sneak peek

Originally posted 2006-05-11 07:06:20. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I love Raymond Crawford’s designs. This is the fourth(!) set of stitch guides I’m wokring on for him and the second set of coasters.

This set is so fun. Each coaster has a drink word (Drink! Sip! Slurp! Gulp!) and each uses a different kind of shape, either in cool or hot colors.

Sip & Gulp are in warm color. Sip has stripes, Gulp rectangles.

Drink and Gulp are in cool colors. Drink is as you see above, Gulp has circles.

Each colored box on each coaster is using a different stitch and there are four different backgrounds stitches as well.

Several of the stitches are brand new (I designed them) and there is also a wealth of threads used. This means that besides being a delightful stitch guide, the book will make a great reference guide. I’m especially excited about all the different ways to deal with circles, a problem I always have.

I have had so much fun stitching them, I can’t wait to do more. I’ll post Gulp sometime after I start it.

The book ought to be available for your shop to order (from Raymond) sometime over the summer — I’m hoping for TNNA next month.

More here:
Sip! Gulp! Coaster from Raymond Crawford

Roses Are Red Scissors Case

Originally posted 2006-10-14 06:02:41. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Here’s the most recent of the Whimsy & grace stitcher’s accessories, Roses Are Red Scissors case.

Whimsy & grace scissors case & needlepoint stitch guide

Don’t you just love it!There are lots of fun stitches here, so not only is the case delightful in itself, you’ll get lots of ideas about new stitches to use on other canvases. In fact, two of them, the small balloon and the offset tied scotch (the brightest red patches on either piece), I like so much I’m using them in other canvases I’m stitching. Another, Diagonal Willow (violet patch without initial) is one of the most flexible stitches I know. Made up of short and long diagonal stitches, the rows interlock in a way which creates oblique lines. This makes it a fantstic accent or background stitch, especially when you want something which isn’t strongly diagonal. It also makes a fantastic wide border. I’m using it for the border on the Sunday Stitching Quilt pillow (which I’ll update Monday).

Now today onto the next Scissors Case & new Bargello model!

The rest is here:
Roses Are Red Scissors Case

A Clarification on Tartans

Recently I was accused of illegally charting and selling tartans illegally. I want to publicly say that this accusation is completely and totally false.

I did extensive research and even went and asked the folks at the tartan registry about it.

Here’s the full story. When you make a tartan you can take the plaid you have created and have it registered by the Tartan Registry. This is kind of like recording a copyright for a book. The folks at the Registry require information like the sett (weaving pattern), name, and restrictions on use. If it’s sufficiently different from other tartan, it will be registered.

In addition to new tartans, there are hundreds of older tartans that are registered but are old enough to be in the Public Domain, which means anyone can use them freely.

There are also hundreds of modern tartans that are registered but not restricted, so that they can also be used freely by anyone.

Restricted tartans are a very small sub-class of tartans. Usually they are ones created by a company or school that is closely associated with the company. It’s kind of like a logo in how it can be used.

Every tartan that is available on Needlepoint Plaids as well as every tartan I chart as a custom chart is freely available for use or sale.

I just wanted to take a moment to make this clear.

Excerpt from:
A Clarification on Tartans

What Can I Do with a Plaid?

in Nuts About Needlepoint,accessories

adrian's birthday plaid finished as a boxtop

Why not use a birthday plaid as the background for a monogram?

One of the biggest challenges in needlepoint is the question of what do do with the finished stitching. While the stitching is the joy, sometimes it’s discouraging to look at the huge pile of needlepoint left stitched but waiting to be turned into something and loved. Maybe we should call it “The Island of Unloved Needlepoint.”

Birthday plaids and tartans are so much fun, it’s a shame not to make one just because you don’t know what to do with it. Some of my recent commissions give an idea of some of the wonderful things you can do with a stitched plaid.

The boxtop above uses a birthday plaid as the background for a simple monogram. The colors chosen match the room where it will live. Birthday plaids can be done in any colors and are great for this purpose.

You could use this idea for a great baby present. Do it in the nursery’s colors or in a traditional baby palette of pastels.

What about a belt?

This is the chart for a belt to be stitched in tartan. Tartan belts can often be seen and many (but not all) tartans work in this narrow space.

