Join us on February 11, we’ll be “Talking Color” as we begin Color Effects by Joni Stevenson, from the 2011 ANG Chapter Project Book (http://www.needlepoint.org/CPB/images/Color-Effects.jpg). Then, bring the stash you selected and a canvas on March 11 for “Playing with Paint”. You will paint a canvas as we continue with Color Effects. We’ll supply the paint and brushes. Cover or provide accents to your canvas to enhance your stitched piece!
All meetings will be held at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, on the second Monday of the month at 7:15 pm. GPS: 203 North Valley Forge Road, Devon, PA
MainLineStitchersChapter@needlepoint.org
The last of the quartet ornaments is finished.
I used the same threads as before but back to using 2 strands of Pebbly Perle (P66) because now that is running low. Stayed with 2 strands of DMC Perle #8 (3071) because I had plenty of that left (and still do). And, I did go back to the solid light purple Kreinik #8 braid Color 023. This will also be for a set of bookends.
Another particularly good tip for me from CyberPointer’s Chris L for the double upright crosses was to do the full pattern before attempting the outside edges. That allowed me to get the hang of crossing in the proper direction before doing the partial crosses which are required as part of compensating. I have tended to think that compensating should not be necessary if the design is layed out purposefully. But, as I stitched this, I decided that it can serve as a border while maintaining the continuity of the design. And, in a sense, it makes the piece expand beyond the edge. How do you feel about compensating stitches around the edge?
I have one more set of bookends to make for a gift. Now, I have to pick different threads because the Pebbly Perle and Kreinik stash is depleted and because I want to work with something else! And, I need to find a pattern.
Another of the quartet, the Bargello Ornament, reached completion and worked up quicker than the first two. I stayed with the same threads but used them differently. I didn’t unstrand the Pebbly Perle (P66). I thought it would like nice to be round and match the roundness of the Kreinik thread (271). Now, I am almost out of that Kreinik, the one with the slight green and purple coloring. So, if the last ornament calls for Kreinik, I’ll have to use the solid color again. And, I ran out of DMC floss 3041, the contrasting purple color floss. But, I had plenty of the DMC Perle #8. So, I used that for the border and corner motif. Looks great. I have since replenished that floss.
I am so glad to have Chris L. from CyberPointers’s notes – her tip about following the chart carefully where you turn the corners on the border was fantastic. You get into the rhythm of going over 4 threads and can easily miss that it is over 3. I did much less restitching than I likely would have without the tip!
The Pattern Couching Ornament is now done as well. It is on the same light green canvas & I used Perle Cotton #8 Color 3041, DMC Floss Color 3041, Pebbly Perle P66, and Kreinik #8 braid Color 023. But, I added DMC Floss Color 3042 between the darker rows of the inner corners because I didn’t want a solid mass of dark color as Marilyn describes on page 2:6. And, I didn’t want to leave it blank. So, the next shade lighter worked out well. And, instead of a contrasting #12 braid for the center pattern couching, I used a #16 braid Kreinik Color 271 that has a hint of green throughout it and matches the other Kreinik nicely. I do not have a single #12 Kreinik in my stash! But, #16 worked fine.
I have chosen this one (after consulting with my husband) to accompany the already completed String Art Ornament as an insert for a pair of bookends. I am thinking about using mylar to place behind each insert because there is enough canvas showing through that it might look good. Thoughts? Has anyone used this? And, does anyone know who/what type of store sells mylar? I have not taken time to google and search that out yet.
I found a nice deal on the bookends at Kmart and thought instantly of using these designs as singles for the inserts. They are Joe Boxer Frame Bookends measuring 5.5″ x 5.5″ x 3.15″ with the insert area measuring 4″ x 4″. I always keep my eyes open for different ways to display needlepoint! I especially like these because they don’t need to go to the finisher and will make a nice gift without costing a lot of money!
