Filed under: ANG Needle Pointer's Article, ANG Needle Pointer's Timeless Treasures From the Archives, Diamond Bargello Flags
It’s always a thrill to see my designs on the cover! Sometimes I just feel like playing with patterns on my computer. This particular time I was exploring the movement of Bargello patterns which is the focus of this small stitching project, Diamond Bargello Flags. I did the finishing myself. Even if you don’t stitch the project, there are also tips from Liz Morrow, thanks to Rinda Just who keeps her designs available online.
You can also see that Timeless Treasures From the Archives is a feature article in this issue. It launches a series of articles that I will continue in upcoming issues. I look through the archived issues focusing on educational articles that stand the test of time. This issue finds Nanette Costa reviewing the basics of needlepoint in a series of articles. Hopefully, members of ANG enjoy and learn from our past members.
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, From Dawn to Dusk by Textured Treasures
When we introduced the project, From Dawn to Dusk by Textured Treasures, to my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter this past fall, I stitched one of the motifs on 18 count in Christmas colors as a single motif for an ornament.
I decided to do 2 more ornaments in Christmas colors because I like 3s and because I wanted to try an Interlaced Maltese Cross. If you don’t lay the foundation correctly in Step 1, then the interlacing in Step 2 won’t work. I got it right on my second attempt.
This was the third motif in Twilight Too. All three had the same instructions as From Dawn to Dusk but written for 28 count ground. So, I used the same threads as the first ornament. Just needed to figure out where to use the threads and how many strands.
Nothing difficult in the second motif in Twilight Too except color matching the Anchored Vandyke. I think I’m using a discontinued Needle Necessities 153 (overdyed red thread). It’s 6 stranded. So, I used 3 strands on the North-South areas from one length and 3 strands on the East-West areas from the second length. It turned out good.
To start the finishing, I used newly purchased fusible web and just to be 100% sure nothing would ever happen to the iron again, I used a pressing cloth! All went well.
At some point I am hoping finishing will come more naturally. If I don’t do it regularly, it takes me time to get the swing of it again. But, I am happy with how it turned out.
In October, I’ll be taking an irregular shaped ornament finishing class from Kelly Starke. So, I think my third ornament will be good for that class.
Continuing on with the first rectangle for the center. I stitched the gobelin outline at home because I didn’t want to count wrong at the Central Jersey Chapter (CJC) Saturday Stitch-in that I was invited to join. They worked last month and this month on my Festive Fireworks from NeedlePointers (July 2017). I really enjoyed seeing theirs. Linda M worked them on a single piece of silver sparkly canvas each motif with a red, white, and blue gobelin border which looks really fantastic. Sue is stitching them for Christmas ornaments in red, green, and white. It was so nice of them to invite me. Such a nice group. I took Autumn 3-Ways for Show and Tell because it was their chapter who held the workshop.
In line with their patriotic themed project, I demonstrated the Or Nue Flag. Most had not heard of this technique and were quite interested. One woman even finished a flag after lunch.
So I could start stitching Imperial Topaz there, I prepared 6 bundles of 4 strands each that was needed for the Mosaic stitch to fill that area. Linda, from Main Line Stitchers, is leading this project and suggested 4 strands by eliminating the middle value of the coral rather than 5 originally suggested. The 4 strands laid well on the diagonal. Good call. I made good progress during the day and finished up in the evening.
Because Waterlilies has 12 strands and I started with a 30″ length, I had enough of the same overdyed thread to complete the entire center. Had I needed another length of the overdyed for part of the area, the color differences in the overdyed thread may have been evident.
I liked the Waterlilies 168 Rainforest because it’s muted and selected the Color B (coral) thread, AVAS Soie d’alger 2921 Rouse Ancien, to brighten the Waterlilies and provide the contrast. One of the colors in Waterlilies looks like a shade of AVAS 2921 which means black would have been added to AVAS 2921. I didn’t want the exact match because that would wash out the crescents. In fact, Sue mentions that you do not have use any of the colors from the overdyed skein for Color B.
I cut the thread just where the shade close to the coral would start the crescents near the center solid diamond. The stretch of thread that follows offers a nice cross section from the skein of Rainforest.
The value contrast wasn’t what I expected but there is contrast of color and temperature (reviewed my notes from Laura Smith’s lecture, “The Seven Ways of Color Contrast”; excellent talk).
I’m ready for our July ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter meeting Monday night.
I decided to make the Or Nue Flag into a needle minder by stitching a row of tent stitches around the border first with Kreinik#8 Braid in matching 002HL. I placed two round magnets inside and two on the outside of a piece of the top edge of canvas and folded it down to meet and tuck under an upturned bottom edge. I cut the sides right up to the stitched sides which probably wasn’t the best way. The magnets won’t come out but those sides will wear faster than the top or bottom edges. I did a cinching kind of running stitch with Kreinik #4 Braid 002HL along the 4 sides. Not a pretty finish on the back but I’ll be looking at the front!
It is about the right size to be made into a pin but I’ll get more use out of a needle minder.
This Tuesday I will discuss the 2 pieces of goldwork and an Or Nue piece I’ve stitched for the folks at the Needlework and Textile Guild of Media’s monthly meeting. Then, I will demo Or Nue with a 1.5″ x 1″ flag. I have materials and instructions to give anyone willing to give it a try.
I’m using Kreinik and flosses on canvas not real gold threads to at least give a sense of how it is accomplished.
While preparing a resource document, I discovered that couching 2 gold threads would be a more authentic technique. Also, I’ve seen the couching thread go over the gold thread only, over the gold thread and one canvas thread, and over 2 canvas threads and the gold thread (which is what I have done). Working on monocanvas is less authentic than a linen ground. So, maybe there is no “correct” way on monocanvas. Anyone have any thoughts?
Join us at The Media Arts Council (11 East State Street in Media) at 7 pm on Tuesday July 11. It’s always the second Tuesday of the month.
Filed under: Crewel Stitches - Judy Jerow, Embroidery Guild of America, Mid-Atlantic Region
Back in May, I went to the EGA Mid-Atlantic Regional Spring meeting held in Wilkes-Barre, PA. I went up because the Take Home a Project (THaP) class was Stitching with Crewel Stitches with Judy Jerow, an expert in Crewel.
There really are 3 different greens, purples, and yellows Appleton wools but they are so close, the shading isn’t as evident as I expected. I had greens: 355, 354, 352; first 2 too close; purples: 103, 104, 105; first 2 too close (differences showed up the least of the 3 colors, probably because they are darker threads); yellows: 471, 472, 474; first 2 too close.
The stitching is done but this will not get “finished”. Nothing really wrong with it but can’t hang everything. I never came to like Appleton wool as I continued to stitch with it. Maintaining the twist is constantly required, it’s a hairy thread which looks messy to me, and the feel is rough. I was threading the correct end. More crewel work is not in my future. I’m also not comfortable working on a hoop – it feels awkward which would probably pass if I used it more often. Working on Twill Linen wasn’t easy because I pulled too hard (maybe?) which makes it pucker (I can flatten it in the hoop). Again, something that might not happen with practice.
I do want to use the Burden stitch and love her French Knots. The Raised Outline and Stem make great leaves. These stitches could all be done with different threads and on a different ground. It’s always fun to learn something new from a project and teacher. I throughly enjoyed Judy and her class.
Melitastitches4fun's Blog 