Stitch it in perle cotton and finish it as a belt for a unique gift.

The rage for tartan in the 1800’s made lots of tartan-embellished items to appear. Look at some of them for more ideas for stitched plaids. Then visit Needlepoint Plaids to order your tartan or birthday plaid. My experience in creating stitched plaids will create a wonderful result.

See original here:
What Can I Do with a Plaid?

The Project that Never Was

Originally posted 2009-06-08 06:40:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I discovered Bargello shortly after learning to needlepoint. I saw Elsa Williams book and was hooked. But you know how they say “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach?” Well, my needlepoint ambitions were always bigger than my time or sometimes my knowledge.

So I wasn’t even 15 & I decided to make Bargello seat cushions for my Mom’s dining room chairs, all six of them. similar colors but each with a different pattern in dark green, rust, and cream.

I bought canvas and wool for one. My dad hacked up a portable blackboard we had in the basement into a frame where we could lace on the canvas.

Although I knew boo about needlepoint back then, I did know I needed a frame for something that large and that I needed to buy all the yarn at once.

I picked my pattern and started. I got about 4 square inches done.

Never any more.

Chair cushions are BIG!

It’s still a dream project.

Visit link:
The Project that Never Was

Needledeeva Nativity Shepherd – sneak peek

Originally posted 2008-02-06 08:01:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Needledeeva Nativity Shepherd with Geese

I promised you yesterday that I’d show you the finished Needledeeva Nativity (they are about halfway down the page) figure. Here she is, the first of three shepherds. This one has geese, the one I’m working on now has a rooster, and the third has a lamb. They are some of the figures which complete this charming Nativity.

I’ve done the stitch guide for them all and now I’m stitching the last figures to complete the set. As I’ve said in the past, I love Nativities and I’m so glad to add this one to my collection. I had it up with my Christmas decorations and folks just loved it.

At TNNA we showed the first set of figures in a wooden creche, it was just too cute. We’ll be showing it that way at Dallas as well, so I’ll try to take a picture.

One thing which I have tried to do in the set is make a distinction between the three kings and their animals and the more humble Holy Family and shepherds. The main way I have done this is through my choice of threads. For the most part, the humble folk use cotton threads and simple stitches. The kings and their animals use silks, metallics, real tassels and more complex stitches. It is a subtle difference but, because threads like Vineyards Silk Shimmer are both luxurious and sparkly, it really shows in the finished pieces.

The stitch guide is unusual for a set in that it is completely integrated. The backgrounds and borders are coordinated, similar threads are used throughout, but there are lots of great stitching effects as well. These ideas, because they give life to these small figures (under 2.5″) are things you will be able to use in lots of different canvases.

The guide is available now from Needledeeva. If you are a shopowner coming to the Dallas Market (in early April) stop by and see the finished figures and the ones I’m working on.

View post:
Needledeeva Nativity Shepherd – sneak peek

Silk Gauze – Try It You’ll Like It!

Originally posted 2009-05-22 08:32:38. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

bargello needlepoint heart on silk gauze, designed by Janet Perry

I have always been afraid to use silk gauze. First there’s the eye thing — I don’t do well with magnifiers. Second there’s the mesh size thing, I tend not to like things which are that delicate and small.

But Kreinik has taken silk gauze out of this world and into the world of basic needlepoint with silk gauze in 18 and 20 mesh. It comes mounted or unmounted. Since retail is 3 or 4 times the cost of canvas, I like the mounted best. You can order on-line through Kreinik’s excellent on-line mall or your LNS can order it for you.

During my vacation I had a chance to make the piece pictured above on 18 mesh silk gauze and it was tons of fun. I can’t wait to make more.

Silk gauze is often not sold by the inch, the way canvas is, but is sold in precut sizes mounted in mat board. This is because the silk is expensive and the mat board provides the unworked margin. I also found that the mat board is it’s own frame, so the project was very portable.

Silk gauze also has a couple of other important characteristics, you need to consider when using it. The threads are pretty much translucent, so they can almost disappear against the background as you stitch. I found having something solid and dark as a backdrop worked best. The printed skirt I was wearing wasn’t good, but the dark carpet was.

You can see from the picture of my stitching just how transparent it is, the thread ends on the back can be seen easily.

