themselves these colors often vibrate against each other. Tempered with white of black, either make tints or adding white to the scheme, you get classic combinations like red, white and blue or baby blue and pink.

Analogous color schemes use three or more colors next to each other on the color wheel. These schemes are naturally harmonious and don’t have to be confined to the hot or cool colors. Right now I’m working on a autumnal scheme which is using orange, yellow and green. All three colors are united by having yellow in them, making a vibrant look.

Triad schemes use three colors, making a triangle on the color wheel. The triad of primary colors (red, yellow, blue) is one triad. But other kinds of triangles can be formed, creating new places to explore color.

With threads, the stitcher has an almost unlimited palette of colors for developing color schemes. Use your threads to try out some new combinations!

Updated – Link to Quilt Block Coasters

jmp — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:40:57 +0000

You can find the quilt block coasters on Art Needlepoint’s coaster page.