Jean Farish and her daughters put together a wonderful cruise to Bermuda. We had quite an impressive swag bag, including a magnet from Diane Hermann from Walking the Water’s Edge (I didn’t take her class because I already did and gave it away as a retirement gift). They reserved seats at shows for us and kept us well informed before and during the cruise of what to expect.
Everyone was so nice. We met folks from all over the US and Canada. I even ran into Kathy from Apple Needlepointers in central PA (who I’d met before when Carol T and others visited Nimble Needle of NJ)! Small world.
The conference room divided into 2 rooms. So, half was for classes and the other was a stitching room with great natural and overhead lighting. And, a great view.
On the way down, Linda and I enjoyed an afternoon of stitching. And, on the way home, it was fun to sit with Linda, Buff, and Kristen as we stitched. I always enjoy time with my stitching buddies! Both times, we chatted with others and admired the variety of pieces people were working on. I would have gotten there another afternoon but I was too tired to walk from my room after golfing. Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas is a huge ship! We hope we found a new member, Jennifer from northern Delaware, for our ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter. The weather was great. It got a little rocky out at sea a couple of times but I remember worse!
The food was good everywhere on the ship. They made good drinks. And, there was duty/tax free shopping on the boat. We happened to sit near the liquor store for our emergency drill on the first day and I saw they had Blanton’s! I can’t get it anywhere near me. And, I need 4 horses to get the full collection of horses (each has a lettered horse and a unique pose of the horse during a race spelling out Blanton’s). They actually found the 4 letters that I needed!
I didn’t get as much stitching done as I expected but Bill was with me and we wandered around some on our own, enjoyed a comedian, saw Ronn Lucas who is an incredibly talented ventriloquist perform (search YouTube for him and Jerry Lewis for the 2007 telethon – he did that to an audience member), explored Bermuda on a 4-hour van tour, and golfed at a beautiful long par 3, 18-hole course, Turtle Hill. I managed to bogey one hole! Bill was really happy to birdie or par half the holes.
This is Heart of Hearts by Barbara Richardson from Needlepoint Now Jan/Feb 2019 issue in my thread choices. I’m stitching it for the ANG Greater Kansas City Needlepoint Guild’s Hearts for Hospice project.
Several blocks required the the use of alternating threads which meant keeping 2 needles working. Since I prefer to finish out a thread, this was good practice. I don’t know why I haven’t been using 2 needles more often before this row but it seemed to go well enough that I’ll keep it up as I move to row 11.
Block 5 (from the right) required some careful ripping using tweezers. The dark Kreinik 061 had to come out because the checker board effect was so prominent that your eye was drawn to that one square.
Starting with the block on the right (#1) moving to the left (#19), I used the following threads (1 strand unless noted):
1 – Bella Lusso 764, Au Ver A Soie 100/3 SMS 499 (2 strands), and Pepper Pot Silk 018
2 – Entice E239 and Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1009 (2 strands)
3 – Needlepoint Inc Silk 502 and Needlepoint Inc Silk 503
4 – Pepper Pot Silk 017
5 – Elegance E820 and Kreinik #8 Braid 5505
6 – Kreinik #8 Braid 5505 and Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1005 (2 strands)
7 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 and Bella Lusso 764 (2 strands)
8 – Soie d’ Alger 4624 (2 strands) and Entice E239
9 – Elegance E820 and Au Ver A Soie 100/3 SMS 499
10 – Silk Lame Braid Petite SP08 and Splendor S1005
11 – Bella Lusso 764 (2 strands) and Splendor S820 (2 strands)
12 – Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1005 (2 strands) and 239 and Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1009
13 – Soie d’ Alger 4624 (2 strands) and Kreinik #8 Braid 003V
14 – Au Ver A Soie 100/3 SMS 499 (2 strands) and Kreinik #8 Braid 061
15 – Bella Lusso 764
16 – Silk Lame Braid Petite SP08 and Splendor S1005 (2 strands)
17 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 (1 ply) and Kreinik #8 Braid 5505
18 – Needlepoint Inc Silk 502 (2 strands) and Needlepoint Inc Silk 503 (2 strands)
19 – Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1009 (2 strands)
A few of my ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter members are stitching this Alice Peterson canvas, Winter Scene Sleigh. We’re using the painted canvas as a learning experience as we’ve been doing with other painted canvas. We discuss the differences between two stitch guides. I’m selecting my own stitches and threads.
