Filed under: Needlework and Textile Guild of Media
Last month, we took home some unfinished quilt squares. I thought we were to use them as we wanted. However, they were intended to be used in our own visible mending projects to show in June. Well, even though I bought the darning loom, I don’t do mending! So, this is what I did with my fabric pieces. Sally made a key ring out of hers. We were the only 2 to give it a go.
This turned into a lesson using Pellon Wonder-Under Transfer Fusing Web. It “turns any fabric into a fusible fabric”. It also turns your iron into a mess if it touches a hot iron directly. Learned that the hard way. But, Magic Eraser cleaned it up. So, I cut the fusing web slightly smaller than the quilt squares and placed the fusing web between the canvas (14 count) and the quilt square and then applied heat for 15 seconds. And, it worked great.
I stitched gobelin stitches around the edge. And, I added nested Jessicas on one and a corner Amadeus with crescents on the other. Stitching without seeing the holes was a challenge. That’s why I started them on the edges. I’ll probably finish them into ornaments. There is a stack of ornaments building up for me to finish. I’ll have to block out a few days.
Update February 2024: The reds had bled from the moisture of our glasses in the year and a half we’ve been using them as coaster. So, we tossed them in favor of newer stitched needlepoint coasters. Why is throwing stuff away so hard for me?
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Cards and Needles by Orna Willis, Media Arts Council Exhibit
Save the date! July 1, 2022 (5 pm) for the in-person opening of a month-long needlepoint exhibit featuring Orna Willis and her designs at the Media Arts Council Gallery in Media, PA. Members of ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter will share 10 stitched pieces of her designs too. Read all about the exhibit and Orna at https://mediaartscouncil.org/calendar/mac-art-show-orna-willis-and-mainline-stitchers/ If you are in the Philadelphia area in July, be sure to visit the gallery (open Wed – Sat from 10 am – 2 pm and Sunday 12 – 4 pm).
I will contribute Come Dance With Me, Flower Cuff (finished flat), and Color Inspirations. In addition, I have completed Cards and Needles from my stash. It was a kit from around 2009 which was one of the first Main Line Stitchers classes that I signed up for.
For Cards and Needle, Orna created one design 2″ x 1.25″ that is stitched three times in 2 colorways (orange/fuchia and purple/green) although colors repeat within a colorway and across each colorway. Orna has a very clever instruction sheet as well. It is fascinating to see the results. Although Orna suggested using them for cards or individual mounted pieces with inspirational sayings, I decided to frame each colorway in a collage because keeping the colorways together looks more appealing to me. The frames measure 9″ x 15″. This one will be raffled to raise money for Media Arts Council as my way of thanking them for letting us join the exhibit. I’ll wait to share the other colorway.
Please join Orna and members of the Main Line Stitchers on July 1 at 5 pm for the opening!
Bobbie is an art historian, runs At Home Modern, and is a weaver. Five of us joined her at Second Street Press, an art center, near Center City Philadelphia. In a 3-hour class, we got introduced to Tapestry weaving.
We put the warp thread on first winding up and down. It is the thin black cotton vertical threads. I upgraded to the 14″ Weaving Frame from BekaInc.com in case I want to create larger pieces. In order to keep up with class, I kept this one at about 10″ wide.
We started with Twining.
Added rows of Tabby. You can weave with your hands or the long wooden weaving needle seen in the photo. I did it both ways.
Then, I manipulated the colors because weaving rows back and forth would not have been much of a challenge. And added Soumak stitch using wool roving the fluffy large light blue fiber (also used in needle felting).
I see now that my top row of Twining is wrong. It should look like a braid. Easily removed. That was as far as I got. I could end it here but we got yarn to take home so I will make it longer to practice weaving more. I also need to add a row between the light and dark blue rows because they are woven in the same direction although it certainly would be interesting to see in a larger area. Kind of like a double brick stitch. I enjoyed seeing Bobbie again and very nice people in class.
