Filed under: ANG New Jersey Needle Artists Chapter, Elfin Stockings (Ornaments), Festival of Trees, Other People's Designs
Since posting this first in 2012 (https://melitastitches4fun.com/2012/12/25/set-of-12-stocking-ornaments/), I have found all the information about them. These came from my mother’s ornament collection, and she noted on the instructions “Rita made – 1984”. Thanks for noting that, Mom, and for holding onto the instructions!
The 12 Elfin Stockings were designed by Norden Crafts exclusively for Better Homes and Gardens Custom Design Collection (Product No. 27815). Norden Crafts were in IL but closed permanently, perhaps in 2017; but they have an Etsy store now.
There are 6 designs for these stockings done twice in a different color. The kit came with everything, including the finishing (a simple cotton backing). Mom did a nice job on these!
Filed under: ANG New Jersey Needle Artists Chapter, Christmas Ornaments, Festival of Trees, Melita's Other Completed Pieces, Other People's Designs
The Festival of Trees (see yesterday’s post) became a great opportunity for me to finish 4 more Gold’n Cross Stitch 24 KT Gold Plated Ornament Kits including:
Candy Cane (XGC-361) with HO HO HO spelled out.
Reindeer Santa (GC-3661)
Teddy Bear/Beary Xmas (GC-3677)
Rocking Horse (GC-3673)
All those are still available on Etsy and others I don’t have, but I resisted getting more!
Here are the 4 new ones stitched:
These are the other Gold’n Cross Stitch ornaments I took for display: https://melitastitches4fun.com/2012/01/02/other-3-ornaments-finished/ and https://melitastitches4fun.com/2010/12/20/on-the-5th-day-of-christmas-6-gold-christmas-ornaments/
Filed under: Christmas Ornaments, Melita's Designs, Other People's Designs
Thanks to my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter Stitch-in on Saturday, Saturday night’s movie, and football on Sunday, here’s a couple of days’ work on the Christmas bulbs (7 count plastic canvas kit from last year). Three before the meeting, four during the meeting, and five after the meeting, which means half are done!
And, half of Bill’s Chottie’s Plaid bookmark is stitched. I’m curious about how much his plaid will differ from mine. The yellow band is the biggest difference (6 vs 2).
Filed under: Christmas Ornaments, Christmas Ornaments, Melita's Other Completed Pieces, Other People's Designs
My Christmas Crafttree sprung up in 2016 and again in 2018 (I described how I made it previously: https://melitastitches4fun.com/?s=Craftree&submit=Search).
Well, it finally makes a return in 2023 with my needlepoint ornaments. Even though I lent 35 needlepoint ornaments to the ANG NJ Needle Artists chapter for the Festive of Trees display (more on this another time), I filled this tree with 22 needlepoint ornaments, 3 snowflakes falling, and both Linda’s Santa (left) and my Santa (right) looking approvingly at the tree!
This year, our 3′ Christmas tree (from Brooks Drug Store in 1984 which was my first year as a pharmacist and our first Christmas together) that goes on a table holds the non-needlepoint abd some hand-crafted ornaments (beaded, ceramics, and crocheted) that we have collected over the years, been given, or inherited. It may be a small tree, but it still can hold up to 100 ornaments. I have about 65 ornaments and 20 icicles, not including the 2 dozen multi-colored tinsels. I usually alternate yearly between ornaments and icicles (with a few special ornaments).
We bought a “tall, skinny” tree one year from a catalog, but it was defective, and we returned it, believing that meant we were supposed to keep our little one! Forty years old next year? How’s that possible?
Our guard dog, Buddha, is named for our dear friend, Johhny G, who passed away way too early on this day in 1994 at 39 years of age.
We miss each and every one of our family and friends but have lots of fond memories!! Wishing he and others who have passed rest in peace.
Filed under: Christmas Ornaments
Three competing Christmas projects: The Chottie’s Plaid bookmark for Bill, Amanda Lawford Christmas Tree Top Angel, and now the Christmas Lights Garland kit that I got for Christmas last year. It just surfaced (from within a pile I was going through). But, I have one month (32 days) before this year’s Christmas and decided this will be the project to bring to our ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter Stitch-in this Saturday.
The kit came from Herrschners. It’s on 7 mesh plastic canvas and uses plastic canvas yarn (quite bulky; each skein is 10 yards). Very pretty colors.
