After yesterday’s punch needle saga, I used this afternoon’s much needed, rainy, dreary day to tackle a few drawers in the basement.
It didn’t take me long to channel Patrick B from my ANG and EGA chapters to finally repurpose a lovely mother of pearl vintage (1950’s) Marhill cigarette case into a needle case for my beading needles. It has no chips or cracks to the mother of pearl and is in fantastic condition inside too. The case still has the original “Marhill” sticker inside and measures 3 by 4 inches. I even have a Marhill purple pouch to hold it, which is probably why the case is in such good condition.
I’ve had these business card magnets for several years, which were bought for the case. However, I was never able to find both the magnets and the case at the same time. I got lucky today!
I cut 2 magnets to fit side by side. One side is sticky. It now holds the beading needles that I don’t know what size or brand they are.
My EdMar #11 Beading Short Needles and Tulip #10 Beading Long Needles are in a tube that won’t fit in this case. The pack of Bohn #28 Tapestry needles really aren’t beading needles but work for many beads. I’ll keep these with my new case in my beading box.
With that success, I tackled my regular needles and tossed about 2 dozen used needles. I think I can replace my needles more frequently!
That’s enough for today.
Here’s a Tapestry needle size guide.
Filed under: A Spring Sampler, Brandywine Chapter, Embroidery Guild of America, General comments, Needles, Tools
I found this bag at Target (https://www.target.com/p/solid-soft-satchel-handbag-a-new-day-8482-tan/-/A-91898942). It’s 10″ (H) x 15″ 
x 8″ (D) – perfect for the fall color skinny version of A Spring Sampler. Good price, too ($35). It will hold my battery pack, the Chapter’s eMeet speaker, Chapter business cards, travel tool kit, portable light, and curling iron. I am avoiding glue for this bag.
I needed the needle for leather from my Home Craft Repair kit of needles because the bag is made of polyurethane. I pinned the canvas in place and stitched through the inner lining, but it isn’t puckering too much, and I retained full access to the 2 cell phone pockets on the front inner side. Here’s the top edge attached.
The process of stitching the top in place made me think a thimble and a curved sharp needle would make the sides and bottom easier to stitch through the bag and hopefully not catch the lining. And, at this point, my hand needed a rest, and a trip to Joann’s was needed to get the sharp curved needles because I only have tapestry curved needles.
The curved sharp needles didn’t work well. Leverage was the problem. But, the package came with a small eye, very sharp straight needle. The real improvement came because of the Dritz thimble. What a difference that made.
An aside: In order to find the thimble when I need it again, I am putting the thimble in my Stitch pen/tool cup on top of That Purple Thang by Lynn Graves which I have not used much (if ever). If I get rid of it, I’ll need it!
I was able to pull the lining away on the sides and bottom and push the needle through the front of the polyurethane, angle the needle back to the surface further along the canvas like a running stitch. I didn’t care how far. Some stitches are longer than others but the trim will cover it.
Once all 4 sides were attached, I cut the canvas down to 7 canvas threads wide and attached the trim. I found a 1/2″ wide dark brown flat trim at Joann’s. And, Mandarin Floss M833 was a perfect color match. I decided to catch the polyurethane and canvas periodically as I attached the trim down the center using 2 strands. I pulled out my mini pliers and that helped too.
When Bill and I were in the store looking at different trims, he placed this trim on the needlepoint and folded it around a corner. Before I started, I worked out how to do that on all 4 corners with a short length first. I had to cinch the ends together to stop them from fraying (no glue) and taper them to hide the ends easier.
I went back around a second time with one strand to sew down the outer edge. It probably took me 12 hours altogether since starting this on Thursday. There was some cursing but no bleeding. I didn’t jab my fingers once! I was very careful. That leather needle would have hurt.
The most exciting part is that it’s even at 1.75″ above the bottom edge. It looks good and no glue!