The thinner of the light blue fibers and the darker blue fiber are both single ply yarns called Tuff Puff, which you can get at knitpicks.com (https://www.knitpicks.com/yarn/tuff-puff/c/5420288).
Filed under: Busy Lizzy, Floral Fantasy, Needlepoint Shops, Other People's Designs, Threads, Threads and Beads
I finally joined Cleo of Busy Lizzy for one of her First Tuesday sessions at her shop behind her house. It’s not large but Cleo has a good selection of painted canvases, threads, and miscellany including books. The table and chairs still allow enough room to walk around looking at everything. Eight of us fit comfortably around the table. Lively conversation made the time fly and before I knew it, it was 2:30 pm which was 30 minutes past the time I was planning to leave (just over an hour to and from Chadds Ford for me). Two others from ANG Main Line Stitchers, Gloriann and Stacie, were there. My travel SMASTA (tool case) was a smash hit! A very enjoyable day.
I found one book there that I couldn’t find anywhere online!! But, that will be the topic of another post.
The piece I’m working on is a small (4″ square) 14 count canvas with designer initials of BTB or BT8. I have no idea where I got it from but it looked like an easy piece to stitch at a Stitch-in. If anyone recognizes the designer, please leave a comment. I named it Floral Fantasy for lack of the proper title.
I selected basketweave for the white flower outlines, a 4×4 Norwich Stitch for the white center of the red flower, and 2 upright waffle stitches for the white center of the pink flowers using ThreadworX Expressions (200, white). These areas were finished the day before.
The green is Boucle (170) done with Checkerboard Cross which are alternating cross stitches and upright crosses each over 2 canvas threads. I wanted a random looking grassy texture. I began this area to make sure the thread worked. Since it is 14 count, the Boucle works ok. I finished this today and found out Pepper Pot Silk would not cover on 14 count at least for the stitch I wanted to use.
It was a perfect time to try the new thread Line at Cleo’s that I haven’t seen anywhere else. It is from Gloriana Threads and is Duchess Silk, a hand-dyed thread. Some colors have more subtle changes in the skein. I had brought along another canvas and selected other skeins of Duchess Silk but that too will be the subject of another post.
This Rose Violet (232) has more variations than many of the other colors in the line. You can see I got the upper right corner started using the stitch, Pointing Fingers. There is nice variation of color. It’s taking some time to “see” the pattern and compensation isn’t easy yet. Hopefully, I’ll get it once I start stitching in the larger area.
Also in the upper right corner are 2 small clusters of 5 beads each. I have accumulated (mostly from Trish who was unloading her stash before moving south) a slew of beads including a large tube of pink beads that are calling to me, “Use us!” I don’t know what kind they are so I hope I have enough for both pink flowers. If not, then I will improvise. The differences in texture are pleasing me most about this piece. I have no idea what to do with it when I finish it. Any suggestions?
Filed under: ANG Seminar 2017, JP Bird of Paradise & Bamboo, Orange Orchid & Bamboo
The Main Line Stitchers chapter held our Stitch-in this past Saturday in person (6 members) and on Zoom (1 member). Good to find out that the church’s AC is working great and this is only May!
Well, I discovered 2 mistakes. This one from the center panel of the “completed” Bird of Paradise canvas had a few missing stitches which would probably have gone unnoticed except for the fact that I took a photo to make sure that I stitched the other center band similarly. Luckily, I took the photo in the area of the missing stitches. Easy fix.
Then, all of a sudden I noticed this. The left side of the photo is the first canvas and the right side of the photo is the second canvas. Look at the blue section.
The right is darker than the left. Then, I looked closer.
