adaptation

Originally posted 2008-11-15 07:43:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

If, like me, you’re a fan of Judy Harper’s delightful needlepoint designs you will already know that she is a wizard at adapting other kinds of fiber arts and materials to needlepoint.

Her current post on her FREEBIES, Etc. blog looks at turning lace into needlepoint.

She shows us several different interpretations of lace and explains how to make them. The top one is dramatic on black canvas and stitched in three colors. Happily for us when she shows us how to do it, the design is easy to see on white canvas.

It’s designed to be a border design, perhaps for a bracelet, following the instructions in this post of hers.

I really love the second piece an unstitched mini-sock with an elaborate lace top in gold. The final example shows you how to use lace as a border by turning a corner. Her suggestion to use white pearl cotton in this design would make a border which looks like crocheted lace.

Props to Judy for giving us this exciting idea in needlepoint!

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Lace in Needlepoint

Needlepoint Inspiration, Project and Tutorial Boards

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Design,Nuts About Needlepoint

Last week I learned about a really cool tool for collecting and displaying “boards” of information from all over the Web. Still in beta, Pinterest is a cool way to display pictures with notes about what you find.

I’m creating a set of needlepoint boards. The current ones are:

needlepoint gallery
needlepoint tutorials
needlepoint inspiration
color inspiration
needlepoint shops

Here’s where you can help me out. If you have something to go on one of these boards, please contact me letting me know where I can find it and a little bit about what it is.

You can look at the boards as well, by joining Pinterest. Join here!

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Needlepoint Inspiration, Project and Tutorial Boards

Rescuing Old Needlepoint

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Vintage needlepoint pillows from August Morgan

I have often looked at stitched pieces of vintage needlepoint for sale at places like eBay and etsy and wished it could find a good home.

I always feel as if someone should snap it up, add a great back and turn it into a lovely pillow.

Humorous vintage Bargello and needlepoint pillow

An Austin Texas shop, August Morgan, is doing just that. They take vintage pieces of needlework (including crewel and bargello) and turn them into pillows.

Backs, and sometimes fabric borders, are added and each pillow is stuffed with down.

They are superb bits of vintage style, especially if you like mod colors and bold designs. The pillows pictured are typical of what they have to offer.

Best of all you can browse and buy these great pillows on-line.

Heck it’s almost like having a stitching and sewing grandmother of your own in your computer!

Originally posted here:
Rescuing Old Needlepoint

Adaptation Twinchy Gallery

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Design,Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2008-11-30 08:44:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

This needlepoint adaptation takes a Native American Kachina mask, one of my favorites, but also one of the simples, the Sun Kachina.

It’s really simple to do. Draw a circle of any size (I used the bottom of a glass for mine). Then split it in half horizontally. Split the top section in half vertically. Draw horizontal rectangles for eyes and a round area for the mouth (Remember these are masks, so the face is abstract.).

That’s all you need to draw. Stitch over all the outlines, the mouth, and the eyes in black. I used black Helene silk from Rainbow Gallery’s Backgrounds line.

The top two sections are always turquoise and rust. I stitched them in Diagonal Mosaic and Reverse Diagonal Mosaic using Pebbly Perle for the turquoise and Impressions for the rust.

The background is rows of Diagonal Gobelin stitched in light gold Crescent Colors Perle #5.

I love Kachina masks and think I’ll do some more (probably as part of a future Twinchy challenge).

chinese lattice stitched as needlepoint using trianglepoint technique

This Twinchy is adapted from another source, a world away, but another favorite. It’s taken from a Chinese lattice pattern. Drawings of these windows, doors and screens from all over China were collected in the early 20th Century by Daniel Sheets Dye.

These designs are geometric and I’ve used them often for needlepoint of one kind or another. My book of them is over 25 years old and is well-worn.

