paris

several years ago DMC discontinued their beloved crewel weight wool, Medici. I probably get more questions about finding Medici so folks can finish projects than on any other topic.

medici comparing DMC old with Threadneedle Street's new

If you want to use a crewel weight wool and have not started the project, there are many lovely wool from which to choose. Bella Lusso from Fleur de Paris is my favorite of these, but many companies make wool in this size from old established names such as Appleton, to companies now making hand-dyed crewel wool such as The Gentle Art or Weeks Dye Works.

But what do you do if you really need Medici? Threadneedle Street, a needlepoint shop in Issaquah, WA, has a substitute for Medici they say is like old Medici.

To see if it really works, I asked then to send me samples of colors where I had some DMC Medici to compare the two. The results are pictured here. DMC Medici is on the left, Threadneedle Street’s is on the right.

First I tested the feel, I closed my eyes and could not tell the difference in the two threads. It has the same smoothness and thickness.

Then I stitched with them. I had two colors to test and I stitched a block with both old and new Medici. They both had the same coverage.

Now we come to the real question for many of you: Are they the same color? Remember that dye lots change and so skeins from different dye lots of the exact same thread may not match. You can see that with the lavender the colors are close, but with the violet, they are further apart, but apart in a way that is consistent with different dyelots.

So yes Threadneedle’s Medici is about as close to Medici as you can get and works well as a substitute. However if you are adding this to a project in process, blend in the new thread to get seamless transitions.

Go here to read the rest:
The Medici Problem

Great Canvases a TNNA

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Tons of fun new stuff from TNNA.

I declared this year to be a year for learning about embellishment in my needlepoint. I’m not alone, not only has Squigee added another poodle, an applique on a poodle skirt, but Sundance has a whole line of cats using lampworked beads for faces. I’m excited to see this as these beads have lots of character, but until now I haven’t found any flat enough for needlepoint.
These cats are colorful and fanciful, with lots of opportunities for great stitches & threads.

Fleur de Paris has two new views out the window, I think they are by Sandra Gilmore. One is a Parisian room looking out at the Eiffel Tower. The other is a Manhattan room. dede’s new pieces are all undersea. I saw some of her undersea pieces stitched last week and, as always, her stuff is endlessly inventive and jaw-droppingly wonderful.

Labors of Love has added some new birds to their clip-on collection. Zecca has brought out a needlepoint cuckoo clock in their signature bright, colorful style. Maggie has a new series of Art Deco-style bar canvases that are small and tons of fun.

As always, Melissa Shirley has lots of new stuff. Her seaside series has several lovely and complex starfish. They are 5.5″ so done in metallic they could be wonderful large ornaments or show-stopping decorations. There are also realistic shells and fish in this collection. There is also a series of 18 bright pastel animals from Debbie Mumm that are adorable and, at 6″ square will be quick to stitch. There are more bracelets, more close-ups of flowers, and some amazingly detailed orchids. There’s also more acorns, this series in “fabrics,” a new series of Christmas Crackers, two soft green and pink series of Candy Canes, and several Debbie Mumm series for Halloween and Christmas. She has also introduced a new giant size of candy canes. Any of her candy canes can be made 12″ high on 13 mesh.

And one last thread note. YLI’s Painters Threads has added a new matte cotton ribbon to the line. It’s available in 26 colors.

More:
Great Canvases a TNNA

The Thread, Canvas & Needle Handbook for Needlepoint – Book Review

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

by Susan Surgeon Roberts, self-published, 2007, $8.95

The question of what threads work with what canvases and what size needle to use are ones that perplex many stitchers. Another puzzler is how much thread do I need to complete a project. Susan Sturgeon Roberts (author of The Complete Needlepoint Guide) has created a helpful tool in this little book.

The book is essentially a number of tables listing threads from many manufacturers that will work on different mesh sizes of canvas from 3 stitches per inch to Congress Cloth. Many unusual mesh sizes of canvas are included and there are also tables for 7 and 14 count plastic canvas.

With stranded threads, such as floss, the number of strands is indicated. Roberts also indicates if the thread/canvas combination is best suited to long stitches. Not all threads are listed, but enough are so that this is a useful starting point for selecting threads.

Notice that I said “starting point.” While most of her suggestions are good, often she picks thread sizes or numbers of strands that most stitchers will find incorrect for stitching. For example she suggest Fleur de Paris’s Velour Fine Mesh, a discontinued thread about the thickness of Petite Very Velvet for 13 mesh, something that gives very thin coverage. Her thread size selection for Kreinik metallics, on the other hand, suggests threads that are way too thick. She suggests #16 Kreinik for 14 mesh, which is correct, but also suggests #32, a thread twice the thickness and way to thick for this canvas.

Your thread usage may vary, I know mine did, and you should make this book your own by noting your results.

Following the thread charts there is a useful chart of needle sizes, a listing of canvas colors by mesh and definitions of different types of canvas (some of badly out of date). The color listing is especially useful because this information can be hard to find.

The book finishes with tables and formulas for calculating thread use in Tapestry and Perisan Wool. This is also useful information but I wish she had given us a general formula, so that we could find amounts for other threads.

All in all, this is a useful book, one I would recommend with slight reservations. The thread world changes so quickly that most books of this type are out of date before they are printed. But, in the absence of other books with thread information, this is a good book to have.

You can find this book at many needlework stores or from her directly. Email her at sales@stitchinsuzi.com.

