Design

The Woodlwan Exhibit of Needlework is very popular for stitchers, who exhibit, and visitors, who love to look.

Because the plantation is undergoing extensive renovation, the exhibit has been postponed. It will start on May 12. YOu can get details about the dates in this blog post.

A check of Woodlawn’s site before I left didn’t reveal the exhibit forms, but they should be available soon. Check out their site to find them.

Given that the weather in DC in March can be unreliable at best (some of their worst blizzards happen in March), having the show in May and early June hits one of the loveliest times of year there.

The past several years I have been in the area at this time, but this year I was planning to go later in the summer.

But now I want to change those plans.

Here is the original post:
Woodlawn Exhibit Happening in Mid-May

Frames for Maggie Co and Ewe & Eye

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Deux Bijoux Bijoux makes amazing frames for Maggie Co and Ewe & Eye canvas. They are intricately painted and do a wonderful job of extending the design onto the frame.

There is plenty to see and plenty to love in the gallery of Maggie Co and Ewe & Eye frames.

Read the original:
Frames for Maggie Co and Ewe & Eye

Update for May 8

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2006-05-08 14:50:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Although I didn’t add to my blog for the last several days, I have been stitching up a storm.

I finished the Leaf Mask on Saturday.

I worked on a cool quilt pillow from Susan Roberts on Sunday.
On Friday I bought the thread for the background. I decided with lots of background, I’d try a knitting yarn. I bought Cotton Classic from Tahki/Stacy Charles. It’s a mercerized cotton, less shiny than pearl cotton, in a five-ply strand. I cut the skein once at the knot to have great stitching lengths. I’m using three-ply for basketweave on 14 mesh. The thread is great, MUCH cheaper than any alternative and looks perfect, an inky black which really sets of the bright colors of the star pattern.
It’s big, on 14 mesh and I only work on it on Sundays. It will probably take me all year to do. Adding in the background color added so much to the design it was hard to put it away Sunday night.

Original post:
Update for May 8

Happiness Is Homemade – The Finished Product

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

designs by petei jam needlepoint colors changed and stitched by needlepoint expert janertm perry

Because it was a gift I couldn’t show you, but here’s the finished vintage Petei canvas I made as a quick gift for my daughter.

REmember it probably an 80′s canvas (at least it’s 80′s colors). I brought the color palette up to date (post here) with berry colors for the dusty rose, a dark blue-green for the French Blue, and a very sparkly silver for the light blue edge of the jar.

Then I had major problems with finding the right background (post here). I finally settled on a simple darning pattern using a pale aqua Silk n’Colors.

The canvas was bought on eBay and all the threads came from my stash.

I centered the design to fit a standard 4 x 6 frame from the dollar store (post on using ready-made frames here).

Perfect little gift for my jam-making daughter.

More:
Happiness Is Homemade – The Finished Product

Tracing Paper to Trace Canvas?

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Design,Nuts About Needlepoint,tools

The simple answer is NO, not ever, never.

I got this question recently from a reader.

This is the right way to transfer a design to canvas:

No you do not use tracing paper, the material in it will rub off and discolor your threads.

Here’s what you do:

Trace the outlines of your design on the paper with black marker so it is easy to see through the canvas.
Place the canvas on top of the design. If it’s hard to see, tape the design, then the canvas to a window or light box.
Using a permanent marker made for making on fabric (I like Pigma Microns from Sakura myself & they are widely available). trace the lines of the canvas.
Let sit overnight to dry completely before stitching.

YOu can see the steps used to do this in this illustrated tutorial.

I did lots of testing of potential canvas markers and wrote this post about them. I have used other markers and any marker can have the formula for the ink change and no longer be suitable for needlepoint. It’s good to test from time to time.

A final note: Never use anything to mark on canvas that isn’t waterproof, made for fabric, or tested. Always let dry overnight because many things become waterproof only after they dry completely.

Read the rest here:
Tracing Paper to Trace Canvas?

