Road Trip! (July 2009 Chilly Hollow Newsletter Article)

It is summertime! If you are staying home this summer like me, you can still visit various needlepoint landmarks via the shop reports summer travelers are posting on the Internet.

Let's visit The Needlepointer in Washington State first.
http://squiggeedesigns.blogspot.com/2009/07/squiggee-saysthe-needlepointercool.html

Threadneedle Street is in Washington also.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2009/07/threadneedle-street-in-issaquah.html

Needle in a Haystack is in California...
http://www.needlenthread.com/2009/07/next-stop-needle-in-haystack-alameda-ca.html

...as is Lacis.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2009/07/last-needlework-stop-lacis-in-berkeley.html

And finally, here's Nordic Needle, in North Dakota.
http://www.needlenthread.com/2009/07/nordic-needle-in-fargo-north-dakota.html

I wish we'd all been on this road trip! All of these shops are famous among Internet stitchers. To see them in person would be wonderful but pictures and reviews are the next best thing.

By the way, since it is July, you can celebrate Christmas in July by treating yourself to the Needlepoint Bargello Christmas Ornaments e-book found here.
http://bargelloneedlepoint.com/get-your-copy-of-the-bargello-needlepoint-christmas-ornament-series-ebook/


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

783,919 Pages Views at Yahoo 360

Sometime yesterday Yahoo 360 shut its doors. When I go to the URL, I get a message directing me to the Yahoo Profile where old content is archived. It's no substitute for a real blog and I can't see posting things there as there is no easy way to navigate. If it was the record of my life in high school, it wouldn't matter but Yahoo Profiles don't work for me now.

Sad to see it go, however. The last count I was able to take was 783,919 page views and there are 400-800 page views a day right up to the end, down from 1200-2000 page views in the wintertime when more people seem to read Blog.

I hope all those folks know where to go now and can read Blog!

The photo above is a close up of the cactus flower that bloomed last night on the front porch. The plant itself is over five and a half feet tall now and at least 30 years old. It bloomed for the first time last year. The flowers open at night and close the next morning. I am testing a new photo format so this is a test but I thought you might enjoy seeing such transient beauty. By lunchtime the flower will have closed and started to shrivel up. In a few days it will fall off the plant, leaving a cluster of three needle-sharp spines behind.

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

The Final Two Pet Guardian Angels

The last two pet guardian angels arrived in Chilly Hollow today and were photographed, then wrapped up and put in the box that will deliver them all to the ANG Auction Chairman for the fall auction in Milwaukee.

The last ones are very special. They are two originals stitched by Kandace Merric, the designer of the original set who not only kindly gave permission for me to share the out-of-print instructions with stitchers for the ANG fund raiser, but who out of the blue volunteered to stitch two completely new angels to be sold at auction also. You'll notice that these two angels have blue Medici wool backgrounds like the original six and that they are finished with blue silk moire backgrounds instead of the felt the other Auction angels wear on the back. I want them to stand out from the angels stitched by volunteers so that the lucky auction winner knows these are the originals!

Above is the 20th Century pet guardian angel, a sugar glider dressed in Art Deco robes. Here is a second photo of her before finishing. The color is a little more true and more details are visible. Doesn't she have the sweetest face?!

This is the 21st Century Gecko pet guardian angel, dressed in stitches and threads meant to evoke space and the metal and plastic outfits astronauts wear. I wish you could see the delicate silver stars and see the gentle sparkle of the ecru trim, standup collar and fancy sleeve decoration on this angel. It is beautifully stitched. In the background you see the sugar glider's back side, just to give you a flavor of how beautifully finished these two pet guardian angels are.

Here is a photo of the gecko before finishing, which shows off the stars a bit better.

Aren't these amazing? If you would like to see all the pet guardian angels destined for the auction, click on the photo of Needlepoint Plus magazine on the left. The original set are also shown. I can't thank Kandace Merric enough for her support for this project. When I mail off the angels tomorrow I will be a bit sad to see them go but they are going to raise funds for ANG and show off the dedication and stitching skills of the volunteers who made them and the wonderful designs that Kandy created for our stitching pleasure.

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