gold

celtic interlace quilt twinchy needlepoint in medieval colors, designed and stitched by needlepoint expert janet m. perry

Going from the earth and mineral colors that predominated the palettes of Ancient Egypt and Greece, the High Middle Ages seem to burst in a world of color and light.

I have adored the bright, rich blues of medieval prayer books, or Books of Hours, since I first saw one in a reproduction in High School. A picture from Jean de Berry Book of Hours, it’s the monthly scene for June, is below.

illustration from medieval book of hours

Those colors are the inspiration for this Twinchy. It captures the bright colors with the blue and red, the lightness of the palette with the blue-violet, the slightly yellow white of vellum and parchment, and the gold that is so much a part of illuminated manuscripts.

It’s just one of the twelve color palettes I’ll be exploring in Color through the Ages my exciting new color and thread club beginning March 1, 2012.

Each month you’ll get the charted Twinchy (2″ square needlepoints) and lots of information on the palettes, color, and three threads in a PDF.

There are two subscription option, basic and deluxe. The basic subscription gets the monthly PDF only. The deluxe gets the PDF, canvas for the Twinchy, and samples of three threads.

Basic Package includes the PDFs of each month’s program. It is $7.50 per month. Use the PayPal button below to register.

Basic Subscription

Deluxe Package includes the PDFs of each month’s program as well as canvas and three thread samples of about 2 yards per month. It is $12.50 per month. Use the PayPal button below to register.

Deluxe Subscription

In addition if you make a single payment for either option (using the buttons below or pay via check (contact me for the address) you will receive a10% discount..

Annual Basic

Annual Deluxe

Please note that the Deluxe Package prices are for shipment to US addresses only. If you want this option and live outside the US, please contact me. All sales to California are subject to sales tax. If you are in California and choose the subscription, you will be invoiced for the sales tax separately.

Follow this link:
Book of Hours Color Twinchy – Sneak Peek at New Color & Thread Club

How-To: Gold Dipped Holiday Glasses

by Rachel Hobson

in Uncategorized

I love the luxe, classic feel of these gold dipped holiday wine glasses from Liz of say YES! to hoboken over on Momtastic. What a fun and easy way to add some elegance to your holiday table!

Stitching Order & Open Stitches

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2006-10-23 07:18:41. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The order you stitch a canvas can make a huge difference in the finished result. This is especially true when you are using open stitches of any kind.

When there is open canvas, even something as simple as pattern darning or T Stitch – seen here, threads can be seen behind the stitching. Or at least that possibility exists.

When does this happen? It happens when travelling stitches (thread moving frm one area to the next on the back of the canvas) is under the threads of the open stitch. The threads of the open stitch hold the travelling thread close to the canvas and it can show.

Needlepoint Ornament - Our Lady of Guadelupe unfinished

This was a potential problem in this Our Lady of Guadelupe from Petei. The background is T Stitch, an open stitch, but the gold rays would have travelling threads.

The solution is a simple one, stitch the open stitch first and then stitch the thread which will have travelling threads. This will hold those travelling threads above the threads of the open stitch and away from the canvas.

This does not work with really open stitches, like Blackwork. In that case, find some organza in a color to coordinate with the canvas and stitch everything through that. The fabric keeps all the travelling threads away from the canvas so they can’t be seen.

And yes, you can still use a tapestry needle!

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Stitching Order & Open Stitches

A Small Rant about Needlepoint Kits

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-07-17 07:20:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I don’t often buy needlepoint kits, but when I do I buy them because I like the picture of the project on the cover and I want to stitch it. That one. Right now. Not needing to add one thing.

That’s the point of a kit isn’t it? Grab and go?

So imagine my surprise when I bought a kit recently, from Chameleon Designs, really loving the piece and found that the kit was not complete. It had the main thread, canvas, instructions and a needle. But the second thread, which is used for overstitching as an accent was glaring in its absence.

And in the instructions, this step was fobbed off with a comment that overstitching or beads could be added.

Nothing about the thread to use, nothing about where or how to do the overstitching (I guess we could look at the picture, but they didn’t even bother to say that), nothing about where to put the beads which can barely be seen in the corner of a second one of the piece seen at the top of the picture of the project that caused me to buy the kit in the first place.

There was space to add this information and the thread should have been included in the kit,. Or if it wouldn’t be included the main picture should have been of the project without the overstitching and the other ones should have been less prominent and labeled as variations.

To their, very slight credit, they do say inside the gold thread isn’t included, (so they noticed?). But you only find this out after you have bought the kit and opened it, so you can’t return it since it isn’t even in a resealable bag, if you had a shop that would take it back.

Then I sat down to read the instructions for the project that I had. The picture on the cover shows a squAre made up of 25 Scotch Stitches, arranged in an alternating pattern, that;s just fine. BUT the chart shows 30 Scotch Stitches, still alternating. But the instructions tell you to alter the direction of the stitch every second stitch which does not give you the results which were charted or pictured.

Now I am left with an expensive kit (it was imported and cost over $16 for a project which, when stitched will have almost no relation to the project I thought I was buying. If I didn’t have thread in my stash, I’d have to go buy some and if I followed the written directions I’d have something I never could get to look like the picture.

This is irresponsible and not fair to the stitcher. It does our industry no good if this is how professionals choose to package their work.

Now they have me deciding never to buy a product of theirs, returning the other products of theirs I have bought, blogging about it, and being in a bad mood about something which I bought to make me happy. Good job there! Great way to get people excited about needlepoint!

Could we have some honesty here?

See the original post here:
A Small Rant about Needlepoint Kits

Gold Thread Winner

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

The winner of the gold threads is Susan Spiers of Mississippi.