Laura Perin’s Mini Mystery #3 – Free Ornament Design

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

I’m afraid I’m woefully behind on doing Laura’s three delightful mini ornaments. I haven’t even finished the first one yet.

But today and last Monday she has posted the instructions and charts for the last and smallest of the ornaments.

Part 1 is here. Part 2 can be found as today’s blog post.

She also has a lovely gallery of finished mystery #2 samplers on her blog.

Continue reading here:
Laura Perin’s Mini Mystery #3 – Free Ornament Design

Make your own Stitcher’s Magnets

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Magnets,Nuts About Needlepoint,tools

covered button magnets from Craft Leftovers

If you have a collection of buttons or earrings that have lost their mates, have sturdy scraps or embellishments from scrapbooking, or if you haunt thrift shops looking for pretty little things, turning them into stitcher’s magnets is one of the most fun things you can do.

With good glue, embellishments, and a couple of magnets, it only takes a few minutes to make enough magnets for every project.

I’ve made my own stitcher’s magnets for years and I want to share with you what I’ve learned and give you instructions for making your own.

Magnets

You can find inexpensive magnets that are black at your local craft or office supply store. BUt I know from bitter experience that they are not strong enough. Even though they might hold together when they are in your drawer, they do not stay together on the canvas and sometimes they will not even hold a needle.

It’s far better to use rare earth magnets. They are silver and come in many sizes and thicknesses. The bigger or thicker they are, the stronger. Sometimes so strong you can pry them apart but have to slide them.

I have better luck with a smaller, thinner magnet 8 mm across (about 1/4″) and 1-3mm thick. I can pry these apart. I buy mine on ebay, but they have become more widely available recently.

Embellishments

There are two factors to consider when buying embellishments: size and material. They should not be smaller than your magnet. They can be bigger but the area bigger than the magnet will not be magnetized.

Your embellishment needs to be made out of something strong enough that it will not bend with use. This means that the only paper things you can use should be made from thick cardboard. Otherwise they just don’t last. I’ve used magnets made from felt, cloth, plastic, horn, metal, shell, and ceramic. Almost everything is from thrift shops (good source for big 80′s earrings that are perfect here), my own single earrings, or my button jar. I rarely have two that are the same.

Glue

There are two types of glue I recommend for these projects because they are very strong, easy to use, and dry clear.

The most widely available is some type of Super Glue. These glues are all similar in composition and can be found anywhere.

The second glue is ES-6000, a glue widely used in jewelry making. It is thicker than crazy glue and you need to use more of it. It takes longer to dry, but wears like iron. It comes in big tubes and can be found most places where you would find jewelry making supplies.

Do not under any circumstances use white glue or glue dots you find in craft stores — they are not stronmg enough for this job.

Step-by-step

Begin by preparing your materials. Make sure earring and pin findings or button shanks are removed (use safety goggles when doing this).
If you want to be sure your magnets stay together, cut a narrow piece of 1/8″ satin ribbon and glue each end to one of the magnets. Let dry.
On the ribbon side, if you used it, glue the embellishment onto the magnet.Let dry overnight and use.

I love my magnets. THey may not reflect the design I’m stitching, but they all reflect me.

Follow this link:
Make your own Stitcher’s Magnets

Poinsettia Quilt Block Ornament – Free Design

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

poinsettia needlepoint ornament designed by needlepoint expert janet m. perry

This bold;y graphic ornament is loosely based on a quilt block. Using all straight stitches and surrounded by a border of Straight Gobelins and Continental, this is a quick to finish project for the holidays.

I stitched mine on 18 mesh canvas using Kreinik 1/16″ ribbon (gold), Planet Earth wool (white), Gumnuts wool (green), and two of the new High Cotton colors (reds).

I made some changes from the chart. It’s charted for red, green, and gold. I took the green triangles in the center of each side and made them dark red. This gives the blossom some depth.

poinsettia ornament needlepoint chart designed by needlepoint expert janet m. perry

click for full-size chart

The border has one round of Straight Gobelin over three (remember to miter the corners), followed by a single row of Continental in green.

