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The beauty of America’s National Parks has inspired artist of all kinds (think of photographer Ansel Adams’ classic pictures of Yosemite). It can also inspire you and your needlepoint. Today I’ll point you to some delightful sites with great ideas for needlepoint.

The WPA (Works Progess Administration) was an organization during The Depression that allowed artists to work on all kinds of projects. The classic styles of many of these works is still appreciated today. National Geographic’s site has a small display of some of these posters. The poster pictured above is one of the collection of eight. Click on the arrows to see the whole collection.

golden gate national recreation area posters

I live on a island in the San Francisco Bay which has taken the first step to becoming a national park. Our local national park, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, encompasses many different places, from the redwoods of Muir Woods to the urban beaches of San Francisco. During the mid-1990′s the iconic pictures shown above, were designed to honor the different parts of GGNRA. They hearken back to WPA designs and are wonderfully suited to needlepoint.

You’ll have to poke around a bit to find them on-line, but here’s a great starting point. The style is so resonant that National Parks in the East use a similar set of designs for their shopping bags.

I used one of these as an inspiration for a design several years ago and am planning some more based on the shopping bag I have.

vintage style devil's tower poster from Ranger Rick

Ranger Rick is a modern artist working the the style of the WPA posters. His site has both reproductions of the WPA pieces and new pieces done in that style. The poster pictured above is one of his new works.

The simple colors and relatively flat areas of these designs are the basis of successful needlepoint. The shading and texture of many of the posters could be rendered nicely with stitches and threads. This could be the start of a mini needlepoint vacation!

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Bringing Order Out of Chaos – “Planning” a Scrap Bag Bargello

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-04-09 07:03:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

bargello needlepoint pattern based on daffodils, designed by Janet Perry

I just finished the Daffodil Bargello boxtop and I’m so pleased. One of the things I love about Bargello is that it gives me time to think. On this piece I thought about how the “random” look of the scrap Bag project is actually planned using some guidelines, so that it looks random, but still is a good composition.

So I thought I’d share them with you today. The guidelines themselves are in bold, so you can easily skim the article for them.

1. If your piece is reflecting something in real life, follow the real life thing for color ideas. I made daffodils. I chose yellow, some orange, and some white. Yellow by far predominates. And orange and white are only used in certain places. Orange is always a trumpet on a daffodil, never the petals. So orange only is in the center of motifs. White is almost always petals, not trumpets, so, except for one motif, it is only on edges. In yellow daffodils, the trumpet tends to be a brighter or more intense color than the petals, although this difference can be very subtle. On each motif the inside is a darker, brighter, or more intense color than the outside,

Your item may have fewer or different guidelines, but use it to pick the colors in your Bargello.

2. Pick a color or shade not used elsewhere for your outline. This kind of Bargello looks best if there is an outline running completely though the piece. Here it’s the green of leaves. It could be the lead color of stained glass, a lighter shade of the main color in a hearts piece. But do not use it anywhere else; using it will create visual “holes.”

3. Unless your motif is very small, do not repeat thread selections. You have defined your color palette and pulled all the threads you have in those colors. You have made your outline. The motifs have two or more colors in them. Never use the same two threads twice in the same combination.

4. Keep motifs using the same thread somewhat distant from each other. I stitch one thread at a time and stitch 2-3 motifs using that thread scattered around the entire piece. I can always go back and add more with this thread if I want to. This makes the piece look random. It also keeps your eye from seeing matches and creating patterns.

5. Remember the 5-3-1 Rule. There should be one dominant color, yellow, one secondary color, green, and two accent colors, orange and white. The outline color is generally the second color because it is throughout the piece. The two accent colors are about equal in this piece.

With these five rules in mind, you will be able to create some really wonderful Bargello using threads in your stash.

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Bringing Order Out of Chaos – “Planning” a Scrap Bag Bargello

Solving the Dyelot Problem Prettily

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

san francisco needlepoint ornament from Princess & Me

Over the weekend I was working on this Princess & Me ornament for my DD. I had picked this bright blue Rainbow Linen for the background.

Initially I thought one skein would be enough. But I didn’t like their suggested background or any of the three others I tried. By the time I settled on this Random Gobelin Stripe, I knew there wasn’t enough thread. Since the thread was from stash I was unlikely to find a matching dyelot.

