finished

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

Stitch Notebook – Product Review

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-07-28 07:00:36. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Little Shoppe Canvas Company has come up with a charming notebook to keep track of your project ideas. Unlike many other stitch diaries, this isn’t for the finished piece, but gives you a place to record your ideas for a work in progress or to be stitched.
Two pages are given to each project. The left page has lines for the project name and date, a listing of threads, and some notes. The right page has four areas of grid in two sizes for diagramming stitches. This is a feature not often seen in stitch notebooks and a useful tool. One thing I like to do with new stitches is draw them the way I would stitch them. This feature lets me do that easily.
Great product, available at your local shop.

See original here:
Stitch Notebook – Product Review

Self-finishing eBook Reader Cover from Lee -Product Review

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

In April and May you saw my posts about the insert for an ebook cover I was making. I talked about modifying the design so it would fit, picking threads, and one of the stitches I used. But you haven’t gotten a chance to see the finished product or learn what I thought about it.

You can see the finished result here. and, after having used it for a couple of weeks, I have to say that I love it.

First off, I think it is the easiest LNA product to finish I’ve done. The margins are huge because the needlepoint is small in relation to the cover and not on a pocket. So it got finished unbelievably quickly.

Although the cover isn’t padded, so it has an elegant smooth finish, the inside is covered with something soft and is nicely padded. Much more than the Kindle cover I bought from Amazon.

There is also a nice little pocket for a business card or other ID.

The reader is held in place by four elastic straps, that are in the corners. You stretch these and slip in the reader. It took me a couple of tries to fit it in, but now my reader is in there securely.

I only have one tiny complaint, the elastic is a little thick for my 3G Kindle so some important button on the left of the keyboard and the on-off switch are partially covered. But not completely, so it’s still usable.

It’s a great product and I highly recommend it for yourself or others.

Follow this link:
Self-finishing eBook Reader Cover from Lee -Product Review

Ok, my Needlepoint Is Stitched – What Do I Tell My Finisher?

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-07-01 05:58:13. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Leigh Shafer is talented finisher based in Arizona. In Jane Zimmerman‘s most recent email newsletter she shared the most wonderful tips about what we as stitchers need to know in order to get the best results from the finishing.

Leigh was gracious enough to give me permission to post it here for you.

Once you have finished stitching your project, you need to consider how you want it finished. Will it be a pillow? A standing figure? Do you want ornaments that you can hang on your Christmas tree? Do you have favorite colors, or do you have one color that you absolutely hate? How will the finished piece be used or displayed?

All of these thoughts must be conveyed to your finisher so that you and she can be in agreement on the finished product.

Do you want a pillow? Ok – what kind? Knife edge with cording, ruffle,
lace, a fabric border framing your stitching? Perhaps you like the look of a more formal boxed pillow with just self cording. Will the pillow get a lot of wear? Will you want to take out the pillow form and dry clean the work occasionally? A zipper closing will make this much easier to do. Let your finisher know. Most finishers I know prefer to do pillows with zipper closings – it gives a neater, more finished look to the piece.

Have you stitched an additional two or three threads outside the design area so that no bare canvas will show when all the finish work is done? This is not an absolute rule, but it is a good idea. Have you selected fabric and trims or will you let your finisher pick for you? Here is where your finisher needs to know what you like. Please be as specific as possible as to colors and styles. If you have a contemporary or formal home, you don’t want a pillow with a lot of cutesy “stuff”. If you have children and/or pets, a delicate fabric won’t survive the normal wear and tear if the pillow is to be in a family room. If a certain color, even in a small accent capacity, really grates on your senses, let your finisher know.

Remember, a finisher is not a mind reader. You may have spent several months or even years stitching your masterpiece. You’ve spent a considerable amount of money on the canvas, the charts, the threads – you want it to be finished to show off your work to the best advantage. The more information you can give this person to whom you are entrusting your work, the better the job she will do for you, and the happier you will be with the final result.

