My ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter is stitching the Folding Ort Box (OB) and the Ort Box with a Twist (OBT) both designed by Marilyn Owen. I stitched the Folding Ort Box years ago on 14 count interlock canvas and was never happy with it because it is too big and floppy. I was happy with the blackwork but that small area is about as much blackwork as I need in my life. The path needed to take is tricky – reminds me of organic chemistry in college – you have to see where you’re going too many steps in advance. I didn’t need organic chemistry in the pharmacy and I don’t need blackwork in my life!
I am stitching both now on 18 count interlock. Because I save everything, I have my extra detailed blackwork map that I created years ago. Maybe it’ll be easier this time.
There are 7 members stitching the OB and 6 stitching the OBT. I am leading both pieces. Last month we covered colorways and basting. It took me 3 tries to get the basting on the OBT and Patrick found a mistake on my OB basting but that was easily fixed.
The error in this photo is pretty evident (stop laughing MO!). You’d have to count to find the one error (56 basted but should have been 66) and the other is marking the inner area.
Finally, I got it correct. Had I drawn lines instead of basting, the canvas would have been a mess!
For both, I provided details as seen in this photo.
For this month, I am going to focus on the diagonal divider of the OB and the pockets of the OBT. The idea is to get less thread on the back in the dividing line. Marilyn figured out how to do that. I pretty much had to flip the canvas to catch the thread (left side of photo below) or else I wound up with a hot mess (right side of photo below).
The pockets will prevent the same type of folding on the OBT and what dividing lines there are, they are different (easier).
So, I need to finish these areas and get to next month’s areas.
Filed under: ANG Central Jersey Chapter, Summer Fireworks by Ann-Marie Anderson-Mayes
After doing the rewarding but more difficult finishing recently, I pulled out Summer Fireworks by Ann-Marie Anderson-Mayes. The Walnetto in the outer rectangles was the fun new stitch pattern for me. It was a tad challenging because it called for 2 strands, and getting them to lay flat was tricky.
It’s so light, and in this colorway, it looks more like a spring bouquet to me. So, working on it now is appropriate. We’re enjoying several spring bouquets, including a ribbonwork one, a painted one, and a fresh one.
I’m heading to NJ on Wednesday to return the 22 pieces submitted to Woodlawn Needlework Exhibit from other members from the ANG New Jersey Needle Artists (NJNA) Chapter. Jacqui C will be discussing beading as the program topic. And, I will take this to stitch on. Rosie offered to be my hostess for the trip. Looking forward to seeing everyone.
Summer Fireworks is an ANG Central Jersey Chapter project, but several members are in both chapters. The April CJC meeting was canceled due to Easter. I’ll see them in May and have been asked to demonstrate finishing a coaster. It’s so interesting to be in multiple chapters and see the differences between the chapters.
Filed under: Brandywine Chapter, Embroidery Guild of America, Strawberry Pincushion
Patrick and I volunteered to be co-Presidents for one quarter of our EGA Brandywine Chapter’s year of meetings.
For April, we had a Zoom speaker, Toni Gerdes, speak on Additions to Stitching. I heard it recently through the ANG San Bernadino Chapter and enjoyed it again. There are several threads that I haven’t seen anywhere and a couple of ideas that I will try.
We handed out the motif Patrick designed, and I diagrammed. Then, in May, we will lead people through its assembly into a strawberry pincushion. For June, we go to Blue Santa Beads to make a Chataline.
I had a piece of Lugana (28 count in an Angel Blush that is slightly pink) and stitched over one canvas thread for a small one (about 2 and 3/8″ x 2 and 3/4″). Patrick stitched over two canvas threads for a larger one (about 4″). My stash had Crescent Colours, Bing Cherry fot the motif, and I’ll use Sampler Threads from The Gentle Art, Porcelain for finishing.
It turned out great and was ready to show at my EGA Brandywine Guild Chapter Quarterly meeting yesterday.
Patrick, Karen, and I had plenty of ground fabrics in different counts (24 – 36) and colors for people to choose. People had fun selecting theirs. Tough choices!
Filed under: General comments, Needlework and Textile Guild of Media, Punch Needle, Punch Needle Demo
The Needlework and Fiber Guild of Media continues to meet monthly and have demonstrations by various members and occasionally a speaker or road trip. This month, I volunteered to show what I learned about punch needle from a class in November 2024 with Katie Kriner, Author, Fibert Artist, Shop Owner of The Bee & The Bear in Hereford, PA. I hadn’t worked on the project since then.