The technique I used for the multi-colored areas is Trianglepoint. It was invented by Shirlee Lantz (author of Pageant of Patterns) in the 70′s and uses straight stitches of various lengths to build triangles. Combining these creates triangles, diamonds, and octagons. They are tons of fun to stitch.

The triangles are stitched using an overdyed Grandeur from my stash. The background uses Crescent Colors Perle #5 in a very dark brown, almost a black.

This pattern has offset columns of large triangles, which I really liked. But what surprised me was the shape of the negative spaces. In the original lattice, these are triangles too and both of them have a framework which creates the pattern.

But when stitched, that framework disappeared and instead the background became irregular shapes. I can’t decide if they are large triangles with a bite taken out or overlapping small and medium size triangles.

In any case, since they are irregular I stitched them in rows of Straight Gobelin over two threads. If I were to stitch it again, I would color the background first, so I didn’t have that annoying dandruff.

These were both tons of fun to do and didn’t take long at all.

The fun of adaptations will continue. I’ll be adding more articles about how to adapt various techniques and types of art to needlepoint to this section of All about Needlepoint.

More here:
Adaptation Twinchy Gallery

A Different Use for Needlepoint Canvas

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Back when I still thought I had time to pursue other crafts, I often thought how wonderful it would be to make scrapbooks. Now if you know me and have seen my house, you will know how silly this is, for many reasons.

First off, my DH and I are not much in the way of photographers. Our daughters both are great at this, but taking pictures has always been an after thought for is.

Second, we are a family of “thing people.” We all have lots of stuff, but for all of us it’s mostly disorganized. In spite of clearing out the old house to move AND clearing out more stuff after we moved, random stuff within sight include a coronation mug for Edward VIII (the guy who was never crowned because he abdicated), random cigar boxes, and boxes of postcards and images waiting to go someplace.

But maybe if I had known about this easy idea to integrate needlepoint with scrapbook, I might have tried. It’s from HGTV and they have detailed instructions. You just use the canvas as a kind of stencil.

How cool is that!

Continued here:
A Different Use for Needlepoint Canvas

Custom Canvas – My Choices for Adaptation

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

jersey island ad
I get asked about creating custom needlepoint canvases more often than about anything else.

A custom needlepoint canvas is such a rewarding project to do. If it’s a gift, it’s something special and unique for the recipient. For yourself, it puts on canvas, what you want to see.

Sandy and I have been talking about the process she uses to turn images into needlepoint. I thought you’d be interested in learning about what goes into the process and how to pick great images to become the basis for great needlepoint.

Earlier this week in her two articles you’ve learned about some types of images that work for needlepoint. Today I’m going to show you the two pieces I’m sending to Sandy to be our test of the process.

The image above is one I found in a magazine and is a picture of the seashore on the island of Jersey. I have wanted to visit it (the only remaining part of the Duchy of Normandy in British hands) since I was in college. As soon as I saw this picture I thought it would make great needlepoint.

This image is a picture of a beach hotel. I’m planing on doing a guest bedroom in a beachy theme, so this would be a wonderful accent for it.

We’ll keep you posted on the progress.

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Custom Canvas – My Choices for Adaptation

CReaTiNG CuSToM NeeDLePoiNT CaNVaSeS (Part Two)

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Stitched in honor of 50 years in business.

Yesterday we learned about some types of images that work for custom needlepoint in Part One of Sandy’s post. Today, we’ll learn about two other types of images. Tomorrow, you’ll see mt choices for this projects.

Artwork: Children’s artwork is generally perfect for placing on canvas. Children usually like to use many bright colors and objects are simple (great for fun stitches and fabulous fibers). A family drawn in crayon, placed on canvas and stitched, has more lasting emotional value than a professional portrait any day of the week. Collages, paintings, and other artwork by adults, that is pleasing to the eye will most likely work on canvas. Store Logos, Ranch Brands and Pennsylvania Hex Signs are awesome on canvas. When choosing artwork, look at the original piece and imagine it in needlepoint stitches. Will an overall continental be best or do you see yourself using all sorts of stitches? If there is a body of water, will Janet’s Water Stitch be just the thing to bring it to life? I suggest taking the original artwork to your LNS (Local Needlepoint Shop) and spending some time making a list of fibers that might work on the canvas. Don’t forget to consider adding elements such as ribbons, buttons and beads to your project, when appropriate. Note: Artwork that has large areas of Darkly Mottle not be suitable, if you want to stitch the details that may not be visually apparent.