*****

Here’s a little bit about Leigh’s background, she writes “I was a store owner in So Calif in the 80′s, I’ve been a member of EGA and ANG since the early 90′s, have stitched all my life, and taught for the past 30 years. I started finishing my own pieces for my store, customers saw my work and wanted me to do their finishing. So, I’ve been finishing for over 20 years. For the last four years, I have done some of the finishing for the ANG auctions at seminar.”

Leigh can be reached via email at leighstitcher @ hotmail . com (remember to remove the spaces).

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Ok, my Needlepoint Is Stitched – What Do I Tell My Finisher?

Buy Yarn – What to Look for When Shopping

in Craft Shopping

When you want to buy yarn, there are a lot of different elements to consider. By taking the time to explore your options and know what you are looking for, you will have a much easier shopping experience than if you were to just walk into a store and try to guess at what you need. First of all, you have to think about the project that you are taking on, the type of yarn that would be best for that project, and how much you want to spend. The quality of the yarn will directly reflect the quality of your finished product, so never buy cheap yarn or settle for less than the best.

Continued here:
Buy Yarn – What to Look for When Shopping

My Favorite Project Bags – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2008-12-21 06:22:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Is your husband like mine, unwilling to enter a needlepoint shop on his own? Today’s needlepoint gift is the perfect solution. He will get to shop in a store he’ll love and you will get some great project bags.

The store is Cabela’s and the bag (pictured above) is the Wet Essentials Bag. It can be found in the camping section.

Three sizes are available, large (10�8), extra-large (12�10) and XXL (15�12). The mesh on the outside makes them impervious to scissors and needles. The zipper will hold your stuff in the bag. They have a clamp in the side so you can attach them to things like your table or floor stand and the gusset bottom makes for easy expansion.

I love my bags and the price (under $10 for the largest size) is great. I’m so glad me friend Debbie turned me on to them.

And if there isn’t a Cabela’s near you, you can order on-line.

Excerpt from:
My Favorite Project Bags – 12 Days of Needlepoint Gifts

Winter Wreath Finished

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2008-03-03 06:11:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Just a quick post to let you know that I finished the lovely Winter Wreath (Poinsettias) from Happy Heart over the weekend.

I’d show you a picture but it’s too big to fit on my scanner and is all packed ready to go.

The stitch guide for it will be available from your local shop soon.

This makes another President’s Challenge piece finished (four so far).

More here:
Winter Wreath Finished

Personal Needlepoint – Transferring the Design

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Design,Nuts About Needlepoint

Using your image, a copier, and your knowledge of the finished size, make your chosen image the right size for your finished item.

When doing this remember to leave a margin on all sides, the design will look better, and be sure to leave enough room for the other elements in your finished piece. Once you have a possible good size, put it under your needlepoint canvas to be sure there is space for the details.

Like what you see?

Using a extra fine marker made for fabric, trace the item onto your canvas.

Once it is traced, darken the lines.

Next I charted “ti esti” and added a question mark. I think it will fit nicely below the animal, starting near the back foot. I’ll count to be sure there is enough room and color the intersections to match the chart.

Above the tail I want to put a monogram of SJC, so I’m looking at a vintage book, Needlework Monogram Unlimited by Barbara Borssuck that I have interlaced & modified (below). The year will go under it or above or below the bill.

The finished design looks like this:

Next Thursday I’ll talk about the choices I made for threads and stitches.

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Personal Needlepoint – Transferring the Design

Finishing a Mini-sock

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

sutton hoo mini-sock from needlepoint expert janet m. perry

Many people wonder how to turn your stitched needlepoint into a mini-sock. It’s not that hard if you have a sewing machine.

One of the first tutorials The Caron Collection put on their website is this one on making an open and lined mini-sock. Your finished sock will be just like a regular-sized stocking (you can use these same instructions to make those too).