Meghan brought a punch needle pillow to the meeting done with chunky yarn and a big needle. She described hers, and it was probably very similar to the Oxford Punch.
I’m using the Ultra Punch needle, which seems to be the gold standard in punch needle for projects using embroidery threads. It has 12 heights to vary the length of the loops as you punch.
This design is done at level 2, which creates a higher loop than the background, which was done at level 1 and creates depth in the design. You can’t see in the photos, but you can in person and feel it.
Since I only have evenweave fabrics (weavers cloth was supplied with the kit), I cut a piece from an old sheet for me to practice on. After watching a YouTube video, I realized that I had not loaded the punch needle properly (that sample was not photographed). After that, I got the hang of it quick enough (photographed below). Following a line is tougher than you think! Once the areas get filled in, it looks smoother.
Needlepoint stitchers might find it odd that you cut ends of threads from the front. It just blends into the loops.
If you pull the thread, it can all come undone. Kristen suggested applying fusible fabric to the back would help prevent that. But I don’t think I’ll be touching it to have that happen.
The design is drawn on the back of the fabric (not photographed), and that’s where you punch as the design appears on the front (as seen in the photos). The overdyed green and light gray threads are Valdani balls of 3 stranded floss (worked as supplied, not stranded). Placing the thread balls in a small jar allows the thread to continuously feed through the needle and not roll away. You don’t cut the thread into multiple lengths as we do in needlepoint.
The overdyed dark gray for the background is Valdani #8 perle cotton.
I never expected to get this done before our meeting, and I didn’t get much of anything else done, but I finished the punching in 2 days.
The kit included the display hoop and a piece of felt to cover the back. I did a running stitch along the inside edge to gather the fabric, cut away the excess fabric, filled the width of the hoop with the excess fabric and batting, covered with magazine board, gathered the fabric, laced it flat, and glued a piece a felt on the back that came with the kit. I placed Aleene’s Fabric glue on the weavers cloth and simply pressed the felt down. It was dry in no time.
Thanks to the deadline of the demo, this completes Goal #8 for 2025!
I was asked if I plan to punch again. And, I would if I happened to see a cute design, but I don’t feel the desire to seek it out. The repetition of punching reminds me of basketweave. But, I prefer basketweave because of the lack of precision with punch needle. The loop height in punch needle has some variation, and getting stitches close enough is an issue, although both would probably improve with practice. There is also the concern that it could unravel.
Kristen said the tool has been used for Turkey work. Again, I would be concerned about unraveling.
All said, I will keep my punch needle!
Kathy has framed Byzantium. It looks fantastic, and we’re both happy Byzantium has a home!
Note: Gifted to Kathy in March 2025.
Back in November 2024, I posted about my A to Z books and included a photo of my River Silk Ribbon and Flair Spring Flower.
As part of my recent flurry of finishing, I purchased a mini frame at Michael’s. The 3″ square opening is a perfect size. It’s going to be a get well gift for our neighbor’s mom who lives with her. She fell and broke her pelvis last week but is already home! And, this flower has no maintenance for her daughter who has her hands full.
This is a great size for trying out stitches and threads while making a small gift. I love the vintage green canvas for these threads.
I keep a 5″ doodle canvas ready for experimentation. I don’t have more of the green canvas. So, eggshell is next up. Maybe I’ll use my markers to color the canvas.
Goal #7 was to finish Heart Swirls by Janet Zickler Casey into an ornament. The stitching has been done since October 2024.
The backing fabric is left over red fabric from my Magic Quilt Poinsettia. I used Peel n Stick Fabric Fuse along the inside edge to hold the fabric in place. Two long pieces of Peel n Stick across back kept the front and back sides together just enough, allowing me to stitch the cord in place while cinching the 2 sides together as I went. I don’t like clips placed all around the edge because they put dents in the stitching.
There are a few layers of wool felt (not craft felt) to give the front a little thickness. I tried building it up in the center, and although it’s still flat, the edges rounded really nicely.
I found a fantastic cord at Fireside Stitchery a few months ago and decided that I was ready following my success with the Silken Sonata ornament. The cord is Passementerie 3/16″, Vatican Red (PAS-31642). There are a couple of colors of that cord. I’ll be using it whenever possible. The finished size of the ornament is 4.75″ wide by 4.5″ tall without the loop.