This could have ruined the ornament, but you can see above how I planned for the dyelot change. I skipped every other stripe.

By doing so I’ve planned for the different dyelot. Since the change is regular, it will look as if the background was supposed to be striped in this way.

I found another card of this color in my stash and I’ll be set whether it matches or not.

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Why a Custom Stitch Guide?

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

wicked needlepoint stitch guide by Janet Perry

Get the stitch guide for this Raymond Crawford canvas

It sits there in your stash tempting you. On the wall at the LNS you couldn’t resist it. Now it’s home and you don’t know how to stitch it.

What you need is a stitch guide. But one isn’t available. Or it is too hard. Or it uses threads you don’t like. Or . . .

What you need is a custom stitch guide. One written just for you.

One that takes into account your tastes, your stitching level, and even your stash. Maybe you have some ideas about the canvas, maybe there is something you want to change but don’t know how.

That’s where my custom stitch guides come in. Written to the same high quality as my published guides, they have stitch diagrams, instructions, and materials list. I will even customize them to the threads carried by your LNS to make shopping easier.

Nothing beats a customized stitch guide. Through our email discussion, I learn about you and why you want to stitch this canvas. Together I will create for you the guide that will make the canvas everything you want it to be.

Even after 40 years of stitching, I am always delighted when the stitching I imagine looks better on the canvas. I want to share that delight with you by creating a guide for that special canvas.

You can begin the process by filling out the stitch guide enquiry form to get a free estimate for your canvas. Finished guides begin at $65.

If you’re stumped by only a section of the canvas, try my Quick Stitch Help Service, beginning at only $5. If a stitchy shot in the arm for perplexed needlepointers.

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Organizing your Needlework Books

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-03-08 08:22:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The major task in front of me today for studio organization is starting to sort the books.

Two of the four bookshelves have been made and I need to start filling the shelves. Before we moved me books had seriously overflowed the shelves I had, so I’m REALLY hoping that these shelves will be enough.

But the question for me is how can I organize the books to be grouped so I can find things. In most of the house I have books living in what I can “happy anarchy,” that is with no organization at all. Sometimes I think my DH would like more order, but just getting books up is hard enough, sorting them is worse.

There is no doubt that if your books are organized you can find things faster and you are less likely to buy the same book by accident (something I do all too often). So organizing the needlework books is the order of the day.

I’m going to have four major groups:

design and art books
needlepoint books and stitch dictionaries
cross stitch and embroidery books
other needlework books (knitting, quilting, etc.)

I’m putting my books of alphabet chart with the needlepoint books since those will be in the shelf closest to the desk. The design books will go into the shelf easiest to reach from the day bed. sp O can get to them to dream.

With the books out, the studio will be close to done except for pictures on the walls.

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Organizing your Needlework Books

Stitch Guides from Barbara Bergsten

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

needlepoint butterfly from barbara bergsten designs

You can get the stitch guide for this butterfly from the designer

I love Barbar Bergsten’s needlepoint canvases. Her colors are wonderfully bright and cheerful, her designs are great, and her designs are on larger mesh size. For awhile she has been blog-stitching many of her pieces and writing stitch guides for them.

Best of all they are free on her site. She has just completed a wonderful index page of stitch guides, showing the canvases, linking to the guides, and often showing pictures of the finished canvases. Great stuff!

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Stitch Guides from Barbara Bergsten

Needle Artworks – Website Review

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2002-12-07 22:22:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

A crying need on the Internet has been for a place where outstanding needlework teachers could showcase their work and make it easy for us as stitchers to find those glamorous projects like the ones we do at Seminar. When Needle Artworks opened in 1998, it was (and still is) an answer to a prayer. Many outstanding teachers like Carole Lake, Jane Zimmerman and Ann Strite-Kurz have pages on the site, showing off their lovely designs.

The books and charts available can be sorted by technique, or by author and you can print off and order direct from the author. Since many of these designs are not distributed widely, this is a wonderful resource for stitchers. Sometimes I just like to go there and feast on the wonderful designs.

