Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Razzle Dazzle by Ann Strite-Kurz
If you work with Watercolours often enough, you should come to realize that when you unwind the skein, the color flow can look different than how it is packaged. I shouldn’t have been but was surprised to see one span of light teal portion and the rest was all the blue. So, I found the repeating pattern of color and cut a long enough length to move from light teal in the center moving towards blue for the outer edges. Very pretty. But, I didn’t realize the full impact of the Watercolours until I went to pull threads for Area 2 of Razzle Dazzle by Ann Strite-Kurz.
Initially, I picked up Petite Very Velvet (V660, a blue) but based on Ann’s color scheme it should be the teal color. So, I selected V662 Green Aqua at our ANG Main Line Stitchers May Monday meeting. I was thinking of staying with silk but there isn’t the correct blue in Grandeur (a silk #5 pearl). So, I went home to regroup. In my stash there was a full skein of DMC #5 Pearl 517, a blue cotton. That’s when I realized that the Watercolours caused the first four petals to be more blue than teal and I need to make the diagonal petals more teal. I had inadvertently inverted (partially) the colorway. So, back to my stash and into the teal drawer. What should appear but a lovely spool of Trebizond, a silk, in a lovely aquamarine (TRA701). I only had the one spool until stopping at Nimble Needle in NJ for another 2 spools. Problems solved!
One of Ann’s comments after giving us guidance on selecting colors for her design is, “Beyond this, anything goes, so have fun playing with threads.” That part is easy! In studying various versions of the design I’ve seen online, they can and do vary. So, as long the colors look good together, it should be fine. In a recent email with her, Ann said she believes a dark canvas is better because it creates a negative space better than the lighter canvas colors. I can see that as well but working on the darker colors is tougher on my eyes and I will not stitch a third colorway.
I did go back to do the Autumnal colorway and as you can see the diagonal ovals are stitched in an overall darker value than you see in the diagonal ovals of the Aquamarine colorway. Ann is correct in that it is fun to see these develop.
Next up (at tomorrow night’s June meeting) will be filling in the center and tips around the ovals. While that will be pretty, I am really looking forward to getting to the ribbons and I have enough thread to go in whatever direction moves me.
Filed under: 2026, Magical Color with Jennifer Riefenberg, National Academy of Needlearts (NAN)
Over the past month, I got back to stitching on Magical Color by Jennifer Riefenberg. It’s quite a variety of warm and cool colors being added on each row and it’s interesting to see how they combine with each other and differ depending on the painted base color.
A black border is all that is needed now. Then, finishing. Jennifer made hers into a book jacket type of thing although I don’t think that it held a book. Even though this looks like one canvas thanks to Photoshop, it is two separate pieces. I am undecided about what to do with it. Thoughts?
Patty W, the editor of ANG Needle Pointers, asked me to review an article she was writing on a small painted canvas she had just stitched discussing her perspective on thread and stitch selections. It reminded me that I was doing the same thing for my posts regarding the canvas, Morning Glories by Lani. My first post shows the canvas and threads from my stash. It also discusses how I learned that these are Morning Glories (https://melitastitches4fun.com/2025/07/07/morning-glories-by-lani/). So, I asked Patty if she’d be interested in running this design in the magazine not as a stitch guide rather as a discussion of thought process.
After looking up what Morning Glory buds look like and going through The Needlepoint Book by Jo Ippolito Christensen, I selected the Raised Close Herringbone.
I know it’s not exactly the same but I’m not a botanist and the three dimensionality really hit the mark for me. Plus, the size and shape can vary which is very important.
For the rest of the story, you’ll have to be a member of ANG because the article appears in the current issue of Needle Pointers. It’s easy to join (needlepoint.org) and ANG has tons to offer.
I also want to give a shout out to Sue Parsons for her excellent finishing class held at Fireside Stitchery (July 2025). I really learned a lot and modifed my process based on what I learned.