I should have taken a picture of the loop attachment. I cut exactly the length I wanted for the loop with about an inch inside to sew/tack in place on the Craftex. Then, I cut enough length of cord to wrap around the edge. So the end of the cord doesn’t ravel, I taped around the end and cut through the center of the tape.
I aligned the long length of cord snugly up against the one side of the loop and sewed it in place by attaching it to the Craftex and the adjacent loop. Then, I sewed the cord in place with red beading thread (perfect color match to the cord) passing the needle through the center of the cord, making the stitches invisible, catching the backing fabric and the canvas. Once I got further around, I tucked the other cord end into place. I couldn’t sew that end of the cord to the Craftex, but I did secure it to the adjacent loop.
I don’t think that I have ever done exactly the same thing twice when finishing. Partly because each one reacts a little differently in the process. These last two finishes have to be my best finishes yet. I’ve even put away the threads rather than stockpiling them. Hope springs eternal! Now, back to fun stitching.
I picked up a bronze Metallic Soft Twist Trim Cord, size 20 from Access Commodities for Silken Sonata by Jim Wurth. It’s a perfect color for the ornament.
After lacing the ornament to the Craftex, I made a loop from the cord and secured it to the liner. I lined up the cord along the edge and left 1.5″ to tuck in after the back was attached.
I didn’t want cord to show on the edge because the edge is stitched Smyrnas. I just wanted the split between the back and front to be covered. I’m definitely not a fan of ribbons and bows on ornaments. Size 20 cord is thin, but it’s exactly what I wanted.
I had a lovely piece of green fabric leftover from my Quilt Magic Poinsettia that I placed on magazine board. It’s thin and light. Love it!
Goal #1 for 2025 was to finish Silken Sonata by Jim Wurth into an ornament. I’m thrilled that’s done and that it turned out so well! The finished size is 3.75″.
Other goals are progressing. But I still don’t have the ability to heed my final goal of not getting more goals! More on that another time.
Filed under: ANG Needle Pointer's Timeless Treasures From the Archives
There are 18 fantastic articles written between 1989 and 1992 by designers and teachers that are still available to members of American Needlepoint Guild (ANG). Each design features a different technique, and you can use these for chapter projects, Hearts for Hospice, or gifts.
I was fortunate to obtain a stitched framed piece by Nanette Costa with 9 hearts and provide color photos for several of the designs previously, only available in black and white. Here’s one of my favorite, Tasseled Heart by Debbie Deem.
Get access to all ANG has to offer for only $60/year (that’s just $10/ issue) plus other free designs exclusively available to members. If you are 35 or younger, ANG is excited to offer a 50% discount to new members when they join ANG for online access to all digital issues (no physical magazine is mailed). This is a great opportunity for younger stitchers to join the ANG community of needlepointers!
The backgrounds from Love, 5th in the series from the Cabochons Series by Susan Portra, were fun. Once I got to this point, I just had to finish!
I did change the upper left stitch from vertical rows of French Knots to Basque Knots from Elegant Stitches by Judith Baker Montano. I’ve been intrigued by that stitch since seeing it in the book but never had a place to use it until now. Getting the tension consistent is key. The 4 strands of floss were recommended for French Knots, but I didn’t like the 4 strands of floss for the Basque Knot. It lacked definition (left 2 columns). And, the color was too dark to see the knot. So, I switched to the perle used elsewhere in the piece and am much happier (right 2 columns). I practiced it and was finally getting it. The 2 columns on the left side show them further apart on the left and closer on the right. The 2 columns on the right are both further apart, which I do like better..
The backgrounds are done.
That left the beads and cabochons to add. I managed to break a bugle bead to squeeze it onto the bottom right row of them. It is still a tad long, but leaving it empty was glaring. Several of the rimsets are bent, and one bead package was missing them entirely. So, I’ve ordered more. Placing the prongs into holes is key to getting the top of the rims close enough to the canvas so that the cabochons aren’t loose.
Goal #21 is completely stitched with beads and cabochons applied.
I’ve already got Joy, the first in the Cabochon series, fully kitted and ready to go onto the bars. Perhaps I am excited about doing these because they are easier than other pending projects! Do you find yourself putting off the tough pieces in favor of easier ones?
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