Not wanting to make the green shadow near the sleigh more prominent, I used Water N’ Ice WT1, a translucent, loosely braided, flat ribbon which allowed less of the green shows through. Since the reflective surface shows better with long stitches, I selected an alternating slanted gobelin over 4. Good thing I had multiple cards of Water N’ Ice because I’m going through it like water. It frays like crazy. I pulled out my Thread Zap II to seal the ends with moderate improvement. Now that I’m done, I found a tip from Julia Snyder on Facebook, “If you will thread the loop through your needle and make the loop large enough to slide over the point of the needle, then pull the longer tail. This will put a slip knot on the eye of the needle and it makes it so much easier to work with.”
The packages were fun and a bit challenging.
- The beige present is a woven stitch with Flair F503 and the green bow has DMC #8 Perle tent and reverse tent covered by Neon Rays+ NP135 (longer stitches for the bow).
- The green present is an overlaid cross with Bella Lussa 630 (from Sandra Arthur’s Series I, Rectangle 4×8 adjusted to size). It has a white strip which is a horizontal spring stitch using Snow 09 Silver (from Sandra Arthur’s Series I, Rectangle 2×6 adjusted to size). And, the bow is a tied piece of Flair F593 tacked down with 1 ply of Splendor S891.
- The blue present is a diagonal weave couching with Impressions 7072 (from Sandra Arthur’s Series I, Rectangle 7×2 adjusted to size). The bow is a combination of tent and lazy daisy using Kreinik #16 Braid 060.
- The red present is a square scotch with tent, and gobelin edges using Elegance E820, Kreinik #8 Braid 061, and Bella Lusso 764, respectively. And, reverse scotch uses 1 strand of Bijoux 429 Jasper. The stitch pattern comes from Sandra Arthur’s Series I, Square 8×8 adjusted to size. The bow is tent stitch covered twice (a few longer stitches) using Fyre Werks F34.
The packages sit in a gray sleigh consisting of Vineyard Dilk Shimmer 536 and 535 using the Herringbone Ground I from Julia Snyder’s Keys to Canvas Embellishment. It creates a beveled effect that I like for body of the sleigh. The metal runners are a single long thread of Kreinik 1/16″ ribbon 005HL with a running stitch along the center to hold it in place. The ribbon spread out nicely to cover 2 canvas threads.
It’s all much more sparkly than the picture shows.
This is such a fun way to do a stitch sampler.
Starting with the block on the right (#1) moving to the left (#11), I used the following threads (1 strand unless noted):
1 – Bella Lusso 764 and Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1005
2 – Splendor S820 (2 strands) and Kreinik #8 Braid 421
3 – Pepper Pot Silk 017 (1 ply) and Elegance E820
4 – Bella Lusso 764 and Needlepoint Inc Silk 502 (2 strands)
5 – Au Ver A Soie 100/3 SMS 499 (2 strands) and Entice E239
6 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 (2 plys, not laid) and Kreinik #8 Braid 003V
7 – Needlepoint Inc Silk 503 (2 strands)
8 – Kreinik #8 Braid 5505, Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1009 (2 strands), Elegance E820
9 – Soie d’ Alger 4624 (2 strands) and Kreinik #8 Braid 003V
10 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 (2 plys laid) and Silk Lame Braid Petite SP08
11 – Splendor S1005 (2 strands) and Splendor S820 (2 strands)
Filed under: ANG Delaware's Seashore Chapter, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Threads
I was very appreciative of being invited to join the ANG Delaware Seashore chapter to lead my Chapter Project Book piece called Overdyed Spools. These ladies didn’t “need” me as they are very accomplished stitchers. Before getting started on Spools, I shared a lesson on overdyed threads that I prepared back in 2013 for my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter. It included some information from June McKnight’s book about how colors of overdyed threads can get clumpy (left photo), stitching randomly eliminates that best (center photo), and tweeding or stitching by reversing the thread can help unless as with this double brick stitch the colors fall together (blue in the center of right photo). Her book, Shading and Thread Blending Techniques for Needlepoint, has lots more information on the subject.
I also brought stitched pieces using all overdyed threads that I selected for a Kathy Rees piece called Spirit of Jean; https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/category/ang-correspondence-courses/spirit-of-jean-by-kathy-rees/ which demonstrated how I manipulated overdyed threads to have the color repeat in the same places along the Smyrna border, within the Amadeus stitches, and triangular waffles.
My Purple Mountains Majesty (https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/category/melitas-designs/purple-mountains-majesty/) used a single overdyed thread with 3 colors which I stitched in a particular stitch pattern to get the color to fall where I wanted it to.
