Sunday, August 23, 2009

Gossip Central


Before I forget, Pat C. told the ANG list about an interview with Kaffee Fassett which you can see by clicking on the link in the Kay Fassett studio newsletter. I have not heard it yet since I use a Mac at home but trust me--this will be inspirational.

Amy Bunger has tweeted that Kelly Clark will be on her newest DVD due out in December/January. This lesson will be about woven stitches and stitches that look woven. You may be familiar with the Kelly Clark seasonal basket designs. I'm sure you'll see some of the techniques used to create these on the Amy DVD.

Here are the basket canvases unstitched.

Details of how Michele stitched the Christmas basket.


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

Review: Ashland Sky Bags



Last week I received a surprise in the mail--three Ashland Sky bags!

These are the new travel project bags that Leigh Designs distributes. They just came on the market last spring and no one in my area carries them yet. So Leigh Richardson kindly sent some for me to see and describe to you. First, check out the Leigh Designs website to see the colors and sizes. My set is red but they come in seven other colors. You can choose your favorite color, color match a set of bags so you know Project A's stuff is in the black and Project B's stuff is in the purple so you grab the right set when you are rushing to the car, or match colors to your luggage. Or today's hair color. LOL

The shoulder handle bags are huge. I included a blue ruler in the photo to give you a sense of scale, but I was astounded to see when I checked the Leigh website that the bag with the handle in the photo above is the smaller size of handled bag! Mine is 20x20 inches but the larger bag is 18x24, so it is longer but less tall than the one in the photograph. Most any project will fit in the handled shoulder bags. I certainly don't have any projects waiting in the wings that won't fit in my 20x20 inch shoulder bag.

The two bags without handles are called the Project Pouch (9x12 inches) and the Gadget Sack (5x6 inches). These bags are meant for travel and temporary storage of projects. I rarely travel but I will certainly keep my current canvas on its stretcher bars in my shoulder handle bag. I'll use the Project Pouch for all the threads I pulled for the project and the Gadget Sack for the threads I'm currently using. I'll be able to zip up everything safely, and put the smaller sacks inside the large one on the coffee table shelf next to my stitching chair where the dogs and the cat can't get at it and where everything is together when I have a few minutes to stitch.

These are meant for travel, however. Each bag has a zipper that runs all across the top. There won't be any problem getting a canvas on stretcher bars inside a large bag whose zipper is a lot smaller than the width of the bag, in other words. The back of all the solid color bags is a heavy rip-proof nylon. The front is a heavy frosted see-through vinyl that won't be easily torn. ( I think the pink/clear and black/clear versions have the frosted vinyl on the front and back and the colored nylon just at the top where the zipper is.) Carrying these onto a plane or packing them in a suitcase means airline security can see things without having to open the bag.

The handle on my shoulder bag looks very sturdy. I don't think it will pull off easily when I'm carrying a lot of stash in it. And you know we all need to take lots with us to places like the upcoming ANG and EGA Seminars!

I discovered when playing with the sturdy zipper that these bags are air-tight. I had to "burp" air out of the bag before zipping it totally shut. This means I can zip my current project inside and not worry about spilling coffee on it one morning, but on the other hand, that means I will trap moisture inside the bag. I wouldn't use the Ashland Sky bags for long term storage in my humid climate, especially this time of year. In the winter it wouldn't matter but as I plan to be constantly taking things out of or putting them into my bags, this isn't a consideration for me even this week when the humidity is 100% the entire week and I wake up to morning fog and afternoon downpours. However, these are probably not be the best long-term storage solution for projects. I think an old pillowcase is still the best container for projects I won't touch for 6 months or more. I'd keep something inside an Ashland Sky bag untouched for a while with the zipper partly open, but not long term. If you live in a very dry climate, these are probably safe storage bags for a longer time than I'd feel comfortable using them, however.

Leigh Designs says the price is reasonable for the quality but since they only sell wholesale, the cost will depend on your shop's pricing. I Googled a bit and found that knit shops sell these from $7-21 plus tax depending on the size. I can't find them in stock online in any needlepoint shops yet but they are pretty new. The company that makes the bags is based in Oregon. Some of the sales price is donated to breast cancer research according to their website. It sounds like a socially responsible company and travel bags that aren't awfully expensive, even if you want all four sizes. After all, these bags will last a long time and will be easy to clean.

It's a great product in my opinion, as long as you use the bags for travel or short term storage. I wouldn't keep anything in them for a long uninterrupted period but these bags will have daily use in Chilly Hollow.

Many thanks to Leigh and Robert Richardson for sharing samples with me for review and evaluation.

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

Lazy Florals for the Glittering Kimono


Last night I finished the July stitch for Tony Minieri's Stitch of the Month Project. Glittering Kimono's instructions are at the link below, in case you want to look at the July stitch which I just finished or the August stitch which I started last night.

August goes on the right sleeve and continues below the cuff. In the photo above that's the cuff on the top of the photo. There's also a small section that is under the obi swirl (I think the scarf-like piece around the kimono itself is the obi). Compensation is certainly something you have to practice on this piece!

I found myself mentally figuring out whether I should continue the pattern on either side of the sleeve or just try to get as much of the pattern in a tiny space as possible. I don't think there is a right answer to this problem. You have to judge what you think looks nice and also how strange it will look to have the same stitch in two or more different spots on the same design if the pattern doesn't continue as if the thing that breaks it up isn't there. In this case we have a narrow cuff between the rows of the first step of the August stitch. It would be obvious if the pattern was off in the smaller section so I counted as best I could through the already stitched cuff and kept up the pattern. The small triangle I didn't bother counting out to. I just did as much of the entire pattern as I could in the space.

By the way, see how the line for the cuff was drawn in the wrong place? That's why there is a second line below/to the right of the cuff the August stitch surrounds. Once I started stitching the two cuffs, I realized the two weren't perfectly in line I moved the right cuff up. The outlines will be covered by my stitching eventually. Outlined canvas is usually pretty forgiving but occasionally you have to adjust the lines. As long as you don't mess with the background (and I have to be careful with that as this is congress cloth and any ripping out will show), it'll be ok. Stitching hides lots of mistakes!

August's stitch is very pretty so far. I think it would make a lovely background on the right piece without Step Two, and considered not doing the second step on this piece, or perhaps just putting beads in the open spots, but when you look at the other stitches on this piece, I think I have to follow Tony's directions to the letter. A light coverage stitch in a sea of heavier ones won't look right.

To do the second step for August's stitch, I will turn the canvas back upright again. It is just easier to lay stitches on the vertical so if you have a horizontal stitch, turn the canvas on its side and stitch your brains out.

By the way, I am using a strand of Sparkle Braid instead of the Fyrewerks that Tony used as I am stitching this on congress cloth instead of 18 count.

Before I forget, last Monday's Gone Stitching Internet radio program has an interview with Tony Minieri himself. Renee of Gone Stitching gets him talking about how he got into needlepoint and teaching in the first place. Here is the Gone Stitching website. Click on Blog Radio to get to the page full of programs. You can listen to any interview via iTunes or click on the download link if you use another audio program like Media Player. Your computer should automatically start playing the show.

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