Filed under: ANG Needle Pointer's Article, Flying Cranes Wedding Kimono by Lee
This kimono, Lee’s Flying Cranes Wedding Kimono, was part of an article published in Needle Pointer’s magazine (Mar/Apr 2020 issue). It was compared by a certified judge to a basketweave stitched canvas of the same design. It’s an interesting discussion if you have not read it. Needle Pointers is a publication for ANG members and well worth joining ANG just for the magazine (6 issues per year)!
It is a 16 count canvas which I hadn’t stitched on before. It felt like stitching on 18 count. The magazine goes into how I applied batiste fabric to the back before couching the golden clouds.
For the background, I selected Trebizond TRA 401 Red (& needed 2 spools). The stitch, Huck Toweling, came from June McKnight’s Backgrounds. She said is resembles a homespun fabric. It was as easy to stitch as she said it would be. And, it was open enough that I could stitch over the swirls and go back later and see where to stitch the swirls. Loved it.
One of Amy Bunger stitch guides and a Facebook post from Nancy Laux with Needle House in Houston recommended piercing Kreinik #16 Braid in the middle to better make curves in needlepoint. I used Kreinik #4 Braid to pierce. Both 017HL. It is a wonderful alternative to the typical couching technique.
The mat was cut out specifically to the shape of the kimono by Dave at Romeo’s Fine Arts in Lansdale, PA. He did a great job!
I was going to submit it to the ANG Seminar exhibit this year which would have ended yesterday and we’d be returning home today. But, as with most events, it was canceled due to coronavirus. By next year, I will probably have something different to submit. So, I will post this now.
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Vases with Curly Bamboo by Sharon G
This is the Cinnamon vase, the 5th and final vase! I love this canvas, Vases with Curly Bamboo. And, I have been very happy with the stitch guide from Sharon G.
This vase once again was stitched lightly enough to allow the shading of the painted canvas to show through. It’s a composite stitch using Gloriana 151 Cinnamon, 2 strands of Bijoux 428 Amber, and Sundance #14 Beads 462D.
The top band, bow, and base use a combination of Kreinik #4 Braid 005 and 002. Couching with Kreinik Cord 005C was used to bundle 5 strands of Kreinik #4 for the bow. And, a long stitch of Kreinik 1/16th ribbon was laid in the top gold band before couching with Kreinik #4 Braid.
This month, we will discuss the background and borders. Again, my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter meet via Zoom.
Between coronavirus and heat, staying at home isn’t a problem. Thanks to AC and Kurdy Biggs, I got busy building a design.
The design in my previous post had too many small Fluer-de-lis crescents in the left quadrant. So, I replaced them with Rhodes stitches. And, I changed the six small diamond patterns. I like it much better now.
One of the points of this class is to show balance within a piece using color. Stitch choices don’t have to be this symmetrical. So, I designed another diamond. This time I did not turn two of the side diamonds causing two small and two large motifs to form at the very center. I do like the cluster of Fluer-de-lis crescents around the center. And, I like the focus of each diamond being the same. The top one is all partial Jessicas, right is Rhodes, bottom is full Jessicas, left is Sprats. Each diamond is therefore very symmetrical which I really do like!
But, the rectangles do not align and the six small diamond patterns are all aligned horizontally. Neither aspect made me happy. So, I rotated the right and left diamonds. Now, I lost the cluster of Fluer-de-lis crescents around the center which I am ok with since I am trying to get a little less symmetrical with the stitches. However, there is a horizontal band of crescents. Maybe I better go outside for fresh air and stop sniffing the glue (just kidding)! The possibilities with these shapes are endless.
Lesson 2 is coming out August 1 or 2. So, I’ll wait before making any new designs until I read whatever is next.
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Vases with Curly Bamboo by Sharon G
This is a Sharon G painted canvas, Vases with Curly Bamboo.
Two colors of Gloriana (082 and 157) matched the canvas color making the shading more apparent. I wonder if it would have been a more subtle color shift to use the light colored thread over the whole vase and allow the canvas to show through although there might not be enough canvas showing. Another Gloriana (116) for the leaves with a Kreinik for the center vein.