Filed under: ANG Central Jersey Chapter, General comments, Needles, Sashiko Mini Sampler Kit by Miniature Rhino
Before I started a new project, I decided to put away all the threads that I had been throwing in a grocery store bag for quite some time! I’m very glad that’s done. There is more stuff to clean up (and will probably wind up with more threads to put away), but I am making progress.
One of the items that I came across was this Sashiko Mini Sampler Kit by Miniature Rhino. It was in the welcome gift bag from the Central Jersey Chapter (CJC). It’s a recent addition to my stash, but it looked like it’d work up quickly once I get started and rather than find a place to store it, I decided to stitch it. There were no instructions. So, I watched a couple of YouTube videos on Sashiko. There are books too.
The thread gets used as supplied. I tried to separate it into 3 strands because it looked too thick, but it shred. Then, I checked with Jacqui C, who had taught an EGA online course a couple of years ago. It’s the right thread and is to be used as supplied. Jacqui thought DMC Perle #12 might work better for this fabric. The ANG NJNA and CJC Chapters are lucky to have Jacqui in both chapters.
The needles are sharp with a decent size eye. I am excited to use another type of needle. These are longer with a sharp point because Sashiko is done in hand, and generally speaking, you try and scoop a few stitches at a time. I don’t have a palm pad or thimble making multiple stitches difficult. So, I scooped one stitch at a time, mostly keeping the needle on the top as I stitched. The other option is to go with the poke and stab method. This is not a forgiving fabric. So, be sure of where your needle goes.
I decided to try both threads, the supplied thread, and DMC Perle #12. The #12 Perle was thinner, and I could scoop 3 stitches. But, the poke and stab method is more accurate. It probably takes practice to get accurate with the scoop method.
This will make a good Show and Tell piece for the February 13th meeting of the Needlework and Textile Guild of Media. It is from 7-8:30 pm at the Media Arts Council in Media, PA. I did a little reading on its origin. According to wiki, “Sashiko (刺し子, lit. ‘little stabs’) is a type of traditional Japanese embroidery or stitching used for the decorative and/or functional reinforcement of cloth and clothing.”
I have no functional use for this piece, so I need to find a decorative use. According to the meaning of Japanese patterns at Polina Couture (.com), “Literally, Asanoha (麻の葉) means “hemp leaves”. This star or hexagon motif evokes this hardy plant, which grows straight and fast. And so it symbolizes a good growth, vigor and resistance. And by extension, it augurs prosperity.” I went down a rabbit hole online and learned, “Hemp is defined as any part of the cannabis sativa plant with no more than 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the mind-altering substance in marijuana.”
None of that helped me decide what to do with this. Hopefully, a use will reveal itself!
I wanted to repair a handle on one of our favorite grocery bags. It’s a promotional bag (for Augmentin) from GlaxoSmithKline (the company that I retired from). So not only is it sentimental, but it works great because it’s sturdy, vinyl, and large.
The clerks at Joann Fabrics recommended an upholstery thread as the strongest thread they sell. Maybe the numbers on the spool mean something, but I don’t know what. I’ll probably use this when making cording instead of a 6 lb fishing line recommended by Kelly Starke. The fishing line wasn’t easy to see or tie.
It was also an opportunity to use the needle for leather from this kit of needles. I don’t know how I got this package, but I got to use it for the second time! That’s practically a pointed blade with an eye for the thread. A couple of months ago, the thread broke on a small key holder sewed in place in Bill’s leather wallet. A shoe repair guy said it couldn’t be fixed. I knew I could fix it since I had a needle designed for use with leather. I don’t recall what thread I used, but it was fixed!
Filed under: 2022, Corinthian Earrings by Orna Willis, General comments, Needles, New Jersey Needle Festival, Other People's Designs, Romy's Creations, Threads
This year NJ Needle Fest was 2 days (Friday and Saturday) at the Embassy Suites in Berkeley Heights, NJ.
