watercolours

Counted Needlepoint is not one of my better things. Although I have successfully completed a few counted projects (namely Romance & Rhapsody), I avoid counted projects, largely because I don’t feel confident.

Fixing this problem is one of my needlepoint resolutions for this year, but I haven’t done anything about it, except buy projects.

One project I bought is Amazing Color from Needle Delights and, inspired by Liz at Dragonfly Lotus who is doing an Inchie a Day, I have started it.

I’m not doing it in Kathy’s colors but in a spectrum of colors from burgundy in two corners to violet down the diagonal middle.

Everything will be from my stash starting with overdyed floss as the main thread.

I’m hoping to stitch 2 squares a day but want it done by December. I need the discipline, I need to learn this stuff, and I need to do some stitching that is not for work.

Besides all of this I’ll be using the time to pray. I have an important special intention that needs to be granted and quickly. So I’m praying for that. If you’re the praying kind, please join me in storming heaven to grant this request.

From time to time, I’ll post an update on the progress (what’s done so far is pictured here).

Here is the original post:
Counted Needlepoint Challenge

Picking Threads – a Case STUDY

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Dim Sum from Needlepoint for Fun

One of the most fun parts of doing a needlepoint is picking the threads for the project. I love the different textures you can get from thread, so I take great delight in deciding and pulling these threads.

I thought I’d share with you the process I went through to pick these threads to stitch Dim Sum.

Begin by noting how many colors are in the canvas. The one has six: dark brown (background), hot pink, yellow-green, dark blue, light blue, and orange. Only the light blue is used in more than one place.

I was looking for threads for another pieces when I found the hot pink knitting wool. A perfect match so I started there. Since I want the flower to be the focal point, the other threads will need to be more dull. But the other colors in the flower, orange and light blue also need to be dramatic.

Because I want the hot pink to stand out, I decided to accent the orange and light blue by making them a different texture — metallic. I picked Gold Rush 14 and Sparkle Braid from my stash.

Do I want to use Sparkle Braid for the other light blue areas? I decided they could be secondary accents, so I’ll use it. I picked navy Medici to be the dark blue to set the metallic off.

The background is a problem, because of the extra areas on the sides I’ll need a thread that covers well. It will also need to go with the color of the case. High Cotton was my first choice, but in the end I decided on this Watercolours, which works beautifully with the leather case.

That left me with the yellow-green, a color I don’t often use, but I remembered this Planet Earth silk, the right shade but not too vivid to clash with the hot pink.

Now on to the stitches!

Read more here:
Picking Threads – a Case STUDY

Stash Busting Challenge

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

While I’m doing better at getting rid of my stash, it still bothers me that there is so much thread around here. And I think, no matter how small or large the stash is, it can nag at you.

So I want to issue you a challenge for using up your thread stash.

I want you to take threads from your stash at random. Pick up to 50 different colors and threads.

Completely at random. Completely. Don’t try to compose anything while you pick.

I’m thinking that I’m going to ask someone to do this for me, since I can’t help composing.

Add to this one thread that is going to outline everything.

Put them in an opaque bag (not a clear one).

Make a diamond-shaped grid on your choice of canvas any size you like. Do this by drawing diagonal lines every 10 threads throughout the area.

I have a small Stirling tote that’s been sitting around for ages waiting for some stitching, so I’m going to do that using 13 mesh canvas.

Every other diamond will be one of your stash threads. The other diamonds will be a background color chose after all the diamonds are stitched.

Pick two stitches. One will be for your scrap patches. The other will be for your background patches.

Pick a thread from the bag at random. Stitch one diamond in this thread using the first stitch you picked.

When this is completed, put that thread back in the bag and pull out another thread. Stitch another block and repeat the process until all the blocks are filled.

Now looking at your stash, pick a thread for the background (it’s OK to buy a thread for this one).

Here’s the challenge part. The challenge will be open until June 15. Once you’ve stitched your piece, send me a scan. You’ll be entered into the competition. I’m going to put up a gallery of submissions and folks can vote for their favorites.

There will be prizes for the top vote getters.

The most popular (voting will close July 15) will win a fabulous prize.

See the original post here:
Stash Busting Challenge

Another Quilt-based Ornament

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-03-31 05:50:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

feathered star needlepoint ornament by janet perry for cyberpointers

I finished my second ornament for the CyberPointers book yesterday and its pictured above.

It uses an expanded Scotch Stitch, designed by Jenny Morrow, as well as Half Scotches. In three shades of Watercolours and one of Silk & Ivory.

It’s a needlepoint version of a quilt I found in a magazine which was done in bright colors as a wallhanging for a child’s room.

Isn’t it fun?

Watch this space for information about how you can get the book once it’s published.

Here is the original post:
Another Quilt-based Ornament

Learn-a-Stitch Mini-sock — Alternations

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

needlepoint sampler mini-sock christmas ornament, free pattern by janet m. perry, needlepoint expert

This month’s LAS mini-sock features some of my favorite stitches. I call them alternating stitches because they alternate between long and short diagonal stitches in a definite pattern. Nobuko (pink area) was the first of these I learned. I adore the way it doesn’t have a diagonal feel to it, even though it is made of nothing but diagonal stitches.

