I’m encouraged by folks who came by yesterday at New Jersey Needle Festival & commented on how much they like this design. Thanks to Susan (Foxview Needlepoint & Rug Hooking for hosting the event), Trish with Trish Vine Designs (love my project keepers), Karen from Nimble Needle (who brought stuff I hadn’t seen in her shop!), Anne from Mrs. Stitches (I got a signed copy of her design, Florentine Fantasy, which is an advanced class she teaches in Florentine canvas embroidery, pattern couching, and basic composite filling patterns), and other vendors who brought wonderful items (I need to retire so I can stitch more)! Met new people, enjoyed old friends, learned a tad about smocking, and loved seeing all the wonderful needlework and various crafts being done in person.
It’s probably more difficult to see from the photo than in person but the sand near the surf has a slight glimmer to it because I am using Planet Earth Silk Opal (Calm 103 & Oxygen 098 with hints of brown on the beach side of the surf and Cloud 097 which is white on the ocean side of the surf) & that has sparkles throughout the thread. Then, for the dry sand I’m using Rainbow Linen (R405) which is a bit rough. I’m going to go back next & fill in open areas of the water & the sand (the open x space in the Criss Cross Hungarian pattern from SuZy’s Portable Stitches). Can you find the heart draw in the sand!?!
This was a piece I picked up at Designer’s Desk while at the 2014 ANG seminar in Chicago for Bill & mentioned previously (https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2014/08/26/golfing-husband-at-seminar/). I did not have threads in my stash to match. I almost never do even though I think I have every green! And, I realize now that DMC Perle cotton isn’t as durable as wool – which is what I should have used on my husband’s Philly key chain because it is showing significant wear.
So, I stopped at Stitch Haus (sort of on my way home from work – I am so lucky to be close to so many shops) & picked up Vineyard Merino. I had thought the canvas was 18 count but they correctly pointed out it was 14 count. Since they weren’t 100% sure Vineyard Merino would cover enough, they suggested I test it in a black area first & not pull too tightly. It is working out great. And, I love that the colors matched the canvas so exactly! The green is even named “Golf” (M-1144) for the long grass! I also picked up “English Ivy” (M-1197) for the putting green, “Straw” (M-1047) for the sand trap, “Seaport” (M-1206) for the water, and “Jet Black” (M-1111) for the silhouette of the golfer/club.
The interesting thing I noticed was that the thread wasn’t twisting (one of my usual problems with most threads). It wasn’t until I read Mary Corbet’s post about “The Needle You Need!” when I understood better about the benefits of the chenille needle that I’m using for my Gentle Waves piece. I had it out because that has such thick threads & just decided to use it for this piece because of the 14 count canvas. According to Mary, the larger eye has “more room for the thread to move around in there without getting mauled” and “Wool just works better with them. Try it!! You’ll be surprised how much easier it is to control wool thread, to keep it intact and less fuzzy, and to stitch with it in general.” I stumbled into it & now I know why the chenille needle is working so well for the golfer! I’ll have to select my needles more thoughtfully in the future.
The pencil lines indicate the area I’m going to stitch in order to make this big enough to get finished into an eye-glass case for him – for his sunglasses!! He wanted to know if it’d be done by Christmas. I said more likely that it would go to the finisher about then but I’m not paying extra to get a rush job on this – it’ll be ready by Spring golf.
I still have water on the brain. Perhaps that is due, in part, to the 2015 ANG Seminar being in Myrtle Beach!
This is the basic pattern of the water for my next original design. I saw someone use the pattern on Facebook’s Needlepoint Nation for snow and liked it immediately for water! It is the Snow 20 from Stitch Landscape which is almost identical to the Water 25 pattern except that water is completely symmetrical. No wonder I saw water even though it was “snow”! But, I prefer the asymmetrical Snow pattern because water is more unpredictable.
I practiced making a sample which I gave to our (ANG Main Line chapter) charity gift tag effort.
I tried the pattern with basketweave but the threads, Petite Facets and Kreinik Micro Ice Chenille, that I wanted to use isn’t appropriate for that stitch. The threads are too thick. But, I wanted a bumpy effect for part of the waves so I switched the stitch pattern. It was still difficult to stitch with for 2 reasons.
One, the Petite Facets didn’t go through the eye of the needle easily but occasionally it was a little easier. I thought maybe I was imagining it but that is what I just read in the tip from the Portable Stitches app (that I found quite by accident). There is a larger opening on one side of the needle making it a tad easier to go in on that side.
Two, even using a large needle (#13 tapestry), I am opening the hole in the canvas with the tip of the laying tool in order to decrease the wear on the thread especially for the Kreinik Micro Ice Chenille which sheds easily.
I also used Planet Earth Silk Opal that has little sparkles throughout which you can see better when you click on the image and see it larger.
The close-up allows you to see the variations in threads which you can see better when you click on the image and see it larger.
More gift tags! Since the ANG Main Line chapter meeting is Monday, I doubt I’ll get any more done.
Medieval Mosaic 
F-106 
Jacquard Palace Pattern 
Ribbon 
Shrubbery 1 
Sand 12 
Since I can’t remember where I found it, I don’t know the name of it. 
Nellies Needlers at Woodlawn first introduced me to gift tags when they stitched them to raise money (https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2014/03/14/woodlawn-roadtrip-2014/). So, I suggested to my ANG Mainline Stitchers that we stitch some over the next year to give to the gift shop to raise money as our next charitable project. We selected A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children where one of our members (Marnie) worked.
Marnie has volunteered to take the stitched patterns and make up the gift tags. So, these are my first tags.