I decided to tack the finished piece onto a self-adhesive felt fabric.
Here it is attached to an unfinished box top.
Filed under: ANG Needle Pointer's Timeless Treasures From the Archives, Morning Glories by Lani, Other People's Designs
My issue arrived in the mail and the Timeless Treasures from the Archives article in the May/June 2026 issue of Needle Pointers Magazine explores butterflies. There is lots to explore from past articles by Margaret Kinsey, Debbie Rowley, and Linda Reinmiller.
I learned how to make my butterflies in Flowers Along a Rhode from Debbie Rowley’s Explore and Design class in 2024.
There is lots more to enjoy in this issue too. In particular, the Tale of Two (or Three) Stitchers included two people I know. Jacqui C of ANG New Jersey Needle Artists Chapter and Sharon B of ANG Central Jersey Chapter. Sarah N of IL also joined to stitch Lazy Morning at the Bay by PLD Designs. It’s always interesting to see different interpretations of the same canvas.
And, my thoughts and process about selecting stitches and threads for Morning Glories by Lani is published in this issue.
If you’re not a member of ANG, the American Needlepoint Guild (needlepoint.org), it’s easy to join. There are many free designs exclusively available to members including access to all past issues (since 1980s) and yearly Stitch of the Month projects (since 1998).
Next up is Faith from The Cabochons Series by Susan Portra. It’s on a lovely Lavender canvas. Most of the thread colors are in Rhapsody. The blue Fyre Werks is the outlier but all work together nicely.
I got the center column of Rhapsody in before Saturday and added the outlines during our Stitch-in. I would have gotten more done except for having to remove my first outline row on the right side. It didn’t become apparent until I reached the bottom and was off by one canvas thread! Oh well. I was back on track soon enough and finished later that night watching a classic 1940 sci-fi horror film Dr. Cyclops presented by Svengoolie on MeTV, our usual Saturday night.
Part of my fascination with this series is seeing so much fit into a relatively small area and how everything fits together in a cohesive design.
Knowing several of my pieces of beeswax had served me well for far too many years, I quickly ordered a package of Petites, the original morsels, when Mary Corbet announced their availability at Needle ‘n Thread.
As always, Mary provides a wealth of information about her hand-crafted beeswax at https://shop.needlenthread.com/product/beeswax-petites
I use beeswax when using cotton or silk strands to strengthen the threads when beading with them. Bugle beads especially have sharp edges and might cut the threads. Beading thread is already strengthened and doesn’t need beeswax applied.
My old beeswax didn’t have bloom – it was just dry and flaky. Aren’t these lovely and the packaging is perfect! Almost too pretty to use.
Step 1 of filling in the background of Hope from The Cabochons Series by Susan Portra was the long strands laid on the true diagonal first one way and then the other. I only went wrong a couple of times and saw it quickly enough.
I wanted the long stitches laid before our Saturday ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter Stitch-in (in April) to be sure of the pattern. It took a couple of nights to get these in. The top ones were a little tricky even though they are on the true diagonal.
When I saw this photo, I thought it was the light that reflecting oddly. Can you see it? I didn’t see anything missing. So, I continued.
I got 2 tack down stitches in when I remembered how much I disliked Tiara. So, I went to my Kreinik gold drawer and found 102 looked so close to Tiara T101 that I decided to switch. I happened to have 2 full spools and one very full spool in #8 Braid. I won’t have to Hope that I’ll have enough. That made my day!
I got 3 rows of tacking stitches in when I saw it wasn’t the light that was an issue! I missed laying the threads in the opposite direction on the two right areas. That was easy enough to remedy.
Although I was ready to stitch, I didn’t get any done at that Stitch-in because I was working on our group Santa canvas. It’s looking good!
But, I did have time to work on it a few days later at a Stitch-in with my EGA Brandywine chapter and again during a couple of Zoom meetings over the last month. The tacking stitches took some time but it really turned out nicely. The color in the photo below is more accurate than what’s in the previous photo. Today was an overcast day when I got the photo.