Using split stitch with 3 colors of Silk Lame Braid for 18 count (SL35, 36, 37) really made the curly Bamboo turn out great. I learned that the ridges along the stalks are growth rings. They are 2 stands of Kreinik #4 Braid 002 and 005. And, Lazy Daisy for the ends for the tiny sprouting leaves.
And, another two Silk Lame Braid for 18 count (SL 24 and 26) for the flowers. I didn’t think Kreinik #4 Braid (002) would work for French Knots in the center but it did. No problem using 2 strands of Gloriana (156) for the rest of the French Knots.
Our ANG Main Line chapter members are enjoying the opportunity to see the approach to the canvas from the different stitch guide writers even though they are not stitching the piece. We discuss the next vase July 13 via Zoom which is going quite well because I can crop photos on particular areas for the comparisons to other stitched canvases.
Luckily, online classes are keeping me busy. Kurdy Biggs began Build Your Own Geometric with Lesson 1 on July 1. There will be weekly lessons for a month.
We were given a template to follow and shapes of about 2 dozen stitch patterns to cut out. Using a glue stick, we place stitches wherever we want. Fun!!
I made all the large and small points the same. I placed two designs in the six center motifs and did that the same in each diamond. Then, I decided to vary the rest of the large and small fills and rectangles from diamond to diamond.
Making the colors consistent while varying the stitches will add a cohesiveness and balance to the various motifs. Since this design is a little too much of the same in each smaller diamond, I will make another crack at the design.
Filed under: Uncategorized
I had hoped to get another band done before posting but decided that I really need more Silk Lame Braid Petite. So, here are Bands 4 and 22 in the overdyed Waterlilies with the last cross in Bijoux MMT441. The Scotch stitches are Splendor S809. Band 22 is from the stitch patterns that Kathy Rees provided in one of her classes. And, Band 4 is a variation of Square of Scotch with Tie of a Windmill from Sandra Arthur’s Shapes of Needlepoint series 1, page 67.
They tie into Bands 10 and 16 with the threads used but are larger. And, because I used the dark Splendor from the center band for the corner Scotch stitches, it ties the design to the center and as well.
Filed under: Canvas Master Craftsman Program, Embroidery Guild of America, Step 2
For Step 2 of the Canvas Master Craftsman Certification Program through EGA, I was tasked with a provided geometric design of 21 areas to be done in an analogous colorway using 21 different stitches in cotton floss. Some stitch patterns could accommodate 2 or 3 colors.
I selected Yellow, Yellow-Green, and Green for my analogous colorway (3 adjacent colors on the color wheel including a primary color; tints and shades allowed). There are a lot of greens. So many that you’d think it would be easy to get colors to look good together. But, it was tough. Not all of the first 15 colors worked.
So, I decreased the number of colors to 11 (5 yellow, 3 yellow-green, and 3 green), replaced one color, and spread out the colors relying on the 5 yellow colors to unify the design.
I mapped out the stitch patterns by area on my computer to minimize the amount of compensation because none of the stitches fit perfectly (probably by intention to test compensation ability). I thought I had everything where I wanted them but then realized I was off by 2 threads when I actually transferred the design to the canvas.
So, back to decide what went where. Only about 6 stitch patterns shifted. And, everything compensated better. A
After some practice stitching to settle on the number of threads needed for a stitch, I finally started stitching the real piece. The only section I had to restitch was the Turkey Work. As I worked from bottom to top, the nap of the threads were pressed downward. So, I didn’t notice that the coverage wasn’t as full as I expected when it was fluffed up. I used 2 strands in the left area and 6 strands (as Mary Corbet suggests in her YouTube video). Much better! At least the stitching was easy to remove from the backside.
I was once again thrilled to find out that I passed with distinction and have been asked to send this for display at EGA National Seminar in 2021 along with Step 1 which would have been going to EGA National Seminar this year except that it was canceled due to coronavirus.
