web site review

Originally posted 2009-05-26 06:40:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Have you been to the Caron Collection site, Dyed and Gone to Heaven lately?

No?

Then go visit this superb, redesigned site. I am so completely impressed with its style I can’t recommend it enough.

The Caron Collection really embraced the possibilities of the Internet when they first did their site more than 10 years ago. It has tons of information, galleries, profiles, and free patterns of the finest quality.

But it wasn’t easy to navigate and often I found myself wondering where certain information could be found.

The new site showcases the information and products in a newspaper-like format. There are stories, with links, pointing you to new, larger, and greatly improved on-line color cards. The latest designer profile is summarized with a column and free projects as well as new products are showcased.

Across the top are buttons to the various parts of the site. These include information about products, each of the major divisions of information and two types of retail outlets. One is a shop locator for brick and mortar shops. The other is a list of mail order and on-line sources for those who do not have a convenient shop close by.

The free patterns have new larger pictures as well, so it’s very easy to find the project you want. There is a gallery of work by many talented people. And clicking on archives gets you to a nicely organizes text list of what it available.

You may only think of The Caron Collection when you think of threads, but the other areas of their line are now easy to find. Click on hand painted canvases to get a gallery page of the pieces, each listed with a thumbnail, name, and dimensions. Click on designs to learn about booklets. (There are several there I’ve been seeking.)

And if you can’t find what you are looking for, there is a search box, which uses Google to search this site (or the Web) to find what you need. The results come back in the familiar Google format so they are easy to use.

I’m so impressed and so happy, this is going to be a favorite stop.

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Dyed and Gone to Heaven – Caron Collection Web Site Review

DMC’s New Website – Website Review

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

DMC recently redesigned their website and I recently had a chance to explore it. For a company that has been in the needlework business for so long and who has many threads that are popular with needlepointers, this site is a huge disappointment.

There are several areas where you might look for needlepoint, and most of them are very disappointing. Let’s begin with “threads.” Go there and click on “needlepoint threads.”

What’s is listed there” Tapestry Wool and no other threads.

People stopped using only wool in needlepoint in the mid-70′s. Where are the many other threads that have been standards for needlepoint for decades, let alone DMC’s innovative new products?

Not under needlepoint, you’ll find them under embroidery threads. Couldn’t DMC have listed them under needlepoint as well, it isn’t hard to do.

A second section is education and this is the only good part of the site for needlepoint. It has a small stitch dictionary (that could use some kind of index) and a nice introduction to needlepoint. It could have been better if they had incorporated more of their recent blog series on needlepoint.

I was unhappy enough with the product area, but when I got to inspiration, I got very unhappy indeed. First there are two “projects” listed under needlepoint. One of those is the memory thread brochure, a product they couldn’t even be bothered to list as a needlepoint thread.

But look at “half cross stitch” which is essentially needlepoint done on fabric — there are 15 projects. Why aren’t they cross listed? If it has to do with materials, add the line or two to tell about canvas size and number of strands.

And there are more needlepoint gems, no doubt under other headings such as whole stitch cross stitch charts. And even free projects they have designed and promoted on their blog for needlepoint, such as their lovely bag, are not here.

I’m not happy, we deserve more, we deserve a site that is, as their blog said “a comprehensive resource for all artists, crafters and stitchers.” Instead of comprehensive except for needlepoint.

We shouldn’t be the poor stepsister of the embroidery world.

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DMC’s New Website – Website Review

Great Website – Material Obsession

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2009-03-27 07:27:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I found out about this wonderful quilting blog earlier this week, and I just love it.

Material Obsession is written by two Australian quilters who own a shop with the same name. They have also just published a book by the same name as well (on its way to me right now).

Every pot has tons of picture, mostly of quilts, but sometimes of blocks and sections of quilts, sometimes of people. What astounds me is how bright and creative they all are. I feel as if these ladies have taken all the vibrancy of Kaffe Fassett colorful quilts and needlepoint, internalized it and then gone on a taught others.

I’m in love with the vibrancy and the patterns. One recent quilt, a star block based on equilateral triangles has inspired me to make an ornament in Trianglepoint based on it. I’m still working on it, but I’ll show you and give you a chart when it’s done. And looking through, I found about a dozen more I want to adapt.

Even if you don’t love quilts, the vibrancy and color will brighten your day.

One final note, this site does not have an RSS feed, so if you use something like Google Reader, you’ll have to go to the site directly.

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Great Website – Material Obsession

All Those Lovely Canvases!

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Halloween,Jewelry,Nuts About Needlepoint,Pets

Originally posted 2008-01-29 07:05:16. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I’m not generally a one to have fits and fits about wanting tons of canvases. So much needlepoint has passed through my hands (I’ve been stitching since 1970 after all), that I almost never go nuts wanting more and more needlepoint.