Go here to see the original:
The Thread, Canvas & Needle Handbook for Needlepoint – Book Review

Medieval Mosaic – A Great Stitch

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

from Rittenhouse Needlepoint

A recent entry on Rittenhouse Needlepoint’s Stitch of the Week was Medieval Mosaic (pictured above). One of my favorite stitches. It took me a bit to get the hang of this stitch, but once I did it became one of my favorites.

tink boord-dill peach tile needlepoint stitch guide by Janet Perry

learn shading with multiple colors in this stitch guide

The stitch is made entirely from straight stitches, four long ones, followed by four short. The tricky thing is that they move in a zig-zag line. I finally figured it out when I isolated one column, stitched it and then moved to the next.

This gives the stitch a neat diagonal feeling, which I exploited for the border of this Tink Boord-Dill tile. Notice how the vertical and horizontal sides have a different feel.

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Excerpt from:
Medieval Mosaic – A Great Stitch

New Threads

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-01-01 18:14:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

BELLALUSSO
This new 100% Merino wool is distributed by Fleur de Paris and is a wonderful replacement
for Medici. I think it’s made in Italy and is a lovely soft, crewel weight wool.
I stitched in both Basketweave and Double Cross on 18 mesh canvas using two strands.
The process made me remember why I love to use wool. It slides through the canvas so
easily, the stitches are so rich and thick, and the end result is so smooth.
In short, I loved this thread. Currently it is available in 46 colors in either a 45 yard skein
or 350 yard hanks. While there aren’t lots of colors, the range is good, with most families
having three shades in them. I really like using wool for fur and hair and Bellalusso has
seven shades of brown and tan, which is very welcome.
This is a great thread and I can’t wait to use it in a project.

PLANET EARTH FIBERS
This company makes four silk threads. Two threads, silk and six-strand silk, can be used
for embroidery. The two others have sequins or beads added to the silk, so they can only
be used as couched threads.
Silk is a single strand silk, similar in width to Vineyard Silks Classic. It will work on either
14 or 18 mesh for decorative stitches. For Tent Stitches, most people can use it on either
mesh, but some stitchers may find it too thick for 18 mesh. It is also very soft.
Silk has a strong directional light which means that stitches slanting in different directions
look like different shades of the same color. This makes it a great thread for many
stitches.
Six-strand silk is pliable and four strands work well on 18 mesh. It stitched beautifully.
Although you can use it like any stranded silk, the look is slightly different. Each strand is
more tightly twisted, so the effect is almost as if you are stitching with extremely fine silk
perle. And like silk perles, such as Grandeur, the effect is slightly matte. I really enjoyed
using this thread.
You can check out their color cards on their website at
http://www.planetearthfiber.com/cpg/. Silk comes in 125 colors, while six-strand silk is
available in 107 colors. All colors available in the six-strand are also available in silk and
seven of these colors are also available in a six-strand variegated version.
Currently the threads are found mostly at knitting and quilting shops, but they will be
showing at TNNA in January, so they might be coming to a needlework shop near you. If
they do, try them out, they are great thread.

NEWS & NOTES
Some new thread news. There are many new (at least to me) colors of Vineyard Silks. These
include: a series of pale yellows (french vanilla, crème brulée, custard), some peachy
pinks (strawberry ice, tea rose, Nantucket red, and claret), a family of tans (sahara, oak
bluff, partridge), three roses (pink pearl, veil, hot pink), three dusty roses (zephyr, dusty
orchid, tulipwood),and three single colors (buttercream, mojito, pale blue).
There are also new colors from brown paper packages, four lovely natural grays, dolphin,
mouse, elephant, and seal. They are simply lovely and four more colors are expected
within a month. If you don’t spend tons of time thinking about color, you probably don’t
realize there are three types of grays. Natural, or true grays, are simply combinations of
black and white. Like those colors, they don’t have a temperature and will work with any
other colors. Warm grays have a slight amount of yellow in them. You may not notice it but
you will if you put them near a cool color of any kind. Cool grays have a bit of blue or
green in them. The grays already available from brown paper packages are cool grays.
Because of TNNA, many companies will be bringing out new threads and colors for the
show in the middle of January. You will hear all about them in the TNNA round-up issue
with impressions of the show from my friend Sondra Dyer.

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New Threads

New Needlepoint Products in Canvas, Charts & Kits

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

kelly clark february santa, stitch guide by janet perry

kelly clark march santa, stitch guide by janet perry

Above are two Santa’s from Kelly Clark’s new monthly Santa series. I’ve done the stitch guides for them both. There are lots of easy, fun effects on them. I’m just crazy about the fiddler for March, I had so much fun stitching him.

Stitch & Zip (from Alice Peterson Co.) has announced a new size of Stitch & Zip cases for Kindles (and possibly other ebook readers). This such a great idea. Not only does it show off your needlepoint, it will protect the screen. If you are crafty, but not just in needlepoint, think about AMH’s DIY Journal Kit. It has a place for a needlepoint initial already in the cover and is blank, so you can create your own design.

Several of Fleur de Paris’ designers, have lovely new pieces. There is Epicerie, a charming FRench storefront from Sandra Gilmore of Once in a Blue Moon. Trubey Designs has a Hot Air Balloon Cushion for a child’s rocking chair. Finally, dede’s Needleworks has a delightful Polar Santa stocking.

All about Stitching has some delightful small designs for Halloween and Easter. Finish them on sticks and put them in a pail for a great decoration. They also have a charming Noah’s Ark footstool for a child’s room. Whimsy and grace has several lovely brick covers and a fantastic pansy clutch purse.

Jenny Henry specializes in geometric designs. You’ll love her series of ornament-sized round frame, perfect for a snapshot or school picture. Julie Mar ahs introduced a new line, Transitions, which marries traditional floral designs with some modern elements. Irises is just one of the canvases.

Julie Pishke has a fantastic shell-filled Beach Rug with a lovely striped border. Zecca has a very cool geometric backgammon board in green and violet.

More new stuff in tomorrow’s post.

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New Needlepoint Products in Canvas, Charts & Kits