Since then I’ve learned many more. One thing they all have in common is the oblique direction of the finished stitch. This lifts them from the realm of many diagonal stitches and makes them suited for backgrounds and other areas where a strong direction isn’t needed.

Best of all, they are all easy to do because they are made entirely from diagonal stitches.

When you make any of these stitches take car when making the first row and learn the length of the stitches and the pattern; this will make the other rows much easier to make. You also might find it helpful to fill in any compensation towards the end of stitching each block.

The Colors

I used Watercolours in Plum for this piece. Except for the navy patch, all the other threads used are slightly lighter versions of the colors in the overdye. With very dark overdyes, it’s easy to get a design that looks somber and heavy. Lighten the effect by picking lighter shades of the colors. You are looking for colors that “go together” not colors that “match” the overdye. Even so, the two dark patches make for a design that is darker than what I’d like, a good set of colors, just not for this piece.

For the design, I used:

Watercolours in Plum
Vineyard Merino in navy blue/li>
Petite Frosty Rays in pink
Kreinik #12 in pink
Planet Earth Silk in fuchsia
Flair in violet

Making the Mini-socks

Trace the mini-sock outline onto your 18 mesh canvas and let dry overnight.

kentucky stitch for needlepoint, diagram/chart by Janet M. Perry, needlepoint expert
Stitch the Watercolours patch in Kentucky, above, using a single strand of Watercolours.

diagonal triple parisian stitch for needlepoint. diagram/chart by janet m. perry, needlepoint expert
Stitch the navy patch in Triple Diagonal Parisian, above, using Vineyard Merino.

nobuko stitch for needlepoint. diagram/chart by janet m. perry, needlepoint expert
Stitch the pink patch in Nobuko, above, using Frosty Rays for all long stitches and every other short stitch. Use Kreinik for the remaining short stitches.

diagonal victorian step stitch for needlepoint. diagram/chart by janet m. perry, needlepoint expert
Stitch the violet patch in Diagonal Victorian Step, above, using Flair.

Stitch the fuchsia patch in Donohue, using Planet Earth Silk. This stitch is form ANG’s 2009 Stitch of the Month. Click on the stitch name for the diagram

See the article here:
Learn-a-Stitch Mini-sock — Alternations

Snowflake Twinchy Charts

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-01-21 06:00:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

needlepoint blackwork twinchy of snowflakes

Remember this Twinchy from the December Twinchy Challenge? I wasn’t able to do the charts because I had packed away the manual I needed.

I found it and charted four snowflakes for you.

To make the Twinchy mark out a 2″ square area and stitch it in T Stitch or Basketweave. I colored my square blue and then stitched.

needlepoint blackwork pattern free of snowflake

The snowflakes are then stitched in Back Stitch, either completely or partially, using metallic thread. This snowflake is complete and off center.

Remember that Back Stitches in needlepoint go over two threads.

This snowflake is smaller than the others.

This is a big bold snowflake.

For a different look you could make the background dark blue and stitch these as stars in gold or silver.

Read the rest here:
Snowflake Twinchy Charts

Havana – This Week’s Color Experiment from Orna

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-02-15 18:06:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Havana is the name of this vibrant shade of Watercolours, which is the subject of this week’s color experiment from Orna Willis.

This is a great shade for a color experiment. Not only is it a wonderful analogous color scheme, it is also one which is similar to some in other shades of the same thread, such as Distant Hills, so these experiments can be applied to other threads as well.

More:
Havana – This Week’s Color Experiment from Orna

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.

Read this article:
October Twinchy Challenge – Watercolours

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.

by Nancy White, used by permission

Read the original post:
October Twinchy Challenge – Watercolours

New Colors in Silk

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Both Baroque Silk (from The Pure Palette) and Vineyard Silk have come out with some lovely new colors.

Baroque Silk, a two-ply divisible silk that is hand-dyed has eight new colors, pictured above. They fill some gaps n the existing color range. Gravity is the extremely dark violet at the left. Dreamland, Mermaid, and Artesian are the three blue-greens next in line. Sunset is that yummy light orange, and Campfire is the dark red. Finishing up are Malt and Old Gold.

Please remember that these threads are hand-dyed and so dyelots are not consistent. In using them both Theresa and I have found that the color can vary slightly through a skein. It’s not enough to be a problem, but enough to make your stitching have an appealing depth to it.

This is a great silk to try!

Vineyard Silk is an absolute scrumptious non-divisible silk that is at its best, I think, on 13 and 14 mesh canvas. It’s a lofty thread, so it also works well on 18 mesh, especially for textured stitches. They have such wonderful colors and are adding to their line all the time. These eight new colors, have two color families plus an additional pale blue. The picture of them is at the beginning of the article. The three red-oranges are, from light to dark, coral pink, true pink, and azalea. The pale blue is Naples Blue. The four soft violets are, from light to dark, hush, sea fog, dusk, and shadow.

I’m ready to buy them for the names alone!

Once again be sure to buy enough as dye lots are not consistent.

You can order them all at Homestead Needlearts through their What’s New page. And I want to send a big thank you and shout out to Theresa Swiecicki, the wonderful owner, who took these great pictures and gave me permission to share them with you.

Go here to see the original:
New Colors in Silk

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