She was chosen by using the random number generator at Random.org.

I was completely overwhelmed by the response and all your ideas for using the threads.

Thanks to everyone for participating.

Continued here:
Gold Thread Winner

Punch up Metallic Canvas Backgrounds

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

needlepoint cactus on metallic canvas and metallic threads, stitched by janet perry

Do you ever feel as if metallic canvas is not quite metallic enough?

Today learn how metallic canvas is constructed and discover a way to punch up the glitz on it.

Metallic canvas is mono needlepoint canvas with two different threads. The warp (vertical) threads are all the same cotton threads as non-metallic canvas. The weft (horizontal) are made from a thread that combines the regular thread with a thin metallic in either gold, silver, or opalescent. These threads are similar in construction to threads such as Vineyard Silks Shimmer or Planet Earth Opal. Therefore the metallic will show up only occasionally and only if the weft thread is on top (i.e. horizontal intersections).

Recently I was making a piece on this canvas and wanted there to be more metallic. By combining an open stitch, opalescent canvas and a thread to match the metallic in the canvas, I got a great look.

Begin by looking for the thread. Look for something sparkly. The thread here is Winter from Rainbow Gallery, other possibilities include Kreinik 032 (pearl), Crystal Braid, and Nordic Gold. Black opalescent will be harder to find, but look for a black thread with an opalescent shine (colors) instead of a white, silver, or gray shine.

Now pick your stitch. Any open Tent Stitch pattern will work. I used Skip Tent but other ones, such as Background Stitch (below) that have more skipped intersections will work.

I made my stitch on the horizontal intersections. This covered some metallic intersections but left some uncovered. If you want all of them uncovered, stitch on vertical intersections.

The picture above shows the result, with some of the background left unstitched for comparison.

See the article here:
Punch up Metallic Canvas Backgrounds

Planet Earth Silk Opal – Thread Review

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

mimbres fish needlepoint by janet perry, available from whimsy & grace

Planet Earth has added a new silk and metallic combination thread to their line. Similar to Vineyard Silk Shimmer; this thread combines their basic single strand silk with a blending filament size metallic into a single thread.

I have a couple of colors to test out and used the cream/silver combination on this Mimbres fish (designed by me and available from Whimsy & grace).

This color looks particularly well against the sandstone color of the canvas. I also really liked the way the slight bit of metallic shimmer stood up well against the black metallic throughout the piece. The soft silk was a good textural contrast, whiled the occasional metallic flash picked up the sparkle of the black.

This thread comes in 103 colors, combining a colored silk with either gold or silver metallic. For you this means that you can shade or stitch Bargello with these threads. It also means that you can use them in place of a more matte thread to emphasize areas in your stitching.

That’s a wonderful tool. It works because, as you can see from my fish, the metallic is both random and occasional. Unlike a metallic thread where the sparkle is regular and shouts “Look at me!” or some blended threads where the metallic is about equal to the non-metallic, this blend is a good proportion of colors that will work well in a broad range of designs.

I’m really looking forward to my next project using Opal, where I will use it in some textured stitches.

More:
Planet Earth Silk Opal – Thread Review

Two Plastic Canvas Ornaments

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2008-12-24 16:05:49. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here’s your Christmas presents from me. These are free charts for two simple Christmas ornaments you can make using threads from your stash and 14 mesh plastic canvas.

Both are based on classic American quilts. You can make them in any colors you choose and they will only take a little while.

Because they use plastic canvas they are easy to finish and those instructions will be at the end of tomorrow’s post.

The first one, pictured above, is based on the Diamond in the Square quilt, so often seen in Amish quilts. It’s stitched entirely in Pebbly Perle. The chart os below.

Use any color scheme you like. I used a quiet analogous scheme of pink, violet, and navy blue. More saturated colors could make a really bold design.

This one uses a five patch quilt block as a basis for an ornament which looks like Cloisonne enamel. The design is outlined using gold metallic then the blocks are filled in, again with Pebbly Perle. The chart for the design is below

This uses the same color scheme of pink, violet, and blue, but look how different it is! By choosing a much lighter blue, and more saturated colors, the scheme is bright and cheery. Adding the gold also brightens it.

Merry Christmas!

Related posts:

Another Plastic Canvas Alert

Plastic Canvas Podcast

Great Plastic Canvas Storage Box

Two Great Plastic Canvas Patterns

Plastic Canvas Gift to Make for Knitters

Read this article:
Two Plastic Canvas Ornaments

Blog Stitching — Needlepoint a Ladybug

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

My stitching for Super Bowl Sunday was to start working on the Ladybug. I love ladybugs, always have (but then I’ve never lived in a place with major infestations of them. This one is the Two-spotted ladybug, but there are many other kinds, not all of them red.

The red is stitched in Criss-cross Hungarian, above, using Silk & Ivory. I find the rhythm of this stitch very comforting and I like that it stitches up fast.

The head and spots are stitched in Basketweave using black Silk & Ivory, but I wanted the spots to look very round. Round is a problem in needlepoint. Jessicas make things round, but have far more texture than I want here.

The solution is to use Whipped Backstitch, above. You can make the outline thick or thin and the wrapping turns everything into a nice round shape. Since I didn’t want the outline to be too obvious, I used Mandarin Floss for it. I’m trying to decide if I want to do the same thing for the gold dots once I get there.

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Related posts:

Blog Stitching — Starting a Project

Why Outline?

Blog Stitching – Making the Initial Decisions

Round Pegs in Square Holes

Salvaging Stitching Disasters in the Making

See the original post:
Blog Stitching — Needlepoint a Ladybug

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