And, my newest and as yet unrevealed design using a combination of overdyed and solid threads where I manipulated the overdyed threads by cutting them specifically to fall in certain areas. That’ll be going to Seminar in Houston!
Then, we had fun looking for the repeating color pattern of various skeins of Watercolors. Even within several different dye lots of Lilac there were variations. So, several women’s skeins were particularly difficult to find the pattern. And, one we gave up on & we swapped it out for an extra skein.
There are differences in the Spools as originally stitched and Spools restitched. I widened Areas A & C. Therefore, the spools themselves are smaller in the restitched version (https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/category/melitas-designs/spools/). I did find an error in Diagram 2 of Overdyed Spools.
Their Cheer Community Center (20520 Sandhill Rd, Georgetown, DE) has a nice little cafeteria (great tuna fish). Good lighting in the room – no steps to go up or down. They meet the first Monday of the month from 10 am – 2 pm. Visit their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Delawares-Seashore-Chapter-of-the-American-Needlepoint-Guild-ANG-209178456136131/) or you can email them at delawaresseashorechapter@needlepoint.org . It was another fun time visiting my seashore neighbors!
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, General comments, Patchwork of Peace, Threads
Entice is not my favorite thread mainly because it frays badly. I will only use it once per row. In the 10th block from the right, I was using it for the bottom large oblong x but found it was too bulky. So, I thinned the thread down by pulling out 2 rayon strands and 1 polyester strand leaving 3 rayon and 3 polyester strands. I’ve also removed strands from Silk Lame Braid for 18 count which is a combination of silk, rayon, and metalized polyester and is a thread that I much prefer to use. Silk Lame Braid Petite is a similar combination but different percentages, thinner, and also just as nice of a thread to use.
Starting with the block on the right (#1) moving to the left (#11), I used the following threads (1 strand unless noted):
1 – Elegance E820
2 – Planet Earth 6 Ply Silk 1005 (2 strands)
3 – Bella Lusso 764 and Kreinik #8 Braid 061
4 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 (1 ply) and Kreinik #8 Braid 061
5 – Pepper Pot Silk 017 (2 plys) and Needlepoint Inc Silk 503 (3 strands)
6 – Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1009 and Kreinik #8 Braid 5505
7 – Needlepoint Inc Silk 502 (2 strands) and Silk Lame Braid Petite SP08
8 – Elegance E820
9 – Au Ver A Soie 100/3 499 (2 strands) and Soie d’ Alger 4624 (2 strands)
10 – Entice E239 and Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1005
11 – Bella Lusso 764
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, General comments, Patchwork of Peace, Threads
It’s great to use reds and having no issues working with fewer thread options than I had with white. They fit in half of the Bohicket Bag.
I didn’t like the white showing through too much and there are a few stitch patterns open enough to want to color the canvas. Luckily, I had a perfect red Copic sketch marker (R29 Lipstick Red). So, I am going to cover just those blocks that wouldn’t be fully covered by stitches being very careful with the fine tip end not to touch the adjacent threads. The outer edge will be covered by a gold border but I have to be way more careful when I use the marker on the inner rows of the canvas.
Starting with the block on the right (#1) moving to the left (#11), I used the following threads (1 strand unless noted):
1 – Bella Lusso 764 and Planet Earth 6 Ply Silk 1009 (2 strands)
2 – Au Ver A Soie 100/3 SMS499 (2 strands) and Splendor S1005 (2 strands)
3 – Kreinik #8 Braid 5505 and Planet Earth 6 Ply Silk 1009 (2 strands)
4 – Pepper Pot Silk 017 (1 ply) and Silk Lame Braid Petite SP08
5 – Needlepoint Inc Silk 502 (2 strands)
6 – Entice E239 and Splendor S820 (2 strands)
7 – Elegance E820 and Planet Earth 6 Ply Silk 1005 (2 strands)
8 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 (2 plys) and Kreinik #8 Braid 061
9 – Bella Lusso 764 and Planet Earth 6 Ply Silk 1005 (2 strands)
10 – Pepper Pot Silk 017 (1 ply) and Kreinik #8 Braid 003V
11 – Soie d’ Alger 4624 (2 strands) and Au Ver A Soie 100/3 499 (2 strands)
Back in October 2018, I stitched these hearts and shortly thereafter, I was asked by Needle Pointers if they could publish directions for Crescent Journey. But, I hadn’t written them up yet and I was/am working on alternate colorways. Instead, I suggested the heart design instructions that I’d written up for my ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter members as we worked to support the Greater Kansas City Needlepoint Guild (GKCNG) Chapter’s Hearts for Hospice project.