I’ll use this ornament to demo finishing for my Needlework and Textile Guild of Media in June. I’ve got a couple of weeks to prepare.
Now, I’ll get the next Cabochon ornament on the bars for our May 22nd Saturday Stitch-in with ANG Main Line Stitchers. I’m excited to see what’s ahead.
Filed under: Brandywine Chapter, Depression-era Crayon Art, Embroidery Guild of America
Crayon Art or Crayon Tinting was popular in the 1930s and demonstrated the resilience of creativity throughout the Depression. Who better to lead this practical and resourceful use of crayons (remaining from his 30+ year-old son’s Crayon box) than Patrick B of our EGA Brandywine Chapter.
Patrick provided everyone with a 27″ square sack cloth (nicely edged with a cloth hook in one corner). We selected patterns from coloring books or brought our own (which is what I did). We traced the design onto the cloth with a Micron pen, colored them with crayons, and heat-set them with an iron. A paper towel placed on top of the crayon protected the iron.
Then, we embellished the designs. I’m only going to stitch the veins. It’s a little more work on a towel than I would normally do and it’s too large for our kitchen. So, it’ll have to go in the basement next to the sink in the laundry room. We have a long golf towel there now.
I accidentally placed and colored 5 leaves along one side. It hangs like a diamond and I should have placed them differently. It wasn’t until I had left our meeting and was showing friends that I saw what I had done with the placement. And, there is one traced and uncolored leaf in a corner by itself. I’ll have to trace and color 3 more leaves! Since I don’t have any crayons (this is why I hate getting rid of stuff) and want to use the same colors, Patrick is lending me his crayons!
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Razzle Dazzle by Ann Strite-Kurz
The four center areas in Razzle Dazzle by Ann Strite-Kurz, Ribbon Borders are done. Nothing too difficult because she charted the blackwork. Except for the side trips on the sides, it never felt intuitive. I guess that’s something!
Ready for the next area. Or am I? The colorway isn’t popping for me. What is a stitcher to do!?!
I had recently found 2 pairs of 21″ bars in the basement. Thinking I might switch to another colorway and that I could shop for it at the last EGA Stitch-in at Fireside, I calculated how many cards of Elegance (a silk pearl #8) I would need in place of 2 balls of DMC Pearl cotton #8 (since Fireside doesn’t carry it). It turned out to be 9 cards but I thought it might be brighter and I wanted as much pop as I could get (so, worth the extra cost). Fireside’s website had indicated they didn’t have any colored 18 count canvas left. So, I didn’t think I’d be shopping for a new colorway and didn’t bring the instructions. However, when I arrived, they did have the aquamarine canvas that I wanted. So, I found Watercolours 068 Mediterranean that looked great with the canvas. There was a fantastic color available in Elegance E880 Teal and I found 2 colors of Kreinik #8 Braid (033 and 044). I couldn’t remember what other threads I needed except for Petite Very Velvet. More about that next time.
It was much easier stitching this the second time around. It took 10 days to get this done and I worked on 2 other projects to break up working on all those Smyrnas! I still needed to look at the blackwork diagram frequently. I’m very happy with this one. And I will continue with both colorways for now.
Our double knock out yellow roses are the first to bloom in our backyard this year. Spring, flowers, and no air conditioning needed. Wonderful. And it makes me happy to get some work done in my Spring Lollipop Garden by Tamara Abdee.
I’ve added the pink Tulip although I need to pay more attention to what part of a marbled ribbon I cut.
The purple Lilac was the most complicated one yet. The three blue Forget Me Knots are quite cute. The two bluefish purple Hyacinths are not supposed to be symmetrical in order for them to be more realistic. I think the right one really nailed it but the left one is fine.
That’s it for the flowers. Next up is the Birch Tree and Nest.
Even with white board relecting the light, there are still shadows. Photographing needlework is tough!
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