It’s supposed to make 20 lights but I can make 24 from the way I cut the canvas. The only thing is that they gave me 2 light green skeins instead of 2 dark green skeins. The 2 foot strand to connect the bulbs will have to be done with the light green yarn unless I find a sturdier cord (which would probably be a good idea).
I finished 3 in order to be sure that I have everything I need to stitch them on Saturday. I’m also trying to figure out the length of yarn I need so that I don’t have to start multiple strands unnecessarily. Getting the angle on the overcast edges was a little tricky.
I have much to be thankful for (including not cooking the Turkey dinner again this year) and hope you do too. Enjoy your day!
The gold trim on the skirt and cuffs on her sleeves was done with a metallic thread that came with the other threads and was wrapped around a cardboard tube. There was half of the identification tag in a bag indicating that it was Balger #16 Braid Gold 002 from Kreinik. Interestingly, my stash has one unlabeled cardboard tube that I will use on the back of the angel (second unstarted canvas). I figured that was how Kreinik used to supply their metallics, and now it’s confirmed! Luckily, mine is a match because there is not enough of hers (mine is on the left and the original is the right tube in photo).
The yellow-gold of her left wing was done as well in #16 Braid and was a little tight using 6 strands of DMC Floss to fill in, but I want it to match what was already done.
I finished the front of the angel in about 6 weeks (not steadily working on it) but if I try to get the back done for the woman before my December monthly meeting in Media for the Needlework and Textile Guild of Media, I will have to dedicate more time to it.
I offered to send the woman a photo, and she was very happy to see it and said it looks fantastic! That makes me happy, too.
Thanks to Facebook’s Needlepoint Nation,
this is from Amanda Lawford’s old line, Les Nouvelles, circa 1970s/1980s. “Patty Paints Needlepoint” replied to tell me she worked as a copy artist for her, and she remembered painting this canvas. If you haven’t heard of Needlepoint Nation, you are missing a great resource.
Patty has also replied to my inquiry about a certain area of the canvas where I wasn’t quite sure what I was seeing. She graciously responded, and that issue has been resolved. I’m still not 100% sure about a couple of smaller areas and if extra stitching along the outer edge is needed for the finisher, but I’ll bring it to the next greatest resource I have, my chapter members from ANG Main Line Stitchers at our Stitch-in Saturday.
The angel came to me partially stitched belonging to a woman who started it 40 years ago. We met, and I have taken it on as my first stitch for hire project. Why? She is very nice, trying to establish a work-life balance, and can’t fit this in. And I don’t have a basketweave project to work on now. As soon as I agreed, she said she felt lighter. She did an excellent job on what she already did. She used 6 stranded DMC floss as is (not laying the thread). So, I will do likewise.
When I got home and looked more carefully, I found her threads were neatly organized in bags and labeled as to what areas they are to go to. I didn’t promise it’d be done by a certain date because I do have other projects. It wouldn’t be able to get finished by Christmas this year anyway. It’s coming into baseball playoffs, and football is back. So, I should make good progress.
Filed under: 50th Anniversary Flower Round by Danji, Other People's Designs
Since the ANG 50th Anniversary was exceptionally special for me because my Crescent Journey was announced as the 2023 ANG Stitch of the Month, I purchased this canvas and stitch guide by Sundance Beads from The West while I was at the Tucson Seminar. We discussed the stitch guide for this at our last monthly ANG Main Line Stitchers meeting.
I’d seen this stitched on a presentation they gave (their talk is free if you’re looking for a Zoom presentation for your chapter/guild). The stitch guide came along with the canvas (Danji: CH-639). I purchased the threads and beads at Edwardian Needle in April.
This was going to be my round ornament for a finishing class in October with Kelly Starke hosted by NJ Needle Artists but I’ve got round down pretty good. So, I will take only the irregular shaped class. I digress.
I added 1/4″ of basketweave around the outside so the decorative portions of the design would be seen after finishing.
Using heat to press back the tabs worked well enough (a Kelly tip) but I wanted them securely in place so I laced each tab to the Craf-tex (cut slightly smaller than the stitched piece). I could have folded back more (which is what Kelly does on her YouTube video) than I did but I like the gold edge showing.