Finally, please don’t send a tiny little copy of some artwork and ask me to enlarge it to some huge size. . . . I won’t do it, because you would not be happy with the results. Blur, blur, blur! FYI: I cannot accept any artwork that is copyrighted, unless you happen to own the copyright.

It’s a fact, Jack: Artwork that is copied at 100% or Digital Photos in JPEG, TIFF or PDF Formats, saved on a CD, DVD, Flash Drive or sent via e-mail work well. Many copy shops (FedEx Kinkos, for instance) will copy your artwork and save it to your own flash drive at no cost. I return all media with the order. You can submit original artwork, also. PLEASE NOTE: I can only take orders from Needle Art Shops, however, I am happy to work with you during the process of creating your Custom Needlepoint Canvas. Be sure to give your contact information to your LNS when you discuss the ideas for your order.

In the words of Duane Michals, Photographer, “Trust that little voice in your head that says ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if…’ And then do it.”

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX: How about having a pet’s face on a Holiday ornament? A pillow top from a photo of a vacation house? A long, narrow pillow featuring a single long stemmed rose from the garden.

In the next part of this series, I’ll be discussing what I can do to enhance or improve what you’ve chosen to put onto the canvas. In the meantime, start looking at your photos and artwork through fresh eyes. The possibilities for your very own Custom Needlepoint Canvas are endless!

From My Little Corner of The World,
Sandy

Please visit me!
website: www.sandygrossman-morris.com
blog: sandygrossman-morris.blogspot.com

For more information about her custom designs, please visit: http://www.sandygrossman-morris.com/sandygrosman-morris.com/Custom_Needlepoint_Designs_by_Sandy_Grossman-Morris.html

More here:
CReaTiNG CuSToM NeeDLePoiNT CaNVaSeS (Part Two)

CReaTiNG CuSToM NeeDLePoiNT CaNVaSeS (Part One)

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

I’m excited to have my friend Sandy Grossman-Morris doing posts today and tomorrow. They are the start of a series we will be doing together about custom needlepoint.

Hi to everyone who’s Nuts About Needlepoint!! For those of you who don’t know me yet, please let me introduce myself. I’m Sandy Grossman-Morris, a designer from (Hotter than Heck) Brentwood in Northern California. I know this because our air conditioner decided to retire last night. Luckily, I’m married to Bob the Builder, who is well aware that I am only comfortable in a room that is cold enough to hang meat in safely. But, I digress….I’m really here to spread a little Bloggy Inspiration…Creating Custom Needlepoint Canvases.

First of all, I’d like to thank Janet for inviting me to spend this time with all of you. So, pour yourself a cup of tea and get ready to be inspired. I love the challenge of creating Custom Canvases. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing my knowledge of what makes a great custom design versus a not-so-great design, what I can do to enhance or improve an overall design and encourage you to think outside the box.

What is a Custom Needlepoint Canvas? In a nut shell (you know that I just had to include that little phrase!) it’s when I take your media, such as a photograph or artwork, and put it on needlepoint canvas for you, and then, Voila! it’s Instant Stitching Envy among your friends and family. Trust me, it’s the bees knees. BTW, it’s always good to remember that by the very nature of canvas, some of whatever it is you want printed onto the canvas will fall into the abyss between the threads. Don’t let this scare you, but keep in mind that every little, microscopic detail may not actually be seen in the final piece. That’s ok.

