Several blocks required the the use of alternating threads which meant keeping 2 needles working. Since I prefer to finish out a thread, this was good practice. I don’t know why I haven’t been using 2 needles more often before this row but it seemed to go well enough that I’ll keep it up as I move to row 11.
Block 5 (from the right) required some careful ripping using tweezers. The dark Kreinik 061 had to come out because the checker board effect was so prominent that your eye was drawn to that one square.
Starting with the block on the right (#1) moving to the left (#19), I used the following threads (1 strand unless noted):
1 – Bella Lusso 764, Au Ver A Soie 100/3 SMS 499 (2 strands), and Pepper Pot Silk 018
2 – Entice E239 and Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1009 (2 strands)
3 – Needlepoint Inc Silk 502 and Needlepoint Inc Silk 503
4 – Pepper Pot Silk 017
5 – Elegance E820 and Kreinik #8 Braid 5505
6 – Kreinik #8 Braid 5505 and Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1005 (2 strands)
7 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 and Bella Lusso 764 (2 strands)
8 – Soie d’ Alger 4624 (2 strands) and Entice E239
9 – Elegance E820 and Au Ver A Soie 100/3 SMS 499
10 – Silk Lame Braid Petite SP08 and Splendor S1005
11 – Bella Lusso 764 (2 strands) and Splendor S820 (2 strands)
12 – Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1005 (2 strands) and 239 and Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1009
13 – Soie d’ Alger 4624 (2 strands) and Kreinik #8 Braid 003V
14 – Au Ver A Soie 100/3 SMS 499 (2 strands) and Kreinik #8 Braid 061
15 – Bella Lusso 764
16 – Silk Lame Braid Petite SP08 and Splendor S1005 (2 strands)
17 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 (1 ply) and Kreinik #8 Braid 5505
18 – Needlepoint Inc Silk 502 (2 strands) and Needlepoint Inc Silk 503 (2 strands)
19 – Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1009 (2 strands)
Last year, my ANG Keystone Garden chapter offered Christmas Diamonds as a project. I hadn’t done a piece by Kurdy Biggs before. So, I decided to do it but didn’t get to it until now. There are 3 different designs in the Needlepoint Now November/December 2015 issue.
This is the first diamond with my colors on a white canvas with silver sparkles. I added some small (3mm) silver bugle beads and did the beads a little differently than diagrammed. And, I used smaller size beads inside the border Jessicas because the 11 beads overcrowded the Jessicas. The smaller beads fit much better. For alternating Jessicas, I used 5 dark sead beads and then 4 light Delica and a 5th dark sead bead on top. I finished the beads in the border during my Saturday afternoon with my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter (always the 4th Saturday at Starbucks on Lancaster Ave in Wayne, PA from 11 am to 3 pm).
The threads are Kreinik #4 Braid 1432, Entice E248, Silk Lame Braid Petite SP118, Splendor S988, and Treasure Braid TR277. The beads are Miyuki Delica Beads 15/0 DBS0166 and Sundance Beads Size 11 and Size 14/15 Color 327P; the beading thread is from Sundance too in Teal and Turquoise colors.
Discontinued Kreinik colors and suggested substitutions (NM means no close match)
It didn’t take too long to find discontinued threads: 051C, 032C, 086C, 088C, 034, 042, 664, and 2094 (not all are pictured). I marked them so I know they can’t be replaced.
A few of my ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter members are stitching this Alice Peterson canvas, Winter Scene Sleigh. We’re using the painted canvas as a learning experience as we’ve been doing with other painted canvas. We discuss the differences between two stitch guides. I’m selecting my own stitches and threads.
Not wanting to make the green shadow near the sleigh more prominent, I used Water N’ Ice WT1, a translucent, loosely braided, flat ribbon which allowed less of the green shows through. Since the reflective surface shows better with long stitches, I selected an alternating slanted gobelin over 4. Good thing I had multiple cards of Water N’ Ice because I’m going through it like water. It frays like crazy. I pulled out my Thread Zap II to seal the ends with moderate improvement. Now that I’m done, I found a tip from Julia Snyder on Facebook, “If you will thread the loop through your needle and make the loop large enough to slide over the point of the needle, then pull the longer tail. This will put a slip knot on the eye of the needle and it makes it so much easier to work with.”
The packages were fun and a bit challenging.
- The beige present is a woven stitch with Flair F503 and the green bow has DMC #8 Perle tent and reverse tent covered by Neon Rays+ NP135 (longer stitches for the bow).
- The green present is an overlaid cross with Bella Lussa 630 (from Sandra Arthur’s Series I, Rectangle 4×8 adjusted to size). It has a white strip which is a horizontal spring stitch using Snow 09 Silver (from Sandra Arthur’s Series I, Rectangle 2×6 adjusted to size). And, the bow is a tied piece of Flair F593 tacked down with 1 ply of Splendor S891.
