Thursday, November 5, 2009

WARNING: Copyright Thieves Active on Ebay

Tuesday's email was enlivened by a note from a friend about an eBay seller (apparently a Chinese company) selling copies of Peter Ashe, Danji and Leigh needlepoint canvases.  This is the seller in question in the link below.  The designs that I saw yesterday that were clear knockoffs are gone.  I imagine eBay is pretty proactive when they get complaints about copyright violation and the pieces in question are quickly pulled.
http://stores.ebay.com/18thcenturytapestriesdotcom

This isn't the first time I've seen cheap knockoffs of painted designs and it won't be the last.  If you look the seller up, they have mostly positive feedback.  But if I'd been quick enough to post this and you could have looked at the enlarged versions of the canvases in question, you would have seen how crudely they were painted.  The bottom line is, buyer beware.  Study the photographs and the descriptions very carefully and if you are at all uneasy for any reason, don't bid no matter how great the deal seems.

After all, I think copying of charts is partly responsible for the demise of Teresa Wentzler's cross stitch company which closed this week.
http://www.twdesignworks.com/xs.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Cameo Ornament: Assembly Required



Just a week after I started stitching this Gay Ann Rogers design, I have completed and cut out all three pieces, put the front flap on the front of the ornament (it lifts up to remove the cameo if required), and have made my tassels and cording to hang the ornament.  All that remains is to put it together.



Here's a photo of the flap before I cut it out and attached the cameo button.  If you have a piece of jewelry to remove, the ornament is pretty enough to hang on its own until you put the broach back.

I hope to have it finished by tomorrow.

I did want to mention a few things about the silk ribbon roses and French knots that decorate this piece.  The instructions say to do all the roses first, then all the French knots, and I discovered this makes a lot of sense.  It is easier to do all the roses and then add French knots at the end.  Your needle doesn't snag as much.  You still need to be careful, however.  There's a lot packed into a small space.

In making silk ribbon embroidery roses, you start with a star shape, and then weave the ribbon over and under the star's legs.  Like this-
http://www.embroidery-methods.com/ribbon-rose.html

Things that helped me make nice roses is to always start with a star that has an odd number of legs (3, 5, or 7 are typical for small, medium or large roses) and make sure that the legs are all the same length.  You don't want to have a longer leg peeking out when you have completely covered all the others.

I like to wind the center tightly and then wind slightly less tightly as the rose grows.  Note that the ribbon can and should twist as you wind.  That makes the "petals" fold back a bit to reveal the center.

If you discover a ribbon sticks up more than it should, don't unwind the rose.  A tiny stitch will pull it back down into position and if you are careful, will be invisible.

Use a sharp needle with a big eye, like a crewel needle, whenever possible.  I stuck with my John James #24 gold tapestry needle for my ribbon roses but a sharp needle would have pierced the ribbon on the back side easier when I accidentally sewed through some of the ribbon on the back.

French knots in ribbon are stitched the same way they are with any thread.  They look like tiny rose buds, too!

This is a very pretty project.  I am almost tempted to stitch it again in gold and red on black 18 count canvas to have a place to display a gorgeous costume jewelry ruby broach that belonged to my cousin.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow