Previously, I posted about the various laying tools in my arsenal (https://melitastitches4fun.com/2024/11/24/laying-tools/) that includes my Stitchers Best Friend manufactured by Rainbow Gallery.
That post was November 2024 and despite being right by my side, I haven’t used it. I was surprised to see they sell it in Size 20, 22, and 24.
Do you have one, use it regularly, and use it for what?
Filed under: Brandywine Chapter, Embroidery Guild of America, Lotus Blossom by Brenda Kocher
The challenge with this Or Nué Lotus Blossom is that lots of needles need to be working simultaneously. I don’t want to carry the gold Japanese Silk couching thread across the large center design. So, I have one one each side. There are 3 colors but the center lightest color repeats on the far left and right sides so that is 2 more needles. With the long (4.5 yards) strand of Radiance 13, that makes 8 needles to juggle. I brought my threads up in the hole of the next stitch, laid the Radiance, and then couched with the colored threads first.
Here it is done. I’ll look for a small frame at Michael’s.
Filed under: Brandywine Chapter, Embroidery Guild of America, Or Nué Hearts by Brenda Kocher
I led a class on Wednesday for my EGA Brandywine Chapter Class in Or Nué Hearts by Brenda Kocher. The chapter paid for the canvas (black or ecru) and the threads. By kitting them myself, we split up skeins and saved money. I also bought two large pieces of canvas at Nimble Needle in NJ, cut it, and taped them myself also saving the chapter money. Karen, the owner of Nimble Needle NJ is the only store in our area that gives a 10% discount to ANG and EGA members. A nice perk in addition to an opportunity to chat with Karen!
Since 6″ and 7″ bars are tough to find and because people wanted to learn lacing, we did that first. I wrote up instructions after rereading instructions from Kay Stanis. Even small bars like these took time away from the project but everyone enjoyed learning the technique. It’s handy if you don’t have the proper size bars and if the canvas becomes loose, you can tighten the lacing. Here it is in process.
Rather than using Kreinik, I had everyone use Radiance 13 for the laid thread and we couched with Kreinik Japanese Silk Couching Thread. It went well – it took a couple of people two tries to get the hang of couching in the same hole but everyone was getting the hang of it. So, hopefully, there’ll be some finished pieces by our next meeting on July 14. Mine has been done so people could see it.
Since I had Brenda Kocher’s Lotus Blossom in my stash to do, I am getting started on that piece.
Filed under: Brandywine Chapter, Depression-era Crayon Art, Embroidery Guild of America
This is the finished 27″ sack cloth with one of the leaves enlarged in the center. Thanks again to Patrick B who led this excursion into Crayon Art or Crayon Tinting for the EGA Brandywine Chapter. It was popular in the 1930s and demonstrated the resilience of creativity throughout the Depression. This will serve as a towel hanging next to our basement sink. Heat set the crayon (a paper towel protected the iron). It is washable and may fade over time but that’s ok.
Today I lead lacing canvas onto bars and then a small Or Nue piece.
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?
Melitastitches4fun's Blog 
Filed under: General comments, Tools
My stitching cup overfloweth!
Some stuff has to go.
Top of the list is this Thread Straightener. I can’t remember where I got but I have used it. The blue and white material is a dense foam and I can see where threads have been pulled through it. I don’t recall it working that great and my flat iron works really well. So, it’s going.
Gone is a large paper clip with a pompon perhaps was for a bookmark, an extra red pen, a red marker, and a pen with a supposedly erasable ink that never really worked great. Moving the glue stick to the basement tool bag opened up the whole cup allowing me to keep most of it! Yes, I have a stitching cup (thanks Linda) with frequently needed items, an upstairs handmade quilt tool caddy with often needed items (thanks again Linda, https://melitastitches4fun.com/2017/06/02/threads-tote-for-tools/), and a basement Find It Media caddy (can’t remember where it came from) with infrequently needed items.
Fess up, how many tool caddies do you have?