The Nun’s Stitch Finishing stitch works perfect and I found polyester sewing thread with my basting threads! It is thin and so it didn’t add any bulk to the edges. I thought I was careful when cutting but apparently had not pulled as tight as I should have for one stitch and it got snipped when I cut along the channel. I decided to go back and reinforce with 2 stitches on each side of the snip just to be on the safe side.
As a reminder, both ANG CyberPointers and ANG Mainline Chapter decided to do the Ornament Quartet by Marilyn Owens from the 2011 Chapter Handbook (http://www.needlepoint.org/CPB/images/Ornament-Quartet-Composite.jpg).
On to the next ornaments in the quartet! I am pleased with how the first 2 came out and want to see the next couple.
Filed under: General comments
I took inventory today and found Hope/Cure for Breast Cancer by Rebecca Powell from the Chapter Project Book (upper left corner of picture). My ANG Mainline Chapter is doing one as a group for a community service project. I took the sketch that was provided & made a diagram to follow but the vertical intersecting lines didn’t fall where I had hoped. So, I’m scratching that canvas. In fact, I have an idea sketched out for a companion piece as our next community service project. If it turns out, maybe it would be in a future Chapter Project Book! That would be very exciting, educational, and challenging to go through the process of creating not only the stitched piece but writing up the directions, getting it pilot stitched, and writing the proposal. Stitching actually sounds like the easy part!
Moving to the right, I got a Stitch N’ Zip purse and card case set and the 2 cases just below at Nimble Needle. I am hoping the finishing is easy. Has anyone used these? Any tips?
On the upper right corner is the lovely Dragon Fly, a SharonG canvas. I made good progress on this before I stopped to finish my poppy field piece.
On the corner of the Dragon Fly is an ornament that I made a Kumihimo braid to edge the sides. My Mainline Chapter were fortunate to have Karen at Nimble Needle visit our group to show us how to finish an ornament. It got buried in a pile & I forgot to finish it.
Below that is Nancy Cucci’s piece from a 2-day class for Stitches in Sterling that 4 of us from my Mainline Chapter took with the Delaware Seashore Chapter. There was some pre-work and I did get a good amount done during the 2 days. But, it got set aside because of Mainline Chapter projects, the holidays, and my poppy field! According to my blog entry in Oct 2011, I have a design of my own floating around that I had been inspired to create – I wonder where I put that. Where does the time go?
It is easy to spot my newest canvas that came from Tapisserie in London, England and was a gift from a coworker. The store was kind enough email me the PDF of the stitched model. They deviated from the painted canvas using beads for the crown. I love the Royal Blue background and powder blue profile. I am going to do the EIIR differently. I ordered some beads and have some threads to experiment with before I tackle the canvas.
You can see I have 2 round ornaments to find a design for & stitch. This finishing is going to be easy as long as I make the round insert the correct size to start off.
The pen should work up quickly & will be a gift for my husband, Bill who has quite a collection of pens already!
It is easy to spot the canvas, Vases by SharonG. My Mainline Chapter wanted to take a summer class & so 7 of us headed to Nimble Needle for a Saturday class with Sharon. We all voted on what canvas to stitch so that we could work through the stitch guide during the 1-day class. For me, this came too close after the other SharonG class I had taken & too soon before the 2012 seminar in Philly to permit me any time to work on it since the class. But, I absolutely love the canvas.
In the middle on the bottom, I have the Ornament Quartet by Marilyn Owens. It is from the ANG Chapter Project Book. And, both my local Mainline Chapter & CyberPointers selected this in 2012 to do as a group. I have one done & the second is almost done!
Another project selected by both my chapters is the Ort Box by Marilyn Owens. Well, it is stitched but not lined and assembled.
I know I have at least one more project started from seminar 2012, Tar River Trail, a 2-day class with Gail Stafford, that has not been worked on since seminar.
I won’t even think about the other projects that reside in my basement cabinet! I know I have several in this batch of works in progress (WIP) that I have a passion to work on. The hard part is deciding which one to work on first. I have heard that some people work on different ones simultaneously. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to try that approach. How do you prefer to work – one project start to finish or pick up different ones on different days?
Happy New Year everyone!
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