The threads are also thinner than mono canvas, more like the size of interlock or a bit thinner. This could mean that you need to use slightly thicker threads, but I found I didn’t.

You also need to stitch with a looser tension. This is for several reasons. First off, the mat board isn’t that sturdy, so it’s pretty easy to bend or even to have the gauze come off. Second, silk gauze is woven like interlock canvas, so there isn’t “give” in the intersections. Pull too hard and you will have a mess.

I loved using it and I loved the results. My mind is bursting with possibilities for using this ground and I’m going to be trying some experiments over the next couple of months.

Originally posted here:
Silk Gauze – Try It You’ll Like It!

Attic Windows the Third

Originally posted 2008-12-23 12:42:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Attic Windows Needlepoint to Go Stitch Sampler - Basket Stitches

I finished the third Attic Windows design over the weekend and it’s pictured above.

This means I’m halfway through this series. While I’m not going to share the name of the series with you, I am going to tell you that the stitches in each one have a theme.

The theme for this one is Baskets. BTW, that’s also a clue to the theme.

All three of the stitches give you a woven basket effect. In the case of the Triple Woven Plait, by actually being a plaited stitch. In the case of Roman through the changes in direction. In the case of Bamboo it’s “faux weaving” enhanced by using two threads.

The three of them are off to the finisher and it’s one more thing crossed off my list of things I have to finish stitching before I move.

Read this article:
Attic Windows the Third

Mod Quilt Sampler – Part 1

Originally posted 2009-04-15 05:57:38. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

When I saw this glorious quilt along quilt on Oh Fransson!, I knew I had to render it in needlepoint for our Come Stitch with me Series.

I just love the clean contemporary lines of it and the mod colors. The dynamic look of the quilt belies how simple it is in structure. There are only six blocks, but each is repeated five times, using different pairs of colors. Each article will give directions for two of the blocks. The material list and overall structure will be handled this month and the borders between the blocks and the outside edging will be handled in June. There will be another two block in early May and the final two in late May.

I’m so grateful to the folks at Oh Fransson for giving me permission to make this adaptation.

Overall Structure

mod needlepoint sampler adapted by Janet Perry, part 1

The design is made up of 5 blocks across and 6 blocks down. The blocks are all 20 threads square. The sashing, or area between the blocks is four threads. This makes the thread count for the piece as a whole 126 x 150. On 18 mesh canvas, this is 7 inches by about 8.5 inches.

Each block is made using a light and a dark shade of the same color. The colors are red, apricot, orange, yellow, fuchsia, and pink. The borders are all pale yellow and the outside one stitch edge is dark hot pink.

A particular block is found in diagonal lines going from upper right to lower left. Each time a block is repeated the colors change.

Materials List

Zweigart white 18 mesh mono canvas 11″ x 13″
1 card each Rainbow Gallery Splendor in

S820 (dark red) & S1088 (light red)
S1138 (dark orange) & S978 (light orange)
S876 (dark yellow) & S908 (light yellow)
S997 (dark fuchsia) & S996 (light fuchsia)
S1113 (dark apricot) & S977 (light apricot)
S950 (dark hot pink) & Needlepoint, Inc, 682 (light hot pink)
S879 (pale yellow) – borders

Begin to stitch about 2.5 inches down and 4 inches across from the upper left corner of your canvas. You will stitch the second block in the top row first.

cashmere and scotch stitches for needlepoint based on log cabin quilt

Stitch the second block, Log Cabin Square using the orange shades. The structure of this block is based on the Log Cabin Quilt Block and is made up of Scotch and Cashmere Stitches. For the initial block, begin in the center. For all later blocks, begin with the outside ring of Cashmeres; this will make placement easier.

Leave four threads open between the left edge of this block and the right edge of the block in the upper left corner. Using the two shades of red, stitch this Checker Framed Mosaic. In this block squares of Framed Mosaic alternate with blocks of Basketweave. Please note that the center stitch in each Mosaic square is a Cross Stitch. The darker red goes into the upper left and lower right corners of the 20 thread block.

Leave four threads open below the quad block and stitch a second squares block using dark and light hot pink. Please note that in this block the outer and center squares are the lighter shade.

Follow the entire series on-line!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3