This one is also going to be the basic pattern of the water for my next original design. I saw someone use the pattern on Facebook’s Needlepoint Nation for snow and liked it immediately for water! It is the Snow 20 from Stitch Landscape which is almost identical to the Water 25 pattern except that water is completely symmetrical but I prefer the asymmetrical Snow pattern because water is more unpredictable. No wonder I saw water even though it was “snow”!
Here are the rest:
Double Hungarian Ground 
Pavillion Boxes 
Original Helen’s Lace 
Checker Filling 
Tied Windmills 
Mosaic Square Modified 
Sirna Star 
Milanese 
Triple Cross I 
Byzantine 
Sand 25 
Soil 11 
These make great purse projects! Get time waiting at a doctor office, 10 minutes of lunchtime, when ever & where ever!!
Filed under: ANG Chapter Book Projects, ANG Keystone Garden Chapter, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Chapter Book Project, Jeannie's Windmills
Another season begins at ANG Main Line Stitchers tonight! I am leading the Chapter Book Project, Jeannie’s Windmills by Pat Mazu. I’ll also use my tips for my other chapter, Keystone Garden. But, they don’t need it until October. So, the timing works out great!
I had gotten most of it done before seminar but it still took 2 or 3 evenings to finish it. And, several hours today writing up my tips including lengths of threads needed for the crescents, windmills, and bargello. Now, I am all ready. Here are some of the key tips:
• A gold sparkle canvas probably would have looked pretty since a lot of canvas shows.
• I attached each bead horizontally because the bead appeared to be tipping backwards and was showing more of the beading thread than I wanted.
• There is a discrepancy and an omission in the diagram.
– The discrepancy is between the crescent placed in the upper left corner of the chart and the diagram of the crescent seen in the upper right corner of the chart. The left image shows Stitch 1 – 2 being one thread apart and an extra stitch that would be numbered Stitch 17 – 18. The diagram and how I stitched it was to allow for 2 threads to separate Stitch 1 – 2.
– The omission is that Stitch 15 – 16 is not shown in the diagram of the crescent (upper right corner).
– Batiste fabric attached just before the small crosses are added allows the threads to move from one to another without being seen.
Very bright & colorful design & not too tough to stitch.
We meet at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, on September 8 (always the second Monday of the month) at 7:15 pm. GPS: 203 North Valley Forge Road, Devon, PA. For those who can, please join us for dinner at 5:30 pm (ish) at Minella’s (320 W Lancaster Ave).
Filed under: ANG CyberPointer's Chapter, Bargello Pine Trees, Christmas Ornaments
This is a free pattern from The Caron Collection (Caron-net.com). They offer quite a few really nice ones. My ANG CyberPointer’s chapter worked on ornaments using various types of stitching. My favorite was the Bargello Pine Trees.
And, I love how it turned out. The top rows of Bargello are Fuzzy Stuff. The finisher that Nimble Needle uses added the braid and tassels to match the darker blue but for the backing used a lighter purple that matches the center top motif. Just wonderful & is in plenty of time to enjoy for the 2014 holiday season.
I got some interesting comments/input from Carole L on Facebook’s Needlepoint Nation that I wanted to share: “Just out of curiosity, since I liked this design so much, I went looking to see who the original designer of this stocking was, only to discover that this is from a 1997 McCall’s magazine! (with permission of course) I really like it, and I would not have guessed that it was an older design. Some things are just classic. They don’t mention the designer’s name, sadly, but I think from the way the intro is phrased it must be Lois Caron herself. She has some lovely designs.”
Filed under: "Faux-Berge" Orange Tree Egg by Michele Roberts, ANG Seminar 2014
I can’t say I labored on Labor Day because it was too much fun to finish “Faux-Berge” Orange Tree Egg today! My 2014 ANG Seminar Class with Michele Roberts was eggcellent & I’ll be taking it to get it finished later this week when I get an ornament that is ready for pick up.
I neglected to post this before I left. Yes, we are home (it was a great week but it’s nice to be home). I’m mostly unpacked & getting caught up on needlepoint issues.
There was so much at vendor night & I only got one booklet. Another woman returning to her room only had 2 NeedlePointers issues for $1 each. We agreed we must have been the rarity. The lines at multiple tables were lengthy even though tables had plenty of staff! Most people were buying.
Linda M from my chapter pointed me back to Mindy Patterson’s table. This was a new name for me. And, her canvases were beautiful. She’s in Oregon & her shop is Mindy’s Needlepoint Factory. But, with so much on my horizon now, I had to resist. Plus, I could have bought a dozen of them! How could I have decided?
What I got was a new release by Stitches From The Heart called A la Mode (you can see it on their website better). And, after winning 4 silent auction items, my credit card needed a rest! Now I see it is a companion to another design, Baroque – also a pretty design.
Filed under: ANG Seminar 2014
There were 824 items available at the silent auction! This included stitched/finished items, unstitched canvases, kits, leaflets, and charts. There were 70 more items at the live auction but I didn’t attend after seeing that I won four of my silent bids!
A Susan Portrait kit for a Cabachon Love heart ornament including threads and beads.
Red and Purple Antique Ornament stitched by Karen B and finished by Kristine K atBaltimore Needleworks. I save my new ornament Christmas shopping now for seminar. Do you like the ice bucket hook?
Lilly Stand Up stitched by Celia McC and finished by Karen R. This is built as a stand up piece (about 3″ sq) with a plastic base, very clever. And, it will join the other yellow stitched & non-stitched flowers in our bedroom.
And, saving the best for last is “Peonies” stitched by Jan Box and finished by Colleen B at Kathy’s Gallery. It is a lovely Or Nue piece way bigger (about 4-5″ diameter) than my first attempt. I just love the some shimmer (photo not doing it justice).
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