Saturday, November 2, 2013

Shop Newsletter Fun

Amy Bunger's shop newsletter appeared right on time yesterday but because I already had so many articles, I didn't post the link until today. This month Amy shows off some of her past Home Study kits and describes the DVD series that she collaborated with Robin King, Tony Minieri and Kelly Clark on.  And of course there is a diagrammed stitch and lots of new magnets to drool over.  Enjoy!
http://www.amybunger.com/f/1113.pdf

Ruth Schmuff's shop newsletter also was on time.  (I'm the only tardy one in the bunch.  Sigh.)  Hers is full of information on using DMC's memory thread.  Kreinik has a wired metallic called Hot Wire that all Ruth's tips will work nicely for in case you need a sparkly wire instead of a cotton floss covered one.
http://www.bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/needlepoint/downloads/bedeckednewsnov2013.pdf

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.

Favorite Threads

I've been thinking about favorite threads today since Trish Burr posted some photos of her lovely crewel embroidery on her blog.   Trish is best known for lovely needle painted birds and plants done in cotton floss, but you can see she has mastered the shading in crewel wool as well.
http://trishburr.com/2013/10/25/thanksgiving/

My first favorite thread was Appleton crewel wool.  Of course I taught myself to needlepoint back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and Paternayan wool was the only other choice available to me.  (In a few years the very exotic Kreinik gold metallic became available.)  I loved (and still love) Appleton's colors and appreciated the fine wool's look on 18 count canvas.  I never managed to get such smooth stitches with Paternayan, but then I was a novice stitcher.  Now we have many many choices, even in just all wool threads, but I have never forgotten how much I love Appleton crewel.

Orna Willis also posted today about her favorite threads.  Of course she is in a different position than regular stitchers as she teaches and sells kits so she has to keep a stock of threads used in her designs.  But she still has favorites.
http://ornadesign.blogspot.com/2013/10/fibers-and-threads-i-need-your.html

So what are your favorite threads?

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.

Need a Getaway?

Need to get away? Want to go somewhere where there are no dishes to be washed, no laundry calling, no one demanding to know what's for dinner? Have I got a place in mind? Heck, YES! Callaway Gardens' School of Needle Arts.
http://www.callawaygardens.com/events/education-and-culture/callaway-gardens-school-of-needle-arts/2014-course-descriptions

This is the place to huddle with Carole Lake and Michael Boren to plot and plan how to stitch that gorgeous canvas that you bought and haven't a clue how to stitch.  This is where you can study under the most famous and skilled needle artists on the planet--Marnie Ritter (complex original stitches) and Joan Thomasson (those fabulous angels) and Dorothy Lesher (amazing embroidered figures).  You can learn how to embellish a design with Meredith Willet's or Sylvia Marmariu's help and use those skills later on your own canvases.  You can study Japanese Embroidery or learn amazing filling stitches and borders from Ann Strite-Kurz.  You can create Lois Kershner's landscapes or Terry Dryden's geometrics, all in a lovely garden setting with meals ready when you are. There's even a shop to pick up things you never knew you needed!

You can choose small pieces or complex, and never pay more than $225 in class kit fees (most kits are much less).  The study halls cost you nothing!  I can see why Callaway has the reputation of being the coziest and cheapest of all the seminar experiences.

If you want to treat yourself to a once-in-a-lifetime seminar that is small scale and friendly, or if you just need to go somewhere to be with others obsessed with needlework, Callaway is the place.

Me, I'm eyeing Once Upon a Time.  Wonder if I can get away next January?

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.