needlepoint

The RSN (Royal School of Needlework) class schedule through December is now on-line.

Located in Hampton Court Palace in England, they have a wide variety of classes, with links by subject along the right side.

It used to be that you needed to travel to England to take the classes, but now they have day classes in San Francisco and Glasgow.

Thanks to Denise from Craft Gossip for pointing this out.

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Royal School of Needlework Class Schedule

How to Make an Elaborate Egyptian Hairdo

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Susan Surgeon Roberts' elaborate Egyptian hairstyle

Over on Needlepoint Teacher, Susan Sturgeon Roberts’ blog, is a wonderful detailed post on how to stitch this elaborate Egyptian hairstyle.

Now stitching the Queen of the Nile may not be in your plans, but there are plenty of things to tale away from this post.

How about using her directional creation of braids to stitch some stick-straight hair? You can use her method for making braids to make a child’s pigtails or a single fat braid.

The goldwork techniques used to embellish the hairstyle show some easy ways this material can be incorporated into your needlepoint.

The headband could be stitched in a very different thread to be any kind of headband.

So much inspiration from such a little bit of stitching.

Originally posted here:
How to Make an Elaborate Egyptian Hairdo

More Bang for your Buck from the Archives

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

I get lots of mail about saving money when stitching needlepoint. I think making good use of the investment you make in stitching is important, whether you are making a stash project with a canvas you bought on eBay or stitching a canvas that cost several hundred dollars.

You always want to know that your money isn’t wasted, and that the result will be lovely.

Saving money and getting big bangs for your bucks has always been a concern of this blog. So I thought I would point out some of the other posts I’ve done that relate.

You might want to use some of those partial skeins you have but you worry about dye lot changes, here I give you ideas on how to solve that problem. Here is another creative way to solve this problem. And this post includes yet another solution. You can tell this is a problem I encounter often.

You might love vintage canvases or thrill to finding a real bargain. I do too. Here I talk about finding vintage canvases on eBay.
Many times your bargain hunts leave you with old needlepoint kits. In this post, I give you tips on how to make the most of them.

One of my favorite techniques to create great needlepoint is to use giant cookie cutters as outlines. This post explains how to do it and shows you the results.

Needlepoint Damask is one of my favorite techniques. Not only does it give you a solution to the dyelot problem, it creates beautifully subtle backgrounds. Best of all stitchers at any level can use it effectively. This post explains the technique and includes several patterns.

There will be another round-up of more archive posts on Monday to finish off the month.

Read the original post:
More Bang for your Buck from the Archives

The Politics of Scarcity

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

As I’ve been thinking about the theme of this month’s posts, I have realized that using the tools of my needlepoint more prudently and more productively has made me a better and more creative stitcher.

We so often fall into a trap of wishing things were endless, that we could buy any canvas we wanted, that we had every color of every thread, that e never had to worry about money.

But the reality is that scarcity makes for better needlepoint, just as “neccessity is the mother of invention.” When something is scarce or restricted, it forces us too look at things in a new way.

When we do so great things begin to happen. Take the adobe church from yesterday’s post. I bought it from Canvases Be Gone when she had a big dede sale because it reminded me of a lovely church in Santa Fe. It went into my stash.

needlepoint adobe church by dede ogden stitched by needlepoint expert janet m.perry

Even when I redid one of our rooms and stitched another of the dede’s from that purchase, it stayed in the stash. I got a sample of Valdani threads to try and they were the perfect color, so out it came.

But did I want to buy the other threads I needed? No. So thread became a scarce resource. I pulled from stash. The color didn’t always match exactly and some textures weren’t ideal. But those things made me think harder about my stitch choices.

Church stitched I had to think about the background and finishing. I decided I wanted to use a ready-made frame. Because of the canvas size the frame has to be square and 4�4. These are not easy to find, but I figured one would come my way (it did, at Michael’s, it was perfect and on clearance). At the same time I looked for a background thread. THe thread I picked is a discontinued one from my stash. Since I didn’t have much and couldn’t get more, I had to pick a background that woulds be frugal (it barely lasted anyway). That scarcity for the background led me to the pretty solution.

Would I have come up with better if I had more resources probably not. I would not have had limits to hit and to force me into being inventive.

This is a recent example but I find this again and again in my stitching. LImitations and scarcity give us big bang ideas and make us better stitchers.

No related posts.

The rest is here:
The Politics of Scarcity

Make Something Beautiful while Learning New Stitches

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

needlepoint sampler designed by ann stradal

Ann Stradal's Continuing Education needlepoint sampler

Ann Stradal, who blogs at The Cape Stitcher, decided that it’s time she learned some new stitches.

In doing this she’s following in the footsteps of centuries of stitchers who made samplers. You’re probably familiar with cross stitch samplers, but a sampler is just a collection of different types of stitches; it doesn’t have to be any particular style.

That’s what I love about Ann’s “Continuing Education” project. She’s creating a formatted method for trying out her stitches, a sampler. She created this lovely geometric format (pictured here) that will focus on three stitches.

Even more delightful she has chosen threads from her stash that she isn’t likely to use.

The project is small and it’s extremely thrifty, using thread from stash and canvas on hand. It will expand Ann’s knowledge of stitches. And, when it’s done, it could be a box top, a tote bag inset, or the center of a pillow.

You can catch up with the series by reading:
Part One
Part Two

Why not take your inspiration from Ann and make a sampler of your own?

See original here:
Make Something Beautiful while Learning New Stitches

How to Decorate with a Needlepoint Rug

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Home Decor,Nuts About Needlepoint

In a lovely post earlier this week on Asmara there were 14 stunning rooms that featured needlepoint rugs. This is just one of them.

Now making a huge needlepoint rug may not be in the cards for you (although you might rethink it after seeing these rugs). But we still can learn many lessons that we can use in creating needlepoint.

Here are some ideas:

Let’s say you wanted to make a pillow for your living room couch. To make it easy, let’s make it Bargello so it can be any colors you want. While these rooms create their color palettes from the rug, you can also work in reverse. Take your cue from the colors in the room and use those to make a great palette.

Notice how in some rooms the main color of the rug is an accent color in the room. That’s a great idea for needlepoint backgrounds. Make them coordinate with a room by using one of the room’s accent colors as your background.

When thinking about patterns, designs or elements for your needlepoint, look to aspects in the room that you can echo. For example my house has very squared off stucco frames around the windows. They end in little squares that are wider than the frames. When we bought new lights and new door hardware we looked for designs with squares to reflect this. Does your wallpaper have stripes? Do you have a diamond-paned window? Use those as elements in the needlepoint you do for that room.

Your needlepoint does not have to include just the colors of the room. The room pictured here is a great example, there are more colors in the rug than in the room. You could imagine this rug in a room that was mostly green or red instead of this sunny yellow.

Think about your needlepoint design in terms of scale in a room. You want a mix of patterns in different scales. If your room is full of small busy prints, think about a bolder needlepoint. This kind of contrast creates excitement and gives the eyes a chance to notice the difference and be refreshed.

Even if you only stitch pillows or even smaller items, we can be inspired and learn from these large-scale projects.

Let’s Get . . . Series

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-04-27 05:47:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I just realized that there are over 1800 posts on this blog and there is tons of fantastic information here, but that it can be very hard to find.

So I’m going to be doing the mining for you. I’ll take a topic and write about it, linking to other posts on Nuts about Needlepoint which will give you even more information about the topic.

Some of the topics we’ll cover include:

backgrounds
beginning needlepoint
painted canvases
color
threads

From time to time, I’ll be running more of these posts and will update the ones which are here. I’m adding a new category “Let’s get . . .” which will collect all of these posts. You will also find them in the relevant category.

The first of these posts, on backgrounds, will run Wednesday.

Continue reading here:
Let’s Get . . . Series

The Biggest Bang for your Buck in Threads

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Crochet,Knitting,Nuts About Needlepoint

bargello needlepoint coin purse stitched using fingering weight koigu yarn, designed and stitched by needlepoint expert janet m. perry

A colorful knitting yarn is the basis of this Bargello needlepoint color scheme

It’s a little secret, knitting yarns, especially fingering weight, make perfect threads for needlepoint. The coin purse pictured here was based on that multi-colored knitting yarn leftover for a friend’s project.

