Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Christmas in July

So many shops have Christmas canvases on sale in July that I thought I'd show off some terrific Christmas pieces, just to inspire you in case you bought something holiday you are stitching madly to make finishing deadlines in September and October.   One of Ridgewood's customers stitched a Melissa Shirley double sided angel to use as a Christmas tree topper.  Isn't that an amazing face?  Hope Melissa has seen this one!
http://ridgewoodneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2013/07/blog-post_17.html

Ruth Schmuff is working on this wonderful Christmas Village scene, also from Melissa Shirley.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2013/07/happy-4th-of-july.html

Shelly Tribbey has a wonderful round set of Twelve Days of Christmas ornaments.  You can see several of them finished here.
http://www.needlenook.com/stitchers-corner/

Finally, Barbara Bergsten has her set of six Santa Stitches finished and displayed.  I would love to see these in reds, greens and golds!
http://createneedlepoint.typepad.com/create_needlepoint/2013/07/santa-stitches-needlepoint.html

Stitch faster, there are only 155 days left until Christmas!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Stitching In The Well

Brenda's written up a lovely article about how she attaches her canvas to stretcher bars with thumbtacks and with the canvas on the bottom, not the top.   This is called "stitching in the well."
http://brendasneedlepointstudio.blogspot.com/2013/07/stitching-in-well-and-framers-tool-to.html

I know several folks who prefer this way of using their stretcher bars.  I suggest you try it on a smaller piece and see what you think. It might just work well for you.  By the way, Brenda shows off a new gadget for the stitcher's toolbox that I've never seen or heard of before--the framer's tool.  She uses it to push in her thumbtacks.  Folks who always dread that chore might take note.  The official name seems to be "picture framer's bradset."
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/pictureframersbradset.aspx

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Love a Belt Canvas But Don't Need a Belt?

If you fall in love with a belt design but don't want a belt, Chapel Hill Needlepoint has a wonderful idea for taking the finishing in a new direction. 
http://chapelhillneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2013/06/pillow-talk.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.