SuiTaBLe vs. UNSuiTaBLe

Photos of People and Pets: Choosing clearly defined photos with good shading of the face and hair will decrease the “Flat Factor”. Close-ups are best, as 12 stitches do not make for an interesting face! In other words, it’s far better to have a canvas featuring the head and shoulders as opposed to the whole body. A pet on the other hand, can be featured standing, reclining or a close-up head shot. Fur is much easier to stitch and shade than clothing is. Always, though, the closer the better, in order to capture the facial detail, especially the eyes. Note: Photos that have large areas of dark, mottled colors on the subject itself, may not be suitable, if you want to stitch the details that may not be visually apparent. If it’s in the background, it’s probably ok…more on that in Part Two.

Houses or Other Buildings generally make good choices, especially if the focus is on one building and it is a head-on shot. Try to choose a photo of the whole house or a specific portion of the house, say, an interesting front porch or an architectural detail such as a turret. Color photos are generally best, but if you want the end result to have artistic flair, a black and white photo may be just what you want to choose, especially if there are no plants to contend with.

custom needlepoint canvas by Sandy Grossman-Morris

This couple were given 2 Ring Bearer Pillows for their marriage ceremony.

Flowers are Fun! Don’t take your photos in full sun, or your flower may end up looking washed out. You’ll want to choose a flower with many shades of color. Take several photos from various angles in order to choose the best one for your project. Close-ups are best, but be sure to keep an eye on the focus. . . . The clearer the photo, the clearer the canvas. A bouquet of flowers would make a beautiful pillow top or chair back, as well as a framed piece. A wedding ring pillow featuring a single flower is a memorable gift for a bride. Note: A large bush of little flowers would be too detailed and would not, in my opinion, be a suitable project. Beware the Darkly Mottle!

Tomorrow, come back to learn about some other kinds of images that work.

From My Little Corner of The World,
Sandy

Please visit me!
website: www.sandygrossman-morris.com
blog: sandygrossman-morris.blogspot.com

For more information about her custom designs, please visit: http://www.sandygrossman-morris.com/sandygrosman-morris.com/Custom_Needlepoint_Designs_by_Sandy_Grossman-Morris.html

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CReaTiNG CuSToM NeeDLePoiNT CaNVaSeS (Part One)

Needlepoint Purses Old & New

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Fendi needlepoint bag

Needlepoint tote inset by Janet Perry

purse from Needlepoint, Inc

You may be under the impression that needlepoint bags look like the very expensive Fendi bag pictured top. Or that they are leather or canvas bags with a needlepoint insert such as my Haida Feather bag, center. Or even that they are made entirely from needlepoint, similar to this bag from Needlepoint, Inc., bottom.

vintage needlepoint purse

One thing they all have in common is that they are modern bags incorporating needlepoint. But needlepoint as a front for bags has been around a long time. Lovers of vintage fashion can often find needlepoint bags such as the one above because quite often they were kept for special occasions.

If you want to learn more about needlepoint purses, or buy one of your own, start with About.com page about needlepoint purses, written by Cheryl Fall, Needlepoint Guide.

Thanks to Jane from Chilly Hollow for pointing this out, I’m sending cool thoughts your way.

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Needlepoint Purses Old & New

Vintage Clip Art for Adaptation & Inspiration

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Design,Nuts About Needlepoint

vintage french arthmetic illustration

Talk about stitchy goodness for inspiration and adaptation, thanks to my DD, who is REALLY good at finding these things, I found a blog called Agence eureka, which is chock fill of great vintage printed material.

It’s written in French, but the important thing is the wonderful images. I found things, like this chart from an arithmetic book, that could go straight to needlepoint. There were more pictures from textbooks, illustrated magazines, children’s books and games, and advertisements. There are even tons of vintage alphabets to adapt.

illustration of a vintage french phonics card

Just think how fun it would be to do a version of this snowman in needlepoint. I think I’m in stitching heaven!

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Vintage Clip Art for Adaptation & Inspiration

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