Buff and I drove up Friday morning. We found our table for ANG Main Line Stitchers right inside the main entrance joining Kristen, Linda, and Lori. There were dozens of other stitchers at tables in a large room and a second atrium room where the folks from ANG NJ Needle Artists sat. The rooms were not completely full which is why next year the event will be on Saturday and Sunday in April (15-16). On Saturday, Patrick and Beth joined us. Lots more people came but there were still about 30 cancellations even 3 at our table. It would have been too crowded for 10 anyway. Now we know that 8 is the maximum at a table.
There were lots of vendors and I couldn’t resist buying a piece of linen (30 count linen by The Primitive Hare), Easy Guide Ball-Tip Needles (2 each size 26 and 28 good for stitching on linen), a dozen beaded counting pins (by MyBigToeDesigns.com), beautiful hand-dyed threads (by RomysCreations.it – who is on Facebook), a 10″ x 8″ thread bag by Trish Vine Designs (who is on Facebook) and a 14″ square clear project bag by Trish who is formerly from the ANG Keystone Garden chapter. It was great to see her again and glad to hear she’s enjoying North Carolina.
Breakfast (bagels, toast, pastry type food, coffee, tea), lunch (salad, meats/cheeses/bread for sandwiches, grilled eggplant/zucchini, chips, water/soda), afternoon snack (cookies and fruit) were all very good. Friday night three Main Line Stitchers, 6 NJNA, and I met for dinner at Delicious Heights in Berkeley Heights for a wonderful evening of good food and conversation.
Besides stitching and vendors, we looked at a variety of wonderful pieces that others at the event were stitching covering a variety of categories. My favorite was the beaded piece Infinity by Tela Artis (seller is in Ukraine). The amount of beading is unbelievable but will be beautiful when finished. The shading on the fabric is pretty enough to just frame the fabric.
Dee from NJ Needle Artists shared her hand woven towels making me get more excited to learn weaving even though I am learning tapestry weaving which is different.
During the day they gave away door prizes and I won big prizes each day! On Friday, it was registration to their Summer Getaway in Radnor near Philadelphia that I can use in 2023 (I’ll be away at ANG Seminar in 2022). And on Saturday, it was registration to their Christmas in Williamsburg in Nov 30-Dec 4, 2022 which I can go to with Buff who won that prize last year! We can drive down and share a room. What are the odds of me getting both? Amazing!! Before I won the Williamsburg registration, I was paying for next year’s NJ Needle Fest and saw the Joyful box behind the counter and commented on how cute it was. Don’t you know that the certificate came in that box. It was certainly my lucky day.
Can’t forget to talk about the stitching that I did. I brought 2 projects expecting to zip right through the Corinthian Earrings by Orna Willis but between gabbing, shopping, looking around, and some frogging, it took 2 days to finish the earrings. I should have Xerox copied the pattern to highlight areas stitched as I progressed. They are on Congress Cloth and come with the materials to finish them but that will be the subject of another post.
In addition to some non-needlepoint gifts, I will enjoy these gifts from my husband and sister. How did they know?? Happy Holidays!
Shapes of Needlepoint, Series IV, by Sandra Arthur makes it my 3rd of the series I own now. Great books.
These are the 4 tools that I asked Santa to bring after seeing Linda’s tools at our ANG Main Line meeting. As Buff said, I had tool-envy! The needle storage tubes have magnets to prevent the needles from falling out. I have a seam ripper but the rubber tip on these grab and “erase” the loos threads away. The thimble pack is one I’m not sure I’ll need or use but worth trying. And, I hope the Hummingbird will be helpful threading really small eyes in needles.
There are 12 designs by Madeline Lake that features a different stitch of the month. Each is on 14 mesh and are 5×5 designs. There is a stitch guide on the back of each.
An alphabet book with clown letters – someone needs to have a baby!!
And, a clear plastic project bag. Never have enough of these because apparently, I find starting projects more fun than finishing them!
