I’m looking forward to a photo embroidery class with Joetta Maue at Rittenhouse Needlepoint on July 16. Joetta is an artist (http://www.joettamaue.com/index.html) who loves fiber & embroidery among other things. Stephen talked about her work earlier this year (http://rittenhouseneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2011/01/joetta-maue.html).
We’ll use our own photo, transcribe it into a drawing, & then stitch it. I have a month to look through my photos to decide what to take. It can’t be very complicated – it is only a 2-hour class. And, I can’t start a huge project anyway. Always fun to learn & get inspired!
Filed under: Melita's Adaptations, Monet's Poppy Field, Needlework in Progress, Poppy Field
In the 3 very dark green grassy areas, I wanted to use different but related stitches. So, I selected Criss Cross Hungarian for the left patch because of the denseness of the stitch & the longer length. The Woven Trellis is in the center patch because it is about as long a stitch as the left patch and because they are on about the same distance. And, Serendipity was selected for the right patch because it is farther away than the other 2 areas and is a smaller stitch.
The darker the thread (still using Sampler Threads 7042 Raven) the less of a stitch pattern is evident but up close you can see the differences.
For the top long row, I used the 3 threads layed in the same direction to get a few patches of light green from the overdyed. But, in the smaller 3 areas, I layed 1 in the opposite direction for a more solid dark effect.
In case you forget what Monet’s look like by now, here part of it is again.
Filed under: Melita's Adaptations, Monet's Poppy Field, Needlework in Progress, Poppy Field
For the large medium dark green grass area, I used one strand each of Weeks Dye Works overdyes named Grasshopper (yellow-green), Collards (dark green), and Moss (medium green). The stitch, Diane’s Lace from Suzy’s Portable Stitches, was difficult to get the hang of but especially slanting up & to the right (on the left side). The other angle, slanting up & to the left, just clicked for me. Odd how the brain sees some things better than other. It’s a good stitch for full coverage & looks somewhat random (especially using overdyed floss).
The little dark blue-green area in the center (with arrow pointed to it) used a portion of the 2 threads with the blue portion and 1 thread with the green portion in an encroaching gobelin stitch.
Did some spring cleaning today in the closet & found this purse that I did in the 70s for myself. I used it a lot then. It probably was a kit but don’t know from where. I stitched it using continental & that caused the misalignment. I should have used the tent stitch!
Filed under: Melita's Adaptations, Monet's Poppy Field, Needlework in Progress, Poppy Field
The far dark green section is done using random straight stitches & Weeks Dye Works (WDW) thread (color named Raven) that is very dark with portions of a slightly lighter green. I like that a little canvas shows through – especially up close as it seems more natural.
And, I removed what green & orange threads I had placed in the upper right area from stitching in class because I found more shades of WDW. I plan on doing a lot of thread blending with what I found (but more of that with my next blog). http://www.weeksdyeworks.com/index.php (great overdyed floss selection that I was able to get at The Strawberry Sampler in Glen Mills, PA which is southwest of Philadelphia & not too far).
Filed under: General comments
The Royal School of Needlepoint was on CBS Sunday Morning a couple of week ago. In case you didn’t see the item, here’s the link to a 6-minute video with a little history & shots of some beautiful needlepoint:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7363014n&tag=contentMain;contentBody
And, you can commemorate the royal wedding by stitching a sampler:
http://www.royal-needlework.org.uk/shop/product/343/rsn-royal-wedding-whitework-sampler
No financial interest . . . I just love that the whole country gets the day off for the wedding! Actually they have a 4-day weekend. I’ve been catching up on my TV this weekend, including the Royal Wedding! Beautiful event, the dress was incredible. I heard that the people doing the hand sewing had to wash their hands every 30 minutes! We should probably take note of that practice.
I finished this angel for my sister, Anita, several years ago (before joining ANG). I meant to post this on her birthday (March 29) but since she was born on Easter, this is still timely!
She had started it & then didn’t have the time (or inclination?) to complete this counted cross stitch piece. How could I say no when she asked if I would do it for her? It was quite challenging to follow the chart as I recall. There were a lot of shades of blue, white/gray, & gold. And, there are a few deviations – not that anyone would be able to tell.
Just in time for Calder’s 3rd birthday, I have finished his baby piece. And, I am early for Carson’s first birthday! I’m very happy with how they turned out & hopefully mom & dad will too. Although kids do like seeing their names on stuff, I don’t expect the boys to get too excited. Happy Birthday boys!!
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter
Lori, our current President from Main Line Stitchers, taught a jewelry beading class to a few of us today. Great class. Lots of fun. It was wonderful to start & finish a project in ONE sitting – that never happens with needlepoint!
We pre-selected either dark indigo, siam red (deep burgundy), or emerald green Swarovski crystals with either silver or gold accents.
This was the base we built first.

Then, we added a criss-cross embellishment that added the glitz & glamor!
Added a clasp & it was done.
Looked good in green with either silver or gold.

A few of the girls showing off our glitz!
Ho, Ho, Ho, Santa’s done & ready to go on a trip – not to the North Pole – just to the finisher! That was a fun project & not difficult. More than enough materials were provided. And, the directions were clear.
Thanks to Kelly for telling me to stitch a few rows around the piece before taking to the finisher. I see now Kelly said 2 rows but I did 4-5 – sure hope that isn’t too many. I love the fur on the hat!