The fabric for the back is actually the back of a small fabric swatch that I’d won at a Valley Forge Quilt Show raffle and held in place by Scotch Tape Runner, a double-sided tape, on Magazine Board (a Brenda C tip) instead of a second piece of Craf-tex. I’d cut the template the same size as the stitched piece but by turning back the edge around the Craf-tex, the back ended being slightly larger than the ornament. That turned out to be great. I was able to attach the cord along that width by grabbing a little fabric, going through the Craf-tex towards the front, going through the cord towards the back, going through the fabric, going through the Craf-tex towards the front, etc – all the way around. I used invisible thread again which is more difficult to work with but it wasn’t terrible.
Silk Lame Braid for 13 count was used for the cording and is color matched to the gold previously used. I used the Kreinik cord maker, assisted by my husband, and really twisted this time. Better.
The loop started off center (not on purpose) and there was no going back and starting all over again! So, I extended the cord along the ornament edge to where it would hang straight. Another happy accident. I like that look. For a larger size ornament (4″), I finished late in the evening but I did finish 2 ornaments in one day. This may be my best one yet!
Filed under: Christmas Ornaments, Embroidery Guild of America, Fiber Art Now, Fiber Forum, Other People's Designs
I couldn’t find a ball of DMC #8 Pearl cotton in a particular color locally. So, I ordered it from Herrschners in mid October. I was surfing the website and found a garland of Christmas lights on plastic canvas. So I ordered the kit as well. I couldn’t get just one ball of DMC #8 Pearl, right?!? I had Bill put the kit away and today I opened it having forgotten all about it! I have a string of wooden light bulbs. These will be cute too.
Since I am not ready to be a full member of EGA’s Fiber Forum, I signed up for EGA’s Friends of Fiber Forum ($10/year) https://egausa.org/fiber-forum/. It’ll be a great start to see what goes on with the group.
I also got a year (4 issues) of Fiber Art Now (https://www.fiberartnow.net/). The website has tons of things to explore once you subscribe including their digital archive.
Quite a diverse selection! From plastic 7 count canvas to fiber arts.
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, General comments, Ginkgo Leaves, Needlepoint Shops, Other People's Designs, Threads
The Lee canvas (design size 8.5″ x 3.75), BR67, Ginkgo Leaves, was easy and fun to stitch. The Gloriana Duchess Silk threads I got from Busy Lizzy were great to work with – so soft. I mixed in some sparkly threads on the edges of the leaves and in the patterns of four leaves.
Patterns are from a variety of sources including Desert Island Vol 1 and 2 by Carole Lake and Michael Boren, Lone Star’s Grab-n-Go Stitches, Needlepoint Dictionary of Stitches by Susan Sturgeon Roberts, and The Needlepoint Book by Jo Ippolito Christensen.
Patterns in the top row from left to right are from: Desert Island, Vol 1, pg 29; The Needlepoint Book, Byzantine #1; Needlepoint Dictionary of Stitches, Carl; and Lone Star, pg 50.
Patterns in the bottom row from left to right are from: Lone Star, pg 37; Lone Star, pg 53; Desert Sand, Vol 2, pg 30; and The Needlepoint Book, Byzantine #2.
Basketweave with Pepper Pot Silk, Cream filled in the background.
I found a Vera Bradley bag online that has a lovely interior fabric and good pockets.
The front of the bag had a large enough area to apply the canvas. I cut out the design leaving 9 canvas threads on each edge (1/2″). I cut a piece of ultrasuede allowing a 1″ border on each side. Then I cut the window out to fit the design exactly. The piece of vinyl is about 4 canvas threads larger than the design area and rests on top of the design without being attached in any way. A little Aileens fabric glue attached the ultrasuede to the outer edge of the canvas not covered by the vinyl (waited 2 hours), more glue to attach the ultrasuede to the bag (waited 2 hours), and glue again to place the black trim on the outer edge. Thanks to Jacqui C for the trim suggestion – it really makes a difference although from a distance you probably can’t see black on black. But up close you can. Also thanks to Jacqui for telling me there is such a thing as fabric glue! I was going to use E6000. This was so much easier and faster than ornament finishing!
For those of you super observant people who noticed a piece of wood sticking out from underneath the bag (bottom right corner of photo), the bag came with straps on the bottom. They said it was for a yoga mat but it holds my Elan lap stand! I wouldn’t “travel” with it there but for going back and forth to class this bag will hold the stand, my charger, light, travel supply bag, bottle of water, and perhaps a small project bag.
Postscript: I realized months later that I put it into the purse upside down from how I stitched it! Oh well.
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