Thursday, January 21, 2010

News and Monthly Clubs







I have a random assortment of news to mention so I'll just toss everything in this blog entry.  First, the large Thanksgiving designs from Melissa Shirley that someone saw at the trade show and greatly admired in gold frames are available to see well on this site.  Three are at the bottom of this page and the last is the top item on the next page.
http://www.stitchtherapyneedlepoint.com/newreleases.php?page=4&

Thistle Needleworks is doing a monthly club of small seasonal canvases that you are supposed to stitch from your stash.  Here are the canvases.  The ones that are stitched look like a lot of fun and Thistle says they'll work up in just a weekend.
http://thistleneedleworks.com/products/ads/OrnamentOfTheMonth.html

I've mentioned Barbara Elmore's Cinderella's Closet club that Needlenook of La Jolla is running but you must see the photos of the first six finished shoes.  (Another six will be released this year.)  Barbara, you are endlessly inventive!
http://www.needlenookoflajolla.com/events/cinderella/index.html

What's the Point? has added new models to their Santa clubs and their fur and feathers club.
http://www.whatsthepoint.biz/clubs.php

Creative Stitches and Gifts has a Raymond Crawford hat of the monthly club. You'll also want to see the lovely Betsy B ornaments that are being taught in house.  I don't know if you can take this class by mail but I think it would be a lovely option.
http://www.creativestitchesandgifts.com/

A Stitch in Time Needlework has released their newest "pail" club. This year they are doing a child's bucket full of eggs.  They still offer last year's bucket of hearts and also have a nice Christmas ornament club from Kelly Clark.
http://www.needlepoint-knitting.com/los_angeles/index.php

My last monthly club is from The Needlepointer, who offer miniature houses to build your own stitched village.
http://www.theneedlepointer.com/monthly_clubs.php

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

Counting Threads (Or Holes?) With Tony


I mentioned a day or two back that I have several small painted canvas projects I plan to work over the next several months before I tackle another large project and that I also want to work another charted piece.  I've always wanted to work Tony Minieri's "Stars for the New Millennium" and actually started the framework for the star quilt blocks 4-5 years ago, but put it down and never picked it back up again.  So that is what I plan to work on between painted canvases.

Before I show you links to the design, I should mention I got a nice note with tips on stitching counted thread designs from Gini this week which she's allowed me to post here.  She wrote:

"You mentioned that you have a tendency to come up short by one when you count holes. Here's how to prevent that. The first hole is 0, not 1. In effect that means you're counting threads, but I find that it's easier to count because your needle just naturally wants to count the holes as it slips off the thread and into the hole. Put your needle into the hole where you want to start counting. That's 0. Then begin counting with the next hole as 1. You'll come out correctly because each time you increment the number, you've moved over a single thread.


Now, just to confuse things, if you're working from a cross stitch chart, each square represents 2 threads each way... But I begin counting (hole 0) just above and to the left of where a vertical ground thread is on the top of the intersection and count each second hole.

Hope those tips help."



I am sure they will!  Thank you, Gini.  I'll see how this works as I get into Stars.  For those who aren't familiar with this design, the 96 page booklet has alternate colorways listed that Tony's students tried as he taught this at The Edwardian Needle.  Here is his original model, done in greens, purples, and ivory with a touch of yellow.  I've seen several colorways in person but this one is magnificent and my favorite! The photos of the booklet cover don't do it justice.

Here are several other color schemes.  I believe all are from the lists in his chart book.  They are lovely, aren't they?


Locally the Scarlet Thread stitching group is working on this project.  Sara Leigh is blogging about their progress, starting approximately January 11th.  Good luck, everyone!  I'm sure you'll move faster than I will since it won't be my only project.

I'll talk about my Stars color scheme once I've introduced my SharonG camo lingerie set and started working on it.


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