Thanks to Jury Duty today, I finished the red background on the coin purse! It feels great to be stitching again. But, it is back to reality tomorrow. If I worked 24/7 for a week on various obligations (work & non-work), I might get caught up. However, I will make sure I get some stitching in every day – I’m not going 3 weeks without that relaxation again!
I will have to get this lined. It makes a great project to throw in my purse & stitch without much concentration. I still have the larger matching clutch to work on.
I am using Hyla’s High Cotton thread for the Stitch N’ Zip purse and card case set. I am not separating the threads using the thread as it comes (all 5 threads). I am quite sure I’ll have to line the inside (or get someone to line it).
As you can see, only the white & black parts gone done over our recent 10-day cruise. There was a group of quilters working in a conference room who got a lot done but I wanted to sit outside & it was a tad to breezy – so, I did some stitching but I finally finished a book that I’ve been trying to read.
While in San Juan, we stopped at El Convento for dinner (converted convent into restaurant and hotel) & I saw the only piece of needlepoint on the trip! Interestingly, the wreck of Columbus’s Santa Maria is off the first island we stopped at which was Haiti. So, this was a rather appropriate design for the trip. I enjoyed our BOSS Underwater Adventure (google it!) while at St Thomas which made this stop one of the best. St. Maarten was interesting because they have a Dutch and French side of the country. No needlepoint stores on any island but lots of souvenir and jewelry stores! Here is the large wall tapestry hanging in El Convento in San Juan.
In Old Town Needlework, the third and final store of the day, I spent most of my time selecting Vineyard Merino threads for Bargello Techniques (which will be the subject of another blog). But, I found this counted cross-stitch design of Monument Valley from Doherty Designs which is on the Arizona-Utah border. It was like the scenes and colors we saw in Sedona.
For $5, I had to get it. They had Aida cloth and DMC threads in the kit for $24 – pays to have stash! There are only 12 colors. The colors were so vibrant in person – I may try to stitch one my photos. There is a magnet sitting in the middle of the booklet in the photo. I was impressed with the Grand Canyon when we saw that a few years ago & this is just as or more impressive of an area.
Filed under: Christmas Cactus, Christmas Ornaments, Other People's Designs
My second stop in Arizona was Quail Run Needlepoint where I picked up a Christmas Cactus ornament. Particularly appropriate because we spent Christmas in Arizona & had sent a picture of Bill standing next to a big cactus saying it was our Christmas Tree this year. We were amazed at how big they grow. Later, we did see a few decorated ones. Eventually, we’ll have a decorated cactus as a memento. Perfect!
I found the most incredible thread for it too – Sea Grass (104) from The Thread Gatherer. It is flat & thin – will really elongate the natural shape of the cactus. Then, the gold Rachelette (A47) will criss-cross on top of the Sea Grass. Not that I needed much for the gift boxes but I picked up Sparkle Rays (PS03) for the yellow gift box and ThreadworX #8 braid (710541) because I doubted I had any bright yellow or blue in my stash. While I knew I had enough reds to choose from, I never tried City Needlework thread (#45), a Chinese silk.
The Quail Run seal matched the brown bag and was a perfectly fine presentation. The edges of the canvas were taped. And, I got a 10% ANG discount. They had the books, charted designs, painted canvases, Watercolours, and Waterlillies. So far, 2 wonderful stores!
I found a note that this piece is called “Western Star” by Katrina at Quail Run. Katrina doesn’t have an internet presence. She lives in the mountains of Colorado & comes into the store periodically and sells her painted canvases.
It will make a wonderful remembrance of Christmas in Arizona!
While in Arizona, I visited 3 needlepoint stores! At BeStitched Needlepoint, I picked up a pretty pineapple design & Belle Soie, a silk floss, that I have not tried before. The design is a Liz Goodrick from Susan Roberts Needlepoint Designs.
I thought it was interesting that the store only had painted canvases. No books or charted instructions. And, no Watercolours and a half-dozen Waterlillies. Plenty of other threads such as Vineyard, Planet Earth, etc.
They sewed the fabric border on the edges before I left the store, gave me suggestions on how to stitch it, and packaged it up so pretty that I have to share that picture too! When I unwrapped it (which just happened today because we shipped some souvenirs home & I have been swamped at work), I notified that the black and white fabric border (which may be called bias tape? Even though not tape material?) matches their bag! Of course, I realize these touches come at a cost (no ANG 10%).
I didn’t think I ‘d have time to blog but I found this Framecraft ceramic beige bowl with gilded metal lid (on sale) today! The work is beautiful (not signed unless it is under the lid but I am not going to take it apart to look). And, the dish is in excellent condition. We’ve been out in Scottsdale, Arizona for the holiday & popped into an antique mall today. I really was amazed to find this gem for $5. We are taking a break after a van tour of the area & before dinner.
When I return home, I will share my experiences at 3 needlepoint stores – honestly, when I picked this location for vacation, I had no idea there were 3 stores so close to us! But, I found my color scheme for Bargello Techniques & will be using Vineyard Merino. I also found a couple of small painted canvases & one cross stitch chart. And, we went into the Heard Museum where we saw some lovely Native American pieces that I’ll share too.
I may not have found any needlepoint stores in Vermont but I am finding interesting needlepoint pieces in antique stores (first 3 I have no further info on them) and a sampler (a common pattern from Springfield, VT area for a family record sampler done by a 13-year-old, Martha Harkins) and a quilt at the Bennington Museum. It is a 150 year old quilt done by Jane Stickle with 169 five-inch blocks, each in a different pattern, containing a remarkable total of 5,602 pieces, all surrounded by a unique scalloped border. The quilt is in perfect condition & only on display for a limited time each year.
This trip saved me money & from having more unfinished projects! But, I was very fortunate to see such nice work, especially the quilt.
The Central PA Gathering of Fiber and Needlework Guilds in Harrisburg, PA was quite an event with 14 participating guilds (see http://www.gatheringofguilds.com/). It was such an interesting variety of crafts. There were talks going on all day and workshops offered.
I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of ANG members, Maddy who taught the ornament class and Carol from the Apple Needlepointers Chapter of ANG. It was interesting to participate in a class for people who just want to try needlepoint in a brief 1&1/2 hour class. She did a nice simple project that worked up quickly although it couldn’t be done in the short time we had. But, everyone was far enough along to take it with us and finish at home (seen below). I went rogue though and padded the area under the brown basket! Actually, that was begun by accident once I exceeded the stitch area making it uniquely my own. And, I added a reinforcing Nun’s finishing stitch (learned from the Ornament Quartet piece) before adding the outside border. There was no way I was getting out the iron to use the backing she provided so I used felt with an adhesive side. Done!
I also had a nice chat with Carol at their table and look forward to seeing her and hopefully a couple of more members again for an upcoming September class (subject of a future blog). Big surprise – I found a book that for $1 I couldn’t pass up on 4-way Bargello (like the last bookend I finished).
I was particularly interested in the straw artist, Linda Beiler (www.wheatweavingand straw art.com). Her work is just beautiful. Her 1-page bio that she hands out with each piece of her work describes the history of the art form, pays homage to the woman who introduced her to the craft, and shares that she has published a book on the topic. There is an international Wheat Weavers Association and she is a member of several state and local guilds/councils of arts/crafts.
These make a lovely set from my mom’s ornament collection but I am not sure who made these. Nor can I credit the designer. Merry Christmas everyone & thanks for visiting my blog!
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