Last year, my ANG Keystone Garden chapter offered Christmas Diamonds as a project. I hadn’t done a piece by Kurdy Biggs before. So, I decided to do it but didn’t get to it until now. There are 3 different designs in the Needlepoint Now November/December 2015 issue.
This is the first diamond with my colors on a white canvas with silver sparkles. I added some small (3mm) silver bugle beads and did the beads a little differently than diagrammed. And, I used smaller size beads inside the border Jessicas because the 11 beads overcrowded the Jessicas. The smaller beads fit much better. For alternating Jessicas, I used 5 dark sead beads and then 4 light Delica and a 5th dark sead bead on top. I finished the beads in the border during my Saturday afternoon with my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter (always the 4th Saturday at Starbucks on Lancaster Ave in Wayne, PA from 11 am to 3 pm).
The threads are Kreinik #4 Braid 1432, Entice E248, Silk Lame Braid Petite SP118, Splendor S988, and Treasure Braid TR277. The beads are Miyuki Delica Beads 15/0 DBS0166 and Sundance Beads Size 11 and Size 14/15 Color 327P; the beading thread is from Sundance too in Teal and Turquoise colors.
Filed under: ANG Keystone Garden Chapter, Christmas Ornaments, Floche Star Ornament, Melita's Other Completed Pieces
I didn’t see the stitches over 5 canvas threads in the top and bottom of the centers until I’d stitched 2 diamonds!
Filed under: ANG Keystone Garden Chapter
Thanks to Holly who is a member of my ANG Keystone Garden chapter and works at Rittenhouse Needlepoint, Russell and Steven graciously donated needlepoint canvases for everyone attending our Holiday evening (about 20 of us). We each got 2 needlepoint canvases! Here are mine. The ornament is cute. And, the scene of England should be interesting to stitch.
Many thanks to everyone at Rittenhouse and best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year!
Filed under: The Thistle
The Thistle by Carole Lake and Michael Boren is a free project from my ANG Keystone Garden Chapter. We got an antique blue canvas (8″ x 8″) and similar colored threads from what’s listed in the instructions from Needle Pointers magazine (Sept 2014).
The thistle was stitched first and I made the green leaves bigger than I realized. So, I had to make the border a little longer causing the side gold areas to be adjusted to fit the open area. Turned out fine. The design is not large-only 3″ x 4&1/2″.
I switched the navy DMC floss to the navy Impressions 7011 mainly because I didn’t want to lay the two borders of backstitch. And, I’m very happy that I did because it made wrapping the backstitch borders so easy and gives a very uniform appearance.
And, instead of the muted lavender blue overdyed Watercolour 162 provided or the baby blue white overdyed Thread Gatherer Silken Pearl 15/3 SP5 081 recommended, I used Thread Gatherer Sheep’s Silk Lilac SPS075 for a more imposing realistic appearance.
The chapter encourages participation in projects by awarding points toward a gift certificate. The more completed, the more money. This is my first completion for one point this year (June 2018). Larger projects are worth 2 points. And, showing up for our meeting during the busy month of December gets you one point.
It took me until June 2022 to frame it as a gift for our friend Debbie. Hopefully, a flower will perk her up after losing her 18-year old dog, Ollie.
Filed under: ANG Keystone Garden Chapter, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, ANG Stitch of the Month, 2016, General comments, Woodlawn Needlework Exhibition, Zentangle
Another cold March but the nor’easters decided to give us a couple of sunny, nice days. So, Bill & I did get to Woodlawn this year. We also stopped at a huge magic store outside Baltimore and saw Tony Kornheiser record his sport talk pod cast in Washington (2 of my husband’s favorite things, magic and watching/listening to sports).
Woodlawn had fewer judged pieces this year (407 listed in the handout; numbering starts at 100 and ends at 660 but large blocks of numbers were skipped in between). However, there are 2 special display rooms. One is Japanese Needlework from students of Antonia Evans. Other businesses shown below were also sponsors of the exhibit. They do beautiful work. Oops, there was a sign saying no photography in the Japanese room (so, I removed them from my blog).
And, there were a variety of wonderful pieces from the family of Mary Duckworth, once a longstanding member of Nelly’s Needler’s.
As usual, there were some great entries from all over the country. Winners of ribbons are listed on the website now too at: http://www.woodlawnpopeleighey.org/annualneedleworkshow/ . And, that brings me to my review of select pieces. I will comment mostly in order by entry number (in parens). And, if the entrant is a designer that I know has his/her first & last name on the web or is listed as an award winner on Woodlawn’s website, I’ll cite both; otherwise, I cite full first name and last name initial letter only. I didn’t get photos of other people’s pieces. Docents there today said just photograph your own piece. But, I didn’t think that included the special exhibits as no docents were in those rooms.
Catherine Hicks had amazing original embroidery with stumpwork pieces including a likeness of Diego Rivera’s Frida and Salvadore Dali with a handlebar moustache done in stumpwork (100-103; multiple awards including a Judges Choice Award).