- The blue present is a diagonal weave couching with Impressions 7072 (from Sandra Arthur’s Series I, Rectangle 7×2 adjusted to size). The bow is a combination of tent and lazy daisy using Kreinik #16 Braid 060.
- The red present is a square scotch with tent, and gobelin edges using Elegance E820, Kreinik #8 Braid 061, and Bella Lusso 764, respectively. And, reverse scotch uses 1 strand of Bijoux 429 Jasper. The stitch pattern comes from Sandra Arthur’s Series I, Square 8×8 adjusted to size. The bow is tent stitch covered twice (a few longer stitches) using Fyre Werks F34.
The packages sit in a gray sleigh consisting of Vineyard Dilk Shimmer 536 and 535 using the Herringbone Ground I from Julia Snyder’s Keys to Canvas Embellishment. It creates a beveled effect that I like for body of the sleigh. The metal runners are a single long thread of Kreinik 1/16″ ribbon 005HL with a running stitch along the center to hold it in place. The ribbon spread out nicely to cover 2 canvas threads.
It’s all much more sparkly than the picture shows.
This is such a fun way to do a stitch sampler.
Starting with the block on the right (#1) moving to the left (#11), I used the following threads (1 strand unless noted):
1 – Bella Lusso 764 and Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1005
2 – Splendor S820 (2 strands) and Kreinik #8 Braid 421
3 – Pepper Pot Silk 017 (1 ply) and Elegance E820
4 – Bella Lusso 764 and Needlepoint Inc Silk 502 (2 strands)
5 – Au Ver A Soie 100/3 SMS 499 (2 strands) and Entice E239
6 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 (2 plys, not laid) and Kreinik #8 Braid 003V
7 – Needlepoint Inc Silk 503 (2 strands)
8 – Kreinik #8 Braid 5505, Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1009 (2 strands), Elegance E820
9 – Soie d’ Alger 4624 (2 strands) and Kreinik #8 Braid 003V
10 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 (2 plys laid) and Silk Lame Braid Petite SP08
11 – Splendor S1005 (2 strands) and Splendor S820 (2 strands)
Filed under: Uncategorized
Still enjoying the various stitch patterns. Good thing because I have lots more to do!
Starting with the block on the right (#1) moving to the left (#11), I used the following threads (1 strand unless noted):
1 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 (2 plys) and Splendor S820 (2 strands)
2 – Planet Earth 6 Ply Silk 1009 (2 strands) and Kreinik #8 Braid 061
3 – Needlepoint Inc Silk 503 (3 strands), Silk Lame Braid Petite SP08, and Splendor S1005
4 – Needlepoint Inc Silk 502 (3 strands) and Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1005 (2 strands)
5 – Elegance E820 and Splendor S820 (2 strands)
6 – Bella Lusso 764 and Kreinik #8 Braid 5505
7 – Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1005 (2 strands) and Planet Earth 6 ply Silk 1009 (2 strands)
8 – Soie d’ Alger 4624 (2 strands) and Kreinik #8 Braid 003V
9 – Au Ver A Soie 100/3 499 (2 strands) and Elegance E820
10 – Pepper Pot Silk 018 (1 ply) and Pepper Pot Silk 018 (1 ply) and
11 – Bella Lusso 764
Filed under: Beading and Ribbon-Sandy Arthur, General comments, Needlepoint Shops, Other People's Designs, Rittenhouse Needlepoint, Threads
What a great 2 days I had with Sandy Arthur at Rittenhouse Needlepoint. We worked with beads the first day and ribbons the second day. These are the first classes that I have taken since Rittenhouse moved. The classroom is well lit, seats were cushioned, and overhead projector was useful. Very nice room. And, Russell’s homemade breads are delicious!
We covered quite a few of techniques which Sandy Arthur has perfected. So, when you look at my samples, don’t look too close and remember that I haven’t done a lot of bead or ribbon work before and time was limited (5 hours each of 2 days). Using beads was easier for me.
We learned multiple ways to attach single beads and multiple beads. Basketweave beading was tricky – really had to focus. We covered a felted ball with beads and a wooden bead with thread.
There wasn’t enough time in class to try everything in Sandy’s handouts. So, I played with the leftover beads and made a butterfly. And, the flower on the lower left corner allowed me to practice Line stitching with the green beads and Lazy Daisy stitches.
We learned the Japanese Ribbon Stitch, Ribbon Roses, Wrapped Stitch, Lazy Daisy Stitch, Gathering with Running Stitch, Ruching, and other techniques with no particular name.
I learned a lot in both classes. Sandy knows her stuff and teaches it well. As with anything, it needs practice to show improvement. That’s why a doodle canvas or the 2″ border of a canvas is good for practicing.
