Melitastitches4fun's Blog

We finished up our discussion of the Sharon G canvas, Vases, at our August ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter Zoom meeting. And, for our September Zoom meeting, we will have three differently stitched Vases canvases. It’s been very interesting to see different approaches.

Here’s my finished piece. I just dropped it off for framing. The background is a very light blue in T stitch and the border is 5 different stitches. Sharon G loves borders! Her favorite is on the ANG Stitch of the Month in 2005.

The canvas was started several years ago and am thrilled to have finally finished it because I just love it! And, I am happy that so many chapter members enjoyed the stitch guide discussions. As a way to encourage more painted canvas completions in our chapter, people are selecting a canvas on their to do list and stitching some each month either asking for help or discussing the choices provided in their stitch guide. So, we won’t get a comparison but will learn from each other’s canvases.

We will be meeting via Zoom again this month, Monday September 14.

This is the Cinnamon vase, the 5th and final vase! I love this canvas, Vases with Curly Bamboo. And, I have been very happy with the stitch guide from Sharon G.

This vase once again was stitched lightly enough to allow the shading of the painted canvas to show through. It’s a composite stitch using Gloriana 151 Cinnamon, 2 strands of Bijoux 428 Amber, and Sundance #14 Beads 462D.

The top band, bow, and base use a combination of Kreinik #4 Braid 005 and 002. Couching with Kreinik Cord 005C was used to bundle 5 strands of Kreinik #4 for the bow. And, a long stitch of Kreinik 1/16th ribbon was laid in the top gold band before couching with Kreinik #4 Braid.

This month, we will discuss the background and borders. Again, my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter meet via Zoom.

This is a Sharon G painted canvas, Vases with Curly Bamboo.

Two colors of Gloriana (082 and 157) matched the canvas color making the shading more apparent. I wonder if it would have been a more subtle color shift to use the light colored thread over the whole vase and allow the canvas to show through although there might not be enough canvas showing. Another Gloriana (116) for the leaves with a Kreinik for the center vein.

Using split stitch with 3 colors of Silk Lame Braid for 18 count (SL35, 36, 37) really made the curly Bamboo turn out great. I learned that the ridges along the stalks are growth rings. They are 2 stands of Kreinik #4 Braid 002 and 005. And, Lazy Daisy for the ends for the tiny sprouting leaves.

And, another two Silk Lame Braid for 18 count (SL 24 and 26) for the flowers. I didn’t think Kreinik #4 Braid (002) would work for French Knots in the center but it did. No problem using 2 strands of Gloriana (156) for the rest of the French Knots.

Our ANG Main Line chapter members are enjoying the opportunity to see the approach to the canvas from the different stitch guide writers even though they are not stitching the piece. We discuss the next vase July 13 via Zoom which is going quite well because I can crop photos on particular areas for the comparisons to other stitched canvases.

This is a Sharon G painted canvas, Vases with Curly Bamboo.

Using single strands of Gloriana Silk Floss 018 Teal Twilight allowed the canvas to show through a lot. The overdyed effect of the thread is very subtle and you almost don’t see it. The Bijoux 480 Regalia is more evident in the Hungarian Variation (over 2, 4, 2).

I especially liked her suggestion to stitch right over the dragonfly so that the vase would show through the sheer wings. The wings are long stitches raying out from the body using Kreinik Cord 034C Confetti. Sharon recommended a black vein down the center of each wing but I prefer the iridescent effect. The black Kreinik Japan thread 110J was very nice to work with and was couched with Kreinik Cord 005C. Both are smooth and reflect a little light but are not sparkly like most Kreinik threads.

She gave us #5 gold beads that I thought were just too big and too gold. So, I went into my stash and found a more muted yellow-gold semi translucent bead in 2 sizes with the larger one used on the head and smaller ones along the body (probably 8/0 and 11/0 round beads). And, two Sundance 455 beads are the eyes.

These vases are working up quite nicely. I’m very happy that the shading on the vases are not entirely covered up. This vase has a more open effect than the past 2 vases and Amy Bunger’s third vase has the most coverage of her 3 vases. And, Tony Minieri’s stitches are covering most of the canvas as they did the first 2 vases.

Our ANG Main Line chapter members are enjoying the opportunity to see the approach to the canvas from the different stitch guide writers even though they are not stitching the piece.

Last month’s meeting went well via Zoom. Everyone enjoyed getting together. So, we’re going to keep going on Zoom until we can meet in person. To see the needlepoint best for Show and Tell, people sent me their photos and then I shared my screen. And, at this month’s meeting tonight on June 8, we’ll be looking at the 4th vase, the gold one.

Several members of my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter have now joined several of us who took a class with Sharon G for her painted canvas, Vases with Curly Bamboo, at Nimble Needle of NJ a few years ago (2012). Original class members have Sharon G’s stitch guide and I’m using her recommended stitches (with a slight alteration of the beads near the black tassel).
Now, we have stitch guides by Amy Bunger and Tony Minieri to learn how different stitch guide writers approach the same painted canvas. These will be discussed every other month (December, February, etc) to give people a chance to stitch a vase before discussing the next one. The last session will review the background and border. We are not copying the stitch guides. Each person has their own or can take notes regarding the other stitch guides.

My first vase was finally done by March 2017. The little bits done on the other vases was done in class. I’m done with Vase 2. After stitching the Diamond straight stitch pattern, I had to get out the magnifying glass to see where to fill in the 2 strands of Bijoux 415 (really tough to get a photo to show the sparkle but 2 stitches fall between the beads on the diagonal). Then, I could see where to put the burgandy Sundance beads 460A. There are two rows of beads on the top rim. Sharon recommended two rows for the lower band near the tassel but I alternated beads on the diagonal with black Kreinik #4 Braid 005 because the cord of the tassel needed to appear to go around the vase. The tassel was supposed to be long stitches that ray out from the top but I couldn’t get that to gather how I wanted. So, I made some shorter stitches to fill in the bottom sides and long ones in the center. The two strings of 5 beads each lay across the long threads nicely looking like they are gathered.

Close up photo.

I’m looking forward to see what others have done with the burgundy vase.

Yesterday, I made great progress on the blue vase at our Saturday Stitch-in (4th Saturday of the month).

Please join us any second Monday of the month from 7-9 pm at Starbucks in Wayne, PA (218 Lancaster Ave).

Vases by SharonG began in 2012 with my Mainline Chapter from a Saturday summer class which 7 of us took at Nimble Needle  in NJ from Sharon. We all voted on what canvas to stitch so that we could work through the stitch guide during the 1-day class. For me, this came too close after the other SharonG class I had taken & too soon before the 2012 seminar in Philly to permit me any time to work on it. But, I absolutely love the canvas.  And, since I want to stitch on painted canvases this year, I started working on it again. I can’t believe it has been almost 5 years since the class.

Sharon’s stitch guide allows canvas to show through.  It’s a beautiful canvas so I am glad the shading of the painting will be seen too. It was a lot of diamond rays to stitch on Vase 1 or the Green vase but it turned out nicely. The painted shading was enhanced by Gloriana that had some color change in the thread but not too much. And, I love working with Bijoux, my new favorite thread. The feathers took a couple of attempts before I felt like they were realistic.