I do like seeing pieces from designers I know like Jennifer Reifenberg’s Colorplay done by Patricia Tector (112; HonorableMention), Catherine Jordan’s original map of Florida celebrating 500 years since Ponce de Leon landed there (135; 3rd place), Long Dog’s ‘Death By Cross’ with 363 x 447 cross stitches over 1 thread on 52/60 count linen done by John Kazmaier (157; Pope-Leighey Award, 1st Place) in a reddish brown color, Deborah Merrick-Wilson displayed 10 stunning pieces either goldwork or canvaswork original designs (227-236; multiple awards including 1sr, 2nd, 3rd, Honorable Mention, and Eleanor Custis Lewis Award for Best in Show), a large version of Drawn Threads Forest designed by Catherine Jordan and stitched beautifully by Margareta MacGregor (305; Judges Award, 2nd Place), Imari Collage designed by Debbie Stiehler stitched by Rosie Lunde (418; 3rd Place) and by Donna LaBranche (507; 3rd Place), and Come Dance With Me designed by Orna Willis and stitched by Maria B (469; no ribbon but well done and this a piece that I stitched too).
Some other pieces that really caught my eye because they were stunning or amazing or both: Susan Baldassano’s fish on gauze (237; Honorable Mention), 2 large coy fish with 32,000 beads stitched by Katherine Ludlow Callahan (489; 2nd Place), Shirley Hutton’s large ribbon embroidery piece won 4 awards including
,
,
, and
(503; she’s a member of my new EGA chapter and was at Woodlawn the same day as Bill and I); 9 fuchsia ribbon flowers on a muted background of stitches reminding me of a trellis stitched by Shirley Mucha (554; 2nd Place), Mary Vantyne used 324,025 cross stitches to depict Napoleon Bonaparte sitting on top of a horse that looked like a photograph (565; Honorable Mention), and an original design with lots of flowers using surface/Brazilian embroidery stitches by Karen Maier (Woodlawn award and 1st Place).
My red pillow designed by Susan Hoekstra for ANG’s Stitch of the Month in 2016 was in the Christmas room (415; no ribbon but a docent said she heard people complimenting it). And, there were 5 other framed SOTM pieces in various colors including yellow, gold, blue, and 2 greens. The centers were different in at least 2 of them including a beautiful beaded flower (600; Mary V) and another with a stumpwork flower (602; Mary W). It would have been nice to see them in the same room.
And, my original design is a Zentangle piece that I drew first and then interpreted in threads (416; Honorable Mention).
Drawing:
Another inspiring exhibit! Thanks to everyone who contributed.
Stitched:
Filed under: ANG Keystone Garden Chapter, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Metalforms
Both my ANG chapters, Main Line and Keystone, are working on Metalforms by Jeff Kulick. I’m doing the copper on green colorway.
The border is done except for the backstitch on the inside of the border which I’ll do after stitching the adjacent sections.
I adjusted the coiled cable by separating them by one thread in order to have the paired horizontal cables flow out of each coil symmetrically. My partial diagram is shown. This was a very interesting composite stitch.
P.S. Oops! Just noticed, I forgot to repeat St. Margaret Stitch (horizontal and vertical Gobelin stitches) on the right side of the spring stitches.
Thanks to my ANG Keystone Garden Chapter who wanted to stitch this for a project, I restitched it using different threads.
I can’t remember where I found this stitch for the grass but it worked well. The shades of green Watercolours Wasabi 271 provided most of the grass. The slightly dark grass is from Watercolours Guacamole 206. I wanted the shading to look like sun making certain areas lighter. I think I added too much grass. So, I may have the mat cover some of the right grass area.
And, the wild flowers are either Diamond Eyelet from Stitches by Effect by Suzanne Howden and Beth Robertson or Diamond Eyelet Variation from Plants & Animals by June McNight. To avoid a streaky effect from Watercolours Autumn Frost 143, I didn’t always complete each eyelet. Rather, I would start a second or third in order to get to a new color along the overdyed thread.
This one doesn’t have the threads showing under the crescents but it seems to lack the contrast that the first one had. I forgot to check the gray values of the threads. Others are still working on the project.
The Diamond Rhodes stitch and Diagonal Gobelin stitch worked up so quickly that I was done during our ANG Keystone Garden Chapter meeting this month. It’s a mystery project that we add to each month for a year. We’re almost done!!
This month’s installment of the ANG Keystone Garden Chapter’s mystery project added 2 rows of Diagonal Gobelin and corner Ray Stitches. Looking Good!
On Section 2, I moved the 1-2 and 3-4 stitch of the Ray Stitch away from the center hole so the thread doesn’t lay on top of the thread used for the Diagonal Gobelin from Section 1. For the rest of the Ray Stitch, I used the center hole as diagrammed.
I’ll be curious to see what goes in the remaining diamond and triangular areas.
All caught up with the current mystery project we are doing at my ANG Keystone Garden Chapter this year.
It is a lot of Plaited Upright Cross (Blue ribbons). And, compensating is always tough. So, I was glad the triangles around the center diamond were easy.
But, I recognize that this is a Tony Minieri design. I have seen it in NeedlePointers. But, I won’t spoil the surprise and say what issue, name the design, or stitch ahead of the chapter.
Melitastitches4fun's Blog 