Filed under: ANG Delaware's Seashore Chapter, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Threads
I was very appreciative of being invited to join the ANG Delaware Seashore chapter to lead my Chapter Project Book piece called Overdyed Spools. These ladies didn’t “need” me as they are very accomplished stitchers. Before getting started on Spools, I shared a lesson on overdyed threads that I prepared back in 2013 for my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter. It included some information from June McKnight’s book about how colors of overdyed threads can get clumpy (left photo), stitching randomly eliminates that best (center photo), and tweeding or stitching by reversing the thread can help unless as with this double brick stitch the colors fall together (blue in the center of right photo). Her book, Shading and Thread Blending Techniques for Needlepoint, has lots more information on the subject.
I also brought stitched pieces using all overdyed threads that I selected for a Kathy Rees piece called Spirit of Jean; https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/category/ang-correspondence-courses/spirit-of-jean-by-kathy-rees/ which demonstrated how I manipulated overdyed threads to have the color repeat in the same places along the Smyrna border, within the Amadeus stitches, and triangular waffles.
My Purple Mountains Majesty (https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/category/melitas-designs/purple-mountains-majesty/) used a single overdyed thread with 3 colors which I stitched in a particular stitch pattern to get the color to fall where I wanted it to.
And, my newest and as yet unrevealed design using a combination of overdyed and solid threads where I manipulated the overdyed threads by cutting them specifically to fall in certain areas. That’ll be going to Seminar in Houston!
Then, we had fun looking for the repeating color pattern of various skeins of Watercolors. Even within several different dye lots of Lilac there were variations. So, several women’s skeins were particularly difficult to find the pattern. And, one we gave up on & we swapped it out for an extra skein.
There are differences in the Spools as originally stitched and Spools restitched. I widened Areas A & C. Therefore, the spools themselves are smaller in the restitched version (https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/category/melitas-designs/spools/). I did find an error in Diagram 2 of Overdyed Spools.
Their Cheer Community Center (20520 Sandhill Rd, Georgetown, DE) has a nice little cafeteria (great tuna fish). Good lighting in the room – no steps to go up or down. They meet the first Monday of the month from 10 am – 2 pm. Visit their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Delawares-Seashore-Chapter-of-the-American-Needlepoint-Guild-ANG-209178456136131/) or you can email them at delawaresseashorechapter@needlepoint.org . It was another fun time visiting my seashore neighbors!
This year, my husband and I waited to go to Woodlawn until the last weekend in March and had some nice weather in Alexandria, VA. We arrived Friday and walked up and down King Street. Saturday was a really spectacular day for spring. So, we strolled around the Farmer’s Market before heading to Woodlawn.
As usual, the pieces were wonderful. The ones that I have stitched or ones that I own and want to stitch is one category of needlepoint that I love to see there. It’s also been great fun to watch all the members from the ANG New Jersey Needle Artists chapter submit the same design in different colorways. I love seeing pieces submitted by people I know or designed by people I know. And, getting to see such beautiful cross stitch makes me want to pull out some of those pieces that I have in my stash. I’m always in awe of people who stitch on really small count, 32, 40, and gauze! So, I basically I really enjoyed seeing just about everything.
There were about 360 judged entries this year. But, there was also exhibits by Richard Saja in French and English toile (which is cloth with a part of the design being embroidered), Catherine Hicks displayed her embroidery of various portraits, and The Washington DC Chapter of the Embroiderer’s Guild of America who is celebrating their 45th anniversary by displaying pieces entered into previous Woodlawn shows. So, lots of fantastic needlepoint on display.
I enjoyed seeing Deborah Merrick-Wilson demonstrating goldwork. My second goldwork class was with her. I ran into her a couple of years ago too. Couldn’t time my visits to better if I tried!
And, Elise B’s punch needle display of her embroidery and punch needle pieces were interesting. You can see them on her etsy shop or website under TheComptoir. Reminded me of the toile work displayed upstairs.
Carole B from NJ who used to be in my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter submitted a couple of pieces including Jewels of the Tsars by Sue Reed. And, her piece in the box is a finial from a Tony Mineri mystery class (can be seen in Photo 3).
A Catherine Jordan design was done by Heather Lynn G, a member of my ANG Keystone Garden chapter. She painted the river and stitched a forest very similar to Catherines’s Birches on the River.
There were 2 Gay Ann Roger’s pieces called Queen Victoria Royal Bride (by Marian S) and Eleanor of Aquitaine (by Donna P) were lovely. Marian also stitched Day Into Night by Judy Souliotis which is stunning.
