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?
I finally went through my needles and am throwing away the old ones of which I had a good number of bad ones. Since I don’t have a “sharps” container, I decided to google disposing of sewing needles. Once site recommended wrapping in a rubber band and placing that bundle into a disposable receptacle such as an empty take out box, makeup compact, or pill bottle. Keeping them contained prevents them from poking out of the garbage bag.
As I do this, in the spirit of Hari Kuyo, a Japanese festival of Broken Needles that has been celebrated for over 400 years, I will ask for improved skills, acknowledge my work over the past years, and thank each for their help and service. Hari means needles and Kuyo means memorial service. Traditionally, they were stuck into tofu and floated down a river annually. The tofu served to soothe the needles after their labor and protect from the points of the needles from doing harm. Read all about it at http://issuu.com/audsomee/docs/hari-kuyo
Since no sewing takes place on this day, I picked a good day to celebrate my needles because we are heading out to watch Monty Python live (Mostly), a 3-hour Fandango event with our Delaware friends, and dinner. Early birthday present for Bill!
Melitastitches4fun's Blog 
Filed under: 2022, Corinthian Earrings by Orna Willis, General comments, Needles, New Jersey Needle Festival, Other People's Pieces, 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.