overdyed threads

Ashley Bradley has added a line of cat mini-socks to her line of dog mini-socks. So here’s another addition to the many cat ornament canvas and stitched cat ornaments in my collection.

Squigee has some delightful new canvases including a T shirt with a charm that says “When pigs fly”. There are several other witty pieces as well. If you like black poodles, and I do, she has an adorable black poodle roll-up, named Omar.
Among other designs, Patt & Lee has a lovely stitch-painted Christmas Tree with presents under it (a Stitch Guide is also available).

Brenda Kocher has two new designs, an offset Log Cabin sampler featuring lots of Hilton stitches called Lavender Logs, and a new Bargello design called Bodacious Bargello.

Melissa Shirley, as always, has tons of new things. These include several additions to the sky blue, yellow, an white Texas hearts (my favorite is the armadillos), a charming procession of the animals to Noah’s Ark.

Geishas seem to be a big deal this summer, with new ones from Lani, Melissa Shirley, and others.

Lani also has some really elaborate bracelets and some lovely masks in different color. Rebecca Wood has a new series of banners, showing off fondant cakes for each month.

Kreinik has doubled the number of Hot Wire colors, bringing it to 18. They have also added for new Rainforest colors to Japan #7, and brought out Easter Grass in 1/16″ width. They are also expanding their selection of boxed kits, adding 28 count silk gauze, and bringing out new embellishments.

Coming in early July, Crescent Colours will be introducing hand-dyed chenille, rick-rack, and cotton lace. Such interesting ideas for embellishment.

Original post:
New Summer Needlepoint Products

Techniques with Overdyed Threads – Last Week to Join Class

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Classes,Nuts About Needlepoint

needlepoint christmas ornament of chicago harbor light, overdyed threads cyberclass from needlepoint expert janet m perry

Overdyed threads can do so much in needlepoint, but, all too often our efforts are frustrated because the thread doesn’t behave the way we’d like.

I love overdyed and hand-dyed threads and have spent years developing techniques that let stitchers get amazing effects using these threads and simple stitches.

You’ll be amazed at how you can create the look of stucco, stone, sand, and a cloud-filled sky with these threads.

As you can see in the class piece, a canvas from Sandy Grossman-Morris, not only will you learn these great techniques, but you’ll make this charming ornament of the Chicago Harbor Light.

The class begins June 1 and is $50. The price includes the glicee-printed canvas and the class. No threads are included.

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Techniques with Overdyed Threads – Last Week to Join Class

Techniques in Overdyed Threads – Class Now Open

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Classes,Nuts About Needlepoint

needlepoint christmas ornament of chicago harbor light, overdyed threads cyberclass from needlepoint expert janet m perry

Overdyed threads changed the world of needlepoint, but how often do you feel perplexed about how to use them? If you do, you’re not alone.

But, as you can see in the glorious ornament from Sandy Grossman-Morris, it’s not hard to use overdyed and hand-dyed threads to create big impact needlepoint.

My new class,beginning in early June is designed to teach you many wonderful techniques you can use with these popular threads. Every thread used in this ornament is hand-dyed or overdyed. In the class you’ll learn how to:

make “stone” walls
use two similar colors to create (stucco)
ways to use these threads with decorative stitches
make an amazing (and easy) sky)

Not only will you learn about the techniques, you’ll try every one of them while making a delightful piece of needlepoint.

Registration for the class is open only until May 23, so don’t delay.

The class, including the canvas but no threads, is $50 and you can register by clicking the button below. (If you prefer not to use PayPal or live outside the US, please contact me for other arrangements.)

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Techniques in Overdyed Threads – Class Now Open

Needlepoint New Products – March 2010

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in accessories,Halloween,Nuts About Needlepoint

I just found out about lots of great new needlepoint products I wanted to share with you.

Charted Needlepoint

DeBee’s Design has more charts available in the Glitz & Glamour and Diamond Delights series. Harlequin Opal is done on black canvas and features a rainbow of brights. Diamond Delights 8 features the colors of the Southwest in large motifs in defined area against a colored and shadesd background.

Brenda E. Kocher has a delightful small project to learn Or Nue, a technique of shaded gold well-suited to canvas. The project features a tiny egg done in this technique on a decorative background.

Cleopatra’s Eyes is designed by Kurdy Biggs and is based on kaleidescope images. It combines several innovative stitches and thread. You can also enhance the design with beads and crystals. It’s a very complex piece.

Canvases

CBK Needlepoint Collection has two new brick covers from Designs by Karen, a dragonfly and one with geckos and ferns. Painted Pony has a delightful Grand Canyon Angel. The canyon takes up most of the skirt and would be a lovely place to show off some great threads.

Melissa Prince Designs has a collection of elegant special occasion bags, with both the front and back as painted canvas. They also include the hardware and a chain strap in silver and antique silver. Carol Gantz of Associated Talents has collaborated with DMC on a series of Store Front Bakery canvases that feature Memory Thread. A free stitch guide that include instructions on using this thread is available.

Dream House has a great watermelon canvas that has big and little watermelon slices in bright colors. I think it has a very Charley Harper feel and would be a great summer project.

Kelly Clark has several new canvases including a new spring topiary (a pair in a decorative border), and Jack Skuleton, a small skeleton all dressed up for a night on the town. It’s just too cute! She also has a series of small bats that are only 6″ inches wide and very cute.

Voila has a clever new idea — key fob kits. Called, Fab Fobs, the kits are self-finishing. In the bag you’ll find a hand-ainted canvas, coordinating grosgrain ribbon for the back, key fob hardware and instructions. Everything is packed in an adorable organza bag so they make a perfect gift.

Cross Stitch designer Anna Lee Waite is now offering hand-painted needlepoint. I saw a charming patchwork heart that was delightful.

Threads, Finishing, & More

Weeks Dye Works introduced four new colors of floss last month: River Rock (grayed-brown), Capri (lovely blue-green), Daylily (yellow-orange), and Charlotte’s Pink (wonderful but somewhat soft pink).

EdMar has introduced a new bright white to their line of rayon threads. It’s shades whiter than their previous white and, according to the company, virtually colorless compared to standard white.

Divine Threads, a maker of overdyed rayon threads has added four new colors to their line that include two pinks: sea shell and old rose, a blue, delphinium, and a green, pine.

Gloriana has also added new colors to their Florimell (Au Ver a Soie): a series of fantastic browns: Fawn, Hazelnut, Antique Black, and Havana Brown.

Crescent Colours has new colors in both floss and silk. The new floss colors are Blue Corn (a bright blue), Hazelnut (greenish-gold) and Chopped Chives (slightly blued green). The new silk colors are Berry Cobbler (think of blueberry juice from a cobbler), Biscotti (dark ecru), and Pecan Pie (brownish gold).

Gentle Art has four lovely soft colors available in both Simply Shaker Cotton Floss and Simply Wool. They are Baked Clay, Trade Wind, Faded Rose, and Honeydew. All four a pale and soft almost Shabby Chic colors that have a feminine vintage feel. They also have two new limited edition colors: crocus (blue) and Bermuda Grass (green).

Lee has come out with some great new bags, including a nylon laptop bag (available in olive and black) and a lightweight nylon tite with two zippered outer pockets. They also have leather biker bags in two sizes complete with chain straps and studs around the area for the needlepoint.

Finally our prayers go out to the folks at Kreinik and to the Kreinik family. Patriarch and company co-founder Jerry Kreinik died earlier this week. Although I never met him, our needlepoint world is far richer for the pioneering things he did.

Read more from the original source:
Needlepoint New Products – March 2010

New Dinky-Dyes Colors

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Dinky Dyes just announced new colors in their wonderful threads.

There are 6 new colors of stranded silk, 5 new colors of silk ribbon in both 4mm & 7mm, and 4 new colors in their three sizes of silk perle.

The new stranded silks are Antique Mauve, Dusty Rose, Blue Ice, Wallaby Grass, Peacock, Kiah. The new ribbons are Tropic Sunshine, Pearl
Snowy River, Rose Bay, Blue Ice. The new perles are Coral Sea, Midnight, Blue Iris, Brambleberry

You can see the new colors in a PDF page.

They will be available beginning Tuesday.

Creating a Color Scheme for Learn-a-Stitch

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Threads pulled for Learn-a-Stitch program. All are based on Watercolours Tahiti, the multi-color seen in the middle of the picture.

My initial plan for the Learn-a-Stitch mini socks was to use a different color combination for each one, trying different shades of Watercolours and challenging myself to find threads that matched.

Then two things happened. First, I stitched February’s mini-sock (you’ll see it next week) and found the Watercolours I’d picked, plum, didn’t go with much in my stash and I ended up not liking the result as much as I thought I would.

This could be a product of our recent gray days, or aging eyes, or just changing tastes, but I’m longing for bright cheery colors.

The second thing was that someone asked me if the series could be done in one set of threads. I hadn’t thought about it this way, but yes, it could. But I would get bored with only one set of threads for all twelve stockings, so I decided I’d make a coordinated set, but with a difference. Although the Watercolour will be the same in all, the other threads will change. But they all will be picked from a set of threads picked ahead of time to go with that Watercolours.

The key to doing this is to pick a shade of Watercolours that has at least three, preferably more, different colors in it. There are lots of these. I picked Tahiti, which has all the colors of the rainbow in it. Not because of that but because it’s my favorite shade of Watercolours. (If you want some other “rainbow” Watercolours, try Autumn Frost, Rain Forest, or Woodlands, I can often find these as pastel or dark spectrums.)

Then, with your Watercolours in hand, look through your stash for any thread that has one of these colors in it, or makes the Watercolours “pop” and look brighter or more defined. Try to get a variety of textures and colors. Add a true metallic (silver or gold).

Put them into a box or bag. I only got through about half my stash and have a photo box full. The picture above is only the top layer of thread. I have wool blends, cottons, silks, and metallics. Some for each color in the thread and a couple that looked so cool against Tahiti I HAD to include them.

Each month, there will be five patches, so you will always need at least five threads. Sometimes, depending on the stitch, more will be needed. But you’ll know when you see the project each month.

Pull out your Watercolours and four other threads that will go with it. Put them with your outline in the project bag. Then you are ready to stitch.

More here:
Creating a Color Scheme for Learn-a-Stitch

Overdyed Thread Techniques Demonstrated

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

My friend Jen, over at Funk & Weber shows several different techniques for handling overdyed threads.

The samples are done in cross stitch, which is fantastic for showing the changes. You can apply them to needlepoint by using Continental or pretty much any decorative stitch.

One of my favorite pieces is a cow fro Mika Partridge I stitched for my youngest when she was little and seriously into cows. I did the background in Mosaic Stitches made in horizontal rows, using two different colors of Impressions. Meadow for the grass and Lavandula for the sky. Totally cool and using the technique Jen calls stripes.

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Overdyed Thread Techniques Demonstrated

Thread News from TNNA

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

I am more excited than I can say about Rainbow Gallery’s new thread, Shaded Very Velvet. This space-dyed thread is simply fantastic and I used up every scrap of the samples I got. And I have had to sit on my hands and not tell you about them for a couple of weeks. There are 11 colors, some in both sizes.

These threads are space-dyed, giving them a nice variety of shades. I found that, depending on the application this could be subtle or bold. You’ll see them Tuesday in the Learn-a-Stitch mini-sock and the review will be up later in the week or early next week.

On top of this great new thread, there are the following new colors: 3 in Neon Rays and Neon Rays Plus (same colors in both lines), 2 more in each Soft Sheen and regular Fyre Werks. 6 in Silk Lame #18, and 17 in Silk Lame #13.

Kreinik has a new line of thread as well as a new series of colors in their metallics. Hot Wire, the new thread, is metallic-wrapped wire. It’s thick, so it will work well for couching to attach bended shapes onto canvas. It comes in several colors to match existing metallics (gold, silver, red, green, black, chartreuse, and grapefruit) and two new colors, pink and yellow. The pink is similar to the matte metallic pink, but with more glitter. The yellow is similar to yellow Kreinik, but not an exact match. Soon I’ll have a review if them so you can see them in action. The link goes to Kreinik’s Q&A page about the thread.

Their new series is called Candy Glass. There are nine new colors, that look like hard candies wrapped in cellophane. I love that they are so bright. They come in #4, #8, #12, and #16 .Look for a review of them soon as well.

DMC has new colors of Memory Wire.

There are lots of new colors in several lines of hand-dyed threads. Gentle Art has three new colors of Simply Wool (crewel weight). They are Lemon Drops, Terra Cotta, and Simply Fern. In this line there are also new Limited Edition colors: Antique Coin, Sorbet, and Cinnamon Toast. There are also three new Sampler Colors: Tiger Lily, Acorn, and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Crescent Colors also has new shades. In their Perle #5 the colors are Morning Glory, Nutmeggie, and Pumpkin Harvest. The new colors in Belle Soie are Ivy League, Maple Leaf, and Weathered Vine. The new floss colors are Barn Door, Ora’s Iris, and Old Money.

Weeks Dye Works has new floss colors as well. They are Goldenrod, Seagull, Michael’s Navy, and Tarragon. They also have 12 new colors in #12 perle. This thread comes on spools.

River Silks also has some new shades of ribbon. Details to follow.

Lizbeth makes interesting threads for hand work, tatting, and lace-making. Their size 10 will work on 18 mesh canvas. It comes in solids and variegated colors and many of the variegated shades are matched to one or more solids, so coordinating is easy. There are 121 colors in all.

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Thread News from TNNA

October Twinchy Challenge – Watercolours

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2008-10-31 07:05:21. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Using a thread as your inspiration is a fantastic way to develop a color scheme, and one which you can do no matter how confident you are about picking out colors.

This month’s Twinchy Challenge encouraged you to pick a color of Watercolours, find some threads which go with it and then stitch away.

Attic Window Needlepoint using overdyed thread

This Twinchy is based on the quilt block Attic Windows. The square is 24 stitches wide and uses a stitch called Staircase, a Byzantine variation. The two sides are 12 stitches wide and meet at a mitered corner. They are stitched in Half-framed Scotch and Laid Cross. I think the Scotch works, but the Cross does not. But this block is so simple you can put in any stitches you like.

by Nancy White, used by permission

Nancy White did this charming Twinchy. She describes it this way:
“I have been interested in Jean Hilton stitches lately so I decided to try for the first time one of her rather challenging stitches, the Double Fan Doubled stitch. I am quite pleased with how it turned out. My Watercolour is Elderberry, one of my favorites.”

The original Watercolour Twinchy, published here, used Scotch Stitches, alternating between Watercolours and a solid. That’s about as simple as you can get. If you wanted to see how other colors worked, you could use more than one thread in the alternating blocks.

Finally I did a Twinchy using this design of a leaf quilt block. Using mostly Mosaics, it has a very delicate look. But I can’t find it at the moment, and will add it later this morning once I track it down. The desk isn’t too messy, but I think I stashed it someplace.

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October Twinchy Challenge – Watercolours

Threadworx Journal Is Adding a Gallery

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Do you love Threadworx threads?

Beginning in 2011 subscribers to the free journal will be able to submit pieces using Threadworx threads to the magazine. The piece can use these threads completely or only in a portion.

Subscribers will get email notices for the submissions. They will be accepted all year long, but sometimes there will be a theme.

Files can be in jpg, png, tif or pict format and need to be at 300 dpi.

Check out the magazine’s website for more info.

Read the rest here:
Threadworx Journal Is Adding a Gallery

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