I think I missed one of the Stars of the New Millennium (a Tony Minieri design) (a docent said 9 were from NJNA including Mally, Sylvia, Nancy, Joan, Andrea, Barbara, Linda, Rosie and 1 from Mary W from VA). It would have been nice to see them all together in a room. The colorways were all great combinations. Two of these are shown in Photo 4 (upper right corner) and Photo 6 (top). Speaking of NJNA, Cathryn C stitched a beautiful canvas of gold which reminded me of Golden Friends by Toni Gerdes. I’ll have to find out that designer. And, Dee L stitched from the 2013 ANG Chapter Project Book called Starburst by Patricia Hartman which is another piece I’ve got to stitch. Carole B led that project and stitched it for my ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter (another WIP for me).
Laura Perin’s wreath was made into a round but flat (1 & 1/2″ thick) pillow (Janice M). Another one in my stash to do. Speaking of pillows, there was a bargello insert for a bolster pillow. Both were finished well and differently from the usual puffy pillow.
Every one couldn’t help but comment on the 3 dimensional cat (stumpwork) which raised the face off the canvas as it moved toward a totally detached left ear. And, Kristy G used real cat whiskers from her own cat!
The other animal show stopper was an adorable dog which got Bill’s vote (by Kris P). It was cross stitch on 32 count (?) & had so many colors including blues, grays, and black that could only be seen with a flashlight. Speaking of voting, mine went to Junior entry Nathalie S who stitched an exceptionally beautiful goldwork piece that I later found out was a Deborah Merrick-Wilson design and had been taught by Deborah. It is a strawberry, leaves, and a couple of raised flowers. Deborah said it was better than the model! Great praise and wonderful to see a 14-17 year old taking up the craft with such expertise. Another variation of that design was in the EGA room. Both of the pieces we voted for can be seen in Photo 1:
Kurdy Biggs’ large stocking (she designed and stitched it) had a large cuff the shape of home plate of a baseball field bedazzled with beads of all shapes and sizes on an amazing white bumpy fabric that looked really soft (I did not touch). It might be her design called All That Glitters. Kurdy’s is in the center of Photo 2.
Toni Gerdes’ Bronze Purse (by Betty Jo S) reminds me I have to decide what to do with mine. It’s stitched but not finished. Love it but afraid to use it as a clutch bag. So, I’m undecided about what to do with it.
I also could have easily voted for the white dandelion flower on a 12″ hoop done on gauze (Ausra M). French knots in the center, double dark brown threads going into them, and surrounded by single white threads. They displayed it hanging to get the effect of it floating in the air. No wonder it was sold (for $195).
Chris Louden (center of Photo 3), Donna LaBranch (bottom left of Photo 4), and Norma Hiller (center of Photo 5) all stitched a similar but different design called Holiday Patches by Sue Kerndt design. All the motifs are the same except 3 to 4 and colors change (Christmas, maps, and birds). Love these (it’s going to be added to my stash soon)! And, Norma stitched Rachel Atkinson’s Gordian Knot. Always love seeing that piece (on the right side of the mantelpiece with the stockings in Photo 2).
Gail Stafford’s Dusting of Snow (by Susan B) was fun to see because I will be taking that as a class with Gail and some of my ANG Keystone Garden chapter members in June. It’s the one on the right in Photo 3.
This year I saw another Angel of Hope, designer Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum (stitched by Margaret P). This is the same angel that I stitched for my sister, Anita. The frame is fantastic!
My Crescent Journey was at the top of the stairs (in a good sunny spot) at the bottom in Photo 6. I did not get a ribbon but I did get a good critique (first year that was offered and worth $25). The piece falls into the Canvaswork: Multi-Stitch (4+) Adult Original Design category of which there were only 4 entries and only Kurdy Biggs got Honorable Mention for her stocking!
Another change is we are allowed to take photos but not close up to a piece. So, I have included a couple of photos.
The design, Golden Friends by Toni Gerdes, fit (almost) into the opening of a Lee purse that I have had for quite some time (years). The design was created for the Golden Needle Society of the American Needlepoint Guild.
The outer edge of the cubes are not seen but it’s ok. I really enjoyed stitching the laid fillings in the upper right and bottom left corners (the bibliography cites Jean Taggert’s Laid Fillings for even weave fabrics which I own but haven’t explored yet).
Since I put the piece in a purse, I buried the needle pretty well (especially the pointed tip) and even attached it through the eye. It’s in the upper right corner and represents “how are needlework friends are woven into our lives through membership and participation in the American Needlepoint Guild at the national level and in our local chapters”.
I plan to use the purse for Seminar and chapter events starting with my visit to ANG Delaware Seashore chapter on Monday, April 1. I got it finished yesterday thanks to watching the winning Phillies Home Opener (great game)! The purse was done just in the nick of time. We head to Woodlawn (for the needlepoint exhibit) and then to Rehoboth Beach (for an Overdyed Spools class, shopping at their new needlepoint shop called Stitch-Stash and the outlets, and play some par 3 golf).
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