Now, those instructions have been published and are in the article, Caring Hearts, in Needle Pointer’s Jan/Feb 2019, Volume 47, No. 1. As it turned out they were publishing an article about GKCNG’s efforts. So, this made a nice companion article. Coincidentally, Barbara Richardson has a lovely heart design published in Needlepoint Now Jan/Feb 2019, Volume XXI, No. 1. So, there are plenty of options to stitch. I do hope that others can stitch a heart and support GKCNG’s cause. Any questions about their project can be sent to Sue at HeartsForHospiceGKCNG@gmail.com
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, General comments, Threads, Threads and Beads
Two new threads for me are Vineyard Jewels and Colonial Persian.
I learned about them from a Rittenhouse Needlepoint’s newsletter:
- Vineyard Jewels is Wiltex’s new line of metallic thread. The 100% polyester thread comes on 8yd cards. The colors are as bright as Vineyard silk but think metallic braid. The thread size is between a Kreinik #8 and #12 so one strand would be good on 18 count (but also lighter coverage on 14 count) canvas. We currently have the entire line available so make sure to add some “Jewels” to your stash!
- If you haven’t tried using 100% wool thread because you think the colors aren’t vibrant enough, I have two words for you — “Colonial Persian”. This is not your mother’s wool thread. We now carry the entire 258 colors in the line and they are gorgeous! The virgin wool combined with the experience and talent of the dyer equals colors that really pop! Each card is 8 yards but since it’s 3-ply you’re really getting 24 yards if you stitch on 18 mesh canvas. So check out this new line for belts or bags where its strength and durability will be especially useful!
I also read more about them on Janet Perry’s Nut About Needlepoint blog:
- https://nuts-about-needlepoint.com/vineyard-jewels-thread-review/
- https://nuts-about-needlepoint.com/colonial-persian-yarn-thread-review/
I picked up a skein of each at Rittenhouse to test them for myself and to share results with my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for either. The Vineyard Jewels doesn’t feel or lay as nicely as Kreinik. The thread size is closer to #12 or slightly larger. Coverage wasn’t that great even on the diagonal. And, Colonial Persian wears and is too “hairy” for me although would be good for certain projects where that effect is desirable. Coverage with one strand (of the 3-plys) on the diagonal is good but not vertically. And, using 2 plys vertically would be too bulky for 18 count.
Join us tomorrow Monday, March 11 at 7 PM in the conference room at Starbucks in Wayne (218 Lancaster Ave).
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, General comments, Patchwork of Peace, Threads
The white rows are completed! There are 24 threads used in the 90 different blocks.
Looking at the blocks up close allows you to see the different textures. But, from afar, you can only see the change in color from very white to white to ecru.
Starting with the block on the right (#1) moving to the left (#19), I used the following threads (1 strand unless noted):
1 – Elegance E800 and Soie Perlee SPS694
2 – Bella Lusso 001 and Treasure Braid Petite PB10
3 – Gloriana 261 (2 strands) and Gloriana 0057 (2 strands)
4 – Impressions 100 and DMC Floche Blanc (2 strands)
5 – Pashmina 000 (2 strands)
6 – Subtlety Y899 and Silk Lame Braid Petite SP100
7 – DMC Floche Blanc and Sparkle Braid SK06
8 – DMC Perle #8 Ecru, DMC Perle #12 Ecru, and Burmilana 3845
9 – Soie Cristale 0057 (2 strands) and Impressions 118
10 – Soie Perlee SPS694
11 – Au Ver A Soie 100/3 Blanc (2 strands), Elegance E800, and Kreinik #4 Braid 032C
12 – Designer’s Dream D02 (2 strands) and Pashmina 261 (2 strands)
13 – DMC Perle #8 B5200, DMC Floche Blanc, and Treasure Braid Petite PB10
14 – Burmilana 3845 (2 strands) and Gloriana 261 (2 strands)
15 – Wildflowers 100 and DMC Floche Blanc (2 strands)
16 – Elegance E800 and Gloriana 261 (2 strands)
17 – Soie Cristale 0057 (2 strands)
18 – Kreinik #8 Braid 102, Subtlety Y899, and Wildflowers 000
19 – Wildflowers 100 and DMC Floche Blanc
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