Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, ANG Stitch of the Month, 2010
I was remiss in getting my finished “Promise of Mystery” designed by Sue Reed to the framers until late 2011. It got stuck in a corner & I forgot about it. But, I got it back shortly before Christmas! It is in a simple frame with an inner silver border & outer black border.
It was fun watching the piece develop over the year-long project. I think that the ANG Stitch of the Month is a wonderful resource with clear & thorough instructions (https://www.needlepoint.org/page/SOTM). AND, it goes back to 1998!! It is a member-only feature of ANG except for the 1998 design, Norwich Delight by Beth Robertson. By allowing that design to remain available to the public, it really promotes the mission of ANG which is:
The American Needlepoint Guild provides a stimulating and challenging environment through nationwide educational programs, a national publication, and Seminars & Exhibitions in which members: develop creative potential, serve public and professional constituencies, support faculty members in the joint pursuit of excellence in teaching and research, and promote intercultural understanding through the needle arts.
While this is the only one I’ve done (to date), I really appreciate the many designers over the years & the behind the scenes work that goes into the Stitch of the Month year after year!! I’m very happy that it is finally completed & hanging. Yes, I found a spot for it!!
Since posting this in 2011, I have stitched several other of the Stitch of the Month designs and have contributed my own design to the pieces. Crescent Journey joined the others in 2023!
While I have enjoyed this design for many years, I am now gifting this piece to my hairdresser, Carol. With limited wall space, I’ve got to make room for newer pieces! I’ve taken a better photo. It still doesn’t reflect the sparkle from the Kreinik and beads.
Filed under: ANG Stitch of the Month, 2010
Thanks to the Dec 26th snowstorm, I finished this in 2010! I love the finishing touch with the beads & how they bevel up just a tad.
There has been great discussions lately about what part of the piece folks prefer: starting, middle, or end. Each has good & bad points but I lean towards preferring starting. I love the designing & planning of threads. Many times I’m so anxious to get to the next piece that I don’t get the just completed piece finished (put in a frame, etc). Hopefully, we’ll be able to shovel out soon & go purchase a frame – don’t know where to put it yet!
Faced with 2010 running out of days, I decided to use straight stitches on the inner portion of the border. Initially, I stitched them at an angle like the outer border but it was too heavy-looking compared to the open black area (you’ll have to take my word for it because the picture really didn’t show it well enough to post). So, I slept on it, ripped it out, & switched directions to minimize the effect of stitching in that area. The threads kind of fill in the shaft between the canvas threads making the white stitches less prominent. And, it worked up quickly so I can get to the last border!!
Quite by several accidents, I find myself really liking this variation on the SOTM. I used a different color family for this portion of the outer border by accident than I think the directions called for. And, instead of stitching both inner & outer portions, I completed the outer portion first. The outer portion used even less couching than called for by alternating every other row – worked out perfectly: 4 in the longest thread, 3 in the next smaller, then 2, leaving 1 small cross stitch in the corners. I like how it looks in the darker thread with white showing through.
Filed under: ANG Stitch of the Month, 2010
October had a lot of couching which I found quite time-consuming. And, I think I got my Family A, B, & C out of order for this month but it looks fine. I see November has more couching as well. But, we are coming to the end soon!
Filed under: ANG Stitch of the Month, 2010
I got Sept SOTM done! Coming along nicely. I like that turning the corner technique. Just hope I’ll find the instructions when next I need them. Actually, I’ll note that here!
http://www.needlepoint.org/StitchOfTheMonth/2010/feb.php
Filed under: ANG Stitch of the Month, 2010
The August SOTM eyelets are done but I can’t see what’s wrong with the second “incorrect” eyelet example. In the first “incorrect” example, I see it wraps around but the second looks the same as the correct one to me.
I was almost finished with the eyelets & then put it aside for the chapter newsletter, making the Kissing Pillow kits, & another project. I’ve been working on a baby gift but I can’t blog about because I don’t want the mom to see it. As soon as I finish the second one – for her too, then I can reveal them! Where does the time go? We’ll see how much of Sept I can get done – it looks like a lot of stitching.
Filed under: ANG Stitch of the Month, 2010
The piece is coming along nicely. I thought I was done & then realized I had all the Smyrna crosses to do. So, I am pleased to have finished July’s stitching although I am still playing catch up! At least I have started the August Eyelets in August. And, I think it’ll work up quickly.
Yesterday, I really enjoyed the weather & a relaxing afternoon outdoors at a riverfront bar, listening to a live band, watching baseball, eating & drinking with a bunch of friends. I have taken on a lot of projects, including project chair & newsletter for our chapter & haven’t been able to find time to stitch. But, I have almost everything in place for our Sept/Oct/Nov ANG Main Line chapter meetings except putting together the packets for the Soldier Kissing Pillows to distribute at those meetings. I’ll have time at my mom’s house over the Labor Day weekend to do that while my brother & husband golf. So, yesterday was a nice reward for my efforts. Today, I will get back to stitching as soon as I am done here!
Filed under: ANG Stitch of the Month, 2010
I had quite a time with this month’s stitch. I didn’t get the hang of that stitch until about the 4th corner. Then, I looked back over the previous 3 areas & realized just how many were wrong in just half or even just a quarter of the individual unit. So, I had to unstitch parts here and there. What a pain! Glad that this month’s is done. But, it looks nice & I think my lesson learned is to turn off the TV & focus on a new stitch.
Filed under: ANG Stitch of the Month, 2010
Last month when the heart-shaped stitch was so bulky, I should have really stopped to double & triple check. I just couldn’t see it then but now realize I used Vineyard Silk instead of the DMC floche that I’d planned on using. Oh well. I’m just glad I had enough to do this month’s stitch with the Vineyard Silk. Now, I’m back on track.
Melitastitches4fun's Blog 