Paula, in New Hampshire, blogs about her stitching at Coffee Time Stitches and has posted recently about two projects from my stash and Bargello clubs. She’s stitching both using fingering weight yarns.

That and another project I’m about to start reminded me how much I love to use knitting yarns for needlepoint. They may not have the selection of colors in each yarn that needlepoint threads have, but there are lots and lots of them, all coming in large skeins, beyond the dreams of avarice for needlepointers.

And they come in a much wider variety of fibers than needlepoint yarns do and in some wonderful combinations of colors.

So how do you get started looking for knitting yarns for needlepoint. Yarns are always graded by size. The size that’s most versatile for needlepoint is fingering weight, sometimes called sock yarn. This size, as Paula points out, is perfect for Bargello or other straight stitches on 18 mesh, may compress enough for other stitches on 18 mesh and is perfect for Basketweave on 14 mesh.

Because socks are very popular with knitters these days, there are many choices.

Because you don’t need much for stitching, unlike knitting, you can take advantage of those leftover single skeins that are on sale at knitting shops.

If you know knitters, you can also take advantage of their odds and ends. I do. Paula crochets and these needlepoint projects have given her a great way to use leftovers.

A popular new leftover project among knitters, the Beekeeper’s Quilt has caused many knitters to package their yarn into mini-skeins of 10 yards. That’s a trivial amount for a knitter, good only for something like this quilt, but a perfect skein size for needlepoint. Search for min-skein of fingering yarn on Etsy and eBay and you’ll come up with some irresistible finds. I have to stop myself from buying everyone I see.

Try knitting yarns for your needlepoint, you’l be so delighted with the results and how much you can do with them.

Don’t Forget to Take my Survey

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

In Nuts about Needlepoint, I’m always trying to give you the information, help, and ideas you need.

So that I’m sure I’m doing that, I need your help.

Please fill out my survey, letting me know what you think.

Everyone who answers the survey before midnight Pacific on Friday April 20, 2012 is eligible for my contest. Just be sure to give your name and email address when requested.

The contest is subject to my contest rules. If there’s more you’d like to share about the blog, please feel free to contact me. The contest is open to anyone, world-wide.

Needlepoint and Weddings

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2004-06-18 08:58:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

This is my summer to go to weddings. I’ve been to three so far and will be going to three more in the next five weeks. And a 40th anniversary party on one of the other weeks.

Oh and then my daughter’s best friend is getting married next summer and my DD is the Maid of Honor. Since the bride’s mom is a dear friend (who is also at all these wedding but the one which is out of town) we spend much of our time analyzing and talking about weddings.

This got me thinking about how to incorporate needlepoint into a wedding.

First know the couple and be sure the needlepoint will be appreciated. You don’t want to spend all that time stitching if they won’t treasure the gift.

Second, think about what you have time to do. Don’t plan on making a wedding kneeler for the church (which stays with the church) if the wedding is soon.

Then think about what you would like to make. Some ideas for the bridal party include a a ring bearer’s pillow, a cornucopia to hold a bouquet of silk flowers (don’t put real flowers in a needlepoint holder) or cummerbunds for the groom or Father of the Bride. Another idea would be to make The Red Thread’s “Lace” tool tote with a coordinated background and to finish it as an evening bag. If you are not making it in whites, then be sure to use colors which coordinate with the wedding party.

If it’s a church wedding, the church might look forward to having a wedding kneeler. These are double length kneelers for the bride and groom. Ask at the church to see if one is both welcome and needed.

Wedding samplers are a traditional and cherished gift. A friend of mine has hers hanging in the living room in a place of honor. If you don’t find a design you like, why not make a great frame to put around the wedding invitation.

Needlework made in honor of someone special is a wonderful way to commemorate these happy events.

Go here to see the original:
Needlepoint and Weddings

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