So, it went through my mind: Who besides me will notice that? They are almost the same color. But the close up photos reveal better that the Pepper Pot Silk and the Gloriana are very close in color (left side of photo) making the difference between the Vineyard Silk and Gloriana (right side of photo) that much more noticeable. So, I will see it every time I look at them. Then, to verify the difference, I asked my husband and he said the one panel is darker than then the other – first thing he saw. Luckily, I have enough of the Pepper Pot Silk and just enough of the Gloriana because they both have to come out. Oh well. No point of spending this much effort on pieces not to get them right! Right.
So I ripped the blue sections out and before I knew it they were redone. All is back on track and ready for next month’s Stitch-in.
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Laurel Burch Rainbow Butterfly by Danji
This lovely Laurel Burch design by Danji, Rainbow Butterfly, caught my eye at NJ Needle Fest but Linda told me not to get because it was in stock at Linda’s Boutique (as I fondly call it). And today at our Stitch-in, Linda gave it to me as a birthday gift! I had forgotten about it but sure am glad Linda didn’t. Aren’t the colors lovely!
I think it’ll be fun to see what everyone suggests at chapter meetings especially since Linda and Kristen are our resident butterfly experts having worked on the larger Rainbow Butterflies Laurel Burch design by Danji (with Imagine written in the upper left corner). They used some threads and stitches from a Tony Minieri stitch guide and some of their own options.
But, I have to finish the Orchid and Bamboo JP canvas first. Hopefully, I will finish that by the the end of July.
Filed under: ANG CyberPointer's Chapter, ANG New Jersey Needle Artists Chapter, Hearts of Gold by Michele Roberts
Hearts of Gold is an excellent ANG Correspondence Course that includes 20 Heart-Shaped Bargello Ornaments by Michele Roberts. It’s available under Distance Learning on ANG ‘s website.
Michele describes this heart as a “classic tiny pattern” of shadowed boxes. The stitches are all over 2 canvas threads. It can be stitched in as few as 2 colors and as many as 7 colors. I love the 3 dimensional effect with this pattern.
To say “spring”, I selected a rainbow of Silk & Ivory threads including yellow=maize 241, orange=clementine 215, red=tamale 199, dark purple=sugarplum 117, blue=delphinium 70, green=lime 56, and light purple=shrinking violet 116.
Filed under: ANG CyberPointer's Chapter, ANG New Jersey Needle Artists Chapter, Hearts of Gold by Michele Roberts
Hearts of Gold is an excellent ANG Correspondence Course that include 20 Heart-Shaped Bargello Ornaments by Michele Roberts. It’s available under Distance Learning on ANG ‘s website. Michele’s are all done in golds but I wanted seasonal hearts.
I began my first heart with the Greek Meander Bargello pattern which is best worked in two colors. Mine is done in green and white (Silk & Ivory in 86 Shamrock and 01 Natural) for St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas.
The over 6 stitch is tricky because it falls in a different place with each color. The two colors fold into each other. Once I got to the first full row of white I started seeing the rhythm. Michele diagrammed the whole heart including compensation although it didn’t quite match mine because I tweaked the top center a tad to make the dip in the center deeper.
Filed under: 2022, Corinthian Earrings by Orna Willis, General comments, Needles, New Jersey Needle Festival, Other People's Designs, 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.
I was asked recently about what stitches would be good for the fur of wolves. What thread used could vary some depending on the animal but I think my response would offer good suggestions for the stitch for any animal.
Random long and short or random encroaching Gobelin-split stitch all come to mind first with two or more colors for shading (or a subtle overdyed). Regular encroaching gobelin on an angle to match direction needed would work too. Packed or Outline Stem stitch moves directionally as well. Do you have others you like?
The only animals I have done (as far as I recall) are penguins. I used Split Encroaching Gobelin of various colors and various lengths on my penguins (https://melitastitches4fun.com/2010/03/16/the-penguin-family/). I used Trio and Fuzzy Stuff. If I were to do this again (10+ years later), I would make the black more slick with different threads. I see now that my sky is vertical – I would switch that to horizontal.
Melitastitches4fun's Blog 