One of the great things about finishing mini-socks is that they don’t take much material, so you can go crazy with finding luxurious fabrics for them. One of the best sources is to use fabric samples from interior designers or high-end fabric shops. Often they sell them cheap or even give them away when the fabric is discontinued. I have a whole bag of these in my closet.

If you have any true factory outlets or fabric mills in your area they might have sales of scraps, I used one bag of these for my linings for years. Also look at fat quarters (they’ll line several socks) and remnants.

Your lining fabric should be thin and soft. Your backing fabric should be firm and, if possible, non-ravelling.

If you want trim on your mini-sock, look for remnants of trim and stock up when you find it in colors you like. You can also make your own twisted cord following the linked instructions. You can even make tassels to add.

Finishing mini-socks isn’t hard and you’ll love the happy feeling you get when you see them all lined up.

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Finishing a Mini-sock

How to Make a Coaster

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Marlene assked earlier this week about how to finish a coaster. It’s not hard to do, so let’s talk about how to do it.

Begin by selecting the size for the coasters. Square coasters are vastly easier to make than round coasters (I’ll put some notes about that in a bit). Coasters generally are 3 or 4 inches square, so plan on that for the finished size of the stitching.

Stitches, Threads, & Coasters

Because coasters get sone wear, you will want to use stitches that won’t snag. Because you will be putting something directly on the stitches, you will also want stitches that are flat and not bumpy. This is not the place for smyrna crosses, padding, or exposed canvas.

Every thread you use MUST be colorfast. Glasses are often wet on the bottom or sweat and this moisture will cause non-colorfast threads to bleed.

It’s better if threads are absorbent and somewhat water resistant. This makes wool a fantastic choice for coasters.

I had been thinking that all the ready-made needlepoint coasters I had seen were wool in Tent Stitch because it was cheap to make. That is why, but it turns out, it’s also a good choice.

The Innards & Back of the Coaster

You will need something inside your coaster to give it some strength. The best thing for this is 14 count plastic canvas. It’s strong and flexible. You can cut it to the size you need.

If you want your coaster to be thicker, buy some thing sheets of cork and add them to the inside.

Cut both the plastic canvas and the cork to be 1/4″ smaller than the finished needlepoint.

For a backing you will want something like Ultrasuede, that is rough enough to keep the coaster in place. I like Ultrasuede because you can often find small pieces, it comes in lots of colors, and you can cut it to fit. To begin, cut it slightly large than the finished needlepoint. You’ll trim it later.

Round Coasters

If you want to make round coasters begin by finding plastic canvas rounds that are the size you want. Use one of them as the template for your needlepoint, but stitch about three stitches beyond the outline from the plastic canvas.

The other important difference is in finishing, you will need to clip the unstitched margin of the canvas in order to make the edge smooth. You can find directions in clipping seams in many sewing books and on sewing sites.

Making the Coaster

Assemble the sandwich so that you have the needlepoint on top, then the cork (if you are using it), then the plastic canvas. Make sure the innards are centered on the needlepoint.

Make diagonal cuts at each corner of the needlepoint to reduce bulk. Turn the edges of the needlepoint t the back and temporarily secure with clothespins.

Look at the edges to make sure no canvas shows. If it does, trim your innards a bit to make them smaller then repeat the steps above.

Once you are happy with the edges, lash the needlepoint to the plastic canvas using perle cotton or linen (perle cotton and linen are very strong). Do this one side at a time by removing the clothespin, pulling the needlepoint taut, and then sewing through the margin and the plastic canvas many times to secure it.

Now your coaster needs a backing. Trim your backing to be slightly smaller than the coaster top. With two strands of matching floss, sew the back to the coaster using blind hemstitch or another binding stitch.

YOur coaster is ready to go!

Continue reading here:
How to Make a Coaster

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finished

Stitches, Threads, & Coasters

The Innards & Back of the Coaster

Round Coasters

Making the Coaster

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