Odds and Ends

Robin Atkins' Blessing Book Cover

I have lots of loose ends to tie up before I actually start stitching on Luna, my vampire from the Ladies of the Night series.  First of all, yes, I changed the background color on  Blog again.  When I switched to a photo of my last finished canvas for the header, I realized that the new pink background didn't look good with it, so the background became pale pumpkin in honor of Halloween.   I think the contrast between the black and navy blue and dark green lettering in the titles and text on Blog is not too much but do let me know if this color combo is hard to see.  I want Blog to be about easy of reading above all.  That's why Blog has a plain background and fairly simple layout.  But I do get bored with the plainness and change the colors and photos occasionally.

Gay Ann Rogers has completed the uploading of photos of her samplers on her website.  It's certainly not all of her work but showcases her style and the range of charted pieces she has taught over the years.  You can start browsing 17 pages of stitching beauty here.  Just click on the Gallery number whatever button on the right side of each page to continue on.  She will be selling some of these patterns from her website starting next week so keep an eye open on the site.  She sells only once a year and the patterns available vary.  You may have to wait until next year or the next to be able to buy the one you really want.
http://www.gayannrogers.com/site_2/Hollyhock_House.html

I've got some great resources saved up for you to browse while you wait for me to get organized enough to start stitching.  Are you interested in a lovely silk ribbon flower tutorial?  Sundance shows you how to make a quick and beautiful flower for an ornament or box top with wired ribbon.  I think a wreath of red flowers for Christmas would be spectacular!
http://sundanceinstitches.blogspot.com/2010/09/wire-ribbon-flower-for-needlepoint.html

Ruth Schmuff has updated her shop class page.  There are lots of great classes from great teachers to browse and lust after.
http://www.bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/visitingTeachers.php

The only thing missing from the class page are Ruth's own mystery classes.  Ruth teaches these in the shop and via mail.  Everyone knows what canvas she will teach but no one (and that includes Ruth!) knows what the end result will be.  Here are the newest canvases waiting for The Ruth Treatment.
http://www.bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/mysteryClasses.php

Finally, Robin Akins is giving away copies of her first book on beading as a PDF file.  This is a great opportunity to learn how to do bead compositions.  Robin is a bead artist who makes lovely jewelry, but she is most well known for her improvised beaded scenes made from a huge assortment of bead shapes and colors.  The photo above is her Blessings book cover.  Amazing, isn't it?
http://www.robinatkins.com/OneBeadAtATime_RAtkins.pdf

I know you are thinking that you don't need another craft, but I urge you to read through her book.  It's really about creativity and drawing inspiration from your feelings, which I think will help us stitchers become more adventuresome with our stitching.  I'm actually urging everyone to become explorers with needles and thread, and I think this book might help.

Next time we'll talk about Luna's background.

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