Since one of the founders (and the designer) of the site, Jennifer Ashley Taylor, is a whiz at photographing needlework, the pictures are always superb. If Jennifer’s name isn’t familiar to you, her work is. She does most of the photography for Needlepoint Now.

If you look at a designer’s page, you see a text listing (by techniques) of all designs available. Clicking on a particular design gives you a detail page with a picture, description and information about ground, technique, level, price and ordering information. A detailed materials list and an index of other designs by this teacher is also included. Besides this wealth of information, I just love the way the page comes up so quickly.

If you search by technique, the page includes thumbnail pictures of all designs using the technique. Clicking on one of these gives you the same detail page.

This only begins to delve into the riches of this site. While designers and techniques are listed on the left side of the home page, many resources for stitchers are listed on the right. Many designers on the site have cyberclasses and they are listed with pictures and detailed information (with starting dates) on the site. A listing at the top (with teachers’ names) links to the more detailed information further down the page. There are also details on cyberclass scholarships.

On a day to day basis, my favorite part of the site is the Thread Inventory System. Form this page, you will find listed a huge number of different threads. Most of them are links which go to pages which list one or more threads with color number and name. Permission is given on every page to print the off and there is a box by each thread where you can note your own inventory or needs. And at the top of each color chart, you’ll find a brief description of the thread.

Shay Pendray has been a participant in the site since the beginning and an important part of the site is devoted to her TV show, Needle Arts Studio. You can find a detailed listing for each series of programs with information about each programs and project and how to order the kits. Video tapes of the programs can also be ordered here.

The home page for the series tells you how you can ask your local Public TV station to carry the series and a listing of current schedules for the show. Shops participate in the site as well, so you can use them to order materials for your projects. A program for threadaholics showcasing different fibers and stitchers is available (Stitch & Fiber)There is also biographical information on the designers and teachers, information about proficiency levels, listing of guilds, and links to other resources.

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Needlepoint Learning from Gay Ann Rogers

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Gay Ann Rogers is a master of needlepoint. Her innovative designs have won her legions of fans. If you want to get an idea of how her work sparks creativity, do a Google search for images on her name. You’ll find a great selection of her designs, stitched by many different hands.

I just recently found a page which has technique articles by Gay Ann covering everything from a detailed explanation of how to make bullion knots (four parts), to her answer to the question of whether she would stitch a project in the same way again.

Check it out!

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Needlepoint Learning from Gay Ann Rogers

A Source for Needlepoint Deals

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2008-11-07 19:57:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I have to say I’m somewhat of an Overstock.com addict. I love all the deals and scout it often for interesting stuff. You may know it as a place to look for clothes, or gifts, or maybe even furniture and renovation supplies.

But did you know it has a HUGE crafts section? I have looked at it before, but looking at a magazine last week about paper crafts reminded me of the fact. So today I went an explored further.

If you go to the Needlework section under crafts, one of the choices is cross stitch & needlework. Click on that. I found several daylight lamps, floor, table and lap stands, a few needlepoint kits, and a cord winder. I also found scroll bars of different sizes and some organizers. The selection changes all the time, as do the prices. The discounts I saw this time ranged from 0% to almost 30%.

In addition, there a lots of cross stitch and punchneedle kits as well as plenty of kits for needlecrafts which are harder to find including felt and stamped cross stitch.

If you like other crafts than needlepoint, go back up to the Crafts heading and check out their supplies for many other crafts as well. In some of these areas, there are some great tool which can be used for needlepoint.

I also found some great storage pieces in Art & School Supplies including handy caddy clear plastic storage in several colors. I also found a great rolling storage cart with lots of drawers designed for scrapbookers, but great for holding small canvases.

Enabling isn’t so bad when you can turn people on to good deals.

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Designer Interview – Janet Perry

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Books,Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2007-09-20 08:59:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

That’s right, you can read an in-depth interview of me by Lauren Smith of Red Hot Book Reviews on the Web.

You can see ther whole interview here.

I really love the insightful questions Lauren asked and I’m sure you’ll love reading the interview.

And remember, you can find the book at your locl needlework shop or you can order directly from Amazon.com by using the “Buy my new book!” link in the left column.

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Designer Interview – Janet Perry

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