A few threads at the outside right portion of the Turkey work would benefit from additional trimming but overall is “good” (although it could have been squished in transit). I was particularly pleased to have the judges note the “very good” compensation between multiple areas and threads were laid well.
On to Step 3 and diaper patterns!
Read all about the program at https://egausa.org/certifications/master-craftsman-program/.
I finished the counted project begun with my ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter. It is ANG’s Stitch of the Month (SOTM) from 1999, Barbara’s Patchwork. We decided to hand out the remaining 3 sections last month since people had time to stitch. Several of us have finished now and we enjoyed seeing the various colorways.
The final stitched area is 5″ x 5″.
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Vases with Curly Bamboo by Sharon G
This is a Sharon G painted canvas, Vases with Curly Bamboo.
Using single strands of Gloriana Silk Floss 018 Teal Twilight allowed the canvas to show through a lot. The overdyed effect of the thread is very subtle and you almost don’t see it. The Bijoux 480 Regalia is more evident in the Hungarian Variation (over 2, 4, 2).
I especially liked her suggestion to stitch right over the dragonfly so that the vase would show through the sheer wings. The wings are long stitches raying out from the body using Kreinik Cord 034C Confetti. Sharon recommended a black vein down the center of each wing but I prefer the iridescent effect. The black Kreinik Japan thread 110J was very nice to work with and was couched with Kreinik Cord 005C. Both are smooth and reflect a little light but are not sparkly like most Kreinik threads.
She gave us #5 gold beads that I thought were just too big and too gold. So, I went into my stash and found a more muted yellow-gold semi translucent bead in 2 sizes with the larger one used on the head and smaller ones along the body (probably 8/0 and 11/0 round beads). And, two Sundance 455 beads are the eyes.
These vases are working up quite nicely. I’m very happy that the shading on the vases are not entirely covered up. This vase has a more open effect than the past 2 vases and Amy Bunger’s third vase has the most coverage of her 3 vases. And, Tony Minieri’s stitches are covering most of the canvas as they did the first 2 vases.
Our ANG Main Line chapter members are enjoying the opportunity to see the approach to the canvas from the different stitch guide writers even though they are not stitching the piece.
Last month’s meeting went well via Zoom. Everyone enjoyed getting together. So, we’re going to keep going on Zoom until we can meet in person. To see the needlepoint best for Show and Tell, people sent me their photos and then I shared my screen. And, at this month’s meeting tonight on June 8, we’ll be looking at the 4th vase, the gold one.
Filed under: ANG Cyberworshop, Making Stitches Work For You with Carolyn Mitchell
I continue to make progress and have added 6 more bands 5-6-7 on top and 19-20-21 on bottom. This is an update on my symmetrical band sampler from the Making Stitches Work For You class with Carolyn Mitchell that has ended now.
Bands 7 and 19 are both over 6 canvas threads using the key thread, an overdyed purple thread (Waterlilies 006 Amethyst). In order to see the pattern of the stitch, I used just 2 stands. These are both cross stitch patterns from The Encyclopedia of Canvas Embroidery Stitch Patterns by Katharine Ireys. Band 7 is Triple Cross Variation over 6 and Band 19 is Brazilian Variation over 6.
Bands 6 and 20 are both padded with an oblong cross using 2 strands of Planet Earth Silk 6-ply Palm Beach 1126. There are straight stitches over top on Band 6 and oblong crosses over top on Band 20 using Bijoux MMT423 (from Sherlee Lantz/Maggie Lane A Pageant of Pattern for Needlepoint Canvas and Sandy Arthur Shapes of Needlepoint Series 1, respectively). Little oblong crosses are in between each padded oblong cross using Splendor S864.
I came across two different but related stitches in two resources. Band 5 came from Lone Star’s Grab -n- Go Stitches which are unnamed but I am calling a Reverse Leviathan because Band 21 is called Leviathan in The Encyclopedia of Canvas Embroidery Stitch Patterns by Katharine Ireys. The rays either go toward the center or towards the corners. I used the same threads as in Bands 6 and 20.
I like how the diamond shapes are carrying throughout the bands.
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