Looking for Hiroshima Tulip Needles? Karen at Nimble Needle NJ has them. Why these needles? The Hiroshima region is known for making needles. And, the leaflet discusses their process including the finishing polish that creates the smooth passage through fabric/canvas which I can verify. I got 6 Tapestry needles in an assortment of sizes from left to right: 22, 23, 24, 25. They are nickle-plated steel with gold eyes. They are very similar to but slightly smaller than the EdMar needles. Both are very smooth and come in tubes.
A tip from Doug Kreinik has proved useful with Bijoux thread and can be used with blending filament.
I’ve used a Larks Head Knot to lock a thread on the canvas when I need to stitch with 2 stands. For this, you lock in the center of the thread. But, you can also use this knot to lock the thread onto a needle to prevent it from falling out of the eye. And, you can stitch with just one thread by locking it near one end of the thread.
First, put a loop through the eye of the needle.
Second, put the point of the needle through the loop.
Lastly, pull both threads to make it taut. Now, thread will stay in place as you stitch!
I got through my needle stash and found, along with many needles of unknown brands, that I have mostly John James, EdMar, and Bohin. I also know that I can stitch every project with a fresh needle for the next 50 projects!
Now, they are stored in the EdMar tubes of which I had extra when I combined like needles with like. And, crewel (pointed) needles have their own tubes too. Howerver, without enough tubes, I used wool felt or plastic holders. Marilyn O shared with me that wool felt should be used for storing needles, and not the craft felt. The wool wicks any moisture away from the needle, while the craft felt will tend to hold moisture and the needles will rust. The ultrasuede I was going to use would be ok (I tested it by wetting the fabric and leaving a needle in it and no rust formed) but I had enough of the felt and containers.
I had the help of Michele Roberts’ article from NeedlePointers July 2007, “Let’s Get to the Point”, to help tell what size a needle was by length. And, it reviewed the styles of needles and how to pick the right size for the project. I read lots of back issues with timeless articles of Needle Pointers magazines recently. I wish I could keep all the back issues but space is limited. I’m so happy the magazine is available digitally now as well. I can always refer back.
All the needles are organized by style and size in a floss organizer. I’ll use all of these eventually but thanks to Ginny, my favorite needle is from EdMar. They slide so smoothly through the canvas. What’s your favorite?
Melitastitches4fun's Blog 
Filed under: Brandywine Chapter, Embroidery Guild of America, General comments, Needles, Tools, Zokins
Lots to share about my EGA Brandywine Guild meeting earlier this week!
Kathy A and Karen S had prepared pieces of blue cloth and scraps of various fabrics for us to select. The right side of photo are the pieces I took. There were 12 of us. There could have 12 more and still had fabric left over! They also purchased a Clover adjustable ring thimble with plate for everyone. A new tool. It feels comfortable. Looking forward to trying it.
You stitch boro like you stitch Sashiko. So, I can use my Sashiko needles! I have a 2 pack. They have large eye for easy threading. The shorter (almost 1″) needles are for smaller, decorative designs while the longer needles (a little over 1.5″) are for straight stitches and basting. So, I will use the long one.
And, we got to share in the two opportunity baskets that Sue S, our Chapter’s MAR Rep won at the EGA-MAR Regional Seminar in Gettysburg! One of the baskets was from the EGA Molly Pitcher Stitchers Chapter in Carlisle, PA who are celebrating their 40th anniversary as a chapter. Congratulations and thank you for your generous contribution – it was a huge basket! Between the two baskets everyone got multiple gems. Not pictured are three red kitchen towels that I took.
I wanted and needed the project bag for the blue fabrics since I had intended to work with my fabrics and still will. Karen R from Molly Pitcher Stitchers stitched a lovely design and finished in coordinating colors. The Mollies have stitched two of my designs, Overdyed Spools and A Spring Sampler. I visited them after Overdyed Spools was posted as a Petite Project. So, I really appreciate having something of theirs. The counting pins are cute and came from them too! These will be perfect to carry in my travel tool bag.
Here’s the arrangement of my fabrics ready to stitch into place. I used all the straight pins I own!
We have until September to stitch the small pieces onto the larger ones when we finish them into a cloth booklet (back to back with pages).