But last week I visited the long page Melissa Shirley Designs has of their new canvases which debuted at TNNA earlier this month. There was so much great stuff I hardly know where to begin. You can see the whole page here, but I’ll have links to individual canvases throughout the article.

And I really want to share it with you.

They are simple but I really loved the two sets of a dozen needlepoint “lollipops,” two for Halloween (here and here) and two for Christmas (here and here. If you’re a beginning stitcher, try a few of the geometrical designs, more experienced stitchers might want to go crazy with threads and embellishments on the pictoral ones.

I also loved the two canvases with black cats (here’s one of them) which looked like vintage Halloween decorations.

There are also two series of small canvases with a wonderful, but very stitchable Victorian look about them. There is a series of eight charming little girlswith either Jack o’Lanterns or pumpkins. There are also more than 30 new small Santas in a similar style, for everything from a stitching Santa (love his “handknit sweater”) to a traditional bishop to an unusual Asian Santa.

Melissa has become known for her needlepoint bracelets and headbands. This Winter many of her new designs have versions which include these. There is a lovely series with butterflies and a floral ornament. Another just has butterflies by themselves. There is also one with jewel-like beetles and several with shells. There are lots more, in all kinds of styles. All are available as bracelets or headbands.

Many of these coordinate with her larger, realistic canvases. So many of these are so glorious, it’s hard to single them out but here are some of my favorites. My youngest loves mushrooms and she would go nuts over these two canvases. There are also a set of magnificent whales which have the charming qualities of vintage folk art from New England which is so compelling. I also loved the three cat canvases, also in a vintage style. Licensed from Mary LakeThompson is a charming chickadee canvas which really captures the spirit of these little birds.

Melissa also has dress canvases, four in all. They come in two sizes and several styles. There are fantastic nutcrackers (also from Mary Lake-Thompson), new Christmas stockings in many styles, two glorious tree skirts (two choices for background color), and several wonderful folk art cats.

I could go on and on, but go take a look for yourself, I guarantee you’ll find something you want to stitch.

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All Those Lovely Canvases!

Cut Rate Crafts — Web Site Review

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

A new web site, Cut Rate Crafts, has discounted supplies for needlework and other crafts. Their home page promises discounts of 15-30% on their products. They also have free shipping on orders over $100.

While it’s not fantastic for needlepoint, it does have some good products. Their best selection is in stretcher bars where they have both mini and regular bars in sizes from 5 to 18 inches. I can’t tell the brand from the picture, but at least some of them are from brands I’ve seen in shops. Another great resource is the many types of scroll frames and scroll bars available. It can be hard to find these parts in shops, so this is a great resource. They also have a small but nice selection of lap frames.

There selection of organizing products is also good, with the biggest assortment of floss away bags I’ve ever seen. They also have small unmarked zipper bags in three sizes at fantastic prices (about half what I last paid in a craft store) and other organizing supplies.

As far as other supplies and materials for needlepoint go, the selection really falls away. They have a few colors of Kreinik Tapestry Braid (more of #8 and blending filament), floss mostly on cones, perle cotton and DMC wool as well as some threads assortments from Prism (find it in craft stores) and Valdani. There are no needles between ones for large mesh plastic canvas and #24 tapestry needles and their selection of canvas is either Interlock or waste canvas.

In addition they have a small, but nice selection of scissors and a far wider range of popularly-priced kits than you’ll find in any shop.

Their interface could use some work, most of the images on the upper level pages are missing and the initial Needle Arts screen is too long to be easy to use (they should add some anchor text to minimize scrolling). They could make their navigation easier to use.

I liked that they should the retail price along with their discounted price, so that comparison shopping is easy. But I didn’t like that manufacturers information was not available for many products. for “brand names” like Kreinik, DMC, or Charles Craft the name is either in the category or in the item description, but I am unsure who makes many of the sizes of stretcher bars. On the item pages there is a tab for an overview so this information could easily be added. For items in other areas, they seemed to use a generic company “elevator speech” for the overview. Perhaps as they grow, they will provide more helpful and item-specific information.

I haven’t bought anything there yet, so I can’t speak for their service, but it looks like a good resource.

Don’t expect to find things here you might not find in a chain craft store, but for convenience and price, they are a great resource.

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Cut Rate Crafts — Web Site Review

All the Gnus that Print their Fits in Needlepoint

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Gnus from www.roumazeilles.net

You know how the New York Times says they “print all the news that fits?” In college we played with the phrase. My favorite was “All the gnus that print their fits.” But, thanks to Renee from Pepita Neelepoint we have our own needlepoint NYT. She has created an aggregate site, Needlepoint News, as a one-stop shop.

There are three columns on the site. The left column has needlepoint stories in the news. These might be notices about clubs, prize winners, or exhibitions. But you will also find other mentions about needlepoint in different traditional media.