Read the original post:
Poinsettia Quilt Block Ornament – Free Design

Updating Colors on a Vintage Canvas

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

There are some colors that shout the period when they were made. Think of fluorescent colors in the 60′s, avocado green, harvest gold, brown, and pumpkin in the 70′s, and those country colors of dusty rose, natural white, and that greyed blue of the early 80′s.

Eventually most of these colors combination become fresh and new again but in the meantime they just end up looking dated.

This can be a serious turn-off for making a needlepoint, especially one that will be a gift.

I found myself in just this situations last week. I saw a charming canvas that is a perfect present on eBay and bought it. But when it arrived, although I love the design, the colors are those 80′s colors and if I stitch it that way it will look dated and dull.

When you are faced with this problem, you need to update the color scheme to currently popular or classic colors. Virtually all color schemes, no matter the actual colors are based on the standard color schemes, such as analogous or complementary. Once you know this you can change the colors to a similar scheme in different shades of the same colors.

The scheme I had was unpainted canvas (i.e. natural), two shades of that greyed blue, a tarnished grey, and four shades of dusty rose. That’s red, white, and blue, definitely an easy scheme. Here are two ways to update it, Classic and Current.

Classic Colors

natural becomes white or a classic light cream
blue becomes navy and sky blue
dusty rose becomes shades of red (no pink, that would be preppy) in a narrow range from red to burgundy

Current Colors

natural becomes a washed out pastel shade of aqua (blue-green) or pink (I haven’t decided which, or pure white
blue becomes a dark teal and the light blue became a very sparkly silver or blue metallic
dusty rose became four shades of pink berry colors, similar in value but more saturated.

I’md stitching in the current schem and so far it look fantastic!

BTW, no pictures since I want this present to be a surprise.

More:
Updating Colors on a Vintage Canvas

Come Stitch with Me – Winter Stars Part 1

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-01-20 06:07:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Winter Stars Needlepoint Pattern Free for stash needlepoint

A sparkly sky in icy blues. white, and pale grays is the inspiration for this Scrap Bag Needlepoint piece based on a quilt design.

You can make the quilt in any monochromatic color you like. To do so, first pick out your background color. In my case this was white, pale gray, and pale blue. Pull out all your threads in this color. Then pull out all your threads in the main color of the quilt. In my case this was blue to blue-violet. There will be a few blue-green patches, but not many.

For each block of the quilt you will use two shades of blue and one accent color. As you can see by the sample, you can have the darker shade either as the center or as the points. The only trick is to keep the look varied by not having the same thread in two blocks next to each other.

I try to keep the same thread from appearing in the same row, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, but then I have lots of thread for these.

The layout will have 5 rows of five blocks. It is stitched on a 14″ square piece of 18 mesh mono canvas. I chose a dark blue for the canvas, as I wanted to have an underlying blue theme. You can pick any color.

The block is made up of a Scotch variation called Islay. Some are a single color, while some are split between two colors.

Scotch Stitches over more than five threads have a tendency to catch and snag. One way to fix this is to split up the stitches. You lose the smooth box look, but for something which is based on a quilt, you get little divisions, which look like the ties in an old-fashioned quilt.

As the design builds, this creates a nice rhythm.

The block has nine Islay and Reverse Islay Stitches in it. The corner blocks can be either of the two stitches. The diagram shows one possibility, the picture at the top of the post shows another.

Begin by finding the center of the canvas. This should be the center of one block.

Always complete a block before moving onto the next block.

As I add blocks I find them easiest to stitch by making a corner block which is next to an already stitched block. Then I stitch the triangle points, then the center blocks, then I finish up the background.

When you are fitting in triangles or making the second triangle on a side, begin with the outside stitches and work towards the corner, this makes the triangles easier to stitch.

Come back next month for the first borders and to see the center section completed.

Follow this link:
Come Stitch with Me – Winter Stars Part 1

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