The middle column covers blogs. While this is useful for finding blogs that mention needlepoint, I would be lots happier if instead of blogs that only mention needlepoint in passing, it aggregated the many needlepoint blogs, from individuals, designers, and shops, that really and primarily are about needlepoint. On Google Reader, I follow about 50 needlepoint blogs and I know an aggregate site for them would be great.

It would be wonderful if Renee could improve this column.

The right column is labeled “Discussions” and includes posts from social media sites, question sites, and photo sharing pools. There is lots of good stuff here.

Renee has done a good job of presenting lots of information here, and doing this takes a ton of work. Automated aggregators help alot, but, all too often, they pick up things that aren’t as useful as things they miss.

The site is very worthwhile and should be checked daily, but it’s probably not going to replace your blogroll or Google Reader list anytime soon.

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All the Gnus that Print their Fits in Needlepoint

Redesigned & Updated Bargello Site

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

pattern from 2010 Bargello Challenge

Bargello Needlepoint has just undergone a major redesign to make it easier to find patterns and to learn about both Bargello & needlepoint. It’s a great site and you should spend plenty of time there.

This year Althea, the site’s owner, has been trying to stitch a new Bargello pattern everyday in the 2010 Bargello Challenge. With half the year gone, she has an impressive array of patterns stitched. These she has classified in useful pages, like the Bargello Diamond Designs that give a brief descrption of this type of design and then show all of the designs in this category in clickable thumbnails. Click on one and you’ll find a page with a bigger picture, information about the source and some other information about the design.

Besides this amazing resource and record of her project, there is also a store with her ebook of ornaments, links to buy printed books, fun merchandise, and several free downloads.

Two other areas of reference information classified by subject provide a comprehensive index to her blog material. They are Bargello Boot Camp and Needlepoint How-to. Both are great places for exploration.

This is one of the cleanest designed and useful needlepoint sites I’ve seen in a very long time.

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Redesigned & Updated Bargello Site

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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Needle Artworks – Website Review

Announcing All about Needlepoint

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Nuts About Needlepoint

Originally posted 2008-10-07 07:02:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I just wanted everyone to know about the new Website I’m developing — All about Needlepoint.

I’ve long been unhappy that as needlepointers, we don’t have available on the Internet the kinds of tools and information which is available for many other people who do needlearts. Quilters have a bazillion patterns, there is a huge community of knitters, and newly popular needlearts like free embroidery have many sites dedicated to them — but where is the reference information for people who want to needlepoint.

I have wanted to put the store of information in my head and on my computer out in the world and available to the public for a long time, but I couldn’t find a structure I liked. I put my mind to it and started working.

All about Needlepoint is designed from the outset to be for anyone who is interested in needlepoint from the just curious to the experienced stitcher. It’s easy to navigate, with no information more than two clicks from the home page. It’s designed to teach as well and there will be free email courses (the first one, for beginners, is taking sign-ups now), free projects and email projects (I’m working on those as well).

I put up a few pages everyday (I’m trying to eat the elephant), so check back often.

One new feature is “Ask Janet” a free service where you can ask a needlepoint question and get an answer back within one business day. I’m putting my expertise to work for you.

I want to revolutionize the needlepoint world, taking advantage of the Information Age and all its wonders. I’m hoping eventually to add features like Wikis (collaborative encyclopedias), a directory of free needlepoint patterns on the Internet (I’m figuring out how to do that), and needlepoint forums for discussion. We’ll have stitch-alongs and possibly swaps and exchanges.

In case you’re wondering, the blog will stay here and continue as it has been. Some of the material here which is reference will move over to All about Needlepoint at some point, largely to make it easier to find. And, of course, the free projects will be in the Directory. But this will continue to be the place to read news, reviews, learn about great needlepoint posts, and to track the latest information.

But I also want to know what you’d like to see. What bit of information do you always forget? What would you like to know? What technique do you want to learn? Email me at napaneedlepoint @ gmail.com (remove spaces) and tell me about it.

I’m looking forward to developing this site.

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Announcing All about Needlepoint

Anna Marie Winter’s Outstanding Technique Site – Web Site Review

by NutsAboutNeedlepoint

in Classes,Nuts About Needlepoint

I have long been an admirer of Anna Marie Winter’s work. She’s a phenomenal stitcher, teacher, and designer, and is based in Canada. She has a lovely gallery of her needlepoint at Stitch Amaze as well as a gallery on her own site. She teaches at national seminars, and through workshops, both on-line and in person. Her designs are available through Bedecked and Beadazzled.

But what I love best about her site is her innovative set of needlepoint tips and techniques. All of them are listed on this master page and are done as PDFs, so they are easy to print out. Included among them are articles on organizing, finishing, and most recently, one on transfer printing for canvas.

Check them out, they’re great!

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Anna Marie Winter’s Outstanding Technique Site – Web Site Review

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